DC Plants The Cherry Blossoms (1912)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 26 March 2024
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It’s March 26th. This day in 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft planted two cherry trees in Washington, DC. The trees were a gift from Japan, and have become a staple of spring in the nation’s capital.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the arrival of the trees was the result of a long lobbying campaign, what the trees came to symbolize — and they go through some of the other gifts that countries have given us.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from radiotopia. |
| 0:07.0 | My name is Jody Abergen. |
| 0:10.0 | This day, March 26, 1912, First Lady Helen Heron Taft, and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese |
| 0:19.1 | Ambassador, planted two Yoshino Cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River tidal basin in Washington, D.C. |
| 0:26.6 | The event celebrated the Japanese government's gift of 3,000 Cherry Trees to the United States. |
| 0:32.0 | Anyone who has been to D. to DC around this time of year |
| 0:35.1 | will surely say a big thank you to this Countess Chinda, this Countess, you know? |
| 0:39.6 | Jody, I'm just gonna come in here because you clearly don't watch Bridgerton it's the Vai Countess. |
| 0:46.0 | Viscountess but it's spelled VIS so I don't know but I don't watch. |
| 0:50.0 | There's no accounting for spelling. |
| 0:52.0 | I was going to say in Bridgerton they say it differently. There's no accounting for spelling. Fair enough. |
| 0:53.0 | In Bridgeton, they say it differently. |
| 0:56.0 | Bridgeton. |
| 0:57.0 | You know what? |
| 0:58.0 | I think I tried Bridgeton for like 10 minutes, |
| 0:59.0 | but I didn't get to the Viscountess, I suppose. |
| 1:01.0 | You didn't get to a good suppose. Okay, but anyway, thank you Viscountas Chinda and thank you for correcting my pronunciation there. |
| 1:08.4 | But look, the D.C. Cherry blossoms in my opinion are one of our true public treasures. Everyone should go see it at least once and for me for what it's worth it's a reminder that |
| 1:16.2 | Flowers and plants are always a good gift. It's one of my little mantras in life is just like always buy the flowers I try and do it a few times a week |
| 1:23.8 | bring home no one doesn't like when you show up with flowers so this is a good |
| 1:28.0 | example of this so let's talk about the Cherry Blossoms and actually I have a |
| 1:31.6 | little list for you Nikki and Kelly of some other notable gifts that countries have given us and we can go |
... |
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