1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,239 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. They were surrounded and 5 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: had been for months. The Ottoman Empire had been spreading 6 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 1: westward for decades, and by three it had arrived on 7 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: the doorstep of Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire. 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: If the city fell, the dam would burst and the 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: Ottomans would roll through like a wave. They had sent 10 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: for help. Of course, King John the third of Poland 11 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: was most likely on his way with an army to 12 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: free them, to push back the sea of red flags 13 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: and golden crescents. But King John hadn't arrived, and they 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: weren't sure much longer they could hold out against an 15 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: army of nearly one hundred thousand warriors. The siege of 16 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 1: the city had been going on for two months now, 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: and you have to wonder if the people of Vienna 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: ever felt relief from that overwhelming sense of anxiety. They 19 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: were in danger and at risk, and the thought that 20 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: the Turks might breach the walls and kill them was 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: all too real and present. It hung over them like 22 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: a dark cloud in fact, but the real danger wasn't 23 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: above them, It was beneath the walls themselves. You see, 24 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: the Turks had been using their time outside the city 25 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: to dig tunnels. Rather than continue to launch themselves headlong 26 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: into solid, sturdy walls, they had decided going under them 27 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,919 Speaker 1: would be more productive. So while the people of Vienna 28 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: were waiting for help, their enemy was creeping up slowly 29 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: beneath them. During the day, the soldiers inside the city 30 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: watched and waited. They were observant and careful and patient. 31 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: But at night there were fewer eyes on the enemy army, 32 00:01:57,320 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: and that's when the Turkish diggers did most of their work. 33 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: They could make a bit more noise, and they had 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: the cover of darkness to hide their movements in and 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: out of the tunnels. Another group of people who worked 36 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: through the night were the bakers in the city. If 37 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: the people were going to have fresh bread each morning, 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: that meant long nights of grinding, kneading and baking it. 39 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: And it was during one of those long quiet nights 40 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: when the bakers thought they heard something odd. It was 41 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: almost like the sound digging, but it seemed to be 42 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: coming from nearby, which was impossible, and then it clicked. 43 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: The digging was coming from beneath the building they were in, 44 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: beneath the very city itself. They rushed out and alerted 45 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: the soldiers on duty, and the warning was sounded throughout Vienna. 46 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: When they routed the Turkish diggers and examined the tunnels, 47 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,279 Speaker 1: they were shocked to discover at least ten large explosive 48 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: devices just waiting to be detonated. Somehow, against all odds, 49 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: they had discovered their enemy's plan before it was too late, 50 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: and put a stop to the invasion. Soon after, King 51 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: John of Poland arrived and the city launched its counter 52 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: attack against the Ottomans, and they won. They won the battle, 53 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: and in the coming years they put an end to 54 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: the westward expansion of that red and yellow crescent flag. 55 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,919 Speaker 1: Those bakers were heroes, but they were also relieved citizens, 56 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: and they wanted to celebrate right along with everyone else. 57 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: So they got to work crafting a special treat one 58 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: that would mark their victory over the Turks. What they 59 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: created was something new and different, a pastry designed to 60 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: mimic the central icon of their enemies flag. They called 61 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: it the kip Fell, which meant crescent in German. It 62 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: was a smash hit too, so much so that it's 63 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: still around today, although we know it by a different name. 64 00:03:43,040 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: Entirely the Croissant. Henry worked on the same ship as 65 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: his brother Sam, because that's what older brothers do, right. 66 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: They walked a little ahead and hold the door open 67 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: for the people they love. And boy did Sam love Henry. 68 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: They were young. Sam was twenty three, just three years 69 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: older than Henry, and they were adventurous. They had managed 70 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: to get work on a ship, and Sam had worked 71 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: his way up to steersman. Their work took them all 72 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: over and they had a lot of fun meeting new 73 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: people and learning new things, but there were also moments 74 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: of trouble. One of their co workers was a man 75 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: named Brown, and Brown apparently had a checkered past as 76 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: a troublemaker. In the course of their daily work, Henry 77 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: discovered that Brown didn't care for him much, but he 78 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: did his best to avoid the man, which he did 79 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: until one day while Sam was at the helm guiding 80 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: the ship. That was when Brown lost control and punched 81 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: young Henry. And that wasn't a good idea. Not only 82 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: did Sam love his brother, but he was protective of him. 83 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: When he heard of what happened, Sam walked away from 84 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: the helm and left the ship on its own, located Brown, 85 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: and then laid him out cold with a powerful punch. 