June 18, 2026 • 11 mins
These curious tales might span from the heat of Africa to the frigid Antarctic, but they both teach us about the resilience of human beings.
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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):
The sauna is packed, cramped, full of dozens of researchers,
pressed against one another. For four months, they've only had
each other as company. The Aminsen Scott Research Station is
already cramped, but this takes closeness to a whole new level.
Everyone in the cedar box is dripping with sweat, struggling
to breathe the hot, humid air. But just as their
(00:58):
heart rates skyrocket and skin flushes deep red, the station's
heavy doors creek open, and a biding chill works its
way in every survival instinct in their bodies screams in protest.
And that's only the beginning, because what I'm describing right
now is one of the most extreme athletic challenges on Earth,
and only a handful of people have even tried to
(01:19):
complete it. At any given moments, About four point eight
billion people live in Asia, another one point five billion
live in Africa, and a billion in the Americas, seven
hundred and fifty million in Europe and fifty million in Oceania.
But in Antarctica, the seventh continent, that number is zero. Well,
technically the number is closer to one thousand. While Antarctica
(01:42):
has no permanent residence per se, it hosts thirty nine
research stations, where scientists spend up to two years studying
the bottom of the world. These residencies are some of
the most competitive positions on Earth. The fewer than one
thousand slots spread across a continent larger than Europe and
twice the size of Australia. But while the chance to
live at the South Pole is rare, the chance to
(02:04):
thrive is even more rare. It's tough to unwind from
a stressful day at work when you can ever actually
leave the office. There are no movie theaters, no restaurants,
and certainly no front yard games of catch. Researchers spend
their lives in a loop, working at a desk, then
retreating to a cramped dormitory to relax before doing it
(02:24):
all over again, and that is in the summer. Only
The most committed scientists, known as winter Overs, stay for
the off season at the Amts and Scott Research Station,
the southernmost point on the globe. Winter brings six months
of total darkness called the Polar Night, and during this
time the station is effectively cut off from the world.
(02:44):
Frequent blizzards and lack of light mean it's too dangerous
for planes to land. So what do three dozen super
committed scientists do for fun? In a frozen, empty landscape
devoid of most human interaction. They challenge each other to dares,
most famously the three hundred Club. To qualify, a resident
must survive a staggering three hundred degrees swing in temperature,
(03:08):
all in a single afternoon first ten minutes in the
station's sauna cranked up to two hundred degrees fahrenheit. Cramped
sweaty humid, it becomes an oven, and participants risk fainting, dehydration,
and heat stroke to stay inside the full ten minutes.
When their time is up, though, they race out of
the sauna and into the negative one hundred degree Antarctic night.
(03:31):
It's hard to appreciate how cold that really is. It's
the temperature at which carbon dioxide becomes dry ice. It's
impossible for human beings to survive more than a few
minutes outside, and it's cold enough that every breath feels
like needles in your lungs. About one hundred feet from
the doors of the Aminsen Scott South Pole Station is
an actual pole, a small barber pole surrounded by the
(03:54):
flags of countries who were first to sign the Antarctic Treaty. Participants,
still sweating from their sauna experience, sprint out of the
station and into the unbearably cold darkness towards the ceremonial pole,
and they aren't wearing their usual thermal research gear. Participants
are allowed to wear a pair of standard issue boots
and a neck gaiter to prevent their windpipes from freezing,
(04:16):
but that's it other than that. They are completely naked
in the dark Antarctic winter cold. At minus one hundred degrees,
it doesn't take long for sweat to freeze against their skin,
and while the aurora might be shining green and purple overhead,
no one stops to take in the view. Every breath
feels like needles in their lungs, and the participants can't
(04:37):
afford to stop for even a second. The run back
from the pole is a blur. Adrenaline is the only
thing keeping anyone going frozen. Skin becomes numb, and a
fog descends over the brain as the body begins to
shut down. A couple of seconds mean the difference between
discomfort and long term damage. The moment they're back inside
the station, doors close and the celebration begin. The sauna
(05:01):
a welcome sight after all that cold, I imagine is
full of scientists thrilled to celebrate the accomplishment, and of
course enough beer to warm even the coldest of hearts.
I would have to imagine that that feeling of euphoria
is unreal. The relief of survival, the much needed change
of pace from endless work in monotony, and the pride
of accomplishing a challenge, all of it must be exhilarating.
