Tipping Through Time

Hopefully it's a good amount, because other than that, your employer probably only pays you a couple of dollars an hour, and there's a whole history behind that. The history of tipping in the United States is actually complex and controversial. Its origins can be traced back to medieval Europe, when the feudal system dictated that wealthy masters employed servants and paid them in tips. This practice continued in various forms

across Europe and eventually made its way to America. Following the Civil War, Americans who traveled to Europe and European immigrants brought the custom back to the States. However, not everyone welcomed this practice with open arms. In fact, many found it offensive and un American people believed tipping was insulting and that it allowed employers to shirk their responsibility

to pay fair wages. One such critic was William Howard Taft, who, during his presidential campaign in nineteen oh eight, was hailed as the champion of the anti tip movement. He prided himself on never tipping his barber, reflecting a sentiment shared by many who saw tipping as unjust. In nineteen fifteen, the anti tipping sentiment led to the passing of laws in states like Iowa, South Carolina, and Tennessee which aimed

to abolish tipping altogether. Even Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky joined the fray, refusing to tip and arguing that tipping allowed capitalists to exploit the workers. But despite this resistance, opposition to tipping waned over time. A nineteen forty two Supreme Court ruling argued that employees had the exclusive right to their own tips, preventing employers from forcing those employees to

share them with other workers. However, this ruling did little to address the underlying issue of low wages for tipped workers. In nineteen sixty six, Congress introduced the concept of the tip credit, which allowed employers to pay tipped employees a subminimum wage under the assumption that the tips would make up the difference. This is why, even today, the federal minimum wage for tipped employees remains as low as two

dollars and thirteen cents per hour. Interestingly, while tipping originated in Europe, countries like France have long abandon the practice. There's a lot of debate these days about whether the US should do the same thing. After all, American people contested tipping as soon as the practice arrived here. But here's the thing. The people who opposed tipping didn't oppose it for all types of workers. You see, how tipping spread first through the US is darker and more complicated

than tourists and immigrants simply introducing a concept. Let's go back to the post Civil War era. Millions of formerly enslaved people found themselves, without land, without education, and without employment opportunities. Restaurant owners began hiring them as workers, often paying them nothing and expecting them to rely solely on the tips from the customers as income. And the restaurant industry wasn't the only one taking advantage of people like this.

Another example is a guy named George Pullman who specifically hired black back Southern men as porters for his Pullman Car company. These workers received inadequate wages and relied heavily on tips to survive. The prevailing racism of the time justified this exploitation, perpetuating the notion that it was acceptable for black workers to rely on tips while white workers

deserve steady, livable wages. Even with the establishment of the first federal minimum wage law as part of the New Deal in nineteen thirty eight, restaurant workers were excluded, further entrenching the reliance on tips for income, and this exclusion codified the practice of paying workers solely through tips, cementing its place in American restaurant culture forever. Many people don't like to tip workers because they think that their employers

should just pay them a decent wage in the first place. However, restaurant owners argue that in order to do that, they would have to raise all the menu prices. There's no telling where this debate will lead us. Restaurant culture has changed so much over the years, but hopefully there's even more to come. In the years following the Revolutionary War,

the growth of this new nation skyrocketed. People started leaving the more populated cities on the east coast to explore and settle territories elsewhere, and not just out west either. Mainz population ballooned from about fifty six thousand to over three hundred thousand by eighteen twenty. Now, by this time, the original thirteen colonies had expanded to include states as far west as Missouri and Arkansas. Things were moving fast, and it was up to cartographers to keep up with

it all. But no two maps were the same. Map making was at art as much as it was a science, and there was a heavy dose of politics involved too. You could take a map of the same part of the country drawn by two different individual map makers and they would show you shockingly different results, which was why in eighteen twenty two, the best way to get the lay of the land, so to speak, was to see

it for yourself. That's when two Connecticut business men, Frederick and Roe Lockwood, started giving tours of the United States. Their father, Lambert, had made his living as a bookstore owner in Bridgeport, but his sons, wanting more, moved to New York City sometime during the eighteen tens, and several years later they came up with their big money making idea. Here's how it worked. They would offer customers the ability to see the country, but only if they could prove

themselves first. It was a kind of contest in which travelers would be quizzed on the names of cities in each state. Sometimes they would be asked about the local populations, and they could only progress to the next location if they answered it correctly. Whoever made it to New Orleans by getting all the answers right won. But here's the thing. There was no cash prize or free trip for the winner, only bragging rights because the Lockwood brothers weren't travel agents

or did they guide anyone across the country. They were book publishers. They had started out by publishing titles from foreign countries before moving on to religious texts, but then in eighteen twenty two they branched out into a new industry entirely so new, in fact, that by all accounts, they started it all. They released a board game. It was called The Traveler's Tour of the United States, and it was designed to teach players about America's changing geography.

The board game was printed on wood and relied on a numbered teetotem or spinner to determine how pieces moved. Dice were not allowed because they were considered tools for gambling. As many as four players could engage at one time. According to the official rules and I quote, the numbers commenced at Washington and end at New Orleans. The Traveler,

arriving at New Orleans first, wins the game. On the opposite side of the game board was a list of rules, as well as information about each state on the map. This included its name, what it was known for, and its estimated population. The Traveler's Tour through the United States was sold around Christmas time, even though many New Yorkers back then didn't celebrate Christmas the way we do. The tradition of visiting family and exchanging gifts often occurred around

New Year's Day. This explains the eighteen twenties newspaper advertisement the Brothers published. When their game was released, it read Valuable New Year Presence. The game was a big enough hit that it spawned two sequels, including one named Traveler's Tour through Europe and another titled Traveler's Tour around the

World Now for a really long time. Historians believe that the first American board game ever produced was an eighteen forty three Christian morality game titled The Mansions of Happiness. It had been adapted from an English board game, one in which the player navigates a series of vices and virtues on their way to that thing in the title

The Mansion of Happiness. But after a little bit of research, Traveler's Tour revealed itself as the prototype for all American board games going forward, and it held onto that title for a long time. It would be another sixty one years before another land based game, called The Landlord's Game would make its way into the public Created by Elizabeth Maggie in nineteen oh four, it was a not so subtle illustration of how the wealthy stayed wealthy by buying

up properties and forcing everyone else off the board. Sound familiar, Well, that's because The Landlord's Game went on to inspire the creation of another game, Monopoly. But even though Monopoly has withstood the test of time, it lacks one thing that the travelers tour had in abundance, a whole lot of homework. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com.

The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.