An Old Timey Podcast - 25: How Chicago Lost the 1904 Olympics (Part 1)

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin was embarrassed. He had just revived the Ancient Olympic Games on a global scale. But the 1900 Games in his hometown of Paris, France were a disaster. They were a sideshow at the World’s Fair! Many competitors weren’t even aware they were participating in the Olympics!Next time around, Coubertin vowed to find a host nation that would appreciate the Olympics.And that’s when a colleague suggested the United States should play host.  But which city? Unfortunately, making that selection was easier said than done. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Boykoff, Jules. Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics. Verso, 2016.Matthews, George R. America’s First Olympics: The St. Louis Games of 1904. University of Missouri Press, 2018.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Hear ye, hear ye, you are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Normie C. And I just spent a whole lot of money on a toilet. It's Kristen Caruso. True statement. Yeah. And on this episode, I'll be talking about America's first Olympic games. Oh, dun, dun, dun, is that? That is not the Olympic theme. Well, you know what, whatever, I'm feeling good. That's pomp in circumstance. Oh, it is. Here's, you know,

That's the graduation song. And I have graduated into a person who enjoys the Olympics. Boy, am I excited for this episode? Oh, yeah? Yeah. I know nothing about this. I'm just a woman who doesn't know much about the first Olympics, but does know that she spent too much money on a toilet.

Boy, did we? We spent a lot of money on our brand new toilet. Should we fill the hose in? Don't say fill the holes in ever again. Should we let the history hose know about our new toilet? We should. Okay, everyone, I'm going to be a little defensive here because I know that what I'm about to say is not cool. It's not likable.

Not in this economy. But here's what happened. Many of you know that we have been getting a new bathroom. It is taking forever. We have a shower in place now. And here's the thing I've learned about getting work done on your home. you're just shooting money out every end. It's true.

It's ridiculous. To the point that I started to think of money as imaginary. He didn't think it was real. And also maybe none of my business. You were spending money like it was dollar-re-dues, some made-up currency. And that's how it felt. It felt like, well, this isn't real. This can't be happening, that we're spending this much money.

But when they asked, what kind of toilet do you want? I was in that mode of like money isn't real. So I got on Costco.com, not sponsored. Folks, I didn't buy the most expensive one, but I bought one that, you know, forget a bidet. Of course it has a bidet. It has a heated seat. It has a remote control. Let me go over all the features of this wonderful toilet.

I'm a big fan of our new toilet. I'm so scared of it. I haven't used it yet. Heated seats. Front bidet. Back bidet? A dryer? Auto cleaning? Auto flush?

It's insane. When I told my dad how much I spent on the toilet, I swear to you, he has never looked more disappointed in me. Never. Not when I dropped out of law school. No, no. It was when I told him how much I spent on a basement toilet. I love our new toilet. It's basically like a son to me how much I love this new toilet.

Yeah, Kristen's afraid to use it. I think she's intimidated by all the bells and whistles. I am. You've just got to go for it. I even told Kristen I would like sit down there with her and walk her through all the features. I don't want you to sit with me while I sit on a toilet, sir. Hold your hand. That's enough.

And I'll give you a tutorial. That's too much. That's too much. Do you have a Patreon plug for us? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Because my plug last episode, we are down, 10,000 patrons. My singing has driven the history hose to the hills.

We never had 10,000 patrons. So I think you're kind of overblowing this. I think that's your anxiety talking. But I will say I do have a little something prepared. Okay. Although, you know, I feel like by just talking about the toilet we just got, People are going to be like, you know, these people don't know what to do with money. Should we really be donating anything to this cause?

This toilets put us in the red. But you know what? I feel like people listen to an old-timey podcast because they're very classy. I agree. Classy things or intellectuals. Yeah. So I've written a poem to entice the people who are on the fence about whether they want to join our Patreon. Okay.

You ready? I'm ready. Silence, please. Oh, won't you support us on Patreon? Come on! Now go do it, go on! At the $5 tier, you'll draw everyone near. Bonus episodes aren't dreary. They'll keep you quite cheery. And the Discord is popping, like a bubble-wrapped dolphin.

At the pig butter tier, your dreams will come near. You'll get video episodes. No, I didn't say webisodes. And you'll get them ad-free. Oh, Tweedled E, D. And what's this? You'll get a new card and sticker? Well, don't sit there and bicker.

You better hurry up, mister. So sign up today. Don't you dare delay. Oh, an old-timey podcast is waiting for you, because there's always more content after Norm says, Tudaloo. Wow. Wow.

Oh, my gosh. Everyone, thank you so much. Everyone's snapping. loved the very dated webisodes term you used. Also, bubble-wrapped dolphin. Yeah. That was pretty interesting. Yeah, people are always saying that our discord is popping like a bubble-wrapped dolphin.

So that's not something I just made up. Does poppin and dolphin rhyme? Norman? I don't think you're here to critique my amazing poetry. You're right. Kristen, excellent job. Thank you. I think we're going to get 10,000 news.

Sign-ups on the Patreon. Very good. Okay. Are you ready to hear about the first Olympics in the United States of America? Yes. Kristen, this past summer, people around the globe witnessed one of the most thrilling sporting events in the world. The Olympic Games! This year, the Olympics were held in a very special city.

Paris, France! The birthplace of the modern Olympics. And there was no shortage of incredible moments. I think. I didn't actually watch the Olympics. Yeah, you're not an Olympics guy. No, but you are. Not really.

Didn't you just say earlier in this episode that you were into the Olympics? You know, I am kind of in a general sense. I demand an answer. Yes, yeah, kind of. You like the gymnastics routines. Oh, I do love gymnastics. And the running. Yes.

Seeing people run very fast. I am impressed by that, yes. Yeah. That is the one event I do watch. is the running. It's pretty rare you get to see the fastest people in the world race each other. Mm-hmm. So I'm really into it.

But if you missed the 2024 Olympics, here are the highlights. Oh. First off, American swimmer Katie Ladecki took home two more gold medals in the 800-meter freestyle and the 1,500-meter freestyle. Ladeki has now won an astonishing nine gold medals. My gosh. She is the most decorated of... American female athlete in Olympics history.

They say she's a bubble-wrapped dolphin. Algerian boxer Imani Khalif pushed through waves of online harassment from people who questioned her gender, including author turned edge lord and absolute clown. J.K. Rowling. Fuck you! Kalif ended up winning the gold medal in the welterweight division, becoming the first female gold medalist in boxing for Algeria. And then there's Turkish sharpshooter Yusuf DeKetch.

Took the internet by storm when he competed in the Air Pistol Mixed Team event and gave off super casual vibes. He had little to no equipment on, a basic t-shirt, and he fired his pistol with one hand in his pocket. Variety Magazine described him as the Turkish John Wick. DeKetch and his teammate, Cheval Tahrhan, won the silver. And then, there was the famous American gymnast, Simone Biles. After suffering from the Twisties at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and pulling out of the competition, Biles was back in Paris for her redemption tour.

She won three gold medals in gymnastics, including the team, all-around, and vault competition. Hell yeah. And then finally, my favorite story, Kristen, it's Australian dancer Rachel Gunn, aka Raygun, competed in the very first Olympic breakdancing competition. She performed some unusual dance moves like the kangaroo, the yawn, and dog writhing on the floor after a bath. Norman. Ray Gunn's routine may have stolen the show,

but she received zero votes from the judges. Norm, why can't we have you as our Olympic commentator all the time? That was amazing. That's all you need to know about the Olympics. Well, I'm not done. Oh, sorry. It was a wild and crazy three weeks of competition, and the country that took home the most gold medals was the United States.

Woo! USA! USA! Do we feel bad for the break dancer? Raygun? Yeah. Kristen. I'm sorry.

Raygun did her best. She qualified. She went to the Olympics. She did some very unusual dance moves. The internet went crazy for it, but she received zero votes from the judges, okay? Yeah. Okay. She did her best, okay.

Okay. Continue. I'm not saying she didn't belong at the Olympics. She qualified fair and square. But, man, anyone who saw that routine was like, huh. Huh. So this is breakdancing. So this is breakdancing.

Kristen, the Olympics, they're a big deal. They attract massive crowds. The best athletes in the world. Billions of dollars in advertising and sponsorships. And a plethora of dippendots kiosks. More dipendots per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Is that for real? I have no idea.

Heaven is a place on earth. I just made that up. Okay. But I believe it. And Kristen, the United States has hosted more Olympics than any other country. The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will be the ninth time America has hosted the Olympics. How have we managed that? Well, there's the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. So every two years you get a chance, right? Yeah, but why have we gotten so many chances? Well, the United States is,

one, a massive country. And two, we have all sorts of different climate and weather so we can do summer or winter Olympics, you know? Okay. But today I'd like to talk to you about the very first time America hosted the Olympics all the way back in 1904. And it was in a little place called St. Louis, Missouri. What the? Okay. And it was kind of a shit show. You might be asking yourself, why Normie C? Why? Yeah, why St. Louis?

Well, we'll get into that, but I want to explain why it was a shit show. For starters, the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis were mired in drama and politics. Old jealous dudes across the United States battled for the right to host the Olympic Games in their city. And then there were the actual Olympic events. A few were kind of strange. Many shouldn't have even been called Olympic events.

