Chapter 1: What are the TV moments that changed the world?
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
Hi, Kyle. Could you draw up a quick document with the basic business plan? Just one page as a Google doc and send me the link. Thanks.
Hey, just finished drawing up that quick one page business plan for you. Here's the link.
But there was no link. There was no business plan. I hadn't programmed Kyle to be able to do that yet. I'm Evan Ratliff here with a story of entrepreneurship in the AI age. Listen as I attempt to build a real startup run by fake people. Check out the second season of my podcast, Shell Game, on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio.
Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck, and Jerry's here too. And this is the first episode of the 2-double-0-2-6. I thought there was already another episode out. Yes, this is the first one, Chuck. I think this comes out on 1-1-26. I'm pretty sure, yeah. I thought we had already crept into 26, but that's no matter because it's still 2-5 for us.
Yeah, there's some weird time stuff that's going on. We're essentially straddling two years right now, and I'm wearing a silver spacesuit because of that. All that to say, if we're a little loose... It's because this is our last recording sesh of the year. And so we're closing this out or opening up the next year with a good old fashioned top 10 that's not a 10, like just like the old days.
That's right. We're finishing out 2025 and stuff you should know fashion, right? Yeah. Just like we did in probably 2010. Yeah, probably. Chuck, if you'll allow me to begin. Oh, boy. It's just a classic old school opening. Chuck. Do you have a TV? Have you ever seen TV? I knew it was coming. Yes. It was either that or Webster's defines TV. Right, right. One of the two. I've seen TV, too.
Not only have I seen a TV, I've watched what's broadcast on TV as well multiple times throughout my life. Same. It's funny. We chose this moments that changed the world, TV moments that changed the world. And as you're kind of researching this, you realize like for better or worse, man, TV is like it made modern culture more than anything else.
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Chapter 2: How did the 1939 World's Fair launch television to the public?
I think in the entire world, I would, I would argue more than the internet. Ooh, interesting. Yeah. I'm just going to say it. All right. I'm not going to argue. I'm not in an arguing mood. Well, people who disagree, just follow us on this journey into TV moments that changed the world. Maybe your opinion will be changed. Either way, I don't fault you. All right, great.
So let's start at the beginning when like the day that TV really kicked off in earnest. There was a day that this happened. It was April 30th, 1939 in Flushing, New York on Long Island. And if you are familiar with that date in that area, you may know that this was the 1939 World's Fair. And this is where TV got its start, where it was really kind of unveiled to the public at large.
That's right. Not the 1940 World's Fair, HowStuffWorks.com, because there was not one. No. Yeah. So, you know, TV had been around for a bit, but it wasn't super widespread at this point. I feel like we talked about this a lot lately for some reason. Yes. Stuff is just really clicking these days. I'm not sure why. It really is. But they had broadcast limitations.
They could only broadcast, you know, for a limited number of miles, like out a limited number of miles. But by the time that World's Fair came along, they were like, hey, this is a chance to make a really big splash. The RCA Corporation, the Radio Corporation of America, which also then led the way in TVs, they were putting out some pretty good televisions at the point.
But they were luxury items. And again, they didn't have like the most regular broadcasting going on, but they knew that this World's Fair was a chance to make a super big splash. Right. So, yeah, this is where they were going to start selling TVs to the public. The problem is, is you can have all the TVs in the world, but if you don't have anything to watch on it. Good point.
What are you going to do? Nothing. You're going to sit there like a jackass and look at a blank TV. So luckily, RCA thought of this and they founded NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.
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Chapter 3: What impact did Disney's Wonderful World of Color have on TV?
to start broadcasting stuff. So they brought the whole thing together, the broadcasting and the TVs themselves, and they debuted it on April 30th, 1939, when they, I think, created the world's first live television broadcast of Franklin Roosevelt kicking off the 1939 World's Fair. That's right.
And we did mention this one in another episode, but he was, you know, sort of the first president daddy of TV, granddaddy of TV. And like you said, he opened it up there and, you know, NBC had gotten there and they had their, you know, now antiquated... TV technology all lined up. It was just pretty whiz-bang at the time.
