Transcript
Speaker: Hello, and welcome to the Jeff and Sam show. So i'm Jeff, I'm your host Jeff, and the other host Sam, I'm literally pointing to an empty chair right there like she is across the table from me. She is not. She's not here.
Speaker: um We just got back from vacation where we literally had the best time in Norway. It is spectacular.
Speaker: um But because we just got back and we had to go to work because we got to make money. we are going to We decided to bring you like a little mixed tape episode. So I'm going to give you one of my favorite stories that I've done. And then I'm also going to give you one of Sam's favorite.
Speaker: Or one of my favorite episodes that she's done. So this is normally a true this is a true crime history comedy podcast. um Normally we flip a coin and then we tell each other a story.
Speaker: And we'll be back to that next week. Next Thursday, new shows. Okay? But this week, what you're going to get is the story that I did about Lawn Chair Larry.
Speaker: Larry Walters became famous for a stunt he did in 1982. He had this fascination with balloons. So he built an improvised aircraft using an ordinary patio chair and 42 helium-filled balloons.
Speaker: He floated to 16,000 feet in the air into restricted airspace near Los Angeles. And you will hear the rest. It is truly one of my favorite stories. And I even think I told this story originally with my aunt and uncle and dad and his wife sitting in the living room listening to this, I think.
Speaker: um And then you're gonna get Sam's story where she covered Hedy Lamarr. Now Hedy Lamarr was a very famous Hollywood actress. She was brilliant.
Speaker: She was also an inventor. And she was at one time known as the most beautiful woman in the world. But now, she also invented something called frequency hopping, and that's a technology that changed the world, and you will see why and this story.
Speaker: So sit back, relax, walk your dog, play golf, Take a run. um Drive your car. i can't think of what everybody tells me they do when they listen to this show, but I love everything about it. Sam loves everything about it.
Speaker: um If you're in Norway, take a ferry. They're pretty nice. Or take the fast boat. Anyway, we love you for tuning in or listening to us or hitting play on that little app and listening to us every week. It means the world to us.
Speaker: So next week, we will, tuning in, like you can tune into a, can you tune into a podcast? I'm talking to myself. Anyway, next week, we will see you with all new shows. We love you so much.
Speaker: Take care.
Speaker: Okay, I'm going to tell you a story now. But I'm going channel my uncle Courtney, okay? No pressure. No pressure, because he doesn't have to talk. I'm going to the storytelling. Because Courtney, many, many, many, many years ago at... Did you say many or mini? Many, many, many, many. Okay, because it sounded like mini. Well, many, many, many, many years ago.
Speaker: My uncle Courtney told me a story of this particular story at a party at my mom and dad's house. And it was one of those parties where there were probably so many people there.
Speaker: and he told me and my cousin Rodney this story, and it has been stuck in my little noggin for a very long time. You got a lot of stuff in that noggin, Jeff. Random stuff. How do you remember these things?
Speaker: yeah Courtney is very unforgettable. And when he tells a story, people listen to Courtney. And I did, but I didn't know the exact details of the story. Okay.
Speaker: So then I was like, well, time to read, time to learn the details. Cause my uncle Courtney is coming to see me. Okay. So you're now going to give your version of uncle Courtney's story. No pressure. Like I said, he's memorable. He's memorable. I'm not, I get that. I'm okay with that.
Speaker: Okay. Here we go. Me, me, me, me, me. me me me me Okay. This is a story about an ordinary man who did an extraordinary thing. This man is named Larry Walters.
Speaker: Larry was born April 19th, 1949 in California. Larry had a relatively normal childhood. um He grew up with his mom and his dad and his siblings. Larry's dad was a veteran. He was a bomber pilot in the Pacific and around eight or nine years old Larry told George, well, Larry told George Pimpton, the guy that wrote the article that I'm going to cite heavily throughout this, that when Larry was about eight or nine years old, he had a very formative experience.
Speaker: um He went to Disneyland in California and The first thing when he walked in, there was a lady holding what seemed like a zillion Mickey Mouse balloons.