And some were downright dangerous. Like the marathon, which almost killed some of the competitors. Am I allowed to ask questions or should I sit tight? Go ahead and ask questions. Well, why did people almost die during the marathon? Oh, we'll get to it, Kristen. I'm teasing you. All right, all right.

And are you ready for the cherry on top? I'm ready. How about some super racist athletic competitions that featured indigenous people from all around the world? Organizers thought that these contests would prove once and for all that the white man was the best athlete in the world. Oh my. Thoughts, comments? Well, I don't know that I'd call that the cherry on top, but all right. It's the cherry on top for why it was a shit show. Many historians contend that the 1904 St. Louis Olympics were absolutely terrible and almost led to the collapse of the modern Olympics.

But Kristen, was it really all that bad? Have the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games been misjudged? Let's find out for ourselves by diving into it all. The history of the Olympics, how St. Louis ended up hosting the games and the legacy it left behind. This is the story of America's first Olympics, the 1904 games in St. Louis. That is beautiful. That's the Olympic theme you're looking for. Kristen, I'd like to start by providing a brief history of the Olympics.

Okay. They are a tradition that dates back to ancient Greece. The very first Olympic Games took place in 776 BC in the appropriately named city of Olympia. And it was primarily a religious festival to honor Zeus. And they had a big-ass barbecue. All right. Good, good-ass time, okay? The first Olympics, there was only one athletic event.

It was called the stadium race. It was a foot race that spanned the length of the stadium. So it was about a 200-meter race. But eventually they added more athletic events, long jumping, the discus throw, wrestling, boxing. They even had one event called pancreation, which was basically like MMA fighting. Oh. But there was only two rules. No eye-gouging and no biting.

Okay. And there were no weight classes. So you could have like a 400-pound dude fighting a 100-pound little spungus. Oh, okay. Also, at the Olympics, most of the athletes competed. With no clothes on. Really? Yeah.

Wait, so you could pull somebody's dong. Sure. As long as you didn't bite it. There were dongs flopping all over the place at the Olympics. Wow. You seem really interested now. No, I'm trying not to, my parents, listen to this, but I am thinking about the running. That'd be something to watch, huh?

Ooh, yeah, no kidding. Or just the wrestling. Well, I already mentioned that. I felt like I shouldn't mention it again, but that could be quite a move if, you know, you already mentioned the two rules. Anyway, you should probably continue. The Greeks were very comfortable with their bodies. I don't think they cared that they were running around naked. Oh, people cared.

You really think people cared back then? I think they enjoyed it, right? That's part of the fun, seeing everybody naked. So do you think that's why people went to the Olympics? I'm going to see some dawn. It can't hurt. It can't hurt. I'm going to have some good-ass barbecue and I'm going to see some dick. Yeah.

Well, the Olympics became very popular, possibly because everyone competed naked, Kristen. It has to have been a factor, Norm. It became a very important part of Greek culture. The Greeks held the Olympics every four years. And even as other civilizations conquered the Greeks, like the Romans, they kept the games around because they were just so damn fun. Yeah, because of the nudity. The last ancient Olympic Games took place in the year 393 AD. And for a long time, the Olympics were just a footnote in the history books.

But during the 19th century, people were obsessed with Greek culture and physical fitness. And so the Olympics kind of became a thing again. And a few countries held their own Olympic games. But they were small and all the athletes were from that country. But one man had bigger aspirations. He saw the Olympics as a global. global phenomenon. So let's travel back in time and meet this man.

The time, the late 19th century, the place, Paris, France. I'd like to introduce you to a French aristocrat named Berenpier de Cuberton. Ooh. Cuberton was born on January 1, 1863 in Paris, France. He was a New Year baby. He was born into a wealthy, aristocratic family. He had a very privileged life. As a child, he enjoyed horseback riding and fencing lessons.

He attended banquets and chariot rides through the park. Oh, splendid. He also bought the most expensive toilet in the world. I bet he did. He's just like us, Kristen. He's just like us. No, the actual joke I have in here is he had a Barbie Jeep. Oh, too soon, Norm.

Too soon. As a young adult, Kubarton didn't really have to worry about money, so he could kind of do whatever he wanted. So, Kristen, multiple choice quiz. What career path did Pierre de Coubertan go down? Was it A, professional dancer. B, politician. C, military officer, or D, education.

What were the first two again? Professional dancer? Politician. He's a politician. The answer, education. Oh. That's right. He wanted to get into educational reform.

You might be wondering why. Because when Kubartan was a kid, France had been absolutely humiliated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. At that time, France was ruled by Napoleon III, Napoleon's nephew. And he was kind of getting nervous about how big Prussia was getting. They were kind of cramp in his style. So he declared war to show them that France was the dominant power in Europe. Oh, my. Unfortunately for him, in only six months, France was soundly defeated.

They suffered 750,000 casualties compared to the Prussians who lost only about 140,000. Oh, my. Yeah, it was a national embarrassment. And so many French people, including Pierre de Coubertan, wanted to figure out how France lost that war so badly. Well, wasn't it obvious? Wasn't Prussia huge? France was just France? France was a major European power, though, you know? Okay, yeah. I'm thinking of modern times, but we just doodelude, so I should have paid attention to that. You should have. Well, Kubartan was like, how can France become a major power again?

We just got embarrassed by the Prussians. Make France great again. Well, he thought the answer lay in France's education system. There must be something we can do with the kiddos to instill a sense of national pride and make France great again. Very good, Kristen. Thank you. So Cooperton visited schools all over the world, including the United States and England, to see what other countries were doing. And while he was in England, he discovered that schools and universities all had athletic teams that competed against one another, and he became obsessed. It was incredible. Not only did sports promote sportsmanship and teamwork, but it made people. physically fit.

Cooperton was convinced this is what France needed. Sports. In fact, that was the reason why France had been humiliated in the Franco-Prussian war. French soldiers were little weenies compared to the big buff sexy Germans. Oh. What do you think? I mean, obviously, I know nothing about this, but I mean, that is true. I mean, if you're going to go fight a war, you've got to be physically fit.

Sure. Yeah. Cooperton believed that sports could provide moral and social strength. Sports represented patriotism and democracy. He really romanticized the whole thing. I mean, as someone who doesn't give a rip about sports, I'm a little skeptical. But at the same, I kind of get where he's going with this. Sports can bring us together.

Well, what do you think of this? Cooperton also thought that sports could, quote, take the place of unhealthy amusements and evil pleasures in the lives of young men. Well, it's not going to take the place. It's going to eat up some of their time, though. He thought sports could replace cranking it. I'm about to bust. Norm, everybody cranks it. Yeah?

I don't care how much ping pong you play. I don't know. Ping pong really, like, takes care of my needs. So, yeah, Kubarton was really into sports. But he was also really into ancient. Greek culture. It was kind of the cool, hip thing to study at the time because archaeologists were uncovering ancient Greek ruins. Sure. And learning more and more about the civilization. And so, of course, Kubartan learned all about the ancient Olympic Games. And that is when he had his light bulb moment. Let's bring back the Olympics on a global scale. Well, that doesn't make any sense. What do you mean? Well, he just wants to make France great again, so why not just do

France, right? Right. But if you have the Olympics and France competes, they can prove they are a major power and they have the best athletes in the world. I know, but they just got spanked by Prussia. So maybe they should do this in-house for a couple years is what I'm saying. And then be like, and then go to the world and be like, oh, we've just got a new idea. You guys want to compete? We haven't been preparing for this moment for like 20 years. Listen, he is a rich guy. He he wants to get things going now. Okay. In 1894, Pierre de Coubertan and representatives from around the world came together in Paris,

and they formed the International Olympic Committee, also known as the IOC. Kubartan had grand visions for these new Olympic games. While the ancient Olympic – if you say Olympics 20,000 times, it doesn't look like a word anymore. Okay. Anyway, while the ancient Olympics honored the guns. The gods, the modern Olympics would honor an athlete's country, his race. Oh. And his flag.

Oh. Well, we may come back to that second word later. Kubertan thought the Olympics would help nations better understand each other in meaningful ways. It will break down social and cultural barriers. How if race is such a big factor? Hey, it could even help secure world peace. Okay, now I don't think he's totally off about that for all of us to work together on this thing. Yeah, that's a cool thing.

Yeah, that's a cool thing. Yeah. Friendly competition against nations. Maybe if we do that, we won't be shooting each other with guns. Maybe. Kristen, these Olympics sure sounds swell. Top-tier athletic competitions. National pride, world peace.

What can't the Olympics do? Prove that white men are the best at sports. Well, I'll tell you what they can't do. They can't allow certain people to participate. Hint, hint, wink, wink. Hang on, let me try this. Your timing is pretty rough with that. Okay, that was a little better.

Everyone who's not at the $10 level on Patreon, if you're wondering, can Norm wink and time it with the soundboard? The answer is no, absolutely not. Maybe by the end of the episode, I'll get it right. Okay. One more time. That was pretty good. Okay.

Like many wealthy white people at the time, Cooperton was pretty racist, misogynistic, and classist. Let's go over the evidence. First, misogyny. Cooperton believed that the Olympics should be a sausage fest. He thought women's sports were, quote, impractical, uninteresting, ungainly, improper. Oh.

