The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 598 - The New York Oysters - part one

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

Comedians Gareth Reynolds and Dave Anthony examine the oysters of New York Harbor Tour Dates Redbubble Merch Sources   Squarespace

And Dave, we're brought to you by Airbnb. I love staying at Airbnb's. My buddies and I get together twice a year and always find some amazing spots via Airbnb. Maybe you stayed in Airbnb before and you thought to yourself this actually seems pretty doable. Maybe my place could be an Airbnb. It could be as simple as starting with a spare room or your whole place when you're away. You might have set up a home office and now you're back at work so you could Airbnb it makes some extra money on the side. Whether you could use a little extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how at Airbnb.ca-host. Good boy, Cara. Good boy. Good stop it. You're listening to the dollop. This is an American History Podcast for each week. I, Dave Anthony, you read a story from American history. To my boob.

Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is gonna be about. Mownin'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in'in' I tell you I want to talk about something right away. What's going on with the upper lip, little mustache action? I like you and I have different paths to the mustache. I go beard, shave down, you choose the teenager approach of letting it just sort of... This is totally incorrect. What's going on? So you have a full shave and then you left a little mustache room.

And now it looks like, now you have five o'clock shadow, mustache shadow. I had like a two week beard, two and three week beard thing going and then it was irritating me. So I shaved it off and I have a little... But that's not three weeks of hair growth above that lip. It's gray, dude. You can't really see it.

It's not. Could we do a giveaway where someone gets to come over and touch it a bunch? I think for the listeners, get the numbers up. What would that be, a thing? Do a little promo. Why? Why would that? Why would you?

Get the people talking. get the word out there Into into my house. Well, they don't have to be in your house. They can meet you at work But they can but they're allowed to have a session where they they can rub it and I'm not there's no sessions Well, no, I'm suggesting that there is one we have a con we have a we have a caption contest I'm absolutely saying no no, we don't a caption contest. Dynamics absolutely saying no. No, we don't. A caption contest. No, none of this is.

Pitch back. Don't know. Pitch, we'll pitch back. How does someone get into, how does someone get over there to touch it a bunch? This isn't a yes and this is, oh no, situation. This is, how does someone get over there to rub it and touch it? They don't.

Nobody. So everyone, we're excited to promote on this podcast. Someone's going to get to come over and touch Dave's upper lip hair a bunch. It's gray, it's bushy, it's awesome. It's, I'm getting emotional. That's not bullshit. It's exciting and so, yeah, first person to caption this episode properly or this clip, if you see this clip, caption this clip.

What would you caption this clip? And the winter gets to go over there and rub the fuck out of Dave's upper lip hair. So caption it, share it with your friends. We're looking for Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, X, or whatever, E-Line's problem. And Instagram, and email, Dave's email, DaveAnthonyOneatGmail.com.

So hit us up, load it up in the comments, one winner gets to meet Dave in a park near where he lives, and they're gonna rub that, they're gonna rub that silver caterpillar. I'm gonna kick your balls so hard that come out of your eyeballs. Someone captioned that. Here's the problem with what you just did.

Some poor guy that has the email Dave Anthony won at Gmail. I have that one. I have that one. That's not I have that. Just in case. And called it quote, his jam pass. Jim? And I'm the fucking hip-hop guy.

Dave, okay. My name's Gary. My name's Gary. Is it far fine? And this is not the fucking hippo guy! Dave, okay. My name's Gary. My name's Gary. What? Is it far five? And this is not going to come to Tiggly Quad Co. Okay. This is like an-

I'm a five-part coefficient. My room is flat! Now hit him with the puppy. You both present sick arguments. No, sleep down hippo. That's like an hippo. Actually, part me. I can't be.

No. I see it done, my friend. No. No! No! No! No! I can't be. No, missy, done my friend. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, A lot of people think is a space that is square. That's not at all. It's where a bunch of the L7s hang out. It's not what it is. Garith, it's not what it is. It is an all-in-one domains, websites, online store, marketing tools, analytics, situation.

It's got everything. You go from the websites to the online stores and you jump back over to the marketing tools and you head over to the analytics. I think it's all in one. It's what I'm saying. You, of course, very much enjoy Squarespace. Love Squarespace, you Squarespace. Have Squarespace. We have Squarespace. We use Squarespace. Us use Squarespace. they use square space. How about that? Mm-hmm. Those are words. You said them.

You're in a combination. Yeah, garythrenals. garythrenals.com, you can find all garythroaring information there. I am not touring. So you should be with that. You should be with that gray lip duster you get cooking. That should be playing the entrance.

And then of course we got our sources page with Squarespace and we got the dollarpodcast.com reading the truth for a fall upcoming tour. It's always grossness and why we with Squarespace because it's easy to use. It looks really great. You don't have to update stuff. 2477 supports.

We're in a long-term relationship with Squarespace. Now, we are committed. We have stood the test of time. We love each other. There are times. It's not an open relationship. But there are times where you thought about, hey, should we open it up? Should we see another site? But there's just nothing out there that compares to what we have at home. You said it right, Garith. And look, you can do e-commerce, you can sell stuff, you can sell digital products, you can subscribe to stuff. Dave's going to send you some of his mustache hair if you want.

I wish that wasn't him. Anyway, we love it. That's why we have all our sites with Squarespace because it looks great and it's easy to use. And then domains, you can own them. I'm glad you guys know I'm talking about. So look, go to squarespace.com slash.gov for a free trial. Then when you're ready to launch,

use offer code dollop to save 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain. Dave, we should also point out that we are going on tour. This fall, the dollar 2023 fall tour, we will be in Bloomington, October 7th, Chicago, October 10th, Milwaukee, October 11th, shadow, Madison, October 12th, and St. Paul, near Minneapolis. It's called the Twin Cities, a river separates them, and that'll be October 14th.

I'm going to St. Pauli, I got the show. And we will have Merch. Luke, I don't know what you call him, our bizarre little man is working on some crazy merch stuff. So join us for a fantastic show. 16-09. Welcome. Year of our Lord, J-Town.

Stop if you're saying he's surfing or just- Always roller skates. It's so dumb. On a Jetsky. J-Town does. We've been bad decision. If you're saying he's surfing or just always roller skates dumb on a jet ski Jay-town Cuz the fucking the the rollerblades or the roller skates aren't coming off Maybe you'll swap them once in a while just stupid. They're not a quad. They're always on It goes into stores. He's got a mom. He goes into the shower. He's got him on

He's riding his dirt bike, he's got him on. Oh, and he rides his dirt bike because he's doing X-game stuff. Cause the kids love that. And that's like, that's the most top of all you've been with him. Henry Hudson, a British explorer, employed by the Dutch,

sailed into New York Harbor on his ship, the Sumpanarather. He was looking for a river to China. That was the plan. So this is the Hudson River origin? The man looking for the river to China. A river to China feels like a book I would see like on my mother's book shelf when I was a kid. That's right.

So they sail, first they sail kind of lower and then on the states and then they come up and they swing around and see the bluffs of Staten Island and the hills of Brooklyn. Sure. And it is heavenly, Garret. So many micro-brewers. In the water, they just have all these big fish following them, then they can look down and see. Following them?

Following, following the show. Okay. Hudson sends a landing party ashore onto Staten Island. People dressed in animal skins appear and welcome them. Okay, they're gonna regret that. Now the Europeans had tools and the Americans offered hemp and beans and a local delicacy oysters.

