1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. It's been argued that one of the only 7 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: jobs a person can get wrong and still keep is 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: that of a TV news meteorologist. If a weather person 9 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: said it was going to be sunny in seventy five, 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: but you should have brought your parka and a snow shovel, 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: you might think twice about believing them in the future. 12 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: That happens less and less these days, though, as modern 13 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: technology allows forecasters to better track weather patterns and storm 14 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: paths up to the minute. But back in eighteen thirty 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: eight that wasn't the case, and yet Irish astrologer and 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: meteorologist Patrick Murphy still managed to shock London with a 17 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: forecast nobody could have predicted, well, nobody except Patrick. He 18 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: had come to England from Cork, Ireland in eighteen twenty two. 19 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: A few years later he launched his first publication titled 20 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of my Asthma 21 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: of eighteen twenty five. My Asthma is defined as a 22 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: vapor or fume that causes disease, like those coming off 23 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: of a swamp. It's also used to describe an unsavory atmosphere. 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: Patrick followed up his first book with a new one 25 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty entitled Rudiments of the Primary Forces in Gravity, 26 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: Magnetism and Electricity. These two books were the start of 27 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: his foray into pseudo scientific, writing about the various phenomena 28 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: around us. Within his latest home, he expounded on a 29 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: multitude of topics, including the movement of the Sun and planets, 30 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: electrical forces, and the Earth's magnetic polls. These efforts all 31 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: led to his magnum opus and the volume for which 32 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,679 Speaker 1: he has known to this day, Murphy's Weather Almanac for 33 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty eight. Now. The word almanac is believed to 34 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: have come from the Greek word for calendar. It signifies 35 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: books that were published with calendar entries for every day 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: of the year, along with the various weather and astronomical 37 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: phenomena expected on those dates. Almanacs have existed since before 38 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: the thirteenth century, but they really picked up steam with 39 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,519 Speaker 1: the printing press. Among the most famous ever printed were 40 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: the Poor Richard's Almanacs, published by Richard Saunders in seventeen 41 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: thirty two. Saunders, of course, was the pen name for 42 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: founding father Benjamin Franklin. Murphy's Weather Almanac of eighteen thirty 43 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: eight wasn't much different from the compendiums that had come before. 44 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: Each page was chock full of vital information designed to 45 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: help farmers and readers know what to expect for the 46 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: coming year. Now, even though almanacs have claimed to be 47 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: as high as eighty percent accurate, a study conducted by 48 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: the University of Illinois in nineteen eighty one found that 49 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: the popular Farmer's Almanac was only about fifty two accurate 50 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: in its forecasts. In other words, readers had just as 51 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: much of a chance of successfully guessing the weather by 52 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: pulling a prediction out of a hat. But Patrick thought 53 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: better of his powers of prognostication, and one date in 54 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: particular stuck out among all the others in his almanac, January. 55 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: You see, London winters were notoriously cold. In fact, as 56 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: we've discussed here before, the Thames was known to freeze 57 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: over every now and then, allowing locals to set up 58 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: shop on the ice and hold frost fares right on 59 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: the river. Patrick, however, didn't just predict that January would 60 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: be cold. He claimed that the weather that they would 61 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: be fair, with the lowest degree of winter temperature. When 62 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: the day finally came, temperatures dropped a whopping fifty six 63 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: degrees to a frigid negative fourteen point eight. It was 64 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,839 Speaker 1: by far the coldest day in Courted London history, and 65 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: would be for some time. Patrick had been shockingly correct 66 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: in his forecast, and as a result, there was a 67 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: run on his almanac. He printed forty five editions to 68 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: keep up with demand. Police were even called to one 69 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: shop to help preserve order among the throngs of shoppers 70 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:22,359 Speaker 1: demanding the book. Unfortunately, readers didn't bother to peruse his 71 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: publication before buying it. If they had, they would have 72 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: realized that he was about as accurate as every other 73 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: almanac out there. One hundred and sixty eight days were 74 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: half rights in their predictions, while one ninety seven were 75 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 1: all wrong. Demand dropped like a thermometer on January after that, 76 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: but Patrick Murphy had already earned his legacy In the 77 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: years following, those who had survived the freezing tempts of 78 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,559 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty eight referred to that time as Murphy's Winter. 