1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: the show, fellow Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so 3 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: much for tuning in. Let's hear it for the Man, 4 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: the myth, the legendary super producer, Max the Cutest q P. 5 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 2: Williams. Guys, remember Muppet Babies? Did you ever watch Muppet Babies? 6 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: I am aware of the social phenomena of Muffet babies, 7 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: but not to sound like Egon Spangler here, Noel, you're 8 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: Noel Brown, I'm Ben Bollinster. 9 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 3: I have not. 10 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: I missed that part. 11 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was child That was the exact right age 12 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 3: for it, for whatever it may have been on originally, 13 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 3: or it may have been reruns on Nickelodeon. But it's 14 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 3: all of your favorite Muppets. But they're babies, and they 15 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 3: are overseen or watched over by a faceless character just 16 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 3: named Nanny, and you only ever see your legs. 17 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: Oh, old school cartoon style. 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty great. It's pretty great. 19 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 3: The opening theme song lives rent free in my head 20 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 3: much of the time. 21 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 2: I'm not kidding you. Can you help it, I'll do 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 2: a little bit of it. 23 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 3: It's like when your room looks kind of weird and 24 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 3: you wish that you weren't. Theyre just close your eyes 25 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 3: and make believe and you can be anyway. And there 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 3: were a lot of I think it was owned by 27 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 3: Steven Spielberg's company. Maybe because it was, there are a 28 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 3: lot of references to like, you know, they live in 29 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 3: this fantasy world and sometimes they're like Indiana Jones kind 30 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 3: of adventures, stuff like that. We're not talking about Muppet 31 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 3: babies today though. 32 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: No, we're talking about CuPy babies with some help from 33 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: our research associate Red. You might not know these by name, 34 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: but these these little dolls, these little collectibles have been 35 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: around for over a century. Guys, I gotta tell you 36 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: I've been I think Noel, you might know a little 37 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: bit about this. Max, you and I definitely talked about it. Uh. 38 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: My girlfriend has this fascination with a thing called the 39 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,799 Speaker 1: Boo Boo and it's very much now it's very much 40 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: a conspiratorial thing, like La Booboo. People recognize each other 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,239 Speaker 1: and they know each other. And Max is not in here. 42 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: You saw it too, Huh. 43 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 3: I thought the the Booboo way if it kind of 44 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 3: crested a little bit, but maybe all the better for 45 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 3: true Lubuoboo enthusiasts, because there was a time when at 46 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 3: the height of its popularity where you couldn't get one, 47 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 3: and South Park made an episode where people were like 48 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 3: literally using them to do satanic rituals and it was, 49 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 3: you know, quite the Elmo phenomenon for a minute. But 50 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 3: they're really cute and they're part of that whole world 51 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 3: of little plastic or and or furry toys from a 52 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 3: place called PopMart. There's a ton of other types, often 53 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 3: to come in these blind boxes where you know it's 54 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 3: a series you don't know which one you're gonna get. 55 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 3: And one that's super popular now and I think even 56 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 3: a little hard to get in some places, are a 57 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 3: series called Sonny Angels. Oh yeah, little naked babies that 58 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 3: very much resemble the iconic early nineteen hundred's Qupie dolls. 59 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: And shout out to the troll dolls as well. We're 60 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: not going to forget about those. Yeah, you're bringing up 61 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: the best comparison possible. The Qupie dolls originate in the 62 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds as a cartoon feature in a magazine, 63 00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: but then they become this mascot in a very interesting way. 64 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: Like today, you know we can we can see qpie 65 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: dolls in mayonnaise right in Japanese mayo. 66 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 3: Well, we did just do that episode, and it's a 67 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 3: sort of a coincidence that we ended up doing these 68 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 3: back to back. There was a little bit of parallel 69 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 3: thinking going on. But we will have a little ref 70 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 3: to the QP mayo and that, you know how they 71 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 3: were inspired by this toy phenomenon. Can I do a 72 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 3: really quick inscription, Ben? I don't typically quote Google AI results, 73 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 3: but this one was just so silly that I have 74 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 3: to do it. The physical features of the QP dolls 75 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 3: are described as nude, chubby, sexless baby bodies with small, 76 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 3: distinct wings on their back and a cow lick tuft 77 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 3: of hair. 78 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: It's the toft of hair. Well, dud uh. No matter 79 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: how you have encountered these things, the qpies or qupie 80 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: dolls are inherently adorable. They're they're inherently endearing and lovable. 