December 12, 2023 • 10 mins
Today's tour will uncover some truly curious tales from the holiday season.
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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):
In the United States, many people celebrate the twelve Days
of Christmas, or at the very least they're familiar with
the holiday song that features ladies, dancing lords, a leaping drummers, drumming,
and all manner of bird species. In Iceland, however, they
celebrate the thirteen Days of Christmas, and rather than gifts
from a true love, each day consists of a visit
(00:56):
from one of the thirteen Yule Lads. The Yule Lads
are kind of like a big group of brotherly Santa Clauses.
If Saint Nick was a troll within affinity for theft
and mischief. The legend goes something like this. On each
of the thirteen nights leading up to Christmas, Icelandic children
were told to place a single shoe on their windowsill.
If they'd been good that year, they would wake up
(01:18):
to a shoe filled with delicious candies. If not, they
would find their footwear chock full of rotten potatoes. But
whether you've got sweet treats or moldy vegetables, you still
had to contend with each of the yule lad's unique personalities.
For example, if the lad named gully Gawk visited your home,
you might go out to check your cows, only to
find all the foams scraped off the top of your
(01:39):
milk buckets. If sheep coat clods stopped by, you might
catch a skinny, bearded man suckling on your sheep. If
Stubby broke in while you were cooking breakfast, you might
find that all of the eggs had suddenly disappeared from
your frying pan. And according to legend, one mule lad
is known for stealing spoons and licking the leftover food
off of them, and he's given the creative name of
(02:01):
spoon liquor. Along the same lines, there's bowl liquor, potscraper,
and sausage swiper. I'm sure you can guess what those
guys get up to. But while most of the yule
lads seem relatively benign, if a bit's annoying, a couple
are downright creepy. There's one who will nab any meat
that gets left around the house. He goes by the
terrifying moniker of meat hook. Maybe most unsettling of all, though,
(02:25):
is window Peeper, the guy who sneaks around outside your house,
staring inside any windows you might have accidentally left open,
planning how he could break in and steal your belongings.
But the scariest Icelandic Christmas legend isn't any of the
Yule Lads at all. It's their mother, Grilla. Grilla is
perhaps the most fearsome creature in Icelandic folklore. A giant
(02:48):
witch slash ogre, she spends the spring, summer, and fall
collecting whispers. These whispers tell her which Icelandic children have
behaved well and which ones haven't. During the winter month,
once Gorilla ventures out from her cave to gather up
all of Iceland's naughty children, she throws them in a sack,
drags them back to her home, and boils them in
(03:09):
a stew, which she eats all year long. And as
if that weren't bad enough, Gorilla also has a pet,
the Christmas Cat. Now, the Christmas Cat is a huge
black flesh eating feline. Only it doesn't differentiate between good
and bad children. It will feast happily on anyone who
crosses its path. The only way to protect yourself is
(03:29):
by wearing a brand new article of clothing. Now, just
imagine yourself as a child growing up in Iceland hearing
stories about Gorilla, her evil pet, and her mischievous children.
You'd be pretty freaked out right. Well, apparently these legends
struck such fear into the hearts of young Icelanders that
in seventeen forty six, the country's parliament instituted a new law.
(03:52):
Parents were legally banned from using the creepy creatures to
scare their children. Gone were the days when a horrifying
folk could convince kids to behave. And while the Yule
Lads used to be presented as disfigured trolls, they now
tend to look a lot like Santa Claus knockoffs, big
jolly men with red cheeks wearing silly hats who come
(04:12):
to make a bit of harmless trouble. They're more enduring
than eerie. But Grilla, oh, her reputation was too far
gone to be repaired even today. The winter which is feared.
