Helen Keller had the raz
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Welcome back to Write Answers Mostly, a podcast on what you didn't learn in history class, but you really wanted to. My name is Claire Donald. And my name is Tess Belomo. And we are so excited to be back. We're back, kids. We're back, baby. Back in the New York groove. I don't know that one. We're back. Yeah. Mine would be back to back to back to you.

I'm having a brat. It's a brat summer. Oh, I still need to listen. Tess? Oh my God. No, no, no, no, no. There's going to be one song that is going to, and I was going to send it to you earlier. It's going to wreck you. I'm sorry to say. Like sad? Yeah. It's brat. Okay. If you guys don't know, it's Charli XCX new album. It is a perfect album for women in their early to mid thirties, I would say. Okay. I feel so like out of the loop. I feel like I went on vacation for 10 days and I was like,

what is brat summer like I literally felt like an 80 year old woman I like message Claire and I was like what's brat brat is a way of life okay and brat is always waiting for you by the way like it's never too late to brat okay yeah so we're gonna get you to brat well I watched that hulu documentary the brat pack last night oh I saw that that was a thing was Tom Cruise in the brat

No. It was like a weird – it's mostly people from The Breakfast Club. Emilio Estevez? Yes. Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore. Oh, she was in The Brat Pack? She was. Molly Ringwald was not in The Brat Pack. But she was those movies. I know. Wow. It's really weird. The documentary is really tough to watch because it's that one guy who like didn't get famous like the rest of them. He is like the – he made the movie. It's really tough, Claire. Oh, no. I know.

I know. And it's like, guys, sometimes we have to move on from exciting things in our lives. Sometimes we do. And sometimes it can just be really healthy to like let it go. And not make a documentary about it. And not make a documentary about it. That's us making a documentary about Ram. I mean, you know that we will. We will. You know we want to. Oh, man. Yeah. Did you ever watch The Outsiders?

No. No. Is that a show? No, it was a movie. And it was like, well, it was young Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, so hot. Rob Lowe, he's a star. He's a star. Patrick Swayze, RIP, a star. And it's like, it's so good. And we read the book in English class and then watched the movie. Oh, I read the book, but I never, okay. Yeah, Ponyboy, like the greasers and the sochas, you know? Yeah. Yeah, 80s movies are not really my thing. Yeah, the 80s.

I miss, like, it's not my decade either. Well, I think last night I was watching with Kunal and he was like, you guys are just like a little bit too, we're like, we're like just so young. We're like babies. Like look at our faces, just like wrinkle-less babies. Well, thanks Aesthetic MDR. Shout out to you always. My Botox is tight.

and right. I need another facial. I know. We're ready. But we miss you guys so much. We have been on break. Tessa's been traveling. She's been to prison. Been to prison. And we talk about it all on... We're recording another episode of Premium this week. So if you want to like

Catch up with us because Tess and I have not really caught up either. We haven't really seen each other and you all know that's a crazy ride. It is crazy. We saw each other really quickly like a few days ago, but it wasn't enough time. I was like, God, there's like a thousand more things that we need to discuss. It's a never-ending conversation, so you can join it in our show notes. You get two bonus episodes a month plus the whole catalog and we go into things. Yes. Yeah. We'll talk more about what's been happening.

in both of our lives. Yeah, exciting stuff. It's always a little juicy. I know. You guys know. You know how it is. If you want to hear all about the Brat Summer, I'm always bringing it back. Brat Summer. Brat Summer, baby.

How are you, Tess? Oh, I'm good. You know, I feel like really relaxed and rejuvenated. Good. I went to the East Coast for a couple weeks, went to New York to take engagement photos, which I am going to talk about that night on Premium. I'm sorry, guys, but it's just a little personal. No, and it's just like the photos. I'm screaming. When I eventually find my apartment, because you guys know I'm hopping around this summer, I'm going to be in New York.

I'm going to frame all of this. Oh, you're so cute. They're such gorgeous photos. We just had like the best time. So happy with the photos for anyone that is getting engaged and it's like, should we do engagement photos? Do it because it like ignites like a really romantic and like excitable and sweet. Like it's like your first little adventure. It like makes it real. It makes it so real. Like I felt like a bride. Like I was like, I am a bride. I was wearing white. You are a bride.

For one look. One look. No, but you have to throw it in there. And then the other look was Sex and the City, Carrie inspired. It really was perfect. So yeah, that was fun. And then went to Chappaquiddick Island, if you haven't listened to our Chappie episode. Some people will say it's like their favorite episode. Yeah.

I appreciate that. I just say it like some people, like in a shocking way, just because it's one of our first episodes ever. I know. I'm scared that the audio is probably really bad. Well, it probably is. But like that, we love growth here at Right Answers Mostly. Exactly. And it's like, it's the heart that matters, you know? And the heart has always been there. Truly. Sure has. Always been there. So that was just lovely for some family time and oysters and martinis and lobster rolls and long walks on the beach. And it was just...

Stargazing. Stargazing with my brother. Found out my brother's truly like an astronomer, which I had no idea. Of course he is. He knows everything. Adrienne, you do. So yeah, it was just so – it's like such a special place. It's like uninterrupted family time. I love that. It's just lovely. It's so lovely. And I missed you. I missed you too. I held down the fort. Yes, you did. I literally stayed at Tess's house.

Yes, you did. Tubby was so happy. Yeah, Tubby, Tessa's dog, and me. We were taking over the world. I know. We missed you so much. I know. I missed you, too. Thank God you're back. How the hell have you been? I've been good. I mean, it's all been normal for me. I'm going to take my little summer break later. Yes. But I'm so excited to be back. But nothing really to report. Yeah. You still like bopping around? You're still loving it? I'm loving bopping around. I love not having a place to live yet. Yeah. And we'll approach that in maybe October. But for right now, I'm loving it.

loving it. If you keep up, if you are still enjoying it... I know. And I am. I had a moment with Alice when we were out the other night and I'm like, do people hate that I'm doing that? And she's like, why would people hate that? But I just like, I'm always scared. No. Also, you are like helping people out. It's like a very mutual beneficial thing. Like you're taking care of my dog, you're watching the house, you're checking the refrigerator light to make sure it's still on. So yeah, I'm bopping around this summer and I'm just absolutely loving it. Love. Yeah. So...

But besides that, should we just like get into – Let's talk about our girl. Okay, guys. This is another like highly requested subject, one that I really didn't know that much about. Today we are talking about the one, the only, Helen Keller. Tess, what do you know about Helen Keller? I mean I know very, very little. I know that she was deaf and blind. Yes.

Sorry, guys. I'm kind of getting over a chest cold, which is not great for podcasting, but I'm going to do my best. You just let it out. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yes. Know that she's deaf and blind. Know that there's like a problematic lyric written about her. Okay. So let's just address it now. Yeah. Okay.

Shush, girl. Or is it hush, girl? Like it matters. Shush, girl. Shut your lips. Do the Helen Keller. And talk with your hips. Guys, no. But we all were screaming it. We all then were like grinding, honestly. And moving with our hips. You know...

I don't know how Helen would feel about it. I just don't know. Is that Metro Station? Or was it 3-0? Yeah, it was something that we don't know them now.

And maybe that's Helen's karma. Yeah, maybe. Wow. She's like, I don't like, me no likey. Me no likey. Yes. That lyric has always stuck out to me too. Same. And that's really it. Did you ever watch The Miracle Worker in school? Yes. I think I watched it in elementary school. And I remember her being brought up a lot in childhood, but I don't know her story. Same. That was my exact experience as well. Yeah. Well, it's crazy. And-

Something I text about last night, I was like, if I see one more TikTok of a Gen Z person saying that Helen Keller was fake, I feel like we should tell her story and then talk about it after. Okay. Yes. Because it's like... Because, yeah, I don't know why people would think that. Well, shut your mouth. Because it is like... Because it's an incredible story. And they don't call it the miracle worker for nothing. Zip it. But like...

Zip it. Don't take that woman's accomplishments away from her after all that she overcame. Yeah. No, it's not a cute look. How dare. How dare. But justice for Helen. And we're going to get into it right now. Love. So obviously my sources are Stepfather Wikipedia, our Nana PBS. She would be a Nana. I know. A Teen Vogue article by Haley Moss. Yes.

Teen Vogue. I kind of feel like Teen Vogue is your little sister that you're like, you're so cool and chic. And like, how did you get to be? A hundred percent. You know what I mean? Like she's fresh. She's fashion. Yep. She's the little sister. Yeah. So we're very happy to add our little sister Teen Vogue to our family tree. That's adorable. Yeah. And then the podcast History Chicks. Oh, wow. Also, I read, I actually did read one of Helen Keller's many books that she wrote. Can you believe? Yeah.