Women's glory rightfully came through the number and quality of children's. she produced. So I'm sorry, Kristen, you can't compete in the Olympics. That's probably for the best. Second, racism. Kubertan believed that, quote, the superior race is fully entitled to deny the lower race certain privileges of civilized life. Kristen, it was for their own good. He sounds a little defensive. He sounds a little worried that someone's going to come and kick the white guy's ass at something. Hang on. Let's hear him out. Okay. Let's hear both sides.

Oh, shut up. Shut up. While Kubarton did encourage nations from Africa to participate in the Olympics, he thought they should do so because Africans were lazy. Resentful and jealous of white men. They were prone to outbursts of ancestral violence. Oh, Jesus Christ. Who colonized who, douchbag?

And by participating in the Olympics, it might help Africans, quote, Calm down. Oh my God. Hang on, there's more. And finally, classist. Cooperton and pretty much everyone else on the Olympic Committee was obsessed with the idea that only amateur athletes could compete. Professional athletes tainted the spirit of the competition,

and we cannot taint what must remain untainted. Why? Because the Olympics had to be pure, Kristen. What, if you're too good at something, then it's, not pure? Yeah. That does make sense, actually. Ooh.

Oh, brother, this guy stinks. Boy, oh boy. Let me tell you about the International Olympic Committee's definition of amateurism because it was pretty fucking wild. Would you like to hear it? I would. Okay. So there's the obvious definition.

If you make money from playing sports, you are not an amateur. Okay. Are you ready for their second definition? Well, how many definitions do we get? Okay. Fine. Just two. All right.

If you make money from manual labor, you are not considered an amateur. Oh, fuck you. Well, that's like everybody at this time period. A lot of lower class people, yes. In other words, everybody. Yeah. So you might be wondering why. Well, here is their reasoning.

If you perform manual labor, it's going to give you muscles. And that's going to give you a huge advantage in the competition. Well, yeah, that's part of it. Nope, you have to be dedicated to your sport. This is the weenie boy White Boy Olympics. That's what this is. And we don't want to be beaten by people who are obviously going to kick our asses. Yeah.

So this manual labor rule excluded almost everyone in the lower class. Well, yeah, because there were no office jobs back then. So, yeah, everyone's... No, there's no one hanging around the Culligan water cooler. There was no Hawaiian T-shirt Fridays. It essentially meant that only well-off people could participate in the Olympics. Now, eventually that manual labor rule would go away because the best and most popular sports stars came from working lower class families. But the concept of amateurism continued to be a problem in the Olympics all the way up into the 1980s.

And that is when the International Olympic Committee finally said, fuck it. Anyone can compete in the Olympics. Well, yeah, because you know what we want to watch? The best athletes in the world compete. We want to watch people who are really good at something. Yeah. Can you imagine if for this month's bonus episode, it was you have to watch me do math? Can you fucking imagine?

Watch you do math? Yes. Would you have a whiteboard? Would you solve riddles and stuff? I can't solve anything. It would just be a sad, long video. Just look at her, folks. If you are on the $10 tier, just look at her.

It's pathetic. And I think I read that they got rid of that amateur rule because of like Cold War politics. So like the Russians in the United States were like competing to be the best at the Olympics. And so they're like, come on, let us bring in all of our professional athletes so we can dominate. All right. Yeah. Anyway, despite some of the problematic issues, the Olympics were a happening. Now, originally, Kubartan wanted the first Olympic Games to take place in his hometown.

Paris, France. Sure. But the International Olympic Committee disagreed with him. They were like, why not Athens Greece? I mean, the Greeks invented the damn thing. Yeah, that'd be really cool. Let's pay homage to that. And Greece was like, hell, yes.

We would love to host the first Olympics. Oh, my God. Why did this not happen? Hang on. Okay. In 1896, the games of the first Olympiad took place in Athens, Greece, over the span of a week. About 311 athletes, all men from 13 nations competed in 43 events. Most of the competitors were from Greece, about 75% of them, actually.

But it makes sense this was the first Olympics. Only a small number of nations got involved in traveling back in those days. It's a little slower than today. Sure. If you're in the United States, you've got to take a damn boat all the way to Greece. Kristen, I know you're wondering, how did the United States do in the first Olympics? They sent 14 athletes, and they won the most gold medals. 11. USA! USA! Oh, wow.

Yeah, pretty cool, huh? Yeah. Fun fact. At the very first Olympics, they handed out silver medals for first place and copper medals for second place. There was no third place. Interesting. Okay. So the 1896 Olympics, they were relatively successful.

And the Greek government was like, this is awesome. Hey, what if Athens just hosted the Olympic Games permanently every four years? Yeah. And many members of the International Olympic Committee also supported this idea. They were like, yeah, that's a really good idea. Well, Pierre de Cuberton was not having it because he was, He said, no way. The modern Olympics are an international event.

The host should rotate every four years. And so he was like, okay, so next time, I definitely think Paris should host the next Olympics because I really compromised letting Athens host the first games. And I kind of created the modern Olympics. So now it's my turn to choose where the Olympics are. I don't mean to play this card, fellas, but it's really my turn here, okay. And I'm the damn president of the IOS. So, yeah.

Well, yeah, Coobartan got his wish. The IOC chose Paris to host the 1900 Olympic Games, and it was going to be huge. Huge. Because the Olympics were going to be part of another major event that was happening in Paris at the same time. The 1900 World's Fair. Oh, okay. Now, Kristen, you might be asking yourself, or maybe not. Maybe the history hose are wondering, what the heck is a World's Fair?

These were global exhibitions created to, quote, forward the progress of industrial civilization. I mean, people loved world fairs. I mean, that's where you got to see all kinds of cool demonstrations. I'm sure old-timey dippin dots, I don't know what that was back then, but they had them funnel cakes. That's what it is. They were called shovel creams. Ew. I don't know.

Although I would eat that. You there, ma'am, would you like to try some shovel cream? Oh, my goodness. I actually found out during research, they are still doing World's Fairs. They must be not as popular anymore. Obviously not. Yeah. So yeah, the World's Fair showcased the latest and greatest things happening around the world.

But it was also a chance for the host nation to be like, look how fucking cool we are. Yeah. Nationalism, baby. Yeah. World's Fares lasted for a while, usually up to six months. And there were plenty of things to do to occupy your time. Artists like Claude Monet showed off their latest masterpieces. Industrialists introduced their newest inventions like the automobile.

Oh! Museums featured rare items from around the world like dinosaur bones. Architects put up buildings and monuments. Fun fact. The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair. Wow. That's pretty damn cool. And now it's like a national treasure in France.

If you go to France, you're going to the Eiffel Tower. You got to. That's the law. Mm-hmm. Have you been? No, I've never been to France. Neither have I. This is why we need new patrons. Send us to France, folks.

We've got to go. You know, we've got to return the toilet. That's step one. We've returned the toilet. I mean, I've used the toilet. Do you think we can still return it? Costco has an amazing return policy. You're right.

If you really are so afraid of this toilet, maybe we should return it. I am not returning a toilet. That's the only thing. worse than spending too much money on a Twitter. Well, I'll do it. If you're embarrassed, I'll do it. No, no. I'll say, yeah, I gave her a good test room, but just not into it. Well, maybe you just want to go to the World's Fair to have a little fun. Well, don't worry, Kristen, the World's Fair had amusement rides too. For example, the Ferris Wheel, which was first introduced at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

Man. Are you feeling hungry? Try sampling exotic new foods from around the world. Many iconic foods like the ice cream cone, the hot dog. peanut butter, cotton candy, and the club sandwich, all popularized at the World's Fair. Wow. Okay. Keyword popularized. Yeah. Yeah.

No, I was waiting because I was about to correct you on ice cream, but... Ice cream cone. Yes. Yes. No, I'm with you. I'm with you. Yeah, I'm very careful about what words I used. I was about to, um, actually, but you stopped it.

We really need an um actually sound bite. Okay. We're going to work on that, folks. And by we, you mean you. Yeah, pretty much. What are you going to use this soundboard? Next week. I'm presenting next week.

Oh, then I guess we don't know. Wow. Kristen, are you sold yet? On the World's Fair? I would have been there in a minute. One of my little family treasures is, I believe it's the 1904 World's Fair Cup. Kyla got that from, like, my grandma. I don't know who back in the day attended that thing.

In St. Louis. Yeah. Yes. Yes, world's fairs were a big deal and extremely popular. So in 1900, Paris was going to host a World's Fair. The French government anticipated having millions and millions of people come to Paris for the event. So for Pierre de Coubertan, this was a no-brainer. Make the Olympics a part of the 1900 World's Fair.

Hell yeah. Kubartan had grand plans for these Olympics. He wanted to make replicas of ancient Olympic stadiums with manixt. with monuments and museums containing information and artifacts from ancient Greece. But he encountered stiff resistance from World's Fair officials. What gives? Well, Pierre de Couvertan was super into sports, but the rest of France, they were not into sports.

They liked art, politics, literature. They were eggheads. Most of France thought sports were just a distraction. They were suited for a more brutish society. Like the English or the Americans. Long story short, because this could be an episode on its own. There was a ton of politics and conflict about the Olympics at the 1900 World's Fair. And eventually, Kubartan grew so frustrated from all the red tape that he resigned from the Olympic organizing committee for the 1900 games.

