Baseball fan or not, there’s one song that virtually every American knows… or at least, we think we do. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is one of the top three most recognizable songs in the country, next to “The Star Spangled Banner'' and “Happy Birthday.” But if you dig into the lyrics, you’ll find a forgotten message buried among the peanuts and Cracker Jack. This story comes from the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Sign up for Twenty Thousand Hertz+ to get our entire catalog ad-free. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org Subscribe to Sidedoor wherever you get your podcasts. Find the right doctor, right now with at zocdoc.com/20k. Visit fastgrowingtrees.com/20k to get 15% off your entire order. Visit shopify.com/20k and sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period. Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/seventhinningstretch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You're listening to 20,000 hz.
Nothing says summer quite like the crack of a baseball bat.
Like most major sports, baseball is full of iconic sounds.
They're the calls of the umpire, the vendors selling popcorn and hot dogs.
Not a ball game without a hot dog.
Who wins a hot dog?
The commentary from the announcers it's it hard to rock.
This ball is back and it is gone.
But theres one sound thats completely unique to baseball, or should I say one song.
This song is so well known that virtually every american can sing it.
Whether we like baseball or not.
At least we can sing the chorus, the verses.
Well, thats another story.
Here's Lizzie Peabody, host of the Smithsonian side Door podcast.
On July 16, 2008, Dan Piazza got up from his desk at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum and left work early.
He hopped on the metro and set off across town, tucked in his bag a personal invitation to an event at the White House.
While you had to be on a list and have an invitation, anyone who had an invitation had to submit their Social Security number in advance before coming onto the south lawn of the White House.
There on the lawn, he joined the gathering crowd and took a seat under the glaring summer sun.
It was hot.
It was very hot.