A campy 1980s anti-shoplifting short film. The revolutionary Nautilus fitness equipment. Some of the best debut songs ever.
Episode 178 brings the heat of nostalgia for the cold days of winter.
New Year, New You...old equipment? We kick off with a look back at the creation of a fitness revolution. The Nautilus brand of exercise machines set the standard for all others to follow. Though primitive by today's standards the original machines of half a century ago are nonetheless highly influential.
Shoplifting is the scourge of all business owners. Apparently never more so than in the early 1980s when everyone was a thief. We go way back in the day to review an anti-shoplifting educational short film. Shoplifters: The Criminal Hordes shows some of the wacky but real ways people would steal and some of the ways to combat it.
Every legend started somewhere. This week's Top 5 features some of the greatest debut songs ever. These are the songs that kickstarted some of the most important careers in music history.
There is a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the bizarre but terrifying Boston Molasses Flood.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon!
Helpful Links from this Episode
- Purchase My New Book Cape Cod Beyond the Beach!
- In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide(2nd Edition)
- Hooked By Kiwi - Etsy.com
- DJ Williams Music
- KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
- Christopher Setterlund.com
- Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store
- Subscribe on YouTube!
- Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog
- UPDATE: Bonnie Bickwit and Mitchel Weiser Case - Rolling Stone.com
- Webcam Weekly Wrapup Podcast
- Cape Cod 1929 Podcast
- Shoplifters: The Criminal Hordes
Listen to Episode 177 here
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 05 (00:00):
Hello world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps
podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund,coming to you from the vacation
destination known as Cape Cod,Massachusetts, and this is
episode 178.
Even if the weather is coldwhere you are, we're going to
(00:21):
heat up the buffet of nostalgiaon this week's episode.
We're going to start it offwith New Year, New You, old
equipment with the story of thefitness revolution of the
Nautilus fitness machines.
We're going to go way, way backin the day and have some laughs
at a classic educational shortfilm from the 1980s,
(00:42):
Shoplifters, The CriminalHordes.
There'll be a brand new topfive.
These are the top five bestdebut songs of all time.
The very first songs we'rehearing from famous artists.
And there'll be a brand newThis Week in History and Time
Capsule centered around theinfamous Great Boston Molasses
(01:02):
Flood.
All of that is coming up rightnow on episode 178 of the In My
Footsteps podcast.
Oh boy, I tell you, never counton things going smoothly.
Just getting this podcaststarted this week was quite a
chore.
I record this on Audacity asthe software.
(01:23):
And it's like every now andthen there are updates to
software on my laptop thatstarts to mess with how things
are recorded, how the soundgoes.
What happened this week was asI started recording, there was a
delay in the vocals beingpicked up.
So instead of it picking up allof my words, it would cut off
the first syllable and fade in,which is really annoying and it
(01:47):
would not sound good for you outthere listening.
So I had to stop recording,delete what I had, and go in and
try to figure out what waswrong with this microphone, what
was wrong with my laptop.
There was a brief moment whereI was thinking, all right, maybe
I'm just not meant to recordthe show this week and I should
go online and just telleveryone.
There'll be no episode becauseI can't figure out how to work
(02:09):
my microphone after almost 200episodes of the show.
But have no fear, I settleddown and figured it out.
Also, you'll have to let meknow how things sound this week
in general.
So I have a new recordingstudio, a new setup.
It may not sound like anythingdifferent to you, but I'm just
curious if you can tell.
(02:30):
Now that I've said it, nowyou'll probably notice if the
sound quality sounds differentin a good way.
Ah, yes, but here we are,episode 178.
I can't start this show off,well, besides complaining about
my microphone...
I can't start it off for realwithout thanking my Patreon
subscribers, the ones who puttheir money where their mouth is
(02:52):
to support me and my content.
Lori, Mary Lou, Ashley, Kevin,Leo, Marguerite, Neglectoid,
Crystal, thank you all for beingthe ones who go above and
beyond to show their support forme.
Five dollars a month on Patreongets you access to bonus
podcast episodes, early accessto YouTube videos.
(03:16):
Just last week, I put up thewebcam weekly wrap up my video
podcast.
I put up the outtakes video.
That's only for Patreonsubscribers.
You can see all of the stuffthat was left on the cutting
room floor from the videos.
I also have a growing free tierof content on Patreon.
(03:36):
So if you want to go and checkit out, see what it's all about
without having to do any sort ofsubscription, be my guest.
I keep adding new stuff to it,like my Vegas journals.
Those are going to now beexclusive on Patreon on the free
tier.
We can get into more of thehousekeeping, as I call it, on
the podcast as we get to theend.
(03:57):
I want to dive into the actualmeat of this nostalgia sandwich.
This next segment is going tobe a fun combination of a lot of
different things.
A little bit of New Year'sresolution, a little bit of
fitness, a little bit ofhistory, and some stories that I
can't wait to share with you.
So let's get into the fitnessrevolution that was the Nautilus
(04:20):
fitness equipment coming upright now.
When I was thinking ofsomething to do for New Year's
resolutions, a segment for thepodcast...
The first thing that popped inmy head is most people, me
included this year, do somethingwith their health, their
fitness to kick off the newyear.
This segment here, it'ssomething I was looking for kind
(04:43):
of a reason to do a segment onthe Nautilus fitness equipment.
Because yes, it's nostalgia,but it's not exactly something
that fits usually the overallvibe of the podcast.
I don't do a lot of talk aboutfitness, even though that is a
big part of what I do as my dayjob as a trainer.
I kept coming back to the newyear, new you, which is one of
(05:06):
those cliches.
You don't need it to be a newyear to start a fitness routine,
but that's beside the point.
Any of you out there who go togyms, you see the fitness
machines.
They're more self-contained,very specific, targeted towards
certain movements, certainmuscle groups.
Any gym you go to, PlanetFitness, Anytime Fitness, 24
(05:29):
Hour Fitness, anything else youcan name fitness, they've all
got these machines to varyingdegrees.
Some are nicer than others.
Some break down all the time.
These machines are what newbiesat the gym will usually
gravitate towards becausethey're simple.
A lot of people that go, I'msure some of you listening know
this, you don't want to go upand ask people that work there
(05:51):
for help.
Some of them seem like theydon't really want to help or it
can be intimidating.
So people gravitate towards themachines and maybe they
understand them, maybe theydon't, but that's where a lot of
people do their thing.
Fitness machines at the gym andmaybe walking a treadmill or
riding the bike.
The OG of these fitnessmachines was Nautilus is what
(06:14):
they were called.
They were invented in the early1970s by a man named Arthur
Jones.
And whether you like themachines in the gyms or not,
there's no doubt that theyinnovated and changed how
fitness is seen as far as beingeffective, accessible.
Think about it.
If you went into a gym and youdidn't know what you were doing
(06:35):
and there were no machines,where would you go?
Do a lap around it and leave?
The man, Arthur Jones, he was aself-taught inventor and a
passionate fitness enthusiast.
Obviously, he'd have to be tocreate this.
but he had a lifelong interestin anatomy, biomechanics, and
strength training.
He felt that traditional freeweights and early machines were
(06:59):
inefficient, and his goal was tocreate a device that could
provide consistent andcontrolled resistance throughout
the entire range of motion.
For example, when you're doinga bicep curl, the muscle
experiences less resistance atthe top and the bottom of the
movement.
And Jones's solution was amachine that adjusted the
resistance curve to match thenatural strength curve of the
(07:22):
muscle.
I'm hoping your eyes aren'tstarting to cross and you're
starting to yawn.
I'm trying not to get tootechnical with this.
The key innovation for Joneswith his Nautilus machines was
the cam system, which wasinspired by the spiral shape of
a Nautilus shell.
And that's where you get thelogo for Nautilus.
(07:42):
But this cam ensured that themuscle received consistent
tension at all points, whichmaximized efficiency and
effectiveness.
Jones worked on this.
He refined it in the late1960s.
By 1970, he had refined thedesign and introduced the
Nautilus Blue Monster, which wasa large machine designed for
(08:04):
lat pulldowns and pullovers.
These are the machines youtypically sit at.
There are pads that go overyour thighs.
There's a bar up overhead.
You set the weight and you pullit down to engage the bigger
muscles in your back.
Later in 1970, Jones foundedNautilus Incorporated in Deland,
Florida to manufacture anddistribute his machines, the
(08:27):
first of which were available in1971.
And they quickly gainedattention for their innovative
design and effectiveness.
If you pause the podcast andyou go and look up the original
Nautilus machines, they aregoing to look very much like
antiques.
But for the time, they wererevolutionary.
They influenced what's aroundtoday.
These machines made going tothe gym more accessible for
(08:50):
those of all fitness levels.
Before that, you may have hadsome primitive machines, but you
also had just free weights andbars and barbells that's not
appealing for everyone and notsafe for everyone.
These Nautilus machines, theyhad ones for every type of body
part.
You had leg press machines thatwould mimic a squat.
(09:12):
You'd sit in the chair and pushthe weight away.
Leg extensions and curls to doquadriceps, hamstrings.
They had ab machines.
That was typically the oneyou'd see people do the most.
You'd sit.
There are handles right aboveyour shoulders.
You grab them and youforcefully pull them down so
that you get into a crunch.
The bicep curl machine, apreacher curl, that's typically
(09:36):
most men's favorite machine atthe gym.
Nautilus went hand in hand withthe fitness revolution of the
1970s.
Back in episode 144, I did asegment on 1970s diet and
exercise fails.
That's where they had suchthings as that slender bender
that made me laugh and saunasuits.
Nautilus was not one of those.
(09:59):
By the mid-70s, Nautilusmachines were a fixture in gyms,
health clubs across the UnitedStates.
With the brand becomingsynonymous with fitness
machines, I'm sure there weresome gyms that had knockoff
brands later in the 80s and theyjust called them Nautilus
because that's what people knewthem as.
Nautilus equipment was used bycelebrities, athletes, and
(10:21):
ordinary individuals, whichcemented Jones' reputation, the
Nautilus reputation.
It made it where introvertscould go into the gym and not
need to go up to a trainer orsomeone, you know, anyone
working at a gym and ask themhow to use equipment.
You go and set the weight lowand just try.
Nautilus equipment is notwithout its issues.
(10:43):
As it works specific bodyparts, specific muscles, you get
locked into that range ofmotion.
So if you've got any kind ofhitch, any joint problems,
anything like that, or if youset the weight too high, you
could have trouble.
It was in the later 1980s wherecompetitors started to come
(11:04):
around.
That's where you get to seeBowflex, Soloflex, these types
of machines.
Except those were the ones thatcombined about 20 or 30
different machines into one.
Arthur Jones sold NautilusIncorporated in 1986 for $23
million or just over $66 millionwhen adjusted for inflation to
(11:28):
2025.
Most of the fitness machinesthat are in gyms today owe their
legacy to the Nautilusmachines.
You can picture in your head alot of those.
Some of them are better thanothers.
The seated rows or latpulldowns for the back.
Those are pretty good.