81 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: They are also, as we're going to learn today, a 82 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: symbol of counterculture and a top notch example of how 83 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: kindness can inspire social change. We've got to introduce the 84 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: one and only rose Cecil O'Neil. 85 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, when you look at the design of these qupie dolls. 86 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 3: It does have a bit of a cartoonish illustrator ly, 87 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 3: if that's a word at all, quality, sort of an 88 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 3: uncanny valley like this idea of what maybe a little 89 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 3: cartoon stylized baby. The proportions are a little off in 90 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 3: a delightful way, much like the troll dolls, and I 91 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 3: would argue I think it's not that far of a 92 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 3: walk that the sexless bodies of the troll dolls are 93 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 3: also inspired by the qupie doll phenomenon. Created by Rose 94 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,840 Speaker 3: Cecil O'Neil, who was an illustrator. She was born in 95 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 3: Pennsylvania in eighteen seventy four. Her family took a literal 96 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 3: covered wagon to Old Nebraski to make a life for 97 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 3: themselves on the homestead. They raised a family outside of Omaha. 98 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 3: O'Neil's father, who was a bookseller and an aspiring actor, 99 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 3: along with their mother, who was a musician, they nurtured 100 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 3: her early artistic leanings. Beautiful and folks, if you heard 101 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 3: me quietly giggling in the background there as Nola you 102 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 3: were doing that excellent introduction, it's because, dude, I could 103 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 3: one hundred percent tell that you were having fun saying 104 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 3: sexless bodies. It's a fun thing to say. I'm sorry, 105 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 3: I'll probably be beautiful again. Beautiful. I can't lean into 106 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 3: the covered wagon part of it, of it all, because 107 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 3: the next part is like something out of literally Jack 108 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 3: and the bean Stuff. 109 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: Oh that's so cool this folklore, right, So okay. So 110 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: Rose is thirteen years old and she wins a drawing 111 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: contest in the Omaha World Herald. By nineteen she becomes 112 00:06:57,760 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: an aspiring novelist. 113 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 3: We've all been there. It's an interesting place to be, 114 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 3: very very results. 115 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 2: Definitely. 116 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, but you're more than aspiring. Oh that's too kind, man, 117 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: thank you. But so Ros's parents, this is why we're 118 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: saying this kind of Jack and the Beanstalk esque. Ros's 119 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: parents are so supportive of their daughter that they sell 120 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: their cow to send her to New York City, and 121 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: this is where she gets a job as a cartoonist. 122 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: By the time she's twenty three years old, pretty young. 123 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: She is the first female artist on staff at a 124 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: magazine called Puck, which was a very big deal. 125 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 2: At the time. 126 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 3: Haven't heard of that? One awesome name for a magazine 127 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,679 Speaker 3: And I just can't get over They sold the family cow. 128 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 3: They sold the cow because they believed in her that much, 129 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 3: and they knew that what a cow in the hand, 130 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 3: you know, is not necessarily better than an artist in 131 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 3: the bush. 132 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 2: And that's what she became. And she made the cow 133 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 2: for you guys. Oh thanks man to. But it really does. 134 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 3: I mean, it's such a show of support and utter 135 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 3: belief in their in their child. And she made good 136 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 3: on the arrangement in a big way. 137 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, she became one of the highest paid 138 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: illustrators in all of New York. And if we fast 139 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: forward nineteen oh nine, our hero Rose is thirty five 140 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: years old. This is where she debuts the first QP 141 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:32,959 Speaker 1: cartoon in the December issue of something called Ladies Home Journal. 