Wow. Yeah. It's called The Story of My Life. Where did you get it? Online. It's actually free online. Oh, is it? Yeah. Just like the transcripts. It was her first book, I believe, that she wrote.

I am fascinated. I know. Okay, so let's get into it. So Tess, Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. I'm like, is it June 27th? It's not, but it's close right now. Oh, okay. So June 27th, she is a... She's a cancer. She is. She's got all the emotions. Okay. Yes, yes, yes. Our girl is a cancer. So she was actually born a healthy child. She is.

She was not born with any hearing or vision impairments at all. Wow. Yeah. She was born perfectly healthy. Her parents were colonel.

Which, again, we talked about the word colonel. It's not spelled the way you think it is. It doesn't make sense. It never will. It's very rude. Arthur Keller and her mom was Kate Keller. She had four siblings. She had a little sister and then two older brothers that were from her father's previous marriage. Okay. So her family had kind of a dark, not kind of, her family had a dark background because her dad was a colonel in the Civil War for the Confederate Army. Okay.

Yeah, and her family, like, came from, like, a very rich, elite Southern family. And, like, you know how they made their money, and it's not good. No, no, no. And her mom's dad served as a captain in the Confederate Army. And so they were both very rich before the war, and then they lost their status after the war. Her parents were 20 years apart. Right.

Oh. Yeah. I guess not that uncommon back then. Yeah. But it was not a happy marriage either. Like, I think her mom thought that she was getting something different. And we see that a lot, don't we? Like, she thought it was going to be different than it was. Yep. So I think she was pretty lonely in their marriage. Her dad owned a newspaper company. And then when Helen was born, her mom said that she was like a very advanced baby. Oh. Yeah. Was she really? Or was it like the mother thing of like, you know, my baby also reads Mandarin. Yeah.

Dana on Beverly Hills. Oh, my God. It all goes back to Bravo. Truly. I don't really know. Her mom said that she imitated everything and she started like babbling and talking. And like one of her very first words was water, which she said, wah-wah, which we will get into later. We'll see that word again. Okay. So she and then she continued to make some sounds for that word water after her speech was lost. Wow. She's a cancer. Yeah.

Oh, my. Tell me that astrology isn't real when Helen Keller's first word was water and she's a cancer. Okay. Holy shit. It's not real. God damn it. Great point. What was your first word? Do you know?

Probably. I don't know. I don't know. What was your first? I feel like I want to say no or something like that. We love a boundary queen. We love a boundary queen even from being an infant. It's like no. I think mine was hot. Well, we love that too. The Taurus energy. Of course. She's like hot. No and hot. That like honestly from a Virgo saying no and a Taurus saying hot. It's iconic. It is iconic.

So, in February, at 19 months old, Helen contracted an unknown illness at the time that now they think is either meningitis or scarlet fever. Nothing is scarier than scarlet fever. I feel like everyone and their dog got scarlet fever. No, I know. I think my grandma got scarlet fever. I think my mom had scarlet fever. Really? Yeah, and that's why she lost half her hearing in one ear. Really? Mm-hmm. That's crazy.

crazy. I think, was it scarlet fever or was it? Right answer is mostly. I think so. But no, that would make sense then. Yeah. So they didn't know exactly what it was at the time. They thought that she was going to die. But then the fever broke and everyone was like, oh my God, thank God she survived it. We're through the worst of it. Everything is all good. And then her parents realized that she had lost her

her vision, I saw an account that her mom opened the curtains and that all this light came pouring through and Helen didn't even blink or like flinch or anything. Was that in the movie? I've actually never seen the movie in full. This is like bringing something back. I think it's in the movie. So yeah, so that, they're like, okay, something's not right here. Because she's still like 19 months. She's still pretty young. And then her hearing, they knew that that had gone when they would ring the dinner bell and she would never like

Like she just, yeah, would never respond to any sight or sound. Yeah. Yeah.

So at 19 months old, she is, yeah, now lost her both her vision and her sight, which I just cannot. At the same time? At the same time. I am like sick to my stomach already. Because, okay, so this is from her book. It says, the toddler just beginning to talk reverted nearly to the state of a seriously wounded untamed animal. Helen lived, as she recalled in her autobiography, quote, at a sea in a dense fog.

Yeah, it's just like darkness for you. Oh my God. Yeah. So she, in her book, she talks about that she gradually got used to the silence and the darkness. She said, quote, until she came, my teacher, who was to set my spirit free. But during the first 19 months of my life, I had caught glimpses of broad green fields, a luminous sky, trees and flowers, which the darkness that followed could not wholly blot out.

Wow. So she remembered. She remembered things, which I'm like, okay, 19 months. That's not even two yet. But I think if that's all that you've seen, your brain must retain quite a bit. I think so too. Because like, isn't it that you can start, most people can start retaining memories around two to three is like when the first thing start to... I think, and this might sound early, but I know for a fact that some of my first memories were like three years old. Oh, same. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's like when...

It does usually happen. Right. So, yeah, I'm sure that she does. Yeah. So she becomes glued to her mom's side, which I'm sure is so hard for both of them, you know? But it's, like, just so sad because, like, she can't see her mom anymore or hear her mom anymore. It's just, like, completely taken away from her. Right.

I know. And so she starts communicating things by acting them out from like things that she had seen before. Like if she wanted bread, she would act out cutting a piece of bread. If she wanted ice cream, she would act out like churning something and then acting cold.

Wow. So smart. So smart. I mean, I just like don't know what that must be like. One day you can see and hear everyone and then you can't. You're so young. No, I know. Her sign for her mother was rubbing her cheek. That's how she... Her mom would know she wanted her and her sign for her dad was opening a newspaper. So, yeah. She's just...

just acting things out at this point. And at five, she starts like figure things out. She's starting to be able to fold laundry. She could do a little tasks around the house. She knew when company was coming because her mom or her aunt would like be moving around the kitchen. She could smell food being cooked. She could feel that her mom's dresses were different. It's crazy the way that you can like navigate life. Like,

Because your other senses have to like shoot up. They're heightened, yeah. But she was a pretty mischievous, I guess. I don't know if that would be the right word for her as a child. She became really good friends with the family cook's daughter named Martha Washington, actually. Which wasn't that George Washington's? Oh, yeah. So not the same Martha Washington. That's the thing that you do in the pool with your hair? Yeah.

90s kids, you know. That is a universal youth when you flip your hair back with wet hair. Truly. Yeah, gorgeous work. So they would sit on the porch. They would do little tasks together. They were really good friends. They ended up cutting each other's hair off, though. I don't know who gave these girls scissors. We've all been through that. We all have been through that. If it wasn't our hair, it was our Barbie's hair. Truly. So they were pretty close. And Martha was Helen's age, and she could understand Helen's...

a lot better than a lot of other people could. I don't know if it was just like a friend, you know, same age thing. Then one day her mom found the key to the pantry. Sorry, Helen found the key to the pantry and she locks her mom in the pantry for three hours. And Helen said she just sat there and laughed while she felt the pounding of the door of her mom. Like, look. Yeah.

You had some things she was trying to work out. You're going to go through it when you have suffered that trauma. You really were. And you're going to take things out on your parents, just like any other kid. Just like any other kid. And like times 10, probably. It's a little haunting. And then besides Martha, Helen's pretty isolated. And then Helen has a little sister come into the picture. And we are little siblings, so I can't speak to this experience. But I'm sure a lot of other people would be like, she's not happy. Not happy.

Because now you have to share your parents' love and attention. So it was just not, it didn't help the state that Helen was already in. She used to have like a cradle for her baby doll. And then her baby doll or her little sister used that cradle for her cradle now. And at one point, Helen was going to put her baby doll in there, felt her little sister was in there. And she tipped Helen.

Yeah.

The devil is four years old. The devil is four. Four, like nothing good is happening at four. It's so true. You're just a little menace to society. Because like you have your own, I mean, people say terrible twos, but like four is even more. Yeah, and no offense if you have a four-year-old. I mean, my mom wanted to give me up for adoption at three to four. I'm pretty sure people with three or four-year-old will be like, you're exactly right. You're exactly right. Just give it, you know, they'll be fine soon. Yeah. Jesus. So she's having

Helen's having a hard time and she's acting out. She's just trying to express herself and she cannot communicate anything.

at all and when she can't communicate she has these like rage outbursts she said in her book quote i felt as if invisible hands were holding me and i made frantic efforts to free myself i struggled not that struggling help matters but the spirit of resistance was strong within me i generally broke down in tears and physical exhaustion if my mother happened to be near me i crept into her arms too miserable to even remember the cause of the tempest

After a while, the need of some means of communication became so urgent that these outbursts occurred daily, sometimes hourly. Yeah.