79 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: He was never that accurate in his predictions again, and 80 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,359 Speaker 1: became something of a punchline later on. It seems that 81 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: being a one hit wonder in the almanac world was 82 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: something that Murphy I just couldn't weather Man plans and 83 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: God laughs, Expect the unexpected, or the old boy scout motto, 84 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: be prepared. We have plenty of sayings that all revolve 85 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: around the same idea, stuff happens, and Edward was only 86 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: too familiar with that concept. He was born in nineteen 87 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: eighteen in the Panama Canal Zone and Unincorporated Territory in 88 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: Central America. Edward and his family eventually made their way 89 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: north to New Jersey, where he lived for most of 90 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: his young life. After high school, Edward attended West Point, 91 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: which prepared him for entry into the United States Army 92 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 1: Air Corps just in time for World War Two. It 93 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 1: was in nineteen forty one when he was sent overseas 94 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 1: to serve even parts of China, India, and Burma. Edward 95 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: had always had something of a scientific mind, so when 96 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: the war was over and it came time for him 97 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: to get a job. He found one as a research 98 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 1: and development officer at Ohio's Right Patterson Air Force Base. 99 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: He stayed there for a short time until a special 100 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: project came a calling for him from the West coast. 101 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: Over at Edwards Air Force Base in California, a series 102 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: of rocket sled experiments were being managed by Colonel John Stapp. 103 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: Rocket sleds were elongated platforms that slid on tracks which 104 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: used actual rockets to propel them long distances at high speeds. 105 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,559 Speaker 1: It was common belief among aerospace experts that the human 106 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: body could not withstand up to eighteen G forces before dying. 107 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: Staff didn't agree and set out to prove the theory wrong. 108 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: Previous test to disprove it had been performed using crash 109 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: test dummies. The goal was to track the effects of 110 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: rapid deceleration on a human body, and Staff, dissatisfied with 111 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: the results, started using a chimpanz in his experiments, but 112 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: even that proved unsatisfactory to the exacting kernel, so he 113 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: started testing the G forces of the sleds on himself. 114 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: He would strap himself onto the platform and let the 115 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,239 Speaker 1: rockets take him for a ride. On his first test, 116 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: Staff reached ten g's over time. He was able to 117 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: get that up to thirty five gs and still survive. 118 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: Edward was tasked with analyzing the effects of these forces 119 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: on Staff's body. He'd done it before, having created a 120 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: series of sixteen censors and tools meant to gauge how 121 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: test pilots were affected during centrifugal training back in Ohio. 122 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: He suggested using modified versions of his sensors for the 123 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: rocket sled tests. Staff agreed, and a new experiment was planned. Originally, 124 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: the idea was to use another chimp as the test subject. 125 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: The Air Force didn't want to sacrifice one of its 126 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: own men in case something went wrong, but Staff knew 127 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,239 Speaker 1: a human being had to be in the driver's seat, 128 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: so he switched places with the chimpanzee. Rolling with the change, 129 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: Edward told his assistance to rig up the sensors two 130 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: stabs safety harness while he tested the rest of the 131 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: equipment before takeoff. After several safety checks and clearances with 132 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: the sensors in place, Staff was given the green light. 133 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: The rockets fired up, and the Colonel flew along the 134 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,679 Speaker 1: track like a bat out of hell. When he finally stopped, 135 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: Edward checked the readouts. Nothing, not a single piece of 136 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: evidence that Staff had ever been buckled in at all. 137 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: The experiment had failed. As it had turned out, Edwards 138 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 1: assistants had wired the sensors all wrong. They've been plugged 139 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 1: in upside down, and Edward, angry at one assistant in particular, 140 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: tossed off a short summation of his feelings, saying, if 141 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will. 142 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: Staff took his words to heart and conveyed them to 143 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: a shared philosophy among the research team. During a press conference, 144 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: he explained the saying as a way of keeping his 145 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: men on task and solving problems before they occurred. Although 146 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: this being a press conference, the raise was shortened down 147 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: a bit. Edward's original wording was condensed to a simpler one. 148 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: If it can happen, it will happen. Today, however, we 149 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: say it even more different than that, because without Edward 150 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: a Murphy, we wouldn't have Murphy's law, which states anything 151 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: that can happen will happen, or, perhaps more accurately, anything 152 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: that can go wrong will go wrong. I hope you've 153 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 154 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 155 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 156 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. 157 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 158 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 159 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 160 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:57,359 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.