(05:25):
After all, there are roughly eight billion people on this planet,
but these folks are the rare handful who can say
they've stood at the bottom of the world stark, naked
and minus one hundred degrees. Tafari was born in Ethiopia
(05:51):
in eighteen ninety two. Depending on who you ask, his
birth was just like any other or it heralded Major
change for the country, or even that it meant a
new savior had been born to mankind. It's a fact
that he was no ordinary man. He was, after all
a prince, and before he ever became a king, he
went on a journey that made him famous all over
(06:12):
the world. By nineteen twenty four, Tafari was crown prince
regent to his cousin, the Empress. There was a constant
tug of war for power between the two of them,
and he wanted to show the world that he was
the true leader of Ethiopia. Ethiopia was the only African
nation that managed to avoid colonization by a European power
in the eighteen hundreds. Tafari's father actually helped prevent the
(06:36):
Italians from conquering the country in eighteen ninety six, and
Tafari wanted to push that success further by negotiating some
kind of trade route with France that would allow Ethiopia
access to the sea through the French colony of Djibouti.
He traveled with a large entourage, including a pack of
lions that he planned to give to the leaders of Europe.
(06:56):
It was not too dissimilar to a situation than that
Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America, at least in that
Tfari was an African prince out of his element in
the Western world. He arrived in Paris after about a
month of travel, gifting one of the lions and trying
to show France that he was firm when it came
to protecting Ethiopia's independence, but also hopeful that the two
(07:16):
nations could be allies. But the French only seemed interested
in exploiting the situation. They would only offer to lease
Ethiopia some land at an exorbitant price. Tafari went next
to Italy, his country's old nemesis. He met with none
other than Benito Mussolini, who offered to build a railroad
from the Italian coastal colony of Eritrea into northern Ethiopia.
(07:40):
But again this wasn't acceptable. It would give Italy dangerous
access to his country, and so he had to continue
his tour. Tafari next went to England, where he was
received even more poorly. The King didn't even greet him,
despite the fact that he had brought a lion for him.
The monarch did accept the gift, however, and in exchange
returned an Ethiopian imperial crismet that the British had stolen
(08:01):
decades earlier. But when Tafari met with a Prime minister,
he found him uninterested in helping Ethiopia gain access to
the sea, and so Tafari returned to France determined to
try one more time in securing their help, but he
found the country even more intractable than ever. The various
political and business interests of the nation were all at
cross purposes with Tafari. They all feared what a more successful,
(08:25):
powerful Ethiopia might mean for their various colonies and businesses
in Africa. Tafari visited many smaller nations on the rest
of his tour, impressing various European leaders with his lions
and his sense of diplomacy. He was fluent in French
and very passionate about modernizing his country, so in a sense,
(08:45):
the tour was successful, even though it didn't achieve his
primary goal. Tafari proved that he was Ethiopia's one true leader.
He returned home, and by nineteen twenty eight his cousin
the Empress was finally forced to crown him ruler of Ethiopia,
and that was actually the beginning of the most curious
part of Tafari's story. All the way across the globe
(09:07):
in the English colony of Jamaica, the impoverished black people
of that nation heard that a black king was crowned
in Africa and that he was respected by the white
rulers of Europe. They came to believe that he was
the second coming of Christ and would deliver them from
their colonial oppressors, and so they called him the Ethiopian
word for Prince Ros, and because his name was Tafari
(09:30):
Ros Tafari, they became Rostafarians. It's a religion that still
exists to this day and was followed most famously by
the musician Bob Marley. It's an especially curious bit of history,
giving that Tafari himself was an orthodox Christian and never
believed that he was any kind of spiritual savior, and
his rule had many ups and downs, including the Italians
(09:53):
invading in the years leading up to World War II,
which drove him into exile. After his return, he remained
adept at the play helmacy but bad at economic developments,
and his people suffered multiple famines. Tafari Markanen was murdered
in nineteen seventy five in a communist coup. But the
bravery he showed when he was just prince echoes on
to this very day, and it inspires formerly colonized nations
(10:17):
all around the world. I hope you enjoyed today's guided
tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created
by me Aaron Manke in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched
and written by the Grim and Mild team, and produced
by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and the
people who make it over at Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities.
(10:41):
You'll also find a link to the official Cabinet of
Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online, as well
as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an
ad free option, consider joining our Patreon. It's all the
same stories, but without the interruption for a small monthly fee.
Learn more and sign up over at paige Treon dot com,
slash Grim and Mild, and until next time, stay curious.
