1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy be Wilson, and I 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: apologize upfront because any listeners are going to be hearing 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: about this for the next couple of months. We're going 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: to Paris. It's true. Uh, if you want to get 7 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: in on that trip, because listeners can come with us, Uh, 8 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: you just go to our website. There is an option 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: in the menu bar at the top of the page 10 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: that says Paris trip exclamation point because of excitement, and 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: then that will give you all the details on booking. 12 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: Because we are going on this Paris trip in June, 13 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: and I have a little bit of the rabies about 14 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: France topics. So, uh, you're getting a two parter on 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: a French topic this week because I'm very excited and 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: it is the thing we will visit, at least I 17 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: will visit for sure when we are there. Literally only 18 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: everyone everyone has heard of what we call in the 19 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: US the Eiffel Tower actually fell, But that's a whole 20 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: other thing. Uh. That one structure itself and its construction 21 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: could easily be the subject of multiple episodes because there's 22 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,759 Speaker 1: a whole fascinating story, particularly from the engineering and building standpoint. 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: Uh there, But the engineer it is named for, Gustava Fell, 24 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: contributed a great deal more to the world than that 25 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: one iconic structure. So we will talk about the building 26 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: of the turf l but we won't cover it in 27 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: complete exhaustive detail. And Gustava Fell's early life actually showed 28 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: no indication that he was going to end up famous 29 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: for his engineering work, and his later life actually went 30 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: in a totally different direction, and his expertise in iron 31 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: work was sought for projects throughout Europe and South America. 32 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: He also worked on one of the most iconic structures 33 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: in the United States as well, And his career is 34 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: interesting to me because it's mostly an impressive series of 35 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: successes except for one colossal scandal. Like I feel like 36 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: often when we talk about somebody who has become iconic historically, 37 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: it's like we're revealing all of the struggle and all 38 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: of the mistakes they made along the way. And in 39 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: this case, it's kind of like, yeah, he did that, 40 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: and it was on time and under budget, and also 41 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: that other one was on time and under budget, and 42 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: also this one was on time and under budget because 43 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: he was very exacting. So this is a little bit different, 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: uh than the I messed up a lot and then 45 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: I made a great thing. It's more like I made 46 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: a lot of great stuff. People just only remember one. 47 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: I was very competent. Yes, I was extraordinarily good at 48 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: what I did. Uh. And we will talk about some 49 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: criticisms of him as well. But in the first part 50 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: of this two parter, we're going to talk about his 51 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: early family life and how he eventually found himself working 52 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: with what we're very modern materials for the time. He 53 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: kind of stumbled into it. Uh. And then in the 54 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: second part, which will be the next episode, we will 55 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: delve into some of his most famous projects, as well 56 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: as the surprising turn that his efforts took in his 57 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: eight years. Alexandra Gustave I Fell was born December fifteenth, 58 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty two. His family was originally from Germany. His 59 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: great great grandfather had moved to Paris in the early 60 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: seventeen hundreds, and the family trade was tapestry weaving up 61 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: until Alexandra Bunkauzenfel, who was Gustav's father, went into military 62 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: service instead of becoming a weaver. The elder Alexandra married 63 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: Gustave's mother, Katherine Melanie Munus, in the fall of eighteen 64 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: twenty four while he was stationed in Dijon that's roughly 65 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: two hundred miles southeast of Paris. Gustav had two sisters 66 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: born after him. There were Marie, who was born in 67 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty four and Lure born in eighteen thirty six. 68 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: And Catherine was not a woman who married and had 69 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: kids and then stayed home to raise them. She was 70 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: a little unique for her time. She was actually an 71 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: entrepreneur with a very astute business instinct, and not long 72 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: after she became a mother, she decided that she would 73 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: take her family's business, which was charcoal, and expanded. She 74 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: arraigned for her company to become the distributor of coal 75 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: from more minds throughout France than they already had, in 76 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: order to capitalize on the growing need for coal in industry. 