Stuff You Should Know - How Whiskey Runners Worked

Episode Date: October 3, 2012

Sure, Chuck and Josh have discussed it before, but it's worth revisiting: Running moonshine led to the creation of NASCAR. Chuck and Josh aren't even NASCAR fans and they think that's cool. Join them as the investigate moonshine runnin'. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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like what we would call a jack move or being robbed. They call civil acid work. Be sure to listen to The War on Drugs on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com. Hey and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant and Dina. Dina the Dinosaur. And Jerry's over there. That's Dino DNA. Hey, remember that? Yeah, I do. Man, that movie blew me away when I was how old I was. Oh yeah, that's from the movie, wasn't it? I thought it was from a parody of the movie. Yeah, that's like the educational video they show.

I just remember that first like, it was amazing when you saw that first shot of the dinosaurs and you were like, because you know, that was all brand new. Take it for granted now. Oh man. Like crappy CG movie that's out today. It was like one of the greatest things anybody's ever done at the time. I agree. I think they're re-releasing it too, like a 3D. Are they? Yeah, the original. That has a lot to do with bootlegers. Chuck, we've talked about this before. Twice. Yeah, so it completes the circle. We have, yeah, I think we kind of forged the circle. It was already a circle. It needs to be bigger. Yeah. Well, we did a How Moonshine Works episode, one of my all-time favorites. Agreed. If you haven't heard the How Moonshine Works episode,

do yourself a favor. Yeah. There's some Primo sound design from Jerry. Agreed. We end up in a still. Yeah. You can believe it. Yep. And what was the other one that we did where we mentioned this too? Prohibition. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, which is another good one, which is part of another circle, a tripart episode, prohibition, addiction, and what was the other one? Oh, rehab. Yes. Man, everything is so interconnected here. It's all, the circle is getting smaller, my friend. It's the tree of life. The tree of life. Okay. So what we're talking about is moonshining. Yes. Bootlegging. I have moonshine at my desk right now. Yeah. We discussed just drinking it while we were doing this, and we opted not to because it's not 1957. Right. We like to do

things in one take these days. Yeah. They're like 17. Yeah. But yeah, I mentioned that a fan sent us a moonshine. Yep. And the thank yous, one of the thank yous, we said hello and thanks. Yeah. I remember. Yeah, it's delicious. Yes, it is. And specifically, one of the things we're talking about that we just kind of covered a little bit, and I think moonshine, I think it was moonshine, was that this really amazing thing. I'm not in the NASCAR. I'm not either. I had a spell. You did? Yeah, like one year. And then it just went away? Yeah. It is one of the world's biggest sports. Yeah. Popular wise. Huge. People love to see the cars go around in the circle. Not always just in the circle. I'm not. That's true. At the road races. That's true. And I'm not into NASCAR,

as I said, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the sport because it was directly created by moonshiners. Yeah. Bootleggers running moonshine led not, you know, indirectly. Yeah, exactly. They've literally met and founded the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Yeah. They look like that's where NASCAR came from. It's pretty cool. One of the preeminent owners, racers, and then owners, Junior Johnson, did a year in jail for bootlegging. Yeah. Wilkes, he's from Wilkes County, North Carolina, which was like one of the hotbeds, the bootlegging. Yeah. And by no surprise, it is also North Carolina is like the center of NASCAR. Yeah. It's not a coincidence. No, it's not. No. So let's talk about this whole thing. What were

people bootlegging for? I mean, I know it's kind of like, if you want it done right, do it yourself, but when it comes to making booze, there's a lot of really good booze out there. Why not just spend the money? Well, this was happening in the rural south. Okay. A lot going on back then on the heels of the Great Depression hit the south really hard. Yeah. Because there weren't factories to go to work to afterward or during. And the mills were shut down. The mills were basically the economic engine in the south. Yeah. So farming's drying up to a certain degree. Yeah. There's prohibition going on. That's a big one. So it's basically prohibition in the depression or the two big factors that led to the rise, right? So we need to,

even after prohibition, the south still had a lot of dry counties. And to this day, still has dry counties. It's crazy. It is crazy. 2012. Like 2000. And there are dry counties. Was it 2012 or 2011 when Georgia voted or let cities vote to repeal the blue law for Sunday? Sunday sales. Like just this year, Georgia got Sunday sales. There's like a Mars Curiosity rover on the planet Mars, taking pictures of us not buying beer on Sundays. It's crazy. It is crazy. But yeah. So even after prohibition gets repealed, a lot of southern counties were like, well, you know, you can't tell us what to do, Johnny Law. We're going to stay dry. And a lot of bootleggers were like, okay, well, I can still sell to these counties. And I happen to have one sweet ride.

