October 16, 2019 • 27 mins
Why is there a bull on the Elmer's glue bottle? What did kids use to carry their books around before they had backpacks? And why does a giant cone tree get everyone excited about starting school in Germany? Will and Mango dig deep into their Trapper Keepers to bring you some stories you definitely didn't learn in school.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Part Time Genius, the production of I Heart Radio.
I guess what, mango? What's that? Will? All right? I
know I brought these glue bottles into the studio here
and that we have put what do you think Maybe
we're on our fifth round of spreading it on our
hands and peeling it off just because it's it's too
(00:24):
much fun. Oh my god, it's so fun. But there's
actually a reason that I do this. I do this
in in classrooms now because I'm here to prove a point.
I actually need you to know that the glue that
kids use in schools, it's it's not really glue at all.
What do you mean by that? It's a misnomer. And
when I say misnomer to the kids, they looked at
me puzzled. But they need to know what the word
(00:45):
misnomer means as well. But true glue is derived from
natural materials like animal byproducts, plant resins, and since school
glue like Elmer's, is actually made from synthetic materials, that
technically makes it an adhesive. This is this is a
very important point. I love the idea of you just
like stomping around second grade classrooms yelling stop putting that
(01:06):
adhesive in your mouth. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean you
you know how much I traveled these days, and so
I try to make it a point by stopping by
at least two or three classrooms to make this point.
I mean, nearly every example prior to twentieth century was
all natural, like tree sap, beeswax, egg whites, animal blood.
(01:26):
In fact, the very first commercial glue company in the
UK made their glue from fish by products from sturgeons
to be specific. Can you imagine what they smell like?
So I actually remember Salvador Dolly made this homemade cologne
for his wife and it was out of like glue
and fish parts. But you know, if he'd use that
UK glue instead, like he could have saved himself. It's
(01:47):
kind of like a glue life hack. Yeah, totally is.
And what it felt so good to like peel it
off your neck and I think I'm gonna go another
round here. But it wasn't just in the UK, like
fish glue was the norm in the US two and
at least until Elmer's Glue all hit the market in
the late nineteen forties. Now, at that time, the Elmer's
brand also used natural ingredients in the glue, but the
(02:08):
kind of used were far less smelly than the surgeon.
So Elmer's Glue all was originally produced by the Boarding Company,
which you know is in the dairy business, and one
of the main ingredients in the early form of the
glue was case in, which you probably knows this protein
found in dairy milk and something the Boarding company obviously
had a lot of. That's pretty interesting. So are there
(02:29):
any advantages to use in case in over something like
fish parts. Definitely, the improved smell, not surprisingly, but case
and glue also spread more easily at dried clear much
easier to wash out. So if you think about, you know,
kids using it, that was really important. But despite all
of these improvements, for some reason, they're packaging left much
(02:50):
to be desired. Like the glue was originally sold in
this glass bottle, which you know, it was getting broken
all the time with kids handling, and it came with
this separate wooden apple hater that was attached to the
side of the bottle was just a rubber band, and
so it was frequently going missing. And so when school
kids across the country started investing in the stuff, that's
when Borden decided to wise up and they now you know,
(03:13):
adopted this. This is what we think of is this
very classic white plastic bottle and has the orange dispenser
tip on the top. So you know me and you
know I love glue knowledge. But what is it that
made you want to talk about glue today? Yeah, you
really are some kind of an expert on this. But
I wanted to talk about school back in September. But
(03:34):
as everybody knows, we've all been a bit busy around here.
But since our kids are firmly back in school, no
vacation in sight, I thought it'd be fun to explore
some of the weird origin stories behind school supplies and
a few other things you might find in the classroom.
So it's time to bust out your protractor. Lock in
that retainer because class is back in session, right he
(04:17):
their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will
Pearson and is always I'm joined by my good friend
Manes Ticketer on the other side of that soundproof glass,
jotting down some notes in his Lisa Frank notebook. I'm
so jealous of this. Our friend and producer Loll Berlante
check it out mega like it's it's just the smiling
panda riding on top of a smiling dolphin, and they're
(04:39):
both eating these rainbow colored ice cream cones, which also
seems to somehow be smiling. Well finds the best stuff.
It's incredible, And now I'm smiling. But you know, I
am glad that you kicked this off talking about glue,
because it makes it less weird that now I want
to talk about backpacks. So these days, the first backpack
that most people are is a school backpack, but that
(05:01):
hasn't always been the case. So prior to the mid
twentieth century, most American students either carried their books to
class by hand, or else they wrapped a leather belt
or cloth strap around the books and then kind of
slung that over their shoulder. And a few students did
use small briefcase style satchels to carry their stuff to class,
but for the most part, students really went backless and
stuck with these trusty book straps instead. It's so weird
(05:23):
to think about a world without backpacks, like, especially since
you're saying it wasn't all that long ago. I mean,
no one really thought about wearing a bag on your
bag before the twentieth century, I don't really understand that. So,
I mean, ruck sacks were I guess a thing before that,
and they were basically the draw string bags that you
sling over your shoulder. But these zipper bags with dual
straps like that didn't come along until And that was
(05:45):
the year when a mountaineer named Jerry Cunningham invented the
first ever zipper backpack out of canvas cloth and mostly
you did this because he didn't like the way traditional
ruck sacks slid around on his back when he was climbing.
So Jerry's design was a big hit with hikers and
campers and and people like that, real outdoorsman. But actually
it would take another thirty years before his invention would
(06:05):
finally make its way off the trail and into the classroom. Again,
I mean, it's hard to believe it would take this
long to realize that there was a market for these
beyond just mountaineers. So was it Jerry's idea to bring
it into the classroom as well? No, not exactly. I mean,
he did keep playing with his backpack. He made the
first nylon backpack in seven and his designs were mostly
for outdoor living, but it's actually that company Jan Sport.
