March 23, 2021 • 10 mins
It's amazing how many types of stories can delight us. Some have horrible endings, and some fill us with delight. But either way, they pull us in and build us up. Here are some to do just that.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production
of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world
is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an
open book, all of these amazing tales are right there
on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to
(00:26):
the Cabinet of Curiosities. When building a house, it's important
for a contractor to account for such things as the
size of the room, whether the doorways are tall enough,
and if there's space in the kitchen for a dishwasher.
(00:47):
One thing most people don't think about, though, is how
much weight the floors can handle. Put too many bookshelves
on the second floor, and you're liable to wind up
with a library in your living room. Perhaps the people
of Airfort, Germany should have considered that as well. Airfort
can trace its roots all the way back to the
Paleolithic era around a hundred thousand years ago, but i
(01:07):
wasn't formalized into an actual city until the eighth century.
It was a popular destination during the Middle Ages, as
it was located near a major river and was part
of a cluster of towns involved in the lucrative wode
plant trade. Airfort may have come from humble beginnings, but
its history would be forged in the fires a tragedy.
During World War Two, for example, it was the site
(01:28):
of two dozen air raids which killed over six hundred people.
The city has seen countless acts of war, violence and loss.
For some of the earliest evidence of its devastating past, though,
look no further than the Church of St. Peter, which
became the venue of a grizzly and baffling tragedy in
four during the late twelfth century air for it was
(01:50):
under the rule of King Henry the sixth. He was
a powerful and influential leader who would go on to
capture England's Richard the Lion Hearts and rule Sicily. Later
in life. He also had to settle the occasional land
dispute between German nobility and Roman Catholic leadership. Henry's cousin,
Duke Ludwig the Third, had a bone to pick with
a man named Conrad of Vittelsbach, who was the Archbishop
(02:13):
of Mints. They were on opposite sides both philosophically and geographically.
Conrad had started building a castle near Ludwig's borders and
Henry's cousin believed it to be a show of aggression,
except the only reason that Conrad had started building his
castle in the first place was because he feared that
Ludwig was planning to attack his territory. Regardless of who
(02:34):
started it, King Henry had decided to finish it. He
was on his way to Poland as part of a
military campaign, and so he decided to stop an effort
to bring his territorial spat to an end. He chose St.
Peter's Church as the location for the mediation. Being the
oldest building in the city, the church was a prominent
part of air Fort history, providing a serene and understated
(02:57):
backdrop for the day's events. At least that way is
the idea. On July, nobles from both sides gathered in
the church to support their leaders and to defend their
position before the King. Ludwig, Conrad, and over a hundred
interested parties were all ushered into the room where King
Henry waited. Then Conrad and the King stepped into a
(03:17):
private room to talk, after which Ludwig would get a
similar opportunity. Now, while Conrad and Henry talked first, Ludwig
waited with the rest of the crowd, people naturally split
off into smaller groups, at which point a strange combination
of factors all converged at once. The weights of the crowd,
combined with the rotting wooden beams beneath them, resulted in
(03:40):
a complete collapse of the floor. Almost everyone plunged straight
down into the latrines below the church, all of which
fed into a cesspool that was filled to the brim
with excrements. The King and Conrad managed to hold onto
the frame of a nearby stained glass window until someone
was able to get them down. Ludwig also survived, although
(04:02):
no one is quite sure how. Meanwhile, over sixty of
the noblemen lost their lives in the accident. Some died
on impact, but most were believed to have drowned in
the giant hole of liquid feces beneath the church. Today
it's known as the Air for Latrine Disaster, an important
event in the city's history in one with a pretty
(04:24):
crappy ending. Companies facing tough times often tend to pivot
to stay afloat. A bookstore might sell coffee to bring
in new customers, or a startup might change their business
(04:46):
entirely if they find the competition too fierce, But it
was tragedy that struck Carpenter and forced him to change
his business one piece at a time. Ola had started
a modest woodworking business and mark back in nineteen sixteen.