Right. I don't have a lot, but I got a sweet Ford with a ambulance engine in it. Right. And it goes really, really fast. A Cadillac ambulance engine. Yeah. That was one of the mods that they would do to make these things faster. So you needed this car, not just to show off, but because if you were selling a dry county, the federal government really couldn't have cared to bits of whether you were not. Yeah. Most of the time though, if you were smart at all, you weren't reporting these sales on your taxes. Yeah. I read that had more to do with it than anything. I would. Yeah. Was they didn't want to pay taxes. I mean, it had to do with prohibition, all that stuff. Yeah. But it was really like, you know what, we were making the stuff ourselves,

selling it to people across county lines like, why should I give the federal government a piece of that? Well, that not just whiskey making or moonshining, but also the idea that you shouldn't be paying taxes on that predates the United States. Oh, I'm sure. Like the whiskey rebellion. Yeah. Was the, that actually came after the United States, but moonshining came before. Yeah. But the whiskey rebellion, one of the first things George Washington had to deal with was because of taxing corn liquor. Yeah. Which is, it's an American tradition. It is. Don't tax our booze. Yeah. So all these factors add up to either it's your family business and you're maybe 15, but you've been driving the truck on the farm since you were eight.

Yeah. And the tractor. So you're like in the South, it was like, oh, you don't have a license yet. You know, we shouldn't let you behind the wheel of a car. Right. It was like, you know, are you old enough to reach the pedals or do you have wood blocks? Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Like the kid in the, oh brother, where are they all? Oh, you didn't like that one, right? No, I liked it. Oh, okay. That kid. And then also would blocks. Right. And short round from a temple or doom. Oh, yeah. Yeah. The good indians movie or one of them. Yeah. One of two, one of three. Yeah. I would put crystal skulls. The fourth one. Right. Yeah. I would put that third in the list though. I would go Raiders than last crusade

than temple of doom. And then I don't even count the last one. So either you're in the family business and they're like, this kid can drive or you can drive in some other families like, hey, that, you know, that Clark kid, he can get on it in that Ford. I sure can. Let's get him to run the shine. And so also you got a job. Yeah. That pays you dough, but it's not just paying you dough. It's also extremely thrilling. Yeah. And a lot of bragging rights going on when you're out running cops. It's, it's like the Dukes of hazard. Yeah. And we just go ahead and say it. Yeah, it is. I mean, you can't read this article without thinking Bo and the Duke, Bo and the Duke. You know, what's crazy is not once did I think of really look Duke. Yeah.

How many the whole time I was like, this is the Dukes of hazard. Were they moonshiners? No. But it was the same thing. Like juicing up your car, beefing up the suspension and the engines so you can outrun the local cops. Yeah. And you know, you know, all the back roads. All right. I don't want to give away too much. Okay. So we've got the depression thing and unemployment in the south. And then we also have prohibition and these things are coming together. And so all of a sudden you've got 14 year olds who know how to operate cars outrunning cops and revenues. Right. The revenues. So there was a revenue or named John Carter and he became a great source of Mars. No. Okay. Different John Carter. He became a great source from the law side.

