January 9, 2020 • 10 mins
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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 right
there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome
to the Cabinet of Curiosities. After the start of prohibition
(00:29):
in Americans everywhere found ways to get around the laws
preventing them from enjoying their favorite alcoholic beverages. They let
grape juice ferment for two months until it had turned
into a wine with a twelve percent alcohol content. When
the government started poisoning ethel alcohol so it couldn't be
used to make bootleg booze, some people hired chemists to
draw the poison back out and make the alcohol drinkable again.
(00:53):
When it comes to wine, beer, and all manner of
adult beverages, human ingenuity cannot be contained. And such ingenuity
had presented itself in the early sixteenth century as England's
rapid expansion had devastated its national forests. Trees had been
used to build ships, weapons, and fuel fires, but that
seemingly endless supply was suddenly in danger of running out.
(01:16):
A different kind of prohibition was about to begin, as
King James the first decreed in sixteen fifteen that would
could only be used for what he deemed necessary. That
meant burning wood for fire, especially for the purpose of
making decorative objects such as glass, was now out of
the question. Then, in sixteen sixty two, Sir Christopher Merritt
(01:36):
published a paper that copy eyes of wine drinkers all
over England. Merritt had dabbled in a lot of things.
He was a historian, physician, and spent much of his
time learning about the larger world as a member of
the Royal Society. In his paper he described a new
kind of drink, one made with large amounts of sugar
and molasses that, when fermented, created a bubbling sensation. The
(01:59):
Frey called their version Champagne, named for the region of
France where it was produced. There was just one problem
with this new sparkling wine. It couldn't be contained when bottled.
The carbonation inside built up to such a pressure that
it would either eject the cork or break the bottle.
A stronger type of glass was required, As it so happened,
(02:22):
King James ban On wood for making glass had lasted decades,
and that time craftsman had turned to an alternative fuel source,
coal which burned hotter and produced glass that was thicker
and stronger than anything made in a wood fire. This
more resilient glass was perfect for the new bubbly wine
coming out of England, and because it was better for
the bottles of old, both the drink and the vessel
(02:45):
it was stored in became synonymous with wealth. Now, if
you visit Champagne in France, you might hear the story
of a famous Benedictine monk named Don Perion. Perion had
been dealing with a big problem brought on by the
refermentation of his wine. Reef Fermentation occurs when the fermentation
process started in one vessel, like a large steel tank,
(03:05):
and then continued in a different container, such as an
oak barrel. In Perion's case, refermentation was carried out in
many small bottles within his abbey. As the weather got colder,
fermentation stopped, but any unconverted sugars still inside the bottle
started to carbonate the wine. Then, in the spring, as
the pressure from the yeast inside built back up, the
(03:26):
pressure would either pop the cork or destroy the bottle.
When a bottle exploded, the shock wave rippled out, triggering
all the other bottles to shatter and sudden glass flying everywhere.
Perion did his best to prevent refermentation in his wine,
but he wasn't always successful. A myth eventually formed around Perion.
According to eyewitness accounts, the monk took a sip of
(03:48):
champagne from an unbroken bottle and exclaimed, come quickly, I
am tasting the stars. The Dom Perion company used this
quite extensively in its advertising in the eighteen hundreds, but
there's no proof Perion himself ever even said it. In fact,
much of the legend surrounding the man was thanks to
Dom Grussar, who had succeeded Perryon at the abbey. He'd
(04:10):
been the one to claim his predecessor had invented champagne,
all in an effort to make the church and it's
town a little more famous. Then it worked, even though
England had been producing sparkling wine for years before Perryon
entered the scene. Many people today believe the drink originated
in France. However, if it hadn't been for the English
(04:30):
craftsmen and their need for a new way to make fire,
Perryon might have been forgotten as just another monk in
the abbey. It wasn't until the eighteenth century, when France
began using coal to make glass bottles, and they weren't
good enough to hold their bubbling concoctions until the Industrial
Revolution reached their country. England had the market cornered for
roughly one fifty years. So the next time you toast
(04:54):
a pair of newly weds or celebrate that special occasion,
remember the folks who made the moment possible, not the
Benedictine monk in the abbey, but the glassmakers who found
a way to bottle the stars. Because that's an achievements.
We can all raise a glass too. Death is inevitable.
