February 7, 2019 • 9 mins
Sometimes the place you live is home to astounding natural features, while other times your country is responsible for something new. Let's learn about both, shall we?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
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 of Curiosities. Iceland doesn't have a
(00:29):
whole lot in common with the United States, but it
does share a few similarities. Like the US, It's home
to some of the most impressive and beautiful phenomena nature
has to offer. Stare into the sky during a solar
flare and you might catch the swirling greens and blues
of the Aurora borealis. Jump on a boat and watch
out for splashes from the tales of gentle humpbacks breaching
(00:51):
the water, or take a dip in the one degree
Blue Lagoon, a geo thermal spa forty minutes outside the capital.
Explore is looking for more of a thrill, however, can
venture into Thing their national Park. It boasts the longest
mountain range on Earth, set atop of constantly shifting landscape.
In fact, the land actually moves two centimeters every year,
(01:14):
which results in falling rocks and landslides that can prove
dangerous for careless divers. Yes, I said divers as It
turns out the mountain range known as the mid Atlantic
Ridge rests under the clear blue waters of the Silfra Crack.
Silfra is actually a fissure caused by the separation of
the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in nine. The
(01:36):
resulting split caused melt water from a nearby glacier to
be filtered through porous underground lava for decades before filling
Sulfra's underground spring. That means the water is not just
safe to drink, it's also so clear you feel like
you're floating in air, though you won't find much in
terms of aquatic life there. While the Silfra Crack does
(01:58):
boast the cleanest water around, it's far too cold for
any aquatic wildlife to survive. Instead, the fish tend to
stick to a nearby lake where the temperatures are more
comfortable to live in. But there are two important attractions
that bring divers down into Sulfra. The first is the Cathedral,
which is a three thirty foot long underwater fissure in
(02:18):
the earth. It's not the length of the crack that's
so impressive, though, it's that the water is clear enough
to see from one end of the cathedral to the other,
as if the water wasn't even there. The other attraction
is one meant for more experienced divers. While tourists and
casual divers take it easy near the surface, those who
are brave enough can swim down into the crack, which
(02:40):
descends roughly sixty meters. Like I said before, the land
is always moving, almost like it's alive, and as the
plates shift, new tunnels and caves open up, providing divers
with new avenues of exploration. It's also much more dangerous
because of that Tunnels can close up at any moment,
Rocks can come loose and crush someone if they're not
(03:02):
paying attention. But if they make it down that far,
divers can see how the North American and Eurasian plates
have pulled apart over time. Oh and did you notice
anything special about those names? The North American Plate and
the Eurasian Plate. If you guess that they were part
of the North American and European continental landmasses, you would
(03:24):
be correct. What we see on a map is like
the tip of an iceberg. There's so much beneath the
water we never see, and if we did, it would
give us a greater understanding of just how large our
continents really are. Put another way, the crack is a
lot like the Four Corners in the American Southwest, where
a person can technically stand in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah,
(03:47):
and Colorado all at the same time, which is impressive,
I know, but not nearly as oppressive as what you
can do down in the Silfra Crack. Because they're brave,
divers can stand between two separate tectonic plates, stretch out
their arms and touch both sides. And since anyone who
does that is touching the very edge of both continents,
(04:11):
they are technically in North America and Europe at the
exact same moment. It's entirely possible, I assure you, but
at the same time, it is a bit of a stretch.
(04:36):
It's amazing how the threat of imminent danger can add
such clarity to our daily lives. When faced with the
serious threat, we're able to see what's truly important and
what can be disregarded to ensure our safety. Oftentimes, war
is the catalyst for such realizations, and for the people
who participated in World War One, that danger didn't just
(04:57):
add clarity, it also added a little engine uity. It
was called the Great War for a reason. The conflict
lasted for four years and stretched across almost all of Europe,
but its effects were especially felt in Great Britain. It
wasn't just that almost nine million British soldiers fought in
the trenches. If you were an average citizen in the
(05:19):
United Kingdom in nineteen fifteen, then you likely witnessed firsthand
the terrifying creation of Count von Zeppelin. This new weapon
of mass destruction, as you can probably guess, was an
enormous hydrogen filled aircraft, appropriately called the Zeppelin. It floated
above the streets of England late at night, its engines
(05:40):
thrumming in the ears of sleepy and frightened families below.
While the Zeppelin did drop bombs and caused quite a
bit of damage, that wasn't their intention. Their primary mission
was to instill fear in the British in order to
break the morale and pull them out of the war,
and it almost worked. People jumped out of their beds
with their clothes on their backs and dashed into smoke
(06:03):
filled streets littered with rubble buildings. Collapsed homes were destroyed.
