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 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: True genius should be rewarded. People who invent things to 7 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: save lives, or explore the stars, or find new cures 8 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: for fatal diseases should be honored for their contributions. And 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: don't get me wrong, many are. But every once in 10 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: a while someone slips through the cracks. They fall into 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: obscurity and are not remembered by history for what they 12 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: gave to the world. Someone like ha Large Lamba was 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: a writer from Scotland. Born on March third of eighteen 14 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: forty seven. He had one older brother and one younger brother, 15 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: but they apparently died young from tuberculosis. He developed a 16 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: keen interest in science and nature from a very young age, 17 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: often collecting plant specimens and conducting experiments on them. He 18 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: went on to invent a machine that used rotating paddles 19 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: and nail brushes to de husk wheat for a flour 20 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: mill owned by his best friend's family. The friend's father 21 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: gave the boys room for their own to invent other 22 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: contraptions that might come in handy someday as a thanks. 23 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: But Large Lamb had other talents. For example, he was 24 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: also an accomplished pianist, and he dabbled in throwing his voice, 25 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: both of which played to one of his many passions sound. 26 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: His mother, Eliza, had been a phonetician, someone who studied speech, 27 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: and her interest in words and language found its way 28 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: into her son. But as he got older, Large Lamb 29 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: realized something was happening to his mother, she was going death. 30 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: To help her function in a world built for those 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: who could hear, he developed new methods of communication for her. 32 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: One involved speaking directly into her forehead so that she 33 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: could hear the words more clearly. He also came up 34 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: with a silent language using a series of taps, which 35 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: would allow her to participate in conversations going on around her. 36 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: But despite his keen mind and ingenuity, Large Lamb wasn't 37 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: much of a student. His grades were mediocre and he 38 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,839 Speaker 1: spent a lot of time outside the classroom. He got 39 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: more of an education, traveling with his grandfather, who helped 40 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: him to find his love of learning. Large Lamb eventually 41 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: moved to London in eighteen sixty five with his family, 42 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: where he continued to experiment with sound and electricity. After 43 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: he moved to Canada five years later, he worked his 44 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 1: way down to Boston, where he helped teach a new 45 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: system of communication that his father had developed the deaf community. 46 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: Over the next several years, Largelamb developed a relationship with 47 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: one of his students, Mabel Hubbard, and the two were 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: eventually married. They built a life together, including a summer 49 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: home in Bideck, Canada, where they explored their shared love 50 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: of gardening. Because here's the deal, no matter how deep 51 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: in the woods, so to speak, Large Lamb became while 52 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: working with the Death and the Heart of hearing, he 53 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: never forgot his first passion, plants. He often wrote about 54 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: botanical and animal life that he encountered, and he helped 55 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: found a new academic journal called Science that led to 56 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: his role as president of the National Geographic Society from 57 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety eight until nineteen oh three. Large Lamb continued 58 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: to write and publish essays about nature, such as a 59 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: piece in National Geographic Magazine on the remarkable habits of 60 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: certain turtles and lizards. Because of his work, the publication 61 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: incorporated more and more photographs and illustrations to not only 62 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: provide additional entertainment to the reader, but greater value as well. Meanwhile, 63 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: Mabel would often walk around their neighborhood and inquire about 64 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: the various flowers and foliage growing in her neighbour's yards. 65 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,839 Speaker 1: She also donated many of her own plants to help 66 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: their gardens look lush and beautiful. It's believed by Canadian 67 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: scientists today that an invasive species known as giant hogweed 68 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: may have come to the area due to Large Lamb 69 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: having planted it in his own garden. Its sap can 70 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: cause sensitivity to sunlight in a person's eyes. But that's 71 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: not what the inventor and writer is known for, nor 72 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: is he best known for his work with the Heart 73 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: of Hearing. His legacy is actually an invention he built 74 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: in the eighteen seventies. It had started as a type 75 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: of telegraph I'll tell his assistant Thomas Watson, accidentally demonstrated 76 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: that the lines between the transmitter and receiver could carry 77 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: sound thanks to ha large lamb were able to talk 78 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: to people all over the world on modern versions of 79 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: his original creation, the telephone, because Ha large Lamb the 80 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: Man with the Green Thumb was actually a pseudonym and 81 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: an anagram for the name of the one and only 82 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: Alexander Graham Bell. An icon doesn't become an icon overnight. 