Transcript: MaYaND 007: CB 07: The Clue in the Diary

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[Sound cue: Eerie piano tune reminiscent of the Nancy Drew PC game soundtracks]

Colleen: Hello and welcome to Me and You and Nancy Drew, a podcast in which I, Colleen-

Meghan: -and I, Meghan- 

Colleen: -take you through the Nancy Drewniverse one book, game, TV show, or whatever at a time.

Meghan: Today we have read book seven, The Clue in the Diary, by Carolyn Keene, published in- 

Colleen: The 1962 version.

Meghan: -1962, which, just as a small side note, as I was looking up what number this was, because I was like, “I know which one I'm supposed to be reading, but…” Long story short, the publication dates are not in the same order for the 1950s and 60s ones as they were in the 30s. 

Colleen: So this is not always book seven. 

Meghan: I think it is still book seven, but it was published in 1962. The last one we read was published in 1965. 

Colleen: [gasp] That's weird. 

Meghan: Yes, it is. 

Colleen: That's very weird. Because it's not like Chronicles of Narnia. 

Meghan: Right, exactly. 

Colleen: Where there's two different ways to read it. 

Meghan: That is exactly how I, what I was thinking about. The Chronicles of Narnia.

[Sound Cue: Drums and strings play underneath the spoken words “There Once Was A Limerick Recap”]

Meghan: Today, we have both written a limerick to summarize the book before we do our actual summary. Colleen, what is your limerick this week? 

Colleen: Ahem. “Young Nancy saw a house explode, / And she and Ned soon found a load, / Of clues, like a ring; / The culprit did sing, / And now Nancy's back on the road.” 

Meghan: I love it. Oh my gosh. The first line especially cinched it. 

Colleen: Oh yeah. Well, it always started with an explosion but I have another version, and I read it to my husband, and he said, “Well, two of the five lines are a stretch, and that does feel like a high percentage,” so I rewrote it. 

Meghan: Okay. My limerick doesn't feature Nancy at all, so.

Colleen: Great.

Meghan: I will now read it to you. Also, there are probably some things that are a little bit of a stretch. “There once was an inventor named Joe, / Who set up a meeting with his foe; / He showed up early to meet, / But he had to retreat, / When the villain made the whole house explode.” 

Colleen: Delightful. No notes. 

Meghan: I'm glad that both of ours featured the house explosion. 

Colleen: Yeah, well, and I didn't initially end it with “explode” because it's hard to rhyme with “explode.” 

Meghan: It is hard! Yes. 

Colleen: Would you like to hear my proto-limerick? 

Meghan: Yes, I would love to. 

Colleen: “A house was exploded, you see, / Which interested young Nancy; / Found the crook and the journal, / Although the house did burn-al, / And she set a poor innocent free.” It's so bad.

Meghan: I love it. What was it? Oh, the, the burn-al. 

Colleen: Yeah.

Meghan: The burn-al?

Colleen: To rhyme with “journal.” 

Meghan: Of course. 

Colleen: You can't rhyme anything with “diary.” 

Meghan: No, no, you can't. Amazing. 

[Sound Cue: Clock ticks underneath the spoken words “Thirty-Second Recap”]

Colleen: Okay, here's our actual recap that is not in poem form. Would you like to go first since I went first on limericks?

Meghan: I will go first. 

Colleen: Alright, ready? 

Meghan: Yes. I want to be able to see the timer. 

Colleen: Okay. 

Meghan: Oh wait, wait, wait, wait. I wasn't ready. No!

Colleen: Ready? Set? 

Meghan: [clock ticks underneath the book summary] Nancy solves another mystery, this time featuring a guy named Joe, and a lot of bad things keep happening to Joe, and coincidentally, as, as often happens to Nancy, she encounters the mystery from lots of different angles and slowly pieces together that they're all related. A house explodes, and Joe was there but he didn't explode it, but for a long time we think that he exploded it, and we, oh my goodness. There's only four seconds left. This is going very, very badly. I'm just gonna give up now [ticking stops, clock bongs] 

Colleen: Time.

Meghan: Oh goodness. 

Colleen: All right, I will try to piece some of this together. 

Meghan: Yeah, hopefully you do a better job than me. 

Colleen: I cannot guarantee that. All right, I'm going. [clock ticks underneath the book summary] So this house blows up, and Nancy drives by, and then a fire happens, and she tries to put it out, and Ned Nickerson's here! And he almost steals her car but he doesn't. He's just moving it out of the fire and then they find another orphan girl that they love. Or not an orphan, but she's, like, a very sad poor girl that they love and they basically adopt her and buy her a bunch of underwear and other stuff. It's helpful but it's, oh god, and we're almost out of time. And the dad's been framed by the guy who stole his patent and didn't give him money for it, and there's a diary, but it's in Swedish, but it's fine, and then it's happily ever after. Yay. [ticking stops, clock bongs] 

Meghan: The end. 

Colleen: God, I feel like we missed a lot. 

Meghan: I know! This is a tough book. 

Colleen: It's a tough one.

Meghan: To summarize.

Colleen: [inaudible] -so far, though.

Meghan: I really did enjoy this one because, again, like with so many of the other Nancy Drew books, I didn't remember anything.

Colleen: Right. 

Meghan: And so-

Colleen: I remembered the name of it at least. 

Meghan: There were a lot of twists and turns. There were some red herrings. There were some things that you thought were a part of the mystery that turned out not to be a part of the mystery. For example, the fact that Joe's wife and kid, Honey-

Colleen: Honey.

Meghan: -a little girl. 

Colleen: That's not even her name. They just call her that. 

Meghan: They just call her Honey. He was sending them money orders. 

Colleen: Oh yeah, she solves, like, a mystery in the middle of the mystery that's not related. 

Meghan: Exactly, and that's, I think, for some reason what my brain got caught on during the thirty-second recap. 

Colleen: Yeah.

Meghan: I was, like- 

Colleen: There were so many different pieces to keep straight, and I was like, “Oh, let's find out more about this, let's go back to that,” and then a lot of them were related. So the wife and the kid of the inventor are very poor and he has been trying to send them money orders while he's on the run because he's been framed for this explosion. Is that why he's on the run? Or he thinks he'll be framed? 

Meghan: He thinks he'll be framed, yeah. 

Colleen: Because he was there, he was supposed to meet the swindler. What's his name? Foxy Felix? 

Meghan: Foxy Felix. 

Colleen: That's a good name. So Foxy Felix apparently is no good for nothing. He's very rich. He takes a lot of people's patents and sells them?

Meghan: He tells them that he's going to- 

Colleen: He does, like, a verbal contract. 

Meghan: Yeah, he's like, “I'm gonna take care of this for you.”

Colleen: “Here's some money now, but I'll make sure that once it's, like, being produced or whatever, you get a lot more later.” 

Meghan: “Yeah, we're going to split this 50-50.” And he just gives them the check and then- 

Colleen: -bounces. 

Meghan: He gets all the money from the patents. And there's lots of people after him. 

Colleen: And that's whose house is burned down. Everyone's like, “Yeah, good riddance to bad rubbish,” or whatever. Like, “He wasn't in there. It's fine.” Nobody cares. “He has so much money, blah, blah, blah.” So. So Joe, who's one of the inventors that we care about that's been swindled either most recently or just more, most pressingly, is trying to send money from his new factory job to the wife and Honey. The wife probably has a name. And, but, it's been getting stolen. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: So Nancy foils a crime ring of, like- [The] money order clerk has been, anytime he knows a money order is going in the mail, [he] tells the post office people to swipe it, or, like, set it aside for him?

Meghan: It's honestly, like, they wrap it up so quickly, and then- 

Colleen: Chapter Ten of Twenty-Four or something! They're, like, “Yeah, anyway, we solved this money order crime ring. Back to the mystery.” Like, okay.

Meghan: Yeah, because the way the book is set up is, Nancy meets Joe's wife and daughter, separately [from Joe], at a carnival amusement park. 

Colleen: Right before the book starts. They're driving home from the carnival. 

Meghan: Yeah, before the book starts, they meet them, like, off- I was gonna say “off-camera.” Off-page. 

Colleen: Off-page!

Meghan: And they're, like, “Wow, they are so poor and sad. We should help them.” 

Colleen: I almost went, “Didn't we just have this?” 

Meghan: “Haven't we had this more than once?”

Colleen: But that one was an orphan girl being raised by two sisters. 

Meghan: Yes. That was book one, actually. 

Colleen: Okay. I was like, “I feel like we've had this plot.” 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: This is just another poor, small girl. 

Meghan: Yes, another small, poor girl. And then Nancy just happens to be there when the house explodes. 

Colleen: Yeah, they're literally admiring, like, “Wow, this house is so pretty.” And then it explodes. And she's, like, “Well, this sucks.” 

Meghan: Yeah. And then she sees Joe running away from the explosion. She finds a diary. And then Ned separately finds Joe's ring. 

Colleen: Oh, he's so slick about it, too. More on Ned later. 

Meghan: Oh yes, we will be returning. 

Colleen: But I just need to, while we're mentioning the ring- The ring has “D” on it, which is Joe's, I think, mom's name. 

Meghan: Maiden name. Yeah, Joe's mom's maiden name. 

Colleen: Yeah. And so “D” stands for “Dahl.” But Ned picks up this ring. He calls Nancy. He goes, “This is going to sound so forward, but I found a ring and I think it could be yours. Can I give it to you?” And I was like, “Let's go!” It's not hers. 

Meghan: It's not. 

Colleen: But then it is hers later. They give it to her. 

Meghan: Spoiler alert. 

Colleen: Sorry. We're literally doing the recap, but.

Meghan: That's true. But yeah, as they track down everything with Joe-

Colleen: Yeah, and my favorite thing- She sees a man running away from a house on fire. She goes, “He must be guilty.” I'm, like, “The house is on fire, my dude.” 

Meghan: Exactly. But yeah, there's a lot of twists and turns in this one trying to figure out, you know-

Colleen: Yeah, and someone runs into her car at the fire and we think that that's unrelated, but later he ends up being the employer of Joe. That's just unrelated. That's a coincidence. 

Meghan: And that's like- Yeah. Poor Joe has so many coincidental, like- 

Colleen: Truly!

Meghan: Nancy, she meets his wife and kid. She sees him running away from a house explosion. Her car gets hit by his employer. Also at the scene of the crime.

Colleen: He has been told by his doctor that he's too nervous and shouldn't drive. He's, like, “Yep, that's what he said after the last crash. I'll probably crash again too.” And we don't go back to that. And it's fine. 

Meghan: Nope. 

Colleen: Nancy suggests a chauffeur and he writes it on a little Post-It. 

Meghan: “Good idea!”