He did well for himself, selling everyday tools such as
ladders and ironing boards. However, the small village he lived
(05:08):
in was a little off the beaten path and didn't
get electricity for some time. Without power, Ola often lit
his workshop with lamps and kept warm during the winter
months by lighting a stove or a fireplace. One day
in nineteen twenty four, while his sons were playing in
the shop, they accidentally set fire to a pile of
wood shavings. It's set off a blaze that destroyed everything,
(05:30):
including the building, even the raw wood and his finished products.
But Ola persevered and rebuilt his workshop even better than before.
Things ran smoothly for several years after that, it all
seemed to come together. It seemed business might be looking
up for him. Sadly, just as he was getting his
head above water, the Wall Street crash of nineteen nine
(05:52):
would pull him back under the waves. The Great Depression
had found its way to his little town and to
make matters worse, his wife passed away a few years
later in ninety two, the carpenter and recent widower had
a decision to make. Could he close his shop and
walk away from his company, or maybe he could pivot
and find a new way to bring in business. With
(06:13):
young mouths to feed and a home to maintain, he
stopped making ironing boards and ladders. He instead turned to
cheap wooden items like toys. He made cars, airplanes, and animals,
all handcrafted and all built to last. But that new
venture didn't go too well either. In fact, his brother's
promised to help him out of bankruptcy on the condition
(06:34):
that he stopped making toys, but ol A just couldn't.
He loved it too much. But after a while business
began to turn around. In fact, one of his most
popular sellers was a wooden duck on wheels that would
open and close its beak as it was pulled along
by its string. When World War two arrived, it brought
even more hardships to Ole's workshop. The first was a
(06:55):
lack of natural materials to make his toys. With war
efforts had rendered wood unavailable, which meant no more quacking ducks,
and the other problem was a second fire, which had
reduced his workshop to ash once again. But Ola did
what he always did. He rebuilt it bigger and better
than before, all with the help of his son, Gottfrid.
(07:15):
This time though, it wouldn't be a woodworking shop. You see,
a new technology had taken manufacturing by storm, and the
one time carpenter believed it was just the thing he
needed to save his business. It was called plastic injection molding.
With this new process, molten plastic was injected and pressed
into a hardened mold to create specific shapes. He had
(07:36):
seen the machine in action at a fair in Copenhagen.
After a brief demonstration, the operator handed Ol the fruits
of its labor, a small plastic object. It wasn't much,
but the potential was clear. He brought one of the
machines home and installed it in his factory, and then
began popping out simple trinkets like Teddy Bears and baby rattles.
(07:57):
In fact, it was a toy tractor that really put
a company on the map. For a while. At least,
business ebbed and flowed as one particular toys popularity faded
in favor of another. It was a lot for the
company to stay on top of. But on a trip
to England in the nineteen fifties, his son Gottfred met
the head of a major shopping center who explained a
(08:18):
problem to him. Kids needed a system. Toys at the
time didn't broaden a child's imagination. They were designed to
be played with a certain way until the child grew
bored and moved on to the next thing. And that's
when Gottfred remembered that first plastic item his father had
brought home from the fair that day, and with a
little tweaking, that Humble Toy Company developed their first big hit.
(08:41):
It was, as the Stranger has suggested, a system, one
that allowed children to make whatever they wanted, houses, rocket ships, airplanes,
all simply by combining the similar pieces to one another,
and kids never grew bored with it. Over the years,
the shape was modified to include an interlocking tube system
(09:03):
so that they would hold together better, and from there
the company skyrocketed. Their system of play has grown over
the decades into an empire of TV shows, movies, and
video games, as well as an endless library of physical
play sets featuring popular characters from every facet of pop culture.
