1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,599 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all. Were we running two episodes today, which means 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,560 Speaker 1: that you'll hear two hosts me and Tracy V. Wilson. 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: Enjoy the show. Welcome to this Day in History Class 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: from how Stuff Works dot Com and from the desk 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: of Stuff you Missed in History Class. It's the show 6 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: where we explore the past, one day at a time 7 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: with a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 8 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: at September one. Princess Alexandra Amalia of Bavaria died on 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: this day in eighteen seventy five. She was part of 11 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: the House of viddle Spock, which ruled Bavaria for more 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: than seven hundred years until the early twentieth century. She 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: was born on August eighteen. Her father was Ludwig the 14 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: First of Bavaria, but he left the throne very abruptly 15 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: after a public extramarital affair. Alexandra's brother then assumed the 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: throne in eighteen eight and ruled as Maximilian the Second 17 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: until eighteen sixty four. Alexandra was twenty two when this happened, 18 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: and she had had a very lonely upbringing was not 19 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: a particularly happy childhood or adolescence. She was also the 20 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: only one of her siblings not to marry, and she 21 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: had some signs of mental illness, including a very intense 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: preoccupation with cleanliness, and her behavior was a little eccentric. She, 23 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: for example, would only wear white. About a year after 24 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: her father's abdication, when Alexander was twenty three, her parents 25 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: saw her walking sideways and clearly struggling in the palace. 26 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,559 Speaker 1: Her parents asked her what was wrong, and she said 27 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: that when she was a child, she had swallowed a 28 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: grand piano made of glass. She was afraid that if 29 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: she bumped into anything, she would shatter. There were two 30 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: things that seemed particularly odd about this delusion. One was 31 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: that she believed she had swallowed something that was much 32 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: bigger than she was, and the other was that she 33 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: came to believe as an adult that she had done 34 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: this when she was a child, and that this piano 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: was still inside of her. This caused her physical distress 36 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: it made her very careful of how she moved around. 37 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: Another year or so later, in eighteen fifty, she was 38 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: treated in a mental institution. It seems like she did 39 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: recover there, at least somewhat. In eighteen fifty two, she 40 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,079 Speaker 1: started to publish books of stories and essays and poems 41 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: and other work, and she also worked in a children's theater. 42 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,679 Speaker 1: Eventually she went to a convent in Munich, and she 43 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: spent a lot of her later life there, including becoming 44 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: an abbess. She died at the family's summer palace at 45 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: the age of forty nine on September twenty one, eighteen 46 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: seventy five. But this isn't just a sad story of 47 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: a lonely young woman and a psychiatric disorder. From the 48 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: Middle Ages through the nineteenth century, doctors reported a number 49 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: of patients who believed that part of their body was 50 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: made of glass. This became known as the glass delusion. Basically, 51 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: people thought that they were turning into glass, or that 52 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: they were made of glass, or that they had become 53 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: some kind of a glass object, like a flask or lamp. 54 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: People who had this delusion would take a lot of 55 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: care not to be bumped or jostled or to come 56 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: into contact anything hard, because of the fear that they 57 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: would shatter. So people who had this delusion might, for example, 58 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: always sit on cushions because they were afraid if they 59 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: sat on a hard chair that they would physically break. 60 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: A lot of writers have talked about the fear of 61 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: harm coming to your body and that manifesting as this 62 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: glass delusion. But we wouldn't diagnose somebody with a glass 63 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: delusion today. The delusion itself would be a symptom of 64 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: some particular psychiatric disorder, rather than describing the disorder itself. 65 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: You can learn more about Princess Alexandra and the glass 66 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: delusion on the a episode of Stuff You Miss in 67 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: History Class that one's called the Princess who Swallowed a 68 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: glass piano. Thanks to Tari Harrison for her audio work 69 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: on this podcast, and you can subscribe to This Day 70 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: in History Class on Apple podcasts, Google Podcasts, and whereverled 71 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. Tune in tomorrow for an assassination 72 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: in the Zulu Kingdom. Hi there, Welcome to This Day 73 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: in History Class, where we sift through the artifacts of 74 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 1: history seven days a week. The day was September. In 75 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: an editorial in The New York Sun, writer Frances Varcella's 76 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: church responded to a girl's question of whether there is 77 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,479 Speaker 1: really a Santa clau Us. The editorial is the most 78 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: reprinted in the English language. Earlier that month, a girl 79 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: living in New York City named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a 80 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: letter to The New York Sun. It said, Dear Editor, 81 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: I am eight years old. Some of my little friends 82 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, if you 83 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: see it in the Sun, it's so Please tell me 84 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: the truth is there a Santa Claus. Francis Parcella's Church 85 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: was a Columbia College graduate and a longtime writer at 86 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: The New York Sun. The newspaper was known for its 87 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: engaging writing and its human interest stories. Church's brother once 88 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: owned The New York Sun, and Church wrote for it. 89 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: Then he left the paper when the family sold it 90 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: back to its original owner, but he returned in eighteen 91 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: seventy four as an editor and writer under editor in 92 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: chief Edward P. Mitchell. He wrote thousands of editorials for 93 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: The Sun, but he is best remembered for his response 94 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: to Virginia oh Hamlin. Church was given the task of 95 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: answering Virginia's question in the Sun. He was known for 96 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: writing about controversial issues, especially once about politics and religion, 97 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: so Virginia's question was normally not in his Wheelhouse. Mitchell 98 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: said that he quote bristled and pooh pooed at the subject, 99 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: but he took the letter and turned with an air 100 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: of resignation to his desk, and in a short time 101 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: produced the classic expression of Christmas sentiment. He began his 102 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: anonymous letter by writing, quote, Virginia, your little friends are wrong. 103 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. 104 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: They do not believe except they see. They think that 105 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. 106 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: He goes on to say the following, Yes, Virginia, there 107 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: is a Santa Clause. He exists, as certainly as love 108 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they 109 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. 110 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: Alas how jury would be the world if there were 111 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: no Santa Claus. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. 112 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: Became the most memorable line of the editorial, which did 113 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: not deny there was a Santa Clause, but also did 114 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: not affirm that Santa Claus existed. It provided commentary on faith, 115 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: much of which was more for adult readers than for Virginia. 116 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: Neither Church nor the Sun considered the editorial remarkable. It 117 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: was buried between other unremarkable articles in the paper, but 118 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: the editorial was popular with readers of the Sun. That said, 119 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: it did have its critics, like those who thought Church 120 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: was encouraging children to believe in fantasies and discouraging healthy skepticism. 121 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: After initially turning down requests for reprints of Yes, Virginia, 122 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: the paper reprinted it in nineteen o two. It wasn't 123 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: revealed that Church wrote the editorial until after his death 124 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen oh six. At that point, the paper reprinted 125 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: the editory under Church's name. In nineteen four the Sun 126 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,119 Speaker 1: began publishing it as the lead editorial around Christmas time 127 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: every year until the paper folded in nineteen fifty. Virginia 128 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: Ohmlan became a school teacher and once said that she 129 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: appreciated the editorials philosophy more as she got older. Over 130 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: the years, the editorial became a part of popular culture, 131 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: inspiring music, movies, plays, and other works. I'm Eave jeffco 132 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 133 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. And if you haven't gotten your 134 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: fill of history after listening to today's episode, you can 135 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at t d 136 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 1: I h B Podcast. Tune in tomorrow for Another Day 137 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 1: in History. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, vis 138 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 139 00:08:57,559 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.