October 12, 2023 • 10 mins
One that that has always fascinated us is the way some people can transform themselves. And for our tour today, you'll get to learn about two powerful examples.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 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.
(00:36):
Eugene Frecois Vidoc was a scoundrel born in seventeen seventy
five in Airiss, France. He was never interested in following
his father's footsteps as a baker. Instead, he rebelled, beginning
his life of crime. At the tender age of thirteen,
Little Eugene stole all of his family's silver cutlery, sold it,
and spent every cent that he got that same day.
(00:58):
His parents were understandably show and hoping to nip such
delinquency in the bud, they enrolled their teenager in a
reformatory school. Eugene came back home a few weeks later,
purporting to be completely reformed, but his good behavior only
lasted about a year. At the age of fourteen, he
was taking a fencing lesson when he killed his instructor,
(01:18):
which is a big leap from stealing spoons, I know,
but seeing as this happened about two hundred and fifty
years ago, nobody really knows the specific details. It might
have been an accident, but if so, Eugene didn't own
up to his deadly mistake. Instead, he stole his parents'
life savings and ran away, hoping to sail to America
and start a new life. Unfortunately for Eugene, his escape
(01:41):
plan quickly soured. He lost all the money. It's not
clear how, but before he even made it out of
France it was gone. Unable to face his family, he
spent the next two years working as a circus performer
slash traveling salesman before enlisting in the army at the
age of sixteen. There, Eugene gained a reputation as a
man who was quick to argue and even quicker to
(02:03):
demand a duel. He took up arms against at least
fifteen of his fellow frenchmen, killing two of them. All
of this could apparently be forgiven, but when Eugene full
on hit his commander, he was forced to leave the army.
At this point, now Eugene was eighteen, and for the
next fifteen years he did whatever he had to to
get by. He had love affairs with women from the
(02:24):
very bottom to the very top of social hierarchy. He
enlisted in the army multiple times under false identities, usually
being promptly discovered and kicked out. He got into bar
fights and committed petty crimes. Eugene was always in and
out of jail, although mostly out. He mastered the art
of disguise and learned how to escape from practically every
(02:45):
prison in Paris. But as he reached his thirties, Eugene
grew tired of running and scheming. He wanted to turn
over a new leaf. In eighteen oh nine, at thirty
three years old, he turned himself into the authorities. But
there was a catch. Eugene told the friend police he
would not go back to jail as a prisoner, but
rather as a secret government informant for the police. This
(03:07):
was a huge opportunity. Eugene was a slippery criminal who
they couldn't manage to keep behind bars, but if he
was willing to work for them instead of against them,
well it could be the beginning of a beautiful, if
unlikely partnership. The police took Eugene up on his offer
and for the next twenty one months, the criminal turn
cop supplied them with info from inside prison walls. He
(03:30):
then got official permission to fake a prison escape so
he could continue his work on the streets. There, Eugene
organized in undercover crime fighting units made up entirely of
his old criminal contacts. And I know what you're thinking,
how effective could they possibly have been? Well, by one account,
they helped lower crime rates in Paris by around forty percent.
(03:51):
They were fantastic at their jobs precisely because they'd spent
so many years skirting the law. They knew the tricks
that criminals pulled, so they knew how to catch and start. Heck,
at one point, Napoleon soon signed a degree making the
group an official law enforcement brigade known as the National
Security in English. From there, Eugene worked his way up
in French law enforcement, pioneering all kinds of investigative techniques
(04:15):
that we take for granted today, for example, undercover detective work,
criminal records, ballistic testing, shoe print analysis, forensic fingerprinting. These
were all Eugene's ideas. Eugene Vydac was the first modern detective.
Eventually he became an esteem member of French society and
rubbed shoulders with some very important people like Victor Hugo,
(04:38):
the author of Les Misrah Hugo based the characters of
Jean Valjean and Inspector Jauvert off of Eugene, and Eugene's
literary influence didn't stop there. Edgar Allan Poe referenced him
in the short story The Murders in the Room Morgue,
which is considered the first ever detective tale. Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle modeled Sherlock Holmes partially after Eugene, and Agatha
(05:00):
Christie was so inspired by the Frenchman that she went
on to create one of the most recognizable French speaking
investigators in literature, her Cule Poirot. Eugene Francoisse Doc lived
a crazy, curious life, but despite his flawed beginnings, he
influenced detective work for the better and inspired characters we
(05:21):
wouldn't want to live without. It can be very tempting.
