1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: Growing up, everyone got bored in school from time to time. 7 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: One of the things that can make for an especially 8 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: uninteresting class is learning seemingly useless information. When in life 9 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: will we ever use long division, or understand tectonic plate subduction, 10 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: or need to recall all fifty state capitals. Well, there 11 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: was one young girl in two thousand and four who 12 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: paid attention to seemingly useless information in her school, and 13 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: it ended up saving dozens of lives. Tilly Smith's parents 14 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: saved all they could to take her and her sister 15 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: away on a Crispmas holiday to Thailand. They thought that 16 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: it would be a nice break from the cold winter 17 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: in England and they had never been able to take 18 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: the girls on a holiday before. Little did they know 19 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: they picked an extremely fateful time to go to Southeast Asia. 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: The family enjoyed their time in Thailand. At first, the 21 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: jungle was beautiful, the hotels were very accommodating, and the 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: weather was warm. That was until the morning of December 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: twenty sixth, when they were walking along the beach near 24 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: their hotel. The sky was gray and the water seemed strange. 25 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: Tilly looked around and was surprised how far the water 26 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: had receded. The waves weren't gently coming and going as usual, 27 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: but had instead retreated all the way back to the horizon. 28 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: There were swimmers and whole boats left in the sand, 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: wondering where the water had gone. It confused everyone around Tilly, 30 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: but the phenomenon intrigued her. It seemed familiar somehow, and 31 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: that's when she remembered back to just a few weeks earlier, 32 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: when she was bored in class. Her science teacher had 33 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,519 Speaker 1: been talking about something called a tsunami and showed a 34 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: video of one in Hawaii, where beforehand all the water 35 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: was sucked away from the beach. Tilly's heart started to pound, 36 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: and she knew what she needed to do. She told 37 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: her parents that this was a sign of a tsunami 38 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: and they needed to get off the beach. Her parents 39 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: had never heard the word before they barely knew what 40 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: she was saying. She kept screaming at them that they 41 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: had to go back. Her younger sisters started to cry, 42 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: but her parents were just annoyed. Her father took her 43 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: sister back to the hotel to try and calm her down, 44 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: but her mother insisted on continuing their walk. She thought 45 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: Tilly was just acting out. It was agonizing. Tilly wanted 46 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: to save herself, but she didn't want to leave her 47 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: mom behind. Ultimately, she felt she had no choice. If 48 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: her mom wouldn't listen, she would have to leave her. 49 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: She ran back to the hotel, where she found her 50 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: father and her sister in the lobby. They were talking 51 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: with a security guard who happened to be Japanese, and 52 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: when Tilly's father repeated the word that she had used, tsunami, 53 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: he knew exactly what it meant. He ran to the 54 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: beach and saw the water receding. By then, the giant 55 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: wave could already be seen on the edge of the horizon. 56 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: Hotel staff were quickly to evacuate the entire beach, including 57 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: Tilly's mom. The wave was hot on their heels and 58 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: it crashed down onto the beach just as they made 59 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: it to the lobby, They screamed and ran farther inside 60 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: as the wave blew through the doors and windows and 61 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: flooded the building. It was terrifying, but the walls were 62 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: enough to protect them from the worst of it. They 63 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: had survived. In the hours that followed, they learned that 64 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: this had been just one of many deadly waves that 65 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: had emanated from an underwater earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. 66 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: Two hundred and thirty thousand people died throughout Southeast Asia, 67 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: locals and tourists alike. Tilly and her family had to 68 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: witness as hotel staff and fellow tourists cope with the 69 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: loss of loved ones Over the next few days. It 70 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: wasn't uncommon to see people sobbing on the plane ride 71 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: back home. Today, the word tsunami is one that many 72 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: people know in part because of this disaster, which was 73 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: one of the deadliest in modern history. Curiously, it's believed 74 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: that about one hundred more people would have died that 75 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: day if Tilly hadn't remembered a seemingly useless bit of 76 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: trivia that she learned in school and worn the security guard. 77 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: It's a reminder that no knowledge is useless, okay, except 78 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: maybe for long division. All Gustav ever wanted was to 79 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: work in the family business, but his family wanted no 80 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: business with him. It hadn't started out that way. When 81 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: Gustav was born in eighteen thirty two near Dijon, France. 