1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Mankey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Stoicism has become a popular topic today for entertainers, executives, 7 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: and people who feel out of control of their lives. 8 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: Stoicism can be an anchor to help them get through 9 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,279 Speaker 1: the day. It teaches them to focus on what they 10 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: can directly control. But it's not a new concept. In fact, 11 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: stoicism dates all the way back to ancient Greece. When 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: we think of the ancient Stoic philosophers such as Marcus 13 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: Aurelius or epic Us, we imagine serious thinkers, men and 14 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: women who pondered the great questions of the universe and 15 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: wrote long treatises on how to navigate life. What we 16 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: don't imagine is their sense of humor, and that's because 17 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: they didn't write about it. Plato wrote a paragraph about 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: humor here and there, usually in the midst of discussing 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: another topic entirely, but he shunned laughter. He considered it, 20 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: in his words, a certain kind of evil. But not 21 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: everyone felt that way. In fact, one philosopher loved to laugh, 22 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: maybe a bit too much. His name was Chrysippus, born 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: in two se b C in a part of the 24 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: world that is now present day Turkey. But Chrysippus didn't 25 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: start out as a philosopher. You see, when he was younger, 26 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: his lean frame made him a formidable long distance runner. 27 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: Over time, he endured some hardships in life, such as 28 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: the loss of property that he inherited from his father, 29 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: which was claimed by the king. With little to his name, 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: Chrysippus moved to Athens to study under the tutelage of 31 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: Stoic philosopher Cleanthes. He be came a true student of Stoicism, 32 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: learning as much as he could and even teaching the 33 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: philosophy to himself. He became an expert, and upon Cleanthe's death, 34 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: it was Chrysippus who took his place at the head 35 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: of the Stoic school in two thirty BC. On top 36 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: of his ambitious educational regimen, he also wrote at least 37 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: five hundred lines of work each day Throughout his lifetime, 38 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: Chrysippus authored over seven hundred texts, never afraid to play 39 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: devil's advocates or occasionally plagiarized the works of his contemporaries. Sadly, 40 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: very little remains of his body of work. Only about 41 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: four hundred and seventy five fragments still exist, but his 42 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: influence on stoicism can still be felt to this day. 43 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: For example, he believed that living a happy life was 44 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: the equivalent of living a virtuous life, and that vice 45 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 1: led to unhappiness. And when it came to stoicism, the 46 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: buck stopped with Chrysippus. But he wasn't just all about 47 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: serious writings and debates. He also enjoyed having a good time. 48 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: When he was seventy three years old, for example, Chrysippus 49 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: attended the one forty three Olympiad, a four year period 50 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: where athletes competed in various games of strength and skill. 51 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: The Olympiad is where our modern Summer Olympics come from. 52 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: At some point during this Olympiad, Chrysippus caught a donkey 53 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: eating his figs. The site tickled him so much that 54 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: he broke out into a laughing fit. He shouted, now 55 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: give the donkey a pure wine to wash down the figs. 56 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: The laughter continued until he collapsed, still laughing, after which 57 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: he seized and began foaming at the mouth. By the 58 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: time the incident was over, Chrysippus had died. It was 59 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: believed that he had died from laughter, a strange concept, 60 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: but not entirely unfounded. In the fifth century BC, another 61 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: man met a similar fate. His name was Xusis, a 62 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: painter from Greece who had been working on a painting 63 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: of Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, except rather than depict her, 64 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: as most did, a beautiful young woman, he chose to 65 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: go a different route. Zusis painted Aphrodite as an old hag, 66 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: an act that caused him to break out into spontaneous, 67 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: uncontrollable laughter. Well. As with Chrysippus, Zeusis died mid laugh, 68 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: and those who found him believe that he had been 69 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: punished by the gods for what he had done. But 70 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: did these men really die from laughing too hard? Well, 71 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: it's possible. It's a real condition called laughter induced syncope, 72 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,039 Speaker 1: and it's caused by a rapid decrease in blood pressure. 73 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: Usually the person merely passes out, but sometimes the patients 74 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: actually dies. There was even a case of laughter induced 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: syncope when a sixty two year old man died laughing 76 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: during an episode of the TV show Seinfeld. It's certainly 77 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: a scary thought that a well timed joke or a 78 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: funny story could be a case of life and death. 79 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: But I will say this, whoever coined the phrase laughter 80 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: is the best medicine probably should have consulted a doctor first. 