Get into the spooky season spirit with a frighteningly fun edition of First Things First! Grab your smarty pass and join Joy and Ruby as they try to put three superstar scarers in chronological order!
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RUBY GUTHRIE: Now entering Brains On! headquarters.
[OMINOUS SOUND]
Joy, are you in here. We're going to be late for Nico's annual Halloweiner hot dog party. Last year, Sandin almost threw up after covering his hot dog in super sour Skittles. Joy, why is it so cold in here? And what's with all the cobwebs?
JOY DOLO: [SINISTER LAUGH]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Joy, is that you? Joy?
JOY DOLO: [SINISTER LAUGH] Oh! Hey, Ruby! Sorry, I didn't hear you. I've been so focused on designing [? Dollnstein ?] [? Pyra. ?]
RUBY GUTHRIE: [? Dollnstein ?] [? Pyra? ?]
JOY DOLO: Yeah. Say that three times fast. I'm trying to make a brand-new highly terrifying monster to put in my yard for Halloween. Are you brave enough to take a look?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Uh, I think so? [LAUGHS]
JOY DOLO: Hey, what's so funny?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Sorry, Joy. It's just [? Dollnstein ?] [? Pyra ?] is not scary. Maybe it's the clown nose? Also, wait, is he holding my jar of mayonnaise that mysteriously went missing from the fridge last week?
JOY DOLO: What could be more terrifying than a clown chasing you with a jar of mayo? Woooo.
RUBY GUTHRIE: OK. OK, let's think. What are some other scary monsters you can draw inspiration from?
JOY DOLO: Clifford the Big Red Dog, Darkwing Duck. Any of my little ponies-- Tubby, the Duke's Mayonnaise mascot.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I was thinking of ones that are a little more well known. Here, I have an idea. Let's learn about some with a little game of--
CROWD: First Things First!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
RUBY GUTHRIE: OK, Joy, your three monsters are Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and Godzilla. Which do you think was made up first, which second, and which most recently in history?
JOY DOLO: Hmm, all these monsters are very monstery. And so-- OK, so Count Dracula is like a vampire, right? And so those are from Transylvania. And they're from, I think, of the 1800s with those collars and those outfits that the fancy men would wear, which is one of the episodes from Forever Ago.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yes, shout out.
JOY DOLO: [LAUGHS] Shout out! And I know Godzilla. I mean, Godzilla is a dinosaur. You know what I mean? So this is a giant dinosaur.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah.
JOY DOLO: Right! A big old lizard. And then Frankenstein's Monster has bolts in his neck, which makes me think of cars.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, it's kind of green. He's got stuff on his face, like he's sewed up.
JOY DOLO: Yeah, stitches. Sewed up.
RUBY GUTHRIE: That's the word I was looking for.
[CHUCKLING]
JOY DOLO: He's covered in stitches. And that just makes me think of the '50s. I want to say, '40s or '50s.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Hmm.
JOY DOLO: So, OK--
RUBY GUTHRIE: Everyone here is sewed up.
JOY DOLO: [LAUGHS] I've seen the BBC newsreels.
[CHUCKLING]
Everyone's got sewed up. OK, so we have-- I'm going to go with Godzilla because of dinosaurs. And then Count Dracula because of 1800 fancy man. And then Frankenstein's Monster as my final answer.
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right. So we think that Godzilla was the earliest. Count Dracula in the middle. He's a vampire. And Frankenstein's Monster, most recently, because, the '50s. Joy, I'm here to reveal the answers. So--
JOY DOLO: [GASPS] Oh, did I get them all right?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Well--
JOY DOLO: Yay! Me! I'm so happy!
RUBY GUTHRIE: You're really close. So the earliest was actually Frankenstein's Monster.
JOY DOLO: What?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Plot twist, it was first published in 1818, back in the 1800s. So Frankenstein's monster actually comes from a novel written by Mary Shelley back in 1816, and she wrote the story when she was only 18 years old herself.
JOY DOLO: Oh my goodness.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I know. Pretty young. And she wrote the first draft of the story while on a rainy vacation to Lake Geneva. She and her traveling companions decided to pass the time with a little competition to see who could come up with the scariest story.
JOY DOLO: Ooh.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I know, very fun. And in it, a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein creates the creature, but it's now known as Frankenstein's Monster.
JOY DOLO: Awwwrrr. Did you ever write anything when you were 18, Ruby?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, man, yeah. Could I recall what it was? I don't know, I feel like I wrote book reports. Nothing fun like a scary monster story.
JOY DOLO: Like a novel or anything.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah. No. I don't know. I was too busy listening to, I don't know, Lady Gaga or something, when I was 18.
JOY DOLO: Yeah. Me, too, I love Lady Gaga.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Another little monster, the next in line, was Count Dracula.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You were correct in that that's the middle one and from the 1800s. Look at you!
