December 25, 2018 • 9 mins
Today's tour through the Cabinet is a family matter, which everyone knows can be a complicated thing. But regardless of what life throws at us, blood will always be blood—with uncanny devotion.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
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. Ed was an actor, a
(00:29):
pretty famous one at that. He was born in eighteen
thirty three in Maryland to a family of actors. His father,
as well as his two brothers, had all performed Shakespeare
on stage four adoring crowds, and Ed had made a
bit of a name for himself. He had gotten his
start in a performance of Richard the Third alongside his father,
who favored a more outspoken acting style to Ed's quiet contemplation.
(00:53):
Regardless of how they performed, though, one thing was certain,
the family knew how to entertain. People came from all
the over to watch them and recite some of the
most famous lines ever written for the stage. Then, three
years after their first performance together, Ed's father passed away.
Ed chose to remain with the show for an international tour,
(01:14):
and it was on this tour where he gained wide
acclaim for his talents. People in the United States and
Europe knew his name, and it became synonymous with star.
But his homeland was changing. A conflict that had begun
in the South had migrated north and embroiled a country
in a war unlike any other, Fathers were pitted against sons.
(01:36):
Mothers stopped speaking to their daughters. Blood was shed, and
fields and streams from Georgia to New York. As the
Union fought to end the scourge of slavery infecting the
Southern States, it was time for Ed to come home.
He boarded a ship bound for the US and rejoined
his family, who had changed considerably in his absence. He
(01:57):
and his brothers had found themselves on opposing sides, with
Ed supporting the Union and his brothers in favor of
the South. In fact, none of them appeared on stage
together until eighteen sixty four, when they participated in a
charity to raise funds for a statue of William Shakespeare
for Central Park in New York City. Coincidentally, eighteen sixty
(02:17):
four was also the year Ed became a hero. He
had been standing on a train platform in Jersey City,
New Jersey, when he caught sight of a boy just
shy of adulthood beside him. A crowd had gathered to
board the car and pushed him forward. Before he'd had
a chance to get out of the way, the train
began to move, spinning him off his feet at the
edge of the platform. He nearly fell onto the tracks,
(02:41):
but there was ed ready. With lightning quick reflexes. He
grabbed the boy's collar and pulled him back up next
to him. The young man recognized his savior and thanked
him profusely for what he'd done. Ed was only too
happy to help, but had no idea who he'd actually saved.
He wouldn't find out until months later, just before the
(03:01):
country would enter a period of mourning for President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln,
as we all know, was shot during a performance at
Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth, an actor. Booth had
a brother too, In fact, both of them also actors.
He'd fallen out with one, however, a Unionist named ed
(03:23):
Edwin Thomas Booth. Edwin hadn't known his brother was going
to assassinate the president. To perform such an act was
unthinkable even to many of the very few people who
hated the man and what he stood for. But Edwin
tried not to dwell on the dishonor his brother brought
to his family's name. Instead, he saw solace in one
(03:43):
simple fact. He'd done some good. You see, the young
man that Edwin had saved on the train platform that
day wasn't some random boy. In a letter he received
just before the President's death, the truth had become clear.
The boy had told his story or to a Colonel
Adam Badeaux serving under General Ulysses S. Grant. The colonel
(04:05):
then penned a letter of gratitude for rescuing his newest recruits,
a young soldier named Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son.
Both brothers had managed to change the nation, one for
the worse, one for the better. We'll never know what
might have happened if Edwin hadn't been there to prevent
Robert Todd Lincoln from falling. But we do know one thing.
(04:27):
Despite a lifetime on the stage, it was certainly the
greatest performance of his life. The nature versus nurture debate
(04:48):
has raged on for generations. How much of our lives,
our personalities, and our futures are determined by our genetics,
and how much is determined by our environment. For two
Ohio men, the answer was clear. Jim Lewis was born
in nineteen forty and adopted three weeks after he entered
the world. His parents raised him in Lima, Ohio alongside
(05:12):
their dog Toy, where he grew up to love math
and carpentry, but couldn't spell to save his life. As
he got older, he fell in love with a woman
named Linda. The two married and built a life together,
along with their son, James Allen Lewis. But of course
people change over time, and for Jim and Linda those
changes had been too great to reconcile. They divorced, but
(05:33):
Jim eventually found love again, this time with a woman
named Betty, who he later married. Our second man is
Jim Springer. He was born in nineteen forty and adopted
three weeks after he entered the world. His adoptive parents
raised him in Pequa, Ohio, alongside their dog Toy, where
he grew up to love math and carpentry, but couldn't
(05:55):
spell to save his life. As he got older, he
fell in love with a woman named Inda. The two
married and built a life together, along with their son,
James Allan Springer. But of course people change over time,
and for Jim and Linda those changes had been too
great to reconcile. They divorced, but eventually Jim found love again,
(06:15):
this time with a woman named Betty, who he later married.
