1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Our children are often 5 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: seen as extensions of ourselves. They embody the best and 6 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: the worst of us, learning by watching how we navigate 7 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: the world. In a way, we program them like we 8 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: would a computer, hoping they do what we tell them 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: to do with as little friction as possible. We do 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: our best to instill in them proper values, a solid 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: work ethic, and the drive to pursue their dreams. Children 12 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: really are the future, and for Pierre Jacquet Drows, truer 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: words have never been spoken. Pierre made watches and elaborate 14 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: mechanical objects. His skills were unmatched, and the pieces he 15 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,199 Speaker 1: created were the most precise and beautiful things a person 16 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: could own. He built music boxes featuring ornate songbirds tweeting 17 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: and chirping just like the real thing, their wings fluttering 18 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: along in tones of gold and emerald. He invented new 19 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: ways for people to wind their watches by simply using 20 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: the motion of their bodies. Along with his son Enri 21 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: Louis and his partner Frederic. Pierre's talents were known throughout Paris. However, 22 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: Pierre's watches were expensive both to make and to own, 23 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: and at some point the people with enough money to 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: purchase them lost interest. Business all but dried up for 25 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: poor Pierre, so he got an idea. The watch company 26 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: had always been a family business, and if he was 27 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: going to turn things around to boost sales, he'd have 28 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: to keep it that way. So he employed his three 29 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: other children to demonstrate their father's handiwork in neighboring cities 30 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: and towns. One son worked as a draftsman and drew 31 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: portraits and other pictures to illustrate the precision of his 32 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: father's creations. Another son wrote for a living and showed 33 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: off his impeccable penmanship to wealthy elites, comparing his artistic 34 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: talents to those of his father. And Pierre's daughter played 35 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: a piano like instrument called the harmonium. She serenaded crowds 36 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: across Europe with skills she'd learned from Pierre herself, and 37 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: the children's efforts proved successful. People came from all over 38 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: the world to see them perform, and soon understood why 39 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: Pierre's watches had been so popular and so expensive. In fact, 40 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,079 Speaker 1: you can still see his children perform today if you 41 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: travel to Switzerland. They're kept behind glass at the Museum 42 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: of Art and History in New Chatel. No, they're not 43 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: held captive or anything. They're just too old to tour 44 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: the way they used to. After all, they were born 45 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: in the late seventeen hundreds. As you've probably figured out, 46 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: Pierre's children weren't actually his children, although I'm sure he 47 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: thought of them that way. They were called automata, androids 48 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: developed using the horological technologies that had powered his music 49 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: boxes and watches. Designed to look like small children, mechanisms 50 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: within their frames allowed them to move their arms and 51 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:27,279 Speaker 1: hands with incredible precision. When wound up, they dazzled audiences. 52 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: Nothing so advanced had ever been created. Charles Babbage's analytical 53 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: engine wouldn't be developed for another seventy years, and it 54 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: would clearly be designed to look and function as a computer, 55 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: but not Pierre's automata. They were made to look human, 56 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: to function like we do, and to propose the question, 57 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: what if the technology we had available could be used 58 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: to make our lives easier. It's a question we still 59 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: ask ourselves now, as artificial intelligence starts to behave less 60 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: like a computer and more like us. But Pierre Jacque 61 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: a Drows had been pondering it long before, and his 62 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: work speaks volumes about where he saw it all. Leading 63 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: the Draftsman in particular, was quite the conversation piece. During 64 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: a visit to Marie Antoinette, the boyish automaton was supposed 65 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: to sketch a portrait of the Queen with a lead 66 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: holder poised between its metallic fingers over a sheet of paper. 67 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: Pierre set it to work. However, the cams that regulated 68 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: the movement of the robots arms hadn't been ingusted properly, 69 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: and instead of sketching the likeness of the Queen's face, 70 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: it drew something less flattering, the picture of a dog. 71 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: It was okay, though Marie didn't lose her head over 72 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: it or anything. Instead, the incident reinforced Pierre's popularity with 73 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: the French nobility and solidified his reputation all over the world. 74 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: He lives on today in the company bearing his name, 75 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: which still produces time pieces for those who can afford them, 76 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: and Pierre's small wonders live on as well, and chanting 77 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: museumgoers who want a glimpse into the future as predicted 78 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: by the past. Inventors are often known to be a 79 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: bit eccentric. They spend years searching for a solution to 80 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: a problem that could change their lives or the world. 81 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,720 Speaker 1: It's a profession of obsession and it can yield miraculous 82 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 1: contributions to society. However, some inventions aren't quite ready for 83 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: the world, as was the case for John Andrews from Pennsylvania. 