1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from House Stuff Works 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: There's Charles w Chuck Bryant, there's Jerry over there. We 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: are swimmingly excited about this one because it is about 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: sea monkeys. Jerry is mama see monkey. Yes, she's got 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: a little blonde bob hair do going on. And I 7 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: guess we're baby sea monkeys. I guess. Yeah, that's that's cool. Well, 8 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: let's some we'll we'll let the dad no exist. Okay, 9 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: we're brothers, that's right. I think that's a good move 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,599 Speaker 1: with a non existent father, which really explains a lot 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: about us. Nonexistent sea monkey father no less so chuck Um, 12 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: I realized that I don't know something about you, which 13 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: is weird because we've been doing this for almost ten years. 14 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: And or sea monkey brothers. We we are. We know 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: a lot about one another. We know one another smells um, looks, scowls, 16 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: all sorts of stuff, right, triumphs, victories. One thing I 17 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,320 Speaker 1: don't know about you is whether you were into comic 18 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: books as a kid. Well, glad you asked. I feel 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: like we've talked about this at some point but maybe not. 20 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: I yeah, we have for sure, um, because remember I 21 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: read Archie and Richie Rich. Oh yes, yeah, yeah yeah, 22 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: and I wasn't so well. Here's a couple of things 23 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: I read Archie and Richie Rich growing up, and UM 24 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: didn't get into the superhero comics much because I don't 25 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: know why. But then also you don't know this part. 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: We used to go to visit my grandmother on my 27 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: father's side. She was big time into thor Granny Thor. Uh. 28 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: She lived in Jackson, Tennessee, and it was I had 29 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: sort of the modern grandparents with cable TV who lived 30 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: in a and then old school granny who lived in 31 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: a house in the country. And so granny Granny Bryant 32 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: didn't have TV or anything like that. But what she 33 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: did have in the back room was a bunch of 34 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: my dad and uncle um Ed's old toys and comic 35 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: books from when they were kids. So I think the 36 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: mainly Uncle Eddie, so I got. I had a big 37 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: stack of comics from my guests the nineteen sixties, uh 38 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: that were like Man from Uncle Um. I'm trying to read. 39 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: I'm trying to think of a few more. No superhero stuff, 40 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,399 Speaker 1: but just those weird sort of. I guess it wasn't weird, 41 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: but man from Uncle is only when I can remember, 42 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: but it's a little weird. Long story short is because 43 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: that's all the entertainment we had to ingest. We would 44 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: my brother and I would go back there and read 45 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: those every year for years. That's pretty awesome. So you 46 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: made your way through that stack of multiple times, oh 47 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: many many times, Like I remember the ads, I remember, 48 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: I remember everything about him. So then you remember, obviously, 49 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: I think you probably knew where I was going with 50 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: us from the outset. You remember the ads for the 51 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: sea monkeys. Then I remember sea monkeys, remember X ray specs, 52 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: which we'll get into. And I remember for sure all 53 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: the ads for like can you draw this parrot? Or pirate? 54 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: Oh yeah? Remember for the art school? Yeah? What was that? 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: I think they just took your money and then sent 56 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: you a degree for your art school. Is that what 57 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: it was? I'm pretty sure. So disappointing. Yeah, but the 58 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: turtle was pretty cool. He had like a Newsy camp 59 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: on and a turtleneck and he just looked like he 60 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: was ready to get mellow, you know. Oh you know 61 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: the other one too, was the Charles Atlas workout thing. 62 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: Do you remember that? Yeah, where the pound weekly gets 63 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: stand kicked in his face. Totally. Yeah, that's really playing 64 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: on some fifteen year old insecurities and it worked. And 65 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: what about you? I remember Sea Monkeys. There's one that 66 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: always stuck out to me was a Bonker's ad from 67 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: the eighties. This would have been way past your man 68 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: from Uncle era comic books. But um, I think I've 69 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: asked you before the if you had ever had bonkers 70 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: there like these fruit shooes they were like just the 71 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: superior Starburst. And there was a comic book ad in 72 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: there with like this like kind of crotchety old lady 73 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: in it, and I don't even remember the gist of it. 74 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: I think maybe she was mad that the kid was 75 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: eating bonkers and enjoying it. I don't know, But um, 76 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: I'll never forget that comic for some reason, because the 77 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,480 Speaker 1: colors in it were just just perfect and they struck 78 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: my brain just right. So I've I've always got that 79 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: Bonker's comic book ad in there too, and a lot 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: of bubble bubble um comic book ads are stuck in 81 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: there as well. Nothing that means anything, really, and certainly 82 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: nothing pertinent to this episode except for that Sea Monkeys 83 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,039 Speaker 1: And yeah, but you and I were also into Mad 84 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: Magazine big time, which I believe was ad free, wasn't it. 85 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,119 Speaker 1: It was they had like those fake ads, of course, 86 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: which were pretty hilarious. Sure, but now that I don't 87 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 1: think they had any like actual ads in them. They 88 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: were just strictly subscription based. So in that Sea Monkey's aid, 89 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: if you'll remember correctly, and I think for many decades 90 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: it was virtually the same thing. It was this kind 91 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: of group, this tribe of humanoid figures. It was a family. 92 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: But but exactly what kind of family they were is 93 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 1: really up for debate. So they're they were kind of lanky, 94 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: like stringy ropey arms and legs, paunchy tummies, naked is 95 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: the day they were born, webbed feet, webb tails, Like 96 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: the end of their tail was like webbed, which if 97 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: you look closely, I think was probably just a device 98 00:05:55,080 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: to cover Dad's junk in the In the illustration, they're like, 99 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: we need something on the end of their tail there, buddy. Uh. 100 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: And this this just like this classic illustration of the 101 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: sea monkeys that apparently was done by this guy named 102 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: Joe Orlando Magazine Yeah, he's from Mad Magazine. Creepy Magazine 103 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: is another one. He ran some comic lines at d 104 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: C Comics. Was kind of a legend, but he's also 105 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: extremely well known outside of the comic world for having 106 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: drawn that sea monkey family. Yeah, I mean I'm looking 107 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: at right now. Look at that. It's like unchanged, I know. 108 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,360 Speaker 1: And what's great too, is that we'll talk about later. 