Latest / Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities / Shake It Up

Transcript

Shake It Up · Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: of Curiosities. After a long day, it's nice to pour
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: oneself a stiff drink and kick back, each sip, peeling
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: away the layers of stress and trouble brought on by
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: the daily grind. Some people opt for a cold beer,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: while others pop the cork on a fresh bottle of wine.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Me I'm a Scotch guy, but for those really tough days,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the kinds that leave us drained and burned out, we
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: might want something a little stronger, like a sling. A
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: sling is a standard drink, usually made with an ounce
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: of water, a teaspoon of sugar, nutmeg, and two ounces
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: of a spirit of your choice. Slings can be made
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: with whiskey, or gin or rum, and they got their
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: start hundreds of years ago. But why are they called
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: that because you sling them back? Of course, early on,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: drinks in America used to be served hot, which was
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: a holdover from the British way of serving them. It
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: was believed that even in the summer months, a hot
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: drink would make a person sweat, thus cooling them off,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: but over time traditions changed. Frederick Tutor, also known as
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: the Ice King, started shipping ice from Massachusetts to the
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Caribbean in eighteen o six. By the eighteen thirties, his
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: ice was being used to refrigerate food and medicines in
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: places as far away as India. But bars and wealthy
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: homes saw another use for Tutors frozen product keeping their
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: drinks cold, and among the kinds of beverages served with
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: ice in them were slings. Bar patrons couldn't get enough
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: of these concoctions, which only fueled the growing alcohol epidemic
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: that eventually led to the prohibition in the nineteen twenties.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Those who did overdo it at the local pub often
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: felt terrible the next day. They suffered from upset stomachs,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: which required a bit of medicine to help ease their pain.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: So they would take their bottle of bidders and add
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: a few dashes to a spoon or dribble them over
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: a sugar cube, which they would then swallow to settle
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: their stomachs. That's right, before bidders became a way to
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: enhance an alcoholic beverage. They were advertised as medicinal cure alls.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: In fact, one of the hangover cures that developed out
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: of all of this was to have a bit of
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: the hair of the dog that bit you, meaning hangover
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: sufferers would drink a little more. People started adding their
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: bidders directly to their drinks, turning them into what they
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: called bittered slings. But over time that name changed. Bittered
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: sling wasn't a particularly attractive name for a beverage, so
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: bartenders and patrons just started calling them something else, and
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: for that they turned to horses asses. No, they didn't
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: turn into horses asses, well not unless they'd had a
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: little bit too much to drink at the bar. Now
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: they looked to the race tracks for inspiration. You see,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: at the time, if someone wanted to purchase a horse,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: its owner would have the animal parade around so that
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: the buyer could examine it. Aside from the color of
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: the coats and the pep and its stepped though, one
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: thing they looked for was how it carried its tail.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: If a horse's tail was cocked upward, that meant that
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: it was healthy and in good spirits. But if it
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: was hanging down, that would be a sign of ill health,
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: old age, and maybe even poor breeding. So to trick
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: potential buyers that a horse was in better shape and
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: it actually might have been, owners would stick a piece
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: of ginger up the horses well, you get the idea.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: This would irritate the horse and cause its tail to
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: be cocked upright. The practice was atrocious and abusive, but
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: bartenders started using it to help their patrons. And no,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: they didn't stick ginger up their butts. They would mix
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: a few dashes of bitters in a glass with whiskey,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: ice and water and hand it to the patron, telling
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: them that it would cock their tail or rejuvenate them.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: And so the phrase eventually became the name by which
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: we call all mixed drinks today cocktails. All because somebody
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: thought it was a good idea to put ginger in
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: a horse's but no wonder they have such long faces.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: And African American Spiritual was published that quickly took the
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: world by storm. It was recorded by countless artists over
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the years and has appeared in a number of movies
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: and television shows ever since, especially those set up at
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: a summer camp. It's so well known today it's probably
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: a cliche, just picture of granola eating camp counselor sitting
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: around a fire and acoustic guitar in his lap as
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: he leads the campers in a rollicking rendition of He's
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Got the whole World in his hands. It's a song
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: about God, and for those who believe it explains how
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: he is in control of the lives that live in
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: the world he's created. It's meant to convey the comforting
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: image of an omnipotent being cradling the earth and the
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: creatures that inhabit it. But one man thought that he
