WEBVTT - The Backstory: Michael Jackson, Death Masks, and the CPR Woman

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<v Speaker 1>Have you ever seen a death mask, maybe in a

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<v Speaker 1>museum or even just a photo of one. Like a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of us, you probably thought, wow, that's creepy, But

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<v Speaker 1>they served a really practical purpose, and one of them

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<v Speaker 1>has become world famous. You may have touched her yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>and Michael Jackson referenced her in a huge hit record,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Patty Steele. The origin of the line Annie, are

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<v Speaker 1>you okay? Next on the backstory, We're back with the backstory.

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<v Speaker 1>Michael Jackson's song Smooth Criminal has the line Annie, are

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<v Speaker 1>yeah okay? Sorry for the music around three dozen times.

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<v Speaker 1>It also has the line mouth to mouth resuscitation sounding heartbeats.

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<v Speaker 1>Where did that come from? Well, it seems Michael was

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<v Speaker 1>trained in CPR, and the mannequin used worldwide for CPR

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<v Speaker 1>training is resus Annie. In fact, the model for Annie

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<v Speaker 1>was actually the death mask of a young woman in

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<v Speaker 1>Paris in the eighteen eighties. More unhear in just a moment,

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<v Speaker 1>So okay, death mask? Does that weird you out? Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you've seen them in museums or even in photos of

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<v Speaker 1>historic figures like Abe Lincoln, although his was actually a

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<v Speaker 1>life mask. But these things were popular, and there was

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<v Speaker 1>a reason for them to understand where the idea for

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<v Speaker 1>a death mask even came from, we got to go

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<v Speaker 1>way back. Ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, and Rome use them,

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<v Speaker 1>and interestingly, even though they lived on the other side

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<v Speaker 1>of the world. South American civilizations including the Inca, Mayan,

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<v Speaker 1>and Aztecs also used death masks. In every case, it

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<v Speaker 1>was to honor the dead, show some of their physical features,

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<v Speaker 1>and facilitate their journey into the afterlife. Most of these

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<v Speaker 1>really early masks are works of art. King Tut's death mask,

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<v Speaker 1>which was found inside his sarcophagus, is hugely famous. It's

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<v Speaker 1>twenty three pounds of solid gold representing Tut's face, though

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<v Speaker 1>it's probably fairly idealized. Three D studies of his mummified

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<v Speaker 1>body show a guy with buck teeth and a receding chin.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh well. As time went on, death masks were used

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<v Speaker 1>even more, not just for spiritual reasons or honoring big shots.

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<v Speaker 1>By the Middle Ages, they stopped burying the masks with

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<v Speaker 1>the bodies. Instead, they were used in funeral ceremonies, but

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<v Speaker 1>then kept in libraries, museums, and universities, as well as

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<v Speaker 1>in family homes. Death masks were made not just of royalty,

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<v Speaker 1>but also composers like Beethoven, military leaders like Napoleon, and

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<v Speaker 1>even inventors like Nikola Tesla, whose friend had a death

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<v Speaker 1>mask made of Tesla after his nineteen forty three death.

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<v Speaker 1>Some folks even have life masks done, like Abe Lincoln.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that was not just for the family to have

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<v Speaker 1>as a keepsake, although they did, but also so paintings

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<v Speaker 1>and sculptures of an individual could be done without their

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<v Speaker 1>presence in an art studio. You see, there was no photography,

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<v Speaker 1>or at least not very good but potography back then,

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<v Speaker 1>and other than in portraits, it was difficult to capture

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<v Speaker 1>the actual features of an individual. These masks were made

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<v Speaker 1>with plaster or wax and were highly detailed. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>how we get to the young woman whose face was

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<v Speaker 1>borrowed for the CPR mannequin resssa Annie. It was eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>eighty eight and the story goes that a young woman's

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<v Speaker 1>body was pulled from the Sene River, which flows through Paris.

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<v Speaker 1>She appeared to be about sixteen years old, but there

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<v Speaker 1>was nothing to identify her. The common practice in those

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<v Speaker 1>days was to immediately make a death mask of an

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<v Speaker 1>unknown individual so it could be placed with the remains. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>as the body deteriorated, it could still be identified by

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<v Speaker 1>the mask. They would then display the bodies, maybe as

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<v Speaker 1>many as a dozen at a time, in public, usually

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<v Speaker 1>behind glass in a chilled room. The public could check

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<v Speaker 1>them out to see if they could id them, and

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<v Speaker 1>also get a little bit of a morbid thrill. The

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<v Speaker 1>young woman was never identified, but people were enchanted by

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<v Speaker 1>her looks and seemingly calm demeanor. They called her len

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<v Speaker 1>Connille de la Senne, or the unknown woman of the Seine.

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<v Speaker 1>The French philosopher and author Albert Cameau called her a

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<v Speaker 1>drowned mona Lisa. Because of her serene smile, women wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to look like her, and everybody wanted a copy of

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<v Speaker 1>her death mask, so of course somebody figured out how

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<v Speaker 1>to make a book off of her. Plaster copies of

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<v Speaker 1>her death mask were sold all over Europe and still

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<v Speaker 1>by the way sol today. People hung them in their

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<v Speaker 1>homes as works of art. Paintings were based on it,

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<v Speaker 1>and books and short stories were written about her, all

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<v Speaker 1>made up, of course, since nobody knew who she was.

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<v Speaker 1>Some thought she'd killed herself after finding herself pregnant and

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<v Speaker 1>then being jilted by her lover. Fast forward seventy years

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<v Speaker 1>or so. In the nineteen fifties, a couple of anesthesiologists

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<v Speaker 1>met at a men conference and they began developing what

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<v Speaker 1>was called mouth to mouth ventilation to bring people back

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<v Speaker 1>who'd stop breathing. That eventually led them to CPR. In

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<v Speaker 1>the early nineteen sixties, or Norwegian researcher volunteered to create

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<v Speaker 1>the mannekin they'd use to train people in CPR. They

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<v Speaker 1>just didn't know what it should look like. They decided

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<v Speaker 1>to make it female, feeling that both men and women

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<v Speaker 1>would rather do mouth to mouth on a woman who

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<v Speaker 1>looked less threatening, but choosing the exact face was tough.

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<v Speaker 1>Then the Norwegian researcher was visiting a relative's house when

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<v Speaker 1>he noticed a reproduction of the Lost Woman of the

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<v Speaker 1>Sin the death Mask hanging on a wall. Voila. They

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<v Speaker 1>named her Anne, and resssa Annie was created. She's now

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<v Speaker 1>called the most kissed face in the world. Twelve million

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<v Speaker 1>people a year lock lips with her as they train

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<v Speaker 1>in CPR techniques. Among those hundreds of millions over the

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<v Speaker 1>years who've learned from her, Michael Jackson. Part of the

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<v Speaker 1>EMS training involves repeatedly asking the patient, Annie, are you okay?

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<v Speaker 1>And that's where that line comes from in Michael's song

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<v Speaker 1>Smooth Criminal. Hope you like the Backstory with Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>Please leave a review. I would love it if you'd

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<v Speaker 1>and feel free to dm me if you have a

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<v Speaker 1>story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty

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<v Speaker 1>Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the

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<v Speaker 1>Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is

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<v Speaker 1>Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes

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<v Speaker 1>every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out to

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<v Speaker 1>me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to the back Story with Patty Steele. The

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.