SYSK Live Christmas Spectacular!

I think is how they put it. Yeah, man, And it was cold and rainy, and Atlanta United was playing in a championship game and people still packed out the Center Stage. Uh, and that really meant a lot to us. It was great. It was a Christmas miracle. Frankly. Yeah. And you're gonna notice something different. We actually used visual cues in this episode for the time, and we're going

to post those on Facebook. So if you want to see the pictures that we're talking about, uh in our different segments, you can go to Facebook check those out. And we also did a Christmas reading this year of a contemporary book, which was kind of cool. We did a reading, uh from a wonderful, wonderful kids book called Meet the lat Because and it tells the actual real story of Hanukah and how that came about in a very fun, childlike way, and it was written by a

man name Alan Silverberg. You can buy that wherever you buy your books. It's really wonderful. Or you can go to silver Books dot com that is s I b e Er books dot com and check out what Alan's up to. Uh, and it's not just for Jewish families, like you should just spread the word of Hanukkah to to all children because it's a really great story. Yeah, it's a really great book too. So thanks to Allen and uh, here we go, oh ware, we go. Welcome

to stuff you should know from house to Forks dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, there's Charles w Chuck Bryant, Jerry's even out there somewhere, and we are here live at center stage, Peter and our hometown in Atlanta, Geogia. We love you too. I just lost the only gift you've ever given me. That's not true. By the way, are you going to put it on? Well? I had it on. I was like, how why am I hotter than usual? All right? There it is, fit's

perfectly Yeah, I had the Taylor made for it. Nice. So um, Yeah, we wanted to give you guys some information because this is a podcast, right. Yes, I'm redoing the horrible clumsy segue that I did already before we started, and we're going to talk to you about the history of aluminium trees. They might have an aluminium tree in here. Okay, a few people over eighty Do you see that over there? There is an aluminum tree over here, and chuck, you get that. Yeah. The story here is is that this

is now belongs to us in my family. This belonged to Emily's grandmother. She's still with us. She's not here to night because as you all know, Mary is. How old is she now? Yes, oh, they're over there. It was like, that's so weird that that person over there knows old Mary is and she sounds just like my wife, who I've been looking at over here, Emily's and that lady's like, Chucks, a total creep because he's just looking at me. Emily's throwing your voice, that's what he did.

So she's nine years old. She's still with us, which is amazing. But that was their tree. And as you can tell if you're on the side of the stage, we will describe all these things in greater detail. But that is an original, I guess from the nineteen fifties or early sixties. Aluminium tree completes with color wheel there. I'm sorry. You can see it peaking above the bar. So it's an aluminum tree, as Chuck said, and the aluminum trees gather start through the great American process of

idea of intellectual property theft. That's right. There was a guy from a company called Aluminum Specialties and he was walking down the street Chicago one day and he stopped. He saw a tree made out of aluminum, and he thought was the most amazing thing ever. And then he looked at the price. He was like, a hundred bucks. That seems a little steep and it looks a little heavy.

I'll bet I can do better than that. So we went back to headquarters and he said, look, guy, I saw a tree made out of wait for it, aluminum. But it was too heavy, it was too expensive. We can do better, and an Aluminum Specialty said Gideo, that's right. And by the way, I heard a bell jingling and I was looking here, and I was looking there. It's my hat And I was like, is there someone behind me? The bell? So everyone the acid is kicking in, it

should be a good show. Uh So I did a little I know you're the you're the inflation calculator man, but I did a little calculating. So those original trees from Chicago that he saw and decided to rip off in today's dollars were close to nine bucks, what yeah, eight and eighty five dollars, and so Mr tom Gannon of Aluminum Specialty, like he said, was like, they're getting

ripped off. And if I think if we can package these for twenty bucks and we can make them so that a lady with her little lady arms can pick them up, that's literally well you didn't say that. This was said at a marketing strategy meeting though, but it really was. They were like, well, we need to make them all in and a box light enough for women to pick them up off the shelf, right because it's

ninety seven. But they did just that. Yep. Then they put him in a box and on the box that said Aluminum for Lasting Beauty, because you know your tree will rot and die just trying to keep it around past February. It's going to go up in flames, right we do. Plus it was the safety tree too, because it won't go up in flames no matter how long you keep it around. Yeah, I'm not sure about that. That thing looks highly flammable to me that one. Yeah,

I'm not gonna test it. I think it just kind of melt into a pool and then we die from the fumes. That's what we get. So they set up shop. They already had a plant in Manitowac, Wisconsin, right there on the shores, really right there, represent right there on the shores of Lake Michigan. Uh. During World War Two, they were building submarines I guess out of aluminum, which I don't think it's true at all. I had to beat something more durable than that. Right, Well, I don't

think Aluminum Specialties is making submarines. The town was known for Oh I told you, I was unprepared. So they started getting these out the door for twenty bucks. They had models that were four two, four, six and seven ft high. Uh, And initially people made fun of them. They called them tin tannin bombs. Uh. People were mad when they saw them at first, in nine because they thought it was gaudy and gross and not a real tree, not some beautiful what one day be appreciated, appreciated as

like a kitchy beautiful item. Well plus also it was like, what do you mean an aluminum tree? We just want tree trees. What are your communist tree? Exactly? I'll try to take my real tree. Let's say happy holidays to me. All right, there you go. So the aluminum specialties cookies were saved by, believe it or not, tire sales people. So in in Wisconsin in the wintertime, they don't sell a lot of tires, and so tire store said, well, we need to make some some bread somehow we gotta

get Christmas presents for our kids. How are we going to do this? And they heard about these aluminum trees, and they started setting up in their showrooms. And of course, the pride of every town is the the tire store that everyone walks past constantly. But people started walking past the tire store seeing the aluminum trees in there and said, okay, they actually are quite beautiful. I want one, And they started selling them like hot kids. Here's an actual quote.

I wish you could have found out who this person was. This was someone who worked at Aluminum Treemakers of America. He said it was a salesman's dream to have this happen. Suddenly the guy who wouldn't give you the time of day is your best friend. I think that was actually a tire store guy. Sure, come on, give me more aluminium trees. I need them, man, I'm selling them too fast. So they sold something like, um, I think, ninety thousand in the first year, is that correct, Chuck? Ye know

they sold over a hundred thousand. They sold forty thousand in the first month, which is crazy. So within of course, weeks, because Aluminum Specialty stole it from this other company, other people started stealing Aluminum Specialties idea in the American way. They came out with this thing. Within weeks, other people were selling aluminum trees, and so everybody started having an aluminum treat. Some of them were more expensive, somewhere were less.

