0:11 [SPEAKER_00]: It's Christmas Eve, 1926. 0:16 [SPEAKER_00]: New York City was adorned with the sparkle of snow and a festive glow. 0:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Families gathered in their homes and the streets were bright with carols and holiday cheer. 0:28 [SPEAKER_00]: But in the corridors of Bellevue Hospital, a nightmare was unfolding. 0:36 [SPEAKER_00]: a man stumbled through the doors. 0:38 [SPEAKER_00]: His face flushed, his eyes wide, with an unexplainable terror. 0:45 [SPEAKER_00]: He claimed that Santa Claus, not jolly in kind, but a sinister version, wielding a baseball bat, was chasing him through the streets of New York. 0:56 [SPEAKER_00]: He reimbled on about the terrifying figure, unable to escape his alcohol-induced hallucination. 1:04 [SPEAKER_00]: And one by one, more tormented souls poured in through those double doors, each claiming a new kind of tragic horror. 1:15 [SPEAKER_00]: By the time Christmas day dawned, 60 people in the city had become desperately ill, and eight people died, all from alcohol poisoning. 1:30 [SPEAKER_00]: But this was no ordinary case of alcohol poisoning. 1:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Doctors were used to such cases, having won too many in New York City, is not out of the ordinary. 1:43 [SPEAKER_00]: But this, this was different. 1:46 [SPEAKER_00]: Hidden stills and impurities were common culprits, but what was unfolding that Christmas was unprecedented. 1:56 [SPEAKER_00]: It turns out the culprits weren't criminal bootleggers or shady alcohol stores. 2:03 [SPEAKER_00]: It was the U.S. government. 2:07 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Home Town History, where today we're looking at the time, the American government in an effort to recoup its die economy, started poisoning our alcohol. 2:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Join me as we dive into this chilling chapter of history, exploring the complex events that led to this decision and the death toll that followed. 2:40 [SPEAKER_00]: in the tapestry of American history. 2:43 [SPEAKER_00]: We sometimes stumble upon episodes, so startling and bizarre. 2:48 [SPEAKER_00]: They seem to leap from the pages of a suspense novel, rather than the pages of our past. 2:55 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a tale of desperation and determination, where our governments resolve to halt an act 3:07 [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine a nation dealing with the aftermath of World War I. 3:12 [SPEAKER_00]: The country is filled with suspicion and distrust. 3:16 [SPEAKER_00]: Especially towards anyone with foreign roots. 3:20 [SPEAKER_00]: The beer bottle in the hands of American citizens has German names. 3:25 [SPEAKER_00]: In the Saloons, Egoes, with diverse accents. 3:30 [SPEAKER_00]: These brewing tensions were seized upon by a determined group called the Antisolun League, who saw in them an opportunity. 3:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Founded in 1893, the League masterfully played upon post-war prejudices, painting alcohol as an unpatriotic indulgence. 3:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Two drink they claimed was to side with the enemy, 3:57 [SPEAKER_00]: The anti-German sentiment was fueled as the leagues cause gathered momentum. 4:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Beyond nationalism, the battle against booze was cast as a war effort. 4:12 [SPEAKER_00]: Grains, which are precious resources used to make whiskey, were desperately needed to feed allied nations. 4:20 [SPEAKER_00]: The argument was compelling. 4:23 [SPEAKER_00]: The production of alcohol was diverting vital materials from our world recovering for more. 4:31 [SPEAKER_00]: The prohibitionists were relentless, asserting that the interests of liquor have been placed above public welfare. 4:40 [SPEAKER_00]: They were fueled by a sense that the manufacturer and the transportation of liquor were 4:51 [SPEAKER_00]: and so came the wartime prohibition act of 1918. 4:57 [SPEAKER_00]: With the backing of influential figures, like Wayne Wheeler, of the Antisolun League, an Andrew Volstead, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the campaign reached its crescendo with the passage of the National Prohibition Act in 1919, known informally as the Volstead 5:20 [SPEAKER_00]: This, of course, was not taken very well. 5:25 [SPEAKER_00]: The great furnaces of distilleries fell silent, breweries that once framed with activity were shuddered. 5:34 [SPEAKER_00]: The halls of liquor stores, theaters, clubs, and performance venues, where laughter once echoed were struck down by an unseen hand. 5:47 [SPEAKER_00]: Over 200 distilleries, 1,000 breweries, and more than 170,000 liquor establishments were forced into oblivion, casting thousands into the bleak uncertainty of unemployment. 