Behind the Scenes Minis: Friends and Bubble Guns

Summary

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Behind the Scenes Minis: Friends and Bubble Guns

Hosts: Holly Frey & Tracy V. Wilson
Date: May 8, 2026
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this delightful "Behind the Scenes Minis" installment, Holly and Tracy reflect on two main threads: quirky and endearing moments from historic episodes—especially their coverage of demography pioneer John Graunt—and old inventions that caught their fascination. Woven throughout is their signature warmth and humor, as the hosts swap stories about friendship circles of 17th-century intellectuals, the surprisingly ancient origins of modern delights like disco balls and bubble machines, and the sources of everyday joy (from bathroom disco balls to cats chasing bubbles).
Listeners are treated to extra tidbits, expanded anecdotes, and a celebration of the little amusements that brighten both history and modern life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

John Graunt, Friends, and the Plausibility of a 17th-Century "Friends" Sitcom

(02:29–09:42)

• Name Confusion: Tracy admits she kept wanting to call John Graunt "John Gaunt," to which Holly confesses she also made this typo but avoided vocalizing it to prevent reinforcing the slip.
  "I didn't want to say it and cement it in your head as that way..." (02:36, Holly)

• King James I’s Dubious Plague Advice:

  • Holly delights in discussing King James I's edict that eating more butter would protect against the plague.
    "He wanted people to eat more butter... Like, specifically just eating a lot of buttered bread. I don't know what the logic was exactly." (03:02, Holly)
  • Tracy responds playfully: "Oh, I'm good with that." (03:05, Tracy)

• 17th-Century Intellectual Cliques:

  • Holly draws parallels between the close-knit London intellectual scene and a “Friends, 1650” sitcom, noting how everyone (like Pepys, Petty, and Graunt) knew and visited one another in a much smaller city.
    "It's like an episode of 'Friends, 1650.' Like, Peeps is talking to all of them, visiting everybody. Everybody's up in everybody's business." (04:09, Holly)

• Absence of Graunt Portraits:

  • Despite Graunt’s ties with artists—notably portrait painters—no known images of him survive. "It's zero. It's a goose egg. We don't have any." (05:28, Holly)

• Searchers of the Dead: Drama, Comedy, or Murder Mystery?

  • Holly expresses a desire to write a TV series about these plague-era officials (primarily elderly women), exploring their unique role and the era’s rationale for employing them.
    • "It's just fascinating to me, that idea." (06:14, Holly)
    • Tracy adds that many were already caring for the sick, so “you probably have already been exposed to everything and you're still all right.” (06:48)

• Graunt & Petty’s Friendship and Rift:

  • Holly notes tensions over money—Graunt, with power of attorney, reluctantly withheld funds from Petty, causing a rift even as their bond endured.
    • "He kind of like would withhold money...because he thought Petty was spending it irresponsibly." (07:17, Holly)
    • "Although they clearly loved each other very much right to the end, even though they were having those issues." (07:41, Holly)

• London Enduring Hardship and Rebuilding:
  "That whole plague plus fire in just a couple of years, London went through it, man." (08:15, Holly)

Demographic Misconceptions and John Graunt's Innovations

(09:42–11:07)

• Graunt as Accidental Data Analyst:

  • Holly likens Graunt’s career shift to suddenly becoming famous for analyzing government reports—an ordinary person taking up a niche no one else saw value in. "It's literally like if I just tomorrow was like, you know what, I'm gonna do some analysis of these government reports that we have and that I became famous for it." (08:52, Holly)

• Common Misconceptions about London’s Population:

  • They discuss period beliefs, including a skewed perception that women vastly outnumbered men in London’s population—by a ratio of 3:1 (1.5 million women to 0.5 million men if you accepted the inflated estimates)—demonstrating both the power and peril of unchecked assumptions. "You guys. This would have been so much more obvious than what you're dealing with. I don't know. Fascinating. Fascinating. Thanks John Grunt for all your work." (11:07, Holly)

Old Inventions: Heron’s Ingenious Devices

(13:59–16:13)

• Hero of Alexandria (Heron) and His Marvels:

  • Holly is delighted by Heron’s ancient mechanical inventions, including temple doors that opened with fire—a mechanism intended to awe temple visitors. "It is basically a way for temple priests to trick whoever is there into believing that a God has opened the doors. And I'm like, Heron...What are you doing, man?" (14:49, Holly)

• Automata and Vending Machines:

  • They discuss Heron’s vending machine—Holly describes it as “quite cute”—and their varied experiences with samovars (tea/coffee urns) through the lens of personal and catalog copywriting anecdotes.

