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Drop the Hammer · Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
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  Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is
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  Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,
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  Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display,
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  Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet
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  Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Declaring war on the United States is no
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  Speaker 1: small action. It means intending to fight the most powerful
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  Speaker 1: military force in the world. In the US invaded Panama
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  Speaker 1: after President Bush Sr. Mistook the country's declaration as a
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  Speaker 1: serious threat. The situation lasted just over a month, but
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  Speaker 1: by the end the invasion had killed between three hundred
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  Speaker 1: and a thousand Panamanians and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
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  Speaker 1: Looking back on the devastation, it's clear to see why
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  Speaker 1: so few have tried to go up against America. Well,
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  Speaker 1: one nation learned that less in the hard way when
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  Speaker 1: it succeeded and then swiftly declared war on an enemy
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  Speaker 1: it was grossly under power to face. It was called
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  Speaker 1: the conquer Republic, and it was formed in nineteen eighty two.
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  Speaker 1: The small island had been known as Cayo Hueso a U.
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  Speaker 1: S territory and boasted a population of twenty four thousand
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  Speaker 1: people from all over the world. Germans, Cubans, and Irish travelers,
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  Speaker 1: among others, had settled on the island over the years,
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  Speaker 1: turning it into quite the melting pot. The United States
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  Speaker 1: had set up a military checkpoint on the island that year,
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  Speaker 1: inspecting cars for drugs and signs of human trafficking operations.
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  Speaker 1: Those on the island were not pleased by the interference
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  Speaker 1: to their day to day lives, nor were the tourists
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  Speaker 1: who flot there to kick back and relax. The checkpoints
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  Speaker 1: caused massive traffic jams as long as seventeen miles. People
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  Speaker 1: getting around the island couldn't do so easily without having
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  Speaker 1: their vehicles stopped and searched. As a result of the intrusion,
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  Speaker 1: many would be visitors chosen said to go to nearby
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  Speaker 1: locations not under US occupation. They canceled their reservations, opting
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  Speaker 1: instead for vacations where they could travel without harassment. The
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  Speaker 1: city council tried to get the checkpoints removed by filing
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  Speaker 1: an injunction against the U. S Government in federal court,
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  Speaker 1: but the case was dismissed. There was a drug problem
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  Speaker 1: in the United States, and it was believed that the
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  Speaker 1: key to ending it lied in verifying the contents of
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  Speaker 1: each car passing through Kayahue So well, the island's mayor,
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  Speaker 1: Dennis Wardlow, couldn't take it anymore. A certain word kept
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  Speaker 1: cropping up in meetings between the mayor and his advisors,
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  Speaker 1: and one day it seemed like it might be the
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  Speaker 1: best way forward. That word secession. If the United States
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  Speaker 1: was going to treat the island like a foreign country,
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  Speaker 1: then it would have to behave like one too. So
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  Speaker 1: on April n the time had come for Kyohui So
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  Speaker 1: to separate from the United States. It was officially renamed
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  Speaker 1: to the conquer Republic, named for the slang term used
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  Speaker 1: to describe the many Bahamians living on the island who
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  Speaker 1: had come from European descent. Mayor Wardlow had suddenly become
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  Speaker 1: the Prime Minister, and among his first actions as the
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  Speaker 1: head of a new nation, he declared war on America. However,
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  Speaker 1: he did it in the most unusual way by cracking
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  Speaker 1: a loaf of Cuban bread over the head of someone
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  Speaker 1: wearing a U. S. Navy uniform. It didn't take long
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  Speaker 1: for Wardlow to realize he was in over his head, though,
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  Speaker 1: and surrendered one minute after declaring independence of the conquer Republic.
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  Speaker 1: He then asked the United States for a billion dollars
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  Speaker 1: in foreign aid. So why isn't the conquer Republic found
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  Speaker 1: on any maps? Because its original name Kyo Huiso is
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  Speaker 1: Spanish for Key West, the island that's technically part of Florida.
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  Speaker 1: The secession wasn't real. It had been nothing more than
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  Speaker 1: a noisy publicity stunt to send a message to the U. S.
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  Speaker 1: Government about its obtrusive checkpoints, and they listened. Shortly after
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  Speaker 1: the conquer Republic rejoined America, the points were shut down
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  Speaker 1: and tourism to the island boomed, but peace was never permanent.
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  Speaker 1: For example, in when the U. S. Army Reserves sent
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  Speaker 1: a battalion to Key West for a training exercise, conk
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  Speaker 1: officials were never alerted. In response, Mayor Wardlow ordered a
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  Speaker 1: schooner to pelt a coastcard vessel with stale Cuban bread
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  Speaker 1: and water balloons. The act of aggression was met with
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  Speaker 1: equal forced by the U. S. Coast Guard, who turned
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  Speaker 1: their fire hoses on the attacking ship, bringing the fight
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  Speaker 1: to an abrupt end. The City of Key West contacted
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  Speaker 1: the Department of Defense and complained about their lack of
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  Speaker 1: notice about the exercise. The Department of Defense sent an
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  Speaker 1: apology and accepted the Conquered Republics so called surrender a
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  Speaker 1: few days later. Today, the conquer Republic is still going strong.
