123: The Dark History of Hedy Lamarr: You can Thank this Hollywood Bombshell for Wifi
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RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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Okay, you guys. So I was in a rabbit hole the other day as I normally am. I opened up my laptop at like 10 p.m. Next thing you know, I'm in a rabbit hole.

I'm Googling, right? Googling to see if Napster is still a thing I wanted to know. Turns out they have 5.7 million users. I know. How? Huh? Now, before I can get some answers, the website, it just stopped loading. So I was like, ugh.

The Wi-Fi went out. My Wi-Fi went out, which is fine, but like a major inconvenience. I wanted to know what's going on with Napster. I was like, is it my house? Do I need to reset the router? Do I like blow on the router like a Super Nintendo game? Put it back in.

The thing is, Wi-Fi crashes more than it should, but at the same time, Wi-Fi is freaking magical. How does it work, huh? My computer has zero wires and it's somehow all in the air. Like the world's information is just there. And it made me wonder,

Do I write a thank you letter too for this amazing mess? So once my wifi was back, I went and you know, it was like Napster, but I was like, who invented wifi? And I found myself in the golden age of Hollywood. Ah, my favorite time. Turns out the person who paved the way for wifi was one of the most controversial actresses in Hollywood history. What?

Actress? Not a scientist? I know. Turns out she was both. Today's episode is about the one, the only, the legendary Hedy Lamarr. Hi.

How's it going? I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. How's it going? Here, we believe that history doesn't have to be boring. I mean, it might be tragic, sad a lot of the time. Sometimes it's happy, but either way, it's our dark history. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let me tell you that hot, juicy history gots, okay? Hedy Lamarr, have you heard of her?

I know you have. Paul's dressed like her, but I feel like he's doing a major disservice. No offense, but she was gorgeous. And Paul? I don't know, girl. Hedy Lamarr, like so many other stars in Hollywood, was not actually born with the name that we know her by. Natalie Portman, whose real name is Natalie Herschlag. Yeah, it's Herschlag. Should I? Should I change my name to LA name?

Let me know in the comment section down below what kind of name I should have. Hedy was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9th, 1914 into a Jewish family. Hedy was born in Vienna, so she grew up speaking German. She was an only child and she was very close with her daddy.

He would take Hedy on these long walks through town. And during these walks, her dad would stop and explain to Hedy like how different machines worked. Like they would stop and look at stoplights in street cars. So they're in the street. He's like, look, look at the lights, Hedy. Yellow.

red, green, or whatever, you know? I don't know. But they're learning together, and I love that. And then when she got home, Hetty would start looking at everything around her like, "Hey, I wonder how this is made?" And she would take things apart and like tinker. She was curious.

Again, this is the early 1900s. There wasn't a lot to do, so she had a lot of time on her hands. So she could take and tinker and do. By the time she was five years old, one of Hedy's favorite things to do was take apart an old music box and then put it back together at five.

all by herself, just to see how it worked. So Hedy, we can safely say, was really on another level than most of the kids her age. Me personally, I don't know what I was doing at five, probably shitting my pants and eating Play-Doh, but good for her, she's different, right? Because of those experiences with her dad, Hedy not only wanted to understand the world around her, but she wanted to use that knowledge to build stuff that could help people, right?

The problem was this was the 1920s and there just wasn't a pathway for brainy girls who wanted to be engineers. It wasn't an option. Your job was to be pretty and to shut up. Lucky for Hedy, she was beautiful. So she had that going for her. Because society wasn't interested in her brilliant mind,

Hedy used her good looks to get ahead in life. When she was just 12, she won a beauty contest in Vienna. And then she was actually scouted by a director named Max Reinhardt when she was 16. Now, this acting opportunity was very exciting for Hedy. She had grown up going to the theater and watching the ballet with her mom. So the idea of becoming an actress or like a performer, it just felt, I mean...

She was like, "Yeah." I'm sure too, this is my own personal opinion, but as a woman of the time, literally like you were either a housewife or you were famous. Like those were your options. So it's like,

I wanna be a famous actress, right? And of course, like there were all those people around her telling her how beautiful she was. So she was like, you know what? yeah, I'm gonna do it, bitch. I'm gonna do it. And she did. So Hattie, she moves to Berlin when she's 17 and she is there to keep pursuing acting. And she even takes acting classes while she's there. So she's like getting serious, you know? She's doing the work. It didn't really

She didn't really put her name like on the map though, you know? That wouldn't happen until two years later when Hedy had her breakout moment. It was major. And this moment had everyone around the world talking. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old.

Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and my favorite part,

All Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices

and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

In 1932, Hedy appeared in a film that really catapulted her into the spotlight, but...

It would also haunt her for like the rest of her personal career. It was a double-edged sword for sure. The film was called "Ecstasy." Hedy was 18 at the time and she was playing, she got the lead in the film, okay? So this character she's playing was a woman who was married to like a much older man who just didn't really give a shit about her anymore. And the film made waves, not because of

that boring character plot, whatever. It was because Hedy performed, she performed an orgasm on screen. I know. I'm sure men thought it was the first time a woman ever faked it. Anyway, the shot itself is like so up close and personal. It's like you're having an orgasm with her.

It's intense. It's hot. Okay? And the world wasn't ready for it. But here's the thing. Hedy claimed that she didn't know how close up the scene was gonna be. So Hedy went into this thinking she was making art, which she was.

but she also felt like the director had manipulated her. You know? Either way, this performance of hers was very scandalous, okay? Some people loved it because they saw for what it was. It was a performance. It's a movie. It's an orgasm. Wow. A woman having an orgasm. Powerful.

and a lot of people hated it. They thought it was just like straight up porn. Now, Ecstasy, this movie, was actually banned in America and Germany because it was considered overly sexual. And it also, they considered it a bad representation of woman. I know, because women shouldn't be having orgasms. Don't you know that? God bless America. And all this bad press was pretty embarrassing for Hedy. You know, she was also disappointed.

