May 9, 2023 • 9 mins
Fame is complex, and these two individuals achieved it in very different ways.
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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 right there on display, just waiting
for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
Those of us with hidden talents often discovered them accidentally.
For example, raj Mohan Nair of India lost his mother
when he was very young. Not wanting to live without her,
he grabbed hold of a high tension wire attached to
an electrical transformer, but he was not injured. The electricity
that would have killed another human being simply passed through
(00:57):
him without causing any harm. Since then, he's discovered his
body is capable of handling multiple amps of electricity with
only minor side effects. The average human can't even withstand
a tenth of an amp without serious injury or death,
which makes nare something of a modern miracle, like a
character out of a comic book who has developed a superpower.
(01:19):
William McKenna's superpower, though, was not so much impressive as
it was off putting. McKenna was born around eighteen sixty
eight in Long Island, New York. His childhood is something
of a mystery, but what we do know is that
he got a job at Meyer's Glass factory in Brooklyn
when he was just fourteen. McKenna was on his lunch
break one day when he noticed a strange but enjoyable
(01:42):
new texture in his food. With every bite, he became
more enamored with this flavor that had found its way
into his meal. Back then, you see, there weren't as
many safety precautions in factories as there are today, and
so it wasn't uncommon for debris to find its way
into a person's hair, skin, or even their food. As
it turns out, what McKenna had been eating that day
(02:04):
was glass, glass dust, to be exact, and it kickstarted
a new passion in him. Pretty soon, he was chomping
on glass any chance he could get, so much so
that the factory owners started to notice that their inventory
was disappearing, which is why when they found McKenna chomping
on one of their bottles, they knew they had found
their thief. He was promptly fired and forced to find
(02:26):
a new line of work, but McKenna realized something that
day that he had a unique talent for eating. He
started working at a die museum under the nickname the
Human Ostrich due to his indestructible stomach, although human goat
might have been more appropriate, because pretty soon William began
eating much more than just glass. To get the word
(02:48):
out about his act, he showed up at the offices
of a newspaper called The New York Graphic, boasting about
his newfound skills. He even performed for them by eating
carpet tax, a couple of handfuls of paper, and a
glass tumbler. Oddly, the reporters weren't too taken by his show.
The article written about him remarked that he was a
disheveled man and smelled of cigarettes and garlic. All in all,
(03:11):
not an impressive specimen even as a sideshow act, but
that didn't stop him from performing. He once said that
he brought in seventy five dollars a week as the
Human Ostrich, about twenty five hundred dollars today, and despite
his bizarre eating habits, McKenna also made sure to eat
three large meals every day. He could not, of course,
subsist only on glass and metal, all of this while
(03:33):
maintaining a fairly normal frame, weighing in at one hundred
and thirty eight pounds and five feet six inches tall. Eventually,
McKenna took his show on the road, eating random items
for audiences in places like Self Bend, Indiana. The papers
there described him as being able to eat everything from
a cambric needle to a five inch spike, a boiler
(03:53):
plate or a railway sandwich, and of course glass, large
hunks of it, not crump tiny slivers. He would crunch
a whole glass cup or bottle, taking big bites in
front of the audience, and to finish it all off,
he would end by eating a live bullfrog. He wouldn't
chew it, though, he would swallow it whole, and then
let people touch his belly so they could feel it
(04:15):
moving around inside. Sadly, William McKenna's death was as mysterious
as his childhood. He fell out of the public eye
by the early eighteen nineties, and his fate remains unknown
to this day, although I'd like to think that he
lived a long life and died of old age, not
from swallowing needles and carpet tacks. Of course, I'm a
glass half full kind of guy, the half that McKenna
(04:38):
didn't eat. That is Mary Ann Evans wanted to be
a writer. In fact, she was a writer, and a
talented one in that unfortunately for me. Mary She was
(05:00):
born in Victorian England during the eighteen hundreds, when society
believed women were incapable of writing as well as men,
especially when it came to literature of any worth. For
a while, she worked at a far left wing journal
in London. The owner of The Westminster Review took the
glory for being the editor, although it was Mary Anne
who did much of the work behind the scenes, but
(05:22):
she did enjoy some success at the journal. Reviewers and
readers became fans of the articles that she wrote. But
Mary Anne was determined to succeed, and she worked hard
to hone her craft. She realized that if her work
was to be taken seriously, she needed to adopt a
male pen name. So she chose a name that sounded
masculine and intellectual, and the ruse worked. Mary's pen name
(05:44):
quickly became a respected and well known author. Her novels
were widely read and admired. Under her pseudonym, Mary wrote
stories that explored complex themes and characters, and she became
a beloved figure in the literary world. She rarely talked
about her personal life, so it's no surprise that only
a select few friends and family knew the famous novelist
(06:04):
was not only a woman, but Mary Anne. Not only
did she write novels under her male pen name, but
she also wrote essays, poems, and reviews. Critics and readers
alike enjoyed her sharp wit and admired her ability to
challenge conventional wisdom, making some of her essays controversial. Little
did readers know that some of these controversies reflected the
(06:25):
women behind the name. Mary Anne was a feminist, and
her novels often explored women's lives and the constraints that
society placed on them. She believed that women should have
the same opportunities as men, and she used her writing
to advocate for women's rights. Oddly, although a writer herself,
Mary Anne remained a critic of other women novelists. She
(06:46):
was a master of characterization. Her novels are known for
their vivid, complex yet ordinary characters who often struggle with
their flaws and weaknesses. She was interested in exploring the
complexities of human nature and the way that people interact
with each other. Under her pen name, mary Anne also
translated several important works of philosophy and literature from German
(07:08):
into English, including Spinoza's Ethics and Fauerbach's Essence of Christianity.
