1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, 3 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: and there's Chuck and Jerry's here too, and this is 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: Stuff you should know, a history mystery type episode. But 5 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: that's not copyright infringement. Where did you hear about this? 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: Because this was your selection that Dave helped us out with. 7 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: And I had never heard of this and it's great, Actually, Chuck, 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: it was a listener request from not too long ago, 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: from the beginning of January. A listener, longtime listener, she says, 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: name Laura Pietro Maca Pietroica, one of those two. She 11 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: wrote in and suggested it, and I'd heard of it before, 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: but I didn't know virtually anything about it. Yeah, So 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: we won't ruin any of the deeds, but we will 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: just broadly say that the Amber room was called the 15 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: eighth Wonder of the World at one point, and it 16 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: was a h a masterpiece of Baroque art made from 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: amber and and panels on a on a wall. So 18 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: it was a room made of these beautiful, beautifully crafted 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: amber walls, amber and wood. And there's a mystery and 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: that it uh, it kind of disappeared and that no 21 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: one knows where it ended up for sure. Yeah, it's 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: actually considered one of the great mysteries of World War Two. Uh. 23 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: We also want to thank um Dave relied on the 24 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: work of Adrian Levy or Levy and Catherine Scott Clark, 25 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,839 Speaker 1: investigative journalists for The Guardian, who also wrote a book 26 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: called The Amber Room. You know it's coming colon the 27 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: fate of the World's greatest Lost treasure. Uh, so big 28 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: thanks to Dave and for their work. But we should 29 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about Amber because it's pretty amazing. 30 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: We we could probably do a short stuff to pair 31 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: it with this, but we won't, right, And if your 32 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: name's Amber, you're gonna of this episode because we talked 33 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: about how great Amber is the whole time. So just 34 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: pretend we're talking about too, That's right. If anyone has 35 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: seen Jurassic Park, you know that dan O d na 36 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: uh was found um stuck in Amber and through that 37 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: little short film that Steven Spielberg saw fit to make 38 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: to help explain it, which I think at the time 39 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: was probably necessary. Uh. Most of us know a little bit, 40 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: and that is that Amber is fossilized pine resin from 41 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: the pine tree. Yeah. Um. And there's the world's biggest 42 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:41,119 Speaker 1: deposit of amber. Uh is in the Baltic area northern Europe, Um, 43 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: southern Scandinavia, which is still Europe, but you know what 44 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: I mean. And by the way, Germany UM is on 45 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: the Baltic Sea. It's not landlocked so um. But it 46 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: all comes from pine resin. When a bug would like 47 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: chew into a pine tree, the pine would secrete this 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: kind of res any stuff to to not only like 49 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: get rid of the bug, um, it would also kind 50 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: of create a seal over that that part of the 51 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 1: tree that had just been exposed um after the bark 52 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: was chewed off, and that a band aid exactly, It's 53 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:18,119 Speaker 1: a tree made band aid. And that resin would sometimes 54 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: harden enough that it would fall off of the tree 55 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: or maybe the tree would fall over, and the resin 56 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: would survive um enough to make it into like a stream, 57 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: a river or something like that. And if it made 58 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: it all the way to the ocean and was covered 59 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: with sediment in time before it degraded, it would the 60 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: process of it becoming amber, which is fossilized tree resin 61 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: would begin, that's right, Uh. And then eventually also saw 62 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: it could be in like wet clay and stuff like 63 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: that and still kind of have the same effect. But 64 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: it seems like the bulk of amber comes from deep, 65 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,119 Speaker 1: deep in the ocean, and it would get dislodged by 66 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: weather in the movement of water and and float. Amber 67 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: actually floats, so it's sort of stuck down there, but 68 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: then it becomes dislodged, it floats to the top. A 69 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: big storm will come through and it just would literally 70 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: wash onto the shore. Wherever it was an abundance in 71 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: the Baltic Sea is certainly one of those places. And 72 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: it was extremely valuable. I think it was, I mean, 73 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: how many times more valuable than gold at the time 74 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the eighteenth century it was twelve 75 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: times more valuable than gold in in Europe. That's amazing, Yeah, 76 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,799 Speaker 1: which is one reason why this making an entire room 77 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: paneled in amber was so incredibly opulent. UM. And when 78 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: you polish it, it's also very beautiful. UM. There's um. 79 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: It comes in all sorts of different shades, from like 80 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: kind of a light honey color to um, you know, 81 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 1: a watery slurry of brown sugar color. I guess molasses 82 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: colored yeah, um, and uh, you make yourself a slur 83 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: of brown sugar wants chuck and take a sip and 84 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: you'll be like, brown sugar, how come you taste so good? 85 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: It is delicious? So the whole idea of paneling an 86 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: entire room in amber could only come from the fever racked, 87 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: greedy mind of a king. And exactly what happened with 88 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: the amber room. There was a king of Prussia. Uh, 89 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: and his name was Frederick the First who came up 90 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: with this idea. That's right. In seventeen and one he 91 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: was crowned the King of Prussia and said, boy, I 92 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: would really love to do something splashy here too, uh 93 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,919 Speaker 1: to make my mark, you know. And he said, how 94 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: about a room lined with this Baltic amber. I don't 95 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: think we mentioned that one of and this will come 96 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: up later. One of the main centers for amber production 97 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: was Karnitz Kernigsberg. Another was Danzig, but Kernigsberg and they're 98 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: both on the Baltic Sea. And so he's like, let's 99 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: let's do this thing. We got all this amber, A 100 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: room full of it lined with it would be pretty amazing. 