82 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: His tight knit family was essential to raising him. His 83 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: parents spent nearly all their time at their charcoal business, 84 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: leaving young Gustav to be raised by his grandmother. As 85 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: he grew older, his uncle, Jean Baptiste, took a special 86 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: interest in his education. Jean Baptiste had a business distilling 87 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: vinegar and owned a chemical plant in Dijon. While Gustav 88 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: was an okay student, he gladly spent hours listening to 89 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: his uncle talk about chemistry, mining, theology, and philosophy. His 90 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: uncle's teaching set Gustave on the path to school, where 91 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: he studied chemistry at one of France's most prestigious universities, 92 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 1: and it was during this time that something drew Gustav 93 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: to engineering as well as chemistry. It's possible that it 94 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: was the eighteen fifty five World's Fair in Paris, which 95 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: his mother bought him a ticket to, wandering the chan salize, 96 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: and gazing up at the magnificent structures newly built for 97 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 1: the fair, young Gustav found himself inspired. This shift in 98 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: interest proved to be lucky for him, because when Gustav 99 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: returned home later that year after school, things had irrevocably 100 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: changed his whole life. Gustav had had a plan. He 101 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: would get an education, then go to work for his 102 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: beloved uncle, distilling vinegar and working with chemicals. But this 103 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: wasn't to be. We don't entirely know what happened, but 104 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: somehow the family began to feud and Gustav's uncle refused 105 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: to take him on as an assistant. With his well 106 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: laid plans in complete disarray, Gustav had to figure out 107 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,279 Speaker 1: what he was going to do with the rest of 108 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: his life. He started assisting a brother in law who 109 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: ran a foundry, and then worked as a secretary to 110 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: a railroad engineer, and when that fell through, a stroke 111 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: of good luck finally befell him. The railroad engineer got 112 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: Gustav a job designing a bridge for the railway. For 113 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: the first time, Gustav was designing and engineering something real, 114 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: an elegant bridge made of iron, and he found that 115 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: Not only did it suit him, but he was brilliant 116 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: at it. He had a special talent for creating graceful 117 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: yet sturdy iron structures that revolutionized railway travel in France. 118 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: His bridges weren't just functional, they were breathtakingly beautiful, proving 119 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: that engineering could be both practical and artistic. This talent 120 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: didn't go unnoticed, and soon enough his work was in 121 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: demand far beyond France. His innovative designs reached Spain, Portugal, 122 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: and even South America. Gustav spent the next few decades 123 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: leaving his mark on the architectural world. He built railway 124 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: stations in Hungary and churches in Peru, Fulfilling his childhood dreams. 125 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: He designed several pavilions for the Paris World's Fairs in 126 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty seven and eighteen seventy eight, and in eighteen 127 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: eighty one he was even asked for help by a 128 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: sculptor creating a gift from Paris to the United States, 129 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: and so Gustav created the solid internal structure for the 130 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty foot tall Statue of Liberty. But 131 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: Gustav's most famous work had not yet been conceived. That 132 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: would come in eighteen eighty nine, at the grandest Paris 133 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: World's Fair ever. For the fair, a public competition was 134 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: announced for the exposition's centerpiece. Gustav and two other engineers 135 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: had been working on an idea for a colossal metal 136 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: tower one thousand feet tall, meant to evoke strength and grace. 137 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: They entered the competition and won. They had convinced the judges. 138 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: Now to convince the rest of France. There were critics 139 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: who simply believed the tower could not be built. They 140 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: claimed the design was too shoddy and the materials wouldn't 141 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: hold up. Others simply said that it would be an eyesore. 142 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: A tall, modern metal tower against the beautiful neoclassical architecture 143 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: of Paris. It was unthinkable. One person even called it 144 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: a giant, ugly street lamp. Undeterred, Gustav set to work. 145 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 1: Using more than eighteen thousand iron parts and over two 146 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: point five million rivets, his team erected a tower unlike 147 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: anything the world had ever seen. It stood as the 148 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: tallest man made structure in the world and held that 149 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: record for over forty years. At first, many Parisians hated it. Writers, artists, 150 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 1: and intellectuals signed petitions calling it a monstrosity, but as 151 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: the years passed by, the tower became not just an 152 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: accepted but the city's most beloved landmark. Today, millions of 153 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: visitors flocked to it every year, proving that great design 154 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: often takes time to be appreciated. And over one hundred 155 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: and thirty five years after his masterpiece first grace the 156 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: city skyline, Gustav's name is still one of the most 157 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: recognized in Paris when it came to making Marvel's Alexandra. 158 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: Gustav Eifel is one engineer who towered above the rest. 159 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 160 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 161 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 162 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 163 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 164 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 165 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,839 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 166 00:09:54,040 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: Worldolore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.