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 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: We've all lost something at one point. It could have 7 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,480 Speaker 1: been our car keys or the remote to the television. 8 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: Maybe it was an earring or a little bit of 9 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: money left over from party in the night before. Oftentimes, 10 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: the best course of action is to retrace our steps 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: and hope that we stumble upon the missing item along 12 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: the way. But every once in a while, something disappears 13 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: completely and it can't be found no matter how hard 14 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: you look. And that is where Saint Fnorius comes in. 15 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: Members of the Greek Orthodox Church who have lost something 16 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: of importance may pray to Saint Fernorius, who will help 17 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: them locate it. Little is known about Funorius, including the 18 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: time in which he lived. His name was discovered in 19 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: fifteen hundred a d by Hagorin soldiers who found the 20 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: ruins of an old church on the island of Rhodes. 21 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: After they had conquered the area, their leader ordered the 22 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: men to rebuild the war torn walls of the city. 23 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: Several church icons or religious artworks were discovered on the floor, 24 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: including an icon of Saint Fernorius. Amazingly, it still looked 25 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 1: as fresh as the date it was painted, and around 26 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: the icon were twelve illustrated tableaus depicting Fernorius's life. Several 27 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: were violent in tone, including one where he was being 28 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: whipped by soldiers and pelted with stones. But no matter 29 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: how much torture he was put through, it seems that 30 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: Funorius came out victorious, with the last scenes showing him 31 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: standing among the flames, his hands raised in prayer. Sometime later, 32 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: three young deacons from Crete were taken captive by the 33 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: Hagarines and brought to Rhodes. The deacons had gone to 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: Cythera to be ordained, but now found themselves sold into slavery. 35 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: They had been separated, with each priest held captive by 36 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: a different master, but they all knew of Funorius. Each 37 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: priest prayed to him day and night to be released. 38 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: In response to those prayers, Fnorius appeared before their captors 39 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: in order that the priest be freed from their homes 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: or their masters would be punished. But his wishes were 41 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: ignored and those masters tortured the priests even further, so 42 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: Saint Fnorius did the job himself. He broke the priests 43 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: free from their shackles and told their masters one last 44 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: time to let them go or they would witness the 45 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: power of God. Well. The next day, everyone living in 46 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: the homes where the priests were being held woke up paralyzed, 47 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: blind and in immense pain. With no other recourse. They 48 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: asked the priests what they needed to do to be healed, 49 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: and the priest told them that they would pray for them. 50 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: Saint Fernorius made one last plea to the captors to 51 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: let the priest go or they would never recover. By 52 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: now they had finally seen the light. The masters immediately 53 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: released all three priests and eventually regained their sight and 54 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: their health, and the priests while they went back to 55 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: their home on crete a copy of the icon of 56 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: Saint Fernorius packed with them. Every year following their return, 57 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: they held a feast of Saint Fernorius in his honor. 58 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: Now Fenurius's name means to reveal and today, he is 59 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: preyed to whenever something is lost, be it a wallet, 60 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: a house key, or a set of priests, and to 61 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: help the discovery process along, people would often bake a 62 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: special cake named after the saint, called a fenor apita. 63 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: Some say that the cake is made in honor of 64 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: his mother, who is said to be cruel toward him. 65 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: She will forever be a lost soul that he was 66 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: never able to save. The cake is spiced and not 67 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: made with eggs or dairy, so it's considered vegan or linton. 68 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: Though recipes vary, it's often prepared with olive oil, orange juice, cinnamon, 69 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: and cloves. The number of ingredients is also important. The 70 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: person baking it will usually mix in seven or nine 71 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: components because those numbers are important. To the Greek Orthodox Church, 72 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: it said that one desperate woman promised Saint Fernorius thirteen 73 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: cakes if he would help her find her lost dog. 74 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: When the poach eventually did turn up, the woman baked 75 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: all thirteen cakes just as promised. Another time, a mother 76 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: baked a cake on behalf of each of her four 77 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: children to help them find their future spouses. This belief 78 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: in Fana Repida is real because those who bake it 79 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,040 Speaker 1: swear it works, and who's to say they're wrong At 80 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: the end of the day, though, one lesson is clear. 81 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: Belief is a curious thing, whether you're lost or found. 