1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,040 Speaker 1: a show for those interested in the big and bizarre 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: moments of history. I'm Gay Bluzier and in this episode 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: we're talking about the dinner party to end all dinner parties, 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: the only one on record to be held inside of 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: a thirty ton dinosaur. The day was December thirty one, 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty three. Natural history artist and sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse 9 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: Hawkins hosted a New Year's Eve dinner party inside a 10 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: full scale model of an iquanadn. The event was attended 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: by twenty one high profile guests, including leading scientists, businessmen 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: and journalists. It was held as a publicity stunt to 13 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: advertised hawkins latest upcoming project, a display of the world's 14 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: first dinosaur sculptures at the Crystal Palace Park in London. 15 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: The Iguanodon was chosen as the site of the meal 16 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: because it was the largest of the thirty three concrete 17 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: dinosaur models that had been commissioned one year earlier. Like 18 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: the animal it was based on, the sculpture measured approximately 19 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: two point seven meters or nine feet high and ten 20 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: meters or thirty three feet long. The dinners guest of 21 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: honor was Professor Richard Owen, a trained doctor and celebrated 22 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: paleontologist who spent much of his life studying fossilized remains. 23 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: In fact, Owen was the one who first coined the 24 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: term dinosaur, which means terrible lizard, and he did so 25 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: just eleven years before hawkins party. He's also the researcher 26 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: who advised Hawkins on the design of his dinosaur models, 27 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: including the Iguanodon. Owen provided estimates on the general size 28 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: and shape of the animals, and then supervised the sculpting 29 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: process to make sure Hawkins captured the key details of 30 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: each species. That said, it's worth noting that the models 31 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: represented the knowledge of the time and are no longer 32 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: considered scientifically accurate. As for why the dinosaur sculptures were 33 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: made at all, they were commissioned by the Crystal Palace 34 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: Company as a way to celebrate the venue's reopening. The 35 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: Crystal Palace was a huge, glass, steel and iron structure 36 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: that had been built to house the exhibits of the 37 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: First World's Fair, also known as the Great Exhibition of 38 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty one. When that exhibition ended, the Crystal Palace 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: was meticulously disassembled and moved to a new permanent location 40 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: nine miles away. Hawkins dinosaur models were meant to be 41 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: one of the new premier attractions when the palace re 42 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: opened in June of eighteen fifty four. At the time, 43 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: the public had only seen illustrations of dinosaurs, or maybe 44 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: an incomplete skeleton. It was hard to get a sense 45 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: of the animal's true scale, and as a result, dinosaurs 46 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: weren't a subject of public fascination like they are today. However, 47 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace company saw the potential. It wagered that 48 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: life size replicas would be enough to capture the public's 49 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: interest and draw a big crowd for the palaces opening day. 50 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: Hawkins New Year's Eve dinner was a way to build 51 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: excitement for the upcoming exhibit, and so what the public's 52 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: appetite for big concrete dinosaurs. There are some details we 53 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: know for certain about the famous dinner, including the guest 54 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: list and the menu, which consisted of eight courses including 55 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: mock turtle soup, mutton cutlets, and partridge stew. But there 56 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,119 Speaker 1: are also some things we don't know about the evening. 57 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: For example, it's unclear whether the guests sat inside the 58 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: actual concrete model or inside the mold that the concrete 59 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: was later poured into. Either way, many of the guests 60 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: were seated inside the iguanodon's open back cavity. We don't 61 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: know the exact arrangement of the tables and chairs, but 62 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: a drawing published in the Illustrated London News a week 63 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: later does provide some clues. The most likely scenario is 64 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 1: that eleven guests were seated in a row inside the belly, 65 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: and the rest were seated at a perpendicular table just 66 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: behind the iguanodon, creating a T shaped table setting. The 67 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: drawing also shows the model surrounded by a high, elevated stage, 68 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 1: which enabled the guests and the waite staff to climb 69 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: inside the chamber more easily. To recognize his role as 70 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: the brains behind the project, Richard Owen was seated at 71 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: the head of the table, which happened to coincide with 72 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: the head of the iguanodon. Hawkins, as host, was seated 73 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: in the center. He reportedly gave a short speech at dinner, 74 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: and Owen followed it with a brief presentation about the sculptures. 75 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: According to a later report written by Hawkins, the dinner 76 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: got pretty rowdy as the night went on, or, as 77 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: he put it, quote, the roaring chorus was so fierce 78 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: and enthusiastic as almost to lead to the belief that 79 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: a herd of iguanodons were bellowing. As you might expect, 80 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: the boisteroust guests stayed well past midnight, meaning they were 81 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: lucky enough to ring in the new year from inside 82 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: a massive, hollowed out dinosaur. Talk about life goals, It 83 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: should go without saying, but the dinner was a huge success. 84 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: The press got into the holiday spirit and gave the 85 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: events some lighthearted coverage. For instance, the popular humor magazine 86 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: Punch joked that the dinner showed just how far humans 87 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: had come as a species. It said, quote, we congratulate 88 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: the company on the era in which they live, for 89 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: if it had been an early geological period, they might 90 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: perhaps have occupied the iguanodons inside without having any dinner there. 91 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: The press report's stoked excitement for the exhibits debut. Has 92 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: it been the plan? And when the big day finally came, 93 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: the public didn't disappoint, and neither did the dinosaurs. The 94 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: lifelike recreations helped make dinosaurs a subject of mainstream interest. 95 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: For the first time, visitors took home dinosaur posters and figurines, 96 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: and for the next half century, more than a million 97 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,840 Speaker 1: people came to see the models every year. Sadly, the 98 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: original Crystal Palace burned to the ground in nineteen thirty six, 99 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: but the good news is that Hawkins concrete statues were 100 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,280 Speaker 1: durable enough to survive the fire. Most of the replicas 101 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: still stand in the Crystal Palace Park to this day, 102 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: and thanks to recent refurbishments, they now look better than ever. 103 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: They're still not the most accurate depictions of prehistoric life, 104 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: but without them, the public may have never fallen in 105 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: love with dinosaurs, and really, who would want to live 106 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: in a world like that? I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully 107 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 108 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can learn even more about history 109 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at T 110 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: D i HC. Show. You can also leave us a 111 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: review on Apple Podcasts, and you can write to us 112 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: at this day at I heart media dot com. I'd 113 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: love to know which species of dinosaur you'd most like 114 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: to dine inside of for a dinner party. My pick 115 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: would probably be a stegosaurus so that we wouldn't have 116 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: to worry about running out of lates. Thanks to Chandler 117 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 118 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another New 119 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: Year in History class. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 120 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 121 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.