JOY DOLO: Ah, look at that!
RUBY GUTHRIE: Thanks, Forever Ago. Ah, high five! So Count Dracula is the title character in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, which was published in 1897.
JOY DOLO: Oh, OK.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Mm-hmm. The novel is about a young English lawyer named Jonathan who travels to meet one of his clients, Count Dracula. Turns out Dracula is a vampire who locks Jonathan away in his castle and sets off to wreak vampire havoc across England.
JOY DOLO: Wow, that is a client that I would not appreciate.
RUBY GUTHRIE: [CHUCKLES] Yeah. Look, man, I just need some legal advice.
[LAUGHTER]
JOY DOLO: I should have called in sick today.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ooh, yeah.
JOY DOLO: What do you think the legal advice was? I'm sure I could read the book and find out. But I was like, oh, I'm having some issue with my lawn borders. My neighbor's too far over. They've got a tree that's hanging over, and I just really have some issues with it.
RUBY GUTHRIE: [CHUCKLES] OK. So you're right that that's the middle thing. Excellent. And that it came from the 1800s. Look at you. And last but not least is Godzilla, which is from 1954. Godzilla is from the '50s.
JOY DOLO: [GASPS] Godzilla is! Oh, wow! OK, so Godzilla has probably seen Grease the musical.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, huge Grease head. Loves Olivia Newton-John. Are you kidding me? Yeah. And actually, this year marks the 70th anniversary of Godzilla. So happy birthday to Godzilla.
JOY DOLO: Yeah. Happy birthday, Godzilla. Good for you. You made it.
RUBY GUTHRIE: So Godzilla was created back in 1954 in Japan, and his Japanese name is Gojira. Since then, there have been dozens of Godzilla films produced in both Japan and in the US.
JOY DOLO: I love that for Godzilla. I'm happy that he's got an anniversary coming up. That's really great. My biggest question is, when do we get to see Godzilla Grease, the musical?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ugh! Yeah. Me, too.
JOY DOLO: [LAUGHS] So, Ruby, those were pretty good monsters. But I still think [? Dollnstein ?] is the scariest monster out there. I'm going to bring him to the Halloweiner party and see who I can spook.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
This Smarty Pass episode was made by Aron Woldeslassie. Our executive producer is Beth Perlman, and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Bye-bye!
RUBY GUTHRIE: Bye!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[OMINOUS SOUND]
Joy, are you in here. We're going to be late for Nico's annual Halloweiner hot dog party. Last year, Sandin almost threw up after covering his hot dog in super sour Skittles. Joy, why is it so cold in here? And what's with all the cobwebs?
JOY DOLO: [SINISTER LAUGH]
RUBY GUTHRIE: Joy, is that you? Joy?
JOY DOLO: [SINISTER LAUGH] Oh! Hey, Ruby! Sorry, I didn't hear you. I've been so focused on designing [? Dollnstein ?] [? Pyra. ?]
RUBY GUTHRIE: [? Dollnstein ?] [? Pyra? ?]
JOY DOLO: Yeah. Say that three times fast. I'm trying to make a brand-new highly terrifying monster to put in my yard for Halloween. Are you brave enough to take a look?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Uh, I think so? [LAUGHS]
JOY DOLO: Hey, what's so funny?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Sorry, Joy. It's just [? Dollnstein ?] [? Pyra ?] is not scary. Maybe it's the clown nose? Also, wait, is he holding my jar of mayonnaise that mysteriously went missing from the fridge last week?
JOY DOLO: What could be more terrifying than a clown chasing you with a jar of mayo? Woooo.
RUBY GUTHRIE: OK. OK, let's think. What are some other scary monsters you can draw inspiration from?
JOY DOLO: Clifford the Big Red Dog, Darkwing Duck. Any of my little ponies-- Tubby, the Duke's Mayonnaise mascot.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I was thinking of ones that are a little more well known. Here, I have an idea. Let's learn about some with a little game of--
CROWD: First Things First!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
RUBY GUTHRIE: OK, Joy, your three monsters are Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and Godzilla. Which do you think was made up first, which second, and which most recently in history?
JOY DOLO: Hmm, all these monsters are very monstery. And so-- OK, so Count Dracula is like a vampire, right? And so those are from Transylvania. And they're from, I think, of the 1800s with those collars and those outfits that the fancy men would wear, which is one of the episodes from Forever Ago.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yes, shout out.
JOY DOLO: [LAUGHS] Shout out! And I know Godzilla. I mean, Godzilla is a dinosaur. You know what I mean? So this is a giant dinosaur.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah.
JOY DOLO: Right! A big old lizard. And then Frankenstein's Monster has bolts in his neck, which makes me think of cars.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, it's kind of green. He's got stuff on his face, like he's sewed up.