77 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: So both parents had very busy careers, but the family 78 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: was very close. Gustave and his mother especially were close. 79 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: But Catherine and Alexandra also prioritize their children, all of 80 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: their children and offered them an example of a dedicated 81 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: work ethic and a marriage of equals. When Catherine's coal 82 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: business started to grow really quickly, Alexandra left his civil 83 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: administrator job to go work with her, and together they 84 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: built a pretty nice fortune for the family. Eventually they 85 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: moved into a brewery business and they kept doing well there, 86 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: But they were also seen as outsiders in high society. 87 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: I was really dominated by old money families who had 88 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: been wealthy for generations, so their new money just didn't 89 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: have the same shine to it. Yeah, they did not 90 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: have clout in high society circles. And they were actually 91 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: running that brewery. They had just made a big investment 92 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: in it after they sold their their coal company. I 93 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: should also mention that you'll often see that Gustav and 94 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: his sisters were raised largely by their grandmother on his 95 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:10,919 Speaker 1: mother's side, which she They did stay with her the 96 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: majority of the time, but both Catherine and Alexander made 97 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: a point to always go home and spend time with 98 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: their children and be with them as much as they 99 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: could be. Gaustav also became close with his chemist uncle 100 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: Jean Baptiste Mora, who ran a large distillery, and Molarat's 101 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 1: friend Michel Pray, also an industrial chemist who made a 102 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: name for himself in mineral mining, and these two men 103 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 1: were pretty highly influential in the development of the Fails worldview. 104 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: Both believed basically in questioning everything. His uncle was particularly 105 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: anti royalist, and both thought that you should question things, 106 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: both philosophically and scientifically. Gustav found school to be really challenging. 107 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,839 Speaker 1: It was boring at best and excruciating at worst, but 108 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,720 Speaker 1: two of his teachers really ignited a love of learning 109 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 1: for him when he got to be a teenager. He 110 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 1: had a literature teacher named Monsieur Clements and a history 111 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: teacher named Monsieur de Jardines, and their entry into his 112 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: education really inspired him to continue it. They helped him 113 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: get caught up on his work, which he had follen 114 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: behind on by meaning I saw one estimate that he 115 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:19,840 Speaker 1: was like a year behind his peers because he had 116 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: just stopped bothering. Yeah. They also helped him gain admission 117 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: and to the College Santa barb in Paris, which they 118 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: hope would lead him to getting entry into a cold 119 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: polytechnique to finish up his education. And the youngfl had 120 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: traveled to Paris from Dijon for the first time when 121 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: he was twelve and During that trip, which he took 122 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: with his mother, he really fell in love with the city. 123 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: But even though he had seemed entirely excited as a 124 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: slightly older young man to attend school there, he pretty 125 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: quickly became homesick. After he started at college, stab he 126 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: eventually found amusements in seeking out opportunities, for example, to 127 00:06:57,279 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: dance with young ladies. He made a note that he 128 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: preferred nancing with English girls rather than French girls because 129 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: he found them less reserved, and he also would attend 130 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: the occasional seance. So he wasn't really focusing on his studies. Uh, 131 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: he didn't get really passionate about his education. He kind 132 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: of sat right in the middle of his class achievement wise. 133 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: After his second year, his performance on his exams hadn't 134 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: been good enough to get him entry into a coal polytechnique, 135 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: so instead he went to a close said trial. He 136 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: didn't seem very dismayed by this change of plans, and 137 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: the need to go to a less prestigious school didn't 138 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: seem to phase him all that much. He wasn't focused 139 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: on engineering or metallurgy in his studies. Those are things 140 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: that you might expect of the man who would become 141 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: known for building these massive iron structures. When it came 142 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: time to select a concentration, he went into