Maybe the leg press for peoplethat can't squat because they
(11:50):
have knee problems.
Then there are some of the onesthat are kind of walking
advertisements for injuries.
I would highly recommend ifyou're going to the gym, do not
use a machine for your low back.
These are the ones where yousit and there's a pad that goes
across kind of the middle ofyour back and you just arch
backwards to strengthen your lowback.
(12:11):
That's an injury waiting tohappen.
Also, I would say, if you go toa gym and you see a machine to
work your neck, do not do thateither.
This leads into a few funstories that I had wanted to
tell, but I kind of needed asegment to get them out.
So I figured, why not with theNautilus machines?
(12:32):
The first gym that I worked atas a trainer was also a gym near
me that I had been a member atyears earlier.
It's more of a tennis club, butthey have fitness equipment.
The thing is with this gym, itwasn't built as a gym.
It was built, I believe, as arestaurant.
So you'd walk in and thefitness equipment was upstairs,
(12:56):
which immediately was kind ofweird.
Because it was regular stairsand they had carpet.
The upstairs fitness area wasall carpeted, which was weird.
When I was first a member atthis gym, before I worked there
as a trainer, they had one ofthese neck machines.
You would put your head againstthese pads and push your head
(13:17):
forward with resistance to workmuscles in your neck.
And you could do it front orside or back.
When I was a member at thisgym, it was the late 90s, early
2000s, and the equipment theyhad there then was antiquated.
They also had strict rules asfar as when you walked into the
(13:37):
Nautilus area, you had to startat one machine and go in order,
and if you were going to cutsomeone, it had to be two
machines ahead or else you'd getyelled at.
Perhaps the best thing aboutthis gym, when I was a trainer
there, they turned their fitnessarea into such a convoluted
mess.
They took a lot of the freeweights, heavier weights.
They moved them out of the gymarea and put them downstairs in
(14:02):
what used to be a squash court.
So if you got off the treadmilland you wanted to go in and do
the squat rack, you'd have towalk down a hallway, go out a
door, down another hallway, downa flight of stairs, down
another hallway and into thesquash court.
But like I said, they're moreof a tennis club, so that's kind
(14:23):
of why I didn't stay there as atrainer.
They didn't take fitness asserious.
They did some classes, but notreally seriously, I guess.
The other funny story I wantedto tell with the Nautilus
equipment was when I was incollege at the local community
college, Cape Cod CommunityCollege.
This was in the late 1990s, andI would go to the gym after
(14:45):
getting out of class and workout.
The equipment there in the late90s had to be some of the
original Nautilus machines fromthe early 70s.
There was a shoulder pressmachine where it was two
handles, but they were attachedso you would press them both
overhead at the same time.
The only problem was themachine was so high off the
(15:06):
ground that in order to get afull shoulder press, you had to
pull up a stool.
They had an actual bar stoolyou would have to sit in and
then do shoulder presses.
Meaning if the stool wasn'tstable and you tried to press
this weight, you just fall over.
I mean, I don't know if anyoneever did that, but that was
always what I thought.
Nearly 20 years later, when Iwas at the community college
(15:32):
becoming a personal trainer,that's where I got educated.
We were down in that gym andthey had all the same equipment.
And I'll never forget, myinstructor, my training
instructor said, if you canteach people how to safely use
this equipment in this gym, youcan train anybody anywhere.
Because it was so bad.
This equipment at that pointwas probably 35 to 40 years old.
(15:56):
I can picture some of thatequipment in my head right now.
I can't believe that stuff wasstill there.
Circling back though, today,Nautilus, it continues to be a
prominent name in the fitnessindustry.
While newer technologies andtraining philosophies have
emerged, the core principlesbehind Nautilus machines remain
relevant.
You've got machines that workbetter on freer range of motion,
(16:20):
ones that are safer.
I hope they got rid of thestupid neck machine.
But in general, what you seewhen you go into a gym is based
on the Nautilus machines of over50 years ago.
So new year, new you, oldequipment, kind of.
Arthur Jones and his Nautilusequipment revolutionized fitness
(16:41):
in the 70s and 80s.
So much so that some of thegyms that I frequented 25 years
ago still had the originalequipment.
So yes, if you see Nautilusequipment with the shell on the
side, check to make sure that itdoesn't have cobwebs on it,
that it's not rusted and ruinedfrom the 70s.
Otherwise, get on it and enjoyyour New Year fitness goals.
(17:06):
This week in history, we aregoing back 106 years ago to
January 15th, 1919 and the GreatBoston Molasses Flood.
So I'm taking you from fitnessrevolution to sweet, sweet
(17:30):
molasses.
This is one of the most unusualand devastating disasters in
the history of Boston.
In short, a massive wave ofmolasses swept through the North
End neighborhood, causingdestruction, death, and a legacy
of questions about industrialaccountability.
In the early 20th century,Boston's North End was a
(17:53):
bustling, working-classneighborhood, home to many
Italian immigrants.
At the heart of this tightlypacked community stood a giant
steel tank owned by the PurityDistilling Company, which was a
subsidiary of United StatesIndustrial Alcohol.
The tank was built in 1915 andwas used to store molasses,
(18:14):
which was a key ingredient inproducing industrial alcohol for
munitions and other purposes.
This tank was 50 feet tall, 90feet in diameter, and held up to
2.3 million gallons ofmolasses.
On January 15th, 1919, thetemperatures rose unusually high
(18:34):
for the season, reaching around40 degrees after days of
freezing cold.
The molasses that was in thetank was recently delivered, and
it was still warm.
It expanded and exertedpressure on the already
compromised steel tank.
At approximately 1240 p.m., thetank ruptured with a thunderous
(18:56):
roar.
and unleashed a torrent ofmolasses traveling at speeds of
up to 35 miles an hour.
This tidal wave of molasses wasestimated to be 25 feet high
and 160 feet wide.
It swept away everything in itspath.
You had buildings getflattened, horses and wagons
(19:18):
swept off the street, andscariest, you had people that
were trapped and suffocatedunderneath molasses.
The force of this wave evenknocked a freight train off its
tracks.
In total, 21 people died andmore than 150 were injured.
And cleanup took weeks, withtraces of molasses, including
(19:41):
the scent of it, lingering inthe area for decades.
The disaster prompted one ofthe first major class action
lawsuits in United Stateshistory.
with survivors and victims'families bringing a case against
United States IndustrialAlcohol, arguing that the
company had been negligent inthe construction and maintenance
(20:03):
of the tank, and evidenceshowed that the tank had leaked
since its installation, withresidents frequently collecting
free molasses that seepedthrough its walls.
The court ultimately ruled infavor of the victims, awarding
$628,000 in damages, or about$11.4 million when adjusted for
(20:26):
inflation to 2025.
The disaster also led tostricter building codes and
increased scrutiny of industrialpractices, and it set a
precedent for corporateaccountability.
Although the story is justbizarre, It's tragic and serves
as a sobering reminder of theconsequences of cutting corners
(20:47):
and ignoring safety standards.
This event has since beenimmortalized in books,
documentaries, even local lore,with some claiming in the North
End that on hot summer days, thefaint smell of molasses still
lingers.
Today, the site of the disasteris a small park near Commercial
Street, marked by a plaquecommemorating the lives lost.
(21:09):
That weird, unique, bizarrestory of the Great Boston
Molasses Flood occurred 106years ago this week in history.
Oh, the only thing sweeter thanloads of molasses is a brand
(21:30):
new time capsule.
We're going to go back toJanuary 15, 1965, 60 years ago
this week.
What was going on in the worldof pop culture back then?
Let's find out.
The number one song was ComeSee About Me by The Supremes.
This song was the third of fiveconsecutive number one singles
(21:53):
for The Supremes.
And it was number one twodifferent times.
Where it went to number one, itwas knocked out of number one
by the Beatles song, I FeelFine.
And then went back to numberone, knocking the Beatles off
the top.
In total, the Supremes havesold more than 100 million
albums.
And they had a total of 12number one songs between 1964
(22:17):
and 1969.
The number one movie was MyFair Lady.
And you could get into thetheater with a ticket costing 93
cents.
This is a musical comedystarring Aubrey Hepburn, based
on the Lerner and Lowe 1956stage musical, which was that
based on George Bernard Shaw's1913 play Pygmalion.
(22:41):
This is routinely ranked as oneof the best musicals ever made.
The film was nominated for 12Academy Awards, winning for Best
Picture, Best Actor, and BestDirector.
And interestingly, at the time,it was the most expensive movie
ever made in the United Stateswith a budget of $17 million, or
(23:02):
$173 million when adjusted forinflation to 2025.
The number one TV show was TheBob Hope Christmas Show.
Yes, I know, it was a coupleweeks late.
But hey, most people don't wantChristmas to end right on the
25th.
As I'm recording this, I stillhave my Christmas decorations
(23:23):
up.
So why not have Bob Hope'sChristmas be in mid-January?
These Bob Hope specials wouldusually be part of USO tours
where he would go and entertainthe troops.
There'd be his comedy, sketchcomedy, music.
And if you were around backthen, January 15th, 1965, maybe
(23:44):
you were in need of some newclothes.
Oh, well, you're in luckbecause it's slack riot time at
Jordan Marsh.
Celebrating their 114thbirthday, you could get two
pairs of slacks for $9, usually$8.99 each.
Sporting dress shirts, well,they're $2.44.
But to top it off, maybe youwant a sharkskin suit?
(24:09):
Don't worry, they're not madeout of sharkskin.
But you could get one for $33.
But hurry, there's only 210 instock.
That's a pretty arbitrarynumber, but that's what it says
in the ad.
So hurry up to Jordan Marsh,get your new clothes.
Slack riot.
That'll wrap up another timecapsule, another This Week in
(24:31):
History.
Even the greats had to startsomewhere.
And this brand new top five,we're going to showcase some of
those as we look at the bestdebut songs of all time,
starting now.
This was a fun segment to puttogether.
(24:51):
Best debut songs of all time.
There are a couple of caveatswith this countdown.
because I didn't want it to beso obvious.
You take the biggest names everin music, and then you list
their first single theyreleased, and it's kind of
boring.
I tried to combine this withthe importance of the musical
(25:13):
act, the importance of the song,how good the song actually was,
any influence it may have hadon future musicians.
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Maybe I should have justchosen...
The first singles from all thegroups I think are the most
famous.
I am pretty sure your top fivewill differ from mine because a
(25:36):
lot of music, it's subjective.
A lot of these top fives aresubjective.
Mine, they're in no particularorder and there are some
honorable mentions.
So let's dive into it.
Honorable mentions for the bestdebut songs of all time
include...
Our Lips Are Sealed by theGo-Go's.
(25:57):
This is from 1981 with theGo-Go's influencing so many
female bands over the ensuingdecades.
Another honorable mention isBlitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones.
This is from 1976.
Hey ho, let's go.
Everybody knows this song, evenif you don't know it, you know
(26:20):
those lyrics.
Another honorable mention isBaby One More Time by Britney
Spears.
