1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Histories, a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the 2 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so much for 3 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: tuning in. That's our super producer and venture capitalist partner, 4 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: mister Max Williams. 5 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 2: Hip hop heay ho it is I Noel Brown? 6 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: Oh and I am going by Ben Bolan as of 7 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: late and Noel we are. We are in the middle 8 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: of a story that I think has just tickled us 9 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: but also. 10 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 2: To a degree captured us, no question, the story of 11 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 2: Samuel horn Clemens aka Josh Mark Twain and his absolutely 12 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 2: abysmal sense of business documen. 13 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: So in his mind at this point, business is the 14 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: definition of success. And let's keep in mind. Mark Twain 15 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: is the guy who later goes on to coin the 16 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: term gilded age, so he he could this is such 17 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: a weird thing. He goes to a friend of his, 18 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: totally not funny guy named John McKay, who is the 19 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: superintendent of a local mind, and he pitches him and 20 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: he goes I say, I say, I say, hey, Joe, 21 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: why don't. 22 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 3: You and I switch places? You could have my job 23 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,279 Speaker 3: but to the enterprise and how run the mind. John 24 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 3: is by all accounts a good friend of Samuel Clemens, 25 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 3: and he says, well, how much do you make, you know, 26 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 3: writing the funnies at this paper? 27 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 2: Your little stories? 28 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, your little stories, and Sam immediately improve the facts. 29 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: We say he was making twenty five dollars a week. 30 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: He told his buddy John, he's making forty dollars a week. 31 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: And John is not. You know, John is like one 32 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: of those guys at a comedy show who smiles and 33 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: nods along, but a lot of stuff goes over his 34 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: head because he's so honest. And he says, well, this 35 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: business is not worth forty dollars a week, and he 36 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: sounds concerned. He says, you stay where you are and 37 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,839 Speaker 1: I will try to get a living out of this. 38 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 2: Okay, okay. So later Samuel Clemens, our buddy Mark Twain 39 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 2: would tell this tale, you know again varying degrees of consistency, 40 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 2: shall we say the man was a yarn spinner and 41 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 2: his buddy and in it is buddy John always agreed. 42 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 2: John was a hard another bit of a hard case, 43 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 2: kind of like his father, a bit imperfect, had his flaws, 44 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 2: but they did stay close friends all the way up 45 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 2: until nineteen oh two, when John sadly passed away, and 46 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 2: he was often asked to justify his friendship with sam 47 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 2: who kind of became a bit of a notorious crank 48 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 2: in his old age, which I could see. That's the 49 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 2: thing that often happens with Comediansudgeon, Yeah, curmudgeony, I mean, honestly, 50 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 2: I was referenced, guys, I just love him. Jason Parkin 51 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 2: the writer, and he's does a lot of TikTok. Yeah, 52 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 2: he's been on Daily Zeitgey's great channel to follow. He 53 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 2: pointed out that in general, oftentimes comedians aren't nice people 54 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 2: because comedy is sort of a stand in for being 55 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 2: nice in social situations. And I just thought that was 56 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 2: so well said and inaccurate. And oftentimes they're they're tortured, 57 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 2: you know, they do the whole thing because they are 58 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 2: struggling with demons. In its sort of a way of 59 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 2: finding light in the darkness. 60 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: Right, there's a crack in everything. That's how the light 61 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: gets in. Shout out. So I'm gonna change voices for 62 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: John when he let's make him a little more western, uh, 63 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: Like you said, as Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens becomes more 64 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: contankerous over time, and people ask John McKay about him. 65 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: He would inevitably go to the matt to defend his 66 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: pal Sam, and he would say, I'll addict you to 67 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: the Society of Literary Meal. 68 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 2: Oh that's a tough that's a tough one to kick man. 69 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 2: That's society considerary man. He's had a real monkey on 70 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 2: your back. They don't make methadone for that. There we go. 71 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 1: It's like tricky soda. So uh, Sam, like we said, 72 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: goes on to become Mark Twain. John goes on to 73 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: become John McKay, the mining tycoon. You have to wonder, though, nol, 74 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: what would history be like today if those been had 75 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: switched places. Samuel Clemens was a terrible minor John McKay, 76 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: not funny, right, very dry to say the least. And honestly, 77 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: it sounds like the plot of a Buddy comedy. You 78 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: know what it really does? I would watch it. 79 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 2: I would too. Yeah. 80 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: So okay, So again we see this is a failed 81 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: business venture. This is one of the first things in 82 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: the world of business that Sam Clemens gets wrong. He 83 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: loves being an author, he's a real cracker jack at it, 84 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: but he defined success as success in business and capitalism. 85 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: Again smoking that pipe of the American dream. We got 86 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: to say it though. We do have to give the 87 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: man his flowers, right, Noel, because he is you know, 88 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: oh yeah successful. 89 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 2: No, he certainly was successful. And again we have I 90 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 2: think we set this up from the top. It's just 91 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 2: a different set of skills. I mean, comedy takes a 92 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 2: certain kind of intuition. Satire takes a certain kind of observational, 93 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 2: you know, intuition, and so does business. It's not something 94 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 2: that you can necessarily just learn on paper. You can 95 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 2: learn the nuts and bolts of it and kind of, 96 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 2: you know, go to business school or whatever. But some 97 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 2: people just don't have the acumen that it takes, you know, 98 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 2: to kind of like read the room and figure out 99 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: which way the wind is blowing. 