I wore a winter boots every day for two years.
I hate climbing trees. I'm Deborah Goldstein, host of the podcast The Big Fib and half of those statements were indeed Fibs!
On every episode of The Big Fib, we bring on two grown-ups.
One is an expert and the other is a liar, and it's the job of our human child contestant to help us figure out who is who, because no one can spot a liar better than a kid.
We've had episodes on everything from Minecraft to Mythology and from LEGO to Libraries.
Join me and my robot co-host Lisa on The Big Fib on Apple Podcasts or on GZMshows.com.
And now it's time for Who Smarted!
Psssss! Hey, Smarted Pants!
Today, I'm coming to you from the Emancipation Hall inside the U.S.
Capitol building in Washington, DC.
As you might know, this is an important place.
For one thing, the Capitol is where Congress passes laws affecting the entire country.
For another, the Emancipation Hall, located in the Visitor Center, contains statues of great Americans.
In order to have a statue here, you have to have done something that had a profound impact on society.
You were false, Smarted Pants, all of the statues in the Emancipation Hall are of adults.
If you said true, sorry, you're wrong.
In fact, right now, I'm standing before a statue of a seven-year-old girl named...
Hello, trusty. Nice to meet you.
I'm Helen Keller. Uh, hi.
I didn't realize the statues here talked.
Normally they don't. Right.
On this podcast, we can make anything talk.
Pretty pants, if you ever go to Emancipation Hall, do not expect the statues to talk to you.
But since this is who Smarted, let's just roll with it.
So what were you and the Smarty Pants talking about?
Oh, I was telling everyone how impressive it is that someone around their age has a statue at the US Capitol.
Not to brag, but my statue is in fact the first statue of a child to be on permanent display in the Capitol.
Wow. Even more impressive.
Now, I know some Smarty Pants might be wondering, who was Helen Keller?
What is she famous for and how did she change the world for the better?
To find out the answers to those questions and a whole lot more, join me for another big whiff of science and history on...
So Helen, tell us, what was your early life like?
When I was really little, I was like many other children.
I started walking on my first birthday.
But when I was 19 months old, I got very sick.
And the sickness I had made me blind.
Smarty Pants, as I'm sure you know or remember, from our episode on blindness, being blind means you can't see.
But that's not all. The sickness also made me deaf.
Oh wow. Smarty Pants being deaf means you can't...
what? Did you say here? That's right.
So just like that, at a very young age, you suddenly lost the ability to see and hear.
Yeah, it was really scary to not be able to see you're here anymore, since these were the ways I was experiencing the world.
And I guess there was nothing that doctors could do to help you?
Nope. This was back in 1881.
Medicine and science weren't as advanced as they are today.
I believe that the illness I had was bacterial meningitis, and there was no way to treat it.
I was just going to have to learn to deal with it.
Right. So what did you do?
Well, I found new ways to communicate with my family.
When I was five, I made it my own science for words I often used.
Things like, yes, no father, mother, my baby sister.
And of course, ice cream.
By science, you mean using your hands and fingers to express words or thoughts.
Otherwise known as sign language.
That's right, trustee.
But even though my family understood the signs I came up with, my dog Bell didn't.
It was hard to get Bell to play with me.
Oh no. Smarty pants, imagine if you couldn't get your dog to play with you.
I'm sure that didn't feel good.
Trust me, trustee. A lot of things back then didn't feel very good.
Even though I made it my own sign language, it was hard to find ways to tell people everything I wanted to say.
And I had a lot to say. Well, I'm just glad you're able to communicate with me today.
Thanks to the magic of talking statues and who smarted.
It's easy. But in real life, it was pretty rough.
I can imagine. But then something happened that helped make things better, right?
Yes. My parents had read about another girl who was deaf and blind like me.
This girl worked with a special teacher.
So my hopeful parents decided to get me a teacher too.
Everyone needs a teacher.
Even trustee narrators.
That's why I love going on smarting adventures and learning new things from everyone I meet.
You said it, trustee. Meeting my teacher was probably the most important day of my life.
Smarty pants, do you know the name of Helen Keller's teacher?
Was it Ann Robinson? Ann Gilbert or Ann Sullivan?
The answer is Ann Sullivan.
Now, true or false, Smarty pants, Ann Sullivan and Helen Keller met at a special school to do their lessons.
The answer is false. I attended school when I was older, but my first lessons with Miss Sullivan took place at my home.
Say, I know a lot of smarty pants listening, do home schooling for a variety of reasons.
Do you happen to remember any of your early home school lessons?
I sure do. And one of my very first sessions, Miss Sullivan gave me a doll.
Oh, I'm not sure any of my teachers ever gave me a toy when I was in school.
But I'm sure it was part of a lesson, right?
Right. While Miss Sullivan let me play with the doll for a little while, she spelled out the word doll into the palm of my hand with her fingers.
While I could feel her fingers moving, I didn't know what the letters were or how they worked.
I'll admit, I wasn't always the easiest student.
