1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome to short Stuff. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck. 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: Chuck and Josh gear up on short Stuff. 3 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 2: That's right, this is another fun tale of a ghost ship. 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 2: Ghost Ships are just a lot of fun to talk about, 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 2: and this is the tale of a ghost ship that 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 2: may or may not even exist. 7 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: It's a big one. 8 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 2: But one thing for sure. One thing is for sure 9 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 2: is that this story has influenced a lot of a 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 2: lot of pop culture. 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: I feel like, yeah, the very least it showed up 12 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: as a video game in twenty nineteen, a horror game. 13 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: I was watching a four hour YouTube video where this 14 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: YouTuber just basically narrated I guess added commentary here there 15 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: to this four hour gameplay. 16 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 2: Really, you didn't just watch the trailer of the game, 17 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 2: you watched actual I did four hours. I did. 18 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: I just I mean I didn't watch the whole four hours. No, 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: I skipped ahead and it was cute. 20 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 2: Oh okay, it was. 21 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: Kind of fun. But yeah, I know, I probably watched 22 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,839 Speaker 1: five minutes total of the whole thing to skipping around. 23 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 1: But it looks very scary. It looks like a really 24 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: cool game. If I played games, I would definitely go 25 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: get it. It's called the Man of Madan. And the 26 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: reason it's called the Man of Medan is because that's 27 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: the English translation from the Indonesian for the name of 28 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: the ship, Wrang Madan. Whrang in Indonesian means man, which 29 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: is why Orangutans are called that they're forest men. I 30 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: think we've said before. So the name of the ship 31 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: in English was Man of Madan, which is a city 32 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: on Sumatra. 33 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 2: That's right. And it looks like a very scary game 34 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 2: about people that get upon this scot ship and have 35 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 2: to contend with ghosts. So what happened with the SS 36 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 2: Orang Madan was that, Well, here's the story. It depends 37 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: on there's some there's some hinking. It goes on with 38 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 2: the dates, and we'll explain why in a minute. But 39 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 2: either nineteen forty seven or nineteen forty eight, or maybe 40 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 2: even nineteen forty is we'll see. There was a Dutch 41 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 2: freightership named the Orangmudan that's in an SOS picked up 42 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 2: by some nearby ships, including the Silver Star, an American 43 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 2: ship in the Straits of Malacca. Where all that said 44 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 2: was this we float all officers, including captain dead, lying 45 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 2: in chart room and on bridge, probably whole crew dead. 46 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 2: I die. 47 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: That is a creepy message. The only way it could 48 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: be creeper is if it said we all float down here. 49 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 2: Or I'm right behind you. 50 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: You're right. So this was like the SOS the distress 51 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: call in that silver Star, like you said, was close 52 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: enough that it arrived to help the Orang Madan. And 53 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: when it arrived it was you could basically just telp 54 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: looking at it that it was a ghost ship and chuck, 55 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: before we go into detail, I say that we take 56 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: a break. What do you think? 57 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 2: Oh, an early break? Okay, okay, let's do it. Suspenseful 58 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 2: early break, all right. So, like you said, when they 59 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 2: floated up to this thing, they could tell that something 60 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 2: was awry. There was clearly no activity on the boat. 61 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 2: There was no steam coming from the engines, no smoke. 62 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 2: They said, does someone want to go check and see 63 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 2: what's going on in that thing? And everyone said, not me, 64 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 2: not it, not it. And there was one guy that 65 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 2: was eating some sea rations looked up and what so 66 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 2: he went aboard and what he found supposedly were people 67 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 2: on deck frozen in place, with their fearful looks on 68 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 2: their faces, their eyes wide open, their mouths stretched in 69 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 2: like they were screaming. Even a dog in mid snarl 70 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 2: all frozen. Immediately, I thought of another pop culture thing 71 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 2: this reference. Did you see the seasons this year's True 72 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 2: Detective Night Country? I think so? Right. 73 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: I tried to, and I couldn't make it past the 74 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: first episode. 75 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 2: Oh god, it was so good, dude, I know. 76 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: You said that, and I just I didn't see it. 77 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 2: Well, maybe you should watched more than the first episode. 78 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: Well, that's what I'm saying. I didn't see it coming. 79 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: I didn't see the contours of it being great. I 80 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: actually was like, oh, I can't watch this. 81 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 2: In your mind's eye. He didn't see how it could 82 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 2: have been good? Possibly after that? 83 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: No, and believe me, I know stuff. I can figure 84 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:51,799 Speaker 1: stuff out. 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 2: Well it was did you see enough to see the 86 00:04:57,839 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 2: influence here for Night Country? 87 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: When they Yeah, I think it was an episode one 88 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: where they show up and yeah, it's it's a similar thing. 89 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 2: Sure, yeah, it was part of the thing, part orang Medan, 90 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 2: I think for sure. 91 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, well put oh you want me to take over it? 92 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: So I also saw I also saw that the people, 93 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: all of the corpses were described as having their arms 94 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: outstretched as if they were trying to fend off some 95 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: unseen something, But there was no trace of anything on 96 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: the ship that would have suggested what had happened to 97 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: this crew and the dog. And they hooked up I 98 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: guess the toe line from the Silver Star to the 99 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: Irang Madan and they started to tow it. But before 100 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: it could get anywhere, the thing caught fire and actually 101 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: blew up, and so any traits of the Orangmudan and 102 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: its mystery sank to the bottom of the Straits of 103 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: Malacca and became enshrined in sea shanties from that moment on. 104 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 2: That's right, But was this even a real ship at all? No, 105 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 2: we're not going to take it. They can find out. 106 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 2: We're going to talk about it right now. 107 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess we should have done it like that. Shack. 