1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of My Heart Radio. What's up, 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Done? You know it's ridiculous. Oh, I've been waiting 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: to tell you this. I was looking up some retro 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: board games, don't ask, and I had no idea how 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: wild old games were. Like, my sister and I were 6 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: talking about it, and then she was telling me once 7 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,760 Speaker 1: she found, so I looked up some. Okay, these are 8 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: the favorites that I found. I just want to tell 9 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 1: you about them. Right. The board game called Capital Punishment. No, no, no, yeah, 10 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: the kid, it's worse than you think. The object of 11 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: the game is to get all of your criminals to 12 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: be scheduled for the electric chair, get them parked on 13 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: death row or at least be given a life imprisonment sentence. 14 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: And that's it. That's the game. That's how you win. Now. 15 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: The other thing is you do is you take your 16 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,160 Speaker 1: opponents and you basically saddle them with criminals who are 17 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: able to get through to the path of justice. So 18 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: if they can get their criminals paroled and presumably back 19 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: on the street criming again, they lose. At least it's 20 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: not like a cranium style you have to participate game. Yeah, no, 21 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: it's not one of those, uh, the person to Death. No. 22 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: The other one that I liked was Bigfoot, the board 23 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: game Bigfoot. It was a game that allowed you as 24 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: the person just kind of like I don't know, like 25 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: Monopoly or life, where you're going around a board on 26 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,039 Speaker 1: these spaces, right, and you have this plastic bigfoot and 27 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: there are ten discs, and you want to advance your 28 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: big foot around the board. Right. If you land on 29 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: an opponent space and they have a disk there and 30 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: they flip it over and it's a foot, you lose. 31 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: I do not get it. I think the Bigfoot thing 32 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: was just kind of throwing in on top like seventies 33 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: style that the game just doesn't exist because it's no 34 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: I see what you did. That that's the game. See 35 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: that picture the game. That's the paporite. Wait, let me 36 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: see it again. It's like Harry and the Henderson's abducted. 37 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: Play a game with me kids. Lastly, though, this is 38 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: the one I want to tell you most about. My 39 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: favorite of all three that I found was the Crazy 40 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: Cat Lady board game. Don't like an Archie McPhee game. 41 00:01:57,640 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you know it. I only know it's our 42 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: she McPhee from the front cover. Yeah, so you compete 43 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: to rescue cats. You move around the board and like 44 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,399 Speaker 1: once again, you land on spaces that are marked things 45 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: like rescue grumpy old cat from pound or as I 46 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: like to call it, the zoo. And eventually you win 47 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: the game by saving so many cats that your house 48 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: is now overrun by cats and you go crazy from 49 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:20,679 Speaker 1: all the cat poop everywhere. I think, I think that's 50 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: how you win. I don't know, crazy cat lady, that 51 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: you you win. I have a confession to make. You've 52 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: played the game, No, someone gave it to and never 53 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: I was like, I bet Elizabeth would love this game. Thanks, 54 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: and I'm not the only one. Thanks did Yeah? No, 55 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: someone was like they saw it and thought, Elizabeth, I 56 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 1: don't own a freaking cat. No, not right now? Right 57 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: I own a freaking cat? Is No, I don't know 58 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: a cat? And then I mean I did at the time. 59 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: You have in the past, right, the same you have 60 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: cat owner. I'm a crazy dog lady, though that thing 61 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: be both right. They don't make the don't limit yourself. No, 62 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: I'm never going to. So, yeah, that's super ridiculous. Waiting 63 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: to tell you. You know what else is ridiculous rich 64 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: people and then more specifically rich people thinking they're clever. 65 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: Oh no, this is Ridiculous Crime, a podcast about absurd 66 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: and outrageous capers, heists and cons. It's always murder free 67 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: and ridiculous. Damn right. Remember Zarin, when I told you 68 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: about that gold turlet that got stolen, Yes, the gold turlet. Yes, 69 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: you remember that toilet, the commode from Baltimore turlet. By 70 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: the end of the story, I was beyond irritated with 71 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: the wealthy folks. Yeah, I was. There's so much power 72 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: tied up in money. So when like a wealthy person 73 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: wants to do some sort of prank, it's always larger 74 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: than life. It doesn't fly under the radar. You know, 75 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: they can outsize it and why sometimes it's not always 76 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: at the expense of the rest of us. Right, But 77 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,679 Speaker 1: there's this just like disregard for ordinary people that rubs 78 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: me the wrong way. And it's kind of like that 79 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: of the little people. You little people enjoy what I'm 80 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: because like maybe the prank bleeds over into like actual crime. 81 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: Laudi da, what does it matter to me? It's a lark. 82 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: Everyone just chill out. You know, most people, we don't 83 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: get to We don't get to have that outlook on it, 84 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: you know. And there there are ramifications when we do stuff. Yes, 85 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: the rest of us who do not have like big 86 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: white cho law forms. So the story I have for 87 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: you today is about fraud. It's a hoax. It's done 88 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: as sort of a prank. I originally thought to make 89 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: fun of excessive war spending. But it's not a political 90 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: prank direct it's not like with it intended to be directed. No, no, 91 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: I have no idea. It wasted time and effort, made 92 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: the perpetrators look like a holes in my point, if 93 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,279 Speaker 1: I'm going to use strong language, I'm over here just blushing. 94 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: But go on. So I want you to get ready 95 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: to be way hazing. Um, I want you to be 96 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: irritated by rich people again, I can do that, right. 97 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: This is the Dreadnought hoax. So let me give you 98 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 1: some background. So the HMS Dreadnought was yeah, completed in 99 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: nineteen o six. So the New York Times called it 100 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: quote a fast, heavily armed behemoth that changed naval warfare. 