And No, there's nothing wrong with your audio. Last Night
Checked podcast can't get stuck in a loop like a
vinyl record. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer didn't know each other,
they didn't grow up together, but they lived incredibly similar lives.
That's why scientists at the University of Minnesota were so
(06:38):
interested in studying them. You see, Jim and Jim, we're
twins who had been separated at birth. They'd never known
their mother, and the adoption agency had told each set
of adoptive parents that their new baby boy had a
twin who had died in childbirth. As far as they
knew there, Jim was the only Jim. It was during
(07:00):
a trip to complete the adoption paperwork when Jim Lewis's
mother overheard the clerk mentioned how the other child had
also been named Jim. She encouraged her son to seek
out the truth as he got older, and one day,
in nineteen seventy nine, he did just that. He contacted
the court for his adoption records, and once he had them,
he was able to track down the other Jim. After
(07:22):
a short game of phone tag, Jim Lewis got a
call and he knew right away who it was. As
it turned out, the two men had grown up fewer
than fifty miles from one another. They were both chained,
smoking Chevy drivers who vacationed at the same spot in
Florida every year. The similarities were astounding for two men
who shared DNA but nothing else. What's even more shocking
(07:45):
is how many times this phenomenon has occurred over the years.
Jack Youth and Oscar Store grew up in two very
different households, Jack being raised Jewish and Oscar as part
of the Nazi uprising in Germany. When they met, they
were wearing I Dentical sweaters and found out they shared
receding hairlines, the same boisterous sneeze, and they always flushed
(08:06):
the toilet before using it. Daphne Goodship and Barbara Herbert
were also separated at birth and met each other later
in life. Both worked in government like their coffee cold,
got married at the same time, and gave birth to
two boys and one girl. We might never have an
answer to the nature versus nurtured debate, as both are
(08:27):
extremely important to how a person becomes who they are. However,
what we do know is the bond between family members,
especially siblings, is something too strong to ignore. I hope
you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
(08:50):
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 over at the World
of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.
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. Ed was an actor, a
(00:29):
pretty famous one at that. He was born in eighteen
thirty three in Maryland to a family of actors. His father,
as well as his two brothers, had all performed Shakespeare
on stage four adoring crowds, and Ed had made a
bit of a name for himself. He had gotten his
start in a performance of Richard the Third alongside his father,
who favored a more outspoken acting style to Ed's quiet contemplation.
(00:53):
Regardless of how they performed, though, one thing was certain,
the family knew how to entertain. People came from all
the over to watch them and recite some of the
most famous lines ever written for the stage. Then, three
years after their first performance together, Ed's father passed away.
Ed chose to remain with the show for an international tour,
(01:14):
and it was on this tour where he gained wide
acclaim for his talents. People in the United States and
Europe knew his name, and it became synonymous with star.
But his homeland was changing. A conflict that had begun
in the South had migrated north and embroiled a country
in a war unlike any other, Fathers were pitted against sons.
(01:36):
Mothers stopped speaking to their daughters. Blood was shed, and
fields and streams from Georgia to New York. As the
Union fought to end the scourge of slavery infecting the
Southern States, it was time for Ed to come home.
He boarded a ship bound for the US and rejoined
his family, who had changed considerably in his absence. He
(01:57):
and his brothers had found themselves on opposing sides, with
Ed supporting the Union and his brothers in favor of
the South. In fact, none of them appeared on stage
together until eighteen sixty four, when they participated in a
charity to raise funds for a statue of William Shakespeare
for Central Park in New York City. Coincidentally, eighteen sixty
(02:17):
four was also the year Ed became a hero. He
had been standing on a train platform in Jersey City,
New Jersey, when he caught sight of a boy just
shy of adulthood beside him. A crowd had gathered to
board the car and pushed him forward. Before he'd had
a chance to get out of the way, the train
began to move, spinning him off his feet at the
edge of the platform. He nearly fell onto the tracks,
(02:41):
but there was ed ready. With lightning quick reflexes. He
grabbed the boy's collar and pulled him back up next
to him. The young man recognized his savior and thanked
him profusely for what he'd done. Ed was only too
happy to help, but had no idea who he'd actually saved.
