1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,919 Speaker 1: I think everyone has that one friend who makes a 7 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: huge deal out of their birthday every year. They don't 8 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: just have a party or go out for a fancy dinner. Rather, 9 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: they throw a huge bash with a ton of food, drinks, 10 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: and music that rages on until the sun comes up, 11 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: and they expect all of their friends to join in 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: on the fun. It isn't just a celebration, it's a festival. 13 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: While back in eighteen ninety nine, one mother threw her 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: son a birthday shindig of his own, and it was 15 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: so opulent it made a royal coronation look like a 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: five year old's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Her 17 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: name was Sarah Goodrich and she had been an actress 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: on Broadway, where she eventually met a man named Edwin Knowles. Edwin, 19 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: if you're curious, had come from Rhode Island, finding his 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: way to the New York theater scene as an up 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: and coming actor. He had gotten his start performing with 22 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: The World Sisters, a trio of siblings who put on 23 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: a burlesque show in the mid nineteenth century. Then in 24 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: the eighteen seventies he met Sarah. The two were soon married, 25 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: and six years later Edwin took on the role of 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: managing places like Brooklyn's Grand Opera House and Manhattan's Fifth 27 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: Avenue Theater on West twenty eighth Street, and eventually he 28 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: transitioned from managing other people's theaters to opening his own, 29 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: such as the Amphion Theater in the Williamsburg district of Brooklyn. 30 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: The Amphion would go on to become the site of 31 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: a brutal animal attack in nineteen ten. A wolf being 32 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: kept in a cage there broke free during the performance 33 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: and bit a number of the audience members. A police 34 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: officer did his best to stop it, but the wolf 35 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: ended up just shredding his pants instead. The wolf was 36 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: eventually captured and handled, and the show resumed as normal. Sarah, 37 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: on the other hand, had her own responsibilities to tend to. 38 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: She had run for president of the Professional Women's League 39 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: of which she was a member. She sadly lost the race, 40 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: but did not lose her standing. She also took care 41 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: of the home that she and her husband lived in 42 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: on Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, along with their son, Coco. 43 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: Sarah spoiled Coco usually on his birthday in early July, 44 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: but it was his thirteenth birthday party on July fifth 45 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: of eighteen ninety nine that made all of the headlines. 46 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: It started out as a breakfast one that counted among 47 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: its guests the Pash women who had supported Sarah's failed 48 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: presidential run. Coco had been sitting by himself in the 49 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: drawing room when they arrived with gifts in hand. They 50 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 1: placed at his feet all sorts of boxes filled with jewelry, 51 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: beads and framed engravings. He said nothing, simply letting them 52 00:02:57,639 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: drop their gifts off, as though they were making an 53 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: offering to a temperamental king or a watchful deity. The 54 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: one newspaper article referred to the event as a birthday 55 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: festival and compared it to the party that Empress Eugene 56 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: had thrown for Napoleon the Third. Once the gifts had 57 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: been delivered, Coco was escorted into the dining area. He 58 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: wore around his neck a string of pearls, and the 59 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: cushion of his seat was covered in green silk adorned 60 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,679 Speaker 1: with embroidered lotus leaves. Coco has fed all kinds of 61 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: delicious foods, as you might expect from attending parties of 62 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: your own, including crackers, putting almonds, and milk. Since he 63 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 1: was still so young, though, he didn't partake in the 64 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: wine that his mother and the other friends were drinking. 65 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: After they had finished eating, the women rose from their 66 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: chairs and danced a quadrille to entertain the birthday boy, 67 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: and he sat there watching them perform just for him. 68 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: When the dance ended, they read him poetry in his honor. 69 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: It wasn't a normal birthday party for a thirteen year 70 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: old boy. I don't know a lot of teens who 71 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: would enjoy watching their mother's friends dance and read poetry, 72 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: but Coco seemed to enjoy, from what I can tell, 73 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: and as you'd imagine, Various news outlets reported on the 74 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: elaborate breakfast, writing things like he is faithful to his home, 75 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: he is affectionate without servility, he is charmingly decorative. The meanwhile, 76 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: an article in the New York Dramatic Mirror said, he 77 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: doesn't look a day over seven. That's kind of a 78 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: strange thing to write about a thirteen year old boy, 79 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: But the papers weren't writing about a boy, or a 80 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: girl or a person at all. Missus Knowle's beloved Coco, 81 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: you see, was her cat. It's important that we preserve 82 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,799 Speaker 1: the legacies of culture's past, whether they're ruins of ancient buildings, 83 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: or tools used by people who lived thousands of years ago, 84 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: or the books written during their lifetimes, and when possible, 85 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: those artifacts should be available ethically, of course, for us 86 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: to study and learn from. That's where museums come in. 87 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: We visit these giant repositories of history so that we 88 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 1: can better understand those who came before us. But museums 89 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: are not a modern construct. In fact, the first museum 90 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: in history is over two thousand, five hundred years old, 91 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: and its original curator with someone you might not have expected. 