And they sent signals through these mobile broadcasting trucks, which, I mean, it's pretty amazing that in the 1930s they had the technology to even accomplish that. Right. So it was pretty impressive still to this day. And broadcast that signal out to about 2,000 viewers, which seemed like a big number at the time, I imagine.
Yeah.
I'm still impressed with news fans. Oh, yeah, sure. Of the time, which is our time. I'm impressed with news fans of today. That's what I mean. Oh, okay. I didn't get it across very well. Yeah, yeah. So one thing I saw, I was looking up pictures of this 1939 World's Fair, the RCA Pavilion.
Apparently, they built one of their televisions in transparent, I guess, glass or something like that, maybe plastic glass. So you could see the internal working part so that people wouldn't think it was just some sort of trick. Oh, wow. Interesting. That's how new it was. Yeah.
Oddly, since we're recording our Christmas episode, I feel like this pause before the next one is going to include like jingle bells and things. Right. But it's not going to. We're just simply moving on to another one, which is Disney's Wonderful World of Color.
I'm sure you, like I, grew up watching, I guess by the time we were watching it in the 70s or me in the 70s and you likely in the 80s, it was called The Wonderful World of Disney. I watched Walt Disney Presents, I think, is what it was for me. Oh, okay. So I guess, yeah, since I'm only a year older than you, I was watching The Wonderful World of Disney because this show had some title changes.
But the reason we're talking about this at all, it's because of the advent of color television, which Walt Disney himself really got behind and was like, hey, I want to be the dude that kind of brings this to the masses. Right. Because just like how you could have TVs but nothing to broadcast, you could have color TVs. And if you weren't broadcasting in color, what's the point?
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Chapter 4: How did the first legal TV commercial change advertising?
It's a pretty good idea. So why are you being weird? Yeah. But he was just that enthusiastic about the whole thing. But he personally went and pitched the idea to NBC. And the reason why, again, is NBC was the first network to broadcast in color. And so Walt Disney really kind of pushed this through because NBC would have broadcast in color either way.
But Walt Disney wanted to do it in like high style. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And this is a TV show that launched in 1954 and ran for 34 seasons, obviously at first in black and white. And like I mentioned earlier, you know, the name changes. I guess they had one, you know, between my birth and your birth because it was initially called Disney's Wonderful World and then Magical World of Disney. Yeah.
And then when the color debuted, he was like, we really want to be sort of obvious with this. So let's call it Disney's Wonderful World of Color. But we still haven't even said what this was. I mean, you mentioned anthology series. It was like a variety show, essentially. They had cartoons and stuff.
I remember when I was a kid that the Davy Crockett TV show, and it says in this HowStuffWorks article, it launched the coonskin cap craze. And I have a picture of little five-year-old me with a musket and a leather vest and a coonskin cap on my head. So I was into that. I had one too, but I don't have a picture of it, so I can't prove it.
I can probably dig that up and throw it up on the Instagram maybe to align with this. So I'll try and find that. You got to. I got to. So there were also like a lot of documentary programming, right? Yeah. And you would think like, okay, hard-hitting, front-line-esque stuff. No, not at all. It meant that they would go and film stuff under various themes at Disneyland.
They were essentially big ads for Disneyland. He used that big time. And I mean, they were well produced and interesting. Sure. But they really went to that well quite a bit in every episode. Yeah.
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Chapter 5: What role did media coverage play during the Vietnam War?
Not in the first episode, though. Instead, the first episode, and this is the moment that changed the world as far as color TV goes. It was on September 24th, 1961. And the episode was two parts. And the first one was an adventure in color. And it really was a bit of an adventure.
Like, it was a bunch of little segments that really kind of showed off what you can do with color TV and just must have knocked the socks off, knocked the coonskin caps off of all the little kids sitting at home. That's right. Uh, and it also featured something called the spectrum song, which kind of explained what was going on.