(11:08):
Mm hmm.
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):
The sauna is packed, cramped, full of dozens of researchers,
pressed against one another. For four months, they've only had
each other as company. The Aminsen Scott Research Station is
already cramped, but this takes closeness to a whole new level.
Everyone in the cedar box is dripping with sweat, struggling
to breathe the hot, humid air. But just as their
(00:58):
heart rates skyrocket and skin flushes deep red, the station's
heavy doors creek open, and a biding chill works its
way in every survival instinct in their bodies screams in protest.
And that's only the beginning, because what I'm describing right
now is one of the most extreme athletic challenges on Earth,
and only a handful of people have even tried to
(01:19):
complete it. At any given moments, About four point eight
billion people live in Asia, another one point five billion
live in Africa, and a billion in the Americas, seven
hundred and fifty million in Europe and fifty million in Oceania.
But in Antarctica, the seventh continent, that number is zero. Well,
technically the number is closer to one thousand. While Antarctica
(01:42):
has no permanent residence per se, it hosts thirty nine
research stations, where scientists spend up to two years studying
the bottom of the world. These residencies are some of
the most competitive positions on Earth. The fewer than one
thousand slots spread across a continent larger than Europe and
twice the size of Australia. But while the chance to
live at the South Pole is rare, the chance to
(02:04):
thrive is even more rare. It's tough to unwind from
a stressful day at work when you can ever actually
leave the office. There are no movie theaters, no restaurants,
and certainly no front yard games of catch. Researchers spend
their lives in a loop, working at a desk, then
retreating to a cramped dormitory to relax before doing it
(02:24):
all over again, and that is in the summer. Only
The most committed scientists, known as winter Overs, stay for
the off season at the Amts and Scott Research Station,
the southernmost point on the globe. Winter brings six months
of total darkness called the Polar Night, and during this
time the station is effectively cut off from the world.
(02:44):
Frequent blizzards and lack of light mean it's too dangerous
for planes to land. So what do three dozen super
committed scientists do for fun? In a frozen, empty landscape
devoid of most human interaction. They challenge each other to dares,
most famously the three hundred Club. To qualify, a resident
must survive a staggering three hundred degrees swing in temperature,
(03:08):
all in a single afternoon first ten minutes in the
station's sauna cranked up to two hundred degrees fahrenheit. Cramped
sweaty humid, it becomes an oven, and participants risk fainting, dehydration,
and heat stroke to stay inside the full ten minutes.
When their time is up, though, they race out of
the sauna and into the negative one hundred degree Antarctic night.
(03:31):
It's hard to appreciate how cold that really is. It's
the temperature at which carbon dioxide becomes dry ice. It's
impossible for human beings to survive more than a few
minutes outside, and it's cold enough that every breath feels
like needles in your lungs. About one hundred feet from
the doors of the Aminsen Scott South Pole Station is
an actual pole, a small barber pole surrounded by the
(03:54):
flags of countries who were first to sign the Antarctic Treaty. Participants,
still sweating from their sauna experience, sprint out of the
station and into the unbearably cold darkness towards the ceremonial pole,
and they aren't wearing their usual thermal research gear. Participants
are allowed to wear a pair of standard issue boots
and a neck gaiter to prevent their windpipes from freezing,
(04:16):
but that's it other than that. They are completely naked
in the dark Antarctic winter cold. At minus one hundred degrees,
it doesn't take long for sweat to freeze against their skin,
and while the aurora might be shining green and purple overhead,
no one stops to take in the view. Every breath
feels like needles in their lungs, and the participants can't
(04:37):
afford to stop for even a second. The run back
from the pole is a blur. Adrenaline is the only
thing keeping anyone going frozen. Skin becomes numb, and a
fog descends over the brain as the body begins to
shut down. A couple of seconds mean the difference between
discomfort and long term damage. The moment they're back inside
the station, doors close and the celebration begin. The sauna
(05:01):
a welcome sight after all that cold, I imagine is
full of scientists thrilled to celebrate the accomplishment, and of
course enough beer to warm even the coldest of hearts.
I would have to imagine that that feeling of euphoria
is unreal. The relief of survival, the much needed change
of pace from endless work in monotony, and the pride
of accomplishing a challenge, all of it must be exhilarating.
