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NEVER-ask-this-Question-unless-you-want-to-DIE · Crime and Horror

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Sailors are known to have lots of strange customs while
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: out at sea, like some sailors believe that bananas are
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: bad luck and so will not bring them on board
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: their vessel, while other sailors believe it's good luck to
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: throw one of their crew members overboard and then reel
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: him back in before beginning a fishing trip that somehow
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: that will enhance your chances of catching more fish. But
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  Speaker 1: while a lot of these customs of the sea are
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: pretty harmless and kind of goofy, there's one custom of
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: the sea that is not at all. It is extremely
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  Speaker 1: serious and very very dark. It's known simply as the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: delicate question. And in short, once a sailor asks this
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: delicate question, under certain circumstances, there's no going back for
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: that crew. And today we're going to learn about one
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  Speaker 1: of the most famous examples of this custom being carried
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: out in real life. But before we get into today's story,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: if you're a fan of these strange, dark and mysterious
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: delivered in story format, then come to the right place,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: because that's all we do, and we upload once a week.
• 1:03
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• 1:06
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• 1:09
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• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Okay, let's get into today's story.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: On the morning of February sixth, eighteen twenty one, four
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: young men stood on the deck of a small boat
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  Speaker 1: out in the Pacific Ocean. The sun was out, it
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  Speaker 1: was beautiful and warm, the water was crystal blue. But
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  Speaker 1: none of these four men were paying any attention to
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: their surroundings. Instead, all of them were just standing there
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  Speaker 1: in total silence, staring at each other. Finally, one of
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  Speaker 1: the four men spoke up. His name was Owen Coffin,
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: and he was eighteen years old, and Owen, like the
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: other three men, had grown up on the water. In fact,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: all four of these men had grown up on this
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  Speaker 1: small island called Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts, where
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  Speaker 1: the main industry there was whaling, which meant sailors like
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  Speaker 1: these four men would go out and hunt whales and
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: slaughter them for their oil. So from the time Owen
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: and the rest of these men were very little, they
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  Speaker 1: were out on the water learning how to sail. And
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: they were also learning the customs of the sea. And
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  Speaker 1: there was one custom in particular that Owen wanted to
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: talk about right now with the other three men. So
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: in a very serious and hushed tone, Owen asked the
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  Speaker 1: question of the other three men that sailors referred to
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: as the delicate question. And after Owen asked the so
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: called delicate question, the other three men, who were already
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  Speaker 1: very serious and just kind of standing there in silence,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: suddenly their eyes started to go wide and their mouths
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: went a gaate, and then again all of the men
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  Speaker 1: just kind of fell into total silence. The only sound
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: they could hear was the splashing of the waves against
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the side of the book. The captain of this vessel
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: was a man named George Pollard. He was twenty eight
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: years old, and he was actually Owen's older cousin. And
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: what George wanted to say to Owen in response to
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: his delicate question was no, But George didn't say that. Instead,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: he just put his hands up over his mouth and
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: stared kind of incredulously at Owen and the other two men,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: who were also teenagers. Their names were George and Barzelai.
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  Speaker 1: And as he stared at these other three men, he
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  Speaker 1: realized that their answers to the delicate question was a
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: resounding yes. They knew it had to be a yes,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: they had to do this, and even though George could
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: totally override them because he was the captain and so
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: technically in charge, he knew in this situation, under this
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: particular custom, he couldn't overrule them, And so, with his
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: hands still over his mouth, George just nodded a yes, Yes,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: let's go forward with this custom. And so, with a
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: unanimous decision to move forward, Owen slowly reached down and
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  Speaker 1: pulled out the ship's log book from underneath one of
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: the seats behind him, and then he opened up the
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: book and he flipped to the back pages of the logbook,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: which were totally blank, and he grabbed one of the
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: pieces of paper and he ripped it out of the book.