chemistry, probably 143 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: thinking he might eventually take over his uncle's business, although 144 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: due to a politically generated falling out in the family 145 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: that never really happened. No. As I said, his uncle 146 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: was very outspoken and like to question everything, and that 147 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: cost him problem with other members of the family. Gustav 148 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: graduated from a concentral in eighteen fifty five, and while 149 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: he had focused on chemistry and actually had really done 150 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: pretty well in those studies, for a change, he also 151 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: had a pretty well rounded education. Eighteen fifty five was 152 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: also the year that f l asked his mother for 153 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: a season past the Exhibition Universal in Paris. London's Great 154 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: Exhibition of eighteen fifty one, which has come up on 155 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: this podcast a number of times before, including Joseph Paxton's 156 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace, had been a massive success, and the French 157 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: were eager to outdo it, in part because they felt 158 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: that they had invented the idea of having these sort 159 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: of world's fairs, and that the British had stolen the 160 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: concept from them and then acted as though it was 161 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: their own. But in any case, Paris in eighteen fifty 162 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: five was alive with this desire to show off the 163 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: best and the brightest in the newly constructed Palais de 164 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: Landes three on the Chancels. In fact, the Exposition Universal 165 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: had really carved out a different space from the London 166 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: Expo in terms of national identity and areas of expertise. 167 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: So as the animosity waned and Britain and France started 168 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: building a more cordial relationship, which was cemented by Queen 169 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: Victoria's visit to the Prisian Expo, the French started focusing 170 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,679 Speaker 1: more on showcasing their taste for design and art instead 171 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: of making a real run at trying to shame Britain's 172 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: more industrial and manufacturing focused show that had happened four 173 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: years prior. And Gustave Fel was on hand to see 174 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: and explore all of this. And while that experience must 175 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: have been enthralling and very exciting, young Gustav eventually had 176 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: to figure out a career path, and we will get 177 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: to that right after we first pause for a little 178 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: sponsor break. Since the plan to take over his uncle's 179 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: distillery was no longer in place by the time he 180 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: graduated from school, fl took a foundry apprenticeship with his 181 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: brother in law, Joseph Colin, and this was not a 182 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: paying position. So while i Fel used the opportunity to 183 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: learn as much as he could about iron founding, he 184 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: also started looking for a permanent job with an income immediately. 185 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: The next year, eighteen fifty six, it Fell visited the 186 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: offices and workshop of Charles Nipvou in the eighth Arrondissement 187 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: as one of a series of visits that he made 188 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: to inquire after work. This was a pretty fortuitous visit 189 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: because Nippoo was already at the forefront of the railway industry. 190 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 1: He designed both tracks and engines, and he offered Gustavo 191 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: Felt a job. I Fell would work as the private 192 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,440 Speaker 1: secretary and would get an on the job education and 193 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: engineering and material science while he was at it. At 194 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: the same time, it Fell took economics classes through a 195 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: Sunday program at Ecode. Means, yeah, the ecodeman was basically 196 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 1: letting him have a private tutorship and getting full course 197 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: credit for it so that he could continue his work. 198 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: And it is kind of funny to me, this is 199 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: sort of that cases somebody just stumbling into what ends 200 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: up being the thing that defines them, because he was 201 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: visiting a lot of different offices and places along the 202 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 1: way when he happened to meet with Neva and just 203 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 1: kind of struck his moment. But this all seems ideal, 204 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: but Nava was in some serious financial trouble after a 205 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: really expensive project that he had been working on had 206 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: gone completely awry, and one day Neva just didn't show 207 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: up at the office and for two weeks he was 208 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 1: missing and the businesses bills and management went completely unattended. 209 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: NFL was actually afraid that his new boss had killed himself. 