Sure. Now these were the Lenape, who this a bunch of different subdivisions of done a bunch of smaller tribes but that's like the overall people. They they knew whites they had seen whites before they called them a shhh show a knuck which means salty people. Fair. Which seems right does that seem right? A assault really a salty people Okay salty people meaning we're just kind of sweaty sweaty folk I

Think I think maybe I don't know it doesn't go into why they call the salty people But either dick dickheads I think or I just I don't even need to know the definition to just be like yeah, they're right We are salty people. They nailed it. They had already experienced other salty people, like French-y Samuel de Chaplan and Giovanni de Verazzano, who was the Italian thing guy. That's what the bridge is named out.

Sure. So the Lenape in their language called themselves the common man or we the people. The Lenape called themselves that. Yeah. We would steal that, I think, we the people. But anyway. Don't, don't, excuse me, don't, don't sound like us, go ahead. No, you're right.

At this point, they've been through 14 epidemics of European diseases. So it can't be really that happy to see more white people. No, the salty. With their salty disease. Ah. Ah. Land.

They live, the people live on fishing and hunting and gathering nuts and fruit and shellfish, like they're, you know, the basic stuff. They eat a ton of oysters. They are oyster eaters. They love the oysters. Don't love it. I don't love it.

Are you not an oyster guy? No, I am not an oyster guy. I think I've been pretty on record on this show that I don't understand why anyone is ever freaking out over a thing you're not supposed to chew. I totally agree with you. I think that oysters are... It looks like a seamen eyeball. Yeah, no, it's like why would you eat snot?

That's how I was. Yeah, snot people like put some hot sauce and lemon on the snot and then you can have and you're like, but what is that's really not the flavor? So they're big oyster eaters. There are enormous piles of shells all over the area. So this is which archaeologists called Midens. So there's all over New York, Midens and Jersey. There are just piles of oyster shells because they've been eating in for thousands of years. And when the Lenape buried their dead, they covered them in oyster shells.

That feels like that's just a way to use the trash. But okay. Maybe, I agree with you, but maybe they're like, this is cool. Yeah, maybe. They also did the same for their dogs. Oh, they did? They buried their dogs.

Yeah. That's cool. But oysters are not a great source of food. They aren't really nourishing or efficient if you're trying to. So like if you're going out to look for food, 90% of an oyster is shell. Yeah. So it's a lot of effort for not that much food inside. Yeah, it's a lot of work.

It's a lot of work for the snot. If you're, yeah, for to work for the Snot. If you're going to get the nourishment from just eating horses, you would need to eat 250 oysters a day. Sure. That's like what happens on naked and afraid where they'll be like, it'll be like day 15 and people will find a shrimp and they'll be like, yeah! And then they'll split it in half and they'll be like, yeah! And then they'll like split it in half, and they'll be like, yeah, and then the announcer will just come in and be like,

a shrimp has 45 calories, and one gram of protein. They spent 500 calories looking for this shrimp. Right, so that's oysters. So they're more of a diet supplement kind of thing, and the Lenape Traded oysters with other tribes like the Urquay Because everyone like everyone like oysters there These oysters are huge though. They're not like the oysters we see today eight to ten inches. Wow

So it's a big boy. I mean, it's not you're not slurping this down. You're chewing on this. It's sucking this. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, sorry. I just need a minute to just think of you're chewing through it. It's just like eating tongue. Yeah. It's like a steak that you're chomping on at that point. Like it's a big thing. Oh, those oysters were huge. An oyster can live up to 15 years. The New York Hudson estuary was the perfect environment for oysters to grow. It was the perfect temperature, the water, it's all perfect. On Hudson's third day on Staten Island, after a second day of trading very happily with the Lenape,

he sent men in a robot to explore the land and as they were about to step onto a sandy point the Lenape Lenape pulled up in some canoes and petty officer John Coleman took an arrow to the neck and died. What got him? We don't know. We think it was scurvy. It's always so hard to just kind of piece together what could have killed people back then. There's so many options. Yeah. It's a real who done it? So soon after Hudson took off and headed up, what would become the Hudson River? And I don't know how it got the name. That's the coincidence when he was on that. He must have been like, wow, that's my name. So, so now he's sort of found the place and now the Dutch start arriving. Here we go. He works, he works the Dutch East India company. So,

or Dutch West India company. So they started rubbing. And they like living by the water, obviously, they're Dutch. But one of the problems at this time is the swans and other birds just keep them awake at night because there's so many fucking birds. And they're loud and they're doing their nights, which we've talked a lot about night, but they're from the spot.

Yeah, so you're awesome. Yeah. There's so many fish you could just go out into the water and pick them up by hand. Well, I do eat. Wow. Jesus. We've really, really gone to town on our resources. I mean, hey, we really, I like that fish got the word out of like, do not be near them.

That is a bad one. Don't. Don't. Quote, it is not possible to describe how this bass swarms with fish, both large and small. Whales, tunnies, and porpoises. Whole schools of innumerable other fish, which the eagles and other birds of prey swiftly seize in their talons when the fish come to the surface. And we just ate the shit out of them. But it's just like a some crazy nature cartoon.

It's like a joke. Yeah, right. Can I tell you about a dream I had last night? Okay. I had a dream I was at like a really, really rich guys house and he had a pet penguin. And when I was in line at the buffet the pet penguin said something along the lines of help me and I was like I will help you get out of here and I was gonna help him escape.

And? You didn't. You fucked him over basically. I'll revisit Beth Littlefell of this evening. Well I hope so or else he, right now he might be maddening from back to just he was in there and he just that on his and you're going to uh...

adrien vander donk wrote quote there are some persons who imagine the animals of the country will be destroyed in time but this is an unnecessary anxiety. Nice. Republic incentive. Europeans writing home always would bring up all the oysters. The area was named the New Netherlands and it was run by the West India Company, so there's no government.

It's just a company and it's all about profit. Which is, why did we waste all of our time with that middle time? Let's just, we're there already. Let's just come on. The Nannapi showed them how to row into about 10 or so feet of water and use tongs, like so really long kind of tongs, and a raking tool, and this other thing,

to grab them and bring the oysters up into the boat. These oysters, sadly, for the Dutch did not make pearls. They were upset by that. It's another type of shellfish that makes pearls. It's not an oyster, it's more muscle related, whatever. So several Dutchmen wrote home upset that these oysters just made these ugly, brown little things, not pearls.

So it's already disappointment. We're just the worst. It's just the whole... This whole precious metal thing, just really... We're dumb. We're like... we are birds. We're just like, man, that's shiny. Look at that shiny.

We want that. We're a worsen birds. Yeah, we're like birds with guns. Like the French and British, oysters were essential, essential parts of the cuisine for the Dutch. So there's so many 17th century Dutch still life paintings that have oysters in them. There's like a ton.

Like, like Jan Van Kessel's still life fruit with oysters. This one. He's having oysters and nectarines. So they love to paint oysters. Interesting. Because it's great. Because they were so fond of it. Why wouldn't you want that? And they're great to paint oysters. Interesting. Because it's great. Because they were so popular.

Why wouldn't you want that? Yeah. And they're great to look at. Absolutely. Yeah. They're very photogenic shell. Yeah. The Dutch trickle out of beer, so oysters and beer go together.

