1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 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 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. It's been said that 5 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: beneath yellow Stone National Park in Wyoming, there exists a 6 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: supervolcano so big that if it were to erupt, it 7 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: would spew enough ashen rock into the atmosphere to destroy 8 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: the world, or at least most of it. We have 9 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: nothing to worry about, though, as such an event wouldn't 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: occur for another few thousand years. But volcanoes do erupt, 11 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: and when they do, they have devastating effects on the 12 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: people and areas surrounding them. They dramatically change the landscape 13 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: and at least in one case, how the population of 14 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: the planet looks at the world. To understand how, we 15 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: need to go back in time to the Indonesian island 16 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: of Krakatoa had been active for some time. Earthquakes from 17 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: the region had rippled out as far as Australia, and 18 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,639 Speaker 1: there was evidence that something big was brewing below. For weeks, 19 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: thence forming around the island blasted steam and ash into 20 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: the atmosphere, turning the sky dark and casting a black 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: fog over everything. Then the eruptions got worse, each one 22 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: firing more and more debris into the air and sending 23 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: out shock waves that could be felt for miles. The 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: final explosion was so loud it could be heard over 25 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: three thousand miles away. One sixty five villages were destroyed, 26 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: more than thirty six thousand people died, and two thirds 27 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: of the island was annihilated. So yeah, it was bad. 28 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: But a strange side effect of the eruption happened shortly 29 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: after The skies had been transformed darker, sure, with all 30 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: that floating in the air, but sunsets in particular were affected. 31 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the 32 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: sky lit up in dazzling shades of orange and yellow 33 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: and white. Such wondrous sunsets could be seen as far 34 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: as England and Norway. Photography at the time couldn't produce 35 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: pictures with any color, let alone reflect the skies and 36 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: all their glory. However, another medium could. Artists were so 37 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 1: captivated by the colors overhead they took the painting the 38 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: sunsets more vibrant than any photo could ever exhibit. William 39 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: Ashcroft painted and sketched dozens of scenes of the blazing 40 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: skies over the Thames and Chelsea. His works are so 41 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: lifelike the clouds appeared to be on fire, swallowing the 42 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: vulnerable blue expanse behind them. Since we don't have color 43 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: photographs of the skies at the time, ascroft sketches are 44 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: as close as we can get to experiencing even a 45 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: fraction of what he saw. The poet Gerard Manly Hopkins 46 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: attempted to paint the sun sets with his words, describing 47 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: them as looking more like inflamed flesh than the lucid 48 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: reds of ordinary sunsets. He also wrote, it bathes the 49 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: whole sky. It is mistaken for the reflection of a 50 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: great fire. But he wasn't the only artist influenced by 51 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,799 Speaker 1: Krakatoa's afterglow. Another painter, this one from Norway, looked up 52 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: and didn't see fire. He saw blood. To him, someone 53 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: had sliced open the sky like a vein and coated 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: everything in red. It instilled in him a feeling of 55 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: angst of despair, as though the world had ended and 56 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: only he had survived. He channeled these feelings onto the canvas, 57 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: producing four different versions of a painting that has come 58 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: to symbolize the entire Expressionist movement. Knowing all of this, 59 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: it becomes clear that the painting subject is most likely 60 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: the artist himself. In it, he stands on a wooden 61 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: platform set against a blue sea. Overhead, the sky swirls 62 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: with red, orange, and white. The man's head is deformed, 63 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: and his hands frame each side of his face, which 64 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: is trapped in a chilling look of horror a scream. 65 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: The Scream painted by and of Edvard Munk. Since the 66 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: country's founding, the United States flag design has followed a 67 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: fairly standard formula each time a new state has been added. 68 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: The thirteen original colonies are represented by the seven red 69 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 1: and six white stripes, while the current states themselves are 70 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: represented by white stars against the field of blue in 71 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: the upper left corner. Something's changed from flag to flag. 72 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: For example, when Oregon became a state in eighteen fifty, 73 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: several different versions of the flag existed at the same time, 74 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: one where the thirty three separate stars were arranged in 75 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,119 Speaker 1: the shape of one big star, while another flag chose 76 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: a diamond shape for them instead, but the blue background 77 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: and the thirteen stripes remained the same no matter what. 78 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: But despite calls for change to the status quo, it 79 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: seems people still love and admire the flags simple yet 80 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: iconic design. However, things were a bit different almost sixty 81 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: years ago. After Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as states 82 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty nine and nineteen sixty, respectively, it had 83 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,359 Speaker 1: been decided that such a drastic change to the country 84 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 1: required an equally drastic change to its flag. To that end, 85 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: a government employee named Stanley Pratt solicited ideas for new 86 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,919 Speaker 1: flag designs from a group of Ohio residents. Within a week, 87 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: he had flags of all shapes and sizes on his 88 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: desk and had one of the toughest jobs of his 89 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: career ahead of him, judging every single submission. He wrote 90 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: back to each entrance explaining his decision. Almost everyone took 91 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 1: it well except for one. Robert Heft, felt he had 92 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: put a lot of work into his flag. He didn't 93 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: just draw it on a piece of paper. He spent 94 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: twelve and a half hours sewing a full size version 95 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: for Mr. Pratt. He kept the thirteen stripes of red 96 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: and white, as well as the blue rectangle in the 97 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: top left corner. The stars he arranged in a kind 98 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: of grid pattern, the lines of five and six stars 99 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:37,799 Speaker 1: alternating until they numbered fifty. Mr Pratt's comments weren't entirely wrong. 100 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,919 Speaker 1: He felt He's flag lacked originality, which it did, but 101 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: he felt that he had something special, something fit for 102 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: a country. So he did what any self respecting flag 103 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: designer would do. He wrote his congress person. Ohio Congressman 104 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,919 Speaker 1: Walter Moehler hoisted Robert's flag all the way up to 105 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: the United States Congress for a vote. It didn't take 106 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: much for him to convince his fellow congressman of the 107 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: flag's importance. They voted in favor of its design, and 108 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: it was formally accepted as the new symbol of the 109 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: United States on ly four. Yeah, Independence Day. Poetic right. However, 110 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: the story doesn't end there. In fact, it wasn't even 111 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: the whole story. You see, I haven't been completely honest 112 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: with you about the flags provenance. You might be asking 113 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: why a government official went to Ohio to source a 114 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: new design rather than open up the opportunity nationwide. And 115 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: it's true that Robert half designed the flag, but he 116 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: didn't do it as part of a contest, and Stanley 117 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: Pratt technically did work for the government, but not for 118 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: any federal agency. The flag had been part of a 119 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: class project. Pratt had been a high school teacher and 120 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: Robert Heft his student. Robert ended up getting a B 121 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: minus on his project. Disappointed and as grade, he asked 122 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: his teacher if there was anything he could do. After all, 123 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: he'd spent an entire day stitching it together, it had 124 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: to be worth more than a B minus. So Mr 125 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: Pratt gave him a seemingly impossible task. He told him 126 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: if he could get the United States Congress to accept 127 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,119 Speaker 1: his design as the official national flag, then he changed 128 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: his grade to an A. Robert passed away in two 129 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: thousand nine, but his design lives on flying over the 130 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: White House and every government building across the country. Has 131 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 1: family still possesses the original flag he made by hand, 132 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: although museums and wealthy collectors have tried to purchase it. 133 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: To them, it isn't just a piece of history, it's 134 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: a family heirloom. And as for Mr. Pratt's promise, he 135 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: made good on it. Robert got his A. I hope 136 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 137 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 138 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 139 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 140 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 141 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 142 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 143 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.