He was one of the guys chasing these people. And he was the source for that 14 year old quote about how like by the time these kids are 14, not starting when they're 14, they're driving. By the time they're 14, he said they could outlaw any lawman he knew. And he was one of the lawmen. Yeah. Yeah. And so one of the ways they did it was like you said was by modifying stock cars. Yeah. Right. Like taking a Ford coupe and putting a Cadillac ambulance engine in it. That'll do it. Switching engines between makes. Yeah. Right. So like apparently Chevy engines are easier to modify than Ford's. So you might have a Ford car with the Chevy engine. Yeah. And they say that if you see it go to one of these auto shows today, some of these old 20s

and 30s Ford's will still have Chevy engines in them. Well, that's where hot rods came from too. Not just NASCAR but hot rods. Oh, yeah. And like that whole hot rod thing in the California in the 60s. Straight out of bootlegging moonshine with cars. Yeah. Wow. That's pretty cool. Yeah. So the Revenueers, I don't think we specified there. They were the tax guys. Yeah. Who came to collect and they were they were feds. The alcohol tax unit. Yeah. Like they were sending these guys in from like New Jersey and New York to these rural southern towns. And Bo and Luke were like, bring it on. Yeah. You don't know these roads like I know in Powell. You don't know these roads. Yeah. You don't know your car like I know my car. Sure. Because I'm the one who modified it

right in all these crazy ways. I added the turbocharger. Yeah. I brushed out the piston hole cylinder. The piston hole cylinder. Is that a common method brushing the cylinder? I believe so. Okay. They would modify. They would built in custom switches. We could turn off your brake lights or your tail lights or both. That was a clay call. It was a buddy of Junior Johnson. He did that. So what happens is you're flying down the road behind one of these cars at night and let's say the tail lights completely go out and they can pull in a little, you know, like side dirt road or you're following during the daytime and they're banking on a corner and they're hitting the brakes and the cop doesn't realize that. Yeah. So he goes flying into the

corner and then he smashes into something pretty smart. Yeah. It's so basic though. You also need really, really good shocks and struts. Yeah. And the reason why is because the best thing to do is to not have to try to outrun the cops and just drive right past them and wave like you're just a law of Biden citizen. Like I don't have 500 pounds of liquor in my trunk. Exactly. Yeah. And that's the whole point of the shocks and struts. And also so when you do have to outrun them, your car's not just bottoming out on every divot. Yeah. That's true. And if you do get pulled over another early line of defense was false bottom chunks. Yeah. Hidden cargo panels. Yeah. Basically just places you could stash liquor. That's true. But who wrote this? Was this the

Grabster? No, this was Jamie Page Deaton. Oh, JPD. As JPD points out, cops would eventually get wise to all these things as well. And then it came down to what would lead to NASCAR, which is I can drive better than you. Yes. Period. So that's like when the banjo music would start. Exactly. When the cop turned on the sirens. Right. And like, I know all your tricks, but now the race is on. Right. So you've got these local roads that are often very, what is it? Thunder Road in North Georgia? I don't know. There's a place, there's a road called Thunder Road, North Georgia. And I think Bob Mitchum was in a movie about it or something back in the day. Really? Called Thunder Road, I think. But anyway, it's like a lot of people died, especially revenuers, because they

didn't know the curves. It was particularly dangerous. But those moonshine boys knew exactly what they were doing and could take these curves. Most of them. A lot of moonshine runners died. Sure. In their own cars, on their own roads, just going too fast, too far, too hard. Yeah. But if you were a revenuer, you're at a greater disadvantage because also you didn't know where to double back and hide out. Yeah. And there was a move that was created by Junior Johnson called Bootlegger's Turn, which we've all seen. It's where the car goes one direction and then all of a sudden it does a 180, straightens out and drives back the other direction before the car that's chasing it can turn around. Yeah. Bootlegger's Turn. I never knew that. Yeah. Junior Johnson patented

that one. And also later on would go on to, I wouldn't say invent, I guess, discover the drafting, which if you don't know what drafting is, and car racing, it's when, and you can experience this, it's very dangerous. You don't want to try this. But if you get behind like a big 18-wheeler on the highway and you're close enough, it often feels like you don't have to hit the gas as hard. It's because you don't. You're being sucked up into the wind behind it and keep it along. Yeah. It breaks the draft and essentially you're in a little vacuum getting right up on the car behind you. And in 1960, I think at the Daytona 500, Junior Johnson realized this by accident on a practice lap and apparently had an inferior car