She's just a human that literally can't communicate with anyone. Well, think of kids. Like tantrums are just like, I need to be seen. I need to be understood. And if you then have something blocking that. Not only like, can you not communicate with other people? I need to be seen and heard. They can't communicate back with you. Yeah. Yeah. Like you can't have anyone telling, calming you down. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, my God. I know. So by the age of seven, Helen had more than 60 home signs to communicate with her family, and she could distinguish people by the vibration of their footsteps. Yes.

So she knew that's my dad walking through the room. That's my mom walking through the room. That's my brother. I mean, I bet because like even like you can hear someone like you would probably know a distinction between how I walk versus how like Alice walks. I guess I would if I couldn't see it. Like if you spent enough time with it. Yeah. Because like people have very distinct ways of like moving throughout the world. Totally. So wow. Cool.

crazy. So her parents are starting to be like, okay, we've got to figure something out because this can't be like this for the rest of her life. And it only goes so far. Yeah. So in 1886, her mom reads Charles Dickens book, American notes, which was about this woman of true story, Laura Bridgman, who was deaf and blind, but had a successful education and was taught to communicate. So her it gives her mom hope and she finds out who the doctor was that taught this woman. She finds that

out that he had died. And so she's like, okay, is anyone else able to do this? And she hears about this doctor who is a famous eye, ear and nose and throat specialist in Baltimore. And so she's like, all right, we're going to Baltimore to see if someone can help. So they go to Baltimore and the doctor was like, I can't help you, but I know a guy.

Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone oh yeah so that name sounds familiar yes so he's in DC and he was working with deaf children at the time so they were like go to see him he might be able to help they go to DC Alexander Graham Bell was like y'all should go to the Perkins we're eventually gonna get where they settle down I promise

They're like on a wild goose chase. So he's like, go to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, because that's where the woman that Charles Dickens' book was about was taught, which is like, couldn't we have just started there? But we had to go on our journey. Of course. We always do. We always do. So she also, this began their Alexander Graham Bell and Helen Keller's friendship. Like they become really close friends later in life. Wow. Was he like so rich? Yeah.

I don't know. I don't know if he had invented the telephone at that point. Oh, okay. But if he wasn't, he was on his way. I think he invented a lot of different things, though. Yeah, didn't he invent like... Something else. Yeah. But all I feel like having to do with sound stuff. The phonograph? Maybe. Maybe. Right answer, supposedly. You guys let us know. Yeah. So, do your homework. They go to the school and the director is like, I do have someone that would be great for Helen. Yeah.

Ann Sullivan. So Ann Sullivan was a 20-year-old alumni of the school. She was only 14 years older than Helen. So Helen's actually six at this point. Ann was mostly blind and underwent many botched eye operations at a young age. What year is this now? This is the late 1800s. So this is 1887. So in like the 1880s, she was getting eye surgery.

I'm sorry. Eye surgery now is crazy. Even LASIK still is like there's like a little bit of a risk and like obviously very safe. But like, you know what I mean? Like, I can't imagine. So and then to have botched eye surgery. So she always had like vision problems and her eyes were pretty weak. And at times she could see things, but then they would get very tired and strained and then she couldn't see things. So it was very back and forth for her.

Yeah. So they were like, Anne should work with Helen. And this is the beginning of a nearly 50-year-long relationship. Aww. I know. So Anne arrives at Helen's house on March 3rd, 1887, three months before Helen's birthday. And a day that Helen would forever remember as, quote, my soul's birthday. No. I know. No. I know.

Oh, God. I knew I was going to cry in this episode. I didn't know it was going to be this early. I cried watching a scene from The Miracle Worker, which we'll talk about. But, like, you guys should go watch that movie. Holy shit. Yeah. You know when you watch a movie from, like, the –

70s and then like before that and you're like wow the acting is incredible I know you're like how they know how to do this yes exactly and that's how this one was she Helen said that she felt footsteps approaching and she reached out her hand and she thought it was going to be her mom's hand and then she was like wait this is not my mom's hand and she said and I was caught up and held close in the arms of her who had come to reveal all things to me and more than all things else to love me

No. I know. No. The power of womanhood. Oh, my gosh. So then Ellen, or Ellen, Helen and Anne go to, sorry, now I'm picturing Ellen DeGeneres sitting

Ellen was the miracle worker. Ellen was not. She wishes. I think people would categorize her as that. We got to talk about on Premium sometime that one time Tess and I packed up Ellen DeGeneres' mom's apartment. Betty? Betty's her name, right? We did pack up Betty's apartment. I still have Betty's dish drying rack. Yeah, I still have

something of hers. It was a very strange day. It was the strangest day. We'll talk about it on Premium. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. So anyways, so they go to what would now be Anne's room and she gives Helen a doll and slowly spells out doll in her hand through the manual alphabet. So it's not sign language, but I think it's essentially, I think it's

I think it's doing sign language letters. Like, so she can feel it? So she, like, would put... If you're watching on YouTube, I'll try to describe it on the podcast. So, like, here's the letter... What is this one again? R. R. Okay, so she would do... Or wait. I think it's...

R. Yeah, I think. T. No, T. Okay, so this is T. I'm crossing my fingers and she would put Helen's hand over it. So she can like feel it. So she could feel it. And then, but she eventually she's going to have to teach her. It's all so crazy because it's like, but she doesn't just automatically know the manual alphabet. Right.

Humans are so resourceful and, like, incredible. Incredible. Increible. So she spells out doll in her hand. And immediately, Helen is interested. And she tries to imitate that spelling. And she eventually gets it. And she's stoked. But she doesn't realize that she's spelling a word yet. She doesn't even realize that words exist yet.

Guys, I could not. I tried to research this high. I was just going to say, thank God we're not high right now. And I couldn't. I had to stop every single time. I can't imagine. It was a lot. This would make me think, like, I learned so much about the sky the other night. And I was like, I need to take a break from smoking because I went to, like, a really crazy place.

It's a dimension that's like never ending. It's too vast. Wow. Because you're even like, how was she? How do you? How do you? How do you? She said. Language. Exactly. The way Helen described it, quote, making my fingers go in a monkey like imitation. So she was just like, I'm going to do whatever she's doing. And I don't know what it is, but that's what I'm doing. So then Annie takes the doll away, hoping that Helen is going to ask for the doll back by spelling it again. And she does.

Helen didn't like that. Helen got really angry that the doll got taken away. She does eventually spell the word. She figures it out, spells the word. She grabs the doll and then hits Annie in the face, breaking Annie's teeth. What was this doll made out of? I mean, back in the day. Oh, yeah. Dolls were like intense. Dolls were intense. They were like porcelain. And scary. Yeah. So first day, Annie's teeth.

two teeth got like broken yeah so it's it's a long road and she knows that what a patient woman and Sullivan's patience knows no bounds I mean if I had a kid that broke my two front teeth I don't think I'd ever see them again I would honestly be like it's just not worth it it's not it's not gonna work out no I've got to go home now yeah and in the days that followed Helen learned to spell in the uncomprehending way many words um

pin, hat, cup, and a few verbs like sit, stand, and walk. But it would be several weeks before she understood that everything had a name still. She's just imitating. And then in one of the first days that Anne's there, they're all having breakfast. Helen's family is...

Her mom, her dad, her brothers, and Anne. And Helen is just walking around grabbing everyone's food while they're having conversations and just like feeling things, grabbing food from everyone's plate. And Annie's watching this like, what the fuck is she doing? And why is no one addressing this? Like she, this is not okay behavior. She can't do this. And they're all kind of like, it

It keeps her distracted. We've all just gotten used to it. You just got to let her do her thing. Yeah. And Anne was like, absolutely not. This is not okay. You can't just let her do whatever she wants. She's got to go in the real world one day. So she sits Helen down and Helen was not happy about this. And she starts throwing a fit and

Annie tries to grab a spoon and put it in her hand and make her eat with a spoon. And Helen just like throws the spoon, throws the food. And so then Helen's parents are like getting upset because they're like, okay, you're being really rough with her. She's upset. Just like let her do her thing. And then Annie's like, everybody out and let me do my job.

This scene in the movie is so crazy. Whoa. She's like, let me work. They are in their test for three hours of just Annie trying to get her to sit in her seat and use a spoon. And it is a battle. Like they are physical. They're running around the room. She's throwing chairs. She's throwing plates. Like she's throwing food. And then Annie is like shoving her. It's intense. Yes.

