CLASSIC: The 1904 Racist Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis

Summary

Ridiculous History: The 1904 Racist Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis

Episode Release Date: January 18, 2025

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Introduction

In this classic episode of Ridiculous History, hosts Ben Bolin and Noel Brown delve into the tumultuous and racially charged 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri. Tied to the Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exhibition (World's Fair), the 1904 Olympics stand out as one of the most problematic and discriminatory events in Olympic history. This episode unpacks the myriad issues that plagued the Games, from organizational conflicts and racist undertones to the tragic and bizarre occurrences that unfolded.

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Historical Context and Revival of the Modern Olympics

[02:56] Ben Bolin begins by setting the stage with a historical fact: the ancient Olympic Games date back to 776 BCE. After a 1,500-year hiatus, the modern Olympics were revived by Pierre de Coubertin, an educator from France who re-established the International Olympic Committee and aimed to legitimize the Games.

[03:38] Noel Brown marvels at the ancient origins, while [03:51] Noel Brown highlights the revival efforts made by Coubertin, emphasizing the Games' significance in the modern era.

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Organizational Challenges and St. Louis' Selection

Originally slated to be held in Chicago, the 1904 Olympics were moved to St. Louis due to conflicts with the city's hosting of the World's Fair, officially known as the Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exhibition.

[06:03] Noel Brown reveals that St. Louis threatened to overshadow Chicago's events, leading Coubertin to acquiesce and relocate the Olympics to St. Louis—a city not widely recognized internationally at the time.

[07:07] Ben Bolin remarks on the challenges this posed, noting that St. Louis was considered a "second-tier city," which deterred international athletes due to the daunting travel conditions of the era.

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Racist Underpinnings and Anthropology Days

A significant and dark aspect of the 1904 Olympics was the inclusion of Anthropology Days, orchestrated by James Edward Sullivan, the chief organizer of the Games. Sullivan, who harbored blatant racist beliefs, aimed to use these events to "prove" white superiority.

[13:55] Ben Bolin introduces the concept, stating:

"the Baron also took disapproving note of a spectacle, very problematic spectacle called anthropology Days. Before we tell you what those are, before we explore that."

[14:34] Noel Brown provides a powerful quote from Sullivan:

"for that outrageous charade, it will of course lose its appeal when black men, red men and yellow men learn to run, jump and throw and leave the white men behind them."

These Anthropology Days featured human zoos, where indigenous people from the Philippines, Africa, and the Americas were displayed in mocked-up versions of their traditional homes. The intention was to showcase these groups in European-style athletic competitions without providing any proper instruction or support.

[19:54] Noel Brown discusses the abhorrent conditions:

"indigenous people were forced to live in traditional clothing, regardless of climate, and perform rituals repeatedly to entertain audiences."

The participants, often held in near-captivity, faced language barriers and were exploited under the guise of scientific research by Dr. W.J. McGee, president of the American Anthropological Association and head of the Department of Anthropology at the Fair. His misguided belief in inherent racial hierarchies led to the orchestration of events that were both demeaning and unfair.

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Impact on Olympic Competitions

Due to the overshadowing presence of the World's Fair and the poor organization spearheaded by Sullivan, the 1904 Olympics suffered from minimal international participation. [08:50] Noel Brown notes that:

"fewer than half of the Olympic events that year had even a single entrant who was not from America."

Moreover, the American team controversially included recent European immigrants who had not yet achieved citizenship, leading to disputed medals as some countries contested the legitimacy of these athletes' victories.

[09:26] Ben Bolin attributes much of the chaos to Sullivan:

"a lot of the terrible, terrible mistakes that occurred fall upon his shoulders in this situation."

Despite attempts to legitimize the Games, the combination of racism, poor organization, and conflicting priorities with the World's Fair resulted in one of the most flawed Olympic events in history.

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Notable Events and Anecdotes

The Marathon Disaster

One of the most infamous stories from the 1904 Olympics is the marathon, which turned into a tragic and bizarre spectacle.

[37:15] Ben Bolin recounts:

"Thomas Hicks, he finished in an absurdly long 3 hours and 28 minutes... it was 90 degrees... 18 of the 32 folks that were racing had to pull out because of sheer exhaustion."

Hicks was subjected to extreme heat and poor road conditions, leading to severe health complications. His assistants administered substances like egg whites and strychnine, common stimulants of the time, to keep him running. Despite his agony, Hicks crossed the finish line, aided by these harmful substances, highlighting the lack of regulations regarding performance-enhancing drugs.

Fred Lorz's Cheating Controversy

Adding to the marathon's notoriety was the tale of Fred Lorz, who notoriously cheated by hitching a ride in a car for 11 miles of the race and then attempting to claim victory. Initially celebrated, his deceit was eventually exposed before the actual medal could be awarded.

