February 15, 2025 • 41 mins
Before February 12th - the innards of the baseball were out of control, ice skating was seasonal and the shape of our nation would look completely different!
- But along came Albert Spalding - who standardized that ball and invented a few other shapes you are familiar with!
- And year-round ice became a thing at the Madison Square Garden - reshaping the future of the sport of ice skating.
- A few of the largest memorials in the country are shaped after a president who reshaped his face at the urging of an 11-year-old.
If it's a special day for you or for someone you care about, why not learn a little more about today by listening to some fun, engaging tales of the past. You’ll find yourself a little smarter and have some great stories you can tell while waiting in line at the bank to have your spare change rolled up. If you need some great gift ideas, we have those too (along with links to where you can find them on Amazon).
The rest is under construction!
Text me your favorite time travel movie!!!
~~~ DayStrider Fun ~~~
Do you want to be mentioned here in the podcast? Or do you want me to do a shout-out for a loved one? All you need to do is send me an e-mail: daystriderstories@gmail.com
Better yet, you can record your own shout-out by leaving me a voice message using this SpeakPipe link
Do you have a story that you wish to share? Join me as a guest and let’s tell the world together! Once again, just send me an e-mail or find me here on Facebook: Truman Pastworthy
If you had as much fun listening as I did creating this episode, please click "follow" in your favorite podcast platform . . . oh . . . and even better - why not share it with a friend (or three)! I’m betting you know just the perfect person who would enjoy today’s stories!
If you feel adventurous, how 'bout writing a great review? :-)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Truman (00:01):
Welcome, Seeker.
Did you know that at one pointthey stuffed baseballs with
dried fish eyes?
Huh?
And would you believe that acute letter from an 11-year-old
girl led to the mostrecognizable beard ever?
Yep.
Today, we're striding throughtime to hear tales of innovation
(00:22):
and engineering whileuncovering some stunning tidbits
about a leader who kept Americatogether during its most trying
time.
This isn't just any day inhistory.
It's February 12th.
And these origin stories areabout to flip everything you
thought you knew on its head.
Our journey begins with oneman's quest to save baseball
(00:45):
from the chaos of fisheyefastballs.
And he ended up revolutionizingevery major sport that you can
bounce, throw, or kick.
And then we'll chill out alittle.
As we discover how bringing iceindoors gave rise to the most
popular Winter Olympic event.
And then we'll crash thebirthday party of one of
(01:09):
America's most importantleaders.
A man whose face you've seenmore times than any other in
human history.
A penny for your thoughts onwho that might be.
We'll return you to your normalself armed with enough stories
to fill a piggy bank.
Yeah.
The portal's humming, history'ssecrets are waiting, and our
(01:30):
day striding adventure beginsnow.
Grab your curiosity, and let's
Intro music (01:36):
get
Truman (01:42):
to it.
Welcome, seekers, to theenchanting world of Daystrider,
the podcast where we embark on adaily journey through history.
I'm your travel guide, TrumanPastworthy, and together we'll
explore some fascinating storiesthat happened on this exact
day, but from some time in thepast.
From groundbreaking inventionsto remarkable birthdays and
(02:05):
extraordinary events to quirkynational holidays, we've got it
all.
So kick back, relax, and openyour mind for some lighthearted
stories that'll leave yousaying, huh, I never knew that
happened on this day.
Alrighty then, let's get to it.
Do you have any idea how manybaseballs get used in a major
(02:27):
league game these days?
And when I say used, sometimesI mean barely touched, right?
Think about it.
You see a pitcher throw theball and it hits the dirt just
ahead of home plate and thecatcher stops it.
And then he holds up the ballto the ump who replaces it
immediately.
That ball's done.
See ya! Sorry, little ball.
(02:48):
That tiny dirt mark makes youunworthy to be pulverized by a
bat deep into the outfield.
Meh.
Anyway, did you know that backin the day, the home teams
provided the baseballs and thatsomeone made them to their
desired specifications?
(03:08):
Yeah, now I'm talking way, wayback in the day here, when the
balls were not exactly the samesize across the different
cities.
Back when teams stuffed theirbaseballs with rubber or
whatever weird materials theyhad laying around.
And I do mean weird, becausesome balls supposedly had dried
(03:31):
fish eyes inside of them as thecore.
Yeah, fish eyes! And you wantto talk about home team
advantage?
Depending on who they wereplaying, the home team could
make the balls more bouncy ormake them seem dead as a brick.
And they would love to switchballs mid-game to really mess
with the other team.
(03:51):
Tom Brady would love to haveplayed in this era, right?
Actually, that's a great personto bring up, because the Tom
Brady or the Michael Jordan ofbaseball pitchers back in those
days...
His name was Albert Spalding.
And one year, he won anincredible 47 games as a
(04:12):
pitcher.
What?
Yeah, 47 wins out of total 70games they play in a season.
Yeah.
Today, pitchers start maybe 30of the 162 games they play, and
the very best pitchers mightwin, might win 20 of those
games.
So our man Albert, he was abeast in his time.
(04:35):
And guess what?
Albert was done with all theseFrankenballs.
Yeah, one game he's pitching aball stuffed with grass
clippings, and then the nextit's a soggy mess weighed down
with tobacco juice.
And so he took a stand.
Enough of this madness.
Baseball needed one officialball made the same way every
(04:59):
time and used by everybody.
And just like that, On this dayin 1876, Albert Spalding put
his money where his mouth was.
Literally.
And he and his brother opened asporting goods store in Chicago
selling the very firststandardized baseballs.
And let me tell you, this wasthe sports world's version of
(05:22):
the iPhone launch.
Yeah, completely changing theplaying field.
Now let's pause right here amoment because I'm willing to
bet that you have either playedwith or worn some kind of
sporting equipment that had theSpalding name stamped or
stitched on it somewhere, right?
Think about it.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
(05:43):
If you're having some doubtsabout my bold statement, keep
listening.
Spalding baseballs were theofficial ball of the majors for
100 years, all the way up to thelate 1970s.
So these Spalding balls wouldhave been used by the Little
Leagues as well during thattime.
But wait.
There's more.
Our man Albert was alsoresponsible for popularizing
(06:07):
baseball gloves.
You see, he not only pitched,he played first base.
And back in his day, beforegloves were a thing, he had to
catch those fisheye balls withhis bare hands.
Oh, my.
So the Spaldings started makingand selling baseball gloves,
which, of course, propelledtheir growing franchise of
(06:28):
sporting goods stores.
So you know how Nike sells theAir Jordan shoe nowadays?
Well, back then, Spalding madea baseball glove specifically
for Babe Ruth.
How about that?
Yep.
Now hold on a second.
Some of you are saying, Truman,I never played baseball.
So there's no Spalding for me.
(06:50):
I'm not done yet.
We need to talk aboutbasketball.
If you've played hoops, chancesare you used a Spalding ball.
Why is that, Truman?
Well, because Spalding isactually the folks who invented
the literal basketball.
That's right.
So hold on.
(07:10):
They didn't invent the actualsport.
That was Dr.
James Naismith.
And shameless plug, you canhear all about his invention in
the December 21st episode.
But anyway, about five yearsafter James invented the sport,
He called Albert up because heneeded help.
He needed a ball that couldeasily be dribbled.
Can you imagine how thatconversation must have gone?
(07:34):
Ring, ring.
Hello, Albert Spaldingspeaking.
Mr.
Spalding, hi, how are you?
James Naismith here.
I've invented a new sport and Ineed your help with the ball.
A new sport, Dr.
Naismith?
What are you talking abouthere?
Yeah, players throw a ball intoelevated peach baskets.
Hmm, I'm sorry.
(07:54):
Did you say peach baskets?
Yes, sir, you got it.
We nail them up wicked high onthe gym wall.
But the problem is, we keephaving to climb up and poke the
ball out with a stick afterevery score.
So what do you want me to do?
Make you a better stick?
Nah, nah, we need a ball.
Right now we're usingeverything from soccer balls to
(08:15):
stuffed pillowcases.
Yesterday, some knuckleheadtried using a medicine ball, and
damn near took out a window.
Um, Dr.
Naismith, are you sure thisgame of yours is gonna catch on?
Trust me, Mr.
Spalding, this is gonna behuge.
Though I should mention,players ain't allowed to run
with the ball.
Huh?
(08:35):
You can't run with it.
Nah, you gotta bounce it.
We call it dribbling.
Dribbling?
Like a baby does on a bib?
Very funny, Bobo.
So, can you help me or what?
I'll send you some prototypes.