100 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and Mark Twain is an exception. In the world 101 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: of writing. He gets national and then international fame with 102 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: his works in nineteenth century America. He is one of 103 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: the highest paid authors. His breakout to Be is a 104 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: story about betting on frogs. He is always at the 105 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: frog hop or it's like a Calamitus, County Calamachus, something 106 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: like that. It's a really crazy name for the calaveras, 107 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: the celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County. And this is 108 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: a short story, right, yeah, yeah, it's published. It's published. 109 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: It gets him more and more attention. He's building his career, 110 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: kind of like an author for Cracked builds their career. 111 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: Shout out to our pal Jason. They mentioned earlier and 112 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: his and I say that with great affection. Jason Parkin 113 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: is an awesome writer. By the way, Yeah what do 114 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: you re? The John Dies in the End series, that's 115 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: his most famous work. 116 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 2: But I really just love him as Like, again, this 117 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 2: is something I don't think you're allowed to call yourself, 118 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 2: but I would call him a media critic. The way 119 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 2: he makes these takes you on certain pop cultural things 120 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 2: and the Internet, And I think it's the kind of 121 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 2: thing where you earn your stripes by doing and by 122 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 2: saying and by being correct, not necessarily something you would say. 123 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 2: I am a humorist. You earn that title by being 124 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 2: humorous and putting stuff out into the world and creating 125 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 2: a body of work. 126 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: If anyone describes themself as a humorist and they don't 127 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: have a Mark Twain Award, I would question their credibility. 128 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: It's like how you check the health score of a restaurant. 129 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 2: That's right, what's the lowest health score that you will die? 130 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: And I don't remember on a stuff they don't want 131 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: you to know. I think, okay, eighties good is acceptable. 132 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: It's an eighty is not going to be like rats 133 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: crawling out of the woodwork. I would like to see 134 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: what led to that demotion, but typically you know that's 135 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: usually written on the card which here comes back. 136 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 4: So as a manager of restaurants in the city Atlanta 137 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 4: for five years, I will tell you that the health 138 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 4: score and the health checks are I hate to say 139 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 4: there's They really depend on how on the person grading 140 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 4: you and how they feel that day because and they 141 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 4: I'm not saying this in a way of like inflame, 142 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 4: there are. 143 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 2: No no, I'm not saying that. 144 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 4: I'm saying there are things that restaurants should really get 145 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 4: dinged for that sometimes don't get dinged for. And another 146 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 4: big thing is the score you see at a restaurant. 147 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,319 Speaker 4: Usually it can be the first score. But also if 148 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 4: you get a bad score at a restaurant, they will 149 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 4: come back in like a certain amount of time offhat 150 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 4: exactly right, and they'll regrade you ye, and they'll get 151 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 4: rid of the original score. And there's just like weird things. 152 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 4: So like I know, like basically an insta fail which 153 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 4: makes total sense is if you have eggs placed above 154 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 4: anything else in the h it's just there. It's one 155 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 4: of these things that unfortunately is not accurate enough. Like 156 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 4: there's too many places that have good scores that should 157 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 4: not have good scores in my opinion. 158 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: Right right, and there are too many places that probably 159 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: got dinged when they shouldn't get dinged. 160 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 2: This segment brought to you by Max with the facts 161 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 2: that seeming inn and peace fallen knowledge. It's just for 162 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 2: you right now with the fact Wait, no, that is 163 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 2: the segment Max with the facts. I love that. 164 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: I like that. 165 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 2: I can't believe we do an episode about Mark Twain, 166 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 2: we learn about restaurant health scores. It's just a cornucopia 167 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 2: of knowledge here on ridiculous sistory. 168 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: Right, Like I almost said Vittman, my Germans coming out, 169 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: like Whitman said, we are vast, We've malton we can take. 170 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: We are vast, we contain multitudes, as Walt Whitman said, 171 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: uh in Twain. Going back to Mark Twain, his debut novel, 172 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: His Real Breakout, is a work called innocence abroad. This 173 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,679 Speaker 1: paves the way for things like Tom Sawyer, Adventures of 174 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: Huckleberry Finn and so on. But at the same time, 175 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 1: concurrently he is patenting and inventing things. He patents a 176 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: scrap book that he doesn't ever manufacture. He comes up 177 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 1: with the idea of a baby bed clamp, which is 178 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: where does the clamp go? 179 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 2: What is its purpose? 