Colleen: Wild times. So even though there's a lot of repeats, like there's the orphan, and they're going to carnivals and local things, and they're helping out local families, and there's car trouble again, and we're hiding in the woods again, it still felt original. 

Meghan: It felt very much [like] Nancy Drew at its best.

Colleen: Yes, yes, and maybe- Maybe that's ‘cause Ned's here! It's not all about Ned, but I have been waiting for him for six books. 

Meghan: I know! I thought he was introduced a lot later in the series. 

Colleen: Ohh.

Meghan: So I was pleasantly surprised and excited. 

Colleen: That's true. The only thing missing is Helen. 

Meghan: I know. Where is she? 

Colleen: I don't know. 

Meghan: Where is Helen?! 

Colleen: I don't know!

[Sound cue: High-pitched whistle-like note descending in pitch underneath the stretched-out, also-descending-in-pitch spoken word “Cliffhangers!”] 

Meghan: So let's talk about our favorite cliffhanger from this novel. Would you like to go first? 

Colleen: Yeah, I really only had one that I liked, but it was a very dramatic one. 

Meghan: Oh!

Colleen: So like I said, they have a ton of car problems in this. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: But this is, I think it's after they've gotten the car fixed. They're trying to go hang out with Honey and Mrs. Swenson. And there's, like- There's a detour, so they have to go on this wooden bridge. And there's an enormous truck behind them. And they're, like, “Well, I’ve got to get around him. I'll just go really fast.” So they're speeding over this wooden bridge. Bess is, like, “AaAaAa, thisss suUuUucks, my teeth are jolting.” 

Meghan: “AaAaAa!”

Colleen: Yeah, her dialogue is altered from how jolting it is, which is why I don't like wooden-track roller coasters. And then the truck is, like, “I need you to go faster. I'm going to be behind you on this wooden bridge, even though I'm an enormous truck.” So the cliffhanger is George exclaiming, “‘This bridge will never hold us both!’ The words were barely out of her mouth when there came a cracking, splintering sound. ‘Nancy!’ Bess shrieked. ‘Look out!’” 

Meghan: [dramatically singing] Dun, dun, dun!

Colleen: Like, that's a good cliffhanger. 

Meghan: That was a really good cliffhanger. That was one of the first ones I wrote down as well. And, just- Interesting side note, the person following them closely was nothing. 

Colleen: Never came back. 

Meghan: Never came back. And, like, it seemed very dangerous and, like, I figured this was another inexplicable coincidence. 

Colleen: Yes, either this is someone who's working with Foxy Felix and is in a hurry, or someone's trying to intimidate Nancy. Nope. 

Meghan: Nope. This is just, she's just- 

Colleen: Road rage. 

Meghan: Yeah, just a road, exactly, a road rage. And yeah, they, like, swipe past her, scrape her car, destroy part of the bridge-

Colleen: Yup!

Meghan: -in an effort to get around her. 

Colleen: Yup! And that's it. That's the end of it. Like, it sucks, but it's not related to the mystery. 

Meghan: Yeah. Another red herring. The cliffhanger that was my favorite was probably at the end of Chapter Eleven, which is when she's at the fraternity party with Ned Nickerson. 

Colleen: Yeah. 

Meghan: And there's another guy there named Phil. I don't even remember how the conversation comes up, but his dad is a postmaster and she's, like, “Oh, is he? Because I've got some questions. I know somebody who's not getting their mail and I want to know!”

Colleen: Again, completely separate mystery that she solves within the larger mystery. 

Meghan: So he's, like, “A certain kind of thief would-” “‘Say, Nancy, I'm gonna tell you something. It's kind of confidential, but I think it might help your friend.’ Nancy listened intently for the secret she was about to hear.” And I was, like, “Oh my gosh, what is the secret?” And really the secret is that other people are complaining that their mail is getting stolen too.

Colleen: It's not that good [of] a secret, but it's a good cliffhanger. 

Meghan: It's a good cliffhanger. I was expecting a little bit of a juicier secret, but did it motivate me to keep reading?

Colleen: Yes.

Meghan: Yes, it did. 

Colleen: It did its job. 

Meghan: It did its job.

[Sound cue: Ocean waves crash underneath the spoken words “Ship of the Week”]

Meghan: In this segment, we will talk about the relationship that we hope comes true. And just in our very brief discussions prior to recording, we chose the same ship. 

Colleen: We chose the same one! There's only one ship this week. You know me. You know I'm always looking for, like, a gay ship that they didn't know was gay, but it obviously is.

Meghan: Of course. 

Colleen: Ned Nickerson's here. The man, the myth, the dorkus. He's here. We love him. We're so excited to see him. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: He's in most of the games of Nancy Drew. He's, like, the canonical longtime boyfriend. He's, like, a college boy and Nancy's between high school and college.

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: So they're both, I think, eighteen, nineteen. He's delightful. We first see him- She thinks he's trying to steal her car. Great start! 

Meghan: It is great. Yeah. I mean, it was very nice of him to be, like, “Hey, this car that has the keys in it is right in the pathway of the fire.”

Colleen: Uh-huh. 

Meghan: “I'm gonna move this car.”

Colleen: Uh-huh. And Nancy goes, “My car is being stolen. Why did Bess and George leave the keys in it?”

Meghan: Yeah, so it was very nice, but she is very suspicious. 

Colleen: Oh yeah!

Meghan: Very quickly. 

Colleen: And we love that, because most of the guys she's met, that Bess and George are trying to tease her about, like, “Oh, he only has eyes for you,” she's like, “Yeah, sure, whatever.” This one, she's, like, blushing along. So good. He's already like, “I'm here to do errands for you.” He actively says, “I'm at your service.” He's, like, calling her. I think I told you how slick he was with the ring. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: He's like, “This is going to sound forward, but I've got a ring.”

Meghan: And then her dad immediately teases her for that exact same thing. So she says, “I want you to meet Ned. He's coming over. He's bringing a ring that might interest you.” And he's like, “Oh, not a diamond, I hope.” [And Nancy’s like,] “Dad!”

Colleen: It's so good. 

Meghan: “You're as bad as Bess and George.”

Colleen: I love that Carson's one of the girlies. 

Meghan: Yes. Hannah's in on it.

Colleen: Oh yeah!

Meghan: Everybody. 

Colleen: But usually Nancy's not about it. She's like, “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm doing my mystery.” But Bess tricks her. She's trying to tease Nancy. She's like, “‘And Ned couldn't keep his big blue eyes off you.’” And she [Nancy] goes, “Really? Blue? I thought they were [brown]-Now wait a minute.” I lost it. Every interaction! He's, like, leaving messages [for Nancy] with Hannah, like, “Will you go to this fraternity dance with me tonight, I hope?” And Bess is like, “‘He's got a terrible case,’” and Nancy goes “Hush.” “But she did not look displeased.” Like, she's in it, and she's like, “Listen, I'm doing a mystery.” He goes, “Absolutely. How can I help?” Or “Can I help drive Honey and Mrs. Swenson to see Joe in jail?” And the police were like, “We don't want her to see him behind bars. So we let him be in the waiting room.” I'm like, “Wow, that would never happen.” 

Meghan: Right. 

Colleen: That was kind of a Blast from the Past. I'm like, “Oh, okay.” But he's driving people around. He's hiding some extra spare change he has in Honey's house so they'll find it after they leave. 

Meghan: It's so sweet. 

Colleen: He's helping direct traffic when there's a traffic jam after the fire.

Meghan: Yes! Oh my gosh. I forgot about that. 

Colleen: He's a good guy. 

Meghan: I- What I really liked, and why I think I mainly ship them- He's just as invested in the mystery as she is. Which is great for her. He's, like, doing his own investigation separately. 

Colleen: Yes!

Meghan: He's collecting his own clues. 

Colleen: And she's like, “Shouldn't we turn in the ring to the police?” And he goes-

Meghan: Yes!

Colleen: “‘I believe at least for the time being it's a case of, quote, “finders keepers,” end quote.’” 

Meghan: I literally wrote that down. I was like, “That is exactly what Nancy needs.”

Colleen: Yes!

Meghan: Somebody else who is also willing to do- 

Colleen: -a liiiittle bit of- 

Meghan: -lightly bend some rules.

Colleen: Lightly bend some rules to get to the bottom of the overarching situation. She's like, “Okay, if you say so.”

Meghan: And one of the parts I thought was sweetest and really endeared him to me was, it's fairly late in the book, when she's had, like, a super busy day- 

Colleen: I just read this!

Meghan: And Ned shows up and he doesn't really have a great reason to be there. 

Colleen: The reason is Nancy. 

Meghan: Yeah, and that's exactly it. Like, the text tells us that he's there-

Colleen: I think he even asks, “Should I not come?” She's like, “No, come anyway. Like, I'm tired, but come anyway.”

Meghan: Yeah, but it says that he cuts his visit short, because he notices how tired she is.

Colleen: Yeah! 

Meghan: I love it. 

Colleen: Like, is it a little bit of a low bar? Kind of, but, like, I love it. And he doesn't say anything! He's like, “Anyway, I've gotta go now.” 

Meghan: Yeah.

Colleen: Oh and I love- Again with Carson. She's like, “Hey, this guy I met, Ned Nickerson's coming over,” and he goes, “I suppose you want me to find a convenient excuse for me to, like, not be home.” She goes, “No, I want you to meet him.” He goes, “‘And should I embarrass you and ask his intentions?’” She goes, “No, it's for the mystery!” But it's, like, great and I love it so much. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: Oh, and Bess is encouraging her. She goes, “‘Oh, I see you're starting this friendship with Ned correctly. Make your date work for you.’” And then hangs up before Nancy can say anything else!

Meghan: Yup!

Colleen: It's so cute. 

Meghan: Everybody has been waiting for a moment that Nancy shows interest. 

Colleen: Any interest in any man. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: But, like, this guy specifically seems very good for her. 

Meghan: Yes! And they all see it. 

Colleen: Does she treat him like crap in the games and kind of forget about him? Yeah. But for right now, in the books, we are loving it. They're on equal footing. They're helping each other. They're teasing each other. 

Meghan: I can't-

Colleen: Can I tell you the cutest moment? It's at the end. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: Or one of the cutest at least. 

Meghan: Of course. 

Colleen: So they're talking about, “We solved this mystery of the diary. It's so great.” And Ned goes, “‘Hey, I have a notion to start a diary of my own.’ ‘Why don't you?’ Nancy asked lightly. She became conscious that Ned's eyes were looking straight at her. ‘I will if I can fill most of the pages with entries of dates with you.’”

Meghan: Ohhh, he's so cute!

Colleen: He's so slick.

Meghan: So cute. 

Colleen: It's adorable. 

