Now, where shall we begin?

The Mighty Ducks. The heartwarming 90’s film that led to the creation of a successful movie franchise…and to the founding of a successful national hockey team.

In 1993, the Anaheim Ducks were founded. They are the only sports team in not only NHL history but in North American history, to be named after a brand.

Let’s talk about that.

The Mighty Ducks came out 1992. It surpassed expectations at the box office, raking in $50.7 million USD. Disney, pleased with the film’s performance, thought that they could further capitalize on their success.

In 1992 the franchise was awarded by the NHL. Disney paid an entrance fee of $50 million to The Los Angeles Kings so that they could “share ownership of Southern California”.

From there Disney set out guns blazing. They marketed like crazy. During the height of The Ducks’ popularity, you could find branded pools, rides, and toys. There was even a TV show released about the team.

Unfortunately, the upward momentum eventually slowed.

By the early 2000s, the franchise was struggling. Disney no longer felt as passionate about the venture as they had before and made the decision to sell the team. In 2005 The Ducks were acquired for $75 million.

After its purchase, the team was rebranded in an effort to distance the franchise from their Disney past. The Mighty Ducks were officially renamed The Anaheim Ducks.

Despite the departure from their initially successful Disney past, the Anaheim Ducks hold their own under new ownership and name. They have made it to the playoffs 14 times and even won the Stanley cup during the 2006/2007 hockey season.

This particular instance in sports history is notable as Disney’s efforts were the first large venture into cross-promotional branding. As a result of this, teams all over the world can be seen sporting brands on their jerseys-sponsorship and sports teams are now inextricably linked.

What are your thoughts on this?

Further Reading:

The Mighty Ducks: The Story Behind the NHL Team That Doubled as an All-Time Great Marketing Stunt

Halloween, a holiday celebrated in several countries in the world. With it comes an abundance of free candy, clever costumes, and spooky decor.

We love our skeletons, witches, and monsters but one particular pumpkin-faced friend comes to mind. The unspoken mascot of Halloween, Jack O’ Lantern, combines equal parts whimsy and spook.

But how did this Jack O’ Lantern come to be?

Let’s talk about that.

Jack O’ Lanterns were originally made out of turnips or other root vegetables. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to the US, switching to using the pumpkin, a fruit native to America. The pumpkin was abundant and very easy to carve…also, they made for much less anguished looking lanterns.

There are many theories explaining why people carved Jack O’ Lanterns. Some say they were used to protect homes and to ward off any unwanted evil spirit visitors during Samhain, a Gaelic harvest festival during which spirits were said to wander the earth. Some theorize that the Jack O’ Lantern’s flame represents Christian souls that are trapped in purgatory.

The folklore behind the origin story of the Jack O’ Lantern is also subject to much debate. The story of Stingy Jack is said to have played a part in the creation of the legend:

“Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who took pleasure in playing tricks on just about everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. After the Devil climbed up the tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. Unable to touch a cross, the Devil was stuck in the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses, and the Devil climbed down out of the apple tree.

Many years later, Jack died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was mean and cruel, and had led a miserable, worthless life on earth. Stingy Jack was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared . He had nowhere to go, but to wander about forever in the dark Netherworld between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave, as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell, to help Stingy Jack light his way. Jack had a Turnip with him. It was one of his favorite foods, and he always carried one with him. Jack hollowed out the Turnip, and placed the ember the Devil had given him, inside the turnip. From that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his “Jack O’Lantern”. (source)

So the Jack O’ Lantern might have been used as a way to memorialize or scare off Stingy Jack. No one knows for sure.

While there is no definitive history behind the pumpkin lantern, it is certainly a fascinating part of our modern-day lore!

Happy Halloween, friends!

The butt.

It’s had its place in pop culture, literature, and even music for as long as we can remember.

Most of us are familiar with “Baby Got Back“, Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s infamous ode to voluptuous bottoms and Khia’s descriptive “My Neck, My Back“.

But did you know that the musical history surrounding the humble heinie goes back beyond the 20th century?

Let’s talk about it.