Damn. And then finally after three hours, Helen learns to use a spoon. But this is like, again, like Anne's patience knows no bounds. Is Anne like hired? Yeah. Okay. So she's been- I think she's hired. Okay. Yeah, yeah. So eight days later, everyone kind of comes to the agreement. Like we can't really watch you be so intense with her because it's like hard for us to watch. And Anne's also like you're-

ruining the vibe for me. It's like when you guys, if you've been a babysitter before and the parents are home, they're like, your kid's not going to listen to me because you're here. Exactly. I think that's just the best for anything. Exactly. You know, like they need to separate. They need to separate. So there's like this guest house, like guests kind of suite on their property, like further back. So Anne and Helen go live there for like two weeks and

And on April 10th, this is when everything changes for us. Okay. So one day Helen is playing with her new doll and Anne puts in a different rag doll on Helen's lap and spells out doll, trying to make her understand that the doll applies to both like the porcelain doll and the rag doll. They're both a doll. I'd be like, I give up. I give up. So earlier that day, Tess, they had a fight over the words mug and

and water because how do you describe that they're two different things?

Yep. So and I'm going back and forth. She's Anna or Annie, try to get Helen to understand that mug M-U-G and that water W-A-T-E-R. But Helen just couldn't understand that they were two different things. So she's like, all right, we're dropping it. But then she's like, this doll is the perfect opportunity to pick up the lesson again. Helen is like, what the fuck are you doing? I'm so she gets so mad that she shatters the porcelain dolls.

And she's like, I'm glad that it's gone. Like she felt nothing. Yeah. The fact that she just broke her doll. And then so I'm sure Annie was just losing it. And she's like, okay, whatever. We're going outside. So she pulls Helen outside. And they go to like this water faucet thing. Someone was pumping the water because I guess, you know, that's like how you got your water back then, which is crazy. And she puts Helen's hand underneath the water. And then she just rapidly starts spilling out water into her hand.

And Helen said that all of a sudden she felt, quote, a misty consciousness of something forgotten, a thrill of a returning thought. And somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that W-A-T-R meant that wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand.

That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free. There were barriers still, it's true, but barriers that in time could be swept away. So finally... It's like making me emotional. This is the scene in the movie. If you guys are on our... If you're a premium member, you're on our close friends list on Instagram that I was like, I started crying because when you see it, it's...

She finally understands. She's, like, realizing, like, life and, like, all its beauty and craziness. She's realizing life. I have the chills right now. Like, actually. And it changes everything for Helen. The light goes off that she's like, oh, this is water. And I know what that is. She falls to the ground and, like, grabs dirt and asks Annie to, like –

spell things into her hand. She's touching trees. Like she's running around just like pointing to things and asking her to spell things in her hand. And she does. And then in the movie, I, and I'm sure it's happened in real life. Annie's like screaming for her parents. And she's like, you've got to come out here because it's all clicked for her now.

She spells mother and father. And then she's like starting to associate that. And then when she goes inside to she sees the shattered doll and she tried and Helen tries to put it back together. And she starts crying because all of a sudden she realizes for the first time what she's done. She realizes that objects are objects, you know, that they're things.

The things have like life and souls to them. Wow. Yep. So that day she learns a ton of new words, mother, father, teacher, sister. Okay. So she points at Annie and Annie spells teacher. And that's what she goes to call Annie Sullivan for the rest of her life. Teacher. I know.

I'm wrecked. We're not okay. We're not okay. So she said that you could not find a happier child than her that day. Her world was completely opening up. She learned 30 words that day alone. Genius. Genius. And for the first time in her life, she longed for a new day to come. Quote, that is the moment in which Annie Sullivan gave me my human inheritance back. Oh, and she's like out of like a depression, I feel, as like a six-year-old. Exactly.

Exactly, Tess. Oh, my God. She can live again. Wow. And we're just getting started. Wow. So Annie decides to teach Helen how to communicate in the way that we teach babies who are able to hear and see. She's like, parents talk to them in full sentences and babies imitate that and then they just pick up. You might drop a word here or there, but they're just going to repeat the sentence again.

So she's like, I'm going to teach her by spelling full sentences and she'll pick up the rhythm of the language. If Helen didn't know the words or idioms necessary to express her thoughts, Annie would tell her even suggesting conversation when Helen was unable to keep up her end of the dialogue. So which I'm just like, wow, to like spell out.

I mean, it takes so long. I feel like they move so fast. No, that's so true. Like when I see people even doing ASL. No, it's crazy. Crazy. And then sometimes a new word revived an image that some earlier experience had ingrained into Helen's brain, which is lovely.

luckily for her that she did have 19 months even though you know like what how much do we retain yeah but it was something something in the book helen pointed out that it's a long it's a long road for a deaf child children who can hear pick up phrases from repetition and imitation and that makes them ask questions and that can like that expands their world you know and that we don't realize how much we learn just from hearing things and imitating things well that's why like aren't

Isn't that why you're supposed to read like infants even books? Because they could learn like 200 words when they're like – Exactly. Remember that, right? Do you remember that TV commercial that was like, talk to them? Yes.

to your babies yes but truly yes and it all makes sense yeah she said the conversation he hears just talking about a deaf child and in his home stimulates his mind and mind and suggest topics and calls forth the spontaneous expression of his own thoughts this natural exchange of ideas is denied to a deaf child my teacher realizing this determined to supply the kinds of stimulus i lacked

This she did by repeating to me as far as possible verbatim what she heard and by showing me how I could take part in the conversation. But it was a long time before I ventured to take the initiative and still longer before I could find something appropriate to say at the right time. So Annie's even like, add to this conversation. Now you say something back.

I know. Annie Sullivan. Annie Sullivan. My God. And she could see. Annie. Yeah. But it was... It would go back and forth between what she could see. But yeah, she was pretty visually impaired. Yeah. Also, it's hard enough to not be able to...

hear, but also if you can't see, we don't realize how much facial expressions matter, tone of voice with hearing. Oh, yeah. It's so much to be able to communicate with people. Well, yeah, like nonverbal communication is, it's like, oh, I know how you feel because you just did that with your eyebrows. Yes, exactly. Like you don't have to say anything else. Exactly. Yeah.

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Annie abandoned the normal way that other people would teach people in the situation. And she was like, let's get you outside. Let's get you into the world, into nature. They also did a lot of knitting and sewing so that Helen could work on her manual dexterity. And Annie had this philosophy that she would try to answer any questions that Helen might have about anything in the world. She's like, what is sex? Of course, it's like where our mind goes. Hey, we're going to be...

talk about her love life later on? Nice. Nice. Helen was just so eager to learn and like soak up this world that she could spell a few words. And then Annie was like, all right, it's time for you to start reading, which is crazy. So she started to teach her to read from, I think,

They said raised letters. Is that different than Braille? I mean, eventually she does learn Braille. I think Braille is like shortened version. Okay. Right. I think that you might be right. I think so. I saw an account that Helen learned how to read Braille in one day.

This, I do actually think that Helen was a very smart child. I mean, truly. I mean, clearly. And that she was denied, you know, the access to all these things. Yeah. And so once it was available to her, she was like, my mission in life is just to learn. Oh, for sure. And she wanted to.

Like she was craving it. Craving it. So like that makes sense. Exactly. So she eventually learned how to write like actual just English language too. So I guess Annie would take her hand and show her how to do that. Annie taught Helen the basics of arithmetic, botany, and zoology. Zoology. Zoology.

She was learning it all. Wow. Annie must be so freaking smart, too. I mean, this is more than I learned when I was this age. Same. So in May 1888, they decide that Helen, Annie, and Helen's mom should go to Boston and go to the Perkins Institute for the Blind where they met Annie. And they're like, let's just get her...

Yeah.

And this – Helen was different that she was both deaf and blind where most of these kids were just blind. Got it. But still, she could talk to these kids. Yeah. So at the school, they would go on field trips and they would ask all these questions about the world. Helen was always asking questions. She asked about color a lot, which again –

How do you begin to explain what color is to someone who can't hear or see? How do you? She, I don't really know. They said like, they, Helen asked what color her sister's eyes were and they were like blue. And so then Helen was like, oh, so are they like little skies on her face? So I guess she remembered the sky. Okay.

Because, God, because it's like you want to say, like, oh, it's like a feeling. But we, from how we have been, like, programmed, know that, like, blue is sad and red is, like, you know, those are all things that we've been taught. Right. And, like, orange is, like, the color of an orange. We're like, I've never seen an orange before. Ah.