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  Speaker 1: It has its own navy, advertised as the largest sail
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  Speaker 1: propelled navy in the world, and it hosts several events
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  Speaker 1: in April as part of its Independence Day celebration. It
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  Speaker 1: just goes to show that making a big public protest
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  Speaker 1: something you can often get results, and sometimes all it
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  Speaker 1: takes is a declaration of war on the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Explosive holiday celebrations are more common than you think. Almost
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  Speaker 1: everyone is familiar with American Independence Day, when towns all
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  Speaker 1: over the country light up the night sky with elaborate
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  Speaker 1: firework displays. It's held on July four, the day the
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  Speaker 1: founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and officially severed
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  Speaker 1: ties with England. The tradition dates all the way back
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  Speaker 1: to the first anniversary of the signing in seventeen seventies seven,
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  Speaker 1: when Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became host to a full blown festival.
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  Speaker 1: It included the ringing of bells, a parade, and the
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  Speaker 1: launch of thirteen rockets into the air. But July four
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  Speaker 1: isn't the only holiday where things explode. There's also the
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  Speaker 1: Beltane Fire Festival in Scotland. Every April, the Beltane Fire
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  Speaker 1: Society of Edinburgh lights torches and a huge bonfire to
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  Speaker 1: ring in the beginning of summer. Some who joined in
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  Speaker 1: the festivities shed their clothes and dance among the flames
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  Speaker 1: as music plays into the night. And who could forget
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  Speaker 1: Burning Man The week long community events held at the
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  Speaker 1: end of August each year in Nevada on the Saturday
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  Speaker 1: night before Labor Day, and eighty five foot tall wooden
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  Speaker 1: effigy is burned in the middle of the desert as
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  Speaker 1: attendees gather around, dancing and cheering. Meanwhile, the small town
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  Speaker 1: of San Juan de la Vega, Mexico, has its own celebration,
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  Speaker 1: and it's not only a lot of fun, it's also
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  Speaker 1: incredibly dangerous. The thing about a tradition as old as
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  Speaker 1: this one is that its origin isn't definitive. According to
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  Speaker 1: one account, the festival got its start in the seventeenth
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  Speaker 1: century when a man known as San Juanito decided to
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  Speaker 1: go up against the local landowners who were taking money
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  Speaker 1: out of the hands of the hard working townsfolk. San
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  Speaker 1: Juanito began stealing bad from them, earning him the nickname
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  Speaker 1: of Mexico's Robin Hood. Unfortunately, his efforts also resulted in
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  Speaker 1: retribution from those landlords. A fight ensued, and one side
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  Speaker 1: resorted to using hammers fitted with small bombs that detonated
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  Speaker 1: on impact. Another story claimed that Juan de la Vega,
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  Speaker 1: the man for whom the town was named, had his
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  Speaker 1: gold stolen by bandits. St John the Baptist helped him
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  Speaker 1: get it back, and the town's residents celebrated by tying
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  Speaker 1: explosives to large hammers and setting them off. Whatever the case,
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  Speaker 1: the victory is honored today with a festival every February,
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  Speaker 1: known in Spanish as Fiesta de los Martios Explosivos. In English,
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  Speaker 1: it's called the Festival of Exploding Hammers. San Juan de
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  Speaker 1: la Vega, located about a hundred and sixty miles north
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  Speaker 1: of Mexico City, is quiet for most of the year,
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  Speaker 1: with very little going on to illicit concern. People go
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  Speaker 1: about their daily lives without incident until that one day
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  Speaker 1: in February when they pull out their sledge hammers and
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  Speaker 1: gunpowder and let use. Modern day revelers don't use anything
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  Speaker 1: as volatile as dynamiters C. Four. Instead, they fasten a
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  Speaker 1: mixture made of potassium chlorate and sulfur to the end
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  Speaker 1: of their sledge hammers. The hammers are then hoisted and
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  Speaker 1: slammed onto a steel beam in the middle of a
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  Speaker 1: rocky field. What follows is a giant cloud of smoke
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  Speaker 1: and a blast with a force so strong it's enough
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  Speaker 1: to send someone flying back several feet. It is so
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  Speaker 1: popular thousands come to witness the event, with over a
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  Speaker 1: hundred first responders standing by in case things go wrong,
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  Speaker 1: which they do a lot. Three people required medical attention,
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  Speaker 1: including one person who was carried out on a stretcher
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  Speaker 1: after he hurt his leg in the blast, and the
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  Speaker 1: people wielding the hammers aren't the only ones who suffer
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  Speaker 1: injuries either. Spectators in the line of fire are often
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  Speaker 1: hit by shrapnel caused by the blasts. It's clear that
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  Speaker 1: the Festival of Exploding Hammers is one of the most
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  Speaker 1: unique cultural traditions recognized today, and if you decide to
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  Speaker 1: go and see it for yourself, maybe we're some protective
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  Speaker 1: goggles just in case. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided
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  Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on
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  Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting
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  Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me
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  Speaker 1: Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make
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  Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
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  Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all
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  Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com.
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  Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.