Damn. It really devastated him because that was going to be his hometown Olympics, you know. The Olympics were now and that. hands of people who might not necessarily care all that much about their success. But hey, it was still part of the World's Fair, so they wanted to make sure it was good, right? Sure. On April 14th, 1900, the World's Fair kicked off in Paris. Woo-hoo!

And it was, as predicted, a huge event. The fairgrounds were the largest in history. 543 acres. 48 million people attended the World's Fair. over seven months. And here are some of the highlights. People learned about the latest inventions that would change the world.

The escalator. Wow. Diesel engines. Talking films. Oh. We enjoy those today. The Paris Metro officially opened, still in use today.

The Eiffel Tower was painted bright yellow to celebrate the fair. Ew. Here's one of my favorite events. There was a banquet of mayors. Oh, so you could just meet all the mayors? Every single mayor from every town in France got together and had a meal. 20,000 mayors.

Oh, my God. I love it. Waiters had to use cars and bicycles to deliver orders. Everyone, Norm loves a mayor. Oh, we're going to get to that. Okay. This banquet meal required 2,500 liters of mayonnaise. Ew. Is that made up?

That is real. It is disgusting. And as a kitchen nightmares fan, I cannot tell you how big of a deal it is to serve the mayor. Imagine serving 20,000 mayors, Kristen. Sounds like someone struggling for power. Everyone, we know, if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that when Norm's feeling a little blue, he watches kitchen nightmares. And you know that in this house, we do suffer from a depression. So that's a lot of kitchen nightmares.

And yeah, when Gordon Ramsey is ready to show off his stuff, you know who he calls? The mayor. The local mayor. If you want to get this restaurant back on its feet, the mayor has to dine there and he has to love his meal. There's so many dramatic moments involving mayors and kitchen nightmares. Highly recommend you also check out the show. It's not a great show. Okay.

That's your opinion. All right. Very good. Here's another one of my favorites from the 1900 World's Fair. You might like this contest, Kristen. the best soup. I would love it. Campbell's Soup won a gold medal for excellence,

and they still brag about it today. If you can remember a Campbell Soup label, kind of in the middle, there's a gold medallion. Oh, is that what that's from? That is from the 1900 World's Fair. Good for them. Yeah.

Oh, their soup sucks, but anyway. Ooh, you have a Progresso fan? Well, no, I don't like canned soup. Yeah, you are kind of a soup connoisseur. A soup snob. That's what we call them. I'm not a big soup guy. Don't love the soups.

Well, we all have our flaws, don't we? It's funny. There's a great episode of Seinfeld where Jerry gets a suit from his comedian buddy. And he's like, oh, what should I pay for? And he's like, well, just take me out to dinner, and we'll call it even. And he takes them out, and the guy orders soup. And then afterward, he's like, so when are we going to go out for dinner? He's like, but you just had dinner?

And he's like, well, soup's not a meal. And I think I'm the only person who agreed with him. I do not think soup is a meal. Soup is a meal. No. History hose, reach out. Way in history hose. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get absolutely slam dunked on for my take.

I hope so. So yeah, you've heard about Campbell's Soup? By the way, the only people who can slam dunk on Norm are men who don't work with their hands. at all. Yeah, amateurs only, please. If you're a professional slam dunker. We don't want to hear it. Don't want to hear it.

So, yeah, the 1900 World's Fair. Banquet of Mayors, Campbell's Soup, bright yellow Eiffel Tower. And then there were the Olympics. And boy, they were bad. Here's why. First, the Olympics took place over an astonishing five months. Oh, no. July 1st, 3rd.

through November 23rd. That's ridiculous. Yeah. With such a vast schedule spread over many months, events were poorly attended. Compare that to the Olympics in 1896, which lasted only 10 days. Mm-hmm. And even today, which we have way more events than back then, the Olympics only last about three weeks. Well, yeah, you don't want to fatigue people.

I mean... Yeah. God. Five months of Olympics. Second reason. World's Fair organizers removed. the term Olympics from all the events. Instead, they were called the international contests of physical exercises and of sport.

Oh, good. They weren't even called the Olympic Games. Why? I think it's because of the arguing that Pierre de Coubarton had with the World's Fair organizers, and they were just like, and just call it the international contests of physical exercises end of sport. Did they think about adding more words? It's like you have an essay due tomorrow and you got to hit that word count. Exactly.

My God. 1,224 athletes from 31 countries competed in 95 events, much bigger turnout than the first Olympics. And for the first time, women competed in events. Oh. Only 23 women, but still. Yeah. Progress. But because of the name confusion, many athletes didn't even know they were competing in the Olympics.

Oh my God. It is a sad story, Kristen. Years later, the International Olympic Committee had to go back through all the events at the 1900 World's Fair and determine what was an Olympic event and what was not an Olympic event. For example, the marathon winner, Frenchman Michel Thieto, found out he was an Olympic champion 12 years after he won the marathon. He had no idea? No clue. Wow. Margaret Abbott, a 22-year-old woman from the United States.

States won the nine-hole golf competition. She died in 1955 at the age of 76. But the International Olympic Committee didn't declare her an Olympic champion until the 1970s. Wow. She posthumously became the first woman from the United States to win a gold medal, and she never knew. Wow. That's sad. Yeah. Here's the final reason. The 1900 Olympics sucked. World's Fair organizers made no effort to construct athletic facilities. They just kind of held events wherever they could. The discus and hammer throw events, there were trees all over the place. Uh-huh.

It was a mess. Well, they didn't give a shit. I mean, this sounds like a bad conference. You ever been to a bad work conference? That's what this sounds like. It was like a side show of the World's Fair. Pierre de Coubertone was embarrassed. He declared, quote,

we have made a hash of our work. Hmm, hash. Sounds good. Everyone, Norm doesn't smoke weed. He just likes... I meant like hash browns. Yeah, I'm just clarifying. During the 1900 World's Fair, the International Olympic Committee got together and decided that maybe we should go ahead and start planning for the next Olympics.

Yeah. Pierre de Coubertone vowed to not make the same mistakes again. The next Olympic host will be a country that appreciates sports. and no more world's fairs were done with those because the Olympics felt like a sideshow at the 1900 World's Fair. They have to be an event on their own. Okay.

During the meeting, a delegate from the United States stood up and suggested, hey, how about if we host the next Olympics? Americans love sports. And we even have a city in mind, the city of brotherly love. Philadelphia. Wow. Bruce Springsteen.

People love your. singing, Norm, you got to keep it up. Well, you're right. You're right. I am, I'm going to audition for some stuff, I think. Great. Yeah. I saw one comment.

Someone was like, I've heard like cats and heat hold a tune better than you or something. Wow. I know. Brutal. So, you know what? I've hired a singing coach. Uh-huh. And I'm going to come back with a vengeance, folks.

I'm going to sing the entire soundtrack to Hamilton. You wouldn't dare. I wouldn't. I didn't really like Hamilton. You hated Hamilton. Another hot take from Normacy. Yeah, you hated it. I just don't like musicals.

You don't, but also you're very rude about it. You, like, I remember I was listening to it one day and you were like, what's that lame rapping I'm hearing? Yeah, I do remember that. Brutal. So, why Philadelphia? Because it was the home of the University of Pennsylvania, the best damn track and field team in the United States. At the last college championships, Penn had won. nine out of the 13 events.

They dominated. Okay. Pierre de Courtawn loved it. He had toured the United States before, and he agreed sports were very popular. America would love the Olympic Games. So, in July of 1900, the New York Times and Chicago Tribune reported that Philadelphia would be hosting the 1904 Summer Olympics. Woo-hoo!

But not everybody was happy about this. One American heard this news, and he started to be. Schieman did this with his fingers. Uh-huh. Yes. He was a fella named James Sullivan. When it came to athletic events in the United States, James Sullivan was the guy. He was in charge of the amateur athletic union.

At the time, it was the organization for athletic competition. The amateur athletic union predates the NCAA. Okay. So back in those days, track and field was known as athletics. And it was the most popular sport around. So major cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City. They formed athletic clubs. Oh.

And these clubs competed against each other under the Amateur Athletic Union. The AAU organized competition and established standardized rules. Fun fact. This is how the Oakland Athletics got their name. Oh. They were originally an amateur baseball team from the athletic club of Philadelphia. That's so cool. Yeah, a little fun little fact.

What do you think of my fun fact sound? I've changed it up a little bit. I do enjoy it, but I do miss Owen Wilson. Hang on, I can bring Owen back. Wow, wow. Oh, missed you. AAU President James Sullivan was not a big fan of the Olympics, Kristen. He thought it was a joke.

These Europeans, they don't know anything about sports. What's up with all these weird events? like golf. The Olympics should be strictly a track and field competition. Okay. Well, despite James Sullivan's criticisms, athletic clubs across the United States sent their athletes to compete in the Olympics. Back then, there was no Team USA.

