1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Animals seem especially in tune 5 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: with the world in a way that humans can't begin 6 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: to comprehend. In two thousand ten, nursing Home made headlines 7 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: when the cat it kept on its premises was believed 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: to have successfully predicted the deaths of fifty patients simply 9 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: by sitting with them in their final hours. Scientists were baffled, 10 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: but it was clear that the cat knew something nobody 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: else did. Such occurrences sound far fetched, but they're actually 12 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: quite common. Cats and dogs have been able to detect pregnancies, illness, 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: is and severe weather all before their humans ever realized 14 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,559 Speaker 1: what's going on. And perhaps the greatest evidence of such 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: intuition happened in China in nineteen seventy five. The city 16 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: of High Kings, one million citizens, had never experienced a 17 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: major environmental event. It was your average city, with the 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: dynamic skyline filled with buildings of all shapes and sizes, shops, restaurants, offices, apartments, 19 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: all within walking distance of Liaodong Bay. Seismologists had threatened 20 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: the possibility of an earthquake over the previous few months, 21 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,559 Speaker 1: but it had never materialized, so when they came back 22 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: with another dire warning, no one cared. Like the villagers 23 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: who heard the boy cry wolf, the city's people had 24 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: stopped listening. Then, in February of nineteen seventy five, residents 25 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: noticed something bizarre going on around the city. It had 26 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: been a particularly cold winter that year, and large bodies 27 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: of water had frozen all over. However, a portion of 28 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: the ice in a frozen reservoir had melted due to 29 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: a sudden burst of high temperatures. Snakes and rats that 30 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: had been hiding from the cold left their nests and 31 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: quickly died as they succumbed to the ice. Cold. Ground 32 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: water levels in lakes, ponds, and rivers fluctuated wildly elsewhere. 33 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: An express train traveling from Beijing was on its way 34 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: to High King when flashes of purple lights illuminated the 35 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: sky above. The engineer applied the emergency brake out of 36 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: fear of what was ahead, and in perhaps the most 37 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: significant omen of impending doom, local livestock and pets started 38 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: behaving abnormally. Cows and horses refused to stand still, pacing 39 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: in their pens until they grew tired. The rats that 40 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: hadn't frozen to death stumbled around like they had been drinking. 41 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: Chickens stayed out of their coops, and other birds refused 42 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: to come down from the safety of the sky. Then 43 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: there were the dogs, who provided the greatest warning of all. 44 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: They barked for hours, refusing to quit as they let 45 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: their owners know what was about to happen. They sensed 46 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: the ground shifting beneath their sensitive pause, and not long after, 47 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: minor trembles started to rumble throughout the city. Authorities placed 48 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: everyone on high alert and ordered a full evacuation of 49 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: the city. Although there were a few who didn't listen 50 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,359 Speaker 1: to the order, most of the population did and they 51 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: made it out in time. At seven thirty six pm 52 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: on February four, it happened a seven point five magnitude 53 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: earthquake hit the city, leveling roughly nine of its structures. 54 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: Over two thousand people died and more than twenty seven 55 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: thousand were injured, but thankfully, tens of thousands of residents 56 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: had managed to evacuate before the quake struck. In fact, 57 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: the quake was so large it was felt as far 58 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: away as Soul in South Korea, as well as parts 59 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: of Russia, and had the animals been ignored, scientists predicted 60 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: that the death toll might have reached more than one 61 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: hundred fifty thousand. But thanks to some loud pups and 62 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: dizzy rats, almost everyone was saved and the city was 63 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: able to rebuild. And perhaps the strangest thing of all 64 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: is that similar events have happened throughout the world, although 65 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: with far less successful results. One year later, the same 66 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: symptoms that had preempted the quake in High Kang occurred 67 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: in the city of Tangshan in northeastern China. Chickens stopped 68 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: eating and clucked wildly, Goldfish nearly jumped out of their bowls, 69 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: mice ran for cover, and of course, dogs barked incessantly. 