Forever Ago: Where did the weekend come from?

A sample from Forever Ago, featuring host Joy Dolo!


Smash Boom Best - Forever Ago: Where did the weekend come from? - Lesson Plan

Hello Smash Boom Besties! We're going to be back with a new debate next week. Hooray! This week, we want to share with you an episode of our sister podcast Forever Ago, hosted by Joy Dolo. Search for Forever Ago wherever you listen to Smash Boom Best. 

ANNOUNCER: Hello, Smash Boom besties. We're going to be back with a new debate next week. Hooray! 

But this week we want to share with you an episode of our sister podcast Forever Ago hosted by Joy Dolo. You may remember Joy from such debates as Bigfoot versus mermaids, mustard versus mayo, and bubblegum versus gummy bears. She's a star, a delight, and well a joy. All right, here's a bit of Forever Ago. 

[DOOR OPENS] 

ASA: Hey, Joy. 

[SNORING] 

Joy, you in here? 

[FOOTSTEPS] 

Oh, there you are. Listen, you will not believe what happened to me today. I-- 

[SNORING] 

Why are you resting your face against the microphone like it's a pillow? And why is there drool on your cheek? And why are you wearing a blue satin eye mask with the words quiet please embroidered on it? Hang on, are you asleep in the studio? 

[SNORING] 

Uh-oh, I guess you forgot we were supposed to tape an episode today. Joy, time to wake up. Open those peepers. It's a beautiful day. 

[SNORING] 

Wow, you're a deep sleeper. Let's try this. 

[METALLIC CLANGING] 

Joy, wakey-wakey eggs and bakey. 

JOY DOLO: Oh, I'm scared of the ponies. 

[SNORING] 

Bedazzled goldfish, [YAWN] peanut butter baloney sandwich. 

[SNORING] 

ASA: This is serious. OK, come on in, everybody. 

[DOOR OPENS] 

[CYMBALS CLANG] 

And a one, and a two, and a three. 

[MARCHING BAND MUSIC] 

[YAWN] 

JOY DOLO: Hey, Asa. Is it time for marching band practice already? 

ASA: Are you OK? You seem really tired. 

[YAWN] 

JOY DOLO: I was just resting my eyes. I must have fallen asleep. I had a super busy weekend. 

ASA: Joy, it's Wednesday. 

JOY DOLO: I know. That's how busy it was. It was literally the most exciting, jam-packed, fun-filled glitter cannon rainbow unicorn weekend ever. I had a sleepover with 10 of my best friends and all their pets, made a triple-layer coconut crumb cheesecake with extra crumb, went whitewater rafting, judged a taco eating contest, [YAWN] and finished writing my memoir, A Joy to Behold, the Joy Dolo Story. 

ASA: Whoa, no wonder you're exhausted. 

[SQUEAKING] 

Wait, what's that furry lump on your shoulder? 

JOY DOLO: This is Kevin Bacon. 

ASA: The actor? 

JOY DOLO: No, Kevin Bacon, my pet Guinea pig. 

[SQUEAKING] 

I was supposed to take him last weekend to see that new coming-of-age teen drama, Are You There, God? It's Me, Marsupial. It's about a koala navigating the pressures of middle school. Kevin loves teen dramas. 

But when I told him we didn't have time to see it, he was so disappointed. Have you ever seen a disappointed Guinea pig, Asa? It's not pretty. It's not pretty. 

ASA: Joy maybe it's just me, but it sounds like you're trying to cram a little too much into the weekend. I mean, taco contest, Guinea pig movie dates? The weekend is only two days. 

JOY DOLO: Wait, say that again. 

ASA: You're trying to cram too much in. 

JOY DOLO: No, no, no, the other part. 

ASA: Guinea pig movie dates? 

JOY DOLO: No, no, no, the other other part. 

ASA: The weekend is only two days? 

JOY DOLO: That's it. We have to figure out a way to make the weekend longer. Who says a weekend should only be two days anyway? Why not 3, or 4, or 6? 

ASA: I would love a six-day weekend. 