109 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: Somebody some people went in and fiddled around with it. 110 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: And if you look now, if you go to buy 111 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: the sea monkeys now, they're basically back to the way 112 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: they were before. Well, yeah, and we'll get to that too. 113 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: You also didn't mention the castle, which is kind of 114 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,280 Speaker 1: key because somehow they have these little crown like heads 115 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: and I guess we're kings of the Bowl. I guess 116 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: they were. Yeah, they were a royal sea monkey family, 117 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: kings of the fish bowl and only inhabitants. Actually, So 118 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: if you write so you can proclaim yourself the royal family, 119 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: you mean, I have done that at our house. So. Um, 120 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: if you look closely at some of those ads, they say, um, 121 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: there's like a little fine print that says these are 122 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: caricatures of sea monkeys. Is not actually what your sea 123 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: monkeys look like it's an artist interpretation or something like that. 124 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: And it turns out that sea monkeys and just prepare 125 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: for your childhood to blow away like so much dust 126 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: in the wind, chuck. Sea monkeys don't actually exist. There's 127 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: no such thing. Yeah, did you know that already? Well, 128 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: of course, well sea monkeys, uh as, sea monkeys don't exist. 129 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: But they are real little living creatures that you buy, 130 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: have shipped in an envelope back in those days, in 131 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: an envelope to your home, and they are actually their 132 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: own things. So what they are ultimately is something called 133 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: artemia or Brian shrimp. But the guy who ended up 134 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: calling them sea monkeys was actually well within his right 135 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: to call him something different than just Brian shrimp, because 136 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: they're a hybrid version of Brian shrimp. The guy who 137 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: invented sea monkeys actually tinkered along with a micro crustaceans 138 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: expert named Di Augustino. I can't remember his first name. 139 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: I think when you have a name like de Gistino, 140 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: you can just go by that. So so de Gistino 141 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: and this guy named Harold von Broughton or brought bron Hot, right, 142 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: they got together and they actually took Brian shrimp and 143 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: made them into something different, a hybrid version that we 144 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: now know and love as sea monkeys. Yeah, so the 145 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: literal sea monkeys that you buy don't exist in nature, right, 146 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 1: They are a man made creation. I don't think we 147 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: can get that through clearly enough, because it's pretty scientifically, 148 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: it's pretty amazing. And they did that because they couldn't 149 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: find any of these Brian shrimp varieties that would live 150 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: through the shipping process and be able to be essentially 151 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: rehydrated and brought to life to the delight of children. 152 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: So they made them right, and there's no no clapping 153 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: and squealing with original Brian shrimp, right. So through these 154 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: cross breeding programs they made Brian shrimp. Brian shrimp are 155 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: already you could. I think you can still go to 156 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: pet stores and buy them. They're a type of food. 157 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 1: They're a pet food, um and all. They're just like 158 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: tiny little micro crustaceans and they enter into what's called cryptobiosis, 159 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: and they're basically if you'll remember our Tartar grade episode, 160 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: they basically do the same thing that's harder grades too. 161 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,439 Speaker 1: They enter into the state of suspended animation UM. A 162 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: desk hated state where they're just dried out and just 163 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: sitting there waiting for the conditions to be right to 164 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: basically come back to life. That's what sea monkeys are. Yeah, 165 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: so you get this little package there basically their brin 166 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: shrimp eggs is what it is, or what they are, 167 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: and then you get purified water. Put him in there, 168 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: and I believe there's a growth formula as well. Right, Yeah, 169 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: that's like their food. It's like spilina and yeast, I believe, right, 170 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: But it's no one truly knows what the exact formulation 171 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 1: for all this stuff is because it is locked in 172 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: a vault in Manhattan because it was it was the 173 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: only one that worked, and it was owned owned by 174 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: this Van Broughten character. Van Broughten braun Hutt. Braun Hut. 175 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: I know, it's a tough word, tough name to say. 176 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: I've seen it a hundred times in the last like 177 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: eight hours, but still yeah, so um. Until he died 178 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: in two thousand three, Harald von braun Hutt and his 179 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: wife Yolanda were the only two people on the planet 180 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: who knew what this special formula was that created those connections. 181 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: Because you remember, you've got sea monkeys little Brian shrimp 182 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: that are in the state of cryptobiosis, this dried out, 183 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 1: descated state, and when you put them just into regular 184 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,560 Speaker 1: tap water, they don't necessarily come to life. There's something 185 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: in that powder that alters the pH and the salinity 186 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 1: and makes it just perfect for them to emerge from 187 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: this cryptobiosis almost instantaneously. In fact, early on the sea 188 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 1: monkeys were originally just called instant Life, I believe, is 189 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 1: what they name. They were originally marketed under. Its not 190 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: the best, not the best name, no uh, and it 191 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: is It's weird that um that name was chosen because 192 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: it turns out that Harold von braun Hutt is or 193 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: was a marketing genius. UM he wrote the original thirty 194 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: two page booklet that I believe still comes with the sets. 195 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: Is that right? I couldn't find evidence of that, and 196 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: I was looking online to find a transcription of it 197 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: and was very surprised to find no one's done that. 198 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: Like you would think there'd be entire fan sites that 199 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: are that this is like their bible, you know, the 200 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: original version of it would have later editions of it. 201 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: Couldn't find it anywhere. Well, I don't know if it 202 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: still comes with it. But for many, many many years 203 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: and even after his death, that original pros was which 204 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: told this fantastical story. I mean that's the whole point. 205 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: It wasn't just like Edwater in your on set, I 206 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: told the whole story of sea monkeys. Yeah. It said 207 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: things like, you can your sea monkeys can be hypnotized. 208 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: You can train them to play baseball, Um, you can 209 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: race them. They're they're like they love to race. There 210 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: all sorts of things. You can basically train them into 211 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 1: a pack of friendly seals, I think is the way 212 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: they put it. It talked about like their um courtship 213 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: and reproduction and just all sorts of stuff like it was, Yeah, 214 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: this guy is just basically do you remember that that 215 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: treatment that George Lucas wrote about Wookies and and Chewbacca's 216 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: planet that got turned into the Star Wars Christmas special. 217 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 1: This is the exact same thing. But this is the 218 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: Sea Monkeys world, right, I would like to see I 219 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: was about to say I'd like to see the Sea 220 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: Monkeys TV show, but I did. What did you think? 221 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 1: Did you watch any of it? Yeah? I did. Yeah, 222 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: So that was a TV show in the eighties, UM 223 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:28,319 Speaker 1: starring how He Mentel. Yeah, it just really doesn't get 224 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: any better. Like who else would have been better than 225 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 1: how He Mandel For that, it was Howie Mandel. He 226 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: produced it as well, along with the Chioto brothers, who 227 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,560 Speaker 1: were known for making killer clowns from outer space. So 228 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: you know what you're kind of going to get there. 