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 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. In a heavily industrialized world, 7 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 2: it's nearly impossible not to take some things for granted. 8 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 2: Even the most modern systems require an immense amount of 9 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,520 Speaker 2: efforts behind the scenes. For instance, when you enter an elevator, 10 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 2: it's not just automated steel cable and pulleys hoisting you up. 11 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 2: It's also every single person who inspected the elevator and 12 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 2: declared that it was safe to write. In the same way, 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 2: when you board an airplane, you're in the hands of 14 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 2: hundreds of people, from the pilots to the engineers and 15 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: the air traffic controllers, all of whom are dedicated to 16 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 2: keeping you safe. But of course, often it's only possible 17 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 2: to appreciate this when things go wrong. On June twenty 18 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 2: second of nineteen eighty three, Air Canada Flight one P 19 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,479 Speaker 2: forty three was preparing to take off from Montreal when 20 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 2: the flight crew ran into a snag. The plane was 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 2: a Boeing seven sixty seven, a relatively new introduction to 22 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 2: Canadian airspace, and the systems had proven finicky from the 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,479 Speaker 2: get go. The biggest problem was that the fuel gauge 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 2: was broken, so they could not see the amount of 25 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 2: fuel in the tank. The ground crew told the pilot, 26 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 2: Captain Bob Pearson, that it would take at least a 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 2: day for replacement parts to arrive, but Pearson did not 28 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 2: want to wait. There were sixty one passengers relying on him. Ultimately, 29 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 2: the pilots decided to measure the fuel manually, doing the 30 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 2: math to convert the weight of the fuel into leaders 31 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: one point seven seven pounds per lead, and then they 32 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 2: took off the following day for an estimated flight time 33 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 2: of four and a half hours. At forty one thousand feet, 34 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 2: a warning light started to go off in the cockpit, 35 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 2: indicating low fuel pressure. The warnings seemed to indicate that 36 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 2: the fuel tanks were much lighter than they should be. 37 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,239 Speaker 2: Then the engines started to shut down. When the first one. 38 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: Stalled out, the pilots called air traffic control, requesting to 39 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: divert to Winnipeg. When the second engine failed, they realized 40 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: that they weren't even going to make it that far. 41 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: Their plane was no longer flying, it was just gliding. 42 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 1: Captain Pearson had experience with gliders, but there's a steep 43 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: difference between your average glider and a Boeing seven sixty seven. 44 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 1: The closest airstrip, twelve miles from them was a former 45 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: Royal Canadian Air Force base in Gimli, Manitoba. The only 46 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: problem was that it had been decommissioned and one of 47 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: the runways had since been converted into a motor park. 48 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: Neither the pilots nor the air traffic controllers were aware 49 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: of this, though they only knew that there was a 50 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: runway barely close enough for them to reach. As the 51 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: plane sailed toward the air strip, systems continued to fail, 52 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: Pearson's control of the airplane was limited to manual. The 53 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: weight of the aircraft was fighting against the pilot's efforts 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: to keep it level, banking hard against air currents. Meanwhile, 55 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: on the ground, the Winnipeg sports Car Club was holding 56 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: an amateur sports car race on the track that had 57 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: once been Gimley's second airstrip. From the ground, the motorists 58 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: saw a plane plummeting toward their position at an awkward angle. Terrified, 59 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: they promptly fled across the field. The next problem, while 60 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: the plane was going too fast for a safe landing, 61 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: Pierson would have to decelerate and fast, otherwise they would 62 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,839 Speaker 1: skid past the runway and crash. When they touched down, 63 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: Pearson immediately slammed on the brakes, causing some of the 64 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: landing gear tires to violently blow out From the friction, 65 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: The plane careened forward, skidding across the landing strip for 66 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: almost three thousand feet before finally coming to a haul, 67 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: its nose down and tail in the air. The passengers 68 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: survived with minor injuries. In the aftermath of what would 69 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: become known as the Gimli Glider incident, a review determined 70 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: that the plane, on top of having a non functional 71 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: fuel gauge, didn't have any fuel in its tanks. This 72 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 1: was puzzling to the crew, who had accounted for this. 73 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: They'd eventually learned that the problem was a mathematical one. 74 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,359 Speaker 1: The gauges in the new Boeing seven sixty seven measured 75 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: its fuel weight based on the metric system. The first 76 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: plane in Canadian airspace to do so, so, the formula 77 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: that Pearson's crew used to calculate the weight was incorrect. 78 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: They should have accounted forer point eight kilograms per leter 79 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: rather than one point seven seven pounds. Both Pearson and 80 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: his co pilot were reprimanded for their error, but in 81 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: a sense, the passengers were fortunate to have them. Pearson's 82 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: experience flying gliders ensured their safe landing, and the co 83 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: pilot had suggested Gimli Runway despite it not being an 84 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,719 Speaker 1: active air base. Looking back, it's clear that they had 85 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: the perfect set of skills to account for their own errors. 