1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. This week on the show, we talked 2 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: about General Toma Alexandra Duma, who rose to the top 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: ranks of the military during the French Revolution and the 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: Napoleonic Wars. And one of the things that came up 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: in the episode was how he liked to do strong 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: band style stunts, and that kept reminding me of our 7 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: previous episode on Katie Sandwina from back in January, and 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: Sandwena was a strong woman. I love her and I 9 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: think she's incredibly amazing. She also was an activist for 10 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: women's rights, and we're going to share her story again today, 11 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: so enjoy. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class 12 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: from how Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson, 14 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: and it's We're in a new year, which means a 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: lot of people are making New Year's resolutions about how 16 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: much I loved them before uh, and it got me 17 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: thinking about topics that might center around that, and a 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: lot of people at this time of year like to 19 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: kind of focus on maybe hitting the gym a little 20 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: bit more. This is why when I've been in the 21 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: regular gym going habit. I always basically take January to 22 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: do other things. Yeah, it tends to be the big rush. 23 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: Like people that are regular gym goers will find like 24 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,759 Speaker 1: this is the influx when they can't get a machine 25 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: or can't get you know, time in the spot they 26 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: want in the gym before everybody gets tired and wears out. 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: But it got me thinking about fitness and whether or 28 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: not we could find a good fitness related podcast. And 29 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: at first I wanted to talk about sort of the 30 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: advent of the health club and the gym in America, 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: which goes back much farther than you may suspect. But 32 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: that's not actually we're going to talk about today because 33 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: while I was researching that, I then stumbled upon something 34 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: else that got me really really excited, and that is 35 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: Katie Sandwina, who was a strong woman with sort of 36 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: just a wonderful, fascinating story uh that made me laugh 37 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,920 Speaker 1: and also be amazed and say wow a lot and 38 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: also send me lots of I M s as you do. 39 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: I was. I just every time I unturned a new 40 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: piece of information about her, I was like, oh, we'll go, Tracy, 41 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: guess what else? And then and then like I turned 42 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 1: into a child. So it seemed like I was on 43 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: the right track in terms of exciting topics, at least 44 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: for me. So today we're going to talk about Katie 45 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: Sandwina and her sort of really remarkable life but also 46 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: just her remarkable nous as a human, not just because 47 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: she was so strong, but because she was just a 48 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: kind of a She has a fascinating story. Sandwina was 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: born Katherine Brumbach in Vienna, Austria, in four Her Bavarian parents, 50 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: who were Philippe and Joanna Brumbach, were both circus performers, 51 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: and they wowed crowds with feats of strength. Philipp was 52 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: a mountain of a man, standing reported six ft six 53 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: inches tall and weighing two d sixty pounds. Joanna was 54 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: a strong woman and she was about six ft tall, 55 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: and the couple had either fourteen, fifteen or sixteen children together, 56 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: depending on which source you read. I saw kind of 57 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: not almost equal smattering across all of those numbers, but 58 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: in any event, we're talking about a really sizeable family. Catherine, 59 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: who went by Katie, was the second oldest, and while 60 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: she and three of her sisters, Barbara, Marie, and Eugenia 61 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: all performed with their parents in their strong person act. 62 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: It wasn't very long before Katie really stood out as exceptional. 63 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: Even as young as two years old, she was able 64 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: to hold a handstand really easily, like they would do 65 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: a trick where she would hold a handstand on her 66 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: father's hands as part of the show. Uh. And so 67 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: she began gymnastics training pretty quickly to develop her natural 68 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: proclivity in that direction, And she also started appearing on 69 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: stage pretty regularly with mom and dad. And we're talking 70 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: again a two year old. In her teen years, Katie 71 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: was already almost six feet tall and was quite lean 72 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: in a hundred and eighties seven pounds, and she worked 73 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: really diligently to develop this natural strength that she seemed 74 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: to have. As her might grew, so did her looks. 