142 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: That's QP spelled k e W pie. 143 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, And they were an instant hit, at least, you know, 144 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 3: in the printed form. And when she was interviewed by 145 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 3: the press about what inspired her to create this character, 146 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 3: she claimed that she just dreamed them up in bed 147 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 3: fertile imagination that she has. Suddenly, she said, they were 148 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 3: bouncing about over the cover, chirping. The little new born 149 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 3: name Coopy. I guess it's she made the name up 150 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 3: from whole cloth. I don't know an etymological connection for 151 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 3: cupie dream logic. I think that's right. One perch, she 152 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 3: said in my hand like a bird. It wasn't warm 153 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 3: like a human baby like. It was oddly cool, so 154 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 3: I knew, Wait a minute, they were elves. 155 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, you say your cupies short for cupids, and they 156 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: nodded their little heads. This is coming to us from, 157 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: by the way, folks, the International Rose O'Neill Club Foundation. However, 158 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: Rose makes a very important folkloric distinction. She says, unlike 159 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: fairies or elves, the qupies are not tricksters. Instead, they 160 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: are kind characters. They show up to help people who 161 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: need help, or they show up to cheer up children. 162 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 2: That's what they do. 163 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 3: A bit of a care bear's kind of thing, Yeah, 164 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 3: very much proto care bears for sure. A lot of 165 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 3: those positive cartoons in the eighties. And according to O'Neil, 166 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,679 Speaker 3: this is another coming back to a quote. Qps are 167 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 3: always searching out ways to make the world better and funnier. 168 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 3: They in real sense of humor. 169 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 2: I like that. 170 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, the cupids, of course, they do have little wings. 171 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 3: That makes sense. There's that etymological connection. I was looking for. 172 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, we also know that this becomes a viral hit. 173 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: Ladies Hold Journal is not prepared for the popularity of 174 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: the QP cartoons. There are multiple instances of children and 175 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 1: parents alike sending fan mail to Rose O'Neil and they say, 176 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: we love your QP cartoons, please make more of these. Eventually, 177 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: O'Neil says, why don't we take it off the page, 178 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,079 Speaker 1: Why don't we make an actual doll that kids can 179 00:10:58,160 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: have and play with? 180 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 3: Mm hmm one hundred percent. So she commissions a German 181 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:07,319 Speaker 3: manufacturer to make the first prototypes of the QP doll 182 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,319 Speaker 3: out of a material called porcelain bisk. 183 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 2: I'm not familiar with, not a soup. 184 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 3: I don't think it is some sort of, you know, 185 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 3: plaster cast kind of situation. I imagine porcelain dolls, which were, 186 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 3: you know, finer dolls. I guess at the time they 187 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 3: were just the material that was most commonly used. But 188 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 3: now maybe when we think of porcelain dolls, we think 189 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 3: of things that are highly collectible and sought after. But 190 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 3: that's probably just the vintageness of the whole deal. The 191 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,679 Speaker 3: original dolls came in nine distinct sizes, with the largest 192 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 3: selling for five bucks. 193 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 2: Or let's do it. 194 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: Let's do a beat inflation calculator. 195 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 3: If we could back and a boob and a dude boop. 196 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: So five dollars in nineteen twelve is the equivalent of 197 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: one hundred and seventy eight dollars in twenty twenty six. 198 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:57,320 Speaker 1: These are pricey dolls. 199 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 3: As for the Big Boy, and the smallest was only 200 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 3: ten sands or about free fitting. 201 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: About three fill amount. 202 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 3: The dolls were, as you can imagine, man Elf on 203 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:21,600 Speaker 3: the shelf level popular, hugely sought after. It was the 204 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 3: hottest toy item around by the nineteen twenties. She created 205 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 3: another line of plushy versions called the Cuttle Cupies. 206 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: Also with a K. Right, and fast forward to the 207 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, the Qpie dolls are mass produced using plastic materials. 208 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: The Qpie becomes this international phenomenon. I love your comparison 209 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: to Elf on the Shelf. I think also of like 210 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: cabbage patch dolls, right, or of course the trolls or 211 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: maybe Elmo every so often the Qpie or Tickle Me Elmo, or. 212 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 2: Even the touch of the beanie babies. 213 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: There it is, yeah, feeling it, Yeah, this global appeal, 214 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: this brand grows beyond cartoons and physical dolls. Now you 215 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: see the QP image stamped on China for nurseries. You 216 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: see it turned into hood ornaments for vehicles and then 217 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: weirdly on ashtrays, weirdly. 