I'm confused, like how did all this happen? I thought we were making art. But on the upside, "Ecstasy" went on to win a big award at the Venice Film Festival. This meant that even though the movie was seen by many haters to be like smut and borderline porn, it was globally recognized as an award-winning film.

It was great. This month that Hedy literally had just gotten her big break. But I'm sure like for her, it's a very, you're torn. You're torn because a lot of people are mad at you, but you're getting recognition. But a lot of people are mad at you, but you're getting recognition. Like it's confusing, right? So Hedy starts doing more and more theater. She's getting lead roles and she's really becoming a bit of a celebrity. There's one night she's just getting off the stage for a play called Sissy.

which was getting major attention from theater critics. And she was handed like this huge bouquet of roses. And this was pretty standard for Hedy. She would get roses from admirers like almost every single night. Guys would show up and try to get backstage to give Hedy their flowers in person. And Hedy would send most of them away because she's a classy woman. But also there was one stubborn guy who just kept showing off.

to the point where she finally gives in and like agrees to meet with him. This guy's name was Fritz Mandl and he was like the third richest man in Austria. Nice. I'd be like, yes, let him in. Let him in right now. Third richest, I'll take him, whatever. He was also a weapons manufacturer who was literally selling guns and ammo to Hitler. So that was the downside. There's always a catch with these rich ones, huh?

Well, obviously Hedy's parents, once they found out, they were like, they did not approve of this relationship. But Hedy was in love and stubborn and independent. You couldn't tell her anything. She always had been. So she was gonna do whatever the hell she wanted to do. And also this was before World War II started. So people didn't really realize just yet how horrible Hitler was, but his vibe,

Not great. And Hedy's parents, they could sense it, along with a lot of other Jewish people in Austria and Germany at the time. So unfortunately, in August of 1933, 18-year-old Hedy marries 33-year-old Fritz Mandl. And it was not a good call.

Apparently Fritz was an extremely controlling man. He didn't want anyone else to see Hedy. So he talked her out of pursuing acting and basically like kept her as a prisoner in his big fat castle. And what he hated more than anything was that scandalous movie she had done. The words that he would never speak.

ecstasy. Now Fritz went full on psycho. He tried to track down every single copy of the film in circulation just so he could destroy them. He didn't want to see, he didn't want people watching his wife having an orgasm. He didn't even know what that looked like. So Hedy essentially becomes just a simple trophy wife.

But there was one perk. Fritz would bring Hedy along to his business meetings and conferences with like the world's leading scientists. Fritz would be there talking about developing military technology and really brainstorming with all these people who are really smart, right? And she's learning. What he didn't realize was that his wife was secretly an engineering genius.

So Hedy is like sitting in these same rooms with these scientists and she's hearing their ideas and she's essentially getting an amazing engineering education just by tagging along and keeping a few notes, you know? So a few years go by.

She can't play this game anymore. She can handle it. Okay, this man is toxic. He's not letting me live my dreams or anything. In her autobiography, Hetty wrote, "I knew very soon that I could never be an actress while I was his wife. He was the absolute monarch in his marriage. I was like a doll. I was like a thing, some object of art which had to be guarded and imprisoned, having no mind, no life of its own."

Which, you know, she's not having it. But Fritz, obviously, he wasn't just gonna let her walk out. She was his most prized possession. But it was getting more and more dangerous to be Jewish in Austria by this point. So she couldn't just leave. She really needed an escape plan. So here's the escape plan that Hedy comes up with. Step one, drug the maid.

We love that. So she crushed up some sleeping pills. I mean, I don't love drugging the maids. I'm sorry, but I just like that someone did this. This is funny. It's not, but like you get it. Okay. So she crushed up some sleeping pills and then she slipped them into her maid's drink. Then she waited for the maid to pass out. Step three. That was step two. Step three. While the maid was out cold...

Undress her, take some clothing, swap it, and then she puts on the maid's clothes as a disguise. Brilliant. Step four, she steals the maid's bicycle and she fucking pedals her way out of there, bitch. Da-na-na-na-na.

I love it. I love it. Hedy pedals her way through town like her life depended on it, which it did really. She had all of her jewels and her valuables like sewn into the lining of her coat just in case like she gets stopped. She doesn't look like a maid who just stole a bunch of jewelry. She's smart. She had a plan. Good for her. Honestly, it's giving me Scooby-Doo and I'm all here. It's very Scooby-Doo of her. So she heads to London.

I'm not sure if she's still on this bike. I'm going to assume no, but like she goes to London and this turns out to be an amazing look because guess who was in London at the exact same time doing a little talent scouting? Bitch, it's Louis B. Mayer. Oh, you don't know him? Let me tell you, the head of MGM Studios. You know, the lion. Rawr.

You know that lion? MGM, huge. He was there looking for gorges. So Louis knew that antisemitism was becoming a real problem in Europe. And this meant that plenty of Jewish actresses were looking to get the hell out of there, right? And hopefully find some work in America. Louis' slick business brain realized that he could scoop up these hot, talented actresses

for a sweet price because these actresses had to leave Europe ASAP. And he knew they would like accept jobs with him, even if the pay was crap because it

It's MGM. Need I say more? I would be... $10 a week? Okay, I'll go, you know? So right away, Hedy has a meeting with Louis because he's heard all about this incredible Austrian actress who everyone was talking about. And he's probably seen Ecstasy. Maybe, I don't know. Louis offers Hedy a standard contract.

Now this contract would pay her about $125 a week and she would be an exclusive actress for the MGM studio. $125 a week for MGM. Got it? Well, Hedy was like, um, that's cute.