229 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: It is the definition of camp Like they watched Pee 230 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: Wee's Playhouse and they're like, this is kind of campy, 231 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 1: but let's increase it by thirty and that's what they did. 232 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: It was not not long for this world though, what right? No? 233 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: And the thing is is, I don't know if we've 234 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: gotten this across. It was live action. Oh yeah, it 235 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: wasn't a cartoon. That's what made it so not just campy. 236 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: That made it unsettling as well, Like the actors were 237 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: all done up as like sea monkeys and it was 238 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: four kids, but it was obviously made by adults with 239 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: a wink and a nod to other adults. It was 240 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: a weird, weird, weird show. Yeah it was. I didn't 241 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: see it, and I only watched like a bit of 242 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: one episode. I didn't see enough to judge the whole eleven. 243 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: I think episode lifespan. But it was like Sid and 244 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: Marty Croft without the LSD, right, it was with PCP instead. 245 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: That's how it struck me. I was like, these people 246 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: are on angel dust. Yeah. But all this to say 247 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: that it was was and continues to be a big 248 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: selling item. Like kids loved sea monkeys. They bought them, 249 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: and I mean, from what I can tell, when kids 250 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: bought sea monkeys, they didn't care that they didn't look 251 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: like those things, and they were just thought it was 252 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: cool that something they got in the mail really had 253 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: come to life. Yeah, for sure, and you could raise 254 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: them and after you know, after some tinkering Um von 255 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: braun Hut, Um managed to get them to live for 256 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: a while. So these were like pets to to the kids. 257 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: Plus I also think Chuck I suspect and this is 258 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: a big reason why sea monkeys were such a success. 259 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: Um von braun Hut when he started to market these 260 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: things early on, he was following immediately in the wake 261 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: of something called instant fish that I think Whamo had 262 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: tried to market and had failed terribly at And he 263 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: was going around trying to market something similar, and toy 264 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: stores and retailers were like, we don't want anything to 265 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: do with those. People almost lost their jobs over that 266 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: instant fish stuff. Get out of here. So von Braunhut 267 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 1: in a in a stroke of genius, said, you know what, 268 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go right to the source. So he started 269 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: marketing directly two kids. He started hanging out at elementary 270 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: school parking lot. He did, and he'd be like, here, here, kids, 271 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: come look at my minivan. I've got a bunch of 272 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: stuff for you to choose from. Right. Yeah, Well, the 273 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: comic book, saying was a genius. Um how many like 274 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: three three and a half million ads a year? Was 275 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: at it, three hundred three million pages a year? And 276 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: now though so most of those were two page inserts. 277 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: So that's a hundred and fifty issues of a hundred 278 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: and fifty million issues of comic books a year. I 279 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: wonder how expensive that was. I don't know. I'm quite 280 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: sure he got some deals over the years, because he 281 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: started that marketing push in ninety four, and I don't 282 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: know exactly when it stopped, but it was well into 283 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: the nineties that there were sea monkey um ads and 284 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: comic books still that were virtually the same as ever, 285 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: did you ever buy any of that stuff? I had 286 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: a friend who had sea monkeys. I never did myself. Oh, 287 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: but that was the point that I was getting away 288 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: from um that I wanted to make. I think one 289 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: of the reasons sea monkeys were successful was because it 290 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: wasn't just that these things were pets or whatever. You 291 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: ordered them yourself, Like you handled this transaction yourself, and 292 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,239 Speaker 1: you got to show your friends something that you purchased, 293 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: like your parents would take you to the store or 294 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 1: anything like that. You can't you You contracted with this 295 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: this strange man to buy these Brian shrimp from him, 296 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: and they arrived and you followed the instructions, and now 297 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: they're floating around. Yeah. Well, you probably got mom or 298 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: dad to cut you a forty nine cent check or 299 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: have them cut a check, uh or or you know 300 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,160 Speaker 1: you you maybe got the funds from your lemonade stand 301 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:33,280 Speaker 1: and converted that to a cash bond bearer bond. I 302 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: don't know any of that stuff is, but yeah, so 303 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: you probably had little assistance for mom and or maybe 304 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: you put a dollar in an envelope. I'll bet many 305 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: kids did. I wonder if Braunhud sent the change the 306 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: change back, it was like, I'm keeping this change, kid, 307 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:50,879 Speaker 1: just to teach you a lesson not to send a 308 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,160 Speaker 1: dollar bill in the mail anymore, because you can't send 309 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: change in the mail, right right, So I mean suffice 310 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,160 Speaker 1: to say, see, monkeys were and are just like one 311 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: of the classic toys of all time, largely because of 312 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: the way they were marketed. Right. Well. Yeah, and von 313 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:09,640 Speaker 1: Brown Hut, this was not his only jam. He had 314 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,359 Speaker 1: close to two patents on everything. Like you know, we 315 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: mentioned the X ray specs, uh and that great great 316 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: ad of of the guy looking at his hand or 317 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: the or the uh sexist misogynistic ad of him leering 318 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,199 Speaker 1: at a woman in a dress. Uh. And X ray 319 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: specs were very disappointing when you got those because they 320 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: were it was two pieces of cardboard with little pinholes 321 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 1: that you look through, and in between the cardboard where 322 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,479 Speaker 1: that pinhole is is a feather, right, And so what 323 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: it did was it basically projected two overlapping images of 324 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: the same thing, so that edges around the outside of it, 325 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 1: we're just kind of fuzzier than the middle. Basically supposedly 326 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,760 Speaker 1: that was what an X ray of your hand looked like. Yeah, 327 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: so that that the case of um fraud. Yeah, A 328 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: good way to put it, or what about the invisible goldfish? 329 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: That was another one. Is that is that's so fraudulent 330 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: that it's just beautiful, it's elegant, and it's fraudulent. Well, 331 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: but it's almost not fraudulent because here was the deal. 332 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 1: He sold what was called invisible goldfish, uh, which basically 333 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: means nothing. He sold nothing successfully, right. It was the 334 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: kit came with the fish bowl, fish food, and instructions, 335 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,239 Speaker 1: and that was it. And there was a guarantee that 336 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: you would never see your invisible fish, that they would 337 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,919 Speaker 1: remain invisible. Yeah, and that's I think that is the 338 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 1: distinction that makes it not fraud As he basically said, 339 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,680 Speaker 1: you're not gonna sing an hanging in this bowl, and 340 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: and that was that. What else did he do? Um? 341 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:54,880 Speaker 1: He had He invented balder dash. He also invented those 342 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,119 Speaker 1: um dolls eyes where you lay your doll back and 343 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,120 Speaker 1: its eyes closed. He invented those. Yeah, he invented that 344 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: that technology, which is it was a game changer for 345 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: creepy baby dolls. He also, even before his days of inventing, 346 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: he was an interesting guy basically his whole life. He UM. 347 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 1: He raced motorcycles and cars under the name the Green Hornet. 