83 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: It takes time and effort to rise out of anonymity 84 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: and into a household name. People like Thomas Edison, Alexander Grahambelle, 85 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: and Marie Curie devoted their entire lives to their work, 86 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: and their legacies have ensured that the world will not 87 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: allow them to be forgotten. But some people aren't so lucky. 88 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: They struggle for years without any recognition. It isn't until 89 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,239 Speaker 1: they do something drastic that people notice who they are. 90 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: Like Lucille Lsour, most people don't know her name, but 91 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: maybe they should. She was born in San Antonio, Texas, 92 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,239 Speaker 1: to Thomas Larsour and Annabel Johnson in nineteen oh six. 93 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: Her father disappeared less than a year after she was born, 94 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: and her mother went on to marry a vaudeville theater 95 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: manager named Henry Cassen. Soon after, the whole family left 96 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: Texas to make a new home for themselves in Lawton, Oklahoma. Now, 97 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: Lucille had known Henry for much of her life and 98 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: even took to calling him Daddy, even though he wasn't 99 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: her biological father. Still, that didn't stop him from teaching 100 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: her like one of his own. He would let her 101 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: hang around the theater and watch the various vaudeville acts perform. 102 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,799 Speaker 1: Lucille enjoyed the idea of being on stage as well. 103 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: She had dreams of becoming a famous dancer, but her 104 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: parents had enrolled her in piano lessons, which she hated. 105 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: She once took a flying leap off her front porch 106 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: to avoid one of her lessons and landed on a 107 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: broken milk bottle. The injury to her foot was so 108 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: severe she required three surgeries over eighteen months and had 109 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,039 Speaker 1: to stop dance classes for some time, But as she 110 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: got older, she got back on the stage and eventually 111 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: worked up to performing as a chorus girl in a 112 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,600 Speaker 1: traveling review show. Producer Jacob Schubert of the famous Schubert 113 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: family of theater owners saw Lucille dancing in Detroit and 114 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: hired her immediately. They moved to New York in nineteen 115 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: twenty four, where she joined the production of a show 116 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: called Innocent Eyes at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, 117 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: and it was around this time that she met her 118 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: first husband, a saxophone player named James Welton. But their relationship, 119 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: much like her career, left Lucille wanting more, so she 120 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: reached out to publicist Nils Granland for some help in 121 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: getting her more work. He made a few calls and 122 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: got her a screen test, which was quickly sent off 123 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: to Metro Goldwyn Meyer in California, you know MGM. The 124 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: studio liked what it saw and she was hired at 125 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: a rate of seventy five dollars a week. Her first 126 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: film was a nineteen twenty five silent drama called Lady 127 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: of the Night, where Lucille played the body double of 128 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: a film star named Norma Shearer in an uncredited role. 129 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: Many of her early performances were uncredited, which left Lucille 130 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: feeling unfulfilled. She knew that she had what it took 131 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: to be a movie star, and so did MGM publicity 132 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: manager Pete Smith. Smith saw her raw talents, but there 133 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: was one thing getting in her way. Her name, Lucille 134 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: Lassour was just an unflattering name for an actress. For one, 135 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: it sounded like a stage name, and Smith even once 136 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: told his boss that it reminded him of the word sewer. 137 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: So Lucille did what a lot of other actors did 138 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: in Hollywood. She adopted a stage name. In fact, many 139 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: of our favorite stars took on pseudonyms to sound more 140 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: appealing to American audiences. Archibald Leitch became Carrie grant Isser, 141 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: Danielovich Demsky became Kirk Douglas, and Judy Garland was born 142 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: Francis Gumm. But rather than come up with a name 143 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: on her own, or except one from the studio, a 144 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 1: different plan was hatched. Lucille's new stage name would be 145 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: chosen by the readers of a popular film magazine as 146 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: part of a name the star contest. Entries poured in 147 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: from all over, and the winning moniker chosen was Joan Arden. Unfortunately, 148 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: that name was already in use by someone else, so 149 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: the second most popular name was selected instead. Lucille Lsour 150 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: was gone. The world would only know this San Antonio 151 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: born dancer and actor by her new name, one that 152 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: would grace marquis and billboards for decades to come. So 153 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: who was she Hollywood legend Joan Crawford. I hope you've 154 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 155 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 156 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 157 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 158 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 159 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 160 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 161 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.