(05:24):
We don't know when or where it will happen, but
it will come for each one of us one day,
perhaps when we least expect it. Humanity has been trying
to cheat death for thousands of years. For example, in
the sixth century BC, an ancient Sanskrit medical text advise
people to consume a diet of root powder, gold, honey,
and butter if they wanted to live longer. Ancient Egyptian
(05:46):
ruler Cleopatra was said to have bathed in donkey's milk
as a way of preserving her skin's youth and beauty.
And the infamous Countess Elizabeth Boundery was said to have
soaked herself in the blood of hundreds of servant girls
that she tortured and killed in the seven teenth century.
It might not be true, but it's certainly attractive. But
nobody ever tried old RiPPs technique for immortality. RiPP lived
(06:09):
in Eastland County, Texas. In Dallas was bigger, sure, but
a hundred and thirty miles away, and Eastland was growing,
and because of this growth, the town needed a new courthouse.
After construction was completed, a ceremony was held to commemorate
the building's dedication. The cornerstone of the courthouse had been
hollowed out as a kind of time capsule where objects
(06:31):
from town could be placed inside until the stone was
opened much later. A Bible was put inside, as were
other papers and official documents. Oh and rip. He just
climbed in and took a rest inside the cornerstone before
it was sealed off, and then his body remained inside
the Eastland Courthouse cornerstone while the rest of the town
went about their daily lives. By eight they had almost
(06:54):
forgotten about him, that is, until February of that year.
By then, the town had owned considerably and the thirty
year old courthouse was in desperate need of an upgrade.
But rather than expanded, the existing building was torn down
and the cornerstone time capsule was opened up. Inside were
the Bible, the documents, and all the proclamations from town
(07:15):
and the seemingly deceased Rip. After all, he was covered
in dust and he wasn't moving, but then he woke up.
It was a miracle. For thirty one years Old Rip
had slumbered inside a block of marble. His survival made
national news, and he toured the country, meeting with people
from all walks of life. He even visited the White
(07:36):
House and met with President Calvin Coolidge. Then, eleven months
after his miraculous resurrection, Old Rip passed away. The papers
said it was pneumonia. His body was embalmed and placed
in a velvet line casket before being moved to the
Eastland Courthouse lobby. Folks from all over town and beyond
came to say goodbye to the hometown hero. In n
(08:00):
To John Connolly, who was running for governor at the time,
paid a visit to Old Rip. He picked him up
by his leg for a quick photo, although he didn't
count on the leg breaking off in the nineteen seventies,
RiPP was stolen from his perch before being returned without
a scratch on him a few days later. Eventually, though,
Ripp's body was moved to a glass display case at
City Hall where he couldn't be harmed any further. Now
(08:23):
you might be wondering how a man could have survived
thirty one years entombed in a Texas courthouse. But Old
Rip wasn't a man, you see. He was a horn toad,
named after that famous Washington Irving character, Rip van Winkle.
Will Wood was just a boy when he caught Rip.
His father, a justice of the piece, had brought Will
to the dedication ceremony of that original courthouse and strangely enough,
(08:46):
encouraged the boy to place the toad inside the stone.
Everyone had forgotten about Ripped by the time the old
courthouse came down, but when he was found alive inside,
he became an instant celebrity. Wood was an adult in
and he took his former pet on tour. His fame
prompted Eastland Gas stations to start giving away toads as
(09:07):
souvenirs to tourists. By the time he got to Dallas,
though Wood was served a lawsuit by the town, which
alleged that he had breached contract by taking old rips
so far from his home. The toad was brought to
the county jail before he and Wood traveled back to Eastland.
After that, Rip traded a life on the road for
a goldfish bowl filled with sand. But, as we discussed before,
(09:27):
his retirement was cut short just a year after his
release from the stone. But don't worry. He's still remembered
today with a celebration called rip Fest, which is held
every fall in the town of Eastland, and on the
anniversary of his discovery inside the Cornerstone, children today can
go to the courtroom of Eastland County Judge Rex Fields
(09:48):
to swear that the legend is true. No one, not
even a miraculous horn toad, can escape death forever. But
his survival is a reminder to us to make the
most to our lives and to leave a lasting impression
on the people closest to us, because sooner or later
we're all going to croak. I hope you've enjoyed today's
(10:12):
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 award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show and you can learn all
(10:34):
about it over at the World of Lore dot com.