Okay, she's like, "I know my worth." She turns to Louie and she's like, "I'm okay. I'm good. No, thank you." She knows that she can do better. And again, she has a plan. Now Hedy, she's like, "If I say no to this guy, like for reals, that's really stupid." And she knows that like Louie's going back to America. So she books a ticket on the same boat that he's taking.

And she's like, okay, I'm gonna pack all of my nice things, right? I'm gonna pack all my nice things so I look like I've got it together. And she decides that she's gonna fake it until she makes it.

So she gets on the boat to America and Hedy, she has one goal, impress Louie. So she puts on like a hot little bathing suit. She's strutting around. She's like, "Oh, what's your name again? Louie? I'm not familiar. Oh, we met? Weird." And then on one of like the first nights, you know, she goes to like the dining room

just dressed incredibly. She is wearing the most elegant dress she owns and she walks right past Louis' table. She's like, "What? Oh my God, who are you? I don't know you." And wouldn't you know it,

Louis stops her and he asks her to join them. And she's acting like she didn't know it was gonna happen. What? Oh my God, yeah, I'll sit, no big deal. It's just not a big deal. So they ended up talking, they become friends and Hedy manages to convince Louis that, you know what? She's a fricking star.

And he's like, "You are a star." She's like, "I know you offered me $125 a week, and that's really nice, and I'm so thankful, praise God, but I believe I deserve $500 a week, Louie." And guess what? Louie agrees. Go off, Hedy. Yeah, $125 a week to $519.37. Hedy, queen.

Ladies, listen, always advocate for yourself, right? Say a crazy number, why not? It might work. The only thing that Louis wasn't so sure about was like Hedy's name. At the time she was still known as Hedy Kiesler, the star of that orgasm movie that had been banned in America. So to like give her a little rebrand, Louis and his wife decided that Hedy would need a new name. So this is when they do some brainstorming,

and they somehow, they decide on Lamar, which in French means the ocean. Yeah. I mean, at the time they were on a boat. Think about it. They probably were looking around like, heady, heady, ocean, Lamar.

So Louis sends out a little memo to the press so that by the time Hedy and Louis step off the boat in New York, people already kind of know about Hedy Lamarr. Yeah, the Austrian actress who is coming to be a Hollywood star.

You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I

love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced $50 to

80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices

and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

So Louis, he gets to marketing right away and he is pushing that Hedy is the world's most beautiful woman. And when I say she was striking, girl, she could stop traffic. She had this sleek jet black hair, just jet black hair, piercing green eyes, full lips, beautiful bone structure. She was captivating. But her looks, surprisingly, were not really getting her anywhere.

Louie really was having a hard time finding her work. It seemed like despite her changing her name, people still kind of like, they saw her as the ecstasy girl. So Hedy started to worry. I mean, she was only in America for as long as she could work.

and she wasn't a full citizen yet. So if she couldn't work, she could be deported back to Europe where it looked like there was a war about to go down any minute. So this meant that she was really at the studio's mercy. In 1938, Louis had loaned

to a different producer or like a studio company, you know? It sounds mean to say loaned, but that's what would happen. They would let, they would borrow each other's actresses and whatnot. It was a way for them to like make money. Anyways, I guess Walter was putting together a cast of a movie called Algiers. So he calls in Hedy for an audition and she nails it.

Now this is her first major role in her first major movie besides Ecstasy of course and it makes Hedy an overnight Hollywood celebrity. Like she is the it girl. She has arrived. Everybody's waiting for her. Glamour glitz gorgeous. Hedy and the movie created a quote national sensation.

I know. Everyone from royalty to actresses to regular people wanted to look like Hedy. Before her, actresses like Marlene Dietrich were popular. She was blonde, she had a very sophisticated voice and was thought to be exotic. But Hedy, she had these dark features, that signature accent, and she wasn't just sexy like Marlene, she was a bombshell.

Like you can stop looking at her. You're trying to figure out why she's so gorgeous. She had this like signature middle part, shoulder length hair. It's like wavy. And women were taking pictures of her to their stylist or to the salon. And they're like, give me the Hedy Lamarr. This was like the Jennifer Aniston haircut before the Jennifer Aniston haircut. Remember everybody wanted that haircut? Yeah, but it was Hedy.

Paul's hair is kind of like Hedy Lamarr's hair, but it's the ugly version. Sorry, Paul, no shade, but like I've cut the budget for Paul's hair and makeup and maybe I should put the budget back, huh? I'm sorry about that. Okay, so she's big, she's famous, she's gorgeous. People are loving her, wow. She was invited to like all the parties. She met artists, producers. She was even friends with JFK.

I feel like that's kind of like a good way to measure how popular you were at the time. Like if you're friends with a Kennedy, you were really that fucking bitch, okay? I feel like specifically John Kennedy always attached himself to beautiful actresses and then like would have affairs with them, cover it up, blah, blah, blah, you know? But I think that's like good for the career. I'm not sure. Anyways, pretty much right away, Hedy realized the Hollywood actress life

was the opposite of glamorous. You didn't just wait around smoking cigarettes and reading amazing parts that were written for you. The studio at this time would own your ass, own your whole everything about you. They owned you for at least seven years. You would work six to seven days a week

No matter what they said, you had to do it. Women would have to get to the studio super early in the morning to get their hair and makeup done, get fitted for costumes. They were expected to work late into the night, either on set or it was mandatory for them to be schmoozing at these parties, right? Acting like a piece of ass, acting like they're interested in these boring men's conversations. And it sounds kind of still glamorous, like I wouldn't mind that, but I'm sure it wasn't, okay?

Anyways, even though Hedy was expected to keep up this reputation, on the inside, she was just a big little curious cat who wanted to, I don't know, tinker and invent some shit. It was said that she would leave set and immediately go home and like collab with different scientists on different inventions. Directors would even set up mini versions of laboratories in her trailer. This was her hobby and she loved to tinker.

