November 27, 2025 • 10 mins
The ocean often offers up some truly curious tales, as today's tour will demonstrate.
Order the official Cabinet of Curiosities book by clicking here today, and get ready to enjoy some curious reading!
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Episode Transcript
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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 are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
Ancient gods are more than just superstitions. They reflect how
people of the past felt about the lands they lived in.
The terror of a thunderstorm, the shock of an earthquake,
the beauty of a sunset. These things are just as
impressive to us now as they were to ancient peoples.
When you're as small as a human being, the sheer
(00:56):
power of nature cannot help but feel divine. Take the
land of Hawaii. This chain of islands would not exist
if not for volcanic activity, and by the time people
settled there, it's unsurprising that the volcano would become a
fixation of their mythology. Literally and figuratively. Volcanoes towered over
(01:17):
their lives, and no one knew when an eruption might
consume a village. Nobody in the Hawaiian pantheon is as
beloved and feared in equal measures. As Pele, the goddess
of volcanoes, she lives in the heat of Mount Kilauea,
a volcano that remains active to this day. According to
Hawaiian orld tradition, Peley came from Tahiti in search of
(01:39):
a home. Her journey mirrors that of many Polynesian peoples
traveling across the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Peley
was pursued by her older sister, the Goddess of the Sea.
She settled on the furthest Hawaiian island, Ni, how but
her sister extinguished her flame, so she continued east from
island to island until she created a volcano soap powerful
(02:00):
that the sea could not put it out. Pay's nature
is a volatile one. Like many deities, she is both
a creator and a destroyer. Volcanic soil is extremely fertile,
but eruptions lay waste to countless acres, causing sweeping wildfires,
destroying plants, animals, and people alike. Kilawe has most recent
eruptions paused in August of twenty twenty five, but it's
(02:23):
still very much an active volcano. Of all the gods
and goddesses of the ancient world. Peay is one of
the few whose power is still alive, still worth fearing.
It's an impressive example of how culture follows the patterns
of the natural world. But that doesn't mean that humans
have no power in redefining a goddess. There's a specific
legend about Pele one you will hear if you ever
(02:45):
visit Volcano's National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It comes in the form of a warning. If anyone
takes any lava rocks from the national park, you will
invoke Pea's curse and bad luck will follow you back
to the mainland. Like many classic superstitions, it's not hard
to find anecdotes that speak to its existence. The stories
(03:05):
go like this, a non Hawaiian tourist comes to the
mainland to escape from the drudgery and stress of their
daily life. While visiting the Big Island, they take a
bus tour up to Volcanoes National Park. Awed by the
majesty of the twin volcanoes Kilauea and Mount Alona, they
want to take a souvenir of the experience. Maybe it's
just a single volcanic rock or a small bottle of
(03:28):
black sand, nothing that a park ranger will notice, of course,
but upon coming home, their life will be in shambles.
Maybe they will lose their job, or perhaps a long
term relationship will collapse, or their finances will crumble. Whatever
the outcome might be, all these stories end the same,
with the unlucky individual mailing their souvenir back to Hawaii
(03:49):
with an apology attached. Park rangers continue to receive letters
from repentant tourists. They estimate that thousands of pounds of
volcanic rocks and sand are returned every year. Regularly a
ranger will take a supply of debris and dump it
back in the park. It's become a crucial, if irritating
part of working at the volcano's National Park, and in
(04:11):
a way, it might actually be a problem they created
for themselves. You see. Hawaii Volcanos National Park was first
officially established in nineteen sixteen, one hundred and eleven years
ago and eighteen years after the annexation of Hawaii. Sometime
in the nineteen forties, it's said that the locals who
dealt with tourists grew frustrated with the disrespect that visitors
(04:33):
showed to the island, so the tour bus drivers began
spreading the story, saying that if you took a rock,
you would anger the goddess who lived in the crater.
Whether you believe in Pale's curse is up to you,
But a volcano doesn't care if you believe it or not.
