1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: There are four words that no person wants to hear. 7 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: They strike fear in the hearts of caffeine atticts and 8 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: morning commuters everywhere. Those words We're out of coffee. To some, 9 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: it's a fate worse than death. Whether you drink it 10 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: black or loaded with cream and sugar. Many of us 11 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: can't get through our day without our morning brew. And 12 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: if that describes you, I need you to know that 13 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: I am in the same club as you. Coffee is 14 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: an industry raking in tens of billions of dollars all 15 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: over the world each year, from global chains to independent roasters. 16 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: Our lattes and machiato's are serious business. But America's love 17 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: of coffee isn't new. We've been drinking it since before 18 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: we were even a country. Yet during the American Revolutionary War, 19 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: the colonies faced major food shortages. The farms that cultivated 20 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: the livestock and crops that people consumed were left to 21 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: the wives while their husbands went off to fight, and 22 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: that meant that women were just responsible for taking care 23 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: of the children and the home, but also the cows, 24 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: the pigs, the corn, and so much more, all by themselves. 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: International trade had come to a standstill as well, since 26 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: the war had blocked all imports coming from the West Indies. 27 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: And it wasn't like families got to keep everything they 28 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: grew either. Both sides, British and Colonial, were notorious for 29 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: requisitioning supplies for their own armies, and that included what 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: local farms produced. And you know how things go when 31 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: the supply is low and the demand is high. Basic 32 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: economics and greed kick in. Pretty soon merchants did one 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: of two things. They either hoarded goods for themselves, or 34 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: they started jacking up prices on basic necessities like sugar, flour, 35 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: and you guessed it, coffee. With people already at their 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: wits end, farmers and other local residents began taking measures 37 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: into their own hands, leading to an outbreak of activism 38 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: within the colonies, and they voiced their displeasure in a 39 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: few different ways. Sometimes they boycotted goods that had been 40 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: heavily taxed. For example, imported cloth from Britain was issued 41 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: in favor of cheaper, homespun alternatives. Other Times they sought 42 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: retribution through more violent means. Then, because so many men 43 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: were enlisted in General Washington's army, this charge against greedy 44 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: salesmen was led by women. Perhaps the best known incident 45 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: occurred in July of seventeen seventy seven. A Boston merchant 46 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: by the name of Thomas Boylston had gotten an idea. 47 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: It wasn't the smartest idea given the current socio political climate, 48 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: but it certainly was an idea. He decided to price 49 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: gouge his loyal customers on the coffee that they drank 50 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: each day. While the women who frequented his shop didn't 51 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: take kindly to such an egregious abuse of his position, 52 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: they kindly asked that he lowered the price back down 53 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: to a more reasonable amount. Boilston, though, wouldn't budge, and 54 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: the women of Boston wouldn't either. It wasn't like they 55 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: could go grow their own coffee beans in protest, so 56 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: they showed up on July twenty fourth, for a negotiation 57 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: of sorts. As Abigail Adams wrote in a letter to 58 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: her husband John at the time, a number of females, 59 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: some say a hundred, some say more, assembled with a 60 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: cart and trucks, marched down to the warehouse and demanded 61 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: the keys, which he refused to deliver. What transpired was 62 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: a short, yet powerful battle for dignity, decency, and dark roast. 63 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: One woman grabbed Boylston by the neck and launched him 64 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: into the cart. They all surrounded him, and with no 65 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: one there to help protect him, he handed over the 66 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: keys and then tip the carts and ejected him onto 67 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: the floor before opening up the warehouse and loading up 68 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: their trucks with as much java as they could carry. 69 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: What's more, Boylston wasn't alone when all of this happened. 70 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: There were several other men in attendants who stood on 71 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: the sidelines and watched it all go down. Perhaps they 72 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: didn't want to get involved in a matter that didn't 73 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: concern them, or maybe they feared what the women would 74 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: do to them if they tried to get involved. Whatever 75 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: the case, the Boston Coffee Party proved two important things. First, 76 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: protesters don't have to throw a beverage into the ocean 77 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: to make a splash. And secondly, never get between someone 78 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 1: and their coffee. If there's one thing we know about people, 79 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: it's that no matter how hard you try to stop them, 80 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: they will always find a way to get a hold 81 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: of alcohol. Prohibition was the result of religious groups and 82 