180 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: Supposed to keep kids from kicking off their sheets. He 181 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: makes a spiral pin that helps women keep their hats 182 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: on when the winds are high. 183 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 2: Uh. 184 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: He also this is so dumb. In eighteen eighty three, 185 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: he makes his own board game because he's trying to 186 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: dodge work on Huckleberry Finn. He calls it, in a 187 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: burst of humility, mark Twain's Fact and Date game and 188 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: endure historical diversion. And he does manufacture this. This gets 189 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: to the shelves and people don't like it. In eighteen 190 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: ninety one, one person who bought it called it a 191 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: quote cross between an income tax form and a table 192 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: of logarithms. 193 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 2: Now, I would argue that today this game would kill 194 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 2: There's so many niche, pedantic, weird, little mathy board games 195 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 2: like Catan and stuff and some of them I love, 196 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 2: but some of them. Of them are way over my head. 197 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: But I like the ones where you have to spend 198 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: the first night just learning the rules. 199 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:48,719 Speaker 2: Man, I gotta tell you, Ben, I know that you're 200 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 2: a bit of a D and D er. My buddy Peyton, 201 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 2: friend of the show and friend of both of us, 202 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 2: is visiting and he convinced me to download Balder's Gate. Yes, 203 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 2: Balder's Gates, Yeah, exactly for the PS five. I actually 204 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 2: quite enjoy watching other people play games, and apparently this 205 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 2: game is a great entry into the rules set and 206 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,679 Speaker 2: character building of D and D. Yes, so I much 207 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 2: got it. So I can watch Peyton play it and 208 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 2: sort of get my head around with a little bit. 209 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 2: Then I'll make my own character. 210 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: You know what's going to crack you up, man, M 211 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: boulders Gate three is super horny. I heard it was 212 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: really horny. I heard there was like lots of like passionate, 213 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,680 Speaker 1: not like a wholesome way, it'll some affirming way, but 214 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: accent on the holes. 215 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry everybody. I apologize to everybody. 216 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: No, no, that's that's the asshole of the picture. Right. 217 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: So he also Mark Twayne going back to Mark Twayne, 218 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: he also makes a lot of friends. He's a gregarious dude, 219 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 1: and he marries well, he marries a cole heiress named 220 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 1: Olivia Langdon, and when they jumped the broom, his new 221 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: father in law as like a wedding gift, get this. 222 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,319 Speaker 1: They give him a mansion with a retinue of household 223 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:08,199 Speaker 1: servants including a butler and a carriage and a full 224 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: time carriage driver. That's pretty okay as a wedding gift. 225 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 2: Not bad, not bad Mark Twain. And he of course 226 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:20,360 Speaker 2: was wealthy in his own right, so now he's super wealthy. 227 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,439 Speaker 2: So in eighteen seventy three, the family moved to Hartford, Connecticut, 228 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 2: which was a really big deal kind of plays at 229 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 2: the time like a real seat of culture and influence. 230 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 2: They stayed there for seventeen years, while summering in their 231 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 2: summer home in Elmira. During this time, Twain wrote some 232 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:46,479 Speaker 2: of his most well known and by many beloved works. 233 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, and he still wasn't done because again he coins 234 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: the term gilded age. She's existing in this time and 235 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 1: so he is a first hand witness to wealth that 236 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 1: most of America can only imagine. And he would later 237 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 1: write something invisive but entirely troublingly correct, And I feel 238 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: like I've accidentally parallel thought myself into this. He says, man, 239 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: we'll do many things to get himself loved. He will 240 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 1: do all things to get himself envied. So the idea 241 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: like the idea that people will do things to be admired, 242 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: but really they want to do things to seem better 243 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: than other folks. He had some complex thoughts about altruism. 244 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 2: I guess, so, yeah, that is very interesting. And so 245 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 2: for all of his talents and his many gifts as 246 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 2: a student and observer of the human condition, for all 247 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 2: his absolutely wizard like, godlike talents with the written word 248 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 2: and the spoken word, he was also a fantastic deliverer 249 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 2: of fine speeches. He was, however, as we have indicated already, 250 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 2: really awful at picking winners when it came to business. 251 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 2: So bad, it's so bad. 252 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: It was like a classic tech bros. Stereotype or just 253 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: you know, to me, there's something a vunkiler about Twaying, obviously, 254 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: but I also picture him as the neighbor that you 255 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: have that's just unreasonably positive with you, Like they'll say 256 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: terrible things about the world. But they're like, but you, buddy, 257 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: come on, man, I love your ideas. Remember that time 258 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: you were telling me that thing about shoelaces. I have 259 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: a million dollars. I think we should do it. Like 260 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: if a friend of his gave him even the lightest 261 00:15:55,240 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: of elevator pitches, Sam Clemens was it. He was light 262 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: on details, He didn't do a lot of research. He 263 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: bet heavy on crazy ideas that were bad. 264 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 2: And that comes from a certain or belies, I guess, 265 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 2: a certain kind of confidence, unshakable confidence and bravado. You 266 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 2: know where it's like I am the sh and I 267 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 2: inherently know what's right. And usually the difference between people 268 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 2: that kind of like make a couple of bad choices 269 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 2: and neither stop or move on and the people that 270 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 2: continuously make bad choices, one of them has a bit 271 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 2: more self awareness than the other. It would seem for 272 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 2: all of his observations of the human's condition, he maybe 273 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 2: did not observe himself as much as he should have. Ah. 274 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's I think that's an insightful point. I mean, 275 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: if we go back to type setting, we see that 276 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: his history as an up and coming type setter as 277 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: a printer's apprentice, which is just a wonderful phrase when 278 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: that is combined with his addiction to this American dream ideology. 