Disco Balls: Surprising History & Home Decor

(17:24–20:54)

• Bathroom Disco Balls:

  • Holly shares that her husband sent her an Instagram reel featuring a bathroom disco ball, inspiring plans for their home remodel. "He's of course like, you want a disco ball in the bathroom, right? I was like, had not thought of it, but it’s going to happen now." (17:30, Holly)

• Disco Balls in Star Wars Cantinas and Drag Bars:

  • Holly and Tracy muse about whether the Star Wars cantina could ever feature a disco ball, and about the appropriateness of disco balls in drag venues, with nods to LGBTQ+ spaces like Lips Atlanta.

• Historical Perspective:

  • Tracy is surprised by how old disco balls are (late 19th century and earlier) and recognizes their characteristic lighting effects in historic photos and movies like The Shining. "A lot of times you're seeing the dappled lighting effect and not necessarily the ball in the picture too. It's fascinating. It's fascinating." (20:24, Holly)

Everyday Joys: Bubble Machines, Prisms, Cats, and More

(20:54–26:49)

• Bubble Machines in the Wild:

  • Tracy recalls her first encounter with a bubble-blowing machine in Boone, NC—a mesmerizing moment.
    "I was just walking around downtown Boone and there was some kind of store that had a bubble blowing machine in the window...I was like, this is the best thing I have ever seen." (21:22, Tracy)

• Disney Bubble Guns:

  • Holly adores the magic of kids running around Disney parks with bubble guns, filling the air with bubbles. "There's nothing better than just walking through a surprise cloud of bubbles." (24:44, Holly)

• Prisms and Simple Delights:

  • Tracy treasures her prism, a gift from her mom, which makes rainbows in her office—a small but joyful pleasure.

• Cat Bubble Play:

  • The hosts swap pet stories: Holly describes a cat who was obsessed with chasing bubbles but needed a cat-safe soap (catnip bubbles), and they brainstorm whether their current cats would enjoy similar amusements.

• Disco Balls and Cats:

  • Tracy notes some cats' reactions to laser pointers and disco balls, sparking a mini-discussion on feline enrichment and animal behavior.

Closing: Embrace Joy and Amusements

(27:30–28:49)

• Holly waxes poetic about her fondness for "kitties, kitties, breath mints, vending machines and disco balls," grateful for the levity and delight these simple amusements bring.
• She encourages listeners to “find whatever brings you a little bit of joy in these trying times,” be it spinning a disco ball, chasing bubbles, or just cherishing sparkling moments.
  • "As long as it makes you happy, have a party, spin your disco ball. Be it Death Star, kitty cat, or pumpkin shaped or just a classic, all of them are good. There’s no shame in the disco ball game." (28:20, Holly)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On King James I’s plague prevention:

• "He wanted people to eat more butter...Because he thought that butter was somehow protective against the plague." (03:02, Holly)

On London's intellectual “friends” circle:

• "It's like an episode of 'Friends, 1650' ... Everybody's up in everybody's business." (04:09, Holly)

On Graunt’s undocumented appearance:

• "He may have known a lot of portraitists, but either they never painted him or if they did, it got lost." (05:28, Holly)

On the uniqueness of Heron's inventions:

• "What are you doing, man?" (14:54, Holly, about Heron's temple-door trickery)

On bathroom disco balls:

• "I was like, had not thought of it, but it's going to happen now." (17:30, Holly)

On the universal joy of bubbles:

• "There's nothing better than just walking through a surprise cloud of bubbles." (24:44, Holly)

On small moments of happiness:

• "Find whatever brings you a little bit of joy in these trying times that we are all living in." (28:41, Holly)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• John Graunt, Friends, and the Plague: 02:29–09:42
• Demographic Data & Misconceptions: 09:42–11:07
• Ancient Inventions (Heron): 13:59–16:13
• Disco Balls in History & Home: 17:24–20:54
• Bubble Machines, Cats, and Simple Joys: 20:54–26:49
• Closing Affirmations & Joy: 27:30–28:49

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Tone & Style

Conversational, warm, and witty; Holly and Tracy interweave humor, curiosity, and genuine affection for quirky facts and each other. Their banter makes the arcane feel accessible and the personal, universal—a blend that encourages listeners to appreciate both the weird wonders of history and the small, everyday delights that make life sparkle.