But mark my words, thisbasketball of yours will never
be as popular as baseball.
Wicked awesome.
(08:55):
You're a real life saver, Mr.
Spalding.
Yeah, that's a good one.
And as you know, basketball didtake off.
And the Spalding's riches roseright along with it.
Yep.
And in the 30s, the Spaldingfolks figured out how to make a
basketball without laces.
And then in the 50s, they madethe balls orange so that it was
(09:18):
easier for players and fans totrack it as it flew around the
court.
And the Spalding basketballbecame official in the NBA in
the 80s and remained so foralmost 40 years.
So once again, it's probablethat if you played hoops as a
youth, you've used a Spaldingbasketball.
And wait a second, why stopthere?
(09:40):
Someone needed to standardizethe American football, right?
Yep, and you guessed it, theSpauldings to the rescue.
They created the unique prolatespheroid shape.
Huh?
Prolate spheroid?
Yeah, I know.
That's what they call thepointy oval football shape.
(10:02):
And...
We're not done yet.
Let's soar over the net to thesport of volleyball, which also
happened to be invented inMassachusetts.
And that inventor also needed anew ball for his new sport.
Now, don't worry.
I'll spare you from having tohear my imitation of William
(10:23):
Morgan's accent.
But yeah, they needed a ballthat was lighter than a
basketball.
but heavier and more durablethan just a bladder filled with
air for the older folks who werelearning to play this new game
at their local YMCA.
Yeah, so how about that run forthe Spauldings back in their
time?
And they got into tennis andgolf and other sports as well.
(10:46):
Oh, and they didn't stop withjust making the balls.
No, they improved standardizedbackstops, backboards, goals,
and volleyball nets and tennisrackets and on and on.
Yeah, so if you've everdribbled, thrown, spiked, or
smacked a ball, odds are you'vehad a Spalding in your hands.
Not bad for a guy whosefrustration with fish eyes
(11:09):
turned into a dynasty of sports.
From the pitcher's mound to thebasketball court to the
football field, Spalding justwasn't making balls.
He was making history.
Game, set, match.
Roses are red and balls are forplay.
If you wrote a review, thatwould make my day.
(11:31):
Can't think of the words?
Here's what you do.
Type this pod's a grand slam,fun all the way through.
Imagine you're a young woman inthe late 1870s, gliding across
the ice, the crisp air brushingagainst your cheeks.
You live for skating.
(11:54):
It's your passion.
But there's a major problem.
Your season is painfully short.
Three, maybe four months is allyou get in a good year.
And the ice, it's anything butsmooth.
Jagged edges, stray branchespoking out here and there.
(12:14):
And watch out for those thinspots you could go plunging
through.
Every single glide is a gamble.
And despite all these risks,you just love skating, and you
wish there was a better option,a way to get ice year-round
without moving to the NorthPole.
(12:34):
There has to be a way, right?
You've heard rumors of a doctordown in Florida who's been
making ice for decades.
Yeah, Dr.
Gorey developed a way to helphis malaria patients recover by
using ice that he made any timehe needed it.
Imagine the possibility.
Ice on demand.
(12:56):
Could this be the answer?
Maybe can someone come up herein the north and make us some
ice too?
And in big enough blocks thatwe can skate on them?
We can only dream.
Well, actually, to make ice, weneed to keep our heads right up
in those clouds you were justdreaming in.
Clouds of ammonia, that is,created with fire.
(13:19):
Sounds crazy, but in the 1870s,that's exactly what they did.
Instead of sitting aroundwaiting for the pond to freeze,
they figured out how to burntheir way to ice.
Nerd Alert (13:32):
Yeah,
Truman (13:36):
before electricity, they burned wood or coal to heat an
ammonia solution to boiling.
Then you compress those boiledgases, and when you're ready,
you let that gas expand, andthis expansion creates an
intense amount of cooling, whichcan quickly freeze water into
(13:57):
solid blocks of ice.
Sounding all clear, the nerdalert's over.
Okay, Truman, so you're sayingthat they took these blocks of
ice and set them all up side byside to make a surface we can
skate on?
No, not really.
That would probably suck as askating surface anyway.
And besides, these early icepioneers, they weren't thinking
(14:19):
about twirls and toe loops.
No, they were thinking aboutbeer.
Cold beer, cold food, andbigger profits.
No one cared about figureskating.
Well, not until this day in1879 anyway.
But we'll get to that in asecond.
As ice-making technologyprogressed over the decades,
(14:41):
they discovered how to recyclethe chemicals in closed systems.
And they expanded the size ofthe ice blocks they could make
based on the size of the tubingnetwork they pumped their
chemicals through.
And there were lots ofpractical improvements.
But wait a second.
What about our skaters?
They needed a dreamer.
Someone who could see beyondbeer barrels and into the future
(15:04):
of entertainment.
Enter...
Thomas Rankin.
While others saw ice asstorage, he saw a stage.
A grand glistening arena whereskaters could dance on frozen
water.
And lucky for him, he knew justthe right showman to help make
it happen.
(15:24):
P.T.
Barnum.
You know that name from thecircus, right?
Yeah, Barnum and Bailey.
Yep.
That Barnum, who just happenedto be a partial owner of the
original Madison Square Gardenin New York.
And he actually had some extraroom in the building.
So Rankin and Barnum workedtogether to make a space in the
(15:47):
original Madison Square Gardeninto an ice rink.
Yeah, and on this day inhistory, over 2,000 New Yorkers
showed up just to witness magic.
Before them lay a shallow poolof water, encasing long rows of
iron pipes.
And they held their collectivebreath as the machines roared to
(16:10):
life, pumping that ammoniastuff.
Would it work?
Huh?
Slowly, surely, somethingincredible happened.
Oh my, it's like a miracleright in front of our eyes! Ice!
Smooth and solid and gleamingunder the gaslights.
There was oohing and aahingeverywhere in the crowd.
(16:32):
Some bent down, hesitating.
They reached out, touchinghistory for the very first time.
Yes, it really was ice!Indoors! Wow! And once finished,
the ice was smooth and even.
And nowhere to be found werethose pesky sticks jutting out.
And of course, no more fears ofplunging through any thin
(16:56):
spots.
It worked and it was beautiful.
All right, who's ready to giveit a try?
Step right up.
And that's how beginning onthis day in history, you could
skate on man-made ice prettymuch anytime you wanted.
Now we could take our figureskating dreams to a whole new
level.
(17:16):
And not only did they makedreams come true, they invented
a new business model.
Yeah, it cost 50 cents to getthe chance to skate, which is
about $15 in today's money, sothat's reasonable.
And they had ice rink monitors,just like they have today.
And the concept of skatingcounterclockwise got its start
(17:36):
as well.
Wait a second, why do we skatein that direction anyway?
Well, most people areright-handed, and so they want
the wall on their right so theycould use that to help them stay
standing.
And of course, most people'sright leg is stronger.
And that's their push leg.
And so, yeah, that's why theyskate counterclockwise.
Now you know.
(17:57):
Imagine being among those firstwitnesses watching the ice
freeze right before their eyes.
How cool must that have been?
No pun intended.
You can actually watch somevery cool videos of ice making
as well.
I'll leave a link in the shownotes to one that I found
fascinating to watch.
(18:17):
What was also amazing was howthe sport of figure skating took
off.
Now with a place to skateyear-round and a surface that
was much smoother and consistentthan a pond, people could try
more challenging moves.
Longer spins, bigger and higherjumps, advanced choreography,
and that was just the beginning.
Ice rinks started popping upeverywhere, each one a testament
(18:40):
to this incredible invention.
One example, the North AvenueIce Palace in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Yeah, it opened forentertainment, skating, and
early ice hockey games in 1894.
Yeah, the rink was constructedwith layers of waterproof paper
and wool surrounding the coldpipes that ran through and froze
(19:01):
the water.
Within two years of itsopening, the rink hosted the
first college hockey gamebetween Yale and Johns Hopkins
University.
But I'm sorry to say that Yalebeat the Blue Jays 2-1 that day.
But nowadays, they can put icerinks anywhere.
I was on a cruise ship a yearago, and they had an ice rink
(19:23):
right there in the ship.
Yeah, now, it was small.
It was about a third of thesize of Rankin's pioneering
invention.
But they did shows on it andoffered free skating to
cruisers.
It was amazing, on a cruiseship even.
So, yeah, the next time youlace up your skates, remember
the dreamers, the inventors, theshowmen who made it all
(19:45):
possible.