101 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: And uh so they they said, let's do this in 102 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. Berlin was part of Prusch 103 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: at the time. And let's pick out a couple of 104 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: folks to get this going. And I'll go with Andreas 105 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: uh Schluter. Yeah, that's right with the uom lout did 106 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: you roll your the R and turn it into an 107 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: L though Schluter No, in Andreas Andreas did I I 108 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: may I may have added flair. Uh Schlucha was a 109 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: Baroque sculptor. He's an architect. He I looked up his 110 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: works and um did a lot of stuff, so it's 111 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:46,360 Speaker 1: about very well regarded. Uh. And then a carver name 112 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: Gottfried wolf From was who did the work. And these 113 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: guys were like as about elite as you could find 114 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: um in carving amber designing something like an amber room. 115 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: Gottfried wolf From was recommended directly by the King of 116 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: Denmark to Frederick the First, the King of Prussia, so 117 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: became very highly accredited, right. And Schlewter, like you said, 118 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: he had a bunch of stuff under his his belt, 119 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: but he was really good at designing, not just entire 120 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: buildings or whatever, UM, but in like really intricate detailed 121 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: work as well. And so that's what he got to 122 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: work doing, was creating this Baroque room. And Baroque is 123 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: a really um. As Dave puts it, Baroque equals busy. 124 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: There's a lot of ornamentation, there's a lot of designs, 125 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: there's a lot of shiny stuff. The way I would 126 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: put it is that Baroque is maximum maximalist to the 127 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: max essentially. Yeah, if you if you check out photos 128 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: of uh, well, I was about to say the original 129 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: amber room, but as we will learn, there has been 130 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: a recreation and it looks like it. So you could 131 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: look at that one if you want to. Oh dude, 132 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: but it's um, it's it's amazing. It's um. There are 133 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: mirrors and candles and these framed panels with little figurines 134 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: carved into it, and little angels and nymphs and horses, 135 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: and it's just the most intricate um grouping of like 136 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: carvings and inlays, like tiny stuff that you need a 137 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: magnifying glass to see. It's really really incredible. Right. So 138 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: Schlewter was the one who designed the room and said 139 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: more nymphs, more angels, you know, um. But Gottfried Wolfram 140 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: was the one who actually made this happen. Who made 141 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: this vision happen? And he was like, Okay, how are 142 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 1: we going to make entire an entire room out of amber? 143 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: And he came up with a paneling method, a mosaic method, 144 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: where he would take a panel of wood. Uh in 145 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: this case, I believe the original were all oak, of course, 146 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: and these were huge, like like many meters wide, many 147 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 1: meters tall um and in in imperial that's many feet 148 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 1: and wide and men feet tall um oak panels, and 149 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: then they would put like I believe, a bronze foil 150 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: between the panel and the um amber. And then they 151 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: would um take pieces of amber, cut them, slice them 152 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: in in like five millimeter thick slices, and add them 153 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: like just stick them together, almost like a jigsaw puzzle, 154 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: but really a mosaic of different amber. And remember amber 155 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: comes in different shades and colors, so each panel had 156 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: like just this riot of different shades of amber. But 157 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: they were also done by artists who knew what they 158 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: were doing with amber and impairing different shades of amber. 159 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: So the whole overall effect was incredibly pleasing. Yeah, And 160 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: that bronze foil, it had a couple of uses. One 161 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: is it helped protect it. That would it was a 162 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: moisture barrier between the wood and the amber and its 163 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: bronze foil. So if it's lined with that and then 164 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 1: the stuff is put onto it, the most tiny minuscule 165 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: little gaps and little things are gonna have bronze foil 166 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: behind it. So it's just gonna make everything pop. Right. 167 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: They also used UM. They came up with a special 168 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: kind of adhesive just to make this room, just to 169 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: adhere the um the amber to the foil. Right. I 170 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: think I saw ship culk and bees wax and a 171 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: lot of other stuff they tried. Um would not work 172 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: because it would either like turn a certain color and 173 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: like ruin the whole effect. So they came up with 174 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,560 Speaker 1: a special adhesive for it too. Right, So you can 175 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: imagine this like really took a very long time to do. Yes, 176 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: it's very slow. Uh, and you know any project like 177 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: this is going to be slow, much less one this intricate. 178 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: And in this time that it was being done, Um, 179 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: both of these guys got fired. I think schleuder Um 180 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: just sort of uh, it sounds like he just sort 181 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: of fell out of um favor with the royal family. 182 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,679 Speaker 1: And then Oh, yeah he did. He was an architect, 183 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: but apparently it wasn't a great architect and he designed 184 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: a water tow were for the Prussian royal family that collapsed, 185 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: and so he lived in disgrace on the court for 186 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: a few years. Tell that to Frank Lloyd right, moved 187 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: the desk. That was his quote. Uh, Wolform was fired 188 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 1: as well. You know why he was fired. I don't 189 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: know why he was fired, but I do know that 190 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: he was barred from his workshop for life. They came 191 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: in and said, you're not allowed to work here anymore, 192 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: and they stiffed him. Really all right, I read that 193 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: he was just scrumpy and they hated his guts. Is 194 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,959 Speaker 1: that right? I'm just kidding. So basically, the two people 195 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: that were leading this project, designer and builder, both got fired. 196 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,839 Speaker 1: And then King Frederick died about twelve this years after 197 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: it was commissioned. So along comes Frederick William, the first 198 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: UH to succeed the first Frederick, and said, this thing 199 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: is stupid, it's ridiculous. I don't want to I don't 200 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,959 Speaker 1: want it, like, but it's beautiful and they've been working hard. 201 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: He's like, I don't want to see this thing. Pack 202 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: it up, get it out of here and take it 203 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: to Berlin. And that's what they did until Uh, well, 204 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: i'll tell you what. Let's take a break. And I 205 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: just said until and that's a great cliffhanger. Yeah, there's 206 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: an ellipse. So we'll get to that writer for this alright, Chuck, 207 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: there was an ellipse that we ended on. You said 208 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 1: until until what until Czar Peter the First of Russia 209 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,439 Speaker 1: comes for a visit. This was in seventeen sixteen, I guess, 210 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: three years or so after the amber panels mid project 211 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 1: were statued away in Berlin, and was really into this thing. 