May 15, 2022 • 25 mins
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Also, check out my friends at indiedropin.com and earbudspodcastcollective.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Today's episode is sponsored by better Help. One of the best things about better
Help is that treatment is discreet andconvenient. I know that, especially in
a small town, it might bedifficult to find treatment, or it may
be intimidating because small town gossip spreadslike wildfire. You shouldn't feel judged for
seeking help with your mental health.But if that's what's been holding you back,
(00:24):
fear not, better help is hereto save the day. Better Help
is customized online therapy that offers video, phone and even live chat sessions with
your therapist, so you don't haveto see anyone on camera unless you want
to. It's much more affordable thanin person therapy, and you can start
communicating with your therapist in under fortyeight hours. And thanks to the great
people at better Help, I havea special offer for Obscure History listeners.
(00:48):
You can get ten percent off yourfirst month of professional therapy at betterhelp dot
com slash obscure. That's better helpdot com slash Obscure. Thanks again into
better Help for sponsoring this episode.Dating is hard. I mean I assume
(01:19):
it's hard. I've been happily marriedfor basically my entire adult life, but
I am on social media, andI see how things have changed in the
last few years. The last timeI dated somebody aside from my wife,
we are still scratching out two sentencedtext messages on our flip phones. Certainly,
social media existed, and I couldchat with my friends and potential suitors
(01:41):
on my Space, but it wasnothing like today. If you're feeling overwhelmed
by trying to learn dating etiquette inour increasingly digital world, don't fear.
Dating has always been very, verycomplicated. My name is Josh, and
this is obscure history. If you'rehoping for some dating advice, this is
(02:25):
the wrong podcast for you. Mywife and I got married about a month
after we turned twenty and have beenenjoying our shared lives ever since. In
fact, I might be the absoluteworst person to get dating advice from,
especially in this new scene. Itseems that there is a hot new dating
app released on the daily, eachbearing their own etiquette and feel In fact,
(02:49):
according to Pew Research, while fortyeight percent of eighteen to twenty nine
year olds say that they have everused a dating site or app, the
share is thirty eight percent among themages thirty to forty nine, and even
lower for those over fifty. Atthe same time, personal experiences with online
dating greatly differed by sexual orientation.Lesbian, gay, or bisexual adults are
(03:12):
roughly twice as likely than those whoare straight to say that they've ever used
a dating platform, fifty five percentto twenty eight percent. The data shows
that online dating platforms are indeed verypopular, but do they help the research
continues by a wide margin. Americanswho have used dating sites or apps in
the past years say their recent experienceleft them feeling more frustrated than hopeful.
(03:37):
Other sentiments are more evenly balanced betweenpositive and negative feelings. Some thirty five
percent of current or recent users saythat in the past year, online dating
has made them feel more pessimistic,while twenty nine percent say these platforms left
them feeling more optimistic. Similarly,thirty two percent say online dating sites or
apps made them feel more confident,whereas twenty five percent say it left them
(04:00):
feeling more insecure. Those are prettydour responses, and we're just talking about
getting a date, as if thatisn't complicated enough. There is still the
matter of actually going on the dateand acting appropriately. As I obviously don't
have experience with this, I hadto turn to the Internet to see what
that's supposed to be like in apost pandemic twenty twenty two, and what
(04:25):
I found was incredibly confusing. Dozensof new to me terms like woke,
fishing, cuffing, love bombing,orbiting, and breadcrumbing make dating seem like
an entire sat category. So perhapsyou're wondering why we started here a married
man trying to understand post pandemic datingculture, while I recently stumbled upon a
(04:46):
very interesting story about the trials andtribulations of dating. After the United States
got involved in World War One,American citizens faced very familiar wartime shortages.
Consumer ducks like food stamps and homegoods were rationed, and those on the
home front of the war were askedto make sacrifices whenever they were able.
(05:08):
Michigan State University notes that rationing andbuying bonds became the number one way that
everyday Americans could support the war effortand the soldiers fighting overseas. In Europe,
the National Food Garden Commission encouraged familiesto expand their gardens and grow not
only for their household, but fortheir country. A nation at war is
a nation with a food problem,A nation with a food shortage is a
(05:30):
nation in peril, they said.Women were entered in contests and praised in
magazines for their hard work and gardeningachievements that benefited the war effort. Headlines
like are you trying for the warsavings stamp prizes offered by the Commission encouraged
Americans to get better at gardening andcanning their crops by showing women who have
been successful despite being novice gardeners.The National War Garden Commission published a free
(05:56):
book titled Home Canning and Drying ofVegetables and Fruits. The book not only
served as a resource for those startingtheir own war garden, but it also
provided testimonials of experienced gardeners and stepby step instructions on how to care for
numerous fruits and vegetables. Another productthat was rationed was gasoline, and in
response to the gasolene shortage, motoristswere encouraged to ride share. This idea
(06:19):
was prudent and reasonable, but therewere a couple of very negative and unforeseen
consequences. First, it gave birthto a somewhat predatory practice called the Jitney
m t Research revealed that in thesummer of nineteen fourteen, the US economy
fell into recession with the outbreak ofWorld War One, and some entrepreneurial vehicle
(06:41):
owners in Los Angeles began to pickup street car passengers in exchange for a
jitney the five cent street car fare. The jitney idea spread incredibly rapidly.