Athletes represented their respective clubs. So, for example, if Dr. Hubert Montgomery from Kansas City won the Long Jump Competition, next to his name, it would say United States Kansas City Athletic Club. Sure. James Sullivan saw the Olympics as a threat to the amateur athletic union, and he thought Pierre de Coubertone was, quote, a powerless, pathetic figure in charge of an inept committee. Oh, well, that's kind of correct. Which is what makes it so hurtful. This hurts me way more than it hurts you. So behind Cuberton's back, Sullivan tried forming his own international sports organization, and he was going to call it the International Federation of Track and Field.

Wow. The Olympics has a much better name. Agreed. Agreed. So at the 1900 World's Fair, James Sullivan tried recruiting track and field officials to support him. He was like, whew, these Olympics are terrible. Am I right? Who organized this shit show? You know what? We should start something new. Sounds like someone's struggling for power.

This guy is so bitchy. What's his deal? Oh, we're just getting started on Mr. James Sullivan. Okay. Well, it didn't work out. James Sullivan had way less power and influence outside of the United States. So he decided, fuck it, I'll just try to control the Olympics when they come to the United States. James Sullivan was in charge of the athletic competition at the upcoming 1901. won World's Fair in Buffalo, New York. And using his power and influence, he convinced American Olympic delegates to abandon the idea of Philadelphia hosting the Olympics. In November of 1900,

newspapers reported that an American committee led by James Sullivan was working on getting the Olympic Games to Buffalo for the 1901 World's Fair. And Christian, when Pierre de Cuperton heard about these shenanigans, he was livid. Sure. He was. like, who the fuck does James Sullivan think he is? Also, there's no way in hell we're having the Olympics at a World's Fair again. Besides, that World's Fair in Buffalo, it's in 1901. The next Olympics are scheduled for 1904. Yeah. So Pierre de Coubertone, he schemed right back at James Sullivan. He appointed more American delegates to the International Olympic Committee to take power away from James Sullivan. That's brilliant. I love this.

Ooh. Sounds like someone's struggling for power. I love a rivalry. Oh, it's a big rivalry. And then Pierre de Coubertan went to the press and he was like, actually, I'm in charge of the Olympics and they're not going to be in Buffalo. And so the press was like, okay, well, then where are they going to be? Yeah.

And he was like, uh, New York City. Oh. Yeah, Pierre de Coubertan pulled that answer out of thin air. It was just the most popular American city, so that's what he said. Sure. In reality, New York had zero interest in hosting the Olympics. Well, James Sullivan heard what Kubarton said, and he clapped right back, Kristen. He went to the press, and he was like, hey, did you know Pierre de Coubertone was kicked off the 1900 Olympic organizing committee?

And also, did you know he totally botched the last Olympics? This is also rude but true. And then Pierre Coubertan, he shot right back. He said, look, James Sullivan isn't even a member of the International Olympic Committee, and he should not be taken seriously. So right now, the 1904 Olympics, they're kind of a mess. Uh-huh. The International Olympic Committee wants them in the United States, but it's not really clear where they're going to be held. But then, one city came together to make a bid for the Olympics.

Do you want to take a guess? Well, it's got to be St. Louis, right? It was... What? What is this? Chicago, Illinois. Wait, what was that song? It's from an artist named Sufjohn Stevens, and he has an album called Come On Feel the Illinois.

And like each song is something about Illinois. Uh-huh. Okay, I guess. So I thought it was a good theme song for Chicago. Okay, well, Chicago would have been great. Yeah, and they were very interested in hosting the Olympics. Sure. Many athletes from the city had competed in the 1896 and the 1900 Olympics.

Several members of Chicago's athletic clubs were part of the wealthy and social elite. Having the Olympics in Chicago would be a great honor. One of them was a man named Albert G. Spalding of the Spalding Sporting Goods Company. Oh. Sound familiar? Yes. Yeah. They standardized the baseball, the baseball glove, the American football, the basketball.

Big deal. When Chicagoans heard the United States were going to host the next Olympics, they were like, yeah, why not us? Sure. Why not Chicago? And then Pierre de Coubertan heard Chicago was interested. And he was like, yes, Chicago. Back when Coobarton was touring the United States, studying how sports could save society as we know it, he had visited Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair. And he described the city as, quote, really grand and beautiful.

and he also thought the Chicago Athletic Club, they had like the best facilities in the world. In fact, when Kubartan was trying to put together the 1900 Olympics, he wanted the facilities to be modeled after the Chicago Athletic Club's facilities. That's how much he liked them. Yeah. Plus, Chicago was the second largest city in the United States, and it was in the Midwest. Up to that point, athletics were really concentrated in the northeast part of the country. So hosting the Olympics in the middle of the country would kind of. to help spread that Olympic fever throughout the United States.

So Pierre de Coubertan told the Chicago elites, yeah, you should make a bid for the Olympics. Yeah. So the Chicago. Because New York doesn't want it. New York is not interested. It's either, right now the options are Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia, who kind of aren't really into it anymore because James Sullivan is taking the power away. Sure.

And then Chicago. So the Chicago Athletic Club in the University of Chicago. they came together and they formed an Olympic committee to make an official bid for the 1904 Olympics. Meanwhile, James Sullivan, he was still trying to get the Olympics to Buffalo, New York, for the 1901 World's Fair. But his plan was not working. His colleagues reminded him that you don't really have the authority to move the Olympics to wherever you want. Plus word on the street is Chicago is making a pretty strong bid to host the games. So what do you think he did, Kristen?

I don't know. He folded. Oh. He backed off his little scheme. And then... What the hell? That is not what I was expecting. I'm kind of disappointed.

I thought he was way bitchier than this. You're a little disappointed in Mr. James Sullivan? Well, yeah. I thought, you know, he was going to like, I don't know, poop in a bag, lighting on fire, put it in front of somebody's door stuff. I don't know. Are you ready to lose all respect for James Sullivan? Yes. He started being a kiss-ass to Pierre de Coubertan.

You're kidding me. In March of 1901, James Sullivan wrote Pierre de Cuberton a letter, and it said the following, My dear Baron, there is a great deal of talk here about Chicago getting the Olympic Games. I hope they do. The papers say they are raising a lot of money out there. One paper placing it at $200,000. If that is so, it's simply marvelous. They could never get that much money in New York.

I hate this man. I hate him so much. You are going to hate him so much more. You were right. I have no respect for this. Yeah. So he realized he was in over his head with this guy. And he realized, oh, wait, if I could be part of this somehow, this would actually be really good for me.

So now I need to be so nice to him that this guy is gaslit into thinking that I'm actually his friend and I'm a good guy. And I've been nice this whole time. Bullshit, I hate him. So at this point, things seem. to be trending toward Chicago hosting the 1904 Olympics. The city of Chicago was on board. Pierre de Coubertan was on board. James Sullivan was on board, I guess.

And other cities like Philadelphia, they had backed off on making a bid for the games. But in April of 1901, one month before the International Olympic Committee was set to vote on the host city, Pierre de Coubertan heard a knock on his apartment door in Paris, France. It was a group of delegates representing the city of St. Louis, Missouri. What? They just showed up? They just showed up. Huh. And they asked Pierre de Coubertone, hey, how about if St. Louis, the fourth largest city in America, host the Olympics?

And Coubertone was like, uh, well, this is kind of last minute. The International Olympic Committee is about to vote for the host city next month. But if you make an official bid, we'll consider it. Also, did you think about, you know, sending a letter ahead of time, letting me know? Well, this is urgent, and so they thought showing up in person would make a good impression. Oh, God. So, yeah, Kubarton was like, make an official bid. Well, the St. Louis officials were like, well, we kind of can't.

And Pierre de Coubertone was like, what do you mean? So, Kristen, here was the problem. I'm going to rewind a little bit and explain the situation. Okay. So, the main guy who wanted the Olympics in St. Louis was David Francis. And he was a Missouri icon. He had served as the mayor of St. Louis, the governor of Missouri, and even the secretary of the interior under President Grover Cleveland. Okay.

At the time, David Francis was busy planning a huge event for St. Louis, a freaking world's fair. Told you, they were popular. It was going to be called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a 100-year anniversary celebration of when President Thomas Jefferson bought French territory from Napoleon and effectively doubled the size of the United States overnight. Technically, the Louisiana Purchase did not give the United States indigenous people's land, but it effectively gave the United States the authority to take control of native land, whether through treaties or through violence. Future topic. Oh, boy. Mm-hmm. In March of 1901, the U.S. Congress approved funding for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

It was scheduled to take place in 1903. But David Francis wanted his world's fair to be the biggest fair ever. But he only had two years to plan it. It was not enough time. David Francis fully intended to ask Congress for a delay until 1904. But Congress had literally just a problem. approved funding for the St. Louis World's Fair, it would have been super embarrassing to ask for a delay just one month later. Yeah.

So David Francis wanted to wait a little bit. But then David Francis heard the news that Chicago was making a bid for the 1904 Olympics, and it was going to take place at the exact same time as his Louisiana purchase exposition. Well, David Francis didn't want the Olympics to steal the spotlight from the St. Louis World's Fair. Plus, he wanted to have athletic events, too. And the Olympics would compromise that. So David Francis came up with a plan. What if they could get the Olympics to become a part of the St. Louis World's Fair? Very new original idea.

We love it. No one's done this before. And I bet Pierre de Coubertons is going to love it. Sure. Yeah. So the only issue was they had to convince the International Olympic Committee to delay picking a host city. And then that way, David Francis could have more time to ask Congress. Congress to delay the World's Fair until 1904.