Take a moment to appreciate themagic beneath your feet.
It's not just ice.
It's a story of innovation,passion, and the enduring power
of a dream that refused to meltaway.
(20:07):
A time traveler's delight as weglide through time, past echoes
of greatness, both grand andsublime.
If these tales have sparked joyor broadened your view, please
share with your friends.
Let them journey here too.
All right, folks, it's triviatime.
(20:28):
Who do you think is the mostreproduced image in all of
history?
I know, it's a crazy question.
Whose face has been printed inbooks and painted on walls and
hung in posters the most in theentire world throughout all of
time?
Well, where do you even startto answer that kind of a trivia
(20:51):
question?
Some of you may haveimmediately thought of the
lovely Mona Lisa, right?
And that's a pretty good guess.
But if you're religious, thenyou surely thought Jesus Christ,
right?
Millions, no, probably billionshave images of Jesus in their
home over the course of history.
Now before I keep going,there's no factual solution,
(21:15):
right?
There's no website to Google toget an actual answer.
We would have to do someserious estimating.
And so I asked a handful of AIsto help me.
And they got into some serious,detailed estimations.
I was actually impressed.
And on average, across all theAIs, they decided that Mona Lisa
(21:36):
has probably been reprintedabout 3 billion times through
all of history.
And then, of course, Jesusblows her away with 15 billion
reproductions through all ofhistory.
But what's surprising is thesenumbers are microscopic.
Because the AIs also did anestimate for how many times a
(21:57):
face has been printed on money,on currency.
So Queen Elizabeth II, right,she was a monarch for over 70
years, and her face has beenprinted on lots of money, to the
tune of 520 billionreproductions.
Yeah, and then General MaoZedong from China, he too is on
(22:18):
currency, and he of course ruledin the most populated country
on the planet.
So he topped out the estimatesat 560 billion times that his
face has been reproduced.
It's like we have a winner,folks.
Not quite.
There's one more face who's onthe most humble of currencies.
(22:39):
Can you guess who that mightbe?
It's his birthday today.
And so if you guessed AbrahamLincoln, ding, ding, ding, you
win.
Your prize is that you get tohelp blow out the candles on his
cake.
So what are you talking here,Truman?
Why do you say this?
Well, Lincoln was the firstpresident to appear on
(23:00):
circulating currency, and theystarted doing it on this day in
1909, so 100 years after hisbirth.
Now hold on to yourcalculators, folks, because from
1909 to 2009, 100 years, weminted enough pennies to make an
accountant's head spin.
Are you ready?
$454 billion.
(23:21):
pennies went into circulation.
And that's not any AI estimate.
That's actually from the U.S.
Mint records.
And what's even more crazy isin the last 15 years, another 80
billion pennies were minted.
Unfortunately, at a cost ofthree cents each, because it
costs more than a penny to makea penny, which is insane.
(23:44):
Yeah, but that's crazy numbers,right?
And then you can throw inLincoln's recognizable mug on
the $5 bill, which I didn'tbother including, and reprints
in the school textbooks and allthat.
His face is easily the numberone most reproduced image in all
of history.
Man.
And of course, when you thinkabout that image, you'll recall
(24:07):
that he's sporting his beard,right?
Well, did you know that Lincolnis also the first president to
keep a full beard while inoffice?
Yeah, only five presidents inall have sported facial hair
while serving in office.
And are you ready for anothersurprise?
Lincoln grew his beard at theurgings of an 11-year-old girl.
(24:28):
Yeah, young Grace Bedell wrotethe presidential candidate a
letter encouraging him to lethis whiskers grow.
She wrote, and I quote, Youwould look a great deal better,
for your face is so thin.
Ha ha ha! Yeah, that's what shewrote.
Leave it to a child to sharethe blunt truth.
(24:49):
But even better than that, shewent on to say, All the ladies
like whiskers, and they wouldtease their husbands to vote for
you, and then you would bepresident.
How about that?
Yeah, and I'm not kidding here,people.
This actually happened.
And not only that, Lincolnwrote her back.
And not only that, he actuallymet with her.
(25:09):
Yeah, so after he waselected...
He had to journey from Illinoisto D.C., and they didn't have
airplanes back then, so he tooka train.
And on his trip, he stoppedover in Grace's hometown.
You know, they stopped at thetrain station.
Lincoln got out, gave a littlespeech, and then he called out
into the crowd for Grace.
(25:30):
And someone pointed her outbecause she was blushing and
stunned silent.
And he actually left theplatform, walked into the crowd,
and embraced her with hugs andkisses as thank you before
heading on his way.
Oh, I know, that's cute, right?
Yeah, so Lincoln was the firstprinted on money, and the first
(25:50):
sporting a beard, but sadly, aswe all know, he was the first
president to be assassinated.
Now, I'm not going to retellthe story about that fateful
night at Ford's Theater, but I'dlike to share a chilling detail
that foreshadowed it.
John Wilkes Booth, he wasn'tjust some random actor who snuck
into the theater that night.
(26:11):
He was a regular performerthere.
In fact, just weeks before theassassination, Lincoln attended
a performance where Booth wasplaying a villain.
And check this out.
During his evil monologues,Booth would turn and deliver his
lines directly towardsLincoln's box.
(26:31):
Each venomous word, a dressrehearsal for the real tragedy
to come.
Isn't that creepy?
The president was sitting therewatching this show, unaware
that the actor on stagedelivering these venomous lines
was secretly plotting his fate.
Actually gives me the chillsjust saying it.
Oh, goodness.
(26:53):
But Lincoln's legacy isn'tdefined by how his story ended.
It's actually immortalized bythe words he spoke eight score
and one year ago at Gettysburg.
Picture this, a crisp Novemberday in 1863.
Thousands gathered at thebattlefield turned cemetery, and
the main speaker, Edward Evert,had just finished a two-hour
(27:16):
oration when Lincoln rose todeliver what he called a few
appropriate remarks.
Those remarks were just 272words, and they would become one
of the most famous speeches inall of American history.
Yeah.
Remember that clever opening?
Yeah, it's easy to remember,fun to say.
(27:38):
All men are created equal washis main message, trying to say
that the color of skin didn'tmatter.
And what may be the mostoft-repeated line from that
speech is that government is ofthe people, by the people, and
for the people.
Now, I know your historyteacher made sure you didn't
(27:59):
forget that powerful littlephrase.
Now, before I wrap us up, Iwanted to share a fun story
about Lincoln.
So he was challenged to a duelonce.
Yeah.
Apparently, he angered apolitician after a series of
nasty letters and back and fortheditorials that were published
in the papers.
Yeah.
(28:19):
And the other guy got so angryat Lincoln, he challenged him to
a duel.
Yeah.
Now apparently, duelingetiquette at the time says that
the person being challenged tothe duel could pick the weapons
they used.
So since Lincoln was six feetfour inches tall and had really
long arms, he chose thebroadsword.
(28:40):
And the other guy was muchshorter, putting him at a huge
disadvantage.
And before the duel, Lincolnwas swinging around his sword,
and high in the air, he choppeddown a small branch.
It was way up in the tree, andthe other guy knew he was
cooked.
So he chickened out and calledoff the duel.
That's right.
No blood was shed that day.
How about that?
(29:02):
All right.
So as you know, our beardedhero has definitely been
memorialized in a huge way.
There's a 19-foot statue of himin the Lincoln Memorial.
But that's when he's sittingdown.
If the statue could stand up,it would actually be 28 feet
tall.
And then there's the 60-foottall bust of his face carved
(29:22):
into the side of Mount Rushmore.
Pretty cool, right?
Speaking of these, you want tohear something quirky?
Lincoln's hands in the memorialare exact replicas of his
actual hands.
Yeah, for some strange reason,there were literal casts made of
Lincoln's hands while he was inoffice.
So the master carver was ableto use these casts to create
(29:47):
realistic hands in the memorial.
I don't know.
I don't make this stuff up.
I just read it and then tellyou about it.
So anyway, from the smallestcurrency in your pocket to the
largest sculpture in America,Abraham Lincoln's face has quite
literally been carved into ournation's history.
Happy birthday to one of thegreatest presidents that's ever
(30:09):
lived.
What a ride through time today,folks.
We uncovered some amazingstories that you never knew
existed about people thateveryone's heard of.
Who knew that the Spauldingsactually invented the original
basketball and volleyball, alongwith standardizing all those
(30:33):
other balls?
Or that the very first ice rinkin America was in the Madison
Square Garden?
And surely one of those manyfun tidbits about Lincoln was a
first for you, right?
