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 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: When you think of the strongest animal in the world, 7 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: what comes to mind. Maybe you imagine the blue whales. 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: Clocking in at over one hundred feet long and weighing 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: around two hundred tons, they're the largest animals to have 10 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: ever existed on Earth. Their hearts alone can weigh up 11 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: to four hundred pounds, and the ventricles inside are big 12 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: enough for a human being to crawl through. Or maybe 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: you think of elephants. The African bush elephant is the 14 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: law or just land mammal on the planet. They can 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: grow up to twenty four feet long, thirteen feet tall, 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: and weigh up to eleven tons. They also have a 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: life span of about seventy years, which is longer than 18 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: any other mammal except humans. Or perhaps you think of ants. 19 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,759 Speaker 1: The common American field ant is pound for pound stronger 20 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: than any body builder out there. They can lift up 21 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: to five thousand times their own body weight. That's like 22 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 1: a two hundred pound man lifting a million pounds. So 23 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: when it comes to the world's most industrious animal, there's 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: some seriously tough competition. But the organism that tops the 25 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: list might surprise you. It was discovered in seventeen seventy 26 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: three by a German naturalist named Johann august Ephrium goes 27 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: And that's kind of a mouthful, so we're just gonna 28 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: call him Johan. Now, Johan discovered an organism that defied 29 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: everything scientists knew about life on Earth. You see, he 30 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: was really into studying water, and specifically the microorganisms that 31 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: lived in water. Well, one day he was looking at 32 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: some liquid under a micros and he noticed this tiny 33 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: little thing wriggling around beneath the lens. It had eight legs, 34 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: translucent skin, and a tube for a mouth. Johann thought 35 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: this was curious. This aquatic being looked kind of like 36 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: a miniature bear, and so he named it a wasser bear, 37 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: that's water bear in German. And Johan noticed something very 38 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: interesting too. When the water bear was taken out of water, 39 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: it dried up, but it did not die, it entered 40 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: a sort of sleep like states, kind of like an 41 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 1: actual bear going into hibernation. As soon it was back 42 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: in water, it woke back up good as new. Now, 43 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: even in the seventeen hundreds, this discovery definitely caught the 44 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: attention of the scientific community. An Italian clergyman named Lazzaro 45 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: Spalanzani began studying the animal, and he noticed that it 46 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: moved really slowly, so he gave it the name ill 47 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: tartegrado or slow stepper in Italian. In English we would 48 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: call the animal the tartar grade. Since it was first found, 49 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: scientists have done a ton of re search on tartar grades. 50 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: Here's what they've discovered so far. When a tartar grade 51 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: is in the water, it seems like your standard microorganism. 52 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 1: It only has a life expectancy of a few weeks. 53 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: But when it dries out and enters that hibernation, which 54 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: the scientists call the ton state, it becomes nearly indestructible. 55 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: And I'm not exaggerating either. In the Ton state, tartar 56 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: grades can withstand temperatures as low as one degree above 57 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: absolute zero and as high as the boiling point of water. 58 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: They can get blasted with thousands of times the radiation 59 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: that would be fatal to a human and be totally fine. 60 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: They can even go into the vacuum of space with 61 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: no high tech astronaut gear. Might I add, and return 62 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: to Earth unscathed. Basically name an apocalyptic scenario and the 63 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: tartar grades will probably be aok. Oh, And I should 64 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: also mention they can stay in the Ton States with 65 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: no food or water for thirty years. Now. Based on 66 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 1: the fossil record, scientists believe that tartar grades have been 67 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: around for about six hundred million years. That means they 68 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: existed four hundred million years before the dinosaurs, and they 69 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: survived the mass extinction that made the t rex a 70 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: thing of the very distant past. Because of their incredible strength, 71 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: tartar grades can be found on every continent, including Antarctica. 72 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: If you scoop up some water from a nearby ponder lake, 73 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 1: chances are you might be able to find one swimming 74 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: around inside. Of course, it won't surprise you to know 75 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: that scientists are very interested in what exactly makes the 76 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: tartar grades so resilient, and they found something that might 77 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: actually prove useful for humanity. It turns out. Tartar grades 78 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: have a protein in their body that experts call damage 79 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: suppressor or d SUP. D SUP is able to bind 80 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: to DNA inside the tartar grade's body and protect that 81 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: DNA from damage, which is at least partially what makes 82 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: the tiny water bear so massively strong. This is all 83 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: relatively new science, by the way, but it's possible that 84 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,799 Speaker 1: the desup protein could eventually have a medical use in humans, 85 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: and who knows, maybe one day we'll be able to 86 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: make our selves as strong as those curious little creatures. 