92 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: Around five point thirty BCE, in an area of the 93 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: Middle East known as Mesopotamia, there was a king. His 94 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: name was Nabonitis, and he ruled over an empire known 95 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: as Babylon. Nabonitis also had several children his son Belshazzar 96 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: eventually became the last king of the Neo Babylonian Empire, 97 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: but it was one of Belshazzar's siblings who was responsible 98 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 1: for the earliest known museum in the world. You see, 99 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: Anni Galdinana was both a princess and a high priestess 100 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: of the empire, and she was also an archaeologist. She 101 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: had developed a love of antiques thanks to her father, 102 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 1: who was also an antiquarian. He taught her about the 103 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: past and its importance to the future of their dynasty, 104 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: and it was he who encouraged her to start a museum. 105 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: Any Galdi would explore the southern parts of Mesopotamia that 106 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,679 Speaker 1: her father had already excavated and collect what she could 107 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: with guidance from Nabonitis. She would then bring these items 108 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: back to the palace and store them in a temple 109 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: next door. Much like today's museums, any Galdy's exhibits were 110 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: put on display to educate visitors about the history of 111 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: the region. She saved many artifacts too, including part of 112 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: a statue of King Shulgi, the second king of the 113 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: third dynasty of Er, as well as a kuduru, a 114 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: stone boundary marker carved by the Cassites between the sixteenth 115 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: and seventh centuries BCE. The objects stored in any Galdi's 116 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,239 Speaker 1: museum could be traced back as far as two thousand BCE, 117 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: and most had actually been excavated by her, not her father. 118 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: Thousands of years later, a husband and wife team of 119 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: archaeologists discovered the museum during a dig. Their names were 120 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: Leonard and Catherine Woolley, and they had been uncovering sections 121 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,039 Speaker 1: of the adjoining palace at Er when they stumbled on 122 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: Anegaldi's pet project. Although they knew the site they were 123 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: excavating dated back to the Neo Babylonian era, they had 124 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: no idea that their efforts would reveal such a startling find. 125 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: The ancient person of any Galdi had preserved a past 126 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: that was ancient to her, so that thousands of years later, 127 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: modern archaeologists would have access to and otherwise lost history. 128 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: In cataloging their collection, the Woolies discovered that Anygaldi had 129 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: gone to the trouble of arranging it in chronological order. 130 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: The goal was to convey the passage of time to 131 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: the museum's visitors. She had also carved symbols into clay cylinders, 132 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: which acted like the plaques or labels that you might 133 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: find on the wall of a modern museum to explain 134 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: each exhibit. These labels were written in three different languages too, 135 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: including Sumerian, and revealed all sorts of information about the 136 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: items that she had collected, including how old they were 137 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: and where she had found them. As the millennia passed 138 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: and the Sumerian dynasties died out, many are facts wound 139 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: up in private collections, you know, cabinets of curiosities. They 140 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: were often displayed without any accompanying information and indications of 141 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: their providence. Instead, collectors would arrange the various items in 142 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: a way that was esthetically pleasing to the eye. But 143 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: by the late seventeenth century, all of that started to change. 144 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: England's Oxford University took possession of John Tedescant the Elder's 145 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: collection after his death in sixteen thirty eight. He had 146 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: acquired all kinds of books, coins and strange objects over 147 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: his lifetime, which eventually became the Ashmolean Museum, opened in 148 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: sixteen eighty three. But museums like the Ashmolean, with their 149 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: clear labels and carefully mounted historical exhibits can all trace 150 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: their origins back thousands of years earlier to the woman 151 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: who started it all. She was a princess, a priestess, 152 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: a daughter, an archaeologist, and a historian, all wrapped up 153 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: into one. Her name was Ennigaldi Nana, the woman who 154 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: made history by saving it. I hope you've enjoyed today's 155 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 156 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 157 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 158 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 159 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 160 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 161 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, 162 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: stay curious.