By December nineteen fourteen, merely sixmonths after the idea was believed to have
been conceived, Los Angeles had issuedone thousand, five hundred twenty chauffeurs licenses
for jitney operation in San Francisco.The jitneys first appeared in nineteen fourteen and
(07:05):
were first used to transport workers inattendees to the nineteen fourteen nineteen fifteen Panama
Pacific International Exposition. By nineteen fifteen, over one thousand, four hundred jitneys
were operating in San Francisco, withthe first jitney's beginning service in Portland,
Maine in March nineteen fifteen, thejitney craze had spread from the West to
(07:27):
the east in nine months. Jitneyuse was not without trade offs. Jitney
drivers were known to drive aggressively andaccidents were frequent, with passengers standing on
the back of vehicles and on therunning boards. Serious injuries did occur.
The transport of female passengers raised concernsin some social circles. At its peak,
(07:48):
it is estimated that nearly seventy fivethousand jitney drivers were operating in the
United States at any given time.The second unintended consequence of World War or
one ride sharing was that most ofthe people who were left on the home
front were women, and many ofthose women would find themselves ride sharing with
men that they probably didn't know.This wasn't ideal because it put a lot
(08:13):
of women into very uncomfortable positions.And despite the very awkward and compromising positions
they were put in, the womenof World War one America persisted, and
eventually the war ended. Many coupleswere reconnected when the men came home and
food and home goods were no longerrationed. There was also no longer a
gas shortage, so women were nolonger encouraged to share rides with random men.
(08:37):
But sometimes things take a while togo back to normal. But before
we get to that, we needto stop and pay the bills. If
you want ad free episodes with bonuscontent, hit the Subscribe button on Apple
Podcasts. If you want to chatwith me and other like minded history nerds
completely for free, then joy inour discord server. It's free and it's
fun. The link will be inthe show notes. After the boys returned
(09:01):
from the war, life began toreturn to normal. However, things changed
slowly and men were still trying topick up women to ride share, even
though it was no longer encouraged orrequired. The post war women didn't find
this behavior very flattering and instead feltoffended that the post war men were still
(09:22):
trying to put them in compromising positions. So one woman decided to put an
end to it once and for all. In nineteen twenty three, Alice Riley
drafted up the charter in rules fora club called the Anti Flirt Club.
She, along with nine others,celebrated the first Anti Flirt Week beginning on
March fifth of that year. Unfortunately, due to societal rolls of the day,
(09:46):
they couldn't directly target the behavior ofthe men who were causing problems,
so they instead targeted women and sharedtips and tricks to avoid unwonted attention from
men. They invited other women tojoin the club under the condition that they
followed the club's ten rule structure.They went something like this. Don't flirt.
(10:07):
Those who flirt in haste often repentin leisure. Don't accept rides from
flirting motorists. They don't invite youin to save you a walk. Don't
use your eyes for oggling. Theywere made for worthier purposes. Don't go
out with men you don't know.They may be married and you may be
in for a hair pulling match.Don't wink. A flutter in one eye
(10:28):
may cause a tear in the other. Don't smile at flirtatious strangers. Save
them for people you know. Don'tannex all the men you can get by
flirting with many, You may loseout on the one. Don't fall for
the slick dandified cake eater. Theunpolished gold of a real man is worth
more than the gloss of a loungelizard. Don't let elderly men with an
(10:50):
eye to a flirtation pat you onthe shoulder and take fatherly interest in you.
Those are usually the kind who wantto forget they are fathers. Don't
ignore the man you are sure ofwhile flirt with another. When you return
to the first one, you mayfind him gone now. Interestingly, it
seems as if the movement caught on, at least initially. Recruitment articles began
(11:11):
appearing in newspapers across the nation,like this one from the Huntsville News in
Alabama. What are you going todo about it? Girls? This query
is being put here following the announcementfrom Washington that someone has organized the anti
Flirt Club. The suggestion is madethat the pretty young things may not be
able to take care of themselves inthe face of the advances of scheming he
(11:33):
vamps who seek to entice them tothe corner of the drug store without an
introduction. And this someone proposes thatan organization be formed to combat the kerbstone
loafers, the wicked eye motorist,and the conceited mashers, so that they
will cease their machinations on the helplessyoung innocence. What do you think about
an anti flirt club for Huntsville girlsand how would you like to belong to
(11:54):
it? It goes without saying thatyoung women of today boast they can take
care of themselves and do not needadvice of older sisters who lift a decade
or so ago, when it wasthe fad to wear trailing skirts down the
street. But can she? Thequestion resolves itself into two phases. There
are two types of girls, onewho seek the attention of the sterner sex,
(12:16):
and this one who essentially should beadmitted to membership in the anti flirt
club were one formed in the South. Let us take a peep at her
as she goes tripping down the streetin her high French heel to the tune
of her trickling jade earbobs. Shecasts glances on either side. When a
scheming male lurks into sight, sheputs on her sweetest smile. Then lo,
(12:37):
the spell has cast. In someinstances, at least the two walk
away is genial companions. This typeof girl might profit by such an organization,
but would she join it. Theother type of girl is one who
can truly proclaim that she can protectherself from the designing males who loaf the
street corners. She dresses modestly,and she does not cast sly glances to
(12:58):
the right and to the left.She attends her own affairs while she is
in the reach of so called mashers, and if, as she rarely is,
she is attacked by some sly smilefrom the schemers. She gives them
the cold shoulder. Her appearance isher protection and she is not subjugated to
the rude insults that her less sensiblesister invites. Well, it's up to
(13:20):
you, girls, what do youthink about an anti flirt club in your
home state? Or this spirited articlefrom Oakland, California. See that wink?