JOY DOLO: Yes. Think of all the sleepovers, and whitewater rafting, and coconut cream cheesecake we'd have time for. To the Forever Ago laboratory. But first, mind if we get lunch? I'm having the strangest craving for peanut butter baloney sandwiches. 

[MUSIC PLAYING] 

Welcome to Forever Ago from APM studios. I'm Joy Dolo. 

ASA: I'm Asa. And this is Kevin bacon, the Guinea pig. 

JOY DOLO: Today, we're talking all about the weekend. And we're at the Forever Ago history laboratory to figure out a way to make it longer. 

ASA: Um, Joy, this is a garden shed. 

[SNEEZE] 

Man, it is so dusty in here. 

[SNEEZE] 

Look, even Kevin Bacon's tiny nose is running from all the dust bunnies. 

JOY DOLO: It looks like a garden shed, but check this out. 

[BILLOW AND WHIRL] 

ASA: Whoa, where did-- where did that keyboard come from? 

JOY DOLO: Now, you just whisper the secret password into this hidden microphone. [CLEARS THROAT] Harry Styles solid gold toilet. 

[BEEPING] 

[RUMBLING] 

And voila, welcome to the Forever Ago history lab. 

ASA: Wow, there's a whole other room back there. This is really rad. Look at all this fancy equipment. Wait, what's that tiny little mansion over there? 

JOY DOLO: Oh, that's Kevin Bacon's Guinea pig villa. I'll just tuck him in there. 

[SQUEAKING] 

Who's a good piggy? Your mama's best little piggy. Yes you are. 

[SQUEAKING] 

ASA: Oh and check out these big cushy armchairs. It's like sitting on a marshmallow on a cloud on a pile of mashed potatoes. 

JOY DOLO: Oh, yeah, these are my thinking chairs. I like to be extra comfy when I'm pondering big historical questions like today's where did the weekend come from? 

[MUSIC PLAYING] 

ANNOUNCER: To dive into the history of the weekend with Joy, search for Forever Ago wherever you listen to Smash Boom Best. And they're going to be back with brand new episodes starting Wednesday, November 8, so you have time to catch up on the first three seasons until then. Again, search for Forever Ago. OK, see you next week. Bye. 

Tooth Fairy vs. Sandman

Today’s debate is a mythic mashup. Fluff your pillows and brush your teeth, cuz it’s Tooth Fairy vs. Sandman! 


First Things First: Camping Edition!

Hey Smarty Pals! Forever Ago Host Joy Dolo is trying to pack all her camping gear for her big Memorial Day camping trip! Trouble is, Joy hates packing almost as much as she loves camping. Lucky for her, fellow camper and Brains On host Molly Bloom makes camping a breeze with our favorite Forever Ago game: First Things First!

Smash Boom Best - First Things First: Camping Edition! - Lesson Plan

Listen to our debaters face off. Who will be crowned the Smash Boom Best?

CREW: Now entering, Brains On headquarters. 

[BEEPING, WHIRRING] 

JOY DOLO: Oh, hey, smarty pal, Joy Dolo from Forever Ago here, and I am stressing. I'm trying to pack for my big Memorial Day camping trip with Molly Bloom, and I've lost my favorite travel spork. And I can't find my stuffed unicorn, Eloise. I just want to roast marshmallows, breathe some fresh air, stare at the clouds. 

MOLLY BLOOM: You could do that when we're camping, Joy. 

JOY DOLO: Oh, hey, Molly. I'm packing. I'm pack-a-lacking the tacken. You see? 

MOLLY BLOOM: Well, Joy, do you need some help? 

JOY DOLO: No, I'm fine. Ouch. Totally fine. Out of my way, volley ball. You are not coming camping. What is my typewriter doing under my foot? I'm caught in a fishing net. Why is packing so hard? 

MOLLY BLOOM: I know, Joy, packing can be stressful. 

JOY DOLO: It's like pulling teeth. 

MOLLY BLOOM: It's like putting a turtleneck sweater on your cat. Tricky, but necessary. We made a deal, though, remember? You'd pack the camping supplies, and I'd pack the food. 