Meghan: Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of Ned Nickerson in these books. 

Colleen: And he gets along with Bess and George great. 

Meghan: Exactly. 

Colleen: Bess's only complaint is he didn't find blind dates for her and George. 

Meghan: There's plenty of time.

Colleen: There's plenty of time for that. I remember specifically there's Burt and Dave, so we'll get to that. 

[Sound Cue: Kitchen tools clink underneath the spoken words “Cooking Corner”]

Meghan: Let's talk about food. 

Colleen: Okay, so my first one is also about Ned, even though we're not in the ship section, because even though Ned's first visit is to be one “of business,” and that's in quotes, Nancy does coax Hannah to bake a cake, to be served with ice cream. 

Meghan: Yes, and I feel like we have not seen Hannah in the last few books because we haven't been in River Heights. 

Colleen: Yeah, think we've had phone calls with her. She's a phone contact.

Meghan: Yeah. Or she's mentioned, but-

Colleen: But she's here. 

Meghan: Yeah! And we get to get some cake and ice cream. She also makes fresh blueberry muffins. 

Colleen: Oh yes, they are marked as extra delicious. It's unclear why, but it's very nice. 

Meghan: Yes, and also in regards to Ned, he takes the girls out for ice cream sodas. 

Colleen: Yes, all three of them, not just Nancy. 

Meghan: Right? 

Colleen: He's a good guy. 

Meghan: He's a good guy. 

Colleen: I love Ned Nickerson. Oh, they pick out a lot of really good stuff for Honey and Mrs. Swenson, who, every time I flip through, I'm like, “She doesn't have a first name.” Her first name is “Mrs.” Like the teacher in Junie B. Jones. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: So they pick out some ice cream and some steak and fruit, and also melons, which is not fruit somehow. 

Meghan: Separately from the fruit. 

Colleen: Separate from the fruit. Mrs. Swenson's like, “Well, you're just buying enough to last a week, not just today.” And that was actually Nancy's big plan. 

Meghan: She's like, “Uh-huh.” 

Colleen: Because they have no money, because they've been expecting money in the mail. And money has been sent in the mail; it just hasn't gotten to them. 

Meghan: Yes. Yeah, and originally you're kind of led to believe that like, the husband is-

Colleen: -a little flaky or- 

Meghan: -flaky or has abandoned them. She hasn't heard from him. She's not getting money from him. And then when Nancy makes the connection that that is the guy she saw running away from the fire, she's like-

Colleen: “Oh I wonder if there's [inaudible].”

Meghan: “That's why I'm going to go grocery shopping and we're having a feast. Also, this is enough food [for a week]. Keep all of the leftovers.”

Colleen: It's great. 

Meghan: And then the other food was at the very beginning. They're having a picnic under some sycamore trees.

Colleen: That's right!

Meghan: Eating sandwiches and deviled eggs, and I was like, “That's the life right there.” 

Colleen: That's good picnic food.

[Sound Cue: European-style emergency vehicle siren sound plays underneath the spoken words “Fashion Police”]

Meghan: This is another segment where I feel like we haven't had a ton of descriptions lately, but we're back. 

Colleen: Yeah. We're back and it's specifically almost always when she's about to hang out with Ned. I feel like we haven't had Nancy's outfits described in a while. 

Meghan: Yes, I'm thinking about just our previous episodes. We've been describing what other people are wearing.

Colleen: Bess, or the random person that they're helping. 

Meghan: Or what the cult, or what the cult is wearing this week, so it's really-

Colleen: The cult wears the same thing every week.

Meghan: That's true. It's nice to get some descriptions of what Nancy is wearing because that's really who I care about.

Colleen: It is.

Meghan: You know? This podcast is called Me and You and Nancy Drew. 

Colleen: It's not about the cult. It's not about Bess or the random helper of the week. 

Meghan: She [Bess] is great. She is great. But I do always want to know, what's Nancy up to? What's Nancy wearing? And we got some answers this week. 

Colleen: We did. Well, first up, she's got a dress with pockets again. 

Meghan: Always. 

Colleen: When she finds a clue, she just stuffs it right in there. Finders Keepers Nancy over here. 

Meghan: I loved when she was- Ned's on the phone. What's she wearing? 

Colleen: Right! I didn't know it was Ned. She [Hannah] goes, “Yeah, there's a young man on the phone” and she [Nancy] goes, “I'll be there in a jiffy. Don't let him escape.” A normal thing to say on a phone call. 

Meghan: Yep. But yeah, she's wearing dainty black and gold slippers and a dressing gown, which my research into looking at what a dressing gown from that era would look [like] now has inspired me that I need a dressing gown. 

Colleen: Excellent. Do you need dainty slippers?

Meghan: No, I'm a hobbit. I just want bare feet. 

Colleen: Yeah, I don't think I need slippers to answer the phone. 

Meghan: No. But then, I do need a dressing gown. He comes over. 

Colleen: So Ned comes over. She- Well, before he comes over, she's talking to Hannah like, “Hey, can you make a cake?” And then she, she does the dishes and everything. She's still part of this household and not making Hannah do everything, which I love. So later, Ned's about to come over, Hannah's making the cake with the ice cream, and there was barely time for her to change into a flower dress and high-heeled shoes. But there was [time], don't worry.

Meghan: I- High. Heeled. Shoes. Like, we are definitely... 

Colleen: Mm-hmm. We're trying to look our best

Meghan: Mm-hmm.

Colleen: For our casual business meeting. 

Meghan: Yep, and then she goes to the fraternity party with Ned.

Colleen: Yeah!

Meghan: In her pale green chiffon dress and gold evening shoes.

Colleen: So lovely. This is a spur-of-the-moment thing. It's not spur-of-the-moment for Ned. He's been calling all day and trying not to bother, but like, “Hey, if you're free, I'd love to take you.” And she's been mystery-solving and she barely has time to change but- To go to a frat party, you've got to look your best.

Meghan: Yup.

Colleen: You have to wear your chiffon. I've always said that. 

Meghan: Yeah. 

Colleen: It's delightful, though. She has a great time. And she does some sleuthing while she's there. 

Meghan: Yeah!

Colleen: That's where the postmaster's son is. 

Meghan: Exactly. Exactly. 

Colleen: It helps the mystery.

[Sound Cue: High-pitched sounds imitating a camera flashbulb play underneath the spoken words “Picture Perfect”]

Meghan: As everyone is hopefully aware by this point, the original Nancy Drew books are famous for having their pen-and-ink drawings scattered throughout the pages. And as usual, I am always confused by the first one that they choose. It's always there to make you want to read, but this one in particular, the scene that they are depicting is ten pages from the end. 

Colleen: It's, like, page 164 of 174! 

Meghan: And, like, even I did not remember this mystery at all, but the quote at the bottom says, “‘It's evidence against him,’ Nancy said to herself. ‘He can't destroy it!’” Now pronouns are not specific, but even- We do not know [who is in the picture]. 

Colleen: We know the bad guy is here!

Meghan: Even before I read it, I was like, “Ah, that is the bad guy destroying evidence about himself.”

Colleen: “I don't know who it is, but I know that that's gonna happen.” Now by the time I got around to it, I had forgotten, because there was a lot else going on, but, like, guys, there are climatic moments that are not the actual end of the book. 

Meghan: Yes, like- 

Colleen: What a weird scene [to pick for the preview]!

Meghan: There is a house explosion on the second page. 

Colleen: Yes!

Meghan: Draw- Give us the house explosion. 

Colleen: No, no, no. My- My first Picture Perfect is the house fire because the smoke–and we can put this in the show notes–because my favorite part- It’s- They’re so detailed. I love these drawings. There's a lot of cross-hatching. There's always, like, trees and scenery and the girls’ outfits and their expressions. And then the smoke was just, like, a little scribble done by, like, a ten-year-old, like “Blblblbll! Here's the smoke!” The house is on fire. All this fire is going directly straight up into this little scribbly tornado. I love it so much. Good work. I have another one near the end. It's so detailed. Okay, so Nancy's getting this diary translated because the diary she finds is in Swedish, most of it. And so she's, like, trying to talk to this Swedish bakery owner that she and Hannah know. But he's like, he gets sick so she can't talk to him for most of it, which is plot-convenient. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: But anyway, she's talking to him now. He's looking over his shoulder. He’s reading the book, and he's talking about how diaries are important, and all these historical figures kept diaries, and behind him there is a framed drawing of a ship, because he's talking about explorers and their diaries. And I'm like, “That's a great detail.” And then I'm looking at the chair and the detail on the chair and once again, it's just a scribble? Everything [else] is so detailed. There's a painting of a ship on the wall behind him. We've got Nancy's detailed outfit, down to her beaded necklace. I can't tell what the heck this is supposed to be a pattern of. Like I could see- 

Meghan: Oh my goodness.

Colleen: -maybe a squid on that one. 

Meghan: A squid? 

Colleen: Like, a flower that's been stomped on for this one. It's like one of those where, like, it's a fabric that clearly has the same pattern in every diamond. 

Meghan: But each-

Colleen: But it's not- They didn't give any-

Meghan: Oh my. 

Colleen: There's so many details and they were just like, “Uh, what is a chair, really?”

Meghan: “Uuhhhh, yeah, okay, just some scribbles.” 

Colleen: It's weird where they give up.

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: The smoke one, I would feel, is very important. The chair one I might not have noticed if I was not taking notes on the pictures for the podcast, but, like, guys!

[Sound Cue: Synthesized harp plays descending notes under the spoken words “Blast from the Past”]

Colleen: So this segment is to talk about things that Nancy's encountering that we usually don't [encounter] in the 2020s, whereas she is operating in the 60s and initially early 30s. This could be technology-wise, this could be phrasing-and-word-choice-wise, so on and so forth. What did you flag for this? 

Meghan: Okay, so the very first one that I flagged-

Colleen: Yeah!

Meghan: It doesn't come up again. 

Colleen: It doesn't!

Meghan: I wondered if it would. But Nancy's like, “I'm going to go volunteer at the crippled children's home.”

Colleen: We gotta have a better word for that.

Meghan: That's- Exactly. 

Colleen: I guess, is it better than “invalid”? Because that is the same as “in-valid,” so I'm, like-

Meghan: Yeah, I don't- 

Colleen: That's not amazing. I don't love that. 

Meghan: As opposed to, like, “children with physical disabilities,” or- 

Colleen: Even, like, “disabled kids’ home.” Like, that would still be better. I feel like a lot of disabled people have said [that] even “disabled people” is better than just like- There's that. 

Meghan: They're “crippled.” Yeah. Like I don't- I don't love that word. 

Colleen: I was reading this at my dad's house and he was like, “Yeah, I wish that was from the past. When I worked as an EMS, I was at an event space and they were like, ‘Hey, we need more wheelchairs up front because of all these cripples.’” And he was like, “And that guy got fired.”