(06:28):
Did you have a Janspoort growing up? Oh, totally, that's
multiple despite the like lifetime guarantee. I think I probably
had three different jans you know, we had between JanSport
and LB, and I had so many backpacks and they
all had like life lifetime guarantees, and I went to
all of them. So he designed this tear drop design
and Jan Sport tweaked it a little and they used
(06:49):
it to win over students. But that even makes it
sound like a little more intentional than it was. So
the University of Washington had this small sports shop inside
their campus bookstore because so many kids in the area
were into climbing and hiking or whatever, and so in
nineteen sixty nine, the shop began stalking jam sports new
lightweight nylon backpack, mainly as used as like a day
pack for these hikes, and when students realized the bags
(07:11):
were perfect for keeping books and supplies, and it really
took off. It's funny because a pretty similar thing happened
with lunch boxes, which was another surprisingly recent addition to
the school's supply cannon, which is I guess people didn't
want their sandwiches wet for lunch, No, I don't. I
don't know if you want your sandwiches weather. That is,
kids were mostly just improvising, you know, through the mid
(07:34):
twentieth century or so, they'd use an old cookie tin
or tobacco tin they had long around somewhere, and so
it wasn't until the late nineteenth century that dedicated lunch
pails finally arrived on the scene. I always think that
word lunch pails is so funny, like the idea of
carrying around a bucket full of food. I mean, they
kind of were. I mean, the original lunch pails for
(07:54):
these small metal buckets, except they did come with lids,
and later versions took on more of a a toolbox
or bread basket shape, and they feature these clasps so
you could keep the lid shut when you carry them around,
which is the kind of lunch box men took to
work in the early twentieth century. You can kind of
visualize those images we've seen, and pretty soon their children
(08:15):
followed suit. At cool, So when did these bright colors
and the cartoon characters, Like when did all that stuff
get onto the lunch boxes? That actually happened pretty early,
like The first one aim specifically at kids came in
nineteen thirty five when the Aladdin Company put a picture
of Mickey Mouse on the front, but with the depression,
it didn't quite take off at that time. Yeah, I'm
guessing funds for that sort of thing where a little
(08:37):
limited and you know, food set of premium, not you know,
not the things you're carrying it around in. Yeah, no,
that's true. But you know, the Aladdin Company kept their
idea for this novelty lunch box in their back pocket,
and when TV started to take off, this was in
the early nineteen fifties, the company got another turn at this,
and so they released the metal Lunchbox and thermis that
(08:58):
featured a cruelly drawn picture of hop Along Cassidy. Well
that might sound pretty dull today, the hop Along lunch
Box was actually a massive hit. They sold six hundred
thousand of these things in a single year, and that
success was enough for another screen cowboy to take notice.
This was, of course, Roy Rogers, so he approached the
Latin about making a lunch box of his own, but
(09:20):
the company actually turned him away because they didn't think
a second cowboy lunchbox would sell. It's just there's too
it's too much cowboy. You don't want two cowboys. I'm
guessing they were wrong about that, though, right, they were
very wrong about this because remember westerns were a big
deal in fifties entertainment, on the same scale as like
the superhero movies today, and there was absolutely room on
(09:43):
the shelf for two cowboy lunchboxes. And Roy Rogers knew this.
So to that end, Rogers partnered with a different company,
it was American Thermis, and then together they released the
lunch box that was so popular and wound up selling
two and a half million units in nineteen fifty three.
Not only did Roy Rogers you know, this lunch box
(10:03):
sell through the roof, it also set a new benchmark
for lunchbox design. It had this full color illustration that
covered the entire box, and Thermis and so from their
lunch boxes really took off. Companies started churning out countless
designs with TV movie, comic book characters. The biggest hit
(10:23):
was this Disney lunch box painted to resemble a school
bus that was carrying Mickey and the other Disney characters
along like Pinocchio and Dumbo, and so over nine million
of those school lunch boxes were sold, making it the
most popular lunchbox ever made. That's pretty incredible. So we're
lunch boxes still mostly metal at that point, where had
they already switched over to plastic. Now, these were all
(10:45):
still metal, And when all was said and done, roughly
a hundred and twenty million metal lunch boxes were sold
between nineteen fifty in nineteen seventy. The party kind of
ended in nineteen seventy two, though, when the State of
Florida banded metal lunchbox is from schools. They were, you know,
worried that kids were using these heavy boxes as weapons,
(11:05):
which led to the plastic boxes that we've seen in
more recent years than the eventual declining sales of of
lunch boxes in general. So we've covered two of the
most quintessential school supplies I feel, like backpacks and lunch boxes.
But here's another thing I hadn't thought about in a while,
and that's the humble plastic recorder, which is still used
(11:25):
in music classes today. You know, I have always wondered, like,
how has decided that every kid in America should learn
how to play the recorder? Like I've always just assumed
someone on the school board was in cahoots with the manufacturer,
and that's how it somehow took off. Yeah, so I
was actually curious about that too, And it turns out
(11:45):
that it's largely thanks to the influence of this famous
German composer whose music theory became the basis for a
lot of the school music programs we see today. His
name was Carl Orff, and while his name might not
ring a bell, you've definitely heard his most famous work,
and at least one movie trailer. It's called Carmina Burana
and it sounds like this. Yeah, that definitely rings a bell.
(12:17):
I mean, it's kind of the go to hook for
every epic movie since the exactly. But anyway, so Orp's
approach to teaching music stress the importance of rhythm and
creative thinking rather than just memorizing musical notations. And he
thought the best way for a kid to learn music
was by teaching him to play a simple, accessible instrument
that kind of mimic their own vocal range. And the
(12:38):
soprano recorder perfectly fit that bill, because you know, at
its core, the recorder is practically just a whistle, and
unlike more complicated instruments, there are no strings to strong
You don't have to purse your lips in any strange way.
You just kind of blow and outcomes this screechy, high
pitched tone. At least that's what I hear from my kids.
But if you cover this whole or that hole with
(12:59):
your fingers, you can actually change the notes you play.
But the recorders classroom dominance wasn't cemented until the nineteen sixties,
and that's when advances in manufacturing finally allowed the instruments
to be mass produced in plastic. The plastic recorders were
especially attractive to educators because they were cheap enough that
you could buy them in bulk, but still durable enough
that you know they'd last, and they had a pretty
(13:20):
good sound. I do have to say, I mean, you're
being pretty cavalier about potentially alienating all those professional recorder
players that might be in our audience. I think it
should be a little bit more careful. I think you're right, actually,
And Gabe, who did this research, warned me that recorders
used to be considered a pretty serious instrument. According to experts,
the recorders heyday was probably during the Baroque era, when
(13:40):
composers like Bach and Vivaldi would actually crank out pieces
that showcased recorders and all different sizes, and the recorder
kind of got off staged when the flute came into
Europe and Asia and gradually stole the show. But adult
musicians do still compose four and play the recorder today.