279 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 1: He knows a typewriter is coming or something like it, 280 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: but he backs the wrong horse. He throws so much 281 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 1: money in a thing called the page compositor or page typesetter. 282 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 1: It weighs almost four tons, and it is able to. 283 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,399 Speaker 1: It is able to, I think, do the labor six 284 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: times faster than early manual type setting. 285 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 2: It works. It's like the guy that's investing in a fancier, 286 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 2: more upgraded saddle when the car is right around the corner, 287 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 2: you know what I mean. 288 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, because he could have, you know, he could 289 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,680 Speaker 1: have maybe put some money into the later, more successful 290 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: version of the same idea or the multiple versions of that. 291 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: But yeah, he backed the wrong typewriter. And let's go 292 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: back to Time Magazine, a different article by Richard Zachs 293 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: thought we'd all enjoy this quotation. I don't know what 294 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 1: Richard Zax's voice sounds like. 295 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,159 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna do it just in if we can 296 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 2: only split it up. It's a little bit long one. 297 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 2: I just do it in my own voice because I 298 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 2: think this is very insightful. When the machine worked, it 299 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 2: ran much faster than its rival. When it worked. Twain 300 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:21,640 Speaker 2: was unfortunate enough to witness a successful trial on January fifth, 301 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 2: eighteen eighty nine, and sank his money into the company. 302 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:29,880 Speaker 1: At first, Twain it called Page. That's the inventor who 303 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: would run through four different sets of backers. He called 304 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: Page the Shakespeare of mechanical invention. 305 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,919 Speaker 2: Kind of funny that the guy's name was Page, the 306 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 2: page compositor nomin I mean, I just said, like, the 307 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 2: page compositor just sounds like kind of a dry name 308 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 2: for a typesetting machine. These are things that are composited 309 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 2: onto pages. Let mean to say it, it goes on 310 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 2: by the end. He fantasized about catching a certain part 311 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 2: of Page's anatomy in a steel trap and watching him 312 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 2: slowly bleed to death. Wow. I wonder how Twain himself 313 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 2: put it, because been one thing, I bet you in 314 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:13,159 Speaker 2: his private time, Twain's had some very colorful language. Swore 315 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 2: like a sailor. I bet you, if he got mad, 316 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,200 Speaker 2: he could rip you apart and say some pretty filthy stuff. 317 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: I've read so many of his statements with invention and 318 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 1: business deals gone wrong that I am persuaded. You can 319 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 1: make a pretty short but healthy compilation, like a book 320 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: of just quotations of Mark Twain talking trash when things 321 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 1: went wrong. This is a writer, a guy who came 322 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: up in print technology. He understood the vast horizon of 323 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: democratizing the ability to write and distribute information, and yet 324 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: still he fumbled the bag. He continued, He made a 325 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 1: publishing company speaking of bad decisions in eighteen eighty four. 326 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: He makes his own company kind of similar to you. 327 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 1: Remember how back in the day and even now a 328 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,960 Speaker 1: lot of musicians will get a record deal and then 329 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: attempt to form their own record label to get a 330 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 1: bigger piece of the pie. 331 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 2: Well sure, I mean after I think a famous example, 332 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 2: whether it's that model exactly, would be Prince. He didn't 333 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:21,560 Speaker 2: exactly form his own record label, but he formed his 334 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,159 Speaker 2: own recording studio and demanded to own like the masters 335 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 2: of his work. Yeah, it was smartin absolutelyis right, and 336 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 2: also has led to the potential of a lot of 337 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 2: amazing unheard Prince material that hopefully the world will get 338 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:37,120 Speaker 2: to here one day. 339 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 3: Yeah. 340 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, And and Twain is making this publishing company partly 341 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: out of inspiration and wants to be a big businessman, 342 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: but partially I think because of Spike. He hires his 343 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: completely unqualified thirty three year old nephew, Charles L. Webster 344 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,719 Speaker 1: and basically says, hey, you're in charge. We're naming this 345 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: after you, so five the figurehead. Yeah. Charles L. Webster 346 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: and Twain does this entirely because he was convinced that 347 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: he had been screwed over by publishers for years. Like 348 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: he only got a five percent royalty on Innocence Abroad, 349 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: which was a breakout success. He was told that he 350 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: would be given half of all the profits on future books. 351 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 1: Never got it. Charles L. Webster and co. Started off 352 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: with two publications. They were The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. 353 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: Grant Max You'll Love This and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 354 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: One was a modest success, the other was a huge success. 355 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,159 Speaker 1: Can we guess which one was the huge success? Ridiculously 356 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: the question who's buried in Grant's tomb? You are correct? 357 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 1: You are You're correct? Nolan max NaNs memoirs racked up 358 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 1: phenomenal sales because a lot of what they did to 359 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: sell this, a lot of war veterans would go door 360 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: to door and sell it on commission. 