August 2, 2018 • 9 mins
Today we learn the history of a famous battle, and just how much it has impacted out modern diet. Then, we pay a visit to a former sailor who experienced something that changed his life forever--and left a permanent mark on our own.
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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 are
right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. They were surrounded and
(00:29):
had been for months. The Ottoman Empire had been spreading
westward for decades, and by three it had arrived on
the doorstep of Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire.
If the city fell, the dam would burst and the
Ottomans would roll through like a wave. They had sent
for help. Of course, King John the third of Poland
(00:50):
was most likely on his way with an army to
free them, to push back the sea of red flags
and golden crescents. But King John hadn't arrived, and they
weren't sure much longer they could hold out against an
army of nearly one hundred thousand warriors. The siege of
the city had been going on for two months now,
and you have to wonder if the people of Vienna
ever felt relief from that overwhelming sense of anxiety. They
(01:14):
were in danger and at risk, and the thought that
the Turks might breach the walls and kill them was
all too real and present. It hung over them like
a dark cloud in fact, but the real danger wasn't
above them, It was beneath the walls themselves. You see,
the Turks had been using their time outside the city
to dig tunnels. Rather than continue to launch themselves headlong
(01:35):
into solid, sturdy walls, they had decided going under them
would be more productive. So while the people of Vienna
were waiting for help, their enemy was creeping up slowly
beneath them. During the day, the soldiers inside the city
watched and waited. They were observant and careful and patient.
But at night there were fewer eyes on the enemy army,
(01:57):
and that's when the Turkish diggers did most of their work.
They could make a bit more noise, and they had
the cover of darkness to hide their movements in and
out of the tunnels. Another group of people who worked
through the night were the bakers in the city. If
the people were going to have fresh bread each morning,
that meant long nights of grinding, kneading and baking it.
And it was during one of those long quiet nights
(02:19):
when the bakers thought they heard something odd. It was
almost like the sound digging, but it seemed to be
coming from nearby, which was impossible, and then it clicked.
The digging was coming from beneath the building they were in,
beneath the very city itself. They rushed out and alerted
the soldiers on duty, and the warning was sounded throughout Vienna.
(02:40):
When they routed the Turkish diggers and examined the tunnels,
they were shocked to discover at least ten large explosive
devices just waiting to be detonated. Somehow, against all odds,
they had discovered their enemy's plan before it was too late,
and put a stop to the invasion. Soon after, King
John of Poland arrived and the city launched its counter
(03:01):
attack against the Ottomans, and they won. They won the battle,
and in the coming years they put an end to
the westward expansion of that red and yellow crescent flag.
Those bakers were heroes, but they were also relieved citizens,
and they wanted to celebrate right along with everyone else.
So they got to work crafting a special treat one
(03:22):
that would mark their victory over the Turks. What they
created was something new and different, a pastry designed to
mimic the central icon of their enemies flag. They called
it the kip Fell, which meant crescent in German. It
was a smash hit too, so much so that it's
still around today, although we know it by a different name.
(03:43):
Entirely the Croissant. Henry worked on the same ship as
his brother Sam, because that's what older brothers do, right.
(04:05):
They walked a little ahead and hold the door open
for the people they love. And boy did Sam love Henry.
They were young. Sam was twenty three, just three years
older than Henry, and they were adventurous. They had managed
to get work on a ship, and Sam had worked
his way up to steersman. Their work took them all
over and they had a lot of fun meeting new
(04:26):
people and learning new things, but there were also moments
of trouble. One of their co workers was a man
named Brown, and Brown apparently had a checkered past as
a troublemaker. In the course of their daily work, Henry
discovered that Brown didn't care for him much, but he
did his best to avoid the man, which he did
until one day while Sam was at the helm guiding
(04:48):
the ship. That was when Brown lost control and punched
young Henry. And that wasn't a good idea. Not only
did Sam love his brother, but he was protective of him.
When he heard of what happened, Sam walked away from
the helm and left the ship on its own, located Brown,
and then laid him out cold with a powerful punch.
(05:09):
It solved one problem, but it created another. Sam and
Brown couldn't stay on the same ship any longer, so
when the ship docked for the night in the same
town as Sam's older sister, he left the crew and
spent the night in town. I imagine they had dinner
that evening, caught up on everything that had already happened
since they last spoke, and maybe shared some laughs. Eventually, though,
(05:31):
Sam went to bed, and when he did, he fell
into a dark, tense dream. In it, he was standing
in the living room downstairs. All of the furniture had
been pushed out of the way, and in the middle
of the room was a coffin resting on a pair
of chairs. The coffin was the sort that's been covered
in a sheet of glossy metal, and the top half
was open for viewing. So Sam crept closer. Inside he
(05:55):
found his brother, Henry. He looked peaceful, and a small
bouquet of white flowers rested on his chest. At the
center of that white bouquet was a single red flower,
red like blood. Sam awoke in a panic. He rushed
to his sister's room, shook her awake, and then told
her what he had seen. It was just a dream.