While the pen name had fooled readers, one person saw
past the ruse. Charles Dickens wrote to the famed author twice.
In the first letter, he addressed the author's womanly touches.
The second letter came after Mary Anne sent Charles Dickens
a copy of one of her novels. He replied with
(07:31):
a thank you and alluded that he had never seen
any man present himself a woman so firmly in thought.
In eighteen fifty nine, y brilliant success of the novel
Adam Bede made the public more curious about the author,
which even Queen Victoria raved about. People around mary Anne
began to suspect problems arose when someone else complained that
(07:51):
he had not received money from the book. Mary Anne
thought that it was funny until people pitched in as
a fundraiser. That's when she began to worry about those
that con artist was scamming. After an article ran stating
that the famous author was a woman. Marianne's publisher told
her that it was time to come clean. In eighteen
fifty nine, she admitted that she and the renowned author
(08:12):
were the same. Instead of a fallout, fans and readers
accepted the news, and instead of referring to her by
her real name, the public continued to use the pen name.
In eighteen sixty, Mary Anne Evans released her next novel
as the celebrated author, George Eliot. The fact that the
novels fans had come to love had been written by
(08:32):
a woman never cut into her profits or her popularity.
I guess you could say that the pen name is
indeed mightier than the sword. 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
(08:53):
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me,
Aaron Mankey and partner 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 Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time,
(09:13):
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 right there on display, just waiting
for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
Those of us with hidden talents often discovered them accidentally.
For example, raj Mohan Nair of India lost his mother
when he was very young. Not wanting to live without her,
he grabbed hold of a high tension wire attached to
an electrical transformer, but he was not injured. The electricity
that would have killed another human being simply passed through
(00:57):
him without causing any harm. Since then, he's discovered his
body is capable of handling multiple amps of electricity with
only minor side effects. The average human can't even withstand
a tenth of an amp without serious injury or death,
which makes nare something of a modern miracle, like a
character out of a comic book who has developed a superpower.
(01:19):
William McKenna's superpower, though, was not so much impressive as
it was off putting. McKenna was born around eighteen sixty
eight in Long Island, New York. His childhood is something
of a mystery, but what we do know is that
he got a job at Meyer's Glass factory in Brooklyn
when he was just fourteen. McKenna was on his lunch
break one day when he noticed a strange but enjoyable
(01:42):
new texture in his food. With every bite, he became
more enamored with this flavor that had found its way
into his meal. Back then, you see, there weren't as
many safety precautions in factories as there are today, and
so it wasn't uncommon for debris to find its way
into a person's hair, skin, or even their food. As
it turns out, what McKenna had been eating that day
(02:04):
was glass, glass dust, to be exact, and it kickstarted
a new passion in him. Pretty soon, he was chomping
on glass any chance he could get, so much so
that the factory owners started to notice that their inventory
was disappearing, which is why when they found McKenna chomping
on one of their bottles, they knew they had found
their thief. He was promptly fired and forced to find
(02:26):
a new line of work, but McKenna realized something that
day that he had a unique talent for eating. He
started working at a die museum under the nickname the
Human Ostrich due to his indestructible stomach, although human goat
might have been more appropriate, because pretty soon William began
eating much more than just glass. To get the word
(02:48):
out about his act, he showed up at the offices
of a newspaper called The New York Graphic, boasting about
his newfound skills. He even performed for them by eating
carpet tax, a couple of handfuls of paper, and a
glass tumbler. Oddly, the reporters weren't too taken by his show.
