1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, Everybody. One of our episodes this week was 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,879 Speaker 1: on the Swill Milk scandal, and so we thought for 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: our Saturday Classic today we would stick with this theme 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: of adulterated food. This episode is from previous hosts Sarah 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: and Bablina and it came out on May eleven of eleven. 6 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: It's on chemist Harvey Washington Wiley, who studied effects of 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: food additives on human volunteers who became known as the 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: Poison Squad. His work eventually contributed to the passage of 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: the Pure Food and Drug Act of nineteen o six, 10 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:38,279 Speaker 1: and he continued to campaign against food adulteration afterward. So overall, 11 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: at least in my opinion, this episode is not quite 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: as gross as some of the things that we talked 13 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: about in the Swill Milk episode, but it does cover 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: the physical effects of eating things like borax. We've also 15 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: had various listener requests to do an episode on the 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: Poison Squad, so for those folks particularly enjoy Welcome to 17 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of My 18 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Deblina 19 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: Chok reboarding and I'm Sair Douting and when you walk 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: into the grocery store these days, there's a lot of 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: things to kind of worry about, I guess. I mean, 22 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: should you buy organic, should you buy foods that are 23 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: grass fed? Cage free? Is what you're looking at, locally grown? 24 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: Just to name a few problems you might face, because 25 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: there's pretty serious health related food concerns to like mercury 26 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: levels and fish and bacterial contamination. You know, there was 27 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: that news recently that half of all the meat sold 28 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: in the United States is tainted with drug resistance staff. Yeah, 29 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: that freaking out. Apparently some people aren't very concerned about it. 30 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: I don't know. I guess that's a big statistic, but 31 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: it sounds weird. And still, you know, we have the 32 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: salmonilla egg recall a few years ago, there was the 33 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: peanut butter scare. Yea when you couldn't eat certain granola bars. 34 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: Just I remember my mom calling me up about that, like, 35 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: don't eat need bars, I might have peanut butter. Yeah, 36 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: So you know, we have a lot to think about. Yeah. 37 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: So it's not a perfect system right now as far 38 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: as food regulation goes, but it still seems to have 39 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: come a long way from what it was about a 40 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: hundred years ago in the US when there were really 41 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: no labeling requirements, no safety tests, and no one really 42 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: monitored additives. Those substances like borax, which is actually used 43 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,959 Speaker 1: in detergent and things like that, and formalde hyde um 44 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 1: and these were used as food preservatives at the time, 45 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: and formalde hyde in your food sounds pretty ridiculous if 46 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: you've ever done like a dissection in biology class or 47 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: something and smelled the stuff. But that's when the chemist 48 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: Harvey W. Wiley came into the picture, because obviously, if 49 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 1: you have stuff like borax and formaldehyde in your food, 50 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: things need work. Yeah, So Wiley stepped in, first mainly 51 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: trying to change things solely through legislation, and then through 52 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: something that came to be known as the Poison Squad, 53 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: and that was a kind of human experiment through which 54 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: Wiley tested substances used in food that he believed to 55 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: be harmful. And this became kind of a media sensation 56 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: of attention. Yeah, as it would. So we're going to 57 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: take a look at how the Poison Squad worked and 58 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: what it accomplished, and also why Wiley is considered by 59 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: many to be the founding father of the U S 60 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: feud and drug administration. Yeah, but first we're going to 61 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: give a little background on Wiley. He's kind of a 62 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: pioneer man almost, who was born in eighteen forty four 63 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: in a log cabin on a frontier farm in Indiana, 64 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: So real classic beginnings. And in addition to being a father, 65 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: his father was a Campbellite preacher, So Wiley grew up 66 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: in this real evangelical background with a strong emphasis on 67 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: doing the right thing, which is clearly going to come 68 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: into play in his later career. Yeah. But before that 69 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: career took off, he went to Hanover College in Indiana 70 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: in the eighteen sixties. He dropped out briefly in eighteen 71 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: sixty four to serve in the Union Army during the 72 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: Civil War, but he never really saw combat, so he 73 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: returned to finish up at and Over and then went 74 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: on to get a medical degree at Indiana Medical College, 75 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: and he studied medical science for a year at Harvard, 76 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: so very educated. Yeah, and from there he got a 77 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: professorship in chemistry at Purdue University. And it's while he 78 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: was there that he helped write a report for the 79 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: Indiana State Board of Health condemning adulterated foods and his 80 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: main thoughts and main research had to do with honey, 81 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: and he found basically that companies were adulterating honey, passing 82 