Well that is all very well whereit is, But just let a
mere man try it, and thisis what will happen to him. The
Anti flirt Club will get him ifhe don't watch out. The lovely lady
behind the wink is not flirting withyou. She is just putting on an
(13:43):
animated demonstration of what no male mashermay do and get away with. She's
miss Jackie Brunez, Century Theater leadingwoman, and she is the leading woman
of the Anti Flirt Club too.For we unanimously elected her president right off
the reel. You see, weakgirls decided the end must come to this
everlasting embarrassment of having unknown and presumingmen try to flirt with us, staring,
(14:05):
rudely, making fresh remarks, andactually winking at us on the street.
So the other day we held agrand indignation and organization meeting, and
as a result, there's going tobe something doing. We're going to stage
a little old campaign that will makethe Rure Valley disturbance look like a Sunday
school picnic. We're going to gatherour forces and during the week of Monday,
(14:28):
March thirteenth, will keep our eyesopen for oggling mashers. It's going
to be an unlucky date and ablue Monday for them, for we don't
intend to merely pass them by witha hurt look. Oh no, visualize
this little scene time any day nextweek on any street. Pretty member passing
by masher casually winks an eye.Pardon me, haven't we met before?
(14:54):
I can't say, sir, butI'd adore to saunter down the street a
bit so you and I may speakof it. Well, cutie, what's
the bill of fare? Just walkwith me around the square. I'll introduce
you to a friend of mine.I'm sure he'll cotton to your line.
You know, I feel you tworeally should meet. He's the policeman on
his beat. Officer, here's amashing pest. I'll leave you. He
(15:15):
needs a rest. That's the waythe anti flirt club works. So girls,
now's the time to get up yourfighting spirit and joy in. If
you've had the embarrassing experience of themasher's attentions on the street corners, or
in automobiles or in street cars,you're qualified for membership in the Anti Flirt
Club, and you are not onlyprivileged, but urged to cooperate with all
of us. I rate flirt eradicatorsand will countenance most any working method you
(15:41):
can devise and beneficially carry out.Miss Brunia says, I'm for the club
and the campaign. A girl goesjauntily down the street. The world is
a joyful place, and she smileswith the sheer pleasure of being alive.
And who wants to see a girlwearing a soured on life face? But
just because all life to her seemssweet and fresh, as no sign to
(16:02):
the masher that she should fall inline and be didda. And Miss Brunea
says further, just because a girlis on the stage, some men seem
to think they are privileged to makefamiliar remarks to her as she leaves the
theater. As president of the AntiFlirt Club, I'll be right on hand
for the campaign launching next Monday,and woe to the unknown male who attempts
(16:22):
a second look or a casual winkof the eye. Three cheers for our
president as the anti flirt club head, she has a book value with me
twice par You should have been therewhen the club held its initial meeting.
If the mail flirt could have knownall the dreadful things the members vowed to
do to him, he'd either makehis eyes behave or he'd vowed to stay
(16:42):
indoors during the campaign week. Hereare some of the slogans adopted by enthusiastic
members. Do they sound like business? Closed eye, closed fist and I'll
close as other eye too, viciously, asserts the up and coming organizers of
the slogannk and eye and watch uswork is the threatening motto of a serious
(17:03):
trio of high school seniors. Andget this one, mangle the masher that
from an Oakland athletic girl. Therewill doubtless be various methods of snuffing out
the existence of the he flirt anddemonstration during the campaign, but the results
will be the same. On withthe campaign, and this is our warning
to the Oakland Masher. Beware theideas and eyes of March. The movement
(17:30):
began to be reported on across thePond in the UK, and US congressmen
even begin to show their support forit. Former Congressman Herrick joins the Anti
Flirt Club Talk Washington, d C. Manuel Herrick, ex congressman from Oklahoma
who stirred the capital some months agowith his crusade to end beauty contests,
today joined the Anti Flirt Club,composed of pretty government workers. Herrick urged
(17:55):
the girls to be strong of heart, grit your teeth, and forge a
head in your righteous cause. Hewarned them to beware of the young men
who ask girls to go on automobilerides. Remember that all young men who
ask a young lady to ride ina machine do not do it simply to
save her a walk. He said. When I read your noble work on
putting down the Masher, I couldnot resist coming out here to talk to
(18:17):
you and advise you to put alittle pepper into your organization and to expect
to have to fight a powerful foe. Your ideal is a high and noble
one, and if it can survive, it will be most helpful and should
be aided, abedded, and commended. Strangely, it seems as if the
movement died out suddenly despite garnering passionateinterest from the public. The first Anti
(18:41):
Flirt Week was the only anti flirtWeek. Unfortunately, the last real reference
to the Anti Flirt Club appears ina cautionary tale from the Hamilton Evening Journal
in Ohio. A new and tragiclight was focused recently on that modern feminine
pe erroll, the masher, withthe sudden and mysterious death of Missus Aurelia
(19:04):
Fisher Dreyfus, Wealthy Manhattan to foresee. Her death resulted in reopening the inquiry
into the equally mysterious murder seven yearsago of the famous Broadway butterfly Dorothy King.