[37:43] Ben Bolin humorously critiques Lorz's actions:

"And the crowd went nuts. And American one... But Lorz said, 'I never attempted to accept the honor. I finished only for the sake of a joke.'"

This story underscores the chaotic and poorly regulated nature of the 1904 Olympics.

Food Innovations and Myths

While discussing the grim aspects, Bolin and Brown take a detour into lighter topics such as food innovations supposedly linked to the 1904 World's Fair.

[33:53] Ben Bolin shares a fun fact:

"At the 1904 World's Fair, Richard Blechton, the tea commissioner in the India Pavilion, poured his tea over ice due to the heat, allegedly inventing iced tea."

However, [40:33] Ben Bolin clarifies that:

"the actual origins of iced tea... already by 1868, probably actually way before 1868."

This segment serves as a humorous respite from the otherwise dark narrative.

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Conclusion and Reflections

As the episode wraps up, Bolin and Brown reflect on the legacy of the 1904 St. Louis Olympics. They acknowledge that while some positive aspects, like the introduction of sports such as boxing and freestyle wrestling, emerged, the overarching narrative is marred by racism, poor organization, and exploitation.

[35:18] Noel Brown emphasizes:

"But Sullivan, Sullivan does become the winner... he was clearly and categorically proven wrong, espousing a belief that was both offensive and incredibly common at the time."

The hosts conclude by urging listeners to learn from these historical injustices, recognizing the importance of combating such prejudices in contemporary times.

[42:04] Noel Brown adds a sobering thought:

"But their own preconceptions, their own prejudices, their own preexisting notions limited the scope of their vision."

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Key Takeaways

• Organizational Failures: Conflicts between the World's Fair and Olympic organizers led to poor planning and minimal international participation.

• Racist Practices: Anthropology Days and human zoos exposed the deeply ingrained racism of the era, with attempts to use sports to "prove" white superiority.

• Exploitation of Athletes: Indigenous participants were exploited under deplorable conditions, facing language barriers and lack of proper training or support.

• Marathon Tragedies: The 1904 marathon exemplified the dangerous and unregulated nature of early Olympic competitions.

• Historical Lessons: The episode serves as a reminder of the importance of inclusivity, proper organization, and the rejection of racist ideologies in sports and beyond.

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Notable Quotes

• Noel Brown [14:34]:

  "for that outrageous charade, it will of course lose its appeal when black men, red men and yellow men learn to run, jump and throw and leave the white men behind them."

• Ben Bolin [09:26]:

  "a lot of the terrible, terrible mistakes that occurred fall upon his shoulders in this situation."

• Noel Brown [35:19]:

  "It's the idea of human zoos. It reminds me of that episode we did about the real human skull that was found in the diorama at a museum."

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Final Thoughts

The 1904 St. Louis Olympics stand as a stark example of how prejudice and poor planning can tarnish a global event. Through examining this episode, Ridiculous History sheds light on the importance of striving for fairness, respect, and proper organization in all facets of life, ensuring that history's repeated mistakes are neither forgotten nor repeated.

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Transcript

[Ben Bolin]

Welcome back to the show Ridiculous Historians. We return to you with a classic episode that's been on our mind as we recorded an exploration of the World's Fairs. We mentioned this briefly and we'd love to share it with you in full. Over in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 1904 World's Fair, people also held the Summer Olympics and got to be honest with you, it was ridiculous.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Ridiculously offensive and terrible. And I'm so glad though, that we hit upon this classic episode right around our current conversations about some of the worst examples of things that happened at World's Fairs. So strap in. There's gonna be some stuff that's gonna make you cringe a little bit in this episode, but it's all, you know, it's all in the service of Ridiculous history. If you love your phone but not your carrier, just switch to T Mobile. You can keep your phone, keep your number and we'll help pay off up to $800 per line. You can also use our savings calculator to compare our plans and streaming benefits against Verizon and AT&T. So switch and keep your phone, keep your number and keep more of your moolah. @t mobile.com up to 4 lines via virtual prepaid card.

[Ben Bolin]

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[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Jo late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is the second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Tremarki]

Welcome to the Criminalia Podcast. I'm Maria Tremarke.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry. Together we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime.

[Maria Tremarki]

Each season we explore a new theme. From poisoners to art thieves, we uncover.

[Holly Fry]

The secrets of history's most interesting figures, from legal injustices to body snatching.

[Maria Tremarki]

And tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in cocktails and mocktails inspired by each story.

[Holly Fry]

Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Trehl]

You should probably keep your lights on for Tales from the Shadow. Join me, Danny Trehlsby and step into the flames of Fright, an anthology podcast of Modern day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to nocturnal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ben Bolin]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Let's begin today's show with a contextual fact. According to what we know from historical records, the very first Olympic Games in antiquity can be traced back to 776 BCE.