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: could play God by creating his own world, and little
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: did he know that his new invention would shake things
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: up in a whole new way. His name was Irwin Persey,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: and he hailed from Austria at the turn of the
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: twentieth century. In nineteen hundred, when Persey was just twenty
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: four years old, he was in charge of designing and
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: repairing medical tools used by doctors and surgeons. Occasionally, when
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: a doctor was in need of something specific, they would
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: go to Persey and request a new tool to be made. Irwin,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: like I said, was only twenty four years old at
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: the time when doctors in town came to him with
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: a desperate plea. They're dark operating rooms needed better lighting.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Lightbulbs had been around for a number of years, but
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: they were inefficient and the light that they produced was
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: not enough for them to work by. They needed something
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: better and brighter, so Perzy got to work. He started
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: doing research, which brought him to shoemakers. You see, shoemakers
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: often worked long hours in rooms with minimal lights, so
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: they relied on a special kind of lamp to keep
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: their workspace illuminated. It was comprised of four glass balls
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: or flasks filled with liquid. Sometimes they would be filled
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: with water, but schnops or absinthe worked as well. The
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: flasks were of different sizes, with the master shoemaker seated
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: in front of the largest, while his apprentices sat before
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: the smaller ones. They hung by leather straps around their
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: necks from a wooden stool while a candle burned in
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: the center, and the lamps macab appearances what gave it
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: its other name, the gallows lamp. A light from the
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: flame would be amplified by the liquid in the glass
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: balls in front of it, and if they had been
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: filled within adult beverage like schnops, the apprentices would take
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: SIPs while the master was away. Percy liked the idea
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: of the shoemaker's lamp, but he felt that it needed
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: something else to make it more suitable for surgeons. He
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: had a bright idea pun intended by the way of
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: adding metal flakes to the inside that would help the
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: light reach farther instead, though it had a different effect.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Shaking the semelina filled glass balls in his hand, Percy
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: watched as the metal flakes drifted all throughout, the liquid,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: settling on the bottom like fresh fallen snow. And so
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: he pivoted from making light sources for surgeons and opened
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: a factory to produce his brand new product, the snow globe.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: His first snow globe had a tiny model of the
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Austrian Basilica inside. It became so popular as a gift
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: that it wasn't until World War Two when his son,
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Irwin Persey the Second expanded the lineup. He had been
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: working with the U. S. Military when he was told
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: that the troops would buy his family snow globes if
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: they were more recognizable figures inside, since the basilica held
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: almost no meaning to them. So Persey the second returned
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: to the factory with their feedback and designed three new models.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: One had a Christmas tree inside, another had a snowman,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: and the last held Santa Claus. Over the years, the
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: product line has grown and different companies have come up
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: with their own versions. Go into any souvenir shop today
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: in any major tourist destination and you're sure to find
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: a snow globe with Disneyland, or the Chicago Skyline or
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: the Empire State Building inside. But nothing quite measures up
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: to what the Perseys have been making for the last
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: one d and twenty years. The snow inside an authentic
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Austrian snow globe is made from a top secret formula
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: that blends plastic with other materials to provide a squall
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: that can last up to two minutes. It's an experience
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: not easily replicated, but perhaps the greatest lasting testament to
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Irwin Persey's original creation. Aren't the snow globes with Christmas
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: trees or snowman inside. It was one specific snow globe,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: the only one of its kind, which was made around
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: nineteen one. It held a small, long cabin and was
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: owned by a tyrannical newspaper magnate. The globe was destroyed
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: when it slipped from his fingers upon his untimely death,
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: a final reminder of the only time in his life
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: when he was truly happy, frolicking in the snow as
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: a child and writing his beloved sled Rosebud. Though no
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: records exist that Percy had created the snow globe for R.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: K O Pictures, it is widely believed that the object
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: owned by Orson Wells character in Citizen Kane was made
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: by the famous Viennese company Irwin Persey. Did not set
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: out to make sentimental glass balls filled with water, but
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: he did, and so much more. He gave every customer
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: a chance to hold a small world in the palm
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: of their hands. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: in partner ship with How Stuff Works. I make another
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: award winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: and television show and you can learn all about it
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: over at the World of Lore dot com. And until
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: next time, stay curious. Yeah,