to the rest of the cars and won the race based on that technique. And then everyone was like, what's Junior doing? We got to do it too. Right. Let's name it. So they named it drafting. That's weird. No, I guess drafting makes sense. It does now, but is that just because we know what it's called? No, it's like a draft. Yeah, like it's right. Give me my shawl. There's a draft. You know what I mean? Yeah. The war on drugs impacts everyone, whether or not you take drugs. America's public enemy number one is drug abuse. This podcast is going to show you the truth behind the war on drugs. They told me that I would be charged for conspiracy to distribute 2200 pounds of marijuana. Yeah, and they can do that without any drugs on the table. Without any drugs, of

course, yes, they can do that. And I'm the prime example of that. The war on drugs is the excuse our government uses to get away with absolutely insane stuff. Stuff that'll piss you off. The property is guilty. Exactly. And it starts as guilty. It starts as guilty. The cops, are they just like looting? Are they just like pillaging? They just have way better names for what they call like what we would call a jack move or being robbed. They call civil acid. Be sure to listen to the war on drugs on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. On the podcast Howler Back Now with Holland Roden. Join Holland and other stars of the series Teen Wolf for a rewatch of the popular show.

You know me as Lydia Martin from Teen Wolf. And on this podcast, we will rewatch every episode from the beginning. The moon is full in Beacon Hills and the wolves are coming out again. So join me and my favorite Teen Wolf stars and friends as we reunite the cast, the crew and the heroes and the villains will be sharing every gory detail with you. Fall in love at first bite all over again with the Teen Wolf, the series that you just can't get enough of. Because as if 100 episodes wasn't enough, I am bringing you all the behind the scenes. There's gonna be so much more of each episode. Nothing is off limits. And oh, that's right. We'll be talking about Teen Wolf, the movie. Listen to Howler Back Now with Holland Roden on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right. Junior Johnson. Junior Johnson. Who was pardoned too by Ronald Reagan. 1986. Yeah, because you said he got arrested for not actually bootlegging, but just for going to the still one night, right? And he was caught at his daddy's still by John Carter himself. That's what, yeah. When your father has a still in the woods. He's daddy. That's daddy. He was caught at his daddy's still by John Carter. And he did 11 months, three days in prison in North Carolina. No, I'm sorry. In Chillicothe, Ohio. Yeah. Or Chillicothe, Ohio. But he was caught in North Carolina. But apparently bootleggers and whiskey runners had this reputation of being so honest that when they were caught, as legend tells, when they were caught and sentenced, the judge would frequently let them leave

and just go home and be told when to meet the prison bus, like meet the prison bus March 21st. And when the prison bus showed up like at that stop, the bootlegger would be sitting there waiting for the bus to take it to take him to prison. They were known to be that that honest. Yeah. Despite their illegalities. Yeah. Well, that was I think one of the reasons why Tom Wolf called the North Carolina Wilkes County specifically bootleggers the last the last American heroes. Because they were kind of, I mean, they were against the law. Yeah. And they would like kill revenuers. Yeah. But they were also very honest in their deal when they were caught. Did you say, didn't you point out there was a movie coming out about this? Yeah,

there's a movie called Lawless. And it's based on a book called The Wettest County in the World. Yeah, I saw the original name of the movie up until this year was Wettest County. Yeah. Which I have to admit, it's pretty bad. No, it's got to be Wettest County in the world. Yeah. The Wettest County in the world. Yeah. And it's about a county in Virginia. I can't remember which one. And the they changed the name to Lawless. And Nick Cave wrote the script. Awesome. He is awesome in like every way. Yeah. And Guy Pierce is in it. He plays the treasury revenue guy. That's Nick Cave with a V by the way, not Nick Cage. Yeah. Okay. Nick Cave of Bad Seeds fame. Yeah, exactly. And Shia LaBeouf to bring it full circle from Crystal Skulls. Yeah.

