1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Kine, Welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Candice Giftson, joined by Josh Clark. How's it going. That's 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: going pretty well, Candice. I'm feeling very curious today, Curious 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: like a cat, precisely, hungry like the wolf precisely. So 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: you know, it's fortunate for us that's two thousand and eight, 7 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: because you know, if this were like oh, nine oh eight, 8 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: a d um, I'd probably be killed right now because 9 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: scientific inquiry was pretty much frowned upon, right. Um. The 10 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: good thing is is that, um, we kind of emerged 11 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: from this dark age, the medieval ages, into the Age 12 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: of Exploration, where Europe just suddenly blew like dandelion feathers 13 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: into the into the wind and started looking around this big, 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: wild world, which is good for us, usually bad for 15 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: the people, you know, who already lived in the places 16 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: of the Europeans discovered. I just made air quotes, um. 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: But it did give rise to the Age of Enlightenment, 18 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: where scientific inquiry and curiosity just took off like a rocket, right, 19 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: and people were curious and tangible things to people who 20 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: traveled to these far in distant lands would bring back artifacts, 21 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: and it was considered very fashionable among Europe's elite to 22 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: come and gaze upon these items. I know, I know 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: you're talking about under Calmer right or vunder cam right right, 24 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: or cabinets of curiosity um. And they'd have all sorts 25 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: of weird stuff in it, right, and give me an example. Well, 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: these were precursors to the modern museum. So pretty much 27 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: anything you've seen a museum today from like oh, I 28 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe not mastered on skeleton necessarily, but like 29 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: a starfish or you know, and an idol from an 30 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: equatorial cult, things like this, right, So I can totally 31 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: buy that. The thing is is I have heard that 32 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: one guy, in particular, Peter the Great, who was fascinated 33 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: by this kind of stuff and actually had his own 34 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: under Calmer um a very ledge and dary one had 35 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: baby skeletons in it, which just strikes me as weird, 36 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: like starfish, equatorial cult fetishes. Whatever I get that baby 37 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: skeleton is there is that factor fiction, believe it or not, 38 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: that's fact. So yeah, these just weren't metaphorical skeletons in 39 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: his closet. Don't know why. I took that pregnant pause there. 40 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: I guess I'm picturing these creepy little things. I I 41 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: would I would advise self doubt, but they're not really 42 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: that creepy. I mean, it's for the sake of science. 43 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: And Peter was really in love with um the work 44 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: of one particular Dutch scientist named Frederick Roisch. I don't 45 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: know if I'm saying that correctly, but I hope I 46 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: am Rois. Anyway, he put together a little dioramas of 47 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: Sylvan scenes that featured fetal skeletons. And instead of these 48 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: little baby skeletons wandering through brambles and trees and shrubs, 49 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: they were wandering through tangles of arteries and veins. And 50 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: some of them were a little more excited to be 51 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: captured in the diorama than others, those who have rather 52 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: disappointed at their state of eternal torment, cried into tissues, 53 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: made a flayed brain tissue. Actually, so they were quite 54 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: interesting to gaze upon, and and Peter had a couple. 55 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: They were really prized possessions. And uh, this wasn't just 56 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: for you know, his own six sense of humor. He 57 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 1: was really hoping to pull Russia out of the Dark 58 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 1: Ages to catch up with the rest of Europe. He 59 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: wanted his people to appreciate this thing, you know, for science, 60 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: for what it is, rather than being a freak of nature. 61 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: So you can actually see a picture of this creepy 62 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: diorama in Josh's article when you read the question what 63 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: was in Peter The Great Cabinet of Curiosities? On how 64 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com for more on this and thousands 65 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: of other topics. Because at how stuff works dot com, 66 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: let us know what you think. Send an email to 67 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: podcast at how stuff works dot com.