Yeah, it's easy to see thatwithout February 12th, our world
would look a lot different.
Whether it's the shape of oursporting equipment or the shape
(30:54):
of our nation itself.
Why not share these storieswith someone who loves being
surprised?
And you know what else?
If today's stories made yougrin, there's so much more
waiting for you.
That's right, if you're asports junkie, then you won't
want to miss the invention ofbasketball on December 21st and
hear about a couple of Olympicathletes on August 16th who
(31:17):
brought home tons of goldmedals.
If you're ever planning a tripto New York City to check off
your iconic landmarks bucketlist, make time for the
Guggenheim Museum on October21st and the Radio City Music
Hall from December 27th.
If blowing out candles forfamous birthdays boosts your
(31:37):
mood, you won't want to misssinging happy birthday to
Confucius on September 28th orChuck Berry on October 18th.
P.S.
If you love skating and yourevel in scandal, don't miss
January 8th's Scandal of theCentury.
Mm-hmm.
Two ice skaters.
(31:58):
Check them out.
All right, after you sharethese special stories, you can
also mention the followingfamous folks who celebrate their
birthdays today.
An actor from one of myfavorite movies blows out the
candle on this day each year.
Do you remember who playedSimi, Akeem's sidekick, in the
movie Coming to America?
(32:19):
Yeah, so Coming to America,Eddie Murphy, he played Akeem,
and his meddlesome roommate andsidekick was...
Yeah...
If you said Arsenio Hall, younailed it.
He was also very popular in themid-90s when he hosted a
late-night talk show.
Happy birthday, Arsenio.
The OG Wednesday Addams isanother year older today.
(32:42):
So that's Christina Ritchie.
Yep, she was discovered in aschool play at the age of eight.
And she had her first moviepart by her ninth birthday in
the movie Mermaids.
She's all grown up now, and sheplayed Zelda Fitzgerald in a
Netflix series called Z, TheBeginning of Everything.
I'm going to have to check thatone out.
(33:02):
Another Truman favorite?
Do you know who hosted the gameshow America Says?
Huh, you've never seen thatshow?
That's a shame.
I think it's on the Game ShowNetwork still.
Anyway, John Michael Higginsadds another notch to his belt
today.
I think he's now hosting thegame show Split Second, so you
(33:23):
can check him out there andyou'll recognize him right away.
And then someone you may notactually recognize when you see
her, but you've probably heardher before.
Do you know the name TaraStrong?
Intro music (33:36):
Yeah,
Truman (33:37):
I don't know, maybe.
But she's the voice behind over80 different characters from
cartoons and movies and videogames.
Her most famous voice isprobably Bubbles from the
Powerpuff Girls.
And then two famous birthdaysfrom history are household names
with Abraham Lincoln, who wecovered, and Charles Darwin, who
(33:57):
we also covered in the past.
Yeah, we featured him on theDecember 27th episode.
So if you want to hear thestory behind the theory of
evolution, that one is worthyour time.
And then the 50th most famousperson born today, according to
famousbirthdays.com, is someonethat most people have heard of,
(34:18):
RG3.
Yes, the Washington footballteam, or whatever they're called
these days, has a number offamous quarterbacks, and Robert
Griffin III is on that list.
He won the Heisman Trophy in2011 and was the NFL's Rookie of
the Year in 2012.
And he actually played eightyears in the NFL.
(34:38):
But sadly, he wasn't the sameafter a knee injury changed his
career.
So February 12th is lost pennyday.
Yeah.
And the point of this day is togather up your pennies from
wherever you've left them anddonate them to a cause because
every penny counts.
But before you dump thosepennies into a coin star
(35:00):
machine, here's a fun option fora handful of them.
Create a team buildingactivity.
Yeah, so you gather a cup fullof pennies, making sure you have
one from each different year.
And I'm pretty confident thatyour jar in the cupboard or that
penny dish in the junk drawerhas pennies from at least 40
different years, going all theway back to the 70s.
(35:21):
And then all you do is pass thecup around the table and have
each person pick a random penny.
Then give them a moment tothink, because they're going to
describe what was happening intheir life during the year shown
on the penny.
Yeah, it's pretty fun.
Off you go.
Share your stories.
I'm telling you, it's a funone.
Today is also Hug Day.
(35:42):
And that's an okay day byitself, right?
Hug Day?
But it's actually a day in awhole series of days.
Yes, the Cupid's Cartel, whopushes us to spend more and more
money on the Valentine's Dayholiday, created an entire week.
And Hug Day is the sixth day ina series leading up to the big
(36:04):
one, Valentine's Day.
But what the heck, hugs don'tcost any money.
So go find someone you careabout and give them a hug today.
If you're a foodie, then you'llbe happy to know it's also Plum
Pudding Day.
I've never tried this dessertsomehow, but I learned that the
very best recipes call forallowing the final product to
(36:25):
sit and age for four to sixweeks.
That's what it says.
I also read that the recipecalls for raisins or currants as
the fruit, not plums.
Huh.
All right.
So apparently back in the day,raisins were called plums.
I don't know.
I didn't research what plumsused to be called, so who knows?
(36:49):
If you know, share.
Send me a note.
All right, so you need a greatgift idea for your loved one?
Well, in addition to retellingthe stories you just learned
about on this day in history,you can have them open up a gift
that is customized to theirbirthday.
And I have several great ideasfor you, and as always, I'm
sharing links in the show notes.
(37:10):
And most days, I make the claimthat these gifts are so unique,
there's no way your loved onewill have one.
And today is no exception.
Now you might think, wait asecond, our first segment was
sports equipment, right?
Doesn't everyone own a ball orglove or racket?
Wait a second, I'm willing tobet not everyone has one of
(37:31):
those old red rubber dodgeballsfrom the elementary school days,
right?
You can get one of them withthe Spalding logo stamped on it.
That'd be cool.
And then you can celebrate theice rink invention by getting
your loved one synthetic ice.
Yeah, there's these plasticpieces that you puzzle them
together and turn a wide openroom or driveway or any open
(37:54):
space you have into a skatingsurface.
Yeah, synthetic ice.
Check them out.
They're in the show notes.
And if your loved one likesdesk trinkets, there are Abraham
Lincoln busts and bobbleheadsthat would be a great addition
to their collection.
And the famous folks born todayall have some great movies and
shows and wall hangings that aregood gift ideas.
(38:16):
Similarly, today's specialholidays have good gift ideas.
For Penny Day, you could getthem a penny collector wall
hanging or portfolio.
Some people have those forquarters, but do you have them
for a penny?
And then here's an awesome ideafor Hug Day.
Get them one of those sleepingpods called Hug Sleep.
(38:38):
Yeah, you slide into it like asleeping bag and it hugs you up
nice and snug, helping you driftright off to sleep.
But if you really want to upyour gift-giving game, you have
the chance to make someone'sbirthday special because you
could dedicate a personalizedshout-out right here on this
podcast.
And they'll be memorializedforever.
Intro music (38:59):
Yeah,
Truman (39:00):
I can do the shout-out for you if you email me their
name and something fun, or youcan do your own shout-out by
using the SpeakPipe link that'savailable in the show notes.
Today, I'm giving the shout-outto a great friend and mentor of
mine, Steve.
He's helped shape my personaland professional life, and he's
(39:20):
always been there for methroughout all the years.
Thanks, Steve, for your openmind and your unique perspective
on life.
Appreciate it.
Now, as always, if you have astory that just needs to be
shared about any day in thepast, send me an email and let's
connect.
And guess what?
(39:40):
The votes are in.
That's right.
In my last episode, I askedfolks to share with me if they
prefer my approach of publishingshows about this day on this
day versus just picking somerandom day of the year and
publishing whatever day ithappens to be.
So thanks for the feedback,folks.
We are sticking with the triedand true pattern.
(40:01):
But we have some flexibilitythis summer and fall, so if
there's something you're dyingto hear about, or if there's
some origin story that you justwant to hear, send me a note.
We'll see if we can work thatin to the schedule.
We've got Hard Pretzel Daycoming.
That's going to be fun.
But what else do you want tohear about?
Anyway, in the meantime...
(40:22):
I'm going to be hyping my nextepisode to everyone who will
listen.
I plan to publish on March 1st,the start of the 2025 Iditarod
race.
And the episode will becelebrating the very first
edition of that race from March3rd, 1973.
And guess what?
I had the opportunity tointerview one of the 35 mushers
(40:45):
competing in that race.
Oh, yeah.
