1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. It's okay to ask for help when it's needed. 7 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: A student solving a difficult math problem might rely on 8 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: a tutor for assistance, or someone trying to move furniture 9 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: may ask a few friends to assift in lifting a couch. 10 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: In a case of ancient Rome, however, help came from 11 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: a very unusual and loud source. Around three b C, 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: a Gaelic tribe known as the Sonns invaded the northern 13 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: coast of Italy, a territory then occupied by the Roman Republic. 14 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: A man named Errants invited the Senones south to his 15 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: town of Clusium, hoping to get revenge on the man 16 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: who had seduced his wife and made a fool of him. 17 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: The tribe accepted the invitation and marched towards Clusium, but 18 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: the Romans, expecting an attack, stood by an anticipation they 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: sent three ambassadors to handle the negotiations. The men instructed 20 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: the Synones that if they attacked Clusium, then the Roman 21 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: military would step in and defend the town. The Senones 22 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: agreed to the ambassador's demands on the condition that they 23 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: be granted some land instead. This led to an argument, 24 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: which in turn started a physical fight, and in the 25 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: end one of the Roman ambassadors killed a Snone chieftain. 26 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: The tribe pulled back to decide on a course of action. 27 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: Perhaps unsurprisingly given that one of their leaders had been 28 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: slain in action, the Synones chose to attack Rome. They 29 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: brought their sizable forces to the Alia River and overtook 30 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: the Romans, many of whom either died in battle or 31 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 1: drowned in the river. The Sononas kept marching while many 32 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: surviving Roman soldiers escaped to the Etruscan city of v 33 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: They didn't bother going back to Rome to warn anybody, though, 34 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: as there weren't enough soldiers left to defend them. In 35 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: their opinion, the city was as good as gone. As 36 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: a result, the gates were left wide open. The Synons 37 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: reached the Roman entrance by nightfall. However, they were also 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: careful to them The open gates felt like a trap, 39 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: so they set up camp and decided to wait to attack. Meanwhile, 40 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: Roman men in the city who could fight took up 41 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: weapons to defend their homes. They stood watch, protecting the senators, 42 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: women and children at the Capitoline Hill near the center 43 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: of the city. Some people remained in their homes, prepared 44 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: to defend them to the death, while others left Rome 45 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,839 Speaker 1: entirely until the battle would be over. The Synons put 46 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: their plan into action and scale the hill, determined to 47 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: sack Rome as retribution for the death of their chieftain. Instead, 48 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: they were met with the full force of the city's inhabitants, 49 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: who fought them head on. The Romans let the invaders 50 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: climb to a certain point for tossing them back down, 51 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: forcing the Synones to retreat and regroup. The Synone commander 52 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: split his army into two teams after that. One was 53 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: tasked with finding the grain in the nearby cities, as 54 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 1: the surviving Roman soldiers had carried it all to Vy 55 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: and his men were hungry. The other team readied for 56 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: another attack. Meanwhile, Quintus Catacus, the leader of the Roman 57 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: survivors from the Battle of the Alia, began recruiting more 58 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: soldiers for his army. He wanted the great but disgraced 59 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: Roman commander Marcus Furious Camillus to lead them. In order 60 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: for that to happen, though his reinstatement had to be 61 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: approved by the Senate, who were still hold up in 62 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: the Capitoline Hill. A messenger was chosen to travel back 63 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: to Rome to request the transfer of power. He climbed 64 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: up a side of the hill that had gone unnoticed 65 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: by the Synons. The messenger snuck through and delivered the 66 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: request to the Senate, who allowed for Camillus to command 67 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: the Roman army. He had made it in and out alive, 68 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: but he had also left evidence behind. The Synones discovered 69 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: the messenger's path. Seeing a new opportunity, they scaled the 70 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: side of the hill at nights while the Romans slept, 71 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: and they would have gotten away with it too, if 72 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: it hadn't been for those meddling geese. That's right, it 73 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: wasn't the dogs or the guards that had caught the 74 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: Snones sneaking up the hill that night. It was the geese. 75 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: They were considered sacred to the goddess Juno and were 76 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: beloved within the city. Their honking alerted the Romans to 77 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: the synoon's presence. The now awakened Roman soldiers started shoving 78 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: enemies down the hill, knocking the approaching invaders behind them 79 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: as well. When the fighting was over, Roman officials wanted 80 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 1: to punish the guards who hadn't heard the Snones sneaking in. Instead, 81 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: they pinned the blame on one person and tossed him 82 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: off the cliff instead. The Synones, however, said that they 83 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: would only leave Rome if they were paid to do so. 84 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: The Romans, out of options and out of an army, 85 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: agreed to their conditions, but before their transaction could be completed, 86 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: Camillus finally showed up, and he had brought reinforcements. He 87 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: rallied everyone and told the Synones that if they wanted 88 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: the city, they had to fight for it. And fight 89 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: they did, but if you'll part of the pun their 90 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: goose was cooked. Camillus's army had grown considerably since the 91 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: Battle of the Alia River. It was comprised of veterans 92 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: from that fight, as well as a slew of new 93 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: volunteers who dispatched the Synones easily. The story of the 94 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: Romans versus the Synones varies depending on the account being told. 95 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: Roman historian Livy's version is often cited as the definitive rendition, 96 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: but the philosopher Plutarch used to tell it differently, as 97 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: did Greek historian Diodorus Sicilis. However, one fact remains constant 98 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: in all of the different versions of the tale. The 99 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: true heroes were not the Roman soldiers who overcame the 100 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: odds and seized victory from the jaws of defeat. It 101 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: was the loud honking geese who saved Rome that day. Curious, 102 00:05:53,800 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: you better believe it. There's a stretch of the Atlantic 103 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: Ocean widely considered to be strange and mysterious. It's located 104 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: off the southern tip of Florida, between Puerto Rico and Bermuda, 105 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: and it's known as the Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle 106 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: has been cited as the reason for the disappearance of 107 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: numerous ships and planes, many of which have never been found. 