101 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: It's awesome power was the focus of attention abroad, just 102 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: as its shocking expense was a point of debate. At 103 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: home now. I mean at the time things were going 104 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: swimmingly in the UK in England. Uh. I just like 105 00:05:55,720 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: the term going swimming, like the economy wise well for them, 106 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: So they and you know, maybe good planning. They're doing 107 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: some military spending the Victoriana era, right, like oh big 108 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: idea of like still the empires. So they're like, we 109 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: need ships to control the sea. Rule Britannia. The Dreadnought 110 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: was called the most powerful, complex and aggressive machine in 111 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: the world. Yeah. Uh. The ship was a quote potent 112 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: and expensive symbol of state power and authoritarianism. So there's 113 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: this historian Peter Stansky. I'm going to be doing so 114 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 1: many quotes today. I'm pulling his errand like it. The 115 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: Dreadnought was not only a particular ship, but also the 116 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: first of a new class of powerful battleship, the very 117 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: symbol of the British Navy's assertion of its continuing superiority 118 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: over the German Navy and its determination to maintain its 119 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: position as the most powerful navy in the world. So 120 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: the Royal Navy full of fun times, Oh from what 121 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: I've heard. Yes, if it's not just the buggery, it's 122 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: the scurvy barrel laughs. Um, the ships in the fleet, 123 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: they would play pranks on each other, okay, you know 124 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: while having trying to avoid scurvy, um and so at 125 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: around n the h MS Hawk and the HMS Dreadnought 126 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: were in a hoaxing feud. So they're pranking it up. 127 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: Enter English irishman Horace Dever Cole. Now English irishman. Does 128 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: this mean he's like North Irish, He's like he's not 129 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: from the county county. I mean he's like landowner, Yes, 130 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: a man of privilege. She was most likely probably beholding 131 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: to the craft. Well, I mean his Okay, so his 132 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: maternal great grandfather is the Irish poet Sir Aubrey de 133 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: Vere But you're not you know that's an English title, sir, 134 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: So you know where I'm going to that. His paternal 135 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: grandfather was William Henry Cole, and he was a British 136 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,080 Speaker 1: businessman who made a fortune in the coinine mark it 137 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: and fighting. And you know, of course the other one 138 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: that probably the more prolific one for them. Horace's dad 139 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: died of cholera in India in Inja when Horace was 140 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: a little boy, and Horace almost died of diph theory 141 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: when he was ten and surgeries, Yeah, surgeries were required 142 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: to save his life, but that meant that he couldn't 143 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: really hear very well about like one ear um. He 144 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: couldn't join the army because of that, so instead he 145 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: enlisted in a volunteer cavalry and he went to South 146 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: Africa during the Boer War. He was shot in the 147 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: back by Boer snipers, narrowly avoiding death. So he was 148 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: running from I'm pretty much it's better being shot in 149 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: the back by your own men. Yeah. Well, he returns 150 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: to the UK in rolls in Cambridge and he was 151 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: like known for his pranking, his hoaxing, and then he 152 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: oftentimes did this with his best friend Adrian Stephen. So 153 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: Horace and Adrian they met at Cambridge when they're undergrads. 154 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: One time they dressed up as the Sultan of Zanzibar's uncle, 155 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: and then Adrian, well that was what Horrace dressed up as. 156 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: Adrian dressed up as the Grand Vizier part of the entourage, 157 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,319 Speaker 1: and so the Sultan. At the time, the Sultan of 158 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: Zanzibar was touring England and was going to be at 159 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: Cambridge at the same time, so he's just like, no, 160 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: I'm the Sultan, and he and Adrian, Horace and Adrian, 161 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:36,199 Speaker 1: they get escorted around Cambridge. They get a formal reception. Yeah, 162 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: they were able to con people because people knew that 163 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: this guy was coming the Sultan. Dad's of r be 164 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: here and then they said, oh, I've got a funny 165 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: hating some robes. Totally there you are, yeah, and so 166 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: like Horace then later tells the Daily Mail about what 167 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: he did, and there's all this publicity around this what 168 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,079 Speaker 1: they're calling a joke, and he gets a book deal 169 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: off of it. He's like an offer for a book deal, like, 170 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: please tell us more. He's never he's never punished. He's 171 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: never I gave it thirty seconds. He's never punished for this, 172 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: but it builds this reputation that he has. He's like, oh, yeah, 173 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: what a clown. So someone on the h MS Hawk 174 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: reaches out to him like we need an expert. They're like, 175 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: Captain prank Er, Hi, this is the h MS Hawk, Um, 176 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: I need you to help us in our prank war 177 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: and it's against the h m MR and that He's like, 178 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: guess what, I'm on it? So he like the back 179 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: the background A team music starts playing, he's going to 180 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: assemble his group. Number one, Adrian Stephen his bestie. He said, 181 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: come on, dude, atrians sister Virginia. So she's like, she's 182 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: an unpublished author at the time. You'll know her later 183 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: as a Virginia Wolf. Yes, that that Virginia will so 184 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 1: a clever last clever one. By the way, Adrian and 185 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: Virginia's cousin was this guy named Leie Fisher, and he 186 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: was an officer on the dreadnought um so maybe that 187 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: kind of is why they wanted to do this either way. Now, 188 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: this like early Bloomsberry group. Yes, it is artist Duncan Grant, 189 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: who was a paramore of Adrian's and then two friends 190 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: of their's, Guy Ridley and Anthony Buxton, and so I 191 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: think it was Duncan Grant is the one who's in 192 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: the Bloomsberry. This is the very beginning of it. Interesting. 193 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: So you've got this group of people. They're wealthy, worldly educated, 194 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: and apparently they love pranking, and they about the world 195 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: at their feet and they could do whatever they want 196 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 1: and they choose to prank you. Well and yeah, so okay, 197 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: what kind of prank do we do? We want? To 198 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: prank the Dreadnought for pranking a whole ship. What we 199 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 1: could do anything, It's so cool. Oh, I know, another 200 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: fake African or African adjacent royal visit. There's not a 201 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: lot in the repertoire with these clowns. So I'm really 202 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: worried about this. This is like screaming great British bake 203 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: off Mexican Week totally. It's like, I know, I'm going 204 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: to be pushing buttons of some of our English listeners, 205 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: but I'm not pushing your buttons. None of the rich, 206 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: like you know, aristocracy or like high falutin types are 207 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: listening to us. My family called it the pink toes, right, 208 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: they got better stuff to do. They don't. They don't 209 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: know what we do down here the cool thing. So 210 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: you know whatever, but if you my feeling, if you 211 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: can't take it, don't dish it. And so Mexican Week 212 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: has laid it out like guess what here the target? 213 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: Now it sucks to be a caricature, doesn't it England? 214 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: Um So anyway, so this group they decided to pose 215 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: as an Abyssinian nobleman named ross Al Mala Ken Machelen 216 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: ross Al Maclen Ethiopians. Yeah, well, I mean that's the thing. 217 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: Absinia Empire located in what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea. 218 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 1: That empire lasted from twelve seventy into what seventy four. 219 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: It's one of the great African empires. Yeah, highly. Selassie 220 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: gets deposed by a Soviet backed military, a punta, and 221 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 1: that they've ruled until ninety one. So anyway, so they're 222 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: saying they're these Abyssinians, um like an uncle maybe a 223 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: cousin of the emperor and and then his whole entourage. 