A locked door, a warning sign in bright red letters
saying stay out or no admittance. It's natural to want
(05:44):
to peek behind the curtain, to go where we're not
meant to go. What's on the other side? Why are
we not allowed in there. But as enticing as it
may be to sneak inside and have a look for ourselves,
most of us will never take that step. The last
thing we want is to get caught breaking and entering.
But James Connolly didn't worry about such things. If he
(06:04):
wanted in, he would find a way. Connolly was born
in eighteen sixty nine in Massachusetts. His parents and sister
died when he was only ten years old, and he
was sent to live in an orphanage. Over the years,
he developed a keen sense for navigating the streets, finding
his way into spaces where he wasn't allowed or wanted.
When he got older, Connolly was known around town as
(06:27):
One Eye, on account of having lost one of his
eyes when he was only eighteen. It's what cost him
a career as a professional boxer, but he still loved
watching the matches anyway. He would even travel out of
state to watch certain fights, like the time he went
to New Orleans to see John L. Sullivan and gentleman
Jim Corbett battle it out in eighteen ninety two. He
showed up at the gates without a penny in his pocket.
(06:48):
Thinking on his feet, he gave the guard a story
about having a message for Sullivan from his brother. The gatekeeper,
thinking nothing of it, led him through and escorted him
to the boxer's prep area. Connolly came about the lie,
but Sullivan didn't kick him out. He admired his gumption
and let him watch the match anyway. From there, Connolly
only got more brazen in his deceptions. He would flash
(07:10):
a fake press badge at the door, or haul a
block of ice into a venue, claiming that he was
delivering it to a concession stand. He even wore the
uniform of an ambulance driver and made up a story
about responding to an emergency inside the building. The one
particular ruse involved Connolly dressing up as a painter and
pretending to paint a stadium. He asked a guard where
(07:31):
he should paint next, and was instructed to go inside
and ask the person in charge. Of course, someone as
notable as James Connolly soon found himself recognized at every
gate he tried to crash. Gatekeepers and guards were on
the lookout, ready to pounce on the wily one eyed
weasel as he tried to slip inside every arena, theater,
and stadium without pain. One time in Jersey City, New Jersey,
(07:54):
he was stopped from crashing a boxing match thirteen times
before he picked up a coffee jug and a back
full of sandwiches and made his way through the fourteenth
Gate unnoticed. In his later years, though, he moved to Chicago,
a new city full of new possibilities. It was there
where he truly became famous too, especially for one particular
businessman named Andy Frayn. You see, frain supplied venues with
(08:17):
ushers and other staff for games and matches of all kinds,
and there was Connolly trying to find new ways to
breach the perimeter of each of those places. But it
wasn't about the money. Connolly often took random jobs here
and there to make ends meet. He worked as a
waiter for a short time, as well as an elevator attendant.
I guess my point is that he didn't need to
(08:39):
sneak inside. He could have bought a ticket, and so
for a long time he would find his way into
an arena or a theater inevitably staffed by Frayne, and
each time he would be discovered and kicked out, But
eventually Frayne stopped fighting him. There were other gate crashers
to stop, and what better way to catch them than
to put the best one on the payroll. Oh Frayne
(09:00):
hired Connolly as a gatekeeper himself, sticking him at one
of the entryways to Wrigley Field during a World Series
game in nineteen forty five. It was a game between
the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. Then on that day,
one man tried to push his way into the stadium
without a ticket, but Connolly wouldn't have it. He knew
all of the tricks well except for one. The man
(09:22):
he was keeping out was Philip Wrigley, the owner of
the Cubs and the man whose family name was on
the building. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune,
Connolly just sneered and said, that's for the birds, please
go away. James Connolly died in nineteen fifty three at
the age of eighty four. When asked about his late acquaintance,
(09:44):
mister Frayn said, I will give you eight to one
that he crashes the pearly gates. I'd like to see
Saint Peter keep him out. 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 by
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. This show was created by
(10:08):
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 Worldoflore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 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.