And then, when that was said and done, St. Louis could make an official bid for the Olympics and tie it to the World's Fair and it would be the greatest World's Fair in the world and the greatest Olympics ever. I love it. Okay. And so, that is what the St. Louis delegation asked Pierre de Coubertan to do. And Coubertan was like, oh, certainly, I can talk to the International Olympic Committee about that.

Thank you for your interest, gentlemen. But inside, Kubarton was screaming. Hell no, to the no, no, no, hell to the no. Yeah, he hated this idea. He didn't want it at all. No. As we all know by now, history hoes, Pierre de Coubertan had no interest in having the Olympics at a World's Fair again. Yep.

The 1900 Olympics at the Paris World's Fair sucked. Another reason? Pierre de Coubertan also. thought St. Louis sucked. Oh, ouch. Ouch. He had visited the city before, and he wrote, quote, I harbor great resentment against the town.

There was no beauty nor originality. I had sort of a pre-sentiment that the Olympics would match the mediocrity of the town. Okay. Resentment. Boom. Roasted. You don't need to resent a town. What did St. Louis do?

Who to you? Did he even see the arch? Was the arch not built yet? Arch was built in like the 50s. Oh, well, never mind. It's 1950s. So he had read a lot of literature on St. Louis and how like the Mississippi and the Missouri River came together.

And it was like very romanticized. But like, yeah, he romanticized. And then he went to St. Louis and he was like, this place is terrible. What do you think of St. Louis, Kristen? I think it's great for a weekend. And that's it. Listen. But I don't resent it.

It's no Kansas City. I know we're really showing our... It's no Kansas City. It's a fine town. If you like shitholes? I'm just kidding. You are bragging about your expensive toilets today and about how St. Louis is a shithole. How can people relate to you, Kristen?

Speaking like this. Listen, anyone who's been to St. Louis is going to... agree. Three-day weekend tops. Where else are you going to get toasted ravioli? How about St. Louis style pizza, which is basically pizza with a salting cracker crust and some weird kind of cheese? Here's the thing about toasted ravioli. That's one of the rare things that sounds better than it actually is, I think. You know, I agree. I remember trying toasted ravioli and thinking, I don't get it. Boy, we're just going to piss off the St. Louis folks. And they're already upset because they live in St. Louis.

Wow. Wow. Thank you. But you know what, Kristen? Pierre de Coubertan, although he hated St. Louis and he hated World's Fairs, he was a gentleman and a man of his word.

And so in May of 1901, when the International Olympic Committee met to pick the next host city, Cuperton told them that, hey, St. Louis wants to put in a bid, but we have to delay the vote. And the committee was like, uh, no,

we're not going to delay the vote. And he was just like, okay. All right, good. Well, he tried. Kept his word. On May 21st, 1901, with a unanimous vote, the International Olympic Committee selected Chicago to host the 1904 Olympic Games. And Pierre de Cuberton sent a telegram to the Chicago delegates that read simply, Chicago wins.

Nice. And the city rejoiced. A crowd of 6,000 people gathered around a huge bonfire. to celebrate the selection. And they heard speeches from members of the Chicago Olympic Committee who shared their grand plans for the 1904 Games. There was quite a bit of work to do. They had to secure funding from corporations and state and local governments. They wanted to build more facilities like a brand new stadium in Grant Park.

The committee also needed to encourage other countries to participate in the 1904 games. And oh, oh, oh, we should get President William McKinley involved. That would really make the Olympics special. Okay. Pierre de Coubertan was a little starstruck by the president, and he was like, ooh, I'll write him a letter, and I'll ask if he will serve as the honorary president of the 1904 Olympic Games. I think that's a great idea. And plus, I mean, if you like a mayor, huh, you're going to be very excited about a president. Imagine if on kitchen nightmares Gordon Ramsey was able to get like Barack Obama to eat at the restaurant.

It'd be amazing. Who! Soup for everyone. I feel like even Gordon Ramsey would be nervous to cook for the president. He seems like a real douchebag. Gordon, not the president. There's no way he would serve him soup, though. I think Obama agrees that soup's not really a meal.

Your hatred of soup is like on par with this guy's hatred of St. Louis. It's, you know, the resent, it's just too much. It's too much. What did soup do to you? I've just never really enjoyed soup. It's falling in a boiling pot one day. It's fine as like a starter meal. A starter meal?

A starter meal. Sorry. It's starter course. You know, like a nice lobster bisque or a clam chowder. Yeah, sure. Tomato soup. Yeah, that's fine. But like, I don't want that to be like my main thing.

I don't want to like drink my meal, you know. Do you drink or eat soup? You eat soup, you weirdo. It's a liquid, though. don't you drink it? I think you don't know how to eat soup. That's why you hate it so much. I don't know how to eat soup.

Well, yeah, if you're asking me, do I drink this stuff? I need a fork for my soup. Straw, please. Where were we? Pierre de Coubertan wrote a letter to President McKinley and was like, we would love it if you served as the honorary president of the 1904 Olympic Games. William McKinley never responded. Oh.

Later that year, in September of 1901, President McKinley was attending the 1901 World's Fair in Buffalo, New York. Didn't he get shot at it? Home of James Sullivan's failed Olympic bid, by the way. Uh-huh. And William McKinley was holding a special event. You could meet and shake hands with the president of the United States. Yep.

Sadly, one of the people to meet him was an anarchist named Leon Cholgosh, who shot him twice at point-blank range. William McKinley died about a week later. You're familiar with that story. Didn't you do that on Let's Go to Court? I sure did, big boy, but my memory's not so good. So the more you talked, I was like, wait a minute, I know this story. I've told this story. This was the infamous episode where I was not paying attention.

Uh-huh. And you had mentioned that people could just come into the White House and meet the president. And then I was like, hey, Kristen, did you know that when, Lincoln was president. You could just come into the White House and meet them. Yeah, folks, if you want to hear me getting really frustrated with my husband, go back to Let's Go to Court, my former podcast, and listen to that episode about the assassination of William McKinley.

It's either episode 88 or 98. Wow. Yeah. That memory amazes me. But yeah, I had been telling the story, and then Norm interrupts to share a fact that had just been shared. It was a hilarious moment. I was just making memories. for folks. That was my goal.

Uh-huh. So, William McKinley is now dead. And the new president of the United States is Theodore Roosevelt. Oh, okay. To this day, Theodore Roosevelt is the youngest person to ever hold the office at the age of 42. No, wasn't John F. Kennedy?

Nope. Really? Really. Teddy Roosevelt is the youngest president in the U.S. history. Wow, that's shocking. I know. Okay. I thought John F. Kennedy, too.

I think he was like 43 when he became president. But he looked 41. Mm-hmm. Those cigarettes didn't affect him one bit. And boy, Kristen, you want to talk about a president made for the Olympics? It's got to be Teddy Roosevelt. Yeah. He was an avid outdoorsman.

He loved sports, lifting weights, gymnastics, boxing. He was a workout boy. Yeah. He was a big buff boy. Mm-hmm. Mm. And so Pierre de Coubertan, he tried again. In November of 1901, he wrote to President Roosevelt and asked him to be the honorary president of the 1904 Olympics.

Teddy Roosevelt wrote back. What do you think he said, Kristen? Yes. I guess the Olympics just weren't a big deal. They weren't that big back then. Yeah. Now, Theodore Roosevelt was a fan of the Olympics, but he didn't want people to think that the event had anything to do with the U.S. government. So he declined.

Okay. Meanwhile, Olympic fever continued to spread throughout Chicago. An architect drew up plans for a new stadium that would seat 75,000 people. Wow. And get this, it had a retractable roof in case there was bad weather. That is some fancy shit for 1904. It's fancy for today. It is.

75,000 people. Imagine 75,000. thousand mayors at this stadium. Please. There's too much pressure. I could not perform in front of 75,000 mayors. What would you be asked to perform in front of these? They probably asked me to sing.

Yeah. And it sounds really bad. And it's not because you're bad at singing. It's because of all the pressure. Yeah. You know, that's actually why I messed up last week. I was like, I bet there's some mayors listening to this. Oh, my God.

If you are a mayor, please let us know. Mayors don't listen to to an old-timey podcast. There's got to be a mayor listening or a former mayor or... A history ho mayor? Maybe. I'm not buying it.

Oh. Well, if you're out there, Mr. or Mrs. Mayor, please let us know. The Chicago Olympic Committee traveled the world, generating buzz for the 1904 games. They visited France,

Germany, England, Belgium, Switzerland. They met with leaders and they tried to convince them, hey, send your best athletes to Chicago for the 1904 games. Meanwhile, the city of St. Louis continued to work on their World's Fair. In June of 1902, Congress officially approved a one-year delay, so the Louisiana Purchase Exposition would now take place in 1904 during the exact same time as the Chicago Olympics. And that really pissed off David Francis, the man behind the St. Louis World.

He had some Vienna beef with Chicago. Oh. You see, back in 1893, the U.S. government chose Chicago over St. Louis to host the 1893 World's Fair, which, by the way, that World's Fair celebrated the 400-year anniversary of Columbus discovering America. Oh, wow. Did you know he discovered America? I was taught that in school, sadly. I don't even think he got close to what we know as America. Also, you can't discover something that people already know about.