75 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: She was considered to be really a beauty, and so 76 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: her father developed a whole circus act around her. Yeah, 77 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,280 Speaker 1: and it's maybe not the act you would expect at 78 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: the various circuses where the family performed throughout Europe. Uh. 79 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: Philippe at the end of them, showing off all of 80 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: their feats of strength, would offer one hundred German marks 81 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: cash to any man or woman who could best Katie 82 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: in a wrestling match, and the prospect of wrestling with 83 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: an attractive young woman, Uh no doubt had serious appeal 84 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: for the gentleman who stepped up to try. They did 85 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: very well with this this act. H and Katie took 86 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: on many, many challengers and she never lost a single fight. 87 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: But there was a sort of fun and surprising outcome 88 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: from this act. Eventually, this act ended up adding to 89 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: the Brumbach family. There was a young nineteen year old 90 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: man named Max Hayman, and he was an acrobat. He 91 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: took the challenge to wrestle Katie and he stepped into 92 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: the ring with her, was promptly knocked out, and then 93 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: she carded him out of the ring up. She was 94 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: at that point sixteen years old, and in a terribly 95 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,480 Speaker 1: charming twist to the story, the strong woman and her 96 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: vanquished challenger, Hayman fell in love. They were married two 97 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 1: years later and Max officially became part of the act. 98 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: And again, he was also an acrobat, so he when 99 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: they were with the circus, he wasn't just being uh 100 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: with Katie's act. He was also doing things like, you know, 101 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: standing on horses as they ran around and other acrobatic things, 102 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: and their match seems to have been really quite happy. 103 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: They stayed together for the rest of Katie's life. In 104 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: some interviews given later on in his life, Max tells 105 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: the story as though he fell madly in love with 106 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: her that very day and then ran away with her 107 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: to get married, much to the chagrin of Katie's father, 108 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: but that does not add up given the census records. 109 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: The Census reports that Max indicated that Katie and he 110 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: had been married um when she was nineteen and he 111 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: was twenty ones. That was a couple of years after 112 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: this whole thing happened. Yeah, that lines up with most 113 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,600 Speaker 1: of the histories about Katie. There are only these few 114 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: sort of interviews with Max later in life that it 115 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: seems like he may be played up the sort of 116 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: um whirlwind nature of their of their marriage. That it's 117 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: very cute because he'll talk about how all he remembers 118 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: is stepping in the ring, seeing the blue sky when 119 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: he fell down, and then coming to as Katie carried 120 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: him away, which sort of a cute, fun start to 121 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: a romance. I don't recommend knocking someone out as a 122 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: way to win their heart, but it's sure to work 123 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 1: in this case. Uh. And in nineteen o nine, Katie 124 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: and her act made their way to the United States. 125 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: She was performing with Max and one to two other 126 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: gentlemen as the Sandwina's Uh. They actually took this name 127 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: on It wasn't the name they originally came over with 128 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: because on a visit to New York, she issued a 129 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: challenge at the end of her act to anyone that 130 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: wanted to try to lift more weight than she could. 131 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: She had one taker from the crowd, and it was 132 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: a doozy Eugen sand Out. And sand Out was a 133 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: Prussian born bodybuilder. He'd always already become very famous as 134 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: the sort of the embodiment of the perfect male physique. 135 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: He made a career of appearing on stage wearing nothing 136 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: more than a fig leaf or other very scant clothing 137 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: and gladiator sandals to show off his extremely powerful muscles. 138 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: Yeah these are they're hilarious to me. Pictures out there 139 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: of him standing in his fig leaf like flexing so 140 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: you could see every you know, part of his body. 141 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: But so, he was widely believed to be the strongest 142 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: and on earth. And so when he emerged from the 143 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: crowd to take this challenge, Katie was a little concerned 144 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: that she had made a woeful misstep. Uh you know, 145 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: remember this is a girl that never lost a fight, 146 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: so the thought that she might be facing like defeat 147 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: in front of a crowd was probably very terrifying. But 148 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: she did not back down and the weightlifting challenge began. 