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: it off as pure honey but really adding glucose. In fact, 83 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: the product they were selling was mostly glucos and he 84 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: was pretty disturbed by this. So this is the first 85 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: time he caused a little bit of a controversy, but 86 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: it was not the last time. No, this experience is 87 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: what caused the interest in food adulteration that Wiley would 88 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: have throughout his entire career and his life. In eight three, 89 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: he actually got a chance to take that interest to 90 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: the national level when he was offered the position of 91 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: Chief Chemist in the Department of Agriculture in Washington, d C. 92 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: And the came at a good time too, because he 93 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: had some trouble with the administration at Perdue around that time, 94 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: trying to make an exit. Yeah exactly. I think it 95 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: was something about riding a bike on campus and that 96 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: he didn't think that was like fitting for a professor. 97 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, how scandalous. Definitely. So his main job as 98 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,119 Speaker 1: the chief Chemist was to support new agricultural industries, because 99 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: this was, after all, a government job. That's the kind 100 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: of thing that he'd be expected to do, but he 101 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: still followed his own passion and developed this test for 102 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: food purity on the side something so he could look 103 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: at what people were really putting into food. Yeah, and 104 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: eventually he took his fight for federal food regulation to Congress. 105 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: His work contributed to several pure food bills in the 106 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties and the eighteen nineties. So this is what 107 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: we're referring to when we talked about legislation that he 108 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: contributed to. But none of these bills that none of 109 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: them went anywhere. They all kind of failed. So something 110 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: had to be done though, I mean, adulteration of food 111 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: was a real problem. There were instances of sanded sugar, 112 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: watered milk, sawdust, enhanced flour, which just sounds crazy, just 113 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 1: to name a few things that were problems at the time. 114 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: And some states had laws against these things, but with 115 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: the growth of nationwide food distribution, it was really hard 116 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: to enforce them once they crossed state lines. Yeah, so 117 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: people didn't know where their food was even coming from. 118 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: And according to an article by Bernard A. Weissburger in 119 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: American Heritage, late nineteenth century technology brought more additives into 120 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: the picture too, So it wasn't just these things being 121 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: added like sugar or watered milk, it was coloring agents 122 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: and preservatives like copper sulfate and flour bleaches, and Wiley's 123 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: first big concern that we mentioned earlier borax. Yeah. So, 124 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: since manufacturers weren't required to prove preservative safety, Wiley asked 125 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: Congress in for money to do the tests himself. He 126 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: wanted to learn, quote, whether preservatives should ever be used 127 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: or not, and if so, what preservatives and in what quantities. 128 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: So he thought he could prove that these substances were 129 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: harmful that Congress in the public would finally support national 130 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: regulation policies. So that was the goal here, third party 131 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: testing essentially. So in nineteen o two, Congress gave Wiley 132 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: funding to start these tests that he wanted to do, 133 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: and they were known officially as the Hygiene I Table Trials. 134 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: And the way they worked is kind of medieval seeming almost. 135 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: It reminds me of the King's Food Tester. Yeah, it's 136 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: really interesting. Actually, widely recruited twelve young healthy men. They 137 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: were all volunteers actually from the Department of Agriculture. Yeah, 138 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: they weren't tricked in any way, they were all in 139 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: their twenties though, and that was so they'd be sturdy 140 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: enough for the experiment, or so widely determined. And for 141 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: a span of six months, those twelve men agreed to 142 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: eat only meals that were prepared in a test kitchen 143 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: that Wiley set up in the basement of the Agriculture 144 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: department building. Yeah, but here's the catch. Each meal would 145 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: include one suspect ingredient that Hilie wanted to test, So 146 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: for example, the borax. Yeah, that's going to make you 147 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: question this free meal deal a little bit. Yeah, definitely 148 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: sounds good up until that point. But another aspect of 149 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: it was that the men also pledged to eat all 150 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: their meals at the Hygiene I table, and that was 151 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: that meant that they were eating at a dining table 152 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: in a dining room that was set up next to 153 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: the test kitchen. So this was all in the basement together. 