August 27, 2019 • 10 mins
Today's tour through the Cabinet will introduce you to a pair of very unique individuals. One went on to inspire a lasting image, while the other was the very image of the odd and unusual.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history
is an open book, all of these amazing tales right
there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome
to the Cabinet of curiosities. A good president needs to
(00:28):
have a lot to win. They need to be likable.
They must have sound policies that benefit the American people.
And well, none of that is actually true. Politicians are
a rare breed mix a pinch of charm, dash of authority,
and a whole heaping bowl of hubris, and you'll eventually
have yourself a red blooded American individual with grand dreams
(00:50):
of running the country. One man had such a dream
over one d seventy years ago when he tried running
for president. His name was Dan Rice, and he made
a living as an entertainer. He trained animals, he dabbled
in political comedy, performed in stage shows, and parodied Shakespearean
plays with his own humorous versions. Early in his career,
(01:12):
when he had no money to his name and only
one horse, larger circuses and troops made fun of his
one horse show. Although they intended to insult him, the
aspiring star flipped it around and used the phrase to
advertise his surprisingly enjoyable performance. As he gained in popularity,
his show was able to generate more income and was
(01:34):
eventually dubbed the Greatest show on Earth. Years before P. T.
Barnum's own traveling circus would fly that flag. Legendary American
author Mark Twain admired Rice so much that his description
of a circus in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was based
on the performer's famous spectacle. But Rice was best known
for his enduring role as a circus clown. He didn't
(01:56):
just run around and perform slapstick for cheering kids, though
his was more like a stand up comedy routine than
your typical clowning around. He'd perform observational humor and sing
songs about the news, which let audiences in on another
passion of his politics, Rice once invited then candidate Zachary
(02:16):
Taylor to campaign aboard his circus wagon, encouraging the future
twelfth President of the United States to jump on the bandwagon, which,
by the way, is how that phrase came to be.
Later on, Rice decided to stop sharing the stage with
other politicians and enter the fray himself. In eighteen sixty four,
he ran for the Pennsylvania Senate, using his immense popularity
(02:38):
to help power his campaign, But when it later appeared
that he wouldn't secure enough votes to gain traction in
the polls, he dropped out. He didn't let the experience
discourage him, though. Rice wanted to serve the people as
best he could, and as they say, the show must
go on. When Rice tried again four years later to
get elected to public office, he aimed higher, this time,
(02:59):
much higher. You see, he wanted to be the president.
At first, it's seeing the papers were supportive of his plans.
He was a national treasurer, after all, beloved by audiences everywhere.
Of course, Rice had his detractors, and not everyone thought
that a former circus clown had the ability to lead
the people. In fact, during the campaign, a newspaper called
(03:19):
The Somerset Democrat mocked his bid for the presidency, claiming
that he had an I quote amassed wealth by catering
to the tastes of the very lowest order of society
in the disreputable capacity of a clown and showman, and
that seemed to open the floodgates. More papers followed with
rebukes of their own, and although he tried to respond
(03:41):
through open letters and opinion pieces. His efforts had little effect.
It didn't help that a popular military general was moving
up in the polls, no doubt bolstered by his impressive
performance during the Civil War. So when it became clear
that he wouldn't get the nomination, Rice withdrew from the race,
allowing Ulysses S. Grant to go on and become the
(04:01):
eighteenth President of the United States. Dan was an entertainer,
a showman, and a patriot. He loved his country and
thought of no better way to show that love than
to become an elected public servant. But don't think of
him as a failure. He was incredibly patriotic, and those
images of him with his long white beard went on
(04:23):
to inspire a character we all know from the recruitment
posters that were printed and distributed during World War One
and two. He might not have become president, but without
Dan Rice, America wouldn't have its most famous mascot of all,
Uncle Sam. Typically when someone here is a tapping noise
(04:56):
in their house, they tend to think the worst. It
could be a leaky pipe dripping inside the walls, or
someone on the outside looking for a way in. In
the case of the Irving family, it was an animal
that had found its way inside. However, in ninety one,
on the Isle of Man, it wasn't just an animal.
