1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of curiosities. A good president needs to 5 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: have a lot to win. They need to be likable. 6 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 1: They must have sound policies that benefit the American people. 7 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: And well, none of that is actually true. Politicians are 8 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: a rare breed mix a pinch of charm, dash of authority, 9 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: and a whole heaping bowl of hubris, and you'll eventually 10 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: have yourself a red blooded American individual with grand dreams 11 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: of running the country. One man had such a dream 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: over one d seventy years ago when he tried running 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: for president. His name was Dan Rice, and he made 14 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: a living as an entertainer. He trained animals, he dabbled 15 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: in political comedy, performed in stage shows, and parodied Shakespearean 16 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: plays with his own humorous versions. Early in his career, 17 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: when he had no money to his name and only 18 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: one horse, larger circuses and troops made fun of his 19 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: one horse show. Although they intended to insult him, the 20 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: aspiring star flipped it around and used the phrase to 21 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: advertise his surprisingly enjoyable performance. As he gained in popularity, 22 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: his show was able to generate more income and was 23 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: eventually dubbed the Greatest show on Earth. Years before P. T. 24 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: Barnum's own traveling circus would fly that flag. Legendary American 25 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: author Mark Twain admired Rice so much that his description 26 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: of a circus in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was based 27 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: on the performer's famous spectacle. But Rice was best known 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: for his enduring role as a circus clown. He didn't 29 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: just run around and perform slapstick for cheering kids, though 30 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: his was more like a stand up comedy routine than 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: your typical clowning around. He'd perform observational humor and sing 32 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: songs about the news, which let audiences in on another 33 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: passion of his politics, Rice once invited then candidate Zachary 34 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: Taylor to campaign aboard his circus wagon, encouraging the future 35 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: twelfth President of the United States to jump on the bandwagon, which, 36 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: by the way, is how that phrase came to be. 37 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: Later on, Rice decided to stop sharing the stage with 38 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: other politicians and enter the fray himself. In eighteen sixty four, 39 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: he ran for the Pennsylvania Senate, using his immense popularity 40 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: to help power his campaign, But when it later appeared 41 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: that he wouldn't secure enough votes to gain traction in 42 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: the polls, he dropped out. He didn't let the experience 43 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: discourage him, though. Rice wanted to serve the people as 44 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: best he could, and as they say, the show must 45 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: go on. When Rice tried again four years later to 46 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: get elected to public office, he aimed higher, this time, 47 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,119 Speaker 1: much higher. You see, he wanted to be the president. 48 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: At first, it's seeing the papers were supportive of his plans. 49 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: He was a national treasurer, after all, beloved by audiences everywhere. 50 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,119 Speaker 1: Of course, Rice had his detractors, and not everyone thought 51 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: that a former circus clown had the ability to lead 52 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: the people. In fact, during the campaign, a newspaper called 53 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: The Somerset Democrat mocked his bid for the presidency, claiming 54 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,119 Speaker 1: that he had an I quote amassed wealth by catering 55 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: to the tastes of the very lowest order of society 56 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: in the disreputable capacity of a clown and showman, and 57 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: that seemed to open the floodgates. More papers followed with 58 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: rebukes of their own, and although he tried to respond 59 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: through open letters and opinion pieces. His efforts had little effect. 60 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: It didn't help that a popular military general was moving 61 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: up in the polls, no doubt bolstered by his impressive 62 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: performance during the Civil War. So when it became clear 63 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: that he wouldn't get the nomination, Rice withdrew from the race, 64 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: allowing Ulysses S. Grant to go on and become the 65 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: eighteenth President of the United States. Dan was an entertainer, 66 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: a showman, and a patriot. He loved his country and 67 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: thought of no better way to show that love than 68 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: to become an elected public servant. But don't think of 69 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: him as a failure. He was incredibly patriotic, and those 70 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: images of him with his long white beard went on 71 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: to inspire a character we all know from the recruitment 72 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: posters that were printed and distributed during World War One 73 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: and two. He might not have become president, but without 74 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: Dan Rice, America wouldn't have its most famous mascot of all, 75 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: Uncle Sam. Typically when someone here is a tapping noise 76 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: in their house, they tend to think the worst. It 77 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: could be a leaky pipe dripping inside the walls, or 78 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,359 Speaker 1: someone on the outside looking for a way in. In 79 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: the case of the Irving family, it was an animal 80 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: that had found its way inside. However, in ninety one, 81 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,359 Speaker 1: on the Isle of Man, it wasn't just an animal. 82 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 1: The Irvings encountered. On one fateful September night, James, Margaret 83 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: and their daughter Voiri came face to face with a 84 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: creature unlike anything they'd ever seen before or heard. It 85 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: started with scratching and bizarre sounds emanating from the walls. 