But Aluminum Specialty played it smart. They pointed right down the middle, and they have like six of the market share, and even today they're ever gleam product was is like the most sought after. It's like the Cadillac of aluminum trees. I guess that doesn't that's that's a terrible analogy, but you get what I'm saying. I like it, Tires, Cadillacs,

it's all coming around. So some of these companies, because it's the nineteen fifties, we thought we'd read some of these names of companies that ripped them off because it's just so nineteen fifties. Morris Novelties, Holiday Industries, Regal electri ONYX, hold On Holiday Industry. This is my favorite. Astra Light lt D. That's a British company. H and As fest As Farms. It's really sweet. I made up that last one.

This thing just i'd like my nicks itched when you said that, I'm getting uncomfortable, just like every time I look over there, I want to take that off of you. Can I take this off everybody? Yeah, you're gonna literally come thank you, thank you, little something for you, A little something I constructed and look it's a nice Mounty Garland. Thank you everybody, all right. So they started gussie up their trees a bit. One of these is gussied up because you see those little pom poms on the end.

That was an addition that they made the later trees because I guess they just wanted to make them special. They made them a different I think the pink ones these days are the most prized ones that you can buy on eBay. Yeah, one of them sold for like bucks once. Yeah, that's the appropriate. What can I get for that one? I don't know. Are you familiar with the term struggling? Yeah, that tree is struggling. There's a somewhere in smell Bill there's a ninety eight year old

woman very angry at so you struggle in it. She's not Snowville. She's down at the the game, the football game. Oh yeah, she's watching Atlanta United lose. No, I don't want that to happen everybody. I'm just from Atlanta. I'm preparing myself. You just turn the crowd on it, I know, all right. So these things are moving like hotcakes. They

literally sell over a million of these, uh combined. And then, of course, like every sort of Christmas fad that comes, it goes, and some people lay the blame at the

feet of none other than Charlie Brown. Yeah, and then weird like most people think that Charlie Brown did away with the aluminium Christmas tree because in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, um Lucy sends Charlie Brown and lin Us out to go get a treat the biggest aluminium tree you can find, preferably pink, right, And so they go off on this mission and they find some Linus taps on one and it sounds like he's tapping on a ship's hole. Um, And Charlie Brown's like, no, no, I'm

not doing this. I'm going with this tree, this little weird creekly treat a struggling Christmas tree. Um. And Charlie Brown takes it home and loves it. And it was like the spirit of Christmas was found in this little tree and the commercialization of Christmas was personified in the in the aluminum trees. And some people say that's what kind of turned the tide, that's right. Other people say it was just coincidence and it was bound to be a Christmas pad no matter what. Charlie Brown just kind

of helps push it over the cliff. Charlie Brown as he does, he's got a lot of blood on his hands. But also gradually over the years they did come back, thanks to things like eBay and Etsy uh and people with extra money in their pockets that want to pay three thousand dollars for a vintage street people with no kids, I think. In other words, exactly, but we still have ours, and and it still looks great despite what Josh says. Let's give it up for the treat So we made

it to a segment. We made it through one tomorrow. So uh, it wouldn't be Christmas everybody without a good Christmas miracle story or three, and we just so happened to have three of them for you. We had more, but we found out that a lot of them actually don't really add up when you start digging into them. These are legitimate bona fide. The Pope is signed off on them. Christmas miracles. Okay, hey, everybody, that's that's what

the folks says. Everybody that was irish. I don't even know what's gonna all right, Miracle number one and this one's gonna knock your socks off. This was we're going back in the way back machine further in time. That's that's that's what powers the way back machiness. Oh yeah, whoa, whoa? Everyone? Really we went too far? Are you dummies? Were in like eighteen fifty two dinosaurs? Can you guys say, whoops in like reverse? That works? It's working all right? All right? Wow,

I've never felt this powerful before. Alright. So there's a couple named Ed and Julius Stewart. They were making their way across Arizona on a Christmas Eve going home, and they stopped to change attire because it got a flat out in the middle of nowhere near a town called Superior, Arizona.

By the way, I looked up the population, yes, because you kept saying, you know, it's in the middle of nowhere, and I was like, yeah, we'll see about that their population and was about people, and now it's about hundred people. That's a steep decline person. Yeah, that's they're not going in the right direction. But even still people, it's not that many. Plus Arizona is not even a state yet. It's just basically a bunch of people camping out together

in the desert is what Superior, Arizona was. And this couple, um, their names were Ed and Julius Stewart. Uh. They were about ten miles west of Superior when their car got a flat on Christmas Eve. Oh just wait, just remember it's Christmas Eve when this happened. So they pull over. Uh, Ed's fixing the car and his wife is like, well, I gotta get use the restroom. I guess out here behind a cactus because there's no one around, and oh my gosh, there's a hat box laying in the sand

and it's crying. Yes, there was a baby and a hat box. I know, everyone, but this is a Christmas miracle story. Don't get too worried. It's a little girl in there, and she's like, this is weird. There's a little baby in a hat box, almost pete on it. They got it cried, uh, and so I think we should do the right thing and not leave this baby in the middle of the desert. I'm hoping that it wasn't even a thought. I'm hoping she didn't even have that thought. They flipped a coin and decided to take

a little hat box baby. He went Anton sugger on on the thing. They're like, her baby, call it heads or tails. Everyone's seen no country for old man. Yeah, that was what that was referencing. So they pick up hat box baby. They take hat box baby to a hospital. You're laughing, but that's what they called this baby in the news. Hat the hat box babe. Seriously should call the baby Christmas Eve or just baby Eves. That's a

real name. Oh yeah, sure, you know yeah, yeah, no one names your kid hat box no hat box baby. I'm sure somebody saying like a barbershop quartet song too. Yeah, that's true, you're my hat box baby. So seventeen couples ended up that wanted a little baby born in a hat box, and they all apply to adopts little hat box baby. Seventeen couples. Uh, and this is the party. Don't get how many showed up too? Why what happened

in between then? And uh that was yesterday. I think hat box baby fell out of the news a little bit, you know what I'm saying. And so two really had what they called stick tutiveness even back then. And of those two couples, a judge had to be like, you, guys, thanks for coming. There's some other baby, not from a hat box that they also found in the desert, right exactly. I don't want cactus baby, right raised by coyotes. So in the end they did find one couple and they

named the baby Sharon, my mother in law's name. A named him after my future mother in law. Little Sharon Elliott never met her biological parents, because this was the nineteen thirties when you buried the stuff deep under the sand and lived a lot your entire life. Not only that, she didn't know she was the hat box baby until night nine. Seriously, Yes, she knew of the hat box Baby, don't we all, But she didn't know she was the hat box Baby. Did she find out by opening a

hat box and having this weird psychic flashback? All right? Yeah, she's like, gotta get out, gotta to get out? Was coyotes after kotes? Is that the end of the story? Oh? No, The end is she did not meet her parents, which is very sad. But for the ninet thirties, she went on to have a career in the aerospace industry, which was uncommon for a woman at the time. So she did really well for herself and lived a long and fruitful life. And she's here tonight. Everybody give it up.

