November 5, 2019 • 9 mins
Sometimes a person comes along who can change the world, but other times the world does the changing for us. Today's tour will help you see both sides of that story.
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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. The Earth is ever changing.
(00:29):
Since the beginning of time, our planet has undergone incredible transformation.
Pangaea broke apart one five million years ago, eventually forming
the continents we know today. Plants and animal life has
evolved or gone extinct, giving room for new life to
make its way. Much of this is natural, a progression
of the world as it matures and settles. Other phenomena
(00:53):
are a result of our greed and disregard for the
health of the planet, Melting ice caps, rising ocean levels,
and wildfires that raged for weeks while decimating acres of
land and homes. Perhaps the Earth needs to send a
sign once in a while that we are not as
welcome here as we thought. That might be what happened
in the southeastern United States in the early eight hundreds.
(01:16):
It started on December sixteenth of eighteen eleven, when a
small earthquake began in Arkansas, followed by an after shock
six hours later. The shock waves spread out of a
small town that was once part of the Louisiana Territory.
Today it's known as New Madred. At that time, New
Madred was an up and coming community of farmers and pioneers.
(01:36):
They would travel the Mississippi River each day, never paying
any mind the idea that the ground beneath their feet
might not be completely solid. The first quake wasn't particularly strong,
but did minor damage to the few buildings in the area.
Less than a month later, another quake hit, and it
hit hard. It changed the landscape. The ground opened up
(01:58):
and claimed the lives of countless livestock, including horses and cattle.
The mountains shook and produced devastating landslides. Stream banks caved in.
So much debris was kicked up it blocked out the sun.
The Mississippi River actually flowed backward. The January earthquake was
so strong clock stopped tens of miles away, and it
(02:20):
was reported that minor trembers were felt as far north
as Washington, d C. One man named George Heinrich Grist
was quoted as saying, if we do not get away
from here, the ground is going to eat us alive.
Another eyewitness, John Bradbury was in a boat traveling down
the Mississippi River when it happened. He wrote, the perpendicular banks,
(02:42):
both above and below us began to fall into the
river in such vast masses as nearly to sink our boat.
John had tallied twenty seven shocks total. By the time
that was all over, Things seemed to calm down after that,
while the residents of New Madrid start to rebuild. However,
everything would change a few weeks later on February seventh
(03:05):
of eighteen twelve, when the town became the epicenter of
another massive quake. Chimneys crumbled as houses were shaken from
their foundations. A new lake was formed in Tennessee when
the land shifted in such a way as to block
the flow of several streams. Shocks traveled as far north
as Canada and were strong enough to ring church bells
in Boston. New Madred was all but destroyed. The Richter
(03:30):
scale wouldn't be invented for another century or so, but
based on the accounts of those present, it's estimated that
the worst of the New Modred earthquakes would have measured
at an eight point zero compared that with California a
veritable hot spot of seismic activity. The strongest quake on
record there occurred in eighteen fifty seven in Fort Tajone.
(03:51):
It measured seven point nine on the Richter scale. Since then,
minor quakes have plagued Missouri, over four thousand of them,
in fact, of which have been as strong as the
ones that occurred in eighteen eleven and eighteen twelve. But
that isn't to say that it won't happen again in
the future. Scientists estimate that within fifty years there could
(04:11):
be a significant chance of another massive quake striking the region,
and if it does, it could quite possibly change the
shape of the country all over again. Any great architect
(04:37):
manages to leave their mark on the world. It could
be as simple as an office building or a unique
design for a house, but there's always an artifact left
behind that represents their lasting legacy. Frank Garry's wavy metallic
design for the Googgenheim Museum in Spain has been hailed
by some as the greatest building of our time. The
(04:58):
Shard in London seems to run from the earth and
pierced the sky with its clean lines and sharpened point
at the top, and Falling Water. The iconic home designed
by Frank Lloyd Wrights, is among the Smithsonian's top places
to visit before you die. Although their styles may vary,
these architects have influenced countless others in shaping the future
(05:19):
of where we live and work. And then there's Brian.
Brian is an architect too. Born in Iowa in nineteen
seventy four, He's the mind behind hundreds of buildings. It's
a passion he inherited from his grandfather, who also worked
in the field of architecture. In fact, when Brian was
only seventeen, he was awarded a Guinness World Record for
(05:40):
the tallest house in the world. From there, he went
on to earn a degree in architecture from Iowa State
University and a master is in Design Studies from Harvard.