348 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,119 Speaker 1: He was a talent manager for a couple of people. 349 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: One was a mentalist. Yeah, talent talent manager like Broadway 350 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: Danny Rose was a talent manager. Okay, I don't know 351 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: that just bum would go along with it? What is that? 352 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,880 Speaker 1: Is that? What? What's that from? The name is familiar, 353 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: but I don't know. It was a Woody Allen movie 354 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: where he played there was it was a talent manager 355 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 1: that managed like you know, um, people like this that 356 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: with the high divers that would dive into shallow pools 357 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 1: and mentalists. And this guy was even a wouldn't he 358 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: a mentalist for a little while I didn't see that. 359 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: I wouldn't be at all surprised. Yeah, I think he 360 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: did a little work as the great something did you say? Well? 361 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: He managed a guy named the Great Danager. I didn't 362 00:20:58,119 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 1: get whether that was him or not, though it could 363 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: have been. No, no no, no, that wasn't that was that 364 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: was him and he had his own act. Oh god, Okay, 365 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: did you see the guy who who the the high 366 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: dive guy? Did you see his jump? No? Oh my, okay, 367 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 1: there's a guy named on real Lemouth. I believe he Yeah, 368 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: on Red Lamouth. If you go look him up h 369 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: N R I L A m O t h E. 370 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: You're going to be treated to an AP video that 371 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,640 Speaker 1: was shot in the early seventies from the looks of it, 372 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: where he's opening up for an evil kinevel act in 373 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: a parking lot and god knows where in New Jersey, 374 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: and he climbs up this ladder, a forty ft ladder, 375 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: and below beneath is one of these tiny little kiddie 376 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:49,120 Speaker 1: pools filled with like eighteen inches of water. And this guy, 377 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 1: who who is clearly in his mid seventies maybe older, 378 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:58,159 Speaker 1: dives forty ft into eighteen inches of water in a 379 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: kiddie pool belly first. He does basically a belly flop 380 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: and immediately stands up with like tata. It's one of 381 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life. 382 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,399 Speaker 1: And and this guy, Harold von braun Hutt, managed that 383 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: guy back in the day. Uh yeah, Okay, he wasn't 384 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 1: a He was a magician who worked under the name 385 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:21,000 Speaker 1: the Great Tlepo. That's a pretty good name. And he 386 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: also inmen in something called the Director Mat, which was 387 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 1: this device where you punch in your destination and like 388 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,480 Speaker 1: your New York City you punch in your destination and 389 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: the machine told you the fastest subway route. Oh that's smart. 390 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: It was Google Maps. That's very smart, but using like 391 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: punch cards instead of you know, real technology basically. But 392 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: I mean the guy, you know, not only was he 393 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,960 Speaker 1: a marketing genius, he had a real knack for inventing 394 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: some successful useful things. So he had this other thing 395 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,639 Speaker 1: that you could get for like uh and it was 396 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: actually a weapon, so much so that he was stopped 397 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: at a Guardia airport nine and arrested because he had 398 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 1: a briefcase of samples of this stuff that he was 399 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: selling I think through mail order. And it was called 400 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: the UM what what coo? Yoga agent M five, Yeah, 401 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: the kiyoga agent and five. It's basically a telescoping metal whip. Um. 402 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: You know you've seen the telescoping batons and things that 403 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: cops can use. I guess anybody can use them. And 404 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,680 Speaker 1: do actually had one of those for a little while 405 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: for some reason, did you really? I did? I thought, 406 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:34,679 Speaker 1: you know what, I'm not a gun guy, but I 407 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 1: thought I'll put this thing in the floorboard in my 408 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: car and if anyone ever reaches their hand in the window, 409 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: then they're gonna get a wrapped knuckle. Smart. I don't 410 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:48,520 Speaker 1: know where it went though. I didn't telescope properly, so 411 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: I was like, that's probably not good. No, it's not 412 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: because you I mean, that's not what you want and 413 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: you plus you have to practice with that kind of thing, 414 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: that's all. It's a big commitment. You're just turning and 415 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 1: running is way better? Well? Yeah, just I went back 416 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: to plan A, which is poop, poop my pants and 417 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: cry right, hopefully that works now once the punch of 418 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: guy who's just pooped his pants, you know. All right, 419 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,840 Speaker 1: so none of the but at least um, so this 420 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: M five telescoping water whip. Um, all right, this is 421 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,159 Speaker 1: where things get weird. Yeah, and we'll we'll set this 422 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: up right before the ad break. Um, because it turns 423 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: out that Mr van bro Hud, Mr von brown Hut 424 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 1: was perhaps almost certifiably a white nationalist aryan Nazi. Sure 425 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 1: is that fair to say? I think so? All right, 426 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: and we'll get to that right after this. If you 427 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,479 Speaker 1: want to know, then you're in luck. Just listen up 428 00:24:49,880 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: to Chuck self. You shoot stuff, you shoo, okay, Chuck, 429 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,160 Speaker 1: I'm sure everybody just bit the tips of their fingers 430 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: off waiting for those ads to finish so we could 431 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:18,199 Speaker 1: get back to it. Is it fair to call him 432 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: a Nazi? So here's the thing. It has been so 433 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: thoroughly documented by legitimate sources like the Washington Post, the 434 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: Los Angeles Times, his own Mouth, the Yes, his own Mouth, 435 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:36,240 Speaker 1: the Jewish Anti Defamation League, I believe. I don't know 436 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: if the Southern Poverty Law Center actually tracked him or not, 437 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: but this guy has definitely been identified as somebody who 438 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: is has was a longtime contributor to white nationalist groups, 439 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: specifically the Arian Nations out of Idaho, which was one 440 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:58,640 Speaker 1: of the original white hate groups in the United States. 441 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 1: Here's the problem with that. This is the guy who 442 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: invented sea monkeys. The problem number two is that if 443 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: you ever sent your money off to buy some sea monkeys, 444 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,560 Speaker 1: some of that money had a very good chance of 445 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,919 Speaker 1: having been turned around and given to the Aryan nation. 