May 10, 2022 • 9 mins
Unlikely characters make an appearance on today's tour through the curious.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcomed Aaron Mankey's Cabinet of Curiosities, 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 the Cabinet
(00:27):
of Curiosities. The job of a research scientist can be
pretty thankless. For every major breakthrough and miracle cure, there
are countless studies conducted that go nowhere, yield middling results,
or fly under the radar. But those studies and the
(00:49):
documentation of them are necessary if we ever hope to
move science forward. Yet, in one scientist and his assistant
authored a paper that didn't just influence the field of physics,
it made one of them famous for years to come.
Jack H. Heatherington taught physics at Michigan State University back
in the nineteen seventies. He'd been studying how helium behaved
(01:12):
when subjected to different temperatures and wrote a paper on
his findings. He'd done all the work himself, but when
he gave the paper to a colleague for their opinion,
they noted something odd about how it was written, Heatherington
kept referring to we instead of I throughout the paper.
He had his reasons, of course, For one, egos were
high in the scientific community. If a paper shared multiple authors,
(01:35):
one author couldn't stand above the others and gain attention
in their field. To The pay structure for a paper
was different when multiple authors were involved. Unfortunately, Heatherington couldn't
write it on a computer. He'd done it on a typewriter,
and fixing the mistake would have required him to manually
retype the entire thing. But he also didn't want to
(01:56):
share credit with anyone else, so he held out on
ad in another name to the title page. But after
thinking it over one night, Heatherington's gutt told him that
he had to get it published sooner or rather than later.
He was left without any other option and gave in,
writing down the first name he could think of, his
assistant Professor Willard. The scientific paper, titled two three and
(02:20):
four ADAM Exchange Effects in B C C three h E,
was submitted to Physical Review Letters, a major physics journal.
He was listed as having men co authored by J. H.
Heatherington's and F. D. C. Willard, and it was finally
published in November of nine. At first, no one batted
an eye at the additional name. The assistant didn't mind either.
(02:43):
Then someone came knocking. A visitor asked to speak with
Heatherington about his paper, but the author couldn't do it
at the time, so the visitor asked to speak to
Willard instead, That too, was impossible. Even more suspicious was
the time when Heatherington and Willard had to sign copies
of their paper. One such copy made its way to France,
where a physics conference was being held in ninety eight.
(03:06):
Conference organizers had wanted to invite Willard to speak at
the event, but after taking one look at his signature,
they rescinded the invitation. They also barred Heatherington's from speaking
as well, and, as if things couldn't get any worse,
rumors started to spread about Professor Willard. According to the gossip,
Heatherington's wife was allowing Willard to sleep in their bed
(03:27):
at night, starting a scandal within the scientific community. In reality, though,
there was nothing to worry about. Heatherington's had no problem
sharing the bed with both his wife and his assistant,
not when that assistant was so soft and cuddly. F DC.
Willard's name was actually Feliss Domesticus Chester Willard, the term
(03:48):
felis domesticus meaning common house cats. The cats whose real
name was Chester had been sired by his father, Willard,
and so the nomina plume was born. Heatherington's never regretted
his decision, In fact, it made him kind of a
celebrity around the university and among his fellow physicists and
Professor Willard went on to author another paper in nineteen eighty,
(04:10):
this one written in French. The real authors, Heatherington being
one of them, couldn't agree on the veracity of the
content within, so Heatherington's offered F. DC Willard as a
stand in for all of them. This way, if anything
was found to be incorrect, it wouldn't come back to
haunt them or their reputations, and his poor cat could
take all the blame. Willard lived to the rifled age
(04:33):
of fourteen, passing away in nineteen eighty two. He left
a lasting impact on the field of physics, and his
papers are still quoted today. And if you want to
know if the paper you're reading was actually co written
by one Professor F. D. C. Willard, all you have
to do is look for his unique signature, an inky
pop print in the middle of the page. They say,
(05:09):
never go grocery shopping while you're hungry. You're liable to
buy more than you need to satisfy your cravings. It
might be better to channel that hunger into something more productive.
And that's what one resourceful man did in nineteen sixty four.
But our story actually begins before then, back in the
nineteenth century. You see. You might not realize it, but
a lot of the candy that we enjoy today got
(05:30):
its start over a hundred years ago. For example, Good
and Plenty licorice was created in Philadelphia way back in
eight and annual visitors to the Jersey Shore might buy
a bag of saltwater taffy for their return trip home,
unaware that the chewy treats was first made in Atlantic
City in the eighteen eighties. Much of the candy sold
(05:51):
during this time was also known as penny candy, sold
for a penny apiece in drug stores and five and dimes.