86 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: We should all be so lucky. The thing about airport 87 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: security is that they're trained to spot a lie. They'll 88 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: notice in an instant if your palms are sweating, if 89 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: you avoid eye contact, if any part of your story 90 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: doesn't add up. Fooling them doesn't just require nerves of steel. 91 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: It takes an Oscar worthy performance. It was a chilly 92 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: January morning in Tehran and the airport was buzzing with 93 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: tense energy. Lines of stiff backed travelers inched through security, 94 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: speaking to one another, enclipped sentences while pretending not to 95 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,799 Speaker 1: notice the machine gun toting soldiers hosted at every corner 96 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 1: in this scene. Walk to a group of filmmakers, you 97 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: could spot them a mile away, not because they were glamorous, 98 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: but because they were not. The filmmakers were the most 99 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: aggressively casual people in the terminal, sporting bell bottom jeans, 100 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 1: shaggy California haircuts, and oversized sunglasses. They carried bulging suitcases, 101 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: a few tattered movie scripts, and the kind of self 102 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: importance that you typically only find in Hollywood. The leader, 103 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: a man with a questionable mustache and an armful of 104 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: rolled up movie posters, stepped forward first. The name on 105 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: his paperwork was Kevin Costa Harkins, and, as he explained 106 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: to the Iranian immigration officer, he was a Canadian film producer. 107 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: He and his crew had spent the last few days 108 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: scouting locations for an upcoming sci fi epic that they 109 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: hoped to shoot in Iran's other worldly deserts. The officer 110 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: inspected Kevin's Canadian passport with the slow, deliberate suspicion of 111 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,119 Speaker 1: a man who had heard every excuse in the book 112 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,919 Speaker 1: and trusted none of them. And to be fair, he 113 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,920 Speaker 1: had good reason to be skeptical. Iran was embroiled in revolution, 114 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: and tensions between the country and the West had never 115 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: been higher. A few months earlier, in November of nineteen 116 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: seventy nine, a group of Iranian students had stormed the 117 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: American embassy in Tehran and took more than fifty diplomats hostage. 118 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: Since then, the city had become one of the most 119 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: dangerous places in the world for Americans. Many Western countries 120 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: shuddered their embassies, warning their expats in the country to 121 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: get out as soon as they could. But Kevin and 122 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: his film crew had apparently not taken that advice. As 123 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: he explained to the immigration officer, movies couldn't wait for politics. 124 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: They had art to make, and besides, they were Canadian, 125 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: not American. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the 126 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: official stamped Kevin's passport, slid it back across the counter, 127 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: and waved him through. One by one. The others followed. 128 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: They held their breaths until the last boarding pass was checked, 129 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: the cabin doors closed, and the wheels finally lifted off 130 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: Iranian soil. Seated in coach with champagne trembling in paper cups, 131 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 1: the group exchanged shaky smiles They couldn't believe what they 132 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: had just pulled off, because they weren't filmmakers. They weren't 133 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: even Canadian. They were six American diplomats running for their lives. 134 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: During the chaos of the embassy attack in November, a 135 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: handful of Americans had managed to slip away. For months, 136 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: they'd hid inside the homes of Canadian diplomats, including the 137 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor, who risked his life protecting them. 138 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: Working together, Canadian officials and the CIA brainstormed and discarded 139 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: countless plans to bring the diplomats home. It was Tony Mendez, 140 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: a CIA officer posing as Kevin, who suggested smuggling them 141 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: out on a commercial plane. He concocted the lie about 142 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: a sci fi film shooting in the Iranian desert, and 143 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: had ads for it printed in Iranian newspapers to lend 144 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: it legitimacy. Meanwhile, the Canadian embassy provided fake passports and 145 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 1: exit visas. The plan's only weak point was that it 146 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,839 Speaker 1: read respired the diplomats to lie their way past Iranian 147 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 1: immigration officials without slipping. They weren't trained spies or actors, 148 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: and if they faltered for even a second, it would 149 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: mean prison or worse. Instead, they gave the performance of 150 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: a lifetime history remembers their daring escape as the Canadian Caper. 151 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: The Canadians just called it helping out a friend in 152 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: need in Hollywood. Well, they eventually made a movie about 153 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: the event. It's called Argo, after the fictional sci fi 154 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: film concocted by the CIA. Oh and just like the 155 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: performance that inspired the movie, it too proved to be 156 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:44,719 Speaker 1: Oscar worthy. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 157 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 158 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,319 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 159 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 160 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another a 161 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 162 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 163 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: over at Theworldoflore dot com. 164 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 2: And until next time, stay curious.