Latest / Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities / By a Hair

Transcript

By a Hair · Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Some legends are just
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: too mysterious to die off completely. Books are still written
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: about the Lindbergh Baby, the Zodiac Killer, and infamous thief
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and airplane hijacker D. B. Cooper. Details are scarce or
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: in some cases disregarded, in favor of alternative theories that
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: present claims of supernatural involvement, secret societies, or other bizarre
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: solutions to unanswered questions. One such case has bewildered the
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: world for decades that has all the components for an
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: during legend, a renowned newsmaker, a grand test of endurance,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: and a suspicious disappearance. In September of ninety three, British
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Colonial Service officer Gerald Gallagher moved to a patch of
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: land in the Pacific called Gardner Island. He had been
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: put in charge of establishing a new settlement on behalf
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: of the British Empire. During his stay, Gallagher's men uncovered
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: a strange collection of bones, as well as a human skull,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: a shoe, an empty bottle, and a box. Gallagher sent
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: a telegram to a fellow officer explaining the discovery, as
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: he believed he'd stumbled onto something or someone actually that
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: was important. He was told to keep his findings to himself, though,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: and tell no one else, but to send the bones
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: to British officials for analysis. It was a doctor Lindsay
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Isaac who conducted the examination and determined the remains belonged
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: to a Polynesian male, not the famous person Gallagher had
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: believed it to be. The bones were then shipped off
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: the Fiji, where they were analyzed once again, this time
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: by one Dr d W. Hoodless, who had undergone no
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: training in forensic science. Doctor Hoodless's results fell in line
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: with Dr Isaac's, and so the bones were locked away,
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: the story all but forgotten, and it should have ended there.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: But over the years others in the field of medical
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: forensics took issue with both doctors results. Scientists sought to
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: retest the skeleton. Rumors had swirled for decades as to
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: its real identity, and now science had caught up enough
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: to provide a definitive answer. There was only one problem.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: The bones had disappeared. No one had any clue where
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: they had gone, but they did have Dr Isaac's and
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: doctor Hoodless's notes. Combining them with modern forensic practices, the
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: scientists were able to deduce several details that conflicted with
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: the original results. First, the skeleton most likely belonged to
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: a white female, not a Polynesian male. Secondly, a person
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: had been somewhere between five ft five and five ft
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: nine inches in height, but without the bones themselves, it
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: was impossible to say for sure who they might have
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: belonged to. Scientists, though, have their suspicions the Officer Gallagher
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: did too. In fact, people had been looking for them
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: since June of nineteen thirty seven. That was the month
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: at the United States Coast Guard and Navy spent four
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: weeks scouring the Pacific Ocean for evidence a wing, a body,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: a pair of goggles, or perhaps the one item that
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: had rested in the box that Officer Gallagher had actually found,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: a sextant. While the jury is still out as to
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: who was found on Gardner Island in ninety three, evidence
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: points to a famous explorer, one who has been the
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: subject of countless books and conspiracy theories. From crashing and
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: sinking to the bottom of the ocean to being captured
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: by the Japanese during World War Two. Everyone seems to
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: think they know what really happened. But to Officer Gallagher
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: and the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or TIGER
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: as it's known, it's entirely possible that the bones found
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: on Gardner Island belonged to a veritable legend, the remarkable
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Amelia Earhart Memento mori. It's Latin for remember you will die,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: and it has become a mantra for thrill seekers and
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: entrepreneurs to remind them to live life to the fullest.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: We have a limited number of years on this planet,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: after all, so we must make the most of them.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Some people repeat the phrase in their daily life, almost
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: like a kind of mantra. Others carry a token with them,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: a tangible reminder that hardens the concept into something real.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Such tokens were common throughout history and were often fastened
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: into jewelry to be worn by the mindful and the grieving.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: A ring with an ornate skull design might have been
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: worn by a mournful widow to honor her late husband.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: A daughter might have gone about her life with a
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: photo of her deceased mother in a locket around her neck,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: one of the most famous mementos ever created, though bears
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the last remaining vestige of an American icon. Born in
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: Virginia in seventeen thirty two, George Washington is best known
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: as a Revolutionary War general and, of course being the
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: first President of the United States, but he was also
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: a devoted husband and friend. He began courting Martha Custis
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: in seventeen fifty eight, traveling over thirty miles on horseback
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: to spend time with her. Both parties were independently wealthy, attractive,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: and ranked high on the social ladder. They fell in
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: love almost immediately and married one year later. Contrary to
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: popular practices at the time, Martha didn't have her husband
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: signed a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets from a
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: previous marriage. They had found in each other someone to
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: love and trust without question. Though he had no children
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: of his own, Washington happily helped raise Martha's son and
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: daughter from her first marriage. They lived a happy life,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: with George turning their modest farmhouse in Mount Vernon into
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: an eleven thousand square foot estate. When he traveled George
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: left the home in Martha's care, and even though she
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: was glad for the independence, she also missed him terribly.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: She would occasionally visit him during the revolution at his
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: winter encampments, greeting soldiers along the way and acting like
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: a beacon of light in the middle of a ark
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: and depressing time. Her effect on the troops was no
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: doubt felt throughout the war, and her presence may have
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: helped motivate her husband to succeed. Being apart for so
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: long weighed heavily upon their hearts. After the war, George
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: was elected the first president of the United States and
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: moved the family to New York and then Philadelphia, the
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: temporary capitals of the newly formed nation. They embraced their
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: new roles, and it was during George's second term when
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: he met another important person in his life, his friend
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: and confident Tobias Lear. Lear had tutored the Washington's children
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: and worked his way up within the family, from becoming
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: the president's clerk to his eventual business partner. They shared meals, stories,
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: and grew to be more like brothers than colleagues, and
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Lear remained in touch with his dear friend long after
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: Washington retired back to Mount Vernon. Of course, that's where
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: George and Martha spent their final year, entertaining their grandchildren
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: and hosting parties for American elites. Through distance and war
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: and politics, the Washington's had emerged more in love than
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: ever before. Sadly, their love would not be enough to
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: endure George's stubbornness. In December of sevent he set out
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: on horseback to inspect his land in the middle of
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: a snowstorm. He returned to the house for dinner later
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: that night, where Martha and several guests had been waiting.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: Not wanting to keep them from their meals any longer,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: he remained in his cold, wet clothes while he ate.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: The next day, George complained of a sore throat, but
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: continued his survey of the farm in the freezing weather.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: That sore throat turned into a chess cold, and twenty
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: four hours later, George Washington had died in his bed
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: at Mount Vernon. By his side were Martha and longtime
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: friend to Bias Lear. Washington was buried four days later.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: He had secretly given Lear in order to wait so
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: he would not be accidentally entombed alive, a common fear
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: in that era. Lear obliged out of a deep love
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: and respect for the man who had taken him under
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: his wing. However, Washington had also given his friends something else,
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: a memento of their friendship and a tribute to his
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: meaning to the family. It was a brooch, composed of
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: beveled glass and adorned with rubies. Along the top. It
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: bore the words token of my friendship in French, and
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: entwined beneath that beveled glass were two locks of hair,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: one belonging to George and the other to Martha. Their
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: life together was one of passion and undying affection. Even
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: in death, the two refused to remain apart. Not only
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: were they entombed together within the Mountain Vernon Mausoleum, but
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: their hair, the last evidence of their corporeal existence, was
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: preserved as a remind or to Tobias Lear that life
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: was to be lived as though every day might be
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: your last, and if possible, to do it with your
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: loved ones by your side. Oh and if you go
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: out in the cold, wear a hat. I hope you've
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.