108 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 2: Oh, it's fine. It seems like this probably was completely fabricated. 109 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: There's never been a shipping record of that vessel. No 110 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 2: like living human ever came forward and said, hey this 111 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 2: like I was that person eating the sea rations that 112 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 2: got shoved aboard this thing. There were also depending on 113 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 2: when the article came out, there were varying details that 114 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 2: were different, which is always sort of a giveaway that 115 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 2: it could be fabricated. 116 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:37,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean the fact that there's like different dates, 117 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: different locations, that kind of stuff. It's at the very 118 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: least the thing's been embellished as we understand it today. 119 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: And there was a researcher named Distelle Hargraves who found 120 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: the first mention of this story all the way back 121 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty, a good seven or eight years before 122 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: the story supposedly took place. This was during World War Two, 123 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: and it was a British merchant ship, not an American 124 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: ship that came to help out. But the thing that 125 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: does you know, bear a resemblance to the following stories, 126 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: was that there was the ship exploded and there was 127 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: no trace of any thing or any evidence that could 128 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: have explained what happened. 129 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, this one was kind of fun because I was 130 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 2: on read it looking at some like theories and stuff 131 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 2: just for fun, and someone said, hey, I think I've 132 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 2: figured this thing out. Like everybody knows this is probably 133 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 2: a hoax, but I think I've actually got the paper 134 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 2: trail and figured out who this was. And I was like, 135 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 2: oh interesting, and I started to read it. It was 136 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 2: Estelle hard Gravees on Reddit Oh really, Yeah, it was 137 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 2: that researcher. I was like, oh, okay, well that makes sense. 138 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: So what'd she say, what's the explanation. 139 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 2: Well, it's the same explanation that we have here, which 140 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 2: is it's late at the feet of one single person, 141 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: not just like a bunch of people that like kind 142 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 2: of made up this lore. It was actually at least 143 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 2: Estelle has put it out that it's a reporter named 144 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 2: Silvio Shirley sh e Rli and wrote this thing in 145 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 2: nineteen forty and then wrote about it again in nineteen 146 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 2: forty eight as supposedly the first time that it had happened, 147 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 2: which is and you know, it was the same name, 148 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 2: so it had to be the same person. 149 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: Okay, So I guess he's the he's the culprit. 150 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 2: Right, Well, it seems like it. 151 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 1: Well, okay, so there were some other parts to this 152 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: story that Shirley added. There was a nineteen forty eight 153 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: Dutch Indonesian newspaper called Der Locomotif, and this was the 154 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: one where we get the story as we kind of 155 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: recognize it today. But one of the extra things that 156 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: gets left off these days is that there was one 157 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: survivor from the Orangmdan who washed up on the shore 158 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: of one of the Marshall Islands was found by a 159 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: missionary and told the story that the ship was actually 160 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: carrying illicit cargo. That's why no one can ever find 161 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: any record. 162 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 2: Of the ship. 163 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: It's because they didn't want to be found, and that 164 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: the cargo sulfuric acid or nitrogly ghostern or something either 165 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: like off gassed and killed the crew or blew the 166 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: ship up or both. 167 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 2: That's right, And this missionary supposedly told this story to 168 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,680 Speaker 2: that writer Sylvia Sharley. It's interesting that this article says 169 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 2: like no one can be sure that it was Sharley 170 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,200 Speaker 2: who made the nineteen forty report. But I think this 171 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 2: is old because online like this, Cel Hargraves posted like 172 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 2: screenshots of the actual nineteen forty articles with his name. 173 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, but everybody knows she's always headed out for Silvio Sharley. 174 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: So can that be trusted in this day and age 175 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: of deep fakes in AI and stuff. 176 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good point, but it seems like it 177 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 2: didn't even exist at all, And it may be was 178 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 2: this like writer writing about it a couple of times 179 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 2: and embellishing it even more the second time to see 180 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 2: if it gets more steam. I don't know. 181 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, full steam ahead. So do you want to hear 182 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: a little interesting tidbit, a little appendum By the way, 183 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: no one knows if this is true, but it's almost 184 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: certainly not. And if it is, it's it has taken 185 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: on some shapes or you can barely recognize the actuality 186 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: of or pick it out. But we based this off 187 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: of a house stuff Works article on it correct? 188 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 2: Correct, I went among other things. 189 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: You're right, I went and read an additional article on 190 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,719 Speaker 1: all Things Interesting, including some others. But in the all 191 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: Things Interesting article it referenced the house stuff Works article 192 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: that this was based on. Ergo, the universe will collapse 193 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: on it. So amazing, chucks that amazing. I'm not going 194 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: to press my look, so I'm just gonna end this now. 195 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,439 Speaker 1: Short stuff is out. 196 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 2: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 197 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 2: more podcasts My Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 198 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:06,319 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.