1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: as my name is Holly fro and I'm Tracy Vee Wilson, 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: and today we're going to talk about another maritime mystery. 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: I know a lot of our listeners have written when 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: we've talked about ship breckx and they really enjoy them. 7 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: But this one does not involve a ship, but it 8 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: involves them, but in a it's a century sort of way. 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: Uh it doesn't center around a ship at all, but 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: in fact a lighthouse. Uh So, just for a little 11 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: bit of background, the Flannin Islands, also called the Flannin Isles, 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: are named after a sixth century Irish bishop who is 13 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: storied to have brought good fortune to everything and everyone 14 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: he touched in The Flanna Isisles, which are off the 15 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: coast of Scotland, have been rumored for centuries to be 16 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: haunted by either sa spirits or other supernatural powers. But 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: the event that we're talking about today is is uh 18 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: an incident that happened in nineteen hundred. Construction of the 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: Flannin Lighthouse ran from eighteen ninety six to eighteen ninety nine. 20 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: And it costs seven thousand pounds to build. David Stevenson 21 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: was a relative of Robert Louis Stevenson and he was 22 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: the person who designed it, and the contractor on the 23 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: job was named George Lawson. The lighthouse officially started its 24 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: duties in December of eighteen ninety nine, and the lighthouse 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: was owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board in Edinburgh, which 26 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: is a company that at the time owned and operated 27 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: more than six dozen lighthouses and employed six hundred men. 28 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: That company does still exist today, but that was those 29 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: were its stats at the time. The lighthouse was built 30 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: on Eileen Moore, which is the largest of the seven 31 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: islands that make up the Flannins, and these are also 32 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: called the Seven Hunters Eileen Moorise. It's about eighteen miles 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: from Gallant Head on the west coast of Lewis in 34 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: the Outer Hebrides. This area, prior to their being a 35 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: lighthouse there had been extremely dangerous for merchant ships. Uh 36 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: and so that's really why there was calls for a 37 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: lighthouse to be built and for stats on the lighthouse itself. 38 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: It was set tall it still is. In fact, it 39 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: stands at the top of a hundred and fifty ft 40 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: cliff and it's a pretty sheer drop off to kind 41 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,640 Speaker 1: of raging waters between the islands. And when it was 42 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: built it produced one hundred thousand candle power and it 43 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: flashed twice every thirty seconds uh and those flashes were 44 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: visible theoretically for a radius of twenty miles. It was 45 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: built to be incredibly stirring, and it really had to 46 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: be because it was sitting there on a rocky cliff 47 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: in the North Atlantic. An Aside from the lighthouse keepers, 48 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: there were no other inhabitants on the Flannens. If you 49 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: look at pictures of them, there is pretty much empty 50 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 1: desolate rock there's they're very small and there's not really 51 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: much you could do with that lands desolate in a beautiful, 52 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: very remote The wildlife in that area there is some 53 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: of it's really unique, the very pretty area, but yeah, 54 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: not so hospitable for people to make their lives there. No, 55 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 1: there was always a list of men willing to work 56 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: the lighthouse and it used a rotating schedule of two 57 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: weeks shifts. The duties of the men who were employed 58 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: there by the Northern Lighthouse Board included polishing the lenses 59 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: every day, keeping the mechanics working and clean, maintaining the 60 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: buildings and generally keeping the place tidy. And because of 61 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: the lack of radio contact at the time, the Northern 62 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: Lighthouse Board had actually made a deal with a gamekeeper 63 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: on the island of Lewis named Roderick Mackenzie, in which 64 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: they would pay him eight pounds per year to keep 65 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: an eye on the lighthouse, and he was instructed to 66 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: report to the board's headquarters if the light ever went out. 67 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: So in mid December of nine the lighthouse was manned 68 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: by three people. There was James du Cut the principle. 69 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: He was forty three and he had two decades of 70 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: lighthouse experience. He was also married and had four children. 71 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: His second assistant was Thomas Marshall and he was twenty 72 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: eight and not married. Then Donald MacArthur was an occasional 73 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: keeper and he was serving an alternate. He was serving 74 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: for William Ross, who was the first assistant and was 75 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: out on sick leave. So Donald was forty and married 76 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: and on December fifteenth nine dred an American vessel the 77 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: S s arch Tour, which was on route from Philadelphia 78 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: to Leith, passed by Eileen Moore just before midnight, and 79 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,919 Speaker 1: the captain of that vessel, Captain Holman uh noted that 80 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: there was no light emanating from the lighthouse, and when 81 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: the arch Tour made port three days later, he reported 82 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: that missing light to the port authorities, but for some 83 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: reason that information was never relayed to the Northern Lighthouse 84 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: Board at that time. That just kind of died on 85 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: the vine. And also in the for some reason category 86 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: gamekeeper Mackenzie also hadn't reported the outage to the board. 