It didn't matter what she was working on. What mattered was that she was using her brain because this whole acting thing for her, it just, it wasn't fulfilling. It's kind of like your man who goes out every night in the garage and he like tinkers on the motorcycle. No one knows what they're doing or whatever. And they're tinkering, but it keeps them happy, you know? And it keeps it just...

And that's what they did with Hedy. They're like, just let her tinker. Let her tinker. Don't take it from her. At one point while Hedy was like doing her tinkering thing, she actually invented something amazing. It was really cool. I was reading this like, what? She called it the Coca-Cola tablet. Yes. So she took liquid Coca-Cola. She somehow shrunk it down into a cube.

And then all someone had to do was drop it into the water and ta-da, it would fizz up. You had Coca-Cola. You're saying this beautiful actress like thought of something?

Yeah, it was no big deal to her either. She's like, whatever, I did it. So she made this because she wanted people like to have access to Coke around the world because it would be easier to ship as well. I mean, it's just a little fricking little whatever. But I guess the product ended up failing because it tasted like shit, honestly. According to Hedy, it quote, "tasted like Alka-Seltzer," end quote. But honestly, what were you doing? Exactly, nobody else was inventing shit, she was trying.

And she was smart. Well, of course, it's like not all fun and tinkering for Hetty. You know, making actresses work around the clock was the studio's biggest priority. And if they signed you, they were going to make sure that you showed up around the fucking clock when they expected. Like, you know what I'm saying? They didn't give a shit about your mental and physical health. They didn't care. The actresses were put on like a one size fits all conveyor belt, just busting out all these Hollywood actresses, whatever. And they were expected to keep up.

But many of them, hi, 'cause we're humans. So the studio would then ply them with pills to wake them up and then they would give them more pills to help them fall asleep. I mean, I'm sure you're familiar with Judy Garland's story and if you're not, then what are you doing with your life, huh? But like, it's the same thing. They were doing the Judy Garland, okay? Giving her uppers, giving her downers. And to be fair, like it worked.

Hedy landed another huge role, this time in a movie called Boomtown. Even though it wasn't the exact type of role that she wanted, the movie was successful, which meant that she at least had some job security. But behind the scenes, Hedy was struggling big time. During her success, Hedy had gotten married and divorced a second time. So

you know, it was just like not a great time, right? Stressful, unhappy, sad, whatever. And it wasn't any better at work. Even though she was a glamorous movie star, she said that she really didn't like it. She said, quote, "Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid." End quote. Baby girl, I'll sit like this for how much? Sorry, Hedy. I get what you're saying, but like goals.

Anyways, but she didn't like this because she was smart. She was a smart woman and she had way more to offer and she knew it. So she's pissed off, okay? And she's getting depressed and Hedy decided to use all that frustration and she's like, I need to do something good with it. So she turned to

The war. During the 40s, America was feeling the effects of World War II. Troops were like being shipped off to the war and there was just a general sense of anxiety in the air. And plus wars, no one likes them, right? No one likes a war.

or they're expensive as shit too. So in order to pay for it, the government asked American citizens to generously dig into their pockets and help pay for the war through war bonds. War bonds are essentially like a loan the American people individually give to the government. But the thing is, Uncle Sam needed people to help sell these war bonds. So what do they do? They go to America's favorite movie star,

Hedy Lamarr. Now Hedy sees this opportunity and is just like, oh my God, yeah. And she immediately sprang into action and she went on bond tours for the United States. By day, she was dancing and singing her ass off for everyday Americans, convincing them to give their money or at least some of the money to the government.

She would also perform for the troops at night. I mean, she was really in her charity era and honestly, she was feeling fulfilled. It gave her some kind of like purpose outside of just being a Hollywood sex symbol, you know?

But guess what? Doing this, she ended up raising over $25 million, which in today's money, $480 million. One person. She did that shit. Woo-hoo!

Yes, Hedy Lamarr. So for all the war bonds that she sold, she was recognized and won an award. And like all on top of this, Hedy was still in the process of getting her American citizenship. So it was like, girl's not even a citizen and look at her kill it for America, you know? And she said that she felt so strongly she had to give back.

So at this point, Hedy decided to focus all of her attention on helping the troops. She felt totally guilty about her, you know, cushy life during the war. Meanwhile, there are people in Europe who are fighting and dying in the trenches. Entire cities were being destroyed. And she was over in Hollywood just... You know, just looking cute and being like, "Yay, life." So...

She wanted to help and she got to thinking like, how can I help the war in a real way? And not like as an entertainer, but maybe as an inventor. Look at this bitch go. I know she can fly. So one day Hedy is changing stations on the radio and she's just hopping around. Meanwhile, it hits her.

light bulb moment. She has an idea for an invention that's about to save the lives of millions of soldiers. And it just came. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear all the

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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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and slapped her right in the face. So at this point, the Nazis were easily winning World War II because they had some kind of like advanced technology. They had very sophisticated tech that allowed them to either intercept

or like jam any communications between U.S. Army bases and like their soldiers and ships and all that jazz. So this meant that American generals weren't able to warn soldiers of Nazi bombs that were coming their way. And even if they did manage to avoid the radio signal being messed with,

the lines, they weren't secure. It wasn't a safe way to communicate. Like the Nazis were probably fucking listening. So secret messages would be leaked right and left. And because of this, like thousands of soldiers would die every day. So everyone's feeling a little helpless. Like how else do you communicate without the Nazis finding out, right? They can't do mind control. They don't know that yet. Okay. War dogs?