Once when Miss Sullivan tried to teach me the words mug and water, I argued with her and got so upset that I smashed my new doll onto the floor.
Oh, wow. But I can understand why you become frustrated.
I'm sure some of the smarty pants have had their moments, too.
Yep, I see some of their parents nodding.
Anyway, did Miss Sullivan get angry with you for throwing your doll?
Nope. Instead, she took me outside and put my hand under the running water at a water pump.
Then she spelled the word water in my other hand with her fingers.
After a lot of practice, I began to understand that everything has a name.
That must have been a big moment for you.
It was. This is when I first started to understand the world around me.
It's also the reason why the statue of me shows me at a water pump.
Oh, I just thought you really liked water.
Duh. So then what happened?
It was on April 5th and 1887 that I signed my first word the way Miss Sullivan showed me.
Smarty pants, do you know what this word was?
Was it A, water? B, pump or C, doll?
If you said A, water, you got it.
Being able to sign words by spelling them with my fingers was life-changing.
It felt wonderful to understand and be understood.
But there was one really important word that was very hard to understand at first.
Smarty pants? Any guess what that word was?
I'm going to guess viscosity.
Uh, no. The word was love.
Uh, yeah. That makes way more sense.
Did any smarty pants say love?
I guarantee. None of you said viscosity.
Anyway, as you were saying, Helen.
One day I gave Miss Sullivan some flowers and she spelled, I love Helen into my hand.
I didn't know what love was at first and it was really hard to understand.
It wasn't anything I could touch.
Come to think of it, love is hard to describe just through touch.
How would you describe love?
Smarty pants? At first Miss Sullivan tried to explain how love was in my heart.
But then she explained that even though you can't touch love, you can feel how happy it makes you.
Once I understood love, my whole world changed.
Smarty pants, think about the people you love, like your family, friends, or pets.
Even though you can't touch love, you can feel how happy you are when you're with them and your connection to them.
Aww. So how did your world change after that?
I kept wanting to learn and understand things and it was this yearning that led me to learn to do something really important.
Most people thought I would never be able to do.
Hmm, Smarty pants, what do you think that was?
We'll find out right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.
Hola, bonjour. Hello, Ni Hao.
Ciao. Hey Smarty fans, I'm learning to say hello in lots of different languages.
Of course, learning a new language is hard and expensive and requires lots of books, private tutors and courses.
Right? Wrong. What you need is this sound.
That's the sound of Babel.
The science-backed language learning app that's teaching me and millions of others across all age groups how to learn new languages in a way that actually works.
And Babel's quick, 10-minute lessons will have you speaking a new language in as little as three weeks.
Trust me. A subscription to Babel is like having a language school in your pocket, including lessons, photos and pronunciation tests that will have you quickly and confidently having conversations in other languages.
And just for who Smarted listeners, there's a special limited time offer.
Right now, get up to 60% off your Babel subscription at Babel.com slash Smarted.
Again, this is only for our listeners.
Get up to 60% off at Babel.com slash Smarted.
This message is sponsored by Greenlight.
Hey, Smarty Adults, as you know, who Smarted is all about teaching young Smarty Pants about, well, everything.
And what better thing for kids and teens to learn about than the value of money?
That's why I'm happy to bring you this message sponsored by our friends at Greenlight.
Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families.
It's the perfect way for parents to broach the topic of money and help teach their kids and teens how to manage, save and spend money in a fun, accessible way while still under a watchful eye.
I wish I had Greenlight growing up.
Seeing how Greenlight has enabled the kids and my family to learn how to budget and make good financial decisions assures me they'll be set up to handle future finances in a really smart way.
I can't stress enough what a helpful tool this is to sign up for Greenlight today and get your first month free, go to Greenlight.com slash Smarted.
That's Greenlight.com slash Smarted to try Greenlight for free.
Hey, Smarty fans, especially any future entrepreneurs or small business owners listening.
I am so excited to speak to you on behalf of our new sponsor, Squarespace.
Squarespace is the place to help you create beautiful websites, engage with your customers or audience and sell anything from products to content to time.
Whether you're just starting out or managing a growing brand, Squarespace is the all-in-one website platform that lets you stand out and succeed all on your terms.
I've personally used Squarespace to quickly launch websites without needing to hire a whole team or spend a ton of money.
Simply put, Squarespace is the easiest, best way to get your website up and running in hours, not weeks.
To check out what Squarespace can do for you, go to Squarespace.com, backslashsmarted.
To save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain, again, go to Squarespace.com, backslashsmarted, to save 10%.
Thanks. Now back to who's smarted.
Okay, Smarty fans. I'm here with a talking statue of Helen Keller, a woman who became blind and deaf after suffering an illness before she was even two years old.
But rather than live in a world of darkness and silence, Helen learned to communicate with the people in her life and enjoy the world around her.
And then, thanks to her work with her teacher, Miss Anne Sullivan, Helen learned to do something amazing.
But what was it? I'll give you a hint, Smarty Pants.