JOY DOLO: Yeah, stitches. Sewed up.
RUBY GUTHRIE: That's the word I was looking for.
[CHUCKLING]
JOY DOLO: He's covered in stitches. And that just makes me think of the '50s. I want to say, '40s or '50s.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Hmm.
JOY DOLO: So, OK--
RUBY GUTHRIE: Everyone here is sewed up.
JOY DOLO: [LAUGHS] I've seen the BBC newsreels.
[CHUCKLING]
Everyone's got sewed up. OK, so we have-- I'm going to go with Godzilla because of dinosaurs. And then Count Dracula because of 1800 fancy man. And then Frankenstein's Monster as my final answer.
RUBY GUTHRIE: All right. So we think that Godzilla was the earliest. Count Dracula in the middle. He's a vampire. And Frankenstein's Monster, most recently, because, the '50s. Joy, I'm here to reveal the answers. So--
JOY DOLO: [GASPS] Oh, did I get them all right?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Well--
JOY DOLO: Yay! Me! I'm so happy!
RUBY GUTHRIE: You're really close. So the earliest was actually Frankenstein's Monster.
JOY DOLO: What?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Plot twist, it was first published in 1818, back in the 1800s. So Frankenstein's monster actually comes from a novel written by Mary Shelley back in 1816, and she wrote the story when she was only 18 years old herself.
JOY DOLO: Oh my goodness.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I know. Pretty young. And she wrote the first draft of the story while on a rainy vacation to Lake Geneva. She and her traveling companions decided to pass the time with a little competition to see who could come up with the scariest story.
JOY DOLO: Ooh.
RUBY GUTHRIE: I know, very fun. And in it, a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein creates the creature, but it's now known as Frankenstein's Monster.
JOY DOLO: Awwwrrr. Did you ever write anything when you were 18, Ruby?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Oh, man, yeah. Could I recall what it was? I don't know, I feel like I wrote book reports. Nothing fun like a scary monster story.
JOY DOLO: Like a novel or anything.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah. No. I don't know. I was too busy listening to, I don't know, Lady Gaga or something, when I was 18.
JOY DOLO: Yeah. Me, too, I love Lady Gaga.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Another little monster, the next in line, was Count Dracula.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You were correct in that that's the middle one and from the 1800s. Look at you!
JOY DOLO: Ah, look at that!
RUBY GUTHRIE: Thanks, Forever Ago. Ah, high five! So Count Dracula is the title character in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, which was published in 1897.
JOY DOLO: Oh, OK.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Mm-hmm. The novel is about a young English lawyer named Jonathan who travels to meet one of his clients, Count Dracula. Turns out Dracula is a vampire who locks Jonathan away in his castle and sets off to wreak vampire havoc across England.
JOY DOLO: Wow, that is a client that I would not appreciate.
RUBY GUTHRIE: [CHUCKLES] Yeah. Look, man, I just need some legal advice.
[LAUGHTER]
JOY DOLO: I should have called in sick today.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ooh, yeah.
JOY DOLO: What do you think the legal advice was? I'm sure I could read the book and find out. But I was like, oh, I'm having some issue with my lawn borders. My neighbor's too far over. They've got a tree that's hanging over, and I just really have some issues with it.
RUBY GUTHRIE: [CHUCKLES] OK. So you're right that that's the middle thing. Excellent. And that it came from the 1800s. Look at you. And last but not least is Godzilla, which is from 1954. Godzilla is from the '50s.
JOY DOLO: [GASPS] Godzilla is! Oh, wow! OK, so Godzilla has probably seen Grease the musical.
RUBY GUTHRIE: Yeah, huge Grease head. Loves Olivia Newton-John. Are you kidding me? Yeah. And actually, this year marks the 70th anniversary of Godzilla. So happy birthday to Godzilla.
JOY DOLO: Yeah. Happy birthday, Godzilla. Good for you. You made it.
RUBY GUTHRIE: So Godzilla was created back in 1954 in Japan, and his Japanese name is Gojira. Since then, there have been dozens of Godzilla films produced in both Japan and in the US.
JOY DOLO: I love that for Godzilla. I'm happy that he's got an anniversary coming up. That's really great. My biggest question is, when do we get to see Godzilla Grease, the musical?
RUBY GUTHRIE: Ugh! Yeah. Me, too.
JOY DOLO: [LAUGHS] So, Ruby, those were pretty good monsters. But I still think [? Dollnstein ?] is the scariest monster out there. I'm going to bring him to the Halloweiner party and see who I can spook.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
This Smarty Pass episode was made by Aron Woldeslassie. Our executive producer is Beth Perlman, and the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Bye-bye!
RUBY GUTHRIE: Bye!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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