70 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,679 Speaker 1: All of the animals sent something building below the surface 71 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: of the city, yet no one did anything about it. 72 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: No one evacuated. Over a million people were jostled out 73 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: of bed by a magnitude seven point six earthquake. Tangshan 74 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: was reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes. When 75 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: it was over two hundred forty thousand people had perished 76 00:04:54,720 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: if only someone there had listened to the animals. Some 77 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: arguments start over little things the toilet seat was left up, 78 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: or someone forgot to put gas in the car after 79 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,679 Speaker 1: they used it. Other times arguments stemmed from deep wounds 80 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: inflicted during a time of strife. The murder of Asa 81 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: McCoy at the hands of the hat Fields comes to mind. 82 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: And occasionally disagreements turn into something more, something bigger than 83 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: an argument or a feud. Sometimes they turn into all 84 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: out war. You wouldn't know it based on the lack 85 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: of news reports, but Canada and Denmark have quietly been 86 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: waging war against each other since the early nineteen thirties. 87 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: I know it sounds weird that Canada, America's friendly neighbor 88 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: to the north, would be at odds with a country 89 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: four thousand miles away that is often voted as the 90 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: happiest place to live. But that's exactly what happened, and unsurprisingly, 91 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: it's over a piece of land. It's known as Hans Island, 92 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: and in the early eighteen hundreds it was considered part 93 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: of Denmark's territories, along with nearby Greenland. That is until 94 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: America purchased Alaska, and the British colonies within North America 95 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: were combined into one dominion of Canada. After that, the 96 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: US and the British started looking around for more land 97 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: to take ownership of. Then, in eighty Britain gave all 98 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: of the land within its British Arctic Territory to Canada 99 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: to keep it out of American hands. Hans Island wasn't 100 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,479 Speaker 1: officially listed in the deal, but that didn't mean it 101 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,919 Speaker 1: wasn't part of the territory. It was simply overlooked. But 102 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: then a new wrench was thrown into the mix. In 103 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties, Danish explorers mapped the island and its 104 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: location with respect to Greenland and Canada, and they found 105 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: a problem. They discovered Hans Island had the unfortunate position 106 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: of rising precisely between both countries. Under international law, any 107 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: territory within twelve miles of a country shore belongs to 108 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: that country. Can you guess where Hans Island falls exactly 109 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: twelve miles from Canada on one side and twelve miles 110 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: from Greenland on the other. The question of ownership has 111 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: been contentious, to say the least. In nineteen thirty three, 112 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: the Permanent Court of International Justice declared Denmark the owner 113 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: of the island. However, after the court disbanded, the ruling 114 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: was deemed meaningless and the battle over ownership over Hans 115 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: Island continued. Things quieted down over the next few decades 116 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: as both countries took care of more pressing matters. I mean, 117 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: it's not like there was much to fight over. Hans 118 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: Island stands roughly one mile wide, and it's entirely uninhabitable. 119 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: There are no trees, no soil, and it's surrounded entirely 120 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: by water. It's literally just an enormous rock in the 121 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: middle of the rate. But none of that matters to 122 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: the Danes and the Canadians. To them land as land, 123 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: and in the mid nineteen eighties, the battle over this 124 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: tiny island started anew. The Danish Minister for Greenland paid 125 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: Hans Island a visit in four and brought with him 126 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: two things, a Danish flag and a bottle of schnaps. 127 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,559 Speaker 1: He planted the flag and left the bottle at its base, 128 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: along with the sign that said welcome to the Danish Island. 129 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: Not long after, Canadian officials came to the island and 130 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: brought their own gifts for their Danish neighbors. They tore 131 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: down the Danish flag and dumped out the schnaps, and 132 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: in their place they erected a sign reading Welcome to 133 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: Canada and left behind a bottle of Canadian whiskey. And 134 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,839 Speaker 1: that's how the Whiskey War has raged on all these years. 135 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: Each country's leader makes a pilgrimage to the island, replaces 136 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: the other side's flag and alcohol, and then heads home. 137 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: Canada and Denmark have tried working out new ways of 138 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: dealing with the island, but nothing has stuck. They don't 139 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: worry too much about it, though. Eventually both sides will 140 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: come to an understanding about Hans Island and the Whiskey 141 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: War will come to a bloodless, humorous end. Until that happens, 142 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: just pour yourself another shot and maybe put on a movie. 143 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: Might I suggest something starring The Rock. I hope you've 144 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 145 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 146 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 147 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. 148 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore which is 149 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show and you can 150 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the world of Lore 151 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.