The Irvings encountered. On one fateful September night, James, Margaret
(05:19):
and their daughter Voiri came face to face with a
creature unlike anything they'd ever seen before or heard. It
started with scratching and bizarre sounds emanating from the walls.
The noises, which sounded like a cross between a baby's
cooing and the squeaks of a rodent, caused them to investigate.
(05:39):
And that's when they were introduced to Geff, a mongoose
from India. And when I say introduced, I mean Geff
introduced himself to them with his voice. Geff explained to
the Irvings that he was a ghost that had taken
the form of a mongoose. Rather than shoo him away
or capture him and invite the press photograph him, the
(06:01):
Irvings instead invited him to stay with them. He guarded
the house from intruders and hunted mice that had found
their way inside. He put out the fire at night
after everyone had gone to bed, and acted like the
Irvings alarm clock, waking them up when they slept too late.
The family rewarded Geff with food like chocolates and bananas,
and often brought him with them to the grocery store,
(06:23):
although he usually stayed outside and talked to himself. Eventually
word got around about the Irvings chatty house guest, and
the papers did come knocking. Everyone wanted a glimpse of
the talking animal. Some allegedly did, claiming that they even
heard him speak, but not Everyone was willing to believe
the family story, though for one, Geff had never been
(06:45):
caught on camera. There were photos of parts of the
house where Geff was supposedly heard, as well as one
of James Irving pointing to a set of pause coming
out of the wall. Any attempts to snap a picture
of the mongoose himself, though, resulted in shapeless blurs captured
on film. And Geff didn't just talk. He made grandiose
(07:05):
claims about his abilities. He said he could split the
atom and read people's minds. He once told the Irvings,
I could kill you all, but I won't. Geff also
had a strong attachment to the family's thirteen year old
daughter Fire. James once tried to pull her bed into
their bedroom, and the mongoose screeched that he would follow
her wherever they moved her. This was seen by some
(07:27):
as evidence that Vary herself had learned to throw her voice,
making it sound as though it was coming from some
small animal in the room when it wasn't naturally. People
wanted proof. There were plenty of stories, for sure, but
very little in the way of actual evidence. The Irvings
allowed photos of footprints and stains on the walls to
be taken. They also provided a first sample for study.
(07:49):
Once everything was analyzed, though it was clear what the
Irvings really had on their hands. A sheep dog, not
a talking sheep dog, just a regular kin sheepdog, their
own named Mona. The fur, the stains, and the footprints
all belonged to her, and the blurry photos they claimed
her of Geff those were of Mona. To just on
(08:12):
the move, and after James died in Margaret and Voirie
sold the house, claiming they left Geff the mongoose behind.
Vary claimed until the day she died in two thousand five,
that Geff had been real. She hadn't made him up,
nor had she performed ventriloquism to fool everyone into thinking
they lived with a talking mongoose. In the years following
(08:34):
their departure from the house, though, psychic investigators and ghost
hunters stayed there for extended periods hoping to hear from
the elusive mongoose. What they discovered, though, were possible explanations
for gifts tiny chatty voice. As it turned out, the
walls of the house had been built with significant airspace
between the wood on the inside and the stone on
(08:56):
the outside. That gap basically turned the walls into eight
big amplifiers, able to carry voices all over the house
without anyone having to shout. As for Geff himself, few
actually believed a talking mongoose had lived with the Irvings.
A member of the International Institute for Psychical Research, theorized
that Geff was nothing more than a creation of James Irving,
(09:19):
a kind of split personality he created to help him
deal with the stresses of daily life. But that's all.
It was just a theory. Even though much of the
physical evidence points to the Irvings dog rather than a
talking mongoose. The fact is that no one knows who
Geff was or where he came from. Was he a
ghost that had taken the form of a small weasel
(09:41):
like creature, or was he a figment of James Irving's imagination.
Whether we discover the truth or not, there's no denying
that the possibilities are very curious. I hope you've enjoyed
today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for
free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show
(10:03):
by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created
by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works.