The article written about him remarked that he was a
disheveled man and smelled of cigarettes and garlic. All in all,
(03:11):
not an impressive specimen even as a sideshow act, but
that didn't stop him from performing. He once said that
he brought in seventy five dollars a week as the
Human Ostrich, about twenty five hundred dollars today, and despite
his bizarre eating habits, McKenna also made sure to eat
three large meals every day. He could not, of course,
subsist only on glass and metal, all of this while
(03:33):
maintaining a fairly normal frame, weighing in at one hundred
and thirty eight pounds and five feet six inches tall. Eventually,
McKenna took his show on the road, eating random items
for audiences in places like Self Bend, Indiana. The papers
there described him as being able to eat everything from
a cambric needle to a five inch spike, a boiler
(03:53):
plate or a railway sandwich, and of course glass, large
hunks of it, not crump tiny slivers. He would crunch
a whole glass cup or bottle, taking big bites in
front of the audience, and to finish it all off,
he would end by eating a live bullfrog. He wouldn't
chew it, though, he would swallow it whole, and then
let people touch his belly so they could feel it
(04:15):
moving around inside. Sadly, William McKenna's death was as mysterious
as his childhood. He fell out of the public eye
by the early eighteen nineties, and his fate remains unknown
to this day, although I'd like to think that he
lived a long life and died of old age, not
from swallowing needles and carpet tacks. Of course, I'm a
glass half full kind of guy, the half that McKenna
(04:38):
didn't eat. That is Mary Ann Evans wanted to be
a writer. In fact, she was a writer, and a
talented one in that unfortunately for me. Mary She was
(05:00):
born in Victorian England during the eighteen hundreds, when society
believed women were incapable of writing as well as men,
especially when it came to literature of any worth. For
a while, she worked at a far left wing journal
in London. The owner of The Westminster Review took the
glory for being the editor, although it was Mary Anne
who did much of the work behind the scenes, but
(05:22):
she did enjoy some success at the journal. Reviewers and
readers became fans of the articles that she wrote. But
Mary Anne was determined to succeed, and she worked hard
to hone her craft. She realized that if her work
was to be taken seriously, she needed to adopt a
male pen name. So she chose a name that sounded
masculine and intellectual, and the ruse worked. Mary's pen name
(05:44):
quickly became a respected and well known author. Her novels
were widely read and admired. Under her pseudonym, Mary wrote
stories that explored complex themes and characters, and she became
a beloved figure in the literary world. She rarely talked
about her personal life, so it's no surprise that only
a select few friends and family knew the famous novelist
(06:04):
was not only a woman, but Mary Anne. Not only
did she write novels under her male pen name, but
she also wrote essays, poems, and reviews. Critics and readers
alike enjoyed her sharp wit and admired her ability to
challenge conventional wisdom, making some of her essays controversial. Little
did readers know that some of these controversies reflected the
(06:25):
women behind the name. Mary Anne was a feminist, and
her novels often explored women's lives and the constraints that
society placed on them. She believed that women should have
the same opportunities as men, and she used her writing
to advocate for women's rights. Oddly, although a writer herself,
Mary Anne remained a critic of other women novelists. She
(06:46):
was a master of characterization. Her novels are known for
their vivid, complex yet ordinary characters who often struggle with
their flaws and weaknesses. She was interested in exploring the
complexities of human nature and the way that people interact
with each other. Under her pen name, mary Anne also
translated several important works of philosophy and literature from German
(07:08):
into English, including Spinoza's Ethics and Fauerbach's Essence of Christianity.
While the pen name had fooled readers, one person saw
past the ruse. Charles Dickens wrote to the famed author twice.
In the first letter, he addressed the author's womanly touches.
The second letter came after Mary Anne sent Charles Dickens
a copy of one of her novels. He replied with
(07:31):
a thank you and alluded that he had never seen
any man present himself a woman so firmly in thought.
In eighteen fifty nine, y brilliant success of the novel
Adam Bede made the public more curious about the author,
which even Queen Victoria raved about. People around mary Anne
began to suspect problems arose when someone else complained that
(07:51):
he had not received money from the book. Mary Anne
thought that it was funny until people pitched in as
a fundraiser. That's when she began to worry about those
that con artist was scamming. After an article ran stating
that the famous author was a woman. Marianne's publisher told
her that it was time to come clean. In eighteen
fifty nine, she admitted that she and the renowned author
(08:12):
were the same. Instead of a fallout, fans and readers
accepted the news, and instead of referring to her by
her real name, the public continued to use the pen name.
In eighteen sixty, Mary Anne Evans released her next novel
as the celebrated author, George Eliot. The fact that the
novels fans had come to love had been written by
(08:32):
a woman never cut into her profits or her popularity.
I guess you could say that the pen name is
indeed mightier than the sword. 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
(08:53):
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me,
Aaron Mankey and partner 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 Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time,
(09:13):
stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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