The details may vary but building snowmen is pretty much universal where there’s snow. Humans have probably been making them for tens of thousands of years. But it wasn’t until the last century or two that they have become the winter icon they are today.
AI Summary
# Stuff You Should Know - The Snowman Episode
Josh and Chuck explore the fascinating history of snowmen, from their earliest artistic depictions in medieval manuscripts to modern pop culture icons like Frosty and Olaf. They trace how snowmen evolved from medieval political satire and European Renaissance art projects—including one famously commissioned by Michelangelo—into the jolly, Christmas-loving symbols we know today, examining everything from Russian snow maiden folklore to the surprisingly dark history of the 1690 Schenectady massacre where fake snowmen stood guard. The hosts also dive into snowman world records, cultural traditions like Switzerland's explosive Sexelauten festival, and practical tips for building the perfect snow person, all while celebrating the snowman's recurring cameo appearances throughout human history.
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"I was even listening to Black Star the other day. Good album. — Chuck mentions David Bowie's album Black Star in a joking context about Bowie listening to SYSK."
— Chuck
Forrest Gump
1994
2h 22m
★ 8.5
"Bob Eckstein compares the snowman to kind of a type of forest gump. He just pops up at all of these really important moments in history. — Josh uses Forrest Gump as a comparison for how snowmen appear throughout history at significant moments."
— Josh
Frosty Returns
1992
G
24m
★ 5.7
"And then Frosty returns in 92. And then not to be outdone, they made another one in 2005, Legend of Frosty the Snowman. — Josh lists the later sequels in the Frosty franchise."
— Josh
Frosty the Snowman
1969
NR
25m
★ 6.9
"Rankin' Bass got ahold of him and turned the song into the 1969 May for TV movie. — Josh discusses how Rankin/Bass adapted the Frosty song into a TV special."
— Josh
"We also have to shout out Chuck the movie Jack Frost from I think 1998. There's of course Olaf from Frozen, which I'm dying to know if you're the one or if you got this from somewhere else who said he is widely considered the best character in the movie. — Josh mentions Olaf from Frozen as a modern snowman character in popular culture."
— Josh
Jack Frost
1998
PG
1h 41m
★ 6.0
"We also have to shout out Chuck the movie Jack Frost from I think 1998. starring Michael Keaton as Jack Frost Snowman who is a reincarnated. — Josh discusses the poorly-reviewed 1998 film Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton."
— Josh
"This is like the 1982 Let's Dance or 83 Let's Dance era, right? So he's got his platinum spiky blonde hair. — Josh references David Bowie's Let's Dance era when discussing Bowie's appearance in the Snowman intro."
— Josh
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
1964
52m
★ 7.4
"They wrote this Frosty song for Gene Autry after they saw that he had a big smash with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. — Josh mentions the classic Christmas special as context for why songwriters created Frosty."
— Josh
The Golden Girls
1985
★ 7.6
"Hans Fischer Kussen, which sounds like somebody that Rose Nyland would have dated on Golden Girls back in the day. — Chuck makes a joke comparing the German animator's name to a character type from Golden Girls."
— Chuck
The Snowman
1944
13m
★ 6.7
"Der Schneemann in the US and outside of Europe had no idea it was a Nazi film, but it was directly commissioned by Joseph Goebbels. — Josh discusses the Nazi-era German animated short film about a snowman that was made to replace Disney cartoons."
— Josh
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