The Nut Lady, Elizabeth Tashjian Shares Her Love of Nuts with Johnny on The Tonight Show

"The Nut Lady", Elizabeth Tashjian Shares Her Love of Nuts with Johnny on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Airdate: 10/13/1981

Video Script:: 

you in the news lately she's an artist and founder of what is probably the only Museum in the country devoted to nuts and it's located in Old Lyme Connecticut would you welcome please Elizabeth testin nice to have you here did I pronounce your last name correctly testin yes yeah now I mentioned that when people say nut Museum you get all the jokes immediately I suppose oh yeah the double meaning of the word not absolutely when did that first start do you know did you ever trace that back why they refer to people who are a little off the wall as nuts well we could hark back to from 1100 and 2 to 952 BC really yes way back there according to Egyptian mythology there was a sky goddess a lady of heaven named nut so I say I say there may be the earliest personification of nut yes so see you know that to person but you're talking about nut nuts I mean there are all kinds of nuts really how do you why why did you decide to have a music may call you Elizabeth yes you may why did you decide to have museum for Neuss well I wish to establish the entity of the nut through art music history and lore and you'd be surprised nuts they're more than snack treats their treats to the soul in fact they've been inspiring me to paint nuts and arrange the dimeric markov nuts I could go even that far you think not to been getting Fareway right you're trying to lift the nuts exactly statue the church that's right America likes nuts well enough to name streets after them and even child is named hazel right and you find during the intercourse that they are valuable [Applause] we probably play a major role I guess you buy now no I'm a spokeswoman for the nose all right you're certainly right there how many different kinds only different kinds of nuts are there Elizabeth give or take I didn't yeah I mean grow on trees are there nuts grow in the ground yes there are some that grow in the ground this one that's called the lousy nut earth chestnut and it grows underground we have a number of nuts that have a tuber like why don't we take a look at some of some of these nuts that you brought here this is fascinating I'm really not that yes people have slided nuts all this while of it myself this is the way the Brazil nuts grow they are seeds of a fruit that grows wild in the Amaz0n jungle now 8 to 24 are pocketed in these pods according to size they break that open up we won't do it nevermind I think it's broken enough yes well you must get this all the time though people yes I'm used to it party ok bye now it's 9:00 and it's like a huge acorn now you see how San Juan took the same pod and shaved it a bit and you get the it looks like an object of art it looks like a ceramic peanut sure does that's not a beautiful yes they are okay here we have another nut that is a seed the cashew is the seed of the cashew pear or the cashew apple both terms are acceptable and this is the actual skin of the cashew it has another one and between those two skins is a juice they make plastic and synthetic rubber from I didn't know that I don't know that's a very good for you most of them right they're high in protein yes but I go beyond that that they can inspire what's acting what way well the holidays are coming up pretty soon and some people may feel lonely not being invited out to parties but I feel that you can never be lonely when you have nuts around that Samira cracking of nuts spells party the mere cracking of their jacket smells coffee it's a detox playmate so when lonely just go out and I think I love to have a nut cracker about eight feet tall what would you do that to use as a slide washing yeah it's between my two black walnut trees there is a bit of nut trees growing I'd have them walk up here right pick let's say a black wanted if the squirrels haven't gotten that that's right and then go through the mouth I could tell and do this done chillin a cup you just close those this is the Bo not the beetle nut yes and it's the chewing gum for the people in the Orient there are 40 different ways you can swing your jaw on this nut 47 swinging coconut sometimes with tobacco is that is can you get a high from that well only every rep that's right yeah only if you wrap it up in the beetle pepper plant leaf that's moistened in line right then the havok it becomes the poor man's opium right that's right but not if you to the nut alone or with the coconut the other in 14 different ways to show you how nuts are beautiful here are some works that are done this is done by the Cherokee Indians well that is nice and a bracelet by section of the black walnut and a buttery nut that's right perfect again I'm saying nuts are beautiful oh we're getting a little run out of time yes yes all this back here what is that a real yes this is a real it is a coconut and it and it grows on palm tree is that stretch up why you're never alone if you have this nut I'm challenging Darwin's theory on this knot I'm saying out with Apes and in with nuts how would a person with nice I like that sketchy well took ten years to grow and weighs 35 pounds what does the name of this officially double coconut double come yes and I might say that its colonization is most unique in fact legend takes over but I won't get into that on this one okay we're gonna have to take a break but we're coming right back [Applause] [Music]