It's something you do in school.
Oh, that narrowed it down a bit.
Let's see if you can guess what thing Helen Keller learned to do.
Was it A, read? B, solve math problems.
Or C, conduct science experiments.
If you said A, read, nice job.
Even though people thought I would never be able to read, Miss Sullivan worked very hard with me and eventually I used my fingers to read phrase dots that made letters and words.
Smarty Pants, do you know the name for those raised dots?
Is it A, bumpers? B, brazes?
Or C, braille? Why it's braille?
Smarty Pants, you might remember us talking about braille in our who's smarted episode on blindness.
But while many blind people learn to read braille, remember, Helen was faced with the additional challenge of being deaf, which made learning anything more difficult.
Let alone how to read. So how did you do it, Helen?
I practiced reading by matching words on cards with the object that they named.
For example, if I felt the bumps and they spelled Apple, Miss Sullivan would hit me and Apple.
Wow, that must have taken a long time learning word by word like that.
Yes, but this became like a game to me.
And since it was my favorite game in the world, I could play it for hours.
After a while, I learned to read whole sentences.
And can you read anything in braille?
Absolutely. Since the entire alphabet is in braille, you can spell out any word or person's name.
Eventually, I began reading whole books instead of just words.
Some of my favorites were the Arabian knights, little women, and Robinson Crusoe.
Hey, I read those books growing up too.
I especially love Robinson Crusoe about a guy who gets shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and has to survive all alone.
In many ways, being deaf and blind often felt like I was alone too.
But learning to read and communicate maybe feel like I was part of the same world as everyone else.
In fact, I read my books so many times I wore down the braille dots with my fingers.
That's amazing, Helen.
After reading, what came next for you?
Even though I could communicate by spelling words with my fingers into someone's hand when I was nine, I decided to read it.
And I wanted to learn how to speak.
Smarty pants. For someone who is deaf, it can be very hard to speak, since they have never heard sounds or speech.
I began working with a teacher named Sarah Fuller.
She put my hand to her face and let me feel her tongue and lips as she made each letter sound.
After just an hour, I learned how to sound for the letters M, P, A, S, T, and I felt.
Hmm, you could say, I spat a peda past a stamp with those letters.
Not that you'd ever want to say that.
No, probably not. But after a lot of hard work, I did learn to speak.
Oh wow, you did it! So what changed for you after you learned to speak?
Remember my dog, Bell? Of course.
I also remember how you couldn't get Bell to play with you because she didn't understand your signs.
Right. But after I learned to speak, I could call my dog.
Here Bell, come Bell. And she'd come to me.
Yes, what a great story, right, Smarty Pads?
When I got older, I didn't just speak English.
I also learned to speak French and German.
Helen, that's incredible, but that's not all.
Nope. During my life, I learned to do lots of things, like riding a horse.
And in 1903, I published my autobiography called The Story of My Life.
Wow, to think. People once thought you'd never be able to read a book, and here you are writing one.
In fact, I wound up writing several books and essays.
I also had the opportunity to meet many famous and important people during my life.
Oh yeah? Anyone me or the Smarty Pads know?
Well, I met with every president from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon Johnson.
Smarty Pads, how many presidents do you think that was?
Five, ten, thirteen? Believe it or not, Helen Keller met thirteen different US presidents.
During my life, people thought I was different.
But being different can also be a good thing.
You just need to figure out how to do things in the way that works best for you.
Of course, it helps to have a great teacher like Miss Sullivan to help you.
But with a lot of hard work and perseverance, there's no telling what you can achieve.
Yep, Helen Keller's triumph over the limitations of blindness and deafness have made her an inspiration for everyone.
And remember Smarty Pads, you don't have to be an adult to do great important things.
Who knows? Someday, there will be a statue of you in the US capital.
No pressure. But it'd be nice to have some other kids here to play with.
Do you love who's smart but don't love all the ads?
If you're still hearing them, it's because you haven't subscribed to Who Smarted Plus yet.
For just a few dollars a month, you get our entire archive plus all new episodes totally ad-free.
And you get an extra new episode every week and special bonus content from me, trusty.
Subscribe now in your Apple Podcast app or click subscribe at whosmarted.com.
Annual subscriptions have a seven day free trial.
Oh, and if you are a classroom educator, click Educator on the site and use your official school email for a free subscription to Who Smarted Plus.
Our way of saying thank you to all of the teachers out there.
Thanks for smarting with us.
A super shout out to Super Smarty Fan Olivia in Richmond, Virginia.
Olivia is four and has listened to every episode of Who Smarted multiple times.
She loves learning new things.
And best of all, she listens with her mom who also learns new things most of the time.
We're glad to have you in our Smarty family.
This episode, Helen Keller, was written by Sarah Sweettick and voiced by Molly Smith and Jerry Colburn.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Swaraz with lyrics written and performed by Adam Textevis.
Who Smarty was created and produced by Adam Textevis and Jerry Colburn.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