According to Susan Burns, who's the administrative director of the
American Recorder Society, quote, the recorder is a professional instrument
(14:04):
in its own right. Everyone says, oh, it's so easy
to play, but it takes a lifetime to master. Yeah,
it's funny. I don't know if you've ever seen this,
this clip that went viral of you hear the song
turned down for what being played, and then right after
they say that, it pans to this group of elementary
school students and they start playing the like chorus or
(14:26):
whatever on their recorders. It it was pretty great. I know,
we've got so much more. So let's take a quick break.
They're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about
(14:47):
the strange stories behind school supplies. All right, mango, So,
as you know, there's a question every parent has to
ask sooner or later, and that is, how can I
keep my kid from freaking out about their first day
of school. Like, it's a scary amount of change for
a child to deal with, and there's no universal answer
for how to combat that fear. But the Germans and
(15:08):
Austrians have what's probably the closest thing I think and
what is up. Well, basically you distract them with a
giant cone full of present. I mean, it seems so
obvious in hindsight, but this is a real thing in
Germany and Austria. So each year since the early eight hundred's,
the latest crop of first graders are gifted with what's
called a school to to, which is to help celebrate
(15:30):
their very first day of school. The name translates as
school bag, but it's more like this giant cone shaped
Christmas stocking. So parents will fashion it out of paper
and it's sometimes as big as two or three feet tall,
and then they fill it with like candy and toys
and all these other treats to help make the first
day of school more special. Actually, just look this up.
(15:54):
It's crazy. These cones are like as big as the kids.
It's insane. There is all the first year students just
lugged these giant cones around like all day. Well not
anymore now, I mean, nowadays, most kids get their sholta,
does it at home and and leave it there. But
back in the early days of the tradition, kids actually
had to rush to the schoolyard and pick their own
(16:16):
from this tree that was set to grow them only
when it was time for the school year to start.
I say, that's amazing. I can imagine kids just like
waiting like at the gates and then running in and
getting these plucking these cones from trews. It is kind
of funny that you brought up cones, because I actually
have the goods on a different sort of cone that
was supposed to I guess bring up the opposite reaction,
and that's the dunce cap. So during the Victorian era,
(16:39):
this goofy cone shaped hat became a symbolic form of
discipline and European and American schools alike, and if a
student acted up in class or didn't know the answer
to a question, they'd have to go sit in the corner.
And I'm sure you're seeing cartoons of like Dennis the
Menace or whatever where he's wearing a dunce cap sitting
in the corner. But the hope was all this embarrassment
with curtail future misbehaved year. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing
(17:01):
like a little public shaming to keep the kids in line.
You know. Well, it must have been pretty traumatizing for
the kids. But the practice actually continued in the US
and Europe well into the twentieth century, and Dunce caps
were pretty common all the way up until the nineteen fifties. Oh.
I do think of it as like a much older image.
I didn't realize they lasted that long. Yeah. So here's
the wildest part and something I hadn't heard before this week.
(17:23):
But we think about the Dunce cap as something that
signifies like a lack of intelligence, and it actually began
as a symbol of a really accomplished scholar. Born sometime
in the thirteenth century. His name was John Dunn Scotus,
and he was a Franciscan priest and a linguist. He
studied theology and philosophy at Oxford and taught classes at
the University of Paris. And he even had a group
(17:45):
of students and others that kind of followed his teachings
and and lived near him, and they called themselves duncemen.
So Atlas Obscure has an article about it, and it says, quote,
Scotus was a renaissance man centuries before the Renaissance even
took place. But all of that said, it should be
known that Scotis liked to wear a big, pointy wizard
hat whenever he went out in public. So while he
(18:07):
was this incredibly smart guy, his sense of fashion might
be a little lacking or a little too forward, you know,
depending on how you how you look at it. But
the cool thing is, and no one is really sure
whether Scotis was inspired by depictions of wizards that he'd seen,
or whether it was his own cap that inspired the
wizard's look that that we think of now. I think
in either case, it sounds like the takeaway here is
(18:27):
that wise people wear very pointy hats. I think that's
the only thing I could take from Oh but you know,
Scotis even went a step further. He actually believed that
the conical shape of his hat kind of functioned as
this metaphysical reverse funnel, with knowledge collecting at the pointy
end and then flowing down around his brain. And and
so as silly as it sounds, the idea caught on
(18:49):
with academics of the day, and and the cone shaped
cat became the symbol of both duntsmen and of high
intelligence in general. A sort of bizarre So like what happened?
Like what changed the hats from a mark of pride
to this symbol of shame? I guess, funnily enough, it's
actually the Renaissance that changed it. So by the mid
sixteenth century, popular theology and philosophy had moved away from
(19:10):
Scotus and his teachings, and that lack of popular favor
made the remaining Dunsmen look silly and kind of outdated.
Plus their pointy hats didn't help, so over time, the
dunceman and the dunce cap kind of became the symbol
of foolishness and stupidity. Such a strange legacy. On the
bright side, though, historians have kind of vindicated Scotus over
the years, and he's not held up as one of
(19:32):
the finest thinkers of the Middle Ages, and Pope John
Paul the second even beautified him back in for his
work as a religious scholar. So who knows, maybe we
can turn things around for this famous cap too. Anyway,
We've got more to come, but first, a quick break
(20:01):
welcome back to part time genius. So will you've probably
heard by now that sitting is the new smoking when
it comes to health concerns, and that's why so many
offices these days are switching the standing desk for their workers.
But you know, despite all the studies touting the health
benefits of standing over sitting, it's unusual to find standing
desks in elementary schools, which I mean, that's a good
point because it is kind of weird when you think
(20:23):
about I mean us whom all the benefits of standing
desk apply just as well as students as they would
to adult office workers. Yeah, I mean, you're exactly right.