224 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: So Horace says that like they're Abyssinian royals. They're in England. 225 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: They're visiting Eaton. Oh that's where Horace went. So this 226 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: is basically like the equivalent of for now, like, oh, 227 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: I'm a Saudi prince like you everybody knows this means 228 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: you're well exactly. And they say, oh, we're coming to 229 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 1: look at Eaton's, like we may send our kids there. 230 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: So Horace gets in touch with a costumer named Willie 231 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: Clarkson and he talks to him a bunch of times. 232 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: They have all these meetings like let's talk wardrobe and 233 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: they go and they drink tea. How do you feel 234 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: about sequence? Bring me some swatches. Clarkson had done costumes 235 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 1: for all these like major theater productions in Paris and 236 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: in New York. Um in one of these books that 237 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: says he quote provided wigs to all the leading ladies 238 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:03,679 Speaker 1: of the Aedwardian age, from Marie Lloyd to Sarah Bernhardt. 239 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: He's like, whig masters, I do know who Sarah Bernhard is. 240 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: That's a theater lady. Yeah, yeah, something like that. In 241 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: the eighties, he also quote assisted Scotland Yard in their 242 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: attempts to catch Jack the Ripper by disguising officers as prostitutes. 243 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: Oh that's so he's dressing him up as tarts. He's like, 244 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: all right, look, here's what we need. We need some 245 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: cops dressed as sex workers. I happened to be really 246 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: good at that. I've got all the best makeup. I 247 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: happened a game. Yeah, don't ask me about the questions. 248 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 1: You know how I got this stuff. Just it. Horace 249 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: and his whole group they meet at Adrian and Virginia's 250 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 1: house on early in the morning of Monday, February seven, 251 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: nineteen ten, and Clarkson and brings some assistance. They show up. Um, 252 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: he kind of had figured out what they were up 253 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: to by this point and keeps his mouth shut. He's like, 254 00:14:58,520 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: you know what I can do it, I can keep 255 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 1: you see grid. So Anthony Buckston, he dresses up as 256 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: a nobleman, like the one who's got leading this whole crew, 257 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: ros L Mackelin. Oh like yeah, like I like the 258 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: ross L because it's like the Rastafari you can actually hear, 259 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: you can hear it. So he's going to be this 260 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: nobleman ross El, Russell MacLean and then which kind of 261 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: sounds like McCallan, but we're gonna let that go. Virginia, 262 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: Duncan and Ridley. They dress up as princes in full 263 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: black face and robes. Yeah, they're calling themselves Ross I'll 264 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: sing Anya, ros L Mendax and Roz Michel Gallan. L. 265 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: Wait a minute, so they do black face, which I'm 266 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: assuming they only did the paint. They didn't do anything 267 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 1: to just change their look, like you know, no, no, See, 268 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: there's a book called The Sultan of Zanzibar, The Bizarre 269 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: World and Spectacular Hoaxes of Horace de air cole And 270 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: by a man named Martin Downer. He Marty details the 271 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: entire thing. It's a it's a slog um. He talks 272 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 1: about their makeup, and the names of the colors and 273 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: such that they use are so offensive that I will 274 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: not repeat them. Is it like and word name of 275 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: h Yeah, and so they just they're painting, they're painting 276 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 1: the faces. It's yeah. I just always love the idea. 277 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: As a black person, I find it really amusing that 278 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: people think, oh, you know what I can do blackness, 279 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: I'll just paint my skin. And I'm like, for so 280 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: many reasons, I will say you're wrong, but I just 281 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: like that you think that's all that there is, and 282 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: like anybody else is going to see that going there 283 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: it is it's not all the historical oppression or anything that. Yeah, 284 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: I love that for them anyway. So they're worried that 285 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: the makeup is going to run, and so Clark's in 286 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: the costume where he says, don't eat or drink anything 287 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: while you're there. But they had forgotten to eat breakfast. 288 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: So in all the accounts that I was reading, oh, 289 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 1: we were so hungry the whole time, I have at 290 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: no point did I feel sorry for them being hungry. 291 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,639 Speaker 1: But okay, okay, so they're going to dress up as 292 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: Abyssinian Royalty and I'm gonna go hoax a ship. What 293 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 1: the Abyssinian Royalty has to do with hoaxing the ship? 294 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: Like what is it? What we fooled you by letting 295 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: these fake Abyssinians on, Like we got over on you 296 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: that we're not really black. Okay, who's to say I'm 297 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,479 Speaker 1: trying to catch us to say? So? Adrian is his 298 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: job is to play the official translator. And then Horace 299 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 1: plays someone named Chamandalay from the Foreign Office, now like 300 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: an Indian. Well, remember Horace's maternal great grandfather the Irish poems, 301 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: Sir Aubrey de Vere Chamandalay was the name of the 302 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 1: family who replaced the Deviers as the Lord Great Chamberlain 303 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: in England, and so that was the title that the 304 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: Deviers believed they still laid claim to. So it's like 305 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: a rival family. He's just their name is really sticking 306 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: it to the man over wo get them guys, Horace 307 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: and Adrian, they're not in black face because they're playing 308 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 1: white folks. Umslat Yeah, Adrian did wear a fake beard 309 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: and a mustache. And then what's referred to in the 310 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,439 Speaker 1: book as a little sunburn powder sunburned powder. You know 311 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: what that means? That like like a rust colored ready 312 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: ready thing I've never even heard so, But because of that, 313 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: they could eat whatever they wanted, you know. So they 314 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: took a couple of portraits for posterity sake. Yeah, And 315 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: then after the costume and the black face are done, 316 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:39,919 Speaker 1: they go to Paddington Stations. Good question, so Horace. He 317 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: requests a special V I P rail coach take them 318 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: to Weymouth where the fleet is docked. About an hour 319 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: after they leave the station, they have this friend who's 320 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: named Tudor Castle Tu d o R. Castle. He sends 321 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: a having a friend named Glass Skyscraper basically or why 322 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: eight house. Uh. He sends a forged telegram to the 323 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: under from the Under Secretary of State Charles Hardinge to 324 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: the Commander in Chief of the Home Fleet, Admiral May, 325 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: saying that Prince Macalan will arrive around four twenty to 326 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: meet them on a ride PM and meet him on 327 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: arrival meet them there at So there's this tight timeline. 