87 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: Will actually come back to why that may have been 88 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: the case in a bit, but uh so that had 89 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: been again on December fifteenth, and then they reported it 90 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: three days later, but it wasn't until December that some 91 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: someone arrives to check out the situation. And on that 92 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: day Captain James Harvey, who was aboard the Northern Lighthouse 93 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: Board boat, the s s Hesperus, approached Eileen Moore, and 94 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: on board with him was a man who had been 95 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: intended to replace one of the three men stationed at 96 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: the Flannin Lighthouse, so he was going to be a 97 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: shift change and they were going to rotate one man out. 98 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: The Hesperus had actually been originally scheduled to make the 99 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: relief personnel switched on December twenty, but because of adverse weather, 100 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: they weren't able to stick to their schedule and they 101 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: were delayed by several days. At this point, the lighthouse 102 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: had been dark for eleven days and people were really 103 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: worried about what was going on. No one welcomed Harvey's 104 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: boat at the landing stage, so the captain at first 105 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: he blew the ship's whistle uh and siren, and then 106 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: he fired at a stress signal repeatedly so that he 107 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: could alert the keepers of his arrival. But no response 108 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: ever came. No one came down from the lighthouse. Relief 109 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: keeper Joseph Moore road ashore. He went up the cliff 110 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: steps to the lighthouse, and it's worth noting that because 111 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: no one was at the landing stage to help them, 112 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: he had to kind of back into the landing and 113 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: jump ashore. So this was a tricky maneuver and possibly dangerous. 114 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: More made his way to the lighthouse and he proceeded 115 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: initially to the kitchen, and there he found a few 116 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 1: things that were a little off. He found an overturned chair, 117 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,599 Speaker 1: the remains of an unfinished meal, and a clock which 118 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: had stopped and that clock comes up a lot. This 119 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: being one of those history mysteries, some people want to 120 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,799 Speaker 1: give it some sort of supernatural element, like the clock stopped. 121 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: But remember clocks had to be wound at this time, 122 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: so that's yes, that's really not a hint at anything 123 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: supernatural going on. It had wound down, the beds were 124 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: all made, the fire grate was cold, and Moore went 125 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: on to investigate the rest of the lighthouse, but he 126 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: couldn't find the keepers. There was a pet canary in 127 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: a cage which appeared not to have been fed for 128 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: a while. The lighthouse mechanism, though, appeared to be fully functional, 129 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: so there was no mechanical problem that would cause it 130 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: to go out. Uh and Joseph Moore wrote a letter 131 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: and his own description of the incident two days after this, 132 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: which was on December twenty, and in it he says, 133 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: on entering the kitchen, I looked at the fireplace and 134 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: saw that the fire was not lighted for some days. 135 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: I then entered the rooms in succession, found the beds empty, 136 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: just as they left them in the early morning. I 137 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: did not take time to search further, for I only 138 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: too well knew something serious had occurred. I darted out 139 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: and made for the landing. When I reached there, I 140 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: informed Mr McCormick as an aside. Mr McCormick was the 141 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: second mate of the Hesperus. I informed Mr McCormick that 142 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: the place was deserted. He with some of the men 143 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: came up a second time so as to make sure, 144 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: but unfortunately the first impression was only too true. So 145 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: after more reported back to the Hesperus that he couldn't 146 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: find any sign of life at the lighthouse, more men 147 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: from the boat joined him and started a thorough search 148 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: of the small island, and there was no trace of 149 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: the three missing men. So Joseph Moore, along with three 150 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: volunteers which included Um and Alan McDonald who was a 151 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: boy master, and two seamen Mr Lamont and Mr Campbell, 152 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: remained on the island to keep the lighthouse in operation 153 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: while the investigation continued. Because while this mystery slash tragedy 154 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: had occurred, they still had to warn ships away from 155 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: the rocks. Captain