So there was this study that came out last year
and it found that third graders who used a standing
desk at school were more focused in the classroom and
more active overall compared to kids of the same age
he used traditional sit down desks. And another study came
(20:45):
up with the same results for second through fourth graders,
setting a twelve percent increase and engagement from students who
had the option of standing in class. I mean, it
does sound like things might change in the not too
distant future, and maybe we'll see standing desks become more
of the norm in these classrooms. Yeah, so, a handful
of elementary schools across the country have already started adding
standing desk to the classrooms, and I'm guessing more and
(21:06):
more schools will jump on the trend as they become
more affordable. But in the meantime, one elementary school teacher
in California, Lynn Acres, has already made the switch to
standing desks, and she explained the benefits this way. Quote,
children naturally learned through movement. If you restrict them to sitting,
they interrupt you more and maybe asked to go to
the bathroom a lot. They need to get their energy out,
(21:28):
which makes sense. But you know, on the other hand,
restricting kids this standing all day long could also lead
to just as many problems. I mean, what if they
get tired. Yeah, so schools are actually using a mix
of standing and sitting desks, which lets the kids choose
the option what works best for them. And even at
schools where there are only standing desks, they tend to
provide kids with these tall chairs or stools so that
(21:50):
just in case they're tired, they can rest their legs.
It's definitely a smart move. And you know, since you
mentioned how kids need an outlet for their energy. I
do want to touch on something that's kind of become
really a controversial topic. Are you talking about recess? I
am definitely talking about recess. You know, we have to
talk about recess. But instead of talking about how some
schools have tried to abolish recess, which maybe was where
(22:11):
you were thinking, I actually wanted to look at how
we can make recess an even more effective form of
exercise than it already is. So, according to researchers in Denmark,
the perfect place to start is with our schools playgrounds.
In two thousand fifteen, Danis researchers conducted a study where
they had hundreds of elementary students where accelerometers and these
(22:32):
GPS trackers during their school year so that their activity
levels at recess could actually be monitored. But here's the thing.
The kids didn't all attend the same school or have
recess on the same playground, and this variance allowed the
researchers to see which types of schoolyard are more or
less conducive to exercise, and so, based on the data
(22:53):
from these accelerometers, the children in the study were significantly
more active when playing on grassy areas and it sites
featuring playground equipment, and on the other end of the spectrum,
concrete lots were the worst of the bunch, so they
elicited the least energy expenditure of all the environment studied.
So the hope is that with this kind of insight
(23:13):
on what works best, developers can make better decisions and
create playgrounds and school yards where you know, it's easier
and more fun for kids to choose to be active
on their own. Which is interesting. So what kinds of
stuff are we talking about though, like, because I'm guessing
it's something beyond your typical slides and monkey bars. Yeah,
that's right. So that the researchers behind this study helped
(23:34):
a few different schools renovate their playgrounds and the main
focus was to widen the variety of activities on offer.
So in addition to the standard playground fair like swing sets,
they added these areas specifically designed for dancing and climbing
and skating, and they even dedicated this trampoline area. And
I mean, really, who wouldn't want to spend at least
(23:54):
an hour a day in a place like that all
those options? I know, it does sound pretty fun and
in the end. Isn't that the only school supply that
a kid really needs? Fun? Pens, pencils, notebooks, rulers, there's
probably a few other things. Yeah, it's like a true
grown up. So why don't we keep the fun going
with a fact off? H So here's a quick one
(24:22):
on crayons. According to a Yale University study, Crayola crayons
are one of the most recognizable sense for adults, ranking
at number eighteen of all the sense they tried, and
it beat out Believe this or not, cheese and bleach. Wow,
that's impressive. All right, Well, speaking of names for crayons,
did you know that Krayola uses multiple names to refer
(24:45):
to the same colors. So the practice started early, with
the company using fifty four names to refer to just
thirty eight separate colors by the end of nineteen oh three,
and things only balloon from there. So you fast forward
to two thousand fifteen and Crayola had to signed seven
hundred and fifty nine names to just three hundred and
thirty one colors. Now, to be clear, though, this doesn't
(25:07):
mean the company is stuffing duplicate crayons and the same
box under a different name, but if you were to
open different boxes, you might actually find that the same
blue crayon is simultaneously labeled as Liberty blue, iron Man blue,
or Birdie blue, depending on the box that you get.
So pencils may seem a little old fashioned as more
kids learned to type and use pens, but don't count
(25:30):
them out just yet. According to the Chicago Tribune, they
keep coming back into fashion every so often, and when
Sudoku first became a craze, pencils actually had a seven
percent increase in sales in London. Holy cow. All right, well,
here's a quick one. I didn't realize until our friend
Aaron McCarthy did the story on trapper keepers. So apparently
the unique folders were called trappers because they kept papers
(25:53):
in them so well, and then the binder was called
a trapper keeper because it held all the trappers to
get there. You know, I had always wondered why it
had that name. It is such a strange name for
a product that I absolutely love. So you gave us
the skinny on Elmer's glue at the top of the show.
So now I'm actually going to clue you in on
Elmer himself, because I believe it or not. Elmer wasn't
(26:14):
created just for the glue bottle. He was actually based
on a real bull that the Board and Company used
to advertise its products at the World's Fair. So the
original plan was to have the dairy company's famous spokes
cow Elsie, appear at the event, but she was actually
busy shooting the film version of Little Women or or
the sequel I guess Little Men bizarre, but she was
(26:36):
on set, so Boorden knew they couldn't show up to
the World's Fair empty handed, so at the last minute,
the company found a bull to use instead, and at
the fair, the company dubbed him Elmer and announced that
he was the unmentioned husband of Elsie, which I'm sure
Elsie wasn't too happy about it, but the public loved
the idea, and Elmer was quickly made the mascot for
the Board and Chemical division, you know, the other side
(26:58):
of the company, And that's how we wound up on
the glue that would eventually bear his name. That was
a a much more involved origin story than I expected
for the for the fact off especially, but I do
like the way you brought the episode full circle, So
just for that, I think I'm gonna give you the trophy.
I will take it all right. Well, that's gonna do it.
For today's Part Time Genius for myself, Mango, Gabe, and Lowell.