Hat box Baby's gonna fly in on it. That's how you end a story that was miracle one another one for you, two of three starting now? All right? We we actually had five, and we had to cancel two miracles. Yeah, one because it wasn't that interesting. And I'm just gonna briefly say, I don't know. There was this one story about a lady who got lost and buried in the snow for three days but lived and they found her

and I was like, this is amazing. I did some more research, uh and apparently it was a suicide attempt and she lost her arms and legs and then sued the hospital. And I was like, I think we should not do this one here. What's the exact opposite of a miracle? Yeah, it's really bad of a Christmas miracle. I can't believe you told them that. Actually, I'm proud of you for stuff you should know. Way, all right, So where are we going? And we going to uh Korea?

We are We're going to Korea. During the the onset of the Korean War and the Communist the Communists were coming down from China into the North Korean, into the Korean peninsula, sorry, and they were pushing the North Koreans further and further south. Uh In. A bunch of North Korean people had assembled at the docks at Hung Nom and in Hung m there were a lot of people hanging out, something like a hundred thousands billions plus a

ton of Allied troops being evacuated. There were ships coming and going and coming and going and getting people out but they were mostly getting the soldiers out and there were a lot of civilians standing there stranded. But luckily for those civilians, there was a captain with one of the greatest names ever, Leonard LaRue. And Leonard LaRue said, oh, you're gonna die at the hands of the communists who

are coming down, not on Leonard LaRue's watch. And he just happened to captain a ship called the S S. Meredith Victory. And the S S. Meredith Victory was a large cargo ship, but it was in no way, shape or form a passenger ship, that's right. And it was actually weirdly named after Meredith College in North Carolina, where my niece went to school. It's all full circle. Somehow this Christmas miracle from Korean nineteen fifty has to do with Chuck. I tried everybody I like to feel like

I had a hand in it. So they pull up this SS Meredith Victory. And here's where I got confused, and Josh was kind of cleared up because in this research it said that it was only designed to hold sixty people. Why don't you lower the boom on how many civilians they ended up fitting on this Leonard LaRue in one shot fit four thousand people. This was a shoddy article. Yeah, So I saw that and I was like, we're gonna have to erase this one because that's obviously

a lie. You can't fit fourteen thousand people on a sixty person chip. But that was like sixty beds in the like crew area. It was a large cargo ship. Uh, wasn't large for fourteen thousand people. They literally stuffed them in there like sardines. They were all standing like elbow to elbow. No one could sit, no one could move on deck, below deck. There was no water, no food,

no heat, no toilets. Yeah. Think about that and fourteen thousand civilians think Yeah, fourteen thousand civilians from Korea were packed elbow to elbow in this ship, navigating mine infested waters for two days at sea. Yeah. I saw a quote from one of the um one of the dudes that worked on the ship. What are you all? Most

people dudes that worked on ship ship dudes. Yeah. One of the crew members years later recounted and he was like, you know, the Korean people are um somewhat stoic in their nature, he said, But I couldn't believe even with that the way they behaved and no one, he said, it was so orderly. No one fought, no one like jostled. Everyone just like sort of work together to make this Christmas miracle happen. So so okay, there are two miracles

that came out of this. So they make land at gay O j Island on Christmas Day, that's right, And um, two miracles happened. One over this two day period, under these very treacherous conditions, not one person died, not one person was injured. Miracle one. Yeah, you can clap for that. Wait, please clap. That was that. I got political again. I'm sorry.

That was miracle one. What was miracle to Miracle number two is they showed up with fourteen thousand and five people because guess what, five little babies were born everyone in this little journey. There was a medic on board that worked with the crew. I found out that didn't have any training of course, delivering babies, just running around with a hat box, like just drop it in here and dropping in here. The hat box is getting kind of gross after number two, but they lived with it. Oh,

Jerry cut this part out seriously. Make a note. Um, yeah, five little bit bees were born. Everyone lived, those little five babies, all right, and they're here tonight everybody. One of these times, it's gonna come true. Man, wouldn't it be great? That was miracle two. Miracle three is as follows starting now. We should have done these in a different order. Now that I'm seeing what miracle this is. Does anyone out there like dogs? Same here? What about

miracle dogs? MoMA? All right? Yes, sorry, Oh that's a Simpsons reference. I know. Okay, you told me never to acknowledge people from the stage. Oh yeah, this is a special show. I'm sorry, buddy. I was just doing as told sir. Alright. So April two thousand six, Aurora, Colorado woman named Vanda Lunstrom had a heartbreak when her little pet rat terrier Daisy, got out from her fence. It didn't come home ever, which is, first of all, it's

a miracle story. Everyone a rat and a terrier. It's disgusting and that must have been like the ugliest dog on the plant. That's that's not how that works. We'll explain it to me later. Let's keep things going. Like a German bulldog doesn't mean a German Man and a bulldog. Actually, I don't know, I'm I'm so sure what happens fine closed doors? So Daisy the rat terrier ran off, and Vonda Lunstrom said, um, well, I guess that's it for

for me and being happy. She spent months and then just kind of gave up, resigned herself that she would never see her dog again, never knew what happened to her, and just is like, well, my heart is broken. On Christmas Day of that year, she gets a call, and this call is from a woman in Knoxville, Tennessee, saying, hey, guess what. Oh yeah, I got some Knoxville people here. Huh, well, you prepared to be proud of your town because a

woman from your town found Daisy in Knoxville, Tennessee. She had made it miles from Aurora, Colorado to Knoxville, Tennessee. No one has any idea how, and showed up on this woman in Knoxville, Tennessee's doorstep. Yeah, she said, where you from, little dog? And she went Colorado. It's pretty good. It's so dumb. I can't believe I did that. Port of people. No, she did what you should do, which is called the little number on the tag, got in touch. It was a rabies tag, so got in touch with

veterinarian in Colorado. She said, I think I have the wrong number. This is a weird area code to be calling for a lost dog in my neighborhood in Knoxville. And he said, yeah, it is weird. It's in Colorado. And she said, I got a little rat terrier named Daisy. And the vet went, what a rat terrier? What are you talking about. I don't know how you do it in Tennessee, lady, but uh, right here in Colorado, we breed dogs with dogs. Oh that's not how we do it in Tennessee. So he said, I think that we

have a match here there. This is one of my my my clients. And he called up Vonda and he said, believe it or not, we think we found Daisy. This was this dog was missing in April and this was Christmas. So you do the math. Yeah, I had it not been Christmas, it would have just been a miracle, not a Christmas miracle, that's right, right. So they were reunited, and UM, I guess if we've already told the other story about the other Christmas miracle, we can kind of

pull the rug out on this one too. Uh, Daisy was reunited with Vonda, and Daisy got home to find out that Vonda had replaced Daisy and she had to share her house with another dog. That must have been pretty awkward for Daisy, Like finally back home and runs inside and it's like, oh, this is my spot. You haven't been here for a while, so let me tell you what the rules are, Daisy. Yeah, and the dog's like no, all over that, and I'm about you again. Is that our last miracle? That was it? That's what