Harvey sent a telegram to the Northern 156 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: Lighthouse Board telling them about the tragedy and uh letting 157 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: them know that arrangements had been made for the lighthouse, 158 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: and then on December twenty nine. So three days after 159 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: the initial discovery, UH Board Superintendent Robert and wearehead arrived 160 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: at Eileen Moore to robe the matter and he made 161 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,079 Speaker 1: arrangements for a new crew for the interim management of 162 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: the lighthouse station, and then he set to the business 163 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: of investigation. He went through the lighthouse again looking for 164 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: for clues, but he couldn't find anything suspicious aside from 165 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,079 Speaker 1: the overturned chair and the abandoned meal, and the last 166 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,559 Speaker 1: slate entry, which was written on the morning of December 167 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: fift had not yet been transferred to the log. So 168 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,559 Speaker 1: we've talked about this before, where often there's the book log, 169 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,959 Speaker 1: but what will often happen is on a chalk boarder 170 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: as slate, they'll write down log entries before they transfer 171 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: them down. It's kind of like an interim step. So 172 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: that last slate entry not in the log um included 173 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,599 Speaker 1: no extraordinary information. It was you know, standard barometer thermometer 174 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: readings and then notes about the wind conditions. But nothing 175 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: jumped out as odd. The work that would have been 176 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 1: done the morning of the fifteen had all been done 177 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: from weird heads of report. The lamp was crimmed, the 178 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: oil fountains and canteens were filled up and a lens 179 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: and machine re cleaned, which proved that the work of 180 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: the fifteenth had been completed. So the afternoon of the 181 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,199 Speaker 1: fifteenth was pinpointed as the probable time of the disappearance. 182 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: And uh, it was also noticed that only one set 183 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: of wet weather gear was remaining in the building, and 184 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: that was MacArthur's, which meant that Ducotton Marshall had been 185 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,200 Speaker 1: wearing theirs. And it also you know, suggested that MacArthur 186 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: went out in his shirt sleeves, which further suggested a 187 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: possible emergency situation because remember it's December, yes, well, and 188 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: then sort of imagining Atlantic, yes, the It's like, the 189 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: logical conclusion is two men were outside in their wet 190 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: weather gear, MacArthur was inside getting ready to eat, knocked 191 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: over the chair in his haste to exit. That's sort 192 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,160 Speaker 1: of seems like a logical progression of events, but we 193 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: don't really know. According to lighthouse regulations, all three keepers 194 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: were not supposed to be outside at the same time. 195 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,839 Speaker 1: Somebody always had to stay put inside the lighthouse, so 196 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: something had called caused them to break with their procedure. 197 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,839 Speaker 1: There was coiled rope discovered strewn about the rocks below 198 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: the crane platform, but the crane was secured so that 199 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: rope was not in use when the men disappeared, and 200 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: the railings there were bent out of shape. There was 201 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: also a block of stone that was estimated to wait 202 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: at least a ton that had been dislodged from the 203 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: cliff wall and had fallen onto the landing stage. Normally 204 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: all of this rope would have been stored in a 205 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: box near the crane, but the box itself was missing. 206 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: In the superintendence report, he stated, quote the ropes were 207 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: strewn in the crevices of the rocks near the crane 208 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 1: platform and entangled among the crane legs, but they were 209 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: all coiled up, no single coil being found unfastened, so 210 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: it didn't really look like the ropes had been uncoiled 211 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: in some sort of rescue effort. Yeah. I think a 212 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: lot of times when you read accounts of this incident, 213 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: when they say that the ropes were strewn about, it 214 00:11:57,559 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: in my head. The first time I read about it, 215 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 1: I was like, Oh, they must have unfurled the ropes 216 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: to try to reach someone. But then when you read 217 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,719 Speaker 1: weirheads report it clearly says like no, No, they were 218 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,320 Speaker 1: still all tied tight. They had just fallen out of 219 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: their box. They were sort of scattered, haphazard, more scattered 220 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: yet uh. And there had also been a life boy 221 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: that had been fastened to the railings, and it was gone, 222 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:21,559 Speaker 1: But it appeared to have been swept away rather than 223 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,559 Speaker 1: used for an emergency evacuation, because the fastening ropes that 224 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: would have held it were still in place and tied 225 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: with bits of canvas still attached to them, So it 226 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: looked much more like a breakage than anyone had cut 227 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: or unfurled them. Were heads assessment. Uh theorized that three 228 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:43,319 Speaker 1: men probably tried to secure the wooden box during some 229 