I, again, we could not do this research. Hi, folks. No one should. No one should. She said, quote, it seems strange to many people that I should be impressed by the wonders and beauties of Niagara because they went to Niagara Falls for like a field trip. They're always asking, what is this beauty or that music mean to you? You cannot see the waves rolling up the beach or hear their roar. What do they mean to you? And the most evident sense, they mean everything. I cannot feel

fathom or define their meaning any more than I can fathom or define love or religion or goodness. Wow. And there it is. Because at one point, Helen asked Annie to describe what love is. Oh, Jesus. Oh, God. And he's like, the minute I find out, I'll tell you. Oh. I know.

It's just wild. That's a good point with like religion or faith or love. Like you can't really put a name to it, but you know you feel it. And so, you know, you enjoy it. Yeah. You know. It's like that children's book, What is God? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. I've heard that's a really great book, isn't it? It's like what I was read. It's what my mom used to read to me when I was a kid because it's very like hippy dippy. It's like it could be a rainbow in the sky. It could be you looking at two people hugging. Like it's like whatever you feel that gives you power. It could be like two older women fighting. Yeah.

I'm talking about the Real Housewives. Of course. And like, you can't stop watching it over and over. That is our religion. That is our God. But literally. Yeah. Andy Cohen. Andy Cohen is our God. And our daddy. And our king. That's right. So from all these field trips, Helen starts learning so much more and she becomes a bit famous. Like people are starting to see her out and about and people are like, wow, this is incredible that she can just function like this. Because at this time test, she's

People with disabilities were sent away, like, to sanatoriums. That's what they're called, right? Yeah, sometimes, like –

Killed. Yes, exactly. So they weren't out there in society. So the fact that people could see someone who didn't have their hearing or their sight functioning in the world like this. Yeah. It was incredible. She was taken to doctors conventions and doctors from all around the country would want to go and see Helen use her abilities. Annie, though, was like very reluctant about all this. She's like, I don't want her to become like.

A circus. I was just about to say. And like don't like – people are probably like, I want to study her because she's fascinating. It's like she's a human. Exactly. And she wants her to live her life still. And also, again, she's just a human. She's going to make mistakes like how other people do.

would too. Oh god, she's like a young woman. Yeah, exactly. So you know how she's writing at this point. Annie was like, I don't want to publish any of Helen's work. Like, she's just a girl. Yeah, yeah. But her use of language was quite incredible. By eight years old, she knows and uses the words. Oh, she's still only eight? Yeah. Oh my god, I was like, is she like 16 at this point? No, she's like eight or nine at this point. She uses words like phenomenon, perpetual, mystery, extraordinary. Love perpetual. Perpetual reminds me of Taylor. Um...

What is it? It's in Tortured Poets. It is. It means... Is it You're So High School? It's in something. She says perpetual. Yeah, she does. Taylor has like a big vocabulary. People were just like shocked with Helen. Also...

This is where I told Tess, we're going to be talking about Braille and Morse code because her cousin taught her Morse code and they used it. They loved it. They used it in the house. Helen's mom learned how to stomp. Helen, come here. And would stomp that on the floor. So Morse code is what they did in Titanic. Titanic.

Morse code. So Morse code also is like in the military where you can like, I think you can also like blink certain ways. Is it like sending help also like with like the flashlight? Yes, exactly. I think it's communicating every single way, but like. But with like beats and like. I think you can do beats. I think you can do stomping. I think so. Like.

Would mean something. One day we're going to figure out exactly what Morse code is. I could have looked up what it was. But I didn't. Is it Morse or Morris? It is Morse, which I also just found that out from Tess because she's like, Tess's mom always makes fun of me for saying Morris code. I was like, why? Yeah, Morse. It is. I believe it's M-O-R-S-E. So the person that probably invented it was? Was Morse. Morse? But also could have been Morris. Morse.

Morris, our astrology king, listen to our astrology episode. Morris, where are you right now? Hopefully listening to Ram. So by 1890, Helen was ready to speak. She was ready to actually use her voice. And she did this the way that they learned. They tried out a lot of different things.

They would lightly place her hand on Annie's face and they would have a finger on the lips, a finger on the throat and a finger on the nose. So she could feel the way that everything moved, the vibrations, the airflow. And she would try to mimic that. And I think sometimes she would try to put a finger on the tongue to see how your tongue moved.

Language is wild. It's crazy that we all know how to speak to each other. It's crazy that we can communicate right now. It's crazy. It's crazy that we know how to speak from hearing it and just repeating it back. Like she hasn't used her like tongue in that way. You know what I mean? Yeah. Because the tongue is like a muscle. So you have to like –

Exactly. And it was hard for her too, because like, if you have your finger on someone's tongue, you can't quite talk normal too, you know? Right. So in an hour, she learned six elements of speech, M-P-A-S-T-I. And her first connected sentence is, it is warm.

Yeah. Wow. However, it's a long journey for her speaking. There's actually videos on YouTube. I'll try to post it in our carousel of Helen Keller speaking. It's a little hard to understand because also she can't hear herself. Right. You know, and other people to correct it. But you can like pick up on what she's saying. And that is how she learned to speak. So there's videos of this from the 1890s? Well, she ended up dying in like the...

or something like that. Really? Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah, she was pretty old. I was like, were there videos? Yeah. But actually, well, there's videos of the Titanic. There's, and like, you know. But no sound, right? Yeah, exactly. That comes later. Check out our Clara Bow episode. An old Hollywood episode. That's right. So she, there are videos of her talking. Okay, wow.

Okay, wow. Yeah. But at 12, it's kind of like the first blow to Helen's happy life. Because at this point, she's like, I'm learning. I'm learning to speak like I am doing my thing. So Helen wrote this story called The Frost King. And she said it was just like,

for like from memory. It's like a short narrative story. And the head of the Perkins Institute for the Blind, Mr. Agnos, I think is how you pronounce it. He read it and he was like, okay, you crushed it. You're an incredible writer. You're an incredible storyteller. We have to publish this story. So they do it. And Annie's like, please don't publish her work. Like just don't. They do it. And then they figure out

the story was plagiarized. You dirty dog, Helen! But honestly, like, iconic. She's smart. She's resourceful. Truly. So she didn't realize it. I guess she had heard that she... What Helen says is that she didn't realize it. She thought that it came from her memory. We've all used that one.

It came to me in a dream. Yeah, truly. I'd be like, no, I swear. I, like, just made it up. It's like – and I think, like, the original story is called, like, The Frost Fairies or something. Yeah.

Hers was the Frost King. I can't just change a word. It's fine. Helen's turning tricks, like, actually. Well, Mr. Agnos, like, when it comes out that it's plagiarized, he was pissed. He said, this really made me laugh. I said, Mr. Agnos was like, this girl is the nastiest skank bitch I've ever met. Do you not trust her? She is a fugly slut. Is that when you text me and be like, I'm a Mean Girls reference?

I literally, it came to me, to me, and I just was like chuckling as I was writing it. Oh my God, that is so funny. He was so mad. He was like, you've betrayed me. You've betrayed the school. You've made me look like a fool. And he like... Well, I mean... And he banished them, like from the school. It seems like he's like projecting something a little bit too. He was like his... Well, this is like she...

And I was trying to tell him, like, stop. I think he wanted to be like, Helen Keller's learning from our school. This is what I can do for you. He wanted to claim her. Exactly. He was getting, like, territorial. Exactly. And she's not yours, honey. Exactly. So Helen said that joy deserted her heart for a long, long time, and she lived in doubt, anxiety, and fear. Books lost their charm for her, and even the thought of those dreadful days chills her heart. She just got in her head with writing because she's like –

Like I, if I thought that was mine, what actually is mine? Yeah. You must feel like a little like you don't trust yourself. She did not trust herself. So she didn't want to write or like read for a very long time. There's always the plummet, I think, you know, of just like it's going on the up and then you're just, yeah, it's hard. And that's exactly what it was for her. And I feel like

Any artist or like athlete, anything that you're performing and then someone critiques it a little too hard and it's a blow to your confidence. And it is so hard to get that back. Since the Blind Institute kicked her out, she turned to the deaf education community. She's like, I'm back. Alexander Graham Bell, she gave him a little ring again. She goes to this other school and this is the year test that she learns French.

Yeah. How does one, I mean, a few years ago she was in complete darkness and now she's learning French. She's also starting to learn Latin grammar.

And it's like, okay, so this is like one of the things that people are like, how could she possibly learn how to speak and communicate and talk? And it's like, but when you think about it, when you've got the base of the manual alphabet for her and like that's how she's learning to communicate, it's kind of just like how we all learn. It's just like you're then putting blocks on top of, you know, it's all like- Yeah, the building blocks are there. Exactly. Exactly. So then at 14, she goes to New York City to the right Humansons. Yeah.

