1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,519 Speaker 1: You're listening to part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope, 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 2: Guess what, Mango? 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: What's that? Will? 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 2: Actually, before I share something with you, I've got to 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 2: ask you. Are you a Spider Man fan? 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: I think less and less with each movie, but I 8 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: was a Spider Man fan at one point. 9 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, Well you obviously know. I have one kiddo that, 10 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 2: for probably a year or so, was wearing a Spider 11 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 2: Man costume into every local restaurant to where people working 12 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 2: at those restaurants would just know our kid as Spider Man. 13 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 2: And so it's pretty funny. We've been watching Spider Man 14 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 2: films for a long time now. But UH got a 15 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 2: fact for you, so you may be interested to know 16 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 2: that the Library of Congress has the original Spider Man drawings, 17 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 2: like from the very first time he appeared in print. 18 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: That has to be the one where, like Peter Parker 19 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: is getting bitten by a radioactive spider I'm guessing right. 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 2: The one and only. So in two thou and eight, 21 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 2: an anonymous Downer gave the library twenty four black and 22 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 2: white drawings. This was from the August nineteen sixty two 23 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 2: issue of Amazing Fantasy Now it's funny to look back 24 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 2: on because apparently Marvel wasn't sure people would like this 25 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 2: new character. The first page of the comic reads like 26 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 2: costume heroes. Confidentially, we in the comic mag business refer 27 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 2: to them as long underwear characters, and as you know, 28 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 2: they're a dime a dozen. But we think you may 29 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 2: find our Spider Man just a bit different. It's funny 30 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 2: how they were just like setting this up as though. 31 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:31,559 Speaker 1: It might selling him out. 32 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 2: It's just so weird. But you know, what's particularly cool 33 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 2: about these drawings is that you can see some of 34 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 2: the back and forth artist Steve Ditko had with Marvel 35 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 2: publisher Stan Lee. For example, on one page where Peter 36 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 2: Parker has jumped out of the way of a car, 37 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 2: Stan wrote a note in the margins, quote, Steve, make 38 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 2: this a covered sedan, no arms hanging. Don't imply wild 39 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 2: reckless driving. It's pretty great. 40 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: That's such a strange thing to be concerned about. I mean, 41 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: you've got this guy like slinging webs all over the place, 42 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: and you're worried about a driver with his arms out. 43 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 2: That's pretty well. 44 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:08,959 Speaker 1: It is amazing that there's a copy in the Library 45 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: of Congress, though. 46 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 2: I know, and the library actually has over one hundred 47 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 2: and sixty five thousand original comic books, but that's just 48 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 2: a tiny part of its collection. It's considered the largest 49 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 2: library on the planet, with over one hundred and seventy 50 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 2: eight point two million items. Is of course include books, newspapers, music, maps, posters, photographs, 51 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 2: and more, which means these nine facts will barely scratch 52 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 2: the surface. But you got to start somewhere, so let's 53 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 2: dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. 54 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 2: I'm Will Pearson, and as always I'm here with my 55 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 2: good friend mangesh Hot Ticketer on the other side of 56 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 2: that booth. Hidden behind stacks and stacks. I mean, I 57 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,519 Speaker 2: can't books. There are so many stacks of books. That's 58 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,519 Speaker 2: our friend and producer, Dylan Fagan. He's also taped a 59 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 2: sign to the window. It says, down with Dewey, adopt 60 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 2: the Dylan decimal system. Always getting bald today. 61 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: I had no idea he'd been working on a system 62 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: of his own. 63 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he's I think he's trying to make 64 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 2: it a thing. We'll see how it goes. But I 65 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 2: have confidence in Delai. 66 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, I obviously support Dylan and whatever he does. But anyway, 67 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: to kick off this episode about the Library of Congress, 68 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: let's talk about what it actually is. So, as the 69 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: name suggests, it is a library for Congress and the 70 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: rest of government, but it's also a library for the public. 