According to Brian Pilkington, an illustrator and folklore expert, children
are truly terrified of grilla in Iceland. I visited children's
play schools to demonstrate drawing skills, and if I draw gorilla,
(04:36):
then two or three terrified children have to leave the
room because it's too strong for them. This is living folklore,
and honestly I get it. I don't want anything to
do with gorilla either, but if I happen to cross
paths with the Christmas cat, I might be tempted to
give it a scratch behind the ear, provided I was
wearing new clothes. Of course, there are a lot of
(05:12):
terrible places that you could be stuck during the holidays,
the airport, an awkward work party, in traffic on the interstate.
But of all the awful locales, I can confidently say
that one would be worse than all the rest. A
German pow camp in World War Two. Just imagine there
would be no eggnog or Christmas movies to speak of.
(05:32):
I know I'm being glib here, but honestly, it wasn't
funny at all. During World War II, about ninety four
thousand American soldiers found themselves in German prisoners of war
camps all throughout Europe. One of these was at Colditz Castle,
located outside of the city of Leipzig, Germany. Colditz Castle
was a huge Renaissance style estate that the Nazi Army
(05:53):
transformed into a prison. It sat at the top of
a hill four hundred miles away from the closest Allied forces.
Now due to its geography and not to mention the
fact that there were more guards than prisoners, Colditz had
a reputation for being impossible to escape from. But the
soldiers trapped inside weren't totally out of luck, especially during
Christmas time is he. Based on the rules of the
(06:16):
Geneva Conventions, organizations like the Red Cross were allowed to
send supplies to those being held as prisoners of war.
Care packages could contain things like clothing, food, medical supplies,
and even small games. Playing cards were a common gift
to send to POWs, and the US government knew this.
The US playing card company, makers of the famous Bicycle
(06:37):
branded card decks, also knew this, and they knew that
together they just might be able to help American soldiers
inside Colditz Castle. So let me set the scene for you.
It's Christmas of nineteen forty three, American POWs clamor over
the Red Cross packages they have just received. Each one
contains a deck of bicycle playing cards. One astute soldier
(06:58):
notices an incredible tiny detail. The card decks are all
wrapped in cellophane. On most of the decks, the clear
plastic wrapping is perfectly symmetrical, but on one the seal
is crooked. The soldier takes the deck with the crooked
wrapping that night in his cell, under the cover of darkness,
he shuffles through the fifty two cards over and over again.
(07:20):
He is sure the cellophane must have been a clue.
There must be some kind of secret hidden inside the deck.
And then he notices that the cards themselves are made
out of thin layers of paper. At the corner of one,
the layers are beginning to come apart. He peels the
card into two separate pieces and sees something printed on
the inside. The soldier's heart starts to race. He checks
(07:43):
outside his cell to make sure no guards are around,
and then he stays up all night peeling the cards
apart one by one, and then he arranges them together
like a puzzle, revealing a map of Germany. Not only
did this map show soldiers how they could get from
Coldt's Cap to their closest allies, but it also marked
areas to avoid and landmarks to look out for along
(08:05):
the way. It was an escape manual masquerading as a pastime.
It was the best Christmas gift they could have possibly received.
All in all, these playing card maps helped thirty two
soldiers successfully escape from Coldot's Castle. Allied forces took control
of the estates in April of nineteen forty five and
liberated those still trapped inside. Because of the secrecy of
(08:28):
the operation, it's unknown exactly how many escape map decks
were produced. Many have likely been lost, damaged, or hidden.
These days, only two known decks remain, and they're both
on display at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
I know because I've seen them both myself with my
own eyes. As for the US Playing Card Company, they
(08:49):
did even more than produce secret escape maps. They also
made a special card deck that contained images of military
vehicles from various countries. Rather than being covertly smuggled into
pow camps, these decks help civilians identify planes, tanks, and
ships from other nations. Even today, the company embraces the
role it played in World War Two. They released a
(09:10):
commemorative escape map deck back in twenty thirteen, which mirrors
the one the soldiers in Kolditz Castle received. Luckily, though,
if you buy one, you won't have to spend hours
peeling the cards apart. The map is printed on the
front of each one, serving as a reminder of the
creative and curious problem solving that took place all those
Christmases ago. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of
(09:36):
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 about it
(09:57):
over at the Worldoflore 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):
In the United States, many people celebrate the twelve Days
of Christmas, or at the very least they're familiar with
the holiday song that features ladies, dancing lords, a leaping drummers, drumming,
and all manner of bird species. In Iceland, however, they
celebrate the thirteen Days of Christmas, and rather than gifts
from a true love, each day consists of a visit
(00:56):
from one of the thirteen Yule Lads. The Yule Lads
are kind of like a big group of brotherly Santa Clauses.
