The Messed Up Origins™ of Three Blind Mice | Nursery Rhymes Explained

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▼ Timestamps ▼
» 0:00 - Intro
» 1:34 - Sponsor
» 2:56 - The Rhyme
» 5:45 - The Untold Story
» 8:28 - The Oxford Martyrs
» 11:06 - The Theory
► Want more?
» Nursery Rhymes Explained: bit.ly/MotherGoosePlaylist
» Folklore Explained: bit.ly/FablesExplained
» ALL Messed Up Origins: bit.ly/MessedUpOrgins
» Disney Explained: bit.ly/DisneyExplained
» ALL Mythology Explained: bit.ly/MythologyExplained
» Norse Mythology: bit.ly/NorseMythologyExplained
» Astrology: bit.ly/AstrologyExplained
» Messed Up Murders: bit.ly/MurderPlaylist
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▼ Resources ▼
» my favorites: messeduporigins.com/books
» The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes: amzn.to/3gXrDrW
» The Oxford Nursery Rhyme book: amzn.to/3zBEffz
» Three Blind Mice "Full Version": www.gutenberg.org/files/26060...
» Thomas Ravenscroft: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...
» The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes: amzn.to/3yzTmVy
» Putting the "Dump" in "Humpty Dumpty": bshistorian.wordpress.com/200...
▼ Music Sources ▼
» REVEALING MY INTRO SONG! goo.gl/Z9eHu1
» Background Music: Killing Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
» Quotes 3 by Anders Bothén: goo.gl/Lz9ADE
#MessedUpOrigins #ThreeBlindMice #NurseryRhymes

[@JonSolo]

🚨 Correction: Apparently “tripe” means the entrails of a farm animal like a cow or sheep! That’s my fault for not being more thorough in my research. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Keep in mind that this still doesn’t explain how the rhyme is connected to Queen Mary, but depending on how strictly you want to apply the definition his interpretation of that last line could make sense. My sincere apologies for not digging deeper into the matter before reaching my conclusion. 🙏🏼

[@mackray7595]

Funny thing is even though I knew what tripe is going in it still is pretty nonsensical the word tripe doesn’t fit into the rhyme regardless.

[@shadowwood549]

Please do a video about I'm a Little teapot, I'm pretty sure that's a nursery rhyme. I love you videos so much because I love to learn, I simply can't get enough learning about weird and different things. I guess you can say it's kind of my hobby, if I'm not writing my books, I am researching weird things.

[@deannaplillips4099]

She scrapte her tripe licke thou the knife... she finaly calmed down enough to grab a knife and swing it? Right? She scrapped her nonsense *tripe* (of running screaming from the mice), Licke though the knife. (The knife got a taste of the mice.)

[@leeannschaffer1433]

Dude, the depth and scope of the topics you cover is mind boggling!! If you went down every rabbit hole you came across while researching, you might never get a video made. Go easy on yourself there!

[@HattieDame]

I'd had never considered tripe had I not been raised around various farm animals. The line, by itself, makes sense (scraped the tripe, then you (thou) lick the knife..... but I don't understand how it connects to the rest of it. And you certainly don't need to feel like you didn't go deep enough looking for info. So many of your videos are wonderful! And I'm a history buff so when something ties into it, I'm doubly excited!

[@anastasijahabarova1533]

Can you image people 500 years from now trying to interpret the Baby Shark song as a metaphor for political events at the time it was created?

[@RoninCatholic]

Baby Shark's lyrics/presnetation are already confusing in the time period it was made! It can't decide if it wants us to relate to the shark family or to root for their dinner to escape being eaten.

[@helenamirian908]

@@RoninCatholic perfect for these times of moral ambiguity when fierce independence is celebrated and yet eating meat or any act that is not ecologically responsible is considered selfish to the point of hedonism.

[@marblemadness8870]

@@helenamirian908 - Fierce independence is celebrated? Are you dumb or something? We live in a time where everyone is supposed to follow the government's narrative like mindless zombies. If you dare to think independently, you are labelled a racist, sexist, misogynist, homophobe, etc, etc... You can't even question elections, what is being taught in schools (AKA crt), or even question how the new flu is being handled. And God forbid you "hurt" anyone's feelings. We are literally living in the worse times to be an independent thinker. Independent thoughts could very well get you "cancelled", doxed & have people send death threats to you. Andy Ngo has been beaten to a pulp twice by anti-fa for exposing who they really are. There is nothing ambiguous about the fascism & censorship enveloping our society today. Let's see how many tweaks I'll have to make before I can even post this response.

