August 11, 2026 • 10 mins
Today's tour through the Cabinet involved two deadly topics that require a curious change in our perception.
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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.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
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. Throughout history, the pursuit
(00:37):
of beauty has often come at a steep price. Modern
day fad diets and cosmetic surgeries can very literally make
people sick, and they pale in comparison to what previous
generations went through in the name of esthetic perfection. The
nineteenth century was particularly terrible for killer fashion. A number
of trends actively poisoned, suffocated, or burned their wearers. Lead
(01:02):
and radium laced face creams attempted to smooth the skin
while sickening the user. Tapeworms and belladonna were used for
weight loss or brighter eyes. Clothing was no different, too,
from toxic dyes to structural designs that restricted breathing. Killer
fashions of the Victorian era reveal a period where beauty
standards frequently overrode basic human safety, and the most pervasive
(01:27):
killer in the Victorian wardrobe was arsenic. During the mid
eighteen hundreds, the desire for vibrant emerald green fabric for
dresses led to widespread use of Paris green and arsenic
based pigment. Bodices dyed with this chemical were not merely
dangerous to the wear, but became mobile sources of toxicity.
(01:47):
The dye would leach onto the skin and release toxic
vapors as the wearer danced and sweated in the heat
of crowded ballrooms, gently poisoning anyone standing nearby. There are
accounts suggest testing that a woman wearing such a gown
could accidentally poison patrons across half a dozen different ballrooms
simply by moving through them. But it wasn't just the
(02:09):
poison that could prove fatal. The construction of some clothing
posed fatal risks through restriction. One of the most notorious
examples was the father Killer collar, a high, stiff neck
piece that encircled the throat so tightly it could cause strangulation,
and as you might imagine, the name came from a
grim reality. If a person wearing one turned their head
(02:31):
quickly or leaned back, the collar could compress the trachea,
choking them more insidiously. Though tight lacing of corsets could
reduce a woman's waistline by more than six inches if
laced properly. It also compressed internal organs, shifting the stomach
and liver downward in the body, and restricted lung capacity,
(02:52):
leading to fainting spells and in extreme cases, asphyxiation. But
another killer among the garments was fire. Massive skur and
flammable fabrics like tool and cotton were immensely popular in
the nineteenth century, making well dressed women into tinder boxes
just waiting for a spark. The wide hoop skirts that
were in fashion were particularly susceptible to ignition when brushed
(03:15):
against fireplaces or candles. Unlike tighter fitting clothes worn by men,
these flowing dresses could catch fire instantly, leading to horrific
burns that were often fatal before medical help could arrive.
The flammability was exacerbated by chemicals that were used to
treat the fabrics for sheen and stiffness, turning a simple
(03:35):
walk past a fireplace into a potential death sentence. And
the use of mercury and hat making was also widespread,
and its effects became so notorious that it inspired the
Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. The real life mad
Hatter condition, illustrated whimsically by Lewis Carroll's story, was in
reality a debilitating neurotoxic disease which caused tremors, delirium, and hallucination,
(04:00):
as well as a host of other physical and psychological
side effects. All of this highlights a period where dress
value is measured in its ability to confer status, definitely
not safety. Modern regulations have largely eliminated the most egregious
dangers of arsenic dyes and lead cosmetics, but dangerous fashion
trends still persist, echoing across social media and the modern
(04:23):
beauty industry. The ghosts of all those arsenic dyed ballrooms
and burning crinoline may be a product of yesteryear, but
they still haunt us in all of our impossible and
occasionally dangerous beauty standards. So here's to hoping that in
the future we choose our health over clean lines and
skin without a blemish. After all, beauty means nothing if
(04:45):
you're not around to appreciate it. Streaming television and films
has severely impacted theater audiences and film executives are looking
(05:07):
for any way to get audiences back, so when a
small independent film makes more money than a big budget
Hollywood one, executives sit up and pay attention. Recently, horror
films made by YouTubers are outgrossing major studio films, leading
executives to hire more YouTubers to direct them. But this
isn't the first time that this pattern has played out
(05:28):
in Hollywood history. In the nineteen fifties, the arrival of
television hurt theater attendance, just as streaming has today. So
in nineteen fifty two, when the independent film Bwana Devil
was a huge success, the studios all wanted to know why,
and it turns out it was using a new fangled
technology known as three D. All of the studios scrambled
(05:52):
to adopt this new technology, and just like the YouTuber
hiring craze of today, three D became all the rage.
Warner Brothers became the first major studio to get a
three D film into production, entitled House of Wax. It
was actually a remake of a horror movie about a
killer who encases his victims in wax, and to make
(06:13):
it they hired Hungarian born director Andrea de Taff, based
on his reputation from a series of successful westerns he
had made. What they didn't stop to consider was that
he only had one eye, and a person needs two
eyes to see in three D. The movie was far
too long into production before anyone realized this, though. Jack Warner,
(06:33):
the head of the studio, didn't want to replace Andrea,
so instead he told him not to wear his distinctive
black eye patch on set. At the very least, he
didn't want anyone from the press to see it and
publish a hit piece about how Warner Brothers had hired
a one eyed man to direct a three D movie.