This is from 1998 and usheredin a whole new era of young
female singers, female bands.
Another honorable mention isThat's Alright by Elvis Presley.
(26:41):
This is from 1956 and startedone of the most influential
careers in the history of music.
I put this on my honorablementions because I feel like
this song isn't even in the top25 of Elvis songs.
But again, it's subjective.
And there's one more honorablemention.
That is Anarchy in the UK bythe Sex Pistols.
(27:05):
This is from 1977 and basicallybrought punk rock to the
masses.
I'm sure a lot of you arealready shaking your heads at my
honorable mentions, thinkingsome shouldn't be there or
should be in the top five.
Well, let's see how many moreof you I can make disagree with
my picks here.
Let's get into the actual topfive.
(27:26):
Remember, in no particularorder, we're starting with
number one, Dream On byAerosmith.
No, I'm not partial toAerosmith because I grew up in
New England.
This is from 1973.
I put this on the top fivebecause I feel this is still one
of their best songs,Aerosmith's best songs, one of
(27:48):
the best rock songs of the 70s.
It immediately introduces youto Aerosmith-style Stephen
Tyler's signature shriekingvoice, although not that much in
this song, near the end.
Aerosmith has sold more than150 million albums worldwide.
They are considered hard rock,so they are the best-selling
(28:09):
hard rock American band ever.
If you think about, if you're afan of Aerosmith like me, think
about all their famous songs.
Dream On is going to be inthere.
And that staying power is a bigreason why they are in my top
five.
Number two is I Want You Backby the Jackson 5.
This is from 1969.
(28:31):
It introduced the world toMichael Jackson, who was...
10, 11 years old when this songwas released, even though I
think they said he was 8 yearsold, to make it seem more
incredible that such a youngchild had such a commanding
voice and presence.
This song is here because itholds up well.
It introduces the world tosomeone that would go on to
(28:53):
become the most famous person onthe planet for a time in the
1980s, Michael Jackson.
Think about this.
If Michael Jackson had neverdone anything besides the
Jackson 5 and then the Jacksons,they were called when they were
in their teens.
The Jackson 5, that group soldmore than 150 million albums
(29:14):
worldwide.
They are one of the mostinfluential R&B groups ever.
And that's just with this grouptaking out all of Michael
Jackson's solo work.
Which, if you were wondering,Michael Jackson on his own has
sold more than 500 millionalbums.
Number three is Take It Easy byThe Eagles.
(29:37):
This song is from 1972, andEagles member Glenn Frey
actually wrote it with JacksonBrown, and Jackson Brown
recorded it for one of hisalbums the next year.
When your debut single ends upon an album that is the
best-selling album of all time,which the Eagles' greatest hits
album is, you've got to put thaton top five debut songs.
(30:01):
And yes, it's been a battleover the years between the
Eagles' greatest hits andMichael Jackson's Thriller as
far as best-selling albums, withthe Eagles' greatest hits being
ahead as of right now.
The band as a whole has soldmore than 200 million albums.
with Take It Easy being kind ofa softer rock, breezy, folky
(30:22):
song.
I think it holds up well.
I think it's still one of theirbest songs ever.
At some point, I might do a topfive for greatest songs ever or
most important songs ever.
That would be where HotelCalifornia would come in.
Songs you need to hear oncebefore you die.
Number four is Good Times, BadTimes by Led Zeppelin.
(30:46):
This song is from 1969, and itushers in one of the godfathers
of metal.
There's no understating theinfluence of Led Zeppelin.
I'm sure Black Sabbath isconsidered more of the
godfathers of heavy metal, butLed Zeppelin's sound was way
louder.
(31:06):
I mean, you want to classifyhim as hard rock, go ahead.
But you want to talk about asong that just defines a band...
Robert Plant's amazing voicethat he ultimately destroyed.
Jimmy Page's amazing guitar.
I got into Led Zeppelin as ateenager when I read that Kurt
Cobain from Nirvana wasinfluenced heavily by Led
(31:29):
Zeppelin.
But then again, any of you outthere that grew up in the 80s,
90s, if you listen to rockmusic, I'm pretty sure that
whoever you listen to wasinfluenced by Zeppelin.
Zeppelin has sold more than 300million albums worldwide, with
some of their songs being themost famous songs in the history
of music.
(31:49):
Stairway to Heaven, if youdon't know that song, I don't
know where you've been living.
And finally, number five on thelist of the best debut songs of
all time is Love Me Do by TheBeatles.
I may not have done just themost famous bands, musical
artists in order, But it sureseems like a lot of them got on
(32:10):
this list anyway.
Michael Jackson, The Beatles,Elvis.
This song is from 1963, and itstarted that wave, the British
rock invasion, Beatlemania.
Younger listeners, what's goingon in the last couple of years
with Taylor Swift?
That's actually not as big asThe Beatles were.
(32:32):
Same with Michael Jackson inthe 80s.
The Beatles were one of themost influential musical acts
ever.
I say one of, I'm kind ofdownplaying it a little bit.
This is another one, it's kindof like Elvis' That's Alright,
where I feel like Love Me Doisn't in the Beatles' even top
20 songs.
(32:52):
But there's no denying whatcame from the release of this
song.
The Beatles are a rare musicalact where you could basically
take any album of theirs and hitshuffle on any song and it
would be good.
They are the best-sellingmusical act ever, selling more
than 600 million albumsworldwide.
And to top off the importanceof the Beatles, as solo artists,
(33:17):
John Lennon, Paul McCartney,Ringo Starr, and George Harrison
combined have sold well over200 million albums.
Think about that for any otherband ever.
If the solo artists releasedall their music, would any of
them combine to sell that much?
And if you're wondering, yes,Ringo was fourth out of the
four, but he's even sold morethan 10 million albums
(33:40):
worldwide.
I know most musicians wouldkill to have 1% of the success
that solo Ringo Starr had.
But that'll wrap up top fivedebut songs of all time.
How many of those do youdisagree with?
I'm figuring saying thatthey're in no particular order
saves me from the actual topfive.
(34:00):
But we go from talking a lotabout albums sold to now talking
about albums stolen.
Well, that might be my bestsegue ever.
Let's dive into the educationalshort film Shoplifters, The
Criminal Hordes.
This is going to be oneeducational short film that you
(34:27):
all need to go and watch andlaugh at.
Shoplifters the CriminalHordes.
It is so quintessentially 80s.
When doing research for theseeducational short films to
review, it's a lot of titles,it's a lot of just the short
descriptions of what the videosare about, and I'm kind of like,
(34:48):
well, that looks like it mightbe something interesting.
Little did I know how much Iwould laugh at this particular
one.
The backstory of this, it'sfrom 1983, and it was created by
the Centron Corporation.
It clocks in at just over 15minutes in length, so it's an
easy watch.
That's why I choose shortfilms.
(35:10):
And just a heads up, for any ofyou that want to watch this, I
couldn't find it on YouTube, soI found it on Daily Motion.
I'll put a link in thedescription of the podcast,
because I definitely thinkyou're going to want to watch
this one.
Obviously, this video is aboutshoplifting.
The film is Equal Opportunity,where...
Every type of person, every agegroup, every background, every
(35:34):
race, they're all shoplifters.
It even shows you the tricks ofhow to shoplift, but then they
say don't do that.
The film starts off with ayoung-ish couple.
They say young couple.
In the video, they look likethey're my age.
But them starting their ownstore.
(35:54):
The narrator talks about howSelf-service stores now, it's
based on trust.
Because way back, you know, 100years ago or even less than
that, you would have to tell thesalespeople what you wanted and
they would get it for you.
There was none of this goingdown the aisles and putting
stuff in your own cart.
They talk about the trust andhonesty of people shopping.
(36:18):
And this is where we areintroduced to a high school
student named Connie that goesinto that youngish couple's
store and steals from them.
And
Speaker 04 (36:28):
I've got to show you something.
Look at this.
Walked in yesterday and pickedthis up.
Fifteen bucks.
Speaker 00 (36:34):
They are persons like Connie, a young woman so
unsure of herself that she usesthievery to try and impress
schoolmates.
Speaker 05 (36:43):
And the narrator says it comes down to her
lacking self-confidence.
And then he says, even thoughshe's bragging about what she
stole, it's showing her friendsthat they can't trust her
because she'll probably stealfrom them too.
Things start to get seriouswhen they show Connie at another
store trying to steal and sheactually gets caught by the
(37:04):
owner.
And she pretends it was herfirst time and she gets really
sad and upset.
So he ends up letting her go.
So she gets let go and thenwhen she goes to school, she
brags about getting out of it.
So all these other kids decidethey're going to go to this same
store and start stealing.
What's great about this videoas you go, like I said, it's
(37:27):
quintessentially 80s.
So everyone has got the typical80s clothes.
You got the typical 80smustaches on the older guys.
You see classic stores likeRadio Shack.
A lot of the supermarket scenesin this are in Kroger.
But as these two boys fromConnie's class, they're walking
(37:47):
towards this store to stealfrom, the narrator's saying that
if you're easy on shoplifters,you're a target for thieves
because shoplifters have nohonor.
The narrator says that in someof these stores, I don't know
where he got the numbers from,that one out of every four
customers is looking to steal.
And they show that youngishcouple that I mentioned a few
(38:10):
minutes ago talking about howbusiness is down.
So the narrator's blaming it onshoplifters.
And then it shows a going outof business sign on their front
window.
So I don't think that that girlConnie and her two friends
caused them to go out ofbusiness, but maybe they got
dozens of shoplifters every day.
Oh, but like I said, it's equalopportunity shoplifters.
(38:33):
So they go to a fancyrestaurant and there's an older
couple.
They're probably in their early60s.
The husband and wife steal thesalt and pepper shakers off the
table.
Then they splice togetherscenes of people stealing from
other places.
There's a guy stealing books inthe library.
Then to really get 80s, there'sa guy reaching into someone's
(38:56):
open car to steal stuff off thedashboard.
So back before car alarms wereprevalent, back when people
would just leave their cars openwindows down with them not in
it.
Then we really get serioushere.
We get introduced to Billy,who's probably five years old.
He's on vacation with hisparents and they're in a hotel
(39:17):
room and the parents arestealing everything that's not
nailed down.
They're shoving the towels intheir suitcase.
Speaker 01 (39:25):
Pack these.
We can use them.
Speaker 00 (39:26):
The only difference between stealing towels from a
motel and stealing them from astore counter is the thief's
estimate of the comparativerisk.
By their example, Billy'sparents taught him that stealing
was okay if you just called itby another name, such as taking
souvenirs.
Speaker 05 (39:43):
And we get Billy's backstory as he starts growing
up and becoming a thief becausehe saw his parents stealing.
They show him taking matchboxcars.
The narrator says he getscaught less than once out of
every 20 attempts to steal.
So I don't know how many timesthis kid is supposed to be
stealing.
Dozens, hundreds of times andnever getting caught.
(40:04):
No, but he doesn't get offscot-free.
They show Billy, probably 20years old.
He's in jail playing cards withhis cellmates because he
finally ran out of luck.