149 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: So the way this worked was that Katie would lift 150 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: up a weight and then the challenger standout would have 151 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: to lift up the same weight, and this went on 152 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: for a while with an ever increasing weight load. Finally, 153 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,959 Speaker 1: Katie lifted three hundred pounds up over her head. And 154 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 1: Katie had put the weight down and Sandow took the 155 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: three pounds up, he could only lift it to chest level. 156 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: So the challenge was over and Katie had officially beaten 157 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,719 Speaker 1: the most famous strong man in the world at a 158 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: weightlifting competition. And so before we jump into how they 159 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: become the Sandwinas and what happens next, we're going to 160 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: take a quick word from a sponsor. So back to uh, 161 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: Katie Sandwina. It was after this challenge with Sandow that 162 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,079 Speaker 1: Katie started appearing under the name Sandwena. So what we 163 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,559 Speaker 1: do know about the name is that it is intentionally 164 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: a female derivative of Sandow. And what we do not 165 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 1: know and has always been a little nebulous in the record, 166 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: is whether this was meant to be a respectful nod 167 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: to the famous bodybuilder or an insult after she beat him. 168 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: After this challenge, the other big change to Katie's life 169 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: besides her stage name, was the nature of her act. 170 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: She was no longer a wrestling challenger. She became exclusively 171 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: a strong woman act. Yeah. Once this, I mean this 172 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,439 Speaker 1: made big news, like the fact that a woman had 173 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: beaten this huge male bodybuilder in public in New York. 174 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: It pretty much rippled out through newspapers pretty quickly. And 175 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: so at that point she was us a strong woman. 176 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: They didn't feel like they needed to bother with wrestling anymore. 177 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: And among the feats that she would demonstrate during the 178 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: course of a show, we have a nice list here 179 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: that Tracy and I will share with you. So one 180 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: of the things she would do was juggling thirty pound 181 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: cannon balls, lifting her husband Max, who weighed a hundred 182 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 1: and sixty five pounds over her head with one hand. 183 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: This one blew my mind. She would lift up horses. 184 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: I don't even know how you begin to lift a 185 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: horse because it's a live thing that might wiggle. In 186 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: addition to being extremely heavy at an unwieldy size and shape, 187 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: she would hold fourteen people at a time on a 188 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: carousel supported by her chest and shoulders. This one is 189 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: also wild to me. She would lift a halfton cannon 190 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 1: on her back around her chest. There's actually a picture 191 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 1: that I found online of her with this cannon, again 192 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: a full cannon. We're not hearing about cannon balls the 193 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: apparatus to shoot them, and it's balanced on her chest 194 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: by what would be the exit end of the cannon 195 00:10:57,840 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: with the wheels in the air, and she's just sort 196 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:04,079 Speaker 1: of stay mean, they're holding it. So that's again half 197 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 1: a ton, So we're talking about a thousand pounds or 198 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: four and fifties three kilos that she's just balancing on 199 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: her chest. There's the strong act classic of bending iron bars. 200 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: She would also break iron chains like she would just 201 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: snap them as part of the act, and she would 202 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: lie on a bed of nails while audience members were 203 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: brought forward to hit an anvil perched a top of 204 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 1: her chest with sledgehammers. Now as I was starting to 205 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: read this, I was like, come on, bed of nails. 206 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: I know people who do this. They do not do 207 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,679 Speaker 1: this with an anvil on their chest. They may be 208 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: at the most have a cinder block. Yeah, she was 209 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: pretty astonishing. I mean, she just did amazing things. And 210 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,319 Speaker 1: it's funny because you'll read some accounts where there was 211 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: one piece that I read where they were talking about 212 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: how she lifts and what was allegedly called the German method. 