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  Speaker 1: Then Owen began to rip this piece of paper into strips. First,
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  Speaker 1: he ripped three identically long pieces of paper, and he
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  Speaker 1: held up all three at the same time to show
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  Speaker 1: the others that these are the three that are the same,
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  Speaker 1: and each of the three nodded their head, yes, we
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: see that, And then Owen reached down he grabbed the
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  Speaker 1: paper again, and he ripped a fourth strip out, and
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  Speaker 1: this one was dramatically shorter than the other three. And
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: so Owen held up this much shorter piece, and he
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: showed Charles, George, and Barzilai, and again they all kind
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: of nodded in agreement, Yes, we see, that's the short piece.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: And so once the whole group was satisfied that they
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: had their four strips, Owen took off his hat. He
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: put all four strips inside, mixed it around, and held
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: out his hat. It was time. The first man to
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  Speaker 1: reach into Owen's hat was Owen's older cousin, and the
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  Speaker 1: Captain George. He reached in, he pulled one of the
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  Speaker 1: strips of paper out, closed it in his fist so
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  Speaker 1: he had no idea which one it was, and pulled
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  Speaker 1: it back and held it close to his chest. And
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  Speaker 1: then one by one, each of the other men did
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  Speaker 1: the same thing, reaching in, grabbing their strip, not looking
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  Speaker 1: at it, and holding it against their chest. And then,
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  Speaker 1: once all the strips had been taken at the exact
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  Speaker 1: same time, all four men extended their hands into the
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  Speaker 1: middle of the circle they were standing in, and they
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  Speaker 1: opened their hands palm up to reveal which strip they
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  Speaker 1: got and George, Charles and Barzilai all had the identical
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  Speaker 1: long pieces, and Owen, the eighteen year old, the younger
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  Speaker 1: cousin of the captain, the one who had ripped up
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  Speaker 1: the strips, he had the short strip. And immediately when
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  Speaker 1: his older cousin George saw this, he yelled out, no,
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  Speaker 1: let me take that one, but Owen said, no, this
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  Speaker 1: is customary. I want this. And so after a few
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: moments of the men kind of collecting themselves and calming down,
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  Speaker 1: Charles then grabbed the log book again, flipped to the
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  Speaker 1: back of it, pulled out another blank page, and he
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  Speaker 1: ripped it into strips again, except now he was only
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  Speaker 1: ripping them into three strips too long that were identical
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  Speaker 1: and one short, And once again as he ripped them,
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  Speaker 1: he held them up to show the other men, to
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  Speaker 1: show this was a fair process. Then Charles took off
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  Speaker 1: his hat, put the three strips inside, and extended it
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  Speaker 1: to George and barzili Owen was not a part of
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  Speaker 1: this round, and so George and barzi Laie one by
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  Speaker 1: one reached in, took their strip, held it to their chest,
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  Speaker 1: and then Charles he would take the last strip. He
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  Speaker 1: would hold it to his chest, and then once all
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  Speaker 1: the men had their pieces, they held their hands out
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  Speaker 1: into the middle of their now smaller circle. They opened
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  Speaker 1: their hands palm up, and this time it would be Charles,
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  Speaker 1: the man who ripped up this second round, who would
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  Speaker 1: discover he had the short strip. And as soon as
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  Speaker 1: Charles saw this, he threw it on the ground and
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  Speaker 1: he ran to the other side of the boat and
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: began screaming, I can't do this, I can't do it. Meanwhile, Owen,
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  Speaker 1: George and Barzilai didn't even move or flinch. They just
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  Speaker 1: stood there waiting for Charles to calm down, because they
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  Speaker 1: knew he knew this was a very important custom and
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  Speaker 1: once you begin doing it, you can't just stop. Charles
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  Speaker 1: would have to come back over and play his role.
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  Speaker 1: And so after a few minutes of Charles still kind
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  Speaker 1: of calling out that he couldn't do this, he couldn't
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  Speaker 1: do this, tears are coming down his face, he finally
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  Speaker 1: wiped the tears. He calmed himself down, and he walked
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  Speaker 1: back over to the group, who again they hadn't moved. George, Barzilai,
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  Speaker 1: and Owen They're just standing there waiting to continue this custom.