Both these beauties came to a violentend of a trail that began with
pickup romance. The case of MissusDryphus might have been dismissed as just another
(19:29):
suicide if it were not for thediscovery that she was the mysterious blonde involved
in dot King's murder riddle. Thestory of their unhappy end aroused police,
parents, welfare workers, and sociologiststhroughout the country in a renewed effort to
wipe out the pickup evil. Inmost large cities of the United States,
crusades have been started at one timeor another against the automobile masher, the
(19:52):
telephone masher, and other types ofmen who prey upon pretty, unescorted girls.
The case as of Dorothy King andMissus Dreyfuss are now held up as
a warning of the fate that mightbefall any attractive young woman. Indeed,
the story of Dorothy King might havebeen far different but for the harmless telephone
flirtation It began while Dot was tryingto reach a friend on the phone.
(20:18):
Until then she was a young womanseeking fame and fortune on the stage.
Here, the story of Dot Kingis interrupted by another famous pickup. Aurelia
Fisher's life also would have taken adifferent turn but for a traffic signal.
While riding in her own automobile onFifth Avenue, she was forced to stop
because of a red light. Anothercar, also balked by the traffic signals,
(20:38):
drew up alongside. The man inthe other car smiled at her.
She smiled back. There was ahurried conversation before the lights changed. Aurelia
had accepted an invitation to attend adance that night with the stranger. The
man at the wheel was Edmund Josephmcbrian. The two became close friends.
Theirs was a friendship that did notseem to be interrupted in the least,
(21:00):
even when Aralia Fisher was married toHerbert Dryfus, a wealthy New York broker,
in October of nineteen twenty three.But in nineteen twenty four, the
wealthy Herbert Dryfus divorced Aralia Fisher.She and mcbrian, however, continued their
friendship. The years passed, andperhaps Missus Dryfus forgot about the past.
(21:21):
One night last October, she cameto the end of the road. It
was during a swanky Potomac Boat Clubdance in Washington. She was accompanied as
usual by mcbrian. The best ofthe Capital society was there. Lights and
music floated about her, but MissusDryfuss was unhappy. Just why she was
unhappy as yet to be cleared up. It is of the utmost importance to
(21:44):
the police. But according to Affidavid'ssigned by members and for family, she
told one of her sisters that shewas afraid. While the rest of her
family returned to the lights and music. Aralia Dryfus remained on the club's balcony.
When they returned, she was notthere, but her mangled body was
found below. Her jewelry was foundnearby. Now the authorities hope to determine
(22:10):
just what was behind her fatal plunge. The grand jury intends to investigate until
it is able to say whether shejumped or was pushed to her death.
Regardless of the outcome, the startlinglesson of her pickup romance remains four.
Like Dorothy King, it led totragedy. Recent investigations show that the masher
(22:30):
is proving to be a menace throughoutthe country. There have been scores of
cases in which young ladies who carelesslyaccepted rides or flirted over telephones have come
to grief in the end. Newspaperheadlines almost every week tell of attacks on
girls. In Washington, where thecase of Aurelia Dryfus reached its unhappy climax,
(22:51):
an anti flirt club has been formed. Its members, composed of young
girls, are pledged to refuse ridesfrom strange motorists. The code of guidance
urges girls not to flirt, notto accept rides, not to carry out
telephone conversations with strange masculine voices,and that's where the trail runs cold.
(23:11):
What started as a way to condemnthe ride share dating culture that was no
longer necessary in post World War OneAmerica evolved into a shield the caution a
retail. Unfortunately, due to societalexpectations, it was difficult for women to
directly refute the actions of men atthe time, so the Anti Flirt Club
(23:33):
and similar actions focused on the behaviorof women despite them being the victims.
Thank you for listening, everybody,I sincerely appreciate it. Now, this
one was a bit of a wildride. When I first found the articles,
(23:55):
it was kind of like, ah, look at this little quirky thing
that I found on newspapers dot com. And then the more articles that I
found, the like more serious anddisturbing the story became. And I didn't
really intend for it to go thatway, but sometimes you just have to
follow the research wherever it will takeyou. The first few articles that I
found, especially the ones around Washington, d C. Made the Anti Flirt
(24:18):
Club seem kind of like a sortof a cheeky way to re establish dating
norms, you know, since theUnited States wasn't happening to ration gas anymore,
and then as I started reading moreand more of them, it turned
into either like weirdly shaming women orlike being very scary and like warning women
(24:41):
that they were going to like dieif they got in a car with a
man, which is sad because itwas probably very true, but it was
kind of a wild one to research. I really had kind of a hard
time framing it in a way thatmade sense that also kind of was in
a narrative sort of progression. Hopefullyit was okay. I've never really been
(25:03):
this unsure about an episode, butI like the story. The Anti Flirt
Club is a very interesting, unique, little niche piece of United States history
that I kind of like. Asalways, this episode is brought to you
in part by Indeed drop In Networkand Earbuds Podcast Collective. Go check out
those services if you are just hankeringfor something new and don't know where to
(25:25):
look. Also join the discord.It is free. There's history, memes,
we laugh, we joke, Ishare details about upcoming episodes. You
can even give me an episode ideaif you'd like. I am going to
be doing one that was suggested bysomebody on the discord server here soon,
so it's definitely worth it. Ifyou want to throw something out there,
(25:47):
there's a pretty good chance that itmight end up on the show someday.
