- I read a book.
- You read a book?
Ha-ha-ha-hey!
(laughter)
He read a book!
- Shut up.
(happy music)
- You may not be aware, but the world of fashion
is riddled with strange stories
that have quietly influenced society as we know it.
I mean, do you you ever wonder how and why
we humans wear the articles of clothing and accessories
that we do?
- Every day of my life, Rhett.
- Perfect! Because I've got a game that is gonna
test your ability to deduce, discern, detect, determine,
and divine the weird but true reasons
we wear certain things.
- Okay, we've got some apparel backstories here.
- Yeah. Exactly.
That seems to excite you.
- I am interested.
- Okay, so, I am gonna bring in an article of clothing,
I am going to hold it up for us to see,
and then I am going to give you some multiple choices
as to what the real origin story of that particular
article of clothing is.
If you get it right, I'm gonna put it on.
If you get it wrong, you gotta put it on.
And whoever has the most clothes on at the end, of course,
- Is gonna be warmer-
- Is the loser!
And the person who has the least clothes on
gets to put on this amazing
sound-activated LED tie.
- Sound activated...
LED tie.
- The origin story of this is that
one of the interns got drunk and bought it on Amazon.
(laughter)
- Okay.
- First off-
- I would love to add that to my tie collection.
What's the first?
Oh. High heels.
- Recognize these?
Why don't you hold them.
- Uh-kay.
- High heels. Believe it or not, high heels
weren't invented to give short, insecure men
inferiority complexes; that was just an added bonus.
The high heel was in fact invented for a very specific
and man-centric reason.
Was it... A.
- I think I know this one even without the choices.
- Oh. Do you wanna go blind?
- To elongate the leg.
(laughter)
- That's a little literal, don't you think?
- How about I give you the real choices?
A. To help hog wranglers keep their footing in the mud
B. To help renaissance-era clergymen feel closer to God
C. To help horseback riders stay in their stirrups
D. To give ogres something to pick their teeth
after they eat annoying singing princesses.
You know the type.
- So high heels were first worn by...
Men, is what you're saying?
- Yeah, that's what I said at the beginning.
- Well that's the spirit.
I think it's to help horseback riders stay in their stirrups
and I know they look exactly like this.
- Horseback riders?
- Yeah. Horseback riders.
- That's right.
(chime)
That's right, Link.
(laughter)
Yes, you're right.
And they didn't look like that.
You're onto something, because originally
they were just one inch heels that men wore
to stay firmly in their stirrups
and then they evolved into the thinner,
higher, more stylized heels,
thanks to the Queen of France, Catherine di Medici.
- To elongate the leg.
Which is for the birds.
- Yeah, yeah. I like to wear heels when I drive;
I call it "drag-racing"
- Okay. So I'm throwing
- Uh, no. I put 'em on, cause you got it right.
- Oh yeah, I did get it right.
There you go.
- You tryin' a injure me?
- These better not be where they can see you go in.
- These were not made for my feet.
Oh! Gosh! Why did this have to be the first item?
- Put your foot up here.
- You're not gonna be able to put my foot in there.
Golly.
Ugh. My toes are gonna be very uncomfortable
the entire time.
- What's the next item?
- The mumu.
- The mumu?
- You know, like a big, flowy, flowery dress.
- Oh, look at that.
- The mumu can be enjoyed by people of all shapes
and sizes, which is surely part of its mass appeal.
However, this oversize flower-pattern comfort cloth
wasn't originally meant to be worn
only while eating bon-bons
and watching repeats of Roseanne.
Why was the mumu actually invented?
A. To discreetly cover the symptoms of elephantitis,
which ran rampant in the 1920s due to poor nutrition
and hygiene.
B. Appalachian hikers developed them as a means
of keeping their hiking gear dry during the wet season.
C. Missionaries created them to cover the bare breast
of Hawaii natives during their hula rituals.
Or D. For people who are sexually attracted to tablecloths.
(laughter)
- I read a book.
- You read a book?
Ah-ha-ha-hey! He read a book!
- Shut up! I'm in the middle of a sentence.
(laughter)
- I couldn't help myself, I'm sorry.
You shouldn't have stopped.
- I did, that's it. Okay.
I read a book called Hawaii.
It's a novel.
- Oh, about the whole history of Hawaii,
about that James what's-his-name?
- Yes, exactly.
And um, this wasn't in there,
or I didn't get to that part of the book,
yet, cause I haven't finished it,
it's a long book.
And that was two years ago.
But I am saying C, because I think they would
wanna cover up the, the bare breasts.
- Link, you should read more books,
that's right! It's C.
"When missionaries arrived on the Hawaiian islands
back in the 1820s, they were quite surprised to see
topless hula dancers,
so they handed out dresses for the ladies
to cover up with,
and those flowering dresses- flowing dresses,
came to be known as mumus.
- Yeah. There you go.
Mu-move right into that.
Look at you. You look like a winner.
- And that is why hula dances are not nearly as fun anymore.
- Alright. I'm on a role, man!
- Okay. I'm gonna be pretty warm in a second.
- All right, and what's this?
- Ooh. A wig.
A powdered wig.
- Powdered wig.
- Okay. Back in the day, you couldn't throw a rock
without hitting a wealthy man wearing
a powdered wig.
People wore them like they were going out of style
which is funny because eventually they did.
But why did they start wearing said powdered wig
in the first place?