And until next time, stay curious. Ye
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. After the start of prohibition
(00:29):
in Americans everywhere found ways to get around the laws
preventing them from enjoying their favorite alcoholic beverages. They let
grape juice ferment for two months until it had turned
into a wine with a twelve percent alcohol content. When
the government started poisoning ethel alcohol so it couldn't be
used to make bootleg booze, some people hired chemists to
draw the poison back out and make the alcohol drinkable again.
(00:53):
When it comes to wine, beer, and all manner of
adult beverages, human ingenuity cannot be contained. And such ingenuity
had presented itself in the early sixteenth century as England's
rapid expansion had devastated its national forests. Trees had been
used to build ships, weapons, and fuel fires, but that
seemingly endless supply was suddenly in danger of running out.
(01:16):
A different kind of prohibition was about to begin, as
King James the first decreed in sixteen fifteen that would
could only be used for what he deemed necessary. That
meant burning wood for fire, especially for the purpose of
making decorative objects such as glass, was now out of
the question. Then, in sixteen sixty two, Sir Christopher Merritt
(01:36):
published a paper that copy eyes of wine drinkers all
over England. Merritt had dabbled in a lot of things.
He was a historian, physician, and spent much of his
time learning about the larger world as a member of
the Royal Society. In his paper he described a new
kind of drink, one made with large amounts of sugar
and molasses that, when fermented, created a bubbling sensation. The
(01:59):
Frey called their version Champagne, named for the region of
France where it was produced. There was just one problem
with this new sparkling wine. It couldn't be contained when bottled.
The carbonation inside built up to such a pressure that
it would either eject the cork or break the bottle.
A stronger type of glass was required, As it so happened,
(02:22):
King James ban On wood for making glass had lasted decades,
and that time craftsman had turned to an alternative fuel source,
coal which burned hotter and produced glass that was thicker
and stronger than anything made in a wood fire. This
more resilient glass was perfect for the new bubbly wine
coming out of England, and because it was better for
the bottles of old, both the drink and the vessel
(02:45):
it was stored in became synonymous with wealth. Now, if
you visit Champagne in France, you might hear the story
of a famous Benedictine monk named Don Perion. Perion had
been dealing with a big problem brought on by the
refermentation of his wine. Reef Fermentation occurs when the fermentation
process started in one vessel, like a large steel tank,
(03:05):
and then continued in a different container, such as an
oak barrel. In Perion's case, refermentation was carried out in
many small bottles within his abbey. As the weather got colder,
fermentation stopped, but any unconverted sugars still inside the bottle
started to carbonate the wine. Then, in the spring, as
the pressure from the yeast inside built back up, the
(03:26):
pressure would either pop the cork or destroy the bottle.
When a bottle exploded, the shock wave rippled out, triggering
all the other bottles to shatter and sudden glass flying everywhere.
Perion did his best to prevent refermentation in his wine,
but he wasn't always successful. A myth eventually formed around Perion.
According to eyewitness accounts, the monk took a sip of
(03:48):
champagne from an unbroken bottle and exclaimed, come quickly, I
am tasting the stars. The Dom Perion company used this
quite extensively in its advertising in the eighteen hundreds, but
there's no proof Perion himself ever even said it. In fact,
much of the legend surrounding the man was thanks to
Dom Grussar, who had succeeded Perryon at the abbey. He'd
(04:10):
been the one to claim his predecessor had invented champagne,
all in an effort to make the church and it's
town a little more famous. Then it worked, even though
England had been producing sparkling wine for years before Perryon
entered the scene. Many people today believe the drink originated
in France. However, if it hadn't been for the English
(04:30):
craftsmen and their need for a new way to make fire,
Perryon might have been forgotten as just another monk in
the abbey. It wasn't until the eighteenth century, when France
began using coal to make glass bottles, and they weren't
good enough to hold their bubbling concoctions until the Industrial
Revolution reached their country. England had the market cornered for
roughly one fifty years. So the next time you toast
(04:54):
a pair of newly weds or celebrate that special occasion,
remember the folks who made the moment possible, not the
Benedictine monk in the abbey, but the glassmakers who found
a way to bottle the stars. Because that's an achievements.
We can all raise a glass too. Death is inevitable.
