George Washington's Beard of Beetles (with The Dollop)
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Pushkin Industries
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 17 November 2023
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Cautionary Conversation: Just before Christmas 1799, President George Washington was riding around his country estate, Mount Vernon, when it began to snow. When he arrived home, guests were waiting for him. Known for his punctuality, he hurried to entertain them - still clad in his damp clothes.
The next morning, Washington had a sore throat and a chesty cough. His family decided to take a fateful step: they summoned a doctor.
Tim Harford is joined by comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds, hosts of the hugely popular history podcast The Dollop. They discuss the parade of doctors that tended to the ailing Washington, and the various remedies they prescribed - from lamb's blood to a collar of beetles. Tim, Dave and Gareth also look at what happened when cars first hit the streets in the early twentieth century: why did so many cars "turn turtle"? Who were the first jaywalkers? And which British inventor rode around in a giant white stiletto?
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Transcript
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| 0:58.0 | A couple of weeks before Christmas, 1799, George Washington, the first and perhaps the greatest president of the United States was enjoying retirement at his country estate, Mount Vernon. |
| 1:07.0 | He'd ridden around his farms and come home late, cold and in wet clothes. But guests had come for dinner and he hurried to entertain |
| 1:16.0 | them without changing into something dry. The next day he had a sore throat and |
| 1:21.6 | a chesty cough. The day after that, his throat was so badly inflamed |
| 1:26.7 | that he had trouble breathing. His family decided to take a fateful step. They summoned a doctor. I'm Tim Harford and you're listening to cautionary |
| 1:38.6 | tales. So, This is one of our cautionary conversations and today I'm well I'm outnumbered. |
| 2:07.0 | My guests are Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds, the host of the hugely popular comedy history podcast The Dollar. |
| 2:14.7 | Hello, gentlemen, how are you? Hello. |
| 2:17.8 | Two Americans, no less. |
| 2:19.3 | Yeah. |
| 2:20.3 | So, it's going to be what, this is going to be bad. It's going to be different. |
... |
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