361 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:14,919 Speaker 2: So you're saying that Huck Finn in its day wasn't 362 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 2: as successful and legendary as it went on to be. 363 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 1: Uh yeah, I mean also, I'm gonna walk out to 364 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 1: the territories for this one. But you can see similar 365 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: things happening with a lot of political publications, right, because 366 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:38,400 Speaker 1: a politician in the in the Western world almost always 367 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: needs to have a book that appears to be written 368 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,200 Speaker 1: by them, and then their campaigns by it, or they 369 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: mobilize a base to gin up the sales numbers. Anyway, 370 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: Twain is happy with this. Yeah, so that seems like 371 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,119 Speaker 1: a pretty smart bet. I thought we were talking about 372 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: business fails. Oh gosh, yeah, Okay, here's what happened. So 373 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: gives the at the time the largest royalty check in 374 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: all of American publishing history to Grant's widow, Julia Dent Grant, 375 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,280 Speaker 1: and then in the months to come they also write 376 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: more checks to Grant's family, which breaks more publishing records. 377 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: If we're looking at if we're looking at the money 378 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 1: that Twain gets, he gets about two hundred grand for 379 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 1: his work with Grant's Memoirs in Our Time. The way 380 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: the math works out, is eleven million dollars for Grant's widow, Julia, 381 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:41,960 Speaker 1: and something like four point eight million for Mark Twain. 382 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: And this is so much money. Like back around this time, 383 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: if you're a coal miner, you make a dollar fifty 384 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:49,640 Speaker 1: a day. 385 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, and we were talking about forty bucks a week 386 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 2: feeling like a decent wage, right, this is yeah, this 387 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 2: is like Bill Gates's money. 388 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: Here's why the company goes wrong. To your question, The 389 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:04,199 Speaker 1: publishing company has a floppity dop on a lot of 390 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: their other books. They had a book by Pope Leo 391 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 1: the thirteenth and they thought that was a surefire hit, 392 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: and then later internally they said, and don't get mad 393 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: at as folks we're quoting here. Later internally they said, 394 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:27,119 Speaker 1: we forgot how many Catholics can't read Wow, which outs 395 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:28,679 Speaker 1: kind of anti papist to me. 396 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,879 Speaker 2: It does, but it does seem to have been a 397 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 2: gross miscalculation on their part. Twain also, don't get mad 398 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 2: us for this. Twain's words, He referred to the company 399 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 2: as a lingering suicide, not particularly confident words there. It 400 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 2: does not bode well for this publishing venture, yeah, and 401 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 2: it doesn't bode well for his other adventures. 402 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 1: Noel, could you tell us a little bit about the 403 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: other stuff that he unwisely invested in. 404 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's just a real a set writing and losing money. 405 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,440 Speaker 2: He lost money on an engraving process, not a business, 406 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,959 Speaker 2: but once again betting on the wrong horse, on a 407 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:14,440 Speaker 2: magnetic telegraph, on a something called a steam pulley, which 408 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 2: I didn't know we needed that, I guess. So it 409 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 2: seems like the pulley is one thing, and then a 410 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 2: steam like a motor or an engine, is another thing. 411 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,359 Speaker 2: But he wanted to combine them. So don't guess it 412 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 2: didn't take because I've never heard of such a thing. 413 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 2: Also the Fredonio watch company, once again not a household 414 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 2: name in this day. And also on railroad stocks, the 415 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:38,879 Speaker 2: railroad being such a how could you lose on the 416 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 2: rail betting on the railroad? That seems like that would 417 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 2: take some skill to lose at that, right, I ate 418 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 2: the wrong bets, the wrong companies. I guess he just 419 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 2: backed the wrong Maybe he must have put money into 420 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 2: a railroad company that folded because there was so much competition. 421 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 1: He also had an opportunity to buy early stock and 422 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,160 Speaker 1: Bell Telephone, which would go on to become you know. 423 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 2: The Everything Company, I mean, right, yeah. 424 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: Right, and he didn't buy it to it. But he's 425 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: super into telephones. I didn't know this until visiting the 426 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: Mark Twain house in Hartford, but he had one of 427 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:18,640 Speaker 1: the nation's first home telephones. How could you be that yeah, 428 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: a hoy hoy, indeed, how could you be that aware 429 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: of the technology? And also miss on Bell anyway, So, 430 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: as a result of all these unfortuitous investments, it becomes 431 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: untenable for the Clemens family to live in their fancy 432 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:40,160 Speaker 1: Hartford home. And just like when his parents moved from Florida, 433 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: Missouri to Hannibal in eighteen ninety one, the Twain family moves, 434 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: or the Clemens family moves in. Twain sells the house 435 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: at a loss, just. 436 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 2: For a fraction of what he paid for, so Mega 437 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 2: lost there as well. Then in eighteen ninety four, surprise, surprise, 438 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 2: Mark Twain follows in the path his father trod and 439 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 2: declares bankruptcy. I don't think I don't know that this 440 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 2: father declared bankruptcy, but it certainly feels like he forged 441 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,399 Speaker 2: a path that was like a ten x version of 442 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 2: what his father did, simply because of how much means 443 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 2: he had that he It's hard to say squandered, because 444 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 2: it's not like he was like drinking it away or 445 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,880 Speaker 2: gambling exactly. But investment after a certain point, if you're 446 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 2: really bad at it, is about as bad as gambling. 