Clerks would scoop out various treats from glass containers and
then dumped them into bags, meaning the candy was often
sold in bulk rather than individually. For one cent per units,
and at least one of those candies is still produced
to this day. It's a squishy, orange colored combination of sugar, corn, syrup,
(06:15):
pectin and other ingredients that have been formed into the
shape of a common peanut. Bite into one, and your
taste buds are immediately flooded with a flavor that has
been described by some as dishonorable banana. Now. Over the years,
Circus peanuts took on different flavors like orange and we're
only sold during certain times of the year since keeping
(06:36):
them fresh was difficult, But as cellophane packaging took off
in the nineteen forties, they became more widely available and
in different colors too, such as yellow and white. Though
Circus peanuts are still sold today, their popularity has dwindled
when compared to such modern confections like Skittles, Eminem's Nerds,
and even the True and Tried candy bar. But John
(06:57):
Hallohan saw the value in Circus peanuts over fifty years
ago while he was serving as the vice president of
General Mills. The company was looking to bolster its roster
of breakfast cereals. A new cereal, especially something unlike anything else.
They were making at the time would have been expensive
to produce. It would have required research and testing and
(07:17):
new machines, all things that General Mills didn't want to
spend money on, so instead, they framed their new initiative
as a challenge, using the company's existing manufacturing capabilities for
things like cheerios and wheaties. Employees were encouraged to create
something brand new, and they were given six months. Hallahan
started researching, beginning with a box of cheerios. Along the way,
(07:41):
he came across a pack of circus peanuts, and that's
when he saw the whole picture. He took the cheerios
and the banana candy and got to work. Little by little,
Hallohan cut up the circus peanuts into tiny pieces, which
he sprinkled over a bowl full of cereal. His idea
was a hit, and General Mills put the concept into production.
(08:01):
The marshmallow pieces were referred to as marbits, while the
oat pieces came in shapes like bells and arrowheads. General
Mills even brought on an advertising company to help sell
the new cereal to the masses, and they decided to
market it around a popular fashion trend at the time,
charm bracelets over time, the cereal changed to adapt to
(08:22):
the changing tastes of the people who ate it, namely children.
The plain oat cereal was eventually coated in sugar, and
the marshmallow shapes were changed as well. But walk through
any grocery store today and you're certain to spot a
familiar red box. Those hearts, stars, horseshoes, Clover's blue moons,
golden rainbows, and red balloons that all got their start
(08:44):
as circus peanuts in nineteen sixty four have stuck around
as one of the most famous breakfast cereals around and
possibly the most famous leprechaun as well, Lucky Charms. I
hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
(09:06):
the show 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. Yeah,
Welcomed Aaron Mankey's Cabinet of Curiosities, 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 the Cabinet
(00:27):
of Curiosities. The job of a research scientist can be
pretty thankless. For every major breakthrough and miracle cure, there
are countless studies conducted that go nowhere, yield middling results,
or fly under the radar. But those studies and the
(00:49):
documentation of them are necessary if we ever hope to
move science forward. Yet, in one scientist and his assistant
authored a paper that didn't just influence the field of physics,
it made one of them famous for years to come.
Jack H. Heatherington taught physics at Michigan State University back
in the nineteen seventies. He'd been studying how helium behaved
(01:12):
when subjected to different temperatures and wrote a paper on
his findings. He'd done all the work himself, but when
he gave the paper to a colleague for their opinion,
they noted something odd about how it was written, Heatherington
kept referring to we instead of I throughout the paper.
He had his reasons, of course, For one, egos were
high in the scientific community. If a paper shared multiple authors,
(01:35):
one author couldn't stand above the others and gain attention
in their field. To The pay structure for a paper
was different when multiple authors were involved. Unfortunately, Heatherington couldn't
write it on a computer. He'd done it on a typewriter,
and fixing the mistake would have required him to manually
retype the entire thing. But he also didn't want to
(01:56):
share credit with anyone else, so he held out on
ad in another name to the title page. But after
thinking it over one night, Heatherington's gutt told him that
he had to get it published sooner or rather than later.
He was left without any other option and gave in,
writing down the first name he could think of, his
assistant Professor Willard. The scientific paper, titled two three and
(02:20):
four ADAM Exchange Effects in B C C three h E,
was submitted to Physical Review Letters, a major physics journal.
He was listed as having men co authored by J. H.
Heatherington's and F. D. C. Willard, and it was finally
published in November of nine. At first, no one batted
an eye at the additional name. The assistant didn't mind either.
(02:43):
Then someone came knocking. A visitor asked to speak with
Heatherington about his paper, but the author couldn't do it
at the time, so the visitor asked to speak to
Willard instead, That too, was impossible. Even more suspicious was
the time when Heatherington and Willard had to sign copies
of their paper. One such copy made its way to France,
where a physics conference was being held in ninety eight.
