1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas, 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: and moments in time. Imagine yourself inching your way through 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: the security line at the airport. You check the time 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: on your tickets, You double check your I D. As 8 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: you go to place your carry on bag a topic 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: conveyor belt, you run through a mental list of items 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: packed inside? Did I take out my liquids? Is my 11 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: cell charger in there? Is it okay that I packed 12 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: my bazooka. Now, for some of you, your mind probably 13 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: goes to bazooka bubble gum, and there's nothing inherently wrong 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: with that. You can bring gum on an airplane. But 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: of course there's more to the story. Introduced during the 16 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: Second World War, Bazooka gum is generally understood to be 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: named after the rocket propelled grenade that was introduced by 18 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: the U. S. Army as an anti tank weapon. Has 19 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: pointed out in Tanks one hundred Years of Evolution by 20 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: Richard O'gorkowitch, the U. S. Army pioneered the use of 21 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: rocket propelled shape charge grenades, deploying the first of these 22 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: in North Africa in nineteen forty two. The German military 23 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: followed suit in nineteen forty four with the pounds of Faust, 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,119 Speaker 1: which fired the shaped charge from a disposable, preloaded launch tube. 25 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: These weapons presented a serious threat to armored vehicles, as 26 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: the shaped charge focused the blast energy in order to 27 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: pierce armor, and the projectile methods meant that it could 28 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: be deployed at range by infantry. Obviously, never try to 29 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: bring one of these on a flight. But this brings 30 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: us to the name bazooka. While the gum is named 31 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: for the weapon, the weapon in turn took its nickname 32 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: from a novelty brass musical instrument known as the bazooka, 33 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: invented by comedian and musician Bob Burns. This intentionally crude 34 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: musical instrument featured a wide flaring bell and a telescopic body. 35 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: In Clarity and Uncertainty about Bazooka, published in American Speech 36 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: Back in, author Robert Chapman explored the invention of the 37 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: bazooka and the etymology of the word. Burns seems to 38 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: have invented the instrument and coined its name as early 39 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: as possibly nineteen o five. He subsequently played in the 40 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: Marine Corps band in World War One and went on 41 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: to become a famous radio player of the day. Now. 42 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: While Chapman admits that full clarity on the question is impossible, 43 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: he contends that the word bazooka largely seems to stem 44 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: from the slang bazoo, which meant a person with a 45 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: big mouth or someone who talks a lot, though various 46 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: other semantic influences seemed possible as well. Either way, a 47 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: whimsical name for a farcical musical instrument would ultimately become 48 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: predominantly associated with a weapon to punch holes in tank armor. 49 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: Tune in for additional episodes of the artifact each week. 50 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at contact at stuff 51 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your 52 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more 53 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: podcasts for My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 54 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.