212 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 1: And he's like, I really like these this amber room idea, 213 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: and I think I could make use of it. So 214 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: Frederick Williams said, sure, you can have it. Give me 215 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: forty of your grenadiers or grenadiers. I looked these guys up. 216 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: It's it's exactly what you think. It's people that were 217 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: the best at throwing hand grenades. And also I think 218 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 1: just generally some of your top largest, strongest soldiers. But 219 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: I mean these are like not just hand grenades. These 220 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: are early seventeen hundreds hand grenades. So I can't think 221 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: of too many more dangerous jobs in the army at 222 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: the time than that probably, you know. So he took 223 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,599 Speaker 1: forty of those in exchange for the amber panels. It 224 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: took about half year to ship them over there to St. Petersburg, 225 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: and then they unboxed these things. And this is where 226 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: it gets very frustrating and and non creative, because they 227 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: of course found that these were built for a certain 228 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: sized room, so they didn't necessarily automatically just fit in 229 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: one of these palace rooms. So instead of trying to 230 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 1: work with it and saying, maybe you should just put 231 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: some additional paneling around, or we can fit it in somehow, 232 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 1: he just said, I guess they can't be used here, Yeah, 233 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: and just packed him up into storage. This is the 234 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: guy who got them out of storage, took them to Russia, 235 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: took six months to ship them, finds that they don't 236 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: fit the room, like he just didn't think at all, 237 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: and then pack them up for another twenty five years. Yeah, 238 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: that's like not buying a house because you don't like 239 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: the ceiling fan in the bedroom. But that no, that's 240 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: like buying the house and just leaving it abandoned because 241 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: of the ceiling fan. You're right, So he had a daughter, 242 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: luckily named Empress Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was like, I really 243 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: like this idea. I'm gonna make it work. She was 244 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: a real go getter as far as Russian royalty went, 245 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: big time, and she hired UM an Italian sculptor named 246 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: Alexander Martelli, because at first, when she decided to to 247 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: build the amber room out in her palace, she found 248 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: that there was no one locally who had anywhere near 249 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: the skills needed to complete this. So she searched far 250 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: and wide for somebody with enough amber work experience UM 251 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: to do this in Alexander Martelli was the guy, and 252 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: he actually finished creating this in seventy and his story 253 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: would have ended there. But Elizabeth was like, I actually 254 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: wanted to try a different I want to move this 255 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: to a different room man. And Martelli was like what, 256 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: and she said, yes, we're gonna move it over here. 257 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: So Martelli ended up staying on board for more decades 258 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: more from what I can tell, like recreating this room. 259 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: And every time that it was recreated, Elizabeth will would 260 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: be like more more nymphs, more angels, more candelabras, stuff 261 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: like that, and so Martelli had a lifetime of work 262 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: basically moving the amber room around the um Winter Palace 263 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: for for Empress Elizabeth. Yeah, and continually building it out. 264 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: I think in the Catherine Palace it was named after 265 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: her mom um it was the place where it ended 266 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: up was three times the size of that original room 267 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: in Prussia. So not only are they having to keep 268 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: rebuilding and adding to this thing, but they need more 269 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: and more amber. I think they needed an additional six 270 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: tons of amber. And a part of me wondered if 271 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: it was just like I don't know, if this was 272 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: if she really enjoyed the act of designing and and 273 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: doing like house stuff, or if it was like an 274 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: obsession to get it just right, or if it was 275 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: like my dad said, it couldn't even be done, so 276 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do it in every room in the house. 277 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: I don't know that there's a weird obsessive quality to 278 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: moving it so many times, and it does kind of 279 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: smack of the Winchester Mystery House a little bit, you know. 280 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, good point one other thing. Okay, So Elizabeth, Um, 281 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: I guess she never actually finished it. Um she had 282 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: her niece or her niece stepped up, Katherine the Second 283 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: or Katherine the Great who who said? Um? Who said 284 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna actually finish this in the the Katherine Palace 285 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 1: after I guess her grandmother? Um, and that's where it 286 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 1: ended up. No, Katherine, would that have been Katherine the 287 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 1: second grandmother? I think it would have been her great aunt, 288 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,160 Speaker 1: right if this was Elizabeth's niece. Okay, you're right, sorry 289 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: about that. So, um, No, it could have still been 290 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 1: her her grandmother. It could have been Elizabeth, could have 291 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: been Katherine's parents like niece too, and they would have 292 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: shared the same grandmother, just a generation apart. I will 293 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 1: say this. I am the last person to comment on 294 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,199 Speaker 1: this because I am. I get so confused when it 295 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: comes to lineage, so don't listen to me at all. Okay, 296 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:57,679 Speaker 1: so we're just gonna say that they shared the same grandmother. Okay, 297 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,719 Speaker 1: let's get her on the horn. A Michelle, how how 298 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,640 Speaker 1: are they related? She'd be like the second cousins twice removed, 299 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: like she can figure that stuff out. It just astounds me. 300 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: That's a that's a great answer to second Cousins twice removed. Yeah, 301 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,239 Speaker 1: it's got everything you need in there. I think so. 302 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: But Catherine the Great was the one that finished the 303 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,120 Speaker 1: whole thing right in seventeen eighty, after almost eighty years 304 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: after the whole thing was was conceived of, that's right, 305 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: and finished it um with her own flourish, which was, 306 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 1: I want four stone mosaics depicting the senses. We'll have 307 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: one for sight, one for taste, one for hearing, and 308 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,679 Speaker 1: one for touch and smell. It's kind of like you 309 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,119 Speaker 1: know those signs, handwritten signs, where like the letters get 310 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: kind of bunched up at the end because they started 311 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: with not enough room. That's how touch and smell ended 312 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: up on the same mosaic, like every sign made by 313 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: an elementary school student. Basically. Yeah, and also stone threw 314 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,200 Speaker 1: me off initially until I went and looked this up 315 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: stone meaning colored marble. Did you see those mosaics? Oh yeah, 316 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: it was amazing. They are amazing. It looks like a 317 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 1: painting um. But no, it's a mosaic made from different 318 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: colored stones. And she had four of these mates. So 319 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: it was like the amber room was already over the top, 320 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: and then every single time Elizabeth moved it it got 321 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: more and more over the top. And then Catherine the 322 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: Great was like, here's the finishing touch. These four stone 323 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: mosaics that's right, and I'll hire a Florentine artists named 324 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:26,399 Speaker 1: Giuseppe Zoki to finish this thing. I think it was 325 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: finally finally done in seventeen eighty years after it was 326 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 1: originally commissioned in Prussia. And uh, I mean it's amazing. 