I'm saying. We didn't amount of order? Right, Thanks everybody. We can tell you guys are the hardcore stuff. You should know fans because you clapped for that one. So I don't know if you guys have noticed the theme or not yet, but we're talking a lot about Christmas. I've noticed you shifting it. What is Is there a

rhymer reason? They're never just have it? Okay? I thought you were just that was the first time I've ship all right, next segments right, wait, now we just graduated onto the next you know what that side to get cheated and show him your ball? HeiG, everybody get a look at a load shouldn't be hearing. So we're we're talking Christmas, and what would Christmas be without shoving elbows to the teeth, maybe like a little bit choking. You're like,

oh wait, I can go to jail for that. Over the must have toy of the season, and we found out that there were not There was a toy that spanned not one, but two Christmas seasons. And that toy spanned the Christmas is of and and his name was Teddy rux Let's go ahead and remember that little guy

how adorable comes with a cassette in a story book. Yeah, and you can buy more cassettes and more story books, and more cassettes and more story books because that's how they get you, right, That's how they got you with Teddy Ruxpen. And he was super groundbreaking at the time, right, Um, Teddy Ruxpan. If you don't know what Teddy Ruxpen is, he's this guy. But your your kid would put a cassette in his back and press play with like sticky

little chocolate fingers and um, Teddy Ruxben, here we go. Here. We don't want to give away the horror that aways and Teddy Ruxben would come to life and be like, hey, you're my friend, whether you like it or not. Kid, And like his eyes would open and close and his nose would spin and he would start talking. But he would talk, not just you know, babble or just talk about his day or something like that. He would talk and he would tell a story. Right, I was born

in a hat box. Right, he was an amazing bear that told your kids stories and every kid wanted one. But there was actually a pretty great story leading up to it, and it was a Disney imagineer named Ken Forcey who was the guy who came up with Teddy Ruxpen and he worked on him for so long that his original idea was for Teddy Ruxpen to have been a monkey because he wanted to salute the Space program. That's how long the guy's been working on Teddy rock Span. So, uh,

I hit a little more research into this guy. Like you said, he worked at Disney what do they call themselves mains? Oh wait, I'm sorry. He actually helped design He was one of the designers on the Haunted Mansion, So big ups for that best ride ever. And then if you're a long time at Lantern, you might remember over at where Philips Areena now is is was the old Omni CNN and they had the World of Sid and Marty Croft, which is this weird LSD fueled amusement

park indoor amusement park. And he helped design that too, which is kind of cool. Yeah. So, uh, like we said, he worked at Disney, and he was like, I've I've been to the Hall of Press, and it's why don't I just take Abraham Lincoln and wrap him in for cut his head off, wrap him in for and I think I have a million seller, right, But he works in it for a while. And the reason it took him so long is because originally Teddy Ruxman came in

two parts. You had Teddy Rucksman and then you had a box, a big, clunky, ugly box with sharp edges and would like catch fire. And this box sent FM signals to Teddy and then that's how Teddy, with the receiver in his face, would talk and move his his mouth literal radio signals. He could not have been more complicated if he tried, right, So, but also really clumsy

and cumbersome a two piece set. No kid wants to like set up a receiver and like to like twist the dials, you know, or they want the hard sharp box inside the bear, right, But it wasn't really. It was a huge move when they managed to combine the two together. And what they figured out was that they could use one track and a regular cassette tape to record the story Teddy's voice, and then the other track they recorded ultra high frequency radio signals that that told

Teddy how to move his face. It was it was connected to a little motor you know, cassettes recording stereo. So there's two sides and they just used one to sign sin the signal to a little uh motor control, and all of a sudden he could come to life and haunt your dreams. And with that he took off. They released him in September and they were sold out within a month. I think forty three thousand units just overnight. Yeah, but this guy was thinking big though, Like he was like,

this is not a Teddy Bear. Everyone. He created this whole backstory and he wanted television shows and movies and things to accompany this, and it actually worked. He went into the office and said, oh, he's not a bear. He's an iliop, which is a species native to the fantasy world of Grundo and the people he was selling it to areas can you can you just be a bear? I don't want to talk about this today. He got a bear that talks like that. You that's seriously all

you need. He's like, no, no, First of all, he's wearing a tunic. Bears and wear tunics. Don't be ridiculous. He's an iliot. So it was a pretty big breakthrough and in uh Teddy Ruxman started to take off forty three thousand units in the first month. Yeah, they sold a million within like the first three or four months. It was like a hit, so much so that it spanned six and nine eight seven Christmas. Yeah, and so much so that he did get two specials out of ABC.

Believe it or not. He he tried HBO and they're like, that's weird where HBO? But ABC was like sure, why not? So in November in December of nine eight five, they had to live action Teddy Ruxman specials about this cute little iliops from from Grando. Uh. And it came back

over the years. I mean, here's the deal. Parents hated this thing because because I mean it was like seventy five bucks back then, which is like a million dollars to million dollars and these cassettes because the kids are like, well I married that one, I want to hear the next one. And they were twelve ninety five a pop to get the little book in the cassette, and he

was like, oh, I can write stories all day long. Children. Yeah, in the middle of these stories and be like, hey, can go tell your parents to go again another cassette, tell him tell him this, just say what I'm about to say that you will hold your breath until you pass out unless you get another cassette today. Okay, all right, okay, So anyway, and Grundo, it's always lovely out. That's how he would talk, like there was something wrong with them.

I found a few of these titles too, by the way. Yeah, there was one called the mush They all had Colon's too. One was called the mush the Mushroom Forest. You can be anything you want to be. It's like a Gladwell. I wonder what was going on there. Oh, yes, there was one in the early nineties. And this is not a joke. Everyone grunge music, Colon, tap your feet to the beat. You lie that serious, you lie because grunge the most toe tapping this genre of music out there.