They're good. And let's just say, breath wise, doing good. So the lower Hudson estuary has about 350 square miles of oyster beds at this time. Okay. Some biologists believe New York Harbor had half of the world's oysters at this time. So it's like, it's like, you know, it's the shit. You could just pluck them right for you, you could just go out in the water and pull them out. you could just pluck them right right for you could just go out in the water and pull them out as New Amsterdam grows they start to be commercially harvested

but They're so easy to pick up that it was hard to sell them around Hey, yes, what about six oysters six oysters. I just picked six. I have six. Well, what about our dozen oysters You're gonna better than come on. Oh, no, I got a dozen also right there. $2 for a dozen. Come on, man, these are the best. I'll take them off your hands if you pay me a buck, but I just don't.

Just sit. I'm just full of oysters. I have, look at my oyster pack. It's a problem. No, I know. Could you just get out of here for a second? I'm trying to sell some oysters. Jag off.

Hey everybody, we're all coming. Shut everybody. Okay. Has oysters in their hands quiet rare oysters Looking for a home looking for a Tommy to live in oyster. Hi. No, we don't want to waste the oceans tongue We all have oysters everybody. Yes. We all have all right But I pick them up outside quite please Please stop saying the part about being able to pick them up outside please please you can just right over there Your bag Now we're all right keep I'm trying to look for a new crew ma'am

What's up? What's up? I brought oysters. Do you want to buy some oysters? I don't get out. All right, listen, anyone has oysters. This is not a deal for you. I'm looking for some food traffic. I'm selling oysters. I'm selling oysters. Do you want oysters?

I'm interested a little bit. How much you selling your oysters for? Hey, look at everyone a bunch of oysters. How much you selling? How much? How much? $2 for a dozen. I'm selling mine for a dollar dozen. Why

don't you buy mine? And then you can turn them around. Yeah. I have a really sick, I have a really sick child. No shit, you know, you should give that kid some of your oysters. They cure the sickness. They clean up the acne. They grow the hair. They cure the sickness. They clean up the acne, they grow the hair, they make the eyes better, make your heart as a rock. He's lost his legs. Oh, they're good for that too. And then when you're done, when he's done eating them,

if it doesn't work, you can put the shells on his feet and just slide them around. No, I'm not. Come on. That's not cool to say to anyone at all. All right. I'm down to 75 cents. You drive a hard bargain.

Anyone want to buy a, I'll whack off on camera. Are you a time traveler? Yeah. Yep. I started an only clams. Jesus Christ. Got good. It did. Well, it got great. One settler wrote of quote, oysters we pick up before our fort. Some so large they must be cut into two or three pieces. Well, that makes sense if you're talking like 12 inch oysters.

But I'm out. I'm out at oyster now I'm like leaving the town. Like I don't want to be around oysters you can cut into pieces. I don't want to be as small oysters are bad enough. You don't like that? I like the idea that oysters are kind of running the city a little bit. Big guys. So the Dutch take so many oysters that in 1658, the city council forbids harvesting oysters

in the rivers right at the town shore. So they're like, you got to go out a little bit. It doesn't take us long to do our thing. I mean, we are, we are locusts with nipples. Yeah. And now I'm picturing that, picturing it. And it's hot. And it's hot.

And it's hot. So now they have to row out to what is known as Little Oyster Island and Great Oyster Island, which have been renamed to Alice and Liberty Islands. Oh, wow. So the Lenape and the Dutch, not getting along that great. What's the issue, Dave?

The Dutch are terrible. The knives, they make nice moisture shells, and one time a Dutchman gave the Indians booze. How great are we? One cut some of this knife. Shive the species. We're just like, we're the best. We're like, not only are we going to over harvest this area, we made weapons out of the

shells. Another time, a Lennopi captured a Dutchman and cut off several fingers with an oyster shell knife. There we go. Wait, the Lennoppy were making the knives? I think they both were, but yeah. They both were, yeah. That's a Lennoppy made of meat. That's life on the inside.

We all know this story. The Dutch by a man, Hatton. But like Aaron Water, Lennoppy don't believe you could own land. It doesn't make sense to them. They were so foolish. They basically made the deal because they considered it leasing the land. They considered it like they were making an alliance with the Dutch. Right.

And they ended up making like 22 land sales in the area and producing the Dutch have 30 houses and a stone headquarters building. But they're like, why aren't the Lenape, Lenape leaving? We bought the land from them. They just stayin' around. It's because they didn't buy the land they made.

I don't think they know how deals work. Excuse me, excuse me Lenape. This is ours now. Did you read the contract? Like the idea of handing someone a contract is like, yeah, I don't believe in contracts. Sign this, sir. What?

Yeah, exactly, yeah. So the first tavern is built the new Amsterdam in 1641, the city tavern. And they sell oysters. Nice. The Dutch and the Wicqua checks, the Wicqua checks start fighting, right? So that's a, I believe that's a subdivision of the Lennoppy, it might not be, but I think it is.

Okay. So they start fighting. And it's basically like this one Dutch guy had killed a Wicqua check and their rules are like that if that person has a child, then when that child comes of age he can get revenge. Great, great rule. So 15 years go by and this... Can you imagine if someone killed like your father and then you were allowed to get like revenge in some way with that sort of situation? Like you could just to get revenge in some way with that sort of situation. Like you could just come get it.

Like you kill someone and then you go, and they're like, what are you doing? And you're like, well, he killed my dad and they're like, oh, okay, that's fine. That would, I mean, imagine if your father specifically was murdered by someone and you could have at them, that's interesting. Okay.

Someone would say that's what I'm doing. What are you talking about? They start fighting over that because that kid eventually kills a dude a Dutch dude and then the Dutch respond and the Dutch then go overboard And they massacre 80 men women and kids. They're like, okay, let's Really blow this up. They even took they took all their heads or a bunch of their heads So this leads to retaliation and they're fighting. There's a lot of killing going on. And the Dutch build a huge wall, which we've talked about before, they built it in 16...

We're gonna build a wall to protect new Amsterdam. But also some people think it was also maybe because they were fighting what, Spain or Britain or whatever, whatever, one of them. So for years, the Dutch just throw garbage over the wall when they're done with it. They just take their garbage to the wall and they toss it, which is also full of oyster shells because they're eating a lot of oysters. We were doomed. We were doomed.

It's in our bones to just be like gluttonous pig fox. Right? I mean, it is. We're just like, yeah. Sorry, we're jalapeno poppers the species. They built ditches to drain sewage and that sewage float out over the oyster beds. So oysters, oysters are, they don't move. They're permanently attached to, once they attach, they're attached. That's where they stay. They have two shells.

One is a deeper, curved shell. And so because that's what they rest in, they can be shipped in their shell. Transported well. They're like self-refrederating. Yeah, basically, and it keeps the juice from leaking out and they can stay alive in the shell for a while water temp is a big deal for growth so warmer water the better but not too warm obviously but colder water makes for more flavor flavorful oysters which

I think you wouldn't want you mean an oyster that you could potentially chew? Oh, God. Due to war and fighting in 1664, the West India Company bails, and they turn over the island to the British. They're like, okay, you guys run this. They called the Dutch, Yankees, a combo of John and cheese. Wow. Maybe we could end the podcast right here. Ah, it's pretty peak spill. John, that is... It won't remain so much more than just John and Cheese.

Where would you get that from? We're all so tea! Another English called the Dutch that. I want to hear your Dutch accent as well as hoping for. Why would they call us the people who have only John and Cheese? It's very hard. John and she is. It's very hard. No, it is. English settlers wrote home about oysters. This has said one quote,

at Amboy Point and several other places, there is an abundance of brave oysters. We found some brave oysters. That's so good. They said the oysters could feed all of England and their shells provide, provided lime for stone houses. I've just finished my supper. Now it's time to make a house. The British have loved oysters for centuries. Like going back in 50 BC, Roman historian Salost wrote quote poor Britons, there is some good in them after all. They produce in a list.