[@curtisrodriguez938]

@@marblemadness8870 Independent is alive and well. It is the parrotting of talking points with no actual thought that is degrading the civil discourse. Baseless labels are thrown around recklessly, "communist," "socialist," "fascist," "baby eaters," "homophobe," islamophobe," and the always favorite "racist." Half the time, the use cannot even define the word or has its definition changed to favor one agenda or another.

[@johnjohnon8767]

How about "what does the fox say"?

[@eastsidereviews727]

I like how no one has for centuries, questions why this psycho cut off the mice's tails instead of either killing them or releasing them. Like, was she that angry that she wanted to send a message to all the mice about what would happen if they came near her house?

[@amyconkey9423]

Ha! Yes. I always imagined she missed and only got their tails

[@DrDolan2000]

I guess she did. Crazy old broad

[@tanjahorvatserbiaoldslavsh4685]

Yes. Horrifying sadistic part.

[@kenzieleigh4628]

i questioned it till someone said it was supposed to represent robbers or intruders and that was her metaphor of beating them or scarring them but we were also in 4th grade so idk lmaoooo

[@ADHD_and_Crayons]

I actually made a post about this, with my thoughts on what that phrase may have been referencing; since most "nursery rhymes" have deeper meanings. I think it's highly possible that the phrase was actually a play on words, which was actually meaning "their tales were cut off with a carving knife" (in reference to the 3 mice being religious priests & the "tails" actually meant "tales"). To silence the priests' tales of religion would be to literally cut out their tongues. While this was a common practice throughout history, I don't know if that time period practiced such behaviors.

[@lulufan100]

Jon: Again, it's only a theory Me: A RHYME THEORY!

[@mckydamonsta]

Matpat would be proud

[@riceracm]

@@cake_made_of_bacon3710 aw, you beat me to it! 🤪

[@nurfaqihahridzuan8870]

@@cake_made_of_bacon3710 aw snap, i was abt to comment this. U won this time

[@cyrussee1785]

[@souly1988]

he should start a mythology episode like dear gods of olympus, it's me, Jon

[@elishaso]

Mary Mary Quite Contrary would be an interesting one. Like the Ring Around the Rosie chant, I've heard rumors about its origins but I'm not sure if they're accurate.

[@nickwierenga987]

It's not really about the black plauge but no one really knows...

[@PatrickRsGhost]

The theory I've heard is it's about Mary, Queen of Scots. The "silver bells and cockle shells" are believed to be decorations on her dress given to her by her first husband, the Dauphin of France. The "pretty maids all in a row" are said to be her ladies in waiting. Another theory is it's about Mary I, aka "Bloody Mary", like Three Blind Mice. The "garden" references the country of England as a whole, the "silver bells and cockle shells" are instruments of torture (thumb screws and other forms of torment), and "pretty maids all in a row" may refer to either the iron maidens, all lined up in the prisons, or else the graves of all of those tortured and executed for being Protestants.

[@RoseannMcCabe]

@@PatrickRsGhost How does your garden grow? Well decomposing bodies are the best fertiliser for pushing up the daisies that's for sure.

[@GrimmShadowsII]

@@PatrickRsGhost Yeah those are the two theories I've heard, though I suspect there's no evidence pointing to either one I've never really thought it was important enough to research but if Jon wants to do the research I'll watch the vid.

[@iamavoidtrippergutterslush666]

Yes, these would be very very good topic for future videos. I hope they heed your suggestion. ✔💯👍

[@HattieDame]

I know what that weird verse means... she literally scraped tripe with a knife and is saying for the reader or the mice to lick it off the knife. Tripe is the second stomach of cows and other ruminants, often used in cooking and would be commonplace in the kitchen of a Farmer, Miller, or other such yeoman. Tripe is also used to mean "rubbish, bullsh*t" etc so she could literally be scraping rubbish away with a knife and is teasing the reader or the mice with licking it.

[@shadowwood549]

I would love to know how you know that. Lol.

[@HattieDame]

@@shadowwood549 I have a brain like an encyclopedia... full of useless facts and tidbits of knowledge that occasionally prove themselves useful.