I make another award winning show called Lore, which is
a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can
learn all about it over at the World of Lore
dot com. And until next time, stay curious.
Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history
is an open book, all of these amazing tales right
there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome
to the Cabinet of curiosities. A good president needs to
(00:28):
have a lot to win. They need to be likable.
They must have sound policies that benefit the American people.
And well, none of that is actually true. Politicians are
a rare breed mix a pinch of charm, dash of authority,
and a whole heaping bowl of hubris, and you'll eventually
have yourself a red blooded American individual with grand dreams
(00:50):
of running the country. One man had such a dream
over one d seventy years ago when he tried running
for president. His name was Dan Rice, and he made
a living as an entertainer. He trained animals, he dabbled
in political comedy, performed in stage shows, and parodied Shakespearean
plays with his own humorous versions. Early in his career,
(01:12):
when he had no money to his name and only
one horse, larger circuses and troops made fun of his
one horse show. Although they intended to insult him, the
aspiring star flipped it around and used the phrase to
advertise his surprisingly enjoyable performance. As he gained in popularity,
his show was able to generate more income and was
(01:34):
eventually dubbed the Greatest show on Earth. Years before P. T.
Barnum's own traveling circus would fly that flag. Legendary American
author Mark Twain admired Rice so much that his description
of a circus in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was based
on the performer's famous spectacle. But Rice was best known
for his enduring role as a circus clown. He didn't
(01:56):
just run around and perform slapstick for cheering kids, though
his was more like a stand up comedy routine than
your typical clowning around. He'd perform observational humor and sing
songs about the news, which let audiences in on another
passion of his politics, Rice once invited then candidate Zachary
(02:16):
Taylor to campaign aboard his circus wagon, encouraging the future
twelfth President of the United States to jump on the bandwagon, which,
by the way, is how that phrase came to be.
Later on, Rice decided to stop sharing the stage with
other politicians and enter the fray himself. In eighteen sixty four,
he ran for the Pennsylvania Senate, using his immense popularity
(02:38):
to help power his campaign, But when it later appeared
that he wouldn't secure enough votes to gain traction in
the polls, he dropped out. He didn't let the experience
discourage him, though. Rice wanted to serve the people as
best he could, and as they say, the show must
go on. When Rice tried again four years later to
get elected to public office, he aimed higher, this time,
(02:59):
much higher. You see, he wanted to be the president.
At first, it's seeing the papers were supportive of his plans.
He was a national treasurer, after all, beloved by audiences everywhere.
Of course, Rice had his detractors, and not everyone thought
that a former circus clown had the ability to lead
the people. In fact, during the campaign, a newspaper called
(03:19):
The Somerset Democrat mocked his bid for the presidency, claiming
that he had an I quote amassed wealth by catering
to the tastes of the very lowest order of society
in the disreputable capacity of a clown and showman, and
that seemed to open the floodgates. More papers followed with
rebukes of their own, and although he tried to respond
(03:41):
through open letters and opinion pieces. His efforts had little effect.
It didn't help that a popular military general was moving
up in the polls, no doubt bolstered by his impressive
performance during the Civil War. So when it became clear
that he wouldn't get the nomination, Rice withdrew from the race,
allowing Ulysses S. Grant to go on and become the
(04:01):
eighteenth President of the United States. Dan was an entertainer,
a showman, and a patriot. He loved his country and
thought of no better way to show that love than
to become an elected public servant. But don't think of
him as a failure. He was incredibly patriotic, and those
images of him with his long white beard went on
(04:23):
to inspire a character we all know from the recruitment
posters that were printed and distributed during World War One
and two. He might not have become president, but without
Dan Rice, America wouldn't have its most famous mascot of all,
Uncle Sam. Typically when someone here is a tapping noise
(04:56):
in their house, they tend to think the worst. It
could be a leaky pipe dripping inside the walls, or
someone on the outside looking for a way in. In
the case of the Irving family, it was an animal
that had found its way inside. However, in ninety one,
on the Isle of Man, it wasn't just an animal.