(03:06):
Conference organizers had wanted to invite Willard to speak at
the event, but after taking one look at his signature,
they rescinded the invitation. They also barred Heatherington's from speaking
as well, and, as if things couldn't get any worse,
rumors started to spread about Professor Willard. According to the gossip,
Heatherington's wife was allowing Willard to sleep in their bed
(03:27):
at night, starting a scandal within the scientific community. In reality, though,
there was nothing to worry about. Heatherington's had no problem
sharing the bed with both his wife and his assistant,
not when that assistant was so soft and cuddly. F DC.
Willard's name was actually Feliss Domesticus Chester Willard, the term
(03:48):
felis domesticus meaning common house cats. The cats whose real
name was Chester had been sired by his father, Willard,
and so the nomina plume was born. Heatherington's never regretted
his decision, In fact, it made him kind of a
celebrity around the university and among his fellow physicists and
Professor Willard went on to author another paper in nineteen eighty,
(04:10):
this one written in French. The real authors, Heatherington being
one of them, couldn't agree on the veracity of the
content within, so Heatherington's offered F. DC Willard as a
stand in for all of them. This way, if anything
was found to be incorrect, it wouldn't come back to
haunt them or their reputations, and his poor cat could
take all the blame. Willard lived to the rifled age
(04:33):
of fourteen, passing away in nineteen eighty two. He left
a lasting impact on the field of physics, and his
papers are still quoted today. And if you want to
know if the paper you're reading was actually co written
by one Professor F. D. C. Willard, all you have
to do is look for his unique signature, an inky
pop print in the middle of the page. They say,
(05:09):
never go grocery shopping while you're hungry. You're liable to
buy more than you need to satisfy your cravings. It
might be better to channel that hunger into something more productive.
And that's what one resourceful man did in nineteen sixty four.
But our story actually begins before then, back in the
nineteenth century. You see. You might not realize it, but
a lot of the candy that we enjoy today got
(05:30):
its start over a hundred years ago. For example, Good
and Plenty licorice was created in Philadelphia way back in
eight and annual visitors to the Jersey Shore might buy
a bag of saltwater taffy for their return trip home,
unaware that the chewy treats was first made in Atlantic
City in the eighteen eighties. Much of the candy sold
(05:51):
during this time was also known as penny candy, sold
for a penny apiece in drug stores and five and dimes.
Clerks would scoop out various treats from glass containers and
then dumped them into bags, meaning the candy was often
sold in bulk rather than individually. For one cent per units,
and at least one of those candies is still produced
to this day. It's a squishy, orange colored combination of sugar, corn, syrup,
(06:15):
pectin and other ingredients that have been formed into the
shape of a common peanut. Bite into one, and your
taste buds are immediately flooded with a flavor that has
been described by some as dishonorable banana. Now. Over the years,
Circus peanuts took on different flavors like orange and we're
only sold during certain times of the year since keeping
(06:36):
them fresh was difficult, But as cellophane packaging took off
in the nineteen forties, they became more widely available and
in different colors too, such as yellow and white. Though
Circus peanuts are still sold today, their popularity has dwindled
when compared to such modern confections like Skittles, Eminem's Nerds,
and even the True and Tried candy bar. But John
(06:57):
Hallohan saw the value in Circus peanuts over fifty years
ago while he was serving as the vice president of
General Mills. The company was looking to bolster its roster
of breakfast cereals. A new cereal, especially something unlike anything else.
They were making at the time would have been expensive
to produce. It would have required research and testing and
(07:17):
new machines, all things that General Mills didn't want to
spend money on, so instead, they framed their new initiative
as a challenge, using the company's existing manufacturing capabilities for
things like cheerios and wheaties. Employees were encouraged to create
something brand new, and they were given six months. Hallahan
started researching, beginning with a box of cheerios. Along the way,
(07:41):
he came across a pack of circus peanuts, and that's
when he saw the whole picture. He took the cheerios
and the banana candy and got to work. Little by little,
Hallohan cut up the circus peanuts into tiny pieces, which
he sprinkled over a bowl full of cereal. His idea
was a hit, and General Mills put the concept into production.
(08:01):
The marshmallow pieces were referred to as marbits, while the
oat pieces came in shapes like bells and arrowheads. General
Mills even brought on an advertising company to help sell
the new cereal to the masses, and they decided to
market it around a popular fashion trend at the time,
charm bracelets over time, the cereal changed to adapt to
(08:22):
the changing tastes of the people who ate it, namely children.
The plain oat cereal was eventually coated in sugar, and
the marshmallow shapes were changed as well. But walk through
any grocery store today and you're certain to spot a
familiar red box. Those hearts, stars, horseshoes, Clover's blue moons,
golden rainbows, and red balloons that all got their start
(08:44):
as circus peanuts in nineteen sixty four have stuck around
as one of the most famous breakfast cereals around and
possibly the most famous leprechaun as well, Lucky Charms. I
hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
(09:06):
the show 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. Yeah,
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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