327 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: You gotta go look at pictures. They had um and 328 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: fifty wall mounted candles in the amber room. So you've 329 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: got this warm candlelight glowing around this already warm because 330 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: you know amberuss is that very warm, like you said, 331 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: sort of plenty hued color, and then that bronze foil 332 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,880 Speaker 1: like it's just it looks like just this glowing tanned 333 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 1: uh Man sterpiece. It was really really pretty. The other 334 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 1: thing about it, too, Chuck, is like that was when 335 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: you entered the room and we're maybe standing in the 336 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: middle of the room, we're just surrounded by the warmth. 337 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: If you walked up to any wall, um, you would 338 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: just be blown away by the detail of the what 339 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: was what turned out to be a mosaic. It was 340 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: almost like an Impressionist painting where from afar it's this 341 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: seamless hole almost and then as you get closer you 342 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,919 Speaker 1: realize it's just a bunch of smudges, smudge paint like 343 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: paint smudges essentially, and that was the same way with 344 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: the Amber room. It was this cohesive hole and then 345 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: as you got closer you saw it was all different 346 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,120 Speaker 1: mosaics of of amber um. And again it's really hard 347 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: to get across what what price you could have put 348 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: on this room. It was the definition of priceless just 349 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,160 Speaker 1: from the sheer amount of like tons of amber that 350 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 1: went into creating this room and how expensive amber was 351 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: at the time. But then also like the craftsmanship, the intricacy, 352 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: the the uniqueness of it. There was nothing like it 353 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,640 Speaker 1: in the entire world. And it sat tucked in um 354 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: the Amber room room at the Summer Palace, the Catherine 355 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: Palace for a good almost two centuries. Even after the 356 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen, the Bolsheviks were like, we're 357 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 1: leaving this alone, like this is there's nothing that's a 358 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,439 Speaker 1: greater symbol of the decadence of the monarchs that we 359 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: are overthrowing in the amber room. But it's so amazing, 360 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:33,720 Speaker 1: we're just going to turn it into a museum. Yeah. 361 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: Uh so you know who decided to mess with this, 362 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: the Nazis. Uh in nineteen seventeen, after the Russian Revolution, 363 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: it was turned into a museum. Catherine Palace was in 364 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: the Amber room was obviously a key part of that museum. 365 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: And in Hitler uh launched Operation barb Barbara sorry, Barbara Rossa. Yeah, exactly. 366 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 1: When um, they invaded the Soviet Union, and everyone knew 367 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 1: like Hitler likes art, and he likes to steal art. 368 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,719 Speaker 1: He used to fancy himself a painter even, and he 369 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: likes to to pillage, especially stuff that he thinks were 370 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: originally German. Um, he thinks he wants back and like 371 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: we said, this was born in Berlin, in Prussian Berlin, 372 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: so he thought he had a claim to this thing. 373 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: And as this invasion of the Soviet Union is going on, 374 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: they're packing away, you know, because his reputation preceded himself. 375 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: They're packing away art. They're trying to get you know, 376 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: get rid of everything. They can take it to Siberia 377 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: and sort of put it in a you know, a warehouse. Yeah, exactly, 378 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: they knew that the Amber room. It was like, this 379 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: is something he's definitely coming for, so let's let's remove 380 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:56,719 Speaker 1: these panels. And they tried to and apparently the amber 381 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 1: was brittle and it and it shattered, and they said, well, 382 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: we can't do anything, so let's just cover it up 383 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: with like, you know, tapestries and stuff and maybe they 384 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: won't notice it. Yeah. And apparently it took the Nazis 385 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 1: about two hours to find it um once they entered 386 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: the Catherine Palace and occupied it. Um. And when that, 387 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: when word got out there, they packed it up within 388 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,879 Speaker 1: thirty six hours. Um. Yeah, successfully packed it up in 389 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,359 Speaker 1: twenty seven crates and they put him on a train 390 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: to Krunigsberg Um, which was the Amber capital on the 391 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: Baltic Sea, formerly of Prussia now of Germany of the 392 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: German Empire. I guess um. And it was actually reassembled 393 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 1: and displayed in the Kernigsberg Castle, which is like a 394 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: straight up castle from the thirteenth century along the Baltic 395 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: That was just an amazing beautiful castle. And we know 396 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: that that actually happened, so we could we can trace 397 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: the Amber Room to Koenigsberg Castle. It made it from 398 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: Russia to Kernigsburg because there were newspaper announcements telling of 399 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 1: how this um it was being reassembled and would be 400 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 1: open for displayed to the German public. Yeah. And that 401 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: was it. I mean, it wasn't some temporary staging ground 402 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,359 Speaker 1: there like here's where it's gonna live and uh, like 403 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 1: you should have seen this move this thing. I don't 404 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: know why they couldn't do it, because we did it 405 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: pretty easily. But it's stay and put until July when 406 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,520 Speaker 1: the Royal Air Force the r a F came in 407 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:34,159 Speaker 1: with a pretty drastic bombing campaign on Kernigsberg, including the castle. Um. 408 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: Although it didn't like destroy the castle, it was damaged 409 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 1: pretty badly. Um, but it seems like the well, we 410 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: don't know. The big question is did the Amber Room 411 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 1: survived that bombing. And there's a bunch of different leads 412 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,119 Speaker 1: that kind of guide us down a particular road that 413 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: says it it probably did. Um. One of which was 414 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,640 Speaker 1: a gentleman named Alfred Road, who was an art historian 415 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 1: in Germany and the director of the Kernigsberg sol Museum 416 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: for the Nazis. And he said, and this is after 417 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: the war, but he said, under interrogation by the Russians that, um, 418 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 1: we had a lot of art in there that was 419 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 1: looted from Russia. The Amber Room was in there. I 420 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:18,080 Speaker 1: personally oversaw its installation. So he said it was definitely 421 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,200 Speaker 1: in there, but he said four weeks before that bombing, 422 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: he said that they evacuated it to a safer place. Right, 423 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: So the bombing happened the Amber Room. According to Rhode, 424 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: who was the guy who literally was in charge of 425 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: installing the Amber Room and Kurnicksburg Castle, UM had it 426 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: removed and then afterward brought it back to Kurnicksburg Castle. 