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This summary covers the full scope of the episode’s substantive conversation, providing both the historical insights and the playful spirit of Stuff You Missed in History Class’s beloved hosts.

Transcript

[Holly Frey]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Holly Frey]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Holly Frey]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartradio. Hello. And Happy Fry. They. I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Holly Frey]

We talked about Jon Graunt this week.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I kept wanting to call him John Gaunt, which is not. That's not right.

[Holly Frey]

I didn't tell you this while we were recording because you had said that during recording that I had to. I typed it that way a lot of times, too. And I didn't want to say it and cement it in your head as that way, because I was like, that won't help the problem. Here's what I want to talk about first.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay.

[Holly Frey]

James I's book of orders regarding how they were all gonna get through the plague together. Because there's a bit of advice that was no good, but that I love.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay.

[Holly Frey]

He wanted people to eat more butter.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Oh, I'm good with that.

[Holly Frey]

Because he thought that butter was somehow protective against the plague.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay.

[Holly Frey]

Like, specifically just eating a lot of buttered bread. I don't know what the logic was exactly. Did he think, like, germs would stick to the butter and not get on your body, but it's going in your body? I don't know. He just thought that butter laminated your insides in some sort of way. Hmm. I'm like, cool. I don't think I'm gonna get to playing then. We love a little butter. It just made me giggle to no end. The other thing that made me giggle a lot while I was working on this, aside from John Aubrey's kooky versions of people's lives, was that John Graunt. And some of this is simply because London was so much smaller at this time than it is today that, like, every intellectual knew each other, but the way they all know each other just. I was like, this is like an episode of, like, friends, 1650. Like, peeps is talking to all of them, visiting everybody. Everybody's up in everybody's business. All of the dudes at the Royal Society know each other. It just cracked me up a little bit in terms of, like, thinking about a city that we know today as being that large. I mean, it's hard to imagine people even knowing everybody in their neighborhood when you're in London. It's so populous that, like, the idea that all of these guys were just buds, that Peeps was at their houses all the time looking at their stuff, it just cracks me up somehow. I don't know. It's like, oh, this little, little band of friends. Cute. And I Kept. When I was working on the episode, because of the timeline of his life, I kept being like, wait, did he become friends with these people after he got, you know, famous for writing this thing? But he knew Petty before that, and Petty was already kind of in with a lot of those people. So that's. I think he at least had acquaintanceship with most of them. The other thing that's interesting and a little sad, we mentioned specifically in the episode that he was friends with a number of artists.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Right.

[Holly Frey]

Two of whom were famous for their portraiture. Do you know how many images of John Graunt we have?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Is it none?

[Holly Frey]

It's zero. It's a goose egg. We don't have any. He may have known a lot of portraitists, but either they never painted him or if they did, it got lost and nobody even knows it happened.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

Which is a pity.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Maybe it's one of those things where it's still somewhere, but it's been handed down in the family and nobody knows.

[Holly Frey]

Maybe. Or maybe he was just like a person like today that don't like to have their picture taken. And he was like, no, not me. Let's look at numbers instead. Numbers are good. I want to write a TV series about the Searchers, because every time I read more about them, I'm like, this would be excellent. And you could go a number of ways. It could be a drama, it could be a comedy, it could be.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Could be a murder mystery.

[Holly Frey]

Sure, sure. I just love the idea that, you know, there is a story to be examined there. Because they were picking primarily elderly women because if they did get exposed to plague and consequently died, it would feel like less of a loss because they had lived their lives. They were also more capable at that point because most of them had outlived their families of living in quarantine without that causing as much distress. But it also just, like. It's just fascinating to me, that idea.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

They also, a lot of the time were already the people that were also taking care of the sick. So there was like, a perception of, like, you probably were. You probably have already been exposed to everything and you're still all right. So it's okay for you to go into this house where somebody might have died of plague.

