Episode 54: Gold!

About the Episode

Levi Strauss left his native Germany to escape discrimination, and then left New York for the opportunities of the American West. He lost some gold, but changed the world with his pants partnership.

Ferminia Sarras was a miner from Nicaragua who didn’t wear jeans, but rather a black taffeta dress (in the desert sun). Her successes were many, and they even named a town after her.

Thank this man for the pants you’re probably wearing.

I haven’t been able to verify that this is Ferminia Sarras, but that sure looks like a black taffeta dress.

If you’re looking for some cool resources for this, some (older kids) might enjoy this:

https://dp.la/exhibitions/gold-rush/gold-rush-romanticized

Also Lynn Downy’s work on Levi Strauss is incredible and authoritative, and her talks on Youtube are really informative. Her book is great, as well.