Mozart. We know him as the gifted composer of many beautiful lullabies, calming canons, and serene symphonies.

However, the creator of what you would think to be the most inoffensive music ever actually had quite the potty mouth.

Don’t believe me?

In the 1780’s, Mozart came up with the masterpieces, “Leck mich im Arsch” (Kiss My Ass) and “Bona Nox”, a piece that included these lyrics:

Good night, good night,
Shit in your bed and make it burst.
Good night, sleep tight,
And stick your ass to your mouth.

That wasn’t the end of it, though.

Around the time Mozart produced his provocative pieces composer Wenzel Trnka wrote “Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber”(Lick My Ass Nice And Clean). It made Mozart’s lyrics look like amateur hour:

Lick my arse nicely,
lick it nice and clean,
nice and clean, lick my arse.
That’s a greasy desire,
nicely buttered,
like the licking of roast meat, my daily activity.
Three will lick more than two,
come on, just try it,
and lick, lick, lick.
Everybody lick their arse for themselves.

Mozart’s pieces were said were said to be a result of his enjoyment of scatological humor. This humor was said to be quite typical of the time, often finding its way into German theater and entertainment. Historians have also found multiple instances of butt-related humor in Germanic folklore and texts.

Famed German theologian and figurehead of the protestant reformation, Martin Luther, was known to have an appreciation for this rude humor.

Butt the fun doesn’t end there.

Hieronymus Bosch, the renowned Dutch painter, also made a lasting contribution to the early-modern musical history of the tuchus.

Bosch was known for creating fantastical paintings that often involved religious allegories and narratives. His most famous painting, “The Garden Of Earthly Delights” (thought to be painted between 1490 and 1510) is an incredibly detailed triptych showing the contrasting realms of heaven and hell. In it you can find everything from man-eating bird kings to pig nuns.

AND BUTTS.

Lots of them, actually.

Anyway, one of these numerous butts stands out. If you look closely in the third panel of the triptych that depicts hell, you will see this unfortunate fellow’s derriere.

But it isn’t just ANY derriere…this behind has MUSIC on it.

What does this backside-bound music sound like?, you think to yourself.

Will I ever know?

Well, no need to wonder any longer.

Amelia Hamrick, a student at Oklahoma Christian University decided to transcribe the piece to modern notation.

The resulting piece is hauntingly beautiful. It is definitely not something I would associate with being located in this particular location.

So yeah. Music about (and on?) the rump, fanny, posterior, backside, bum, derriere, rear–whatever you want to call it, has been around forever.

And now my search history is scarred forever….at least I never have to look up a synonym for “butt” ever again.

Do you have anything to add to this, er, oddly specific topic?

Further Reading:

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/songs-about-butts-a-historical-look-at-music-to-our-rears-1.9808026

Some modern songs about butts

https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-10-bootiest-songs-of-all-time/

The 10 most butt references per second in modern music history

https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/visual-history-butts-album-covers/

A visual history of butts on album covers

Have you ever thought to yourself “I could use a nice cold glass of radium water”?

No? Neither have I, however back in the early 1900’s drinking radium water was all the rage. At the height of it’s popularity, radium was being put in a multitude of products–makeup, suppositories, condoms, cigarettes, jock straps, food, toys, lingerie, you name it. Radium was touted as a cure-all for everything from impotence to gout.

Here’s a little background on the infamous element. Radium, or Ra, is a chemical element that discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie. It is not necessary for human survival and does in fact, cause many adverse health effects, not limited to human tissue destruction, multiple types of cancers, and bone decay.

Radium use was deceiving as its initial effects made it seem like it was improving your health. It caused a temporary stimulation of blood cells which made the user feel a temporary boost of energy. Some people began to regularly use radium-infused products all the while not knowing that they were causing irreversible, long-term damage to themselves.