446 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,679 Speaker 1: And here in lies a real moral conundrum for a 447 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:25,400 Speaker 1: lot of people, understandably. So yeah, so well, I didn't 448 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: see did he just give money? Period? Yes, But the 449 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: people are saying I gave you some of that money 450 00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: for sea monkeys. Who knows what dimes and nickels that 451 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 1: I gave you went to Arian Nation. I don't want 452 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: any money going to Ariyan Nation. So I feel horrible 453 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: that my money went to you, which you turn in 454 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 1: turn gave to the Arian Nation. Right, However, this M 455 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 1: five was uh. There was a man named Richard Butler. Um. 456 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,919 Speaker 1: This guy was the real piece of human garbage. He 457 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: was a founder of the Arian Nation. Yeah, he was 458 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: the worst. He's not with us anymore, thank fully, but 459 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: he he was a very bad man. And he was 460 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:10,240 Speaker 1: brought brought up on trial. And basically this h M 461 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 1: five little uh telescoping whip that was invented by von 462 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 1: braun Hut that was specifically UH used that that that 463 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,880 Speaker 1: product and proceeds from that specifically went to a fund 464 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: to help out Richard Butler. So we know that. Yeah, 465 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,359 Speaker 1: everything's going along for Harold von braun Hutt um pretty 466 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: swimmingly until the late eighties. Right in the late eighties, 467 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,119 Speaker 1: Richard Butler is brought up along with I think fourteen 468 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 1: or fifteen other white nationalist leaders on sedition charges basically 469 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:50,879 Speaker 1: trying to overthrow the government through plotting assassinations, UM, trying 470 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,199 Speaker 1: to start a race war. They were they had some 471 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: serious charges against them. They were eventually acquitted of these charges. 472 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,400 Speaker 1: But but as part of this defense fund. In Aryan 473 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:06,200 Speaker 1: Nation newsletter, UM, Richard Butler talks about the Kyoga Agent 474 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: M five as a great you know, um, a great 475 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: tool for every Arian nationalist to have a great weapon 476 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:18,719 Speaker 1: and defense mechanism. And if you order this thing on 477 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,359 Speaker 1: the order form, write the letters a N for Ariyan Nation. 478 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,959 Speaker 1: And the inventor of this project product has pledged that 479 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: twenty five of those sixty dollars will be given to 480 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:31,679 Speaker 1: my defense fund. So now, all of a sudden, for 481 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 1: the first time ever, the guy who invented sea monkeys 482 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: is tied to the guy who founded the Aryan Nation 483 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: UM hate group. Yeah, and this was just like the 484 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,560 Speaker 1: beginning of the can of worms, uh, which he did 485 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:47,479 Speaker 1: not invent the can of worms, but he should have. 486 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: It was the beginning of that being open because uh, 487 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: like you said, late late eighties, what was the eight 488 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: eight I think in the Washington Post basically got ahold 489 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: of this story, did some investigating and found owned that 490 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: he was involved in quote some of the most extreme 491 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: racist and anti Semitic organizations in the country. Um. But 492 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:12,360 Speaker 1: here's the deal, Like there are quotes from his mouth 493 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:18,200 Speaker 1: that say things about uh inscrutable, slanty Korean eyes when 494 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: dealing with Korean shop owners and talking about uh Jews 495 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: and black people, like literal quotes. Yet when he's finally contacted, 496 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 1: this is great article that we kind of started with. 497 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: Um was when he was still alive. He would deny 498 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,320 Speaker 1: that this was that this was him, and but not 499 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: try and clear it up or anything. Basically just say 500 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,200 Speaker 1: that's a bunch of bunk um. There was where there 501 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,200 Speaker 1: were news letters written for an organization called the National 502 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: Anti Zionist Institute, written by one Hendrick von Braun. But 503 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: the return address was the same po box that you 504 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 1: sent off to get sea monkeys. Yeah, sea monkey like 505 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 1: paraphernalia still today, same address. So it's not very Yeah 506 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 1: it's in Maryland, which is where he lived. Uh So 507 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: he wasn't like covering his tracks very well at all. 508 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: So he so all that started that Washington Post expose 509 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: a specifically also came out of a property dispute. He 510 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: later claimed that all of these were lies and that 511 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: they were drummed up by somebody who's in a property 512 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: dispute with I think there was a developer who was 513 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: encroaching on his land and he was suing them, And 514 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 1: I think he said that the developer had brought all 515 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: this up. The thing is whether the developer exposed it 516 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 1: or not, or tipped the Washington Post off to this 517 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: or not. This is already like pretty well known in 518 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: the toy industry and pretty well documented. Like it wasn't 519 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 1: just that this um Harold von braun Hutt gave money 520 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 1: to the Aran Nation, Like he would go to their 521 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: annual rally in Idaho and light the cross himself. He 522 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: would um. He would beak at some of their their 523 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 1: um conferences and apparently not very well received. No, he would. 524 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,720 Speaker 1: He would kind of go off on topics that the 525 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: Arians weren't particularly interested in, like numerology or the pyramids 526 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:18,520 Speaker 1: or how it all tied together. But the thing is 527 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,720 Speaker 1: he had a lot of money and he was apparently 528 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: quite willing to give it. Now, no one has, we 529 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,120 Speaker 1: have to say, no one has ever documented a penny 530 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,959 Speaker 1: that was given to the Area Nation. The closest thing 531 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 1: to a smoking gun is that newsletter from Richard Butler 532 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: saying that the inventor of this has pledged twenty five 533 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 1: dollars per but the very fact that he was basically 534 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:45,720 Speaker 1: allowed into the orbit of Richard Butler himself strongly suggests 535 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: that he actually followed through on those campaign pledges and 536 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 1: legal defense fund pledges and and apparently a former spokesman 537 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: for the Area Nation who is now a reformed racist, 538 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: he says, um poke out about Harold von braun Hunt 539 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 1: and said he didn't know exactly how much he gave, 540 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: but he gave a lot, and he gave pretty frequently 541 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,960 Speaker 1: when he was asked. Right. So things get a little 542 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: weirder here because it turns out that von braun Hut 543 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:20,040 Speaker 1: was actually Jewish. He was born to Jeanette Cohen and 544 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,640 Speaker 1: Edward braun Hut, not von braun Hutt at that little 545 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:30,000 Speaker 1: Vaughan to uh, I guess germanize him uh. And he 546 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: was born in New York City on March thirty, first, 547 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: ninety six as Harold Nathan braun Hutt. And if you 548 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: know anything about Arian Nations or any of those groups, 549 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: they don't take kindly to a Jewish guy, even if 550 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,719 Speaker 1: he's like rebukes that to being a member. But like 551 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:49,280 Speaker 1: you said, he had a lot of dough And that's 552 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,000 Speaker 1: basically why everyone thinks they allowed him to stay on 553 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: as a member. Yeah. So that eight Washington Post article 554 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:58,280 Speaker 1: did a couple of things. One out of the inventor 555 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 1: of sea monkeys as an aryan white supremacist, or I 556 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: should say just a white supremacist. He was an Arian. 557 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,960 Speaker 1: It also outed him as a non Arian, as a 558 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:12,240 Speaker 1: Jewish person born Jewish to Jewish parents, about as Jewish 559 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,320 Speaker 1: as you can possibly get aside from being um a 560 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: practicing jew. Right. So he he was outed in this 561 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 1: in this Washington Post article like two times over. So 562 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: everybody was mad at him from either side. Right. The 563 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: thing is like, even after I guess, the Area Nation 564 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: released as a press release about this saying that they 565 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,360 Speaker 1: were disappointed to find out this guy that they were 566 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,959 Speaker 1: friends with was actually Jewish, but he was not kicked 567 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: out of their circle. He stayed apparently as as intracted 568 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:51,240 Speaker 1: as he was before and still was always a part 569 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 1: of the organization's conferences and stuff like that. Yeah, and 570 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: he was. It wasn't just the Arian Nations he uh 571 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: In the Washington Post, says the U S Attorney Thomas Bauer. 