Cause I guess they felt the need to explain color to people who had gone around their entire lives, seeing real life in color. Uh, but I guess, like you said, it was a pretty whiz bang thing to see the thing to see it on your TV for the first time. So they went to great lengths to probably over explain that. Uh, and this is also when we got the debut of, uh,
Professor Ludwig von Drake from the Disney duck world. Yeah, he was an eccentric inventor. His self-written bio was, he's an eminent psychologist, renowned color expert, etymologist, the most sought after lecturer in the world. He is undoubtedly the outstanding genius of the century. So he was fairly egotistical, but he was also funny. And he became beloved.
And this is where he came from, that first adventure in color half. And then the second half was a theatrical release featuring Donald Duck. Because all of these Disney cartoons that we just take for granted today, you used to have to go to the theater to see them. But when you went to the theater to see them, they were in color. You saw them on TV, they were in black and white.
Now you can see them in color on TV without leaving the comfort of your home. What was their deal with the ducks? Was that, I mean, I guess it's just like any other cartoon animal, but they really leaned into the ducks. It was a great excuse to draw something without pants. Ah, okay. That makes sense. I never got into any, I was a little old for like duck tales and all that stuff.
That was a good show. So like Donald Duck was my only, I guess, exposure, my only duck exposure, his little feathered fanny. Oh, sorry. Sorry, listeners in England. I know what that means there. That's right. Nice catch. To be perfectly honest, I was a little old for DuckTales 2, but I still watched it. Yeah, well, you know, we all regress. I never progressed, I think. Oh, come on.
So just like Disney probably promised RCA and NBC, like they started selling color TVs like hotcakes thanks to, in large part, the wonderful world of color. Disney's wonderful world of color, to be exact. That's right. And that feels like a great time for a break, huh? Yes, it does. All right. We'll be right back, everybody. Hi, Kyle.
Could you draw up a quick document with the basic business plan? Just one page as a Google doc and send me the link. Thanks.
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Chapter 6: How did the 1980 Winter Olympics influence American pride?
This week, I am joined by Anna Runkle, also known as the Crappy Childhood Fairy, a creator, teacher, and guide helping people heal from the lasting emotional wounds of unsafe or chaotic childhoods. We talk about how the things we went through when we were younger can still show up in our adult lives, in our relationships, our reactions, even in the way we feel in our own bodies.
And Anna opens up about her own story, what helped her notice the patterns she was stuck in and how she slowly started teaching her body that it is safe now.
So when I got attacked, it was very random. Four guys jumped out of a car and just started beating me and my friend. And they broke my jaw and my teeth. I was unconscious. Then I woke up and I screamed. And I screamed because even though I didn't know who I was or where I was, something in me was just like, hold on, wait, they could kill me and I'm not going to let that happen.
I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to get through this. And I did.
Listen to A Really Good Cry on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Poynter, Chair of Women's Health and Gynecology at the Adria Health Institute in New York City. On this show, I'll be talking to top researchers and top clinicians, asking them your burning questions and bringing that information about women's health and midlife directly to you.
100% of women go through menopause. It can be such a struggle for our quality of life, but even if it's natural, why should we suffer through it?
The types of symptoms that people talk about is forgetting everything. I never used to forget things. They're concerned that, one, they have dementia, and the other one is, do I have ADHD? There is unprecedented promise with regard to cannabis and cannabinoids to sleep better, to have less pain, to have better mood, and also to have better day-to-day life.
Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Poynter on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening now.
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Chapter 7: What cultural stereotypes were reinforced by the show Cops?
And it's had the phrase over the top of it, like a chyron, the world runs on bull of a time. And about 4,000 people saw this ad. And I imagine they were like, what the heck is this? Why am I hearing about Bulova? And why do I suddenly feel like buying a Bulova watch? Yeah, probably. What's super quaint and sweet is that the ad cost Bulova $9. That's crazy. The whole thing.
Even for the time, that's crazy. Yeah, even at the time, that's $195 today. So that was quite a sweet deal. Sure. And what it did was show, like, we can do this. We can advertise to people.
And it's not to say that there were just no ads on TV before the Bulova ad, but they just followed a completely different format, so much so that the Bulova ad is pretty safely considered among historians as the first actual TV commercial. Yeah. And that's for a couple of reasons. You did mention some other ads. But before that, it was like, you know, this program is sponsored by whatever.