427 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:46,159 Speaker 1: I don't know where they stashed it. That would be 428 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 1: a really great question to answer, like in the interim, Yeah, yeah, 429 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: I don't know, UM, but it was back at Kurnicksburg 430 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,199 Speaker 1: Castle after the bombing raid. UM it was locked in 431 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: a tower and you would think, okay, well it was 432 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,440 Speaker 1: safe them because after UM, the Soviet army ground their 433 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: way into East Prussia, which included Kernigsberg during a three 434 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: month campaign that UM where Germany saw fifty thousand soldiers 435 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:16,879 Speaker 1: die and just East East Prussia alone. UM. The Soviets 436 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: took the city on April nine, and photos that were 437 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 1: taken shortly after the surrender show the castle is still standing. 438 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 1: It's still intact. The problem is a month later, May 439 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:34,040 Speaker 1: ninety five, when the KGB sent specialists to go look 440 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:38,719 Speaker 1: for looted Russian art. Um. They were specifically looking for 441 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,199 Speaker 1: the amber room and found that the castle was ruined. 442 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: It was scorch it had been burned to the ground, 443 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: probably by Russian troops. So this is I mean, this 444 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,159 Speaker 1: is kind of where they ended up as far as 445 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,399 Speaker 1: not knowing where this thing ended up. I mean, the 446 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: official line I guess was that, well, no, it's you know, 447 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: we found some charred remains of bits and pieces of 448 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: this thing. I think they found fragments from three of 449 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 1: the four stone mosaics by Zoki that Katherine the Great commission. 450 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,360 Speaker 1: And so the official line is like this this thing 451 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 1: burned along with the rest of Kernigsburg Castle in a 452 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:20,120 Speaker 1: and that's you know, it's it's it's nowhere anymore. Yeah. 453 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: And that, um, very tellingly is where Catherine's got Clark 454 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: and Adrian Levy ended up. And remember they wrote this 455 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: really exhaustive book in their investigative reporters. So if they're saying, yes, 456 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 1: it probably burned up in the castle, then it probably 457 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: burned up in the castle. Uh, And that would mean 458 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: cases closed. Right. But but this is, like I said, 459 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:44,360 Speaker 1: one of the great unsolved mysteries of World War two, 460 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 1: which means there are a lot of other competing theories 461 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: out there based on the idea that, no, it wasn't 462 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 1: in the castle at the time of the Russian troops 463 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 1: burned the castle to the ground, Right, And I guess 464 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,440 Speaker 1: we should take our last break. Yeah, and we'll touch 465 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: on those theories when we get back, right. Yeah. So 466 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,480 Speaker 1: there's a few things that people say, this doesn't smell right, 467 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,440 Speaker 1: the idea that the amber room was in the castle 468 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: and was burned up. Um. On the one handsome people 469 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: point out and there are people who are like dedicated 470 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: to this mystery is just like any mystery on the internet, 471 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,960 Speaker 1: but they have been since long before the internet. Um. 472 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: Some people point out that the KGB apparently didn't think 473 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: it was destroyed in the castle because they kept searching 474 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: for it for decades more. It's a pretty good argument. 475 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:02,239 Speaker 1: Another person points out that they would be um, there 476 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: would have been a really remarkable smell of literal tons 477 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: of amber burning um insense like amber burning all at 478 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 1: once when Kurnigsburg Castle was was lit on fire. It's 479 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,680 Speaker 1: not quite as strong as the KGB argument, but it 480 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,480 Speaker 1: makes sense too. Then, on the other hand, you have 481 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 1: friends of Rhodes who are saying no, this guy I was. 482 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: I was a friend of Rhodes and he showed me 483 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: a big charred lump of amber in the castle after 484 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: it was destroyed. So you have people from both sides 485 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: without any real evidence, conjecturing um that it was or 486 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,600 Speaker 1: it wasn't destroyed in the castle. The ones that are 487 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 1: the more interesting, I think are the ones that say Nope, 488 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: it wasn't in there, right um. I mentioned that they 489 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 1: found pieces, charred pieces of three of those four stone 490 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: mosaics uh. In the late nineties there was a tip 491 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: to the German authorities that there was an art dealer 492 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: trying to sell that fourth, like fully intact fourth mosaic UH, 493 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: and that they that led to a dude named Rudy 494 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: Vorst who was the son of an s S officer 495 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 1: that was assigned to transport the amber room by train 496 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 1: to Kernigsberg from Russia. So I mean, that's how did 497 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 1: that pan out? I mean that sounds pretty first and 498 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,959 Speaker 1: to me it does. Did he just have the one panel? 499 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: And that doesn't prove because this is when it was 500 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: on the way to Karnigsberg. No, it doesn't prove that 501 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: the amber room as a whole wouldn't have made it 502 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 1: to Kernigsberg. It could have everything else could just be 503 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 1: propaganda or lies or something like that. Um. But I 504 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 1: think the ultimate thing is it's more like, um like, 505 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: it's it was possible that this stuff could have survived, 506 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: and this is a good example of how it could 507 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: have survived, like some ss Nazi scumbag looting the loot. Basically, Well, 508 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: wouldn't that one still be out there? Though? Yeah, I 509 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 1: believe it is out there as a matter of fact, 510 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,920 Speaker 1: we'll we'll touch on where it is, um towards the end. Oh, 511 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 1: is that fourth panel a part of the thing that 512 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: I want mentioned? Yeah? I don't think I saw that part. 513 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,640 Speaker 1: Okay that that that clears up a lot for me. 514 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: All Right, great, well, let's talk about some of these theories. Uh, 515 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: there's one called the Wilhelm gust Loft theory. This was 516 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:25,520 Speaker 1: a ocean liner from Germany, um, and it was bombed 517 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: and sunk in the Baltic Sea in July. I'm sorry, Januar, 518 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: not only that, chuck. It was bombed and sunk with 519 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: eleven thousand people on board. Yeah, wounded Germans, killed people. 