But it all started with a simple plastic toy and
(09:25):
an even simpler company motto. Translated into English, the Danish
phrase meant play well, but ole A Kirk Christiansen thought
it might work as his company name too, so he
combined the words into one, and in doing so built
one of the largest toy companies in the world, one
brick at a time. Its name Lego. I hope you've
(09:49):
enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe
for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the
show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was
created by me Aaron Mankie 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
(10:12):
learn all about it over at the World of Lore
dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,
Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production
of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world
is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an
open book, all of these amazing tales are right there
on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to
(00:26):
the Cabinet of Curiosities. When building a house, it's important
for a contractor to account for such things as the
size of the room, whether the doorways are tall enough,
and if there's space in the kitchen for a dishwasher.
(00:47):
One thing most people don't think about, though, is how
much weight the floors can handle. Put too many bookshelves
on the second floor, and you're liable to wind up
with a library in your living room. Perhaps the people
of Airfort, Germany should have considered that as well. Airfort
can trace its roots all the way back to the
Paleolithic era around a hundred thousand years ago, but i
(01:07):
wasn't formalized into an actual city until the eighth century.
It was a popular destination during the Middle Ages, as
it was located near a major river and was part
of a cluster of towns involved in the lucrative wode
plant trade. Airfort may have come from humble beginnings, but
its history would be forged in the fires a tragedy.
During World War Two, for example, it was the site
(01:28):
of two dozen air raids which killed over six hundred people.
The city has seen countless acts of war, violence and loss.
For some of the earliest evidence of its devastating past, though,
look no further than the Church of St. Peter, which
became the venue of a grizzly and baffling tragedy in
four during the late twelfth century air for it was
(01:50):
under the rule of King Henry the sixth. He was
a powerful and influential leader who would go on to
capture England's Richard the Lion Hearts and rule Sicily. Later
in life. He also had to settle the occasional land
dispute between German nobility and Roman Catholic leadership. Henry's cousin,
Duke Ludwig the Third, had a bone to pick with
a man named Conrad of Vittelsbach, who was the Archbishop
(02:13):
of Mints. They were on opposite sides both philosophically and geographically.
Conrad had started building a castle near Ludwig's borders and
Henry's cousin believed it to be a show of aggression,
except the only reason that Conrad had started building his
castle in the first place was because he feared that
Ludwig was planning to attack his territory. Regardless of who
(02:34):
started it, King Henry had decided to finish it. He
was on his way to Poland as part of a
military campaign, and so he decided to stop an effort
to bring his territorial spat to an end. He chose St.
Peter's Church as the location for the mediation. Being the
oldest building in the city, the church was a prominent
part of air Fort history, providing a serene and understated
(02:57):
backdrop for the day's events. At least that way is
the idea. On July, nobles from both sides gathered in
the church to support their leaders and to defend their
position before the King. Ludwig, Conrad, and over a hundred
interested parties were all ushered into the room where King
Henry waited. Then Conrad and the King stepped into a
(03:17):
private room to talk, after which Ludwig would get a
similar opportunity. Now, while Conrad and Henry talked first, Ludwig
waited with the rest of the crowd, people naturally split
off into smaller groups, at which point a strange combination
of factors all converged at once. The weights of the crowd,
combined with the rotting wooden beams beneath them, resulted in
(03:40):
a complete collapse of the floor. Almost everyone plunged straight
down into the latrines below the church, all of which
fed into a cesspool that was filled to the brim
with excrements. The King and Conrad managed to hold onto
the frame of a nearby stained glass window until someone
was able to get them down. Ludwig also survived, although
(04:02):
no one is quite sure how. Meanwhile, over sixty of
the noblemen lost their lives in the accident. Some died
on impact, but most were believed to have drowned in
the giant hole of liquid feces beneath the church. Today
it's known as the Air for Latrine Disaster, an important
event in the city's history in one with a pretty
(04:24):
crappy ending. Companies facing tough times often tend to pivot
to stay afloat. A bookstore might sell coffee to bring
in new customers, or a startup might change their business
(04:46):
entirely if they find the competition too fierce, But it
was tragedy that struck Carpenter and forced him to change
his business one piece at a time. Ola had started
a modest woodworking business and mark back in nineteen sixteen.