And then finally, but also that's a Teddy Ruxmen title. What did what did he tell the story? I don't know, A bunch of stage dive in iliops, I guess. And then finally you know, And Teddy Ruxman came back a few times over the years. In fact, I think you can still buy them, Like just a few years ago there was another company. It was like, sure, we'll buy the license, we'll take. There was one finally where he jumped the shark that was called this This is the title,

Teddy Ruxman Visits the Dentist Colin sponsored by Crest. It wasn't implied that was the title. Anyway, we have to take a message break everybody. I'm kidding. I was making a joke about the Crest. Think set down. I do have my and my Christmas light me Andy's It's authentic everyone. So Teddy Rucks been he went away. The market got saturated. There was something called Rapping Rabbit. There was one called Blabbering Bear, which is just a terrible name. They did

zero market research. That's how fast everybody was getting this stuff. I would have gotten like that's year's version. Yeah, blabber bear, not by your own choice. Oh same here, Bud, I know what you mean. Nights at the Round Table. Yeah, it looks just like Polo except for a little flag. Like the kids at school are not going to buy this? Is that the end of that segment. That's the end

of that. It's going great, it's going not bad. So again, we're talking Christmas, and what would Christmas be without the most horrific assemblage of monsters that you ever encountered in your entire life. Well, if you're scared by this kind of thing, if you don't like monsters and they make you uneasy, thank you lucky stars that you were not raised in Europe, because Europe has the scariest Christmas traditions of all time ever, and we're gonna tell you about

some of them. Yeah. We we talked about this in past Christmas specials. How Christmas was um basically go opted by Christians from weird pagan holidays with horrific beasts and they're like, hey, let's turn that into the Birth of Jesus and Christmas is wonderful. What about this angry forest? Got us three wiseman? That's fine, they're gonna be happy to get presents. It's fine. So we're gonna start. You can go ahead and move the slide. Yes, we're gonna start.

An Iceland everyone with the yule Cat. You have to say it. You have to say it the in the Icelandic chuck that friendly guy. Yes, in Icelandic it is uh yo luck. I'm sorry, but say it like the York please. Oh yeah, hey, that wasn't bad. It was a good or dude, it's oh so quiet and the faith of the movement and you got to do that. She actually records these songs, right, Yeah, there's you can go. You can go on to YouTube and look up Yola Kuten and and just just guess how it spelled and

h or icelandic leka. And there's a poem that b York has sung that they put to music and it's weird and creepy and perfect. But there's this there's this this tradition in Iceland that if you are a good kid and you do all of your chores and your work, and your parents are hard working too, then you as a kid will be rewarded with a new piece of

clothing on Christmas. Right, That's what you're looking forward to as a kid in Iceland like it sucks and you're happy to have it, because if you don't have new socks or new shoes or something, the yule cat will come along and eat you on Christmas Eve. We'll eat you in your house in front of your family. You see that kid, he knows. He's like, there's totally a cat behind me right now. And his friends are going nope, wearing their new jackets. Members only. We're all good. So

the whole thing is the UK. This goes from a house to house, and I think Christmas Eve for Christmas one of the two. I think if you're being eaten by the ulk, it doesn't matter. Ul cats looking into the windows like you own new shoes, okay, and you're awfu limits new apron. I guess it's an article of clothing. It's just going from house to house, and then the Yule cat will inevitably find some kid who was lazy and didn't do their choice so they didn't get a

new a new a new piece of clothing. Pounced tear rip me ow right, ule cat gets it done. But there's something really sad about this too. What if what if you're like a good kid, and you do all your chores, but your parents are not well off. Well t s for you. The yule Cat's gonna get you anyway, because the yule cat doesn't discriminate. The yule cat just goes by whether you have some clothing or not. He

hates all children. So what's very sweet is if you read this yule cat poem in the end it says, hopefully this will have you give a thought children, two kids who are less fortunate than you, so you can make sure that they have a new piece of clothing around the holidays, so they won't get eaten by the yule cat. Right and if not, the blood is on your hands, meal, mial, your luck, kudarin. What I love about all these is it was when you look at

the progression. Christmas softened to the point now where it's like, well you get cold and you're stocking, And back then it was like a cat will come and eat you, eat you in front of your family, because it's all like good kid, back kid, what are you gonna get? You're gonna get a president or coal? And back then it was like will you live or will you die?

It's really amazing, all right, for this next one, we are going to uh Germany, the home of many horrors, a lot Germany and Austria which featured this kind woman. And I guess her band of her soul leaders. Yeah, clearly this is uh Fraul Perkta. Fraud Perkta was a witch who would you know, if she thought you were pretty good, give you some candy. If she thought you were bad, she would cut your you open and tear out your guts and stuff you with garbage. That's what

they taught kids. Better not be bad or your guts are gonna get pulled out and replaced with garbage by fraud Perkta. Yeah, she would visit over the twelve days of Christmas because she had a lot of work to do. I saw one descriptor that she was often described as having one abnormally large foot called a goose foot. I haven't heard that one. I don't know it's a good one, I don't I don't even know what that is. You got that? You got the goose foot? Did you have

a mishap at the Manny Petty place? So the other thing is said too, that she would slit their bellies open and stuff it with straw. And pebbles like garbage, like garbage, because it also makes you think, like what kind of garbage like coffee grounds, banana peels or something or more like she's composting. All right, okay, but I mean that's that's garbage. Remember you have to turn the kid every two days exactly, keep it on the sun so it gets nice and steamy. Maybe put some worms

in there too. Well, she was a forest goddess, so it makes sense look at her. So for a character, Now, who you wanted to run into if you're a bad kid. Alright, he's next Germany again. Yeah, if you were in Germany, or nowadays, if you're in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, which is in Pennsylvania, Uh, you might run into a little guy named Belshnickel. Let's bring up Bellschnickel. Guys like that kid is not joking around in that photo. This is supposed to be fun, holiday fun in Germany. I know, it

looks like a hostage situation, like an Olympic games. Like can you imagine if that guy came in through your door and was like, no, not your parents, I'm here to see you come here. Wow. So the thing about Belshnickel was this Belsh Nickel was like his name means either like what does it belts in means to wallop in in German? Uh so he either means like walloping satan Nick or satan Nick and pelts and first and

if you um, if you ran across bell Stickle. He's like this old kind of woodsy guy who would show up a couple of days before Christmas to find out whether you were naughty or nice. And he would find out like this, he takes the candy, maybe a few nuts because again you're like a Pennsylvania Dutch kids, so like you'll go crazy for a few walnuts. Even he would throw him on to the ground and he just

wants you like what are you gonna do? And the kid who went after, like Augustus Gloop or something like that, just jumped onto the ground after the candy. What he'd get a switch right to his back, like two days before Christmas as part of the Christmas tradition. And that's what bells Nickel was doing. He was there to sort

the naughty kids from the nights. But he's not nearly as bad as like fraud character or anything like that, because he would he would take time with the naughty kids and kind of teach them like, no, that's going on right there. I think. I think, so this kid's about to be uh indoctrinated into the Belschnickel way of doing things. He just showed himself to that just right. But he would spend time with the kids who were bad to basically say this is how you do it.