Survivors of the Zeppelin raids recalled not knowing where the
danger ever really was, and whether they were running toward
it or away from it. Functioning on little sleep and
a sudden jolt of adrenaline, British citizens often found themselves
shivering in the street, wondering if and when the big
(06:25):
one would hit them next, or whether they'd have a
home to return to when it was all over. And
as the raids grew more and more frequent and people
began to expect them, fear quickly turned to embarrassment. After all,
folks were standing in public in their nightgowns and underwear,
something only their significant others were supposed to see. Women
(06:46):
began preparing the night before by hanging cloaks and scarves
by their door. Bald men had emergency to pays at
the ready. This was Britain in the early nineteen hundreds,
and social status was everything. What would the neighbors think
if one was caught looking less than their best, even
when the war was doing its worst. But there were
other problems with their choices of nighttime fashion. First, and
(07:10):
most importantly, they weren't that fashionable. A cloak was just
a big wearable blankets, and nobody wanted to look frumpy
in front of their friends. Second, running from explosions proved
incredibly difficult when one's legs were being restricted by long,
bulky coats, so they turned to the French, who had
been known to lounge around in comfortable, luxurious clothing when
(07:32):
they were waiting for the bombs to strike. It was
a solution that was breathable and stylish, So stylish, in fact,
that a British fashion editor at the time stated she
actually looked forward to the evening raids just so she
could show off her new black threads. Funny enough, this
new fashion trend quickly issued function for form. Rather than
(07:53):
keeping the colors dark so that targets were harder to spot.
During the night, colors lightened up from blacks and dark
blue is two pinks and reds. Sure, friends and their
neighbors could get a good look at them, but the
British didn't mind, and eventually the raids subsided as German
resources were needed elsewhere during the war. But they're hot.
New nighttime clothing only grew in popularity and we still
(08:18):
wear them today, though thankfully not for bombing raids. We
just wear them to relax in bed or in front
of the television while we binge our favorite shows. So
I guess we can thank the French and the British
for a lot of the things we still love today.
Sherlock Holmes, a good glass of wine, and of course, pajamas.
(08:42):
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.
The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership
with how Stuff Works. I make another ward winning show
called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show,
(09:05):
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 are
right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Iceland doesn't have a
(00:29):
whole lot in common with the United States, but it
does share a few similarities. Like the US, It's home
to some of the most impressive and beautiful phenomena nature
has to offer. Stare into the sky during a solar
flare and you might catch the swirling greens and blues
of the Aurora borealis. Jump on a boat and watch
out for splashes from the tales of gentle humpbacks breaching
(00:51):
the water, or take a dip in the one degree
Blue Lagoon, a geo thermal spa forty minutes outside the capital.
Explore is looking for more of a thrill, however, can
venture into Thing their national Park. It boasts the longest
mountain range on Earth, set atop of constantly shifting landscape.
In fact, the land actually moves two centimeters every year,
(01:14):
which results in falling rocks and landslides that can prove
dangerous for careless divers. Yes, I said divers as It
turns out the mountain range known as the mid Atlantic
Ridge rests under the clear blue waters of the Silfra Crack.
Silfra is actually a fissure caused by the separation of
the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in nine. The
(01:36):
resulting split caused melt water from a nearby glacier to
be filtered through porous underground lava for decades before filling
Sulfra's underground spring. That means the water is not just
safe to drink, it's also so clear you feel like
you're floating in air, though you won't find much in
terms of aquatic life there. While the Silfra Crack does
(01:58):
boast the cleanest water around, it's far too cold for
any aquatic wildlife to survive. Instead, the fish tend to
stick to a nearby lake where the temperatures are more
comfortable to live in. But there are two important attractions
that bring divers down into Sulfra. The first is the Cathedral,
which is a three thirty foot long underwater fissure in
(02:18):
the earth. It's not the length of the crack that's
so impressive, though, it's that the water is clear enough
to see from one end of the cathedral to the other,
as if the water wasn't even there. The other attraction
is one meant for more experienced divers. While tourists and
casual divers take it easy near the surface, those who
are brave enough can swim down into the crack, which
(02:40):
descends roughly sixty meters. Like I said before, the land
is always moving, almost like it's alive, and as the
plates shift, new tunnels and caves open up, providing divers
with new avenues of exploration. It's also much more dangerous
because of that Tunnels can close up at any moment,
Rocks can come loose and crush someone if they're not
(03:02):
paying attention. But if they make it down that far,
divers can see how the North American and Eurasian plates
have pulled apart over time. Oh and did you notice
anything special about those names? The North American Plate and
the Eurasian Plate. If you guess that they were part
of the North American and European continental landmasses, you would
(03:24):
be correct. What we see on a map is like
the tip of an iceberg. There's so much beneath the
water we never see, and if we did, it would
give us a greater understanding of just how large our
continents really are. Put another way, the crack is a
lot like the Four Corners in the American Southwest, where
a person can technically stand in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah,
(03:47):
and Colorado all at the same time, which is impressive,
I know, but not nearly as oppressive as what you
can do down in the Silfra Crack. Because they're brave,
divers can stand between two separate tectonic plates, stretch out
their arms and touch both sides. And since anyone who
does that is touching the very edge of both continents,
(04:11):
they are technically in North America and Europe at the
exact same moment. It's entirely possible, I assure you, but
at the same time, it is a bit of a stretch.