That makes me think of Umansky. Umansky School for the Deaf. This is where she also learns German. So now we've got the manual alphabet, English, French, and German. And Latin? And Latin grammar. And she knows Braille. She said German was the easiest language for her to learn. She said French was pretty hard, but German was good.

I know. I know. So how she learned German is that her teacher would use a manual alphabet. And after she got a small vocab and that they would just talk together as much as they could in German. So it's just like, again, like how you learn any language, like if you're learning Spanish, the best way to go is somewhere where they just speak Spanish. Yeah.

Yeah. So she stays in New York for nine months and she loves it. She walked through Central Park every day and she would have Annie describe to her what she was seeing every single day. So was Annie with her like whenever she went out like by herself, Annie was with her? Yeah, they were like always together. And she then meets Mark Twain.

Oh. And they become really tight. Mark Twain was quoted as saying, Helen Keller and Napoleon are the two most interesting people to live in the 19th century. Damn. I know. She's meeting all the celebs. She's meeting like the coolest people. People who like invented shit. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So then Tess, it's time for college. Now, most colleges wanted her. They wanted to be like, we are the ones that had Helen Keller. Right. Except for one.

Radcliffe, which was the female version of Harvard. Because at this time, only men were allowed at Harvard. Why didn't they want her? They were like, we don't want the publicity. We just like don't want- Sure, sweetie. Sure. Sure, truly. But Helen wanted Radcliffe more than anything. I guess when she first heard about Harvard, she was like, that's where I'm going to go. And everyone was like, well, you're a woman, so you can't- She's like, wait, what sex is that? Yeah.

How do you describe sexism to this angel? It's like, wow, you can't even see. Wow. You know, when you talk about like sexism and racism when you can't hear or see things. Yeah. And you're like, wait, what? It's like, wow, that is actually the dumbest concept ever. Yeah. She's like, why are people fucking wasting their time? Right? Yeah.

There it is. Well, it's like explaining that to a kid, you know, when you're like, by the way, this exists in the world. And you're like, what? I know. I mean, I still feel like, and this is so stupid, but like, as I grow older, it's not stupid because you're just in the world more. Like, you just see how it affects you more and more, like how sexism affects you. Yeah. Yeah.

Crazy. On June 29th and 30th of 1899, she took her final examinations for Radcliffe College. She's like, you might not want me, but I want you. But I want you. And the first day she had elementary Greek and advanced Latin. And the second day she had to take geometry, algebra and advanced Greek. Nightmare. Nightmare. So I guess she was also learning Greek.

In algebra? Yeah. That's the scariest of them all. Yeah. Oh, no, I would say chemistry. Oh, God. Chemistry. Algebra, I took literally like five times, I think. And by the end, I was like, am I a math queen? I almost felt like algebra was easier at the end. Same. Like to learn at the beginning, you're like, what the actual fuck? It was not okay. No, but chemistry, I even had a tutor for chemistry and he's like, I don't even know how to help you with this grade. He's like, are you okay? Okay.

We needed Annie Sullivan. Like we needed someone who was patient. We needed her. But Randy, if you're listening, I do remember you and I appreciate you. I think Randy comes up. Well, I did date that Randy too. Okay. So different Randy. Different Randy. I knew a kid in my elementary school named Randy and he had the longest mullet I had ever seen in my life. Lindsay Parker, you know exactly who I'm talking about. They always had a mullet, I feel. If your name's Randy, you gotta have a mullet. Come on. Yeah.

The Randy I dated had long hair too. Wow. Hey. But then I made him cut it and then I broke up with him the next day. So sorry. It was a terrible thing to do. Honestly, I thank you for your service though. It was a lot better. It was for the best. But I was still like, even this can't do. My work here is done. My work here is done.

And I poofed into the universe. That's right. College authorities didn't allow Annie to read the examination papers to Howling because they were like, you might be cheating. Like you might be telling her things and giving her the answers, which I'm sure Annie's also like, like, you think I know all this stuff? Yeah, true. I mean, she may have. So they had one of the instructors at Perkins, the institution for the blind. They were employed to copy the papers for her in American Braille.

And the proctor, who's the proctor? Is that the test giver? I think so. Yeah. They were also a stranger and they didn't try to like help Helen out in any way. So they were not like, we're going to, we're not even going to make this an equal playing field for you. You just got to figure this all out on your own. Yeah.

Oh, my God. Yeah. So her Braille worked well enough in the languages. But when it came to geometry and algebra. Nope. Like how again, like you can't hear. Literally how. How do you explain that to someone? But guess what, Tess? In the end, she passed.

And she went to Radcliffe. Of course she did. And Mark Twain introduced her to Standard Oil magnate Henry Hedlson Rogers, who, with his wife Abby, paid for her education. Hot. Yeah, because she wasn't making money at this point. So they sponsored her and paid for her college education. Hot. Wow. Yeah.

I know. I love when rich people do cool, rich things. If you're rich, you should be pinning Helen Keller through college. Be generous. Absolutely. So Annie would sit with her in her classes and through the lectures would spell out all the lectures as fast as possible into her hand.

So then Annie was also getting a Radcliffe education as well by proxy. She's like, this is awesome. Did she have to pay? Or no? No, she didn't have to pay. Like they sponsored them together. Well, I don't even think they would charge Annie in class. So Helen actually learned how to write with a typewriter as well. And while she's in college, she writes her first book, The Story of My Life. And then there's the editor of the One Direction song. Oh,

Story of my life, I take her home. It's like the lyrics. One Direction actually plagiarized Helen Keller's book. Start the rumor. The trumer. Sue them. Sue them. One Direction. Helen Keller walked so that One Direction could run. Okay. And that's what Ram is here to tell you. Exactly. Deal with it. Deal with it. So the editor of that book was this guy named John Macy. And John Macy meets Annie and

I was really hoping that Annie would like, she needs to get some after all. I mean, she's been working really hard. She's dedicated to her. Annie needs to get fucked if I may be so bold. She needs to truly be that bold because that woman has some steam to let off. I'm sure she does.

God, she deserves it. Both of them do. Both of them. I know. Well, Helen's time is coming. That's true. She's still young. Yeah. So they sell the book and they finally have income now. Nice. Yes. And then Anne and John get married, which actually Anne set up a prenup.

She made sure of it. Queen. I know. We love a prenup. Yes, because also when they sold the book, Anne got half of all the royalties. Like Helen and Anne split it half and half, which I actually really love. That's amazing. If there was anything less than that, I'd be a little bit like, okay. Yeah, because it's like- It's been such a journey of the two of them. Exactly. It's the two of them. And they both have helped each other equally along the way. Annie was securing her bag and she's like, if I'm getting all this money, you're not going to take it from me in the end. Right.

In 1901, however, at the age of 35, Annie has a stroke and she becomes completely blind now. No! But it's okay. I mean, she's been functioning like partially blind. So, yeah, it's just not great. But now she is fully blind. Oh, Annie! I know. And then in 1904, at the age of 24, Helen graduates.

As a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, so she was a sorority girl. Check out our sorority episode. She graduates from Radcliffe, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude. Did she make friends during her time?

I don't know. I hope so. I hope so, too. I really do. I also just could see her, like, dedicating, like, everything to school and, like, I'm like, did she party? Did they party back then? Actually, I will say, I think Helen loved a good drink. Like, Helen had such a good sense of humor, and we'll see that later. Yeah. And she was in a sorority. Like, come on. Yeah, what do you think was her drink of choice? Hmm. Hmm. What would I, I mean, something strong. I feel like Helen's not going to waste time on, like. I think she's, like, a whiskey girly. Of course.

course yeah yeah like no ice just like neat straight neat with neat with ice no need is without yeah that's on the rocks yeah right right whiskey neat is the choice of Helen Keller she's like shoot it back shoot it back what is like cum laude cum laude is and their highest honors right and there's like cum laude or maybe cum laude is the highest than cum laude is like in the like second yeah and it just goes down

So, I mean, she crushed it, though. Crushed it. Crushed it. So post-college, she's living with Annie and John Macy. She writes another book, The World I Live In. And then, hell,

Helen gets into activism. She becomes a strong socialist, suffragist. Even from an early age, like when she was hearing about stories about the underdog, she got pissed because she wasn't an underdog herself. Totally. So she advocated for socialism because of her desire of what she said were the causes of blindness, overcrowding, unsafe work conditions, unsanitary conditions for the poor, which caused a lot of diseases and injuries that led to blindness. Yeah.