And that was just the ad. It wasn't actual TV commercial in between content. The first ad, I guess, if you count that stuff was in 1930. The year TV debuted, really, and it was a furrier. Man, it seems like it would have been from like 1830, but it was a furrier in Boston called I.J. Fox Furriers who sponsored the CBS Orchestra. It was a program called the Fox Trapper.
So that, you know, that's kind of how ads went up until 41. Yeah. Yeah, and that was the radio format. It was essentially they just took the format that had been pioneered on radio and now they were doing it on TV. That's not really an ad. If you call that an ad, you're just being contrarian, right? Sure.
There were still even other ads, but they were illegal because it wasn't until 1941 that the FCC started issuing licenses to run commercials on broadcast networks. But that means that the ads before them were illegal.
I could not find any mention of what these ads were for, but I got the impression that they were just experimentation networks kind of on the sly, figuring out how to do it as they went along. So again, Bulova is the first actual TV commercial that was legal and that was also produced with the intent, the sole intent, to sell a particular product on air. That was it.
That space of air was filled up by an ad. That was the first time ever. That's right. And I know if we mentioned this before, but for those who aren't familiar with our canon, in the old days of Stuff You Should Know, our boss, Conal Byrne, who commissioned the whole show to begin with and changed our lives. Thank you, Conal.
He came up to us at one point after we had been doing it a while and said, hey, people are running ads on podcasts now and we need to get into this. And we were like, no way, no how. We're not going to foul up our show. by selling it. And then eventually he said, well, you know, if we can sell this thing, it'll make the company money. And on down the road, maybe this just becomes your job.
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Chapter 8: How did the portrayal of the Vietnam War change public perception?
And we're like, we did like seven years ago. And it's like a lot of people just have no idea the episodes we've done. So we're trying to like figure out how to get it out there better. Yeah, for sure. That's the reason we mentioned this.
We've been sort of putting our heads together at iHeartMedia because, like you said, a lot of people don't... I think iTunes serves up about 300, but here's a little trick. If you're on your podcast player for iTunes on your iPhone, if that's how you listen, when you scroll down through the first five episodes, there's a little button there that says... See all 2000 plus episodes.
And if you click on that, they're all there and you can scroll through. But, you know, a lot of people don't know that a lot of other players don't. You know, who knows how many they display, but it's a frustration for us. And so it's just a gentle reminder that there are literally thousands of these episodes out there.
Yeah, they're all also, I think you said on the iHeartRadio app, and StuffYouShouldKnow.com has the vast repository and a pretty good search function. And one of the ways we figured out, like, we could probably do a lot better about mentioning episodes, like, specifically when they come up in another episode, like a new episode.
But I feel like we're going to have to do a lot better than we normally do, which is, like, didn't we do some episode on something related to this? Yeah. We got to figure it out, but we will because there's just a bunch of great episodes just sitting there waiting for people to discover. That's right. And with that, we move on to. Oh, wait. Yes. We have to do the Super Bowl comparison.
You have to do it if you talk about the Boulevard. Do we really? Yes. All right. You take it away then. I refuse to take part. So if you write or talk about the Bulova ad, it's basically incumbent upon you to compare that ad cost, the $9 cost, to what it would have cost had they run it on a Super Bowl.
And so for the 2025 Super Bowl, if Bulova had run this, they would have paid $2.35 million for those 10 seconds. Amazing. Quite a deal. That's right. I just kept us from being sued. Well, I don't even think we're even, I think we're supposed to say the big game, aren't we? No, like we're supposed to not buy into that. OK, I got you. All right.
Moving on to the next one on the list is the that was a good segue to because we can't talk about like our old episodes and then say also there was a devastating tsunami in 2004 in the Indian Ocean. Right. Because that happened. And we you know, if you're actually you don't have to be much of a certain age, but.
On December 26, 2004, there was an undersea earthquake about a 9.0 magnitude that set off this incredible tsunami in the Indian Ocean. I mean, we've done episodes on tsunamis and earthquakes, and we've talked about all this before, but it was about 100 feet tall, traveling at 500 miles an hour. not much advance warning and was one of the most devastating tragedies in human history.
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