(04:36):
It's amazing how the threat of imminent danger can add
such clarity to our daily lives. When faced with the
serious threat, we're able to see what's truly important and
what can be disregarded to ensure our safety. Oftentimes, war
is the catalyst for such realizations, and for the people
who participated in World War One, that danger didn't just
(04:57):
add clarity, it also added a little engine uity. It
was called the Great War for a reason. The conflict
lasted for four years and stretched across almost all of Europe,
but its effects were especially felt in Great Britain. It
wasn't just that almost nine million British soldiers fought in
the trenches. If you were an average citizen in the
(05:19):
United Kingdom in nineteen fifteen, then you likely witnessed firsthand
the terrifying creation of Count von Zeppelin. This new weapon
of mass destruction, as you can probably guess, was an
enormous hydrogen filled aircraft, appropriately called the Zeppelin. It floated
above the streets of England late at night, its engines
(05:40):
thrumming in the ears of sleepy and frightened families below.
While the Zeppelin did drop bombs and caused quite a
bit of damage, that wasn't their intention. Their primary mission
was to instill fear in the British in order to
break the morale and pull them out of the war,
and it almost worked. People jumped out of their beds
with their clothes on their backs and dashed into smoke
(06:03):
filled streets littered with rubble buildings. Collapsed homes were destroyed.
Survivors of the Zeppelin raids recalled not knowing where the
danger ever really was, and whether they were running toward
it or away from it. Functioning on little sleep and
a sudden jolt of adrenaline, British citizens often found themselves
shivering in the street, wondering if and when the big
(06:25):
one would hit them next, or whether they'd have a
home to return to when it was all over. And
as the raids grew more and more frequent and people
began to expect them, fear quickly turned to embarrassment. After all,
folks were standing in public in their nightgowns and underwear,
something only their significant others were supposed to see. Women
(06:46):
began preparing the night before by hanging cloaks and scarves
by their door. Bald men had emergency to pays at
the ready. This was Britain in the early nineteen hundreds,
and social status was everything. What would the neighbors think
if one was caught looking less than their best, even
when the war was doing its worst. But there were
other problems with their choices of nighttime fashion. First, and
(07:10):
most importantly, they weren't that fashionable. A cloak was just
a big wearable blankets, and nobody wanted to look frumpy
in front of their friends. Second, running from explosions proved
incredibly difficult when one's legs were being restricted by long,
bulky coats, so they turned to the French, who had
been known to lounge around in comfortable, luxurious clothing when
(07:32):
they were waiting for the bombs to strike. It was
a solution that was breathable and stylish, So stylish, in fact,
that a British fashion editor at the time stated she
actually looked forward to the evening raids just so she
could show off her new black threads. Funny enough, this
new fashion trend quickly issued function for form. Rather than
(07:53):
keeping the colors dark so that targets were harder to spot.
During the night, colors lightened up from blacks and dark
blue is two pinks and reds. Sure, friends and their
neighbors could get a good look at them, but the
British didn't mind, and eventually the raids subsided as German
resources were needed elsewhere during the war. But they're hot.
New nighttime clothing only grew in popularity and we still
(08:18):
wear them today, though thankfully not for bombing raids. We
just wear them to relax in bed or in front
of the television while we binge our favorite shows. So
I guess we can thank the French and the British
for a lot of the things we still love today.
Sherlock Holmes, a good glass of wine, and of course, pajamas.
(08:42):
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.
The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership
with how Stuff Works. I make another ward winning show
called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show,
(09:05):
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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