If Saint Nick was a troll within affinity for theft
and mischief. The legend goes something like this. On each
of the thirteen nights leading up to Christmas, Icelandic children
were told to place a single shoe on their windowsill.
If they'd been good that year, they would wake up
(01:18):
to a shoe filled with delicious candies. If not, they
would find their footwear chock full of rotten potatoes. But
whether you've got sweet treats or moldy vegetables, you still
had to contend with each of the yule lad's unique personalities.
For example, if the lad named gully Gawk visited your home,
you might go out to check your cows, only to
find all the foams scraped off the top of your
(01:39):
milk buckets. If sheep coat clods stopped by, you might
catch a skinny, bearded man suckling on your sheep. If
Stubby broke in while you were cooking breakfast, you might
find that all of the eggs had suddenly disappeared from
your frying pan. And according to legend, one mule lad
is known for stealing spoons and licking the leftover food
off of them, and he's given the creative name of
(02:01):
spoon liquor. Along the same lines, there's bowl liquor, potscraper,
and sausage swiper. I'm sure you can guess what those
guys get up to. But while most of the yule
lads seem relatively benign, if a bit's annoying, a couple
are downright creepy. There's one who will nab any meat
that gets left around the house. He goes by the
terrifying moniker of meat hook. Maybe most unsettling of all, though,
(02:25):
is window Peeper, the guy who sneaks around outside your house,
staring inside any windows you might have accidentally left open,
planning how he could break in and steal your belongings.
But the scariest Icelandic Christmas legend isn't any of the
Yule Lads at all. It's their mother, Grilla. Grilla is
perhaps the most fearsome creature in Icelandic folklore. A giant
(02:48):
witch slash ogre, she spends the spring, summer, and fall
collecting whispers. These whispers tell her which Icelandic children have
behaved well and which ones haven't. During the winter month,
once Gorilla ventures out from her cave to gather up
all of Iceland's naughty children, she throws them in a sack,
drags them back to her home, and boils them in
(03:09):
a stew, which she eats all year long. And as
if that weren't bad enough, Gorilla also has a pet,
the Christmas Cat. Now, the Christmas Cat is a huge
black flesh eating feline. Only it doesn't differentiate between good
and bad children. It will feast happily on anyone who
crosses its path. The only way to protect yourself is
(03:29):
by wearing a brand new article of clothing. Now, just
imagine yourself as a child growing up in Iceland hearing
stories about Gorilla, her evil pet, and her mischievous children.
You'd be pretty freaked out right. Well, apparently these legends
struck such fear into the hearts of young Icelanders that
in seventeen forty six, the country's parliament instituted a new law.
(03:52):
Parents were legally banned from using the creepy creatures to
scare their children. Gone were the days when a horrifying
folk could convince kids to behave. And while the Yule
Lads used to be presented as disfigured trolls, they now
tend to look a lot like Santa Claus knockoffs, big
jolly men with red cheeks wearing silly hats who come
(04:12):
to make a bit of harmless trouble. They're more enduring
than eerie. But Grilla, oh, her reputation was too far
gone to be repaired even today. The winter which is feared.
According to Brian Pilkington, an illustrator and folklore expert, children
are truly terrified of grilla in Iceland. I visited children's
play schools to demonstrate drawing skills, and if I draw gorilla,
(04:36):
then two or three terrified children have to leave the
room because it's too strong for them. This is living folklore,
and honestly I get it. I don't want anything to
do with gorilla either, but if I happen to cross
paths with the Christmas cat, I might be tempted to
give it a scratch behind the ear, provided I was
wearing new clothes. Of course, there are a lot of
(05:12):
terrible places that you could be stuck during the holidays,
the airport, an awkward work party, in traffic on the interstate.