86 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: The noises, which sounded like a cross between a baby's 87 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: cooing and the squeaks of a rodent, caused them to investigate. 88 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: And that's when they were introduced to Geff, a mongoose 89 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: from India. And when I say introduced, I mean Geff 90 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: introduced himself to them with his voice. Geff explained to 91 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: the Irvings that he was a ghost that had taken 92 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: the form of a mongoose. Rather than shoo him away 93 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: or capture him and invite the press photograph him, the 94 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: Irvings instead invited him to stay with them. He guarded 95 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 1: the house from intruders and hunted mice that had found 96 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,599 Speaker 1: their way inside. He put out the fire at night 97 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: after everyone had gone to bed, and acted like the 98 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: Irvings alarm clock, waking them up when they slept too late. 99 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: The family rewarded Geff with food like chocolates and bananas, 100 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: and often brought him with them to the grocery store, 101 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: although he usually stayed outside and talked to himself. Eventually 102 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: word got around about the Irvings chatty house guest, and 103 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 1: the papers did come knocking. Everyone wanted a glimpse of 104 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: the talking animal. Some allegedly did, claiming that they even 105 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: heard him speak, but not Everyone was willing to believe 106 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 1: the family story, though for one, Geff had never been 107 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: caught on camera. There were photos of parts of the 108 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: house where Geff was supposedly heard, as well as one 109 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: of James Irving pointing to a set of pause coming 110 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,559 Speaker 1: out of the wall. Any attempts to snap a picture 111 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: of the mongoose himself, though, resulted in shapeless blurs captured 112 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: on film. And Geff didn't just talk. He made grandiose 113 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: claims about his abilities. He said he could split the 114 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: atom and read people's minds. He once told the Irvings, 115 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: I could kill you all, but I won't. Geff also 116 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: had a strong attachment to the family's thirteen year old 117 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: daughter Fire. James once tried to pull her bed into 118 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: their bedroom, and the mongoose screeched that he would follow 119 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: her wherever they moved her. This was seen by some 120 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: as evidence that Vary herself had learned to throw her voice, 121 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: making it sound as though it was coming from some 122 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: small animal in the room when it wasn't naturally. People 123 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: wanted proof. There were plenty of stories, for sure, but 124 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: very little in the way of actual evidence. The Irvings 125 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: allowed photos of footprints and stains on the walls to 126 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: be taken. They also provided a first sample for study. 127 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: Once everything was analyzed, though it was clear what the 128 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: Irvings really had on their hands. A sheep dog, not 129 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: a talking sheep dog, just a regular kin sheepdog, their 130 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: own named Mona. The fur, the stains, and the footprints 131 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 1: all belonged to her, and the blurry photos they claimed 132 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: her of Geff those were of Mona. To just on 133 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: the move, and after James died in Margaret and Voirie 134 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: sold the house, claiming they left Geff the mongoose behind. 135 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: Vary claimed until the day she died in two thousand five, 136 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: that Geff had been real. She hadn't made him up, 137 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: nor had she performed ventriloquism to fool everyone into thinking 138 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: they lived with a talking mongoose. In the years following 139 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: their departure from the house, though, psychic investigators and ghost 140 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: hunters stayed there for extended periods hoping to hear from 141 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: the elusive mongoose. What they discovered, though, were possible explanations 142 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: for gifts tiny chatty voice. As it turned out, the 143 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: walls of the house had been built with significant airspace 144 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 1: between the wood on the inside and the stone on 145 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:00,199 Speaker 1: the outside. That gap basically turned the walls into eight 146 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: big amplifiers, able to carry voices all over the house 147 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: without anyone having to shout. As for Geff himself, few 148 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: actually believed a talking mongoose had lived with the Irvings. 149 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,719 Speaker 1: A member of the International Institute for Psychical Research, theorized 150 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: that Geff was nothing more than a creation of James Irving, 151 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: a kind of split personality he created to help him 152 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: deal with the stresses of daily life. But that's all. 153 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: It was just a theory. Even though much of the 154 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: physical evidence points to the Irvings dog rather than a 155 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: talking mongoose. The fact is that no one knows who 156 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: Geff was or where he came from. Was he a 157 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: ghost that had taken the form of a small weasel 158 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: like creature, or was he a figment of James Irving's imagination. 159 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 1: Whether we discover the truth or not, there's no denying 160 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: that the possibilities are very curious. I hope you've enjoyed 161 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,680 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 162 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 163 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 164 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 165 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 166 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 167 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 168 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.