218 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 3: On ashtrays, And as Ren pointed out, I don't think 219 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 3: we mentioned this, they have kind of made a comeback. 220 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 2: In the form of tattoos. 221 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 3: There's like a kind of a style of tattoos that 222 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,680 Speaker 3: folks are getting a shout out, she says, to hot 223 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 3: Stuff tattoo in Ashville, North Carolina. It's so interesting. QP 224 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,839 Speaker 3: has almost become like xerox or you know, there's a 225 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 3: name for that thing, like our a coke, you know, 226 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 3: for a stand in for soda epymous there you go. Yeah, 227 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 3: QP now has just thought of as almost like just 228 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 3: the stand in for a little little cute bobble kind 229 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 3: of toy. Okay, I could get with that, Yeah, quiet, 230 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,720 Speaker 3: but you know what I'm saying. Yeah, it's taken on 231 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 3: a life of its own in terms of what people 232 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 3: think of. It's not necessarily associated with O'Neil or a 233 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 3: specific brand. It's just so universal now. 234 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, and also O'Neil does well with this. To be clear, 235 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 1: she's not an inventor who got ripped off like the 236 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: person who figured out the landlord's game and then had 237 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: that stolen and transformed into monopoly. Rose becomes a millionaire 238 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: due to her QP innovation, her QP empire, and this 239 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: occurs at a time when most women could not achieve 240 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: economic independence. Check out our earlier episode on credit cards 241 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: by the way for some really disturbing history about gender 242 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: disparity in the US. Dude, she had a mansion in Connecticut, 243 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: a QP mansion. 244 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, I wonder if it was stylized anyway. Have you 245 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 3: ever been to Babyland General. Yes, here in Georgia, at 246 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 3: the home of the abage Patch kids. It's it's a 247 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 3: it's an interesting place to go. They have this whole 248 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 3: area where you can like see your cabbage patch doll 249 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 3: be birthed from a hole in a giant sort of 250 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 3: paper mache or plaster kind of looking true. Yeah, it's 251 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 3: an odd place actually early birthday party location from my 252 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 3: from my kid back up. 253 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 2: Oh that's awesome, man. 254 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 1: They also have a heck of a bluegrass festival, so 255 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: check that out if you get type. It is a 256 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: palatial estate the cabbage Patch thing, like the yard is 257 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: so big. 258 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 3: Well, I think it's worth that comparisoner. It's an apt 259 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 3: one because another thing that you'll see in that baby 260 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 3: Land general is a lot of these Andy Warhol images. 261 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 3: He was a huge fan of, just like Iconic Americana, 262 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 3: you know, pop cultural phenomenons, and the QUB doll would 263 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 3: have been a kind of proto version of that to 264 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 3: what the Cabbage Patch kids became, maybe even more so 265 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 3: because we also have to remember, and Wren points this out, 266 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 3: this is pre Mickey Mouse. 267 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, so before the advent of the Big Mouse, 268 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: qps were probably the best known and most well loved 269 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: cartoon characters in US pop culture. Through her QP empire, 270 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: Rose purchases Carabes Castle, that's the mansion we're talking about 271 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: in Westport, Connecticut, and then she buys a via a 272 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: villa in Capri. This is where she holds salons, right 273 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: intellectual hangouts. She invites other artists to kick it, talk 274 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 1: about art, talk about history, talk about literature. She also 275 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: gets back to her earlier love, which is writing very 276 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: like bodice ripping Gothic romance novels Oo. 277 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 3: La La Okay, And this is a little sad, but 278 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 3: it's got kind of a silver lining. The great depression 279 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 3: hits not such a great depression as they can out 280 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 3: off and then and photography really starts to take over 281 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 3: or the pictures that are featured in magazines, so illustrators 282 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 3: are having a harder time getting gigs. And I wouldn't 283 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 3: necessarily think that she would have relied on that kind 284 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,239 Speaker 3: of employment since she had, you know, made such a 285 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 3: mint with the QP doll phenomenon. But apparently after spending 286 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 3: you know, a chunk of that change on her properties, 287 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 3: her mansion and her villa, she did in fact pass 288 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 3: away in nineteen forty four without a whole lot of 289 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 3: money left to her name. But that's because she spent 290 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 3: such a huge part of her fortune on family and friends, right. 