108 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: The theories behind the area's effects almost outnumber the vessels. 109 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: It has claimed. Everything from aliens to magnetic fields to 110 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: methane leaks emanating from the ocean floor below are supposedly 111 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: responsible for all the unexplained occurrences. Sadly, the Bermuda Triangles 112 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: bark is far worse than its bite. In reality, that 113 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: part of the Atlantic is no more dangerous than any 114 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 1: other part of the ocean, but the tall tales told 115 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: about it have certainly made sailors and pilots think twice 116 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,160 Speaker 1: before steering their crafts through the sea. But there is 117 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: another triangle out there, one that's actually more dangerous despite 118 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: its location, and it's not in the middle of the 119 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: ocean either. In fact, it's a lot closer to home 120 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: than most people realize. This other triangle has been the 121 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: site of some of the most baffling nautical mysteries on 122 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: the planet. In April of nineteen thirty seven, for example, 123 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: the steamship O S McFarland was navigating icy waters when 124 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: it's captain George Donner went to get some sleep in 125 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: his cabin. He told his first mate to let him 126 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: know when they were nearing port. Unfortunately, Captain Donner disappeared 127 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: before his first mate got the chance. The crew searched 128 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: the whole ship for any sign of him. They even 129 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: broke down the door of his cabin, but alas Captain 130 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: Donner was gone and never seen again. Sixteen years earlier, 131 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: another incident occurred with a schooner called the Roosevelt. The 132 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: ship boasted a crew of eleven who set sail with 133 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: a load of lumber on October. The trip should have 134 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: been an easy one, but less than a day later, 135 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: its remains were found bobbing like a cork upside down 136 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: in the water. A ferry captain in the area noted 137 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,239 Speaker 1: that the Roosevelt looked like it had crashed into another ship. 138 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: Pieces had been torn away and parts of the vessel 139 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: had been bashed in. There were just two problems. First, 140 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: the entire crew was gone. Not a single member of 141 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: the eleven person team could be found to explain what 142 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: had happened. And Secondly, no other ships had reported a 143 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: collision that day, nor did any of them have similar 144 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: damage done to their hulls. The Rosabelt's demise could not 145 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: be fully explained. Of course, the Triangles mysteries weren't limited 146 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 1: to missing crews and broken ships. Strange happenings were also 147 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: found below the water. In two thousand seven, Mark Holly, 148 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: a professor of underwater archaeology at a local college, had 149 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: gone on a diving expedition to map shipwrecks. Shortly into 150 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: his trip, he discovered a cluster of vertical stones arranged 151 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: on the seafloor in a surprising and familiar your fashion. 152 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: To Holly, it was just like England's equally mysterious Stonehenge. 153 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: What set these rocks apart from their land based counterparts, however, 154 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: was the addition of a massive boulder. The Bowlder measured 155 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,959 Speaker 1: four ft tall by five ft wide and was adorned 156 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: with carvings of what appeared to be a mastodon. The 157 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: stones were believed to have been placed there nine thousand 158 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: years ago, but by whom the jury on that is 159 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: still out. And finally, no discussion of the triangle would 160 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: be complete without mention of the Thomas Hume. The Thomas 161 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: Hume was a three masted schooner that had set sail in. 162 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: It's six man crew tried to steer the ship through 163 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: a squall in late May of that year. Another ship 164 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: on the water that day, the Ruce Simmons, chose to 165 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: turn back instead of pushing through. The Thomas Hume, however, 166 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: pressed on it disappeared, along with its crew, thought to 167 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,199 Speaker 1: have been lost forever. Some odd theories cropped up over 168 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: the years, though, including one worthy Thomas Hume had really 169 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: been repain need and renamed after sailing to a different port. 170 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: That didn't make much sense, though one seventeen years later, 171 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: the request finally found it hadn't been repainted, nor had 172 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: it taken on a new name. It had simply sunk 173 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: during bad weather. But these stories are what have added 174 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: to the legend of the triangle for the last several 175 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: hundred years. So where does this bizarre part of the 176 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: world exist? For time and gravity fluctuates and vessels of 177 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,199 Speaker 1: all kind go missing at an alarming rate. Its borders 178 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: can be traced from Manitowac, Wisconsin, to Luddington, Michigan, before 179 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: traveling south to Benton Harbor, about fifty miles west of Kalamazoo. 180 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,719 Speaker 1: It's called the Lake Michigan Triangle and it is responsible 181 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,440 Speaker 1: for more shipwrecks, lost planes, and strange events than the 182 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: Bermuda Triangle ever has. The Lake Michigan Triangle is a 183 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 1: treasure trove of unexplained phenomena, from giant chunks of ice 184 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,360 Speaker 1: falling out of a blue sky to multiple UFO sightings 185 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: following a meteor strike, and there are still tales about 186 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: Lake Michigan yet to be told, as more rex are 187 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 1: uncovered let's just hope the people who travel its waters 188 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: today don't end up a part of the story. I 189 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 190 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 191 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 192 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how 193 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 194 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 195 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 196 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,839 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.