And they say his parents don'tknow where he went wrong.
And the narrator talks about,yeah, you stole the towels that
led him to think stealing wasfun.
The film keeps coming back toConnie and her two male friends,
(40:29):
just their adventures instealing.
And the narrator talks abouthow these shoplifters aren't
smart, so they use the sametricks to try to steal, like
wearing an overcoat.
And they show this guy in thehardware store shoving a Looks
like a drill into the pocket ofhis overcoat.
They show a woman with fakematernity clothes where she's
(40:52):
got this...
It looks almost like a backpackunder her shirt, and she's just
shoving stuff in it.
There's a woman in a departmentstore shoving shirts up her
dress, and they say the narratorsays women practice how to walk
with their thighs together sothey can get out with the
clothes.
I mean, I guess it looks likeshe has to really use the
(41:12):
bathroom.
Or the famous take things intothe changing rooms in a
department store and just putall the clothes on and then
leave.
The narrator talks aboutsomething called a booster box.
It looks like a gift boxwrapped nice with a bow on it,
but it has a fake end to it.
I'd never heard of this boosterbox, but then there's a guy in
(41:35):
a jewelry store with a fakecigarette carton.
Like, could you imagine someonegoing into a jewelry store
carrying a carton of cigaretteswith them?
I mean, I guess it's very 80s.
But it's a fake one, so hesteals all the jewelry and
shoves them in there.
There are a couple of scenesfrom this where I laughed out
loud at how ridiculous it is.
(41:55):
I know it's supposed to scarepeople to not steal, but they
say, current hot items in theshoplifting realm and it's boom
boxes, like the ones you wouldsee in the 80s movies.
And there's a guy in a storethat just shoves a boom box in
his coat.
There's another one where thisguy has evidently taken a box
(42:15):
that has what looks like a bigwheel in it and opened it up,
taken the big wheel out, andthen filled the empty box with a
bunch of other stuff and thensealed it shut again.
Unknown (42:26):
...
Speaker 00 (42:28):
They've brought back the toy box switch.
The thief removes the toy,slips in the expensive
merchandise, and pays $10 for an$800 item.
Speaker 05 (42:42):
It's so ridiculous because they show the guy with
his cart with the empty box andhe goes down to where the
appliances are and it looks likehe shoves a full stereo into
this big wheel box.
Who in the world would havethat much time?
If you were at a place in the80s, Sears, Kmart, you really
think you could take everythingout of a big wheel box and then
(43:04):
go to the stereo section withthat box and just grab a stereo
off the shelf?
It's like, come on, at leastmake it realistic.
They show people switchingprice tags so that when you
would go get it rung up at theregister, it would come up as
something much cheaper.
This was back before there werebarcodes.
I mean, they had barcodesbecause they show a guy who
(43:27):
takes a barcode off of somethingcheaper in Kroger and then has
a glue stick and glues it to acanned ham.
It was ham that expensive in1983.
There's this old woman that'sgot to be in her 80s and she's
going through the checkout lineat what looks like, you know,
somewhere like Bradley's.
And she's just got Reynoldswrap in her purse sticking out.
(43:50):
And the cashier is like, oh,what about that in your purse?
And the lady's like, oh, Iforgot.
Another way that shoplifterssteal is by bringing in their
own shopping bags, which is kindof funny because today, now, a
lot of supermarkets and places,they have the recyclable bags.
Stop and Shop, I know I've gotmine, Target.
They show people going intothese stores and just filling up
(44:14):
their bags.
where I guess back in the 80s,they assume that if you've got
store bags that you must havebought whatever is in them.
The guy that walks out with hiscart full of stuff in these
bags, he's got this grayovercoat and this
foolish-looking grayish-yellowhat and this...
Every guy in this seems to havethe same mustache.
(44:36):
Another one where I justlaughed so hard was the idea
that there's a couple that goesinto this store...
The wife goes in, she buyssomething, and she has a
receipt, a paid-for receipt.
And when she leaves, she handsit off to her husband.
And then he goes in and grabsthis giant TV in a box and puts
(44:57):
it in his shopping cart and juststarts walking out with it.
And he shows the securityguard, oh, here's my receipt.
And it's like the wife isbacking up her 80s station wagon
thing.
But the jokes on the guy, hegets arrested.
Speaker 00 (45:12):
Some are brazen enough to allay suspicion by
approaching a security guard.
Speaker 01 (45:19):
Thanks.
I just bought this new stereo.
I suppose you could help me getit out to the car?
Sure, all I have to do is checkyour receipt here.
Speaker 00 (45:25):
In case any of these stunts strike anyone as clever,
it should be pointed out theyare all taken from reports made
by the arresting policeofficers.
Speaker 01 (45:34):
Wait a minute, partner.
If you just turn around here,put your hands behind your back.
Speaker 05 (45:37):
The narrator says that even though these things
that he's talking about as faras how to steal seem kind of
outlandish, they're from actualshoplifting accounts with the
police.
So after that guy getsarrested, now the narrator talks
about what can businesses do tostop the shoplifters.
The main thing is having storeemployees go up to customers and
(46:00):
just see if they need help,saying that the honest customers
won't mind, but the dishonestones will.
And we go back to Connie again,just like the fourth time that
she's been shown stealing.
But the employee comes up andasks if she needs help and she
immediately just like runs away.
It's a lot of training youremployees to be vigilant and
(46:22):
aware.
They show one woman where thenarrator says that employees
will notice an empty hanger in adepartment store so the thieves
will just take it.
And they show this woman take ashirt off of the rack and she
snaps the coat hanger to fit itin her shirt.
And they show the woman at theregister, her head whips around.
I guess this is a big thingbecause the narrator says if you
(46:45):
hear a cracking sound from theclothing department, be warned.
And then the narrator gets coyby saying there are other things
that stores have been learningabout how to stop shoplifters,
but he won't give them all away.
So I guess in case if you werewatching this film in school and
you were like, oh, I know howto defeat all of these safety
(47:05):
things, the narrator says, ooh,watch out, there's some I'm not
telling you about.
We get a great scene of insideof a classic 1980s mall.
Like I said, you see RadioShack, The Athlete's Foot, Town
Crier.
And the narrator goes on to saythat shoplifters come in all
shapes and sizes and ages andgives you tips on how to spot
(47:29):
these shoplifters.
He says they don't all wearhuge overcoats in the middle of
summer, that some just leavewhen you approach or check the
mirrors to see that there's noone around.
They also say someone thatdoesn't Check prices on things
or compare shopping.
They might be a shoplifter.
They show a guy in thesupermarket just grabbing a
(47:52):
bunch of steaks.
Making it seem like because hedidn't check the price, he must
be stealing them.
And then we get near the endwhere we get this scrubby
looking guy that tries tosqueeze by the exit stealing
something and the cashiercatches him and makes him go to
the manager's office.
This is where he says, I wasgoing to pay for it.
(48:14):
And the guy says, nope, toolate.
Cops are coming.
This guy, he's got this scrubbymustache.
And he's just got this verypunchable face.
They do show someone runningoutside and getting away and
getting in their car.
And the narrator says, don'tchase.
But you see the car's licenseplate is from Kansas.
I don't know if this is whereit was all filmed.
(48:35):
But you see several very 80scars in the parking lot.
And we get at the end of thisvideo here where we show Connie
and her friends again at adiscount record store getting
ready for their next heist.
Speaker 02 (48:50):
What are we stopping here for?
But I thought you
Speaker 03 (48:52):
wanted records.
Speaker 02 (48:54):
Not this store.
If we go in here, we'll have topay
Speaker 03 (48:58):
for them.
Yeah, let's go to one of theeasy ones.
Okay.
Ready or not, here we come.
Speaker 05 (49:04):
And it just freezes.
And that is the end ofShoplifters the Criminal Hordes.
This one is so funny.
It is so cheesy 80s.
And like I said, over the topwith some of the ways that
people steal.
My favorite is the big wheelone, emptying out the box and
putting a stereo in it instead.
(49:24):
I will link to it in thedescription of the podcast if
you want to go watch foryourself and laugh.
And it won't be too long.
I'll do another educationalshort film review and employee
training video reviews.
These are so much fun.
But until next time, that willwrap up episode 178 of the In My
(49:44):
Footsteps podcast.
Thank you so much as always fortuning in, making my show part
of your weekly podcast listeningpleasure.
I do my best to make it as funand entertaining and somewhat
informative as I can be.
It's like you know it's goingto be nostalgia, but you can
never be quite sure what's goingto be on the show.
(50:06):
That's the fun of research.
I find things that I say, ohman, that'll make a good
subject.
Next week is episode 179 andwe're going to have the return
of me versus AI top five.
I don't know what the subjectwill be yet.
I'm waiting for my AI overlordsto tell me what I can talk
about.
If you enjoy my content and youwant to become a subscriber on
(50:29):
Patreon, $5 a month.
You can always do donationsthrough buymeacoffee.
I've got tons and tons ofcontent.
Obviously, you know with thispodcast, I'm getting up close to
200 episodes.
I do the webcam weekly wrap-upvideo podcast.
I've got blogs.
I've got YouTube videos.
(50:50):
I have nine books.
You can check those out atChristopherSatterlund.com.
I spend on average 15 hours aweek doing content work,
sometimes a little more.
I would probably do more if Ihad more free time.
You'd be surprised, or probablynot surprised, how many
different ideas I have that popup and I'm like, I don't have
(51:11):
time to do that right now, butthat's good for in the future if
I get any free time, any roomon my plate.
Find me all over social media.
I'm on Instagram threads.
I'm on Blue Sky.
I have a Facebook fan page.
I'm on TikTok.
I do a lot of videos, podcastpromotion.
I have to market myself.
(51:32):
I don't have a team ofmarketing.
I don't have employees that cando all this for me.
I'm a one man crew.
That's definitely notcomplaining.
I enjoy it.
It's all a fun use of mycreativity.
I've wanted forever to betotally self-employed,
self-reliant, using my own brainto create whatever my source of
(51:53):
income is.
Even if becoming a Patreonsubscriber or doing any sort of
donations, if that isn't in thecards for you, the best thing
you can do as a fan of my workis share it with others.
I'd much rather have a hundredpeople listen to the show from a
recommendation than have oneperson give a donation.
(52:15):
Plus it's free.
All you got to do is say, hey,this guy's content's pretty
good.
You should go listen.
Even if you don't mean it, justsay it.
I'm getting ready to wrap upthe audio podcast and I'm going
to now record the next webcamweekly wrap up.
This will be interestingbecause like I said, I have a
new setup for the podcast.
(52:35):
I'm recording it in a differentarea.
So I'm going to have to figureout the logistics for the video
part of the podcast.
So that will be, I think it'sthe 14th webcam weekly wrap up.
So you can take a look at thatand see how I've done as far as
my setup.
Even though we're in the dogdays of winter, remember to get
(52:56):
outside if you can when it'ssunny out.
It's sunny as I'm recordingthis, but it's freezing cold.
It's like 33 degrees.