572 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: U there was a weapons case in five against a 573 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 1: member of the clan Um Grand Dragon Dale Rouch. Yeah, 574 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:18,200 Speaker 1: it was in nineteen eighty. I think that the transaction happened, okay, 575 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 1: but the weapons case was in five and Van braun 576 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 1: Hut basically loan the guy twelve thousand dollars so he 577 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,080 Speaker 1: could buy more than eighty firearms. Yeah, like, here, go 578 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: buy a bunch of guns. Well the okay, yes, and 579 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,759 Speaker 1: this is a grand wizard of the clan, I believe, right, yes, 580 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: So the reason I pointed out that it would happened 581 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:43,720 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty, the year before the Washington Post had 582 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,520 Speaker 1: had um drummed up in that nine eight article. The 583 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,920 Speaker 1: year before he had paid like thirteen hundred dollars for 584 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 1: his parents graves in a Jewish cemetery to be kept 585 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 1: up in perpetuity. So this is like this, this is 586 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,359 Speaker 1: this weird dual life. This guy is living like born 587 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,480 Speaker 1: and raised jew respecting his Jewish parents funeral wishes and 588 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: burial wishes, and then months later helping a grand Wizard 589 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,920 Speaker 1: of the KKK by eighty three firearms and then taking 590 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,880 Speaker 1: possession of the firearms himself until the loan was paid back. 591 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 1: It's crazy. It is a little crazy. It's quite surprising 592 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:22,960 Speaker 1: actually too. I Mean, that's like a big one to punch, 593 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah, so he didn't actually, Um, he would 594 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,920 Speaker 1: do licensing deals over the years, I saw he ran 595 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: his business probably smartly to do that, uh, if you 596 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,879 Speaker 1: ask me. But over the years have been many many 597 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 1: companies that held the license for sea monkeys that he 598 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:42,160 Speaker 1: partnered with, and they all kind of had different reactions. Um. 599 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:45,640 Speaker 1: There was one called Larmie Limited, one called Basic Fund, 600 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:49,560 Speaker 1: one called Educational Insights. There may have been more. Today 601 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:55,280 Speaker 1: it resides with Big Time Toys. But um, this article 602 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,400 Speaker 1: that we dug up from when he was still alive, basically, 603 00:35:57,400 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: this guy gets in touch with a lot of these people, 604 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:03,399 Speaker 1: and some of them said they believe the story that, um, 605 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: it was just some story that this angry neighbor cooked 606 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: up to slander his name. Other ones have said, yeah, 607 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:16,040 Speaker 1: you know what, Um, everyone kind of knew about it, 608 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 1: but we're not gonna we're not gonna take that out 609 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:23,440 Speaker 1: on the sea monkeys, right. Um. And he was a 610 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,080 Speaker 1: nice guy to us, and what he does in his 611 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,560 Speaker 1: private time is no one's business. Yeah. The thing is is, 612 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:29,840 Speaker 1: like some of the people that he was doing business 613 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:32,880 Speaker 1: with were Jewish, and we're taking some of the things 614 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,359 Speaker 1: he was doing in his private life personally themselves, like 615 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:39,640 Speaker 1: the guy who was the president of Basic fund which 616 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,440 Speaker 1: that's one of the worst names for a toy company. Basic. 617 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,399 Speaker 1: It's like, don't get too excited, this is just Basic fun. 618 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,880 Speaker 1: That was They had a spin off company called Minimal Enjoyment, 619 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 1: right he he Um got the license or his company 620 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:57,080 Speaker 1: got the license for Sea Monkeys to handle distributing and 621 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:01,640 Speaker 1: marketing sea monkeys, and um he he apparently asked von 622 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:05,000 Speaker 1: braun Hut like, is this true? And von braun had 623 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,720 Speaker 1: told him no, there's this developerman a dispute with who's 624 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,879 Speaker 1: like trying to drum up bad press. They're all lies. Well, 625 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,240 Speaker 1: within a year, The New York Times wrote an article 626 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:18,240 Speaker 1: about that um annual rally at the Area Nation Compound 627 00:37:18,239 --> 00:37:21,840 Speaker 1: in Idaho and said that Harold von braun Hud had 628 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,480 Speaker 1: been a speaker there. So the guy from Basic Funds like, 629 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:28,960 Speaker 1: it's it. I'm done with your contracts broken. Yeah, I 630 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 1: mean that did happen sometimes over the years. Uh, and 631 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:36,560 Speaker 1: other times you know, people I guess money talks, so 632 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,160 Speaker 1: they were willing to put up with it. Yeah, yep, 633 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:43,319 Speaker 1: it's crazy. He um. You know, like when he was 634 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:45,560 Speaker 1: called personally, he said, I don't have to defend myself 635 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:49,360 Speaker 1: to you or anyone else. I'm hanging up. So I 636 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:53,759 Speaker 1: guess it was a time when, you know, pre Internet, 637 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: pre social media, where you could kind of get away 638 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,120 Speaker 1: with stuff like this a little easier. Yeah, I mean, 639 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:02,240 Speaker 1: like he was, Yeah, it was just an open secret. 640 00:38:02,239 --> 00:38:03,640 Speaker 1: And I think, like you said, I think you hit 641 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,840 Speaker 1: the nail on the head man, when there's like this 642 00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:09,080 Speaker 1: much money involved, and when you're talking about a brand 643 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:14,399 Speaker 1: where it's just like a beloved American icon. Yeah, like 644 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:17,600 Speaker 1: people just look the other way on the fact that 645 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: you're a white supremacist. You know, it's it's bizarre, but 646 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:24,600 Speaker 1: that's apparently this is a story of how the world 647 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,319 Speaker 1: works in that respect. Yeah, it was interesting for this. 648 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: One article, I think from the early two thousand's from 649 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 1: the all was that oh no, no, no, that was 650 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:36,120 Speaker 1: from two thousand and eleven. The other one was, um 651 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:40,360 Speaker 1: oh yeah, yeah, that was when he had currently the license. 652 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:44,440 Speaker 1: He was Educational Insights, and they at the time, it 653 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:46,200 Speaker 1: was funny to go back and read this that they 654 00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:50,360 Speaker 1: were trying to update the image for the sea monkeys. Yeah, yeah, 655 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,439 Speaker 1: and they had like these drawing They hired some big 656 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,759 Speaker 1: advertising guy and marketing guy, and he came in and 657 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,359 Speaker 1: was basically like, no, man like kids these days, they 658 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:04,360 Speaker 1: don't want these skinny pot bellied uh King Queen, Prince 659 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,560 Speaker 1: and princess family. They want superheroes. So he buffed them 660 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:11,040 Speaker 1: up but capes on them and made a new jingle 661 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:13,640 Speaker 1: and uh, they never went with any of that stuff. 662 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,799 Speaker 1: It kind of all went in the wastebasket. I think. Well, 663 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:17,920 Speaker 1: one new thing did come out of it, and um 664 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,480 Speaker 1: von Or Harold Braun had a patent on it was 665 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,120 Speaker 1: one of his last patents. It was a a watch 666 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:28,200 Speaker 1: that you could inject a couple of live sea monkeys 667 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:30,879 Speaker 1: into and they would live in there for twenty four 668 00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,400 Speaker 1: hours before I guess either they died or if you 669 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,600 Speaker 1: could suck them back out and put them back in 670 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 1: their aquarium. But you could walk around with your two 671 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,960 Speaker 1: favorite or luckiest sea monkeys for the day and tell 672 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:44,680 Speaker 1: time as well. So that was there was at least 673 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:47,480 Speaker 1: one thing that came out of that updating. But if 674 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,200 Speaker 1: you go back and look, if you look at those, 675 00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,359 Speaker 1: you're like, this is pretty lame. And you go back 676 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:53,759 Speaker 1: and look today at the sea monkey packaging, it's it 677 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:55,960 Speaker 1: is basically back to how it was like in that 678 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,360 Speaker 1: Joe Orlando style. But if you do want to watch 679 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:04,840 Speaker 1: some business people do some tap dancing, it's really interesting. 