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  Speaker 1: And so as Charles began coming back over, looking ready
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  Speaker 1: to continue, George, without even saying anything, reached down and
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  Speaker 1: unlatched a door on the side of the boat. He
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  Speaker 1: opened it up, he reached in and he pulled out
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  Speaker 1: this long object that was wrapped in canvas. And then
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  Speaker 1: he handed this object to Charles. And then once Charles
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  Speaker 1: had possession of the object, Owen, the man who had
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  Speaker 1: first drawn the short piece of paper, said to the group,
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  Speaker 1: now it's time for a moment of silence. Even though
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  Speaker 1: at this point none of the men were talking, but
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  Speaker 1: still they formed a tight circle with Charles holding this object,
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  Speaker 1: and they all bowed their heads and they just stood
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  Speaker 1: there in total silence. And then once Owen raised his head,
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  Speaker 1: the other three did as well, and Owen one by
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  Speaker 1: one touched the shoulders of each of the men and
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  Speaker 1: reminded them that this had been a fair process. Then,
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  Speaker 1: without saying another word, Owen turned away from the group.
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  Speaker 1: He walked over to the edge of the boat, looking
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  Speaker 1: out over the water. He got down on his knees.
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  Speaker 1: He made sure his posture was good, and he looked
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  Speaker 1: out over the water. Owen had always loved the ocean,
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  Speaker 1: even though his own father had died out at sea.
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  Speaker 1: But this particular wailing expedition that Owen had been on,
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  Speaker 1: he thought went extremely well, and he was very proud
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  Speaker 1: of what they had all accomplished. And Owen was especially
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  Speaker 1: proud to be a part of this particular custom. This
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  Speaker 1: custom was one that so few people ever took part in,
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  Speaker 1: but all sailors knew about it. It was kind of
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  Speaker 1: like the forbidden custom. And here he was playing a
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  Speaker 1: central role which really required a lot of strength, and so,
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  Speaker 1: feeling very proud of himself, Owen, after looking out over
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  Speaker 1: the water for a few more moments, he bent down
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  Speaker 1: and put his chin on the edge of the boat,
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  Speaker 1: which signaled to Charles it was time. And then once
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  Speaker 1: Charles saw that Owen was in position, he stepped away
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  Speaker 1: from George and Barzilai and walked over to Owen, carrying
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  Speaker 1: this object wrapped in canvas. And then once he was
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  Speaker 1: right behind Owen, without saying a word to him, he
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  Speaker 1: unwrapped the object and it was a rifle. And once
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  Speaker 1: the rifle was uncovered, he placed the barrel against the
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  Speaker 1: back of Owen's head and then he fired a shot,
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  Speaker 1: and instantly Owen slupped to the ground dead, and Charles
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  Speaker 1: kind of staggered back and fell on the deck and
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  Speaker 1: let out the strangled scream. He couldn't believe what he
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  Speaker 1: had just done, but he knew there was no other choice.
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  Speaker 1: Once they decided to do this sacred custom, they had
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  Speaker 1: to take it to the end. And so George, who
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  Speaker 1: had just witnessed the execution of his younger cousin, was
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  Speaker 1: deeply troubled and pained, but he too knew they had
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: to bring this custom to the finish line, which meant
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: it was George's turn to step forward and play his part.
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  Speaker 1: And so George walked up to his now dead younger cousin,
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  Speaker 1: and George pulled out a serrated knife and cut off
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Owen's head, and then once Owen's head was removed, he
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  Speaker 1: placed it on the deck, so Owen's face was looking
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: away from the other men like he couldn't see what
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: they were going to do. And then once the head
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  Speaker 1: was in place, George went back to Owen's body and
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: began cutting him open and pulling his organs out and
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: handing them to Charles Mbarzili. George also began cutting off
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  Speaker 1: long strips of Owen's flesh creating sort of like filets.
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  Speaker 1: And then even though there was a spot on the
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  Speaker 1: boat to have a fire, the three men decided they
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: just could not wait, and before long, the only sound
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: that could be heard on board this little boat floating
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  Speaker 1: out at sea on the Pacific Ocean was the sound
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  Speaker 1: of Charles, George and Barzilai tearing into Owen's raw flesh
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  Speaker 1: with their teeth, turning their beards bright red with his blood.