[Noel Brown]

Ben Nol, you've blown my mind.

[Ben Bolin]

It's weird when we think about just how ancient that practice was. Now, the Games did not occur every year, continually from that point.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, there was a lull about a 1500 year lull, as it turns out. And then it was kind of resuscitated by a guy by the name of Pierre Baron de Coubertin.

[Ben Bolin]

Yes.

[Noel Brown]

And Casey Pegram joins us. Hello. Is that correct? Yeah, Pierre de Coubertin.

[Ben Bolin]

And that's been Casey on the case from our super producer, Casey Pegram.

[Danny Trehl]

Whoa.

[Ben Bolin]

You cool with those double sound cues?

[Noel Brown]

You flipped the script there, my man. I love it. But no, Pierre, who was originally known by Pierre de Frede. Casey.

[Ben Bolin]

Pierre de Flady Fledi. Fledy. That's why he's here.

[Noel Brown]

He's here for a lot of reasons.

[Ben Bolin]

He's here for amazing reasons. So tell us about this guy now.

[Noel Brown]

That we've jacked up the flow entirely with valuable pronunciation information from Mr. Casey Pegram. Yeah, this guy was an educator from France who totally revived the Olympic Games in 1896 in Greece. Indeed, Ben, as it would be appropriate to do, I guess, to carry on that torch.

[Ben Bolin]

Huh?

[Noel Brown]

That Olympic torch. Yeah, it was in Athens in 1896. And by most accounts I've read that one went okay. And then they had one in Paris, which was apparently a ship show. And then they had one that is the subject of today's episode in Old St. Louis. Missouri.

[Ben Bolin]

Yes, Missouri. Missouri. You got it. Write in or chime in on ridiculous historians, local Missouri residents to let us know how you prefer to pronounce it.

[Noel Brown]

Shred us. We welcome it.

[Ben Bolin]

I'm having so much fun with that. So it's true, Noel. America's first Olympic Games. The first Olympic games in the US were held in 1904 in St Louis or St Louis. And they were tied to that year's World Fair, which happened in the same city. And there was even. Okay, so before we get too deep into this, folks, things were already starting off on a bizarre, awkward and terrible foot when the 1904 Olympics moved to Missouri because they were originally supposed to be in the US but supposed to be in a different city.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, in the city of Chicago, which I'm very much looking forward to traveling to next weekend to see the band My Bloody Valentine.

[Ben Bolin]

That's all I'm saying about that.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to. Chicago is a beautiful city. But unfortunately, St. Louis made some problems for Chicago because St. Louis was already set to host this world's Fair, which had a really interesting name that was not the World's Fair. It was called the Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exhibition. And they were none too happy, the organizers of that little shindig, none too happy that the Olympics were gonna give them a run for their money during the same period in the summer in Chicago. So they threatened, according to this article by Nate DeMaio of Memory palace fame on Slate, to out Olympics. The Olympics, in other words, making it such a big dog and pony show that the Olympics, which was not as widely known at the time, only the third year, would probably suffer significantly. So Coubertin was like, okay, I guess we better play ball with St. Louis.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. They said specifically that they were going to make the official Olympic events in Chicago look terrible, look pitiful in comparison. And at this time, the Baron was still trying ardently, because, remember, this isn't too far past 1896, still trying ardently to resurrect the modern Olympics and give it the credibility it deserved. He wanted to avoid any controversy and he said he would, you know, for the greater good of the Olympics, back down and award the location to St. Louis. But the problem was, first off, most people in Europe at that time probably had not heard of St. Louis at all.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, it's described as a second tier city, which I think is insulting. St. Louis is beautiful, but New York it is not.

[Ben Bolin]

I mean, I went to St. Louis recently on some unrelated adventures, and I gotta say, it's amazing city, amazing music, amazing barbecue, if you like barbecue. But at this time, they got that arch right. But at this time, the location there, in what they did describe as a second tier city, was an incredible barrier to athletes, especially European athletes. We have to remember, this was before an interstate system. So travel to the American Midwest was a daunting task. And almost all of the top European athletes didn't make it. And ultimately, fewer than half of the Olympic events that year had even a single entrant who was not from America.

[Noel Brown]

And I want to say I read somewhere, and I'm sorry for being vague about this, folks, but that America actually scooped up some European athletes and made them part of the American team, or folks, that had recently immigrated to America but did not receive citizenship yet. And they were the ones who won many of the medals. And there are countries that are, to this day disputing those wins because they basically kind of sniped some of their people and they weren't officially citizens of the United States. So very Wild west kind of Olympics here. And for more reasons than one.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, Sort of shooting off. Shooting from the hip. Right. Going winging it a little bit more than is appropriate. Did we mention the mastermind behind this, Noel? James Edward Sullivan?