Little did Jack know, though, he had actually hired the
perfect person.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
You see. As I mentioned, andre to Tof was born
in Hungary and he lived there for many years. During
the Nazi occupation, he was forced to use his skills
in cinematography to film Nazi marches. A lot of his
skills were therefore developed in the moment and on the job,
filming elaborate complex set pieces, or to put it another way,
filming real life Nazis was pretty good practice for filming
(07:18):
a horror movie. Andre knew how to show the audience
where to look and when, and how to make them
care about what was happening on screen. Ironically, these were
more important qualities in directing the three D movie than
actually being able to see one. If a three D
shot isn't lit or framed correctly, objects in the foreground
that aren't meant to pop out will distracting the viewer
(07:41):
from whatever the director intended them to look at. And
if the audience simply doesn't care what's happening in the movie,
then they won't be excited by something popping out at them.
But Andre made sure that House of Wax was as
spooky as possible. He hired a great classic horror leading
man named Vincent Price, and you've heard his voice on
Thriller by Michael Jackson, and he put him in some
(08:03):
truly disturbing makeup. The story of House of Wax follows
a wax sculptor whose studio burns down, disfiguring him and
destroying his life's work. Price's disfiguring makeup was so good
that he was forbidden from eating at the studio commissary
because he was grossing everyone out. Price's performance meant that
the audience cared about the story and Andre's cinematography, with
(08:27):
heavy shadows and jump scares, kept them immersed and afraid.
All of the heads and arms and fists that were
jumping out of the screen were therefore very effective. Most infamously,
Andre actually created a real massive fire to depict the
Wax Museum burning down. He had his team light one
figure on fire at a time so they could get
(08:47):
a close up of each one burning, but they kept
the fires going and then pulled the camera back to
show the whole museum was on fire. Effect specialists awaited
off camera, dousing any fire that spread beyond the stage.
The only problem they encountered was that the fire rose
so high and burned a hole in the sound stage ceiling.
A shaft of blue light trickled down onto the scene,
(09:09):
and it's visible in some of the shots in the movie.
That wasn't too much of a problem, though, but Vincent
Price's eyebrows being singed off was a little more realism
than Andre planned for. Luckily, those could always be drawn
back on. The film was a huge hit with audiences
and is still considered one of the best three D
movies ever made, and all it took was a one
(09:30):
eyed filmmaker who was more curious about craft than gimmicks
to make it jump off the screen. 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,
(09:51):
and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show
and the people who make it over at Grimandmild dot
com slash Curiosities. 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
(10:12):
all the same stories, but without the interruption for a
small monthly fee. Learn more and sign up over at
patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
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. Throughout history, the pursuit
(00:37):
of beauty has often come at a steep price. Modern
day fad diets and cosmetic surgeries can very literally make
people sick, and they pale in comparison to what previous
generations went through in the name of esthetic perfection. The
nineteenth century was particularly terrible for killer fashion. A number
of trends actively poisoned, suffocated, or burned their wearers. Lead
(01:02):
and radium laced face creams attempted to smooth the skin
while sickening the user. Tapeworms and belladonna were used for
weight loss or brighter eyes. Clothing was no different, too,
from toxic dyes to structural designs that restricted breathing. Killer
fashions of the Victorian era reveal a period where beauty
standards frequently overrode basic human safety, and the most pervasive
(01:27):
killer in the Victorian wardrobe was arsenic. During the mid
eighteen hundreds, the desire for vibrant emerald green fabric for
dresses led to widespread use of Paris green and arsenic
based pigment. Bodices dyed with this chemical were not merely
dangerous to the wear, but became mobile sources of toxicity.
(01:47):
The dye would leach onto the skin and release toxic
vapors as the wearer danced and sweated in the heat
of crowded ballrooms, gently poisoning anyone standing nearby. There are
accounts suggest testing that a woman wearing such a gown
could accidentally poison patrons across half a dozen different ballrooms
simply by moving through them. But it wasn't just the
(02:09):
poison that could prove fatal. The construction of some clothing
posed fatal risks through restriction. One of the most notorious
examples was the father Killer collar, a high, stiff neck
piece that encircled the throat so tightly it could cause strangulation,
and as you might imagine, the name came from a
grim reality. If a person wearing one turned their head
(02:31):
quickly or leaned back, the collar could compress the trachea,
choking them more insidiously. Though tight lacing of corsets could
reduce a woman's waistline by more than six inches if
laced properly. It also compressed internal organs, shifting the stomach
and liver downward in the body, and restricted lung capacity,
(02:52):
leading to fainting spells and in extreme cases, asphyxiation. But
another killer among the garments was fire. Massive skur and
flammable fabrics like tool and cotton were immensely popular in
the nineteenth century, making well dressed women into tinder boxes
just waiting for a spark. The wide hoop skirts that
were in fashion were particularly susceptible to ignition when brushed
(03:15):
against fireplaces or candles. Unlike tighter fitting clothes worn by men,
these flowing dresses could catch fire instantly, leading to horrific
burns that were often fatal before medical help could arrive.
