And now it's time for Who's Smarted.
Wow, this place is so cool.
Ow! Yikes, maybe it's not all cool.
Psst, hey smarty -pants, in case you couldn't tell, I'm in a colonial village, observing how people lived back in the 18th century, which is the year 1700.
Besides that scary dentist. Ow!
This place is awesome.
There's an old courthouse, a bakery, and horses, and white powder everywhere, which is making me cough.
What is that stuff?
Flour? Flour? Oh, good one!
Why, it's only the finest wig powder on the market.
Best not to stand too close or breathe it in.
Or maybe you could just stop with the powdering for a minute.
Certainly not. I've got a huge wig order to fill.
Huge wig order? As in lots and lots of wigs, or just like one giant wig?
May I ask who are you, besides a man asking silly questions.
I am the trusty narrator from Who Smarted.
And who are you? The name's Winthrop the Wig -Maker.
Ha. And wig -making is big business in these parts and in these times.
Really? Don't believe me?
Look around. How many men do you see wearing white powdered wigs?
Uh, two, three, four, 12.
Oh yeah, there's a lot of wigs.
Come to think of it, they kind of look like America's founding fathers.
But of course, they were wig -wearers too.
OK, but why? Why is everyone in colonial times wearing a wig?
Well not everyone just the men.
Why are all the men wearing wigs but not the ladies?
And when did women start buying and wearing wigs?
And what are these wigs even made of?
Hey, no touching! Knees with all the powder.
Smarty Pants looks like we'll be wigging out as we take another big whiff of Science and History on - Who's Smart -ed?
Who's Smarted? Who's Smart?
Is it you? Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting! Lots of fun on Who's Smart -ed?
Hey, everyone. Trusty here.
One of the things I love about hosting Who's Smarted is getting to answer all those amazing questions from curious smarty -pants.
And that's why I'm excited to tell you about another show that does exactly that, our Friends podcast, But Why, a podcast for curious kids.
Have you ever asked something like, why does the wind blow?
Or, do skyscrapers actually scrape the sky?
And you weren't quite sure of the answer.
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They've answered questions from over 16 ,000 kids across 90 countries.
and they're not afraid to tackle any topic, even the gross ones that make grown -ups squirm.
I mean, they have whole episodes about poop and making paint from spit and rocks, how cool is that?
Their team gets real experts to answer real questions from real kids like you.
So, if your family loves learning interesting stuff on Who's Smarted, you'll definitely want to check out But Why?
You can find But Why?
wherever you get your podcasts.
Okay, Trusse, hold this hackle while I run this hair through it.
Oh! Now I can touch the wig?
Quickly, please. Okay, okay, I'm hackling, I'm hackling.
There, the curls are all set!
This one will fetch a pretty penny!
I still can't get over how many wigs there are!
Or how powdery they are.
But why? you want to know why people wear wigs well it all started in ancient Egypt as these things often do back then both men and women wore wigs in fact they would shave their heads no not with an electric razor whoops sorry wrong sound effect that's better they'd shave their heads and then wear wigs to protect their freshly shaven and scalps from the sun. Ah.
Hold on. Ah. Let me get this straight, Winthrop.
Ancient Egyptians got rid of their own hair just to put someone else's hair on their bald heads?
Correct. Why? I know it seems a bit silly.
Styling your own hair back then wasn't as easy as it is today, and everyone wanted to look good.
Wigs were all about status.
You see, lower class people, wore wigs made of wool and leaf fibers, and upper class people, wore wigs made from real human hair.
Interesting. Smarty -pants, true or false.
Many wigs today are still made using human hair.
If you said true, you're right.
Not only is it still common, but wigs made from human hair are actually much more expensive than any other kind.
Indeed. Throughout history, people all over the world, were wigs for fashion and status.
And wigs were often afforded only to the upper classes in nobility.
Not just in ancient Egypt, but in China, Japan, and Korea too.
I see. So, if they were so fancy and exclusive, how and why did regular folks start wearing them?
I mean, no offense, but I can't picture the average person waking up one day and saying, you know what?