(27:20):
Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back soon with
another episode. Part Time Genius is a production of I
Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
(27:41):
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listen to your favorite show.
Welcome to Part Time Genius, the production of I Heart Radio.
I guess what, mango? What's that? Will? All right? I
know I brought these glue bottles into the studio here
and that we have put what do you think Maybe
we're on our fifth round of spreading it on our
hands and peeling it off just because it's it's too
(00:24):
much fun. Oh my god, it's so fun. But there's
actually a reason that I do this. I do this
in in classrooms now because I'm here to prove a point.
I actually need you to know that the glue that
kids use in schools, it's it's not really glue at all.
What do you mean by that? It's a misnomer. And
when I say misnomer to the kids, they looked at
me puzzled. But they need to know what the word
(00:45):
misnomer means as well. But true glue is derived from
natural materials like animal byproducts, plant resins, and since school
glue like Elmer's, is actually made from synthetic materials, that
technically makes it an adhesive. This is this is a
very important point. I love the idea of you just
like stomping around second grade classrooms yelling stop putting that
(01:06):
adhesive in your mouth. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean you
you know how much I traveled these days, and so
I try to make it a point by stopping by
at least two or three classrooms to make this point.
I mean, nearly every example prior to twentieth century was
all natural, like tree sap, beeswax, egg whites, animal blood.
(01:26):
In fact, the very first commercial glue company in the
UK made their glue from fish by products from sturgeons
to be specific. Can you imagine what they smell like?
So I actually remember Salvador Dolly made this homemade cologne
for his wife and it was out of like glue
and fish parts. But you know, if he'd use that
UK glue instead, like he could have saved himself. It's
(01:47):
kind of like a glue life hack. Yeah, totally is.
And what it felt so good to like peel it
off your neck and I think I'm gonna go another
round here. But it wasn't just in the UK, like
fish glue was the norm in the US two and
at least until Elmer's Glue all hit the market in
the late nineteen forties. Now, at that time, the Elmer's
brand also used natural ingredients in the glue, but the
(02:08):
kind of used were far less smelly than the surgeon.
So Elmer's Glue all was originally produced by the Boarding Company,
which you know is in the dairy business, and one
of the main ingredients in the early form of the
glue was case in, which you probably knows this protein
found in dairy milk and something the Boarding company obviously
had a lot of. That's pretty interesting. So are there
(02:29):
any advantages to use in case in over something like
fish parts. Definitely, the improved smell, not surprisingly, but case
and glue also spread more easily at dried clear much
easier to wash out. So if you think about, you know,
kids using it, that was really important. But despite all
of these improvements, for some reason, they're packaging left much
(02:50):
to be desired. Like the glue was originally sold in
this glass bottle, which you know, it was getting broken
all the time with kids handling, and it came with
this separate wooden apple hater that was attached to the
side of the bottle was just a rubber band, and
so it was frequently going missing. And so when school
kids across the country started investing in the stuff, that's
when Borden decided to wise up and they now you know,
(03:13):
adopted this. This is what we think of is this
very classic white plastic bottle and has the orange dispenser
tip on the top. So you know me and you
know I love glue knowledge. But what is it that
made you want to talk about glue today? Yeah, you
really are some kind of an expert on this. But
I wanted to talk about school back in September. But
(03:34):
as everybody knows, we've all been a bit busy around here.
But since our kids are firmly back in school, no
vacation in sight, I thought it'd be fun to explore
some of the weird origin stories behind school supplies and
a few other things you might find in the classroom.
So it's time to bust out your protractor. Lock in
that retainer because class is back in session, right he
(04:17):
their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will
Pearson and is always I'm joined by my good friend
Manes Ticketer on the other side of that soundproof glass,
jotting down some notes in his Lisa Frank notebook. I'm
so jealous of this. Our friend and producer Loll Berlante
check it out mega like it's it's just the smiling
panda riding on top of a smiling dolphin, and they're
(04:39):
both eating these rainbow colored ice cream cones, which also
seems to somehow be smiling. Well finds the best stuff.
It's incredible, And now I'm smiling. But you know, I
am glad that you kicked this off talking about glue,
because it makes it less weird that now I want
to talk about backpacks. So these days, the first backpack
that most people are is a school backpack, but that
(05:01):
hasn't always been the case. So prior to the mid
twentieth century, most American students either carried their books to
class by hand, or else they wrapped a leather belt
or cloth strap around the books and then kind of
slung that over their shoulder. And a few students did
use small briefcase style satchels to carry their stuff to class,
but for the most part, students really went backless and
stuck with these trusty book straps instead. It's so weird
(05:23):
to think about a world without backpacks, like, especially since
you're saying it wasn't all that long ago. I mean,
no one really thought about wearing a bag on your
bag before the twentieth century, I don't really understand that. So,
I mean, ruck sacks were I guess a thing before that,
and they were basically the draw string bags that you
sling over your shoulder. But these zipper bags with dual
straps like that didn't come along until And that was
(05:45):
the year when a mountaineer named Jerry Cunningham invented the
first ever zipper backpack out of canvas cloth and mostly
you did this because he didn't like the way traditional
ruck sacks slid around on his back when he was climbing.
So Jerry's design was a big hit with hikers and
campers and and people like that, real outdoorsman. But actually
it would take another thirty years before his invention would
(06:05):
finally make its way off the trail and into the classroom. Again,
I mean, it's hard to believe it would take this
long to realize that there was a market for these
beyond just mountaineers. So was it Jerry's idea to bring
it into the classroom as well? No, not exactly. I mean,
he did keep playing with his backpack. He made the
first nylon backpack in seven and his designs were mostly
for outdoor living, but it's actually that company Jan Sport.
