Ever wondered about the unsung heroes and quirky tales hidden in the folds of history? Buckle up and join us, Smarticus and Phoenix, as we bring to light the incredible saga of Juliana the Great Dane, a four-legged combatant who sniffed out her spot in World War II history not once, but twice — all with the help of her bladder! This episode isn't just another walk through the history park; it's a gallop alongside the most unexpected of war heroes.
Strap in for a time-traveling taste test too, as we reminisce over a wartime dish that's as strange as it is scrumptious, marrying the comfort of grilled cheese with the custardy charm of French toast. It's a culinary relic from a time when rationing turned the kitchen into a battleground of creativity. As we munch on the past, Juliana's tail-wagging bravery reminds us that courage comes in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes, the most extraordinary stories are found on four legs, with a wagging tail, standing by a disarmed bomb. Join us for a heartwarming, hunger-inducing episode that's sure to leave you hungry for more — both in terms of history and snacks!
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Recipe:
Episode Transcript
Welcome to Smartacus.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Tells.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
History.
Alright, enough with the echoand fanfare.
You're here for history, right,and not that boring crap you
learned in high school.
This stuff's actuallyinteresting, like things you've
never heard about the Civil War,cleopatra, automobiles,
monopoly, the Black Plague andmore Fascinating stories,
interesting topics and somedownright weird facts from the
(00:28):
past.
It's a new twist on somestories you may know and an
interesting look at some thingsyou may have never heard.
So grab a beer, kick back andenjoy.
Here's your host, smarticus.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Hello, dear listeners , and welcome back to another
exciting episode of SmarticusTells History.
I am your host, smarticus,accompanied by my co-host, as
always, phoenix.
Hello, and today we have aremarkable story that went
relatively untold and forgottenuntil an auction in 2013, which
brought it back to light.
Today's tale takes us back tothe harrowing days of World War
(01:01):
II, but with roots that go backbefore the First World War.
Join us in exploring theextraordinary story of Juliana
the Great Dane, who was awardednot just one, but two Blue Cross
medals for acts of bravery.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
But first food we are eating today, a World War II
kind of staple that's kind oflike a mix-up of a grilled
cheese and French toast.
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
It was actually pretty good, yeah, Ooh that is
good.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, oh, that is good.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, I mean yours probably tastes better because,
like I said, I used shreddedcheese as a recipe called out.
But if I had regular Americancheese or Kraft cheese or
whatever in here, regular slicedcheese, I should say it would
probably taste a lot better.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
It would probably taste a lot better.
I like how the egg definitelyacted as a binder to make the
whole thing stay together.
I also added bacon to mine.
I'm sorry, I'm just bragging alittle bit because I'm quite
proud of myself.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, that's all right.
Bacon Bacon.
Yeah, that's all right, bacon.
Yeah, but I mean it's not veryhard.
It took me a whole five minutes.
It's literally French toast andcheese grilled cheese sandwich.
It's, you know, two pieces ofbread, egg, milk and cheese.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yep.
That's the whole recipe Because, you have to remember, rations
during wartime were slimpickings, right, but everybody
had milk.
Well, milk, everybody had milk,eggs, bread and a little bit of
cheese and you can always spareto make a sandwich for that.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Right, yep, so yeah, and I mean I guess that's it.
Yeah, so yeah, and uh, I mean Iguess that's it.
I mean it was nothing, nothingfancy, nothing, you know, super
simple.
I guess we should just uh, Iguess you just want to move on,
sure, I mean, there's nothingexciting to talk about this one
(03:20):
so it's very simple yeah, so,alright.
So World War 2, as we discussedin our other episodes, was a
tumultuous time, marked by actsof bravery and all sorts of
fronts that are often forgottenabout.
Amidst the chaos, animals oftenfound themselves caught in the
crossfire and their storiesremain hidden gems.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
As Smarticus mentioned before, Julianna's
story was lost to time until oneof her blue crosses was found
at a property clearance auctionwith a beautiful watercolor
portrait of the Great Daneherself.
It was expected to sell for 60pounds, but actually ended up
selling for 1,100 pounds.
A little plaque recounted thetale of her disarming a bomb by
urinating on it.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Oh gross.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Oh, she was a clever girl.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
She didn't know what she was doing.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
She probably had no clue, but she saved the whole
family.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
It could have ended very differently.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
I would have hoped at this point that she would have
been potty trained, but whoknows?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
As anyone who's watched TV and movies with bombs
in them should know, explosiveordnance disposal is a delicate
business.