One well-known example of this was the case of Eben Byers. Eben Byers was a wealthy socialite, steel mogul, and athlete. Byers started taking Radithor, a popular brand of radium water after he had suffered an arm injury. Wanting to continue the positive effect he thought the Radithor was having on his health, he began consuming three times the suggested dose. It was said that the amount of radium he had consumed was enough to kill three people. At the end of his life, Byer’s body was completely destroyed by the radiation. The accumulation of the radium in his body had caused irreparable damage; he had lost most of his jaw, his skull was riddled with holes, and his brain was abscessed. Byers had to be buried in a coffin lined with lead to prevent any of the radiation from leaking out.

It just goes to show you just because something is natural doesn’t mean that it’s good for you.

What are your thoughts on the commercialization of radium during this time period? What other other quack products have been heavily marketed throughout history?

Learn More:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/03/how-we-realized-putting-radium-in-everything-was-not-the-answer/273780/ (A great source on the history of radium commercialization)

https://www.buzzfeed.com/authorkatemoore/the-light-that-does-not-lie (More on the case of the Radium Girls and the impact that their stories had on the changing of US labor laws)

Tulips. We know them as the bright, happy harbingers of spring.

However, if you went back to Denmark during 1636-1637, you would have witnessed a very different perspective on the humble flower.

Let’s get into that.

The scene is 17th century in the Netherlands. The Dutch Golden age is in full swing. New schools of thought are being introduced. Incredible militaristic and scientific advancements are being made. People are experimenting with art; a strong focus on color, light, and realism is yielding groundbreaking results.

In short, the Dutch were incredibly inspired; they were feeling more enterprising and creative than ever before.

Enter, tulips.

Tulips were brought over to Europe from the Ottoman empire during the late 16th century. They gained popularity in the Netherlands after a Dutch botanist began to cultivate them. No longer formally under the reign of the Spanish, the Dutch were free to trade as they liked. The economy prospered and people had money to burn. Goods seen as “exotic” became highly desirable; the tulip, seen as a symbol of luxury and royalty in the Ottoman empire, fit this bill.

The variety of colors, vibrancy, and ability to tolerate the chilly climate of the Netherlands were initially what made tulips popular. It was later that the phenomena of “tulip breaking” began to bring their real value. Tulip breaking made for beautiful multi-colored striping on tulips. It was later discovered that it was a virus that was responsible for these highly coveted variations.

At the height of tulip mania, specific tulip varieties could go for as high as 10,000 guilders. At the time this was about the same price as a fancy town house in Amsterdam. In 1637 the tulip was the fourth most exported product in the Netherlands, followed by gin, herring, and cheese.

Contrary to popular belief, merchants and artisans were primarily the ones who took part in this mass purchasing of tulips. At the exorbitant prices they fetched, it made sense that only these groups could afford to purchase them. Tulips were seen as symbols of wealth and to own the rarest and most beautiful ones further denoted your status.

The tulip trade flourished until February 1637 when people realized the trade had become unsustainable. As a result, bulb contract prices collapsed abruptly. No one was showing up to the once-popular tulip auctions. Futures contracts were no longer being delivered. People were simply no longer willing to pay such outrageous prices for flower bulbs. Some historians say that the arrival of the plague in Haarlem may have altered Dutch priorities and contributed to the shift away from tulip speculation.

The facts surrounding Tulip Mania have been greatly exaggerated over the course of history. In fact, no real “mania” was ever documented. Only a small percentage of people were impacted by the crash. This was chiefly those who had bought contracts in the hope that the tulips market value would continue to rise. These unofficial contracts changed hands more than the tulips themselves and were where the real money was made in the tulip trade.

As the demand for tulips fell people were no longer willing to pay back the exorbitant prices they had previously agreed to in past contracts. Sure, some people lost money but it was not to the point of financial ruin. No instances of bankruptcy resulting from Tulip Mania were ever documented.

How’s that for a story?

What are your thoughts on Tulip Mania? Do you know of any instances where weird things were used as currency?

Learn more:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr3FcXeDZFc (a short video detailing an accurate and complete history of Tulip Mania)
• http://theconversation.com/tulip-mania-the-classic-story-of-a-dutch-financial-bubble-is-mostly-wrong-91413 (an informative article debunking common myths about Tulip Mania)