(05:25):
After all, there are roughly eight billion people on this planet,
but these folks are the rare handful who can say
they've stood at the bottom of the world stark, naked
and minus one hundred degrees. Tafari was born in Ethiopia
(05:51):
in eighteen ninety two. Depending on who you ask, his
birth was just like any other or it heralded Major
change for the country, or even that it meant a
new savior had been born to mankind. It's a fact
that he was no ordinary man. He was, after all
a prince, and before he ever became a king, he
went on a journey that made him famous all over
(06:12):
the world. By nineteen twenty four, Tafari was crown prince
regent to his cousin, the Empress. There was a constant
tug of war for power between the two of them,
and he wanted to show the world that he was
the true leader of Ethiopia. Ethiopia was the only African
nation that managed to avoid colonization by a European power
in the eighteen hundreds. Tafari's father actually helped prevent the
(06:36):
Italians from conquering the country in eighteen ninety six, and
Tafari wanted to push that success further by negotiating some
kind of trade route with France that would allow Ethiopia
access to the sea through the French colony of Djibouti.
He traveled with a large entourage, including a pack of
lions that he planned to give to the leaders of Europe.
(06:56):
It was not too dissimilar to a situation than that
Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America, at least in that
Tfari was an African prince out of his element in
the Western world. He arrived in Paris after about a
month of travel, gifting one of the lions and trying
to show France that he was firm when it came
to protecting Ethiopia's independence, but also hopeful that the two
(07:16):
nations could be allies. But the French only seemed interested
in exploiting the situation. They would only offer to lease
Ethiopia some land at an exorbitant price. Tafari went next
to Italy, his country's old nemesis. He met with none
other than Benito Mussolini, who offered to build a railroad
from the Italian coastal colony of Eritrea into northern Ethiopia.
(07:40):
But again this wasn't acceptable. It would give Italy dangerous
access to his country, and so he had to continue
his tour. Tafari next went to England, where he was
received even more poorly. The King didn't even greet him,
despite the fact that he had brought a lion for him.
The monarch did accept the gift, however, and in exchange
returned an Ethiopian imperial crismet that the British had stolen
(08:01):
decades earlier. But when Tafari met with a Prime minister,
he found him uninterested in helping Ethiopia gain access to
the sea, and so Tafari returned to France determined to
try one more time in securing their help, but he
found the country even more intractable than ever. The various
political and business interests of the nation were all at
cross purposes with Tafari. They all feared what a more successful,
(08:25):
powerful Ethiopia might mean for their various colonies and businesses
in Africa. Tafari visited many smaller nations on the rest
of his tour, impressing various European leaders with his lions
and his sense of diplomacy. He was fluent in French
and very passionate about modernizing his country, so in a sense,
(08:45):
the tour was successful, even though it didn't achieve his
primary goal. Tafari proved that he was Ethiopia's one true leader.
He returned home, and by nineteen twenty eight his cousin
the Empress was finally forced to crown him ruler of Ethiopia,
and that was actually the beginning of the most curious
part of Tafari's story. All the way across the globe
(09:07):
in the English colony of Jamaica, the impoverished black people
of that nation heard that a black king was crowned
in Africa and that he was respected by the white
rulers of Europe. They came to believe that he was
the second coming of Christ and would deliver them from
their colonial oppressors, and so they called him the Ethiopian
word for Prince Ros, and because his name was Tafari
(09:30):
Ros Tafari, they became Rostafarians. It's a religion that still
exists to this day and was followed most famously by
the musician Bob Marley. It's an especially curious bit of history,
giving that Tafari himself was an orthodox Christian and never
believed that he was any kind of spiritual savior, and
his rule had many ups and downs, including the Italians
(09:53):
invading in the years leading up to World War II,
which drove him into exile. After his return, he remained
adept at the play helmacy but bad at economic developments,
and his people suffered multiple famines. Tafari Markanen was murdered
in nineteen seventy five in a communist coup. But the
bravery he showed when he was just prince echoes on
to this very day, and it inspires formerly colonized nations
(10:17):
all around the world. I hope you enjoyed today's guided
tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created
by me Aaron Manke in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched
and written by the Grim and Mild team, and produced
by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and the
people who make it over at Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities.
(10:41):
You'll also find a link to the official Cabinet of
Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online, as well
as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an
ad free option, consider joining our Patreon. It's all the
same stories, but without the interruption for a small monthly fee.
Learn more and sign up over at paige Treon dot com,
slash Grim and Mild, and until next time, stay curious.
(11:08):
Mm hmm.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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