So you'll actually get to hearfrom an actual Iditarod racer
and hear the stories about himand his team of dogs and cheer
them on while the race is takingplace while you're listening to
the episode.
How about that?
It's going to be cool.
Hopefully not too cold that ourman Bailey gets frostbite,
(41:08):
which he has gotten before.
But more to come.
All right, thanks forlistening.
And like I said, on January19th, you need to make 2025 an
epic year.
So go get to it.
Thanks so much for listening.
Until next time, this is TrumanPastworthy, reminding you that
(41:31):
every day has a great story.
And we'll be striding throughthem all to find some more
goodies for you.
Now get out there and make yourown great story today.
Welcome, Seeker.
Did you know that at one pointthey stuffed baseballs with
dried fish eyes?
Huh?
And would you believe that acute letter from an 11-year-old
girl led to the mostrecognizable beard ever?
Yep.
Today, we're striding throughtime to hear tales of innovation
(00:22):
and engineering whileuncovering some stunning tidbits
about a leader who kept Americatogether during its most trying
time.
This isn't just any day inhistory.
It's February 12th.
And these origin stories areabout to flip everything you
thought you knew on its head.
Our journey begins with oneman's quest to save baseball
(00:45):
from the chaos of fisheyefastballs.
And he ended up revolutionizingevery major sport that you can
bounce, throw, or kick.
And then we'll chill out alittle.
As we discover how bringing iceindoors gave rise to the most
popular Winter Olympic event.
And then we'll crash thebirthday party of one of
(01:09):
America's most importantleaders.
A man whose face you've seenmore times than any other in
human history.
A penny for your thoughts onwho that might be.
We'll return you to your normalself armed with enough stories
to fill a piggy bank.
Yeah.
The portal's humming, history'ssecrets are waiting, and our
(01:30):
day striding adventure beginsnow.
Grab your curiosity, and let's
Intro music (01:36):
get
Truman (01:42):
to it.
Welcome, seekers, to theenchanting world of Daystrider,
the podcast where we embark on adaily journey through history.
I'm your travel guide, TrumanPastworthy, and together we'll
explore some fascinating storiesthat happened on this exact
day, but from some time in thepast.
From groundbreaking inventionsto remarkable birthdays and
(02:05):
extraordinary events to quirkynational holidays, we've got it
all.
So kick back, relax, and openyour mind for some lighthearted
stories that'll leave yousaying, huh, I never knew that
happened on this day.
Alrighty then, let's get to it.
Do you have any idea how manybaseballs get used in a major
(02:27):
league game these days?
And when I say used, sometimesI mean barely touched, right?
Think about it.
You see a pitcher throw theball and it hits the dirt just
ahead of home plate and thecatcher stops it.
And then he holds up the ballto the ump who replaces it
immediately.
That ball's done.
See ya! Sorry, little ball.
(02:48):
That tiny dirt mark makes youunworthy to be pulverized by a
bat deep into the outfield.
Meh.
Anyway, did you know that backin the day, the home teams
provided the baseballs and thatsomeone made them to their
desired specifications?
(03:08):
Yeah, now I'm talking way, wayback in the day here, when the
balls were not exactly the samesize across the different
cities.
Back when teams stuffed theirbaseballs with rubber or
whatever weird materials theyhad laying around.
And I do mean weird, becausesome balls supposedly had dried
(03:31):
fish eyes inside of them as thecore.
Yeah, fish eyes! And you wantto talk about home team
advantage?
Depending on who they wereplaying, the home team could
make the balls more bouncy ormake them seem dead as a brick.
And they would love to switchballs mid-game to really mess
with the other team.
(03:51):
Tom Brady would love to haveplayed in this era, right?
Actually, that's a great personto bring up, because the Tom
Brady or the Michael Jordan ofbaseball pitchers back in those
days...
His name was Albert Spalding.
And one year, he won anincredible 47 games as a
(04:12):
pitcher.
What?
Yeah, 47 wins out of total 70games they play in a season.
Yeah.
Today, pitchers start maybe 30of the 162 games they play, and
the very best pitchers mightwin, might win 20 of those
games.
So our man Albert, he was abeast in his time.
(04:35):
And guess what?
Albert was done with all theseFrankenballs.
Yeah, one game he's pitching aball stuffed with grass
clippings, and then the nextit's a soggy mess weighed down
with tobacco juice.
And so he took a stand.
Enough of this madness.
Baseball needed one officialball made the same way every
(04:59):
time and used by everybody.
And just like that, On this dayin 1876, Albert Spalding put
his money where his mouth was.
Literally.
And he and his brother opened asporting goods store in Chicago
selling the very firststandardized baseballs.
And let me tell you, this wasthe sports world's version of
(05:22):
the iPhone launch.
Yeah, completely changing theplaying field.
Now let's pause right here amoment because I'm willing to
bet that you have either playedwith or worn some kind of
sporting equipment that had theSpalding name stamped or
stitched on it somewhere, right?
Think about it.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
(05:43):
If you're having some doubtsabout my bold statement, keep
listening.
Spalding baseballs were theofficial ball of the majors for
100 years, all the way up to thelate 1970s.
So these Spalding balls wouldhave been used by the Little
Leagues as well during thattime.
But wait.
There's more.
Our man Albert was alsoresponsible for popularizing
(06:07):
baseball gloves.
You see, he not only pitched,he played first base.
And back in his day, beforegloves were a thing, he had to
catch those fisheye balls withhis bare hands.
Oh, my.
So the Spaldings started makingand selling baseball gloves,
which, of course, propelledtheir growing franchise of
(06:28):
sporting goods stores.
So you know how Nike sells theAir Jordan shoe nowadays?
Well, back then, Spalding madea baseball glove specifically
for Babe Ruth.
How about that?
Yep.
Now hold on a second.
Some of you are saying, Truman,I never played baseball.
So there's no Spalding for me.
(06:50):
I'm not done yet.
We need to talk aboutbasketball.
If you've played hoops, chancesare you used a Spalding ball.
Why is that, Truman?
Well, because Spalding isactually the folks who invented
the literal basketball.
That's right.
So hold on.
(07:10):
They didn't invent the actualsport.
That was Dr.
James Naismith.
And shameless plug, you canhear all about his invention in
the December 21st episode.
But anyway, about five yearsafter James invented the sport,
He called Albert up because heneeded help.
He needed a ball that couldeasily be dribbled.
Can you imagine how thatconversation must have gone?
(07:34):
Ring, ring.
Hello, Albert Spaldingspeaking.
Mr.
Spalding, hi, how are you?
James Naismith here.
I've invented a new sport and Ineed your help with the ball.
A new sport, Dr.
Naismith?
What are you talking abouthere?
Yeah, players throw a ball intoelevated peach baskets.
Hmm, I'm sorry.
(07:54):
Did you say peach baskets?
Yes, sir, you got it.
We nail them up wicked high onthe gym wall.
But the problem is, we keephaving to climb up and poke the
ball out with a stick afterevery score.
So what do you want me to do?
Make you a better stick?
Nah, nah, we need a ball.
Right now we're usingeverything from soccer balls to
(08:15):
stuffed pillowcases.
Yesterday, some knuckleheadtried using a medicine ball, and
damn near took out a window.
Um, Dr.
Naismith, are you sure thisgame of yours is gonna catch on?
Trust me, Mr.
Spalding, this is gonna behuge.
Though I should mention,players ain't allowed to run
with the ball.
Huh?
(08:35):
You can't run with it.
Nah, you gotta bounce it.
We call it dribbling.
Dribbling?
Like a baby does on a bib?
Very funny, Bobo.
So, can you help me or what?
I'll send you some prototypes.
But mark my words, thisbasketball of yours will never
be as popular as baseball.
Wicked awesome.
(08:55):
You're a real life saver, Mr.
Spalding.
Yeah, that's a good one.
And as you know, basketball didtake off.
And the Spalding's riches roseright along with it.
Yep.
And in the 30s, the Spaldingfolks figured out how to make a
basketball without laces.
And then in the 50s, they madethe balls orange so that it was
(09:18):
easier for players and fans totrack it as it flew around the
court.
And the Spalding basketballbecame official in the NBA in
the 80s and remained so foralmost 40 years.
So once again, it's probablethat if you played hoops as a
youth, you've used a Spaldingbasketball.
And wait a second, why stopthere?
(09:40):
Someone needed to standardizethe American football, right?
Yep, and you guessed it, theSpauldings to the rescue.
They created the unique prolatespheroid shape.
Huh?
Prolate spheroid?
Yeah, I know.