Let's stop bringing the dogs into this. Did you watch the war animals episode? You should, super cute. Carrier pigeons, I don't know. Nothing was working, okay? They just couldn't sneak their secret messages by the Nazis. They always kind of knew what was up. So Hedy, she's a genius. I don't know if you know this, but she is. And she was like tinkering around with her radio. And she thought to herself, hey, Hedy, girl, what if they just like alternated the frequencies?

Yeah, that's already over my head. But you know the radio in your car? Do you know the radio in car? Do you remember you have a radio in your car? Well, like the number of your favorite radio station, like, um, 2.7, kiss that. Like, that's the frequency. You're losing me, Bailey. I know. Stay in it, girl. The Nazis knew the frequencies that the Americans were using to communicate with each other. So, Hedy,

She grabbed a piece of paper and she was like, dear diary, today is a good day. I am still gorgeous and I'm going to solve the war problems. I'm just kidding. But she grabbed a piece of paper and she mapped out what her plan was. Instead of the frequencies going in a straight line, because I guess that's how it works. They go in a straight line. They were going to program them, the frequency, to jump around the channel and scatter so

So the Nazis wouldn't be able to track it. She believed it would be the communication device that would be the key to winning the war. Or at least majorly fucking help you guys. Shit. Even though she knew she had this idea that was going to work.

Hedy knew she needed to partner with someone to like actually help her create the prototype. So she turned to an old friend of hers named George Anteel. Hedy went to George for a few reasons. Like one, he actually took her seriously as an inventor, right? She is still a woman, no offense, but you get it. Two, he was a brilliant composer and she knew that her frequency idea would be perfect for someone

like with a musical inventor mind. And most importantly,

George had a personal vendetta against the Nazis and he desperately wanted Hitler dead. So she's like, "That's my man, that's my boo right there, let's go." This is why George really hated them. So his younger brother was assassinated after two enemy soldiers shot down his plane. And he, the brother, was actually the first American to be killed in World War II. I mean, it was a devastating blow to the whole family and George wanted revenge.

When Hattie picked up the phone and like called George in the middle of the night to tell him about her invention, he was like, banana bread at work, bro? Hell yeah. He was all in, okay? They came up with an idea that would communicate-

88 different frequencies at a time instead of just one. George and Hedy drew up the plans, okay? They came up with the other, they're like, this is gonna work, it's solid, they're gonna love it, and then send it to the Navy. Now you think the Navy would be like, holy shit, well, yeah. No. Right after reviewing the plans, the Navy was like, no, thanks.

They didn't believe in it. They thought it was not gonna work. So they shot it down without even trying it. When Hedy followed up with them to get like their thoughts, they essentially told her, "Hey, why don't you leave the science to the men and go back to shaking them titties or something?" You know, she was a woman. She's just a pretty face. God.

How exhausting. But I mean, yeah, you know, geez. And even worse, like her idea, get this, this is the worst part because like this would have helped tremendously, but her idea ended up being seized by the government and it was labeled as quote, property of an enemy alien. Excuse me, enemy? I just raised how much money for you?

because she was still going through the process of getting her citizenship. Plus, who the fuck was she? Like, what does she know? You know, they didn't like it. They saw it as like a threat, like she was trying to do something major. They essentially kindly tell her to fuck off.

Plus, once word got out that it was Hedy's invention, people fucking lost their tits. They're like, "There's no way. There's no way she can be hot and an inventor." Like they're not, you know? Immediately, people started to think either George created the invention himself and was just using Hedy to promote it.

Or they were like, Hedy probably stole it from her ex-husband Fritz, that Nazi weapons dealer. She probably stole it and was holding onto the idea for years and she's trying to pass it off as her own.

so annoying. At the same time Hedy was still struggling to take her career to like the next level kind of was at like the same place. I mean she had a bunch of blockbuster hits but she still wasn't like a highly respected actress. It was more like they they would put her in sex forward roles because after all these years she still was

being associated with the orgasm in ecstasy. You know, like that's all people put her with. And she's like, "You guys, I've done so much more." And they're like, "No, shut up orgasm girl." So this wasn't a good time in Hedy's life. Okay, things were rough. There was one good thing though. I guess by the mid 1940s, the entire planet chilled out because Hitler was dead and World War II was finally over.

Spoiler, we won. I don't know if you know that, but yeah. Everyone was like relieved. Things were calmer, right? But unfortunately for Hedy, she still felt like she couldn't fully celebrate because she was having a sad realization.

At this time, Hedy was having a major personal crisis because she's starting to realize that no matter what role she takes at MGM, the heads of the studio will only see her as that girl who had the orgasm. And it was like, she was branded with a scarlet letter, right? But instead of an A, it was an O for, "Ugh." And that branding came from the very top. You know what, Hedy, you should have went to the very top and you should have that, man. That's my advice.

Then you'd get all the roles. Okay, Professor Jan-Christopher Horak, the former director of the UCLA Film and TV Archive, said that, quote, Louis B. Mayer divided the world into two kinds of women, Madonna and her, end quote. Not like the strike a pose, Madonna, you know, not that Madonna. Madonna as in a lady who is as pure as freshly fallen snow. Oh.

And that is not...

what Louie thought of Hedy. I mean, he placed her into that whore category and it became clear to her that she was fricking stuck there. She's like, "Can I be a whore and a good actress? Come on." Being a hot chick on screen was like, yeah, maybe it was paying the bills, but it wasn't challenging to Hedy. And as long as she was tied to Louie B. Mayer and MGM, she was a, let's just say it, quote unquote whore.

But as they say, you know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I

I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman

and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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- It's always darkest before the dawn. In 1945, Hedy decided to take a huge risk. She goes to Louis B. Mayer and she's like, "You know what? I'm out."

And she packs her bags and she leaves MGM. Hattie wasted no time and she partners up with a guy named Cecil B. DeMille. And this guy was like known as the king of Hollywood because he was an iconic producer and director, first of all. Before Cecil, there really was like no American film industry, but like he was the one who built it all. Cecil was over here producing a movie that was categorized as a biblical epic.