447 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 2: It's that addiction that you referred to. Ben. 448 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe you're right there. I do see a thematic parallel, 449 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,040 Speaker 1: like we're saying with the father and the son. He 450 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: has a lot of friends, of course, and one of 451 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,080 Speaker 1: his friends is a guy who's really good at money, 452 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,399 Speaker 1: Henry H. Rogers of Standard Oil. They stuck around her 453 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: to them, so Henry is okay. Back in this time, 454 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: filing for bankruptcy was called assignment. A month before Mark Twain, 455 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: Samuel Clemens files for bankruptcy, Henry H. Rogers, his buddy, 456 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: who's a really good money guy, says, here's what you 457 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: gotta do. You got to shift all of your assets 458 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: to your wife's name, Okay, and then we're going to 459 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:25,719 Speaker 1: figure out our next plan, because you sam owe eighty 460 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: thousand dollars to a bunch of people, and if we 461 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: get inflation, Yeah, eighty thousand dollars in. 462 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 2: Debt today is not great. It's quite bad, in fact, 463 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 2: but yeah, shall we inflation calculator. 464 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: It guys, boop boop boop. Yeah, so eighty thousand dollars 465 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety four money is equal to a dude 466 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: two million, nine hundred and twenty eight, three hundred and 467 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: thirty four dollars and eighty eight cents in twenty twenty four. 468 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 2: Okay, it's still not quite at the bank has a 469 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 2: problem levels Yeah, but still this st this ain't good. Yeah, 470 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 2: it's definitely Twain's problem. And of course referring to the 471 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 2: idea that if you owe the bank a million dollars, 472 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,959 Speaker 2: it's your problem. If you owe the bank a billion dollars, 473 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 2: it's the bank's. 474 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 1: Problem, and the public opinion turns against them. They're headlines 475 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: saying Mack Twade is ruined and failure of Marck Twage. 476 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: He gets called a boy boy. What was that thing 477 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: from mischievous? You're sickly, mischievous. 478 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 2: Overgrown boy. Yeah, he is in business. When lawyer snipes 479 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 2: just a big overgrown boy, he gracefully left out the 480 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 2: sickly and mischievous bit, but frankly those are sort of 481 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 2: irrelevant in this context. Isn't that weird? Though? 482 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:02,240 Speaker 1: Because we see this pattern again with modern American celebrities. 483 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: The public wants someone raised high and then laid low 484 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,480 Speaker 1: and worshiped only. 485 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:13,080 Speaker 2: A million percent in their time. You know, so many 486 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:18,200 Speaker 2: great artists, painters, writers, composers, they do not. They're grinding 487 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 2: it out man, you know, like to get by, to 488 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,040 Speaker 2: scrape a living, and then only after their death and 489 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 2: reassessments of their work are they revered. 490 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 1: But what do you what do you I agree? What 491 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: do you think though about this idea that the American 492 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: public wants to see a celebrity fall? 493 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 2: Oh a million percent? Dude, We're trained for it. I 494 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 2: mean with all these reality shows, and I mean honestly, 495 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 2: the reality shows and that whole thing is really just 496 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 2: giving the people what they want. You know, Historically, before 497 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 2: any of that stuff, we've seen just the idea of 498 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 2: even like things like gladiator battles. You know, like people 499 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 2: want blood, they have a thirst for it, and they 500 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 2: want to see great men, great individuals, figures fall from 501 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 2: grace because it makes them feel better about their lot 502 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 2: in life. A lot of times. 503 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:14,080 Speaker 1: Uh, okay, I think you've added That's what I was 504 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: looking for. You added the missing piece of the puzzle there, 505 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 1: because for me, like I understand the pattern and the trend. 506 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: I didn't understand the motivation, but I think that does 507 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: make sense. Nol and Twayne is taking this on the chin. 508 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 1: He is well aware how it must have stung. This 509 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: probably contributes a lot to his contankerous, curmudgeonly nature later on. 510 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,800 Speaker 1: But his buddy Henry, that's why you get by with 511 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 1: a little help from your friends. His buddy Henry has 512 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: a pitch for him, and he says, Sam Clemens. 513 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 2: I got you man. 514 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: You want to make some money fast. You don't need 515 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: to waste your time on inventions and silver mines and 516 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: newspaper gigs. We got to get you on the road. 517 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: Let's do a live show. And so, despite health problems, 518 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: on Henry's advice, Samuel Clements, Mark Twain does one hundred 519 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 1: and twenty two shows in a world tour across seventy 520 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 1: one cities Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa. He uses 521 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: the money to pay his debts, his public opinion tied, 522 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: his turns, his former critics are praising him. 523 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 2: I do love that, honestly, because I mean I'm a 524 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 2: fan of the guy, you know, and obviously his legacy, 525 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,320 Speaker 2: whatever checkered you know, parts of his body of work, 526 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 2: you know, might exist is really really important. And then 527 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 2: he definitely set the tone for a lot of very 528 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:43,840 Speaker 2: very important pop culture and incredible comedians and just the idea. 529 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 2: And he sort of in a lot of ways invented 530 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 2: modern satire in many ways. 531 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: I would argue, yeah, heh here's the thing though. No, 532 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,760 Speaker 1: he went back to the casino. Of course he did. 533 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,080 Speaker 2: He can't keep him away this guy, especially after a 534 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 2: win like that, and a guy who seems to get 535 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,240 Speaker 2: high on his own supply a little bit in terms 536 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,120 Speaker 2: of ego, kind of pushing him to maybe have a 537 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 2: little bit of delusions of grandeur. Yeah, it would make 538 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,360 Speaker 2: sense that he would hit back at that dopamine casino. 