291 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, she was trying to help everybody, you know, and 292 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: sometimes that can be an unrewarding thing. But she definitely 293 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: changed the world. And you might be asking yourself here, folks, 294 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 1: why are we calling this the feminist history of the 295 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:50,640 Speaker 1: QP doll. 296 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 2: Here's part of why. 297 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: When Rose O'Neil was born, some US states still had 298 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 1: laws about something called hoo. 299 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 3: For sure, I didn't know this term ben, but I 300 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 3: definitely know the concept, the idea that a woman's entire financial, 301 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 3: legal personhood was linked to either their father or more commonly, 302 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 3: their husband, because it was also like a big no 303 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 3: no to be an unwed woman in this time, and 304 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 3: this essentially deprived them of any kind of individual liberty 305 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:29,360 Speaker 3: when it came to representing themselves, owning or inheriting property, 306 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 3: having control of financial affairs, and entering into legal contracts 307 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 3: or filing lawsuits. 308 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:42,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, this was never officially abolished at the federal level, 309 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: but women could own property in all US states by 310 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: nineteen hundred. Still, the journey toward equality continued. Women were 311 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:57,120 Speaker 1: at this time prohibited from voting, from running for office, 312 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: getting a divorce, keeping their maid name, going on a jury, 313 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: even having their own passports. It was a very nasty time. 314 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 3: I mean, it reminds me of the kind of hellish 315 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 3: situation we heard about with Britney Spears, the idea of 316 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 3: being in a conservatorship where all of your affairs and 317 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 3: you know, individual rights and liberties are at the behest 318 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 3: of someone kind of lording over you. 319 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 2: Yeah. 320 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,880 Speaker 1: It wasn't until nineteen twenty that the US Congress would 321 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: pass the Nineteenth Amendment. The nineteenth Amendment allowed white women 322 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 1: in the United States to vote in elections. However, this 323 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: right didn't come about all of a sudden. There wasn't 324 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: a huge burst of conscientiousness on the part of Uncle Sam. 325 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:55,160 Speaker 1: It's because of people like Rose O'Neill, a. 326 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 3: Lot of arm twisting, a lot of uh putting on 327 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 3: the pressure required. And we certainly have talked about women 328 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 3: suffrage movement and various interesting and maybe a little off 329 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 3: the beaten path aspects of it, like the hat pin 330 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 3: will yea all that stuff. Do check out some of 331 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 3: those episodes in the Ridiculous Archive. So at the height 332 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 3: of let's call it the QP Craze, because that's what 333 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 3: a research associate Ran calls it. Capitalize it, love it, 334 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 3: O'Neill leveraged the trademark and copyright that she possessed to 335 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,719 Speaker 3: make an estimated one point four million dollars or a 336 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:41,640 Speaker 3: boop and a dude boom. 337 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 1: The boom inflation calculator you have taught us one point 338 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: four million dollars back then is equal to more than 339 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: thirty five million dollars today, and that's thanks to Smithsonian Magazine. 340 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:53,440 Speaker 2: And the inflation calculator of course. 341 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 3: So you know, despite a lot of these societal limitations 342 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 3: that were placed on women, you know, money talks, O'Neil 343 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 3: had that. She certainly was able to overcome a lot 344 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 3: of these things essentially as a product of how rich 345 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 3: she was. 346 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, she got divorced twice at a time when a 347 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: lot of people did not have the legal wherewithal to 348 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: get divorced. Once she overcame so many barriers, and when 349 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: she reached these upper heights of the economic pyramid, she 350 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 1: didn't forget about the rest of the people on the planet. 351 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: She used her platform as this celebrity illustrator to advocate 352 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: for suffrage, for the female right to vote. O'Neil is 353 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: not just a cartoonist, She is not just a gothic novelist. 354 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 1: She is an activist. She is in the women's marches 355 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: in New York City. She carries a banner to represent 356 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: for female illustrators. 