Yeah, great point, Kristen. That's the rule. And since being scorned all those years ago, David Francis had worked his ass off to ensure that St. Louis would have their own world's fair. And now that they finally had one, Chicago. decides to host the Olympics. Fucking Chicago. And also, David Francis couldn't believe that Pierre de Coubertan didn't advocate for St. Louis, which was a historically French city.

Yeah, but Pierre de Coupertone, well, I guess he doesn't know that Pierre de Cuperton or whatever wanted to take a big nasty dump all over St. Louis. He was so resentful of it. He did how much he hated St. Louis. Yeah. So David Francis came up with a plan. He did something really devilish. also kind of brilliant this guy was a politician in July of 1902

David Francis called up little schemie boy James Sullivan head of the amateur athletic union and he was like hey buddy the St. Louis World's Fair it's gonna be huge

and we would love it if we could have some athletic competitions at this World's Fair and we want a America's best competing. So, how about if the amateur athletic union run all the sporting competition at the World's Fair? And better yet, how about you guys host your track and field national championships at the St. Louis World's Fair? Also, Mr. Sullivan, we're building a brand new stadium that can hold 19,000 people.

It's going to be great. And we expect millions and millions of people to attend the World's Fair. imagine the exposure and the glory for these athletes. That is brilliant. That is absolutely brilliant. Well, James Sullivan was delighted to receive this call. Of course he was. He had a personal vendetta against the Olympics and Pierre de Coubertone.

Why, of course, the amateur athletic union will run the events at the St. Louis World's Fair. and also we would love to host our national championships there too. When the Chicago Olympic Committee heard this news, they got real nervous, Kristen. Well, sure. So one member of the committee wrote to another, as the amateur athletic union virtually controls athletics in the United States, this would seriously injure the Olympic Games.

Yeah, we're going to be so embarrassed. We're going to be hosting the Olympics and we're not going to win any medals. because all of our best athletes are going to be in St. Louis. You got it. Eating toasted raviolis. Oh, I didn't run too well today. Probably all had toasted ravioli and proval cheese. So the Chicago Olympic Committee, they went to France to talk to daddy, Pierre de Couvertone.

And they were like, help, help. St. Louis is hosting the amateur athletic union championships at the World's Fair. This is going to jeopardize the Olympics. What are we going to do? And Coupertone was like, look, we're already pretty far ahead on this thing. I mean, I'm sure you guys have already secured funding. You've started building that kick-ass new stadium with the retractable roof. Well, the Chicago Olympic Committee was like, well, actually, we're kind of having trouble getting money for this.

We have concepts of a plan. We don't have an actual plan. We have the concepts of a plan. Uh-huh. Which everyone knows is just as good. Great way to describe what's going on here. corporations, wealthy elites, state and local governments, they weren't super keen to hand out wads of cash to this fairly new event called the Olympics. The St. Louis World's Fair, on the other hand, didn't have any money problems. Thanks to Congress, St. Louis basically had a blank check to do whatever the hell they wanted.

I've seen that movie. That can go bad, but all right. Oh, man, blank check. Chris, I'm so glad you mentioned that film. Let's talk about blank check. Sure. It's a talkie. Yes, it premiered at the 1900 World's Fair. What a strange film, that is. I'll be honest. I don't really remember it that well.

I just remember the scene where the kid goes, a blank check, a blank check. Because, hey, we're learning a lot about me in this podcast, and it's that I love the moment in a movie where a character says the name of the movie. Well, how about this? The kid falls in love with the bank teller, who was like an undercover. cop and goes out on a date with the bank teller. Ew, what? I don't remember that. So basically, this kid is pretending to be this millionaire called Mr. McIntosh.

Uh-huh. But he's clearly a child. Right, but he's like, oh, I'm like working for Mr. McIntosh or something. Uh-huh. And the bank teller who's an undercover cop was like, hmm, I got to trace the money and find out more about Mr. McIntosh. And so she's like, yes, I'll go out to dinner with you. and you can tell me all about Mr. McIntosh.

And they, like, have this romantic dinner. And then they, like, run through this fountain and they get all wet and then... What? At the end of the movie, I think it's either at the end of the movie or after the fountain scene. She kisses him. That is disgusting. He's, like, 10. That is disgusting.

There are so many movies from back in the date, like, never been kissed, where she's adult who goes undercover as a high school student. She falls in love with the teacher. And then she does the big reveal, oh, I'm actually an adult. And he's mad. Yeah, he's like pissed off that she's an adult. Oh, you lied. And it's like, dude.

I was in love with a child. And I wanted you to be a child. I'm really mad. Yeah. Yeah. You got to look at who's writing these movies, I say. Let's do a little bit of a deep dive. Yeah.

The one thing I did love about blank check, though, is all the cool stuff he bought with, I think he cashed the check for a million dollars. Yeah, the pedophile stuff, not so great, but him buying stuff, we enjoy that. You just kind of got to ignore the pedophile stuff. Okay, great. I watched it recently as an adult, blank check. And the one thing I kept wondering was, I don't think a million dollars would buy you all this stuff. I feel like you'd need more than a million dollars.

That's just inflation talking. I mean, the dude had like a mansion with like a water slide. Okay. And then a racetrack and then like all the arcade games. He had like a personal butler. It was, I don't know. Yeah. Yeah.

Turns out blank checked not a very realistic movie. That's Norm's critique that he. Nope. No? No. I'm saying no. It's not realistic. Uh-huh.

And just to recap, you watch this as an adult. Yes. You do not have children. Watch this. I watched it by myself. Uh-huh. Alone. Uh-huh.

In a dark room. With a cat on my lap. Just a totally normal guy. Nothing to worry about here. Yep. Also, it's a Disney film. Yeah. Anyway, back to the story.

So, yeah, the St. Louis World's Fair didn't have any money problems. They had that blank check, Kristen. Yeah. So, yeah, Pierre de Coubertan, he started to work. worry. He was like, what do you mean you haven't secured funding? So the 1904 Olympics, they're in serious jeopardy now. And that's when wealthy Chicago elite Albert Spalding, owner of the Spalding Sporting Good Company, he stepped in. He said, look, it's probably in everyone's best interest. If delegates from St. Louis and delegates from Chicago, they meet up and we can avoid,

quote, athletic politics. So on October 27, 1902, delegates from both cities met in New York to try and come up with a solution. The Chicago Olympic Committee believed there were three solutions. Number one, keep everything the way it was. Fuck it. Let's see who has the better event.

We'll do it live. Fuck it. Do it live. I'll write it and we'll do it live. I was... I was not expecting Bill O'Reilly to be on the soundboard, but I am pleased. Number two. Postpone the Olympics in Chicago

to 1905 to avoid the scheduling conflict with the world's fair. Well, that's not the way this works. It's every four years. Number three. Ugh. Transfer the Olympic Games to St. Louis.

I mean, yeah. St. Louis delegates were playing hardball. For them, there was only one solution to this problem. Move the Olympics to St. Louis, Missouri. Yeah. Well, the Chicago Olympic Committee, they had to think things over.

Both parties left New York without a solution And meanwhile, people in Chicago heard about all this drama And they were fucking pissed Okay, well if they're pissed They have to pull their wallets out They have to start giving money Otherwise it's going to St. Louis

Yeah Find some neighborhood kid who got a blank check And say, hey, give us this money For the Olympics The solution is simple Who has a blank check? Who's got a blank check? When were checks invented?

I don't know. Shit. History hose. Please find out for us Clearly after this Otherwise the solution Would have been very simple They would have just done The blank check thing

Duh Exactly Albert Spalding would have been like Look I know this kid in my neighborhood He found a blank check the other day When he was skateboarding I'm gonna try to get the money from him We gotta save him

From this creepy bank teller though And Tone Loke Tone Loke's in that movie Who? You know that that hip hop artist from the early 90s Tone Loke? No

He was the You're not going to know. No. I was going to talk about Fern Gulley, the last rain forest. Oh, Jesus. Please don't. I'd rather you talk about World War I. How do we make this podcast, folks?

How do we make it happen? It's a miracle it exists. What do you mean? Because we disagree so much. Because we can't even talk to each other about Fern Gully. You know what? We got to go to couples counseling, and that's going to be the top of the top of the line issue. We can't even talk about Fern Gully.

Deborah, look, I'm sick of it. She doesn't even know what Fern Gully is. I'm guessing that therapist's name is Deborah. Worse yet. Worse yet, she doesn't even seem to care. Yeah. And then she tried to make fun of me for watching Blank Check alone in a dark room. And she says, Blank Check, well, is that like a new movie or what?

I don't understand. Ninety-four. Yeah. So, yeah, people in Chicago, they're fucking. A professor at the University of Chicago thought that the Olympic Committee should stand their ground. Chicago worked hard to get the Olympics. Plus, St. Louis sucked ass. Oh, no.

He said, quote, St. Louis is not the center of the United States. Its water is bad. And hotel accommodations insufficient. Okay, but wasn't the water bad in St. Louis because it came down from Chicago and Chicago Is that a thing? Polluted it up. Am I making this up? You know, that does sound familiar. Future topic?