JOY DOLO: I was just a girl when I made that promise. Everything seemed so easy back then, so simple, and carefree. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Joy, you made that promise 20 minutes ago. 

JOY DOLO: Minutes or eons? 

MOLLY BLOOM: Wow. OK, here's an idea. What if we make packing fun? Instead of just grabbing what we need, we could play first things first with the things we need to pack. 

JOY DOLO: Ooh, that could be fun. First things first is one of my favorite games. It's where we try to guess the order things came in history, and then we find out the real order of events. 

MOLLY BLOOM: It'll kick start the packing process. 

JOY DOLO: OK, you've convinced me. Molly, let's play-- 

GROUP: First things first. 

MOLLY BLOOM: All right, we've got a flashlight, a folding chair, and a sleeping bag. OK, Joy, which do you think was invented first, which popped up second, and which was created most recently? Is it the flashlight, the folding chair, or the first sleeping bag? What are you thinking? 

JOY DOLO: Well, you know, I feel like these are all really great items, perfect for camping. First and foremost, let's start there. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah. 

JOY DOLO: But you know, I think that you put them in this order to fool me. So I'm actually going to work against you, Molly Bloom. I think that the first thing was a sleeping bag because people have been sleeping since I can remember for, at least, 20, 30, 40 years now. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Truly. I don't know the answer either, so we're doing it together. 

JOY DOLO: Oh, that's true. That's true. OK. Well, my first guess would be sleeping bags because I just feel like that's the most essential. 

MOLLY BLOOM: I'm with you, yeah. 

JOY DOLO: And then a folding chair, probably, after that because that also seems like-- what is it, like plastic and metal you can fold around. And I remember seeing that in a bunch of old-- 

MOLLY BLOOM: I've seen wooden ones, too, though. 

JOY DOLO: You've seen a wooden folding chair? 

MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah. 

JOY DOLO: Oh, yeah, so, maybe that's from 1500s or something? 

MOLLY BLOOM: Maybe. 

JOY DOLO: King Charles sitting in a folding bed. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Probably, Ben Franklin invented it. He invents everything. 

JOY DOLO: He does everything. Well, then, the flashlight makes the most sense as the last one because of batteries, right? So it's like battery-operated. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah. 

JOY DOLO: So I think I'm going to go sleeping bag, folding chair, flashlight. 

MOLLY BLOOM: I agree with you. 

JOY DOLO: Final answer. 

MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Shall we see what it is? 

JOY DOLO: Yeah. Oh, I'm nervous. 

MOLLY BLOOM: OK, here's the big reveal. The answer is-- oh, we were wrong. The oldest thing is-- 

JOY DOLO: Folding chairs. What? More than 4,000 years ago. So, wood, probably. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Not Ben Franklin. 

JOY DOLO: Not Ben Franklin. He wasn't around then. Folding chairs, just like the ones we use today, were used in Mesopotamia. That was an ancient civilization in the Middle East, which includes parts of Iraq and Turkey. Ancient Egyptians also used folding chairs, mostly, as mobile Thrones for royalty. I want to go for one of those. Archeologists even found two folding chairs in the tomb of King Tut. 

MOLLY BLOOM: OK, so the second one is sleeping bag, invented in 1876. 

JOY DOLO: I don't believe it. 

MOLLY BLOOM: It seems like it's got to be older than that. But people have been using rolled up animal skins to stay warm at night for thousands of years. OK. OK. OK. 

JOY DOLO: All right, I'll take that. 

MOLLY BLOOM: But the sleeping bag, as we know today, was relatively recent. The first patent for a sleeping bag was issued in 1876 to a Welsh inventor named Pryce-Jones. It was basically a folded over wool blanket with a rubber inflatable pillow sewn in. So it's like the pillow that gets the patent, I guess? 

JOY DOLO: Yeah, the pillow gets the patent. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Otherwise, it seems like you're patenting a blanket. 

JOY DOLO: Yeah, because blankets have been around for a longer time. I don't know if I buy those. I don't know about this. 