154 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: I'm thinking this is the counterpart two NPR splendid table. Yeah. 155 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: Not very pleasant though. So they agreed that they would 156 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: not consume any outside foods or beverages to except for water, 157 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: and even that had to be measured and reported. I mean, 158 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: the deal was they didn't want to get sick from 159 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: something the guy was snacking on the side exactly, And 160 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: each participant had to record his weight, temperature, and pulse 161 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 1: before each meal and what he ate. They also had 162 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: to submit urine and fece samples daily. A so not 163 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: definitely gross all around, very gross, but I would say 164 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: that's probably the most unpleasant aspect of the daily ritual. Yeah, 165 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: and then also doctors would examine the participants and note 166 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: any symptoms in case these additives were having negative effects 167 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: on a weekly basis. Right, So all the volunteers obviously 168 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: knew that they were eating potential poisons, but they all 169 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: signed to these waivers that absolved the government from any 170 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: liability in case they got ill. And so initially Wiley's 171 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: approach was to make it pretty random, to mix the 172 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: potential poison, whatever the poison of the week was, into 173 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: the food, which was supposed to be pretty good too. 174 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: I mean, I guess that's why they got these volunteers 175 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: in the first place. Yeah, I've seen different examples mentioned 176 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: roast chicken, braised beef, buttered asparagus, so and a little 177 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,679 Speaker 1: borax on the side. Well, if you forget about the borax, 178 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: it sounds like a decent deal. But even though the 179 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: men weren't told which food item Wiley put the substance 180 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: such as borax in, they ended up avoiding that particular 181 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: item in the first couple of trials. So it tastes funny. Yeah. 182 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: For example, if Wiley put box and the butter, they 183 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 1: wouldn't eat it because they would notice it. I'm not 184 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: sure how different how different the taste would be, but yeah, 185 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: you would realize, oh, that's where the poison is and 186 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 1: move on to your roast chicken and asparagus meal. Yeah. 187 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: So then what Wiley did pretty early in the trial 188 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: as he changed his approach he started putting the preservatives 189 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: in these gelatin capsules instead, and this meant that the 190 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:31,080 Speaker 1: poison was no longer hidden. But surprisingly, really surprisingly to me, 191 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: the men took them willingly whiley put them out in 192 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: a serving bowl with each meal, with the understanding that 193 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: if they were taken in the middle of the meal, 194 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: they would dissolve in the digested food, so it would 195 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: be pretty much the same as eating it actually mixed 196 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: in with a food item. Yeah. And another interesting point, 197 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: Whyley didn't make the guinea pigs take all the risk 198 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: he took. He joined in for many of the meals. 199 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: To imagine, that endeared him to the twelve volunteers a 200 00:10:55,400 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: little bit. So obviously, these hygiene e table trials become 201 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: a national sensation pretty quickly. In the newspapers think of 202 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:06,719 Speaker 1: of an even better name for the whole thing and 203 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: dubbed the volunteer test subjects the Poison Squad, and the 204 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: experiment really did have a show like quality to it. 205 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 1: The volunteers even had their own slogan, It was none 206 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: but the brave can eat the fair. And people even 207 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: wrote songs about them. Yeah. One was called the Song 208 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: of the Poison Squad, and it was by the lou 209 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: doc Stater minstrels. I hope I said that right, all 210 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: you lu doc Stater fans out there can let us 211 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: know it. Yeah, right in and tell me if I 212 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: said that correctly. But the song went like this or 213 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: this was one verse. Oh they may get over it, 214 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: but they'll never look the same. That kind of bill 215 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 1: of fare would drive most men insane. Next week he'll 216 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,080 Speaker 1: give them mothballs a La Newburgh or else. Plain. Oh 217 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,199 Speaker 1: they may get over it, but they'll never look the same. Yeah, 218 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,319 Speaker 1: so pretty catchy there, I like to think they might 219 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: have played that at the dinner table or something. But 220 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,680 Speaker 1: some people obviously put a humorous spin on this whole thing, 221 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: and the experiment even made its way into variety acts 222 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: of the time. Um probably understandably so, because research at 223 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 1: the dinner table didn't really seem that science e. It 224 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: seemed kind of fun. Well not that fun, I guess, 225 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: but different at least, yeah, compared to most traditional scientific 226 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: study in a lab coat kind of situation. Yeah, I 227 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: mean you could. I could imagine this being like a 228 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: reality show, couldn't you. I mean, I think it is 229 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: a reality show across between Fear Factor and Top Chef 230 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: or something. So you can imagine a million people wanting 231 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: to tune in, so to speak, and see what's happening 232 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 1: every week with these guys. And Wiley did worry about 233 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: this at first because he wanted to take the research seriously, 234 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,079 Speaker 1: but he still knew that he needed to win over 235 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,240 Speaker 1: the public and get them involved the point of the 236 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: whole thing, so he worked the banquet circuit, even making 237 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: up little poems for listeners, like this one entitled I 238 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: Wonder What's in it? And it goes the pepper perhaps 239 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: contains coconut shells, and the mustard is cotton seed meal, 240 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,079 Speaker 1: the coffee and sooth of baked chickory smells and a 241 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 1: terrapin taste like roast vell. Yeah, and he also started 242 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: talking to reporters to about the experiment, so not just 243 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: writing these catchy little poems, but giving them every detail 244 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: of the effects that the poisons had on the men. 245 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: And some of the examples of the effects were disturbing. 