1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: The world is full of danger. That much is undeniable. 7 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: Some human beings are actually drawn to risk, skydiving, free climbing, 8 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: chasing tornadoes. The list goes on and on. There's an 9 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: excitement to putting yourself at risk, an adrenaline joke that 10 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: reminds someone of what it's like to be alive. And then, 11 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: of course, there are people who feel the opposite impulse 12 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: to minimize risk at every opportunity, unity, to whom the 13 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: simple act of leaving the house is a decision fraught 14 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: with considerations. What either category of person might not understand, though, 15 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: is that we have tools to measure danger that are 16 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: extremely specific. Just like how we measure earthquake intensity or 17 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: measure radioactivity, there are also tools that have been developed 18 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: specifically to measure general peril. One such tool is known 19 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: as the Duckworth Scale. Frank Duckworth began his career as 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: a scientist in the nuclear power industry, but that's not 21 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: where his passions lay. His passions were in statistics. After 22 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 1: the Chernobyl disaster in the mid nineteen eighties, he devised 23 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: a scale for measuring this sort of catastrophe, officially called 24 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: the International Nuclear Event Scale. This measures nuclear disasters on 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: a scale of one to seven, one being an anomaly 26 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: and seven being a major accident. Now, the purpose of 27 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: the scale was actually to calibrate media response and to 28 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: help prevent news outlets from overreacting should a minor anomaly occur. 29 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: He took early retirement in nineteen ninety two, but he 30 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: would continue to develop formulas to apply statistics to everyday life. 31 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 1: As a side note, five years later, in nineteen ninety seven, 32 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: he would become famous for co developing the Duckworth Lewis method, 33 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: a mathematical formula to calculate ideal cricket scores. It's still 34 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: used today by cricket statisticians. But after cricket, he began 35 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,919 Speaker 1: to turn his mathematical skills to something a bit more universal, 36 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: risk assessment. Using data taken from the British Medical Journal 37 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: the man who developed the criterion for nuclear disaster severity, 38 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: developed the scale of his own for measuring general danger. 39 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes. The Duckworth scale 40 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: is logarithmic in nature, essentially a scale based on orders 41 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: of magnitude. The Duckworth scale measures a given activity over 42 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: time and how likely it'll be to cause death. The 43 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: scale measures each activity from a zero to an eight. 44 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: For instance, Russian roulette with six bullets is an as 45 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: on the Duckworth scale, meaning certain death. A train journey 46 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: of one hundred miles lands very low on the scale 47 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: at a point three. This leads to some curious statistical oddities, though, 48 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: like the fact that vacuum cleaning and washing up carries 49 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: a higher Duckworth's scale number five point five than the 50 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: average risk of getting murdered four point six. So what 51 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: do we do with these numbers now that we have them? Well, 52 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: humans are pattern seeking creatures, but we aren't earthquakes. After all, 53 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: the usefulness of this scale has likely faded over time. 54 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: After all, the statistics that doctor Duckworth pulled from likely 55 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: aren't still accurate over twenty five years later. They're mostly 56 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: useful as a reminder, human beings are more than just 57 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: statistics of their most common activities. And while you could 58 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: become intimidated by the high numbers of smoking cigarettes or 59 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: a lifetime of rock climbing six point nine and six 60 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: point three, respectively, these numbers provide more than just reasons 61 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: to never leave your house. After all, it can be 62 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: strangely comforting to see how low certain activities. A flight 63 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: of over one hundred miles ranks at a mere one 64 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: point seven lower than driving the same distance, or even 65 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: lower than taking an average fairground ride, which scores a 66 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: solid two point zho. And look, people die every day, 67 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: and they are always doing something when they pass away, 68 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: whether it's something as mundane is going for a walk, 69 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,559 Speaker 1: or as thrilling as deep sea diving. The Duckworth scale 70 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: shows us that the possibilities are nearly endless, not just 71 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: in how people die, but in how people live. And 72 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: as always, it's much more curious to be a statistical anomaly. 73 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:51,119 Speaker 1: Imagine it's a sweltering summer day in the Victorian English countryside. 74 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: The air is hot and heavy, the bees are buzzing 75 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: in the heather, and you're sweating through your petticoats. Today 76 00:04:57,800 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: to cool down, you might reach for a tall, cool 77 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: glode of water. Back then, it was much the same. 78 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: The only difference there was the ice, specifically where the 79 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: ice came from. It wasn't like the Victorians could reach 80 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: into their ice maker and grab a few cubes instead. 