I never even thought about that. I never thought about that either. And it's like, of course. Like conditions. Yeah. Because she wasn't born being blind. No, exactly. And there weren't any workers unions back then.

Wow. Yeah. She's a queen. Yep. She's a goddamn queen. She said, quote, Wow.

And speaking of drinking, Helen denounced prohibition saying that poverty fueled drinking rather than the other way around. It's not drinking that makes people poor. It's the fact that they're poor that makes people drink. Damn. I know. Damn. She's so smart. She just gets it. She has the razz. She has the razz. Yeah. And this woman is learning 24-7. Like she's so smart because she's not like, I'm going to go out for a night like and drink with my friends or watch a movie. Not that people were like watching movies.

You know what I mean? Like, she's 24-7 just learning. And, like, the fact that she's just constantly...

constantly learning and soaking up information. And this is where she lands. Like we should listen to her. Yeah. You know, Mike should have studied a little bit more, but we're doing it right now. This is what we're doing right now with the work. So she spoke out forcefully against president Wilson's plan for the United States to enter into world war one when the government was spending a billion dollars in preparation, recruiting a million soldiers and on the verge of making it a crime to give speeches. Um,

and interfering with recruitment. Helen said this in a speech because she's starting to do speeches across the country and she would have like, and there's an interpreter for her, but she was getting on stage and speaking.

She said,

Helen Keller for president. Right? She's like, why would we support this war? Like, why are we defending a country that is not defending us? Just imagine if women had been leaders in this country for so long, where we'd be. Well, and it's so interesting because when she, critics attacked Helen for defiant radicalism and because it practically destroys her angelic image. Like, up until this point, it's like, ow, I just hit my funny bone. Oh, oh!

Oh, I heard that in the... It's vibrating. Rub it. I'm going to take a second. But like before this, Helen is like this angelic figure of like, wow, look at this, what this woman's overcome. And now that she's like speaking and she's like, actually, fuck that. People are like, oh, we don't like you anymore. Of course. They're like, oh,

Like we like to. Yeah. It's how this always goes. Yep. Exactly. She was like when people liked it when she was advocating for people with disabilities, but when she actually had an opinion. Talks about like feminism or war or. Yep. Yep. Or she wrote a book about socialism called Out of the Dark. And that book was actually burnt by the Nazis in World War II. They gathered up all of it.

Which like, honestly, if the Nazis are burning your book, you're probably doing something right. You know what I mean? Truly. Yeah. And there it is. And there it is. So also in school, we learn a lot about Helen as she's younger, but we don't learn about her accomplishments as much as an older adult. Like we learned, wow, she learned how to speak and read, but we didn't learn that she was a socialist and all of that. She actually was invested. She was on the FBI's radar because she was in so many groups that were so far left.

Yeah. So one of the reasons we're not taught about her when she's older is because she was part of socialist groups and like schools. I mean, this is why we have this podcast because history is very selective. Yeah. They're like, let's end it when she's like eight after she's learned German. Exactly. Exactly. And then...

I was reading this article. Oh, actually, I forgot. Times was also one of our – Time Magazine, our grandfather, was also one of my sources. In this article, it talked about the fight to incorporate disability history in our school's curricular. Haven Gurma, a black disability rights lawyer and the first deafblind Harvard Law School graduate said –

Quote, quote, quote, quote.

So it's like, it's so important to talk about all the things she accomplished as an adult as well and not just end it. Yeah, no, absolutely. At the miracle worker. So she also, Tess, she helped co-found the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU. Really? Helen Keller helped found that in 1920. That's crazy. More than 100 years later, the ACLU continues to defend the civil liberties and rights of historically marginalized people throughout the United States. Goddamn.

She was an early supporter of the NAACP and an opponent of lynching. And hold on, let me take a sip of my Diet Coke because I'm getting tongue-tied. Wow. And Tash, she was an outspoken feminist, suffragist. She fought for the woman's right to vote and she rode hard for birth control. Oh, yeah. She, yeah, she was like, give these ladies the pill. When did she lose her virginity? What do you think? I think...

I think she lost it at 36 and we're about to meet our player.

But just real quick on birth control. Yeah. But maybe she had lost it before this. And that's why she was like. Maybe at the woman's college. Yeah. Truly. When they hung out with Harvard. Or maybe. Or. We don't know. Yeah. With colleges for experimenting. Yeah. Truly. So she said with birth control. And one of her speeches, she said, quote, the fact has been rubbed into them that the world is already flooded with unhappy, unhealthy, mentally unsound people who should have never been born.

She was a pro-choice queen. She would definitely be a pro-choice queen. We love. She's like, why are we forcing people to have babies if they're not ready to have babies? Yes. It's as simple as that. And in poverty? Yeah. Like, why would we ever force? And we're not helping them. You guys are against socialism, but yet you don't want to support birth control. Yeah, exactly. The more things change, the more they say the same. Are you going to pay once this child is in the world and wants to go to school, wants health care? Yeah, no. No, you're not. No.

However, there is something that's a little troubling about Helen's beliefs. She also believes in eugenics at one point. So eugenics, it's the belief that the selection of desired... Is it heritable? Like your genetic characteristics in order to improve future generations. Eugenics is what the Nazis wanted to do. Right. Like breeding. Not good. Why did she... So...

I found some articles that were like eugenics at one point was thought to be progressive. So she was friends with Alexander Graham Bell that we know, and he wrote hard for eugenics. He pushed for the sterilization. This is so this whole part I'm just going to have to read because I don't know enough about it. And it's so contradictory to me.

He pushed for the sterilization of those he considered a defective variety of the human race, including the deaf, for whose eradication he advocated. Furthermore, deaf people, he thought, should be forbidden to intermarry for fear they would have deaf children. It's

It's so contradictory. Right. Then why would she be for that? I think that she was like my – if I had to guess what she would have thought about this, I think she would be like my life was hard enough. And if there's a way to not make it to where someone else's life has to be that hard, we should try to do that. I was just going to say that. But for someone like Alexander, that just seems very like –

Gross and like. And also like you're fighting so hard for these people's rights yet at the same time being like, but you should not be. But we don't want more of them. Yes. Ew.

Ew. I know. Really disappointing. Really. I was texting Emma about this and she was like pissed, which like eugenics is a terrible, disgusting thing. No, the core of that is evil. It is. And gross and racist. It is. So then I found an article saying that this period was short lived for Helen and that she never embraced eugenic policies like forced sterilization, like they would sterilize people.

Yeah, she never supported that. And eventually she moved away from the eugenics view. Still, it's like, it's pretty. At least we all learn and grow. Yeah, and she's an imperfect person. Yeah. Oh, totally. We all are. And it's really, it's disappointing. She's just a complicated, imperfect person as well as doing amazing things. Yeah. But let's get to some more fun things now. Yeah. So in June 1916, Helen's 36th,

John Macy, Anne's husband, had an assistant, Peter Fagan. Okay. At one point, Anne's pretty sick, so she can't translate for Helen. Sick with what? She's got cancer? No, I think it was just the time. I think also, like, her body was probably going through some shit. So she was just sick at this point. Peter steps in as Anne's interpreter.

And they fall in love. Oh, that's so sweet. Yes. He's like communicating with her. And so, yeah, they fall in love. And Peter proposes to Helen. He goes and he gets a marriage. So Helen is all in. Like she loves Peter. And they're spending so much time together now, too. Peter goes and gets a marriage license. It's very on the DL.

But a reporter hears about it and writes about it and puts an article out. And then it gets all the way back to Helen's parents and family in Alabama. Oh, yeah. They're like, hey, glad you're accomplishing so much in the world. And her mom is like, hell no. I don't trust this man. He's probably a star fucker. Also, I think with Helen's family and with Annie, like,

At one point, you got to let the bird fly. And I think that they had...

a problem with that. Yeah. Are they getting like a percentage of like her money and stuff? I think Anne was taking half of all of Helen's stuff still. I've seen some people. She's like, I'm going to keep this going. Yeah. She's like, come on. I've seen some people have not such nice things to say about Anne. I mean, to me, Anne gave Helen her life back. And I think that they did love each other so deeply. There will always be people that are like, she took advantage. Exactly. The star fucker thing will always come up.

Exactly. And we will never know the truth of all of that. I would like to live in the world that it was pure. But it is frustrating how everyone is like, I mean, Helen's 36 years old. And they're like, no, you can't marry this man. Because they saw her still as like being incompetent in a way. They're still thinking, yeah. Yeah. So she later refers, Helen later refers to this love affair as her, quote, island of joy surrounded by dark water. Right.