But of all the awful locales, I can confidently say
that one would be worse than all the rest. A
German pow camp in World War Two. Just imagine there
would be no eggnog or Christmas movies to speak of.
(05:32):
I know I'm being glib here, but honestly, it wasn't
funny at all. During World War II, about ninety four
thousand American soldiers found themselves in German prisoners of war
camps all throughout Europe. One of these was at Colditz Castle,
located outside of the city of Leipzig, Germany. Colditz Castle
was a huge Renaissance style estate that the Nazi Army
(05:53):
transformed into a prison. It sat at the top of
a hill four hundred miles away from the closest Allied forces.
Now due to its geography and not to mention the
fact that there were more guards than prisoners, Colditz had
a reputation for being impossible to escape from. But the
soldiers trapped inside weren't totally out of luck, especially during
Christmas time is he. Based on the rules of the
(06:16):
Geneva Conventions, organizations like the Red Cross were allowed to
send supplies to those being held as prisoners of war.
Care packages could contain things like clothing, food, medical supplies,
and even small games. Playing cards were a common gift
to send to POWs, and the US government knew this.
The US playing card company, makers of the famous Bicycle
(06:37):
branded card decks, also knew this, and they knew that
together they just might be able to help American soldiers
inside Colditz Castle. So let me set the scene for you.
It's Christmas of nineteen forty three, American POWs clamor over
the Red Cross packages they have just received. Each one
contains a deck of bicycle playing cards. One astute soldier
(06:58):
notices an incredible tiny detail. The card decks are all
wrapped in cellophane. On most of the decks, the clear
plastic wrapping is perfectly symmetrical, but on one the seal
is crooked. The soldier takes the deck with the crooked
wrapping that night in his cell, under the cover of darkness,
he shuffles through the fifty two cards over and over again.
(07:20):
He is sure the cellophane must have been a clue.
There must be some kind of secret hidden inside the deck.
And then he notices that the cards themselves are made
out of thin layers of paper. At the corner of one,
the layers are beginning to come apart. He peels the
card into two separate pieces and sees something printed on
the inside. The soldier's heart starts to race. He checks
(07:43):
outside his cell to make sure no guards are around,
and then he stays up all night peeling the cards
apart one by one, and then he arranges them together
like a puzzle, revealing a map of Germany. Not only
did this map show soldiers how they could get from
Coldt's Cap to their closest allies, but it also marked
areas to avoid and landmarks to look out for along
(08:05):
the way. It was an escape manual masquerading as a pastime.
It was the best Christmas gift they could have possibly received.
All in all, these playing card maps helped thirty two
soldiers successfully escape from Coldot's Castle. Allied forces took control
of the estates in April of nineteen forty five and
liberated those still trapped inside. Because of the secrecy of
(08:28):
the operation, it's unknown exactly how many escape map decks
were produced. Many have likely been lost, damaged, or hidden.
These days, only two known decks remain, and they're both
on display at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
I know because I've seen them both myself with my
own eyes. As for the US Playing Card Company, they
(08:49):
did even more than produce secret escape maps. They also
made a special card deck that contained images of military
vehicles from various countries. Rather than being covertly smuggled into
pow camps, these decks help civilians identify planes, tanks, and
ships from other nations. Even today, the company embraces the
role it played in World War Two. They released a
(09:10):
commemorative escape map deck back in twenty thirteen, which mirrors
the one the soldiers in Kolditz Castle received. Luckily, though,
if you buy one, you won't have to spend hours
peeling the cards apart. The map is printed on the
front of each one, serving as a reminder of the
creative and curious problem solving that took place all those
Christmases ago. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of
(09:36):
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 about it
(09:57):
over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time,
stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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