But you want to get out and getthat vitamin D because a lot of
us get deficient in it in thewinter.
That's the seasonal affectivedisorder.
Sad.
Just take my podcast with you.
(53:16):
They tend to be 50-ish minuteslong.
So just start it, go for a walkand come back and you'll have
burned enough calories.
I promise I will do my best tomake it fun and engaging and
worth your walk outside in thecold if it is cold where you
are.
And as I always say at the end,remember, in this life, don't
(53:36):
walk in anyone else's footsteps.
Create your own path and enjoyevery moment you can on this
journey we call life because younever know what tomorrow
brings.
Thank you all again for tuningin.
This has been the In MyFootsteps podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund.
You already knew that.
And I'll talk to you all againsoon.
Hello world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps
podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund,coming to you from the vacation
destination known as Cape Cod,Massachusetts, and this is
episode 178.
Even if the weather is coldwhere you are, we're going to
(00:21):
heat up the buffet of nostalgiaon this week's episode.
We're going to start it offwith New Year, New You, old
equipment with the story of thefitness revolution of the
Nautilus fitness machines.
We're going to go way, way backin the day and have some laughs
at a classic educational shortfilm from the 1980s,
(00:42):
Shoplifters, The CriminalHordes.
There'll be a brand new topfive.
These are the top five bestdebut songs of all time.
The very first songs we'rehearing from famous artists.
And there'll be a brand newThis Week in History and Time
Capsule centered around theinfamous Great Boston Molasses
(01:02):
Flood.
All of that is coming up rightnow on episode 178 of the In My
Footsteps podcast.
Oh boy, I tell you, never counton things going smoothly.
Just getting this podcaststarted this week was quite a
chore.
I record this on Audacity asthe software.
(01:23):
And it's like every now andthen there are updates to
software on my laptop thatstarts to mess with how things
are recorded, how the soundgoes.
What happened this week was asI started recording, there was a
delay in the vocals beingpicked up.
So instead of it picking up allof my words, it would cut off
the first syllable and fade in,which is really annoying and it
(01:47):
would not sound good for you outthere listening.
So I had to stop recording,delete what I had, and go in and
try to figure out what waswrong with this microphone, what
was wrong with my laptop.
There was a brief moment whereI was thinking, all right, maybe
I'm just not meant to recordthe show this week and I should
go online and just telleveryone.
There'll be no episode becauseI can't figure out how to work
(02:09):
my microphone after almost 200episodes of the show.
But have no fear, I settleddown and figured it out.
Also, you'll have to let meknow how things sound this week
in general.
So I have a new recordingstudio, a new setup.
It may not sound like anythingdifferent to you, but I'm just
curious if you can tell.
(02:30):
Now that I've said it, nowyou'll probably notice if the
sound quality sounds differentin a good way.
Ah, yes, but here we are,episode 178.
I can't start this show off,well, besides complaining about
my microphone...
I can't start it off for realwithout thanking my Patreon
subscribers, the ones who puttheir money where their mouth is
(02:52):
to support me and my content.
Lori, Mary Lou, Ashley, Kevin,Leo, Marguerite, Neglectoid,
Crystal, thank you all for beingthe ones who go above and
beyond to show their support forme.
Five dollars a month on Patreongets you access to bonus
podcast episodes, early accessto YouTube videos.
(03:16):
Just last week, I put up thewebcam weekly wrap up my video
podcast.
I put up the outtakes video.
That's only for Patreonsubscribers.
You can see all of the stuffthat was left on the cutting
room floor from the videos.
I also have a growing free tierof content on Patreon.
(03:36):
So if you want to go and checkit out, see what it's all about
without having to do any sort ofsubscription, be my guest.
I keep adding new stuff to it,like my Vegas journals.
Those are going to now beexclusive on Patreon on the free
tier.
We can get into more of thehousekeeping, as I call it, on
the podcast as we get to theend.
(03:57):
I want to dive into the actualmeat of this nostalgia sandwich.
This next segment is going tobe a fun combination of a lot of
different things.
A little bit of New Year'sresolution, a little bit of
fitness, a little bit ofhistory, and some stories that I
can't wait to share with you.
So let's get into the fitnessrevolution that was the Nautilus
(04:20):
fitness equipment coming upright now.
When I was thinking ofsomething to do for New Year's
resolutions, a segment for thepodcast...
The first thing that popped inmy head is most people, me
included this year, do somethingwith their health, their
fitness to kick off the newyear.
This segment here, it'ssomething I was looking for kind
(04:43):
of a reason to do a segment onthe Nautilus fitness equipment.
Because yes, it's nostalgia,but it's not exactly something
that fits usually the overallvibe of the podcast.
I don't do a lot of talk aboutfitness, even though that is a
big part of what I do as my dayjob as a trainer.
I kept coming back to the newyear, new you, which is one of
(05:06):
those cliches.
You don't need it to be a newyear to start a fitness routine,
but that's beside the point.
Any of you out there who go togyms, you see the fitness
machines.
They're more self-contained,very specific, targeted towards
certain movements, certainmuscle groups.
Any gym you go to, PlanetFitness, Anytime Fitness, 24
(05:29):
Hour Fitness, anything else youcan name fitness, they've all
got these machines to varyingdegrees.
Some are nicer than others.
Some break down all the time.
These machines are what newbiesat the gym will usually
gravitate towards becausethey're simple.
A lot of people that go, I'msure some of you listening know
this, you don't want to go upand ask people that work there
(05:51):
for help.
Some of them seem like theydon't really want to help or it
can be intimidating.
So people gravitate towards themachines and maybe they
understand them, maybe theydon't, but that's where a lot of
people do their thing.
Fitness machines at the gym andmaybe walking a treadmill or
riding the bike.
The OG of these fitnessmachines was Nautilus is what
(06:14):
they were called.
They were invented in the early1970s by a man named Arthur
Jones.
And whether you like themachines in the gyms or not,
there's no doubt that theyinnovated and changed how
fitness is seen as far as beingeffective, accessible.
Think about it.
If you went into a gym and youdidn't know what you were doing
(06:35):
and there were no machines,where would you go?
Do a lap around it and leave?
The man, Arthur Jones, he was aself-taught inventor and a
passionate fitness enthusiast.
Obviously, he'd have to be tocreate this.
but he had a lifelong interestin anatomy, biomechanics, and
strength training.
He felt that traditional freeweights and early machines were
(06:59):
inefficient, and his goal was tocreate a device that could
provide consistent andcontrolled resistance throughout
the entire range of motion.
For example, when you're doinga bicep curl, the muscle
experiences less resistance atthe top and the bottom of the
movement.
And Jones's solution was amachine that adjusted the
resistance curve to match thenatural strength curve of the
(07:22):
muscle.
I'm hoping your eyes aren'tstarting to cross and you're
starting to yawn.
I'm trying not to get tootechnical with this.
The key innovation for Joneswith his Nautilus machines was
the cam system, which wasinspired by the spiral shape of
a Nautilus shell.
And that's where you get thelogo for Nautilus.
(07:42):
But this cam ensured that themuscle received consistent
tension at all points, whichmaximized efficiency and
effectiveness.
Jones worked on this.
He refined it in the late1960s.
By 1970, he had refined thedesign and introduced the
Nautilus Blue Monster, which wasa large machine designed for
(08:04):
lat pulldowns and pullovers.
These are the machines youtypically sit at.
There are pads that go overyour thighs.
There's a bar up overhead.
You set the weight and you pullit down to engage the bigger
muscles in your back.
Later in 1970, Jones foundedNautilus Incorporated in Deland,
Florida to manufacture anddistribute his machines, the
(08:27):
first of which were available in1971.
And they quickly gainedattention for their innovative
design and effectiveness.
If you pause the podcast andyou go and look up the original
Nautilus machines, they aregoing to look very much like
antiques.
But for the time, they wererevolutionary.
They influenced what's aroundtoday.
These machines made going tothe gym more accessible for
(08:50):
those of all fitness levels.
Before that, you may have hadsome primitive machines, but you
also had just free weights andbars and barbells that's not
appealing for everyone and notsafe for everyone.
These Nautilus machines, theyhad ones for every type of body
part.
You had leg press machines thatwould mimic a squat.
(09:12):
You'd sit in the chair and pushthe weight away.
Leg extensions and curls to doquadriceps, hamstrings.
They had ab machines.
That was typically the oneyou'd see people do the most.
You'd sit.
There are handles right aboveyour shoulders.
You grab them and youforcefully pull them down so
that you get into a crunch.
The bicep curl machine, apreacher curl, that's typically
(09:36):
most men's favorite machine atthe gym.
Nautilus went hand in hand withthe fitness revolution of the
1970s.
Back in episode 144, I did asegment on 1970s diet and
exercise fails.
That's where they had suchthings as that slender bender
that made me laugh and saunasuits.
Nautilus was not one of those.
(09:59):
By the mid-70s, Nautilusmachines were a fixture in gyms,
health clubs across the UnitedStates.
With the brand becomingsynonymous with fitness
machines, I'm sure there weresome gyms that had knockoff
brands later in the 80s and theyjust called them Nautilus
because that's what people knewthem as.
Nautilus equipment was used bycelebrities, athletes, and
(10:21):
ordinary individuals, whichcemented Jones' reputation, the
Nautilus reputation.
It made it where introvertscould go into the gym and not
need to go up to a trainer orsomeone, you know, anyone
working at a gym and ask themhow to use equipment.
You go and set the weight lowand just try.
Nautilus equipment is notwithout its issues.
(10:43):
As it works specific bodyparts, specific muscles, you get
locked into that range ofmotion.
So if you've got any kind ofhitch, any joint problems,
anything like that, or if youset the weight too high, you
could have trouble.
It was in the later 1980s wherecompetitors started to come
(11:04):
around.
That's where you get to seeBowflex, Soloflex, these types
of machines.
Except those were the ones thatcombined about 20 or 30
different machines into one.
Arthur Jones sold NautilusIncorporated in 1986 for $23
million or just over $66 millionwhen adjusted for inflation to
(11:28):
2025.
Most of the fitness machinesthat are in gyms today owe their
legacy to the Nautilusmachines.
You can picture in your head alot of those.
Some of them are better thanothers.
The seated rows or latpulldowns for the back.
Those are pretty good.
Maybe the leg press for peoplethat can't squat because they
(11:50):
have knee problems.
Then there are some of the onesthat are kind of walking
advertisements for injuries.
I would highly recommend ifyou're going to the gym, do not
use a machine for your low back.
These are the ones where yousit and there's a pad that goes
across kind of the middle ofyour back and you just arch
backwards to strengthen your lowback.
(12:11):
That's an injury waiting tohappen.
Also, I would say, if you go toa gym and you see a machine to
work your neck, do not do thateither.
This leads into a few funstories that I had wanted to
tell, but I kind of needed asegment to get them out.
So I figured, why not with theNautilus machines?
(12:32):
The first gym that I worked atas a trainer was also a gym near
me that I had been a member atyears earlier.
