Welcome to the judge John Hodgman podcast. I'm Bale of Jesse Thorn this week. Snicker

doodle diligence. Rachel Files suit against her husband Doug early in their marriage. She

brought cookies to his family's Christmas Eve celebration. Doug and his brothers realized

the cookies were similar to a beloved family recipe that had been lost to time. 20 years

later, Doug and his brothers still refer to these cookies as their great grandma Haybiggs

cookies. But Rachel thinks she deserves the credit for the cookies. Who's right? Who's

wrong? Only one can decide. Please rise as Judge John Hodgman enters the courtroom and

presents an obscure cultural reference. Early podcasts were different with the ingredients

being flour, oats, and water. In addition, the advent season was a time of fasting,

and podcasters were not allowed to use butter, only oil, and the podcasts were tasteless

and hard. In the 15th century, in medieval Saxony, the Prince-Elector Ernst decided to

remedy this by writing to the Pope in Rome. He said the Saxon-bakers needed to use butter

as oil and Saxony was expensive. Pope Nicholas V denied the first appeal. Five popes

died before finally in 1490. Pope innocent the eighth sent a letter, known as the Butter

Letter to the Prince. This granted the use of butter in podcasts, but only for the Prince-Elector

and his family and podcast network. Baylor Jesse Thorn, swear them in.

Please rise, Rachel and Doug, and raise your right hands. Do you swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God or whatever? I do. I do.

Do you swear to abide by Judge John Hodgman's ruling, despite the fact that he believes brownies

are a cookie? I do. I do. That's not confirmed. Judge Hodgman, you may proceed.

No, of course not. Brownies are a sandwich. Doug and Rachel may be seated. And since we're

stirring the pot with a culinary episode, I made a word play, and also with that brownies

...