Inspired by a story from the Bible, Cecil wanted to take a story about faith, repackage it, and make it appeal to everyone, the masses. To do that, he used huge sets, elaborate costumes. He had some big budgets behind him, great storytelling. And then of course, yeah, there might be some sex, whatever, but that's not like the most of it. And the story from the Bible he was producing was called Samson and Delilah.

Are you familiar? Well, it's this tale about love, deceit, and betrayal. There you go. After seeing an old Hedy Lamarr movie, Cecil decided that not only was she absolutely freaking gorgeous, but her brains made her perfect for the role of a scheming, sultry female lead, Delilah.

So Hedy landed the role and when Samson and Delia went on to be released, whatever, it was a box office smash. Oh my God, let me tell you, it was like kaboom. And it was the biggest middle finger to that MGM guy, Louis, whatever. But it nabbed five Oscar nominations and was the second highest grossing movie of the decade. The only movie that had like done better at the time was Gone with the Frickin' Wind.

Hedy was like, "Bitch, you know, what are you gonna do? I'm Hedy Lamarr." She was back, baby. And the public loved her performance. So, F you, Louie. Suck my ass. So, Hedy, back on top. She's riding high. That's her riding. And while she's back in the limelight, she has a bit of an idea.

Hedy looks at how well Samson and Delilah did, and she thinks to herself, hey bitch, I've been around movies long enough. Instead of waiting to be cast in other people's films, hey, uh, idea, why don't I just make my own movie, huh? Not a bad idea, huh? Huh? You know, she's getting real cocky. She's like, I'm gonna do it. I'm a

And guess what? She does it. Hedy decides she's going to make a movie called "The Loves of Three Queens." And she has like this grand vision for this film. Now, first of all, the theme, I guess it had resonated with her to her core because it was about how beauty got in the way of finding true love for three major women in history. It's kind of like an epic historical fiction. Now, because she produced it, Hedy was like, "You know what? I'm gonna play."

All three lead roles. I don't need anybody else. I could do it best. And she did just that. She wrote Eddie Murphy and like Nutty Professor. Good for her. She's like, I don't need actresses. Why? When I could just do it myself. And I love that bitch because I have that same mentality. Like, I'll just do it myself. I'll be man, woman, dog. I'll play all roles. So then she finishes the movie. It's done. She's ready to distribute. Now here's a problem. And shit hits the fan.

she isn't able to find any company to distribute the loves of three queens. Now, I don't know why, but people didn't want to buy this thing. They didn't want to touch it. I don't have like any evidence of this, but the theory out there is that Louis B. Mayer most likely played dirty. And who are they gonna listen to? MGM or this Hedy Lamarr girl, you know? That's just the rumor, allegedly. And I bet it's probably true.

Uh-huh. Anyway, so with no distribution, this meant that Hattie's movie wouldn't show in any theaters, which meant that no one would pay to see it, which meant that no one would see it, which meant that Hattie just lost a shit ton of money. I don't know exactly how much. He said that she did dip into her life savings in making the movie. It's just more unfortunate that nobody would distribute it for her.

And I'm wondering right now, I forgot to look this up. Can you still, can you find the movie? Is it able to, or can we watch it now? I'd be curious to know how it came out. Just looked it up. You could watch The Loves of Three Queens on YouTube.

I know what I'm doing tonight. So Hedy's life starts to take a nosedive that she just never was able to recover from. In 1958, she essentially retired from Hollywood. She was like, "I'm done with it. It was too much, so many ups and downs and the chaos."

It's just exhausting. And things, sadly for her, they really weren't any better at home. So at the time, Hedy, she had a new husband, a different husband. She was married to a Texas oil millionaire named Howard Lee. I know, she got these rich-ass daddies. Fucking great, you know? Howard was her fifth husband, good for her.

You gotta keep trying, I guess. And like all those husbands that came before her, things started out great, right? Oh my God, I love him, he's amazing. But then at one point, things just change. They go downhill and they go downhill fast.

Turns out that her husband, Howard, was a bit of an alcoholic, yeah, and was horrible to Hedy. And they had children at the time too. And he was horrible to the kids and it was just awful.

but out in public Hedy was like just out and about playing the role of like Texas trophy wife which I'm sure is so hard you know she even admits like at first it was a lot of fun but it got old quick Hedy was just depressed at this point she felt like she had failed at everything

It got so bad that sources say Hedy believed this may have been the darkest time in her life, not only because of the divorce, but also because her 14 year old son, his name's Tony, he was out riding a bicycle and he got hit by a car. He ended up in the hospital and it was like a near death experience, right? At the exact same time.

In the middle of the divorce from Howard while her son is like clinging on for his dear life in the hospital, she was expected to testify in court for her divorce. She's like, "Bro, I'm busy." Right? She was stressed, okay? She's like, "I can't do it. Like, I'm not, I can't make it." So, remember her stealing the maid's outfit and all that? Well, she's like, "I'm gonna do that shit again." Instead of going to court herself heady,

sends in her stunt double. Yeah. So in Hollywood, you get like a stunt double or whatever. Well, she kept in contact with that stunt double. And she's like, hey, what are you doing? Are you available?

It's a brilliant idea! If I had a stunt double that really looked like me and I could pass, you would never see me. Ever. It would be my stunt double all the time. I've actually heard of people who send out their stunt doubles because they have like the same measurements and everything and they make them go try on a bunch of clothes and they shop for you and that I can get behind. I hate shopping for clothes, right?

She does that. Great idea. But sadly, it turns out like, it actually, it backfires in her face. The judge was like, wait a minute, who are you? And finds out that this is a stunt double, finds out everything. And he tore Hedy fucking apart, okay? But not only that, the judge cut Hedy's share of the divorce settlement, leaving her with like almost nothing. All because she played this dirty game. But like, it wasn't a dirty game. Her son was in the hospital.

