1
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,960
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

2
00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:11,040
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren bog obam here. The first time the

3
00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:13,520
Speaker 1: phrase may the fourth be with You appeared in the

4
00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,000
Speaker 1: world was in nineteen seventy nine, just a smidge less

5
00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,680
Speaker 1: than two years after what's now known as Star Wars

6
00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:24,080
Speaker 1: Episode four A New Hope premiered. May four of nineteen

7
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,319
Speaker 1: seventy nine was the day that Britain's first female Prime

8
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,440
Speaker 1: Minister was elected to that office, and the phrase appeared

9
00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,920
Speaker 1: in a newspaper ad congratulating Margaret Thatcher on her historic victory.

10
00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,479
Speaker 1: But that seems like a long time ago in a

11
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,120
Speaker 1: galaxy far far away. Since then, there have been eight

12
00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,879
Speaker 1: additional movies in the Skywalker Saga alone, plus other films,

13
00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,640
Speaker 1: a holiday special, animated and live action television series, video games,

14
00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,960
Speaker 1: books and on and on, and now May fourth is

15
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,920
Speaker 1: something of an international Star Wars holiday. May has traded

16
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,600
Speaker 1: no only been a month for Star Wars. The first

17
00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,520
Speaker 1: six films in the Skywalker Saga all debuted in May

18
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,640
Speaker 1: during their years of release. It's also the month that

19
00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,840
Speaker 1: boasts the birthday of the creator himself, George Lucas. On

20
00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,640
Speaker 1: May fourteen, a compelling argument was made at one point

21
00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,800
Speaker 1: by Star Wars fans that May would be the best

22
00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,880
Speaker 1: to day for a Star Wars day, as it's the

23
00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:23,479
Speaker 1: date that a new hope was originally released in nine,

24
00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:29,120
Speaker 1: but that idea never quite gained traction. It was the

25
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,880
Speaker 1: Internet and social media that eventually revived the May the

26
00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,120
Speaker 1: fourth be with You word play. In the twenty teens,

27
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,759
Speaker 1: fans across platforms began talking about May fourth as Star

28
00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,360
Speaker 1: Wars Day and tagging posts as such. They've used it

29
00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,800
Speaker 1: as an excuse to watch the movies all over again

30
00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,720
Speaker 1: if you need such an excuse, and to talk about

31
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,560
Speaker 1: it under unified hashtags like May the four before the article.

32
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,840
Speaker 1: This episode is based on How Stuff Work. Spoke by

33
00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,360
Speaker 1: email back in with Amy Ratcliffe, a writer for Star

34
00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,880
Speaker 1: Wars dot com um and a correspondent for The Nartist.

35
00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,040
Speaker 1: She said that the best thing about this new holiday

36
00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,320
Speaker 1: is that there's no set way to celebrate quote. I've

37
00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,680
Speaker 1: seen fans throw special parties with themed food and cocktails

38
00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,720
Speaker 1: for the occasion. I've seen fans gather at restaurants, bars,

39
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,400
Speaker 1: and comic book shops. I've seen fans head to Disney

40
00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,639
Speaker 1: parks to celebrate with special events or by riding Star tours.

41
00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,480
Speaker 1: Since there are no official guidelines for the holiday, there's

42
00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,280
Speaker 1: no wrong way to celebrate it. To that end, other

43
00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,720
Speaker 1: organizations have gotten in on the festivities to support great causes.

44
00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,120
Speaker 1: For instance, Rancho Obiwan, a Star Wars museum run by

45
00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:40,000
Speaker 1: former Lucasfilm head of fan Relations Steve Sansweet, has used

46
00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,120
Speaker 1: this week to highlight a fundraiser for their Education and

47
00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:48,720
Speaker 1: Preservation Mission, and the US Rebel Alliance, an organization created

48
00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,440
Speaker 1: by fan activist Andrew Slack, has used the day to

49
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,760
Speaker 1: talk about the importance of mentors and teachers by way

50
00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:59,080
Speaker 1: of Yoda, using the hashtag teach me You did. They've

51
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,520
Speaker 1: tried to make the Hall Day an opportunity to honor

52
00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,959
Speaker 1: the teachers of our lives, and for many, Star Wars

53
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:10,400
Speaker 1: itself is that teacher. However, people celebrate. It's good news

54
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,079
Speaker 1: for Disney and Lucasfilm as it's essentially free publicity, a

55
00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,840
Speaker 1: Ratcliffe said, and the holiday has gained traction in the

56
00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:18,960
Speaker 1: media in the last five or so years, to the

57
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,560
Speaker 1: point where even people who don't know Star Wars, like

58
00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,120
Speaker 1: my mom, will text me to say May the Fourth

59
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,760
Speaker 1: be with you. Of course, the owners of Star Wars

60
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,959
Speaker 1: and their merchandising partners get in on this celebration as well.

61
00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,440
Speaker 1: The sales on every type of Star Wars merchandise available

62
00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,960
Speaker 1: abound on May fourth, and let's be honest, it wouldn't

63
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:43,120
Speaker 1: be a true American holiday without this feature. But however

64
00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,320
Speaker 1: you decide to celebrate, one thing is certain. The fourth

65
00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:54,440
Speaker 1: will be with you always. Today's episode is based on

66
00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,400
Speaker 1: the article why exactly is May fourth a Star Wars

67
00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,960
Speaker 1: Holiday on how stuff works dot com written by Brian Um.

68
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,400
Speaker 1: To hear more from Brian about Star Wars, check out

69
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,640
Speaker 1: his podcast Full of Sith, also co hosted by Holly

70
00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,640
Speaker 1: Fry of Stuff You Missed in History Class. Brain Stuff

71
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,560
Speaker 1: is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with has

72
00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,440
Speaker 1: stuffworks dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For

73
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,880
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart

74
00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,560
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

75
00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:20,280
Speaker 1: favorite shows.