520 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: Apparently it's the largest maritime disaster in the history of 521 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 1: the world. Yeah, I mean, would you call that a 522 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: maritime disaster? An intentional act of war sinking? Somebody did. 523 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 1: I didn't make it. I wasn't saying it's not a disaster, 524 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 1: but I can like an accidental sinking sounds more like 525 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 1: a disaster. This sounds like an act of war. I 526 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,920 Speaker 1: totally get your point for sure, you know what I mean. Um, 527 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: So some people said, was the Amber room possibly in that? Uh. 528 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 1: They have been diving expeditions they have found nothing. Uh. 529 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 1: In addition to other sunk in German ships that sailed 530 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 1: around the same time in the same area as these, 531 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: some of those have been uh scoop it up and 532 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: they've said there's nothing down here. Yeah. The Wilhelm goose Laften, 533 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: these other ships were part of this one thousand shift 534 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 1: ship boatlift evacuation that was like way bigger than dunkirk 535 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: Um and that since they all shipped out from Kernigsberg. 536 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: A lot of people are like, it had to have 537 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,560 Speaker 1: been on one of those ships. We just haven't found 538 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 1: the right ship yet, or it could have been on 539 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: a ship that made it, because not all the ships 540 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 1: in this thousand boat boat lift we're sunk, so it 541 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,680 Speaker 1: could have made it somewhere out of Kurnigsberg in that floatilla. 542 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: There's another one called the Jonas Valley theory. And we 543 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: must have talked about the Jonas Valley in the um 544 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: the attempt to Kill Hitler episode. We do one on that. 545 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: We did, we did we we we It wasn't just 546 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,000 Speaker 1: the Nazi speed episode. I think we did one specifically 547 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: on the plot to kill Hitler. Yeah, this was the 548 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 1: big tunnel complex, uh in the Jonas Valley in Germany, 549 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,360 Speaker 1: sort of in the closing days of World War Two, 550 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 1: which is basically like, all right, we're digging out these tunnels, 551 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: is going to make our last stand here? Didn't work 552 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: out that way. Americans took it, handed it over to 553 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 1: the Soviets and they sealed them off. And some people 554 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 1: say the Amber room was in those tunnels. Yeah, along 555 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: with allegedly Germany's atomic bomb that was never used and 556 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: probably may not have existed. Right, The Jonas Valley and 557 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: also the Vulpor House in mind probably also both made 558 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: appearances in our Nazi Gold episode, which was a good one. Yeah, 559 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: because you know, these tunnels and mines were uh vast 560 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: areas that they would use to hide things, notably all 561 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:03,600 Speaker 1: this pillaged art among you know, other stuff, valuables in 562 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,840 Speaker 1: cash and all all sorts of stuff. Uh. And I 563 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,640 Speaker 1: think they said that, um, this could have been in 564 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 1: one of those minds that was plundered by the British 565 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:15,880 Speaker 1: uh and Polish workers and apparently locals got in on 566 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:18,640 Speaker 1: the act and uh. But they were saying that if 567 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:20,960 Speaker 1: that was the case, then you would see some of 568 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: this stuff that would be people be selling pieces of 569 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,280 Speaker 1: amber or pieces of this installation, and that just didn't happen. 570 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:31,040 Speaker 1: That's a really great point. Um. There was a mysterious 571 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:34,480 Speaker 1: explosion that destroyed the Vulper Housing Mind in September of 572 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: nine UM, and everything inside was destroyed. I never saw 573 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:41,680 Speaker 1: an inventory of what might have been in there. Maybe 574 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: everything had been removed and they were just like keeping sealing, yeah, 575 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: ceiling off. That's great one. But UM, the thing that 576 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 1: kind of gives legs to this stuff is like these 577 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: like mind shafts holding loot and these huge tunnel complexes. 578 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,840 Speaker 1: They exist like they're real. Like it's entire really possible 579 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: that the amber room could have made it to this, 580 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 1: So it's not like they're just completely off the Wall 581 00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: theories like that, if you don't trust Nazis who were 582 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: interrogated by the Russians after the war, it's really easy 583 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,080 Speaker 1: to guess that the Amber Room was stashed away somewhere 584 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: and it's just sitting somewhere in some mountain side or 585 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,360 Speaker 1: in the basement of a museum or something like that. Um, 586 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:30,279 Speaker 1: it's not. It's just not the most crackpot adjacent um 587 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,120 Speaker 1: mystery I've ever seen. I can tell you that. Yeah, 588 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,840 Speaker 1: it's like the end of the Raiders. Yeah, exactly, wheel 589 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:38,880 Speaker 1: that lost dark. I don't think anyone, even when they 590 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,040 Speaker 1: saw that movie, said what come on? That would never 591 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:45,839 Speaker 1: have that happened. I think everyone saw that and said, ah, 592 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,080 Speaker 1: that figures, you know, like stashing some great work in 593 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,480 Speaker 1: here with just a bunch of other stuff. And I mean, 594 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 1: war is a really great mechanism for art and treasure 595 00:35:56,680 --> 00:36:00,440 Speaker 1: to move from place to place. Um. And in fact, 596 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 1: Germany had been looking for Heinrich Schleiman's trove of Troy 597 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: gold Trojan gold when he discovered the Lost City of 598 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,680 Speaker 1: Troy in the nineteenth century. Schleiman was as German as 599 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:16,560 Speaker 1: it gets, I mean, just listened to his name. Yet 600 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,799 Speaker 1: that trove had been plundered by the Soviets, probably in 601 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 1: World War Two, because it was discovered sitting in boxes 602 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:28,560 Speaker 1: in the basement of the Pushkin Museum, um like years later, 603 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,440 Speaker 1: I think, not that many years ago actually, So it's 604 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 1: entirely possible the Soviets have it, maybe don't even know it, 605 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,279 Speaker 1: of some other ally has it, doesn't even know it, 606 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,040 Speaker 1: or the Germans have it and maybe they don't know it. 607 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:42,279 Speaker 1: It's just sitting in on mark crates and in a 608 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:44,440 Speaker 1: museum somewhere. Like you said, all the Raiders of the 609 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:48,160 Speaker 1: Lost Ark, we uh, we should ruby that. Finally the 610 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,560 Speaker 1: other day, the writers the Lost Art. Yeah, I was like, 611 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,799 Speaker 1: she's ready and she loved it. Man, that's awesome that. 612 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,719 Speaker 1: I mean, that really says a lot about her. I think, yeah, 613 00:36:57,800 --> 00:36:59,759 Speaker 1: she she likes adventure movies and stuff like that. So 614 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,640 Speaker 1: she was she was in from the drop and yeah, 615 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:05,239 Speaker 1: it was it was way in and it was it 616 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:06,640 Speaker 1: was great. And I told her, I was like, there's 617 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: a few more of these and a couple of them 618 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 1: are pretty good. Are you watch them? We'll watch them all? 619 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,080 Speaker 1: Are you Are you gonna follow the m p A 620 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 1: a suggestion and wait until she's thirteen to show her 621 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:20,960 Speaker 1: raiders are Temple of Doom. Nah, she's fine. She she 622 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:22,840 Speaker 1: knows that stuff is a movie. She didn't get scared. 