Meghan: Ooo.

Colleen: Because it was over the radio so everyone could hear. This should be from the past. Or ideally not at all!

Meghan: Exactly.

Colleen: But that shouldn't be something my dad encountered at work, because he was not at work in the 60s, in fact. 

Meghan: No, no. 

Colleen: Speaking of, when we were at my dad's house, we were looking through some of my mom's old writings. I didn't know a good place to put this in, but I thought it was funny because she was [like], “You always are staring at,” (about me), “You're always staring at and pulling the Nancy Drew books off my shelf.” 

Meghan: Aaa!

Colleen: I was like, “I started young!” 

Meghan: Yes, you knew what you liked. 

Colleen: I knew what I liked. Speaking of outdated references to disability or illness, the wife of the bad guy is diagnosed with hysteria by a secretary, who I'm going to presumptuously assume is a woman. So the woman's like, “Oh, she's hysterical. Let's go get her some water, but I don't know. She's hysterical. What are we gonna do, am I right?” So that's good. Turns out she's kind of in on it. I don't know if she knows for sure that her husband's alive, but she's like, “He's dead. Everyone, yeah. Everyone's out to get me.” 

Meghan: I definitely was under the impression by the end that she was a hundred percent an accomplice.

Colleen: Yeah.

Meghan: And knew all along that her husband was not dead. 

Colleen: Nancy couldn't tell for a bit. She was like, “I think your husband's alive.” She's like, “How could you say this to me?!” 

Meghan: “How dare you try to reassure me?!” 

Colleen: Yeah! “How dare you?” Also the state trooper says there's a dangerous criminal out hiding in the vicinity, so they need to keep their doors locked. Thank goodness someone tells me. I kind of default to doors locked. 

Meghan: Right?

Colleen: At all times?

Meghan: Maybe that is just a different way in the past. You know, a lot more trusting.

Colleen: Oh yeah. They even put the lid of the convertible down [when it’s parked].

Meghan: Yeah. Speaking of being more trusting-

Colleen: Oh yeah. 

Meghan: When Nancy goes to get her car repaired after it was-

Colleen: Yeah, run into- 

Meghan: Run into by Joe's boss- 

Colleen: Who's so nervous he shouldn't drive and he knows this. It's fine. 

Meghan: She forgets her checkbook so she can't pay for her repair. And she's like, “I'll be back with a check.” And he's like, “Yeah, don't worry about it.” And like, she takes her car. She doesn't pay for it. And she just takes her car because he trusts that she's going to come back, which she does. And also not with her own checkbook, but with the check from the guy who hit her. 

Colleen: Yeah. ‘Cause he put- He was so nervous that he not only ran into her car, but couldn't remember his insurance. I'm like, “Oh, this man's not insured.” 

Meghan: That's what I thought too. Nope.

Colleen: Nope, he's just nervous.

Meghan: Now, to be fair, I still don't know if he was insured because he did not pull out an insurance card or anything. 

Colleen: That's true. He just paid her.

Meghan: Just wrote her a check. 

Colleen: He just wrote her a check because he's a factory owner. 

Meghan: Yeah, but I just thought it was interesting that she could drive away [from getting her car] service[d].

Colleen: He goes, “I'm busy. Take your car. I'll get you later.” 

Meghan: Yeah. 

Colleen: And then they do, and it's fine! 

Meghan: Mmhmm.

Colleen: I don't know. I'm wondering how much of this is because it's a small town. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: And her father is well known, right? Because when they say her last name later, the police treat her a little better.

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: Not enough to get her off the hook for being suspicious. She's not really being suspicious. 

Meghan: She's really not, but she is in the company of someone they deem suspicious, so there you go.

Colleen: And later, when he's proved innocent, they go, “Well, you have to admit he seemed suspicious.” Thank you, that's helpful.

Meghan: To be fair, Nancy also found him suspicious for half the book, so.

Colleen: Oh yeah, when Detective Davil is questioning Joe Swenson-

Meghan: Interrogating!

Colleen: He's like, “You had an argument with Foxy Felix.” He goes, “Well, we did have hot words.” 

Meghan: [singing] “Hot words!” [as if this is a salacious implication] Oooo.

Colleen: No, it seems inappropriate. 

Meghan: Yes, of course. I also thought it was interesting, talking about, like, the amounts of money that they are giving for the money orders.

Colleen: First off, that they're using money orders. That should be a Blast from the Past, but that was something my brother had to pay his first month's rent with.

Meghan: Yeah, I've always had to do- When, yeah, all the apartments I lived in had to be a money order. 

Colleen: All of them? 

Meghan: Yeah.

Colleen: That was the first time my dad had used a money order for [anything, was helping Ben pay his rent. 

Meghan: Every apartment I've moved in. To be fair, I've lived in quite a lot of apartments. 

Colleen: That's true. 

Meghan: So when Nancy's like, “Okay, how much does everyone have? I'm going to go grocery shopping.” They are like, “I've got three dollars.” “I've got a dollar.” And she's like, “Okay. With whatever I've got, that'll be plenty.” I was like-

Colleen: They got, like, a week's worth of stuff!

Meghan: Plenty? Plenty. Amazing! And then Ned, the amount that he, like, sneaks is, like, five dollars. And now, I don't know about the way you grew up, but I grew up with lots of different family friends and stuff who wouldn't ever accept payment. And so my parents were constantly trying to hide money in the same way that, like, Ned was. 

Colleen: “Hey, like, this is a gift, but I don't want you to reject it. So let's find it after we leave.” 

Meghan: “Then you can't give it back to me.” And, like, I just was, like, comparing to what my parents would do. And it would always be a twenty.

Colleen: Nice. 

Meghan: So it's the difference between it then being-

Colleen: Enough for a week's worth of food. Yeah, they've got four dollars plus whatever Nancy has, and she doesn't say, but she doesn't have her checkbook with her, so it can't be too, too much. 

Meghan: And the amounts that Joe has been sending to his wife and daughter are just twenty-five dollars. 

Colleen: But they've been counting on it. They needed it. 

Meghan: Yes. And so it's just inflation, man. 

Colleen: Oh yeah. You know, ‘cause I'm thinking, “What am I getting for five dollars at Kroger?”

Meghan: Literally.

Colleen: Like a gallon of milk. Maybe.

Meghan: Maybe. 

Colleen: Not a week's worth of food, including steak and stuff for the dog and whatever. 

Meghan: Oh yeah. Yeah. I forgot they also have the dog. Yeah. They were like, “You didn't forget a bone for him?” 

Colleen: I'm like, I would absolutely- Sorry, but I'd leave the dog out first if your baby is starving. I'm sorry. But they're like, “No, we got the juiciest, meatiest bone the butcher had.” That's very sweet. They refer to Felix's car as things that seemed at odds to me. They call it a “hot rod,” which to me reads, like, sports car, fancy car. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: And they also say, “Yeah, it was a black crate that sure was beat up.” I'm like, “Okay, so what is it?” 

Meghan: Yeah. Some vocabulary that we just don't really use anymore that- 

Colleen: If I'm calling a car a “crate,” I'm thinking of it as maybe a pickup. 

Meghan: I wouldn't- I wouldn't even associate the word “crate” with a car. I would just be confused. I'd be like, “What are we talking about?” But it's, like, supposed to be a beat up car. Why call it a “hot rod”? 

Colleen: Yes, but it's also a hot rod.

Meghan: Why call it a “hot rod” then? Do I not know what a hot rod is? That's also possible. I don't know a lot about cars.

Colleen: Right? I also- Nancy, stop calling everything attractive. The restaurant on the side of the road is attractive. The dress is attractive. The- Some of these things make sense. The restaurant is not, is not doing it for me. There have to be other adjectives, buddy.

Meghan: There are plenty. There are so many adjectives. 

Colleen: Nope, not for Nancy. 

Meghan: Just “attractive.”

Colleen: No adjective, only Ned Nickerson. Oh, and then they go out in the woods and Hannah's like, “It sounds risky, Nancy. How about taking a man with you?” Which, they're like, “Ehhh, you're right. Honestly, that’s a good idea.” But then Nancy does point out- But, ‘cause they call. Her dad's not free. And then they call Ned and leave a message. I think that's the first time she's talked to his mom, and she's like, “Hey. Hey, if your son's free, can he come to the woods with us? It would be super fun and normal and cool.”

Meghan: “Hi, my name is Nancy Drew.”

Colleen: “You don't know me.”

Meghan: “You don't know me!” 

Colleen: “But can your son go to the woods for a crime purpose? Against crime, we're against crime.” 

Meghan: “Probably.” 

Colleen: “Probably against. Sometimes we- Maybe a little crime along the way.” 

Meghan: Sometimes you gotta commit a few crimes to solve the big crime. 

Colleen: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know this. But anyway, after he's not free, Nancy's like, “Eh, that's fine.” “‘Three strong capable girls like ourselves shouldn't need any help!’” And, like, that sounds today kind of tired, like, “Ah, it was a strong independent character or whatever,” but, like, [for the time period] this is, like, no [this is groundbreaking]! This- Heck yeah. 

Meghan: Yeah, yeah. I love it.

Colleen: Bess is still a little nervous and that's fair.

Meghan: Yeah, she's, like, sometimes the only reasonable one in some of these circumstances. 

Colleen: I mean, like, in the last book they were in the woods alone and it didn't go well! 

Meghan: She has been actually alone in the woods with Nancy multiple times and it has not gone well.

Colleen: So I think she's, she's valid here. 

Meghan: Yeah. A hundred percent. 

Colleen: I have two more quick ones from the same page. They find Foxy Felix. First off, we have the briefest moment out of Nancy's- Not her POV, but it's [the narration is usually], like, third person, on her shoulder, kind of. Did you get this? 

Meghan: Yes! Okay. No- 

Colleen: I didn't know where to put it.

Meghan: I meant to circle that one for the cliffhanger.

Colleen: Bess and George fall asleep. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: And then they wake up and hear a scream and Nancy's not there! And it's only, like, half a page, but we haven't gotten a scene without Nancy, like, at all, I don't think. I don't think there's been like- And then we cut away and the criminal's up to this. I don't think it's been anything without Nancy in the scene. It's only half a page but it still stuck out to me. Anyway, so. She gets captured and she's trying to get their attention because the criminal doesn't know that Bess and George are there. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: So that's her secret weapon. But they're asleep in the woods. It's fine. They're not that helpful but it's okay. And they wake up and then Ned and Carson are there. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: And Carson just takes the criminal to jail in his sedan. Just as you do. 

Meghan: Yep. 