I think I'm gonna shave my head today and wear a wig because I love wigs.
Mm -hmm. Well, it just so happens.
I know a lot of people who love wigs I bet as it were to answer your question the reason the average person began wearing wigs is yet again status, of course, but also hygiene hygiene indeed the first time wigs began being worn by the masses was long after the Creme de la crème, of the ancient world, wore them.
It was in Europe and in the middle ages.
On one hand, wigs were popularized by kings and queens.
But, naturally, the commoners wanted to be just like them.
Naturally. But on the other hand, the middle ages were a dark and rather disgusting time in Europe.
Most people didn't bathe regularly.
Lice was common and so was disease.
And the symptom of some of these diseases was patchy hair loss.
One way to elevate the stress and lice of it all was to shave your head and wear a wig.
No, there was no electricity then either.
Oh, my bad. So, what you're saying is lice aren't interested in wigs.
Good question. While lice could get into a wig, since it's removable, it's much easier to de -louse a wig than your own head of hair.
Gotcha. Makes sense.
But besides hygiene and status, there was another factor too.
Smarty Pants, any idea what this third factor could be?
Yeah, me neither. Popularity.
That's right. And one guy pretty much started it all.
Ooh! Wait, was it you, Winthrop?
Huh, I wish. It was actually - Wait!
Let's see if the smarty -pants can guess!
Was the person who made wig -wearing popular for the masses A.
Henry VIII B. Louis XIII or C.
Chief Wiggum? The answer is...
B. Louis XIII of France You see, around 1624 Louis started losing his hair rather prematurely Surely, he was only 23 years old.
So he started wearing big elaborate wigs in his royal court.
Then his son, Louis XIV, popularized wig wearing even more.
Ah, that makes sense.
Smarty Pants, do you know what Louis XIV nickname for himself was?
Was it The Lion King, The Sun King, or The Brave King?
If you said the Sun King, you're correct.
He called himself that because he viewed himself as the center of the universe.
Oh, and his wig too, I guess.
Indeed. Anyway, once Louis XIV started wearing wigs everyone wanted to do it.
Wig mania swept Europe for the next 140 years.
But it was still just men who wore wigs, right?
Right? European women didn't start wearing wigs for a long time.
It wasn't until the 18th century.
And even then, they weren't really big curly wigs like the men were wearing.
Instead, women would create elaborate hairstyles with their real hair and attach artificial hair pieces to them to make them look even more elaborate.
Oh, like hair extensions.
My aunt Rita puts hers in before she hits the Olive Garden.
You're losing me. Never mind.
So let's recap. Throughout history, wigs were worn for fashion, status, and during the middle ages, people wore them for hygiene too, but once kings started wearing big fancy curly wigs, then all the men started wearing big fancy curly wigs too.
But the ladies, not so much. Perfect.
Now would you like to buy a wig?
No. What I want is to know what those fancy curly big boy wigs were made from.
Ah now we're getting to my area of expertise, wig making.
In 17th century France, wig making became such a serious business that a wig makers guild was created in 1665 legitimizing the craft. It was later copied in many other places.
Okay, but what are they made of?
I'm getting to that.
Most wigs throughout history were made from human hair.
But not all of them, some were made from animal hair such as horse hair or goat hair.
Heh heh ha ha. And let me guess, the rich, upper class people had the human hair wigs.
And the less wealthy, lower classes had to make do with the animal hair?
Heh heh heh. Exactly, but what can I do?
Human hair isn't cheap.
I'm just going to ignore that sound.
Never mind that. How were the wigs made?
Whether it was human or animal hair, the many strands of hair would have to be sewn onto a base first. And that base was known as a wig cap.
Wig caps were usually made from linen or silk.
Ooh. And form the foundation of a wig.
Next comes the hackle.
Is that the thing that looks like a big, heavy hair brush, only the bristles are really sharp?
Ouch. Yes. A hackle is used to gather up all the hairs, smooth them out, and combine them.
Ooh. You can even mix different colors together in a hackle.