Wow. Way back then. That's it. We even back then people are like, what the fuck is with these people? The Brits ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and oyster pie was really big. Oh my god. It's so hard for me to know that I am that. Well, we finally come out of the delicious pie. Walking to my shell dining room. Yeah. It's so bad. What's in this pie? Cherries, apples? Yeah. Sheldon. Oyster. Delicious oyster pie. Yeah, so that just seems like the grossest thing ever to me, but yeah, I don't know. It's harder to come up with something weirder to do. There were a lot of people taking anoysters out of Hudson

out of the New York Harbor. And in 1679, Brookhaven Long Island passed an ordinance restricting the max number of boats allowed in the Great South Bay at 10. 10 boats total? At a time. At a time. See, that's the problem. That doesn't really stop it, really, doesn't it? In 16, I think that's what it is.

In 1699, the British took down the wall and they find a gigantic garbage dump. And the garbage dump is leaching into the pond, which is called collect pond, which is now a really gross trash, strewn disease pond. So polluting businesses like Tanner's and Butchers set up shop around the pond,

because they're gonna pollute anyway, and they just pollute more. So it really stinks. It's a horrific stinking thing that they've made. What are they polluting? Like, it's like human piss and shit, and animal piss and shit, and animal parts, and like, it's refuse.

It's stuff you throw away, which at this time, you're probably not throwing away a lot. I don't know why you're throwing away animal poop, but yeah, I stop using it. I keep it. Yeah, I know. So in New York, the most common way at this time is to pickle oysters. That's the way you're...

Are you, are you like having a competition with yourself to see how you can unfurl the grossest things to do with oysters? Like oyster pie sounds horrendous, but a pickled oyster? Yeah. If I saw that in a jar, I'd be like, I got to go. They also fried them, that was a big thing. That's OK. As far as shipping, they stay alive, they're not fragile.

They can be out of the water for days. And then they found out if you sprinkle them with oatmeal, they use that for nourishment and they live longer. I honestly, I can't believe how like, I never thought I would feel like empathy towards oysters. But like, it's just horrible. It's like you're taking oysters out of the ocean. It's like they can live for days without being,

you know, and the oysters are like, man, we're really, it's really good thing we can live for days out here, but they're just headed to a restaurant and then you're like, how about a little oatmeal? Like, man, that's fucking delicious. Yeah. Only to just have some like fucking Brit like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,book, quote, sprinkle with flour or oatmeal and salt, cover with water, do the

same every day and they will fatten. As will we. New Yorkers are harvesting more oysters than the English can buy. They also sold them to the West Indies and Southern Europe, which isn't even legal, but they were making so many oysters that they were selling outside of England. There's just too many oysters.

Yeah, New York merchants are making tons of money. They're selling them for six times what they pay, the guys who collect them. In the fall, they're picked and they're shipped, and months without an R produce inferior oysters. That's when they spawn, so they're thinner and like translucent. Sorry, what just haven't months without an R? Yeah, so the summer months is when they're spawning,

so they change like, because they're trying to, they're getting an honor, whatever. Uh like, because they're trying to get an honor, or whatever. So they become a little bit thinner, and their shells are more translucent. But they're okay to eat. They just don't look as, as an oyster usually does. So people didn't like them as much. So that, like, those months, kind of,

they're taking off. So all of the seeding of oysters leads to just tons of oyster shells in Manhattan. That's where Pearl Street comes from because Pearl Street was a big mid and a big pile of oyster shells. So they burn them to make mortar. It's so common now to burn shells that homes are being built with the sellers open on one side so they could burn oyster shells. Wow.

So many shells are being burned that the air in New York is now thick and it stinks. Imagine. A great place. In 100 years, or maybe less, what time do we start this? 16 or 9? So in 90 years, they've taken this beautiful place where there's fish that just come up to you and oysters you can pick out the ground. And now they've destroyed the pond.

It's like a fetted, gross place. We have like, air is just thick and stinks. Nude oyster shells and everyone has like an oyster oven to burn the shells. And you can't in your walker, I'm like, white man's hair. Yeah, yeah. Gosh, what took it so long for us to ruin everything? And the LaNapia are just like, cool, cool,

cool, cool. Yeah. And the English like, look at all these savages. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Look at them, not making money. Sorry. I've got the smoke oyster cough. They actually, the, the, the, I'll be used oyster shells as money at which led to the, well no big, oyster shells too, clams and oyster shells, but that led to, um, to the Dutch controlling the money supply at some point. Okay, whatever, because they can just get them easier. You know, the Fed just raised the oyster shell rate. What?

What? Fuck, I was gonna buy a house. Yeah. And June 19, 1703, a law was passed forbidding distilling of rum and burning of oyster shells in city limits. Okay. distilling of rum and burning of oyster shells in city limits. In 1714, so 11 years later, the law strengthened to cover a larger area because people that just started burning them outside the area. Right. And it still was bad. So they had to, by the big harbor oysters Harbor oysters mean fewer have to be picked, leaving many to keep growing.

Because they're bigger, you don't have to pick as many to get your oyster supply out there. If you're going by weight, Guwannis Bay in Brooklyn was especially known for big oysters. Now everyone who has ever lived near the Gwanis Canal, like me, just is like what's happening? It's like the most polluted body of water, like this. So no one wants to eat a ten-inch oyster. This guy, British writer William McPease Thackerie, said eating an American oyster was, quote,

like eating a baby. Ugh. What the fuck's wrong with this guy? Why is it? Was everyone like, yeah, it's gross, but dude, that's like, come on. That's ground the hyperbole a little bit here. I don't know, it's pretty good. Is he, yeah, it's good.

I mean, it's had a joy, but I mean, I get, I mean, it's, it would be, you know, it's like eating a whale dick, more like that. I mean, well, that doesn't help me. Like, I don't want it. I want to eat a whale dick as much as a baby. Eating, I want to eat a whale dick as much as a baby. I don't want to eat either one of them.

Yeah, that's, well, thank you for finally getting on record with where you stand, because for a minute. And now a kangaroo. Why, what's your problem? If you think about it, the baby ones are probably more tender. Hey there, people listening to the dollop. This is Garif. Yes, this is the same guy.

I listen, I have a new podcast called, We're Here to Help that I'm doing with my friend, Jake Johnson. It's basically a call and advice show where we don't say that we're professionals because we aren't, but we try to help people with problems that are important to them. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts and it is out right now. So go listen to, we're here to help with Jake and Garrett.

We're here to help with Garrett and Jake. I don't remember how we did it, but either way, fun, half hour comes out Tuesday, August 22nd, and the episodes will be out every Tuesday and Friday. We're here to help. So a New York oysters are getting a reputation now around the world as being the best oyster. In an article in the independent reflector, it said no country had oysters of New York quality. Sure.

The oysters were easy to harvest and so they are cheap. The poorest people live on oysters and bread, that's their basic diet. In 1750, the government banned oysters from May 1st to September 1st to help egg laying season. But, man, we're just like... We're just... We're fine. We just can't be like, yeah, give it a minute.

Stop it. We're like, no, sell it, sell it, sell it. Same thing happened with tuna. Where they're just like, yeah, maybe if you let the tuna, like all the fish, they're like, yeah, if you let them like repopulate, that'd be good in people like, yeah, but if you let the tuna, like all the fish, they're like, yeah, if you let them repopulate, that'd be good, and people are like, yeah, but I gotta try to make some money today, so.