That's what they call thepointy oval football shape.
(10:02):
And...
We're not done yet.
Let's soar over the net to thesport of volleyball, which also
happened to be invented inMassachusetts.
And that inventor also needed anew ball for his new sport.
Now, don't worry.
I'll spare you from having tohear my imitation of William
(10:23):
Morgan's accent.
But yeah, they needed a ballthat was lighter than a
basketball.
but heavier and more durablethan just a bladder filled with
air for the older folks who werelearning to play this new game
at their local YMCA.
Yeah, so how about that run forthe Spauldings back in their
time?
And they got into tennis andgolf and other sports as well.
(10:46):
Oh, and they didn't stop withjust making the balls.
No, they improved standardizedbackstops, backboards, goals,
and volleyball nets and tennisrackets and on and on.
Yeah, so if you've everdribbled, thrown, spiked, or
smacked a ball, odds are you'vehad a Spalding in your hands.
Not bad for a guy whosefrustration with fish eyes
(11:09):
turned into a dynasty of sports.
From the pitcher's mound to thebasketball court to the
football field, Spalding justwasn't making balls.
He was making history.
Game, set, match.
Roses are red and balls are forplay.
If you wrote a review, thatwould make my day.
(11:31):
Can't think of the words?
Here's what you do.
Type this pod's a grand slam,fun all the way through.
Imagine you're a young woman inthe late 1870s, gliding across
the ice, the crisp air brushingagainst your cheeks.
You live for skating.
(11:54):
It's your passion.
But there's a major problem.
Your season is painfully short.
Three, maybe four months is allyou get in a good year.
And the ice, it's anything butsmooth.
Jagged edges, stray branchespoking out here and there.
(12:14):
And watch out for those thinspots you could go plunging
through.
Every single glide is a gamble.
And despite all these risks,you just love skating, and you
wish there was a better option,a way to get ice year-round
without moving to the NorthPole.
(12:34):
There has to be a way, right?
You've heard rumors of a doctordown in Florida who's been
making ice for decades.
Yeah, Dr.
Gorey developed a way to helphis malaria patients recover by
using ice that he made any timehe needed it.
Imagine the possibility.
Ice on demand.
(12:56):
Could this be the answer?
Maybe can someone come up herein the north and make us some
ice too?
And in big enough blocks thatwe can skate on them?
We can only dream.
Well, actually, to make ice, weneed to keep our heads right up
in those clouds you were justdreaming in.
Clouds of ammonia, that is,created with fire.
(13:19):
Sounds crazy, but in the 1870s,that's exactly what they did.
Instead of sitting aroundwaiting for the pond to freeze,
they figured out how to burntheir way to ice.
Nerd Alert (13:32):
Yeah,
Truman (13:36):
before electricity, they burned wood or coal to heat an
ammonia solution to boiling.
Then you compress those boiledgases, and when you're ready,
you let that gas expand, andthis expansion creates an
intense amount of cooling, whichcan quickly freeze water into
(13:57):
solid blocks of ice.
Sounding all clear, the nerdalert's over.
Okay, Truman, so you're sayingthat they took these blocks of
ice and set them all up side byside to make a surface we can
skate on?
No, not really.
That would probably suck as askating surface anyway.
And besides, these early icepioneers, they weren't thinking
(14:19):
about twirls and toe loops.
No, they were thinking aboutbeer.
Cold beer, cold food, andbigger profits.
No one cared about figureskating.
Well, not until this day in1879 anyway.
But we'll get to that in asecond.
As ice-making technologyprogressed over the decades,
(14:41):
they discovered how to recyclethe chemicals in closed systems.
And they expanded the size ofthe ice blocks they could make
based on the size of the tubingnetwork they pumped their
chemicals through.
And there were lots ofpractical improvements.
But wait a second.
What about our skaters?
They needed a dreamer.
Someone who could see beyondbeer barrels and into the future
(15:04):
of entertainment.
Enter...
Thomas Rankin.
While others saw ice asstorage, he saw a stage.
A grand glistening arena whereskaters could dance on frozen
water.
And lucky for him, he knew justthe right showman to help make
it happen.
(15:24):
P.T.
Barnum.
You know that name from thecircus, right?
Yeah, Barnum and Bailey.
Yep.
That Barnum, who just happenedto be a partial owner of the
original Madison Square Gardenin New York.
And he actually had some extraroom in the building.
So Rankin and Barnum workedtogether to make a space in the
(15:47):
original Madison Square Gardeninto an ice rink.
Yeah, and on this day inhistory, over 2,000 New Yorkers
showed up just to witness magic.
Before them lay a shallow poolof water, encasing long rows of
iron pipes.
And they held their collectivebreath as the machines roared to
(16:10):
life, pumping that ammoniastuff.
Would it work?
Huh?
Slowly, surely, somethingincredible happened.
Oh my, it's like a miracleright in front of our eyes! Ice!
Smooth and solid and gleamingunder the gaslights.
There was oohing and aahingeverywhere in the crowd.
(16:32):
Some bent down, hesitating.
They reached out, touchinghistory for the very first time.
Yes, it really was ice!Indoors! Wow! And once finished,
the ice was smooth and even.
And nowhere to be found werethose pesky sticks jutting out.
And of course, no more fears ofplunging through any thin
(16:56):
spots.
It worked and it was beautiful.
All right, who's ready to giveit a try?
Step right up.
And that's how beginning onthis day in history, you could
skate on man-made ice prettymuch anytime you wanted.
Now we could take our figureskating dreams to a whole new
level.
(17:16):
And not only did they makedreams come true, they invented
a new business model.
Yeah, it cost 50 cents to getthe chance to skate, which is
about $15 in today's money, sothat's reasonable.
And they had ice rink monitors,just like they have today.
And the concept of skatingcounterclockwise got its start
(17:36):
as well.
Wait a second, why do we skatein that direction anyway?
Well, most people areright-handed, and so they want
the wall on their right so theycould use that to help them stay
standing.
And of course, most people'sright leg is stronger.
And that's their push leg.
And so, yeah, that's why theyskate counterclockwise.
Now you know.
(17:57):
Imagine being among those firstwitnesses watching the ice
freeze right before their eyes.
How cool must that have been?
No pun intended.
You can actually watch somevery cool videos of ice making
as well.
I'll leave a link in the shownotes to one that I found
fascinating to watch.
(18:17):
What was also amazing was howthe sport of figure skating took
off.
Now with a place to skateyear-round and a surface that
was much smoother and consistentthan a pond, people could try
more challenging moves.
Longer spins, bigger and higherjumps, advanced choreography,
and that was just the beginning.
Ice rinks started popping upeverywhere, each one a testament
(18:40):
to this incredible invention.
One example, the North AvenueIce Palace in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Yeah, it opened forentertainment, skating, and
early ice hockey games in 1894.
Yeah, the rink was constructedwith layers of waterproof paper
and wool surrounding the coldpipes that ran through and froze
(19:01):
the water.
Within two years of itsopening, the rink hosted the
first college hockey gamebetween Yale and Johns Hopkins
University.
But I'm sorry to say that Yalebeat the Blue Jays 2-1 that day.
But nowadays, they can put icerinks anywhere.
I was on a cruise ship a yearago, and they had an ice rink
(19:23):
right there in the ship.
Yeah, now, it was small.
It was about a third of thesize of Rankin's pioneering
invention.
But they did shows on it andoffered free skating to
cruisers.
It was amazing, on a cruiseship even.
So, yeah, the next time youlace up your skates, remember
the dreamers, the inventors, theshowmen who made it all
(19:45):
possible.
Take a moment to appreciate themagic beneath your feet.
It's not just ice.
It's a story of innovation,passion, and the enduring power
of a dream that refused to meltaway.
(20:07):
A time traveler's delight as weglide through time, past echoes
of greatness, both grand andsublime.
If these tales have sparked joyor broadened your view, please
share with your friends.
Let them journey here too.
All right, folks, it's triviatime.
(20:28):
Who do you think is the mostreproduced image in all of
history?
I know, it's a crazy question.
Whose face has been printed inbooks and painted on walls and
hung in posters the most in theentire world throughout all of
time?
Well, where do you even startto answer that kind of a trivia
(20:51):
question?
Some of you may haveimmediately thought of the
lovely Mona Lisa, right?
And that's a pretty good guess.
But if you're religious, thenyou surely thought Jesus Christ,
right?
Millions, no, probably billionshave images of Jesus in their
home over the course of history.
Now before I keep going,there's no factual solution,
(21:15):
right?