Colleen: And then right on that same page, Nancy's like, “You know, you guys have perfect timing.” But she doesn't say that. What she says is, “‘Well, how in the world did you and Dad get here at the psychological moment?’”

Meghan: “The psychological moment.”

Colleen: What? 

Meghan: I feel like she's almost calling them out for being the, like, deus ex machina. 

Colleen: The psychological moment?!

Meghan: The psychological moment. 

Colleen: What is that? That's just me having an anxiety attack. 

Meghan: I guess so. 

Colleen: What's a psychological moment? 

Meghan: I have a lot of psychological moments. 

Colleen: Same.

[Sound Cue: The spoken words “Wound Watch” are followed by a low voice exclaiming as if punched in the stomach]

Meghan: All right. Nancy gets out pretty okay in this book. You know, a few more injuries than the last one.

Colleen: The last one, she was, like, perfect. 

Meghan: Yeah.

Colleen: She had no injuries. 

Meghan: Nothing happened. 

Colleen: This time, I mean, it starts with a car crash on, like, the very first bit. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: They all get a severe jolt. But they're fine. 

Meghan: Yep! She inhales some smoke and is choking and coughing, but- 

Colleen: Nothing long-term. 

Meghan: Nothing long-term. I would say the biggest injury was [that] she gets slapped across the face!

Colleen: Yeah! And it's for the crime of telling the truth to this grieving widow that she thinks is- 

Meghan: "Grieving widow."

Colleen: At the time- Well, maybe. She's trying to help. This is the one who was hysterical earlier. She's like, “My husband, Foxy Felix-” She doesn't call him this. “-is dead!” And she [Nancy] goes, “Well, I actually think he's alive,” and she [the “widow”] slaps Nancy across the face in the police station!

Meghan: And then with also the knowledge- 

Colleen: And shakes her by the shoulders!

Meghan: Oh yeah! She shakes her, too! But also then, with the knowledge that, by the end of the novel, we know that this wife was in on it all along, like- 

Colleen: She calls her a “meddling teen-ager.” Hyphenated “teen-ager.”

Meghan: “Teen-ager.” 

Colleen: Which, I love seeing just the origin of that word.

Meghan:  Mm-hmm. But I was offended for Nancy. 

Colleen: Yeah! If she was just sad and not sure how to deal with it, it would be different, but she was totally in on it. 

Meghan: Yeah, absolutely ridiculous. 

Colleen: Mrs. Raybolt. I feel like we need to also tally how many car problems Nancy has.

Meghan: I think that is a great idea. 

Colleen: I think I need to- Before our next episode, I think I need to go back. Because she is constantly- Car and boat. She's had a lot of boat troubles too. Just, like, vehicle. 

Meghan: Vehicle, yes. 

Colleen: Call it “Crash Course.” 

Meghan: Oh, I love it. 

Colleen: Maybe. I don't know. We have to make sure it doesn't have a car crashing sound because that would be the worst thing to hear while driving, but like-

Meghan: True. 

Colleen: Like a “Vroom,” or something. But, like, there's four car problems in this book alone, and then Bess is like, “Don't drive into the muddy woods.” She's [Nancy’s] like, “Fine.” Girl, you just got your car back from the mechanic.

Meghan: To be fair, Bess has been there for all of the other problems.

Colleen: All the other problems!

Meghan: So she's like, “Please.”

Colleen: “Please, for the love of God.”

Meghan: “Take care of your car, Nancy.” 

Colleen: “I didn't have to pay for it!” Yeah, and Nancy brought the car home with [damage after] the crash. She gets it fixed enough to drive home, and Ned helps and is following just to make sure the car doesn't fall apart. He's like, “Hey, if you get stuck in a ditch, I'll push you out. But let's go to the near mechanic, get it drivable to go to your city. Or your small town.”

Meghan: Small town. 

Colleen: Yeah. “And then we'll get it really fixed up the next day” or whatever. But.

Meghan: Were you going to talk about how he pulled the bumper straight off the car? 

Colleen: Yeah, Ned pulls the bumper straight off the car and puts it in [inaudible] because she was dragging it. And he was just like, “It's going to make a lot of noise.” He's like, “Let me just- Poof!”

Meghan: “Poof!”

Colleen: Puts it in her inventory. “One car bumper! Thank you.” It's great. She gets home and Carson's like, “How much of a lawsuit do I have on my hands?” She goes, “I didn't back into someone! Someone ran into me.” He goes, “Yeah, sure, sure, sure.” But I told this to my dad and he had recorded an older Nancy Drew movie for me, and she is the worst driver!

Meghan: Awww.

Colleen: It's not even a plot point, but it's just so funny.

Meghan: Maybe it's canon. 

Colleen: Maybe it is. She just can't drive. She's busy. She's thinking of lots of other stuff. 

Meghan: Yeah, it's okay. She's good at everything else.

Colleen: Yeah! One bad driving as a treat. 

Meghan: Yeah, exactly. 

[Sound Cue: The spoken words “Drew’s Clues” are followed by the sound of the dog from Blue’s Clues barking four times in a recognizable pattern]

Meghan: In this segment, we look at just more information about Nancy as an individual, as a person. 

Colleen: And her friends. 

Meghan: Yeah, and her friends. What makes her, and them, tick? I guess what I wanted to talk about was, we kind of already knew this about Nancy because this has been an ongoing thing, but just, her sense of charity and how willing she is to- I mean, poor language choices, but she's going to go work at the “crippled children's home.” She's also giving direct charity and using her money to go get groceries for this family. 

Colleen: Like, help cook a feast. 

Meghan: Yeah. 

Colleen: And she tries to make sure it's framed in, “This isn't charity.” 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: “This is fully ‘You don't have anything; you're supposed to have stuff.’”

Meghan: Yeah, and she just, she worries about a lot of people, and she's in a position, oftentimes, to help them. I mean, even just going back to previous books, she knows she's good at solving mysteries. She hears about a mystery and it's affecting family or friends that she cares about. She's like- 

Colleen: Or strangers!

Meghan: Or strangers. “I'm going to take care of that for you. I'm going to figure out where this money has [gone]. I'm going to make sure you have food on your table. Okay, well now I'm going to figure out why you haven't been getting money.” 

Colleen: Uh-huh.

Meghan: “Okay, now I am going to directly ensure that this particular money gets directly to you. I'm going to make sure my not-boyfriend comes and brings you clothes for your daughter.”

Colleen: Mm-hmm.

Meghan: She's just so good. 

Colleen: Well, and she is going to get the diary translated by this baker that she knew in her youth, and he gave her, like, lingonberry tarts and stuff, but he, like, isn't feeling well, and she's like, “I'll come back later. Absolutely.” And then he goes to the hospital. He's really not feeling well. And Bess is like, “How are you gonna get the diary translated?” And it says Nancy is mostly just concerned about the baker. And I love that because I feel like, especially in the games, she can be a little single-minded, where she's so tactless that it has become a meme. 

Meghan: Yes.

Colleen: She does not really care in the games. She's only looking for one thing, and then the characters get offended. So it's not even like the writing's bad. The characters are like, “Hey, why would you ask this at this trying time?” But this is like, yes, she wants the diary translated, but mostly this baker man's not feeling well. 

Meghan: And we do see some other times where [people around her are] like, “Oh my gosh, this mystery is driving me crazy. I'm losing sleep over it.” She's like, “Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.” She can barely hide her glee. 

Colleen: Right. 

Meghan: But yeah.

Colleen: In this book she's almost more careless than usual, and I think it's because she's a little distracted by Ned. We see here, she's very organized. She knows where stuff is. She's got a system. And after Ned hangs up on their first phone call, it says “Nancy fairly danced back in the bedroom. She sent one slipper flying toward the bed and the other in the far corner of the room.” And it is the cutest thing. But this is the most chaotic we've ever seen her, I feel like. She does a lot of weird stuff, but it's always for a purpose. And this is like, “Ooh, I don't know. I'm a little giddy.” 

Meghan: Yeah.

Colleen: It's cute.

Meghan: It is cute.

Colleen: It's very cute. 

Meghan: Yeah, because we haven't really seen Nancy be romantically interested in any way. 

Colleen: Not at all. Not remotely. Like you pointed out, she's like, “Okay, I'm, like, so busy, though. There's a mystery.”

Meghan: And I feel like there's even a comment that she's showing more interest in Ned, who she's not dating, than any of the actual guys she has dated.

Colleen: That she's gone on dates with! Because I remember she had gone with some ex-tennis player. Like, his main quality was he was a tennis player in high school. And they went on a date and it was like, “Wow, we had a great time seeing- Here's the account of the play we saw, and here's the account of all the activities we did,” but nothing about the guy. 

Meghan: Yeah.

Colleen: And this is like, “Oh, he's nice and we can solve a mystery together and he will do tasks for me. That's great, I value that.”

Meghan: He will do tasks. That's all we all want in a relationship, is someone who will do tasks for us. 

Colleen: Exactly! Nancy's love language is “Check something off of my To-Do List.” “Can't check that off yet!” Oh, speaking of! Nancy and her friends were buying food and stuff for Honey and Mrs. Swenson. But they passed something on the way to go visit them and Bess is like, “Well, can we stop, because I want to buy Honey a dress. That would be so nice for her to have a new dress.” And George is like, “Let's get her, also, like, underclothes. I bet she doesn't have any of those.” Nancy's like, “And shoes!” 

Meghan: “If we're going to do the whole outfit, let's just do the whole thing.” 

Colleen: It's so cute, though. They work together so well. Because Bess is like, “I bet if I was in her shoes- If I was in her dress, I would love a new one. It'd be so fancy and pretty.” And George is like, “Let's be practical.” And Nancy's like, “Let's complete it all.” 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: “Let's tie it together.” It's cute. 

Meghan: And we know Nancy loves shoes. Nancy just loves that. 

Colleen: Her dressing gown and her fancy slippers. 

Meghan: Yeah! No, they do. They really do compliment each other. 

Colleen: I think it's best summed up by this quote from page two. “All of Nancy's friends agreed that she possessed an intangible, appealing quality which people never forgot.”

Meghan: I love it. 

Colleen: It's so vague, but it's very true. 

Meghan: It is. It is. She's intangible. 

Colleen: She's a ghost. 

Meghan: A ghost!

[Sound Cue: Simple piano tune underneath the spoken words “Sleuthing Skills”]

Meghan: In this segment, we continue to give you pointers on what you need to do in order to be a sleuth like Nancy Drew.