It's more of a tennis club, butthey have fitness equipment.
The thing is with this gym, itwasn't built as a gym.
It was built, I believe, as arestaurant.
So you'd walk in and thefitness equipment was upstairs,
(12:56):
which immediately was kind ofweird.
Because it was regular stairsand they had carpet.
The upstairs fitness area wasall carpeted, which was weird.
When I was first a member atthis gym, before I worked there
as a trainer, they had one ofthese neck machines.
You would put your head againstthese pads and push your head
(13:17):
forward with resistance to workmuscles in your neck.
And you could do it front orside or back.
When I was a member at thisgym, it was the late 90s, early
2000s, and the equipment theyhad there then was antiquated.
They also had strict rules asfar as when you walked into the
(13:37):
Nautilus area, you had to startat one machine and go in order,
and if you were going to cutsomeone, it had to be two
machines ahead or else you'd getyelled at.
Perhaps the best thing aboutthis gym, when I was a trainer
there, they turned their fitnessarea into such a convoluted
mess.
They took a lot of the freeweights, heavier weights.
They moved them out of the gymarea and put them downstairs in
(14:02):
what used to be a squash court.
So if you got off the treadmilland you wanted to go in and do
the squat rack, you'd have towalk down a hallway, go out a
door, down another hallway, downa flight of stairs, down
another hallway and into thesquash court.
But like I said, they're moreof a tennis club, so that's kind
(14:23):
of why I didn't stay there as atrainer.
They didn't take fitness asserious.
They did some classes, but notreally seriously, I guess.
The other funny story I wantedto tell with the Nautilus
equipment was when I was incollege at the local community
college, Cape Cod CommunityCollege.
This was in the late 1990s, andI would go to the gym after
(14:45):
getting out of class and workout.
The equipment there in the late90s had to be some of the
original Nautilus machines fromthe early 70s.
There was a shoulder pressmachine where it was two
handles, but they were attachedso you would press them both
overhead at the same time.
The only problem was themachine was so high off the
(15:06):
ground that in order to get afull shoulder press, you had to
pull up a stool.
They had an actual bar stoolyou would have to sit in and
then do shoulder presses.
Meaning if the stool wasn'tstable and you tried to press
this weight, you just fall over.
I mean, I don't know if anyoneever did that, but that was
always what I thought.
Nearly 20 years later, when Iwas at the community college
(15:32):
becoming a personal trainer,that's where I got educated.
We were down in that gym andthey had all the same equipment.
And I'll never forget, myinstructor, my training
instructor said, if you canteach people how to safely use
this equipment in this gym, youcan train anybody anywhere.
Because it was so bad.
This equipment at that pointwas probably 35 to 40 years old.
(15:56):
I can picture some of thatequipment in my head right now.
I can't believe that stuff wasstill there.
Circling back though, today,Nautilus, it continues to be a
prominent name in the fitnessindustry.
While newer technologies andtraining philosophies have
emerged, the core principlesbehind Nautilus machines remain
relevant.
You've got machines that workbetter on freer range of motion,
(16:20):
ones that are safer.
I hope they got rid of thestupid neck machine.
But in general, what you seewhen you go into a gym is based
on the Nautilus machines of over50 years ago.
So new year, new you, oldequipment, kind of.
Arthur Jones and his Nautilusequipment revolutionized fitness
(16:41):
in the 70s and 80s.
So much so that some of thegyms that I frequented 25 years
ago still had the originalequipment.
So yes, if you see Nautilusequipment with the shell on the
side, check to make sure that itdoesn't have cobwebs on it,
that it's not rusted and ruinedfrom the 70s.
Otherwise, get on it and enjoyyour New Year fitness goals.
(17:06):
This week in history, we aregoing back 106 years ago to
January 15th, 1919 and the GreatBoston Molasses Flood.
So I'm taking you from fitnessrevolution to sweet, sweet
(17:30):
molasses.
This is one of the most unusualand devastating disasters in
the history of Boston.
In short, a massive wave ofmolasses swept through the North
End neighborhood, causingdestruction, death, and a legacy
of questions about industrialaccountability.
In the early 20th century,Boston's North End was a
(17:53):
bustling, working-classneighborhood, home to many
Italian immigrants.
At the heart of this tightlypacked community stood a giant
steel tank owned by the PurityDistilling Company, which was a
subsidiary of United StatesIndustrial Alcohol.
The tank was built in 1915 andwas used to store molasses,
(18:14):
which was a key ingredient inproducing industrial alcohol for
munitions and other purposes.
This tank was 50 feet tall, 90feet in diameter, and held up to
2.3 million gallons ofmolasses.
On January 15th, 1919, thetemperatures rose unusually high
(18:34):
for the season, reaching around40 degrees after days of
freezing cold.
The molasses that was in thetank was recently delivered, and
it was still warm.
It expanded and exertedpressure on the already
compromised steel tank.
At approximately 1240 p.m., thetank ruptured with a thunderous
(18:56):
roar.
and unleashed a torrent ofmolasses traveling at speeds of
up to 35 miles an hour.
This tidal wave of molasses wasestimated to be 25 feet high
and 160 feet wide.
It swept away everything in itspath.
You had buildings getflattened, horses and wagons
(19:18):
swept off the street, andscariest, you had people that
were trapped and suffocatedunderneath molasses.
The force of this wave evenknocked a freight train off its
tracks.
In total, 21 people died andmore than 150 were injured.
And cleanup took weeks, withtraces of molasses, including
(19:41):
the scent of it, lingering inthe area for decades.
The disaster prompted one ofthe first major class action
lawsuits in United Stateshistory.
with survivors and victims'families bringing a case against
United States IndustrialAlcohol, arguing that the
company had been negligent inthe construction and maintenance
(20:03):
of the tank, and evidenceshowed that the tank had leaked
since its installation, withresidents frequently collecting
free molasses that seepedthrough its walls.
The court ultimately ruled infavor of the victims, awarding
$628,000 in damages, or about$11.4 million when adjusted for
(20:26):
inflation to 2025.
The disaster also led tostricter building codes and
increased scrutiny of industrialpractices, and it set a
precedent for corporateaccountability.
Although the story is justbizarre, It's tragic and serves
as a sobering reminder of theconsequences of cutting corners
(20:47):
and ignoring safety standards.
This event has since beenimmortalized in books,
documentaries, even local lore,with some claiming in the North
End that on hot summer days, thefaint smell of molasses still
lingers.
Today, the site of the disasteris a small park near Commercial
Street, marked by a plaquecommemorating the lives lost.
(21:09):
That weird, unique, bizarrestory of the Great Boston
Molasses Flood occurred 106years ago this week in history.
Oh, the only thing sweeter thanloads of molasses is a brand
(21:30):
new time capsule.
We're going to go back toJanuary 15, 1965, 60 years ago
this week.
What was going on in the worldof pop culture back then?
Let's find out.
The number one song was ComeSee About Me by The Supremes.
This song was the third of fiveconsecutive number one singles
(21:53):
for The Supremes.
And it was number one twodifferent times.
Where it went to number one, itwas knocked out of number one
by the Beatles song, I FeelFine.
And then went back to numberone, knocking the Beatles off
the top.
In total, the Supremes havesold more than 100 million
albums.
And they had a total of 12number one songs between 1964
(22:17):
and 1969.
The number one movie was MyFair Lady.
And you could get into thetheater with a ticket costing 93
cents.
This is a musical comedystarring Aubrey Hepburn, based
on the Lerner and Lowe 1956stage musical, which was that
based on George Bernard Shaw's1913 play Pygmalion.
(22:41):
This is routinely ranked as oneof the best musicals ever made.
The film was nominated for 12Academy Awards, winning for Best
Picture, Best Actor, and BestDirector.
And interestingly, at the time,it was the most expensive movie
ever made in the United Stateswith a budget of $17 million, or
(23:02):
$173 million when adjusted forinflation to 2025.
The number one TV show was TheBob Hope Christmas Show.
Yes, I know, it was a coupleweeks late.
But hey, most people don't wantChristmas to end right on the
25th.
As I'm recording this, I stillhave my Christmas decorations
(23:23):
up.
So why not have Bob Hope'sChristmas be in mid-January?
These Bob Hope specials wouldusually be part of USO tours
where he would go and entertainthe troops.
There'd be his comedy, sketchcomedy, music.
And if you were around backthen, January 15th, 1965, maybe
(23:44):
you were in need of some newclothes.
Oh, well, you're in luckbecause it's slack riot time at
Jordan Marsh.
Celebrating their 114thbirthday, you could get two
pairs of slacks for $9, usually$8.99 each.
Sporting dress shirts, well,they're $2.44.
But to top it off, maybe youwant a sharkskin suit?
(24:09):
Don't worry, they're not madeout of sharkskin.
But you could get one for $33.
But hurry, there's only 210 instock.
That's a pretty arbitrarynumber, but that's what it says
in the ad.
So hurry up to Jordan Marsh,get your new clothes.
Slack riot.
That'll wrap up another timecapsule, another This Week in
(24:31):
History.
Even the greats had to startsomewhere.
And this brand new top five,we're going to showcase some of
those as we look at the bestdebut songs of all time,
starting now.
This was a fun segment to puttogether.
(24:51):
Best debut songs of all time.
There are a couple of caveatswith this countdown.
because I didn't want it to beso obvious.
You take the biggest names everin music, and then you list
their first single theyreleased, and it's kind of
boring.
I tried to combine this withthe importance of the musical
(25:13):
act, the importance of the song,how good the song actually was,
any influence it may have hadon future musicians.
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Maybe I should have justchosen...
The first singles from all thegroups I think are the most
famous.
I am pretty sure your top fivewill differ from mine because a
(25:36):
lot of music, it's subjective.
A lot of these top fives aresubjective.
Mine, they're in no particularorder and there are some
honorable mentions.
So let's dive into it.
Honorable mentions for the bestdebut songs of all time
include...
Our Lips Are Sealed by theGo-Go's.
(25:57):
This is from 1981 with theGo-Go's influencing so many
female bands over the ensuingdecades.
Another honorable mention isBlitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones.
This is from 1976.
Hey ho, let's go.
Everybody knows this song, evenif you don't know it, you know
(26:20):
those lyrics.
Another honorable mention isBaby One More Time by Britney
Spears.
This is from 1998 and usheredin a whole new era of young
female singers, female bands.
Another honorable mention isThat's Alright by Elvis Presley.
(26:41):
This is from 1956 and startedone of the most influential
careers in the history of music.
I put this on my honorablementions because I feel like
this song isn't even in the top25 of Elvis songs.
But again, it's subjective.
And there's one more honorablemention.
That is Anarchy in the UK bythe Sex Pistols.
(27:05):
This is from 1977 and basicallybrought punk rock to the
masses.
I'm sure a lot of you arealready shaking your heads at my
honorable mentions, thinkingsome shouldn't be there or
should be in the top five.
Well, let's see how many moreof you I can make disagree with
my picks here.
Let's get into the actual topfive.