357 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 3: For sure, and she essentially donated her iconic qupie doll 358 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 3: imagery to the cause. It was something that was so recognizable, 359 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 3: and you know, just that kind of familiarity can be 360 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 3: such a powerful tool to spread an important message. One 361 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 3: of the versions of which was give mother the vote 362 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 3: we need it on an image or a poster featuring 363 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,240 Speaker 3: these qupie dolls marching in lockstep as though they were 364 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:34,359 Speaker 3: there at the Women's March themselves, with the lead QP 365 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 3: holding a sign, a flag reading votes for our mothers, 366 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 3: our food, our health, our play, our homes, our schools, 367 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 3: our work are ruled by men's votes. Isn't it a 368 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 3: funny thing that father cannot see why mother ought to 369 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 3: have a vote on how these things should be. 370 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:58,119 Speaker 1: Think, think, think it over. Yes, we cannot commend Rose enough. 371 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: She also purchased a billboard to feature suffragette qpies in 372 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: New York City. She made postcards. She made posters raising 373 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: money for the National American Women's Suffrage Association. She once proclaimed, 374 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: and this is coming to us a courtesy of the 375 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 1: National Women's Hall of Fame, the following. I have a 376 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,880 Speaker 1: thrilling hope that women are going to do something glorious 377 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: in the arts. It is my passionate conviction. I am 378 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: always indignant when women are denied creative power and art. 379 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,479 Speaker 1: That it has not been widely shown it self proofs nothing. 380 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,359 Speaker 1: It is stupid to expect free things from a race 381 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:40,919 Speaker 1: of slaves. Okay, she's not saving anything for the swim 382 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 1: back on that mountain. 383 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 2: You know she's leaving it all on the dance floor. 384 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 1: Then we know that she also would arrange for dolls 385 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: in you could call it propaganda, really arranged for QP 386 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: dolls in suffragette sashes to like fall down on a 387 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,439 Speaker 1: bunch of suffragette. So imagine you are protesting for a 388 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: righteous cause and you happen to love La boo boo 389 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 1: at all. Of a sudden, part way through your march, 390 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: lea boo boo rains down. 391 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 3: That sounds terrifying, man, it's a rain of la boo boos. No, 392 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:18,160 Speaker 3: thank you. 393 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 1: It sounds like a weird curse, right, a rain of 394 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 1: lea boo boo upon your house. 395 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 3: It is a bit of a plague, but a delightful plague, 396 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 3: depending on you know how into la boo boos you are. 397 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 1: So here we have it, man. The QP doll history 398 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: is oddly forgotten nowadays, especially given the huge role it 399 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: played in women's suffrage and the push for gender equality. 400 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:51,640 Speaker 1: We also have to shout out, of course QP mayo 401 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: once again, as we know our boy Nakashima figured it out. 402 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: Please check out our mayonnaise episode for that story, and 403 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: I love the way, by the way, I love the 404 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,879 Speaker 1: way you described QP mayonnaise. I was re listening to that. 405 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 3: Uh, well, geez, what do I say? 406 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:14,160 Speaker 1: You said? Okay, you spent some time talking about the container, right, 407 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: it's two containers. It's a plastic bag, and then it's 408 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 1: a thing that looks like a baby action figure basically, 409 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 1: And then you talked about the taste, and we started 410 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 1: talking about like Duke spyannaise and other versions of mayonnaise. 411 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: I just thought it was really well done, and I 412 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: have to confess to you, my friend, it changed my mind. 413 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,120 Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna I think I'm gonna hold off 414 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:37,000 Speaker 1: on the QP mayo. 415 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:42,160 Speaker 3: Okay, fair enough, but I thought it'd be worth before 416 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,639 Speaker 3: we wrap up. Just I'm doubling back on something really quickly. 417 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 3: We've we've often talked about how powerful satirical cartoons can 418 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 3: be and how some of the earliest examples of political cartoons, Uh, 419 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,400 Speaker 3: they just communicate so much with so little, and it's 420 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 3: such as a way of just kind of laying in 421 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,880 Speaker 3: stark contrasts like how things really are versus maybe how 422 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 3: politicians or people in power may tell you things are. 423 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 3: And while the original versions of the QP dolls and 424 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 3: the cartoons were not necessarily that, they did start to 425 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,400 Speaker 3: take on a little bit more of like a mocking 426 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 3: satirical quality, kind of making fun of elitist middle class reformers. 