WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Liberty Bell

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh and

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<v Speaker 1>Chucks here too, and so's Jerry sitting in for Dave,

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<v Speaker 1>which makes this short stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I've been singing Ween all day because of this one.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, are we talking about molluscs?

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<v Speaker 2>No, from the song Freedom of seventy six when they

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<v Speaker 2>sing about the liberty bell.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know that one liberty bell cracked in half

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<v Speaker 1>is mine?

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<v Speaker 2>So it's that's been on a loop in my head. Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>I'll bet bake a bacon steak a perfect match.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's been on a loop in my head.

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<v Speaker 2>Either the final countdown or that one you were whistling

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<v Speaker 2>the other day that drove it. Yep in Vega, you

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<v Speaker 2>can gear worm it with the best of them. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>you know.

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<v Speaker 1>I was thinking about Ween the other day. I was like,

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<v Speaker 1>I need to find something new to like get into,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was like, you know, Ween's got a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>extensive collection, and I never really got into him. Not

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<v Speaker 1>because I don't like him, I just never got into him.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure think I'll go see if I can get

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<v Speaker 1>into Wien a little bit.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I continue the book on how to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>In the order of operation okay, please do yeah, please do.

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<v Speaker 2>I need to send you a canister of nitrius too, though,

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<v Speaker 2>that's fine. I'm not sure if you can do that

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<v Speaker 2>through the mail.

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<v Speaker 1>Please do. So we're talking liberty bell, that's right. And

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<v Speaker 1>the reason why we're talking liberty bell is because well

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<v Speaker 1>there's no good reason, but let's talk about the liberty

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<v Speaker 1>bell anyway, because it's actually pretty interesting. The liberty bell,

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<v Speaker 1>we think of today as the liberty Bell, is a fraud.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, let's let's go back in time a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>to seventeen fifty one. Let's hop in the old wayback machine.

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<v Speaker 2>This is, oh boy, dusty as can be.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't get too close to this fide.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, this is very dusty, but it still fires up.

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<v Speaker 2>Look at that the flex capacitor is flexing. And off

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<v Speaker 2>we go to seventeen fifty one to the State House

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<v Speaker 2>of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania State House, where they have just

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<v Speaker 2>brought in the bell. And even though it's not named

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<v Speaker 2>the liberty Bell at this point, that would come along well,

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<v Speaker 2>as we see much later, it's a bell and it

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<v Speaker 2>was used, although it had very a lot of causes

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<v Speaker 2>and purposes through the years. Sure, at first it was

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<v Speaker 2>just a bell. We ring it when someone important dies,

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<v Speaker 2>or we need to call the government together, like the

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<v Speaker 2>reasons you ring a town bell.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone won at Bingo.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, ring that bell.

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<v Speaker 1>They called it initially the State House Bell, which is

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<v Speaker 1>on the nose but appropriate because it was originally commissioned

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<v Speaker 1>by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly to be the bell in

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<v Speaker 1>the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. They didn't even call

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<v Speaker 1>that Independence Hall. It was the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything was very business like, bureaucratically named, and it told

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<v Speaker 1>you what it did and what it was, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>how they liked it.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. The bell itself was cast by Lester and

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<v Speaker 2>Pack Company out of London with the words proclaim liberty,

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<v Speaker 2>throw out all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof

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<v Speaker 2>which is apparently referenced a reference to Leviticus in the

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<v Speaker 2>Old Bible. Duh. And it was about three feet high,

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<v Speaker 2>a circumference of twelve feet late, about twenty one one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred pounds twenty one hundred pounds. And like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>it was just a bell. And here's the thing about

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<v Speaker 2>the Liberty bell on that crack is no one really

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<v Speaker 2>agrees on exactly how that happened.

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<v Speaker 1>No, but some historians think that it cracked the first

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<v Speaker 1>time it was used in seventeen fifty two, after it

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<v Speaker 1>was installed, like the first time.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and Lester and Pack were like, I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>what you're talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Actually it's pretty cool. They made good on replacement.