He's in it. I don't think we should bring things full circle to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. You're right. You know, it's two consecutive episodes where it just came up organically. Yeah. Strange. But yeah, Lawless is coming out this month. They're recording this the 29th, I believe. Awesome. Yeah. Can't wait. Because I was thinking, I think I told you this morning when I was reading this, I was like, man, why haven't they made a movie about this? Well, my friend, they have. Okay. I'm looking forward to it. All right. So where are we? World War Two? Yeah. Why isn't this still going on? And by the way, this article is not correct. Said that they were well, they were running whiskey well into the 70s. Clay Call,

who's Junior Johnson's BFF forever. Yeah. He was doing it in the 80s. Really? Into the 80s. Yeah. And it was the rise of the chicken farming, like mega chicken processing plants that converted all of these former corn liquor distillers into chicken farmers because it was just more lucrative. And they're like, well, I'll raise chickens then. Interesting. But he was into the 80s. He said that one of his cars, an old New Yorker from the 60s, that he said the writer of this Hot Rod magazine article called something that a doctor or a lawyer would use, would drive. Right. But it was like one of his prized possessions because that thing would just haul to modify it. He said that there are bullet holes in it from the 80s.

So he was like real deal seriously doing this into the 80s because I mean his car got bullet holes in the 1980s from bootlegging. When was Smokey in the Bandit? That was 70s. Yeah. But he wasn't, he was just, he just couldn't drive 55. No, they were smuggling beer. I don't remember that. Yeah, Coors. That was what they were doing. Remember the big truck? I didn't know that. It's full of Coors beer. Illegal Coors beer? Yeah. Back then, Coors was only out west and they wanted some in Georgia. Oh yeah. So they sent Smokey to Texarkana and Jerry Reed to get the truckload of Coors beer to bring it back in like 24 hours or something. Yeah. Okay. So flash forward a bit in the 30s, 40s and 50s. I guess not forward.

We're kind of right there in the middle. There wasn't a lot going on entertainment wise in the rural South. Right. Didn't have movie theater sometimes. Didn't have a mall. Yeah. Didn't have a lot to do. So they would clear out fields and make dirt track racetracks. Well, farmers would. Yeah. And make some cash off of it. Yeah. Sort of like a field of dreams except they would build a racetrack. You know, if you build it, they will come. Right. And it was like days of thunder except in a farm field. And dirt track was huge. I mean, it's still big. People still race on dirt tracks. But Junior Johnson apparently said that he never got on pavement when he was bootlegging. He's like, you have a 10 to one better odds of losing the cops on a dirt road. Because these cops,

I mean, not only did they not know the roads in the South, they were not used to sliding around on dirt roads. And these guys are just like, you know, professional drifters. Right. You know, not Tokyo drifters. Tokyo drifters, not hobo drifters. Right. So all right, while this is going on, you've got these southern towns and farmers building these dirt tracks, making a little scratch. But also kind of making a name for car racing. Sure. Like this is kind of a new thing. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the Indy was around and all that. But these, this wasn't kind of big in the South, I don't think. Was it when did that start? Formula one racing, I should say. That was the earliest auto racing was for the low one, I believe, like 1900, maybe. Really? Or they were racing like

Mercedes and stuff like that. But stock car racing was very much new to the South. Well, it was. And then, you know, eventually bootlegging dried up. And these people realized, you know what, in 1947, they got together in Daytona, Florida, and said, let's make this like a legit thing. Like we think there's money to be made here. Yeah. You guys can drive really fast. These stock cars aren't that much money. Because back then it was stock car racing. Like that was the whole point was we want to have the fans identify with these people by driving a car just like they could drive. Yeah. It was all on the driver. Yeah. Because it wasn't like you weren't allowed to modify. And any modifications you could do were very slight and they were really heavily regulated. And it

was all about your driving skills. And they did decide to go that route because it was a, like you said, a common bond between the fans and the driver. Yeah. You know? Well, and it's still both driving the same car. Yeah. I mean, that that brand loyalty is still huge. Yeah. You know, the Chevy guys and the Ford guys, like they don't, they stick with the car more so than the driver even. Yeah. It was pretty interesting. Yeah. Of course, now they're much more modified. But back in the day, it was called strictly stock, meaning it, you know, is that what the SS means on some cars? I don't know. I wonder. Oh, you haven't seen that? I don't think so. Yeah, you have. There's like sometimes like you'll, it'll be like a normal car, like a Monte Carlo, but it'll say SS or

something next to it. Oh, maybe. I don't know. I'll have to look into that. Or maybe it means like super stock. No, maybe strictly stock or it means super sweet. But I did find it interesting though at the beginning of NASCAR in 1948, I read this other article where they said that that fans didn't want like it was sort of a slap in the face to have these new cars out there being beat up because it was post World War II and it was kind of a waste, wasteful to do something like that. So that's why they got these stock cars. And like a lot of dudes rode in the early days would actually rent cars to race like a car rental. Oh, yeah. Yeah, they would get just get a rental car. And that's where a thrifty car rental came from. Exactly. And it wasn't until later on that