427 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 3: This is from Smithsonian Magazine as well, and further beyond 428 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 3: just the women's rights aspect of it, supporting racial equality 429 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 3: and also advocating for the poor. So O'Neil really kind 430 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 3: of put her money where her mouth was, because this 431 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 3: could certainly have been seen as a way of maybe 432 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 3: torpedoing the brand. We know that, like big brands do 433 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 3: not like to get in the mix with politics, and 434 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 3: she did something that I would say is historically pretty 435 00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 3: unique in being willing to do that. 436 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: Very brave as well. I would say there's a brilliant 437 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: propagandistic value in having a friendly baby appear to tell 438 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: the truth, right just saying, oh, I'm a cute baby, 439 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 1: I'm a muppet, for instance, That's basically what a QP is, Right, 440 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: I'm a muppet, and even I know that there are 441 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,240 Speaker 1: things that we can do to improve society. I thought 442 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 1: that was a really smart way to get the message across. 443 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: We also have to give a shout out to QB 444 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:38,160 Speaker 1: in tattoo culture. In the nineteen fifties, the legendary tattoo 445 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 1: artist Mike Rollo Malone started putting QP images in his 446 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: flash design, and excuse me, that's the nineteen seventies when 447 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 1: Mike starts doing this. Now it's become solidified as part 448 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,880 Speaker 1: of tattoo culture. So if you have a friend who 449 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: is a tattoo artist, they can probably hook you up 450 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:56,120 Speaker 1: with a QP. 451 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 3: I may have misstated early on in the episode when 452 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 3: I'm mentioned the whole tattoo angle of it all, that 453 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 3: it was sort of a newer phenomenon. It is maybe 454 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 3: a little more compared to how there are like vintage 455 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,440 Speaker 3: styles of tattoos that sort of come and go in popularity, 456 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 3: like sailor tattoos or certain kind of like old school 457 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 3: art styles that seem to have a little bursts of popularity. 458 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 3: And it would seem per Wren in that Incredible Tattoo 459 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,439 Speaker 3: Shop in Ashville that she mentioned that it's kind of 460 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 3: having a bit of a comeback. I did want to 461 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,879 Speaker 3: maybe wrap with just one quote from a person that 462 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,919 Speaker 3: we haven't named, that Smithsonian magazine leans on really heavily 463 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 3: and their wonderful piece. The prolific illustrator behind qpi's used 464 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 3: her cartoon for women's rights. Susan Scott, who is the 465 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 3: president of the board at the bonnie Brook Historical Society, 466 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 3: which is a nonprofit that's mission is to educate the 467 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 3: public about O'Neill's life, had this to say about that 468 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 3: kind of very brave, like you said, Ben move taking 469 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 3: an iconic and lucrative piece of intellectual property into the 470 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 3: political sphere. And she said this of kind of the 471 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 3: perspective of the time. What was neat was that she 472 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 3: was able to use this popular character for suffrage and 473 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:12,719 Speaker 3: it got people's attention. 474 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 2: Some people would go, how. 475 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 3: Could she use the QB for suffrage? Why is she 476 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 3: getting them involved in politics? And then other people just 477 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 3: really didn't even notice. They thought, Oh, isn't that cute? 478 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 3: Votes for women? Oh? 479 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 1: Okay, that's the brilliant propaganda we're talking about. You know 480 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: this is is it propaganda? If it's for a good cause. 481 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: I'm not questioning you. 482 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 3: I just think it's something like it's an interesting line 483 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 3: because we think of propaganda as maybe the government trying 484 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 3: to pull. 485 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 2: The wool over people's eyes. 486 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 3: But at its best, advertising can be seen as propaganda 487 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 3: one hundred percent. Edward brene Is check out one of 488 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 3: the early episodes. I think maybe the first of Stuff 489 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 3: they Don't Want Should Know as an audio podcast. But yeah, 490 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 3: it's interesting. It depends on what side of the issue 491 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 3: you fall, whether something is just spread a good message 492 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:02,000 Speaker 3: or whether it's propaganda. 