Speaker: And Larry went, wow, I mean, you get enough of those and they're going to lift you up. This began Larry's passion for balloons.
Speaker: So Larry had always wanted to be a pilot. ah While later he did serve as a cook in the Army during Vietnam at first, he tried to join the Air Force back in 1970, but his vision wasn't good enough, so the Air Force wouldn't take him.
Speaker: However, Larry would indeed fly one day, even if it wasn't with the Air Force. There's no surprise ending to this story because the story itself is good enough.
Speaker: This is the man. This is a story of the man who strapped balloons to a lawn chair and went for his own kind of flight way above California. This is the story of lawn chair Larry.
Speaker: okay Courtney, do you remember this? I knew you would. This is legendary. This man's a legend. Okay, 1972, Larry met Carol.
Speaker: The two of them met. They fell in love. um He told Carol that he had this dream of flying, and he wanted to fly something that he created. She was like, no, she was very against it. And then one day while they were eating McDonald's, Larry said, quote, because I'm a McDonald's man, hamburgers, French fries and Coca-Cola's.
Speaker: Larry said he was at this McDonald's when he devised his first plan. He pulled a quarter from his pocket and he began to draw balloons on the placemats. He decided that these balloons could carry him on some sort of chair.
Speaker: Larry was so committed that he took a parachuting class at Elsinore Flight School in Paris, California. perry yeah Paris, California. He then bought a parachute for $900. That's a lot of money. I think Carol bought him the parachute for $900. I'm pretty sure that's the case because Carol was just, she was resigned at this point. She was like, let's let Larry be Larry. He's going to do this or not, you know?
Speaker: So Larry went Let's it as Exactly. Larry went on to purchase other so essentials that included a two-way radio, an altimeter, a hand compass, a flashlight, extra batteries, a medical kit, a pocket knife, eight plastic bottles of water to be placed on the sides of the chairs for ballasts, a package of beef jerky, a roadmap of California, a camera, a BB gun for popping in the balloons, and a couple of two-liter bottles of Coca-Cola.
Speaker: What is a roadmap going to do California? Air travel. I think it's so he could... kind of get a sense of where he was because it's not only just of roads, right? It's the mountains that he's going to be flying over and if this is successful, right? I guess. So he also purchased 42 weather balloons. Each was about seven feet in diameter. Each balloon could lift about 14 pounds.
Speaker: Altogether, the balloons could lift a quarter of a ton. He also purchased a lawn chair at Sears Roebuck for $109.
Speaker: When it was assembled, Larry named his flying contraption the Inspiration One. Larry was having fun. His mother, on the other hand, she thought he was either possessed by the devil or had Vietnam Stress Syndrome, which is now called PTSD.
Speaker: So this brings us to the day before. Larry was ready to take flight in his lawn chair at midnight the night before with the balloons blown up. A couple of cops stopped by and they were like, yo, what's going on?
Speaker: And Larry was like, I'm just preparing to shoot a commercial in the morning. After all, the chair with all the balloons were about 150 feet high. It's California. It's Los Angeles area. So they kind of bought it. They were like, oh, commercial thing. st okay we're Why not? There's weirder things.
Speaker: Absolutely. So the next morning before takeoff, someone there decided to get Larry ah life jacket just in case the chair and the balloons headed out to sea. And the chair had no seatbelt, by the way. oh So here we are. It's the 2nd of July, 1982 at Carol's home.
Speaker: Carol, who's like, ah damn it, Larry. Really? Just thing. Be safe. 1030 in the morning, Larry sits down in the chair. This chair that he's named, as I said, the inspiration, he calls it his flying machine.
Speaker: Larry's original idea was that he would rise about 100 feet above Carol's house, and then he would be tethered by the length of a rope tied around the 1962 Chevrolet Bonneville.
Speaker: That was his idea, right? Sounds like a good idea. Sounds like a good idea. So the chair was released, And Larry took off. Larry was rising at a speed of 800 feet per minute so fast that when it reached the end of the tethered rope, the rope snapped.