[Noel Brown]

No, we have not, but he's a huge part of the story.

[Ben Bolin]

Okay, so James Edward Sullivan, American sports official. He was born in 1862. He lived until September 1914. He was the chief organizer of these 1904 Summer Olympics. And a lot of the terrible, terrible mistakes that occurred fall upon his shoulders in this situation. He's the one who was putting out the threats. He's the one who was pushing the Baron to move this. And he is one of the reasons that so many disastrous things occurred with the actual events.

[Noel Brown]

He was the organizer of the World's Fair. Correct.

[Ben Bolin]

Great question, Noel, and it's important that we clarify that point. So James Edward Sullivan is the primary organizer of the 1904 Summer Olympics, but the organizer of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which we've also seen both ways as either Louisiana Purchase Exhibition or Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The organizer of that stuff, whatever you want to call it, was a guy named David R. Francis. And the problem with this was that the St. Louis organizers treated the Olympic Games sort of as a sideshow to the World's Fair because the World's Fair.

[Noel Brown]

Is a big deal and very well established at this point.

[Ben Bolin]

And there were other more popular, let's call them, cultural exhibits. We're going to be remiss if we don't mention some of the stuff that happened in those exhibits. Yeah, yeah. Those were overshadowing the actual Olympic Games and events. And I believe in the 1904 Games, the total number of athletes was only 651. It was 645 men and 6 women.

[Noel Brown]

And yet for some reason, it went on for like 175 days, which I thought was bizarre. Let's backtrack just a little bit back to the World's Fair. So you were talking about. Let's just. Let's talk about some of the things that made the World's Fair kind of cool. You had, you know, the kind of things you'd think about being at a fair. On this particular one, they had Abe Lincoln's log cabin from when he was a boy. Okay. I guess that you wouldn't see that as most fairs, but they also had waffle cones and, you know, newfangled contraptions and inventions. And I think this is where like peanut butter was debuted.

[Ben Bolin]

Oh, I'm so glad you mentioned it. Okay. Yes, quick interjection. There's a fantastic article from Serious Eats by a guy named Robert Moss. The 1904 World's Fair, a turning point for American food. There were a lot of amazing food things that happened here. Allegedly the first hot dog ever was made in the 19 or sold in the 1904 World's Fair when a vendor named Anton Feutswanger was giving out sausages to people, but they were too hot for people to hold. And so he had his brother in law bake buns to hold the meat, creating the world's first hot dog. It's important to us through this episode, fellow ridiculous historians, to try to find some pluses. Yeah, but, but so please go on about the World's Fair. I have this list of amazing food stuff too.

[Noel Brown]

We can keep going with that if you like. I'm just trying to, you know, put a silver lining on this story. I don't know. Yeah, peanut butter is not enough of a silver lining for where we're going. We might have told us, go ahead and get there. Oh, one. One last little thing about Coubertin, who by the way, was the guy who re established the or established the International Olympic Committee. That was his deal. So the Baron. So we're a third year of this event after a 1500 year lull. The stakes are high. He's kind of strong armed into going to St. Louis and was so peeved at the whole thing that he actually didn't even show up. He is quoted in saying that he had sort of a predisposition to assum. Assuming that the quality of the Olympiad would match the quality of the city.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

So kind of turning his nose up at St. Louis here.

[Ben Bolin]

Let's give him another quote too. That'll get us to, I think, the meat of this episode also. These are the early days of the hamburger. I'm just gonna. Whenever we get too into too much disturbing stuff, how about we throw in a fun food fact?

[Noel Brown]

Sure, that sounds good.

[Ben Bolin]

Okay. So in addition to his objections to the overall mediocrity or potential for posed by the 1904 Olympics, the Baron also took disapproving note of a spectacle, very problematic spectacle called anthropology Days. Before we tell you what those are, before we explore that. Let's just go with this quote, he says, referencing these as for that outrageous charade, it will of course lose its appeal when black men, red men and yellow men learn to run, jump and throw and leave the white men behind them. Think of all the problems with that.

[Noel Brown]

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[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily Show Podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Tremarki]

Welcome to the Criminalia Podcast. I'm Maria Tremarki.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry. Together, we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime.

[Maria Tremarki]

Each season we explore a new theme, everything from poisoners and pirates to art thieves and snake oil products and those who made and sold them.

[Holly Fry]

We uncover the stories and secrets of some of history's most compelling criminal figures, including a man who built a submarine as a getaway vehicle. Yep, that's a fact.