(06:28):
Did you have a Janspoort growing up? Oh, totally, that's
multiple despite the like lifetime guarantee. I think I probably
had three different jans you know, we had between JanSport
and LB, and I had so many backpacks and they
all had like life lifetime guarantees, and I went to
all of them. So he designed this tear drop design
and Jan Sport tweaked it a little and they used
(06:49):
it to win over students. But that even makes it
sound like a little more intentional than it was. So
the University of Washington had this small sports shop inside
their campus bookstore because so many kids in the area
were into climbing and hiking or whatever, and so in
nineteen sixty nine, the shop began stalking jam sports new
lightweight nylon backpack, mainly as used as like a day
pack for these hikes, and when students realized the bags
(07:11):
were perfect for keeping books and supplies, and it really
took off. It's funny because a pretty similar thing happened
with lunch boxes, which was another surprisingly recent addition to
the school's supply cannon, which is I guess people didn't
want their sandwiches wet for lunch, No, I don't. I
don't know if you want your sandwiches weather. That is,
kids were mostly just improvising, you know, through the mid
(07:34):
twentieth century or so, they'd use an old cookie tin
or tobacco tin they had long around somewhere, and so
it wasn't until the late nineteenth century that dedicated lunch
pails finally arrived on the scene. I always think that
word lunch pails is so funny, like the idea of
carrying around a bucket full of food. I mean, they
kind of were. I mean, the original lunch pails for
(07:54):
these small metal buckets, except they did come with lids,
and later versions took on more of a a toolbox
or bread basket shape, and they feature these clasps so
you could keep the lid shut when you carry them around,
which is the kind of lunch box men took to
work in the early twentieth century. You can kind of
visualize those images we've seen, and pretty soon their children
(08:15):
followed suit. At cool, So when did these bright colors
and the cartoon characters, Like when did all that stuff
get onto the lunch boxes? That actually happened pretty early,
like The first one aim specifically at kids came in
nineteen thirty five when the Aladdin Company put a picture
of Mickey Mouse on the front, but with the depression,
it didn't quite take off at that time. Yeah, I'm
guessing funds for that sort of thing where a little
(08:37):
limited and you know, food set of premium, not you know,
not the things you're carrying it around in. Yeah, no,
that's true. But you know, the Aladdin Company kept their
idea for this novelty lunch box in their back pocket,
and when TV started to take off, this was in
the early nineteen fifties, the company got another turn at this,
and so they released the metal Lunchbox and thermis that
(08:58):
featured a cruelly drawn picture of hop Along Cassidy. Well
that might sound pretty dull today, the hop Along lunch
Box was actually a massive hit. They sold six hundred
thousand of these things in a single year, and that
success was enough for another screen cowboy to take notice.
This was, of course, Roy Rogers, so he approached the
Latin about making a lunch box of his own, but
(09:20):
the company actually turned him away because they didn't think
a second cowboy lunchbox would sell. It's just there's too
it's too much cowboy. You don't want two cowboys. I'm
guessing they were wrong about that, though, right, they were
very wrong about this because remember westerns were a big
deal in fifties entertainment, on the same scale as like
the superhero movies today, and there was absolutely room on
(09:43):
the shelf for two cowboy lunchboxes. And Roy Rogers knew this.
So to that end, Rogers partnered with a different company,
it was American Thermis, and then together they released the
lunch box that was so popular and wound up selling
two and a half million units in nineteen fifty three.
Not only did Roy Rogers you know, this lunch box
(10:03):
sell through the roof, it also set a new benchmark
for lunchbox design. It had this full color illustration that
covered the entire box, and Thermis and so from their
lunch boxes really took off. Companies started churning out countless
designs with TV movie, comic book characters. The biggest hit
(10:23):
was this Disney lunch box painted to resemble a school
bus that was carrying Mickey and the other Disney characters
along like Pinocchio and Dumbo, and so over nine million
of those school lunch boxes were sold, making it the
most popular lunchbox ever made. That's pretty incredible. So we're
lunch boxes still mostly metal at that point, where had
they already switched over to plastic. Now, these were all
(10:45):
still metal, And when all was said and done, roughly
a hundred and twenty million metal lunch boxes were sold
between nineteen fifty in nineteen seventy. The party kind of
ended in nineteen seventy two, though, when the State of
Florida banded metal lunchbox is from schools. They were, you know,
worried that kids were using these heavy boxes as weapons,
(11:05):
which led to the plastic boxes that we've seen in
more recent years than the eventual declining sales of of
lunch boxes in general. So we've covered two of the
most quintessential school supplies I feel, like backpacks and lunch boxes.
But here's another thing I hadn't thought about in a while,
and that's the humble plastic recorder, which is still used
(11:25):
in music classes today. You know, I have always wondered, like,
how has decided that every kid in America should learn
how to play the recorder? Like I've always just assumed
someone on the school board was in cahoots with the manufacturer,
and that's how it somehow took off. Yeah, so I
was actually curious about that too, And it turns out
(11:45):
that it's largely thanks to the influence of this famous
German composer whose music theory became the basis for a
lot of the school music programs we see today. His
name was Carl Orff, and while his name might not
ring a bell, you've definitely heard his most famous work,
and at least one movie trailer. It's called Carmina Burana
and it sounds like this. Yeah, that definitely rings a bell.
(12:17):
I mean, it's kind of the go to hook for
every epic movie since the exactly. But anyway, so Orp's
approach to teaching music stress the importance of rhythm and
creative thinking rather than just memorizing musical notations. And he
thought the best way for a kid to learn music
was by teaching him to play a simple, accessible instrument
that kind of mimic their own vocal range. And the
(12:38):
soprano recorder perfectly fit that bill, because you know, at
its core, the recorder is practically just a whistle, and
unlike more complicated instruments, there are no strings to strong
You don't have to purse your lips in any strange way.
You just kind of blow and outcomes this screechy, high
pitched tone. At least that's what I hear from my kids.
But if you cover this whole or that hole with
(12:59):
your fingers, you can actually change the notes you play.
But the recorders classroom dominance wasn't cemented until the nineteen sixties,
and that's when advances in manufacturing finally allowed the instruments
to be mass produced in plastic. The plastic recorders were
especially attractive to educators because they were cheap enough that
you could buy them in bulk, but still durable enough
that you know they'd last, and they had a pretty
(13:20):
good sound. I do have to say, I mean, you're
being pretty cavalier about potentially alienating all those professional recorder
players that might be in our audience. I think it
should be a little bit more careful. I think you're right, actually,
And Gabe, who did this research, warned me that recorders
used to be considered a pretty serious instrument. According to experts,
the recorders heyday was probably during the Baroque era, when
(13:40):
composers like Bach and Vivaldi would actually crank out pieces
that showcased recorders and all different sizes, and the recorder
kind of got off staged when the flute came into
Europe and Asia and gradually stole the show. But adult
musicians do still compose four and play the recorder today.