The Irvings encountered. On one fateful September night, James, Margaret
(05:19):
and their daughter Voiri came face to face with a
creature unlike anything they'd ever seen before or heard. It
started with scratching and bizarre sounds emanating from the walls.
The noises, which sounded like a cross between a baby's
cooing and the squeaks of a rodent, caused them to investigate.
(05:39):
And that's when they were introduced to Geff, a mongoose
from India. And when I say introduced, I mean Geff
introduced himself to them with his voice. Geff explained to
the Irvings that he was a ghost that had taken
the form of a mongoose. Rather than shoo him away
or capture him and invite the press photograph him, the
(06:01):
Irvings instead invited him to stay with them. He guarded
the house from intruders and hunted mice that had found
their way inside. He put out the fire at night
after everyone had gone to bed, and acted like the
Irvings alarm clock, waking them up when they slept too late.
The family rewarded Geff with food like chocolates and bananas,
and often brought him with them to the grocery store,
(06:23):
although he usually stayed outside and talked to himself. Eventually
word got around about the Irvings chatty house guest, and
the papers did come knocking. Everyone wanted a glimpse of
the talking animal. Some allegedly did, claiming that they even
heard him speak, but not Everyone was willing to believe
the family story, though for one, Geff had never been
(06:45):
caught on camera. There were photos of parts of the
house where Geff was supposedly heard, as well as one
of James Irving pointing to a set of pause coming
out of the wall. Any attempts to snap a picture
of the mongoose himself, though, resulted in shapeless blurs captured
on film. And Geff didn't just talk. He made grandiose
(07:05):
claims about his abilities. He said he could split the
atom and read people's minds. He once told the Irvings,
I could kill you all, but I won't. Geff also
had a strong attachment to the family's thirteen year old
daughter Fire. James once tried to pull her bed into
their bedroom, and the mongoose screeched that he would follow
her wherever they moved her. This was seen by some
(07:27):
as evidence that Vary herself had learned to throw her voice,
making it sound as though it was coming from some
small animal in the room when it wasn't naturally. People
wanted proof. There were plenty of stories, for sure, but
very little in the way of actual evidence. The Irvings
allowed photos of footprints and stains on the walls to
be taken. They also provided a first sample for study.
(07:49):
Once everything was analyzed, though it was clear what the
Irvings really had on their hands. A sheep dog, not
a talking sheep dog, just a regular kin sheepdog, their
own named Mona. The fur, the stains, and the footprints
all belonged to her, and the blurry photos they claimed
her of Geff those were of Mona. To just on
(08:12):
the move, and after James died in Margaret and Voirie
sold the house, claiming they left Geff the mongoose behind.
Vary claimed until the day she died in two thousand five,
that Geff had been real. She hadn't made him up,
nor had she performed ventriloquism to fool everyone into thinking
they lived with a talking mongoose. In the years following
(08:34):
their departure from the house, though, psychic investigators and ghost
hunters stayed there for extended periods hoping to hear from
the elusive mongoose. What they discovered, though, were possible explanations
for gifts tiny chatty voice. As it turned out, the
walls of the house had been built with significant airspace
between the wood on the inside and the stone on
(08:56):
the outside. That gap basically turned the walls into eight
big amplifiers, able to carry voices all over the house
without anyone having to shout. As for Geff himself, few
actually believed a talking mongoose had lived with the Irvings.
A member of the International Institute for Psychical Research, theorized
that Geff was nothing more than a creation of James Irving,
(09:19):
a kind of split personality he created to help him
deal with the stresses of daily life. But that's all.
It was just a theory. Even though much of the
physical evidence points to the Irvings dog rather than a
talking mongoose. The fact is that no one knows who
Geff was or where he came from. Was he a
ghost that had taken the form of a small weasel
(09:41):
like creature, or was he a figment of James Irving's imagination.
Whether we discover the truth or not, there's no denying
that the possibilities are very curious. I hope you've enjoyed
today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for
free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show
(10:03):
by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created
by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works.
I make another award winning show called Lore, which is
a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can
learn all about it over at the World of Lore
dot com. And until next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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