He wouldn't find out until months later, just before the
(03:01):
country would enter a period of mourning for President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln,
as we all know, was shot during a performance at
Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth, an actor. Booth had
a brother too, In fact, both of them also actors.
He'd fallen out with one, however, a Unionist named ed
(03:23):
Edwin Thomas Booth. Edwin hadn't known his brother was going
to assassinate the president. To perform such an act was
unthinkable even to many of the very few people who
hated the man and what he stood for. But Edwin
tried not to dwell on the dishonor his brother brought
to his family's name. Instead, he saw solace in one
(03:43):
simple fact. He'd done some good. You see, the young
man that Edwin had saved on the train platform that
day wasn't some random boy. In a letter he received
just before the President's death, the truth had become clear.
The boy had told his story or to a Colonel
Adam Badeaux serving under General Ulysses S. Grant. The colonel
(04:05):
then penned a letter of gratitude for rescuing his newest recruits,
a young soldier named Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son.
Both brothers had managed to change the nation, one for
the worse, one for the better. We'll never know what
might have happened if Edwin hadn't been there to prevent
Robert Todd Lincoln from falling. But we do know one thing.
(04:27):
Despite a lifetime on the stage, it was certainly the
greatest performance of his life. The nature versus nurture debate
(04:48):
has raged on for generations. How much of our lives,
our personalities, and our futures are determined by our genetics,
and how much is determined by our environment. For two
Ohio men, the answer was clear. Jim Lewis was born
in nineteen forty and adopted three weeks after he entered
the world. His parents raised him in Lima, Ohio alongside
(05:12):
their dog Toy, where he grew up to love math
and carpentry, but couldn't spell to save his life. As
he got older, he fell in love with a woman
named Linda. The two married and built a life together,
along with their son, James Allen Lewis. But of course
people change over time, and for Jim and Linda those
changes had been too great to reconcile. They divorced, but
(05:33):
Jim eventually found love again, this time with a woman
named Betty, who he later married. Our second man is
Jim Springer. He was born in nineteen forty and adopted
three weeks after he entered the world. His adoptive parents
raised him in Pequa, Ohio, alongside their dog Toy, where
he grew up to love math and carpentry, but couldn't
(05:55):
spell to save his life. As he got older, he
fell in love with a woman named Inda. The two
married and built a life together, along with their son,
James Allan Springer. But of course people change over time,
and for Jim and Linda those changes had been too
great to reconcile. They divorced, but eventually Jim found love again,
(06:15):
this time with a woman named Betty, who he later married.
And No, there's nothing wrong with your audio. Last Night
Checked podcast can't get stuck in a loop like a
vinyl record. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer didn't know each other,
they didn't grow up together, but they lived incredibly similar lives.
That's why scientists at the University of Minnesota were so
(06:38):
interested in studying them. You see, Jim and Jim, we're
twins who had been separated at birth. They'd never known
their mother, and the adoption agency had told each set
of adoptive parents that their new baby boy had a
twin who had died in childbirth. As far as they
knew there, Jim was the only Jim. It was during
(07:00):
a trip to complete the adoption paperwork when Jim Lewis's
mother overheard the clerk mentioned how the other child had
also been named Jim. She encouraged her son to seek
out the truth as he got older, and one day,
in nineteen seventy nine, he did just that. He contacted
the court for his adoption records, and once he had them,
he was able to track down the other Jim. After
(07:22):
a short game of phone tag, Jim Lewis got a
call and he knew right away who it was. As
it turned out, the two men had grown up fewer
than fifty miles from one another. They were both chained,
smoking Chevy drivers who vacationed at the same spot in
Florida every year. The similarities were astounding for two men
who shared DNA but nothing else. What's even more shocking
(07:45):
is how many times this phenomenon has occurred over the years.
Jack Youth and Oscar Store grew up in two very
different households, Jack being raised Jewish and Oscar as part
of the Nazi uprising in Germany. When they met, they
were wearing I Dentical sweaters and found out they shared
receding hairlines, the same boisterous sneeze, and they always flushed
(08:06):
the toilet before using it. Daphne Goodship and Barbara Herbert
were also separated at birth and met each other later
in life. Both worked in government like their coffee cold,
got married at the same time, and gave birth to
two boys and one girl. We might never have an
answer to the nature versus nurtured debate, as both are
(08:27):
extremely important to how a person becomes who they are. However,
what we do know is the bond between family members,
especially siblings, is something too strong to ignore. I hope
you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
(08:50):
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 over at the World
of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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