Colleen: Stuff you should already know how to do before you even start on your first mystery. And the first thing is firefighting. They're looking at this house. It's beautiful. It's attractive, I believe. So they're looking at this attractive house. It bursts into flames, and Nancy's like, “Oh my god, there's gotta be people trapped inside. I gotta go help them! Let's remember about- Here's how the rules of fire- Let's, like- The wind is gonna pick up. We should check for people and then go to a nearby place that has a phone and call for the fire department.” Like, you gotta be ready for firefighting, either on your own or how to summon firefighters. Because this wasn't even- It was part of the mystery, but she wasn't on the case yet.

Meghan: Yes!

Colleen: They were literally just admiring real estate. 

Meghan: Yup.

Colleen: And then they're like, “Oh crap, it's a fire.” You also have to be really good at knowing what stuff laying on the ground is already going to be a clue. This is something that's really good in the games, and I think I told you my favorite thing is, she finds used, chewed-up gum on the bottom of a seat in this abandoned movie theater, and she's like, “I'm putting that in my pocket for sure.” 

Meghan: “This is a clue.” 

Colleen: “I need that.” And she does need it later, but it's- You just don't need to do that. She- There's a fire happening. She picks up a diary. She puts it in her pocket of her dress. 

Meghan: So that, like, intuition. 

Colleen: Intuition. 

Meghan: Of seeing something and knowing it's important. 

Colleen: “This is important. Does it look like trash? Yes. Is there a fire going on? Also, yes. But.” 

Meghan: Now, I would say you also need to have a familiarity with enough languages that when you have an indecipherable diary, that you're able to pick up enough from the diary to know, “This is Swedish.” 

Colleen: “I can identify this as Swedish.” And honestly, I was surprised that she did not go to the library and check out, like- They had to have had Swedish-to-English dictionaries, right? 

Meghan: Definitely. I feel like, though, that would have taken too long. She didn't have a lot of, like, downtime or research time. 

Colleen: That's true. And so just having a person who spoke it was very handy. She had mentioned that she had a Swedish friend in school. And so she recognized some of the phrases. 

Meghan: You need enough knowledge to be able to recognize them so that you can go to your connections. Now, additionally, you need connections of people who speak lots of different languages. So when you come across a mystery diary, you have a, you know, a guy for that. 

Colleen: Or connections that have connections, because it's Hannah that really has the guy for that. 

Meghan: True.

Colleen: She notes that her friend from Sweden moved back to Sweden. And Carson knows some people that speak Swedish, but they're on vacation. So she goes to Hannah, and Hannah's like, “The baker, duh.” 

Meghan: “You know him too, Nancy.” 

Colleen: “You also know him. It's just been a minute.” 

Meghan: So really what this all boils down to is networking. As it always does. 

Colleen: Yeah. You also have to be a great narrator to yourself out loud at all times. 

Meghan: Oh?

Colleen: This is Chapter Two. This is the first page of Chapter Two. We are in the middle of an active fire scene. Nancy's on her own, and a flying ember narrowly misses her, and she says out loud, “‘I better be on the move!’” Like, girl, you don't need to be saying this. You could just think that one, especially because you have smoke in your throat. Speaking of the diary! Handwriting analysis, super important. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: She notes that it belongs to a man. Although the writing is small and cramped, the characters are bold. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: Only a man can write in bold font. Italics is for women. And nonbinary people get underlined. 

Meghan: Oh, I wasn't aware. 

Colleen: That's why I'm always so loud and you have to edit me down. 

Meghan: Oh. 

Colleen: You're welcome. My last Sleuthing Skill is something my father refers to as the tuck-and-roll.

Meghan: Tell me more. 

Colleen: So they pull up to try and find and warn Joe, the inventor. He's working under this assumed name at this factory to just make money to send to his wife and daughter. Nancy hands the keys to George. She goes, “Will you drive, so I'll be free to hop out and get hold of Mr. Swenson the instant he comes to the gate?” So she's ready to tuck, she's ready to roll, grab [him], get him back in the car, and go.

Meghan: Amazing. 

Colleen: And I appreciate that she's ready at a moment's notice to switch from just crime to crime thriller. 

Meghan: Ooo! 

Colleen: Genre-hopping Nancy Drew over here. 

Meghan: So continue working on those Sleuthing Skills so you can solve your first mystery. 

Colleen: Mm-hmm.

[Sound Cue: Four distinct drum beats that mimic the opening of the song “Accidentally in Love” by Counting Crows, followed by the sung words “Accidentally Gay”]

Colleen: So this is the segment where we find things that look gay to us, especially to me, that were probably not intended to be queer in any way, but either due to word language, or just personality of the characters, seems a little, a little fruity, and I love it. What did you find? 

Meghan: Oh there were a lot of, I think-

Colleen: Just the word “gay”?

Meghan: Yes, use of the word “gay,” “gayly,” “queer,” and the sort. My favorite was in Chapter Two, when they first met Ned and they were having their ice cream soda. I think, Is that when they're having their ice cream sodas? They had a “gay get-acquainted session.” 

Colleen: I love a gay get-acquainted session. There's usually crafts.

Meghan: Yeah, so I don't know. Yeah. 

Colleen: I love it. 

Meghan: I love it. 

Colleen: Nancy's giving off real Alison-Bechdel-as-a-kid vibes when reminiscing with the baker. He's like, “I remember you coming by all the time and you liked my lingonberry tarts and you were always objecting to the ribbons Mrs. Gruen put in your hair,” and that was some real [through clenched teeth] “I don't want to look like a girl, just because you want to dress me like a girl” [energy].

Meghan: And also actually in this same section, it's when the baker is talking about how much he loves diaries-

Colleen: Yeah!

Meghan: -and how important they are to history. He's talking about Queen Victoria and her reputation of being like a very stern woman, but her diary reveals what a “gay woman” she truly was. 

Colleen: Yes. 

Meghan: I was like-

Colleen: She was gay and loved to dance. 

Meghan: Yes! I'm like, “Tell me more.” 

Colleen: “Yes, I believe you, but give me more details.” Perhaps my favorite was George. They're trying to get a man to go to the woods with them for normal reasons. And they're like, “You know what, it should be fine. You know, three strong, capable girls like ourselves shouldn’t need any help.” And George goes, “‘I'd be a match for Foxy Felix myself. Look at my arm muscles. I assure you, I haven't wasted all the time I spent in the gym.’” We have heard nothing about her spending any time in the gym. 

Meghan: I know! 

Colleen: But she did not waste it. And I love George with all of my heart. 

Meghan: Yes, I also wrote that one down. I loved that moment. 

Colleen: Butch George, we love it. It also reminds us that she loves her boy's name. 

Meghan: She does. Yeah, it does remind us. 

Colleen: You have to tell us that every time.

Meghan: Mm-hmm. She has a boy's name and she loves it. 

Colleen: And she loves it. That's all we need to know.

[Sound Cue: Scribbling as of a pencil on paper underneath the spoken words “Miscellaneous Mysteries”]

Meghan: In this segment, we talk about the final lingering questions that didn't quite fit anywhere else. Things that we're still wondering about. What do you got for us? 

Colleen: Well, I have noticed- I criticized earlier Nancy's use of adjective. Everything's attractive. But then it says, “Nancy forgot that she was tired and sleepy.” Now, Nancy, those are synonyms. I'm really proud of you for using adjectives, but you could have just picked one. It wasn't “attractive,” so, like, we were good. 

Meghan: Yeah, slight growth. 

Colleen: Slight growth. Going along with words also, so we mentioned she had this Swedish friend in school. So she recognized, like, “goodbye,” because that was a phrase that she [the Swedish friend] used and another one that was very common. And then she goes, “Wow, the inscription inside this ring says ‘Wear this in luck,’ an expression my Swedish school friend always used.” No, she didn't! 

Meghan: I would not remember that. 

Colleen: I would never say that. Full stop. What do you mean, “Wear this in luck”? “She used it every day. She dressed us all and told us to wear stuff.” I don't know, it was weird. 

Meghan: Huh. I only had really one Miscellaneous Mystery this time. And that was in Chapter Five. Nancy thinks to herself, “This is the worst situation I have ever been in.” I was like, “Really?” 

Colleen: Can you explain what the situation is?

Meghan: This is when it is confirmed for her that the man she saw leaving the scene of the fire explosion is the father of Honey, the wife of Mrs. Swinton [Swenson], the husband of Mrs. Swinton [Swenson]. She's like, “Oh my goodness, this is the worst situation I've ever been in.”

Colleen: Girl, you were locked in the closet and chloroformed. You had four car troubles [in] this book. 

Meghan: Right. 

Colleen: There was a fire! This, right now, where you're thinking about a photograph, is the worst situation you've ever been in. 

Meghan: Her father's been kidnapped [before]!

Colleen: Her father's been kidnapped multiple times, I think.

Meghan: She's been knocked out. 

Colleen: This is the worst. 

Meghan: She's been kidnapped. 

Colleen: She's been in a submarine. She's been left for dead by the cult. This is the worst. 

Meghan: This is the worst one. 

Colleen: Sitting here happy and healthy in this house. 

Meghan: And so that's my- 

Colleen: Looking sadly at a photograph. 

Meghan: Exactly. And that's my mystery, is, where's the perspective? 

Colleen: It's so good. My mystery is, okay. So they can't figure out if the ring or the diary or both belong to Joe the inventor. They both do. George goes, “Well the diary must belong to Mr. Swenson, the inventor, or someone who knows him, otherwise his address wouldn't be in it.” The address is in the middle of the page somewhere. I don't just, like, get bored and write my own address in the middle of my diary. 

Meghan: No. 

Colleen: That's not a thing. Maybe on the front or the inside cover. 

Meghan: Exactly. 

Colleen: Not in the middle of the diary. 

Meghan: Or in those planners that are like, “This belongs to so-and-so.” 

Colleen: Yeah, for sure. Oh, I'm really proud of Bess. She figured out how darkness works. That was a whole thing [in the] last book. She was complaining. They were in the woods and she's like, “It's so dark.”

Meghan: That's right.

Colleen: And George goes, “Yeah, bud. It's nighttime.” And this time they're about to be in the woods and Bess goes, “It's going to be pretty dark tonight.”

Meghan: Yes!

Colleen: I'm proud of her. 

Meghan: Good job, Bess. Actually, Bess was-

Colleen: Great!

Meghan: In true form, I feel like, in this book. 

Colleen: I feel like, rather than book one, necessarily, this is, like, the prototype of what we think of as the Nancy Drew characters. Like, they really come into their own here. 

Meghan: Yes. I would have liked to see George featured a little bit more.

Colleen: I do feel like- But the way she was like, talking about her muscles, I was like, I'll allow it. That's pretty good.

Meghan: Exactly. 

Colleen: I want to see more of her skills, but like, that's good. 

Meghan: Yes. So I'm excited to see more of this version of Bess and George. 