Anyways, you guys have a niceweek. Thank you for listening.
Today's episode is sponsored by better Help. One of the best things about better
Help is that treatment is discreet andconvenient. I know that, especially in
a small town, it might bedifficult to find treatment, or it may
be intimidating because small town gossip spreadslike wildfire. You shouldn't feel judged for
seeking help with your mental health.But if that's what's been holding you back,
(00:24):
fear not, better help is hereto save the day. Better Help
is customized online therapy that offers video, phone and even live chat sessions with
your therapist, so you don't haveto see anyone on camera unless you want
to. It's much more affordable thanin person therapy, and you can start
communicating with your therapist in under fortyeight hours. And thanks to the great
people at better Help, I havea special offer for Obscure History listeners.
(00:48):
You can get ten percent off yourfirst month of professional therapy at betterhelp dot
com slash obscure. That's better helpdot com slash Obscure. Thanks again into
better Help for sponsoring this episode.Dating is hard. I mean I assume
(01:19):
it's hard. I've been happily marriedfor basically my entire adult life, but
I am on social media, andI see how things have changed in the
last few years. The last timeI dated somebody aside from my wife,
we are still scratching out two sentencedtext messages on our flip phones. Certainly,
social media existed, and I couldchat with my friends and potential suitors
(01:41):
on my Space, but it wasnothing like today. If you're feeling overwhelmed
by trying to learn dating etiquette inour increasingly digital world, don't fear.
Dating has always been very, verycomplicated. My name is Josh, and
this is obscure history. If you'rehoping for some dating advice, this is
(02:25):
the wrong podcast for you. Mywife and I got married about a month
after we turned twenty and have beenenjoying our shared lives ever since. In
fact, I might be the absoluteworst person to get dating advice from,
especially in this new scene. Itseems that there is a hot new dating
app released on the daily, eachbearing their own etiquette and feel In fact,
(02:49):
according to Pew Research, while fortyeight percent of eighteen to twenty nine
year olds say that they have everused a dating site or app, the
share is thirty eight percent among themages thirty to forty nine, and even
lower for those over fifty. Atthe same time, personal experiences with online
dating greatly differed by sexual orientation.Lesbian, gay, or bisexual adults are
(03:12):
roughly twice as likely than those whoare straight to say that they've ever used
a dating platform, fifty five percentto twenty eight percent. The data shows
that online dating platforms are indeed verypopular, but do they help the research
continues by a wide margin. Americanswho have used dating sites or apps in
the past years say their recent experienceleft them feeling more frustrated than hopeful.
(03:37):
Other sentiments are more evenly balanced betweenpositive and negative feelings. Some thirty five
percent of current or recent users saythat in the past year, online dating
has made them feel more pessimistic,while twenty nine percent say these platforms left
them feeling more optimistic. Similarly,thirty two percent say online dating sites or
apps made them feel more confident,whereas twenty five percent say it left them
(04:00):
feeling more insecure. Those are prettydour responses, and we're just talking about
getting a date, as if thatisn't complicated enough. There is still the
matter of actually going on the dateand acting appropriately. As I obviously don't
have experience with this, I hadto turn to the Internet to see what
that's supposed to be like in apost pandemic twenty twenty two, and what
(04:25):
I found was incredibly confusing. Dozensof new to me terms like woke,
fishing, cuffing, love bombing,orbiting, and breadcrumbing make dating seem like
an entire sat category. So perhapsyou're wondering why we started here a married
man trying to understand post pandemic datingculture, while I recently stumbled upon a
(04:46):
very interesting story about the trials andtribulations of dating. After the United States
got involved in World War One,American citizens faced very familiar wartime shortages.
Consumer ducks like food stamps and homegoods were rationed, and those on the
home front of the war were askedto make sacrifices whenever they were able.
(05:08):
Michigan State University notes that rationing andbuying bonds became the number one way that
everyday Americans could support the war effortand the soldiers fighting overseas. In Europe,
the National Food Garden Commission encouraged familiesto expand their gardens and grow not
only for their household, but fortheir country. A nation at war is
a nation with a food problem,A nation with a food shortage is a
(05:30):
nation in peril, they said.Women were entered in contests and praised in
magazines for their hard work and gardeningachievements that benefited the war effort. Headlines
like are you trying for the warsavings stamp prizes offered by the Commission encouraged
Americans to get better at gardening andcanning their crops by showing women who have
been successful despite being novice gardeners.The National War Garden Commission published a free
(05:56):
book titled Home Canning and Drying ofVegetables and Fruits. The book not only
served as a resource for those startingtheir own war garden, but it also
provided testimonials of experienced gardeners and stepby step instructions on how to care for
numerous fruits and vegetables. Another productthat was rationed was gasoline, and in
response to the gasolene shortage, motoristswere encouraged to ride share. This idea
(06:19):
was prudent and reasonable, but therewere a couple of very negative and unforeseen
consequences. First, it gave birthto a somewhat predatory practice called the Jitney
m t Research revealed that in thesummer of nineteen fourteen, the US economy
fell into recession with the outbreak ofWorld War One, and some entrepreneurial vehicle
(06:41):
owners in Los Angeles began to pickup street car passengers in exchange for a
jitney the five cent street car fare. The jitney idea spread incredibly rapidly.
