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 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Okay, 6 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for those videos about 7 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: animals forming unlikely friendships. I recently saw one where a 8 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: German shepherd raised a bunch of tiny, fluffy ducklings, and 9 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: the sheer amount of adorableness in that sixty second clip 10 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: has sustained me for the last two weeks. But of course, 11 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: dogs and ducks are not the only odd couples in 12 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: the world. I did a little digging around and I 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: found a story about one of history's most unlikely herrings, 14 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: a bond between a giant of literature and a literal giant. 15 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: The tale begins in nineteen fifty three in the small 16 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: French village of Mollan, about forty miles outside of Paris. 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: Samuel Beckett's, a famous Irish playwright, had just purchased some 18 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: land there, and Beckett arrived in France with quite a reputation. 19 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: You might recognize his name or the title of his 20 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: most famous play, Waiting for Goodot Beckett was one of 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: the biggest names in the absurdist theater, a genre that 22 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: explored existentialism, meaninglessness, and illogical nature in our world. He 23 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: went on to win the nineteen sixty nine Pulitzer Prize 24 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: in Literature for his work. In nineteen fifty three, though 25 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: he was just looking for a quiet place to write. 26 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: Beckett was a native English speaker, but a big Francophile. 27 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: He spent a lot of time in Paris and often 28 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: wrote plays in French, so that's why he decided to 29 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: buy land in the French countryside. Once he got there, 30 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: he realized that he was going to need help building 31 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: his cottage. He looked to hire some low craftsman, which 32 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: is how he met a man who lived just down 33 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: the street, a Belgian born handyman and farmer named Boris Russimov. 34 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: Boris was happy to offer his services while he worked 35 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: on building Beckett's new home. The men became close friends. 36 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: Even after the playwright's cottage was finished. They kept in 37 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: touch and Boris sometimes invited Beckett over to play cards. 38 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: One evening, the playwright sat at the handyman's kitchen table, 39 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 1: shuffling the deck. As Beckett dealt the cards, Boris confided 40 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: in him about something he was struggling with. He said 41 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: that his son, who was just twelve years old, wouldn't 42 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: stop growing. He wasn't even a teenager yet, but he 43 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: was already six feet two inches tall and weighed two 44 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: hundred and forty pounds. He was so big that he 45 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: didn't fit on the school bus, which meant that he 46 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: had to walk over a mile to class and back 47 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: every weekday, and Beckett's immediately offered to help. He said 48 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: that he drove a convertible. If he rolled the top down, 49 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: there would be plenty of room for Boris's son in 50 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: the passenger seat. From that point forward, Beckett picked Boris 51 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: his son up for school each morning and drove him 52 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: home each afternoon. This went on for two years until 53 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,519 Speaker 1: the younger Rusimov quit school at the age of fourteen 54 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: to work on his dad's farm. Over the next few years, 55 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: Boris's son just kept growing. When he turned eighteen, he 56 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 1: was seven feet four inches tall and weighed over five 57 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: hundred pounds. As you might imagine, He was a huge 58 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: help around the farm. They was said that he could 59 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: do the work of three men all by himself. But 60 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: after four years of manual labor, he wanted to move on, 61 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: and it's hard to blame him. Boris's son knew that 62 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: his size made him unique. He dreamt of doing something 63 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: big no pun intended, like maybe working in showbiz. So 64 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: around nineteen sixty he packed up and he moved to Paris. 65 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: There he landed a job as a professional wrestler. After 66 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: establishing himself in France, he moved to the United States, 67 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: where he joined the Worldwide Wrestling Federation. He quickly became 68 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: an international star, but his fame would be on the 69 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: ring too. He also appeared in movies, most notably the 70 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven classic The Princess Bride. You see. Boris's 71 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: Son's name was Andrey Russimov, better known as Andre the Giant. 72 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 1: While on set for The Princess Bride, Andrea talked about 73 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: Samuel Beckett driving him to school. It struck his co 74 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: stars as a bizarre connection. They asked Andre what he 75 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: and Beckett would talk about. I mean, you'd imagine the 76 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights and a future wrestling star would 77 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: have plenty to discuss, right Well, Andre said that their 78 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: conversations were curiously limited. They never mentioned theater, or wrestling, 79 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: or existentialism. All they ever really talked about was the 80 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 1: game of cricket. In the FBI's vast collection of records, 81 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: there's a fifteen page file labeled with the name that 82 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: might surprise you Colonel har Lynn Sanders, as in the 83 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: man who turned his recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken into 84 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: a multimillion dollar