The flammability was exacerbated by chemicals that were used to
treat the fabrics for sheen and stiffness, turning a simple
(03:35):
walk past a fireplace into a potential death sentence. And
the use of mercury and hat making was also widespread,
and its effects became so notorious that it inspired the
Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. The real life mad
Hatter condition, illustrated whimsically by Lewis Carroll's story, was in
reality a debilitating neurotoxic disease which caused tremors, delirium, and hallucination,
(04:00):
as well as a host of other physical and psychological
side effects. All of this highlights a period where dress
value is measured in its ability to confer status, definitely
not safety. Modern regulations have largely eliminated the most egregious
dangers of arsenic dyes and lead cosmetics, but dangerous fashion
trends still persist, echoing across social media and the modern
(04:23):
beauty industry. The ghosts of all those arsenic dyed ballrooms
and burning crinoline may be a product of yesteryear, but
they still haunt us in all of our impossible and
occasionally dangerous beauty standards. So here's to hoping that in
the future we choose our health over clean lines and
skin without a blemish. After all, beauty means nothing if
(04:45):
you're not around to appreciate it. Streaming television and films
has severely impacted theater audiences and film executives are looking
(05:07):
for any way to get audiences back, so when a
small independent film makes more money than a big budget
Hollywood one, executives sit up and pay attention. Recently, horror
films made by YouTubers are outgrossing major studio films, leading
executives to hire more YouTubers to direct them. But this
isn't the first time that this pattern has played out
(05:28):
in Hollywood history. In the nineteen fifties, the arrival of
television hurt theater attendance, just as streaming has today. So
in nineteen fifty two, when the independent film Bwana Devil
was a huge success, the studios all wanted to know why,
and it turns out it was using a new fangled
technology known as three D. All of the studios scrambled
(05:52):
to adopt this new technology, and just like the YouTuber
hiring craze of today, three D became all the rage.
Warner Brothers became the first major studio to get a
three D film into production, entitled House of Wax. It
was actually a remake of a horror movie about a
killer who encases his victims in wax, and to make
(06:13):
it they hired Hungarian born director Andrea de Taff, based
on his reputation from a series of successful westerns he
had made. What they didn't stop to consider was that
he only had one eye, and a person needs two
eyes to see in three D. The movie was far
too long into production before anyone realized this, though. Jack Warner,
(06:33):
the head of the studio, didn't want to replace Andrea,
so instead he told him not to wear his distinctive
black eye patch on set. At the very least, he
didn't want anyone from the press to see it and
publish a hit piece about how Warner Brothers had hired
a one eyed man to direct a three D movie.
Little did Jack know, though, he had actually hired the
perfect person.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
You see. As I mentioned, andre to Tof was born
in Hungary and he lived there for many years. During
the Nazi occupation, he was forced to use his skills
in cinematography to film Nazi marches. A lot of his
skills were therefore developed in the moment and on the job,
filming elaborate complex set pieces, or to put it another way,
filming real life Nazis was pretty good practice for filming
(07:18):
a horror movie. Andre knew how to show the audience
where to look and when, and how to make them
care about what was happening on screen. Ironically, these were
more important qualities in directing the three D movie than
actually being able to see one. If a three D
shot isn't lit or framed correctly, objects in the foreground
that aren't meant to pop out will distracting the viewer
(07:41):
from whatever the director intended them to look at. And
if the audience simply doesn't care what's happening in the movie,
then they won't be excited by something popping out at them.
But Andre made sure that House of Wax was as
spooky as possible. He hired a great classic horror leading
man named Vincent Price, and you've heard his voice on
Thriller by Michael Jackson, and he put him in some
(08:03):
truly disturbing makeup. The story of House of Wax follows
a wax sculptor whose studio burns down, disfiguring him and
destroying his life's work. Price's disfiguring makeup was so good
that he was forbidden from eating at the studio commissary
because he was grossing everyone out. Price's performance meant that
the audience cared about the story and Andre's cinematography, with
(08:27):
heavy shadows and jump scares, kept them immersed and afraid.
All of the heads and arms and fists that were
jumping out of the screen were therefore very effective. Most infamously,
Andre actually created a real massive fire to depict the
Wax Museum burning down. He had his team light one
figure on fire at a time so they could get
(08:47):
a close up of each one burning, but they kept
the fires going and then pulled the camera back to
show the whole museum was on fire. Effect specialists awaited
off camera, dousing any fire that spread beyond the stage.
The only problem they encountered was that the fire rose
so high and burned a hole in the sound stage ceiling.
A shaft of blue light trickled down onto the scene,
(09:09):
and it's visible in some of the shots in the movie.
That wasn't too much of a problem, though, but Vincent
Price's eyebrows being singed off was a little more realism
than Andre planned for. Luckily, those could always be drawn
back on. The film was a huge hit with audiences
and is still considered one of the best three D
movies ever made, and all it took was a one
(09:30):
eyed filmmaker who was more curious about craft than gimmicks
to make it jump off the screen. 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,
(09:51):
and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show
and the people who make it over at Grimandmild dot
com slash Curiosities. 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
(10:12):
all the same stories, but without the interruption for a
small monthly fee. Learn more and sign up over at
patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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