82 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: One thing that most folks can agree on is that 83 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: Benjamin Franklin had a brilliant mind. He was an essential 84 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:57,159 Speaker 1: figure in the foundation of our country, a driving force 85 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: behind the American Enlightenment, and a leading science of his day. 86 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: He was also well eccentric, might be the best way 87 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: to phrase it. Where to begin the paper on farting 88 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: seems like a good place to start. His essay fart 89 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: Proudly was written in seventeen eighty one, when he was 90 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: ambassador to France. There were also his infamous air baths, 91 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: during which he sat naked in front of open windows 92 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 1: to ward off sickness. And we've previously heard here about 93 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 1: the ten bodies in the basement of his London home 94 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: that were discovered until nineteen ninety eight. Oh And he 95 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: made the fur hat popular among the French elite during 96 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: his time there. French women even began donning large wigs 97 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: they called kofure out of Franklin. Oh And Franklin was 98 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,480 Speaker 1: also one of the world's first storm chasers. The Key 99 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: and the Kite might be one of Benjamin Franklin's most 100 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: famous moments. Everyone has heard of it, although we're not 101 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: totally sure how the experiment actually went down. Allegedly, on 102 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: June tenth of seventeen fifty two, Benjamin Franklin took a 103 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: kite out into a storm to see if the metal 104 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 1: key attached to the string would draw the lightning. One 105 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: lucky strike later and eureka. Of course, historians don't actually 106 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: know the dates, and it's very unlikely lightning actually struck 107 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: the key, because if it had, the Great Benjamin Franklin 108 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: might not have lived to tell the tale. What we 109 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: can assume is that the key picked up a charge 110 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: from the storm, and the shock Franklin got from touching 111 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: it helped confirm that lightning was a form of electricity 112 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: that could be harnessed. What many don't realize, though, is 113 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: that the key and the kites were part of a 114 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: series of tests that Franklin was conducting. The electrical question 115 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: had been floating around in his mind since at least 116 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: seventeen forty five, and he was most concerned with what 117 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: the power of electricity could be used for everything we 118 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,239 Speaker 1: take for granted today, from light to heat and more 119 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: lay ahead of him, and the possibilities were just too tempting. 120 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: I'm not sure if any of our listeners work or 121 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 1: have worked in the emergency room, but I'm sure they 122 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: could confirm for me that during the holidays the er 123 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: is extra crowded. With the Fourth of July it's usually 124 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: fireworks mishaps. For Christmas, it's problems with d decorations are 125 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: slipping on ice. And with Thanksgiving, of course, it's cooking 126 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: the turkey. Everyone seems to have a different opinion of 127 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: the best way to do it. Some like to barbecue it, 128 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: some grillet, some roasted in the oven. And I'm sure 129 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: we've all seen the videos of folks trying to fry 130 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: it in their driveways with mixed success. And did you 131 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: know that Benjamin Franklin was extremely fond of turkeys. He 132 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: firmly believed that they should be America's national bird and 133 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: even got into a fight with John Adams and Thomas 134 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: Jefferson over the subject. Adams was all for the eagle 135 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: and Jefferson was for the dove. I'm sure you can 136 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: all guess who won that round, And here's the crazy part. 137 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: Franklin believed that his beloved electricity was in fact the 138 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: best way to cook a turkey. In a seventeen forty 139 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: nine letter to his friend Peter Collinson in London, Franklin 140 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: explained that he was going to kill and cook a 141 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: turkey for their dinner solely using electricity because it would 142 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: make the meat uncommonly tender. Franklin used two light in 143 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: jars for this experiment. These devices static electricity between two 144 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: electrodes on the inside and outside of the glass jar, 145 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: and Franklin was very confident in his hypothesis. But when 146 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: he touched the jars to the turkey to start cooking it, 147 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: something else happened. Instead. Franklin got a jolt from the experiment, 148 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: a strong one if these spectators are to be believed. 149 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: It was bad enough that he shook violently and got 150 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: knocked out. When his friends did manage to revive him, 151 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: he didn't remember what had happened. He was sore for 152 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: days and experienced intermittent numbness, but luckily none of the 153 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: after effects were permanent. Based on another letter written to 154 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: a friend, Franklin largely seems embarrassed about his mishap. When 155 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,839 Speaker 1: he wrote to his brother, he gave permission for him 156 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: to share the story with a fellow scientist, but begged 157 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: them both to keep quiet about it. Franklin never tried 158 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: to repeat his experiment again, and whenever he made note 159 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: of his calamitous dinner party, the moral of the story 160 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: always boiled down to another time honor nugget of wisdom. 161 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: Don't try this at home. I hope you've enjoyed today's 162 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 163 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 164 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 165 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 166 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 167 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 168 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 169 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.