[Holly Frey]

I think of the Eddie Izzard bit about how grandmas live forever. I'm a gram. I live to a million. Like, they're just indestructible at that point.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah,

[Holly Frey]

it's very fascinating. Very fascinating. All of the sort of not William Petty, but petty things amongst all of these Accounts and letters and whatnot are quite interesting. There is an aspect we didn't go into it regarding the money arguments that Petty and Graunt were getting into towards the end of Graunt's life that are probably not what you think they were. They were not about how Graunt was spending money. Remember, Grant had power of attorney and he has some say in Petty's finances. And he kind of like would withhold money when he was handling his accounts because he thought Petty was spending it irresponsibly. And Petty was basically like, it's my money, it's my problem, get out of my business. And that was a big part of their rift. Although they clearly loved each other very much right to the end, even though they were having those issues. But it's just fascinating. Fascinating. Also, man, that whole plague plus fire in just a couple of years, London went through it, man.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

Which also did enable the city to rebuild in ways that were more prepared for its growth up to that point. But that's kind of bright, sighting something that's really yucky. So.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

Anyway, John Graunt. Thanks for demography, sir.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Hooray, hooray.

[Holly Frey]

Yeah, I wanted to talk about him since we did the episode on actuary science.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

Because he's just interesting to me. The fact that he was like not. I mean, it's literally like if I just tomorrow was like, you know what, I'm gonna do some analysis of these government reports that we have and that I became famous for it. And that's the work that I'm doing.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

Except it's even weirder because I at least look at things like that as part of my job, was just like, nobody's doing anything with this. Maybe I can do something with this.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Other than deciding whether to leave town.

[Holly Frey]

Right. Or to have a chit chat and be like, oh, ah, two people died of purples this week.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I still do that. Like I look at the, I look at like the flu report.

[Holly Frey]

Yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

To determine what precautionary steps I want to take regarding the flu. That kind of stuff.

[Holly Frey]

Oh yeah. I mean, I, I think that's perfectly normal. It is really interesting too that nobody had been using any of this available information to actually establish at least baseline numbers of what was going on in London while they were repeating complete falsehoods based on assumption. And like just the accepted wisdom of the day was not that wise.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. The part about people assuming there were way more women than men.

[Holly Frey]

Uh huh.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Reminded me of the little tidbit that you will see circulating sometimes about how people perceive women is talking a lot more than we talk in a group. It reminded me of that a lot.

[Holly Frey]

Me too. And I was like, is it that perception? Is it that the men of London were like, ugh, women everywhere? Or I don't know, was there some other thing? Was it that women were doing so much of the various kinds of like day to day labor that people saw women everywhere even though they were not. They were just busy and, and constantly about. I don't know. We don't know what flavor of bias may have led them to that incorrect assumption because especially when you consider the fact that they thought a lot of people believed there were 2 million people in London. So at that point they thought there were 1.5 million women.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

And half a million men.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

So many. It's like so many.

[Holly Frey]

You guys. This would have been so much more obvious than what you're dealing with. I don't know. Fascinating. Fascinating. Thanks John Grunt for all your work. Wouldn't it be great to never buy gas again? EVs are as easy to charge as your phone and they are a perfect addition to your everyday life. Most people are only driving about 40 miles a day and most EVs can handle 200 to 400 miles of range on a charge. And there are hundreds of EV models available today, so there's something perfect for every lifestyle and budget. I drive an ev. Had it for a couple of years. It's my favorite car I've ever owned. It is so fun to drive. The pickup is incredible. It's super agile and it is easy to maintain. The way forward is electric.

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

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[Holly Frey]

Right. That's the name.

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[Holly Frey]

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

We're open.

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[Holly Frey]

We talked about old inventions that most people probably think are newer inventions this week.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

Which I loved. And I will say this. I could read Harren's books all day long. Cause a lot of his little inventions, which, like, he wasn't inventing things to be like, I've invented a thing. It's the new thing. This is gonna change things. It was all kind of like theoretical expressions of mechanical concepts. But some of them were wild and potentially manipulative. There was one invention in the pneumatics that is called temple doors opened by fire on an altar. And it is basically a way for temple priests to trick whoever is there into believing that a God has opened the doors.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Well, okay.