213 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 1: I don't I have no knowledge of whether or not 214 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 1: this is a valid nomenclature for it, where she when 215 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: she would lift particularly heavyweights, she would kind of be 216 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: rolling them up over her belly and chests to get 217 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: them up, rather than like a clean and jerk. If 218 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: I'm getting this correct, I'm still standing here going yes, 219 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: but three hundred pounds. I don't care how she got 220 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 1: it in the air. I'm sure if you are a 221 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,719 Speaker 1: weightlifting expert, you will know that that is clearly a 222 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: layman's take on things. But I'm still pretty amazed that 223 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: she was just hucking this kind of weight around as 224 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: part of an act that she was doing over and over. 225 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: It wasn't like a one time shot. She toured the 226 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: United States first on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit, and while 227 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: on tour in the early nineteen hundreds, she and Max 228 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: had a baby. They had a son, Theodore Roosevelt Martin 229 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: Beck Sandwina, and through her whole pregnancy she continued to 230 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: do her stage appearances with all of her usual tricks 231 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: and feats of strength. The night before he was born, 232 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: she did not one, but two shows. Yeah, I could 233 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: never find any good uh info on you know in 234 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: the what were You Thinking? Arena? Like that seems like 235 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: an awful lot to be doing to your body, particularly 236 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: using your core at a time when you were carrying 237 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: a little person. And I know, exercising throughout pregnancy is 238 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: considered healthy as long as you're not kind of going 239 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: harder than you were before you got pregnant. But having 240 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: people hit you with sledgehammers on a bed of nails 241 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: seems unwise when you're carrying a child. But what do 242 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: I know? Uh? Katie, for her part, really seemed to 243 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: take motherhood and stride though. The press nicknamed Theodore super Baby, 244 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 1: as he was not surprisingly a large child. Even though 245 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: his father was not a particularly large man, you know, 246 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 1: he still came from Katie's stock, and so by the 247 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 1: age of two, he reportedly weighed fifty pounds, and for comparison, 248 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: in case you are not a parent, the modern CDC 249 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: charts put the average weight of a two year old 250 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: boy at twenty eight pounds, so he was almost twice 251 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: normal expected modern size anyway, so we can conclude pretty 252 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: logically that this had a lot to do with his 253 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: mother's genetics. But it really prompted reporters to start asking 254 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: Sandwina for feeding and care tips for healthy babies, like 255 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: you two could raise a colossus. I don't know how 256 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 1: on earth that would happen. And while Teddy was still young, 257 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 1: Katie and Max headed to Europe to tour, and they 258 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: did not always take Teddy on tour with them. Sometimes 259 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: he was at boarding school, but in any case, it 260 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: was not long before John Ringling spotted Katie's act and 261 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: signed the husband and wife for the Barnamin Bailey Circus. 262 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: And at this point Ringling and his brothers had just 263 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: bought the circus for a reported four and ten thousand dollars, 264 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: and again this is in like nineteen ten money, so 265 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: it's quite a significant investment, and so they wanted to 266 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: fill their roster with interesting and star acts. So in 267 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven they headed back to the States, but Katie 268 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: was not, as it turned out, a featured performer for 269 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Instead, her act, which was 270 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: the San Duenas, was one of four strength based attractions 271 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: that ran simultaneously. Yeah Wrangling had envisioned this scenario with 272 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 1: all four of these strength acts sort of vying for 273 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: the audience's attention is like one huge spectacle. But of 274 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: course Katie drew all eyes. She drew reporters as well 275 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: as audiences. So the circus launched this plan to really 276 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: play up her role, and they arranged a press conference 277 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: to feature their new star and kind of announce her 278 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: as like the new um, you know, spotlight performer of 279 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: Barnamin Bailey's And so her act was also renamed so 280 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: they no longer went by the Sanduenas. The name was 281 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: actually updated to Katie Sanduina and Troope. This was the 282 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: first of many press conferences that Sanduina would give while 283 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: she was with the circus, and it became the norm 284 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: for the press to really want to see her anywhere 285 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: that the circus toured. Doctors would show ups away and 286 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: measure her publicly the press would report on her figure 287 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: and marvel at her sixteen into calf muscles, and Katie 288 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: did not seem to mind doing this at all. For 289 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: her part, she actually accentuated her size by wearing boots 290 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: with heels and some height enhancing up dudes like. She 291 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: would pile her hair on top of her head to 292 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: further accentuate her stature and especially in contrast to her 293 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: five ft six husband. And then to conclude these press appearances, 294 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 1: she would lift Max into the air, and then she 295 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: would follow that by lifting both Max and their son 296 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: Teddy with one arm. There's actually a rather charming photo 297 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: of the family in this arrangement floating around online. For 298 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: Katie's in this beautiful dress and she's just got her 299 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: husband in her arm, and her husband is holding the child, 300 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: who's not an infinite at that time. He's, you know, 301 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: more of like a young child. It's kind of wonderfully wacky. So, 302 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: in addition to showing off Katie's size and her straight 303 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: these press conferences also really accentuated her femininity. Press members 304 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: wrote at great length of her tightness beauty. The promotion 305 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,200 Speaker 1: push on the part of the circus worked really hard 306 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: to balance her charm and good looks with her strength 307 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,399 Speaker 1: in the public eye to create this irresistible act that 308 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: was sure to dry in spectators. Even reporters who doubted 309 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 1: the strength claims that Barnum and Bailey made, Uh, they 310 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,119 Speaker 1: were quick to acknowledge Katie's appeal and magnetism. It seemed 311 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: like she was as likable as she was strong. And 312 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: what's really fascinating is that she's never described as being 313 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: masculine during the press junket, despite being bigger and stronger 314 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:40,400 Speaker 1: than many men of the era, or I would say 315 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: many men today. Descriptions of her always call her a 316 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: venus and a commanding beauty, and according to one female 317 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 1: reporter quote, she was an unconsciously perfect illustration of her 318 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: text that beauty is strength, strength beauty. Yeah. I really 319 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,159 Speaker 1: was expecting, as I was doing research on this, to 320 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: find some weird thing about, you know, how manly she was, 321 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,440 Speaker 1: but none of them seemed to. There's some that kind 322 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,360 Speaker 1: of suggests, like, you know, men might be in trouble 323 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: if you know, if women are like this, then if 324 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: this is how we're going, we're gonna lose some power. 325 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:23,080 Speaker 1: And uh, that's actually pretty Germaine to what we're going 326 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:25,440 Speaker 1: to talk about next, which is that while Katie really 327 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: easily handled this role of basically being also a pr 328 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,119 Speaker 1: act for Barnamin Bailey Circus, she also served to some 329 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: degree as a mouthpiece for women's suffrage because she was 330 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: in the public eye, she was very likable, she was 331 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 1: considered attractive, and she was a wife and mother. She 332 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,440 Speaker 1: was admired by many. It was like people could both 333 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,440 Speaker 1: admire her beauty, women could identify with her because she 334 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 1: fulfilled roles that they were living, even though she was 335 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: also living this life of a circus performer. But because 336 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,639 Speaker 1: she was also part of a marriage where she was 337 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: seen as at least physically dominant over her husband, she 338 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,080 Speaker 1: was also this mob all of liberation, and starting in 339 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, she actually served as vice president of the 340 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,920 Speaker 1: circus's women's suffrage group, has earned her the nickname Sandwin 341 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: know the Suffragette in some news stories. And then before 342 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,400 Speaker 1: we get to sort of how her um life shifts 343 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 1: at this point, we are going to have another word 344 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: from a sponsor, if that's cool with Tracy. Okay, so um. 345 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: At this point, you know, Katie has really achieved some 346 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,679 Speaker 1: level of fame and she and Max have been touring 347 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: the world, and at one point while they're touring Europe 348 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 1: in eighteen they actually had their second son, Alfred, and 349 