328 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: The Admiral doesn't send a telegram back for confirmation because 329 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: he's like, oh snap, like okay, we're doing Yeah. So 330 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: on the train ride, Horace and Adrian. They're like, they're 331 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: trying to learn Swahili on the train ride and they 332 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: get say, of this book, Adrian says, Swahili is I 333 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:39,959 Speaker 1: believe spoken in some parts of East Africa. Whether it's 334 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: spoken in Abyssinia or not, I don't know. But we 335 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,119 Speaker 1: thought it might be as well for me to know 336 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: a few phrases. And to that end, we had bought 337 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: a grammar from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. 338 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: Do you know what language is not spoken in Ethiopia, 339 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:59,880 Speaker 1: Eritrea or the former Abyssinia. It's banned to so nice try. 340 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,040 Speaker 1: It's like, you're like, I gotta teach myself some Greek 341 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: phrases because I'm going to France or I'm going to 342 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,159 Speaker 1: North America, so I should probably learn some Spanish. And 343 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,679 Speaker 1: you land in Canada. Yeah, pretty much. I need to 344 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: take a break. These people are irritating me. Um when 345 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:16,640 Speaker 1: we get back, I'm gonna tell you about all these 346 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: softies and black face flouncing around on a warship. I 347 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:20,439 Speaker 1: just want to know what they what they're gonna do 348 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 1: on this ship. Yeah, okay, Zaron. When we left off, 349 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: Horace and this gang of pranksters they're on their way 350 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: to pull off an epic prank on board of a 351 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 1: navy ship. They got on the train. They're making their 352 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:58,439 Speaker 1: way all in what they think is Abyssinian garb zaren. 353 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: I want you to close your eyes. No, no, I'm 354 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: gonna leave my eyes open. Then open your eyes and 355 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: pictures eyes. It's February seventh, nineteen ten. You're a traveling doctor. 356 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: You're on your way from your clinic in Dorchester, headed 357 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: to see some patients in Weymouth on the southern coast 358 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: of England, and the train pulls into Dorchester. You see 359 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 1: through the windows a group of people dressed in weird 360 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,400 Speaker 1: costumes and face paint, well, let's be specific, black face. 361 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:32,879 Speaker 1: It's you know, some of them, it's pretty obvious that 362 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: it's face paint. I think all of them the right. 363 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: So you get in the carriage and you see that 364 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 1: they're wearing these like flowing silk robes and then calftands 365 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:48,679 Speaker 1: over slacks they have on turbans. You know, they have 366 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,120 Speaker 1: really suspicious facial hair, suspicious and that it looks fake 367 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: as hell. So you take a seat at the end 368 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:57,399 Speaker 1: the other end of the carriage. You're like, just you 369 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: know what, I just want to think about trains. Just 370 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 1: love train. Have we talked about training? I've been here 371 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: and I just want to be with the trains. Is sar, 372 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: and I want to talk to you about trains, but 373 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,760 Speaker 1: instead I want to keep telling you this story. So 374 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: the group, they're whispering and giggling to themselves, and you 375 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: think these are just some like well to do Oxbridge 376 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: types out on like a theater trip of some sort? 377 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: Is that like new avant garde data? Is M performance 378 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: stuff that I've been reading about doing. Train pulls up 379 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 1: at its terminus, Weymouth station. You get out of the 380 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: train before the troop of goofballs. You see a red 381 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: carpet and a naval officer in full dress uniform and 382 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: they're like, oh hey, hey, is there someone famous on 383 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: this train? Is it I don't know, H G. Wells, 384 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: I Forced or some other person that goes by two initials. Uh, 385 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: You're shocked j G bo J G Wentworth. You're shocked 386 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 1: when you see this. Sorry, please go on em C 387 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: wren light. Uh. The group gets off the train and 388 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: that's who the officers waiting for leads him down a 389 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,239 Speaker 1: red carpet. You are shocked, shocked, I tell you. So 390 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: the group gets taken to the dock where Admiral May 391 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,680 Speaker 1: and the rest of the ship's staff are all waiting 392 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: on the Dreadnought, all in full dress regalia. No one 393 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: is suspicious of the face paint in the costumes. Apparently really, 394 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,959 Speaker 1: I just can't, I cannot get my head around this. 395 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 1: These are adults, these are grown folks, okay. So the 396 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 1: Royal Marines Band starts to play to greet them, and 397 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 1: they play the national anthem of Zanzibar No, and they 398 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: apologize to like, you know what, we don't have the 399 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:51,880 Speaker 1: Abyssinian one any port and storm it's African. Hey close enough. 400 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: So Horace then introduces everyone. He like misspells his own name, 401 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: he gets the names wrong. He introduces Adrian as hair Hoffman, 402 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: a German translator, and they're both kind of like surprised 403 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: German accent on the and then and the thing is, 404 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,919 Speaker 1: it's like Germans aren't really welcome on worships at nineteen 405 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 1: ten in England. So Adrian was like later explained, I 406 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,199 Speaker 1: had picked an English name that sounded kind of like Coffin, 407 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: but I guess he didn't hear me, and he just 408 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: went with Harry Kaufman, so they also, he, like Horace, 409 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,640 Speaker 1: switches up the names of the princess. Princess. He calls Buxton, 410 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,399 Speaker 1: who was playing the character for whom the visit had 411 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:39,199 Speaker 1: been arranged, Yeah, Rosal Macalen. He calls him russ L Mendex. 412 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: And then don't you feel like Horace is one of 413 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: those reckless people who just wants to get caught. And 414 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:50,720 Speaker 1: it's like either because he knows because of who his 415 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: family is, in his station in life, that nothing's going 416 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 1: to happen to him, or then there's also like a 417 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: little bit of a high of like, you know what 418 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: I can get out of this, Like I can use 419 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: all out of this. I think it actually goes both ways. 420 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: I think he exactly what you say. He has the 421 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: hive knowing he can get out of it, but also 422 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,719 Speaker 1: he kind of likes being caught and shamed because he 423 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,440 Speaker 1: has never really had that, and he's a naughty boy. 424 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,680 Speaker 1: He craves. Yes, He's like, tell me I'm a naughty boy, 425 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,000 Speaker 1: thank you so much. Okay, So Adrian gets worried right 426 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,439 Speaker 1: because don't forget cousin Willie's on the boat. Oh not 427 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: old cousin Willie, and there's also he recognizes a guy 428 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: who's part of his Sunday walking club and we all 429 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: have Sunday walking clubs. Yeah, I got a Monday. He 430 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:34,479 Speaker 1: sees Willie, he sees Sunday Walker Man, and uh, he 431 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: doesn't know Sunday Walker Man is a captain on this 432 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: ship until that morning. That morning he's standing there, He's like, 433 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: they're going to recognize me. They don't. They don't recognize them. 434 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: They see what they want to see. And like Virginia, 435 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: she really loves cousin Willie, but Adrian and the Stephen 436 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: family kind of looked down on Willie because he was 437 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: very conformist and came from like a middle class part 438 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,360 Speaker 1: of the family. Okay, so maybe they're just they're kind 439 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: of like getting the kick out of face. Yeah. So 440 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: the officers they get invited to a party and have 441 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: a drink. Adrian says, no, we don't consume alcohol, partly 442 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: because they are all in they'll have their face start running, 443 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 1: and so the officers are like, well, can we get 444 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:27,200 Speaker 1: you food tea? And then Virginia she said that no 445 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 1: on behalf of this group. No, we must decline because 446 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: we have to have our food prepared in a special way. Now, 447 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,480 Speaker 1: is Virginia wolf in black face? Yeah? I think so, right. 