(27:26):
Remember, in no particularorder, we're starting with
number one, Dream On byAerosmith.
No, I'm not partial toAerosmith because I grew up in
New England.
This is from 1973.
I put this on the top fivebecause I feel this is still one
of their best songs,Aerosmith's best songs, one of
(27:48):
the best rock songs of the 70s.
It immediately introduces youto Aerosmith-style Stephen
Tyler's signature shriekingvoice, although not that much in
this song, near the end.
Aerosmith has sold more than150 million albums worldwide.
They are considered hard rock,so they are the best-selling
(28:09):
hard rock American band ever.
If you think about, if you're afan of Aerosmith like me, think
about all their famous songs.
Dream On is going to be inthere.
And that staying power is a bigreason why they are in my top
five.
Number two is I Want You Backby the Jackson 5.
This is from 1969.
(28:31):
It introduced the world toMichael Jackson, who was...
10, 11 years old when this songwas released, even though I
think they said he was 8 yearsold, to make it seem more
incredible that such a youngchild had such a commanding
voice and presence.
This song is here because itholds up well.
It introduces the world tosomeone that would go on to
(28:53):
become the most famous person onthe planet for a time in the
1980s, Michael Jackson.
Think about this.
If Michael Jackson had neverdone anything besides the
Jackson 5 and then the Jacksons,they were called when they were
in their teens.
The Jackson 5, that group soldmore than 150 million albums
(29:14):
worldwide.
They are one of the mostinfluential R&B groups ever.
And that's just with this grouptaking out all of Michael
Jackson's solo work.
Which, if you were wondering,Michael Jackson on his own has
sold more than 500 millionalbums.
Number three is Take It Easy byThe Eagles.
(29:37):
This song is from 1972, andEagles member Glenn Frey
actually wrote it with JacksonBrown, and Jackson Brown
recorded it for one of hisalbums the next year.
When your debut single ends upon an album that is the
best-selling album of all time,which the Eagles' greatest hits
album is, you've got to put thaton top five debut songs.
(30:01):
And yes, it's been a battleover the years between the
Eagles' greatest hits andMichael Jackson's Thriller as
far as best-selling albums, withthe Eagles' greatest hits being
ahead as of right now.
The band as a whole has soldmore than 200 million albums.
with Take It Easy being kind ofa softer rock, breezy, folky
(30:22):
song.
I think it holds up well.
I think it's still one of theirbest songs ever.
At some point, I might do a topfive for greatest songs ever or
most important songs ever.
That would be where HotelCalifornia would come in.
Songs you need to hear oncebefore you die.
Number four is Good Times, BadTimes by Led Zeppelin.
(30:46):
This song is from 1969, and itushers in one of the godfathers
of metal.
There's no understating theinfluence of Led Zeppelin.
I'm sure Black Sabbath isconsidered more of the
godfathers of heavy metal, butLed Zeppelin's sound was way
louder.
(31:06):
I mean, you want to classifyhim as hard rock, go ahead.
But you want to talk about asong that just defines a band...
Robert Plant's amazing voicethat he ultimately destroyed.
Jimmy Page's amazing guitar.
I got into Led Zeppelin as ateenager when I read that Kurt
Cobain from Nirvana wasinfluenced heavily by Led
(31:29):
Zeppelin.
But then again, any of you outthere that grew up in the 80s,
90s, if you listen to rockmusic, I'm pretty sure that
whoever you listen to wasinfluenced by Zeppelin.
Zeppelin has sold more than 300million albums worldwide, with
some of their songs being themost famous songs in the history
of music.
(31:49):
Stairway to Heaven, if youdon't know that song, I don't
know where you've been living.
And finally, number five on thelist of the best debut songs of
all time is Love Me Do by TheBeatles.
I may not have done just themost famous bands, musical
artists in order, But it sureseems like a lot of them got on
(32:10):
this list anyway.
Michael Jackson, The Beatles,Elvis.
This song is from 1963, and itstarted that wave, the British
rock invasion, Beatlemania.
Younger listeners, what's goingon in the last couple of years
with Taylor Swift?
That's actually not as big asThe Beatles were.
(32:32):
Same with Michael Jackson inthe 80s.
The Beatles were one of themost influential musical acts
ever.
I say one of, I'm kind ofdownplaying it a little bit.
This is another one, it's kindof like Elvis' That's Alright,
where I feel like Love Me Doisn't in the Beatles' even top
20 songs.
(32:52):
But there's no denying whatcame from the release of this
song.
The Beatles are a rare musicalact where you could basically
take any album of theirs and hitshuffle on any song and it
would be good.
They are the best-sellingmusical act ever, selling more
than 600 million albumsworldwide.
And to top off the importanceof the Beatles, as solo artists,
(33:17):
John Lennon, Paul McCartney,Ringo Starr, and George Harrison
combined have sold well over200 million albums.
Think about that for any otherband ever.
If the solo artists releasedall their music, would any of
them combine to sell that much?
And if you're wondering, yes,Ringo was fourth out of the
four, but he's even sold morethan 10 million albums
(33:40):
worldwide.
I know most musicians wouldkill to have 1% of the success
that solo Ringo Starr had.
But that'll wrap up top fivedebut songs of all time.
How many of those do youdisagree with?
I'm figuring saying thatthey're in no particular order
saves me from the actual topfive.
(34:00):
But we go from talking a lotabout albums sold to now talking
about albums stolen.
Well, that might be my bestsegue ever.
Let's dive into the educationalshort film Shoplifters, The
Criminal Hordes.
This is going to be oneeducational short film that you
(34:27):
all need to go and watch andlaugh at.
Shoplifters the CriminalHordes.
It is so quintessentially 80s.
When doing research for theseeducational short films to
review, it's a lot of titles,it's a lot of just the short
descriptions of what the videosare about, and I'm kind of like,
(34:48):
well, that looks like it mightbe something interesting.
Little did I know how much Iwould laugh at this particular
one.
The backstory of this, it'sfrom 1983, and it was created by
the Centron Corporation.
It clocks in at just over 15minutes in length, so it's an
easy watch.
That's why I choose shortfilms.
(35:10):
And just a heads up, for any ofyou that want to watch this, I
couldn't find it on YouTube, soI found it on Daily Motion.
I'll put a link in thedescription of the podcast,
because I definitely thinkyou're going to want to watch
this one.
Obviously, this video is aboutshoplifting.
The film is Equal Opportunity,where...
Every type of person, every agegroup, every background, every
(35:34):
race, they're all shoplifters.
It even shows you the tricks ofhow to shoplift, but then they
say don't do that.
The film starts off with ayoung-ish couple.
They say young couple.
In the video, they look likethey're my age.
But them starting their ownstore.
(35:54):
The narrator talks about howSelf-service stores now, it's
based on trust.
Because way back, you know, 100years ago or even less than
that, you would have to tell thesalespeople what you wanted and
they would get it for you.
There was none of this goingdown the aisles and putting
stuff in your own cart.
They talk about the trust andhonesty of people shopping.
(36:18):
And this is where we areintroduced to a high school
student named Connie that goesinto that youngish couple's
store and steals from them.
And
Speaker 04 (36:28):
I've got to show you something.
Look at this.
Walked in yesterday and pickedthis up.
Fifteen bucks.
Speaker 00 (36:34):
They are persons like Connie, a young woman so
unsure of herself that she usesthievery to try and impress
schoolmates.
Speaker 05 (36:43):
And the narrator says it comes down to her
lacking self-confidence.
And then he says, even thoughshe's bragging about what she
stole, it's showing her friendsthat they can't trust her
because she'll probably stealfrom them too.
Things start to get seriouswhen they show Connie at another
store trying to steal and sheactually gets caught by the
(37:04):
owner.
And she pretends it was herfirst time and she gets really
sad and upset.
So he ends up letting her go.
So she gets let go and thenwhen she goes to school, she
brags about getting out of it.
So all these other kids decidethey're going to go to this same
store and start stealing.
What's great about this videoas you go, like I said, it's
(37:27):
quintessentially 80s.
So everyone has got the typical80s clothes.
You got the typical 80smustaches on the older guys.
You see classic stores likeRadio Shack.
A lot of the supermarket scenesin this are in Kroger.
But as these two boys fromConnie's class, they're walking
(37:47):
towards this store to stealfrom, the narrator's saying that
if you're easy on shoplifters,you're a target for thieves
because shoplifters have nohonor.
The narrator says that in someof these stores, I don't know
where he got the numbers from,that one out of every four
customers is looking to steal.
And they show that youngishcouple that I mentioned a few
(38:10):
minutes ago talking about howbusiness is down.
So the narrator's blaming it onshoplifters.
And then it shows a going outof business sign on their front
window.
So I don't think that that girlConnie and her two friends
caused them to go out ofbusiness, but maybe they got
dozens of shoplifters every day.
Oh, but like I said, it's equalopportunity shoplifters.
(38:33):
So they go to a fancyrestaurant and there's an older
couple.
They're probably in their early60s.
The husband and wife steal thesalt and pepper shakers off the
table.
Then they splice togetherscenes of people stealing from
other places.
There's a guy stealing books inthe library.
Then to really get 80s, there'sa guy reaching into someone's
(38:56):
open car to steal stuff off thedashboard.
So back before car alarms wereprevalent, back when people
would just leave their cars openwindows down with them not in
it.
Then we really get serioushere.
We get introduced to Billy,who's probably five years old.
He's on vacation with hisparents and they're in a hotel
(39:17):
room and the parents arestealing everything that's not
nailed down.
They're shoving the towels intheir suitcase.
Speaker 01 (39:25):
Pack these.
We can use them.
Speaker 00 (39:26):
The only difference between stealing towels from a
motel and stealing them from astore counter is the thief's
estimate of the comparativerisk.
By their example, Billy'sparents taught him that stealing
was okay if you just called itby another name, such as taking
souvenirs.
Speaker 05 (39:43):
And we get Billy's backstory as he starts growing
up and becoming a thief becausehe saw his parents stealing.
They show him taking matchboxcars.
The narrator says he getscaught less than once out of
every 20 attempts to steal.
So I don't know how many timesthis kid is supposed to be
stealing.
Dozens, hundreds of times andnever getting caught.
(40:04):
No, but he doesn't get offscot-free.
They show Billy, probably 20years old.
He's in jail playing cards withhis cellmates because he
finally ran out of luck.
And they say his parents don'tknow where he went wrong.
And the narrator talks about,yeah, you stole the towels that
led him to think stealing wasfun.
The film keeps coming back toConnie and her two male friends,
(40:29):
just their adventures instealing.
And the narrator talks abouthow these shoplifters aren't
smart, so they use the sametricks to try to steal, like
wearing an overcoat.
And they show this guy in thehardware store shoving a Looks
like a drill into the pocket ofhis overcoat.
They show a woman with fakematernity clothes where she's
(40:52):
got this...
It looks almost like a backpackunder her shirt, and she's just
shoving stuff in it.
There's a woman in a departmentstore shoving shirts up her
dress, and they say the narratorsays women practice how to walk
with their thighs together sothey can get out with the
clothes.