623 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: I told her from a very early age that like 624 00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:27,960 Speaker 1: movies is all make believe, and you don't need to 625 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,439 Speaker 1: worry about any of this stuff. People don't actually eat 626 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:32,880 Speaker 1: huge snakes that they cut the baby snakes out of. 627 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:38,320 Speaker 1: That's right. Uh, should we talk about the Vimar theory? 628 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:41,120 Speaker 1: This was another you know, kind of like the rest 629 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: of these. It's like, now, this thing was on a 630 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 1: train this time. Uh, and it was there were a 631 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: bunch of valuable shipped to wine Mar in February. Um, 632 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:53,080 Speaker 1: it was basically anything that what happened in the first 633 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,359 Speaker 1: like six months of nineteen forty five. It seemed like 634 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:57,920 Speaker 1: whether it was a ship or a train or a 635 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,440 Speaker 1: tunnel there like it could be at any of these places, 636 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 1: because this train was carrying very valuable things, very valuable art. 637 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,400 Speaker 1: The Coke collection was in there, the the coffin for 638 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:13,160 Speaker 1: the Prussian King Frederick William the first even was in there, ironically, 639 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 1: and it was going to uh the land Museum in Weimar, 640 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:23,480 Speaker 1: and the director there apparently swore two investigators from Russia 641 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 1: that the day after it got there, that everything was 642 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:30,160 Speaker 1: shipped off to an undisclosed location. And some people are saying, like, 643 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:33,040 Speaker 1: now he was lying. The amber room was there, and 644 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 1: it's it's hidden, uh, in these bunkers near the museum. 645 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,480 Speaker 1: So I think there are bunkers. But when they checked 646 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:43,480 Speaker 1: them out in the nineties, there was no amber room 647 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:45,359 Speaker 1: in there. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't there 648 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:48,160 Speaker 1: at one point who knows. Yeah, and the coffin of 649 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,200 Speaker 1: King Frederick William the First was like moved around. It 650 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,799 Speaker 1: was discovered in a salt mine in Germany by the 651 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:59,560 Speaker 1: Allies in so it's entirely possible they packed the amber 652 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:01,279 Speaker 1: room up once. They could have packed it up. No, 653 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 1: they picked it up twice. As a matter of fact, 654 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,040 Speaker 1: they could have picked it up a third time and 655 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 1: send it off with this stuff again. Though, if you 656 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:11,760 Speaker 1: find the coffin of Prussian King Frederick William the First, 657 00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:13,880 Speaker 1: why would you also not say we also found the 658 00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:16,160 Speaker 1: amber room. Can you believe it? Why would it have 659 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:18,719 Speaker 1: been separated out? Who knows? But at the same time, 660 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:22,480 Speaker 1: why would they have moved m Frederick Williams coffin and 661 00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:28,000 Speaker 1: not the amber room? Yeah? Close dude, I just dropped 662 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,880 Speaker 1: my microphone. I would have if it wasn't wasn't attached 663 00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,200 Speaker 1: to this Mike boom arm uh. Dave included some stuff 664 00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:37,840 Speaker 1: here about an amber room curse. I don't really subscribe 665 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:42,160 Speaker 1: to this stuff. No, But George Stein's death is strange. Yeah, 666 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:44,279 Speaker 1: there were a few people connected to the amber room 667 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:48,000 Speaker 1: that died, but I don't I didn't find like, typhoid 668 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:51,279 Speaker 1: fever is not mysterious, a car wreck is not mysterious. 669 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 1: But George Stein he was. He was an amber room 670 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:59,800 Speaker 1: hunter and in eight seven he died of what was 671 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:04,319 Speaker 1: ruled ritual suicide from his stomach being cut open by 672 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:08,000 Speaker 1: a scalpel. Yes, which is a very strange way to 673 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:11,400 Speaker 1: take your own life. And um, even stranger he was 674 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:14,720 Speaker 1: naked at the time, because he was found naked, and 675 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:18,200 Speaker 1: this forest that he was found in was a few 676 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,879 Speaker 1: hundred miles from his home. He was supposedly going to 677 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:26,200 Speaker 1: meet another amber room hunter. Um, and why would if 678 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:27,760 Speaker 1: you were going to do this, why would you travel 679 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,480 Speaker 1: so far and do it in such a bizarre, painful manner. 680 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:33,760 Speaker 1: So it is at the very least a very strange 681 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,120 Speaker 1: little footnote to the whole thing. Yeah, and it's not 682 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:39,560 Speaker 1: a curse like, uh, maybe he was snuffed out because 683 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,040 Speaker 1: he knew too much or something here now, mab, I mean, 684 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,080 Speaker 1: we're not promoting conspiracies, of course. I was just it's 685 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 1: just a conjecture. No, but if you are into this 686 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:50,440 Speaker 1: kind of stuff, we should direct everybody check to the 687 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:52,279 Speaker 1: new stuff. They don't want you to know book, don't 688 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:56,480 Speaker 1: you think. Yeah, our buddies, our colleagues Ben and Matt 689 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,360 Speaker 1: and Noel, have a book just like we did stuff. 690 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: They don't want you to go check it out, pick 691 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:04,439 Speaker 1: it up. Yeah, it's good stuff. They're good guys. Yeah, 692 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:07,759 Speaker 1: And I think we should finish here on this rebuilt 693 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,560 Speaker 1: amber room that we've kind of teased out. Uh. In 694 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:15,920 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, Soviet authorities commissioned a full scale replica 695 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:19,120 Speaker 1: in the Catherine Palace, which is, like we said, a 696 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:23,640 Speaker 1: state museum, and uh, you sent me an article on 697 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:27,120 Speaker 1: on the process of this. I think they took three 698 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:30,840 Speaker 1: plus years before they even started on it because it 699 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:33,920 Speaker 1: was so there was so much pre planning in to 700 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,160 Speaker 1: figuring out how to do this as an exact replica. 