[Maria Tremarki]

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[Holly Fry]

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Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Trehl]

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[Noel Brown]

So why don't we just launch right in? It's sort of twofold. It's interesting because even Ben and I, off air, were a little confused about who was actually hosting these anthropology days. As it turns out, it was kind of a partnership between the Olympics and the World's Fair. So I'm a little confused about how this guy James Sullivan, who kind of was the chief organizer of the Summer Olympics, wasn't like given the thumbs up from the Baron himself, but that we haven't quite run across that particular minutia yet. But here's the story. James Sullivan, he believed 100% in the utter superiority of white men and wanted very much to put on a display or a charade, as the Baron referred to it, to demonstrate this fact. So there was this thing that was a very strange phenomenon at the beginning of the 20th century called human zoos, which were sort of like traveling carnivals. Or it would be like the equivalent of a fre show or a sideshow where indigenous people from places like the Philippines or Africa would be displayed in kind of mocked up versions of their traditional homes.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

And but they would be. You know, there's images in this really great article from Timeline called Scientists staged a racist Olympics in 1904 to prove white Superiority that shows people just gathered around these picket fences and looking at children, men, women, all kind of doing what they would be doing in their villages, for example. Right.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

So Sullivan wanted To take this a step further. And the World's Fair itself had a mocked up Filipino village because at the time, the Philippines was a newly established territory of the United States. So it was. They wanted to show their dominance.

[Ben Bolin]

Well, yeah, he wanted to legitimize it too. Legitimize this belief which was already, at that time, not considered controversial. That's when he contacted a Dr. W.J. mcGee, who was president of the American Anthropological association and head of the Department of anthropology at the St. Louis World's Fair. McGee thought because indigenous people lived in harmony with nature, they were endowed with special strength and abilities that, quote, white people simply didn't have.

[Noel Brown]

Yikes.

[Ben Bolin]

And so he was compelled, perhaps for some different motivations, by Sullivan's concept. And they began organizing these anthropology days, which they sometimes referred to, apparently informally, as Special Olympics.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, yeah. Not the way we think of that term today. Right. And, you know, McGee did have a scientific background and thought that he was conducting research. But he. This preconceived notion that we mentioned earlier, that indigenous people had certain advantages, typically had to do with strength or endurance or things like that. And he wanted to build this hierarchical diagram of genealogy of the human species of which he thought these indigenous people were at the bottom, because his main concern was in intellect.

[Ben Bolin]

And he clearly subscribed to the concept of eugenics and selective breeding, which was alarmingly popular or accepted in the US at that time. So they stacked the odds against these people. They took several people from these exhibitions, like what you mentioned earlier, Noel, the exhibition featuring people from the Philippines, and they said, well, you'll compete in a special version of olympic events on August 12th and 13th of that year of 1904. And all their competitions that they put these people in were European style competitions. Shot put, high jump, long jump, running the mile, other stuff. But they didn't teach the participants. They didn't tell them a damn thing about what they were supposed to be doing.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. And I mean, even I, a lifelong citizen of these United States, I don't know the rules of. Of the high jump or the right form or how to do it properly or, you know, I don't. I really don't. And then that sounds, you know, like it would be so apparent or intuitive, and it's just not.

[Ben Bolin]

There are very specific regulations too, for any professional sporting event. So from what I understand. Correct me if this is. If this is off. From what I understand, they didn't tell them anything. There's obviously a language barrier. They didn't tell them anything. At most, for instance, in the 100 yard dash or whatever, the participants just sort of got the idea that they were supposed to run, but in many cases they just saw a gun fired and were like, what next?

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Or they were just more fascinated with the weapon itself and the loud noise that it made than what it signified, which just seems just so ridiculous and short sighted to me that they would just assume that these folks would have the cultural knowledge of how these games worked. That's just bonkers to me.

[Ben Bolin]

They also had Tettus, which is weird because tennis is something, even if you're skeptical with our explanation here and you think, well sure, you can just relatively easily explain to someone the basics of something like a high jump or a 100 yard dash. Tennis, I think we can all agree, has very specific equipment, rules and strategies. This Anthropology Days exhibition, or this event, whatever you want to call it, was a huge failure. There was very little notice, so there were not many people even in the crowd to watch. And Sullivan thought at least that the games were somewhat successful for his ulterior motive because he said, aha, this proves that these, this is a terrible word, but to him this proves that these quote unquote savages can't play tennis.

[Noel Brown]

Oh cool.

[Ben Bolin]

Good job, Sullivan.

[Noel Brown]

That's super, super helpful data there. All of these presuppositions that these guys made were based on the kind of inherent, just thoughtless racism that we kind of take for granted today that most learned people would hopefully not be party to. For example, they assumed that anyone from a nation in Africa, for example, where spears were thrown as a means of hunting and protection and what have you would automatically be good at throwing a javelin. You know, you know what it makes me think of? It makes me think of. There's an episode of Curb youb Enthusiasm where one of Larry's friends has adopted a Chinese baby. And Larry immediately asked them, so is he like automatically good at using chopsticks?