210 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 1: There were some clues that have fell had put together 211 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,080 Speaker 1: and really feared for this man's life, but in reality 212 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 1: he seems to have had a nervous breakdown, and after 213 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: he returned to work, Gustav actually stayed with Neva to 214 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: help him close up the business, even though he knew 215 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: he was not going to get paid for these efforts because, 216 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: as we said, deep financial trouble. But Nava did find 217 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 1: a Fl a new job at a company de Chemin 218 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 1: de Faire de Luest that's the Western Railway Company, and 219 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: this was not the end of his relationship though with Nibva. 220 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: Gustav earned a hundred and twenty five francs a month 221 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: in his new position and worked with the chief engineer 222 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: as the company kept expanding its considerable railway holdings. That 223 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,719 Speaker 1: chief engineer was Eugene flesh At, who was an innovator 224 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: in the use of sheet metal iron work. At this point, 225 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: iron as an architectural material was still pretty new in France, 226 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: and Fleshat had been a significant contributor in the slow 227 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: acceptance in France. England was a bit ahead of France 228 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: and incorporating iron into construction and had been experimenting with 229 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: it all the way back in the seventeen hundreds. Yet 230 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 1: some of that was economic, like it was just expensive 231 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: to start experimenting with this new material and France did 232 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: not have the money or interest in spending the money 233 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: to do that. And also some of it was aesthetic. 234 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: They weren't really ready to adopt this new thing yet. 235 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 1: That will come up in Part two as well. But 236 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: with the railway, fl designed his first structure. It was 237 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,559 Speaker 1: a bridge seventy two eat uh that's just short of 238 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: twenty two that would be constructed with cast iron and 239 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: sheet iron, and this design was approved for construction for 240 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 1: the Saint Germain railway. At the same time, Nippo was 241 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: working to sell off his company, which he had never 242 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,040 Speaker 1: really been good at running. He wanted to sell it 243 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: to a larger firm that would pay him to continue 244 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: to do engineering and design work without having to worry 245 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: about all the administrative tasks that he just couldn't get 246 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 1: a handle on trying to run his own business. He 247 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,679 Speaker 1: sold to a Belgian company and not only got the 248 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 1: position he wanted, but also arranged for Gestava Fel to 249 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: be given a senior position in the French office as 250 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: head of research, which paid two in fifty francs a month. Yeah, 251 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: that was a big jump for him. That doubled his income. 252 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: He went from being like an entry level employee to 253 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: a senior employee at a different company. It was a 254 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: nice way of saying thank you for sticking with me 255 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 1: in that whole messy business. A while back, uh And 256 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: with the new Belgian company, Nevo secured a high profile project. 257 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: This is a bridge over the guard on the river 258 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: at Bordeaux that would link to previously separated rail systems 259 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: and Charles nabva entrusted a fell with the metal assembly. 260 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: He ran the entire side of that operation, and this 261 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: was no small ask because the project was huge and 262 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,239 Speaker 1: it had only a twenty four month window for completion. 263 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: The project didn't just involve the iron bridge. Before the 264 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: construction could even start, it Fell had to set up 265 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: workshops and a temporary service bridge at the site so 266 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: that the iron work could be assembled there before it 267 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: was installed. But it Fell managed all of this and 268 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: the bridge work itself very efficiently. He used hydraulic pile driving, 269 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: which is a really new technique, to drive hollow caissons 270 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: into the riverbed that could serve as workspaces during construction. 271 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: And as a side note, Casson disease decompression sickness, characterized 272 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: by the formation of gas bubbles in the body when 273 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: a person moves quickly from a high pressure environment to 274 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: a lower pressure environment, is in fact named for this 275 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: con ruction technique, because these cassans would be pressurized so 276 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: that people could work in them underwater and then they 277 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: would go back to regular top side without really any 278 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 1: transition time. Uh. But there is no record of any 279 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 1: such illness happening on a Fell's Bordeaux Bridge project. The 280 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: only injury on record took place when a riveter fell 281 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: into the river during construction, and Gustavo Fell jumped into 282 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: the water to rescue the worker, and then he instituted 283 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: a series of new safety measures immediately after the whole 284 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: thing was done, including uh, the men always had to 285 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: be tethered with a rope if they were riveting up 286 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: on the bridge. And it should be noted though, that 287 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: the laborer who fell was actually believed to have been 288 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: intoxicated at the time of the accident. So while of 289 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: course they needed all these safety measures, he was not 290 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: being safe on the job to begin with. Part of 291 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: the reason that it Fell was so efficient was that 292 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: he was very precise and his design and calculations. While 293 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: other engineers were developing designs through trial and error, he 294 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: was doing really meticulous math before the project started to 295 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: make sure that his ideas were structurally sound. This bridge 296 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: was a success, and it led to it Fell's promotion 297 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty to Engineer General. He was given a 298 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: salary of nine thousand francs a year, plus a five 299 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,239 Speaker 1: percent share of the profits on any of his projects. 300 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 1: He could also not be dismissed with less than a 301 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: year's notice. Yeah, that's a sweet deal and at this point, 302 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: Gustava Fel was successful, he was stable, and he was 303 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: in his late twenties, and what he really really wanted 304 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: was a family of his own. And he had dated 305 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: a number of women, and he even tried to become 306 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: engaged to one of the young ladies that he had dated, 307 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: but her family did not think he was of high 308 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: enough social standing. That's kind of his what we talked 309 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: about a moment ago with his parents being very successful 310 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: but never quite being accepted by the wealthier high society 311 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: kind of coming back to bite him. But he reunited 312 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: with a young woman from his hometown of Dijon that 313 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: he had known since childhood, and there he finally found 314 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: his match. Stav married Marie Goudlay on July eighteen sixty two. Marie, 315 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 1: who went by Marguerite, was the granddaughter of one of 316 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: the fl family business partners, so blending the two families 317 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 1: is a pretty natural fit. The two of them went 318 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: on to have five children. The first was a daughter 319 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: named Claire, who was born in eighteen sixty three, which 320 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: was the year after their wedding. Yes, she uh one 321 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: thing that I read suggested that she had just started 322 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: going by Marguerite to make things easier since his mother 323 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: was a marie and so they would be easy to 324 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:36,640 Speaker 1: to differentiate when people were speaking about them. And this 325 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: marriage was a happy one, but unfortunately a series of 326 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: problems unfolded NFL's life soon after the wedding. While he 327 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 1: had been promoted again by the company, it quickly became 328 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: a parent that there were some serious problems with finances 329 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: and the business was not stable anymore, and he knew 330 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: he had to get out, and so after putting together 331 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 1: a few independent projects and some consulting tracks, he decided 332 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: he would just set out on his own and go 333 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: into business for himself. At the same time, he and 334 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: his new bride took on the full time care of 335 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: Gustav's sister, Lore, who had some serious health problems. She 336 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 1: died in the summer of eighteen sixty four, and Gustav, 337 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: who really doated on both of his sisters, grieved very deeply. 338 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: So he was in the midst of personal and professional 339 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 1: upheaval as he and Marguerite were starting their family. Fortunately, 340 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: that move, though, to work for himself, proved to be 341 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: a really good one. In the spring of the following year, 342 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: a Fel traveled to Egypt, as part of a lucrative 343 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 1: government contract he had gotten in which he was managing 344 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 1: the manufacturer of a large order of locomotives like several 345 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 1: dozen engines. While touring northern Africa, he visited the Suez 346 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: Canal construction site and he made the acquaintance of Ferdinand 347 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 1: de la Sepps, whose company was building it delas EPs, 348 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: and Gustav's business relationship with him would later be the 349 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: cause of a great deal of trouble for a fl 350 00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 1: but that is going to come up in the second 351 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: part of its episode. When the French government decided to 352 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: host another expo in eighteen sixty seven, Gustav Fell hoped 353 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: to be involved in construction of the main hall, but 354 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: while he had been working on a lot of projects, 355 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,640 Speaker 1: he didn't have a workshop of his own, so there 356 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 1: wasn't any way that he could capture a big contract 357 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: for this exhibition. Instead, he served as an assistant to 358 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: Jean Baptiste Kruntz, who was the director of works and designed, 359 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,760 Speaker 1: among other things, the arch girders for one of the galleries, 360 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: which established the mathematical design rules of all wrought iron 361 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 1: construction going forward. Yeah, he was working really constantly on 362 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:37,959 Speaker 1: a lot of projects, and as we had said, he 363 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 1: was very, very careful and meticulous with his math, and 364 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: he really set down a lot of the rules that 365 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: builders used going forward from that point. And while his 366 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 1: work on the exhibition was productive, even before the show opened, 367 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: gustav had begun looking for a place to set up 368 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: his own iron work so that he would not lose 369 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: out on future opportunities. In late eighteen sixty six, he 370 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: had secured a location in northern Paris to do just that, 371 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: and he began advertising his availability to design and build 372 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:10,159 Speaker 1: projects from boilers to reservoirs. We will talk about his 373 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: early days offering full engineering and construction services and just 374 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:16,959 Speaker 1: a moment, but we're going to pause before we do 375 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:26,920 Speaker 1: and have a sponsor break. It was not an easy 376 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: run for Gustavo Fell getting his business off the ground. 377 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: While he did get a fair amount of work, it 378 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 1: was all relatively small contracts. He built things like small 379 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 1: bridges and gas works and even the iron framework for 380 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,640 Speaker 1: a synagogue, but large scale projects were at least initially 381 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: few and far between. In October sixty eight, Gustava Fell 382 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: started a partnership with another ico, Central Alum, to form 383 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,920 Speaker 1: the firm Gustavo fell a company. His partner too feel 384 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,640 Speaker 1: Sawig was the junior partner, although he fronted a lot 385 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,639 Speaker 1: more money than it failed it. Their initial contract was 386 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: for five years and was renewed when it expired. Nfl 387 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: continued to work really steadily throughout the end of the 388 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: eighteen sixties and basically established himself as the authority on 389 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,439 Speaker 1: iron bridge and railway construction. And during this time he 390 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: developed many of the standards in both design and construction 391 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 1: processes that remained in place for decades. But he really 392 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,719 Speaker 1: wanted to move beyond primarily building bridges and start working 393 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,680 Speaker 1: on buildings. But as he looked into expanding his skills 394 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: into grander efforts, his actual work became more scarce. As 395 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: the eighteen sixties near their end, there was unrest in 396 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: France as Napoleon the Third was facing growing resentment after 397 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 1: making a number of bad moves that left France without 398 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,200 Speaker 1: many allies in the period leading up to the Franco 399 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: Prussian War. Yeah, that's the very, very very quick and 400 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:58,360 Speaker 1: dirty version of for a fl. He was more concerned 401 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: with his business and its health than he really seemed 402 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 1: to be with politics. But he became a sergeant in 403 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: the National Guard, and he sent Marguerite and their children 404 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: away from Paris when things got a little bit dicey 405 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,639 Speaker 1: during the uprising, But mostly he was just really irritated 406 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 1: that he couldn't get to his work because parts of 407 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: the city were closed off. While this trouble in France 408 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,159 Speaker 1: was playing out, it Fell sought out work outside of 409 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: the country to try to keep his business afloat. He 410 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: sent one of his associates to South America to work 411 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: on deals there, and continued to drum up projects in 412 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,679 Speaker 1: Europe and Northern Africa. The South American efforts were very successful, 413 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,960 Speaker 1: and it Fells firm was soon building railways and churches 414 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: and government buildings. Working abroad when his firm was responsible 415 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,399 Speaker 1: for the entire projects start to finish, rather than serving 416 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: as a consultant, came with its own challenges. So, for example, 417 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:47,720 Speaker 1: what would happen