MOLLY BLOOM: We're going to quibble. We're quibbling. 

JOY DOLO: I'm quibbling, ultimate quibble. The last is flashlight, and we were right about that-- 1898. The first flashlight was invented, then, in 1898. And it actually looked a lot like the flashlights we have today. It wouldn't have been possible without another invention a few years earlier-- dry cell batteries, which is what I said. Batteries. 

These are batteries that could work in any position without leaking. Leaky batteries. These made all sorts of portable electronics possible. And one of the most obvious things to portablelize was light. Can't see in the dark. I used to be afraid of the dark. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Me, too. 

JOY DOLO: How old were you when you-- 

MOLLY BLOOM: Really old. 

JOY DOLO: Like a few weeks ago? Like it just happened. The American electrical novelty and manufacturing company sold some of the first flashlights which they called electric hand torches. The nickname flashlight came around because these batteries weren't very strong, so the light could only stay on for a few seconds. In other words, you just got flashes of it, so flashlights. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Like a dig. It's like, it's a flash light. 

JOY DOLO: It's a flash of light. That's just a quick flash. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Interesting. 

JOY DOLO: Look at that. Well, we were wrong, but you know? 

MOLLY BLOOM: But we have a lot of heart. 

JOY DOLO: We have heart. We have hope. We have promise. I just-- I love first things first. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Me, too. 

JOY DOLO: Now, all we have to pack is our dinner. I love dinner. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Wait, but I thought I was packing the food. I already packed the best snacks. 

JOY DOLO: The last time you said that, we ended up eating pickled crickets. I do not believe you. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Pickled crickets are full of fiber and taste great. 

JOY DOLO: Gross. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Plus, I packed a bunch of other really yummy stuff. I promise. I wonder where is Marcus. He was supposed to pick us up in the Explorer. 

JOY DOLO: It's not personal, but I have very high snack standards, Molly. Anybody that knows me knows that I love snacks. They don't call me the snack queen of the Midwest for nothing. And it's not just my mom who calls me that. Other people call me that. How about we play just one more round of first things first while we wait? 

MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Good idea. Where is my cooler? 

JOY DOLO: No, no, it's my turn to be game master. With the foods, I pick. I present to you, hotdogs, potato chips, and s'mores. What do you think came first, which came second, and which came most recently? OK, Molly, which one is oldest in your mind? 

MOLLY BLOOM: I'm going to go hotdogs. 

JOY DOLO: Hotdogs? 

MOLLY BLOOM: A tubed meat, I feel like. 

JOY DOLO: It's a classic. 

MOLLY BLOOM: A few Germans, they love that. It must have been around for a long time. 

JOY DOLO: Good. Good. Hot dogs, OK. 

MOLLY BLOOM: I want potato chips. So you just have to slice up a potato. 

JOY DOLO: Easy-peasy. Potatoes have been around like sleeping bags. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Exactly. And then, s'mores because, I feel like, those marshmallows are probably newer. It seems like you had to have some technology to make those fluffy puffy Jet-Puffed marshmallows. 

JOY DOLO: Some kind of weird energy. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Exactly. 

JOY DOLO: That's what's in that. 

MOLLY BLOOM: So that's what I'm thinking. Hotdogs, potato chips, and s'mores, which is the order it was given to us. You gave it to me, so I don't know. I don't know. 

JOY DOLO: Maybe it's my trickery coming out again. I am an Aquarius. All right, let's reveal which of our first things first is actually the oldest. Oh, my gosh, Molly, you nailed it. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. 

JOY DOLO: Molly Bloom for the win. You're going to be the snack queen of the Midwest soon. 

MOLLY BLOOM: We can share. Joint queens. Joint Snack Queen. 

JOY DOLO: We can share for a while, but I do need my own throne. So hotdogs in the late 1400s, they were made, the tubed meat. Making sausages goes back almost 2,000 years to the ancient Roman Empire, which, legend has it, a cook had the idea of stuffing pig intestines with meat and spices. 