448 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: I was just assuming because you said the only people 449 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 1: who weren't were the two people who are the white 450 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: dudes translators. So everyone else I'm picturing in black face 451 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: black wolves, and they're going no, no, ill. And I'm 452 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: not sure how she expresses. She says that later she 453 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: did that, but like you'll, you'll find out, Okay. So 454 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: then they said, oh, you know, oh, I'm sorry. It 455 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,080 Speaker 1: wasn't Virginia who declined. It was Adrian who said, no, 456 00:26:58,160 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: we can't eat because it has to be prepared to 457 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: especial away. Yeah, Virginia's and black faces, but they don't 458 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: know the word for it. So um, he said at sunset, 459 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 1: we have to pray towards Mecca, but he forgets that 460 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,479 Speaker 1: they're all wearing crucifixes because they're pretending to be Coptic 461 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:21,960 Speaker 1: Christians exactly exactly, but you know, hey, it's just somewhere 462 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: over there. Um. So then to accommodate the prayer, Admiral 463 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: may quote officially delayed sunset, meaning that the buglers across 464 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: all the boats in the fleet. They stood waiting for 465 00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 1: the dreadnought to give the sign for sunset, and he 466 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: had to coordinate whether it was really sunset, what was 467 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:43,679 Speaker 1: the sun doing. I don't know. The whole thing is 468 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 1: just this British military, like we ignore the reality. We're 469 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: waiting for the whistle exactly. So Horace though, he's like, 470 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:54,199 Speaker 1: you know what, I'll have some of that tea. And 471 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,880 Speaker 1: then Adrian and the princess they go on a tour. 472 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: They get shown around the ship for forty minutes. They're there, 473 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: marched all over the ship. Yeah, Adrian, he needs to 474 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: disguise his voice, so he spoken quote a most unnatural 475 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: deep base and an accent that was meant to be German. 476 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: And then he forgot all the Swahili that he learned 477 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: over He couldn't remember what to like translate, so to 478 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 1: compensate when he's translate when he's speaking to the group, 479 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: he's using like Latin and Greek that he remembered from 480 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: studying Homer. Oh God. And so this is a British navy. 481 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:31,959 Speaker 1: A bunch of them speak Latin and Greek too. I 482 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: bet so they're catching some of them. Well. He's also 483 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: throwing in nonsense words, so it's just a mishmash. Here's 484 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: what Adrian Stephen said about it later, quote, I don't 485 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: find it easy to speak fluent Gibberish impromptu. I must 486 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: somehow produce something that would not be too jerky, too implausible. 487 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: I had to take care that neither the Latin nor 488 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: the Greek should be recognized, of course, but I felt 489 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: that probably few naval officers had suffered an education like mine. 490 00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: And in any case I so broke up the words 491 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: and so mispronounced, and that probably they would have escaped 492 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: notice even of the best scholar naval officers not knowing Latin? 493 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,959 Speaker 1: Does he not know anything about British naval officers, Like 494 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: he's like the poorest don't know these things? Like I'm 495 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: with him on Like maybe your average sailor doesn't know Latin. 496 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: But a British naval officer, so Buxton as the press, 497 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: he would repeat some of the words that he heard 498 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: Adrian use in his responses back to him, and like 499 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: a couple of the officers apparently remarked on the quote 500 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: oddness of their lingo. Um, but so and there was 501 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,480 Speaker 1: there was an officer on the ship who spoke Abyssinian, 502 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: but he was away on leave damn. Oh, this is 503 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: all pre Vatican too, so every Catholic pretty much a 504 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 1: whole lot of Catholics on that good back. For Virginia, 505 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: she's worried that her voice is going to sound too feminine, 506 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 1: so she just grunts and tending to be a man. Yeah, 507 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: I forgot about that. Yeah, she's one of the p right, 508 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: So she's just grunting and laughing. Ho ho ho um. 509 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: Then she says later she admitted, quote, it is very difficult, 510 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,400 Speaker 1: I found, to look perfectly blank when you hear English spoken, 511 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 1: and then to show great interest and intelligence when you 512 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 1: hear pure gibberish. I'm sorry, decided to keep saying, oh wow, 513 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: I really cannot say other without cussing. So this is me, 514 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: This is me researching this, reading that book and going oh, 515 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: closing the book and taking a deep breath and then 516 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,480 Speaker 1: opening it back up and being like, do I really 517 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: want to get mad again? Um. So at one point 518 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,880 Speaker 1: they're up on the mass like admiring what they're calling 519 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: the new wireless equipment like videos. Duncan's mustache starts to 520 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: lift in the wind. So Virginia sees this. She motions 521 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: to her brother Adrian, and she's and he says something 522 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,600 Speaker 1: to Duncan in quote Abyssinian um, and then takes him 523 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:58,479 Speaker 1: over to a dark corner to fix it. How does 524 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: one say in Abyssinian you're giving free mustache rides away. 525 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: I don't know. We're gonna have to have a good friend. 526 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: Is Ethiopian, I'll ask her, um so uh. Adrian later 527 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: wrote quote I did what I could with an umbrella, 528 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:16,840 Speaker 1: but there were five people to cover. And then I 529 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 1: saw the obvious solution. I spoke to the captain of 530 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 1: the heat of the Abyssinian climate and the chill of England, 531 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: and he saw my point at once and took us below. 532 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: For a moment or two. I had to separate Duncan 533 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: from the rest and dab hastily at his upper lip. 534 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: But I was able to be quick enough to escape notice. 535 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: So they're just they think they're so clever, they're getting 536 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 1: one over on me. I'm a stinker, so Adrian like. 537 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,320 Speaker 1: He then later goes on pedantically speaking, I must admit 538 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: myself capable of deception when I took part in the hoax. 539 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: But I but once the telegram had been sent off 540 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: and we arrived and had been received, it would not 541 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: have been an easy matter to tell the truth, and 542 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 1: we almost, i think, believed in the hoax ourselves. He's like, guys, 543 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: I'm Abyssinian. Now I got the black on me, and 544 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: now it's that's it. I mean, this just maybe my future. 