After graduation, Brian struck out on his own. Unfortunately, there
was no agency prepared to handle his unique esthetic. He's
constructed buildings for corporates, museums, and even Walt Disney World.
(06:03):
He's toured the globe, designing structures that defy logic in
both their design and their construction. Brian isn't a fan
of concrete and steel. He doesn't use nails, nor does
he hire a crew to bring his designs to life.
Brian does all the work himself. There isn't really a
need for a whole crew anyway. That tallest house in
(06:24):
the world he won a record for it was only
fourteen and a half feet tall. His tallest structures don't
grow any higher than twenty six ft or so. That's
because they're all built out of playing cards. Brian Berg
has traveled all over the world for more than two decades,
constructing towers, skyscrapers, and replicas of famous buildings out of
(06:46):
normal everyday playing cards. One of his first creations was
a tower in his college atrium that was made out
of over fifteen hundred decks and measured twenty five feet tall.
The tower took almost three weeks to build, which he
did in shifts ranging from four to twelve hours. He
went on to reach new heights when he built a
tower in a German casino lobby in By the time
(07:09):
it was finished, it was twenty five point to nine
feet tall and took more than seventeen hundred decks to build.
Brian will go anywhere and everywhere to show off his skills,
including national television to break his own Guinness World Record.
He always builds his card structures in public and almost
never uses adhesive. He doesn't believe in trying to deceive
(07:30):
the public. His creations never feature hidden support beans, and
they all end up the same way when the building
is done, with a dramatic deconstruction into nothing but a
pile of playing cards. It's fun for him to do
all that work and then watch it come tumbling down.
His audiences seem to like it too. In two thousand ten,
(07:50):
Brian traveled to China where he erected a card based
replica of the Venetian Hotel. It took over two hundred
eighteen thousand cards and forty hours to build before he
used a powerful fan to blow the foundation out from
under it. After some strategically placed gusts of wind, the
whole thing eventually fluttered to the ground, card by card,
(08:11):
as though it had never existed at all. Brian is
still traveling today, designing new card structures and upgrading his
construction techniques that utilize newer, stronger methods and require fewer
decks to complete. He may never build a house anyone
can actually live in, but his work teaches us a
lesson that will outlast any building made of wood or metal.
(08:34):
Nothing is truly permanent, and everything we do could fall
to pieces at any time, just like a house of cards.
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.
(08:58):
The show was created by me Aaron Manky 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,
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. The Earth is ever changing.
(00:29):
Since the beginning of time, our planet has undergone incredible transformation.
Pangaea broke apart one five million years ago, eventually forming
the continents we know today. Plants and animal life has
evolved or gone extinct, giving room for new life to
make its way. Much of this is natural, a progression
of the world as it matures and settles. Other phenomena
(00:53):
are a result of our greed and disregard for the
health of the planet, Melting ice caps, rising ocean levels,
and wildfires that raged for weeks while decimating acres of
land and homes. Perhaps the Earth needs to send a
sign once in a while that we are not as
welcome here as we thought. That might be what happened
in the southeastern United States in the early eight hundreds.
(01:16):
It started on December sixteenth of eighteen eleven, when a
small earthquake began in Arkansas, followed by an after shock
six hours later. The shock waves spread out of a
small town that was once part of the Louisiana Territory.
Today it's known as New Madred. At that time, New
Madred was an up and coming community of farmers and pioneers.
(01:36):
They would travel the Mississippi River each day, never paying
any mind the idea that the ground beneath their feet
might not be completely solid. The first quake wasn't particularly strong,
but did minor damage to the few buildings in the area.
Less than a month later, another quake hit, and it
hit hard. It changed the landscape. The ground opened up
(01:58):
and claimed the lives of countless livestock, including horses and cattle.
The mountains shook and produced devastating landslides. Stream banks caved in.
So much debris was kicked up it blocked out the sun.
The Mississippi River actually flowed backward. The January earthquake was
so strong clock stopped tens of miles away, and it
(02:20):
was reported that minor trembers were felt as far north
as Washington, d C. One man named George Heinrich Grist
was quoted as saying, if we do not get away
from here, the ground is going to eat us alive.
Another eyewitness, John Bradbury was in a boat traveling down
the Mississippi River when it happened. He wrote, the perpendicular banks,
(02:42):
both above and below us began to fall into the
river in such vast masses as nearly to sink our boat.