81 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:10,280 Speaker 1: The modern conveniences that we'd enjoyed today had to start somewhere. Automobiles, smartphones, 82 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:15,040 Speaker 1: and televisions started as clunky, complicated contraptions, but have evolved 83 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 1: over generations in the core parts of our daily lives. However, 84 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 1: one technology hasn't changed much over the years because two 85 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: brothers in eighteenth century France got it right the first 86 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: time and didn't chicken out when it mattered most. Joseph 87 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: Michelle and Jacques Eetagnier Montgolfier were born in the seventeen forties, 88 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: five years apart. They were two of sixteen children, all 89 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: part of a family that had made its fortune manufacturing 90 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 1: paper since the mid fifteen hundreds. Joseph, the older of 91 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: the two brothers, had grand ideas for how his life 92 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,679 Speaker 1: should go. He was an inventor at heart, but lacked 93 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: a business oriented mind. He wasn't good with money either. Jacques, 94 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: on the other hand, was the opposite. He was the 95 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 1: rational brother who had planned on becoming an architect, that 96 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: is until their oldest sibling, Raymond, passed away, forcing Jacques 97 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: to take over the paper company instead, and Jacques brought 98 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: the company into the modern age with cutting edge advancements 99 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,599 Speaker 1: adapted from the Dutch, who were making serious strides in 100 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: the science of paper production. Joseph, on the other hand, 101 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: had his head in the clouds. Literally. When he was 102 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: thirty five, the aspiring inventor made his own parachute, which 103 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: he tested himself by jumping off the roof of his house. However, 104 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: it was clean laundry that gave him a glimpse at 105 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: what was aeronautically possible. He had been sitting in front 106 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: of a fire a fresh load of laundry strung over 107 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: the flames to dry, when he noticed how the warm 108 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: air filled the fabrics. Catching the hot air, they filled 109 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: and lifted like sails on a ship. Joseph believed that 110 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: the smoke was what caused them to rise specifically a 111 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: gas inside the smoke. He dubbed it the Montoulfaire gas. 112 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: The side of the cloth reminded Joseph of the stories 113 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: of Gibraltar, whose fortified city was all but impenetrable. Enemies 114 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: approaching could not breach a single gate nor scale its walls. 115 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: He imagined soldiers floating over head instead, attacking from above, 116 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: hoisted by the powerful force of the Mount Goulfire gas. 117 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: So Joseph set out to test his theory in seventeen 118 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: two by building a three foot tall wooden box, topping 119 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: it with a taffeta cover. He dropped a few pieces 120 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: of crushed up paper and set them ablaze, and watched 121 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: as the box floated upward on the heat. That was 122 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: all he needed to see. He wrote a letter to 123 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: his brother Jacques, urging him to purchase taffeta and rope 124 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: in bulk. Together, the brothers produced a similar box, but 125 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: three times as large as the first. They launched it 126 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: into the air by igniting a pile of hay and 127 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: wool that was inside the box. It drifted for some 128 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: time before crash, landing a mile away by June of 129 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty three. Just a year later, the Mount Gulfaire 130 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: Brothers had created something special. It wasn't a box anymore, 131 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: but a balloon, a massive one made of sackcloth and 132 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: coated with paper on the inside. Despite its rudimentary construction, 133 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: the Mount Goulfire brothers version looked very similar to the 134 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: hot air balloons we fly today, with a globe like 135 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: shape on the top that narrowed down to a funnel 136 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: towards the bottom. In front of a group of distinguished 137 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: guests from all over France, the brothers demonstrated the balloon's 138 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: capabilities in a maiden flight that covered a range of 139 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: roughly one point two miles and reached a maximum altitude 140 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: of just over six thousand feet, and it was a 141 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: roaring success. Jacques started touring the country to showcase the 142 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: balloon to other cities and officials, establishing the brothers as 143 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: the Orville and Wilbur rights of their generation. But unmanned 144 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: flights were only part of the equation. What people really 145 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: wanted to see was a person piloting that balloon. After all, 146 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: the true success of the invention was in whether it 147 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 1: could transport people from one place to another, and so 148 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: in September of that year, a new balloon was unveiled. 149 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: This was made of tafata and covered in a chemical 150 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: compound called alum, which helped it withstand the fire, and 151 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: attached to the bottom was a large basket. King Louis 152 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: the sixteen, unsure of whether a living creature would survive 153 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: such a flight, suggested putting a few criminals inside it 154 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: to test it. The brothers, though, took a different route. 155 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: They instead loaded the balloon with a rooster, a duck, 156 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: and a sheep. Why well, to understand it, you have 157 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: to think like an eighteenth century European. The duck could 158 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: already fly, so it was chosen as a control subject, 159 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: while the rooster, which almost never flew, would be observed 160 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: in relation to the duck, and the sheep was selected 161 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: due to the belief that its physiology was similar to 162 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: that of a human. On September nineteen seventy three, at 163 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: the Palace of Versailles, Jacques and Joseph sent the tiny 164 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: Noah's Ark soaring into the blue. An audience of thousands 165 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: came to witness the event. As dead, King Louis and 166 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 1: the Queen Marie Antoinette. They watched the balloon take off 167 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: at reach an altitude of fifteen hundred feet. They drifted 168 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,199 Speaker 1: for almost two miles before landing somewhere in the woods 169 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: eight minutes after launch. The animals were fine, although probably 170 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 1: traumatized by the incidents, but they paid the way for 171 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: hum in trials, which began a few months later. From there, 172 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: the sky literally was the limit. The Montgolfier brothers changed 173 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: the world of aviation, that much is clear, and they 174 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: did it by betting the farm on a sheep, a duck, 175 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: and a rooster. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 176 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 177 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 178 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky 179 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 180 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 181 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 182 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: over at the World of Lore dot com. And until 183 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.