493 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: A PSA can be propaganda. You know, dare to keep 494 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,960 Speaker 1: a kid off drugs? That was propaganda. And by the way, 495 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: thanks for the shirt everybody. We've got a good one 496 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: to ben it finally fits. We've also got a We've 497 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: also got a deep dive on propaganda. And before we 498 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,760 Speaker 1: before we wrap here, I am going to say it 499 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: on air, history of tattoos. 500 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 2: We should do it. 501 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, yeah, the earliest. You know. It's funny, Ben, 502 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,000 Speaker 3: I'm forty two years old and I only have just 503 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 3: started getting tattoos in the last couple of years as 504 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 3: a way of helping my kid learn how to tattoo. 505 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 3: I was just like, yeah, whatever, give me a stick 506 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 3: and poke, let's do it. But the early days of 507 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,800 Speaker 3: tattoos and the tribal aspects of it are fascinating and 508 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,200 Speaker 3: some of the methods that are used and how closely 509 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 3: tied to various indigenous cultures tattooing is. 510 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 2: So do highly. 511 00:30:56,280 --> 00:31:00,040 Speaker 3: Recommend to us, me and Max that we do this 512 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 3: episode in the very near future. 513 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: We absolutely will. We can't thank you enough for joining 514 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: us for that episode on tattoos as well as this 515 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 1: episode the feminist history of QP Dolls. 516 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 3: Oh last thing, I just want to say sexless bodies 517 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 3: one more time? Do you forging to do that? Had? Well, 518 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 3: only because one of the last bits of trivia that 519 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 3: ran included was that QP Dolls are referenced in a 520 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 3: song by the incredible Minnesota rock band The Replacements in 521 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,239 Speaker 3: nineteen eighty four called Androgynists, and that is because of 522 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 3: the QP dolls lack of genitalia. The song's lyrics are 523 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 3: often cited as being ahead of their time as they 524 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 3: address more non traditional gender norms with tolerance and acceptance. 525 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:44,360 Speaker 1: Okay, do you want to say sexless body? 526 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:44,719 Speaker 2: Well more? 527 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 3: I think I've had my film. You're good? 528 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: All right, folks? Well, that is actually our show now, 529 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: thank you again for joining us. We can't wait to 530 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,719 Speaker 1: hear your thoughts as we explore the history of tattoos. 531 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: Big big thanks to our recent search associate Wren, Big 532 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,840 Speaker 1: thanks to our super producer, the Cutest Man and the 533 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: Biz Max Williams, also downright cherubic very much so a 534 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 1: kind angel as well. Big thanks to Alex Williams who 535 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:19,840 Speaker 1: composed this track and NOL. I gotta ask you, do 536 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: you think Jonathan Strickland aka the Quizzer collects QP dolls? 537 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,000 Speaker 3: I don't know what he kind of looks like one. 538 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 3: I mean we'll bring a little dippity do on the top, 539 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 3: though it's as smooth as eggs up. 540 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: We'll have to bring it up when we have him 541 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:34,960 Speaker 1: back on the show, perhaps sooner than we think. 542 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 2: We never really know, you don't. 543 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 3: He just sometimes materializes. And spoiler alert, I think he 544 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 3: may be materializing in the very near future, although I 545 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 3: know we've teased that in the past and it has. 546 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 2: Not come to be. 547 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 3: But knock on wood or cross yourself, you know, dealer's choice. 548 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:53,800 Speaker 3: I think we might be seeing him pretty soon. And 549 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 3: I just wanted to last thing. My kid actually has 550 00:32:56,200 --> 00:33:01,120 Speaker 3: had fun little collection of QP dolls, certainly old school 551 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,880 Speaker 3: vintage ones like the certainly the Basque or the porcelain 552 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 3: bisk porcelain ones would be worth a pretty penny, but 553 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,760 Speaker 3: there are lots of more modernized versions of them. I 554 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,360 Speaker 3: mean again, the Sonny Angels and a lot of these 555 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 3: you know, kawhii little blind box toys. Oh something, man. 556 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:24,720 Speaker 3: They owe a debta gratitude to O'Neill and her nude, chubby, 557 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 3: sexless baby bodies. 558 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 2: I knew you were gonna do it big. 559 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 1: Thanks to Big, Thanks too, of course, A J. Bahamas Jacobs, 560 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: Doctor Rachel Big Spinach, Lance the Brew Dude's a ridiculous crime. 561 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,720 Speaker 1: If you dig us, you'll love them. Christopher Hasio deceives, 562 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: Jeff go here in spirit, and Noel thank you. 563 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 2: And also with you, my friend. We'll see you next time, folks. 564 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 3: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 565 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,240 Speaker 3: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.