So what are you gonna do? So I'd be the end of them. So the law, this law also stops slaves and servants from taking or selling oysters, which is totally fucked. Like those aren't the people, like they're like, they're not doing it for profit. I just, the idea that, listen to what you just said. We're like, yeah, but, you know, that thing that we're ruining

and overharvesting, our slaves aren't allowed to sell them. Okay, how do you think your society's going right now? Pretty good. Pretty good, I just want to make sure that my slave can't sell the thing that's free in the ocean. Not even selling, eating. The slaves can't eat it. You can't have them.

The slaves don't get to have these underwater things. But I'll eat a bunch. Maybe buy a plate, not eat all. Yeah. Maybe by a plate, not eat all. Yeah. Uh, this new law was mainly because New Jersey residents and Staten Island residents are feuding over Raritan Bay and Arthur Kill Oyster beds. So they're right in between Staten Island and New York and they're really great oyster

beds. So the two places are fighting over them. And after this ban, boats and equipment are now being seized from May 1st to September 1st for violations. And then New Jersey retaliates and they close their beds in the exact same period. So to anybody else, you had to be from New Jersey to take

their oysters. But enforcement was up to the locals. So locals just did. Got bribed or whatever. Well, you just you just use your your like the oyster guy from New Jersey is now in charge of policing the beds. Like you just, you basically deputize them essentially. Oyster Caps. It's a- A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha- I don't worry about it. What, it looks a little heavy, like it's riding a little low. You know what I mean? Like bottom of the ocean low. Yeah, I've been put on a bunch of weight. I don't know what's going on with me

to something wrong with my, I believe it's glandula. Anyway, good to see you. No, no, no, you stay right here. Why don't you go and open up the bag. Open it up. Oh, sure, sure thing. I'll just open up the, takes off running,

boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, I can hear the bass just cracking. I can hear the bass just cracking. I can't get over this fence. My bag, I'm always, I mean, of nothing. All right, you got me, you got me. I've been doing it. My family's on a high time, so I just had to do something.

Listen. I'm just... I'm gonna take one of these oysters, and I'm gonna knock out your teeth. Okay. And then I'm gonna cave your head in with it. Wait. What the hell?

How come oyster cops can't... Oyster cops! Oyster cops! The hell! There only there being two violent. You see the one where that guy bashed that guy's face in with the oyster after he ate it? I like that episode.

It made sense. I thought it's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, this is, it doesn't stop the conflicts. These laws they've passed. They basically draw a line through the middle.

It's also just, I know, it is just the absurdity of thinking of like, just like thinking of the NAPI, just being like, you can all just have oysters. And we're just like, we fucked it all up. Like so immediately. You know, you're making a point because they could all have oysters if they weren't selling them all to the gluttonous. If it didn't become a business.

If it was the same thing we deal with now, it's just where you're just like, yeah, if everything wasn't just like, how do I make as much money as fucking possible off of this? If we could just sit there and just be like, hey, look, some fruit instead of like, yeah, but maybe I could be the only fruit company in the world. I could have an oyster palace. Yeah. So oysters are eaten in many ways.

There were recipes for oyster sauces. They were put in pies. They were fried. They were stewed. They were rolled in Core meal. They were pickled. They were coloped and they were souped. Should we do a side podcast called the colop? Yes. About oysters? Maybe. Think about it. Yes. Okay. Staten Island was worried about their beds because so much oystering going on, they barred oystering for anyone who is not a statin island resident. The sewage system at the time was just slaves carrying chamber pots to dump in the river right on the oyster beds. Oh my god.

All these. All these things. What's the worst thing you can think of had a deal with this? I think it's that. I think it's gotta be that. It's just all the stuff that you're just like, you've never fully pondered and then you hear it and you're like, oh, well that's the worst version of anything possible.

Yeah, I was hoping that wouldn't be what you said. I just put my hand down and say, flush, and then he takes it and tosses it. Oistors weren't always kept in the best conditions. Author Tobias Smolett said freshness was not always important, and some oysters were kept in slime pits for days, covered with, quote, vitriolic scum until they acquired a greenish color. Dave. Which was desired, which they wanted.

They wanted the green. What? What do you mean? Some people like the taste that way. Some people like the oysters coming out of the slime pit? Yes. Oh, look at that one. Nice and green.

Fresh out the slime pit. Oh look at him. Hey, he's got the beautiful color of a bogey and the length of a whale brick. Oh, that's nice. Give me that one. Oh gosh. Oh, I'm having a bit of backlash and be thrown over that one. Give me another one of them green slime slide me off as, who I like them when they were a bit off, eh? Yeah, this one's wheezing, who I like that, yeah. Oh, pass me another one out of the slime pit if you don't mind. I don't like that fresh look. No, I like the appearance of something that's not of this world. Yeah, when it comes fresh out the rancid horrible slime pit, you know, I've got off of myself to live in the slime pit. Oh, if I could, I'd be a boy amongst men

down there, I'll tell you. I'd be happiest in the slime pit, so women are rounding the shit. Avin' on oyster for my meal today. Well, I'd be happy in the Slime Pit. I would never try to quit because I wanna do it. Hooray! Would they got bad taste in their old ridden green? Put it in my mouth if you know what I mean. I like a bad old oyster. It makes me happy.

Give me that one. It's covered in crappy. Like a bad ol' oyster, it makes me happy. Give me that one, it's covered in crappy. And I like the slumpy, a lot less slumpy. And I've got to make a chamber pot. You take that you're my slave. That could easily be the new British anthem. Yeah, I'll tell you what, it seems more topical than God saved the queen.

Yeah. By the way, Jose, Jose, left when he was sleeping and came over here like, are you good? You doing all right? What are you doing? You're cool. I'm worried about you.

So by mid-century, right? So like the 1750s, summer warning of possible destruction to the oyster beds. In 1769, near Jersey passed a law to further contain greedy neighbors. Raking up oysters simply to burn for lime was banned. So even with all the oyster shells around, people were still going out and taking oysters just to use the lime. We're just unreal. A big reason is that oysters remain a cheap source of food

and means of income for the poor. So you don't want people using it for besides eating. You don't want them using it for fucking lime when it's what a lot of people are sustaining themselves on. Now there's a difference. If poor people can't go out and eat, then you have to find another way to feed them. So they're like, just let this thing happen.

Like this is good for everybody. There's a big difference between today and then. Finally. Yeah, we found it. Oyster carts are kind of all over. They're mostly manned by black workers. The first New York Oyster seller is opened in 1763 in the basement of a broad street building.

Many taverns had opened in 1763, in the basement of a broad street building, many taverns had opened in 1766, there were 282 taverns in New York. So oyster sellers are a different new thing. Drinking is very cheap. New York rum at this point competes with a New England rum called Kill Devil. Kill Devil is 25 cents a gallon. Bring it back. Alcoholism is a real big issue. Bowry Village use an oyster house as its post office.

Wow. Just what the fuck was anyone like, hey, this is a fucking terrible idea all around. Does anyone notice that this is the worst thing we could possibly be doing? This is a bad idea, much the male smell. Well, excuse me. Yeah, I just, oh, God, what do you think there's always

in this? Nice from the bowry. So this city is growing. What can I get you around some oysters? I just need to mail this. Oh, okay. Oh, there you go. How do we do that? I don't know. The rich now live in brick story houses with views of the harbor. So there's a, you know, inequality is, you know, flowing. They roast their oysters in their fireplaces. Oh, yes. The poor now are living in wooden shacks near the filthy collect pond, and they are eating their oysters in their basements.