All it cares about is reshaping the world, one eruption
at a time, and that is the true power of Pele.
(05:08):
It's nineteen eighty nine and the US and the Soviet
Union are in the midst of the Cold War. As
the war escalates and both sides start deploying more and
more nuclear submarines to keep tabs on one another, the
United States looks for any advantage it can get in
the deep seas. The nation uses a variety of listening
devices throughout the Atlantic and Pacific to monitor for Russian submarines.
(05:31):
There are listening posts and ships that tow their own
listening devices, and hydrophones deep at the bottom of the ocean.
Through a combination of these technologies, US forces detect a
strange signal off the Pacific coast. It's at fifty two hertz,
the low end of human hearing. It almost sounds like whining,
a low, continuous cry for help, like a giant puppy crying.
(05:54):
It doesn't sound like any submarine they have ever heard before.
A few years later, with the fall of the Soviet Union,
the sound is finally declassified and taken to the Woods
Whole Oceanographic Institutes in Massachusetts. Marine scientist Bill Watkins studies
the sound and comes to one conclusion. It's a whale.
At the time, this didn't make sense to scientists because
(06:16):
whales communicated frequencies even lower than fifty two hertz, which
meant that this whale, whatever it was, was talking to
itself in a unique language. This was even sadder when
considering that its call was only detected during whale mating
season from December to March. So it was a whale
speaking its own language, trying to find a mate and
(06:38):
getting no response, and scientists continue to detect it year
after year. They were never able to actually lay eyes
on it. And this isn't surprising, as its potential territory
is massive, covering hundreds of miles of ocean and significant depths.
Military submarines can go about fifteen hundred meters down, while
some whales have been recorded at three thousand meters, but
(07:01):
all that to say, the ocean is big, and actually
finding this whale would be like finding a needle in
a haystack. But its legend has only grown over the
years as news stories about the whale permeated the media,
it came to be known as fifty two Blue and
inspired several popular songs, with people relating to its loneliness
and its persistence in looking for a mate. And while
(07:24):
a few of those songs have been mildly popular, the
most recent is the twenty fifteen BTS song Whali in
fifty two. In it, the Korean boy band sings about
how being mega celebrities isolates them like the whale, leaving
them all alone in the dark where they can't truly
connect with anyone. Ultimately, though, I think I feel more
sorry for the whale. But recent scientific development suggests that
(07:47):
we might all be projecting way too much onto fifty
two Blue. Researchers have pointed out that just because other
whales don't speak the same language doesn't mean they aren't
hearing it. They hear everything in their territory, and it's
possible that the other whales are able to communicate back
to Blue in other ways. It's even possible he has
a mate who just doesn't answer back at fifty two hurts.
(08:10):
And yes, scientists do know that Blue is a he
based on his vocal register, and further analysis of his
call has revealed something else important his potential species. It
seems likely that Blue is actually what's called a thin
blue hybrid, or a mix between a blue whale and
a fin whale. Blue whales are the longest whales, and
fin whales are the fastest and second longest, so fifty
(08:33):
two Blue might be quite large and quite dynamic in
the water. This also might explain his unique call. These
hybrids are becoming better documented, and it's possible that Blue
was just ahead of his time. In fact, there was
a shocking development in twenty ten that gave all fifty
two Blue fans hope. Scientists detected the fifty two hurt
signal at two very different places in the Pacific Ocean
(08:56):
at roughly the same time. This means that there is
potentially more than one fifty two Hurtz whale. We just
haven't heard them at the same time as often as
we have thought, But sadly there haven't been any double
recordings ever since Overall, it doesn't hurt to be curious
about this unique creature and where it comes from, but
ascribing human emotions and conditions to it isn't a great idea.
(09:19):
We have no clue what a whale's internal life is like,
or what fifty two blues actual family situation is deep
beneath the ocean. Curious fans of the whale might claim
to be worried about his loneliness, but often in their
search for him, they reveal that they are a little
bit lonely as well. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided
(09:43):
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 Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make
another award winning show called Life, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show, and you can learn all
(10:04):
about it over at Theworldoflore 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 are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
Ancient gods are more than just superstitions. They reflect how
people of the past felt about the lands they lived in.