Perhaps. I need a future topic sound. You do. It's just the ding. Do the little... Future topic? Yeah. There we go.

Also a wink. Future topic, or did Kristen just make that up? We'll find out. Another Chicago official said that having the Olympics at a world's fair would be a huge mistake because they'll be completely overshadowed. Plus, have you been to St. Louis in the summer? It's hotter than Satan's taint.

Oh, he did not say that. He didn't say that. I am feeling bad for making fun of St. Louis now that everyone else is making fun of St. Louis. Everyone is roasting the hell out of St. Louis. Boom. Roasted. I do like that they have their baseball stadium right there in the center of the city. That's pretty cool. Yeah.

And the arch is pretty cool, but my husband's scared of heights, so I didn't go up in it last. have gone up all by yourself and I would have cheered you on from the ground. I hope she's okay up there. Great job, Kristen. Ultimately, Chicago's preferred solution was to delay the Olympics until 1905. And St. Louis's solution was to transfer the Olympics to St. Louis. So now everyone turned to Pierre de Coubertone. Oh, man, he's got a real tough choice here.

Mm-hmm. Oh. As president of the International Olympic Committee, it was ultimately up to him to make the decision. So he weighed his options. First option. We're going to hold the Olympic Games in Chicago anyway. This could be disastrous for the integrity of the Olympics. Yeah.

The best athletes in the United States would not be there. They would be in St. Louis competing with the amateur athletic union. Well, and people who want to watch the best athletes are all going to be in St. Louis. That's the other thing. Exactly. Great point. Thank you. I'm a genius.

Second option. Delay the Olympics until 1905. Pierre de Coubertan hated this idea. Yeah. Because he wanted to create tradition. Every four years, there are Olympic games. Yep. Third option, transfer the games to St. Louis.

Pierre de Coubertan considered this idea distasteful. Okay. But there were some positives. For one, St. Louis basically had unlimited money, thanks to Congress funding the World's Fair. They promised brand spanking new athletic facilities for the competitors. This is such an easy decision. In a brand new stadium for them to compete. He's got to get over his beef with St. Louis.

He's got to move past the World's Fair stuff. This is an easy. He's a scorned Frenchman, Kristen. Well, he needs to just, you know, put it behind him. The World's Fair had the organizational structure to support running the Olympics. And the organizers really wanted to make the Olympics a big part of the World's Fair, unlike Paris in 1900. That's the key. There's enthusiasm.

And when there's enthusiasm, they're not going to take the name Olympics off of it and call it the very long athletic event with lots of people in it. And there's running and there's running. and there's jumping. You know, they're not going to do that. They're not going to, you know, stretch it out over a million months and make it shitty. They're excited. What was Michael Scott's 5K called? The Dunder Mifflin fun run to raise awareness.

I can't. It was very long. That's kind of what it's like. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition promised to be the biggest world's fair yet. And there was a ton of interest from the American public. And finally, last but not least, President Theodore Roosevelt, who had turned down the Chicago Olympics, he promised to attend the St. Louis World's Fair. So that could really help legitimize the Olympics.

This is an easy decision, Pierre. Come on. Pierre de Coubertone did have one more option that he pitched. He was like, hey, what if we made the Olympics part of the World's Fair, but we held them in Chicago because St. Louis and Chicago are kind of close. to each other. So like it would officially be a part of the World's Fair, but you'd have to go to Chicago to watch the Olympics. Boy, buddy. St. Louis delegates and Chicago delegates were like, no.

Neither one of them liked that idea. No. Pierre de Coubertone hated St. Louis. He hated James Sullivan in the amateur athletic union. He hated World's Fairs, but he loved the Olympics. Yeah. And he had to do what was. best for his baby.

On February 10th, 1903, Pierre de Cuberton announced that the 1904 Olympic Games would be transferred from Chicago, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri. Yeah. If there was one silver lining to all this drama, newspapers reported on it non-stop. So many, many people across the United States were now learning about the Olympics. Yeah. And they were now making plans to travel to the St. Louis World's Fair and see what all the fuss was about. World's Fair organizers now had one year to put together the 1904 Olympics.

On the next episode of an old-timey podcast, we will dive into the absolute mess that was America's first Olympics. Oh, no. Spoilers. I'm, okay, I am kind of surprised that it's an absolute mess, because to me, me this seems like, well, yeah, St. Louis has the money. They've got the athletes there. Almost called them athletes. That's, you know, a bit of a slip because everyone does the Olympics with clothes on now. Hmm. Terrible change. I would definitely watch the Olympics if everyone was still nude. We all would, Norm. I'm just curious. Just curious. Okay, I'm looking forward to this.

Now, I will say, most historians believe America's First Olympics were an absolute mess. Uh-huh. But there are a few that were like, they've been misjudged. They did their best. They were very successful. They had race-based competitions, right? No one was doing their best. Give me a break.

Yeah, well, their justification is that's just what you did back then. No, no, it's not. No, and we're going to get into that in the next episode. That was not normal even back in 1904. Okay. Thank you for saying that because I do feel like sometimes people are like, well, it was another time. And it's like, yes, technically true. It was another time.

But also people at that time were like, hell no, we shouldn't be doing this. Yeah. And I have to tease you with this, Kristen. Oh, okay. You have no respect for Mr. James Sullivan. Yeah, none. Guess who is behind those super racist athletic events? Oh.

And we'll get into that in the next episode of an old-timey podcast. Oh, I'm so excited. Good job, Norm. Thank you. This was quite fun. I have a little surprise, though. You do? Well, yeah.

Because, you know, I'm sure you remember my poem that I read at the start of this episode. Boy, how could I forget? You mentioned web episodes? Yeah. Which I haven't heard since 2007. Well, I just had to clarify that we. don't do web episodes because, you know, some people were getting excited. They were like, did she say web episodes?

And no, I didn't. Yeah, they were like, hey, I'm on eBOM's world. And I'm not getting new episodes of an old-timey podcast. Where's the next episode? See, I'm just providing excellent customer service by clarifying that. Thank you. No, what I'd like to do now is I'd like to read a few of my favorite reviews of this podcast. because, you know, obviously we would love it if anyone can support us on Patreon.

That's obviously not an option for everybody. Some people just spent all their money on toilets, you know. That happens. Emptied the savings account. And not a stupid thing to do at all. But if you do want to support the show, going and giving us a five-star rating and a review or telling a friend or telling lots of friends about us would really help us out. And here we go.

I'm going to read some of our reviews. Are you ready? I'm excited. Yeah. I've picked four. Yes. Okay. The title? My favorite pod to mow the lawn to.

Five stars. Quite a compliment. From K-T-E-B. She writes, Heck, I even listen to it while I cook. What a podcast. Wow. Thank you.

This one comes from page D-505. Five stars. I love these weirdos so much. The body of the review reads, I love these weirdos and their podcasts so much that I go into morning when each episode is over. Oh. I learn.

I giggle. I worry that their shower isn't fixed. I never thought I'd be this invested in Lucille Ball or Hitler's last days, but here I am, just a girl, standing in front of two podcasters, telling them I love them. Oh, that's sweet.

And don't you worry, we got a working shower again. We're back, baby. This one comes from Lib 82. Oh, the Libs. Five stars. My favorite podcast. When I'm not listening to this podcast, I wish I was listening to this podcast. That's excellent.

And now, the last review, I'd like to end on this. This comes from A. Tucker 101.2. Five stars. My new favorite podcast. Kristen could record herself reading the back of shampoo bottles, and I would look forward to hearing it every week. She converted me from an exclusively true crime girly to a cultured, educated history home.

Yes. Who now has a wealth of fun facts for parties. Norm is also perfect and has never done anything wrong in his life, and you should really listen to this podcast. I agree. Even that song I sang last week was perfection. Never done anything wrong in your life. Anyway, thank you to anyone who has rated and reviewed us.

We really appreciate it. And if you haven't yet, we would very much appreciate that too. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I did get a funny comment in our Discord after the episode premiered where I sang. Uh-huh. And somebody said, hey, I'm getting married in two weeks. And this song you sang is our wedding song.

And so now I'm just going to. You ruined my wedding. You ruined my wedding song. And I was like, oh, sorry. Wow. Way to go, Norm. Wow. Let's hope you don't ruin the marriage as well.

Well, I told her, hey, this would be a great opportunity for you at your wedding to tell everyone about an old-timey podcast. Yeah. Really, I mean, interrupt the ceremony. There's no wrong time to tell a friend about an old-timey podcast. Yeah, this is how we market. This is what we do. Hey, Norm. Yeah.

You know what they say about history, hoes? What? We always cite our sources. That's right. For this episode, I got my information from The Books. America's First Olympics, the St. Louis Games of 1904 by George R. Matthews and Power Games. A Political History of the Olympics by Jules Boycough. That's all for this episode.

Thank you for listening to an old-timey podcast. Please give us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. And while you're at it, subscribe. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and TikTok at Old Timey Podcast. We have a subreddit, R-slash-old-timey podcast. You can also follow us. individually on Instagram.

She is the gorgeous Kristen Pitts-Karuso. I am a gaming historian, and until next time, Tula-D-D-T-T-T-T-T-A and Cheerio. Bye!