Here's some candy. And he was meant to be a warning before St. Nick came to say you can still be good right before Christmas. I think that's a great warning. Uh let's go to the next slide. That's another picture of him, just in case you needed some more nightmare fuel, and then let's go one more Yes if if that sounded familiar to anyone. There was an episode of The Office. Everyone knows Dwight Shrude is from Pennsylvania, Dutch Country, and so he brought the legend of Belschnickel to the Office

in an episode. He's pretty good. Uh So moving along, We're going to go on over to the Lorraine outside Lorraine regions of France. Actually this has nothing to do with any of these except that this was a Christmas photo from Germany, the home of Belschnik. Alright, let's get away from that, all right, here we go, So Hans Trupp, that's Hans trop coming in the window there. Oh it is okay, so this is nothing. The next slide will really kind of give you the feeling of what Hans

Chops all about. Hans Chop is a man who was a rich, wealthy man who decided that he wanted to eat children. He was that rich and wealthy, and so he was just going to do it. So he waited for a kid one day and pounced on him and took him and cooked him. Got this far, I was about to eat him, and then God intervened and struck him down with lightning before he could actually eat the kid. But wasn't this a true story? Yes, it was a

true story. No, but there was really a guy named Hans Tropp though, right they I mean, according to legend, there was a cannibal, Satanist and Christmas enthusiasts, right who was struck down by lightning by God. Okay, okay, so Hans trop Um was resurrected as a scarecrow man who will come through. Let's go through the next one. In the like around Chris Smith's time to make sure that kids are behaving so that they are not eaten by him.

That's the yet another threat Christmas in Germany. Everyone right behind me, Well this is France. Actually, Oh all right, I took off Germany for a minute. Then I thought that was Germany. Now, Hans CHOP's my least favorite Christmas figure. We're gonna stay in France. Everyone with the last one, let's switch that slide. Not bad comparatively, right, Like, I'll take this guy any day over the rest of them. This is how do you pronounce that you're there? The

frenchie here among us? Perfuitad that last that really finishes it all nicely. Uh. This is the French legend. The name translates to father Whipper. And there was in another evil butcher who craved children to eat. This is a constant theme in euro around Christmas, and if you listened to Our Grimm's fairy Tales or the Graham's Brothers, it's a constant theme in children's literature that if you did not behave you would be eaten by an adult very sweet.

So he created children to eat, and he and his wife would lure three boys into the butcher shop or whether they would kill, chop up and salt these children until St. Nicholas comes to the rescue, resurrecting the boys, uh and taking custody of the butcher. I love that he takes custody. He said, you're with me. Now you work for me. I'm St. Nick. Yeah, and he literally put him to work. He was not like, you go to authorities. He was like, coming back to the North Pole,

I got something for you. But it wasn't like, come on back to the North Pole. I I want you to start painting checkerboards for the little boys and girls. It was not I like what I like the cut of your jib. I want you to come do that for me. So he would send him out ahead of time to basically Belge Nickel, all the little kids and you heard of just do that. Then St. Nick would come in and be like, oh, hey, at least I'm not parafu it toard, right, you know, I'm St. Nick

good cop, bad cop. Basically exactly like that, except the bad cop had no choice in the matter because he was in the custody of St. Nick. And that's France. So he needs a drink us too, all right, We just so happen to have a bar over here, so we're gonna go to it now. Alright, everybody, we're moving to the bar. Set gets hold on, Oh thank you. Chuck's gonna give my thing. I'm going to We're gonna talk about hot toddies. Is anybody a hot tottie fan?

Thank you? Chi, Well, we're hot toddy fans to Chuck. Haven't you like not had one before, or you haven't had one for a while. I feel like I feel like Emily has made me a hot toddy when I was sick, because alcoholics like to tell each other that it's good for a cold when it's really just like, m I'm sick, but I really still like to drink. Right, they're like, oh, well this is great for that. Just put some lemon and honey in it, and you're all sat.

Josh is the bartender. Why don't you walk us through? Uh? Well, first of all, we should talk a little bit about where the hot toddy might have come from. So they actually don't know. Um, they think possibly it came from Scotland Edinburgh, and in Edinburgh there was a well And you didn't say that, right, It's right, there was a well that everybody drew water from and water is like a big feature of the Hot Toddy. And the well was called Todd's Well, t o D's Well. And they think, well,

there you go. That's story one. Maybe there's another one. In India, they drink a medicinal drink called the Toddy t a r the Toddy and it's made from tree sat Ye, there's another one. There was a guy named Roberts Bentley Todd Bentley Todd. He was a doctor and he would prescribe this stuff constantly, whether you were sick or not. He'd be like, just drink this. And they think maybe he was the inventor of the Toddy. No,

I like that one. You like that one? Yeah. The fourth one that I came across was that it was invented to make Scotch more palatable to women. And I think that's probably where the Hot Saddy came up, so they could sell more scotch basically, and then they came up with these back stories for it. That's right, So you're brewing up some water, Uh, what do we have here tonight? I got a little local ryot looks like resurgence rye whiskey. Everybody, So if you don't know how

to make a toddy. It's super easy and it's really actually quite good. This show just took a turn to the left. But a toddy is just just whiskey of some sort. Usually it can be Scotch, could be Irish. It can be Bourbon, were in Bourbon or rye or something like that. Um, a little sweetener usually honey, some citrus and then some hot water. That's it. That's it, right, But depending on where you are in the country there

are variations, of course, when you get geographically specific. Uh, in New England you might have one made with clam juice. Just kidding. Now they actually use maple syrup instead of honey in New England, uh worre else in Ireland they use potato water. No, just like we really have gotten into dad joke territory. Couple years some people have pointed it out and I'm like, my god, that that is pretty lazy. I'm like Ireland potatoes right right, iris whiskey

There in Scotland they use you and McGregor sweat. Well, that's that's just heavenly kidding you Scotch and then uh, William Faulkner actually had a recipe that used bourbon. I don't have a William Faulkner joke. It's very serious, man. So tell us what we're doing here, Josh, what do we got? So I just put I put about an ounce and a half two ounces of this. This um

jigger doesn't actually say how big it is. But you want to put one to two ounces in a couple of tablespoons of honey a bunch of lemon, because you know that's what makes it. The honey and the lemon makes it medicinal. Right, that's right, said the alcoholic. I'm gonna put us talking about me, all right. I was like, just kid, he doesn't know. I'm gonna put a little less than a whole lemon in between the two. And then the kuda gross, which I found out means death blow,

not the final touch. Did you guys know that. I've been saying cuda gross my whole life, thinking like, oh, it's the final touch. No, it means to cut off the head a little bit of water, all right. I will say this though, uh jokes about alcoholism aside. Here's another one. There are no there are doctors like Mayo Clinic doctors that have said there is a little bit of legitimacy here. The lemon does help, the honey does help. Warm. Look,

I know people are like, yeah whatever. Uh. Warm liquids help with congestion, they help loosen things up, they help stimulate your saliva. Uh. They also said there is a a mental mentally desired effect which is just a nice warm drink which if you're stressed out around the holidays, that can help you potty sick. And the booze And I'm like, are the Mayo Clinic doctors all alcoholics too? Because this all sounds like enabling speech. They recommend a little nip three times a day. So how is it?