The terror of a thunderstorm, the shock of an earthquake,
the beauty of a sunset. These things are just as
impressive to us now as they were to ancient peoples.
When you're as small as a human being, the sheer
(00:56):
power of nature cannot help but feel divine. Take the
land of Hawaii. This chain of islands would not exist
if not for volcanic activity, and by the time people
settled there, it's unsurprising that the volcano would become a
fixation of their mythology. Literally and figuratively. Volcanoes towered over
(01:17):
their lives, and no one knew when an eruption might
consume a village. Nobody in the Hawaiian pantheon is as
beloved and feared in equal measures. As Pele, the goddess
of volcanoes, she lives in the heat of Mount Kilauea,
a volcano that remains active to this day. According to
Hawaiian orld tradition, Peley came from Tahiti in search of
(01:39):
a home. Her journey mirrors that of many Polynesian peoples
traveling across the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Peley
was pursued by her older sister, the Goddess of the Sea.
She settled on the furthest Hawaiian island, Ni, how but
her sister extinguished her flame, so she continued east from
island to island until she created a volcano soap powerful
(02:00):
that the sea could not put it out. Pay's nature
is a volatile one. Like many deities, she is both
a creator and a destroyer. Volcanic soil is extremely fertile,
but eruptions lay waste to countless acres, causing sweeping wildfires,
destroying plants, animals, and people alike. Kilawe has most recent
eruptions paused in August of twenty twenty five, but it's
(02:23):
still very much an active volcano. Of all the gods
and goddesses of the ancient world. Peay is one of
the few whose power is still alive, still worth fearing.
It's an impressive example of how culture follows the patterns
of the natural world. But that doesn't mean that humans
have no power in redefining a goddess. There's a specific
legend about Pele one you will hear if you ever
(02:45):
visit Volcano's National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It comes in the form of a warning. If anyone
takes any lava rocks from the national park, you will
invoke Pea's curse and bad luck will follow you back
to the mainland. Like many classic superstitions, it's not hard
to find anecdotes that speak to its existence. The stories
(03:05):
go like this, a non Hawaiian tourist comes to the
mainland to escape from the drudgery and stress of their
daily life. While visiting the Big Island, they take a
bus tour up to Volcanoes National Park. Awed by the
majesty of the twin volcanoes Kilauea and Mount Alona, they
want to take a souvenir of the experience. Maybe it's
just a single volcanic rock or a small bottle of
(03:28):
black sand, nothing that a park ranger will notice, of course,
but upon coming home, their life will be in shambles.
Maybe they will lose their job, or perhaps a long
term relationship will collapse, or their finances will crumble. Whatever
the outcome might be, all these stories end the same,
with the unlucky individual mailing their souvenir back to Hawaii
(03:49):
with an apology attached. Park rangers continue to receive letters
from repentant tourists. They estimate that thousands of pounds of
volcanic rocks and sand are returned every year. Regularly a
ranger will take a supply of debris and dump it
back in the park. It's become a crucial, if irritating
part of working at the volcano's National Park, and in
(04:11):
a way, it might actually be a problem they created
for themselves. You see. Hawaii Volcanos National Park was first
officially established in nineteen sixteen, one hundred and eleven years
ago and eighteen years after the annexation of Hawaii. Sometime
in the nineteen forties, it's said that the locals who
dealt with tourists grew frustrated with the disrespect that visitors
(04:33):
showed to the island, so the tour bus drivers began
spreading the story, saying that if you took a rock,
you would anger the goddess who lived in the crater.
Whether you believe in Pale's curse is up to you,
But a volcano doesn't care if you believe it or not.
All it cares about is reshaping the world, one eruption
at a time, and that is the true power of Pele.