According to Susan Burns, who's the administrative director of the
American Recorder Society, quote, the recorder is a professional instrument
(14:04):
in its own right. Everyone says, oh, it's so easy
to play, but it takes a lifetime to master. Yeah,
it's funny. I don't know if you've ever seen this,
this clip that went viral of you hear the song
turned down for what being played, and then right after
they say that, it pans to this group of elementary
school students and they start playing the like chorus or
(14:26):
whatever on their recorders. It it was pretty great. I know,
we've got so much more. So let's take a quick break.
They're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about
(14:47):
the strange stories behind school supplies. All right, mango, So,
as you know, there's a question every parent has to
ask sooner or later, and that is, how can I
keep my kid from freaking out about their first day
of school. Like, it's a scary amount of change for
a child to deal with, and there's no universal answer
for how to combat that fear. But the Germans and
(15:08):
Austrians have what's probably the closest thing I think and
what is up. Well, basically you distract them with a
giant cone full of present. I mean, it seems so
obvious in hindsight, but this is a real thing in
Germany and Austria. So each year since the early eight hundred's,
the latest crop of first graders are gifted with what's
called a school to to, which is to help celebrate
(15:30):
their very first day of school. The name translates as
school bag, but it's more like this giant cone shaped
Christmas stocking. So parents will fashion it out of paper
and it's sometimes as big as two or three feet tall,
and then they fill it with like candy and toys
and all these other treats to help make the first
day of school more special. Actually, just look this up.
(15:54):
It's crazy. These cones are like as big as the kids.
It's insane. There is all the first year students just
lugged these giant cones around like all day. Well not
anymore now, I mean, nowadays, most kids get their sholta,
does it at home and and leave it there. But
back in the early days of the tradition, kids actually
had to rush to the schoolyard and pick their own
(16:16):
from this tree that was set to grow them only
when it was time for the school year to start.
I say, that's amazing. I can imagine kids just like
waiting like at the gates and then running in and
getting these plucking these cones from trews. It is kind
of funny that you brought up cones, because I actually
have the goods on a different sort of cone that
was supposed to I guess bring up the opposite reaction,
and that's the dunce cap. So during the Victorian era,
(16:39):
this goofy cone shaped hat became a symbolic form of
discipline and European and American schools alike, and if a
student acted up in class or didn't know the answer
to a question, they'd have to go sit in the corner.
And I'm sure you're seeing cartoons of like Dennis the
Menace or whatever where he's wearing a dunce cap sitting
in the corner. But the hope was all this embarrassment
with curtail future misbehaved year. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing
(17:01):
like a little public shaming to keep the kids in line.
You know. Well, it must have been pretty traumatizing for
the kids. But the practice actually continued in the US
and Europe well into the twentieth century, and Dunce caps
were pretty common all the way up until the nineteen fifties. Oh.
I do think of it as like a much older image.
I didn't realize they lasted that long. Yeah. So here's
the wildest part and something I hadn't heard before this week.
(17:23):
But we think about the Dunce cap as something that
signifies like a lack of intelligence, and it actually began
as a symbol of a really accomplished scholar. Born sometime
in the thirteenth century. His name was John Dunn Scotus,
and he was a Franciscan priest and a linguist. He
studied theology and philosophy at Oxford and taught classes at
the University of Paris. And he even had a group
(17:45):
of students and others that kind of followed his teachings
and and lived near him, and they called themselves duncemen.
So Atlas Obscure has an article about it, and it says, quote,
Scotus was a renaissance man centuries before the Renaissance even
took place. But all of that said, it should be
known that Scotis liked to wear a big, pointy wizard
hat whenever he went out in public. So while he
(18:07):
was this incredibly smart guy, his sense of fashion might
be a little lacking or a little too forward, you know,
depending on how you how you look at it. But
the cool thing is, and no one is really sure
whether Scotis was inspired by depictions of wizards that he'd seen,
or whether it was his own cap that inspired the
wizard's look that that we think of now. I think
in either case, it sounds like the takeaway here is
(18:27):
that wise people wear very pointy hats. I think that's
the only thing I could take from Oh but you know,
Scotis even went a step further. He actually believed that
the conical shape of his hat kind of functioned as
this metaphysical reverse funnel, with knowledge collecting at the pointy
end and then flowing down around his brain. And and
so as silly as it sounds, the idea caught on
(18:49):
with academics of the day, and and the cone shaped
cat became the symbol of both duntsmen and of high
intelligence in general. A sort of bizarre So like what happened?
Like what changed the hats from a mark of pride
to this symbol of shame? I guess, funnily enough, it's
actually the Renaissance that changed it. So by the mid
sixteenth century, popular theology and philosophy had moved away from
(19:10):
Scotus and his teachings, and that lack of popular favor
made the remaining Dunsmen look silly and kind of outdated.
Plus their pointy hats didn't help, so over time, the
dunceman and the dunce cap kind of became the symbol
of foolishness and stupidity. Such a strange legacy. On the
bright side, though, historians have kind of vindicated Scotus over
the years, and he's not held up as one of
(19:32):
the finest thinkers of the Middle Ages, and Pope John
Paul the second even beautified him back in for his
work as a religious scholar. So who knows, maybe we
can turn things around for this famous cap too. Anyway,
We've got more to come, but first, a quick break
(20:01):
welcome back to part time genius. So will you've probably
heard by now that sitting is the new smoking when
it comes to health concerns, and that's why so many
offices these days are switching the standing desk for their workers.
But you know, despite all the studies touting the health
benefits of standing over sitting, it's unusual to find standing
desks in elementary schools, which I mean, that's a good
point because it is kind of weird when you think
(20:23):
about I mean us whom all the benefits of standing
desk apply just as well as students as they would
to adult office workers. Yeah, I mean, you're exactly right.