John had tallied twenty seven shocks total. By the time
that was all over, Things seemed to calm down after that,
while the residents of New Madrid start to rebuild. However,
everything would change a few weeks later on February seventh
(03:05):
of eighteen twelve, when the town became the epicenter of
another massive quake. Chimneys crumbled as houses were shaken from
their foundations. A new lake was formed in Tennessee when
the land shifted in such a way as to block
the flow of several streams. Shocks traveled as far north
as Canada and were strong enough to ring church bells
in Boston. New Madred was all but destroyed. The Richter
(03:30):
scale wouldn't be invented for another century or so, but
based on the accounts of those present, it's estimated that
the worst of the New Modred earthquakes would have measured
at an eight point zero compared that with California a
veritable hot spot of seismic activity. The strongest quake on
record there occurred in eighteen fifty seven in Fort Tajone.
(03:51):
It measured seven point nine on the Richter scale. Since then,
minor quakes have plagued Missouri, over four thousand of them,
in fact, of which have been as strong as the
ones that occurred in eighteen eleven and eighteen twelve. But
that isn't to say that it won't happen again in
the future. Scientists estimate that within fifty years there could
(04:11):
be a significant chance of another massive quake striking the region,
and if it does, it could quite possibly change the
shape of the country all over again. Any great architect
(04:37):
manages to leave their mark on the world. It could
be as simple as an office building or a unique
design for a house, but there's always an artifact left
behind that represents their lasting legacy. Frank Garry's wavy metallic
design for the Googgenheim Museum in Spain has been hailed
by some as the greatest building of our time. The
(04:58):
Shard in London seems to run from the earth and
pierced the sky with its clean lines and sharpened point
at the top, and Falling Water. The iconic home designed
by Frank Lloyd Wrights, is among the Smithsonian's top places
to visit before you die. Although their styles may vary,
these architects have influenced countless others in shaping the future
(05:19):
of where we live and work. And then there's Brian.
Brian is an architect too. Born in Iowa in nineteen
seventy four, He's the mind behind hundreds of buildings. It's
a passion he inherited from his grandfather, who also worked
in the field of architecture. In fact, when Brian was
only seventeen, he was awarded a Guinness World Record for
(05:40):
the tallest house in the world. From there, he went
on to earn a degree in architecture from Iowa State
University and a master is in Design Studies from Harvard.
After graduation, Brian struck out on his own. Unfortunately, there
was no agency prepared to handle his unique esthetic. He's
constructed buildings for corporates, museums, and even Walt Disney World.
(06:03):
He's toured the globe, designing structures that defy logic in
both their design and their construction. Brian isn't a fan
of concrete and steel. He doesn't use nails, nor does
he hire a crew to bring his designs to life.
Brian does all the work himself. There isn't really a
need for a whole crew anyway. That tallest house in
(06:24):
the world he won a record for it was only
fourteen and a half feet tall. His tallest structures don't
grow any higher than twenty six ft or so. That's
because they're all built out of playing cards. Brian Berg
has traveled all over the world for more than two decades,
constructing towers, skyscrapers, and replicas of famous buildings out of
(06:46):
normal everyday playing cards. One of his first creations was
a tower in his college atrium that was made out
of over fifteen hundred decks and measured twenty five feet tall.
The tower took almost three weeks to build, which he
did in shifts ranging from four to twelve hours. He
went on to reach new heights when he built a
tower in a German casino lobby in By the time
(07:09):
it was finished, it was twenty five point to nine
feet tall and took more than seventeen hundred decks to build.
Brian will go anywhere and everywhere to show off his skills,
including national television to break his own Guinness World Record.
He always builds his card structures in public and almost
never uses adhesive. He doesn't believe in trying to deceive
(07:30):
the public. His creations never feature hidden support beans, and
they all end up the same way when the building
is done, with a dramatic deconstruction into nothing but a
pile of playing cards. It's fun for him to do
all that work and then watch it come tumbling down.
His audiences seem to like it too. In two thousand ten,
(07:50):
Brian traveled to China where he erected a card based
replica of the Venetian Hotel. It took over two hundred
eighteen thousand cards and forty hours to build before he
used a powerful fan to blow the foundation out from
under it. After some strategically placed gusts of wind, the
whole thing eventually fluttered to the ground, card by card,
(08:11):
as though it had never existed at all. Brian is
still traveling today, designing new card structures and upgrading his
construction techniques that utilize newer, stronger methods and require fewer
decks to complete. He may never build a house anyone
can actually live in, but his work teaches us a
lesson that will outlast any building made of wood or metal.
(08:34):
Nothing is truly permanent, and everything we do could fall
to pieces at any time, just like a house of cards.
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.
(08:58):
The show was created by me Aaron Manky 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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