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<v Speaker 1>So the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly said Pack, Lester fellaws, we

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<v Speaker 1>need a replacement bell, and we're not going to pay

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<v Speaker 1>for it, okay, And they said that's fine, we'll send

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<v Speaker 1>you another bell. And the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly was like,

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<v Speaker 1>well do you I mean, you want the correct one back?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you want us to send a picture of it

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<v Speaker 1>or something. They're like, you just keep it. Do whatever

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<v Speaker 1>you want with it. Make belt buckles out of it, munitions,

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<v Speaker 1>hat buckles, if you're still into the pilgrim thing, shoe buckles,

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<v Speaker 1>shoe buckles, all the any kind of buckle you want

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<v Speaker 1>to make. You go ahead and use that belt. And

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<v Speaker 1>they said, you know what, we're going to actually use

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<v Speaker 1>this bell to make a replacement bell while we wait

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<v Speaker 1>for the real replacement bell. And this is where it

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<v Speaker 1>gets confusing, unnecessarily, and I say we take a break.

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<v Speaker 1>Just let all that sink in.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, let's do it st ja all right, So

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<v Speaker 2>if I am understanding this correctly, you now have two bells.

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<v Speaker 1>Technically three eventually, but one doesn't exist any longer. But

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<v Speaker 1>it does because it's now been melted into the second bell.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay. But you also have the replacement bell, right.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, right, and they were both apparently in the Pennsylvania Statehouse.

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<v Speaker 1>They're both used. But who knows what happened to the

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<v Speaker 1>replacement bell that pack and lester scent.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh okay, so that's the one that wasn't officially hung

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<v Speaker 2>or hanged. I'm not sure what you would say there.

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<v Speaker 1>I would say hung, but then you would correct me.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay. So it was the one that they melted down

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<v Speaker 2>and fixed the and redid the original that is the

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<v Speaker 2>official one.

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<v Speaker 1>Then that's what we call liberty bell, yes, okay, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>But they didn't call it the liberty bell back then again,

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<v Speaker 1>they called the Statehouse bell. And then they were like

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<v Speaker 1>which one. They're like, the original one. They're like, I

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<v Speaker 1>thought that one was melted down. They're like, yes, this

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<v Speaker 1>is the one that we melted down from the original. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>It went on a lot every time somebody asked about it.

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<v Speaker 2>So they're belling this thing up. They're using it as

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<v Speaker 2>you would use a bell. In seventeen seventy seven, when

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<v Speaker 2>the British were encroaching, they removed the bell because they

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<v Speaker 2>didn't want it captured and melted down into bullets basically

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<v Speaker 2>or buckles. They hit it again later on in a church.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry, they hit it in the church, then in Allentown,

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<v Speaker 2>and then seventeen eighty five they raised it again, and

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<v Speaker 2>it was really just a bell until eighteen twenty four

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<v Speaker 2>are when Marquis de Lafayette was the last general of

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<v Speaker 2>the Revolution that survived, when on a tour of the

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<v Speaker 2>United States and America, that's when America was like, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>let's rename this place Independence Hall, and let's call this thing. Well, actually,

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<v Speaker 2>it took another eleven years to call it the Liberty Bell.

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<v Speaker 1>Even Yeah, it was some abolitionists who were like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>you got a liberty bell. Huh, you know who? The

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<v Speaker 1>liberty bell isn't ring for enslaved people, So let's do

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<v Speaker 1>away with slavery. And they actually used the liberty bell

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<v Speaker 1>and the new National pride around it and really kind

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<v Speaker 1>of point out just how slavery is a terrible thing.

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<v Speaker 1>And we need to do away with it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so here's where it gets really interesting. That first

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<v Speaker 2>bell is damaged and cracked, so they melt it down

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<v Speaker 2>make this new one. The new bell cracks as well.