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: rough weather and then were swept away by a large 230 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: wave while they were trying to work. He wired his 231 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: findings to his superiors and then called the widows of 232 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: Duckett and MacArthur in his report, where Head notes that 233 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: Joseph Moore was severely shaken by the that had happened 234 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: at Eileen Moore and stated quote, if this nervousness does 235 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: not leave more, he will be he will require to 236 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: be transferred. But I am reluctant to recommend this as 237 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: I would desire to have one man at least who 238 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: knows the work of the station. So at that point, 239 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,959 Speaker 1: because the other three men were gone, uh, he wanted 240 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,679 Speaker 1: someone on shift who was familiar with that particular lighthouse 241 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: and its workings. He also investigated the seeming negligence of 242 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: the gamekeeper Mackenzie. So, as we talked about earlier in 243 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: the podcast, the light had been out for a while 244 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: and he hadn't said anything about it. After first talking 245 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,559 Speaker 1: to Mackenzie's sons and then with Mackenzie himself and discovering 246 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: that the light had not been seen between December seven 247 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 1: and twenty nine, he reported quote Mackenzie stated, and I 248 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: have since verified this, that the lights sometimes cannot be 249 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: seen for four or five consecutive nights. But he was 250 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: beginning to be anxious at not seeing it for such 251 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: a long period, and had for two nights or to 252 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: its reappearance, been getting the assistance of the natives to 253 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 1: see if it could be discerned. Had the lookout been 254 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: kept by an ordinary lightkeeper, I believe it would have 255 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: struck the man ashore at an earlier period that something 256 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: was amiss. And while this would not have prevented the 257 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 1: lamentable occurrence taking place, it would have enabled steps to 258 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: have been taken to have the light re lit at 259 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: an earlier date. So he's basically chocking all of this 260 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: up to the fact that Mackenzie was not an experienced lighthousekeeper. 261 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: It was it was a problem of inexperience rather than 262 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: just falling down on the job, right. Uh, yeah, Mackenzie, 263 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: It turned it had kept records and had noted these, 264 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: you know, times when the lights would go dim but 265 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 1: they always came back. So so that was We're Heads report. 266 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: And as Tracy mentioned earlier, based on the weather proof 267 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: gear being gone, it seems like two men went out 268 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: to do something, something took place in a third been left, 269 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: which is basically kind of what We're Head suggests. But 270 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: despite that report, uh, there are some sticking points that 271 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: other people that really love a good mystery and to 272 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: theorize about other things. And some of those sticking points 273 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: include number one, none of the bodies ever washed back 274 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: on shore, and as the second one, the men were 275 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: generally fairly experienced semen and lighthousekeepers, it would be odd 276 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: for them to be taken unawares by a wave. However, 277 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: freak waves do happen in the North Atlantic, as they 278 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: do in other bodies of water, so it's conceivable that 279 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: they could have just been surprised by a water wall 280 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: whipping up. It's also really not addressed why one of 281 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: them would have been out in the December wet weather 282 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 1: without his wet weather gear on. Yeah, although you know, 283 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: there are lots of theories that pretty quickly explained that away. 284 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: It seems pretty logical and believable that if there were 285 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: a dire emergency somebody could run out without their code on. Uh. 286 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: And while the tipped chair and the abandoned meal found 287 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: in the kitchen suggested an emergency, the gate and the 288 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: door to the light house were actually closed when Joseph 289 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: Moore first arrived there, which seems contradictory initially, but uh 290 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: many have kind of written that off as it being 291 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: entirely possible that the wind just blew them shut. It 292 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: is a very windy area. Another problem was that the 293 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: weather on the day of the last entry in the 294 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: lighthouse log and the first time the leg was noted 295 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: to be missing, which was December fift that had been 296 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: a clear day. There were storms the day after, but 297 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: not on the fifteen, so again, if it were a 298 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: weather thing, it would have to have been a freak wave. 299 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: So because there are just enough question marks still on 300 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: this story. Uh. Many other theories and stories grew out 301 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: of the mystery to had to explain what had happened 302 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: to the keepers, And we'll do a short list of them, 303 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: and some of them are very funny, but again remembers 304 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: three men didn't lose their lives. But