246 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 1: I mean, borax proved to be not so bad. Perhaps 247 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: it gave the men a little bit of indigestion, but 248 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: over the long term and in increased amounts, it caused 249 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: weight loss and reproductive system damage. So definitely some problems 250 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: with a frequent food additive there. Formaldehyde was tested later, 251 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: and Wiley had to end those tests pretty much right 252 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:39,679 Speaker 1: off the bat because the men got so sick they 253 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: couldn't even get out of bed. So you know, that's 254 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: good stuff for the news. Yeah, there's definitely some scare 255 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: factor there. But the experiment went on for five years 256 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,480 Speaker 1: with different groups of volunteers, and eventually that publicity that 257 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:56,079 Speaker 1: they got definitely paid off. The public's growing awareness put 258 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 1: pressure on the government and on June Thirtie nine six, 259 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 1: President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drugs Act, 260 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,680 Speaker 1: which was largely written by Wiley, and it was the 261 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: nation's first law regulating food and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Many called 262 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: it the Wiley Act, not surprisingly enough. And while he 263 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: got a new job out of it too. Yeah, he 264 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: got to oversee this new acts administration, and that's kind 265 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: of why he's known as the Father of the Pure 266 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: Food and Drug Act, as you might imagine. Yeah, but 267 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: things were still a little bit rough for him after 268 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: this big triumph. Even he had a lot of adversaries 269 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: in Congress, and he met with a lot of opposition 270 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: while trying to enforce the Act, because you know, an 271 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,119 Speaker 1: Act on the books is only as good as its enforcement. 272 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: So he even butted heads with the President and the 273 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: Secretary of Agriculture and ended up resigning in nineteen twelve. Yeah, 274 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: but it wasn't so bad for his career because he 275 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: ended up moving on to another really high profile position. 276 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: He signed on as the director of the Bureau of Foods, Sanitation, 277 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: and Health for Good Housekeeping magazine, and the magazine at 278 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: that point had already created the Good Housekeeping Institute laboratories 279 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: to ensure the reliability of things that it featured in 280 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 1: the magazine on its pages. So while he added his 281 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: own lab and d C to the mix and continued 282 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: his fight for pure food in that way, and he 283 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: worked there for another nineteen years as the director before 284 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,440 Speaker 1: he died in nineteen thirty at the ripe old age 285 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,119 Speaker 1: of eighty six. So I guess some of those additives 286 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: didn't have too bad of an effect on him for 287 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 1: the long term. But during those years he led the 288 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: fight for tougher government inspection of meat and for pure 289 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: butter that was unadulterated with water, and for whole wheat flour, 290 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: among a lot of other things. And interestingly, that good 291 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:42,360 Speaker 1: housekeeping tested and approved seal also became a real symbol 292 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: of responsible industry of safe food, and it's still probably 293 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: means something to consumers today, I'd say, yeah, for sure. 294 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: And Whiley's accomplishment is felt in other ways to borax sale, 295 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: silic acid, formaldehyde, and copper sulfate, all of these things 296 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: are long gone from the food additive market, which yeah, 297 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: thank goodness. And that Pure Feud and Drug Act that 298 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: Wiley championed that led to the more famous night Federal 299 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: Food Drug and cosmetic act. So changes, big changes, definitely 300 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: um and as performer members of the Poison Squad, no 301 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: official follow up was done on how they did in 302 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: later years, but anecdotal evidence showed that at least some 303 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: of them did okay. One for example, a guy named 304 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 1: William O. Robinson lived to be ninety four. So there, 305 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: you didn't turn out so badly for everyone. Yeah. I 306 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: like to imagine maybe Poison Squad was on their business 307 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: cards or something after the fact. Oh yeah, I would 308 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: wear that go into the restaurant business or something. I 309 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: don't know. I think you'd always be suspicious though, into 310 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: the restaurant business, I would be. I'm suspicious now after 311 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 1: reading this. Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. 312 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: Since this episode is out of the archive, if you 313 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: heard an email address or Facebook U r L or 314 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: something similar over the course of the show, that could 315 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 1: be obsolete now. Our current email address is History Podcast 316 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: at I Heart radio dot com. 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