Well, because everything was just going wrong, she had a full-on mental breakdown. Her son was able to make a full recovery from the accident, but Hedy was just never the same. So she gets a divorce. I don't know how, but she gets married one more time after Howard, but this time it only lasted like 19 months. So she had six marriages, no big deal, whatever. Yeah, they all failed, but at least she tried. I think

I think it's easy for us to kind of think like, well, the men probably sucked anyways. Like they probably like blah, blah, blah. But that wouldn't be the full story. That's because in the 1960s and the 1970s, Hedy became more secluded from the public eye. At the same time, according to her son, Tony, she became more unstable and unpredictable behind closed doors. I guess she had just reached her breaking point. It was like the smallest thing would just pull

push her over the edge and she would go full on just fucking psycho. For example, her son had told a story that one day his mom dropped a fork and I guess because he didn't immediately bend over and pick it up, Hattie out of nowhere just like gets up, fucking whacks her son right across the face and screams, "Whenever I drop something, shh." Now the real mommy dearest

I think we were mistaken, right? Hedy was out of control and scaring everyone, like her children and whatnot. And, you know, it's like poor thing. She just had a low time in her life. But like there was actually another reason as to why she was so out of control. Well, there was an answer. There was a reason. And the why to it all is pretty dark.

You see, Hedy had no idea. She had no idea. She was in the middle of battling a horrible addiction. Okay, listen, listen. There was a man, a man named Max Jacobson, who was a doctor to the stars. Now this guy was the Hollywood executive's

go-to call on doctor that they would rely on for uppers and downers. His nickname was Dr. Feelgood. Oh yeah. Wow. Right? And look, if you worked for a studio, MGM, whatever the studios are, you know, he...

hit them all. Like they were on call. I'm talking from Elvis to Judy Garland to JFK to Hedy Lamarr. Like if you were an actress during this time, most likely they got touched by Dr. Feelgood. Now Dr. Feelgood would come in and he would tell them, "I'm here to give you a vitamin shot and this vitamin shot is gonna boost your energy, you're gonna feel good and you're gonna be able to perform."

And he would. And like, that's great, right? They're like, oh, thank you so much. But they had no idea what this vitamin shot was. Now, Hedy saw Dr. Feelgood multiple times from the 50s to the 70s. And like during their visits, Dr. Feelgood would show up. Hi, how are you doing, Hedy? Oh, yeah. Load up a vial and inject Hedy with like no questions asked. She was under the impression that the doctor was giving her vitamin B shots. But...

Those were not vitamin B shots. Come to find out, Dr. Feelgood was loading Hedy up with 40 milligrams of meth.

Hedy was in her full-blown meth era. We're not mad at Hedy, right? Like, she didn't know. She just trusted this doctor for years and they were doing, or Dr. Feelgood was working with all of these celebrities. Why wouldn't she trust them, you know? So for like about two full decades of her life, Hedy Lamarr was addicted to meth. That sucks.

I mean, it explains the wild behavior. The fork? I don't know. In 1974, Dr. Feelgood, he had his medical license taken away. He got caught or something. But Hedy remained addicted to pills long after that. Well, the shitstorm just kept on going, baby girl. Listen. So an autobiography comes out about Hedy. And at first it was like, oh great, like yay, autobiography. But it, oops, it's...

It was called Ecstasy and Me and, and Hetty Green lit it. She's like, yeah, I want like the autobiography, whatever. But then I guess like the ghostwriter like filled in the blanks where she wasn't looking for someone to fill in the blanks. Like the ghostwriter made up all of these wild, juicy stories about her life in order to sell more copies of the book.

And like, that's great and whatnot, but that's not what she was looking for. But they didn't care. They just went ahead and like hit that publish button. At one point, Hedy was arrested in Los Angeles for stealing from a department store.

I know, Winona. She tried to steal a suit, some eye makeup, greeting cards, bikini bottoms. She had a ton of money and like physically on her at that time, she had like $14,000, but she was stealing anyways. It obviously, when she got arrested, it made headline news. I mean, people were shocked. They could not understand why is this wealthy woman stealing? Again, and like Winona Ryder, it was just like confusing to everybody.

And it didn't stop Hedy though, because it happened again in 1991. And people were like putting the pieces together that maybe something was like really wrong with her. She's being weird, you guys. When Hedy was 78 years old, she was arrested again in Orlando, Florida for shoplifting. This time she was stealing laxatives and eye drops. Okay, girl, if you're gonna steal, make it good.

Turns out despite all the accomplishments in her life, Hedy actually really had no money to her name. Tabloids described her situation as destitute. But her son Tony really laid out how bad things were. He said, quote, "She spent her life alone with no one to ground her or care for her. She got screwed a lot with her invention, with her husbands, her career. Her own lawyers cheated her. It was just bam, bam, bam, one thing after another." End quote.

Hedy started getting more and more plastic surgery. Sadly, a few of her procedures were botched. Plastic surgery has come a long way now, so it was rough back then. So after a couple of procedures, she was unrecognizable and essentially like a shell of her former self. If Hedy's story ended there, it'd be like, "Oh, the end, bummer, right?"

Well, thankfully it doesn't. A Forbes article came out in the early 1990s and God bless this article because it brought fresh attention to the frequency hopping invention that Hedy and George came up with and the

The timing was perfect because the internet was becoming a very big thing. Well, here's the part that should is just incredible, right? It turns out Hedy's invention paved the way for a secure internet to even happen. Like it was part of the foundation of the internet.

And people were realizing that like when her invention first came out, it was way ahead of its time. Since 1945, her patent had been cited at least 62 times by major tech and communications companies. And it has been crucial to the development of modern wifi, Bluetooth, smartphones, and even military satellites.