Have you tried it yet? I know I smelled it. Oh that's pretty good, is it? Cheers? Happy holidays? Happy holidays? Everybody you like that? That's nice? Does it need anymore honey or anything? I'll make it right. I think it's perfect. So, uh, well, that's our drink. That's a hot toddy and the hot tottie what only at Christmas and every other show where there's a bottle of booze on the stage? This is also delicious. I think we should retire by the fire,

my friends. We are. We're going to take our hot toddies and we're gonna go over and we're going to read. Well, we're gonna talk first and then we're gonna read a story. Okay, okay, seriously this set. I love to have a set like this at our house. We get one of these, you me little fake fireplace. I feel like I should be walking like this during this song tiptoe in so Um. Has anyone ever really paid attention to the famous Andy Williams song is the most Wonderful Time of the Year,

usually sung by Johnny Mathis. But if you really pay attention to the lyrics, he says, there will be scary ghost stories and tales of the glory of Christmas is long and long ago. I have totally never noticed that until you brought me this a week ago. Has anyone else heard that and been like, what are they talking about? Like this doesn't even make sense. It does make sense. You know a little bit about the history of Christmas. You were very close to your don't be dumb set

right now, and I need a plank right here. You tell him Josh sent you. Yeah, there's that guy. I just broke the fifth wall. You think about it, I know. So the reason why that song says there will be scary ghost stories. Is that um ghost stories were a part of um Christmas for eons, for eons, Like remember we were talking about like Frau perk to h and Belshnickel and all of them, and how they were kind of um co opted from pagan lower Um that's where

Christmas originally came from. Was the winter solstice. And at the winter solstice, the the that's the longest night of the year, the shortest day of the year, and it was typically kind of celebrated by the Pagans as the death of the sun. And then the next day it was the resurrection of the sun. The sun came back

and and there was a promise of another year. But on this night, on the night of the winter Solstice, which usually was around December twenty second, maybe who knows, Um, the barrier, the veneer between the living and the dead was the thinnest, and so the dead could kind of come and go as they please and maybe finish up some unfinished business that kind of stuff. Maybe, Um, you know, watch with delight as Belshnickel scared the pants off of

little kids. Whatever you wanted to do, you could do it. That night. Yeah, there was is a British humorous name Jerome, sorry, Jerome fuzzy. Oh no, wait, his name is Jerome Jerome Jerome K Jerome. Yeah, I thought I was reading that wrong. His name is Jerome Jerome. Good Lord, what is happening? So he sort of explained it around England. Uh, he said this, whenever five or six English speaking people meet round the fire on Christmas Eve, they stopped telling each

other ghost stories. Nothing satisfies us on Christmas Eve, but to hear each other tell authentic antidoes about specters, I love each other. Jerome K Jerome was a wonderful and delightful chat. That was great. That's exactly how Jerome K Jerome talked. By the way, specters. There's a very uh, there's a very rare greeny phonograph of him talking, and that's exactly what he sounded like. Chuck spen Weeks hearing

this apptually it was lost. I saw a bunch of photos and he was doing this and all of them it. So it was well known in Victorian England that ghost stories were part of Christmas. And that actually explains another weird thing if you step back and think about it, why there's a bunch of ghosts in Charles Dickens and Christmas Carol. Yeah, I never really thought about that because it didn't make sense. I mean, I think it makes sense just because you're born reading that story and seeing

those movies. But when you look back, it doesn't make any sense that these ghosts are coming on Christmas Eve because you're in America. Weeks associate ghosts with Halloween exactly. But in Jolly Old England, the specters come out. He's going to keep at it until you guys give him a good laugh. So I just get it over with that, and there were three or four good laughs in there. I'm with you, all right. So um in a Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley comes and it's like Scrooge, don't be like me.

He's finishing up unfinished business because he can kind of cross over to the other side. So that's why ghosts pop up from time to time and Christmas stories and Christmas songs. Isn't it delightful? Because it is tradition to tell a ghost story around Christmas, which is why we're not doing that. We're going to tell a story about lacas at Hanukkah's right, because we are non traditional. Look at that. Everyone has anyone read this yet? Do you

have any Jewish friends in the audience? All right, this is for you, ma'am. So uh. This is a story called Meet the Lacas. Chuck and I just happened to have the hard bound edition in different editions. Is it's up? Time down? Thank you, and we're going to read you the story of the Laca family, which hopefully you will love. We haven't even practiced this yet, so we'll see how it goes. Meet the Lacas by Alan Silverberg. All right, let's go forward. Two slides, one more. All right, here

we go. You wanna start off for me, I'll start all right? Are you gonna do voices and stuff? I don't know. Let's see how it could. Okay, Meet the Loca family. They're just like you and me, except their potato pancakes. That's Lucy Laca and her dog, Apple Sauce, who, despite his name, seems to also be a Laca. So Lucy says hello, and Apple Sauce says, I gotta say, we are doing a dog name Apple Sauces. Pretty great. It's great, but as you'll find, Apple Sauces a bit

of a know it all. You're not. You probably won't like apple sauce by the end of this. All right, moving on, I'm gonna read the top and I'm gonna make you read this word. Well. I just happened to look it up, so I probably get it partially right. Mama and Papa are busy in the kitchen making fried jelly dunnut stuft nice. How is that? Man? I'm good at check out? Okay. Right next side Lucy's older brother, Lex, who apparently was raised on the Teddy Rook's Been Grunge story,

Lex is reading comic books. Get out of my room, he shouts. Lex as a teenager, he doesn't care about anything. I don't care, but Lex should care because the lips. Tonight's the night, Lucy sings, she was just turned into Neil Diamond. It's the first night of Hanukkah. No, it's not, oh right, there's someone else in the lack of family. Yes, Grandpa, Hi there, Tonight's not Hanukkah. Grandpa says, it's Hanka. That's what I said. Lucy is confused, as I believe Chuck said.

We hadn't run through this yet, Hanka. Can I keep going? Let me take this one too. Yeah, yeah, did you really want this one? No, No, that's Grandpa Grimbles say it with me. Huh huh huh Honeka, look at that, Laka. So this is when apple sauce comes along to clear things up, right, This is about the time when we will probably stop liking apple sauce. Actually, both Hanka and Hanka are right. Holiday's name is Hebrew, everyone, so there are different ways to spell it and say it in English.