87 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: We all love our pets, sometimes a little too much. 88 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: We don't just spring for the gourmet food and expensive colors, 89 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: but there are also those little outfits the treats, and 90 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: they usually hog our covers at night as well. The dogs, cats, 91 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: ferrets and lizards in our lives aren't just animals, they're 92 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: members of the family. And Francis Henry Egerton, the eighth 93 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: Earl of Bridgewater, treated his family very well. Egerton was 94 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: born in seventeen fifty six in London. His aristocratic family 95 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: was well known and well respected, with members having served 96 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: within the military and the English government. Francis was sent 97 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: to Eton and Christ's College Oxford for his schooling. Nearly 98 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: fifty years after graduating with the Bachelor of Arts degree, 99 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: he inherited his title of the eighth Earl of Bridgewater, 100 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: and of course a lot of money from his late 101 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: brother John. But as with most rich aristocrats, Egerton was 102 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: known for being a little eccentric. He was a lifelong bachelor, 103 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: and in his later years he abandoned his familial home 104 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: in Hertfordshire for three point thirty five rus sent on 105 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: Aree in Paris. This property was originally a hotel, but 106 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: its new owner renamed its hotel Egerton, and got up 107 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: to some wild hygiinks while living there. For one, he 108 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: loved animals. Egerton kept a number of dogs, cats and 109 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: birds in his home, and he didn't just adore his pets, 110 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: he pampered them. His dogs had their own personal footmen 111 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: who would put little leather boots on their paws and 112 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: fasten a linen napkin around each of their necks. At 113 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: meal time, every pooch had their own seat at the 114 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: dinner table, where they would sit patiently while they were 115 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: served a gourmet meal on silver platters. As I said, 116 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: the man was eccentric, but not every dog had his 117 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: day with the Earl of Bridgewater. Two of the man's dogs, 118 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: named Bijou and Beesh, were less obedient than their other siblings. 119 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: When they misbehaved, he would sequester them in a separate 120 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: room of the hotel for one week, devoid of attention 121 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: from their doting owner. And when he wasn't having dinner 122 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: parties with his dogs, Egerton was keeping a close eye 123 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: on his footwear. He wore a different pair of shoes 124 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: every single day. At night, he would take them off 125 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: and line them up in one room next to the 126 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: pair from the previous day. By the end of the year, 127 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: he had three hundred and sixty five individual pairs of 128 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: shoes that could tell him what the weather was like 129 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,559 Speaker 1: on a particular day of the year, or how muddy 130 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: it had been. Apparently he had never heard of an 131 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: almanac or a journal. Of course, he may have had 132 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: his strange behaviors and spent his money on frivolous things 133 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: like a year's worth of shoes, but Egerton was no fool. 134 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: In fact, he'd been a Fellow of All Souls at 135 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: the University of Oxford, and in seventeen eighty one he'd 136 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: been made a Fellow of the Royal Society, a designation 137 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: reserved for people who'd made a significant contribution to the 138 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,679 Speaker 1: fields of men and science. He also did not stand 139 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: to be pushed around by anyone. When Napoleon Bonaparte came 140 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,239 Speaker 1: to Paris to rearrange the city according to his plan, 141 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: the would be emperor didn't stay long at hotel Egerton, 142 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: the Earl kicked him out, and he did the same 143 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: thing to the Duke of Saxe Coburg, who tried to 144 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: take the hotel for himself. On that occasion, Egerton armed 145 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: thirty of his servants ready to go to war over 146 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: his home. The Duke wound up leaving empty handed. But 147 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: not all was right in the City of Lights. The 148 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: Earl longed for his days back in England when he 149 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: would go out with his hounds and hunt wild game. 150 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: You might think hunting would be impossible inside a hotel, 151 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: but you'd be wrong. Egerton held small hunts on the property, 152 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: complete with English hounds and an English fox. As he 153 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 1: got older and couldn't walk so well, his servants would 154 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: help him by putting a gun in his hands and 155 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: holding him up to shoot pigeons, rabbits and partridges. When 156 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: Francis Henry Egerton died on February eleventh of eighteen twenty nine. 157 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: He left a collection of sixty seven manuscripts about French 158 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: and Italian literature to the British Museum. He also bequeathed 159 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: them twelve thousand pounds to start a fund so they 160 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: might acquire additional manuscripts in the future, and he left 161 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,079 Speaker 1: eight thousand pounds to the President of the Royal Society. 162 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: The money was to go to any authors chosen to 163 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: write a treatise on the power, wisdom and goodness of God, 164 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: as manifested in the Creation. Eight such treatises were composed 165 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: between eighteen thirty three and eighteen thirty six. As the 166 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: Earl of Bridgewater, Edgarton was no stranger to side eye 167 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: or rumor. He lived his life the way he wanted, 168 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: which is something most of us only dream about, and 169 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: he did it with style and flare and some really 170 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: well dressed dogs. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 171 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 172 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities Podcast. 173 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 174 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works, I make another award winning show 175 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television 176 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at 177 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.