if something was wrong with the assembly 418 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: once they got it on site. It was not feasible 419 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,400 Speaker 1: to expect a job to halt in Peru, for example, 420 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 1: so that a part could be cast in France and 421 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: then shipped over the Atlantic. So for those South American contracts, 422 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: Gustava Fell would first build the structure at his iron 423 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 1: works in Le Pere in the northwest section of Paris 424 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: to make sure they were perfect, and then those structures 425 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,120 Speaker 1: would be taken apart and shipped in pieces to their 426 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,399 Speaker 1: final destination, where those pieces were reassembled. But in eighteen 427 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: seventy three, this lucrative avenue of his business ended when 428 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,159 Speaker 1: his Latin American business manager, Monsieur li Liever died. He 429 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 1: had been the one man that fel had really trusted 430 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: the handle contracts overseas, and without him, he knew it 431 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 1: was just not going to work. Yeah, he felt like 432 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: he could not possibly train someone up to be able 433 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: to do the things that Lillievre was doing, and also 434 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:41,879 Speaker 1: he could not build up the level of trust that 435 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: he had had with that man. So he thought it 436 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: was better to just shutter that part of his business. 437 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: And this is kind of a downer place to leave things, 438 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: but we are going to end part one here so 439 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,640 Speaker 1: that we can keep some of his most famous efforts 440 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,359 Speaker 1: together in part two. And I also just kind of 441 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: wanted to do it as like a juxtaposition, because once 442 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,120 Speaker 1: he it's into this second part of his life, it's 443 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: all really like success, success, success, Whereas I wanted to 444 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,439 Speaker 1: kind of keep this one separate because it's it's a 445 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: little bit of foundering and figuring things out that he 446 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: was doing as a young man, and I like that. Yeah, 447 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 1: that good old Gustav Fel. Uh. Do you have some 448 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: listener mail for us? I do? I do? I do. 449 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: One is from our listener Tracy, who writes, Dear Tracy 450 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: and Holley, I'm a longtime listener who shares your love 451 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: of postcards, so I thought I would send you one 452 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: from Maui. So I'm just gonna be honest right now. 453 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 1: I read this because I'm selfish and I love Hawaii, 454 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: and it made me think of tropical things when it's 455 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: very cold outs. But Tracy goes on to say I 456 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: adore your show. I learned so much and appreciate how 457 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: accessible you make complicated historical stories. She also apparently likes 458 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 1: the way I laugh, which I appreciate not everyone does. Uh. 459 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Tracy, this is beautiful and it 460 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: makes me want to go to Hawaii as soon as possible. Uh. 461 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: We also have another one from our listener, Stacy. I 462 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: did not mean to do only rhyming people's names on 463 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 1: our listener mail segment. Stacy writes, Dear Tracy and Holly, 464 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: Greetings from the Antarctic Peninsula. My wife and I are 465 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,080 Speaker 1: on a ten day excursion to Antarctica, and I have 466 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,479 Speaker 1: always wanted to send you a postcard, so here it is. 467 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: I love your show and I listen as I drive 468 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,159 Speaker 1: to and from work. Keep up the great work, Stacy, 469 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: and it's a lovely picture from Antarctica, which I UH 470 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: also feel a strange affinity for because one of my 471 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 1: dearest friends spent a significant amount of time they're doing 472 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,119 Speaker 1: scientific research. So thank you, thank you, thank you to 473 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: both Tracy and Stacy for sending us postcards. If you 474 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,040 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, that is easy as pie. 475 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: You can do it at History podcast at house to 476 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 1: Works dot com. You can also find us pretty much 477 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: everywhere on social media as missed in History UH and 478 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:43,679 Speaker 1: you can go to our website, which is missed in 479 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: History dot com and see every episode of the show 480 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: that has ever existed, as well as show notes on 481 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: any of the ones that Tracy and I have worked 482 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 1: on together. And if you would like to subscribe to 483 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,199 Speaker 1: the podcast that sounds great, you can do that on 484 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app at Apple Podcasts and pretty 485 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: much anywhere you at your podcast. For more on this 486 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:15,640 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff Works dot com, 487 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: m