680 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:06,960 Speaker 1: Read this article. It's called the Sea Monkeys and the 681 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,360 Speaker 1: White Supremacist. It was in the l A Times on 682 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,960 Speaker 1: October one, two thousand, written by Tamarrow Brod, who did 683 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,479 Speaker 1: a pretty good job of like just some good old 684 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:20,040 Speaker 1: fashioned like um like like footwork or leg work, going 685 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:25,160 Speaker 1: to to to pound the beat, pound the beat with 686 00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:27,719 Speaker 1: the with the footwork, sniff them off the case, you 687 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:29,879 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. All Right, Well, let's take another 688 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:31,640 Speaker 1: break and we're gonna come back and we're talking about 689 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:34,920 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about where things stand today in the 690 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,600 Speaker 1: fight over the rights and the fortune of the Sea monkeys. 691 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:41,160 Speaker 1: If you want to know, then you're in luck. Just 692 00:40:41,560 --> 00:41:07,520 Speaker 1: listen to chuck self. Sh alright, So we know what happened? Actually, 693 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,399 Speaker 1: how did he die? I didn't even see that. I 694 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:14,439 Speaker 1: didn't see that either. Um, he died in two thousand three, 695 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:18,080 Speaker 1: but I'm not sure why. All right, So he died, Yeah, 696 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:22,520 Speaker 1: that's true. But he left behind his wife, Yawanda uh 697 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:28,200 Speaker 1: Signarelli von braun Hutt. Did you lock her up? Oh? Yeah, Okay, Yeah, 698 00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:33,359 Speaker 1: she was. She was an actress. Uh, she was sort 699 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:36,440 Speaker 1: of a sort of like a pin up bombshell b 700 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:40,960 Speaker 1: movie actress, is fair ish. I had also seen her 701 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:46,160 Speaker 1: movies as described as adult films as well. Um, she 702 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:48,719 Speaker 1: was in a movie. I gotta see this one. It's 703 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:53,480 Speaker 1: called Love After Death and it's a softcore zombie flick 704 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:58,400 Speaker 1: from the sixties. Yeah. Um, but yes, she was a 705 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:01,680 Speaker 1: pretty interesting person in her own right as well. Yeah. 706 00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:05,200 Speaker 1: And she says for her as far as the Aryan 707 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:09,240 Speaker 1: Nation stuff, she says like, I never knew and saw 708 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:12,120 Speaker 1: this side of him. So I don't know she's being 709 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:15,759 Speaker 1: on the level or if she's just um, kind of 710 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:18,960 Speaker 1: quashing this and covering for him. It's kind of not 711 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:20,920 Speaker 1: clear to me. I saw. I don't know if it 712 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:23,000 Speaker 1: was in that New York Times article or in the 713 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:27,960 Speaker 1: Washington Post article, but his first wife was contacted and 714 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,560 Speaker 1: interviewed for it, and she was like, what are you 715 00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:34,400 Speaker 1: guys talking about? Really? Yeah? So who knows. Maybe he 716 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,560 Speaker 1: did just keep that He was clearly somebody who could 717 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:42,920 Speaker 1: compartmentalize the different parts of his personality. So maybe maybe 718 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,480 Speaker 1: he really did just leave leave the wives out of it. Man, 719 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:48,600 Speaker 1: How how could you not know something like that's crazy, 720 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:51,640 Speaker 1: just going going to Idaho on my yearly trip. Yeah, 721 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,600 Speaker 1: that's weird. He always goes to Idaho and the Aryan 722 00:42:54,719 --> 00:43:00,560 Speaker 1: nation assembles, all right. So um, Yolanda Signare Levon bron 723 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:05,360 Speaker 1: Hut lived and I think still lives in or at 724 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:07,520 Speaker 1: least as of two years ago when this article came 725 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:12,719 Speaker 1: out in the Potomac River estate in southern Maryland. But 726 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:19,480 Speaker 1: she is um, she's she's she's broke. Basically, she has 727 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,480 Speaker 1: no electricity, no running water, and she has been in 728 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:28,920 Speaker 1: uh been an illegal battle with Big Time Toys and 729 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:35,680 Speaker 1: their chief executive Sam Harwell for basically several years, trying 730 00:43:35,719 --> 00:43:39,440 Speaker 1: to get money because Big Time Toy says, this is 731 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:42,600 Speaker 1: our company. Now. Yeah, Big Time Toys sounds like I'd 732 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,359 Speaker 1: be nervous about going into business with them. I'm more 733 00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:49,279 Speaker 1: of a basic fun guy. Big Time Toys sounds like 734 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:51,200 Speaker 1: they're moving too fast for me, you know what I mean? 735 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:56,799 Speaker 1: So yeah, so um, so Yolanda braun Hutt has she's 736 00:43:56,840 --> 00:43:59,279 Speaker 1: got kind of like a great gardens thing going on 737 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,720 Speaker 1: right now, get against her will. This is not something 738 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:06,319 Speaker 1: she's happy about at all. And her position is as 739 00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:11,160 Speaker 1: far as the Times tells. It is that she engaged 740 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:14,520 Speaker 1: in a licensing deal, which is how sea monkeys have 741 00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:19,160 Speaker 1: been produced basically since the beginning, with a company with 742 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:21,640 Speaker 1: that company, Big Time Toys, where they would handle the 743 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:26,720 Speaker 1: packaging and the distribution, and her company, her own little 744 00:44:26,719 --> 00:44:31,960 Speaker 1: company UM would handle making the actual sea monkeys that 745 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:36,040 Speaker 1: that that were that were put into the packaging that 746 00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:39,160 Speaker 1: Big Time Toys sold. Right, So Big Time Toys would 747 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,319 Speaker 1: buy the sea monkeys that they would put into the 748 00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:45,560 Speaker 1: packages and then would turn around and sell to the public. 749 00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:49,120 Speaker 1: That was the arrangement initially, right, So we have the 750 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:52,799 Speaker 1: secret formula that no one else has seemed to be 751 00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:56,160 Speaker 1: been able to crack. This is Yolanda talking. Should have 752 00:44:56,239 --> 00:44:59,120 Speaker 1: done my Jolana voice. Yeah, let's hear. I don't know 753 00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:03,759 Speaker 1: what she sounds like. I pitched Italian stereotype. No no, no, 754 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:07,200 Speaker 1: uh she It would have been like three different groups 755 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:11,640 Speaker 1: of people if um she she basically said, we have 756 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:13,560 Speaker 1: the secret formula for the only one that works that 757 00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:16,480 Speaker 1: can keep these things alive. Everyone else has tried and failed, 758 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,400 Speaker 1: and so we will sell these to you and you 759 00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:22,000 Speaker 1: can do everything else and cut me a check. And 760 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:26,000 Speaker 1: there was also a side deal that said you can 761 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:29,880 Speaker 1: buy this company, including the secret formula, for five million 762 00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:33,959 Speaker 1: bucks up front and then another five million and installments. 763 00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:37,120 Speaker 1: And so Big Time basically called her up a few 764 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:40,200 Speaker 1: years ago, probably about five years ago at this point, 765 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,719 Speaker 1: if my math is right, and said, UM, you know what, 766 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:46,279 Speaker 1: all these payments we've been making to you, um for 767 00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:50,200 Speaker 1: the licensing deal, we just kind of consider that layaway. 768 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:53,520 Speaker 1: And as far as we're concerned, we own sea monkeys. Now, yeah, 769 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:56,640 Speaker 1: we've reached that five million dollar points. So there are 770 00:45:57,120 --> 00:46:00,000 Speaker 1: which ostensibly should not have been that money. It should 771 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:04,200 Speaker 1: been separate payments, if I understand this correctly. But I mean, 772 00:46:04,239 --> 00:46:06,040 Speaker 1: when somebody does that, what are you gonna do? You 773 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:09,080 Speaker 1: gotta go sue them, And that's what they're doing, and 774 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:11,520 Speaker 1: they're bleeding this lady dry at least as far as 775 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:16,600 Speaker 1: this this New York Times UM profile is concerned. Uh. 776 00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:19,359 Speaker 1: And I mean, if you get into a fight like 777 00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:21,680 Speaker 1: that and you don't have the money, you can lose. 778 00:46:22,239 --> 00:46:25,399 Speaker 1: So this is a this could be a sad end 779 00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:30,400 Speaker 1: to the sea monkey um saga, because here's the other problem. 