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, I mean those are horrific things to think. And of course Larry David, we can safely say is lampooning that and mocking it and does not himself believe it.

[Noel Brown]

But there is another angle here because of the thing you mentioned earlier where it's like, because these folks were closer to nature and did these things as part of their everyday life, it's not just a nurture thing. There's also a nature thing here where they assumed that because they had done these things in their day to day, they'd be able to immediately 1 to 1, translate them to some kind of silly game. And that didn't happen. For example, the folks who tried the javelin that were from these nations that used spears were terrible at it.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. And I think also there's an important point we have to make about these people. So according to that Timeline article that we cited earlier by Shoshu Parks, these people were already put in horrific conditions. So more than 20 million people attended the 1904 World's Fair. Right. They saw electricity. They heard the first telephone. They also went to see 3,000 people who were placed in these exhibitions. People from the African continent, the Asian continent, and parts of the Americas. But the way these people were forced to live was incredibly. Was like, incredibly dangerous. Regardless of the weather, they would be forced to wear traditional clothing. I'm doing air quotes here. Even if it didn't suit the climate. And then, like people were supposed to, who were forced to live in that Filipino village would be made to perform traditional rituals that were only supposed to happen seasonally, over and over again to shock or entertain an audience. There were appalling sanitary cond. Conditions. And a lot of these people felt that they had nowhere else to go. They were stuck in this alien environment. And imagine being pulled out of that. So your life is already not at its best. And then this Sullivan guy comes with some other people, grabs you, gibbers at you in English, hands you a javelin, and clearly thinks that he is going to prove that not only he, but anyone who looks like him is inherently better than you.

[Noel Brown]

I'm also confused, though, because he talks about how he had these ideas that they would be superior phys. So what was he. What was he trying to. What was he getting at? I'm confused.

[Ben Bolin]

I think it was McGee who thought he could prove specific physical advantages, and it was Sullivan who thought he could prove that what he saw as white people was inherently superior.

[Noel Brown]

So I guess the reason it's so confusing to me is because the logic behind literally all of this is utterly convoluted and bizarre.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, and a lot of that convolution and bizarre nature comes from the fact that it's based on things that are completely wrong.

[Noel Brown]

It's true. And here's an interesting fact, too. Nate DeMaio's article in Slate. He points out that these folks, though living in what he refers to as quasi captivity, were paid probably not much, and obviously they were living in horrible circumstances. But some of them even had, like, managers or agents. You know, it was almost like being a, I don't know, Santa Claus impersonator or something. But the problem is a lot of these folks that were in these Human zoos were never fully able to assimilate into American culture.

[Ben Bolin]

Right.

[Noel Brown]

And they were kind of held back by. Here we're giving you an opportunity to. But not really live, but just barely. Right?

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. And for McGee, the body of data that he wanted to collect from this to prove his wackadoo notion of racial hierarchies and certain inherent advantages or disadvantages, he didn't get it. We don't know if that body of data ever existed.

[Noel Brown]

They did give it another go, though. There was a second attempt at this, unconnected to the Olympic Games, where they did try to teach them the sports. You'd think that would have been front of mind the first time, but they just seem to have missed that entirely.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

How'd that one go? Did that any better results? No, no, no.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. It turns out if something. If you base something on a terrible idea and nonsense the first time you try it, it'll still be a terrible idea. Nonsense the second time.

[Noel Brown]

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[Ben Bolin]

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[Noel Brown]

And right now you can get half off their three month unlimited plan.

[Ben Bolin]

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[Noel Brown]

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[Ben Bolin]

And new customers can get half off an unlimited plan until February 2nd.

[Noel Brown]

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[Ben Bolin]

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[Noel Brown]

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[Ben Bolin]

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[Noel Brown]

See Mint Mobile for details.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't anywhere else, like extended Interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the daily show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Tremarki]

Welcome to the Criminalia podcast. I'm Maria Tremarke.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry. Together we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime.

[Maria Tremarki]

Each season we explore a new theme. Everything from poisoners and pirates to art thieves and snake oil products and those who made and sold them.

[Holly Fry]

We uncover the stories and secrets of some of history's most compelling criminal figures, including a man who built a submarine as a getaway vehicle. Yep, that's a fact.

[Maria Tremarki]

We also look at what kinds of societal forces were at play at the time of the crime, from legal injustices to the ethics of body snatching, to see what, if anything, might look different through today's perspective.

[Holly Fry]

And be sure to tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in custom made cocktails and mocktails inspired by the stories. There's one for every story we tell.