He did well for himself, selling everyday tools such as
ladders and ironing boards. However, the small village he lived
(05:08):
in was a little off the beaten path and didn't
get electricity for some time. Without power, Ola often lit
his workshop with lamps and kept warm during the winter
months by lighting a stove or a fireplace. One day
in nineteen twenty four, while his sons were playing in
the shop, they accidentally set fire to a pile of
wood shavings. It's set off a blaze that destroyed everything,
(05:30):
including the building, even the raw wood and his finished products.
But Ola persevered and rebuilt his workshop even better than before.
Things ran smoothly for several years after that, it all
seemed to come together. It seemed business might be looking
up for him. Sadly, just as he was getting his
head above water, the Wall Street crash of nineteen nine
(05:52):
would pull him back under the waves. The Great Depression
had found its way to his little town and to
make matters worse, his wife passed away a few years
later in ninety two, the carpenter and recent widower had
a decision to make. Could he close his shop and
walk away from his company, or maybe he could pivot
and find a new way to bring in business. With
(06:13):
young mouths to feed and a home to maintain, he
stopped making ironing boards and ladders. He instead turned to
cheap wooden items like toys. He made cars, airplanes, and animals,
all handcrafted and all built to last. But that new
venture didn't go too well either. In fact, his brother's
promised to help him out of bankruptcy on the condition
(06:34):
that he stopped making toys, but ol A just couldn't.
He loved it too much. But after a while business
began to turn around. In fact, one of his most
popular sellers was a wooden duck on wheels that would
open and close its beak as it was pulled along
by its string. When World War two arrived, it brought
even more hardships to Ole's workshop. The first was a
(06:55):
lack of natural materials to make his toys. With war
efforts had rendered wood unavailable, which meant no more quacking ducks,
and the other problem was a second fire, which had
reduced his workshop to ash once again. But Ola did
what he always did. He rebuilt it bigger and better
than before, all with the help of his son, Gottfrid.
(07:15):
This time though, it wouldn't be a woodworking shop. You see,
a new technology had taken manufacturing by storm, and the
one time carpenter believed it was just the thing he
needed to save his business. It was called plastic injection molding.
With this new process, molten plastic was injected and pressed
into a hardened mold to create specific shapes. He had
(07:36):
seen the machine in action at a fair in Copenhagen.
After a brief demonstration, the operator handed Ol the fruits
of its labor, a small plastic object. It wasn't much,
but the potential was clear. He brought one of the
machines home and installed it in his factory, and then
began popping out simple trinkets like Teddy Bears and baby rattles.
(07:57):
In fact, it was a toy tractor that really put
a company on the map. For a while. At least,
business ebbed and flowed as one particular toys popularity faded
in favor of another. It was a lot for the
company to stay on top of. But on a trip
to England in the nineteen fifties, his son Gottfred met
the head of a major shopping center who explained a
(08:18):
problem to him. Kids needed a system. Toys at the
time didn't broaden a child's imagination. They were designed to
be played with a certain way until the child grew
bored and moved on to the next thing. And that's
when Gottfred remembered that first plastic item his father had
brought home from the fair that day, and with a
little tweaking, that Humble Toy Company developed their first big hit.
(08:41):
It was, as the Stranger has suggested, a system, one
that allowed children to make whatever they wanted, houses, rocket ships, airplanes,
all simply by combining the similar pieces to one another,
and kids never grew bored with it. Over the years,
the shape was modified to include an interlocking tube system
(09:03):
so that they would hold together better, and from there
the company skyrocketed. Their system of play has grown over
the decades into an empire of TV shows, movies, and
video games, as well as an endless library of physical
play sets featuring popular characters from every facet of pop culture.
But it all started with a simple plastic toy and
(09:25):
an even simpler company motto. Translated into English, the Danish
phrase meant play well, but ole A Kirk Christiansen thought
it might work as his company name too, so he
combined the words into one, and in doing so built
one of the largest toy companies in the world, one
brick at a time. Its name Lego. I hope you've
(09:49):
enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe
for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the
show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was
created by me Aaron Mankie 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
(10:12):
learn all about it over at the World of Lore
dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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