71 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: In fact, anyone sixteen or older can go there to 72 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: do research. And the current Library in of Congress is 73 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: Carla Hayden. She's the fourteenth ever head and also the 74 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: first ever woman and the first person of color to 75 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: have that job. And besides running the library and leading 76 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: acquisition efforts, I had no idea about this, she's also 77 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: responsible for managing the US Copyright Office and for choosing 78 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: the Poet Laureate each year, which is amazing. I had 79 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: no idea that the responsibilities extended that far. 80 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. 81 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: Either, these responsibilities didn't exist in eighteen hundred when the 82 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: library began. That year, President John Adams signed a bill 83 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: providing five thousand dollars to buy books that congressmen might 84 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: find useful, including histories of the Roman Empire and other 85 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: European countries, and the books were stored in a room 86 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: in the Capitol. So when the building was set on 87 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 1: fire by the British and this was back in eighteen fourteen. 88 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: Three thousand of those books were destroyed. Now that was 89 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: most of the collection. Thomas Jefferson was so upset that 90 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: he actually offered to sell his own personal library to 91 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: the government to help at restock, and Congress agreed to 92 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:52,239 Speaker 1: pay him about twenty four thousand dollars for over six 93 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: thousand books. It was closer to six thy five hundred. Now. Unfortunately, 94 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: there was another fire in eighteen fifty one that actually 95 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: destroyed a lot of Jefferson's books plus others in the collection. 96 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: But it was built back up and finally put in 97 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: a fireproof room. That is until the library needed its 98 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: own building, which it got in eighteen ninety seven. And 99 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,040 Speaker 1: that's now known as the Thomas Jefferson Building, which is 100 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: right near the Capitol. 101 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I've been in there before, and it truly 102 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:20,239 Speaker 2: is just a gorgeous place. 103 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is. And it's just one of the Library's 104 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: five buildings. There are three on Capitol Hill and two 105 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: in the DC suburbs, but the Thomas Jefferson Building is 106 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: definitely the most famous one. 107 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 2: Yeah, And it makes sense. So actually I read a 108 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 2: lot about this building. It is made up of four 109 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 2: hundred thousand cubic feet of granite, as well as fifteen 110 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 2: kinds of marble, gold, bronze, and mahogany. It was modeled 111 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 2: on the Paris Opera House and designed in the bows 112 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 2: Art style, which was very popular in the late nineteenth 113 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 2: and early twentieth century. I think symmetry, opulence, lots of 114 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 2: columns with decorations, big halls, staircases, that sort of thing. 115 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 2: So when the building opened to the public in November first, 116 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 2: eighteen ninety seven, people lined up to enter, and within 117 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 2: minutes they began requesting books. You want to guess what 118 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 2: the first request. 119 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: Was, Dale Carnegie is How to win friends and influence people. 120 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 2: Very very very close. Actually not close at all. No, 121 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,480 Speaker 2: the very first request in the new building was for 122 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 2: a book called Year Book by Roger Williams. But it 123 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 2: had just been published and the library hadn't actually secured 124 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 2: a copy yet. 125 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: That is very embarrassing that the first first book requested 126 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,280 Speaker 1: wasn't there. So was there a second request? There was, 127 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 1: and it was for a book called History of the 128 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: City of New York by Martha Lamb, which had been 129 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: published in eighteen seventy seven, So no problems there, and 130 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,799 Speaker 1: actually how you requested the book back then was pretty cool. 131 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: Do you remember going through to like a drive through bank. 132 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: I actually think about this a lot, like how futuristic 133 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: it felt. And when you put that like you put 134 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: it like that stuff in a tube, and I just 135 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: like watching my mom. It felt like watching the Jetsons 136 00:06:59,480 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: or something. 