(00:36):
Eugene Frecois Vidoc was a scoundrel born in seventeen seventy
five in Airiss, France. He was never interested in following
his father's footsteps as a baker. Instead, he rebelled, beginning
his life of crime. At the tender age of thirteen,
Little Eugene stole all of his family's silver cutlery, sold it,
and spent every cent that he got that same day.
(00:58):
His parents were understandably show and hoping to nip such
delinquency in the bud, they enrolled their teenager in a
reformatory school. Eugene came back home a few weeks later,
purporting to be completely reformed, but his good behavior only
lasted about a year. At the age of fourteen, he
was taking a fencing lesson when he killed his instructor,
(01:18):
which is a big leap from stealing spoons, I know,
but seeing as this happened about two hundred and fifty
years ago, nobody really knows the specific details. It might
have been an accident, but if so, Eugene didn't own
up to his deadly mistake. Instead, he stole his parents'
life savings and ran away, hoping to sail to America
and start a new life. Unfortunately for Eugene, his escape
(01:41):
plan quickly soured. He lost all the money. It's not
clear how, but before he even made it out of
France it was gone. Unable to face his family, he
spent the next two years working as a circus performer
slash traveling salesman before enlisting in the army at the
age of sixteen. There, Eugene gained a reputation as a
man who was quick to argue and even quicker to
(02:03):
demand a duel. He took up arms against at least
fifteen of his fellow frenchmen, killing two of them. All
of this could apparently be forgiven, but when Eugene full
on hit his commander, he was forced to leave the army.
At this point, now Eugene was eighteen, and for the
next fifteen years he did whatever he had to to
get by. He had love affairs with women from the
(02:24):
very bottom to the very top of social hierarchy. He
enlisted in the army multiple times under false identities, usually
being promptly discovered and kicked out. He got into bar
fights and committed petty crimes. Eugene was always in and
out of jail, although mostly out. He mastered the art
of disguise and learned how to escape from practically every
(02:45):
prison in Paris. But as he reached his thirties, Eugene
grew tired of running and scheming. He wanted to turn
over a new leaf. In eighteen oh nine, at thirty
three years old, he turned himself into the authorities. But
there was a catch. Eugene told the friend police he
would not go back to jail as a prisoner, but
rather as a secret government informant for the police. This
(03:07):
was a huge opportunity. Eugene was a slippery criminal who
they couldn't manage to keep behind bars, but if he
was willing to work for them instead of against them,
well it could be the beginning of a beautiful, if
unlikely partnership. The police took Eugene up on his offer
and for the next twenty one months, the criminal turn
cop supplied them with info from inside prison walls. He
(03:30):
then got official permission to fake a prison escape so
he could continue his work on the streets. There, Eugene
organized in undercover crime fighting units made up entirely of
his old criminal contacts. And I know what you're thinking,
how effective could they possibly have been? Well, by one account,
they helped lower crime rates in Paris by around forty percent.
(03:51):
They were fantastic at their jobs precisely because they'd spent
so many years skirting the law. They knew the tricks
that criminals pulled, so they knew how to catch and start. Heck,
at one point, Napoleon soon signed a degree making the
group an official law enforcement brigade known as the National
Security in English. From there, Eugene worked his way up
in French law enforcement, pioneering all kinds of investigative techniques
(04:15):
that we take for granted today, for example, undercover detective work,
criminal records, ballistic testing, shoe print analysis, forensic fingerprinting. These
were all Eugene's ideas. Eugene Vydac was the first modern detective.
Eventually he became an esteem member of French society and
rubbed shoulders with some very important people like Victor Hugo,
(04:38):
the author of Les Misrah Hugo based the characters of
Jean Valjean and Inspector Jauvert off of Eugene, and Eugene's
literary influence didn't stop there. Edgar Allan Poe referenced him
in the short story The Murders in the Room Morgue,
which is considered the first ever detective tale. Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle modeled Sherlock Holmes partially after Eugene, and Agatha
(05:00):
Christie was so inspired by the Frenchman that she went
on to create one of the most recognizable French speaking
investigators in literature, her Cule Poirot. Eugene Francoisse Doc lived
a crazy, curious life, but despite his flawed beginnings, he
influenced detective work for the better and inspired characters we
(05:21):
wouldn't want to live without. It can be very tempting.