It requires intelligence, amental toughness and discipline
that is indisputable, andexceptionally steady hands.
In past decades, a plethora ofanimal species have been used to
help detect bombs, but it hasalways been the human part of
the duo that has deactivated it.
On record, we only know of onedog who disarmed a bomb herself.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
During the Blitz, for two years, britain was showered
by near-constant air raids byNazi Germany.
The Nazis focused on industrialtargets, towns and cities such
as London.
In April 1941, an incendiarybomb tore through the roof of a
house.
Amazingly, it didn't go off,but it did burn, which was
naturally just as dangerous,only in a slower fashion, though
(05:06):
no less terrifying.
Juliana, hardly phased, walkedover, straddled the device and
let nature take its course.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Juliana, hardly phased, walked over straddled
the device and let nature takeits course.
Amazingly, it was just threeyears later, in 1944, that she
saved her family again.
Her owner's family ran a shoeshop and a fire broke out.
She alerted them to thesituation and got them out in
time before they were engulfedby the smoke and fire.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
For each of these brave actions, the Great Dane
was awarded a Blue Cross medal.
Sadly, in 1946, this wonderfulgood girl was killed because a
stranger slipped somethingprobably yummy but certainly
poisoned through the mail slotof her home.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Juliana ate it and died shortly after Her actions
were forgotten over time untilthe auction of her portrait and
medal.
Something important to note isthat the Blue Cross has been
around since 1897 and it was acharity founded in London, uk.
It was founded over the nameand I'm sure some of you are
going to hate this Our DumbFriends League, or ODFL.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
For clarification.
What they mean by dumb isnon-speaking creatures, not
stupid.
The word dumb had a verydifferent meaning and
connotation back in the day.
That's why, if you see articlesor letters talking about
someone like Helen Keller, forinstance, she was reported as
deaf and dumb, but incrediblyintelligent and blind.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
What she was.
All three, wasn't she?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Deaf, dumb and intelligent.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Deaf, dumb and blind.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Dumb as can't speak.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Right, but she was also blind, wasn't she?
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, she was all three.
I think yeah, and she wassomehow surprisingly intelligent
.
I mean you lose all three ofthose.
Well, I mean you lose all threeof those.
Well, I mean, you lose allthree of those.
I mean, how are you going tolearn?
How are you not walking around,you know, making random baby
sounds, you know?
I mean, Well, she was for along long time, until what was
(07:06):
her name?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Mary?
Something or other came alongand started trying to teach her
how to do sign.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
She got a degree in something I think.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, and she got cause she was able to be.
It would be taught Braille soshe could read.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Um ODFL was an advocate for the welfare and
fair treatment of working horsesOriginally.
It quickly started handing outawards and grants to
organizations that were showinggreat care and kindness to a
bigger group of animals in thedomesticated field, which really
means that they were morecelebrating people and their
good behavior rather than actualanimals themselves.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
It wasn't until 1918 when the Blue Cross Fund
Committee created a badge calledthe Order of Merit.
It was designed and awarded tomilitary horses that
participated in World War I forkeeping their wits about them
amidst gun and cannon fire.
I bet the horses felt sohonored.
Anyway, the first non-human toreceive the actual Blue Cross
medal was not a horse, or evenJuliana.
It was a French dog named LeCloche, in 1940 who saved his
(08:05):
seafaring captain when he felloverboard his steamer, the SS
McNess.
When it was torpedoed offPortland the Clochish's owner
couldn't swim, but the good boycould.
The first cat to receive theBlue Cross was in 1942.
His name was Jim.
He was a 19-year-old kitty andhe alerted his owners that their
house was on fire and helpedthem to escape.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Good kitty, good kitty.
We find it's endearing to hearabout these good boys and girls
Getting rewarded for lovingtheir families During hard and
terrifying times.
We hope you've enjoyed alighter side of history.
Thank you for joining us today.
If you have any historicalquestions or topics You'd like
us to explore in the futureepisodes, don't hesitate to
(08:48):
reach out.
Thank you for joining us and ifyou enjoyed this episode,
please subscribe and leave us areview.
We'll be back with more storiesfrom the past.
Until then, keep exploring.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Thanks for listening to Smarticus Tells History.
If you enjoyed this episode,don't forget to rate and review
and make sure to subscribe.
And be sure to follow the showat facebookcom slash
smarticustellshistory, or justclick the link in the show at
facebookcom slash smarticustells history, or just click the
link in the show description.
Thanks again for listening.
See you next time.
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