780 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:32,560 Speaker 1: You might be saying to yourself, well, why doesn't she 781 00:46:32,719 --> 00:46:35,759 Speaker 1: just not sell them the sea monkeys anymore? Well, she did. 782 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:38,160 Speaker 1: She stopped when they stopped making payments and said they 783 00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:40,759 Speaker 1: own the Sea Monkey brand. And it turned out that 784 00:46:40,840 --> 00:46:45,040 Speaker 1: in this court case, um, that big big, Big Time 785 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:50,480 Speaker 1: Toys have been buying knockoff sea monkeys from China, and 786 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:52,719 Speaker 1: then that's what they were putting into the Sea Monkey thing. 787 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:56,440 Speaker 1: So apparently if you're buying, if you buy a currently 788 00:46:56,840 --> 00:47:02,759 Speaker 1: a Sea Monkey package, you're getting Time Toys packaging, and um, 789 00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:08,920 Speaker 1: Chinese knockoff see monkey packets which don't work. Apparently, I 790 00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:12,920 Speaker 1: went and looked at Amazon reviews and almost all of 791 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:17,040 Speaker 1: them for all the products said none of them hatched, 792 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:20,160 Speaker 1: or they hatched for like a day. These things stink. 793 00:47:20,280 --> 00:47:25,080 Speaker 1: When I was a kid, they worked, So it's weird that. Um, 794 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:27,360 Speaker 1: it's sort of ironic that they ended up creating the 795 00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:32,200 Speaker 1: special breed essentially that worked, and that ended up being 796 00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:36,239 Speaker 1: there undoing. Because in court, in the affidavit, the leader 797 00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:38,960 Speaker 1: this Harwell guy, whose wife, by the way, is the head. 798 00:47:40,239 --> 00:47:42,160 Speaker 1: She's a speaker of the House of the Tennessee House 799 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:46,080 Speaker 1: of Representatives. So yeah, they're they're a power family all 800 00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:49,640 Speaker 1: the way around, not to be trifled with. In his affidavit, 801 00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:53,360 Speaker 1: he says he outsourced the sea monkeys to China and 802 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:57,320 Speaker 1: says there are seven recognized species of our timmy a 803 00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:01,920 Speaker 1: brine shrimp, and this is not one of them. So 804 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:06,680 Speaker 1: because they had created their own, uh species, it ended 805 00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:09,560 Speaker 1: up being there undoing at court. It looks like because 806 00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:14,080 Speaker 1: it doesn't officially exist as a real species that these 807 00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:16,959 Speaker 1: guys are getting. Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he got 808 00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:21,279 Speaker 1: a patent on the species that they they made. Well, no, 809 00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:23,520 Speaker 1: that's what I'm saying though, But he's not getting that species. 810 00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:26,840 Speaker 1: Oh I see, he's getting these Well they're not knockoffs 811 00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:31,080 Speaker 1: there Mother Nature's own China, but they're not the ones 812 00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:33,360 Speaker 1: that are working, right, I got you. So it's just 813 00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:36,680 Speaker 1: a mess. But then still doesn't that like raise questions 814 00:48:36,680 --> 00:48:39,480 Speaker 1: about how you could use the sea monkey's names? That's 815 00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:42,120 Speaker 1: what I wondered. But I guess if they had the 816 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:44,799 Speaker 1: license to use the sea monkey's name because they were 817 00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:49,399 Speaker 1: in charge of packaging and distribution, then yeah, I guess 818 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:51,120 Speaker 1: they could say, well, we're not going to use the 819 00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:53,960 Speaker 1: official ones any longer, We're going to use these natural ones. Man, 820 00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:56,440 Speaker 1: what a mess. Well, and it's a mess too because 821 00:48:56,440 --> 00:48:59,080 Speaker 1: you're like, oh, do I root for the side of 822 00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:05,440 Speaker 1: this guy who was a white nationalist. Um. But you know, 823 00:49:05,560 --> 00:49:07,400 Speaker 1: his wife says she didn't know anything about that, and 824 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:10,880 Speaker 1: she's going broke and has has been basically had this 825 00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:13,920 Speaker 1: company stolen from her. It seems like, yeah, it's just 826 00:49:14,040 --> 00:49:15,600 Speaker 1: I don't know, I don't know what to think. Or 827 00:49:15,600 --> 00:49:19,040 Speaker 1: do you root for the guys who are apparently stealing 828 00:49:19,040 --> 00:49:24,680 Speaker 1: the company? Fam widow of the white nationalist. Yeah, you 829 00:49:24,719 --> 00:49:27,600 Speaker 1: know what I predict, the chuck. I predict that Sea Monkeys, 830 00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:30,800 Speaker 1: the brand will ultimately rise about this, that it will 831 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:35,319 Speaker 1: it will survive this somehow and still be around thirty 832 00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:39,319 Speaker 1: years from now. The sea monkeys will take over. Yeah, 833 00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:44,080 Speaker 1: they will eventually overthrow the human race, like the Arians 834 00:49:44,120 --> 00:49:47,879 Speaker 1: plotted to overthrow the US government. What a story, It's 835 00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:50,400 Speaker 1: quite a story. There's a good one, man. Thanks for 836 00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:53,600 Speaker 1: digging this up. Sure, well, if you want to know 837 00:49:53,640 --> 00:49:56,920 Speaker 1: more about sea monkeys, just start digging around, pulling at 838 00:49:56,920 --> 00:50:00,120 Speaker 1: the loose threads. You're gonna find some interesting stuff. And 839 00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:02,880 Speaker 1: since I said interesting stuff, that means it's time friends 840 00:50:02,880 --> 00:50:08,120 Speaker 1: for a listener mail. I'm gonna call this, uh pomp 841 00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:14,040 Speaker 1: paii Pompeian lemons. Is that how you would say it? Pompeian? Yeah, 842 00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:16,240 Speaker 1: I thought that was beautiful. All right, Long time listener, 843 00:50:16,239 --> 00:50:19,439 Speaker 1: first time emailer. Guys recently listened to the Pompei show. 844 00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:22,399 Speaker 1: Very informative. Uh. And I used to be a tour 845 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:24,279 Speaker 1: guide in Europe and led close to fifteen tours on 846 00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:28,080 Speaker 1: the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. I listened to 847 00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:31,239 Speaker 1: Josh experience with the lemons. They do, in fact grow 848 00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:34,200 Speaker 1: to be the size of your head. However, those gigantic 849 00:50:34,239 --> 00:50:38,200 Speaker 1: lemons are actually called cedri and are more for show 850 00:50:38,239 --> 00:50:43,000 Speaker 1: than anything. They're called cedri the entertainer. If you ever 851 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:46,040 Speaker 1: cut one and a half, the inside is actually about 852 00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:48,880 Speaker 1: the size of a normal lemon. The rind can be 853 00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:52,320 Speaker 1: a few inches thick, and boy are they better. Definitely 854 00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:55,400 Speaker 1: not something you keep around for lemonade. Just something I 855 00:50:55,440 --> 00:50:59,640 Speaker 1: wanted to share. Thanks for ruining everything for me. Uh 856 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:02,600 Speaker 1: And also another thought the other day in the car, 857 00:51:02,719 --> 00:51:06,399 Speaker 1: have you either of you just said no when one 858 00:51:06,400 --> 00:51:09,000 Speaker 1: of you asked for a commercial break? But it'd be 859 00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:13,840 Speaker 1: funny if one of you just said, nah, we've come close. 860 00:51:14,440 --> 00:51:17,200 Speaker 1: Have we have? Haven't we? I don't know. Did not 861 00:51:17,280 --> 00:51:19,960 Speaker 1: make it into an episode? It might not? Have we have? 862 00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:22,360 Speaker 1: And we just edited that part out and kept going. 863 00:51:23,040 --> 00:51:26,160 Speaker 1: I think, well, that is from Matt McDonald, who has 864 00:51:26,200 --> 00:51:30,399 Speaker 1: a software developer at Neo Cloud. Thanks a lot, Matt, um. 865 00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:33,200 Speaker 1: I think I was kind of disappointed to read that 866 00:51:33,239 --> 00:51:37,279 Speaker 1: email originally, but whatever. I guess you gotta just live 867 00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:41,839 Speaker 1: with reality, right, You've made an enemy today. Uh. If 868 00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:43,799 Speaker 1: you want to get in touch with us and ruin 869 00:51:43,880 --> 00:51:46,480 Speaker 1: our reality like Matt did, you can tweet to us. 870 00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:49,400 Speaker 1: I met joshuam Clark. There's also an s Y s 871 00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:52,120 Speaker 1: K podcast Twitter handle. I also have a website called 872 00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:55,480 Speaker 1: are You Series Clark dot com. Chuck your Friend Chuck 873 00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:59,000 Speaker 1: is at Facebook dot com slash Charles W. Chuck Bryant. 874 00:51:59,239 --> 00:52:01,560 Speaker 1: There's also a book dot com slash Stuff you Should 875 00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:04,080 Speaker 1: Know site. You can send all of us, including Jerry, 876 00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:06,640 Speaker 1: an email to stuff podcasts at how stuff Works dot 877 00:52:06,680 --> 00:52:08,520 Speaker 1: com and has always joined us at our home on 878 00:52:08,560 --> 00:52:15,759 Speaker 1: the web, Stuff you Should Know dot com for more 879 00:52:15,800 --> 00:52:18,080 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics. Is it how 880 00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:25,960 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Mhm