A locked door, a warning sign in bright red letters
saying stay out or no admittance. It's natural to want
(05:44):
to peek behind the curtain, to go where we're not
meant to go. What's on the other side? Why are
we not allowed in there. But as enticing as it
may be to sneak inside and have a look for ourselves,
most of us will never take that step. The last
thing we want is to get caught breaking and entering.
But James Connolly didn't worry about such things. If he
(06:04):
wanted in, he would find a way. Connolly was born
in eighteen sixty nine in Massachusetts. His parents and sister
died when he was only ten years old, and he
was sent to live in an orphanage. Over the years,
he developed a keen sense for navigating the streets, finding
his way into spaces where he wasn't allowed or wanted.
When he got older, Connolly was known around town as
(06:27):
One Eye, on account of having lost one of his
eyes when he was only eighteen. It's what cost him
a career as a professional boxer, but he still loved
watching the matches anyway. He would even travel out of
state to watch certain fights, like the time he went
to New Orleans to see John L. Sullivan and gentleman
Jim Corbett battle it out in eighteen ninety two. He
showed up at the gates without a penny in his pocket.
(06:48):
Thinking on his feet, he gave the guard a story
about having a message for Sullivan from his brother. The gatekeeper,
thinking nothing of it, led him through and escorted him
to the boxer's prep area. Connolly came about the lie,
but Sullivan didn't kick him out. He admired his gumption
and let him watch the match anyway. From there, Connolly
only got more brazen in his deceptions. He would flash
(07:10):
a fake press badge at the door, or haul a
block of ice into a venue, claiming that he was
delivering it to a concession stand. He even wore the
uniform of an ambulance driver and made up a story
about responding to an emergency inside the building. The one
particular ruse involved Connolly dressing up as a painter and
pretending to paint a stadium. He asked a guard where
(07:31):
he should paint next, and was instructed to go inside
and ask the person in charge. Of course, someone as
notable as James Connolly soon found himself recognized at every
gate he tried to crash. Gatekeepers and guards were on
the lookout, ready to pounce on the wily one eyed
weasel as he tried to slip inside every arena, theater,
and stadium without pain. One time in Jersey City, New Jersey,
(07:54):
he was stopped from crashing a boxing match thirteen times
before he picked up a coffee jug and a back
full of sandwiches and made his way through the fourteenth
Gate unnoticed. In his later years, though, he moved to Chicago,
a new city full of new possibilities. It was there
where he truly became famous too, especially for one particular
businessman named Andy Frayn. You see, frain supplied venues with
(08:17):
ushers and other staff for games and matches of all kinds,
and there was Connolly trying to find new ways to
breach the perimeter of each of those places. But it
wasn't about the money. Connolly often took random jobs here
and there to make ends meet. He worked as a
waiter for a short time, as well as an elevator attendant.
I guess my point is that he didn't need to
(08:39):
sneak inside. He could have bought a ticket, and so
for a long time he would find his way into
an arena or a theater inevitably staffed by Frayne, and
each time he would be discovered and kicked out, But
eventually Frayne stopped fighting him. There were other gate crashers
to stop, and what better way to catch them than
to put the best one on the payroll. Oh Frayne
(09:00):
hired Connolly as a gatekeeper himself, sticking him at one
of the entryways to Wrigley Field during a World Series
game in nineteen forty five. It was a game between
the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. Then on that day,
one man tried to push his way into the stadium
without a ticket, but Connolly wouldn't have it. He knew
all of the tricks well except for one. The man
(09:22):
he was keeping out was Philip Wrigley, the owner of
the Cubs and the man whose family name was on
the building. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune,
Connolly just sneered and said, that's for the birds, please
go away. James Connolly died in nineteen fifty three at
the age of eighty four. When asked about his late acquaintance,
(09:44):
mister Frayn said, I will give you eight to one
that he crashes the pearly gates. I'd like to see
Saint Peter keep him out. 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 by
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. This show was created by
(10:08):
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 Worldoflore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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