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 1: Alfred's birth took place during some of the unrest of 350 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 1: the Hungarian Revolution, which we talked about a little bit 351 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: in our Bella Legoti episode, and the story goes Although 352 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: there's no substantiation I could find on this, but I 353 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: did see it reported similarly in several places that Katie 354 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,719 Speaker 1: actually had to crawl under like a barbed wire fence 355 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: to get to a hospital when she went into labor, 356 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,680 Speaker 1: and she ended up actually giving birth on the floor 357 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 1: of the hospital because it was completely overcrowded and there 358 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: was nowhere for her to go. They couldn't admit her. 359 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: So Alfred was kind of born in not ideal circumstances, 360 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: but seemed to turn out just fine. And just like 361 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: with Theodore, she was performing right up until she gave birth. 362 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: Katie continued to draw crowds as a strong woman into 363 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: the late nineteen forties, and at this point she was 364 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: in her sixties. But there were some bumpy times towards 365 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 1: the end of her career as a strong woman. Yeah, 366 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: having nothing really to do with her during the nineteen thirties. 367 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen forties, the Ringling brothers and their 368 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: various business ventures were really struggling. You know. The Great 369 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 1: Depression impacted the circus just like everyone else, and many 370 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: performers lost their jobs. For a brief period during the depression, 371 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:55,359 Speaker 1: the Works Progress Administration Circus, which is the only state 372 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,640 Speaker 1: run circus the United States has ever had, was organized 373 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: by the federal government. This gave circus performers the opportunity 374 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: to stay afloat and to keep entertaining, and Katie and 375 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: Max worked with the w p A Circus after leaving 376 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: Barnum and Bailey and UH as sort of a fascinating 377 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 1: financial side note related to the circus. As Ringlings, Barnam 378 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: and Bailey Circus was getting back on its feet in 379 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: the forties, UH and Katie and Max were still working 380 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: with them. A fire actually destroyed the main tent during 381 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,679 Speaker 1: the show. I don't think Katie and Max were at 382 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: this particular event. This horrible fire killed a hundred and 383 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: sixty eight people and it injured hundreds of others, and 384 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: as the financial mess of it was being sorted out, 385 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: the resulting ruling of the courts was that the circus 386 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: had to continue operation in order to bring in enough 387 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: money to settle the resulting lawsuits and operation losses, and 388 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: this actually became the first Chapter eleven bankruptcy case, which 389 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 1: is just sort of a fascinating historical side note. It 390 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,399 Speaker 1: also wasn't long after this that Katie Sandwina and her 391 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,679 Speaker 1: husband wound up leaving the circus for good. Yeah, we 392 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,360 Speaker 1: don't know how much, you know, sort of the fiscal 393 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 1: problems or the financial problems of the circus actually incited 394 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: them to leave, or if it was just feeling like 395 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: time to settle down and stop touring constantly. But in 396 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: the late nineteen forties, Sandwina finally made her last stage 397 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: of appearance and she retired from her job as a 398 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 1: strong woman at the age of sixty four. And she 399 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: was still doing those same crazy tricks that she had 400 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 1: been doing since she was like a teenager in a 401 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,879 Speaker 1: twenty year old and a pregnant lady Like she just was, 402 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: I am perpetually sort of agog at her amazing physical 403 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: prowess and her strength and her just ability to do 404 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: these things again into her sixties. And at that point 405 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,800 Speaker 1: she and her husband Max opened a restaurant in Queens, 406 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,359 Speaker 1: New York, and while she wasn't appearing with the circus, 407 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: she would occasionally kind of pull out the old tricks 408 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: and entertain patrons by lifting Max into the air. She's 409 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: also said to invent steel bars and broken horseshoes to 410 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: entertain the diners and and people that came in to 411 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: have a drink. There. There's actually a picture in one 412 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 1: of the the articles that I looked at, and it's 413 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,640 Speaker 1: actually kind of a reprint of an older article from 414 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: the forties, from the very late forties when they were 415 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: first starting out in the the bar and grill business. 