Just... Once again, the podcast really does not cease to amaze. I mean an oyster based society and economy. It's what's happened. Yes, the fact Yes, it's it's fully like it's oyster nomics His oyster nomics Wild Charles Dickens would equate poverty with oyster eating. He would, like he would say, like the poor are the ones who eat oysters. Not true, but that's what he said.

So in 1776, war, obviously the American Revolution breaks out. New York is very quickly captured by the British and held. The oyster men on Staten Island did not care as much about the loyalists as they did the oyster men from New Jersey. So whichever side one was on, the other side would take up arms against their opponents. So they would use the war to help get weapons and fight the other guys that they're fighting against

because of oysters. Right. Now, while the war is on and New York is under loyalist control, there's no trade in pickle loisters. So, that just kind of shuts down. And then... So, finally, a good thing. The Virginia oysters, which Chesapeake Bay,

is that Chesapeaker's of Maryland? But anyway, they are... You know what I like also about this show? You don't even wait for me to pitch in. You're just like, this guy doesn't do. Oh, do you know which one it is? No, I don't know. Of course not.

You barely know where Tampa Bay is. It's like that you know that I don't know. It's Tampa Bay on the East Coast or West Coast of Florida. Tampa Bay on the West Coast, the East Coast? It's on the East Coast or West Coast of Florida. Tampa Bay, East Coast. West Coast. Bleh!

Bleh! Bleh! So... Bleh! Bleh! That was awesome. I'm actually, you know what's crazy about me? I'm good at Jeopardy.

You watch Jeopardy with me, you'll be like, whoa, what's going on? But yeah, anything like... No, you actually... No, a lot of shit, but there's some stuff you don't know, but that's everybody. Well, it's just on this podcast, this podcast, all title could be Gary Blindspots.

That's actually what the original name was. Yeah, so anyway, so the American Revolution shuts down the Chesapeake Bay Oyster business because they just don't want ships coming through. So New York was the only place that was making oysters at all. So the British leave after the war, 1783, and people come back and just Manhattan's just destroyed. So they started kind of rebuilding and they widened streets and they narrow waterways. So trash fills in around pears. Instead of cleaning it up, merchants just packed dirt around the trash and extend the docks further out.

And so this way they add several blocks to lower Manhattan. One landfill becomes Greenwich Village. There were 60 acres of landfill areas. As you can imagine, we're over oyster pets. It's amazing that it's an instinct. It's not like, it's not like learned. It's like our instinct is to be like, as fuck this all up real bad.

What should we do with all the trash? The barrier, okay. I mean, maybe the thought is, well, there's oysters here and we'll just bury over them and then they'll just come back Where the edge of the water is or maybe they don't care But either way they bury the oyster beds there so there's no more oyster beds in that area of New York has had a trash problem since it became New York. That's just astounding. Yes, and stay one Since day one they've had since the white man came became New York. It's just astounding. Yes, and stay one. Since day one, they've had the since the white man came to New York.

We've been like, yeah, we just like create a bunch of rubbish and we don't know what to do with it. Yeah. And instead of being like, are we living wrong? It's just like, where are we? We had to find a maybe space.

We shoot this. Put some dirt around it and then make the pier bigger. Oh! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! So local governments begin to feel increasing pressure to bar outsiders, even neighbors, from local

oyster beds. And then comes the steam engine. And in August, 1807, the first oysters are put on a steamship and taken up the Hudson River to Albany in 32 hours. So that means they can get to Albany and they can be spread out to other places quicker and it just expands the reach of the commercial oyster. Sure.

Most people liked the steamships. Some guys didn't. and it just expands the reach of the commercial oyster. Sure. Most people liked the steamships. Some guys didn't, they were just like, what the fuck is this? One man called it quote, the horrible monster which was marching on the tide and lighting its path by the fire that it vomited. Oh, I think. So not that great for some people just...

Let's have that guy be the leader. I would be like that. I should lead us I mean if you're living by the water you just see this thing go by that's like coughing out black smoke and yeah So the oyster dealers however, I did just their cash and checks Now New York begins shipping tons of oysters upstate and to Europe oyster companies start buying Long Island Connecticut and New York oysters to ship. So as they ship to more places, they start expanding where they're buying the oysters from.

Right. The law-barring oysters from entering the city in the summer months is suspended so they can keep making money. So they pay off the government to get rid of the summer suspension. Just a few years later, the eerie canal opens up, opening up tons of new markets to oysters.

So before the canal was even done, oyster companies were putting ads to sell oysters in Western New York. And on some days, 40 boats are now unloading oysters in alpany so any sort of restriction or regulation is pretty much over now just because it's such a boom profit it's profit and and and the way our government works is you buy the politicians

and then you and then they pretend not to they they pretend that they're doing things for the public well being jobs man it's jobs it's not even jobs it's just pure it's just yeah but that's what they said it's what we have yeah yeah we have well yeah we have the the illusion is great yeah So oyster dealers now try to get their oysters to last longer through the winter. And they replant big oysters near the shore. So they're exposed to low tide.

So the oysters are 10 feet out. They take them and they put them up so they're in the tide zone. And then a few days later, they'd move them up again, so they're even in lower tides. And, they'd move them up again, so they're even in lower tides. And then they'd move them again. So they keep moving them forward.

And the reason they're doing this is the oysters learn to drink the water before it goes down, and essentially you're getting the oysters to hold their breath in a way. So they're holding their water. So they're teaching the oysters to hold their water for when they're out of the water for hours.

It's remarkable. And that way the oysters learn to be shut so they can ship. I'm just like, like the oysters are like, don't worry, guys, we'll figure this out. If you just hold your breath, why are we doing this? Well, because the water is coming in and we need to be able to hold our breath. Oh, okay. Hey, you know, it turned out it was just hold your breath. Why are we doing this? Well, because the water is coming in and we need to be able to hold our breath. Okay, hey, you know, it turned out it was just to do it.

We were just doing this to be sold at Al's. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Like we're, we just, it's like, what is it? It's also, it's also like, I always think about, people don't realize this now. When I was young, I would go into a grocery store and now it would be like, oh, there it's not watermelon season or it's not.

Yeah, right. Yeah, right. They wouldn't be there. They're all there are all these things now that are like grown in Chile and other places that are in a different season. And now we're eating them all year long. And it's like, that's not the way it's supposed to be. And what that means is that someone is being exploited to grow that stuff and ship it here.

And so you can have it and have a convenient meal. And that's why I love the farmer's market so much, because they're just like, yeah, they don't have it. They have a new thing. Oh my God, have you ever, if you can eat a fresh farmer, like if you can get a farmer that's just, I've eaten a fresh farmer. And those are the best farmer.

Like if you just go down the farmer's marion, buy a farmer, you can cook him any way you want. So good. The season of them however you want. Human sushi. So yummy. Falling off the tractor. Oh.

But also in the grocery store, there's so much like chemical shit to make shit look red or whatever. It's like, yes, some of the shit's supposed to look a little dented and demented, but people are just like, eehm. Right, so the law barring the Oscars in the Samoans is suspended, as we said, a few years later, the Erie Canal opens. New moisters are now flowing everywhere. Oster dealers change the oysters, so they're lasting through the winter. By the 1820s, the Staten Island Oyster beds start showing exhaustion.