86 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: It solved one problem, but it created another. Sam and 87 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: Brown couldn't stay on the same ship any longer, so 88 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: when the ship docked for the night in the same 89 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: town as Sam's older sister, he left the crew and 90 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: spent the night in town. I imagine they had dinner 91 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: that evening, caught up on everything that had already happened 92 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: since they last spoke, and maybe shared some laughs. Eventually, though, 93 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: Sam went to bed, and when he did, he fell 94 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: into a dark, tense dream. In it, he was standing 95 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: in the living room downstairs. All of the furniture had 96 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: been pushed out of the way, and in the middle 97 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: of the room was a coffin resting on a pair 98 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: of chairs. The coffin was the sort that's been covered 99 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: in a sheet of glossy metal, and the top half 100 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: was open for viewing. So Sam crept closer. Inside he 101 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,679 Speaker 1: found his brother, Henry. He looked peaceful, and a small 102 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: bouquet of white flowers rested on his chest. At the 103 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: center of that white bouquet was a single red flower, 104 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 1: red like blood. Sam awoke in a panic. He rushed 105 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,919 Speaker 1: to his sister's room, shook her awake, and then told 106 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: her what he had seen. It was just a dream. 107 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: She told him it was nothing to worry about, but 108 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: of course dreams like that don't go away easily or quickly. 109 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: The following day, Sam watched as the ship he had 110 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: worked on for so long with his brother pulled out 111 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: of port. He boarded a different one a short time 112 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: later and followed Henry's ship from a distance. The plan 113 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: was to wait until the captain could find a replacement 114 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: for Brown, and then it would be safe for Sam 115 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: to rejoin Henry on the ship. Except that never happened. 116 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: On June, and explosion rocked the lead ship and two 117 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 1: fifty passengers and crew were instantly killed. One of the survivors, however, 118 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: was young Henry. He had been thrown high into the 119 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: air by the explosion and then landed in the wall 120 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: are far from the ship, but he was brave, and 121 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: even though he was injured and horribly burned, he swam 122 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: back to save others. By the time sam ship arrived, 123 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: Henry had been found and removed to a hospital for 124 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: emergency care. His lungs had been scorched by the steam 125 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: and his body was broken to pieces inside, but he 126 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: had saved so many others, and as a result, a 127 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: number of crew had gathered to hold vigil around him 128 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: as he slowly died before their eyes. And that's the 129 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: scene Sam walked in on when he finally arrived. When 130 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: Sam showed up the next day for the crew funeral, 131 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: he walked into a large room filled with a dozen pale, 132 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: wooden coffins, all except one. In the middle of the room, 133 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: resting on two chairs was a metal coffin. Inside it, 134 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: Sam found Henry. It turns out so many crew members 135 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: thought of Henry as a hero that they all pitched 136 00:07:55,520 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: in and upgraded his coffin. As Sam's it over his 137 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: brother's body. People milled in and out of the rows 138 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: of coffins, paying their respect. It was a somber moment, 139 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: and the air was heavy with pain and grief. But 140 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: in the middle of that, an elderly woman stepped through 141 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: the crowd and approached Henry's coffin. Then she placed a 142 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: bouquet of white flowers on his chest and walked away. 143 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: Sam glanced at them. Sure enough, right in the middle 144 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,119 Speaker 1: of the white flowers was a single red one red 145 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: like blood. The experience altered Sam's life completely. He wouldn't 146 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: be content to work as a steersman for much longer. Instead, 147 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: he wanted to leave his mark on the world, to 148 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: create something beautiful by telling stories, and he did. I 149 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,439 Speaker 1: can't help but wonder if the loss of his brother 150 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: fueled that lifetime of writing that he left behind for 151 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: future generations to enjoy, writings that included reflections of his 152 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: time on the ship with his brother dressed up in 153 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: fictional characters. Of course, yes, that loss was painful, but 154 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: it helped to create a man now known as a 155 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: legend of American literature. Sam you see, was Samuel Clemens, 156 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: but most of us would more easily recognize his pen name, 157 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: Mark Twain. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 158 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 159 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 160 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,439 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky 161 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 162 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast book series 163 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 164 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: over at the World of lore dot com. And until 165 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.