(06:16):
She told him it was nothing to worry about, but
of course dreams like that don't go away easily or quickly.
The following day, Sam watched as the ship he had
worked on for so long with his brother pulled out
of port. He boarded a different one a short time
later and followed Henry's ship from a distance. The plan
was to wait until the captain could find a replacement
(06:37):
for Brown, and then it would be safe for Sam
to rejoin Henry on the ship. Except that never happened.
On June, and explosion rocked the lead ship and two
fifty passengers and crew were instantly killed. One of the survivors, however,
was young Henry. He had been thrown high into the
air by the explosion and then landed in the wall
(07:00):
are far from the ship, but he was brave, and
even though he was injured and horribly burned, he swam
back to save others. By the time sam ship arrived,
Henry had been found and removed to a hospital for
emergency care. His lungs had been scorched by the steam
and his body was broken to pieces inside, but he
had saved so many others, and as a result, a
(07:23):
number of crew had gathered to hold vigil around him
as he slowly died before their eyes. And that's the
scene Sam walked in on when he finally arrived. When
Sam showed up the next day for the crew funeral,
he walked into a large room filled with a dozen pale,
wooden coffins, all except one. In the middle of the room,
(07:44):
resting on two chairs was a metal coffin. Inside it,
Sam found Henry. It turns out so many crew members
thought of Henry as a hero that they all pitched
in and upgraded his coffin. As Sam's it over his
brother's body. People milled in and out of the rows
of coffins, paying their respect. It was a somber moment,
(08:06):
and the air was heavy with pain and grief. But
in the middle of that, an elderly woman stepped through
the crowd and approached Henry's coffin. Then she placed a
bouquet of white flowers on his chest and walked away.
Sam glanced at them. Sure enough, right in the middle
of the white flowers was a single red one red
(08:28):
like blood. The experience altered Sam's life completely. He wouldn't
be content to work as a steersman for much longer. Instead,
he wanted to leave his mark on the world, to
create something beautiful by telling stories, and he did. I
can't help but wonder if the loss of his brother
fueled that lifetime of writing that he left behind for
(08:51):
future generations to enjoy, writings that included reflections of his
time on the ship with his brother dressed up in
fictional characters. Of course, yes, that loss was painful, but
it helped to create a man now known as a
legend of American literature. Sam you see, was Samuel Clemens,
(09:12):
but most of us would more easily recognize his pen name,
Mark Twain. 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 visiting Curiosities podcast
dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky
(09:35):
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 are
right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. They were surrounded and
(00:29):
had been for months. The Ottoman Empire had been spreading
westward for decades, and by three it had arrived on
the doorstep of Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire.
If the city fell, the dam would burst and the
Ottomans would roll through like a wave. They had sent
for help. Of course, King John the third of Poland
(00:50):
was most likely on his way with an army to
free them, to push back the sea of red flags
and golden crescents. But King John hadn't arrived, and they
weren't sure much longer they could hold out against an
army of nearly one hundred thousand warriors. The siege of
the city had been going on for two months now,
and you have to wonder if the people of Vienna
ever felt relief from that overwhelming sense of anxiety. They
(01:14):
were in danger and at risk, and the thought that
the Turks might breach the walls and kill them was
all too real and present. It hung over them like
a dark cloud in fact, but the real danger wasn't
above them, It was beneath the walls themselves. You see,
the Turks had been using their time outside the city
to dig tunnels. Rather than continue to launch themselves headlong
(01:35):
into solid, sturdy walls, they had decided going under them
would be more productive. So while the people of Vienna
were waiting for help, their enemy was creeping up slowly
beneath them. During the day, the soldiers inside the city
watched and waited. They were observant and careful and patient.
But at night there were fewer eyes on the enemy army,
(01:57):
and that's when the Turkish diggers did most of their work.
They could make a bit more noise, and they had
the cover of darkness to hide their movements in and
out of the tunnels. Another group of people who worked
through the night were the bakers in the city. If
the people were going to have fresh bread each morning,
that meant long nights of grinding, kneading and baking it.
And it was during one of those long quiet nights
(02:19):
when the bakers thought they heard something odd. It was
almost like the sound digging, but it seemed to be
coming from nearby, which was impossible, and then it clicked.
The digging was coming from beneath the building they were in,
beneath the very city itself. They rushed out and alerted
the soldiers on duty, and the warning was sounded throughout Vienna.
(02:40):
When they routed the Turkish diggers and examined the tunnels,
they were shocked to discover at least ten large explosive
devices just waiting to be detonated. Somehow, against all odds,
they had discovered their enemy's plan before it was too late,
and put a stop to the invasion. Soon after, King
John of Poland arrived and the city launched its counter
(03:01):
attack against the Ottomans, and they won. They won the battle,
and in the coming years they put an end to
the westward expansion of that red and yellow crescent flag.