[Maria Tremarki]

Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Trehl]

Welcome. I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare Enter Tale from the Shadows, presented by iheart and Sonora. An anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters to bone chilling brushes with supernatural creatures.

[Ben Bolin]

Know.

[Danny Trehl]

Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Notor Tales from the Shadows as part of Michael Tura Podcast Network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ben Bolin]

While we're at this point, I just want to mention another fun food fact.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, please. I'm so ready. I'm so ready.

[Ben Bolin]

Okay, so apparently at the 1904 World's Fair, when it was hot, there were very few people interested in this hot tea offered by a guy named Richard Blechton, who was the tea commissioner in the India Pavilion. And this guy got so desperate that he decided to pour his tea over ice. And supposedly, according to legend, he invented iced tea. Well, then the drink.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah.

[Ben Bolin]

Not the rapper, not the lyricist.

[Noel Brown]

Only iced tea. Invented iced tea. Yeah. Where do we go from here, Ben?

[Ben Bolin]

I guess. Well, we should also say that, you know, I think we did mention. I hope we established that. But the concept of human zoos was not unique at all. Right, you mentioned earlier, it wasn't unique at all to the World's Fair. It existed in other parts of the world, in Europe as well. It is better for history, of course, that this proved to be a failure. There were some other firsts that occurred during the Olympics, so in some ways it wasn't a complete disaster. It was the first time boxing, freestyle wrestling, the decathlon and dumbbells made their debut in the modern Olympics. Right. And luckily, James Sullivan would go down in history as the fool he was, which I consider a positive aspect.

[Noel Brown]

Absolutely. How so?

[Ben Bolin]

Because he was clearly and categorically proven wrong, espousing a belief that was both offensive and incredibly common at the time. So I consider that a win for our species overall.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, I will, in the spirit of staying ridiculous, because while this racial shenanigans is absolutely ridiculous, it's also pretty depressing and quite dark when you think about it. The idea of human zoos. It reminds me of that. The episode we did about the real human skull that was found in the diorama at a museum. And the idea of grave robbing these indigenous people and taking them back to Europe and taxidermizing them.

[Ben Bolin]

Sure. Imperialist culture thieves.

[Noel Brown]

We haven't even mentioned the fact that a lot of this attitude was entirely based on the idea of imperialism of the United States. It was established. You know, we had. We had gotten this territory of the Philippines. We had this Filipino reservation. Right. And it was this idea of showing our cultural dominance.

[Ben Bolin]

I would say it's. I would say it's ultimately descended from the European ideals that the Americans just. They didn't invent it.

[Noel Brown]

No, no, no, for sure. But this is a really clear example of, you know, trying to. To put that on full display. So let's end with one funny story.

[Ben Bolin]

I advanced to end with food facts.

[Noel Brown]

Okay, that's fine. So next to last thing, two folks.

[Ben Bolin]

Don'T leave completely depressed.

[Noel Brown]

This one's kind of depressing, too, but in a lighthearted, funny way. So the marathon at the Olympics themselves was just utterly disastrous. The winner, a guy named Thomas Hicks, he finished in an absurdly long 3 hours and 28 minutes. And that is because the conditions were just abhorrent. It was 90 degrees. It was on a road that was covered with dust. And I think According to history.com 18 of the 32 folks that were racing had to pull out because of sheer exhaustion. Somebody got a stomach hemorrhage and nearly died.

[Ben Bolin]

William Garcia of California collapsed and had to be hospitalized because dust had coated his esophagus and ripped his stomach lining.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, my God. I'm glad we're ending with the food facts. So, yeah, Thomas Hicks, he won with that ridiculously slow time, but only because his assistants kept feeding him doses of eggs and strychnine, egg whites and strychnine and brandy to keep him on his feet.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. At the 10 mile mark, they had to start taking care of him. He begged them for a drink and they refused. They sponged his mouth out instead. Strychnine in small doses was common as a stimulant at the time. And I know how weird it sounds, but there were no rules about performance enhancing drugs. But he was the ultimate winner. But did you hear about Fred Lorz?

[Noel Brown]

No.

[Ben Bolin]

He's my favorite guy.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know about this one.

[Ben Bolin]

Oh, Fred Lorz. Okay. So this guy, Fred Lorz, L O R Z, he leads the starters from the time they fire the gun. But by the first mile, Thomas Hicks hedges ahead and lures at the nine mile mark, started getting these crazy stomach cramps. And so he decided to hitch a ride in an accompanying car. And he waved at his fellow competitors as he ran. And then he rode in the car for 11 miles. And then one of Hicks handlers, one of the strychnine egg white guys, saw Lors and ordered him off the course. But Lorz said, eh and kept running and finished with a time of just under three hours. And the crowd went nuts. And they were like, yay. And American one. And then someone, I think President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, placed a wreath on Lorz's head and was about to put the actual medal around his neck when somebody finally busted him. The cheers turned to booze. And we don't know if Lorz was as sincere when he said this, but he smiled and said, I never attempted to accept the honor. I finished only for the sake of a joke. And it's like, really? That's how you let it kill? Get that close to a gold medal?