Speaker: And the chair went forward so violently that not only was Larry now headed up into the sky, his glasses fell off and he couldn't see that good. Couldn't read the roadmap. Girl, we know about bad vision, don't we? don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker: So at this point, Carol calls to Larry on the CB radio and she, you can hear this. You can still, you can hear Carol's audio. She said, Larry, if you can't see, you have to come down now.
Speaker: Larry reports back. I'm a okay. I'm going through a dense layer of fog. Carol said, well, Oh my God. Keep talking, Larry. We've got airplanes. They can't see you. You're headed for the ocean. You're going to have to come down.
Speaker: Larry's like, no, I'm good. I'm good. I'm flying. Finally. We're good. Yeah, just flying. This was his dream. Leave me be, woman. Man's got a dream. Yeah. So Larry is now 2,500 feet altitude.
Speaker: People are telling him to come down, cut the balloons. Larry said he thought to himself, this is his dream. Plus, his Carol probably had spent a lot of money on this, and he was determined to have a good time. Yeah.
Speaker: This is a quote from Larry. He said, quote, the higher i went the more i could see and it was awesome sitting in this little chair you know look it's unreal i see the orange funnels of the queen mary i see the big seap plane of howard hughes called called the spruce goose with two commercial tugs alongside of it the higher up the oil tanks of the naval station like little dots catalina island in the distance the sea was blue and opaque I could look up at the coast like forever.
Speaker: And at one point, I caught sight of a little private plane below me. i could hear the buzz of its propellers, and that's the only sound I could hear. And I really love this next part best. I really love this next part. but He said,
Speaker: I had the camera, but I didn't take any pictures. It was something personal to me. i only wanted the memory of it, and that was vivid enough. Don't you love that?
Speaker: It's living in the moment. He had that, but he was like, no, this is for my memory. This is mine. This is my delight. Okay. So now Larry's about 15,000 feet.
Speaker: He's like all hill. So he decides he needs to start his descent. So his cruising altitude was supposed to be about 8,000 to 9,000 feet, but he's since well surpassed that, right?
Speaker: So he takes the BB gun and he shoots seven of the balloons. The balloons fell, so he put the gun down to check the altimeter, which he kept on his chest so he could just bring it up and look at it. Then a gust of wind came and blew him sideways. While Larry did not fall, the gun fell right out of his lap.
Speaker: oh no He said, to this day, i can see it falling, getting smaller and smaller and smaller, down toward the little houses three miles down. huh And I thought, I hope there's no one standing down there.
Speaker: He hadn't even had a backup. He had backup BBs, but he didn't have an extra backup BB gun because it never occurred to him that he would need an extra gun. So after the gun fell, Larry hit about 16,500 feet.
Speaker: ah The air was thin and he was having to take deep breaths to get a little bit of air in. He was so close to getting out of the chair and attempting to use the parachute, but at 16,500 feet, he was also spotted by Delta flight crew and a TWA flight crew.
Speaker: went out When asked how high he thought he would go had he not shot the balloons, he said the FAA said during the hearings that it was estimated that he could get up to about 50,000 feet and turn into a popsicle.
Speaker: At about two to three miles high, the altitude temp is about five to 10 degrees. So right when he really started to worry about this, the helium in the balloons started to leak out, to go away. Okay.
Speaker: Now at 13,000 feet, Larry got into a conversation on the radio from the emergency services. services The operator asked, what airport did you take off from? Larry said his point of departure was 1633 West 7th Street in San Pedro.
Speaker: The operator asked, I'm sorry, can you repeat the name of that airport? He said, the difficulty is, ma'am, that this is an unauthorized balloon launch, and I know I'm interfering with general airspace.
Speaker: I'm sure my ground crew has alerted the proper authorities, but can you just call them and tell them that I'm okay? He said also, quote, Oh.
Speaker: he said then can you just tell carol that i love her So now it's around noon and Larry had been flying for about an hour and a half and he's finally getting closer to the ground. He gets so close that now he's hearing dogs barking, horns honking, and even voices.