fast food empire. Now you might be asking, 85 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: how did the founder of KFC end up in the 86 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: FBI's radar. Well, the story is a curious one. Indeed, 87 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: well starts at the beginning. In eighteen ninety. Sanders was 88 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: born on a farm in Indiana. His early years were 89 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: marked by struggle. His father died when he was six, 90 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: and his mother had to work multiple jobs to keep 91 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: the family afloat. As the oldest of three children, Sanders 92 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: was forced to step up. He started working on the 93 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: farm and cooking meals for his siblings at just seven 94 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: years old. I know this sounds like a setup for 95 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: his future career as a fried chicken salesman, but the 96 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: Colonel's path wasn't that simple. He had a long way 97 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,159 Speaker 1: to go before becoming the white haired chef we know today. 98 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: When Sanders was twelve, his mom married another man. Apparently 99 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: this guy wasn't too fond of his step children, and 100 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: Sanders ended up leaving home. He found work on another 101 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: farm in Indiana, but life was tough. He went to 102 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: school in the mornings, then came home, fed the chickens, 103 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: and shut corn until eight or nine at night. When 104 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,679 Speaker 1: he reached the seventh grade, thirteen year old Sanders decided 105 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: that he had had enough of the classroom. He quit 106 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: school and worked on the farm full time until he 107 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: was fifteen years old. Then he started job hopping. He 108 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: was a streetcar conductor, he joined the army. He worked 109 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 1: as a fireman, an insurance agent, a secretary, a steamboat operator, 110 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: a lighting manufacturer. If there was a job to be done, 111 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: Colonel Harlan Sanders would do it. In the nineteen thirties, 112 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: when Sanders was around forty years old, he started cooking 113 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: as a side hustle. At the time, he was working 114 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: at a vehicle service station on the edge of a 115 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: busy highway in Kentucky. He would cook food in the 116 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: back room and sell it to travelers who happened to 117 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: stop by, and the words soon spread that the Colonel's 118 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 1: fried chicken, okra and biscuits were worth pulling over for. 119 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: Seeing this as his newest job opportunity, Sanders quit the 120 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: service station and opened up his own restaurant, the first 121 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: ever KFC. Despite his flighty job history, he took this 122 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: new endeavor very seriously. A later profile in The New 123 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: Yorker outlined his goals, saying that the Colonel wanted to 124 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: create and I quote, fried chicken so golden and delicious 125 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: that it will bring tears to the eyes of a 126 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: grown man. Well, I don't know if the drumsticks moved 127 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: anyone to tears. It was clear that Colonel Sanders had 128 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: finally found his calling. Over the next few years, he 129 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: perfected his famous recipe, the one with eleven different herbs 130 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: and spices. Right then, for about two decades he focused 131 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: on expanding his business and establishing franchise locations. Colonel Sanders 132 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: had gone from an Indiana farmboy to a multi millionaire 133 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: chicken connoisseur. Now well into his sixties, he put on 134 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: that white suit, styled his white goatee and played the 135 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: part of a fast food mogul. But in his heart, 136 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: Sanders was still a simple countryman. He didn't love the 137 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: pressure of running such a large business. In nineteen sixty four, 138 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: he sold the company for a large one time payout 139 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: plus a modest yearly salary. And with plenty of money 140 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: and even more free time on his hands, the colonel 141 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: soon developed a curious new obsession. Chicken no longer occupied 142 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,119 Speaker 1: his every waking thought. Instead, he spent an inordinate amount 143 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: of time thinking about j Edgar Hoover. At the time, 144 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: j Edgar Hoover was the director of the FBI. The 145 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: colonel was a big fan of his policies and his actions. 146 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,119 Speaker 1: He took to writing what was essentially fan mail, sending 147 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: Hoover multiple letters of praise once he requested an autographed picture. 148 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy, he invited the FBI director to his 149 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 1: eightieth birthday party. If you're curious, it appears that j 150 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: Edgar Hoover did not attend the shindig. In fact, he 151 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: didn't seem to reciprocate the colonel's affections at all. Hoover 152 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: took every single one of those letters and just put 153 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: them into an FBI file. But here's the really strange part. 154 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: Although the file explicitly states that Colonel Sanders was never 155 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:02,119 Speaker 1: the subject of an FBI investigation, multiple paragraphs have been redacted, 156 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: which leaves me wondering what's been covered up. Is it 157 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: the Colonel's recipe for perfect fried chicken or something more curious. 158 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 159 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 160 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 161 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 162 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 163 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 164 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:40,959 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 165 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 1: Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.