they like 1952, I think were when roll bars were mandated. And then, you know, gradually over the years, they became more and more modified. Although it's still, it's still, I mean, they're modified, but it's still a regular car. It's not like digital paddle shifters, right? Like an Indy car, like you could get in an Ascar car and theoretically you could drive it. Not well. No, I mean, be surprised. Well, you know, Junior Johnson said that it was a letdown to go from bootlegging to an Ascar. Oh, really? He said, quote, on the racetrack, you're a running to beat someone out on the highway. You're running for your life. Awesome. He is 81 years old now. Yeah. And I just read that he is selling his mansion and downsizing and he sells moonshine. Midnight moon. Oh, is

that his? Yeah, he can sell it like he buy it on the web. And he also sells ham and pork rinds. I would eat those. I would do. The war on drugs impacts everyone whether or not you take drugs. America's public enemy number one is drug abuse. This podcast is going to show you the truth behind the war on drugs. They told me that I would be charged for conspiracy to distribute a 2,200 pounds of marijuana. Yeah, and they can do that without any drugs on the table. Without any drugs, of course, yes, they can do that. And I'm the prime example of that. The war on drugs is the excuse our government uses to get away with absolutely insane stuff. Step out of piss y'all. The property is guilty. Exactly. And it starts as guilty. It starts as guilty. The cops, are they

just like looting? Are they just like pillaging? They just have way better names for what they call like what we would call a jack move or being robbed. They call civil acid. Be sure to listen to the war on drugs on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. On the podcast howler back now with Holland Roden. Join Holland and other stars of the series Teen Wolf for a rewatch of the popular show. You know me as Lydia Martin from Teen Wolf. And on this podcast we will rewatch every episode from the beginning. The moon is full in Beacon Hills and the wolves are coming out again. So join me and my favorite

Teen Wolf stars and friends as we reunite the cast, the crew, and the heroes and the villains. We'll be sharing every gory detail with you. Fall in love at first fight all over again with the Teen Wolf, the series that you just can't get enough of. Because as if a hundred episodes wasn't enough, I am bringing you all the behind the scenes. There's gonna be so much more from each episode. Nothing is off limits. And oh that's right. We'll be talking about Teen Wolf, the movie. Listen to howler back now with Holland Roden on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Any other movies you got? No. I got two. Big Bad Mama, bootlegging movie. Yeah. She takes

over the bootlegging business after her husband dies. And then there's a small, it's a small part, but it's one of my all time favorite movies. Paper Moon. I thought that was your favorite movie. Yeah. Oh, okay. But it has a small moon shining part, bootlegging part. And I think the movie, uh, did you ever see Thunderbolt and Lightfoot? No. I think that had something to do with bootlegging. I might be wrong. What about Dirty Mary, wait, Dirty Larry, Crazy Mary? Was that bootlegging? I don't know. But Clint Eastwood was in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. And uh, oh actually, no, it wasn't about, it wasn't about moonshine. Sorry. But it was about driving really fast. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. Blue Lagoon? No. It was about six. If you want to

learn more about whiskey cars, you can type in whiskey cars with a knee to the search bar at HowStuffWorks.com. I would also strongly urge you to listen to our moonshine podcast, or prohibition podcast. Good ones. Yeah. And there's articles on the site for those too, so you can type those in the search bar and see what comes up. I said search bar, which means it's time for a listener mail. Chuck. Yes. We should tell everybody about something very special and dear to our hearts, New York City. That's right. We are going to Comic-Con and we will be doing a live podcast on Friday, October 12th at Comic-Con at the Jabbitt Center. It's like our new thing. We did San Diego, now we're doing New York. That's right.