Colleen: Yes, because they're great. My last thing is also about Bess, and I love her. This is more Bess characterization, is- The things we know about her: She's adorable. She gets along well, especially with boys. And she likes to eat a lot. And I'm like, “Relatable. Fantastic.” But more relatable, she apparently thinks of dates as tasks. They're on her task list. Because, specifically, Bess is like, “Absolutely, I'm coming on this. Whatever we need, you pick me up, I'll do whatever. But get this mystery solved soon so I can catch up on a few things.” That's her phrase, “so she can catch up.” And George goes, “Like what?” She goes, “I postponed this date with Jeff, like, three times already, but I'll put it off again. I need to catch up on dating. I'm behind.” But I do that too. 

[Sound Cue: Upbeat synthesizer chords reminiscent of a game show introduction play underneath the spoken words “Gumshoe Game Show!”]

Meghan: Alright, I am excited to win the same thing that Nancy won in this novel, which is-

Colleen: Oh yeah! She got a gift this time! She didn't get a gift at all last time, which is fine. 

Meghan: There have been a few where she hasn't gotten a gift recently, I feel like.

Colleen: No, I wrote them down. She's got five gifts-

Meghan: Oh!

Colleen: None gift, and then she got two gifts this time. So it averages out to one per.

Meghan: That's true. But I am excited to win the Letter-D signet ring. 

Colleen: Yes, it's very good. Good for D’Meghan. 

Meghan: D’Meghan. 

Colleen: She also gets a purse and so do Bess and George, and Ned gets a wallet, which is very nice. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: Okay, this was a hard one to find a game show for. So I have two rejected ones. I want to tell you the premise for them.

Meghan: Ooo, okay. 

Colleen: And you can cut them out. But I just want to tell you. 

Meghan: Okay.

Colleen: So the first one I was going to do: Weird Patents. 

Meghan: Ohhhh.

Colleen: Because this is all about a guy who's stealing patents. I was looking stuff up and Jason goes, “Oh, well, the obvious one, you know, is that the can opener was invented fifty years after, like, food started being in cans,” and I was like, “Yeah, that's such a great fact, it's kind of interesting.” And then I was like, “It's like a tuna can where it just has the thing [opener mechanism] on it.” 

Meghan: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Colleen: So it's not like, “We've had food in cans for fifty years and we didn't [have a way to open it].” Like, they didn't need it. 

Meghan: Yeah they had the- 

Colleen: Yeah, that little key on it. So that's not a good fact, and then everything else I found was very visual, and I was like, “Wow look at this weird baby cage! You attach it to your window and look at all those weird-” That's so they can get good air in the city. 

Meghan: Oh, of course, of course. 

Colleen: And then this baby's in a cage. But it's all very visual. I'm like, “Ah, it's not as good.” So then, uh, Game Show Prototype Two. 

Meghan: Mm-hmm.

Colleen: In the, uh, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me: The NPR News Quiz fashion, I was going to do, like a, “Oh, you've read all about a diary, now we're going to ask you about a dairy.” Uh, and stuff like that. And the fact that, like, frogs used to be placed in milk buckets to keep the milk from going sour and it worked. But then I realized that most dairy-related facts are gross. So we are now- 

Meghan: I'm lactose-intolerant now. 

Colleen: Oh yeah! So you don't even know!

Meghan: I can't even have dairy-related questions. 

Colleen: That's true. That'd be really bad for you. 

Meghan: It would hurt my tummy. 

Colleen: I'm sorry. So now we are on the Swedish Game Show. 

Meghan: Oh goodness. I know nothing. 

Colleen: You're going to love it. 

Meghan: Oh goodness. 

Colleen: Okay. There's a couple of bonus options. So like, there's, there's chances to earn things, or earn things back.

Meghan: Okay!

Colleen: Question One: A “smörgåsbord” is a word of Swedish origin referring to a buffet, or, more broadly, a wide variety of something. What does it literally translate to? A) “Small goose board,” B) “Table of bread and butter,” C) “Goose table,” or D) “Marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers”? 

Meghan: Okay, I'm eliminating A and D. So- I wish I could see them visually in front of me, because, like Nancy Drew, I'm better with languages that are written down, to identify a phrase. 

Colleen: I can write it next time, but I have circled the right answer on mine [so you can’t look at my copy].

Meghan: “Smörgåsbord,” right? “Bord.”

Colleen: Mm-hmm.

Meghan: And what are my- What are B and C?

Colleen: B is “Table of bread and butter” and C is “Goose table.”

Meghan: Okay, unfortunately I already eliminated the two that don't have the word “table” in them. So it definitely has the word “table” in it. I kind of want to go with “goose.” 

Colleen: Okay. 

Meghan: “Goose table.” 

Colleen: You are correct. 

Meghan: Yes! 

Colleen: Both B and C are actually correct. 

Meghan: What?! 

Colleen: So you really did set yourself up for success. So “Smör” means “butter,” and then “gås” is “g” with an “a” with a circle over it. And the “Smör,” the “o” has an umlaut. So “Smör” is butter and “gås” is “goose,” which means “lump of butter,” and “bord” is “table.” So it's truly “butter, butter, table.” 

Meghan: “Butter, butter, table.” 

Colleen: But “Smörgås” is, like, “a slice of bread and butter.” So it's, like, a table with, like, open-face sandwiches. Or just a wide variety of anything. 

Meghan: But “goose”? 

Colleen: “Goose” is, like, another word for “lump of butter.” That's what, “gås,” “goose.”

Meghan: Okay. 

Colleen: Yeah, I don't know why. 

Meghan: Cool.

Colleen: Maybe I should, but I don't. 

Meghan: That's all right. 

Colleen: Question Two. IKEA-

Meghan: Okay. I've been there. 

Colleen: -is known as the furniture store with Swedish meatballs and Swedish-inspired furniture names. Where was it founded? A) Norway, B) Denmark, C) Belgium, or D) Sweden?

Meghan: I'm kind of feeling like it's not Sweden? 

Colleen: Talk me through your process. 

Meghan: It just seems the obvious answer. And your questions tend to be more challenging. 

Colleen: Interesting. 

Meghan: But maybe this is the time that you've given me an easy answer. But I don't think so. I was hoping. It's definitely Europe. 

Colleen: It is definitely Europe. You're doing a great job on that. 

Meghan: So my choices are Denmark, Norway, and Belgium. 

Colleen: And Sweden. 

Meghan: Of course. I'm gonna go with Norway. 

Colleen: I'm so sorry. 

Meghan: Is it Sweden? 

Colleen: Sweden!

Meghan: Oh my god! 

Colleen: Now the furniture names are typically not, like, [a] direct translation of, like, “chair.” It's usually, like, a pun, based on, like, a Swedish place, et cetera. I'm so sorry. 

Meghan: I didn't think it would be that easy. 

Colleen: If you were interested in a[n] IKEA-based horror novel, there's one called Horrorstör, but most of the letters have umlauts [Note from Transcription-Colleen: That’s not even close to true. One letter has an umlaut.] and I'm very excited. I have it on hold at the library. For a bonus point, give me the decade that it was founded. I have the year, but give me the decade.

Meghan: I don't even know. 

Colleen: Right? It could be so recent. 

Meghan: I know, that's what I'm, like- Okay. 

Colleen: It's furniture. They kinda have [had] that [around for centuries].

Meghan: Let's see. I moved to Europe in 2004, and IKEA already existed. So it was before 2004. 

Colleen: That's good. That's good. Narrows it down.

Meghan: Um, I want to go with the 90s. 

Colleen: Okay. It was the 40s. 

Meghan: Wow. I am very off. 

Colleen: 1943. But you know, solid guess. There's more bonus [points] later that you can get. 

Meghan: Oh gosh, yeah, this is- We're off to a rough start. 

Colleen: I'm so sorry. 

Meghan: Well, not a rough start. 

Colleen: We're off to a completely- 

Meghan: 50-50 start, yeah. 

Colleen: Number Three: Which of these facts about the Muppet, The Swedish Chef, is true?  

Meghan: Goodness. 

Colleen: A) He wears a wedding ring, B) His canonical name is Sven, C) He's puppeted by three people at once, or D) In Germany, he is introduced as The Finnish Chef. I'm sorry. This is much harder than the last one. I apologize. 

Meghan: Oh my god, I know. I was like, “That's why it can't be Sweden [for the last question]! It was too easy.” Okay. I believe it is true that he is puppeted by three people, because he is a rather complex character. 

Colleen: Emotionally or just physically? 

Meghan: All of the above. 

Colleen: All of the above? That is your-? Because there's only one that's true. That's what you're finding. 

Meghan: Oh, it's true. 

Colleen: You're not finding the false one. You're finding the true one. 

Meghan: Oh, oops. I'm not a very good listener sometimes. I just got very into-

Colleen: That's okay.

Meghan: This is a test-taking issue. Okay. Which one is true? Maybe he's not puppeted by three. I think he's actually puppeted by two. Because I thought I had to choose the one that was false. But I know he's puppeted by more than one person. But I think three is too many. 

Colleen: Too many cooks in the kitchen.

Meghan: It seems too many. Yeah, [singing] too many cooks! [returning to speaking voice] Wedding ring... What's the second one? 

Colleen: His canonical name is Sven.

Meghan: Sven. I could totally see Germany changing him to Finnish.

Colleen: Tell me why. 

Meghan: Because we encountered this a lot when we lived in Europe, that they would just kind of change nationalities of different things. One of our favorite things was on the SpongeBob episode where SpongeBob is, like, housesitting for Sandy. Patrick starts whistling at a bird and SpongeBob goes, “I didn't know-” “Patrick, I didn't know you spoke Bird!” And he goes, “No, that's Italian.” And we lived in Italy. And so we were like, “Well, what do they say in Italian?” So we changed the language. And instead he's like, he says it in Italian, like, “Patrick, I didn't know you spoke Bird.” And he goes, “No, español.” 

Colleen: Amazing. 

Meghan: It's Spanish. So, but I can't see why they would change- 

Colleen: Because he's not The German Chef. 

Meghan: Yeah, he's not German. So I think that one's false too.

Colleen: What do you know about how he's puppeted? Like, how- Do you know? Explain how The Swedish Chef works. 

Meghan: Well, I just figured- I feel like I've read that, somewhere, that he was puppeted by more than one person. But maybe I'm wrong. 

Colleen: I'm just curious about your knowledge set of The Swedish Chef in general.

Meghan: I don't. I don't have it. That's the thing is, like, I didn't watch a lot of Muppets. 

Colleen: That's fair.

Meghan: I didn't watch a lot of Muppets. I didn't watch almost any Muppets as a kid. Most of my Muppets-watching has been with Nick as an adult.

Colleen: One of my roommates, I think, thought I invented The Muppets.

Meghan: Amazing. 