I'm a dog named apple Sauce. That was a good apple sauce. Thanks apple sauce, says Lucy, says Grandpa. They're still getting ready for Hannock. Everyone, Nika. The Latka family cooks and sings just wonderful. They're singing the Drado song. Everyone, Oh Dad, old Dad, old Dredel you know the rest. Yeah, it's very nice. We're singing. Don't worry. And they decorate the house. Look, they've even decorated apple sauce, Apple sauce, like, actually,

this is more bunting than decoration. And he said, here, apple sauce, eat this. Except for Lex. He still doesn't care about anything. I still don't care. I could do Lex all day. I'm trying to decide who the villain here is? Is it Lex or Apple Sauce? It's Apple sauce, is it? I love you? Knew? Oh yeah, I've disliked Apple sauces day one. But you're you're kind of a Lex though at the end of the day, aren't you? Do you really? I think so? I don't know. I

thought more of a Lucy. I thought you were kind of a Grandpa. It's kind of happy got Well, yeah, maybe I identify with Grandpa more sure? Yeah, all right. So after the Menorah is lit and the drados are spun and the guilt gets gobbled, Grandpa plops Lucy onto his Latin. Do you want to hear about the miracle of Hanukah? My little Lucca? And this is the best part everyone. It tells the true story of Hanaka. It's not just fun in games, I do, Lucy says, fighting

into her last chocolate coin. That's the guilt. Did someone just correct my pronunciation of guilt? Grandpa begins with just a whisper. First, you need to know about the bees bees, Lucy asked. Grandpa nods. Hanaka is a celebration of how the Jewish temple was saved from destruction. We celebrate this holiday thanks to the brave bees who buzzed and stung and fought to keep our people. Say eight, I'm gonna

take the despicable Apple Sauce. Okay, I'm pretty sure there aren't any bees in the history of Hanukkah or Hanukkah fit, says Grandpa, whose story is this. You're a dog named Apple Sauce. I'll do that last part in out and if you guys are falling along, so Lucy's eyes widened. Were the bees, big, Grandpa? Big? They were huge giants, They were megabees. And then Apple Sauce comes in, You mean maccabee's, Grandpa says, No, definitely megabees. And the biggest,

bravest of them all was Judah Megabee. That's Judah Maccabee. He was a mighty warrior and a heroic jew who lived in Israel more than two thousand years ago. And there were no bees, wolfp But too late, Apple Sauce. Lucy can see it now, Judah and is swarming or his warm of giant bees, buzzing and stinging and fighting to save the Jewish temple and the lines of everyone who worshiped there. And who do you think Judah and his big bees were battling? Grandpa asked, that's easy. It was.

Oh my goodness, everyone, it's alien potatoes. What's the planet's name? Sure, thank you planet. I just thought it was a coincidence. I don't understand why he said planet. I'll explain it later. Zip zip wowie, it's getting too small for my old eyes, said Grandpa. Grandpa continues, outer space spuds invaded Earth. Laser shot from their eyes, and they had a lot of eyes. Everyone was doomed. This is ridiculous, said Apple Sauce, because he's a cynic. Are you kidding me? The enemy wasn't

a bunch of alien potatoes. It was a terrible king named Antiochus. Well, it is true. Antiochus demanded that everyone believed in the same religion as he did. Apple Sauce goes on. So for the Jews, that meant no more studying the Torah, no more celebrating Shabat, and never again worshiping God. King Antiochus and his followers almost completely destroyed the Jewish temple. He was a tyrant. Yep, oh, look, he threw a menorah and hit Apple sauce in the

head and said, yep, yes, a tyrant agrees Grandpa. Judah and the mega bees were trapped by those evil tater tyrants from planet prisoners in their own high They only had enough honey to last one day. Running out of honey, No, they were running out of oil. They needed oil to keep the temple's eternal flame blowing and burning. And they weren't bees. Everybody is apple Sauce is gonna find his way to a hat box in the desert. I love dogs and I hate applesauce. The megabees plotted and schemed,

Grandpa says. And the next morning, when the sun rose on the temple, an enormous wooden dradle stood in the village square. What could it be the alien potatoes, all wondered, And why does it buzz? Lucy waves her arms. I know the megabees were hiding inside the dradle. Lucy was right, all right, everyone, let's spend a strong smart luck, says Grandpa. Plits, plats plots. The megabees burst from the draydole and slice and whipped and mashed those tater tyrants into tatoes, tattered

tater tyrants. Lucy asked, try saying that three times. Grandpa says, tattered tator tyrants, tattered tator tyrants, tattered tatored tyrants. All right, you all get guilt. It's not bad, everybody. And then, miracle of miracles, Grandpa says, bringing it down a little bit, Juda Omegabee stood in the middle of all those spoiled spots. What a waste, he said, And so that great warrior added some egg and onion and a pinch of flour to make something good from the bad potato. Lacus us

us by apple sauce. Do we have any apple sauce fans? No, that's great. I love this dropt okay, I got two people like apple sauce. Lucy's eyes and mouth are wide open. So the miracle of Hanuka is that a long time ago Megabeas turned alien potatoes into laccas. Is that really true? Of course it's not true. You go and you keep

it up with apple sauce on the next one. The miracle of Hanakah or Hanukkah is that not only did the small group of Maccabee's protect their temple from King Antiochus found powerful army, but also the tiny bit of oil left to light the holy minora didn't last for just one day. The oil kept the eternal light right for eight whole days. That's right, you can applaud that. That's fine. Lucy points to her families glowing minora, eight candle holders, eight days of the Hanakah miracle. And then

how do you pronounced that? Shamas? Okay? And the Shamas the tallest candle to light all the others. You know what, says Grandpa. I like the dog's miracle. Better me too, says Mama, who we all forgot about me too, says Papa. The same. I don't care, says Lex. Stuff face with chocolate. Kelt Lex, you left your room, cries Mama. It's another hank A miracle. And she gives him a hug, squeezing his his beats by dre clean off of his head. And that is Meet the Wakas by Alan Sibberberg Silverberg.

Do you want to sing? I think we should sing. You guys want to sing? Okay, We're gonna sing a carol. We're gonna lead you guys in singing a carol. And we're not joking, okay, And this is uh, this is how we're closing the show. Everyone, so thank you for being here with us. We hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas time, a wonderful holiday time. Happy Honaka and here we go. Wow, what a performance, Chuck like, you did great. My friend you did great as well. And

I think this might be a new annual tradition, my friend. Yeah, that was a lot of fun. We did greetings, we talked about monsters and miracles. I'm saying a carol together. There was an amazing set on stage. Yeah, man, it was great. It was a good time had by. Also, uh, I guess, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, happy holidays, and maybe the tidings of the season greet you with gladness no matter who you are or where you are. For more

on this and thousands of other topics. Is that how stuff works dot com