So what I'm saying is it's safe to say that several billion dollar industries owe a huge debt of gratitude to Miss Hedy Lamarr. I mean, sure, we can all say like, well, they would figure it out eventually, but she already did, bitch. Okay, she already did.

Thank you, and no one listened to her. And remember back when the US government buried Hedy's work and said that like they had no use for it? Maybe they didn't at the time, but turns out, you know, the government found a way to use it after all. 20 years after Hedy came up with it, the US Navy used an updated version of it during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

But you know what they didn't do? They didn't tell Hedy. No, they didn't. They didn't give her like a little phone call like, "Hey girl, thanks for that." Or like write her a letter. No one told her. She had no idea that her technology helped save the world from nuclear disaster. Queen, poor thing. I just feel like if he would have told her, it would have gave her some like, to be acknowledged and to feel like, "Oh wow, it actually did do something." You know, like they should have given her that. Anyways, in 1997,

Hedy and George, they were given the Pioneer Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. And then the US Navy and a few companies, big companies I should say, like Lockheed Martin, pulled their heads out of their asses and finally gave Hedy some recognition. Recognition that she freaking deserved. They publicly thanked Hedy for her invention, gave her an award, and most importantly,

Recognition. Isn't that all we want sometimes? Just some freaking recognition. And that's all Hedy wanted. Some acknowledgement that she did something special. She did something, right? She helped make the world a better place. It's nice to know that she received some recognition while she was still alive. Because I feel like a lot of the times in these stories, it's like well after they're dead, right? And like that sucks. You know, you get it.

On January 19th, 2000, Hedy Lamarr died in Florida from heart disease and never made one cent from her invention. She was cremated and her son ended up spreading her ashes back in her beloved home country of Austria. In 2014, Hedy and George were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

That's so great. Thank God this story ended on a positive, you know? Well, yeah, we'll take it. We'll take it. We'll take it. Shut up. We'll take it. The world should be a little bit more familiar with Hedy Lamarr's name, not just because of her gorgeousness or her acting, but because of the brilliant mind she had that literally changed the world.

And I was thinking about it, and I mean the takeaway from this story, I was like back then, you know, shit, just women weren't listened to. We could still have this long debate about today, but you have to admit that we've come, we've made progress, right? But back then specifically, the women were just pieces of ass. How exhausting. There were pieces of art to stare at, not allowed to speak, and that all it was, okay? I mean, women, we weren't even allowed to have credit cards until 1974. So, it sucked.

Now, there's still a lot of that going on today, but we've come a long way. I mean, we're running workplaces, being bosses and shit. Thank you. But even though we've made progress, it's still like, I think my takeaway was like to keep tinkering and to never ever let people tell you that you can't do something. Okay? You're smart.

You know you're smart. You have to believe in yourself and when you want something, you can get it. You can get it on your nose. You might have to suck a couple to get to the top, baby, but do it because once you get there, you can say and invent something and like change the world. Women power! Right, Joan? Not you, Paul. You're out.

So, keep tinkering and keep being smart, ladies and gentlemen, but keep doing it because we can take over the world and solve problems. Okay, thank you. I'm going to get off my soapbox now. So next time it's 2 a.m., you little fat little raccoon laying in bed and trying to use DoorDash to get a freaking Happy Meal, shout out to Hedy Lamarr because without her, there would be no Wi-Fi to get them delicious chicken nuggets. You're welcome.

Join me over on my YouTube where you can actually watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs and see how cute we look right now, me and my friends. And while you're there, you can also catch my murder mystery in makeup. I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story. So make sure to use the hashtag dark history over on social media so I can like follow along and see what you're saying. Now my favorite part, let's read a couple of comments you guys left me.

Ali commented, "I'm glad Paul has gotten more involved with these shows. Glad you're feeling better, Bailey." Thank you, Ali. I have been feeling so much better and yet Paul wants more air time, so I've been involving him, whatever. But I'm glad you like it, huh, Paul? Great. I do all the work here, okay? And they just get praises.

Anyways, Hayley left us a comment saying, "My favorite party trick is to whip out random facts to people that I've learned from your videos. Love that for me. Haha." This is the, my, I'm going to frame this comment because Hayley, that's exactly why I do this. Uh, I am such an introvert, but since doing Dark History, I can go to parties and like, I'll have the most random facts

Of course I'm going blank right now, okay? Can't think of one. But yeah, I come out with these random facts just swinging out the gate like, hey, you guys know the history of dildos? Well, let me tell you. And it's the best, right? Please do that more. That's what this show is for. So you can have conversations. Okay.

Did we catch an earthquake on camera? We caught an earthquake on camera, everyone. That was so cool. That means we're gonna have a bigger one and we're all gonna die.

Kalesia left us an episode suggestion. "Hello from Texas, Bailey Bunch. "You should do a dark history about nurses "and how it started and evolved. "You will definitely be in for an eye-opener. "Stay curious." Thank you, Kalesia. It's funny you say that. Recently been thinking and marinating on the idea of doing a dark history about nurses. Love that. That's a great recommendation and stay tuned, okay?

Thank you guys so much for leaving comments. I appreciate it. And I look forward to reading what you guys are saying. So keep them coming. Maybe I will acknowledge your existence here at Dark History. Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junya McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Matt Enloe from Maiden Network. Writers, Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, and Allison Filobos. Production lead, Brianna.

Brian Jaggers. Research provided by Xander Elmore. I want to give a special thank you to our expert, Dr. Ruth Barton. And I'm your host, if you don't know. My name is Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a really good rest of your week. I hope to see you next time. Please make good choices out there. And I'll be seeing you guys later. Goodbye! Amazon Pharmacy presents Painful Thoughts.

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