By December nineteen fourteen, merely sixmonths after the idea was believed to have
been conceived, Los Angeles had issuedone thousand, five hundred twenty chauffeurs licenses
for jitney operation in San Francisco.The jitneys first appeared in nineteen fourteen and
(07:05):
were first used to transport workers inattendees to the nineteen fourteen nineteen fifteen Panama
Pacific International Exposition. By nineteen fifteen, over one thousand, four hundred jitneys
were operating in San Francisco, withthe first jitney's beginning service in Portland,
Maine in March nineteen fifteen, thejitney craze had spread from the West to
(07:27):
the east in nine months. Jitneyuse was not without trade offs. Jitney
drivers were known to drive aggressively andaccidents were frequent, with passengers standing on
the back of vehicles and on therunning boards. Serious injuries did occur.
The transport of female passengers raised concernsin some social circles. At its peak,
(07:48):
it is estimated that nearly seventy fivethousand jitney drivers were operating in the
United States at any given time.The second unintended consequence of World War or
one ride sharing was that most ofthe people who were left on the home
front were women, and many ofthose women would find themselves ride sharing with
men that they probably didn't know.This wasn't ideal because it put a lot
(08:13):
of women into very uncomfortable positions.And despite the very awkward and compromising positions
they were put in, the womenof World War one America persisted, and
eventually the war ended. Many coupleswere reconnected when the men came home and
food and home goods were no longerrationed. There was also no longer a
gas shortage, so women were nolonger encouraged to share rides with random men.
(08:37):
But sometimes things take a while togo back to normal. But before
we get to that, we needto stop and pay the bills. If
you want ad free episodes with bonuscontent, hit the Subscribe button on Apple
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completely for free, then joy inour discord server. It's free and it's
fun. The link will be inthe show notes. After the boys returned
(09:01):
from the war, life began toreturn to normal. However, things changed
slowly and men were still trying topick up women to ride share, even
though it was no longer encouraged orrequired. The post war women didn't find
this behavior very flattering and instead feltoffended that the post war men were still
(09:22):
trying to put them in compromising positions. So one woman decided to put an
end to it once and for all. In nineteen twenty three, Alice Riley
drafted up the charter in rules fora club called the Anti Flirt Club.
She, along with nine others,celebrated the first Anti Flirt Week beginning on
March fifth of that year. Unfortunately, due to societal rolls of the day,
(09:46):
they couldn't directly target the behavior ofthe men who were causing problems,
so they instead targeted women and sharedtips and tricks to avoid unwonted attention from
men. They invited other women tojoin the club under the condition that they
followed the club's ten rule structure.They went something like this. Don't flirt.
(10:07):
Those who flirt in haste often repentin leisure. Don't accept rides from
flirting motorists. They don't invite youin to save you a walk. Don't
use your eyes for oggling. Theywere made for worthier purposes. Don't go
out with men you don't know.They may be married and you may be
in for a hair pulling match.Don't wink. A flutter in one eye
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may cause a tear in the other. Don't smile at flirtatious strangers. Save
them for people you know. Don'tannex all the men you can get by
flirting with many, You may loseout on the one. Don't fall for
the slick dandified cake eater. Theunpolished gold of a real man is worth
more than the gloss of a loungelizard. Don't let elderly men with an
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eye to a flirtation pat you onthe shoulder and take fatherly interest in you.
Those are usually the kind who wantto forget they are fathers. Don't
ignore the man you are sure ofwhile flirt with another. When you return
to the first one, you mayfind him gone now. Interestingly, it
seems as if the movement caught on, at least initially. Recruitment articles began
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appearing in newspapers across the nation,like this one from the Huntsville News in
Alabama. What are you going todo about it? Girls? This query
is being put here following the announcementfrom Washington that someone has organized the anti
Flirt Club. The suggestion is madethat the pretty young things may not be
able to take care of themselves inthe face of the advances of scheming he
(11:33):
vamps who seek to entice them tothe corner of the drug store without an
introduction. And this someone proposes thatan organization be formed to combat the kerbstone
loafers, the wicked eye motorist,and the conceited mashers, so that they
will cease their machinations on the helplessyoung innocence. What do you think about
an anti flirt club for Huntsville girlsand how would you like to belong to
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it? It goes without saying thatyoung women of today boast they can take
care of themselves and do not needadvice of older sisters who lift a decade
or so ago, when it wasthe fad to wear trailing skirts down the
street. But can she? Thequestion resolves itself into two phases. There
are two types of girls, onewho seek the attention of the sterner sex,
(12:16):
and this one who essentially should beadmitted to membership in the anti flirt
club were one formed in the South. Let us take a peep at her
as she goes tripping down the streetin her high French heel to the tune
of her trickling jade earbobs. Shecasts glances on either side. When a
scheming male lurks into sight, sheputs on her sweetest smile. Then lo,
(12:37):
the spell has cast. In someinstances, at least the two walk
away is genial companions. This typeof girl might profit by such an organization,
but would she join it. Theother type of girl is one who
can truly proclaim that she can protectherself from the designing males who loaf the
street corners. She dresses modestly,and she does not cast sly glances to
(12:58):
the right and to the left.She attends her own affairs while she is
in the reach of so called mashers, and if, as she rarely is,
she is attacked by some sly smilefrom the schemers. She gives them
the cold shoulder. Her appearance isher protection and she is not subjugated to
the rude insults that her less sensiblesister invites. Well, it's up to
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you, girls, what do youthink about an anti flirt club in your
home state? Or this spirited articlefrom Oakland, California. See that wink?