[Holly Frey]

And I'm like, heron.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

What are you doing, man?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Did we talk about him at all? This is so long ago. You may not remember either, but did we talk about him at all in the Automata episode?

[Holly Frey]

I don't think so. And I went looking. I don't have my outline for that episode. Cause it was so long ago. And I looked. I don't remember where I looked for it. But anyway, I lost the thread of it. So I don't think so. But I'm not positive. But he has a lot of really interesting stuff in there. And I really love his little vending machine. It's quite cute. Although I will say this. When we were discussing it and you. I had put in the outline that it looked like a samovar.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

And you said, this is like a cylinder for making tea. And I was like what? I've only had coffee out of a samovar, but I think I'm a coffee girl is all that it is.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Well, and when I saw the word samovar, I was like, what is that? And then when I googled it and saw a picture, I was like, I know exactly what that is. But I thought other people might also have just not heard it called that. I feel like I always heard it be a T urn.

[Holly Frey]

It's like one of those fascinating things where it's like your life experience is different from someone else's because I have never heard it called a tea urn. Not doubting you, just. I clearly moved in a different circle where it was always full of coffee.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This has reminded me of one of the first, or I guess the first actual writing job that I had after getting out of college. And I was writing catalog copy. And the copy in the catalog already referenced Bruins. And I am not a sports person and at that point had only ever lived in North Carolina. And so I was like, do people know what bruin means? And now, obviously, now that I know about things like sports teams named the Bruins, it made it make a lot more sense when the marketing manager looked at me like she could not believe I was asking this question. And I was like, I. In hindsight, I'm like, yeah, this is because I lived in North Carolina and did not watch any variety of sports.

[Holly Frey]

And now you live in the greater

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Boston area where everything is Bruins hockey, baby.

[Holly Frey]

I love it. Love it. Although that was never my team.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

No.

[Holly Frey]

I wish every room had a disco ball in it. Oh, I was gonna share how we got to this show.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Holly Frey]

So my husband, who I love very much because he is precious and who knows me, sent me this very funny Instagram reel by someone who was saying she was in a public bathroom and there's a button on the wall and if you push it, the lighting goes out in the bathroom for a second and then a disco ball starts spinning and lights come on. And this is like, I don't remember where they said it was because in a different post they mentioned where that was. And we are in the middle of a multi year prepping to redo my bathroom. And I'm like, thank you for this information, love of my life. Cause he's of course like, you want a disco ball in the bathroom, right? I was like, had not thought of it, but it's going to happen now.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Well, and I can think of specific locations where I would be unsurprised to find A disco ball in the bathroom?

[Holly Frey]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I would be unsurprised at a gay bar for there to be a disco ball in the bathroom.

[Holly Frey]

Remember if Lips Atlanta, which is a drag. A drag venue here in Atlanta, has disco balls in the bathroom. Their whole decor is adorable.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

We have a Death Star disco ball in our tiki lounge. Sure, sure. It doesn't go in the cantina because you've never seen a disco ball in Star Wars. So it does not go in our immersive cantina space. No.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Right.

[Holly Frey]

I have such rules. I'm so rigid about what can and can't go in the cantina. No disco balls. If ever they show one in Star

[Tracy V. Wilson]

wars, it's gonna go right in there immediately, I'm sure.

[Holly Frey]

I honestly don't know. Because the whole premise of the cantina is that it's a dive bar on Tatooine, you know?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. Well, when the dive bar on Tatooine comes under new management and they turn it into a drag cantina, which would be pretty funny. I would like that. That would find that hilarious.

[Holly Frey]

I'm thinking about various Star wars characters that would make great drag kings or queens.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. So of course I associate mirror balls with disco balls. Yeah, of course. So when I initially saw that there was this, like, description of one from the late 19th century, I had a moment where I was like, whoa. But then I thought about it and I was like, self. You have for sure seen pictures of performance spaces and dance halls and stuff like that with disco balls in them from way before the disco era. It just hadn't really clocked.