416 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,280 Speaker 1: That's kind of uh couched within a bigger, more modern 417 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 1: article about her, and there's a picture of her again, 418 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: a retired woman in her sixties, doing the bed of 419 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: Nail's trick with the sledgehammers in the bar to entertain people. 420 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 1: So she really never gave up performing even though she 421 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:32,679 Speaker 1: wasn't on stage anymore. That first year of running a 422 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 1: bar and grill wasn't really easy for the pair, which 423 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,240 Speaker 1: is not surprising it's hard to start a restaurant, but 424 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: they eventually got a regular clientele and settled into the business. 425 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: One of Katie's jobs would be that she would deal 426 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: with the patrons who had too much to drink, and 427 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: according to an interview that the two of them gave 428 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: in late nine seven, usually the inebriated man would later 429 00:23:54,480 --> 00:24:01,199 Speaker 1: return apologetically and beg her pardon after sobering up. Yeah, 430 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: she uh, and again I love it because she still 431 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,440 Speaker 1: was considered sort of girly in many ways. Her daughter 432 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: in law that was married to Alfred said that she 433 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: always had her nails painted and she was really one 434 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: of the most feminine women she had ever known. But unfortunately, 435 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,640 Speaker 1: just four years after she retired from performing and really 436 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: as their bar and grill was getting really really stable 437 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: and good, Katie actually died of cancer on January twenty 438 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: one of ninety two. Katie and Max's sons each followed 439 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: into the family business in their own ways. Their first son, Theodore, 440 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: became a heavyweight boxer under the name Ted San Sandwina, 441 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 1: and there's a brief video of his mom giving him 442 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: boxing lessons in the twenties on YouTube. After his brief 443 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: boxing career, he worked in the bar with Katie and Max, 444 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: and Alfred, for his part, went on to become a 445 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:53,360 Speaker 1: fairly successful actor as Alfred Sandor. While his career struggled 446 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: in the US initially, he eventually became known in Australia 447 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: for a long running gig on the soap opera The 448 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 1: Young Doctors, and he also appeared on the cult drama 449 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: series Dark Shadow. So if any of our listeners ever 450 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: watched that, he was on one episode, but just kind 451 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: of a noteworthy spot for him. Uh yeah, Oh, I'm 452 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: I'm so delighted by her story. What a fun, wacky lady. 453 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:24,479 Speaker 1: I like the beats of strength that sounded possible. I know, 454 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 1: they just they blow my mind. And it's one of 455 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: those things, like I said, they're reporters that were even like, 456 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: I don't know that Barnama Bailey are being entirely accurate 457 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 1: with their claims, but gosh, I really like this woman, 458 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,200 Speaker 1: Like I want to go see her show. But even 459 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:43,640 Speaker 1: like if if those sort of wild claims were overblown 460 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: in most cases, if you have them, they would still 461 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: be really mind boggling feats of strength. But there are 462 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: pictures of her lifting multiple people at a time, and 463 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,719 Speaker 1: they're like I said, I saw a photograph of her 464 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: with the cannon balanced on her chest, and so there 465 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 1: is photographic evidence of some of these things and in 466 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,199 Speaker 1: some cases you could say, oh, that's a prop and 467 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 1: it was probably lighter, but they were not proper people 468 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: that were walking across the piece of board that were 469 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,719 Speaker 1: that was balanced on her chest. Like, Yeah, the cannon 470 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:12,679 Speaker 1: is the one thing that makes me go, I wonder 471 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 1: if something was going on with that cannon. Yeah, I 472 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,800 Speaker 1: don't know. But again, you see her with like, you know, 473 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:23,160 Speaker 1: four and five people climbing on her shoulders. It's pretty 474 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,520 Speaker 1: also a lot of that's a lot of human Yeah, 475 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us on this Saturday. 476 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 1: If you have heard an email address or a Facebook 477 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: you are l or something similar over the course of 478 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 1: today's episode, since it is from the archive that might 479 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,440 Speaker 1: be out of date now, you can email us at 480 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: history podcast at how stuff Works dot com, and you 481 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: can find us all over social media at missed in History, 482 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 483 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else 484 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. For more on this and thousands 485 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how staff works dot com.