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  Speaker 1: The delicate question that Owen asked the other men at
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  Speaker 1: the beginning of this story was one of the most
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  Speaker 1: feared questions amongst sailors, and it was only asked if
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  Speaker 1: there was a shipwreck or some sort of emergency that
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: happened out at sea, which meant the group had almost
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: no chance of survival. Only in those circumstances was the
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  Speaker 1: delicate question appropriate, And what it was was do we
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: draw lots to determine which one of us dies so
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: the other can eat them in order to have a
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: better chance at survival. And so during that first round,
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  Speaker 1: when Owen had drawn the short strip of paper that
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: determined he would be the one who was murdered and eaten.
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  Speaker 1: And then in the second round, when Charles drew the
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: short strip of paper that meant he would be the
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  Speaker 1: one to kill Owen. On February sixth, eighteen twenty one,
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  Speaker 1: the day that Owen posed the delicate question, he and
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  Speaker 1: the other three men had been lost at sea for
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: the past three months, after a whale had struck the
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  Speaker 1: side of their whaling boat and left them adrift with
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  Speaker 1: almost no food and no water. There had been other
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: men on board the Essex who had died from starvation
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: and exposure, and their bodies had been consumed by the
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: surviving sailors until on February sixth, they were down to
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  Speaker 1: just these four men and no more bodies to eat,
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  Speaker 1: which is why they decided it was time they had
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: to ask the delicate question. Seventeen days after Owen sacrificed
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: himself so the others could eat him, another boat happened
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  Speaker 1: to drift past the stranded Essex boat, which now only
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: contained Charles and George. Barzilai had died of starvation five
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: days after they killed Owen, and Bari had been eaten
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: by George and Charles as well. And as this other
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: ship passed by the Essex and they looked on board,
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: all they saw were skeletons of the men that had
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: died and been eaten, and Charles and George were on
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: opposite ends of the boat, curled up in a ball,
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: chewing on human finger bones, trying to get the last
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: bits of flesh off, and their bodies were totally emaciated.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: Their hair and their beards were wild. They looked totally feral.
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  Speaker 1: And then when this boat actually came up alongside the
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Essex and boarded to rescue Charles and George, Charles and
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  Speaker 1: George looked terrified. It was like they had totally lost
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: their grip on reality. They had been lost at sea
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  Speaker 1: for ninety four days and had consumed all of their friends,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: and so it makes sense they might go kind of crazy.
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  Speaker 1: But after this crew was able to get Charles and
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: George fed and get them water and cleaned up, they
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: kind of regained their composure and their sanity, and they
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: were very thankful and happy to alive. The story of
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: what happened to the crew of the Essex quickly spread
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: all around the world, and in fact, it served as
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: inspiration for Herman Melville to write his classic American novel
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: Moby Dick. On March twenty second, nineteen ninety four, four
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: people were sitting in a circle inside of a dark
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: hotel room in England. In front of them was a
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: homemade wigjiboard. The four people in the hotel room reached
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: out one finger each and placed that finger on a
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: glass cup that was flipped upside down resting in the
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: middle of the swigi board. After looking around at each
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: other nervously, one of the four people began to speak
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: out loud. They asked the room if there were any
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: spirits with them right now, and nothing happened. The four
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: people started to laugh at themselves were even trying to
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: do this, when suddenly the glass cup began to move.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: As the four people stared at each other trying to
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: figure out if one of them was moving the cup
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: on purpose, the glass cup cup slid all the way
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: to the corner of the board and came to a
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: stop over the word. Yes, this Wiji board session would
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: not only become one of the most famous Wiji board
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: sessions of all time, but also it would have a
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: dramatic impact on a major criminal case. So that's going
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: to do it. If you enjoyed today's story and you
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: want to hear more like it, be sure to check
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: out our podcast called The Mister Ballen Podcast, which is
• 15:30
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• 15:33
  Speaker 1: the podcast in the description below.