So there was this study that came out last year
and it found that third graders who used a standing
desk at school were more focused in the classroom and
more active overall compared to kids of the same age
he used traditional sit down desks. And another study came
(20:45):
up with the same results for second through fourth graders,
setting a twelve percent increase and engagement from students who
had the option of standing in class. I mean, it
does sound like things might change in the not too
distant future, and maybe we'll see standing desks become more
of the norm in these classrooms. Yeah, so, a handful
of elementary schools across the country have already started adding
standing desk to the classrooms, and I'm guessing more and
(21:06):
more schools will jump on the trend as they become
more affordable. But in the meantime, one elementary school teacher
in California, Lynn Acres, has already made the switch to
standing desks, and she explained the benefits this way. Quote,
children naturally learned through movement. If you restrict them to sitting,
they interrupt you more and maybe asked to go to
the bathroom a lot. They need to get their energy out,
(21:28):
which makes sense. But you know, on the other hand,
restricting kids this standing all day long could also lead
to just as many problems. I mean, what if they
get tired. Yeah, so schools are actually using a mix
of standing and sitting desks, which lets the kids choose
the option what works best for them. And even at
schools where there are only standing desks, they tend to
provide kids with these tall chairs or stools so that
(21:50):
just in case they're tired, they can rest their legs.
It's definitely a smart move. And you know, since you
mentioned how kids need an outlet for their energy. I
do want to touch on something that's kind of become
really a controversial topic. Are you talking about recess? I
am definitely talking about recess. You know, we have to
talk about recess. But instead of talking about how some
schools have tried to abolish recess, which maybe was where
(22:11):
you were thinking, I actually wanted to look at how
we can make recess an even more effective form of
exercise than it already is. So, according to researchers in Denmark,
the perfect place to start is with our schools playgrounds.
In two thousand fifteen, Danis researchers conducted a study where
they had hundreds of elementary students where accelerometers and these
(22:32):
GPS trackers during their school year so that their activity
levels at recess could actually be monitored. But here's the thing.
The kids didn't all attend the same school or have
recess on the same playground, and this variance allowed the
researchers to see which types of schoolyard are more or
less conducive to exercise, and so, based on the data
(22:53):
from these accelerometers, the children in the study were significantly
more active when playing on grassy areas and it sites
featuring playground equipment, and on the other end of the spectrum,
concrete lots were the worst of the bunch, so they
elicited the least energy expenditure of all the environment studied.
So the hope is that with this kind of insight
(23:13):
on what works best, developers can make better decisions and
create playgrounds and school yards where you know, it's easier
and more fun for kids to choose to be active
on their own. Which is interesting. So what kinds of
stuff are we talking about though, like, because I'm guessing
it's something beyond your typical slides and monkey bars. Yeah,
that's right. So that the researchers behind this study helped
(23:34):
a few different schools renovate their playgrounds and the main
focus was to widen the variety of activities on offer.
So in addition to the standard playground fair like swing sets,
they added these areas specifically designed for dancing and climbing
and skating, and they even dedicated this trampoline area. And
I mean, really, who wouldn't want to spend at least
(23:54):
an hour a day in a place like that all
those options? I know, it does sound pretty fun and
in the end. Isn't that the only school supply that
a kid really needs? Fun? Pens, pencils, notebooks, rulers, there's
probably a few other things. Yeah, it's like a true
grown up. So why don't we keep the fun going
with a fact off? H So here's a quick one
(24:22):
on crayons. According to a Yale University study, Crayola crayons
are one of the most recognizable sense for adults, ranking
at number eighteen of all the sense they tried, and
it beat out Believe this or not, cheese and bleach. Wow,
that's impressive. All right, Well, speaking of names for crayons,
did you know that Krayola uses multiple names to refer
(24:45):
to the same colors. So the practice started early, with
the company using fifty four names to refer to just
thirty eight separate colors by the end of nineteen oh three,
and things only balloon from there. So you fast forward
to two thousand fifteen and Crayola had to signed seven
hundred and fifty nine names to just three hundred and
thirty one colors. Now, to be clear, though, this doesn't
(25:07):
mean the company is stuffing duplicate crayons and the same
box under a different name, but if you were to
open different boxes, you might actually find that the same
blue crayon is simultaneously labeled as Liberty blue, iron Man blue,
or Birdie blue, depending on the box that you get.
So pencils may seem a little old fashioned as more
kids learned to type and use pens, but don't count
(25:30):
them out just yet. According to the Chicago Tribune, they
keep coming back into fashion every so often, and when
Sudoku first became a craze, pencils actually had a seven
percent increase in sales in London. Holy cow. All right, well,
here's a quick one. I didn't realize until our friend
Aaron McCarthy did the story on trapper keepers. So apparently
the unique folders were called trappers because they kept papers
(25:53):
in them so well, and then the binder was called
a trapper keeper because it held all the trappers to
get there. You know, I had always wondered why it
had that name. It is such a strange name for
a product that I absolutely love. So you gave us
the skinny on Elmer's glue at the top of the show.
So now I'm actually going to clue you in on
Elmer himself, because I believe it or not. Elmer wasn't
(26:14):
created just for the glue bottle. He was actually based
on a real bull that the Board and Company used
to advertise its products at the World's Fair. So the
original plan was to have the dairy company's famous spokes
cow Elsie, appear at the event, but she was actually
busy shooting the film version of Little Women or or
the sequel I guess Little Men bizarre, but she was
(26:36):
on set, so Boorden knew they couldn't show up to
the World's Fair empty handed, so at the last minute,
the company found a bull to use instead, and at
the fair, the company dubbed him Elmer and announced that
he was the unmentioned husband of Elsie, which I'm sure
Elsie wasn't too happy about it, but the public loved
the idea, and Elmer was quickly made the mascot for
the Board and Chemical division, you know, the other side
(26:58):
of the company, And that's how we wound up on
the glue that would eventually bear his name. That was
a a much more involved origin story than I expected
for the for the fact off especially, but I do
like the way you brought the episode full circle, So
just for that, I think I'm gonna give you the trophy.
I will take it all right. Well, that's gonna do it.
For today's Part Time Genius for myself, Mango, Gabe, and Lowell.
(27:20):
Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back soon with
another episode. Part Time Genius is a production of I
Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
(27:41):
the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
listen to your favorite show.
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
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Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.