Speaker: At about 300 feet up, the inspiration started descending faster. So he took his knife and he started cutting the water jugs to let some of the water go to release the water and the weight.
Speaker: He could see the rooftops coming up and the power lines coming up. And the chair went right over this man's home. He said that the guy who owned the house was out reading his paper on his chase lounge by his pool. And he looks up and Larry is like floating over his house with all these balloons.
Speaker: Now the problem is that Larry is headed right toward the power lines. it ain't one thing, it's two, you know? If Larry hits the power lines, he could be electrocuted.
Speaker: But in a wild stroke stroke of luck... He instead of hitting the power line directly, the nylon covered cables that connected Larry's chair to the weather balloons are the ones that got tangled in the power lines. luckily Luckily for Larry, the nylon isn't conductive. So Larry not only avoids being electrocuted, he also avoids hitting the ground at a very fast speed.
Speaker: Two birds, one stone. So he's just tangled in power lines? He's tangled in the power lines. Okay. Which knocked out the power to most of LA. oh Now Larry's insane flight has ended with him dangling feet above somebody's yard.
Speaker: That someone was an actual airline pilot. ah The man sitting out at his chase lounge was an actual pilot. yeah yeah So ah to make sure that Larry could be safely brought down, the power to Long Beach is turned off for about 30 minutes.
Speaker: He's put in a police car, but he's soon free. The cops are really sure of what law he had broken. They were like, I think he broke a law, but I don't know what the law was. ah The cop told him that he would probably be hearing from the f FAA more than likely. He already spoke to him. Yeah, in the air.
Speaker: One of the spect spectators on the street was a young kid, and the young kid ran up to Larry and said, can I have that chair? And Larry said, yes. Larry later regretted that decision. Carol said later on that the chair should be in the Smithsonian.
Speaker: Fair, right? So just landing, Larry said to the press, quote, it was something I had to do. I've had this dream for 20 years, and i had if I hadn't done it, I think I would have ended up on a funny funny farm.
Speaker: Since I was 13 years old, I've dreamed of going up into the clear blue sky in a weather balloon. By the grace of God, I fulfilled my dream. But I wouldn't do this again for anything. oh Larry was slapped with a $4,000 fine from the FAA for violations, but he appeals this. It gets brought down to $1,500. Larry becomes a national sensation.
Speaker: He was on a show called The A-Team. He scored a brand deal with Timex. Carroll recalled that the writer of The New Yorker did some drawing of then-President Reagan in a lawn chair with the caption of, Another nut from California.
Speaker: Larry was on the Johnny Carson show and he was also on David Letterman 10 days after his flight. And David Letterman and Larry Walters are having the time of their life.
Speaker: David is loving this man that has just flown with balloons. Just because. Yeah, absolutely. Just because. So Larry, this is the ending of the story. Larry and Carol's relationship did not last.
Speaker: They drifted apart. um They spent 15 years together and then went their separate ways. They remained friends. um Larry takes a job he loves at the U.S. s Forest Service. He becomes an outdoor enthusiast. Sadly, though, in 1993, Larry dies, but he dies near a canyon in California that he loved.
Speaker: um That is, it's a sad ending kind of to a story that still makes people smile to this day. However, the story of Larry and his flight on the Inspiration One still lives on today.
Speaker: The song Walters by American band Pinback from their 2007 album Autumn of the Serpas is about the event. ah There's a comedy, a musical comedy based on it in the United Kingdom.
Speaker: In 2003, Australian comedy film based on it in a documentary. as for Larry's lawn chair, well... The lawn chair used in the flight was reportedly given to that admiring boy named Jerry, though Larry regretted doing it.
Speaker: So when the Smithsonian Institution asked him to donate it to the museum 20 years later, Jerry donated it to the Smithsonian. So now the lawn chair is at the Air and Space Museum.