[Holly Frey]

Yeah. I mean, it is one of those things. A lot of times there are pictures like that. Now all I can picture is that photograph from the Shining of the Overlook Hotel, where they sort of are dappled with light. And I don't know that you see the disco ball in it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

But you see the effect that is very obviously from a mirrored ball of some type.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

I think that's the thing is, a lot of times you're seeing the dappled lighting effect and not necessarily the ball in the picture too. It's fascinating. It's fascinating.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

I'm sure glad somebody thought to do that. Cause I love it heaps.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It's very sparkly.

[Holly Frey]

So sparkly. It's so good. It's so good. It's unconscionably good. How much a simple device can bring joy. Just. I'm like a kitty chasing it around a room. Love it. Love it. The best.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I'M thinking about the machines that blow bubbles, which, like, the first time I ever experienced one of those, I'm pretty sure I was in Boone, North Carolina when I was in high school or maybe early college age and I was just like walking around downtown Boone and there was some kind of store that had a bubble blowing machine in the window that was just blowing the bubbles out into the street. And I was like, this is the best thing I have ever seen.

[Holly Frey]

Yes.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Because it also, it also paired very well with one of my favorite things to do, which is just to like walk around a little town and see what all the shops are.

[Holly Frey]

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[Commercial Announcer]

Learn [e-mail] Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance. And now we're customizing this ad for your morning commute to wake you up, which could help your driving. Science says that stimulating the brain increases alertness. So here's a pop. How many months have 28 days? What gets wetter as it dries? What has keys but can't open? Locks? If you don't want to hear the answers, turn off this Liberty Mutual AD. Now 12 months. A towel, piano. Enjoy being fully alert.

[Holly Frey]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Liberty.

[Robert Smigel]

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guest SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter. There's not worse singer in the group. The worst. Yeah, me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard you only got in because your parents made a huge donation?

[Holly Frey]

The Yardbirds, right? That's the name.

[Robert Smigel]

The Harvard Yard. They're open if you have a name suggestion.

[Holly Frey]

We're open.

[Robert Smigel]

Since you guys are middle aged One erection. Listen to Humor. Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Frey]

Humor me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Holly Frey]

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

[Commercial Announcer]

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

[Holly Frey]

One of my favorite developments in handheld technology, if you can call it that, in the last, I don't know if you 15 years has been bubble guns that people can carry because they sell them in Disney parks.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Okay.

[Holly Frey]

And so there will be times. And kids, of course, go bananas for em. Like, you hand one of those to a kid and they're just bubble gunning it left and right. So they're kind of like populating the parks with bubbles without having to do any effort on their own. Like, they're just little kids running around making magical things happen all the time, which I love. There's nothing better than just walking through a surprise cloud of bubbles. To me, I'm sure there are people that don't like it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Holly Frey]

But I love it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I love it. I have a prism that was a present from my mom many years ago hanging in the window in this office. And there are certain times of year when the sun hits it at the right angle and makes rainbows on the wall. And I love it.

[Holly Frey]

I have a stitch of Lilo and stitch bubble machine where he's actually blowing the bubbles. It's like its own little automata.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah.

[Holly Frey]

It's the best. Oh, it's the best.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

It's the best.

[Holly Frey]

But the problem is, have you ever messed with. Speaking of kitties, the catnip bubbles.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

So our cats don't really care about catnip.

[Holly Frey]

Yeah. But they might care about bubbles. And that way, you know, they're cat safe.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, okay, that's a good point. That's a good point.

[Holly Frey]

Because we used to have a kitty named Zisu, who she loved a bubble. And I, we discovered this because of that stitch bubble machine. Like, I just reminded myself of it thinking about it. And she would go after them, but I was always worried about all the soap getting on her paws because she would bath them closed. And I started Buying the catnip one. She didn't seem to care much about the catnip of it, but she really loved to jump after a bubble, and it made her very happy. So I would fill the machine with the catnip bubbles and she'd be occupied for hours.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, I feel like Opal might particularly. So we have various small toys that Opal will knock out of the air if you throw them past her. And so I feel like bubbles. I sort of think we tried some kind of bubble something many years ago. Didn't really work, but let's try again.