A. Because government officials profited from the sale
of horse hair, so they started the wig trend
to line their own pockets.
B. Because a syphilis epidemic was causing men
to go bald and develop nasty head sores
so the wigs were invented as a STD cover-up.
C. Because King George's second was so embarrassed
about his increasing hair loss
that he suddenly introduced the wig as a symbol of power.
Or D. Because human hair wasn't invented
until the 1970s.
(laughter)
- You know, Rhett, not only do I read books
- What else do you do?
- Parts of 'em.
I also study STDs.
- Oh. Really.
- No. But I've heard this,
that it's a syphilis thing.
I actually know this.
So the answer is B.
Because the syphilis epidemic was causing men to go bald.
- What happened to you?
(laughter)
- Books. STDs.
It's the total package.
- What did you have for breakfast
because you need to do it every single morning
because Link, you are right!
Yes, it was an STD cover-up.
The wigs used to hide syphilis-induced baldness,
in fact, the scent of the wig powder was used
to hide the funky smells coming from the STD head sores.
Unrelated question:
Have you ever considered a mouth wig?
(laughter)
- That's not an STD.
Well. I guess it could be.
You're looking great. Oh goodness!
- Feeling great too.
And now, the leotard.
- Oh good. You gonna put this on over the other stuff?
- I'm gonna try.
The leotard is not just a stretchy one-piece
that gives a lovely peak at your lower cheeks.
Since the 1860s, athletes of all types
have utilized the leotard in order to
maximize their performances.
But, can you guess the story
of why the leotard was originally developed?
A. Ballerina Adelaide Leotard created as a way
to deal with her hyper-hydrosis, AKA excessive sweating.
B. Trapezist Jules Leotard created it to show off
his big, bulging muscles.
C. Gymnast Philip Leotard created it
after his gymnastic pants cause him to slip
off the balance beam and dislocate his shoulder.
Or, D. Rapper Lil Leotard created it to steal the show
at the Grammys.
- Don't remember that Grammys.
This is tough. Man.
I don't know, I'm not buying the sweating.
And then you've got gymnastics pants causing
to slip off the balance beam.
That one's got a whole backstory
about the shoulder and everything.
I think you're trying too hard with that one.
I'm gonna go with trapezist Jules Leotard
created it to show off his bulging muscles.
(tense music)
- Link, you're right again!
- Yeah! Yes!
- You might get the queen sweep!
I don't even know how I'm going to get this on,
I could die in the process.
- Well, you're still wearing the heels
which is gonna make this easier.
- I'm gonna have to sit down for this.
There's no way.
There's too much precious cargo here.
- You need help?
(funky music)
- I coulda taken the heels off, right?
- Nope. That's not how the game works.
Do you still need my help at this point,
because I don't think you do.
- Ever put a leotard over a mumu?
(laughter)
You should try it.
- There ya go.
- The key is to get the mumu to still...
- Look at you!
- I feel great.
(laughter)
Well, Link! It's gonna get real interesting
if you get this one right,
because the last one is the thong.
- Oh, gosh. Okay.
- Get acquainted with that.
- So this is a thong.
- The thong is the dental floss of the underwear community,
in fact, four out of five creepy dentists
recommend that you wear a thong.
But what's the backstory behind the backdoor invention?
Why was it created?
A. As a response to New York City mayor La Guardia's
declaration that exotic dancers must cover themselves.
B. Due to the overwhelming rise in popularity
of sumo-feminino, AKA women's sumo-wrestling,
in World War II era, Brazil.
C. A cotton shortage during the Great Depression
led to smaller undergarments,
which led to the thong.
Or, D. As a way for trapezist Jules Leotard
to show off his butt acne.
(laughter)
He's showing off lots of things.
- Oh my goodness.
Okay. Not buying D.
I'm also not buying C.
Cotton shortage?
I'm not buying B, because World War II era Brazil,
Brazilian cut is a totally different thing.
It's not a thong.
It's a different Brazilian cut.
It's more like this, I think.
It's not like this.
It's like this.
So now I'm down to La Guardia
trying to cover exotic dancers.
That is my answer. A.
Yes! (laughter)
Queen sweep!
And where is the queen? Right there.
- Oh, gosh. Incidentally, Cisco,
who sang the thong song,
currently works at La Guardia airport.
- Stand back there and give us a nice,
complete modeling.
- I don't know if I put 'em on forwards or backwards.
- It doesn't matter.
- All I know is that,
why stop now, you got anything else for me to put on?
(laughter)
- Boy, this is quite a total package.
- I feel so secure.
(jazzy music)
Congratulations. Oh, Link.
You get the tie!
- Oh yeah. That's right.
- Can you figure it out?
- Yeah. Put it on there.
- Look at that.
You know what, on second thought,
this wig's getting a little hot,
I think I'm gonna take this off.
Thanks for liking, commenting, and subscribing.
- You know what time it is.
- Hi Rhett and Link, I'm Stephanie from Puerto Rico
and I just got my Be The Match swab kit
and it's time to spin the wheel of mythicality.
- All right, Stephanie, thanks for being your mythical best.
Click the bottom link to watch this episode
from the beginning.
- And click the top link to watch us try out some
apocalypse milk from the bucket of Jim Baker
in Good Mythical More.
- And to find out where the Wheel of Mythicality
is gonna land.
- [Link] Dear mythical beasts of the Land Down Under,
we're coming to see you in July.
Get tickets and details on the VIP package
at Tourmythicality.com.