Well that is all very well whereit is, But just let a
mere man try it, and thisis what will happen to him. The
Anti flirt Club will get him ifhe don't watch out. The lovely lady
behind the wink is not flirting withyou. She is just putting on an
(13:43):
animated demonstration of what no male mashermay do and get away with. She's
miss Jackie Brunez, Century Theater leadingwoman, and she is the leading woman
of the Anti Flirt Club too.For we unanimously elected her president right off
the reel. You see, weakgirls decided the end must come to this
everlasting embarrassment of having unknown and presumingmen try to flirt with us, staring,
(14:05):
rudely, making fresh remarks, andactually winking at us on the street.
So the other day we held agrand indignation and organization meeting, and
as a result, there's going tobe something doing. We're going to stage
a little old campaign that will makethe Rure Valley disturbance look like a Sunday
school picnic. We're going to gatherour forces and during the week of Monday,
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March thirteenth, will keep our eyesopen for oggling mashers. It's going
to be an unlucky date and ablue Monday for them, for we don't
intend to merely pass them by witha hurt look. Oh no, visualize
this little scene time any day nextweek on any street. Pretty member passing
by masher casually winks an eye.Pardon me, haven't we met before?
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I can't say, sir, butI'd adore to saunter down the street a
bit so you and I may speakof it. Well, cutie, what's
the bill of fare? Just walkwith me around the square. I'll introduce
you to a friend of mine.I'm sure he'll cotton to your line.
You know, I feel you tworeally should meet. He's the policeman on
his beat. Officer, here's amashing pest. I'll leave you. He
(15:15):
needs a rest. That's the waythe anti flirt club works. So girls,
now's the time to get up yourfighting spirit and joy in. If
you've had the embarrassing experience of themasher's attentions on the street corners, or
in automobiles or in street cars,you're qualified for membership in the Anti Flirt
Club, and you are not onlyprivileged, but urged to cooperate with all
of us. I rate flirt eradicatorsand will countenance most any working method you
(15:41):
can devise and beneficially carry out.Miss Brunia says, I'm for the club
and the campaign. A girl goesjauntily down the street. The world is
a joyful place, and she smileswith the sheer pleasure of being alive.
And who wants to see a girlwearing a soured on life face? But
just because all life to her seemssweet and fresh, as no sign to
(16:02):
the masher that she should fall inline and be didda. And Miss Brunea
says further, just because a girlis on the stage, some men seem
to think they are privileged to makefamiliar remarks to her as she leaves the
theater. As president of the AntiFlirt Club, I'll be right on hand
for the campaign launching next Monday,and woe to the unknown male who attempts
(16:22):
a second look or a casual winkof the eye. Three cheers for our
president as the anti flirt club head, she has a book value with me
twice par You should have been therewhen the club held its initial meeting.
If the mail flirt could have knownall the dreadful things the members vowed to
do to him, he'd either makehis eyes behave or he'd vowed to stay
(16:42):
indoors during the campaign week. Hereare some of the slogans adopted by enthusiastic
members. Do they sound like business? Closed eye, closed fist and I'll
close as other eye too, viciously, asserts the up and coming organizers of
the slogannk and eye and watch uswork is the threatening motto of a serious
(17:03):
trio of high school seniors. Andget this one, mangle the masher that
from an Oakland athletic girl. Therewill doubtless be various methods of snuffing out
the existence of the he flirt anddemonstration during the campaign, but the results
will be the same. On withthe campaign, and this is our warning
to the Oakland Masher. Beware theideas and eyes of March. The movement
(17:30):
began to be reported on across thePond in the UK, and US congressmen
even begin to show their support forit. Former Congressman Herrick joins the Anti
Flirt Club Talk Washington, d C. Manuel Herrick, ex congressman from Oklahoma
who stirred the capital some months agowith his crusade to end beauty contests,
today joined the Anti Flirt Club,composed of pretty government workers. Herrick urged
(17:55):
the girls to be strong of heart, grit your teeth, and forge a
head in your righteous cause. Hewarned them to beware of the young men
who ask girls to go on automobilerides. Remember that all young men who
ask a young lady to ride ina machine do not do it simply to
save her a walk. He said. When I read your noble work on
putting down the Masher, I couldnot resist coming out here to talk to
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you and advise you to put alittle pepper into your organization and to expect
to have to fight a powerful foe. Your ideal is a high and noble
one, and if it can survive, it will be most helpful and should
be aided, abedded, and commended. Strangely, it seems as if the
movement died out suddenly despite garnering passionateinterest from the public. The first Anti
(18:41):
Flirt Week was the only anti flirtWeek. Unfortunately, the last real reference
to the Anti Flirt Club appears ina cautionary tale from the Hamilton Evening Journal
in Ohio. A new and tragiclight was focused recently on that modern feminine
pe erroll, the masher, withthe sudden and mysterious death of Missus Aurelia
(19:04):
Fisher Dreyfus, Wealthy Manhattan to foresee. Her death resulted in reopening the inquiry
into the equally mysterious murder seven yearsago of the famous Broadway butterfly Dorothy King.