Yeah. So Helen's family. What did Helen look like? She's beautiful. Yeah. Check out our Instagram at Right Answers Mostly. We have pictures of her. Do you want me to Google a picture of her? Yeah, I would just like to. I'm like, I don't think I know. She's gorgeous. So this man's like, hello. Hello. Yeah. She was like a beautiful woman. Oh, stunning. Yeah. Yeah. Look at her. She's really cute.

She was a really cute little girl too. Oh. Look at that dog. Doesn't that dog kind of look like Tubby? Yeah, you think, hey. That's the Tubby reincarnated. Tubby was Helen Keller's dog. Spread the Troomer. Spread the Troomer. Spread the Troomer.

So Helen's family is like, absolutely not. You cannot marry him. And Helen is like, but daddy, I love him. Always in every subject we do of Ram, but daddy, I love him. So Helen's mom, what I found was like, you have to move back to Alabama. And if this man actually loves you, your love will stand the test of time. Okay, don't get involved. She's a 36-year-old woman, a grown woman. And so that's what Helen has to do. Yeah.

Why is she listening to her mom anyway? I mean, I don't know. I mean, her whole life she's been guided by people. No, I know. I know that's true. It's so complicated. And their love did not last. He didn't move back with her? No, he never did. He broke her goddamn heart? Her mom broke her goddamn heart. She never married. And Helen regretted never marrying, sadly saying later, quote, if I could see, I would marry first of all. I know. I know.

She just wanted to love and be loved. Of course, because that's what life is all about. Exactly. Who cares if you went to Radcliffe? Exactly. At the end of the day. How's your heart? How is your heart? And ask yourself that right now. Well, that's a whole can of worms that maybe we don't want to open up.

Yeah. But I hope that she got it in, though. I hope she did, too. I would like to believe. That wasn't waiting for marriage. No. I mean. No. She was that. She's pro-bird control. She's a socialist. Yeah. She's a socialist. She ain't messing with that shit. Come on. Well, hey. So we can only hope that Helen Keller had sex. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Truly. So she's hanging in Alabama for a while and then she moves to Queens with Annie and she starts working on her efforts on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind. They start doing a lecture circuit and then Tess, Helen, gets the acting bug and she makes a movie with Charlie Chaplin.

For her, you know that normally I'm irritated when people are like, I'm going to become an actress. It's like save room for people. But I'm really proud of her. It's like all these like – I'm sorry to say, Travis Kelsey is now acting. That is to me is when it just – Yeah. When models start to – like Kaya Gerber starting to act, that's when I'm a little bit like let's just – Right. You know. Yeah. Yeah.

But that's my own thing. It's not right. That's how I feel. Well, even Helen Keller was like, get me in there. They make a movie called Deliverance. And it was like about showing people – basically the movie was showing people that Helen Keller was just like us. And like they showed her –

doing normal tasks. But they also showed her flying a plane. And this is when people get really like, Helen Keller was fake because how can you fly a plane? I'm pretty sure they got her up there. Yeah. And like, you know? Yeah. You're not like doing it. Yeah. Yeah.

But I mean, like, maybe she did. I don't know. But I'm just like, I'm not going to get hung up on that. You know, also like who the fuck knows when your other senses are that heightened and as quickly as she's had to learn. And also the second you're up there, I'm not a pilot, but I think you don't have to like. And that's what I think happened. And I did see something of being like the vibrations of the planet.

and like all that stuff. You know what? I believe it. Go off, you know. I'm a Helen Keller apologist. Me too. Me too. So, and then she caught the acting bug because she goes into vaudeville. Helen Keller was also a theater kid. Of course.

Of course she was. Vaudeville was waiting for her. It was. They joined Vaudeville for a five-year circuit. They actually do this because they don't have any money. So Annie and Helen were like, we got to get some cash. Annie's like, get me that check, honey. Yeah, you work, Helen. Go bring it back to mama. So they're billed as the eighth wonder of the world.

Helen Keller would put on a 20-minute show telling her life story in her own words, and Annie would translate, and then there was a Q&A section so that people could see how smart Helen was and that she could show off her sense of humor. Shortly after Prohibition started, an audience member asked, what is the most important concern before the country today? And Helen Keller's response was, how to get a drink.

She had the razz. She had the razz. So they began a worldwide speaking tour also for the rights of blind people and for people with disabilities in general. She's meeting with the head of countries, presidents. She's fighting for the rights of people with disabilities. She traveled to 25 different countries giving motivational speeches about deaf people's conditions as well.

However, in 1936, Annie is really not doing well. She's 70 years old now. Helen's 56 at this point. And on October 15th, 1936, Annie had a coronary thrombosis and she fell into a coma. Sweet, sweet Annie. She dies five days later while holding Helen's hand.

So before she died, I guess Helen was led into her room and she felt Anne's face and she felt her hands and it just felt different. And Helen just started shrieking, it's not teacher, it's not teacher. And then when Annie died, Helen's guiding light is gone. Oh God, like who does she have now? So there was this woman named Polly who came along. Along came Polly.

So she at some point joined the gang when Annie and John Macy, oh, they ended up getting a divorce or they didn't ever end up actually getting a divorce, but they separated for the rest of time. And then Polly joined the crew. And then it was just like the three gals traveling around. Okay. So she has Polly. Yeah. So Polly becomes like her companion. Yeah.

Helen continues to do the work. She writes a few more books. In 1957, there's a play called The Miracle Worker based off of Helen's life. It premieres on Broadway. And then in 1962, it was made into a movie where Patty Duke plays Helen. Helen gets an honorary, she does end up getting an honorary degree from Harvard.

Yes. That's right. What she always wanted and it ended up happening. That's amazing. When it became co-ed. She makes peace with the Perkins School for the Blind and she gets an Oscar. Yeah. There was like a documentary made on her or something and it won for I think Best Documentary or something like that. So she got an Oscar and

And then she gets the highest honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Lyndon B. Johnson for her activism in 1964. But she actually can't go to the ceremony because she had had a series of strokes in 1961. And so at this point, she had retired from public events. Polly had also died at this point.

And then on June 1st, 1968, Helen died in her sleep at her home in Connecticut at 87 years old. That is wild. In her life, Helen had wrote 14 books and she had given more than 475 speeches. Good God. Yeah.

Her ashes are in the National Cathedral right next to Annie's and Polly's. The gals are together. The gals are together. And I will leave you with this final quote from Helen. Hopefully, I can post this clip on our Instagram carousel. Quote,

It is not blindness or deafness that bring me my darkest hours. It is the acute disappointment and not being able to speak normally. Longingly, I feel how much more good I could have done if I had acquired normal speech. But out of this sorrowful experience, I understand more clearly all human striving, wanted ambitions, and infinite capacity of hope.

What a beautiful story. And that is Helen Keller. I am so glad I actually know about her now. I know. Okay. So then like with all of this, it just makes me so annoyed. All the hardships for people to go on TikTok, not know anything about it and be like, she was fake.

Also, like, for what? Like, why are you even saying that? Like, does that make you feel better about yourself in some way? Yeah, what does that do for you? And it's also, like, have some critical thinking. Like, we can't – yes, it sounds impossible for someone who's deaf and blind to learn how to speak. But, like – But if you're not deaf and blind, then shut up because you don't know what it's like. And if you don't know someone who is, then how do you know? Yeah. Get a hobby, you know? Get a hobby. And it's just, like, the same thing that, like, we always talk about. Like, do the research before –

You know, being rude to people and about people in history. That's exactly right. Listen to this whole episode and then if you still think that she was faking it, you can have that opinion. Yeah. But... It's wrong. It's wrong. But you can have it. Sure. I'm not going to beat you up about it. You know what they say. Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one. Everybody has one. Well, Claire, that was just beautiful and just really special. I'm just so happy that we like...

Talked about her and that I know about her now. I'm so grateful that you guys suggested her. This one was kind of a tough one to get through the research at times. Yeah. It was just, yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot. But I'm so glad that we covered her. What an icon. Inspiring. Very, very inspiring. And I'm just so happy to be back. Yes, we're happy to see you babies again. Yes, next week is going to be very different. Very different.

So we're really excited about it. It's going to be a true shell shock. Yeah. And if you want to know what our episodes are ahead of time, join Premium because we let you guys know pretty much the whole schedule of what we know. Yes. Yeah. And we love you so much. We love you guys. Follow us everywhere at Brand Answers Mostly. Join Premium. Subscribe on Spotify. And then go tell your friends about Helen Keller and the amazing things that she did. Please do. Send this episode to them. Send it to your best friends. That's right. And we love you guys so much. Bye, guys. Bye.