Colleen: I think one of my roommates in college- I had eight roommates in eight semesters, one at a time. My dad does say that, at that point, the statistical answer is [that] the problem is me. But one of them had not heard of or encountered The Muppets before talking to me. 

Meghan: Oh!

Colleen: And so anytime she saw any Muppet, she would tag me in it or send it to me and be like, “It's like, it's your thing!” I'm like, “I'm not Jim Henson, buddy.” Like it exists- She was raised very Baptist. I was like- I don't know if she was, like, sheltered from worldly media, but I don't think the Muppets are, like, that worldly. 

Meghan: Yeah, they're little guys. 

Colleen: They're just little guys. 

Meghan: Yeah. She must have been really familiar with VeggieTales though, I bet. 

Colleen: Probably, probably. But then she found a picture of her from, like, high school where she had posed with Beaker and- Yeah, who's the other guy? Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and [Beaker]. But she had only posed with them because they looked like scientists and she was very into science. And she goes- And she messaged me. She goes, “It's the meep guy! You like him!” He's not, like, my guy. He exists outside of me. Promise. 

Meghan: That's so funny. You're bringing me back, now, to the, to the, how he's puppeted, which makes me feel like maybe I eliminated it too quickly. 

Colleen: No, I'm just curious, like, what you know about him, ‘cause, like, Kermit's just done by one guy. 

Meghan: Yes. Yeah, I know Kermit is. I feel like most of the Muppets are done by one person for each. Each one is like one person. 

Colleen: Like they have their hand, they have their [the Muppet’s] hand on [attached to] a stick typically. And so they [the Muppeteer] can move one hand [with the stick, controlled by one hand of the Muppeteer], and the other hand of the person is [controlling] the mouth [of the Muppet]. 

Meghan: Yeah. 

Colleen: Spoiler alert for The Muppets. 

Meghan: But I feel like The Swedish Chef has two hands that are often moving. I feel like maybe he is a second person. This is so hard. 

Colleen: I'm so sorry.

Meghan: Is he wearing a wedding ring? 

Colleen: He is because his hands are human hands. He's- 

Meghan: That's why you were asking me about-!

Colleen: About how he's puppeted. His hands are human hands. It is two guys. You were right! Because his head is done in the typical fashion, where a [human] hand is in his Muppet head, and that's making him talk. But because he's using all these utensils and foods and things, they just give him two human hands through the arms of his coat. 

Meghan: Now that you are saying that, I can remember that. 

Colleen: You can see it? He doesn't do anything, like- He's not cooking well. He's throwing stuff all the time. But he has human hands to grab the stuff because that's just so much easier than picking up a million things with your puppet hands. 

Meghan: Got it.

Colleen: ‘Cause I saw you acting out how hands are moved on sticks. 

Meghan: Yeah. 

Colleen: And that's not how his hands are. So I was like, if you see a human hand, and the puppeteer just doesn't take off his wedding ring.

Meghan: Oh my gosh. I can't believe I got that one right. That was so difficult. 

Colleen: Just a fun fact, according to a 2012 Slate article, The Swedish Chef is, quote, “bewildering and annoying to the Swedes,” unquote. I imagine I am also. Question Four: Which of these is not a synonym for “lingonberry”? So you're now looking for the false one. 

Meghan: Okay.

Colleen: A) Mountain cranberry, B) Cowberry, C) Gooseberry, D) Partridgeberry?

Meghan: Okay, I think Gooseberry is-

Colleen: -is a- 

Meghan: -is a synonym. 

Colleen: Okay. 

Meghan: I feel like gooseberry and lingenberry [are synonyms]. “Gooseberry.” Okay, and what were the other choices? 

Colleen: We have mountain cranberry, we have cowberry, we have gooseberry, we have partridgeberry. 

Meghan: Partridgeberry, mountain cranberry. I feel like “mountain cranberry” works too. I'll eliminate that one. What was the second one? What's the letter B? 

Colleen: Cowberry.

Meghan: Cowberry. Okay, I'm debating between cowberry and partridgeberry. I wanna go with partridgeberry. 

Colleen: I'm so sorry, it is gooseberry. 

Meghan: What? 

Colleen: I threw it in because it is a real berry of some kind, but it's not this.

Meghan: Awwww. 

Colleen: I was like, “Partridgeberry?” I almost put in “pear-tree berry,” but then it was like, “That was the obvious.” 

Meghan: Okay, well, that's why I went with “partridge.” I was like-

Colleen: Because it sounds fake? 

Meghan: [singing incomprehensibly] [returning to speaking voice] Like, partridgeberry. 

Colleen: Were you singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in another language there? 

Meghan: No, just- It was “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” but I was like- It was gibberish. It wasn’t another language. 

Colleen: That's how The Swedish Chef speaks. It's not Swedish. It's just him saying “Hurdy-gurdy.” 

Meghan: Okay, so I'm at 50-50 right now. 

Colleen: You are a solid 50-50. This is- This final question is about Swedish Fish, and I found out a lot that I didn't want to make [into] the questions, because it seemed too hard. So this has got a long intro. 

Meghan: Okay. 

Colleen: Swedish Fish, which actually are from a Swedish confectionery company- They went out of fashion for a while, but they are now so in vogue that the company created a Treadin' Water YouTube miniseries, which quote, “follows the miscellaneous adventures of four friends and a giant Swedish Fish sharing an apartment,” unquote. 

Meghan: What?! 

Colleen: That's just a fact.

Meghan: Okay. 

Colleen: I love it so much. This is not- I wrote down, “This is not relevant to the question but should be relevant to us all.” Anyway, what flavor are the green Swedish Fish? 

Meghan: Oh my god. 

Colleen: I wanted to ask you, like, the name of the show but it's so stupid. 

Meghan: Oh my god. 

Colleen: Okay, the green Swedish Fish. What flavor is it? A) Lime, B) Apple, C) Pineapple, D) Same flavor as the red Swedish Fish.

Meghan: I didn't even know they made green Swedish Fish.

Colleen: They have a couple different colors, but purple got discontinued recently. That was the grape one, and it was a whole thing. 

Meghan: Okay. Well you have secretly told me it's not D, not the same flavor, because they had other flavors. So really my choices are lime, apple, and what was the third one? 

Colleen: Pineapple. 

Meghan: Okay. I'm going to guess not pineapple. 

Colleen: Okay. 

Meghan: Lime or apple? I'm gonna go with Apple. …it was lime?

Colleen: It was pineapple. 

Meghan: What?! 

Colleen: It's absolutely- No green candy should be pineapple. There's so many options for green candy. I would even accept lemon-lime, which- I believe they have one of those, but it's not the green one. 

Meghan: Oh my gosh. 

Colleen: I'm so sorry. For a bonus, what decade were Swedish fish developed and launched? 

Meghan: [fake crying] I don't know. 

Colleen: I'm sorry. 

Meghan: The 40s? No, I don't think it was the 40s. Or was it the 40s? Actually, there were a lot of candies made in the 40s because of World War II rations. That's when Nutella was invented as well. That's all the Kinder, Kinder Bueno. 

Colleen: Love the Kinder Bueno. 

Meghan: Yeah, those. 

Colleen: There was somebody dressed as a Kinder Bueno in the Macy's Parade. 

Meghan: Amazing. 

Colleen: It's my favorite thing now.

Meghan: I'll go with 40s. 

Colleen: 50s. You were so close. You should have known from the wax. That's a big part of the candy. It really- I'm sorry. It sounds like you did not win the signet ring with the D. 

Meghan: Does that? Okay, so I have an idea for these situations. 

Colleen: Okay. 

Meghan: If you stump me in the questions, you get the prize.

Colleen: So it can still go in our Drewseum. 

Meghan: Yes, it can still go in the Drewseum, but you won the prize this time.

Colleen: Excellent. I'll just keep track of whose it is. But we can share custody as far as, like, they can live in our Drewseum. 

Meghan: Yes, and they've got a plaque that says, you know, “This was donated to the museum on this date because Meghan won the Gumshoe Game Show.” 

Colleen: Oh yeah, and I mailed you a gooey sundae last week. 

Meghan: Yes. 

Colleen: How was that? Was that good? 

Meghan: Oh, it was gooey. 

Colleen: Yeah, that's good. 

Meghan: That's all I can say. 

Colleen: Yeah, well, they were going to steal it. I actually used the gooey sundae in the mail to stop a rash of money order thefts 

Meghan: Oh!

Colleen: Because they thought it was a money order, and they opened it, and they were like, “This sucks.” 

Meghan: “This is just goo.” 

Colleen: “This is terrible.” So, you're welcome. 

Meghan: Thank you. Thank you. 

Colleen: Excellent. 

Meghan: Great Gumshoe Game Show. 

Colleen: Thank you. I'm sorry that was a rough run compared to the blue one. 

Meghan: Challenging!

Colleen: I couldn't think of a freaking theme. I was like, “What do I do?”

Meghan:  There were so many directions that this book went. 

Colleen: I know!

Meghan: Alright.

[Sound cue: Same eerie piano tune reminiscent of the Nancy Drew PC game soundtracks that played at the top of the episode, now extended to play underneath the rest of the episode.] 

Meghan: Thank you so much for joining us on Me and You and Nancy Drew.

Colleen: This podcast is lovingly dedicated to the memory of my wonderful mother, Char, World's Best Mum, and the woman who got me hooked on sassy female detective stories. I also want to thank my brother, Ben, for creating most of our sound and music cues for this podcast. Thanks, Ben.

Meghan: You can check out our website, meandyouandnancydrew.com, for show transcripts, links to our social media, and our Patreon, where we'll post any images that we described during the podcast. Those will be visible to anyone without a paywall, so that we're not describing nebulous images that you can't see at home. Um, but if you'd like to become a patron, there are various perks there, including outtakes or things that got cut for time, stickers and cross-stitch patterns to create your own Drewseum at home, and more! 

Colleen: Thank you, Meghan, for editing the podcast, doing a lot of research about podcast creation, and adding a few additional sound cues as needed.

Meghan: Thank you, Colleen, for also editing the podcast, for transcribing it, and for helping create our logo. 

Colleen: Thank you to our partners for all the support and love, and especially for lending us their microphones that they bought for a completely different purpose but said we could borrow once in a while. 

Meghan: Thank you to libraries everywhere for giving access to Nancy Drew books, and all the other books that we mentioned today, and just media of all kinds, to people everywhere for free.

Colleen: And finally, thank you, of course, to Carolyn Keene, for independently writing each of the Nancy Drew books from 1930 to modern day. We couldn’t do this without you and your 613 individual novels.

Meghan: And don’t forget the moral of this episode: “‘He looks like a nice person, and yet, appearances can be deceiving.’”