There's no website to Google toget an actual answer.
We would have to do someserious estimating.
And so I asked a handful of AIsto help me.
And they got into some serious,detailed estimations.
I was actually impressed.
And on average, across all theAIs, they decided that Mona Lisa
(21:36):
has probably been reprintedabout 3 billion times through
all of history.
And then, of course, Jesusblows her away with 15 billion
reproductions through all ofhistory.
But what's surprising is thesenumbers are microscopic.
Because the AIs also did anestimate for how many times a
(21:57):
face has been printed on money,on currency.
So Queen Elizabeth II, right,she was a monarch for over 70
years, and her face has beenprinted on lots of money, to the
tune of 520 billionreproductions.
Yeah, and then General MaoZedong from China, he too is on
(22:18):
currency, and he of course ruledin the most populated country
on the planet.
So he topped out the estimatesat 560 billion times that his
face has been reproduced.
It's like we have a winner,folks.
Not quite.
There's one more face who's onthe most humble of currencies.
(22:39):
Can you guess who that mightbe?
It's his birthday today.
And so if you guessed AbrahamLincoln, ding, ding, ding, you
win.
Your prize is that you get tohelp blow out the candles on his
cake.
So what are you talking here,Truman?
Why do you say this?
Well, Lincoln was the firstpresident to appear on
(23:00):
circulating currency, and theystarted doing it on this day in
1909, so 100 years after hisbirth.
Now hold on to yourcalculators, folks, because from
1909 to 2009, 100 years, weminted enough pennies to make an
accountant's head spin.
Are you ready?
$454 billion.
(23:21):
pennies went into circulation.
And that's not any AI estimate.
That's actually from the U.S.
Mint records.
And what's even more crazy isin the last 15 years, another 80
billion pennies were minted.
Unfortunately, at a cost ofthree cents each, because it
costs more than a penny to makea penny, which is insane.
(23:44):
Yeah, but that's crazy numbers,right?
And then you can throw inLincoln's recognizable mug on
the $5 bill, which I didn'tbother including, and reprints
in the school textbooks and allthat.
His face is easily the numberone most reproduced image in all
of history.
Man.
And of course, when you thinkabout that image, you'll recall
(24:07):
that he's sporting his beard,right?
Well, did you know that Lincolnis also the first president to
keep a full beard while inoffice?
Yeah, only five presidents inall have sported facial hair
while serving in office.
And are you ready for anothersurprise?
Lincoln grew his beard at theurgings of an 11-year-old girl.
(24:28):
Yeah, young Grace Bedell wrotethe presidential candidate a
letter encouraging him to lethis whiskers grow.
She wrote, and I quote, Youwould look a great deal better,
for your face is so thin.
Ha ha ha! Yeah, that's what shewrote.
Leave it to a child to sharethe blunt truth.
(24:49):
But even better than that, shewent on to say, All the ladies
like whiskers, and they wouldtease their husbands to vote for
you, and then you would bepresident.
How about that?
Yeah, and I'm not kidding here,people.
This actually happened.
And not only that, Lincolnwrote her back.
And not only that, he actuallymet with her.
(25:09):
Yeah, so after he waselected...
He had to journey from Illinoisto D.C., and they didn't have
airplanes back then, so he tooka train.
And on his trip, he stoppedover in Grace's hometown.
You know, they stopped at thetrain station.
Lincoln got out, gave a littlespeech, and then he called out
into the crowd for Grace.
(25:30):
And someone pointed her outbecause she was blushing and
stunned silent.
And he actually left theplatform, walked into the crowd,
and embraced her with hugs andkisses as thank you before
heading on his way.
Oh, I know, that's cute, right?
Yeah, so Lincoln was the firstprinted on money, and the first
(25:50):
sporting a beard, but sadly, aswe all know, he was the first
president to be assassinated.
Now, I'm not going to retellthe story about that fateful
night at Ford's Theater, but I'dlike to share a chilling detail
that foreshadowed it.
John Wilkes Booth, he wasn'tjust some random actor who snuck
into the theater that night.
(26:11):
He was a regular performerthere.
In fact, just weeks before theassassination, Lincoln attended
a performance where Booth wasplaying a villain.
And check this out.
During his evil monologues,Booth would turn and deliver his
lines directly towardsLincoln's box.
(26:31):
Each venomous word, a dressrehearsal for the real tragedy
to come.
Isn't that creepy?
The president was sitting therewatching this show, unaware
that the actor on stagedelivering these venomous lines
was secretly plotting his fate.
Actually gives me the chillsjust saying it.
Oh, goodness.
(26:53):
But Lincoln's legacy isn'tdefined by how his story ended.
It's actually immortalized bythe words he spoke eight score
and one year ago at Gettysburg.
Picture this, a crisp Novemberday in 1863.
Thousands gathered at thebattlefield turned cemetery, and
the main speaker, Edward Evert,had just finished a two-hour
(27:16):
oration when Lincoln rose todeliver what he called a few
appropriate remarks.
Those remarks were just 272words, and they would become one
of the most famous speeches inall of American history.
Yeah.
Remember that clever opening?
Yeah, it's easy to remember,fun to say.
(27:38):
All men are created equal washis main message, trying to say
that the color of skin didn'tmatter.
And what may be the mostoft-repeated line from that
speech is that government is ofthe people, by the people, and
for the people.
Now, I know your historyteacher made sure you didn't
(27:59):
forget that powerful littlephrase.
Now, before I wrap us up, Iwanted to share a fun story
about Lincoln.
So he was challenged to a duelonce.
Yeah.
Apparently, he angered apolitician after a series of
nasty letters and back and fortheditorials that were published
in the papers.
Yeah.
(28:19):
And the other guy got so angryat Lincoln, he challenged him to
a duel.
Yeah.
Now apparently, duelingetiquette at the time says that
the person being challenged tothe duel could pick the weapons
they used.
So since Lincoln was six feetfour inches tall and had really
long arms, he chose thebroadsword.
(28:40):
And the other guy was muchshorter, putting him at a huge
disadvantage.
And before the duel, Lincolnwas swinging around his sword,
and high in the air, he choppeddown a small branch.
It was way up in the tree, andthe other guy knew he was
cooked.
So he chickened out and calledoff the duel.
That's right.
No blood was shed that day.
How about that?
(29:02):
All right.
So as you know, our beardedhero has definitely been
memorialized in a huge way.
There's a 19-foot statue of himin the Lincoln Memorial.
But that's when he's sittingdown.
If the statue could stand up,it would actually be 28 feet
tall.
And then there's the 60-foottall bust of his face carved
(29:22):
into the side of Mount Rushmore.
Pretty cool, right?
Speaking of these, you want tohear something quirky?
Lincoln's hands in the memorialare exact replicas of his
actual hands.
Yeah, for some strange reason,there were literal casts made of
Lincoln's hands while he was inoffice.
So the master carver was ableto use these casts to create
(29:47):
realistic hands in the memorial.
I don't know.
I don't make this stuff up.
I just read it and then tellyou about it.
So anyway, from the smallestcurrency in your pocket to the
largest sculpture in America,Abraham Lincoln's face has quite
literally been carved into ournation's history.
Happy birthday to one of thegreatest presidents that's ever
(30:09):
lived.
What a ride through time today,folks.
We uncovered some amazingstories that you never knew
existed about people thateveryone's heard of.
Who knew that the Spauldingsactually invented the original
basketball and volleyball, alongwith standardizing all those
(30:33):
other balls?
Or that the very first ice rinkin America was in the Madison
Square Garden?
And surely one of those manyfun tidbits about Lincoln was a
first for you, right?
Yeah, it's easy to see thatwithout February 12th, our world
would look a lot different.
Whether it's the shape of oursporting equipment or the shape
(30:54):
of our nation itself.
Why not share these storieswith someone who loves being
surprised?
And you know what else?
If today's stories made yougrin, there's so much more
waiting for you.
That's right, if you're asports junkie, then you won't
want to miss the invention ofbasketball on December 21st and
hear about a couple of Olympicathletes on August 16th who
(31:17):
brought home tons of goldmedals.
If you're ever planning a tripto New York City to check off
your iconic landmarks bucketlist, make time for the
Guggenheim Museum on October21st and the Radio City Music
Hall from December 27th.
If blowing out candles forfamous birthdays boosts your
(31:37):
mood, you won't want to misssinging happy birthday to
Confucius on September 28th orChuck Berry on October 18th.
P.S.
If you love skating and yourevel in scandal, don't miss
January 8th's Scandal of theCentury.