[Holly Frey]

I know I haven't tried it with any of our newer girls. I wonder if they'd be into it. I'm gonna have to get some and find out. Any excuse to make a bubble.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

What Onyx is really into is pressing the one button she has figured out, which is the button that says treat. And we throw a piece of her regular kibble and she chases it and eats it.

[Holly Frey]

I also think disco balls. I've seen some cats get pretty excited about disco balls also.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, they like laser pointers, so they'd probably like disco ball.

[Holly Frey]

Yeah, I know there is some debate among cat behaviorists about laser pointers and similar things because they don't get the satisfaction of, like, catching prey and that it can make some cats kind of neurotic. So one, this isn't veterinary advice, but yeah.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I have had a cat before that I could not play with laser pointer because. Because of that, like, it was clear that she needed to catch it and that was never gonna happen. But these two will chase it for a while, and then they'll just wander and do something else. Yeah,

[Holly Frey]

kitties, kitties, breath mints, vending machines and disco balls. This is where my brain's at right now. This is what my brain can handle. Silly amusements.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, yeah. My episode that we recorded in this session, I couldn't say was not silly amusement. So thank you for bringing some levity.

[Holly Frey]

Great. Happy to do it. Listen, it's all because my husband sent me a disco ball reel, and I went, where did disco balls come from? Who invented this magic that can make happiness so easily?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Holly Frey]

That's really all it takes.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

What a good question.

[Holly Frey]

Oh, thanks, Mr. Weesty. Again, I wish I knew what the, like, motivation was there where he was like, you know what? I'm gonna do a whole bunch of little mirrors, stick him on a ball. I'm gonna make it his first patent drawing. Anyway, his are not the way we see them today, where they're all little flat mirror pieces. They were like little, almost like tiny contact lens size mirrors that had that same kind of dome shape to them, at least in the illustration. So interesting, interesting. And I think it was omega when they picked it up and started making them. They started doing the flat ones cause they had developed a a material that could go on the balls more easily thanks to them. Anyway, if this is your weekend coming up, I hope you look at sparkly stuff. As long as it makes you happy, have a party, spin your disco ball. Be it death star, kitty cat or pumpkin shaped or just a classic, all of them are good. There's no shame in the disco ball game. Seriously, find whatever brings you a little bit of joy in these trying times that we are all living in. If you do have to work this weekend, I hope that you also find some joy. Maybe you could bring your own tiny disco ball with you, places just to look at. Make your happiness happen. Whatever it takes. I want everybody to take care of themselves and each other and find joy and delight. We are going to be right back here on Monday with a brand new episode. We will also have a classic tomorrow.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuff youf Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Holly Frey]

Wouldn't it be great to never buy gas again? EVs are as easy to charge as your phone and they are a perfect addition to your everyday life. Most people are only driving about 40 miles a day and most EVs can handle 200 to 400 miles of range on a charge. And there are hundreds, hundreds of EV models available today. So there's something perfect for every lifestyle and budget. I drive an ev. I've had it for a couple of years. It's my favorite car I've ever owned. It is so fun to drive. The pickup is incredible. It's super agile and it is easy to maintain. The way forward is electric. Learn [e-mail] brought to you in part by Vital Farms.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I love eggs. I turn to them all the time as a quick and easy way to start a meal. And Vital Farms eggs are brought to you by hens that have access to air and sunshine and you can actually look up on the carton and see the farm that those eggs came from. Vital Farms is also a certified bee corporation with a purpose to improve the lives of people, animals and the planet through food. Look for the black egg carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more Vital Good Eggs no shortcuts

[Commercial Announcer]

Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance. And now we're customizing this ad for your morning commute to wake you up, which could help your driving. Science says that stimulating the brain increases alertness. So here's a pop quiz. How many months have 28 days? What gets wetter as it dries? What has keys but can't open Locks? If you don't want to hear the answers, turn off this Liberty Mutual AD. Now 12 months a towel piano. Enjoy being fully alert.

[Holly Frey]

Liberty Liberty. Liberty.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Liberty.

[Robert Smigel]

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier this week. My guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an acapella band with their between songs banter.

[Holly Frey]

Where does your group perform?

[Robert Smigel]

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Frey]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Guaranteed Human.