[@shadowwood549]

@@HattieDame me too

[@HattieDame]

@@shadowwood549it runs in my family. My paternal uncle was something of a savant with knowing random facts. He should have been a member of MENSA.

[@shadowwood549]

@@HattieDame Your uncle was a servant? My mom's family used to be shipbuilders. I have a theory but I can't find any information. Lol.

[@melaniecourville1148]

I wish someone did this for French nursery rhymes. There's so many super dark ones. Il était un petit navire is one of my favorite. Allouette is a well known one.

[@JaneDoe_123]

Same with some Portuguese ones, and children's games' songs. We have one called Dóminó, that goes from kinda innapropriate to gruesome. It was my favourite one! I remember humming Allouette when I was growing up, but I never learnt the actual words.

[@viiyaxyz]

YES

[@barbarabaker1457]

One of my two favorite fairy tales happens to be French. Morgans ring a bell?

[@cedartheyeah.justyeah.3967]

Same here! I heard Allouette in French class and I wonder where the lyrics came from

[@bellas14u]

Allouette in french but not in English so now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t still sing it around my kids 🤷‍♀️

[@dragoness7181]

Jon: …and remember, Jon shot first. Gunther: that means you done right? You gonna pat me now or what? I demand pats and treats!

[@leeannschaffer1433]

The last line of the oldest version is Middle English. In Modern English it would be written, "She scraped her tripe (tripe is an animal's stomach lining prepared for eating) you lick the knife."

[@cedartheyeah.justyeah.3967]

So, this lady is eating mice?

[@leeannschaffer1433]

@@cedartheyeah.justyeah.3967 while the source of the tripe is unclear, I believe that's what is implied. I only know the English language part of this and can't say for sure.🤷

[@johntiggleman4686]

@@leeannschaffer1433 Tripe is the lining of the stomach of beef, pork or sheep. Not mice. I just looked it up. I have heard of tripe, but wasn't sure what it was. But yeah, that is an odd line.

[@cynicalminion]

@@johntiggleman4686 that's what "tripe" is, but i've also heard it used as a threat towards a person (see also: gizzard, gullet, sweetbread) so it's a CREEPY line, in that you're apparently supposed to lick the knife she did some harrey caray on herself with... and it needs a comma to separate the tripe-scraping from the licking...

[@chunellemariavictoriaespan8752]

@@cedartheyeah.justyeah.3967 Quite... Reminds me of the Master of The House song from Les Miserables where they used random meat in their sausages...

[@hospitalgal101]

I wonder, if perhaps the rhyme wasn't written ABOUT the three martyrs, but maybe it had a rise in popularity because of the martyrs and the similarities that it held.

[@philokrnotch387]

Right!?! What if a propaganda song from France, protestant, or disgruntled catholic. Fun but probably not.

[@gaiasguardian205]

A wise man once said: "It's history, you can't rewrite it to fit your assanine theories." Jon Solo - 2021

[@emmakohlenberg3774]

“I might if he had a source for that reason, but he doesn’t, so I don’t” is the most professor sounding thing to come out of your mouth yet

[@tastemyhammer2757]

Of course Gunther listens. Cause he's a GOOD BOY! can we ge a solo fam shirt with Gunther on the back????

[@LifeAdviceSite]

“It’s history and you can’t just rewrite it so your asinine theories make sense.” 😂

[@hospitalgal101]

Did I stop in the middle of an episode of Bojack Horseman to watch this as soon as it was uploaded? The world will never know.

[@grace5033]

Did I stop in the middle of watching some guy react to "The Prince of Egypt" to watch this as soon as it was uploaded? The world will never know

[@Fauxvids]

@@grace5033 did I drop my newborn child to watch this as soon as it was uploaded? The world will probably know on the news

[@grace5033]

@@Fauxvids r/holup

[@Fauxvids]

@@grace5033 lmao

[@notforsaletoday1895]

@@Fauxvids Did I drop the soap to watch this as soon as it was uploaded? The world will never know.

[@hospitalgal101]

I love how we will never know if he's gonna say cups or fam

[@whocares2881]

I absolutely LOVE the “original” versions of fairy tales!!! I once found an old fairytale book 📖 at a flea market and I used to tell my kids the stories and compare them to the ones we had at the time. To this day we still enjoy learning and hearing the original stories. At least as original as we “know.”

[@gaiasguardian205]

Make sure to hit up your local library sales and auctions. Always awesome finds there.

[@candidapple293]

14:46 "It's history, and you can't just rewrite it so your asinine theories make sense." Brilliant. I'm going to need a plaque engraved with this quote posted in every college classroom. 😂😂❤️

[@ForeverLaxx]

So they can declare it to be "white, patriarchal history" and tear it down to replace it with "We Wuz Kangs".

[@erictaylor5462]

History can be a real bear to study. I used to have a short program with NPS on the ghost towns in and around Death Valley. One day a member of the audience stayed behind to ask me some question. This was not at all unusual. This guy hung back and asked where I got some "fact" I had mentioned. I wasn't sure but about 90% of my research came from a book in the human history of the park (then it was still a Monument) The guy looked skeptical and said he didn't think that fact came from the book I mentioned, because as it turned out, that fact was wrong, and he had written that book. I ended up taking the guy to lunch in exchange for picking his brain. The guy knew *A LOT* about what I was interested in, and he was incredibly nice. The book is Death Valley and the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion by Richard E. Lingenfelter. It's a bit dated published in 1988, but as it concerns the late 1800's and early 1900's I don't think the book being 33 years old should matter much.

[@JonSolo]

This was a really interesting anecdote! Honestly, I’d probably have the same experience if I met Mr. Jack in person and we got to talking about history.

[@erictaylor5462]

@@JonSolo It's kind of cool to meet someone like that, but then there is the motivation of why he came to your program. Fortunately in this case I passed his little test.

[@leeannschaffer1433]

That's actually a REALLY GREAT story!! --and I love that, instead of getting so embarrassed that you could only think about yourself, you had the presence of mind and humility to offer a meal for any damage done. In fact, for him to wait until others were gone brings both of you MASSIVE cool points in my book. As they say in the UK, "Good on ya!"

[@tayloredwards4968]

Please do a messed-up origin on the Wild Swans by Hans Andersen

[@SaltySeaStella]

Sounds like a sequel to The Ugly Duckling. Never heard of it but now going to look up!

[@laliclaudesol2350]

*YES.* 🦢🦢🦢

[@Pynkfoxx_]

Yoooo yesss thats theee one ☝🏽

[@Nightcore-336]

If you ever heared about the 7 swans by the Grimm Brothers then it's same like that fairytale just some defferent parts

[@gene9638]

Keep up the good work man, you're the Reason that I found a passion in studying Greek mythology.

[@montay3312]

Right

[@jamesgarrett8833]

One of the reasons I like about Greek mythology is that it’s made good Halloween costumes for animals like Cerberus for dogs & Pegasus for horses. Also since mermaids belong to Greek mythology, theirs this real life mermaid job at a auditorium in Indialantic, Florida where female dancers were a swim suit mermaid costume and dance underwater

[@tabithamashburn8786]

Weeki Wachee

[@handalpiper6410]

While the stories were great: That closing statement on falsehood and responsibility was worth watching to the end.

[@Crowvamp1979]

The song was used as the theme of most of "The Three Stooges" shorts. So that's what I think of whenever I hear it.

[@trash5673]

Gunther only listens to you because you feed him otherwise he'd ignore you like the rest of us. Jk love your content it's very entertaining.

[@JonSolo]

i’ll feed every one of you if I have to!

[@aSUGAaddiction]

@@JonSolo i will hold you to it! If anything, just to see Gunther

[@shadowwood549]

@@JonSolo make sure you feed them their favorite foods.

[@dannyg.4421]

@@JonSolo A Jon Infinity in the year 2201: so hold on tight as we take a deep dive into the origins of the "pug prince feeds his loyal submarines." And its meanings.

[@DrDolan2000]

+@@JonSolo In that case, I'll take two number nines with a large soda, please

[@nikki9656]

When I heard the old melody, I felt more scared than depressed. Probably shouldn't have watched it at night

[@Pynkfoxx_]

Me asf rn.!!!!!!

[@LuinTathren]

I'm so glad I subscribed to this channel. If for no other reason than because Gunther is so handsome. But, seriously, I'm so happy you are a responsible KZbinr and rely on facts rather than conjecture.

[@sdb9884]

I appreciate you pointing out the author touting things as fact when they are not verified. It’s really helpful to know, and I am grateful to you for putting so much effort into your research.

[@calvinmcneil9824]

I find that a lot of the nursery rhymes and other folktales people can't really prove the origins of and thus can't really be questioned

[@yoda908]

Jon Solo is really the only youtuber I'll watch for that reason. So many times I'll even ask people for their source(s) but they fail to provide one when they spout what they think are facts. I did notice he even mentions that what research he finds we should research ourselves. I had a history teacher once talk just like Jon but he also gave us an assignment to research a topic he brought up concerning the history of 3 blind mice nursery rhyme. He purposefully gave us wrong information he made up and qouted it like facts. He then told us to do a 1,000 word report on that nursery rhyme using those facts and to cite that information. Only a couple days later only 4 of us in a classroom of 12 actually asked him if that information was valid because he never claimed who actually discovered those facts so we can do the report. That's when he told the class the truth and the importance when we learn about true history to always question the validity of even real historians and their facts. He then asked us one by one what we actually learned.

[@sdb9884]

@@yoda908 You are very fortunate to have had such a wonderful teacher!

[@yoda908]

@@sdb9884honestly most of my teachers 1st through 12th prefered to go past the curriculum and challenge us. In fact I do that to my own child because she loves to learn. She just caught on I play dumb just in the perfect way it got her into a routine of asking questions. Her teachers tell her mother and me all the time she asks questions not found in text books and for the sources when a teacher qoutes an author just so she can learn more last year. She really wants to be a 2d animator part time while being a historian. I'm actually trying to find archeological dig sites she can go to.

[@sdb9884]

@@yoda908 That is awesome! You are great parents to instill a love of learning in your child. 😊

[@swwaaaaaturnright]

If they dont play the slow version of the song at my funeral, I'm not coming ~

[@grapeshot]

Yeah it is quite amazing how certain jingles will stick in your mind for the rest of your life but then you can forget something that happened last week. The human mind, much complexity .

[@Once.A.Violet]

Omg I love you 🤣 “is it just me , or does that kinda Slap “ I love your story telling , editing , comedic style

[@Marialla.]

The somber tones of the original song make me think it is very much a horror story. The miller and his "merry old wife" are scraping the tripe of the three blind mice, and feeding it to Dame Julian. Could this refer somehow to the Julian calendar? "Merry old wife" could be an ironic name implying how bloodthirsty someone is, unrepentant of their slaughter. "She scraped her tripe" wouldn't mean the tripe of her own stomach, I think, but the tripe she owned (or was preparing) from her "cattle", the mice. This leads me to wonder what profits changed hands due to the slaughter of these mice. Scraping the tripe is going pretty far into the stingiest use of the animal. Not roasting a fat haunch, or even sucking bone marrow, but extracting every last possible drop of value out of their very entrails, which is something so meagre that usually only very poor people would consider eating it. "Lick thou the knife" might imply that we, the reader, are profiting from this slaughter, and even condoning it, and possibly greedy for more. Like there was not enough extracted from the mice already, we have to (or want to) lick the very knife for the last scrapings. Maybe the rhyme was meant to shame the reader for being okay with this slaughter, and greedy? I've heard the term "to skin a flea for it's hide and tallow" as a term for a stingy man. "To scrape a mouse's tripe" sounds pretty similar.

[@bprz99]

You never seem to fail your followers. Thanks to you, I now have a melody to be played during my funeral; needs to add it to my final will... top top cheerio!

[@amygeyer1166]

I think it so ironic that the woman was always blamed for “not producing” a male heir.

[@stephisage]

Honestly when I read the poem years ago, I always interpreted it as an aftermath of a scene where your female parter-in-crime blinded Lady Julian, the miller and his wife, and afterwards you licked the knife. This is because in the late 1500s "tripe" as a slang was applied to people you found abhorrent. Something like... "You won't believe what that tripe said to me today!" The poem would then read something like this: Three blind mice: Dame Julian, the miller and his merry wife. She sliced her enemy and you licked the knife. Three blind mice. I liked my interpretation because it always left me wondering why "she" blinded them and why did "I" lick the knife. Did she do it for revenge? Vengeance? For fun?! Were we serial killers with blood fetishes?! Idk (Fun fact! Over the centuries slang usage drifted and the word was applied to anything found worthless or ridiculous. It's preserved in phrases like: "Don't give me that tripe!")

[@IDBGNF]

don’t ever stop what your doing!! you’re amazing the research you do is so intricate, definitely my favourite youtuber!!

[@markuhler2664]

Honestly, I love that you want sources for the explanations & call out bs when you see it. A simpler solution is usually better, especially when dealing with why large numbers of people are doing something. & a silly children's rhyme fits better than a not-so-secret code.

[@elchanchopato9601]

You forgot Humpty Dumpty when listing the previous broken-down nursery rhymes in the beginning.

[@kelsokim1483]

Three blind mice is such a legendary nursery rhyme that we have it translated in my native language.. I actually didn’t know the words of the English one but as soon as I saw the title I was singing it in my native tongue..

[@Fleurig-xr5mm]

I've actually never heard about it 😟 I learnt about them from shrek

[@TheCrankyDank]

Love it! You should do Hickory Dickory Dock next.

[@TristanMA]

How about doing a video on The Messed Up Origins of The Sorcerer's Apprentice , or Firebird, or Chernobog, or The Nutcracker?

[@spuukynooth]

crazy how all these stories changed over many years

[@Tubahater43]

Tripe is a food! They use it in pho sometimes. "She scraped her tripe, lick thou the knife" maybe? Like, it still doesn't make any sense because there's no context but that's where my head went with it.

[@izwiz1067]

She scraped the tripe, lick thou the knife... She (the queen) ordered the hanging drawing and quartering of the 4, are you complicit in her crimes by supporting her actions, i.e., licking the knife? All subversive politics was hidden in plain sight in medieval England because if the wrong people heard you, you were killed for treason.

[@zazuzazz5419]

Iz Wiz, I was just thinking of the horrific hang, drawn and quartered punishment for treason. For some reason, entrails came to the forefront. Maybe “licke thou the knife” means, “Now you live with the consequences and repercussions of her actions.” Implying by extrapolation that we the people all live with the egregious results of these callous, arbitrary and irresponsible political maneuvers.

[@mhunt7843]

Just came across this channel. Looking forward to seeing more. I appreciated the gentleman’s style, sense of humor, and animation. Great Job!

[@ronlussier8570]

This is a good video - I appreciate your willingness to call out theories without solid evidence

[@Xflex_fn]

I love how little kids rhymes could be about people being burned to a stake

[@grapeshot]

So they jumped out the window into a thornbush and got Moed. Anybody familiar with Three Stooges knows what I'm talking about.

[@GrimmShadowsII]

How old is the full version again? Maybe that's why they use the tune for the shorts.

[@Heva1987]

You missed out a small fact. The music tune for the recent version is the same as "Hot Cross buns". I also learnt a version that is a hybrid of the recent and middle version, you sing the words repeated but have "thing in you life" at the end.

[@mikeyfrederick1232]

All your content is super interesting sir..I really dig the topics you cover, they are different and unique...

[@kagetsu13]

Honestly the 3 blind mice story sound like the series of unfortunate events.

[@theresamiley8917]

Best story teller ever!

[@theminifigmaker4380]

Hey Jon, just wanted to let you know that I have thoroughly enjoyed your videos and you’re doing an superb job.

[@vincedb8597]

Love your vids solo. Keep it up. Think yours is about the only channel that keeps my interest.

[@terrm_]

Lol the fact that people sat down and thought about these and wrote them down 🤣

[@amcalycat93]

Your anger about people touting their theories as proven fact also annoys me deeply. Do your research, even if it's over the most minor of topics, the spreading of misconceptions is still frustrating! Loved the video!

[@ADHD_and_Crayons]

The 3 priests connection seems possible. 1 thing I'm thinking of as explanation for "their tails cut off w/ a carving knife" is actually meaning a play on words..... Instead of "tails" the rhyme may be referencing "tales". To "cut off their tales", would be to silence them. So with this, "their tales cut off w/ a carving knife" would be referencing that their tongues were cut out. I know this was done a lot throughout history; but I'm not sure if this was in practice then.

[@crystalrosemartinez8115]

Pop goes the weasel? More like Jon popped off on the weasel!!! Thank you for the best morning 😂☕ sipping my coffee to your sarcasm that made me a fan from jump!

[@josephcarvil9474]

Can you talk about Geryon form Greek Mythology next! 🙃

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

12:26 Seems like the "you know what" explanation would be more accurate. If it represented their deaths, why not aim the knife for the mices' heads or simply chop them in half? I know it's a children's rhyme, but have you ever tried to catch a rodent by its' tail? I can speak from personal experience that they change ends, pretty much, in an instant! (One time, an Opossum was playing dead on my porch and I tried to grab it by its tail to throw it out the door. It changed ends on me, but my reflexes kept it from breaking the skin when it tried to bite me. (I ended up killing it for real with my pellet gun.) Another time, I was wearing my boots indoors due to yard work, went to feed my indoor cats, and caught a mouse in my room by stepping on its tail. Little pest tried to chew through my boots' thick rubber, but I managed to trap it in an old water dish tank. (I flushed the little pest.)) The "you know what" explanation makes more sense as an ultimate "up yours" gesture. Using a dagger, they could "you know what", possibly even a heated one to cauterize the wound. My guess, they would either do it to remove their masculinity to publically shame them and/or as a way of saying "Even if you, somehow, survive execution, you'll never be able to have sons to continue their legacy." Which, probably, means they also hunted down their sons to torture them into submission or just plain killed them!

[@RoninCatholic]

Opossums are actually marsupials, but do look and act pretty similarly to certain rodents.

[@anthonykennedy6758]

I believe the last line refers to scraping tripe or intestines which are used to make chitterlings, and inferring that someone should lick the scrapings off the knife.

[@reikeme]

Hey Jon I show your videos to my friends in da hood we enjoy you bruh. And we learn. Thanks G!

[@angelicagaldos]

Messed up indeed. I have the messed up origin a couple of years ago but you made it interesting and more rememberable. Thanks Jon.

[@ActiveAdvocate1]

Really? I thought Edward died of syphilis inherited from his father. henry GOT AROUND, and the church ignored it, because of course they did.

[@DneilB007]

No. Despite the common narrative about his poor health, there’s no indication of him being ‘sickly’ until the year of his death.

[@heatherturner2366]

@@DneilB007 syphilis can be dormant for years

[@emmetthowell899]

13:31 this made me laugh way too hard. I love jons comedic timing and his skits

[@danielmeredith4222]

Your a genius Jon Solo I really love all your hard you made laugh so much thru the whole episode. Cheers and thankyou so much for everything:)

[@briannacam.]

“You got to love that male privilege” Women being executed and accused of witchcraft just because they were rich, smart, outspoken or couldn’t produce male boy. Also many of those males who were executed didn’t want to bow down and accept Mary as queen compared to women. So yes there were a lot of males executed, but it was than just religious reasons. They didn’t accept Mary due to her being a woman and a Catholic at that.

[@katewilliams4289]

Seriously weird dig there with the male priveldge thing. After seeing a couple videos, this guy seems pretty problematic.

[@Groggle7141]

@@katewilliams4289 What?! How?! Just because he disagrees with you sometimes he’s problomatic?

[@Groggle7141]

1) It’s a joke, 2) You’re confusing Salem Massachusetts and 17th century England. 3) We liters heard a story of 3 priests being executed due to religion, I don’t know where you are getting “sexist male” angle. And 4) It’s a joke!

[@kaddynips368]

If Jon shot first who did he shoot??

[@Catladyj1]

He explains in an earlier video

[@spicat16]

Yes!!! I've been waiting for this one! 👍

[@ItsJustRj1]

My boi John snapped at the end lmao, great vid man

[@DrDolan2000]

"Did you ever see such a sight in your life?" Can't say that I have, sir

[@Thomas_H._Smith]

4 ideas I don't think you covered yet. The Prince and the Pauper, Robin Hood, Swan Lake, and King Arthur.

[@leeannschaffer1433]

King Arthur could literally take up an entire university semester - and actually does at some. --but if you've got the time, Jon, I would TOTALLY be up for YOU doing it.😃

[@Thomas_H._Smith]

@@leeannschaffer1433 Well okay maybe it doesn't have to be the entire story of the King Arthur legend, maybe just the most famous ones like the sword in the stone.

[@chrismiyoshi7412]

I watch you to get to the facts, so I don't mind you bashing down what others might have deemed as fact. Keep at it, I love this stuff!

[@tastemyhammer2757]

Hey, thanks for letting the star shine at the end. I wasn't a huge fan of pugs before. But now, I am!

[@billberndtson]

Fun video as always, Jon :)

[@ctl_jordy128]

Jon my fav one yet

[@DD-py5hw]

When it says “three times twice” it may be referring to the first six musical notes of the song of three blind mice which are three notes, repeated.

[@davidfitzpatrick2684]

Yeah that's devastating that Ring around the rosie is not REF to the black death. There goes my childhood!

[@NudePostingConspiracyTheories]

I like this. Your a REAL RESEARCHER. A FACTS guy. I’m so pleased. Not because I want to be pedantic for the sake of it. But fir the learning- to find roots of fairy tales etc is so useful in life. Thank you

[@Demonetization_Symbol]

I love how they're just history lessons.

[@awaitingthetrumpetcall4529]

The nursery rhyme that takes the cake is *"Rock a bye baby...on the TREE TOP".*

[@triscuit9074]

"A little crooked man" and "rain rain go away" would be cool ones to do.

[@AuthorCertifiedGoof]

I was literally going on Amazon to check out that book you mentioned until you said no one should read it. Thanks for saving me from that mistake!

[@mustangdru]

Yet, he read it and referenced it.........

[@kevinalksnis7576]

Great job bud thanks keep it up

[@redlandz1977]

I liked this one! Most of your content is really interesting and funny, keep up the good work! Gunther is adorable!

[@Druklet]

I can't finish this now because I have to go to the dentist but thank you for giving me something to look forward to watching while half my face is numb!

[@creative_carrie]

Theory of my own. The "tripe" may have been misread as old writing f sometimes looked like more modern p. So if you read it as "trife" then it also rhymes. It can even mean that Mary gave up the "trife" of execution via beheading (knife) and moved to more vicious methods she's known for with the burning, because she didn't start with burning according to some sources, but it wasn't taken seriously enough or something, so she moved on to burning and boiling. The "licke" is also probably an old spelling of "like"

[@duckyj7241]

The Miller and his Wife got me thinking Canterbury Tales. Dame Iulian could be Lady/Wife of Julian, the so named St being a moniker for the Franklin, who's home the pilgrimage gathers at in the prologue.

[@oceanelf2512]

I like these debunks of crazy nursery rhyme theories.

[@aawcreationsangie4260]

Aww HELLO Gunther and Jon. I like this one too. I'd sit for hours as a kid singing these songs in my head. It's indeed wicked..I have trouble focusing my thoughts and controlling them. When I say hours.. that's exactly what I mean... 😂😂😂❤️❤️

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

8:26 Gunther: "That's what he thinks!" (flops down on his belly) "Why ya gotta interrupt my naps? Ever heard the expression, 'Let sleeping dogs lie'? Say, so a video about that one!"

[@3rdand105]

One thing I was hoping you would have mentioned is the fact that this nursery rhyme was used by the Three Stooges as their theme song. That makes sense to me.

[@crystalrosemartinez8115]

Oh and a request! The meatballs song. On top of spaghetti all covered in cheese~ what mob restraint was it held in and how did the meatball get away

[@stevehurl298]

Thanks for the detailed discussion & for caring about the truth, as opposed to just "a good story." Almost as informative as reading a book!

[@richw.6296]

Haha! I’m digging the painting! I can hear Tommy now!

[@alliahfrancis152]

Nice work with this weeks video Jon and its okay we forgive you for your mistake. Hey, can you do a messed up origins video about Zorro?

[@anthonyhurt6902]

Love your content bro

[@Ekkie101]

The early version of the "Three Blind Mice" sing in down a third in a minor key. Which is why it sounds like a funeral dirge. My favorite version was the theme song for the Three Stooges.

[@samarasampson5693]

Background looking good 👌🏽

[@playwright82]

When I visited England (in the olden days, long before Covid), I went on a tour of the Tower of London. The yeoman leading the tour said that the three blind mice were the three men sent to Mary to let her know she had become queen after her brother's death. They were trying to flatter her by telling her how beautiful she was. She knew they were lying and had them executed. The yeoman explained a few others. But this is the only one I remember.

[@johntalavera162]

Love the goodfellas painting ! One dogs pointing east ones pointing west the guy in the middle is what do u want from me? lol

[@lilbittybri]

The funeral scene took me out 😂😂 I laughed so hard I started wheezing 🤣🤣