701 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,000 Speaker 1: They were working off of their so few actual like 702 00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:45,359 Speaker 1: photo documents or descriptions or sketches of the original amber room. 703 00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,160 Speaker 1: But they had a pile of about eighty of them 704 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,400 Speaker 1: that had been UM photograph or eighty photographs that have 705 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,400 Speaker 1: been done and like I think the nineteen thirties of 706 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:57,360 Speaker 1: the original amber room. But they're black and sat together, 707 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,040 Speaker 1: but they were black and white before they even did 708 00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:03,719 Speaker 1: that part. They they had to like blow up these 709 00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:06,880 Speaker 1: black and white photos and then deduce from the different 710 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:12,479 Speaker 1: gray scales of the different mosaics what piece was, what 711 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,800 Speaker 1: color or what shade and what you know, what around 712 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:18,040 Speaker 1: it was a different shade, what what the different shades were. 713 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 1: That's how faithfully they've recreated the original amber room. Yeah, 714 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 1: and that that uh, and it's right here. I don't 715 00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:29,880 Speaker 1: know how I missed it, but that fourth UM mosaic, 716 00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:33,719 Speaker 1: the touch and smell that was recovered I guess through 717 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:37,839 Speaker 1: illegal sale, uh, was in there. So I'm not sure 718 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:39,920 Speaker 1: how I missed that, but that that's one of the 719 00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:43,399 Speaker 1: original pieces as part of this recreation. Yeah. So it's 720 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,120 Speaker 1: amazing and you can go see it. Um. It was 721 00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:48,640 Speaker 1: open to the public in two thousand three, after twenty 722 00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:52,839 Speaker 1: five years of construction years. Man, that's correct, that's incredible. Yeah, 723 00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,600 Speaker 1: because they I'll tell you another amazing thing they did. 724 00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,920 Speaker 1: They took one of the original pieces because there were 725 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:01,799 Speaker 1: pieces surviving pieces of the Amber room that had been 726 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:04,360 Speaker 1: like this is actually from the original amber room. We 727 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:07,560 Speaker 1: know it like it broke off during transit or like 728 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:11,279 Speaker 1: those um conservatives from the palace when they tried to 729 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:13,640 Speaker 1: remove one of the panels and it shattered. Those things 730 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:17,360 Speaker 1: were kept. So they actually had UM like one of 731 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:21,840 Speaker 1: the local crime labs um analyzed the adhesive that have 732 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:24,080 Speaker 1: been used and that's how they came up with that. 733 00:43:24,719 --> 00:43:27,919 Speaker 1: They used the same adhesive um that's the original one did. 734 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:30,200 Speaker 1: But like that's the level of detail they went into 735 00:43:30,239 --> 00:43:33,000 Speaker 1: recreating it. It's just my hats off to them. And 736 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:37,480 Speaker 1: today that amber room, the recreation alone is valued at 737 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:41,200 Speaker 1: five hundred million, which kind of gives you an idea 738 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,920 Speaker 1: of what the original would be would be worth today. 739 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,759 Speaker 1: Although I've seen also like it would be in such 740 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:49,600 Speaker 1: bad shape that you would just be like this is it, 741 00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:56,200 Speaker 1: Like this isn't really amazing at all. So yeah, I 742 00:43:56,239 --> 00:43:59,879 Speaker 1: would recommend going and reading the Gemological Institute of them 743 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:04,880 Speaker 1: Erica's website article on the Amber Room. It's got a 744 00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:06,759 Speaker 1: lot of detail in it. But it talks a lot 745 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:10,919 Speaker 1: about the recreation process. Too very cool. You got anything else, man, 746 00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:13,719 Speaker 1: I got nothing? Well, big thanks to Dave Ruce for 747 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:16,040 Speaker 1: helping us out with this one. Uh And since I 748 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:18,359 Speaker 1: thank Dave Ruce, of course, it's time for a listener name. 749 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:23,960 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this toast watery. So this is not 750 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:27,200 Speaker 1: a review by me. I still plan on having toast 751 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:29,840 Speaker 1: water and I will follow up. But this is from 752 00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:36,240 Speaker 1: Carl uh rush out in Texas. Okay. So Carl listens 753 00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:39,080 Speaker 1: to stuff you should know with his son and on 754 00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:42,520 Speaker 1: family family trips when they go to scouting events and 755 00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:44,920 Speaker 1: stuff like that. He said, my wife tolerates it on 756 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:48,200 Speaker 1: family trips, So Carl, you need to get her more 757 00:44:48,239 --> 00:44:51,279 Speaker 1: on board. Yeah, turn the volume way up for this part. 758 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,760 Speaker 1: That should do it. Uh. So they wanted to try 759 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,200 Speaker 1: the different things we were talking about in the toast episode, 760 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,080 Speaker 1: uh and said, we quickly made a trip trip to 761 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,240 Speaker 1: the grocery story pick up a loaf of Josh's recommended 762 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:06,080 Speaker 1: Nature's Own Perfect White, which was only available in thick 763 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:11,200 Speaker 1: slice form. Good stuff. Yeah, we fired up the old toaster, 764 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:16,400 Speaker 1: which does operate on a bimetallic alloy thermostatic control dropped 765 00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:19,840 Speaker 1: in a couple of slices toasted to perfection, slathered with 766 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:24,160 Speaker 1: some organic butter, and placed it between two other untoasted slices. 767 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:26,920 Speaker 1: So this was the toast sandwich that you talked about. 768 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:29,479 Speaker 1: And he said it was like a mouthful of bread, 769 00:45:29,719 --> 00:45:32,680 Speaker 1: exactly how you think it would taste. Reminded me of 770 00:45:32,719 --> 00:45:35,280 Speaker 1: the rama noodle sandwiches I made in college with less flavor. 771 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:40,320 Speaker 1: Uh added he added some barbecue sauce and some sliced sausage. 772 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:43,719 Speaker 1: Just yea gussie it up. I don't. I don't think 773 00:45:43,719 --> 00:45:46,400 Speaker 1: that's a toast sandwich any longer. Well, no, no, no, 774 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:49,600 Speaker 1: he After the tasting, he was like, I want to 775 00:45:49,680 --> 00:45:55,440 Speaker 1: enjoy this. So that was three slices of bread. Henry, 776 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:57,600 Speaker 1: his son, thought it was great and devoured it plain 777 00:45:57,760 --> 00:46:00,120 Speaker 1: so just like a kid would do such a it. 778 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:04,080 Speaker 1: Then we moved on to uh, well know this is Texas, 779 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:07,200 Speaker 1: I know, but he's British and spirit. Then we moved 780 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:09,720 Speaker 1: on to toast water. While the meal was in progress, 781 00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,160 Speaker 1: we had another toasted slice of bread steeping in a 782 00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:15,920 Speaker 1: pan of just boiled water. Uh. Still too hot after dinner, 783 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:18,360 Speaker 1: so we took the dog for a walk and allowed 784 00:46:18,360 --> 00:46:22,680 Speaker 1: it's cool three bear style. Upon returning, we decanted the 785 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:26,640 Speaker 1: khaki colored liquid and wine glasses, toasted each other's health 786 00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,360 Speaker 1: and took a swig. My son immediately spat his out. I, 787 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:33,759 Speaker 1: on the other hand, thought it was great. Really. In fact, 788 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:35,680 Speaker 1: I think it would make a soothing tea for anyone 789 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:39,520 Speaker 1: suffering his stomach illness. So move over, vitamin water, bring 790 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,959 Speaker 1: on the toast water. And this is uh from Carl, 791 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:44,480 Speaker 1: He said, I love the asides, love the humor, love 792 00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:48,680 Speaker 1: the knowledge. From Carl Rush sh helped in Victoria, Texas. 793 00:46:48,719 --> 00:46:51,279 Speaker 1: That's awesome. Thank you Carl, Thank you Henry. Thank you 794 00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:55,360 Speaker 1: to a lesser extent, Carl's wife and Henry's mom. And 795 00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:57,239 Speaker 1: if you want to be like Carl and Henry and 796 00:46:57,280 --> 00:46:58,840 Speaker 1: get in touch with us to let us know about 797 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:02,600 Speaker 1: the results of your s Y s K scientific taste testing, 798 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:04,919 Speaker 1: we would love to hear about that. You can wrap 799 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:06,759 Speaker 1: it up, spank it on the bottom, and send it 800 00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:15,200 Speaker 1: off to stuff podcast at i heart radio dot com. 801 00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:17,520 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of I heart Radio. 802 00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:20,560 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart 803 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:23,520 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 804 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:24,280 Speaker 1: favorite shows.