https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Strange_As_It_Seems_Singles

Strange As It Seems Episode 18.

The episode began with about 2 minutes of a commercial that was solely related to a laxative and its ability to treat smoothly. After this, it went into an intro, just like an other television today. It truly reminded me of the ‘Twighlight Zone’ without the visual. This episode was about the transport of a huge diamond across plains, deserts and oceans. Its journey was from South Africa to England for King Edward.

I can not tell if this radio episode intrigued me because of its entertainment qualities or because how it is a form of entertainment I haven’t necessarily interacted with before. I was thoroughly surprised with the dialogue that existed in these programs. It wasn’t just narration, but it consisted of interactions between characters. I could see how the country became infatuated with the radio, for I can even see it rivaling modern day cinema and other forms of entertainment.

I did not initially realize that this episode would have multiple stories in it. It did a very good job at keeping the attention of its audience. I did not necessarily suspect that it would be able to keep my attention for 20 minutes, and this is one of the main reasons why I think it became such a successful form of entertainment in the early 20th century.

The second story of this incorporated a story about Robert E. Lee and provided some insight about his spot in history. I think this was an interesting concept because while subtle stories still may exist, this episode went out of its way to explain the historical relations of this. It implemented a rudimentary form of mass education. Its third story also taught its audience how to tell the temperature by the chirps of a cricket. This casually morphed into a thermometer ad, and then back into the laxative ad. It was an interesting ending, and I feel as though the commercials were just as pestering back then as they are now.