Speaker: um
Speaker: The chair was sitting in a garage attached to some of the original tethers and water jugs used to the ballast. That's actually what's now in the Smithsonian. That's so cool. can see the whole contract the whole inspiration you can see.
Speaker: The chair was placed on loan to the San Diego Air and Space Museum, where it was exhibited in 2014. It was later donated to the Smithsonian. The lawn chair is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in D.C.,
Speaker: And that is the wild and absolutely unbelievable true story of Lawn Chair Larry. Lawn Chair Larry, you know, what a man.
Speaker: i have to say, Courtney, did you know the details of that? You did not. do you remember telling that story? Very vaguely, I do. Yeah. ae that So that story's always kind of stuck with me. And it's like a party trick that you have when you're you're you're there. You're like, let's just share. This is something fun to tell of the story. But I thought since Courtney work was coming, let me dig into the details. I love that.
Speaker: And give you that story. So what's the login here for Wi-Fi? You know, like if I wanted to get on your Wi-Fi. Yeah.
Speaker: Anyway, yeah how often do you ask that question? When you go to friends' houses, family members' houses, when you're at a doctor's office, a restaurant, it did it happens a lot, right? Yeah.
Speaker: So it makes life and communication easier, obviously. But have you ever stopped to think about how it came to be? No. I mean, maybe. Maybe. But no.
Speaker: But maybe. Yeah. So I would say that not many people know, but somehow I i know just enough weirdos, and weirdos is a very endearing term um because they're actually geniuses, who would know all of the details of the story. So if you do, then right on, that's awesome.
Speaker: But this story is not for you. This is for the people who are kind of like me and don't have obscure historical facts stored in a weird recess of the mind hole.
Speaker: I found out about this woman. And I like to take deep dive because it's it's just not what you would expect. Okay. Okay. November 9th, 1940, or 1914.
Speaker: Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Keisler in Vienna, Austria. Okay. But also, I know you're not a Harry Potter nerd, but her name was Hedwig. yeah. That's the owl. That's brought me so much joy. Anyway, she was the only child of a wealthy Jewish family.
Speaker: Her father doted on her. He was a bank director as his profession, but he never turned away from questions about things around him. Always curious in mathematical and scientific fields, he and Hedy frequently went on long walks together where they would discuss the inner workings of different types of machines. So just kind of piqued your interest. And this started when she was five years old. Okay. Okay.
Speaker: So thanks to these conversations, by the age of five, Hedy was frequently seen taking apart her music box and reassembling it just to see how it worked. as math and science oriented Hedy's father was, her mother was equally successful in the arts and music.
Speaker: She was a concert pianist, and this influenced Hedy to join the ballet and take piano lessons and then like kind of enter into the art scene. So she was taking shit apart, putting it back together. And then she was like doing ballet, doing the thing. Right. So she, she had like two sides of this coin. Right. and in nineteen fourteen or And in 1914 or 1920s, like a little girl, you don't see it much. Right. Like girls are supposed to be girls back then. Right.
Speaker: So in addition to her brilliant mind, Hedy was a beautiful girl. Genuinely stunning. If you look at pictures of her, it's it's she's got that classic beauty. Okay?
Speaker: At the age of 16, her looks and talent for the arts caught the attention of director Max Reinhardt. She began acting in Berlin and was in her first film in 1930.
Speaker: By 1932, she gained fame as a star in a very controversial romantic drama film called Ecstasy. Ooh. In Europe, everywhere except Germany, because, you know, at the time, Germany wasn't great. Yeah. The film was well-received and considered a work of art.
Speaker: It won an award at the Venice Film Festival. Because of its scandalous scenes, there's a little touch of nudity and then also maybe a close-up of her face in the throes of an orgasm.
Speaker: Okay? And by maybe, I mean definitely. I wonder how much nudity there was. Right? Side boob. Right? Was it side boob? Was it legs? like What are we talking? you think it was a nipple? I don't think so. Not in the No. It was probably like knees. knees We can't show it. Your knees are showing. Yeah. Sorry.
Speaker: So America was not thrilled by this. I mean, it it it gained world renown, right? But America was like... The whore, right? So they banned the movie here and also in Germany because it's Germany.
Speaker: um After the negative publicity, she wanted to withdraw from the public eye but she wasn't at all successful in that. Okay. She started stage productions, received accolades, and started kind of collecting admirers. She tried to avoid them and was like, oh, thanks. Like, that's great, but really wouldn't interact with them much.
Speaker: But by 1933, she married an adoring fan named Friedrich Alexander, a.k.a. Fritz Mandel. I just love the name Fritz. Right? Me too. Fritz.
Speaker: Did you ever watch The Closer? Uh-uh. Oh, my God. It's got Keira Sedgwick in it. Yeah, I did. Yes. Yes. just love her. Also in scandal, it's the president's name.
Speaker: Yeah. Fritz. Didn't she call him Fritz? Fitz? I think might have been Fitz. Okay. Sorry. I'll have to look that up. and We digress.
Speaker: So Fritz was a successful and wealthy Austrian munitions dealer. oh Lamar was taken by his charm, his charisma, and And his exceptional wealth didn't hurt either. He, at the time, was considered the third wealthiest man in the country.
Speaker: Her parents tried to dissuade her. Being of Jewish descent, both her mother and father did not approve of Fritz's close ties with a couple of tough guys, Mussolini and Hitler. Shit.
Speaker: Dun, dun, dun. Shit. Although he was enamored with her, it quickly became obvious that she would not be allowed to continue acting as she wanted to. Fritz made it known that he did not like the role that she had played in Ecstasy.
Speaker: She was once quoted saying, Mm-hmm.
Speaker: i was like a thing some object of art which had to be guarded and imprisoned having no mind and no life of its own
Speaker: As an arms dealer, Fritz hosted countless dinner parties during which Hedy was made to be the good housewife and the host. She smiled on demand when the guests noticed her, some of whom were these scandalously associated, you know, Italian fascist regime, German Nazi party, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker: Hedy was even taken into meetings. Some people think that Fritz brought her to these like business meetings, hoping that just her presence and her vibe and her look would sway the people to like, buy from him.
Speaker: Side boob. Buy from me. Your side boob. um So he didn't like think about her brain or the bravery that she had kind of inside of her. right Didn't really think of her as anything when he brought her to these meetings with scientists, politicians, engineers, all the things, all these people who are scheming and doing shit. Right.
Speaker: and this is, 1930s, right? We're coming up. During the dinners and meetings, her mind woke up. I bet it did See? That's her weapon right there because they all were underestimating this woman. Count her out, right?
Speaker: The science she had so loved but had been put aside for the screen started to spark her interest again. In 1937, Hedy fled her marriage and his associations.
Speaker: It's semi-unclear how she got away. Some accounts claim that she disguised herself as one of her maids and fled. Another story claims that she persuaded Fritz to allow her to wear and show off all of her jewelry. Like she was this shining gem that she wanted to show off, right? And then managed to slip out after dinner and just escaped.
Speaker: We don't know which one. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Who knows? Mm-hmm. She made her way to London through Paris and did some stuff. But she with her, she took the knowledge and the information that she had picked up from her dinner table talk with her diabolical husband, his war and weapons friends. Okay. So.
Speaker: That's amazing. Yeah. While in London, she met Louis louis B. Mayer from MGM Studios. With this introduction, she maneuvered her way to Hollywood. And she was, she I mean, she was just so smart. So this man offers her like $250 a week, right?
Speaker: And she's like, no, not interested. And then manages to like end up on the same train with him and strikes up a conversation by the end of the train ride like,
Speaker: she's now offered $500 a week. Yeah. Good for her. She did the damn thing. She quickly gained the hearts of her American audience. She had had a rapid and impressive climb into big films that won all types of awards and broke records for profits made.
Speaker: And let me just give you a ah quick little rundown of some of these movies and stuff. Okay. And the people that she worked with. Cause God damn. She starred in Algiers, the 1938 movie that people who watched the movie on screen reported that when her face first appeared on screen, the entire audience gasped.
Speaker: Lamar's beauty literally took one's breath away. All right. Boomtown in 1940, which made five. I've heard of that. Million dollars 1940. Okay.
Speaker: And then White Cargo in 42. And then one of the biggest movies was sit her starring role in the movie Samson Delilah in 1949, which was the highest grossing film in 1950 and the winner of two Oscars. Wow.
Speaker: Okay. Her roles landed her on the screen or stage with names like Spencer Tracy, the King of Hollywood, Clark Gable, o Claudette colburn cole Colbert, Colbert,
Speaker: James Stewart, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Robert Walker from Strangers on a Train. Dear God. Walter Pidgeon from Mrs. Miniver, Robert Young from Father Knows Best, and William Powell from the... And like way so many.
Speaker: and she's And she's, you know, some of these roles, she's kind of in the background, all that kind of stuff, but... there pictures of her, like, glamorous pictures of her? You know what's crazy? It's like, it's...
Speaker: it's just a she yes there is and it's even her non glamour shots are just stunning you know it's that it is that classic beauty you know it's also in the 1930s and 40s where even just to outside like perfection yeah yeah So shortly after extremely successful film in 1950, she started in a few films that kind of flopped. So her acting career kind of started declining.
Speaker: But her time at Hollywood served as more than just acting opportunities. It led her to meeting and dating a man named Howard Hughes, which who was a pilot and businessman. business man Hughes woke her mind up even further with his innovation and curiosity.
Speaker: He supplied her with tools and instruments and like a work table set up in her trailer so that she could use the time in between scenes and cuts to experiment and tinker. I think I know who you're talking about.
Speaker: I think. And when you say this, I'm just now thinking, am I going to know this? Because I think i know who you're talking about. Mm-hmm. Together, the couple visited his airplane factories and learned how planes were built.
Speaker: She met with scientists and engineers. Hughes was motivated at the time to create better planes that would be faster and could be sold to the Hedy was like, let me work. So she buys books about birds and fish, uses the information about how those creatures move in the sea and the sky, and she creates a new wing design for Hughes' planes.
Speaker: And he immediately looks at his designs and goes, oh my god, you're a genius. Duh. Alright. So she invented little things like a new stoplight design, okay? and then a dissolvable tablet that when dropped in water effervesced to become a coca-cola type soda okay so she's all over the map here all right like what um and then as world war ii neared she was introduced to a man named george anthill george was an eccentric and clever man known for writing film scores and music compositions that were a little bit long
Speaker: He and Hetty became fast friends. They shared interests and stories and worries about the coming war. She began to realize that the knowledge she had accumulated from her ex-husband could be useful for finding the Axis powers.
Speaker: The pair began tinkering with
Speaker: sorry. That was the sound effect. Okay. so I'm sorry. That was the sound effect.
Speaker: It got me. I didn't mean to. Just caught me off guard there. but That was supposed to be an inside. ah That was the best. wentwork yeah Every time I stumble over a word, I'm just going to start going. We're going to just leave this in. Alan's leaving this one in. we are We are. And you know what? We made it this far.
Speaker: This is good, this is good. Okay, anyway. Okay, we're good now. So george George and Hetty buddies, they're tinkering, they're building stuff, they're experimenting, creating all sorts of stuff that they think will be able to combat the the Axis powers forces. So using concepts that George had previously used in his composing, the pair got to work miniature, miniaturizing the idea and applying the musical theory into technology. What the fuck? What the fuck? Amazing. Exactly. So they created a new communication system that involved something called frequency hopping across radio waves. huh
Speaker: The purpose was to implement the system in guiding torpedoes more specifically to targets. The system prevented interception of the transmissions because it involved transmitter and receiver hopping.
Speaker: So it basically like jumbled the whole situation so that nobody could track where the thing was, right? And intercepted. So they applied for a patent and military funding. They were granted patent number really large. I don't even feel like saying it. However, the Navy decided against implementing the system.