539 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: Yeah. He poured a lot of money into a protein 540 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 1: powder called plasmon, and he said, this gives you. He believed, 541 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 1: based on the pitches that have formed his investment, that plasmon, 542 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:36,720 Speaker 1: derived from dairy products could deliver sixteen times the nutritional 543 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: value of a steak at a cost of a penny 544 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: a day. And he is quoted as saying, you know, 545 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,440 Speaker 1: when he was excited about it, that this could end 546 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:47,160 Speaker 1: the famine in India. 547 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 2: Okay, heart in the right place. And one could also 548 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,719 Speaker 2: argue a little ahead of his time. Protein powders are huge, 549 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:57,280 Speaker 2: It's some billion dollar industry. Things like soy lns even, 550 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 2: or like the kind of stuff that folks drink when 551 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 2: they go to the gym, you know, like protein shirts 552 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,080 Speaker 2: or whatever. So I don't think that was a booming 553 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 2: industry at this time. So one could argue he was 554 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:09,359 Speaker 2: just maybe a little early to the game in this case. 555 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 2: And there's a couple in this list that you made 556 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,320 Speaker 2: then of inventions and kind of rackets that he attempted 557 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 2: to get into that I could also fit into that 558 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,319 Speaker 2: category of being maybe a little ahead of its time. Yeah. 559 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 1: The thing is Mark Twain. He put about thirty grand 560 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,240 Speaker 1: in his day or north of seven hundred and fifty 561 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:36,680 Speaker 1: thousand today into plasma and they became so they were fraudulent. 562 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:39,400 Speaker 1: They became the subject of a fraud trial in nineteen 563 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:44,160 Speaker 1: o seven, and Twain said the company president should be 564 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:48,879 Speaker 1: paid three dollars a century. And Twain called him, you'll 565 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:54,000 Speaker 1: love this stallion in intention a unuch in action? 566 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 2: What yeah, oh yeah, yeah, I packed out a stallion 567 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,440 Speaker 2: And okay, so he's just saying it's neutered or whatever. 568 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 1: He's like, Yeah, this guy talks big and he he's 569 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 1: gotten old dick. And so the judge asked Twayne if 570 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,840 Speaker 1: this is the first time he's been swindled in business, 571 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:19,200 Speaker 1: and he says, no, my first rodeo. He literally says, 572 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,920 Speaker 1: I've been swindled out of more money than that is. 573 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,560 Speaker 2: Hold the planet yard. Oh I see, I say, I say, 574 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:27,520 Speaker 2: I say he does. 575 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 1: So, you know, this is a two part series for us. 576 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:34,719 Speaker 1: But there are a couple of things, like you were saying, 577 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:38,480 Speaker 1: we've got this list that we wanted to talk about, 578 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,120 Speaker 1: just to give you a sense of all the stuff, uh, 579 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:44,680 Speaker 1: all the stuff that he took a swing and a 580 00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:45,040 Speaker 1: miss on. 581 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:47,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. Man, when I was kind of half joking when 582 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:49,359 Speaker 2: I said that a couple of these other ones were 583 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,120 Speaker 2: ahead of their time, because the one that popped to 584 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 2: me immediately is called the vaporizer, and I'm like, he 585 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:57,200 Speaker 2: would have been huge. Vapes are everywhere, you know, that's 586 00:35:57,239 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 2: not what this is. Much more of an old timing 587 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 2: kind of vaporizer essentially designed to I think, like absorb 588 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 2: steam from a furnace. Okay, so it was an engine 589 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 2: or a furnace or something of that. Kind which would 590 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:16,799 Speaker 2: get out ninety nine percent of all the steam that 591 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,319 Speaker 2: was in a pound of coal, but. 592 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:21,640 Speaker 1: A better process for burning coal. 593 00:36:21,719 --> 00:36:25,800 Speaker 2: For burning coal okay, but apparently much like the type 594 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:28,680 Speaker 2: setting machine that he invested in, on a good day 595 00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:31,600 Speaker 2: it would work, but most of the time it just didn't. 596 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 2: So this one didn't do. Y, yeah, promise. We talked 597 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:38,200 Speaker 2: about the steam pulley, whatever the frick that is. I 598 00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:40,960 Speaker 2: believe we mentioned the engraving process, but here's some more 599 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:45,400 Speaker 2: info on that. The Koala type. You know, I like 600 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,160 Speaker 2: that better. I this is COOLO type, COWLO type. 601 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: And it doesn't matter really because it didn't work. Right. 602 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:54,759 Speaker 2: What was the idea though? We talked about it being 603 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 2: like a way of revolutionizing or removing some of the 604 00:36:58,120 --> 00:36:59,840 Speaker 2: hard labor parts of type setting. 605 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, the issue and that's like the similar to the 606 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:10,080 Speaker 1: page page compositor. Twain believed this would annihilate and sweep 607 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:13,520 Speaker 1: out of existence one of the minor industries of civilization 608 00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:17,560 Speaker 1: and take its place. Turns out he. 609 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,000 Speaker 2: Got got it was literally a scam. It was literally 610 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:23,400 Speaker 2: a scam. That's the thing, man. Some of these it's like, 611 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:25,919 Speaker 2: you know, you bet on the wrong horse. Things don't 612 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 2: pan out, but bro definitely got taken. He's got full 613 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:30,799 Speaker 2: of times. 614 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:36,560 Speaker 1: So solar Bridge. He also tried to market coca leaves 615 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: as a kind of predecessor to an energy drinker, and 616 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:41,800 Speaker 1: once again, it's huge. 617 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,000 Speaker 2: But today everyone loves cocaine. It's really popular. It's really 618 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 2: popular stuff. 619 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:51,759 Speaker 1: So his plan fizzled when there were no ships that 620 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:57,000 Speaker 1: would sail to South America for Oh there would be soon, right, 621 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:01,759 Speaker 1: and homemade submarines. We mentioned plasma, but we haven't mentioned Oh, 622 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:04,160 Speaker 1: maybe this is a nice way to end. No, did 623 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,040 Speaker 1: you know one of Twain's close friends was Nikola Tesla. 