some of these 305 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,320 Speaker 1: really are outlandish. I find all of them to be 306 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: very silly. Yeah. Uh. One is that a foreign power 307 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: had landed and captured the men, because lighthouse keepers or 308 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,880 Speaker 1: who you want to take prisoner totally spaceships, spaceships, they 309 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: really there were people theorizing the aliens had landed. Also 310 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: ghosts and alcoholic murder, suicide. My favorite the ce monster 311 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: theory that some sort of ce monster had come out 312 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: of the North Atlantic and dragged them off but they Okay, 313 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: this one's not actually funny, but maybe they were lost 314 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: trying to help a vessel that was in distress. Yeah, 315 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: although to the best of my knowledge, there are no 316 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:32,360 Speaker 1: records of a distressed vessel happening at the same time. Uh. 317 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 1: And the last one on our list, but there are 318 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: more is that they were carried off by giant birds. 319 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: That there are only two things on this list that 320 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: seem remotely the murder, suicide or the lost wall. Yeah. Yeah, 321 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:53,400 Speaker 1: trying to help another vessel. Yeah yeah, most people agree. 322 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: I think that one or two of the men likely 323 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: went out to the landing stage to secure something, probably 324 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: this box with the ropes in it, and uh was 325 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 1: swept away one or both of them, and that the 326 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: roommate whoever was remaining, went out to help and got 327 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 1: swept away. Also. At the end of his report, which 328 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:18,439 Speaker 1: was dated January nine, one, Superintendent Muir had said, I 329 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 1: was with the keepers for more than a month during 330 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: the summer of nine when everyone worked hard to secure 331 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 1: the early lighting of the station before winter, and working 332 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: along with them, I appreciated the manner in which they 333 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: performed their work. I visited Flannon Islands when the relief 334 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: was made so lately is seventh December, and have the 335 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: melancholy recollection that I was the last person to shake 336 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: hands with them and bid them ado. Yeah. That's uh. 337 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: Sort of an interesting point that adds color to this 338 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: whole story is that we're head knew all of these 339 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 1: men personally He wasn't just like a big wig from 340 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: the company that came to look things over and write 341 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: his report. He was investigating the deaths of men that 342 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 1: he knew and appeared to have really liked. If you 343 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,919 Speaker 1: read his report, he really says very good things about them, 344 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,400 Speaker 1: even beyond that that brief bit that Tracy just read. 345 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,120 Speaker 1: So it's a little bit extra melancholy to think of him, 346 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: you know, having to investigate the death of people who 347 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: were basically his friends. Uh and born of this tragic incident, 348 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,400 Speaker 1: there have been a couple of interesting pieces of art. 349 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: One is a poem entitled Flannon Isle, which was written 350 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: in nineteen twelve by Wilfred Wilson Gibson, and it uh 351 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 1: tells the tale of a mystical force that turned the 352 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 1: men into sea birds. There is another story that goes 353 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: along with the landing of the Hesperus and Joseph Moore's 354 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: exploration UH that says that Joseph Moore allegedly saw these 355 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 1: three odd birds on the island when he first landed 356 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: on December twenty six, and that story is what provides 357 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: the inspiration for that poem. The opera The Lighthouse, composed 358 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: by Sir Peter Maxwell Davis was also inspired by The 359 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: Vanishing at Flannon Isles. It debuted at the Edinburgh Festival 360 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty. This version becomes more about the tension 361 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,920 Speaker 1: among the three men trapped together at the lighthouse. Yeah, 362 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: it almost goes along with the alcoholic murder suicide theory. 363 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:15,439 Speaker 1: I have not actually seen that opera, but it seems 364 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: to be much more about interpersonal communication in the drama 365 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: of that UH. And the flatted lighthouse still stands. It 366 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 1: remained manned peacefully and without incidents. So for all of 367 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: the stories of the islands being haunted didn't seem to 368 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: have any effect on the functioning of the lighthouse. UH. 369 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 1: It continued to be manned by a crew until September twenty, 370 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, and at that point the lighthouse at 371 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,359 Speaker 1: Eileen Moore became what's called a major automatic light, so 372 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: it's fully automated. It's unmanned. UH. It receives maintenance visits 373 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,119 Speaker 1: and annual inspections, but it doesn't have a crew that 374 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,439 Speaker 1: stays there. In two thousand, the three lost lighthouse keepers 375 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: were commemorated in a ceremony attended by residents, relatives and 376 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: officials from the Northern Lighthouse Board and mystery verse, of course, 377 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 1: still bandy about theories as to what really happened on 378 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: December fifteenth d although I think most historians accept some 379 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: variation and wearheads report that it was really just sort 380 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,680 Speaker 1: of an unfortunate accident that happened while trying to secure 381 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:20,400 Speaker 1: something at the crane and the landing stage. I think 382 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: I would have liked to have been a lighthousekeeper. You think, 383 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: allegedly this one of the reasons they always have people 384 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: wanting the job is that compared to other jobs at 385 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: the time, it was a pretty sweet deal and you 386 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: had to be away from your family, but you, you know, 387 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: basically got free room and board during that time. It 388 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: wasn't particularly horrible or arduous work. If you had any 389 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,679 Speaker 1: experience with the sea, it probably seemed pretty easy by comparison. 390 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: So it was a really good job to have. All 391 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: those solitary jobs that don't really exist anymore, like lighthousekeeper 392 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 1: or the people who manned fire watch towers in forests, 393 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: like all of those want them. They're pretty appealing to me, 394 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: the appeal of them, But I would go a little 395 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: crazy after a bit. Yeah, I think, do you also 396 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: have some listener mail. I knew indeed this is about 397 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: our episode on Pluto, and it's from our listener, Helene. 398 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: She says, hello, ladies. As a professional astronomer, I was 399 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: very happy to listen to your latest podcast on Pluto. 400 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 1: Did a great job of explaining its discovery and the 401 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,360 Speaker 1: controversy regarding its classification as a planet or dwarf planet. 402 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: I did not get to attend the International Astronomical Union 403 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: conference where Pluto was demoted, but I celebrated the event 404 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,199 Speaker 1: with many astronomers from my department, as we pretty much 405 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 1: all agreed Pluto was an oddball that did not really 406 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: deserve to be called the planet. There are, after all, 407 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: several objects within its vicinity with a larger mass. I 408 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: have one minor error to point out, uh, The Moon's 409 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,720 Speaker 1: P four and P five have recently been named as 410 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,679 Speaker 1: cerberos and sticks, respectively. That is an dense where we 411 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 1: recorded an episode, and in the gap between when we 412 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: record it and when it publishes, things happen. I think 413 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,199 Speaker 1: that literally happened two days, yes, two days after we 414 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,439 Speaker 1: recorded it was really right in that I think I 415 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,400 Speaker 1: think it actually happened basically wise, we were in the studio, 416 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: but it wasn't announced a couple of weeks later. So 417 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: uh so yeah, we did not have the names. We 418 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,959 Speaker 1: didn't know they were there yet. Uh. And then she 419 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,520 Speaker 1: mentioned another good uh podcast idea, what you know what 420 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,159 Speaker 1: I'm not going to read because I want to do 421 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 1: it surprise people with more astronomy. I've had some listener 422 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,879 Speaker 1: mail like that to things that are I'm like, that 423 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 1: needs to become a whole episode, not just the thing 424 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: that we read. I love it. I love it. She's 425 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: great stuff. So thank you, Helene. It's always great here 426 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: from people in the fields that we talk about, particularly astronomy, 427 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: since it is near and dear to my heart. If 428 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:37,439 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, you can do 429 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: so at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. You can 430 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,920 Speaker 1: also visit us on Twitter at Misston History at Facebook 431 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 1: dot com slash history class stuff, and on Tumbler at 432 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,880 Speaker 1: Misston History dot tumbler dot com. And we're also on conterest, 433 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: so if you would like to learn more about all 434 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: we talked about today, you can do that as well. 435 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: And at our website. Uh. If you go there and 436 00:23:57,840 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: you type in the word lighthouse in the search bar, 437 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: you will get an article called How Lighthouses Work, which 438 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: explains a little bit more about how they function and 439 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: how they are no longer the solitary dream job Treacy wants. 440 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: You're in for love lighthouses, not just the idea of 441 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: working at Win, just in general. Yeah, they're just a 442 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: cool They have a long history. They started way back 443 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,639 Speaker 1: in Egypt, so they're fascinating. Uh. If you'd like to 444 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,639 Speaker 1: learn about almost anything else you can think of, you 445 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 1: can do that at our website too, And that is 446 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com for more on this and 447 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics. Does it how stuff works dot com. 448 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,479 Speaker 1: Audible dot com is the leading provider of downloadable digital 449 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,959 Speaker 1: audio books and spoken word entertainment. Audible has more than 450 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: one thousand titles to choose from to be download into 451 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,879 Speaker 1: your iPod or m P three player. 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