But the modern hot dog has its roots in Germany, like you said, so you're right. Two different German towns claim to be the birthplace of this delicious doggy. Frankfurt claims the Frankfurter was invented there in 1484, whereas, Vienna or Wienen or Wien, Wien in Germany claims they invented the Wiener wurst, the Wiener wurst around the same time. 

MOLLY BLOOM: It sounds like universe, Wiener wurst. 

JOY DOLO: All in the Wiener wurst. 

MOLLY BLOOM: That's the next Marvel Empire, the Wiener wurst. 

JOY DOLO: The Wiener wurst. Either way, we know that German immigrants began selling sausages out of pushcarts in New York City in the 1860s. Hot dogs, get your hot dogs! 

MOLLY BLOOM: All right, so then, next, we got potato chips. We still, like hot dogs, don't know who the true inventor is. But there's a story that in the 1850s, a chef named George Crumb was working at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. 

Local legend claims that the classic snack was invented there in 1853 when a grumpy restaurant customer sent their French fries back for being too thick. Crumb was feeling sassy, so he cut them super thin as a sort of, I'll show you. But guess what, everyone love them because potato chips are delicious. 

JOY DOLO: Bless you, customer. Bless you. 

MOLLY BLOOM: But some people think the inventor was maybe a British doctor named William Kitchener, who, in 1817, published a recipe for potatoes fried in slices or shavings. 

JOY DOLO: I don't care how potato chips got here. I'm just so grateful that they're here. 

MOLLY BLOOM: As long as they're in my mouth. 

JOY DOLO: As long as they're in and around my mouth, I'm all good. And last, and certainly not least, is s'mores. And those were invented in 1927. There is some disagreement about who exactly came up with the recipe, but we do know the s'more dates back to, at least, 1927. That's when the first recipe was published in a Girl Scout Guide. It was written by troop leader Loretta Scott Crew, and it was originally called some more-- s'more. Some more, do you get it? Do you get it? 

MOLLY BLOOM: Some more. I want some more. 

JOY DOLO: S'more, some more. It's unclear exactly when the name was shortened to s'more, but you can find references of the treat being called some more until 1971. Yum. 

MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Thank you, Girl Scouts, for your amazing cookies. 

JOY DOLO: Forever. And s'mores. I have so much to thank them for. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Incredible. Also, I have to say, the fact that we don't know who invented any of these snacks feels like there might be an opening here for a snackologist. 

JOY DOLO: Oh. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Maybe a field of snack studies to be established. 

JOY DOLO: A doctor of snacks. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Yes. And Joy, as the queen of the Midwest, maybe you should. 

JOY DOLO: Maybe I should open up my reign to the medical community. 

MOLLY BLOOM: It's snack studies. 

JOY DOLO: Snackologies out there, yeah. 

MOLLY BLOOM: OK. Joy, you've sold me. I'm very excited for these traditional camping foods. But seriously, you don't even want one pickled cricket? 

JOY DOLO: All right, let me just try one. 

[CRUNCHING] 

Oh, wow. You were right. They're tangy, and salty, and not as crickety as I thought they'd be. 

MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, there's the Explorer. Marc's here. We got to go. 

JOY DOLO: That's it for the Smarty Pals episode. It was produced by a Aron Woldeslassie, Molly Bloom, Joy Dolo, Rosie DuPont, Shayla Farzad, Nico Gonzalez Wisler, Ruby Guthrie, Sanden Totten, Marc Sanchez, and Anna Weggel. 

MOLLY BLOOM: We had sound design by Rachel Breeze, and special thanks to Alex Simpson. Our executive producer's Beth Perlman, and the executives-in-charge of APM studios are Chandra Kavati, Joanne Griffith, and Alex Stafford. Brains On is a nonprofit public radio program. Thank you, Smarty Pals friends. Bye. 

JOY DOLO: Bye. 

Birthday Parties vs. Trick-or-Treating

Today’s debate is a face-off between yearly sensations that rock the nation. Both involve candy and cake for eating, so grab your costumes and birthday suits for… birthday parties vs. trick-or-treating!


Origins and customs around dates commemorating a cultural practice or historical event