545 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: Yeah it is. So the tour wraps up and then 546 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 1: they they you know, bid their farewells auslamacum, I guess 547 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: they said. And so they go back to the station, 548 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,440 Speaker 1: Horace Uh. As they're going to the station, the guy 549 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: that's accompanying them, Horace, tries to give him, uh the 550 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 1: Order of the Star of Ethiopia, which is like a 551 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 1: brooch that had been hanging around Buxton's neck. Where did 552 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,480 Speaker 1: they get it? Where did this train from? An army 553 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 1: Navy store? They got it off a guy Ridley's mother's hat, 554 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: and the officers like, no, you know what, I that's okay. 555 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 1: He didn't take it. He's like, that's good. I'm good. 556 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: I don't need that. And then I'm wondering, is he 557 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,240 Speaker 1: onto them? He said he has to be. So then 558 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: on the train back, Anthony Buxton he sneezes and half 559 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 1: his mustache flies off. But luckily no one from the 560 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 1: navy's with them, so their hoaxes done. Their hoax is done. 561 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:11,479 Speaker 1: They have fooled the navy. Yeah, and they look at me, 562 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 1: what away, what's the point. So they're all starving, right 563 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: because I haven't eaten all day. But Horace, he delays 564 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,720 Speaker 1: the meal and the train because of sunset because he 565 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 1: demands that the waiters serve them wearing white gloves, and 566 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: they didn't have any, and they had to go out 567 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,640 Speaker 1: and purchase white gloves before the train left so that 568 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: they could have proper service for these jerks. And there 569 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: you are trying to get back to your clinic on 570 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 1: the return trip, and you're delayed while they go out 571 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,560 Speaker 1: and buy white gloves. My patients, my patients, and I 572 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,440 Speaker 1: don't mean the ones in my hospital. They decided the 573 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: group was like, you know what, you guys, this went 574 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: so well and the officers were so nice to us. 575 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,320 Speaker 1: We don't want to embarrass them, so let's not tell 576 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:06,680 Speaker 1: the press. Don't tell anybody what your whole point? Oh 577 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:10,120 Speaker 1: my god, okay, whatever, Yeah, you know what. Fine? Rich 578 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:12,200 Speaker 1: kids just like, yeah, we had fine. It was a lark. 579 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,040 Speaker 1: Wasn't that a great afternoon? Guy? It's like, I don't 580 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,839 Speaker 1: you don't understand it. For this last week when I've 581 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: been reading up on these things, I've been clenching my 582 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:27,680 Speaker 1: fists so tightly. When we come back, we need to 583 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,960 Speaker 1: take a deep breath. Let's stretch, arms up, down, stretch, 584 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,040 Speaker 1: Let's get some I think I pulled the buffle in 585 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,080 Speaker 1: my head. When we come back, I'm going to tell 586 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:37,799 Speaker 1: you how that all worked out. About keeping it a 587 00:34:37,800 --> 00:35:00,760 Speaker 1: big secret. Spoiler alert did not work out? All right, Saren? 588 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:05,080 Speaker 1: Did you get good breathing in? No? No, okay? This 589 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:07,799 Speaker 1: only the story reminds me of those kids recently who 590 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 1: threw paint on the van Go painting in the museum, 591 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,000 Speaker 1: And it was to protest climate change and to say like, 592 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: look if you ruin these nice things and you care 593 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: more about that than the whole planet being ruined. And girl, 594 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,239 Speaker 1: you know, I am a big I want us to 595 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,719 Speaker 1: do something about what we've done with the climate and 596 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: to be smart about this. I'm supporting we are at 597 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: the point of emergence. Can I am totally on side 598 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:32,800 Speaker 1: of their argument, But I do not see how throwing 599 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,120 Speaker 1: paint on a van Go painting. Who I one of 600 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,879 Speaker 1: the pores, one of the little people enjoys in the 601 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,719 Speaker 1: common sphere that we share how that is making me 602 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:42,400 Speaker 1: or anybody else go, you know what, you're right, we 603 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:44,719 Speaker 1: should save the planet. I don't know, if you're a 604 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 1: rich kid and you want to be doing direct and 605 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 1: activism or get involved in some sending some message, I 606 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,400 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe try doing it from a material standpoint, 607 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 1: since like use money or time as opposed to look 608 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,640 Speaker 1: at my theatrics. But they didn't even these these guys 609 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:01,840 Speaker 1: that not hoax. They didn't. They weren't even trying to 610 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:05,120 Speaker 1: make a point. They weren't saying like they weren't saying 611 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,680 Speaker 1: like all this money spent on this warship is it 612 00:36:07,719 --> 00:36:12,720 Speaker 1: should be spent on you know, education, feeding the babies? 613 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,520 Speaker 1: I don't know, something, something that has life. It's the 614 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:22,319 Speaker 1: Ain't I a stinker? Like the whole break? And maybe 615 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 1: I get a little bit irritated because I come from 616 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,399 Speaker 1: a navy family, and it's just like this has taken 617 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,319 Speaker 1: up a lot of time and resources, and don't clown them, 618 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: come on, I don't know, it's just a full unawareness 619 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:35,920 Speaker 1: of what you're dealing with. And because it's like, look 620 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,840 Speaker 1: if you're gonna okay whatever, how did they so we 621 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:42,120 Speaker 1: left off? These fancy lads they'd like pulled off their hoax. 622 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,719 Speaker 1: Prancing around the ship, rode home on the training black 623 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,680 Speaker 1: black face, speaking the Gibberish, with their mustaches flapping around. 624 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:54,640 Speaker 1: They made the promise don't breathe a word. That night, 625 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:59,439 Speaker 1: Horace tells his friends he's my favorite party. He tells 626 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,279 Speaker 1: some of his ends. Some of them turned around and 627 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,520 Speaker 1: told the Foreign Office, and then Horace had to confess 628 00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:09,080 Speaker 1: for snitches. It is worth noting that at the time 629 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:12,360 Speaker 1: of this hoax his sister, Horace's sister Anne Cole, was 630 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:16,680 Speaker 1: engaged to her future husband, Tory leader and future British 631 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. What my God, ain't I a stinker? Um? 632 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:30,960 Speaker 1: So February twelve, the story comes out on the first 633 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:35,080 Speaker 1: page of the Express. The headline was amazing naval hoax 634 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:39,640 Speaker 1: sham Abyssinian princes visit the Dreadnought. And then the Globe 635 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: came out with the same story the same day. So 636 00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:46,879 Speaker 1: either the Express of the Globe or both reported. It's 637 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: really hard to find these particular papers at that time. 638 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 1: I was all over newspapers dot com great resource for this, 639 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,279 Speaker 1: not these specific ones. This is from that that book. Um. 640 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,600 Speaker 1: They reported that the group would say bunga bunga as 641 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:05,600 Speaker 1: they were admiring different parts of the ship. I'm getting there, 642 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:10,520 Speaker 1: meaning apparently, isn't it lovely? Like oh, bunka bunka that 643 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,800 Speaker 1: was there? Like made up turn when they'd see something 644 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:17,799 Speaker 1: that they like. And so then the real Emperor of 645 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:22,319 Speaker 1: Abyssinia comes to London a few weeks later, and it's 646 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:28,279 Speaker 1: reported that street boys ran after him yelling bunga bunga. Okay. 647 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,200 Speaker 1: Then the boys also, all these kids would go and 648 00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:33,799 Speaker 1: like yell this at the ship's officers when they were 649 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:38,359 Speaker 1: in Weymouth. And then towards the end of World War One, 650 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: the Dreadnought, he looks so scared. The Dreadnought sunk a 651 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,600 Speaker 1: German submarine really stuck it to the jerry Uh. The 652 00:38:46,719 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 1: ship got a congratulatory telegram that just read bunga bunga. 