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<v Speaker 2>And they're not exactly sure how this happened either, but

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<v Speaker 2>they think it was in eighteen thirty five when it

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<v Speaker 2>was rung to mark the death of John Marshall, chief

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<v Speaker 2>Justice of the United States, to mark his passing, and

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<v Speaker 2>other people say, you know, now, it was really the

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen forties during the Fourth of July when things got

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<v Speaker 2>really rowdy, or other people said, no, it was on

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<v Speaker 2>February twenty third, when we were getting hammered celebrating George

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<v Speaker 2>Washington's birthday. Like people are just ringing the heck out

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<v Speaker 2>of this thing, and no one's really sure. The National

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<v Speaker 2>Park Service, for their point of view, just says, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it just cracked after ninety years of use, like quit asking, just.

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<v Speaker 1>Be quiet, just take the templeate and be quiet exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>But apparently there's some researchers who in nineteen seventy five

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<v Speaker 1>were like, actually, it wasn't just like hard use. This

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<v Speaker 1>bell was destined to crack. And the reason why is

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<v Speaker 1>because they're high tink content. It's like a quarter ten

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<v Speaker 1>almost that you don't want to use that in a

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<v Speaker 1>bell that peals maybe a decorative bell something you find

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<v Speaker 1>it like kirk Clans or something that it's not meant

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<v Speaker 1>to ring. Sure, make that out of tent, but you're

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<v Speaker 1>using like a functional workhorse bell. Do not put twenty

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<v Speaker 1>in that thing.

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<v Speaker 2>No, you've been telling me that for years.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure.

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<v Speaker 2>The bell they tried to fix in eighteen forty six

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<v Speaker 2>because Washington's birthday was rolling around again, and they're like, listen,

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<v Speaker 2>you know what we do here in Philly. We get drunk,

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<v Speaker 2>We ring this bell. We act incredibly inhospitable for our

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<v Speaker 2>professional sports teams and the teams that play them.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't get us started on Santa Claus.

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<v Speaker 2>And they use something called stop drilling, which in which

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<v Speaker 2>they actually widened the crack. The crack now is twenty

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<v Speaker 2>one inches long and about an inch a couple of

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<v Speaker 2>centimeters wide, and they would widen it so basically when

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<v Speaker 2>it was wrong that the two sides would not touch

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<v Speaker 2>each other at all and create this awful buzz. Yeah exactly,

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<v Speaker 2>So they widened it so they it wouldn't touch. But

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<v Speaker 2>another crack developed and they were like, we got to

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<v Speaker 2>find a better way to celebrate Washington's birthday. We can't

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<v Speaker 2>ring this thing anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>They forget it. Forget it. I'm done with this stupid bell,

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<v Speaker 1>That's what they said. Yeah, so it became a true

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<v Speaker 1>symbol after that point. They just stopped ringing it. And

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<v Speaker 1>apparently over the years people have been like, we got

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<v Speaker 1>to fix that thing, we got to ring that thing again.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a big deal, and other people are like, don't

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<v Speaker 1>even bother. It's like better as a symbol, And in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>it proved it's worth pretty quickly on as a symbol.

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<v Speaker 1>During World War One, I guess it went on a

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<v Speaker 1>whistle stop tour of the United States on the back

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<v Speaker 1>of a train and drummed up enthusiasm and support for

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<v Speaker 1>liberty bonds, like they were called liberty bonds because the

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<v Speaker 1>liberty bell was basically the mascot of this bond drive

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<v Speaker 1>to raise money for the US to fight World War One,

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<v Speaker 1>and they ended up raising in today's dollars, billions of

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<v Speaker 1>dollars from liberty bonds thanks to that cute little bell

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<v Speaker 1>with the crack in it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, pretty good earned it's worth.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they think a quarter of the United States saw

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<v Speaker 1>the Liberty Bell during that tour. That's how popular it was.

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<v Speaker 1>People just thronged to see it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's right, pretty neatre, do you neat? But if

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<v Speaker 2>anyone is emailing me right now, oh yeah, well the

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<v Speaker 2>Phillies own the braves the past two years. That's exactly

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<v Speaker 2>what I'm talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, get out of sports radio. It's toxic. You got

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<v Speaker 1>anything else?

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<v Speaker 2>I got nothing else?

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, Well, since checks of that short stuff's out.

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<v Speaker 2>Stuff you should know is a production of iHeartRadio. For

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