[Noel Brown]

I don't know, man.

[Ben Bolin]

I don't really buy it.

[Noel Brown]

It's a good story, though.

[Ben Bolin]

But Hicks, Hicks does become the winner, right?

[Noel Brown]

Yep.

[Ben Bolin]

Because he didn't hop in a car for 11 miles.

[Noel Brown]

That's right. He hopped on his feet. While I'm picturing him vomiting constantly, clutching his guts, screaming for water. Yeah, screaming for water. Having his. His little toadies pouring some disgusting mixture down his throat. You know, that's how you typically picture a marathon runner, Right?

[Ben Bolin]

Right. That's the glory days picture. So as we said, there were a lot of food facts we were pointing to when we entered more difficult parts of this story. I want to give a little bit Of a gray lining here, because some of those stories, while inspiring, pretty easy to debunk. If you were writing an email now about iced tea, again, the drink, the truth is that it had been around for decades beforehand.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, I guess if you're the one that got the booth at the World's Fair, you might get the credit in history. But thankfully we've got sites like Serious Eats that do a great job of debunking that stuff. What did they say about the actual origins of iced tea, Ben?

[Ben Bolin]

Oh, yeah. The actual origins of iced tea, which are interesting on their own, occur at least by 1868, probably actually way before 1868, like three decades before the World fair. A widely circulated newspaper piece notes that iced tea with lemon juice is said to be a popular and healthy drink and has instructions for making it. And it's also in numerous cookbooks. So I think a lot of the marketing of World's Fair stuff is just that, marketing. And we have to be careful because marketing, you know, is a glitzy version of the truth.

[Noel Brown]

Do you think it wasn't really Abe Lincoln's boyhood cabin that was there? Just some sort of replica?

[Ben Bolin]

I don't know. It also reminds me, you know, all those old medieval counterfeiters, like a Canterbury Tale, who would run around with fake reliquaries.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, it's the Pardoner's Tale.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, like the Pardoner. But we do believe it is important for us to acknowledge these things and realize that in 1904 at the world's Fair, people believed they were on the cusp of scientific innovation, that they were on the bleeding edge of technology. And in some ways they were. But their own preconceptions, their own prejudices, their own preexisting notions limited the scope of their vision. And hopefully that's something that we can learn from in the modern day. I feel like I'm stretching to make it a little bit of a parallel now.

[Noel Brown]

You're doing a good job, Ben.

[Ben Bolin]

You like it? I do think it'll work.

[Noel Brown]

It's a good way to frame it. Yeah. But there, there you have it. To quote Robert Lamb of Stuff to blow your mind, our sister podcast. So, yeah, I think we leave it there. Right, Ben?

[Ben Bolin]

I agree, though. We hope that you have enjoyed this episode. We would like to thank you for listening. We've been doing more and more sports related stuff recently. Have you noticed that?

[Noel Brown]

Which is weird because I don't think either one of us are into sports. And it's possible that they're. That shows in the episode but we come to it with honest hearts.

[Ben Bolin]

Honest hearts, honest hearts. And as fans of history, if nothing else. So thank you for checking out the show and taking this strange journey with us. Thank you to our super producer Casey Pegram. And thank you to Eve's Jeffcoat, who was our research assistant for this episode.

[Noel Brown]

If you want to reach us online, you can check us out on social media Ridiculous History at Instagram and Twitter and Facebook Facebook. Or you can join our Facebook community, the Ridiculous Historians. There's always all kinds of fun conversation and memory going on there. If you don't want to do any of that, you can write us an [e-mail] and I think we did not yet. Thank our pal Alex Williams who composed this tune.

[Ben Bolin]

Thanks, Alex.

[Noel Brown]

For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now, this is the second term we can all get behind.

[Noel Brown]

Listen.

[Jon Stewart]

Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Tremarki]

Welcome to the Criminalia Podcast. I'm Maria Tremarke.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Holly Fry. Together we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime.

[Maria Tremarki]

Each season we explore a new theme, from poisoners to art thieves.

[Holly Fry]

We uncover the secrets of history's most interesting figures, from legal injustice, injustices to body snatching.

[Maria Tremarki]

And tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in cocktails and mocktails inspired by each story.

[Holly Fry]

Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Trehl]

You should probably keep your lights on for Nocturnal Tales from the Shadow. Join me, Danny Trehlv and step into into the Flames of Fright, an anthology podcast of modern day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to nocturnum on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.