(05:24):
We don't know when or where it will happen, but
it will come for each one of us one day,
perhaps when we least expect it. Humanity has been trying
to cheat death for thousands of years. For example, in
the sixth century BC, an ancient Sanskrit medical text advise
people to consume a diet of root powder, gold, honey,
and butter if they wanted to live longer. Ancient Egyptian
(05:46):
ruler Cleopatra was said to have bathed in donkey's milk
as a way of preserving her skin's youth and beauty.
And the infamous Countess Elizabeth Boundery was said to have
soaked herself in the blood of hundreds of servant girls
that she tortured and killed in the seven teenth century.
It might not be true, but it's certainly attractive. But
nobody ever tried old RiPPs technique for immortality. RiPP lived
(06:09):
in Eastland County, Texas. In Dallas was bigger, sure, but
a hundred and thirty miles away, and Eastland was growing,
and because of this growth, the town needed a new courthouse.
After construction was completed, a ceremony was held to commemorate
the building's dedication. The cornerstone of the courthouse had been
hollowed out as a kind of time capsule where objects
(06:31):
from town could be placed inside until the stone was
opened much later. A Bible was put inside, as were
other papers and official documents. Oh and rip. He just
climbed in and took a rest inside the cornerstone before
it was sealed off, and then his body remained inside
the Eastland Courthouse cornerstone while the rest of the town
went about their daily lives. By eight they had almost
(06:54):
forgotten about him, that is, until February of that year.
By then, the town had owned considerably and the thirty
year old courthouse was in desperate need of an upgrade.
But rather than expanded, the existing building was torn down
and the cornerstone time capsule was opened up. Inside were
the Bible, the documents, and all the proclamations from town
(07:15):
and the seemingly deceased Rip. After all, he was covered
in dust and he wasn't moving, but then he woke up.
It was a miracle. For thirty one years Old Rip
had slumbered inside a block of marble. His survival made
national news, and he toured the country, meeting with people
from all walks of life. He even visited the White
(07:36):
House and met with President Calvin Coolidge. Then, eleven months
after his miraculous resurrection, Old Rip passed away. The papers
said it was pneumonia. His body was embalmed and placed
in a velvet line casket before being moved to the
Eastland Courthouse lobby. Folks from all over town and beyond
came to say goodbye to the hometown hero. In n
(08:00):
To John Connolly, who was running for governor at the time,
paid a visit to Old Rip. He picked him up
by his leg for a quick photo, although he didn't
count on the leg breaking off in the nineteen seventies,
RiPP was stolen from his perch before being returned without
a scratch on him a few days later. Eventually, though,
Ripp's body was moved to a glass display case at
City Hall where he couldn't be harmed any further. Now
(08:23):
you might be wondering how a man could have survived
thirty one years entombed in a Texas courthouse. But Old
Rip wasn't a man, you see. He was a horn toad,
named after that famous Washington Irving character, Rip van Winkle.
Will Wood was just a boy when he caught Rip.
His father, a justice of the piece, had brought Will
to the dedication ceremony of that original courthouse and strangely enough,
(08:46):
encouraged the boy to place the toad inside the stone.
Everyone had forgotten about Ripped by the time the old
courthouse came down, but when he was found alive inside,
he became an instant celebrity. Wood was an adult in
and he took his former pet on tour. His fame
prompted Eastland Gas stations to start giving away toads as
(09:07):
souvenirs to tourists. By the time he got to Dallas,
though Wood was served a lawsuit by the town, which
alleged that he had breached contract by taking old rips
so far from his home. The toad was brought to
the county jail before he and Wood traveled back to Eastland.
After that, Rip traded a life on the road for
a goldfish bowl filled with sand. But, as we discussed before,
(09:27):
his retirement was cut short just a year after his
release from the stone. But don't worry. He's still remembered
today with a celebration called rip Fest, which is held
every fall in the town of Eastland, and on the
anniversary of his discovery inside the Cornerstone, children today can
go to the courtroom of Eastland County Judge Rex Fields
(09:48):
to swear that the legend is true. No one, not
even a miraculous horn toad, can escape death forever. But
his survival is a reminder to us to make the
most to our lives and to leave a lasting impression
on the people closest to us, because sooner or later
we're all going to croak. I hope you've enjoyed today's
(10:12):
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 award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show and you can learn all
(10:34):
about it over at the World of Lore dot com.
And until next time, stay curious. Ye
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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