624 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, you had mentioned that to me off Mike. He 625 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:14,960 Speaker 2: also was buddies with Thomas Edison, so definitely, you know, 626 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 2: he was that level of luminary that he was keeping 627 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,120 Speaker 2: company with some pretty important people. But there's a great 628 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,279 Speaker 2: Tesla story that I think is wonderful for us to 629 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 2: end on today. 630 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:29,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, agreed. So we know you and I have 631 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:33,600 Speaker 1: you and I have laid out the broad strokes of 632 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 1: Twain's fascination with big ideas and innovation. He's visiting New 633 00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,840 Speaker 1: York in the eighteen nineties and this is where he 634 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:48,720 Speaker 1: befriends Nicola Tesla because Nikola Tesla, also a sickly mischievous child, 635 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:53,480 Speaker 1: was recoll Yeah, was on death's door back in the 636 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,800 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies before he came over to the United States, 637 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:01,719 Speaker 1: And while he was calm, blessing, he read a lot 638 00:39:01,719 --> 00:39:04,840 Speaker 1: of books by Mark Twain and he loved them. And 639 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:08,640 Speaker 1: he said, the stories, the stuff that you write, it's 640 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:13,960 Speaker 1: so captivating. It made me quote utterly forget my hopeless state. 641 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,799 Speaker 2: Bro. Can I just say that is at his heart 642 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,400 Speaker 2: the goal of great writing, wouldn't you say, Or of 643 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:22,600 Speaker 2: entertainment in general. 644 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, to be in another world, if only for a time. 645 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:31,680 Speaker 1: And so Tesla and Twain get together. They hang out 646 00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 1: on the regular. You can see photographs of Twain in 647 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:40,600 Speaker 1: Tesla's lab, even participating in experiments because we are full 648 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:44,640 Speaker 1: grown adults. This story that Nola and I are talking 649 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:48,960 Speaker 1: about here, the one they captured us, is, according to 650 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:54,520 Speaker 1: a couple of anecdotes, Tesla used his technology to cure 651 00:39:54,719 --> 00:39:56,120 Speaker 1: Twain of constipation. 652 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, he just vibrated that stuff right out of him, right, 653 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,439 Speaker 2: didn't He hang out on an electro mechanical oscillator, which 654 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:10,200 Speaker 2: is essentially like generates high frequency vibrations or whatever. No, yeah, 655 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 2: it was. It was generated high frequency AC current that's redundant. 656 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:19,080 Speaker 2: That's like saying ATM machine alternating current, and it would 657 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:22,120 Speaker 2: cause a plate to vibrate. It was known as an 658 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,600 Speaker 2: earthquake machine, and it shook, rattled and rolled the poops 659 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:28,120 Speaker 2: right out of Old Samuel Clemens's But. 660 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:37,320 Speaker 1: Which is what better basis for friendship? Because god, they 661 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:41,759 Speaker 1: they uh he got Tesla got invited to go to 662 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:44,640 Speaker 1: Twain's daughter's wedding and stuff. They were they were. 663 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,040 Speaker 2: Definitely bring the earthquake machine, like like let let the 664 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:48,680 Speaker 2: let the wedding get s try. 665 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,560 Speaker 1: There we go. We first we're doing carry okay, then 666 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:54,120 Speaker 1: we're doing the earthquake machine. 667 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:55,960 Speaker 2: It was that era's form of gooning. 668 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:00,560 Speaker 1: Oh god, I still man, you keep freaking up. I 669 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:02,759 Speaker 1: still don't fully want to understand it. 670 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:08,239 Speaker 2: It's like edging. Great, We're a family show the next Yeah, 671 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,160 Speaker 2: y'all don't google any of this stuff. 672 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:14,480 Speaker 1: Also, uh, this is the end of our two part 673 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:19,279 Speaker 1: series on Mark Twain and how he's cartoonishly bad at investing. 674 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:22,120 Speaker 1: We have other stuff we'd love to explore about Mark 675 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:25,440 Speaker 1: Twain in the future. As we know. I gotta tell 676 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:29,040 Speaker 1: you I found and I'm gonna bug folks on stuff 677 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:31,480 Speaker 1: they once you know about this. I found the best 678 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:35,279 Speaker 1: palindrome I learned recently, and I thought of you, would 679 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:35,960 Speaker 1: you like to hear it? 680 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:36,319 Speaker 2: Yeah? 681 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:42,440 Speaker 1: Please satan oscillate my metallic sonatas. How did that not 682 00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 1: make it into long legs? 683 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:49,920 Speaker 2: How did satan magnetics? 684 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:56,440 Speaker 1: And yes itallics? But I love these? Yeah, but that's 685 00:41:57,400 --> 00:41:59,800 Speaker 1: just goes to show we have adventures ahead? 686 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:00,759 Speaker 2: Do we have? 687 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:03,560 Speaker 1: What a right big big thanks for our super producer, 688 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:05,440 Speaker 1: mister Max Williams. 689 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:09,880 Speaker 2: Who else will oh, Alex wallashose this bang in bop 690 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:13,160 Speaker 2: of a theme that you're bopping to right this very second. 691 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:18,319 Speaker 2: We just know it's true. Jonathan Strickland, the quiztor, aj Bahamas, 692 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:20,320 Speaker 2: Jacobs the Puzzler. 693 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:25,200 Speaker 1: Christopher rossiotis Eves Jeffcoat who is on the road I 694 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,279 Speaker 1: think pretty soon and here in spirit and here in 695 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:31,800 Speaker 1: spirit of course, so say we all, as well as 696 00:42:32,160 --> 00:42:34,640 Speaker 1: our pal Matt Frederick who made a cameo in Max 697 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:39,120 Speaker 1: with the Facts, and Rachel Big Spinach, Lance and Noel. 698 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,840 Speaker 1: Thanks to you, we can visit the Mark Twain House 699 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:44,600 Speaker 1: a museum any old time you want. 700 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:46,319 Speaker 2: Bro, I would love to. And thanks to you for 701 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:52,440 Speaker 2: assembling such a thoughtful and educational research dossier on mister 702 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:57,400 Speaker 2: Samuel Clements aka Josh aka Mark twentieth. 703 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,360 Speaker 1: That's right. Yeah, shout out to josh. 704 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:10,640 Speaker 2: See you next time, folks. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 705 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:14,000 Speaker 2: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 706 00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:15,080 Speaker 2: to your favorite shows.