You run the many strands of hair through the sharp bristles over and over and over again.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Until it all comes out smooth and combined.
Then you thread it onto the wig cap.
That sure seems like a lot of work.
It is. It can take days to make a wig.
And what about the big, white powdery ones?
How do they get made, and why did the founding fathers wear them?
Wasn't the idea to not resemble the British and other Europeans?
I can tell you about that, trusty.
And you shall, right after this short break, and a word from our sponsors.
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Now back to who smarted.
Okay, what is the deal with these big, poofy wigs?
And what is with all the powder?
Well, the really big, white -powdered wigs of the 18th century were first popularized in Europe.
What gave them their bright white color?
Why wig powder of course.
Smarty -pants, any idea what wig powder is made of?
Yeah, me neither. Wig powder was usually made from finely ground starch and scented with things like lavender or orange blossom.
However, people in Europe eventually got so sick and tired of having to deal with clumps of powder all over the place.
Ah -ha! So it's not just me?
Nope. When people started complaining, they stopped making human hair wigs that needed powdering in favor of naturally white horse hair.
I see. So was that it for powdered wigs?
Not exactly. Funnily enough, by the time wigs made their way to the USA, they'd gotten shorter and less elaborate.
Eventually, some men didn't wear wigs at all, but just powdered their own hair white.
Oh, wow. Wait, didn't the Founding Fathers all wear wigs?
What do you think, smarties?
The answer is some did!
Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe all wore white -pouted wigs!
Gotcha, so the second, third, fourth, and fifth presidents all wore wigs.
But wait, what about the first president?
Smartypants, you know who I'm talking about, right?
I am George Washington, and I cannot tell a lie.
I did not wear a wig.
but I don't understand.
Washington's hair, it's so white and big and wig -like.
I know most people see George Washington in paintings and assume he wore a wig, but he didn't.
He powdered his own hair white.
Whoa. So if that's the case, what color was George Washington's hair?
Smarty Pants, what do you think?
Was his hair brown, blonde, or was he a redhead?
The answer is George Washington was a redhead.
I cannot tell a lie.
I am a red head and a proud one at that.
Ooh. So let me get this straight.
In colonial America, some guys wore wigs and some guys didn't, which means wigs were optional?
Not quite. Here as in Europe, wigs had a lot to do with rank and class and wealth, but eventually attitudes changed.
After the French revolution, regular people no longer wanted to emulate the styles of kings and queens, and wig wearing grew less popular.
And the hair powder tax of 1795 didn't help.
The what now? In Great Britain, there was a tax on hair powder.
It sped up the decline of not only powdering one's own hair, but wearing wigs at all.
And all of this trickled over to our shores, when now daily wig wearing for men or women is largely a thing of the past. Very interesting, Winthrop.
But we do still see wigs today.
Why, yes. In the 20th century, wigs became mass produced and machine made.
They became associated with entertainment and pop stars.
Ooh. And of course, Halloween.
And in many countries of the British Commonwealth, lawyers and judges must still wear white wigs to court.
Other people wear wigs for religious reasons.
So don't you worry, trusty wigs aren't going by -by anytime soon.
But I am. It's time for my lunch break, kid.
Whew! It sure is hot under this rug.
Wait, Winthrop? What happened to you?
And your hair? Guy, I'm just playing a character.
My real name is Mitch, I'm from Queens.
What did you forget you're in a colonial reenactment village?
I guess I did. You mind holding my wig while I go take a powder?
Don't say powder. A big shout out to Savvy and the Whaley family in Orange County, California.
Thank you so much for being such amazing Smarty fans.
And Who Smarted plus subscribers?
We love that you smart with us as part of your bedtime routine and that you learn something new every single night.
We're so glad your family is part of our Smarty Family.
This episode Wigs was written by Phil Jeremy and voiced by Mike Provitti, Max Kamaski, Leonor Pernas, Adam -Tex Davis and Jerry Kollberg.
Technical direction and sound designed by Josh Han.
Our associate producer is Max Wig Powder Kamaski.
The theme song is by Bryan Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam -Tex Davis, who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Kohlberg.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