I don't know how that happened. I wonder, what do you think? You know what I think? I bet the Lenape were going there at night. I bet these six sons of bitches were waiting for us to go to bed with our good system. And they were just taking too much off the land. You're probably right. Most New York beds are over harvested.

They can't meet the demand. Some beds are now completely barren. Cultivated oysters, however, have been around for centuries. Aristotle wrote that oysters were moved to better spots for growing, and artificial beds were created by the Romans. The Romans associated oysters and wealth, they even had a coin that was worth in one oyster. Roman historian, a Roman historian said, Emperor Vitalis ate 1,000 oysters in one meal.

It's shut up. I want to see a receipt. That's bullshit. Yeah, that guy. That guy was just like, that shit didn't happen after that. And then he died. Yeah, that guy. That guy was just like, This shit didn't happen after that. And then he died. Yeah, he died. Hope that was true. So replanting oysters because the Romans became very common in Europe. In New York, not all bays were the same as far as

how oysters grew. Young oysters did well in the east, but not the west. But older ones did better in the west. So they start planning spat, spats are little like two equal oysters and raised new oysters in the east bay until they were large enough to move to the west. And then they'd move them when they were whatever a year, no longer young oysters, and then they would grow. So they're putting them in the places where they grow

the most based on their age. And New York begins importing Chesapeake Bay oysters in 1816. They're smaller. They grow faster. So they can import hundreds of thousands of oyster seeds, a year to cultivate oysters. Dave, we have an oyster problem.

There weren't enough oysters to feed all the people. We need to... don't you understand? The oysters... We have a problem. If anybody blew it here, it's the oyster. Think about it. Dave, we are the drunk drinking hand sanitizer. It is a serious problem.

So no one can win in an Oster bed. You can't own one, it's not a thing. So picking oysters is like picking berries in a forest, right? That's what you're allowed to do. You, we're literally viewing it the way the Lenape viewed land except just oyster beds. Like if it's a natural oyster bed, you could just go out, anybody can go out and pick it because no one could own it.

And the Lunapi are like, yeah, that's Manhattan. What do you, what? We figured it out. No. Some guys couldn't afford to sail down Chesapeake Bay, get their spats, bring them up, plant them, and they said those guys who could afford to do that were planting them in natural

beds with wild oysters so anybody should be able to collect there and it goes to court. Oh my god, I'm the oyster judge. Oyster! Plug into oyster court boys. This is a spin-off of Cop, oyster cop, which I was taking off the air for violence. A judge decided no one but the state could own an oyster bed, which was taken off the air for violence. A judge decided no one but the state could own an oyster bed, but a person could lease it from the state.

So long as there's no natural oyster beds around, right? So now we're talking about artificial cultivated oyster beds versus natural beds. Natural beds are still free for anybody, but cultivated ones. You can lease it. Like you have control of it. Right. I got a two bedroom bed. Leases are being issued by a New Yorker New Jersey for pretty much close to nothing. It's basically first come first serve is what's happening. You could put your bed down and you got it. It's yours.

The amount of area control is based on if you had the men and the means to pull the oysters up, right? If you could pull it off, you could plant them and... So it's the rich. Again, it's another... This helps companies... The rich. Companies. Over the small guy, right? That's what we're talking about.

the rich companies over the small guy, right? That's what we're talking about. So this opens the door for a huge oyster cultivating industry. Big oyster groups form like the Richmond County Oyster Planting Association. Blue Oyster cult, yep. They they patrol their oyster beds for poachers. They patrol their oyster beds for poachers. There are no records kept of the claims, and the state gets no revenue from all of this. It's very expensive to buy and move and plant them. So pretty soon over a thousand men are cultivating oysters in the oyster, in big oyster. That's the big, right?

It's big oyster. That's the big, right? It's big oyster. Oystering is the number one business in Staten Island in 1830. I wonder if you told the Lenape that we would turn that species into a bird what they'd think. Like we're going to go soap bonkers, we're going to verb this. Even though oysters were the thing to eat, and they were quite a few rich people, there

was not yet a top-notch restaurant in New York. So this is a New York pre-Fancy restaurant. They pretty much everyone's going to the same restaurant at this point. But they realized this when they opened the Erie Canal, when the first boat came through, and there was no place to hold the celebration for all the rich people. Right. They're like, where do we, what do we do? So in 1834, a fancy restaurant was open, Del Monaco at 23 William Street.

I feel like, is that still there? It's still there. Yeah. Del Monaco's is still in New York, yeah. That they moved around a few times, but it's still a restaurant. Sure. The new first class eatery leads to a massive shift

in the culture of New York. It serves French food and it's a hit with the well off soon other fancy places open, because they're like, oh, look, we can make restaurant money off the rich. Like Astor House opens, Astor served boiled cod with oysters and oyster pie and Delmonico's was famous for its raw oysters. With the railroad, East Coast oysters are shipped all over the country and young Illinois politician

Abraham Lincoln through oyster parties where people ate hundreds of oysters. Bang me with this. Jesus Christ. What? What the fuck are you doing? Come on, it's an oyster party. Come on.

What? I don't think you know what. Take this nine inch oyster and let's party. What is wrong with you, man? I'm going to be the president one day. You'll see. Oh, Jesus, this shit again. Just gonna shave this, no.

You're just gonna sweat it. You're just gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it.

You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it.

You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. You're gonna sweat it. This is where it starts. This is where our gluttonous bullshit is peaking. All you can eat only Americans could take food as an enemy challenging them. I bet you can eat all of this thing, but I show that steak whose boss I show that steak whose boss How dare you and let's buy a war you tell me I can't put as much food in me as I can you know Think of a bitch. I'll eat all that till I'm sick as long as you put my picture on your wall I Mean did the Lenape were the Lenape just like What do they do?

Each other to see who can eat the most of them That's more than they need. Yeah, yeah, no, they're demented. It's like a real problem. Six cents is what you would get for all you can eat raw oysters. Wow. Some recipes in cookbooks called for 150 oysters. What? I mean, you'd be like, well, be like well let's get that what should we make it

said that's that we're not making that what is that it is anyone was on your that's an insane half a table spoon of vinegar a pinch of salt one thousand oysters uh... new york now new york has the best oysters in the world and they now have the best port in the world

making it the world capital of oysters. Slavery was abolished in New York in 1827 and Maryland had a bunch of free black people who couldn't own oyster bits. I don't know why Maryland had so many free black people, but it had like a large amount, maybe because of where it is close to the south, I don't know, whatever. But there's all these free black people who work with oyster beds, but they can own them.

So they start moving to Staten Island where they settle a community on the South tip called Sandiground. And when they get there, they're all very poor, but they work for white, oyster men, and they start saving their money, and then they begin to go out on their own, and then they start buying boats,

and they grow food on their farms on the land. And after a couple of decades, they're doing well, and they have brick houses. They would trade oysters for a and they have brick houses. They would trade oysters for a brick to build the houses. I can just picture the white man looking from the hill, just being like, what I don't like the direction, this is headed in.

Well, interestingly enough, the local whites in the area were cool with it and got along very well with the black community. So, Santa Ground becomes an African-American center and they're doing well, so black people from Manhattan start moving down to Staten Island because they're like, this is cool. Yeah.

It's, the oysters have created a way out for these people, right? At a poverty. It's an oyster tunity. Stop. You like it a little bit. Just let it happen. No, I love it a lot. It's one of the best things you've ever said.

Thanks. They open a private school. They become an underground red road stop. But their boats are constantly being surged for runaway slaves, but they're a thing, right? They've got their own little world. So then the oyster dredge is created. It's very controversial.