Speaker: Hetty continued to support the war efforts, not with her mind, but with her looks. With looks to rival icons like Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, and Audrey Hepburn, she sold war bonds.
Speaker: She became an American citizen officially in 1953. In 1960, Hedy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She moved to Florida and became more withdrawn from public interaction. Over the years, she was the plaintiff in numerous cases involving companies using her image and her name to sell products. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: um without her permission. Unfortunately, she was found dead at the age of 85 in January 2000. She had died of complications from heart disease. Wow. 2000. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Wow. Yeah. Her son, the one who hadn't been estranged and written out of the will, because, you know, fuck that guy, scattered her ashes partially in Austria's Vienna woods, and then the remaining ashes were buried at the memorial that was built for her in the center of Vienna's Central Cemetery.
Speaker: While her original patent had expired many years before her death, the technology unused. In the 1960s, the technology was reintroduced and adapted for worldwide use.
Speaker: So, she i mean ah she made money as an actress and all that kind of stuff, but she never saw a dime for her invention. ah Finally, in 1997, Lamar and Antheil were recognized for their genius.
Speaker: From the Electronic Frontier Foundation, they received the Pioneer Award. Lamar became the first woman to receive the Invention Convention's... The... Gas... Something. Spirit of Achievement Award. Can't even pronounce it. That's weird.
Speaker: She... Years after her death in 2014, Hedy Lamar was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for the development of the frequency-hopping technology that...
Speaker: is the foundation for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. That's insane. So the actress who was awarded more times than I can count for things like her looks, her talent, and her voice was not just a preface. The innovation and scientific wonder that her father had instilled in her as a child contributed to the systems that we rely on every day.
Speaker: Fucking awesome. Yeah. That was good. See, show a man a side boob. They forget everything else, you know? True.
Speaker: They forget how smart yeah she was. Yeah. i You know, it's just a shame. i i I was kind of hoping that there was like a better, like yay thing.
Speaker: But, you know. Oh, that was acknowledged after the fact. that was good. but She died in 2000. That's wild. Yeah, but you you should definitely, definitely look at her pictures because she really is stunning. And you do. You hear people talk about all of like our American...
Speaker: actresses from the 30s, 40s, 50s. And yeah, they are just gorgeous. yeah And it is. it's It's that beauty that like, it's not fake. It's not, nothing's augmented. Nothing's, you know, and ah yeah, she was definitely one of them. You know, the stories kind of like intersected today. And she had these eyes that were like piercing. They were so beautiful. Okay, I'm going to look. Yeah, our stories, when you started telling your story, it was like. They intersected. That was cool. Yeah.
Speaker: And we, you know, guys, we have no idea of what each of us are going to tell. so i thought that was cool. Yeah. Good show today. That was really cool. And we had a laugh. And we had a laugh when you went, mama that just got me. It hit the funny bone right there. It's either that sound or meat more.
Speaker: Right? I like that one too. You text that one a lot. I do. think it expresses a lot. It does. It says everything. Are you ready to go home and like hunker down? Are you going to just sleep are you going watch TV? I'm going to watch TV. I'm going to watch. I'm going wrap myself in my heated blanket. I'm going to maybe make myself little hot toddy.
Speaker: um Maybe just in seven minutes. Words are hard. We say that every show. Words are hard. Words are hard.
Speaker: ah but I just, I want to say, i did it. I made it through the story. And we didn't really get sidetracked. So it was good. That was good. That was really good. We had a good show today. I'm proud of it. I'm very proud of it. High We have shirts with Peach shreddy balls. Shreddy balls. Shreddy balls.
Speaker: And, ah you know, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. People who listen to this show. Share us. Tell everybody about us. But it also means a lot to us that you take the time to listen to this show.
Speaker: You say stuff to us that we've said. You tell us that you like the show. That means a lot to us. So thank you very much. And I think that is it for the day, right?
Speaker: It is. And remember, we are only here for a good time. Not a long time. Amen. Goodbye.