Next up, Albuquerque. So if you are going to Comic-Con, you should come by and see that. But after Comic-Con, we have one of our famous, that's famous to us, All-Star Tribuneites. Right. Where is it going to be? The cutting room? It is at the grand reopening of the cutting room in the Flatiron District, which is, what's the address? It is 44 East 32nd Street in New York, and it's in the Flatiron, you said? Yep. Awesome. And doors open at 7.30. Tribune goes down at 8.30. And what is First Come First Serve, right? Free, free, free First Come First Serve. We will have a bar there that you can buy drinks. Yep. You can buy us drinks. That's right. That is legal. We're going to basically be having a really good time. If you, if you're not familiar with our Tribuneites,

like just come out and check it out. It'll be worth your while. Absolutely. And stay tuned for info on Facebook and Twitter about the makeup of the All-Star team. We are filling that out as we speak. But we will have some special guests that you will want to meet. Yeah. And at the very least, you can come take on me and Chuck, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. It's just fun. So what is that? That's Friday, October 12th, right? Yep. The panel's at when? The panel is at, I believe, 6.45. Okay. And then we're going to be at the cutting room starting at 8.30. Tribune starts at 8.30. Doors at 7.30. Be there, be square. You are good at this. Thank you. All right. Is it time for Listener Mail? Yep. I'm going to call this Shark Attack. Man, I have to say, Chuck, you're, you have to go on

our Twitter account. You are getting kudos all over the place for the Shark Diaries. Man. Nice. People love that. Hey, kudos to all the actors. Yes. All right. Shark Attack. I just listened to your Shark Attack podcast and was thinking about my boyfriend. You might be interested in his happy ending of his own Shark Attack. Okay. Kevin is his name. He's from South Africa. And he was surfing in front of his house one day when he was 16, when out of nowhere, a great white came up and chomped down on his leg. Shark disappeared. And the one friend he was with helped him back to shore, which was quite a ways, and then went off to the hospital. The doctor patching him up said he was really lucky. As best they can figure the top of the jaw of the shark went into the leg while

the bottom never made it through the surfboard, which is kind of like that one story we talked about, surfboard saving life. The doctor thought maybe the shark bit him in such a way where the fin of his surfboard hit that soft part under your tongue. You know that part? It hurt the shark so it swam away. After listening to the podcast, maybe it was just a test bite though, and the shark didn't have any follow through. Now that we're complaining, not that we're complaining, of course. Anyway, he left with a couple of hundred stitches and was back surfing six weeks later. I'm attaching a picture of his leg. I'm sorry that it's sideways. Crazy. And I did look, and it was the dude's leg that had big shark teeth in it. I didn't see that. Yeah, it was good.

She said one more thing. We were talking about it just a few weeks ago, and I asked him if he punched the shark or anything like that. I had a zoo books on shark when I was little. I always thought I'd for sure punch a shark. He said it was pretty much the last thing on his mind, which is kind of what I was thinking. Anyway, I love the podcast, and that is from Bethany, and Kevin is the boyfriend. Awesome. The surfer surfing out in front of his house. That must suck. Yeah, congratulations on staying alive. Yes. Kevin, right? Yep. And thanks for the story, Bethany. If you have a story for us, especially one about how your granddaddy or Pappy or whoever was a bootlegger, a moonshiner, something like that, sure. You can send us stuff via Twitter

at S-Y-S-K podcast. And when I say at, that means the at symbol, at ampersand. People know that. No, ampersand is the and sign. So at symbol, S-Y-S-K podcast. All one word. You can go to facebook.com slash stuff you should know, or you can send us an email to stuffpodcastsatdiscovery.com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit howstuffworks.com. The war on drugs is the excuse our government uses to get away with absolutely insane stuff. Stuff that'll piss you off. The cops. Are they just like looting? Are they just like pillaging? They just have way better names for what they call like what we would call a jack move or being robbed. They call civil answer for it. Be sure to listen to the war on drugs on the

iHeart radio app, apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's today's fortnight weather report. iHeartland has been hit by a major blizzard. The snow has turned iHeartland and fortnight into a winter wonderland with new festive games including a winter themed escape room, a holiday obstacle course, ice skating, hidden holiday gifts and more. Look out for upcoming special events from your favorite artists and podcasters all month along with scavenger hunts and new how fan are you challenges. So embrace the holidays at iHeartland in fortnight. Head to iHeartRadio.com slash iHeartland today.