137 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 2: It was pretty much believe it or not. I actually 138 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 2: did this not too long ago, and yes I remember 139 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 2: going there as a kid. But they don't put a 140 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 2: sucker in there anymore. That's the downside once you get old. 141 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 2: It was the best part that was Yeah, that was 142 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 2: really the reason to go. But the library also used 143 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 2: the system of these pneumatic tubes for book requests. So 144 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 2: first you'd fill out a ticket with the book you 145 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 2: were looking for, and then the slip would be sent 146 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 2: via tube to the appropriate shelf where a staff member 147 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 2: would find the book and send it back via tube. 148 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 2: The whole thing took I don't know, maybe like five 149 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 2: minutes or so. 150 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: That is pretty incredible and I had no idea. Another 151 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: way books have been delivered for years is through a 152 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: series of tunnels. 153 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 2: Ooh, whenever somebody says tunnels and I think libraries, I 154 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 2: feel like, this is the kind of secret I've been 155 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 2: waiting for. 156 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: Mega. So, as you mentioned, in eighteen ninety seven, the 157 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: Library of Congress made a big move from the Capital 158 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: to the Jefferson Building. But the problem was this new 159 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: building was about a quarter of a mile away, and 160 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: congressmen didn't have the time to work that far when 161 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: they needed a book, especially if Congress was in session. 162 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: So the Army Corps of Engineers built a special underground 163 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: tunnel to connect the two buildings. 164 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 2: It was just six feet. 165 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: High, four feet wide, and about eleven hundred feet long, 166 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: and it was made entirely of brick. 167 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 2: I'm curious, so how does it help the members of 168 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 2: Congress get there faster? 169 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, it really didn't. The tunnel included telephone wires and 170 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: pneumatic tubes for conveying book requests from Congress to the 171 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: new library building, and most excitingly, there was a special 172 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:34,320 Speaker 1: book carrying apparatus that carried books and other materials through 173 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: the tunnel via an electric conveyor system with tracks. Now, 174 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: the system could move books at around six hundred feet 175 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: per minute, which meant that a book could arrive at 176 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,559 Speaker 1: the Capitol just a couple of minutes after a request 177 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 1: came in, though Congressmen did start complaining about it because 178 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: often it would take about twenty five minutes for a 179 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: request to be delivered upon. 180 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:56,679 Speaker 2: I mean that still seems pretty fast. 181 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: It does to me too. And the tunnel was effective 182 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,559 Speaker 1: enough that ninety another was built to connect the library 183 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: to the Supreme Court, and then another to connect the 184 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: main Jefferson building to the John Adams Library building across 185 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: the street. 186 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 2: So do these tunnels still exist or rather, do they 187 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 2: still kind of whisk books back and forth between the buildings. 188 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,199 Speaker 1: So Sadly, when they were building the new Capital Visitors 189 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: Center in two thousand, the Capital section of the tunnel 190 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: was destroyed and the library section was sealed. But a 191 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: pedestrian tunnel that connects the library to the Capitol building 192 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: is still around and it's actually open to the public. 193 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 2: All right, Well, there's a bunch of stuff that people 194 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 2: can obviously still see, and so we're going to talk 195 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 2: about some of those things right after a quick break. 196 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 2: Welcome back to part time Genius. Today, we're revealing nine 197 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 2: secrets about the Library of Congress. Although I use the 198 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 2: word secret sort of loosely. I mean, the mission of 199 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 2: the library is that their collection is a available to everyone. 200 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 2: But before I get to my next fact, I wanted 201 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 2: to ask, so are you a fan of pasta? And 202 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 2: I started out by asking whether they were a famed 203 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 2: Spider Man. Now I need to know are you a 204 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 2: fan of pasta? 205 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: So I'm going to go back and say I actually 206 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,200 Speaker 1: really loved Spider Man comics as a kid. So I 207 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: want to retrofit this episode to make sure no one 208 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: is angry at me. I'm also, of course a huge 209 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: fan of pasta. Are you Kiddingeah? 210 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:25,840 Speaker 2: I mean pasta is so good? And then you have 211 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 2: something in common with Thomas Jefferson. Here another noted pasta fan. 212 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 2: But back in the seventeen hundreds, pasta wasn't known that 213 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 2: much in America. Jefferson discovered it while he was serving 214 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 2: as the US Minister to France. This was from seventeen 215 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 2: eighty four to seventeen eighty nine, and to be honest, 216 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 2: that time in France made him a little bit fancy. 217 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 2: He developed a taste for French cooking, and also at 218 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 2: the time, pasta was all the rage in France. So 219 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 2: while he was in Europe, Jefferson either saw or read 220 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 2: about quote a mold for making macaroni, and being a 221 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 2: fan of macaroni, which was the catch all term for 222 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 2: pasta pretty much of any kind, he wanted a machine 223 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 2: of his own, so he sent one from Naples to 224 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 2: his home at Monticello, and unfortunately it didn't work for 225 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 2: very long, and nobody knows what happened to it. 226 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: So I am very into all of this, but I 227 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 1: am curious, like, what does this stuff to do with 228 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress. 229 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 2: So Jefferson had pasta on the mind, and so he 230 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 2: drew up his own design for a pasta machine, complete 231 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 2: with instructions for making different shapes. And he noted that 232 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 2: the best pasta is made in Naples from a special 233 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 2: kind of flower called somola, but that any good, finely 234 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,239 Speaker 2: ground flower would also do. And the Library of Congress 235 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 2: had these plans. I think you'd probably doubted I was 236 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 2: ever going to ride around to it, But there it is. 237 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,199 Speaker 2: The Library of Congress has these plants. 238 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: I love that you said. Jefferson and I are both 239 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,959 Speaker 1: noted pasta lovers, so you too. That's the two most 240 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: well known things about what the. 241 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,199 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I saw a Wikipedia entry about 242 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 2: pasta lovers and you and Jefferson when we're sort of. 243 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,560 Speaker 1: Back to back. Yeah, just the two of us. But 244 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 1: I am amazed by this. Did he ever build his machine? 245 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 2: He did not, unfortunately, so those plans in the library 246 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 2: are the only record of Thomas Jefferson's career as a 247 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,560 Speaker 2: pasta machine designer. But he did serve fresh pasta at 248 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 2: dinners at Monticello, courtesy of course, of his kitchen staff, 249 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 2: rolling out dough and cutting it into different shapes. But 250 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 2: pasta was too adventurous for some of his guests. One 251 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 2: visitor actually complained that his pasta meal quote tasted very 252 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:23,599 Speaker 2: strong and not agreeable. 253 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: It feels like if your macaroni is strong and not agreeable, 254 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: you're not doing it right. Yeah. 255 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 2: I think that's probably true. 256 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: So, speaking of food, did you know that the Library 257 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: of Congress has a piece of wedding cake that's over 258 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,439 Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty years old inside of it? I 259 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: did not know this, and to be clear, and nobody 260 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: has tried to eat it. And the only reason it 261 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 1: survived this long is that it's likely a fruitcake soaked 262 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: in brandy. But this old cake has a pretty great story. 263 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: It's from the wedding of Charles Stratton aka General Tom 264 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: Thumb and Lavinia Warren. Both of them worked for Pt. 265 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: Barnum at a circus. Lavinia was thirty inches tall, Charles 266 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: was around thirty five inches, and in eighteen sixty three 267 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: when they got married, Tom Thumb was one of the 268 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: most popular stars in the country. So this wedding was 269 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,839 Speaker 1: a huge, huge deal and also kind of a welcome 270 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,520 Speaker 1: distraction from the Civil War which was going on at 271 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: that time. Now, the event took place in New York City, 272 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: and even the Astors and the Vanderbilts were jonesing for 273 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: an invite, and The New York Times wrote that there 274 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: were crowds for miles trying to get a glimpse of 275 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 1: the couple. The reception was at a downtown hotel and 276 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: five thousand guests paid seventy five dollars each. That's almost 277 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: two thousand dollars today to attend these festivities. 278 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,199 Speaker 2: Yeah, I was going to say, seventy five bucks was 279 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 2: a lot of money at that point. And let me 280 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:41,679 Speaker 2: guess there was cake at the reception. 281 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: Definitely, so. According to the Barnum Museum, which also has 282 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: a piece of this cake, it was tradition at the 283 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: time to give a slice to female guests as they 284 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: left the reception. I had never heard of that. Apparently 285 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,439 Speaker 1: that's true. Now. The Library of Congress got its piece 286 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: of cake from Harrison Fisk, a manager and editor of 287 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: at Theater magazine. In nineteen oh five, Lavinia, who had 288 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,319 Speaker 1: remarried after Tom Thumb died, sent him a slice of 289 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: her wedding cake, which at that point was actually more 290 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: than forty years old. The library suspects she was trying 291 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,199 Speaker 1: to publicize her autobiography or get cast in a role, 292 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: and so she was trying to carry some favor there. 293 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 2: Wow. Well, Mengo, I don't know if I can top 294 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 2: old cake, but I do have old flutes and a 295 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 2: lot of them. So we talked about all the stuff 296 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 2: that the library has, and it's an amazing collection. Do 297 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 2: you remember in twenty twenty two when Lizzo played James 298 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 2: Madison's crystal flute at her concert in DC. 299 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, it was such a big deal. 300 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 2: Well, it actually came from the Library's flute collection, which 301 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 2: is the largest in the world, and I'd had no 302 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 2: idea that this was the case. They're around seventeen hundred 303 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 2: flutes and wind instruments there. Most donated by a physicist 304 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 2: and amateur floutist named Dayton C. Miller. Now he came 305 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 2: by this honestly. His father played the fife and the 306 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 2: Union Army during the Civil War. Besides the crystal flute, 307 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 2: which Miller bought for two hundred dollars in nineteen twenty three, 308 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 2: the library has John Phillips SUS's piccolo, which Lizzo tried 309 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 2: out too, And there's also a flute that belonged to 310 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 2: Frederick the Great, a collection of Native American courting flutes, 311 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 2: and an instrument shaped like quote a horns toad climbing 312 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 2: a tree. You know, it's the whole range here. 313 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: But going back to that crystal flute, did Madison actually 314 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: play it? 315 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 2: He did not so, but it was it was somehow 316 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 2: important to his family. It was a gift from a 317 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 2: French flute maker named Charles Laurent, and the library has 318 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 2: seventeen crystal flutes from Lorent's workshop. Now, interestingly, the workshop 319 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: didn't use glass because it sounded better. It was because 320 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 2: glass handled heat and humidity better than wood or ivory. 321 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: So another person who didn't play the flute, as far 322 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: as we know it was Amelia Earhart However, she was 323 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: the first woman and the second person ever to fly 324 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Now, as you might remember, 325 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: she disappeared when her plane crashed in nineteen thirty seven 326 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: as she was attempting to fly around the world. The 327 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: Library of Congress has an amazing collection of Earhart Efemera, 328 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: including photos and even audio of a speech she gave. 329 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: But my favorite item is an autograph slide of her 330 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: palm print. So back in the nineteen thirties, palmistry was 331 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: really popular. It's this wu wu thing that claims that 332 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: your personality and interest can be seen in your hand. 333 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: And one of the world's foremost practitioners at the time 334 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: was a woman named Nellie Simmons Meyer, and in June 335 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,239 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three she analyzed Erhart's hence. 336 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 2: And what did she find? 337 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: Accord to Meyer, apparently, the aviator had a particularly large palm, 338 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 1: showing a love of physical activity and a strong will. 339 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: Her long finger showed her attention to detail and her 340 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: rational personality. Meyer also wrote, quote the diplomacy indicated by 341 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: the little finger enables her to conform to such restrictions 342 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: for a certain period, and then the urge for physical 343 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: and mental activity becomes so strong that she seeks escape 344 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: by a flight in her plane. 345 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 2: I want somebody to compliment my little finger like that 346 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 2: one day, Mango. 347 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure your little finger indicates that you're from 348 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: Alabama and that you have our final factor of the day. 349 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 2: Nail it. That's exactly what it said. So I'm going 350 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 2: to end and done. Another person who has quite a 351 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 2: bit in the library archives in that is Abraham Lincoln. So, 352 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 2: as you'll recall, he went to Ford's Theater on April fourteenth, 353 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 2: eighteen sixty five, where he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Now. 354 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,919 Speaker 2: He died the following morning, and the contents of his 355 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 2: pockets were given to his son Robert. Now, these were 356 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 2: kept in the Lincoln family for more than seventy years 357 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 2: until Lincoln's granddaughter gave them to the library in nineteen 358 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:28,399 Speaker 2: seventy six. Then Librarian of Congress Daniel Borston decided he 359 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 2: wanted to display them because he wanted to give back 360 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 2: a bit of humanity to a man he said, became 361 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 2: quote mythically engulfed. 362 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, I imagine his like, so legend is looming very large. 363 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: But what did he have in his pockets? Was there 364 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: anything super secret. 365 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 2: Well, actually, I mean it's all pretty commonplace stuff, which 366 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 2: which weirdly I think makes it that much more meaningful. 367 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 2: So he had a linen handkerchief with a Lincoln embroidered 368 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 2: on it. There was a pyramid shaped watch fob, a 369 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 2: kind of pocket watch counterbalance. There was also two pairs 370 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 2: of glasses. Lincoln had a lot of vision problems, so 371 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 2: he often switched between pairs, and that evening he had 372 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 2: a small metal folding pair and a larger gold rim 373 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 2: pair that had been mended by Abe himself with a string. 374 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 2: There was also a lens polisher, a button, and a 375 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 2: pocket knife. And this got a bunch of stuff in 376 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 2: his pockets, and that pocket knife he probably had in case, 377 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,120 Speaker 2: you know, he needed to repair his glasses. So back 378 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 2: to that idea as well. But he was also carrying 379 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 2: a brown leather wallet, and what's inside is also interesting. 380 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 2: So there was a pencil in eight newspaper clippings, including 381 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,159 Speaker 2: an article about his recent successful re election campaign, and 382 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 2: strangest of all, he had a confederate five dollars bill. 383 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: I mean, first of all, it's insane that he had 384 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,640 Speaker 1: a wallet with like eight clippings of his recent election victories. 385 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,640 Speaker 1: Crazy and in additioned like all these glasses. But why 386 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 1: Confederate money? 387 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's weird, right, Well, we can only speculate why 388 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 2: he had it, but historians note that Lincoln had traveled 389 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 2: to Richmond, Virginia, about a week before his death, and 390 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:58,640 Speaker 2: this was right after the city had been taken by 391 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,159 Speaker 2: the Union army, so it may have been given to 392 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 2: him as kind of a souvenir. But on that Notemega, 393 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 2: We've made it. We reached nine facts, and I'm going 394 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 2: to give you this episode's trophy because you had secret tunnels, 395 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:13,639 Speaker 2: you had old cake, which is just the shoe. And 396 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 2: when you get old cake, so what else did you do? 397 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 2: You do compliments to the pinky fingers, so you really 398 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 2: you've hit the full spectrum. I had a loss for words, Mango, 399 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 2: it's so amazing. 400 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 1: Well, I'm very honored, and I'll be sure to donate 401 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: this to the Livery of Congress when i'm done admiring it. 402 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 2: That is perfect. Well, that's it for today's episode. If 403 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 2: you enjoyed it, make sure to subscribe to the show 404 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 2: on your favorite podcast app and leave us a nice 405 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,159 Speaker 2: rating and review. Also, you can say hi to us 406 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 2: on Instagram at part Time Genius. This episode was written 407 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 2: by Marisa Brown. Thank you so much, Marissa, this was 408 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 2: a fun one, but from Dylan Gabe, Mary Mango and me, 409 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 2: thank you so much for listening. 410 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 411 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: This show is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongish 412 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 1: Heatikler and research by our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. 413 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: Today's episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan 414 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: Fagan with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive 415 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, with 416 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: social media support from Sasha Gay, trustee Dara Potts and 417 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:36,440 Speaker 1: Viney Shorey. For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit 418 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 419 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:54,880 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.