6:04 [SPEAKER_00]: A chill wind swept through, this $226 million industry, but nature apporns a vacuum, and 6:17 [SPEAKER_00]: If you were rich, there was no problem. 6:21 [SPEAKER_00]: In this murky new world of prohibition, a chasm divided the rage in the poor. 6:28 [SPEAKER_00]: For those with gold in their pockets, the streams of luxurious liquor never ran dry. 6:35 [SPEAKER_00]: The rage were able to smuggle into lights from Canada and the Caribbean. 6:41 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you truly wanted to get away from the political chaos in America, secret cruises would sail you down to a tropical island, where liquor still flowed unrestricted. 6:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Europe's finest temptations were just a price tag away, and a determined man could even create the good stuff and his secluded backyard distillery. 7:06 [SPEAKER_00]: These comforts were not accessible if your only source of liquor was a speak easy. 7:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody really knew where these establishments got their bottles, and though death lurked in these shadowy corners, it was a danger the poor were willing to take, and then some. 7:26 [SPEAKER_00]: The banning of liquor ignited a flame, and caused a desperate thirst that could not be 7:37 [SPEAKER_00]: The people, outraged by the prohibition, sought solace in the arms of bootleggers, untaxed and unregulated. 7:47 [SPEAKER_00]: Their alcohol production was hidden from the scrutinizing eyes of the government, 7:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Across the nation, secret venues and clubs sprouted, like forbidden fruit. 8:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Crime syndicates, recognizing an opportunity, ripe for exploitation, expanded their influence. 8:15 [SPEAKER_00]: Their network of bootleg liquor stretched like dark finds, even as the government poured millions into the bureau of prohibition, and a futile effort to stem the tide. 8:29 [SPEAKER_00]: The government's actions, though, were dwarfed by the criminal surge, and ultimately overwhelmed. 8:39 [SPEAKER_00]: The primary focus of prohibition enforcement was to sever the lifelines of this new criminal empire, cutting off supply through smuggling and illegal manufacturing. 9:00 [SPEAKER_00]: bootleggers, turned into ambitious alchemists, stealing industrial alcohol from factories that produced inks and fuels. 9:11 [SPEAKER_00]: They bypass the long fermentation process, instead concocting brews with industrial ingredients, meeting the high demand and reaping untold profits. 9:24 [SPEAKER_00]: frustrated and desperate to control consumption in the United States. 9:29 [SPEAKER_00]: The government came up with an idea, poisoned the public. 9:35 [SPEAKER_00]: In a desperate attempt to win a losing battle, the United States government embarked on a path that would forever darken the pages of history. 9:46 [SPEAKER_00]: factories, under the eye of the law, were forced to denature their alcohol with chemicals, making it nearly untrinkable. 9:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Bootleggers, though, already a step ahead, paid off federal chemists, and hired their own to neutralize the toxins. 10:08 [SPEAKER_00]: So the government was forced to take drastic measures 10:13 [SPEAKER_00]: What followed was extreme chemical warfare, with the government crafting new blends to increase the toxicity of the chemicals in the industrial alcohol. 10:25 [SPEAKER_00]: A new era of prohibition had begun, where chemists replaced gunslingers and beakers and test tubes became the weapons of choice. 10:36 [SPEAKER_00]: This reckless experimentation, by both the government and bootleggers, gave rise to some of the worst concoctions in history, and among them, the story of Ginger Jake stands out. 10:52 [SPEAKER_00]: In the southern lands, where Jimake and Ginger, once featured a nearly every meal, the 11:04 [SPEAKER_00]: ingenious and misguided minds crafted a replacement, a potion promising the same thrill without the sin of alcohol, but they played with fire, and their creation was laced with neurotoxic nightmares. 11:24 [SPEAKER_00]: It was a drink for the poor, for those who couldn't afford the luxury of smuggled elixirs, 11:31 [SPEAKER_00]: but had turned on them, unleashing semi-paralyzing symptoms that looked like the fearsome touch of polio. 11:40 [SPEAKER_00]: The compounds attacked the neural system. 11:44 [SPEAKER_00]: The ginger jake became a symbol of the dark underbelly of prohibition, a manifestation of a society torn between law and desire, affluence and poverty. 11:58 [SPEAKER_00]: It was a time when the poor man's drink could cripple, and the wealthy could sip and safety. 12:05 [SPEAKER_00]: But, soon after, the federal government chemists finally discovered a denaturing formula, the bootlakers, wouldn't be able to beat or detoxify, methylacohol. 12:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Green lights went up, and the newly discovered blend was mandated 12:27 [SPEAKER_00]: The consequences didn't take long to show. 12:30 [SPEAKER_00]: In the darkened alleys of 1926 New York City, 585 people met their end. 12:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Across the country, over 5,000 fatalities were reported. 12:46 [SPEAKER_00]: A staggering 600% increase from previous deaths 12:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Meanwhile, the bootleggers continued their hazardous artistry, adding bizarre and dangerous ingredients to simulate familiar flavors. 13:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Dead rats, to mimic bourbon, tar and oil from trees to replace gen and scotch. 13:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Those practices wreaked havoc on public health, filling hospitals with victims caught in a 13:37 [SPEAKER_00]: 1970. 13:38 [SPEAKER_00]: Years after the end of the Prohibition Act of the 1920s, the American government, it seems, hadn't learned its lesson. 13:50 [SPEAKER_00]: The government's decision to spray Mexican marijuana fields, with paracrate, offers another chilling chapter in the story of governmental overreach, and the fine line between protection and betrayal, 14:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Paracrate is a highly toxic chemical herbicide, and on the surface the government's decision to spray this compound appear to be a firm step in the government's war on drugs, an initiative aimed at protecting citizens from the perceived societal decay associated with substance abuse. 14:29 [SPEAKER_00]: However, the strategy and its underlying motives were far more complex and disturbing. 14:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Government officials insisted that awareness of the toxin would deter marijuana smokers. 14:45 [SPEAKER_00]: They believed that by making it publicly known that herbicide had been used on the crops. 14:52 [SPEAKER_00]: Potential users were too frightened to consume the product. 14:57 [SPEAKER_00]: It was a strategy based not on care or prevention, but on fear and intimidation, but the unspoken threat was clear and assumed this and whatever happens is your own doing. 15:13 [SPEAKER_00]: And while some might have been deterred by the possibility of poisoned marijuana, others, either unaware of the threat or disbelieving the government's warnings, continue to use 15:28 [SPEAKER_00]: The result was a dangerous game, a Russian roulette, where the line between recreation and potential death was perilously thin. 15:38 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what they say, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. 15:47 [SPEAKER_00]: In the Dark Days of Prohibition, the very soul of America seemed to tremble on the edge of a knife. 15:55 [SPEAKER_00]: a battle raged, not only in the streets and the speed keys, but within the government itself. 16:04 [SPEAKER_00]: A struggle that would leave scars on the nation that would linger for generations. 16:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Among those caught in this deadly web was Bix by their back, an influential jazz soloist 16:22 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1928, Bix raised a glass in New York, unaware that he was toasting to his doom. 16:31 [SPEAKER_00]: The effects of the poisoned alcohol were insidious, it would cause dizziness and nausea, mirroring the sensations of green-based drinks, yet hiding a lethal secret. 16:52 [SPEAKER_00]: but what seemed to be a mere bow of sickness, soon turned into a dance with death. 16:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Bix, despite his strength, fell ill. 17:04 [SPEAKER_00]: He was a hard man, battle worn from years of alcoholism, and cigarette addiction. 17:11 [SPEAKER_00]: But the poison drink had penetrated, even his tough exterior. 17:16 [SPEAKER_00]: It was a nightmare unfolding. 17:19 [SPEAKER_00]: A poison becoming more lethal, every passing moment. 17:24 [SPEAKER_00]: Acetic substances forming in his stomach, lying waste to his optic nerves, and lungs 17:32 [SPEAKER_00]: to agonizing years later, Bics succumbed to pneumonia, but his story was far from unique. 17:41 [SPEAKER_00]: He was one of many victims, silent casualties of a government's betrayal. 17:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Simeyutaniously, a battle was fought in the medical world. 17:54 [SPEAKER_00]: The 18th Amendment, and its enforcement act, were filled with clauses that try to anticipate the storm that prohibition would unleash. 18:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Once such clause attempted to control the prescription of lecker by physicians, a move meant to stem the tide of alcohol use. 18:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Thousands of prescriptions were written daily by the 64,000 licensed physicians and enforcement was limited. 18:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Doctors faced with demands and little fear of consequences continued to prescribe liquor. 18:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Congress, sensing the growing crisis, acted with the emergency beer bill of 1921, limiting the types of alcohol in alcohol content a physician could prescribe. 18:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Not that this made a dent in their practice. 19:03 [SPEAKER_00]: Doctors fueled by public pressure and perhaps a touch of rebellious spirit, continued prescribing 19:12 [SPEAKER_00]: The limited enforcement and the insatiable demand for liquor during prohibition meant that they had a little to worry about, and the act of prescription became a subversive art. 19:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Some physicians even began selling prescriptions, turning their practices into profitable 19:40 [SPEAKER_00]: The lines between Healer and Dealer were blurred. 19:45 [SPEAKER_00]: Finally, the cries of despair could no longer be ignored. 19:51 [SPEAKER_00]: The nation had been scarred, broken by its own laws. 19:55 [SPEAKER_00]: Its own misguided attempts to control or cannot be controlled. 20:00 [SPEAKER_00]: The realization dawn that this experiment had failed. 20:06 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1933, with the heavy heart and the weight of countless lives lost, the government repealed the 18th Amendment, ending prohibition. 20:18 [SPEAKER_00]: The end of prohibition brought about the decriminalization of many drugs for medical use, but the scars remained. 20:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Did they learn? 20:30 [SPEAKER_00]: Of course not. 20:36 [SPEAKER_00]: The idea swept across Russia, Canada, New Zealand, and several other countries, in the attempt to bring an end to the violent drinking habits of their citizens. 20:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Following the horrors of the war, the world had never known such a thirst for intoxicating substances, and entire economies blossomed around alcoholic beverages 21:05 [SPEAKER_00]: were prohibition, came like a storm, and annihilating this flourishing industry. 21:13 [SPEAKER_00]: The government's appalling response to an issue that could have been handled better with support and rehab centers was as brutal as it was misguided, but it didn't in there. 21:26 [SPEAKER_00]: The prohibition in the mandate to spray marijuana plants with poison are just drops in 21:35 [SPEAKER_00]: The echoes of all these actions still resonate, shaping the modern war on drugs, and influencing public opinions, long after the bands were lifted. 21:46 [SPEAKER_00]: In countries like Iceland, Finland, Russia and Canada had their share of the struggle, mirroring the American experience. 21:58 [SPEAKER_00]: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Methanol poisoning rose again. 22:03 [SPEAKER_00]: This time in Iran. 22:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Miss information and desperation led to a resurgence of bootlegged alcohol. 22:12 [SPEAKER_00]: Home brewed concoctions, laced with death. 22:16 [SPEAKER_00]: Thousands were hospitalized, and hundreds died. 22:21 [SPEAKER_00]: A tragic testament to the dangers of ignorance, illegal production, 22:30 [SPEAKER_00]: in the Czech Republic, methanol poisoning struck once again in 2012, leading the government to a desperate and fruitless attempt to ban alcoholic drinks, with more than 20% alcohol content. 22:46 [SPEAKER_00]: The prohibitionary effort crumbled within just a few weeks, having done nothing to curb the tide of poisonings. 22:55 [SPEAKER_00]: A later study would reveal the result of the ban, showing that it did not foster healthy or drinking habits. 23:04 [SPEAKER_00]: Through all these stories, there is one common thread, a government that prefers to solve its problems, through warfare, rather than empathy. 23:17 [SPEAKER_00]: In the end, these stories serve as a cautionary tale, grammar minders that we cannot blindly place our trust in those who govern. 23:28 [SPEAKER_00]: History's lessons lie open, waiting to be heated, and yet time and time again, governments seem willing to repeat the mistakes of the past. 23:40 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe, one might even dare to think, these are not mistakes at all, but calculated moves, and a game where the pawns are the people, the question then lingers, do those empower fail to learn from history? 23:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Or is it? 23:59 [SPEAKER_00]: They find in those repetitions, exactly the results it is dire. 24:05 [SPEAKER_00]: I leave it to you to decide 24:10 [SPEAKER_00]: As always, thanks for listening.
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