(05:08):
It's nineteen eighty nine and the US and the Soviet
Union are in the midst of the Cold War. As
the war escalates and both sides start deploying more and
more nuclear submarines to keep tabs on one another, the
United States looks for any advantage it can get in
the deep seas. The nation uses a variety of listening
devices throughout the Atlantic and Pacific to monitor for Russian submarines.
(05:31):
There are listening posts and ships that tow their own
listening devices, and hydrophones deep at the bottom of the ocean.
Through a combination of these technologies, US forces detect a
strange signal off the Pacific coast. It's at fifty two hertz,
the low end of human hearing. It almost sounds like whining,
a low, continuous cry for help, like a giant puppy crying.
(05:54):
It doesn't sound like any submarine they have ever heard before.
A few years later, with the fall of the Soviet Union,
the sound is finally declassified and taken to the Woods
Whole Oceanographic Institutes in Massachusetts. Marine scientist Bill Watkins studies
the sound and comes to one conclusion. It's a whale.
At the time, this didn't make sense to scientists because
(06:16):
whales communicated frequencies even lower than fifty two hertz, which
meant that this whale, whatever it was, was talking to
itself in a unique language. This was even sadder when
considering that its call was only detected during whale mating
season from December to March. So it was a whale
speaking its own language, trying to find a mate and
(06:38):
getting no response, and scientists continue to detect it year
after year. They were never able to actually lay eyes
on it. And this isn't surprising, as its potential territory
is massive, covering hundreds of miles of ocean and significant depths.
Military submarines can go about fifteen hundred meters down, while
some whales have been recorded at three thousand meters, but
(07:01):
all that to say, the ocean is big, and actually
finding this whale would be like finding a needle in
a haystack. But its legend has only grown over the
years as news stories about the whale permeated the media,
it came to be known as fifty two Blue and
inspired several popular songs, with people relating to its loneliness
and its persistence in looking for a mate. And while
(07:24):
a few of those songs have been mildly popular, the
most recent is the twenty fifteen BTS song Whali in
fifty two. In it, the Korean boy band sings about
how being mega celebrities isolates them like the whale, leaving
them all alone in the dark where they can't truly
connect with anyone. Ultimately, though, I think I feel more
sorry for the whale. But recent scientific development suggests that
(07:47):
we might all be projecting way too much onto fifty
two Blue. Researchers have pointed out that just because other
whales don't speak the same language doesn't mean they aren't
hearing it. They hear everything in their territory, and it's
possible that the other whales are able to communicate back
to Blue in other ways. It's even possible he has
a mate who just doesn't answer back at fifty two hurts.
(08:10):
And yes, scientists do know that Blue is a he
based on his vocal register, and further analysis of his
call has revealed something else important his potential species. It
seems likely that Blue is actually what's called a thin
blue hybrid, or a mix between a blue whale and
a fin whale. Blue whales are the longest whales, and
fin whales are the fastest and second longest, so fifty
(08:33):
two Blue might be quite large and quite dynamic in
the water. This also might explain his unique call. These
hybrids are becoming better documented, and it's possible that Blue
was just ahead of his time. In fact, there was
a shocking development in twenty ten that gave all fifty
two Blue fans hope. Scientists detected the fifty two hurt
signal at two very different places in the Pacific Ocean
(08:56):
at roughly the same time. This means that there is
potentially more than one fifty two Hurtz whale. We just
haven't heard them at the same time as often as
we have thought, But sadly there haven't been any double
recordings ever since Overall, it doesn't hurt to be curious
about this unique creature and where it comes from, but
ascribing human emotions and conditions to it isn't a great idea.
(09:19):
We have no clue what a whale's internal life is like,
or what fifty two blues actual family situation is deep
beneath the ocean. Curious fans of the whale might claim
to be worried about his loneliness, but often in their
search for him, they reveal that they are a little
bit lonely as well. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided
(09:43):
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 Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make
another award winning show called Life, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show, and you can learn all
(10:04):
about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time,
stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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