It's a heavy bar that you drag on the bed with a basket behind it, and it just clears the bottom. the bed with a basket behind it, and it just clears the bottom. A French government oyster expert, right? The Frenchies number one oyster expert writes to Napoleon, and he said, if you allow this, it's going to make the whole coast bear of oysters. And the French begin calling the oyster dredge, the oyster gillotine. You got to love us. You just got to love us.

You just got to. Sorry, sorry haters. Hate away. Come on. We are, we are, I mean, we just basically are short term thinking is amnesic. We're remarkable. You can't love us. Yes, but this will ruin all the oyster bed.

Yeah, but then I get a bunch for today and then you can all, you can eat six cents. So yeah. At the end of the day, it's just greedy people not caring about the future. That's all the planet is right now. That's all well. So certainly all the society that's taken all this. So New Jersey bands dredging, but planted beds could be dredged. So it's basically like the natural beds you can dredge.

Same sort of deals. The ones that you're setting up on your own because essentially there you know They put down they put down planks and they put oysters on them and they'll go ahead not not yourself out your a dredge head law laws limiting Dredging they they're they're in place for years in New York Harbor as New York's population increases, oyster demand grows and natural beds are being depleted. Let's go.

So they start seeking out beds further out like the Great South Bay on Long Island. It's 65 miles from Manhattan. So super hard to get to and move the oysters. Uh-huh. And then the Long Island Railroad arrives So, super hard to get to and move the oysters. And then the Long Island Railroad arrives in 1868. After 1900, there are four oyster express trains a day out of Long Island. Shut your mouth.

Why why I mean okay 9 a.m. 11 a.m. 2 p.m. in 5 p.m. The oyster expresses oysters only Don't you think at some point people will be like hey, we found a better food Like we've been talking about this for a while Hey Hey, guys, so I found these things are called apples. Yeah, are like, you know what I mean? Like, trout. But people like, nah, nah, nah, now we got oyster trains. Great South Bay oysters were excellent and highly sought after.

They were named blue points by an 1812 war vet who used to patrol his bed with a loaded musket. It take my oysters from my cold dead clam. Blue points were from his specific bed. That's right. Blue points were the oyster brand. There's no better oyster brand in the world

than blue points were it. These are the Faberjets. But then soon after any big oyster from the great South Bay, we call it blue points. So they kind of, you know, fudged it, right? Two Dutch immigrants came and they used one side of the bay

for planting and the other saltier side for growing them when they got a little older. So New Yorkers, New Yorkers are always looking for the hot new oyster, right? And the New Yorkers like this, that's gross. What's the, what's the oyster of the day, man? What's, which, which worship is killing it?

Come on, what are the oyster trends? What's the what's the oyster of the day man? What's which which worship is killing it? Come on. What are the oyster trends? What's the hot cove come on? So Prince Bayes were second to blue points and One day a strong tide hits and for the first time ever these huge Sadarok oysters are visible, and they're giant, but very tender. And the city goes bug-fuck. People are paying crazy prices, but city merchant still called some oysters Sadaroks, even

after they were gone so they could sell them for 30 cents each. So they basically decimated it when it hit. Like once this bay comes up, the water goes and it exposes them, they're like, oh, they just destroying it quickly. But they keep calling, but they keep saying, yeah, these are, yeah, all you want. Yeah, it's a Rolex, yeah, yeah, it's a Rolex.

I just got saddle rocks in today. Yeah, yeah, a bunch of them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just the craziest. So they're still calm. They can sound for 30 cents each. Whereas the only one's a song for a fucking penny each. So like these are... Salarox eventually just became the name for large oysters

that weren't already a known brand. So they eventually just... The idea of what they used to be changed into just like it's a big oyster. It's a saddle. Right. Right. When new oysters were found, papers would write about it as if there was a new medical breakthrough. Oh, man. In 1859, five Connecticut Oyster men were drifting. In 1859, five Connecticut Oyster men were drifting, and they dropped their dredge to use as an anchor near the opening to Huntington Bay Long Island. And when they pulled it up, it was packed

with huge oysters. So they filled their boat, and they made a pact with each other to not tell anyone else where they had found them. The city goes fucking nuts when they bring these oysters in. People want to know where they came from, reporters are bugging them, everyone's like, where did you get these oysters? Someone finally pays one of the guys $500 to spill the goods. And the next day, the New York Daily Tribune Front Page is the great oyster placer. Millions of dollars worth found great its excitement along shore.

And there was an oyster rush. Oystermen from all over come because it's a natural bed and anybody can have at it. Right. And the Tribune said is an immense fleet. They're packed together. They're bumping up, massed, or touching each other. We got to take them away. Ha!

The Daily Tribune wrote there were so many ships the bed would be gone in days. Man, we are vultures. But around this time they realize that cultivating oysters, they can make better oysters than nature can. People can plant them in the best environment for the stages of their life and spread them out,

so they're not crowding each other, so they're getting a lot of nutrients and fresh water and everything they need. Oh, meal, the usual stuff. And this means to New Yorkers, they will have an endless supply of oysters. And so starting around this year that I'm talking about, 1860, New York goes into an oyster mania What and that that will be part two. Oh my god. How have we not already hit oyster mania? Like we're in oyster mania

No, we're not what we're not oh Hands I can't even imagine. Yeah, you like the first part. Well, yeah, the next part, uh, people start to actually lose their minds a little bit with the oysters. So that's something to look forward to. Holy shit. Uh, so the main source of this is Mark Krilanski's, the big oyster. Um, also documents of the assembly of the state of New York issues 68 through 114 by New York state legislature and the New York Times, a bunch of articles from that. I haven't read that one yet. I haven't read that one yet. I haven't read that one yet.

Okay, so those are the main sources for part one. Crazy. Yeah. I mean, if there was a God, that being would be like, yeah, we're gonna like take them off. Like the imbalance that we just project constantly,

it's just, Well, if you think about it from this, if you think about it from this standpoint, if you have, it doesn't matter where it is in nature. If you have someone living within the bounds of nature, and someone else comes that's living outside of the bounds of nature, the person living outside the bounds of nature either needs to be killed or that person will destroy everything. Yeah, yes. And we are now run by.

Those are literally, right, so those are literally the only options. Like if someone doesn't want to live within the reasonable bounds, then it's all fucked. We just need aliens to come up with a human dredge and just be like, wait, what? And just like dredge us and be like, what? Oh look, there'sge us and be like, what?

And be like, oh look, there's a lot of fat ones here. That's pretty good. And then just like raise us in little bowls in their homes to be like, oh, now he's ready. That's why I always think like, you know, people be like, like, you know, I've like, you know, I mean, I have like conflicting feelings over certain types of hunting, obviously.

And people will be like, well, yeah, you've got a hunt deer, though, because otherwise they'll, they're invasive. And you're just like, all right, well, when do we start hunting humans? And then when you really think about it, that's already kind of happening. We are already kind of hunting humans.

So. Well, one of the things about deer is the something called the carrying capacity, right? The K capacity, which is when there are too many, like an animal like deer, they will become overwhelmed by infection and disease and become weaker and all kinds of problems. So that's why you want to hunt them so they don't have that experience. I feel like you're going in the direction of adding up on my point. I think about mankind right now. Yeah.

How's it going? Yeah. I mean seriously, like we should just, we are the invasive species that needs to be dealt with. Anyway, can't wait to see what happens when things get weird. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH