“Stump The Chumps” – 12/10/15: The First Artificial Christmas Trees

Today on "Stump the Chumps", Bruce, from St. Johns asked, "what were the first artificial Christmas trees made of?" Our answer (more specifically, Stephanie's answer), was "cotton". This would prove to be horribly wrong.

No, the first artificial Christmas trees came from Germany and were made with goose feathers dyed green and wire. According to the artificial plants and trees website, (yes, the internet is a wonderful - and strange - place) the Germans were worried that too many trees were being cut down, so some Germans went artificial in the 1880s. Soon after, the Addis Brush Company, in the U.S., decided they could build a better Christmas tree out of the brushes they made for CLEANING TOILETS.

USA! USA!

Well, what would be better at holding ornaments - goose feathers or toilet brushes?

Here's the story.

Banana Don and Stephanie McCoy amuse and thrill you every weekday morning from 5:30 – 10AM on the radio at 100.7 WITL.

Banana Don can be reached via email at don.jefferson@townsquaremedia.com and on Twitter at @WITLBananaDon and @WITLFM. Also, Facebook friend Banana Don and Stephanie at Facebook.com/BananaStephanie and Facebook.com/WITLFM.