Those bakers were heroes, but they were also relieved citizens,
and they wanted to celebrate right along with everyone else.
So they got to work crafting a special treat one
(03:22):
that would mark their victory over the Turks. What they
created was something new and different, a pastry designed to
mimic the central icon of their enemies flag. They called
it the kip Fell, which meant crescent in German. It
was a smash hit too, so much so that it's
still around today, although we know it by a different name.
(03:43):
Entirely the Croissant. Henry worked on the same ship as
his brother Sam, because that's what older brothers do, right.
(04:05):
They walked a little ahead and hold the door open
for the people they love. And boy did Sam love Henry.
They were young. Sam was twenty three, just three years
older than Henry, and they were adventurous. They had managed
to get work on a ship, and Sam had worked
his way up to steersman. Their work took them all
over and they had a lot of fun meeting new
(04:26):
people and learning new things, but there were also moments
of trouble. One of their co workers was a man
named Brown, and Brown apparently had a checkered past as
a troublemaker. In the course of their daily work, Henry
discovered that Brown didn't care for him much, but he
did his best to avoid the man, which he did
until one day while Sam was at the helm guiding
(04:48):
the ship. That was when Brown lost control and punched
young Henry. And that wasn't a good idea. Not only
did Sam love his brother, but he was protective of him.
When he heard of what happened, Sam walked away from
the helm and left the ship on its own, located Brown,
and then laid him out cold with a powerful punch.
(05:09):
It solved one problem, but it created another. Sam and
Brown couldn't stay on the same ship any longer, so
when the ship docked for the night in the same
town as Sam's older sister, he left the crew and
spent the night in town. I imagine they had dinner
that evening, caught up on everything that had already happened
since they last spoke, and maybe shared some laughs. Eventually, though,
(05:31):
Sam went to bed, and when he did, he fell
into a dark, tense dream. In it, he was standing
in the living room downstairs. All of the furniture had
been pushed out of the way, and in the middle
of the room was a coffin resting on a pair
of chairs. The coffin was the sort that's been covered
in a sheet of glossy metal, and the top half
was open for viewing. So Sam crept closer. Inside he
(05:55):
found his brother, Henry. He looked peaceful, and a small
bouquet of white flowers rested on his chest. At the
center of that white bouquet was a single red flower,
red like blood. Sam awoke in a panic. He rushed
to his sister's room, shook her awake, and then told
her what he had seen. It was just a dream.
(06:16):
She told him it was nothing to worry about, but
of course dreams like that don't go away easily or quickly.
The following day, Sam watched as the ship he had
worked on for so long with his brother pulled out
of port. He boarded a different one a short time
later and followed Henry's ship from a distance. The plan
was to wait until the captain could find a replacement
(06:37):
for Brown, and then it would be safe for Sam
to rejoin Henry on the ship. Except that never happened.
On June, and explosion rocked the lead ship and two
fifty passengers and crew were instantly killed. One of the survivors, however,
was young Henry. He had been thrown high into the
air by the explosion and then landed in the wall
(07:00):
are far from the ship, but he was brave, and
even though he was injured and horribly burned, he swam
back to save others. By the time sam ship arrived,
Henry had been found and removed to a hospital for
emergency care. His lungs had been scorched by the steam
and his body was broken to pieces inside, but he
had saved so many others, and as a result, a
(07:23):
number of crew had gathered to hold vigil around him
as he slowly died before their eyes. And that's the
scene Sam walked in on when he finally arrived. When
Sam showed up the next day for the crew funeral,
he walked into a large room filled with a dozen pale,
wooden coffins, all except one. In the middle of the room,
(07:44):
resting on two chairs was a metal coffin. Inside it,
Sam found Henry. It turns out so many crew members
thought of Henry as a hero that they all pitched
in and upgraded his coffin. As Sam's it over his
brother's body. People milled in and out of the rows
of coffins, paying their respect. It was a somber moment,
(08:06):
and the air was heavy with pain and grief. But
in the middle of that, an elderly woman stepped through
the crowd and approached Henry's coffin. Then she placed a
bouquet of white flowers on his chest and walked away.
Sam glanced at them. Sure enough, right in the middle
of the white flowers was a single red one red
(08:28):
like blood. The experience altered Sam's life completely. He wouldn't
be content to work as a steersman for much longer. Instead,
he wanted to leave his mark on the world, to
create something beautiful by telling stories, and he did. I
can't help but wonder if the loss of his brother
fueled that lifetime of writing that he left behind for
(08:51):
future generations to enjoy, writings that included reflections of his
time on the ship with his brother dressed up in
fictional characters. Of course, yes, that loss was painful, but
it helped to create a man now known as a
legend of American literature. Sam you see, was Samuel Clemens,
(09:12):
but most of us would more easily recognize his pen name,
Mark Twain. 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 visiting Curiosities podcast
dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky
(09:35):
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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