1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,799 Speaker 1: Hi, this is David Means and you're listening to the 2 00:00:02,839 --> 00:00:15,000 Shirley You Can't Be Serious Podcast. Hello everybody, and welcome 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,160 back to the Shirley you Can't Be Serious Podcast, Special 4 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,280 Edition five Minutes of Fire. We are here talking about 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,640 the lyrics of We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel. 6 00:00:24,679 --> 00:00:27,000 We're covering only five minutes at a time, which is 7 00:00:27,039 --> 00:00:28,679 about to link with the song, so it works out 8 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,519 kind of nicely. So please join us as we dive 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,159 into some new lyrics today. 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 2: All right, guys, so here are the topics that we're 11 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,920 going to be covering today. Mafia, hula hoops, castro. 12 00:00:42,119 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: Okay, Jason, what is the mafia? 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 2: Okay? So this has to be the story surrounding the 14 00:00:46,719 --> 00:00:50,560 nineteen fifty nine LaCOSA Nostra mob boss Vito Gena vs. 15 00:00:50,759 --> 00:00:54,359 This guy was convicted of conspiracy to violate narcotics law 16 00:00:54,439 --> 00:00:56,719 and sendenced to fifteen years in prison nineteen fifty nine. 17 00:00:56,759 --> 00:00:59,000 GENOVC was one of these guys that would continue to 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,359 operate his organized crime group from prison. Genovs rose to 19 00:01:02,359 --> 00:01:06,120 power during prohibition as an enforcer. Genovs and his associate 20 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,719 Lucky Luciano took part in the Castillo Marisi War, which 21 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:11,400 was the war for the control of New York and 22 00:01:11,439 --> 00:01:13,879 it helped shape the rise of the mafia and organized 23 00:01:13,879 --> 00:01:16,319 crime in the United States. He also helped expand the 24 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,719 heroin trade internationally. This is a tale of blood murder, cash, drugs, 25 00:01:20,879 --> 00:01:23,560 mob hits. The works got of a heart attack, Springfield, 26 00:01:23,599 --> 00:01:25,400 Missouri Prison, nineteen sixty nine. 27 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: You what can you tell me about hula hoops? Okay, Jason? So, 28 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,519 as it turns out, hoops have been used by children 29 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,319 as toys for hundreds of years, dating back to five 30 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,879 hundred BC in Greece. Wow. But something happened in the 31 00:01:36,879 --> 00:01:39,439 fifties that brought them to a new light. It turns 32 00:01:39,439 --> 00:01:42,719 out that there were a couple of Americans driving through Australia. 33 00:01:42,799 --> 00:01:46,159 They happened to see these children laying with hoops, Except 34 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,079 they weren't rolling on on the ground, which was the 35 00:01:48,159 --> 00:01:51,280 normal use for the hoops. They were spinning them around 36 00:01:51,359 --> 00:01:54,760 their waist. There was an Australian teacher who had given 37 00:01:54,799 --> 00:01:57,480 the kids a game to try to keep the hoops 38 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,359 from falling to the ground as a way of exercise. Eventually, 39 00:02:01,519 --> 00:02:05,560 this idea got to Wammo, the toy company and of 40 00:02:05,599 --> 00:02:07,439 course they weren't the only ones who were trying to 41 00:02:07,439 --> 00:02:11,280 develop the hoop, but the bamboo hoops were selling out 42 00:02:11,319 --> 00:02:13,719 in Australia, so they realized, hey, we should try to 43 00:02:13,759 --> 00:02:16,280 make these out of plastic. It's more readily available. They 44 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,639 did that. Several other game companies tried to do the 45 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,360 same thing, but it really came down to who had 46 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,400 the best name as to which of these hoops took off. 47 00:02:25,479 --> 00:02:28,759 And because it looked like the children were doing the hula, 48 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,479 the Hawaiian dance whenever they would spend these hoops, they 49 00:02:32,479 --> 00:02:35,960 gave it the name Hula hoop, and Whammo won that contest. 50 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,280 They became a huge fad in nineteen fifty nine, continued 51 00:02:39,319 --> 00:02:41,400 to be a fad on through the seventies, kind of 52 00:02:41,439 --> 00:02:44,759 died out by nineteen eighty. But there's I have hula 53 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:46,439 hoops at my house that my kids use. Hi. 54 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:47,719 Speaker 2: We had huloops for sure. 55 00:02:47,879 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, Okay, tell me about Castro. 56 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,319 Speaker 2: Okay. Feedale Castro was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who 57 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,520 was the leader of Cuba from nineteen fifty nine to 58 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,879 two thousand and eight. That takes us from the Eisenhower 59 00:02:58,879 --> 00:03:03,360 administration through GW. Bush pretty incredible, served as Prime Minister 60 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,919 of Cuba from nineteen fifty nine to nineteen seventy six, 61 00:03:06,159 --> 00:03:09,360 sort of self appointed him President of Cuba from nineteen 62 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,520 seventy six to two thousand and eight. Known for his 63 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,840 famous beard, his cigar, and his baseball pitches. 64 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: I thought you were going to say his army uniform. 65 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:20,960 I did not know that he was famous for his 66 00:03:21,039 --> 00:03:21,759 baseball pitch. 67 00:03:21,879 --> 00:03:25,199 Speaker 2: He was almost drafted as a Major League baseball pitcher. 68 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,199 How the world would have changed if that would have happened. 69 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,360 Originally seen as a hero for overthrowing the dictator Battista, 70 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,199 he was actually interviewed by Ed Sullivan. Few people have 71 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,280 been as idolized or as hated as Fidel Castro. In 72 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,319 October nineteen sixty two, Soviet missiles were brought to Cuba, 73 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,840 creating the Cuban Missile Crisis, which put US close to 74 00:03:41,879 --> 00:03:44,960 World War three. The US put an economic embargo on him, 75 00:03:45,039 --> 00:03:48,039 but Castro did manage to provide health care and education 76 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,080 to his entire country. His opponents saw that though as 77 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,479 Cuba sort of being an island prison, the economy is terrible. 78 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,479 He left office in two thousand and eight, and he 79 00:03:56,639 --> 00:03:58,960 died in twenty sixteen at the age of ninety. 80 00:03:59,039 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: I'm just glad we've got Pin cigars again. Okay, guys, 81 00:04:02,159 --> 00:04:04,439 that does it for today's episode. Join us next time 82 00:04:04,439 --> 00:04:07,960 for five minutes of fire.