81 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: Back then, ice was big business, and in the days 82 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: before refrigeration, most of the ice that chilled drinks and 83 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: preserve food from England to Australia all came from one 84 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: single lake. Before the early eighteen forties, ice was a 85 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: family affair across the United States and in England. When 86 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: local streams and ponds froze in the winter, people would 87 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: harvest ice from them and store it in special ice 88 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: houses packed in salt and straw. The ice would mostly 89 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: last until summer, when it was used to keep food 90 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: from spoiling in the heat. However, this hyper local way 91 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 1: of harvesting ice really only benefited the people who lived 92 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: near the source, and the quality of the ice depended 93 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: on the lake or the stream that it was harvested from. 94 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 1: Some bodies of water weren't exactly the cleanest, which could 95 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: cause problems as the contaminated ice melted and then got 96 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: into the food. Seeing an opportunity. Some ice companies sprang 97 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: up shipping their frozen goods to other countries, but the 98 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: ice business really didn't take off until eighteen forty two, 99 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: when two guys, Charles Lander and Henry Ropes, launched the 100 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: Wenham Lake Ice Company. Wenham Lake is a stream fed 101 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,840 Speaker 1: body of water in northeastern Massachusetts. The ice produced by 102 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: the lake in the winter was so pure it was 103 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,919 Speaker 1: thought to be able to last in high temperatures without melting. 104 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: With the lake's location close to the port of Boston, 105 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: Ropes and Landers saw an opportunity, so in eighteen forty 106 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: two they started building an ice empire. They crafted state 107 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: of the art ice houses and their own personal railroad 108 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 1: all to ferry those frosty blocks back and forth. And 109 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: when they launched their first ice ship into the sea, 110 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: they struck the jackpot. Sure, they lost a good portion 111 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 1: of their inventory along the way, but when the rest 112 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: of it reached England, France, and even Australia, the cold 113 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: cargo sold like hotcakes. Now part of this was branding. 114 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,280 Speaker 1: Wenham Lake Ice built itself as pure while it insinuated 115 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: local British ice was dirty. The company had a display 116 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: in a London Street merchant's window with a two foot 117 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: solid block of ice sitting in front of a newspaper. 118 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: The ice was so clear that shoppers could read the 119 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: newsprint right through it. Local ice just couldn't compete. Within 120 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: a few short years, ice went from a finite local 121 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: luxury to a widespread necessity. It was used in hospitals 122 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: to keep milk from spoiling and to treat sunstroke. Butchers 123 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: and fishmongers used it to preserve their wares. Brewers used 124 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: it to make their beer, and it became a core 125 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: part of the home as well. People began putting ice 126 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: in drinks to cool them and using ice boxes to 127 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: keep butter and milk fresh. They began making iced desserts, 128 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: churning Wenham Lake ice with cream and sugar to make 129 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: ice cream, pudding, custard, and all sorts of frozen delicacies. 130 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: Ice wasn't just cool, it was a way of life, 131 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: and Wenham Lake was the ultimate name and luxury ice. 132 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria even awarded the company a royal warrant to 133 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: supply ice to the palace. Of course, it wasn't long 134 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: before other companies tried to get in on the action. 135 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: While Wenham Lake ice was seen as the highest quality. 136 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: People also imported ice from other places in Boston and 137 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: from Norway, which led to a curious phenomenon. To get 138 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: in on the luxury ice market share, one company in 139 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: Norway did something drastic. They renamed Opaguard Lake near Oslo 140 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: to Lake Wenham so that they could export their own 141 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: Wenham Lake ice. Ice continued to be big business through 142 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: most of the Victorian era, with Wenham Lake and Boston 143 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: area ice seen as the best, but it finally came 144 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 1: to a halt with the rise of a new technology. 145 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: Beginning in the eighteen fifties, several different commercial methods for 146 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: creating ice took off. While people were still buying natural ice, 147 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,320 Speaker 1: mass produced ice slowly became the main market. By nineteen thirteen, 148 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: the home refrigerator had been invented, and by the late 149 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties it was popular enough that nearly everyone can 150 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: make ice in their own homes. Wennam Lake's name may 151 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: have melted into history, but the story of the Victorian's 152 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: favorite ice remains refreshingly cool. I hope you've enjoyed today's 153 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,680 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities subscribe for free 154 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 155 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 156 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 157 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 158 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 159 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 160 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.