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: legislators coming together to put an end to certain societal 83 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: ills such as domestic violence and drunkenness. And what did 84 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: they blame for all that alcohol? Once enacted, Prohibition shut 85 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: down the production and sale of hootch in the United 86 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: States during the nineteen twenties and early thirties, which led 87 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 1: to a massive black market booze industry. But that wasn't 88 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: the first time a country tried to outlaw alcohol. Back 89 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: in Ireland, during the mid eighteen hundreds, another type of 90 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: prohibition was getting off the ground, and the Irish people 91 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: weren't totally into it. It started, just as the American 92 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: movement had, with a religious organization in Ireland. It was 93 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: led by a Catholic priest named Father Theobald Matthew. Father 94 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: Matthew had created a group called the Total Abstinence Society, 95 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: and once people joined, they took a pledge that they 96 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: would not consume a single drop of alcohol. Ever. Again, 97 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: Father Matthew was surprisingly successful too. The Irish people seemed 98 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: to want to make a change. At its peak, almost 99 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: half the adult population had sworn off booze for the 100 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: rest of their lives after taking his pledge. But even 101 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,280 Speaker 1: though they had promised to keep alcohol out of their lives, 102 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: some individuals couldn't stay away completely. They wanted a way 103 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: to relax after a hard day at work without the 104 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: guilt of violating their oath, so they sought other means 105 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: of getting drunk, ones that were non alcoholic, and that's 106 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: where doctor Kelly from Draperstown County came in. Kelly had 107 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,840 Speaker 1: found a loophole. He couldn't consume whiskey or other spirits, 108 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: but he could drink ether. Ether had been discovered in 109 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: twelve seventy five by Raymundus Luias, a Franciscan monk and chemist. 110 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: Then in fifteen forty a German scientist by the name 111 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: of Valerius Cordus began synthesizing it in a lab, creating 112 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: what he called sweet vitrol. In eighteen forty two, an 113 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: American doctor put ether to work as a general anesthetic 114 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: during surgery, but doctor Kelly had found a new and 115 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: specific use for it now in Ireland, to get drunk 116 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: while still remaining faithful to Father Matthew's pledge. You see, 117 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 1: he figured out that ether could be consumed as both 118 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: a liquid and a gas, and so in eighteen forty 119 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: five he started drinking it in small doses to get 120 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: the buzz that he'd been so sorely missing. Then he 121 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: got his friends and patients in on it. Thanks to 122 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: doctor Kelly's ingenious life hack, ether became the drink of 123 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: choice for adults all over Ireland, even the clergy. One 124 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: priest remarked that it was a liquor on which a 125 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: man could get drunk with a clean conscience. Ether was 126 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: sold everywhere, including a grocery stores, and its widespread use 127 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: quickly led to widespread abuse. Seventeen thousand gallons of ether 128 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: were being consumed each year by as many as one 129 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: hundred thousand Irish citizens. Even children as young as ten 130 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: were found intoxicated from it, with the fumes clearly noticeable 131 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: on their breath. And Ether also worked its way across 132 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: Europe and even here Stateside. The French enjoyed it with 133 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: their cognac while Americans drank it down in their whiskey. 134 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: Sometimes it was watered down or spiced with cinnamon and clothes. 135 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: It was even poured into people's mourning coffee. Although ether 136 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: was only popular because of its potency, not its taste, 137 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: it was a means to an end, capable full of 138 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: some dangerous side effects. For example, some people who passed 139 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,679 Speaker 1: gas after consuming ether would find that their emissions carried 140 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: a certain smell with them. Their chemical like odor was 141 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: a dead giveaway that these were ether vapors. Flammable ether vapors. 142 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: A careless drunk might sometimes light up a smoke or 143 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: let one rip near a fireplace and suddenly be engulfed 144 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: in a plume of fire, or at the very least 145 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: suffer a burned posterior. Ether was consumed in Ireland until 146 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: the law finally got involved toward the end of the 147 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: nineteenth century. As of eighteen ninety, the British government deemed 148 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: it a poison and sales of the substance were restricted 149 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: to chemists and pharmacists. But for a long time Ireland 150 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: was an ethereal wonderland where a person could have stained 151 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: from alcohol yet enjoy its effects without guilt. As long 152 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: as they minded where the wind blew. I hope you've 153 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Describe 154 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 155 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 156 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 157 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 158 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 159 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 160 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.