84 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: John had been sitting on a magic pill of sorts. 85 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: He hadn't really shared it with the rest of the 86 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: world yet, but in nineteen seventeen, as the United States 87 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: was preparing to enter the First World War, he thought 88 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: it was time. He drove to the Brooklyn Navy Yard 89 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: toting a small bag with powder inside and asked us 90 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: beek with Commander Earl Jessup and I know anyone trying 91 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: something like that today wouldn't make it past the front gate, 92 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,919 Speaker 1: but times were different back then. Upon entry to the yard, 93 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,559 Speaker 1: John asked the commander for a bucket of salt water 94 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,239 Speaker 1: and an empty can. His demonstration was about to begin. 95 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: He carried the two items to his trunk and a 96 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 1: few minutes later, returned with a can full of water 97 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: and the bucket now empty. The powder in his bag 98 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: was gone. John then walked over to a boat bobbing 99 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: in the water nearby. Its fuel tank was empty, and 100 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: he filled it with the contents of the can, as 101 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: well as an additional half gallon of water. He started 102 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: the engine. Instead of sputtering and choking like any other 103 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: engine would when flooded with something other than gasoline, the 104 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: boat's motor rev to life. It ran until it had 105 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: used up all the fuel John had poured into it. 106 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,279 Speaker 1: The commander was more than impressed. He was baffled since 107 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: he hadn't seen what John had done behind the car. 108 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: He thought perhaps the ventor had dumped the bucket of 109 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: water out and replaced it with real gas instead. Worried 110 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: he might be in the presence of a skilled con artist, 111 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: he invited John back the next day for another demonstration. 112 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: This time he stuck him in a room with only 113 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: one door and no way of disposing of any liquid, 114 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: no sinks on the wall or drains in the floor. 115 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: They brought him another bucket of salt water and an 116 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: empty can. When John came back out, he handed the 117 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: commander the can now full of liquid just like the 118 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: day before, and just like the day before, they poured 119 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,239 Speaker 1: it into an empty fuel tank and started the engine 120 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: without fail. The commander was convinced John Andrews had created 121 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: something that could turn the tide of war for the 122 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: Allies and make millions, maybe billions, of dollars for himself 123 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: and the United States government. However, the commander's higher ups 124 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: needed some time to think what this stranger had presented 125 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: to them was indeed a miracle of modern science, it 126 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: was also highly suspect. They dismissed John from the yard 127 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: and told him to wait at home until they called 128 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: on him again. A few days later, they asked him 129 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: to come back. He never showed up. The Navy sent 130 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: officers out to his house to check on him, and 131 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: found the home's interior to be a wreck. Papers were 132 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: strewn everywhere, furniture had been knocked over, and it looked 133 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: as if there had been a struggle. It was thought 134 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: that John might have been abducted, perhaps for the formula 135 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: to his wonder powder, but he hadn't been kidnapped. He 136 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: had left in a hurry for England, where it was 137 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: discovered he was talking to the British government about his invention, 138 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,439 Speaker 1: and thanks to John's hard work, the world has now 139 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: weaned itself off of fossil fuels in favor of a 140 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: more sustainable power source in our motor vehicles. No, just kidding, 141 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: Nothing ever came from John Andrews water fuel. He traveled 142 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,199 Speaker 1: back across the ocean and made a home for himself 143 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: in Canada, but his incredible invention never made it past 144 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Other claim aims of a gasoline 145 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: pill have circulated over the years, and the stories often 146 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: in the same way. The inventor would have made millions 147 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: and change the world if the government and the oil 148 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:15,480 Speaker 1: industry hadn't made them disappear. We may never know the 149 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: truth about what happened to John Andrews. Powder. Scientists have 150 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: claimed the existence of such a substance is chemically impossible, 151 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: but new iterations keep popping up. In the nineteen eighties, 152 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: a man in China claim to have a liquid he 153 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: could add to water that would convert it into fuel. 154 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: A South Indian man in the mid nineties also claimed 155 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: to possess such a formula. All of them dried up 156 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,679 Speaker 1: as quickly as they were announced. It seems such a 157 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 1: lofty promise to turn water into fuel just can't help 158 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: but run out of gas. I hope you've enjoyed today's 159 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 160 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 161 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: visit it in Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 162 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 163 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 164 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:15,079 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 165 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 166 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.