Mm-hmm.
Two ice skaters.
(31:58):
Check them out.
All right, after you sharethese special stories, you can
also mention the followingfamous folks who celebrate their
birthdays today.
An actor from one of myfavorite movies blows out the
candle on this day each year.
Do you remember who playedSimi, Akeem's sidekick, in the
movie Coming to America?
(32:19):
Yeah, so Coming to America,Eddie Murphy, he played Akeem,
and his meddlesome roommate andsidekick was...
Yeah...
If you said Arsenio Hall, younailed it.
He was also very popular in themid-90s when he hosted a
late-night talk show.
Happy birthday, Arsenio.
The OG Wednesday Addams isanother year older today.
(32:42):
So that's Christina Ritchie.
Yep, she was discovered in aschool play at the age of eight.
And she had her first moviepart by her ninth birthday in
the movie Mermaids.
She's all grown up now, and sheplayed Zelda Fitzgerald in a
Netflix series called Z, TheBeginning of Everything.
I'm going to have to check thatone out.
(33:02):
Another Truman favorite?
Do you know who hosted the gameshow America Says?
Huh, you've never seen thatshow?
That's a shame.
I think it's on the Game ShowNetwork still.
Anyway, John Michael Higginsadds another notch to his belt
today.
I think he's now hosting thegame show Split Second, so you
(33:23):
can check him out there andyou'll recognize him right away.
And then someone you may notactually recognize when you see
her, but you've probably heardher before.
Do you know the name TaraStrong?
Intro music (33:36):
Yeah,
Truman (33:37):
I don't know, maybe.
But she's the voice behind over80 different characters from
cartoons and movies and videogames.
Her most famous voice isprobably Bubbles from the
Powerpuff Girls.
And then two famous birthdaysfrom history are household names
with Abraham Lincoln, who wecovered, and Charles Darwin, who
(33:57):
we also covered in the past.
Yeah, we featured him on theDecember 27th episode.
So if you want to hear thestory behind the theory of
evolution, that one is worthyour time.
And then the 50th most famousperson born today, according to
famousbirthdays.com, is someonethat most people have heard of,
(34:18):
RG3.
Yes, the Washington footballteam, or whatever they're called
these days, has a number offamous quarterbacks, and Robert
Griffin III is on that list.
He won the Heisman Trophy in2011 and was the NFL's Rookie of
the Year in 2012.
And he actually played eightyears in the NFL.
(34:38):
But sadly, he wasn't the sameafter a knee injury changed his
career.
So February 12th is lost pennyday.
Yeah.
And the point of this day is togather up your pennies from
wherever you've left them anddonate them to a cause because
every penny counts.
But before you dump thosepennies into a coin star
(35:00):
machine, here's a fun option fora handful of them.
Create a team buildingactivity.
Yeah, so you gather a cup fullof pennies, making sure you have
one from each different year.
And I'm pretty confident thatyour jar in the cupboard or that
penny dish in the junk drawerhas pennies from at least 40
different years, going all theway back to the 70s.
(35:21):
And then all you do is pass thecup around the table and have
each person pick a random penny.
Then give them a moment tothink, because they're going to
describe what was happening intheir life during the year shown
on the penny.
Yeah, it's pretty fun.
Off you go.
Share your stories.
I'm telling you, it's a funone.
Today is also Hug Day.
(35:42):
And that's an okay day byitself, right?
Hug Day?
But it's actually a day in awhole series of days.
Yes, the Cupid's Cartel, whopushes us to spend more and more
money on the Valentine's Dayholiday, created an entire week.
And Hug Day is the sixth day ina series leading up to the big
(36:04):
one, Valentine's Day.
But what the heck, hugs don'tcost any money.
So go find someone you careabout and give them a hug today.
If you're a foodie, then you'llbe happy to know it's also Plum
Pudding Day.
I've never tried this dessertsomehow, but I learned that the
very best recipes call forallowing the final product to
(36:25):
sit and age for four to sixweeks.
That's what it says.
I also read that the recipecalls for raisins or currants as
the fruit, not plums.
Huh.
All right.
So apparently back in the day,raisins were called plums.
I don't know.
I didn't research what plumsused to be called, so who knows?
(36:49):
If you know, share.
Send me a note.
All right, so you need a greatgift idea for your loved one?
Well, in addition to retellingthe stories you just learned
about on this day in history,you can have them open up a gift
that is customized to theirbirthday.
And I have several great ideasfor you, and as always, I'm
sharing links in the show notes.
(37:10):
And most days, I make the claimthat these gifts are so unique,
there's no way your loved onewill have one.
And today is no exception.
Now you might think, wait asecond, our first segment was
sports equipment, right?
Doesn't everyone own a ball orglove or racket?
Wait a second, I'm willing tobet not everyone has one of
(37:31):
those old red rubber dodgeballsfrom the elementary school days,
right?
You can get one of them withthe Spalding logo stamped on it.
That'd be cool.
And then you can celebrate theice rink invention by getting
your loved one synthetic ice.
Yeah, there's these plasticpieces that you puzzle them
together and turn a wide openroom or driveway or any open
(37:54):
space you have into a skatingsurface.
Yeah, synthetic ice.
Check them out.
They're in the show notes.
And if your loved one likesdesk trinkets, there are Abraham
Lincoln busts and bobbleheadsthat would be a great addition
to their collection.
And the famous folks born todayall have some great movies and
shows and wall hangings that aregood gift ideas.
(38:16):
Similarly, today's specialholidays have good gift ideas.
For Penny Day, you could getthem a penny collector wall
hanging or portfolio.
Some people have those forquarters, but do you have them
for a penny?
And then here's an awesome ideafor Hug Day.
Get them one of those sleepingpods called Hug Sleep.
(38:38):
Yeah, you slide into it like asleeping bag and it hugs you up
nice and snug, helping you driftright off to sleep.
But if you really want to upyour gift-giving game, you have
the chance to make someone'sbirthday special because you
could dedicate a personalizedshout-out right here on this
podcast.
And they'll be memorializedforever.
Intro music (38:59):
Yeah,
Truman (39:00):
I can do the shout-out for you if you email me their
name and something fun, or youcan do your own shout-out by
using the SpeakPipe link that'savailable in the show notes.
Today, I'm giving the shout-outto a great friend and mentor of
mine, Steve.
He's helped shape my personaland professional life, and he's
(39:20):
always been there for methroughout all the years.
Thanks, Steve, for your openmind and your unique perspective
on life.
Appreciate it.
Now, as always, if you have astory that just needs to be
shared about any day in thepast, send me an email and let's
connect.
And guess what?
(39:40):
The votes are in.
That's right.
In my last episode, I askedfolks to share with me if they
prefer my approach of publishingshows about this day on this
day versus just picking somerandom day of the year and
publishing whatever day ithappens to be.
So thanks for the feedback,folks.
We are sticking with the triedand true pattern.
(40:01):
But we have some flexibilitythis summer and fall, so if
there's something you're dyingto hear about, or if there's
some origin story that you justwant to hear, send me a note.
We'll see if we can work thatin to the schedule.
We've got Hard Pretzel Daycoming.
That's going to be fun.
But what else do you want tohear about?
Anyway, in the meantime...
(40:22):
I'm going to be hyping my nextepisode to everyone who will
listen.
I plan to publish on March 1st,the start of the 2025 Iditarod
race.
And the episode will becelebrating the very first
edition of that race from March3rd, 1973.
And guess what?
I had the opportunity tointerview one of the 35 mushers
(40:45):
competing in that race.
Oh, yeah.
So you'll actually get to hearfrom an actual Iditarod racer
and hear the stories about himand his team of dogs and cheer
them on while the race is takingplace while you're listening to
the episode.
How about that?
It's going to be cool.
Hopefully not too cold that ourman Bailey gets frostbite,
(41:08):
which he has gotten before.
But more to come.
All right, thanks forlistening.
And like I said, on January19th, you need to make 2025 an
epic year.
So go get to it.
Thanks so much for listening.
Until next time, this is TrumanPastworthy, reminding you that
(41:31):
every day has a great story.
And we'll be striding throughthem all to find some more
goodies for you.
Now get out there and make yourown great story today.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2
Season Two Out Now! Law & Order: Criminal Justice System tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted. In its second season, the series tackles the threat of terrorism in the United States. From the rise of extremist political groups in the 60s to domestic lone wolves in the modern day, we explore how organizations like the FBI and Joint Terrorism Take Force have evolved to fight back against a multitude of terrorist threats.