Both these beauties came to a violentend of a trail that began with
pickup romance. The case of MissusDryphus might have been dismissed as just another
(19:29):
suicide if it were not for thediscovery that she was the mysterious blonde involved
in dot King's murder riddle. Thestory of their unhappy end aroused police,
parents, welfare workers, and sociologiststhroughout the country in a renewed effort to
wipe out the pickup evil. Inmost large cities of the United States,
crusades have been started at one timeor another against the automobile masher, the
(19:52):
telephone masher, and other types ofmen who prey upon pretty, unescorted girls.
The case as of Dorothy King andMissus Dreyfuss are now held up as
a warning of the fate that mightbefall any attractive young woman. Indeed,
the story of Dorothy King might havebeen far different but for the harmless telephone
flirtation It began while Dot was tryingto reach a friend on the phone.
(20:18):
Until then she was a young womanseeking fame and fortune on the stage.
Here, the story of Dot Kingis interrupted by another famous pickup. Aurelia
Fisher's life also would have taken adifferent turn but for a traffic signal.
While riding in her own automobile onFifth Avenue, she was forced to stop
because of a red light. Anothercar, also balked by the traffic signals,
(20:38):
drew up alongside. The man inthe other car smiled at her.
She smiled back. There was ahurried conversation before the lights changed. Aurelia
had accepted an invitation to attend adance that night with the stranger. The
man at the wheel was Edmund Josephmcbrian. The two became close friends.
Theirs was a friendship that did notseem to be interrupted in the least,
(21:00):
even when Aralia Fisher was married toHerbert Dryfus, a wealthy New York broker,
in October of nineteen twenty three.But in nineteen twenty four, the
wealthy Herbert Dryfus divorced Aralia Fisher.She and mcbrian, however, continued their
friendship. The years passed, andperhaps Missus Dryfus forgot about the past.
(21:21):
One night last October, she cameto the end of the road. It
was during a swanky Potomac Boat Clubdance in Washington. She was accompanied as
usual by mcbrian. The best ofthe Capital society was there. Lights and
music floated about her, but MissusDryfuss was unhappy. Just why she was
unhappy as yet to be cleared up. It is of the utmost importance to
(21:44):
the police. But according to Affidavid'ssigned by members and for family, she
told one of her sisters that shewas afraid. While the rest of her
family returned to the lights and music. Aralia Dryfus remained on the club's balcony.
When they returned, she was notthere, but her mangled body was
found below. Her jewelry was foundnearby. Now the authorities hope to determine
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just what was behind her fatal plunge. The grand jury intends to investigate until
it is able to say whether shejumped or was pushed to her death.
Regardless of the outcome, the startlinglesson of her pickup romance remains four.
Like Dorothy King, it led totragedy. Recent investigations show that the masher
(22:30):
is proving to be a menace throughoutthe country. There have been scores of
cases in which young ladies who carelesslyaccepted rides or flirted over telephones have come
to grief in the end. Newspaperheadlines almost every week tell of attacks on
girls. In Washington, where thecase of Aurelia Dryfus reached its unhappy climax,
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an anti flirt club has been formed. Its members, composed of young
girls, are pledged to refuse ridesfrom strange motorists. The code of guidance
urges girls not to flirt, notto accept rides, not to carry out
telephone conversations with strange masculine voices,and that's where the trail runs cold.
(23:11):
What started as a way to condemnthe ride share dating culture that was no
longer necessary in post World War OneAmerica evolved into a shield the caution a
retail. Unfortunately, due to societalexpectations, it was difficult for women to
directly refute the actions of men atthe time, so the Anti Flirt Club
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and similar actions focused on the behaviorof women despite them being the victims.
Thank you for listening, everybody,I sincerely appreciate it. Now, this
one was a bit of a wildride. When I first found the articles,
(23:55):
it was kind of like, ah, look at this little quirky thing
that I found on newspapers dot com. And then the more articles that I
found, the like more serious anddisturbing the story became. And I didn't
really intend for it to go thatway, but sometimes you just have to
follow the research wherever it will takeyou. The first few articles that I
found, especially the ones around Washington, d C. Made the Anti Flirt
(24:18):
Club seem kind of like a sortof a cheeky way to re establish dating
norms, you know, since theUnited States wasn't happening to ration gas anymore,
and then as I started reading moreand more of them, it turned
into either like weirdly shaming women orlike being very scary and like warning women
(24:41):
that they were going to like dieif they got in a car with a
man, which is sad because itwas probably very true, but it was
kind of a wild one to research. I really had kind of a hard
time framing it in a way thatmade sense that also kind of was in
a narrative sort of progression. Hopefullyit was okay. I've never really been
(25:03):
this unsure about an episode, butI like the story. The Anti Flirt
Club is a very interesting, unique, little niche piece of United States history
that I kind of like. Asalways, this episode is brought to you
in part by Indeed drop In Networkand Earbuds Podcast Collective. Go check out
those services if you are just hankeringfor something new and don't know where to
(25:25):
look. Also join the discord.It is free. There's history, memes,
we laugh, we joke, Ishare details about upcoming episodes. You
can even give me an episode ideaif you'd like. I am going to
be doing one that was suggested bysomebody on the discord server here soon,
so it's definitely worth it. Ifyou want to throw something out there,
(25:47):
there's a pretty good chance that itmight end up on the show someday.
Anyways, you guys have a niceweek. Thank you for listening.
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