I mean, I guess it looks likeshe has to really use the
(41:12):
bathroom.
Or the famous take things intothe changing rooms in a
department store and just putall the clothes on and then
leave.
The narrator talks aboutsomething called a booster box.
It looks like a gift boxwrapped nice with a bow on it,
but it has a fake end to it.
I'd never heard of this boosterbox, but then there's a guy in
(41:35):
a jewelry store with a fakecigarette carton.
Like, could you imagine someonegoing into a jewelry store
carrying a carton of cigaretteswith them?
I mean, I guess it's very 80s.
But it's a fake one, so hesteals all the jewelry and
shoves them in there.
There are a couple of scenesfrom this where I laughed out
loud at how ridiculous it is.
(41:55):
I know it's supposed to scarepeople to not steal, but they
say, current hot items in theshoplifting realm and it's boom
boxes, like the ones you wouldsee in the 80s movies.
And there's a guy in a storethat just shoves a boom box in
his coat.
There's another one where thisguy has evidently taken a box
(42:15):
that has what looks like a bigwheel in it and opened it up,
taken the big wheel out, andthen filled the empty box with a
bunch of other stuff and thensealed it shut again.
Unknown (42:26):
...
Speaker 00 (42:28):
They've brought back the toy box switch.
The thief removes the toy,slips in the expensive
merchandise, and pays $10 for an$800 item.
Speaker 05 (42:42):
It's so ridiculous because they show the guy with
his cart with the empty box andhe goes down to where the
appliances are and it looks likehe shoves a full stereo into
this big wheel box.
Who in the world would havethat much time?
If you were at a place in the80s, Sears, Kmart, you really
think you could take everythingout of a big wheel box and then
(43:04):
go to the stereo section withthat box and just grab a stereo
off the shelf?
It's like, come on, at leastmake it realistic.
They show people switchingprice tags so that when you
would go get it rung up at theregister, it would come up as
something much cheaper.
This was back before there werebarcodes.
I mean, they had barcodesbecause they show a guy who
(43:27):
takes a barcode off of somethingcheaper in Kroger and then has
a glue stick and glues it to acanned ham.
It was ham that expensive in1983.
There's this old woman that'sgot to be in her 80s and she's
going through the checkout lineat what looks like, you know,
somewhere like Bradley's.
And she's just got Reynoldswrap in her purse sticking out.
(43:50):
And the cashier is like, oh,what about that in your purse?
And the lady's like, oh, Iforgot.
Another way that shoplifterssteal is by bringing in their
own shopping bags, which is kindof funny because today, now, a
lot of supermarkets and places,they have the recyclable bags.
Stop and Shop, I know I've gotmine, Target.
They show people going intothese stores and just filling up
(44:14):
their bags.
where I guess back in the 80s,they assume that if you've got
store bags that you must havebought whatever is in them.
The guy that walks out with hiscart full of stuff in these
bags, he's got this grayovercoat and this
foolish-looking grayish-yellowhat and this...
Every guy in this seems to havethe same mustache.
(44:36):
Another one where I justlaughed so hard was the idea
that there's a couple that goesinto this store...
The wife goes in, she buyssomething, and she has a
receipt, a paid-for receipt.
And when she leaves, she handsit off to her husband.
And then he goes in and grabsthis giant TV in a box and puts
(44:57):
it in his shopping cart and juststarts walking out with it.
And he shows the securityguard, oh, here's my receipt.
And it's like the wife isbacking up her 80s station wagon
thing.
But the jokes on the guy, hegets arrested.
Speaker 00 (45:12):
Some are brazen enough to allay suspicion by
approaching a security guard.
Speaker 01 (45:19):
Thanks.
I just bought this new stereo.
I suppose you could help me getit out to the car?
Sure, all I have to do is checkyour receipt here.
Speaker 00 (45:25):
In case any of these stunts strike anyone as clever,
it should be pointed out theyare all taken from reports made
by the arresting policeofficers.
Speaker 01 (45:34):
Wait a minute, partner.
If you just turn around here,put your hands behind your back.
Speaker 05 (45:37):
The narrator says that even though these things
that he's talking about as faras how to steal seem kind of
outlandish, they're from actualshoplifting accounts with the
police.
So after that guy getsarrested, now the narrator talks
about what can businesses do tostop the shoplifters.
The main thing is having storeemployees go up to customers and
(46:00):
just see if they need help,saying that the honest customers
won't mind, but the dishonestones will.
And we go back to Connie again,just like the fourth time that
she's been shown stealing.
But the employee comes up andasks if she needs help and she
immediately just like runs away.
It's a lot of training youremployees to be vigilant and
(46:22):
aware.
They show one woman where thenarrator says that employees
will notice an empty hanger in adepartment store so the thieves
will just take it.
And they show this woman take ashirt off of the rack and she
snaps the coat hanger to fit itin her shirt.
And they show the woman at theregister, her head whips around.
I guess this is a big thingbecause the narrator says if you
(46:45):
hear a cracking sound from theclothing department, be warned.
And then the narrator gets coyby saying there are other things
that stores have been learningabout how to stop shoplifters,
but he won't give them all away.
So I guess in case if you werewatching this film in school and
you were like, oh, I know howto defeat all of these safety
(47:05):
things, the narrator says, ooh,watch out, there's some I'm not
telling you about.
We get a great scene of insideof a classic 1980s mall.
Like I said, you see RadioShack, The Athlete's Foot, Town
Crier.
And the narrator goes on to saythat shoplifters come in all
shapes and sizes and ages andgives you tips on how to spot
(47:29):
these shoplifters.
He says they don't all wearhuge overcoats in the middle of
summer, that some just leavewhen you approach or check the
mirrors to see that there's noone around.
They also say someone thatdoesn't Check prices on things
or compare shopping.
They might be a shoplifter.
They show a guy in thesupermarket just grabbing a
(47:52):
bunch of steaks.
Making it seem like because hedidn't check the price, he must
be stealing them.
And then we get near the endwhere we get this scrubby
looking guy that tries tosqueeze by the exit stealing
something and the cashiercatches him and makes him go to
the manager's office.
This is where he says, I wasgoing to pay for it.
(48:14):
And the guy says, nope, toolate.
Cops are coming.
This guy, he's got this scrubbymustache.
And he's just got this verypunchable face.
They do show someone runningoutside and getting away and
getting in their car.
And the narrator says, don'tchase.
But you see the car's licenseplate is from Kansas.
I don't know if this is whereit was all filmed.
(48:35):
But you see several very 80scars in the parking lot.
And we get at the end of thisvideo here where we show Connie
and her friends again at adiscount record store getting
ready for their next heist.
Speaker 02 (48:50):
What are we stopping here for?
But I thought you
Speaker 03 (48:52):
wanted records.
Speaker 02 (48:54):
Not this store.
If we go in here, we'll have topay
Speaker 03 (48:58):
for them.
Yeah, let's go to one of theeasy ones.
Okay.
Ready or not, here we come.
Speaker 05 (49:04):
And it just freezes.
And that is the end ofShoplifters the Criminal Hordes.
This one is so funny.
It is so cheesy 80s.
And like I said, over the topwith some of the ways that
people steal.
My favorite is the big wheelone, emptying out the box and
putting a stereo in it instead.
(49:24):
I will link to it in thedescription of the podcast if
you want to go watch foryourself and laugh.
And it won't be too long.
I'll do another educationalshort film review and employee
training video reviews.
These are so much fun.
But until next time, that willwrap up episode 178 of the In My
(49:44):
Footsteps podcast.
Thank you so much as always fortuning in, making my show part
of your weekly podcast listeningpleasure.
I do my best to make it as funand entertaining and somewhat
informative as I can be.
It's like you know it's goingto be nostalgia, but you can
never be quite sure what's goingto be on the show.
(50:06):
That's the fun of research.
I find things that I say, ohman, that'll make a good
subject.
Next week is episode 179 andwe're going to have the return
of me versus AI top five.
I don't know what the subjectwill be yet.
I'm waiting for my AI overlordsto tell me what I can talk
about.
If you enjoy my content and youwant to become a subscriber on
(50:29):
Patreon, $5 a month.
You can always do donationsthrough buymeacoffee.
I've got tons and tons ofcontent.
Obviously, you know with thispodcast, I'm getting up close to
200 episodes.
I do the webcam weekly wrap-upvideo podcast.
I've got blogs.
I've got YouTube videos.
(50:50):
I have nine books.
You can check those out atChristopherSatterlund.com.
I spend on average 15 hours aweek doing content work,
sometimes a little more.
I would probably do more if Ihad more free time.
You'd be surprised, or probablynot surprised, how many
different ideas I have that popup and I'm like, I don't have
(51:11):
time to do that right now, butthat's good for in the future if
I get any free time, any roomon my plate.
Find me all over social media.
I'm on Instagram threads.
I'm on Blue Sky.
I have a Facebook fan page.
I'm on TikTok.
I do a lot of videos, podcastpromotion.
I have to market myself.
(51:32):
I don't have a team ofmarketing.
I don't have employees that cando all this for me.
I'm a one man crew.
That's definitely notcomplaining.
I enjoy it.
It's all a fun use of mycreativity.
I've wanted forever to betotally self-employed,
self-reliant, using my own brainto create whatever my source of
(51:53):
income is.
Even if becoming a Patreonsubscriber or doing any sort of
donations, if that isn't in thecards for you, the best thing
you can do as a fan of my workis share it with others.
I'd much rather have a hundredpeople listen to the show from a
recommendation than have oneperson give a donation.
(52:15):
Plus it's free.
All you got to do is say, hey,this guy's content's pretty
good.
You should go listen.
Even if you don't mean it, justsay it.
I'm getting ready to wrap upthe audio podcast and I'm going
to now record the next webcamweekly wrap up.
This will be interestingbecause like I said, I have a
new setup for the podcast.
(52:35):
I'm recording it in a differentarea.
So I'm going to have to figureout the logistics for the video
part of the podcast.
So that will be, I think it'sthe 14th webcam weekly wrap up.
So you can take a look at thatand see how I've done as far as
my setup.
Even though we're in the dogdays of winter, remember to get
(52:56):
outside if you can when it'ssunny out.
It's sunny as I'm recordingthis, but it's freezing cold.
It's like 33 degrees.
But you want to get out and getthat vitamin D because a lot of
us get deficient in it in thewinter.
That's the seasonal affectivedisorder.
Sad.
Just take my podcast with you.
(53:16):
They tend to be 50-ish minuteslong.
So just start it, go for a walkand come back and you'll have
burned enough calories.
I promise I will do my best tomake it fun and engaging and
worth your walk outside in thecold if it is cold where you
are.
And as I always say at the end,remember, in this life, don't
(53:36):
walk in anyone else's footsteps.
Create your own path and enjoyevery moment you can on this
journey we call life because younever know what tomorrow
brings.
Thank you all again for tuningin.
This has been the In MyFootsteps podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund.
You already knew that.
And I'll talk to you all againsoon.
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
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.