653 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:54,480 Speaker 1: And then there was a song that came out of 654 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,560 Speaker 1: it that was sung in a music hall nearby that 655 00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:00,879 Speaker 1: went when I went on board a dreadnot ship, though 656 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,759 Speaker 1: I looked just like a costermonger, they said I was 657 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:10,400 Speaker 1: an Abyssinian prince because I shouted bunga bunga. What a 658 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,040 Speaker 1: produced dealer on the street with a car. Thank you. 659 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,719 Speaker 1: I never heard that one. Yeah. So they're saying, like 660 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:19,560 Speaker 1: the layers on this so many so they're like I 661 00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:21,840 Speaker 1: looked like a costermonger, but they said I said I 662 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:25,200 Speaker 1: was an Abyssinian prince. So it's like, okay, so our 663 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:28,319 Speaker 1: conception of what the Abyssinians look like is like a 664 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: street vendor. Like, okay, I gotta step back on that one. 665 00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:34,400 Speaker 1: I just keep thinking of and saying, saying bong bong 666 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: all the time, and I'm like, please, connections. Well, it's 667 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:44,120 Speaker 1: you mentioned burl Asconi, right, former Italian prime minister. It's 668 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,920 Speaker 1: probably because of this association with the quote exotic and 669 00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:52,960 Speaker 1: quote racist, and that later Ethiopia was a colony of Egypt, 670 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,080 Speaker 1: so they could have likely heard the story from that. 671 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:59,960 Speaker 1: That's why Burlasconi called his sex parties bunga bunga parties. 672 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:06,080 Speaker 1: Oh my god. Not so we have Virginia Wolf to 673 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,720 Speaker 1: thank for bunga bunga party. There's a direct line between 674 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,240 Speaker 1: Virginia Wolf and black face and Sylvio Berlascon's naked bunga 675 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:16,880 Speaker 1: bunga party. Put put the red pieces of string on 676 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:20,600 Speaker 1: your on your bullet board. Charlie Date losing my head. 677 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:25,319 Speaker 1: February sixteenth, The Daily Mirror puts a photo of the 678 00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 1: group in its front page story called how the officers 679 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:32,440 Speaker 1: of HMS Dreadnought were hoaxed photographs of the Abyssinian princes 680 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:35,200 Speaker 1: who made all England laugh. You see, this is what 681 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:37,920 Speaker 1: it was. I didn't understand the British culture enough because 682 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 1: they're like, oh, we all love this. I'm like, where's 683 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:43,040 Speaker 1: the hoax? Like, well, they love it well. And the 684 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:47,239 Speaker 1: thing is when they when the Daily Mirror ran the pictures, 685 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:50,600 Speaker 1: they first ran it on February fourteen, and the photos 686 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:54,080 Speaker 1: that they used were actually from Horace and Adrian's Zanzibar hoax. 687 00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:57,839 Speaker 1: They're just like black face whatever, we got some. So yeah, 688 00:40:57,880 --> 00:40:59,719 Speaker 1: two days later they had to rerun it with the 689 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:06,160 Speaker 1: oopsies and they Horace gave the pictures to the paper. 690 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:10,719 Speaker 1: They weren't there was that portrait. Horace wants to ride 691 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:14,120 Speaker 1: any wave he can. I'm assuming who's the most mad 692 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:20,439 Speaker 1: about this? Um, See who's besides me back then, who 693 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,160 Speaker 1: was most mad about it? Jeez, I'm hoping some abbest 694 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:26,640 Speaker 1: it's got a little Oh no, it doesn't mean no one. 695 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:30,680 Speaker 1: No one consulted them Admiral May, Oh, yeah, there we go, 696 00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:35,239 Speaker 1: and like others in the Navy just wanted to let it. Golomsberry, 697 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,840 Speaker 1: he he just would not let up. He wanted them punished. 698 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:43,640 Speaker 1: But then it was determined that the only crime committed 699 00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:48,319 Speaker 1: was sending that forged telegraph. Technically, that's that is our 700 00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:52,440 Speaker 1: ridiculous crime here in terms of actual criminality from crimes 701 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:55,399 Speaker 1: against culture and taste. We could make a whole other 702 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:59,080 Speaker 1: podcast about various crimes against culture and taste, but in 703 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:02,719 Speaker 1: this case it all winds up being just just a 704 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:07,359 Speaker 1: forged telegram. So um it did though. This whole thing 705 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:10,640 Speaker 1: makes its way to Parliament, of course, and it resulted 706 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,239 Speaker 1: in quote a tightening of regulations for ceremonial parties. Did 707 00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:17,839 Speaker 1: it help get Neville Chamberlain elected him? Probably? And then 708 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,680 Speaker 1: so like after a month of this, May is like 709 00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:25,120 Speaker 1: all right, Admiral May's like okay, fine, Um, it's not 710 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:28,640 Speaker 1: going to help if we punish the forger Mr. Tudor Castle, 711 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:31,440 Speaker 1: which again like come on, um, we're not going to 712 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,040 Speaker 1: get anything out of that, and it's only gonna draw 713 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:37,560 Speaker 1: attention to how we bungled this if we really keep up. 714 00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:40,680 Speaker 1: So Admiral May's like, fine, whatever, but there's one more 715 00:42:40,719 --> 00:42:46,520 Speaker 1: person who is still mad. Cousin Willie. Cousin Willie He. 716 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,400 Speaker 1: A couple of weeks later, he shows up at Virginia 717 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:53,960 Speaker 1: and Adrian's house and just just screaming at Adrian, laying 718 00:42:54,000 --> 00:43:00,759 Speaker 1: into him. But because of archaic British naval custom uh 719 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,600 Speaker 1: he because they had an no, because Adrian's aunt was 720 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:09,880 Speaker 1: Willie's mother, Willie himself could not physically punish Adrian, like 721 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:13,239 Speaker 1: as a direct family line. So he can't physically punish him. 722 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,960 Speaker 1: Why not? I don't know, and I find that very 723 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:19,120 Speaker 1: hard to believe, based on the British Navy's love of punisunishment. Yeah, 724 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:20,920 Speaker 1: they're be like, hey, spread this round now, so and 725 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:24,640 Speaker 1: said he just yells, right, But then Adrian gives up 726 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,920 Speaker 1: the addresses of the other hoaxers. That's kind of what 727 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:28,920 Speaker 1: he really wants. He's like, if I can't beat you 728 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:37,840 Speaker 1: and beat somebody anymore, so um Fisher, Like cousin Willie, 729 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,120 Speaker 1: some of his navy friends, they go to Duncan's house. 730 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:47,759 Speaker 1: He Duncans sitting there having breakfast with his parents. They 731 00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:50,319 Speaker 1: lure him out and they take him in a car 732 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:52,000 Speaker 1: and they drive him off. They take him to a 733 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:56,440 Speaker 1: remote area where they plan to beat him up good. However, 734 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:00,799 Speaker 1: they saw that he was terrified and not fighting back. 735 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:03,279 Speaker 1: He's basically just like whimpering and peeing a little bit. 736 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,000 Speaker 1: And so they're like, you know what, instead of beating him, 737 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:10,280 Speaker 1: we're going to give him two ceremonial taps with a cane. 738 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:13,440 Speaker 1: They're going to wrap him on the knuckles. The just 739 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:17,080 Speaker 1: tap tap that is enough to avenge the Royal Navy, 740 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:21,719 Speaker 1: apparently the honor. Avenge the honor, it's more symbolism. Yeah, 741 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:25,160 Speaker 1: So then Willie and then another naval officer they found Horace. 742 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:28,640 Speaker 1: That's the gold mine right there. Horace is sick in bed, 743 00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:33,720 Speaker 1: they don't care. They go into his house. Boom, the makeup. 744 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:37,480 Speaker 1: Horace was the Horis is the ring leader. So they 745 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,480 Speaker 1: break in. They're like, guess what we need to avenge 746 00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:42,520 Speaker 1: the honor of Admiral May. Admiral May has no idea. 747 00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:47,080 Speaker 1: They're there. So Horace later tells the Daily Mirror quote, 748 00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:51,720 Speaker 1: I want you to take a deep breath first, you're ready. Finally, 749 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:55,040 Speaker 1: I said jokingly that if the Principal officer would allow 750 00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:57,600 Speaker 1: me to inflict on him six strokes with a cane, 751 00:44:57,920 --> 00:45:01,719 Speaker 1: I would receive a corresponding number from him. To my astonishment, 752 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:04,840 Speaker 1: he was so serious that he readily accepted the offer. 753 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:08,360 Speaker 1: We then retired to a neighboring muse and there we 754 00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:11,480 Speaker 1: found a rubbish box which served as a sort of triangle. 755 00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:14,719 Speaker 1: And here I gave the naval officers six strokes with 756 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,160 Speaker 1: the cane, not very hard ones, as I treated the 757 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,279 Speaker 1: matter as a joke and did not want to hurt. 758 00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:22,839 Speaker 1: Then I in turn received six strokes from the officer, who, 759 00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:26,080 Speaker 1: with his colleague, was very serious the whole time. Then 760 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:30,359 Speaker 1: we all shook hands, and the naval officers left, apparently satisfied, 761 00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:32,719 Speaker 1: for they said they did not intend to cane other 762 00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:37,520 Speaker 1: members of the hoaxing party. I don't even He's like, 763 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:41,960 Speaker 1: look you want to be let me beat you. Even 764 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:46,640 Speaker 1: Stevens He's like, that sounds totally fair to me. And 765 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:49,359 Speaker 1: they go out in the woods together and bend them 766 00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:54,279 Speaker 1: over something. Then okay, now my turn, and then they 767 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:58,560 Speaker 1: shake hands. I will never understand British called I'm sorry, uh. 768 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:02,799 Speaker 1: And with that the whole thing concludes. I'm just so 769 00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:05,120 Speaker 1: glad that you did not dry. I was so worried 770 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:06,720 Speaker 1: that there was going to be a direct line between 771 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:09,680 Speaker 1: Virginia Wolf and black face and the election of Prime 772 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,359 Speaker 1: Minister Nevill Chamberlain, which leads to the appeasement of Hitler. 773 00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:14,959 Speaker 1: So basically, Hitler could come to power because Virginia Wolf 774 00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:17,000 Speaker 1: was in black face. I was really worried that you're 775 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:19,760 Speaker 1: gonna draw that line. May I still do all the events? 776 00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:22,360 Speaker 1: I just can't do, don't you know. Don't give me 777 00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:25,560 Speaker 1: too much time to ruminate. You can find the facts 778 00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:29,280 Speaker 1: in here. Yeah, so that. Yeah, what's your takeaway, dude? 779 00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:33,560 Speaker 1: I don't I keep it. That's my takeaways. I don't 780 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,440 Speaker 1: want any you know, you can keep it all. I 781 00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:37,960 Speaker 1: just keep thinking about what would have happened if it 782 00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:42,319 Speaker 1: was just regular working class young people who did this. 783 00:46:43,239 --> 00:46:45,720 Speaker 1: They would have been destroying, Their lives have been ruined, 784 00:46:45,719 --> 00:46:48,799 Speaker 1: they would have had to pay severe consequences because people 785 00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:50,960 Speaker 1: would have wanted to punish her. They would have not 786 00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:53,680 Speaker 1: have had the money and therefore the social esteem to 787 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,680 Speaker 1: ignore to have their crimes be ignored. And that's the thing, 788 00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:01,680 Speaker 1: among many other things, that is insane to me, is 789 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:04,719 Speaker 1: that the damage that can be done just because you 790 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:08,120 Speaker 1: were lucky that your parents were wealthy. It's like, can't 791 00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:10,040 Speaker 1: you have a little perspective on this one that like 792 00:47:10,239 --> 00:47:13,319 Speaker 1: you did nothing, this is you just got lucky, Like 793 00:47:13,600 --> 00:47:16,040 Speaker 1: that was it? Like there are a lot of people 794 00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:18,240 Speaker 1: who I've known who are wealthy and they would actually 795 00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:20,360 Speaker 1: say this to me. It's like, look, I get that, 796 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:22,520 Speaker 1: I just got lucky. And I was like so cool 797 00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:25,240 Speaker 1: with that, because it's like you're acknowledging your human moment 798 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:29,840 Speaker 1: maybe like no, no, yes, the British Royal, the British Navy, 799 00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:32,359 Speaker 1: like oh, we're gonna ignore this actual sunset and we're 800 00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:35,080 Speaker 1: gonna wait for the whistle. That level of ignoring reality 801 00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:38,560 Speaker 1: I find humorous. The rich kid's level of ignoring reality 802 00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:40,879 Speaker 1: is just patently offensive because the damage that they do. 803 00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:42,680 Speaker 1: I mean, look look at all this. I mean, this 804 00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:45,200 Speaker 1: is one little let's go down to the boat and 805 00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:49,279 Speaker 1: like literally British history and Sylvia burs are all affected 806 00:47:49,320 --> 00:48:00,680 Speaker 1: by this. I just exactly. I keep thinking about how, um, 807 00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:02,960 Speaker 1: there wasn't a point to what they do. I'm all 808 00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:05,680 Speaker 1: for fun and I'm all for being I mean, you know, 809 00:48:05,719 --> 00:48:08,680 Speaker 1: I take absolutely nothing seriously totally, and I like, I 810 00:48:08,719 --> 00:48:12,240 Speaker 1: like messing with people, my friends in particular especially British Navy. 811 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:15,080 Speaker 1: But I just that's the whole thing is so self 812 00:48:15,120 --> 00:48:18,760 Speaker 1: congratulatory and not really funny. It's not a funny prank. 813 00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:22,520 Speaker 1: It's not funny stupid. If someone were to witness it, 814 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:24,359 Speaker 1: it's not like, oh, look, you got over on them. 815 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:26,239 Speaker 1: I mean maybe this is like that embarrassment humor. I 816 00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,239 Speaker 1: don't get, like I didn't watch The Office. I don't 817 00:48:28,239 --> 00:48:30,680 Speaker 1: know why this is funny. I look at it. Remember 818 00:48:30,719 --> 00:48:32,520 Speaker 1: how I told you once about how I want to 819 00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:36,560 Speaker 1: go to like a presentation and say boring in the crowd. Well, 820 00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:38,400 Speaker 1: like I would love to be there and just have 821 00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:40,840 Speaker 1: them like, oh we're so cool and just be alt lame. 822 00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,920 Speaker 1: It was lame there, it wasn't. Yeah, So anyway, that's 823 00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:50,240 Speaker 1: funny takeaway. I'm sorry I've done that to you and everybody. Um, 824 00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,000 Speaker 1: you can find us online at Ridiculous Crime on both 825 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:55,920 Speaker 1: Twitter and Instagram. I'm going to put the photos up 826 00:48:56,840 --> 00:48:59,600 Speaker 1: mostly of the big Foot board game. It may just 827 00:48:59,680 --> 00:49:01,600 Speaker 1: be a make sure of the big pot Dad work 828 00:49:03,680 --> 00:49:05,400 Speaker 1: got that one for you? Okay, cool, I'll just go 829 00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:08,799 Speaker 1: take a picture of it in the pleasant. Um. You 830 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,479 Speaker 1: can email us if you want to at ridiculous Crime 831 00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:20,680 Speaker 1: at gmail dot com. Otherwise, tune in next time. Ridiculous 832 00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:23,760 Speaker 1: Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zarin Burnett, produced 833 00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:27,319 Speaker 1: and edited by Dave Kusten. The Natty Dreadnought researches by 834 00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:30,600 Speaker 1: The Bloomsbury Group director Marissa Brown. The theme song is 835 00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:34,520 Speaker 1: by facial hair engineer Thomas Lee and wig technician Travis Dutton. 836 00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:43,400 Speaker 1: Executive producers are Admiral Ben Bollen and Cabinet member Noel Brown. 837 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:50,880 Speaker 1: Say It One More Time. Ridiculous Crime is a production 838 00:49:50,880 --> 00:49:53,520 Speaker 1: of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts to my heart Radio, 839 00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:56,520 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 840 00:49:56,560 --> 00:49:57,840 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.