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 --> 00:00:11,200 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 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Charlie was tired of 5 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: selling sewing machines. Charlie wanted to get rich, and walking 6 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: door to door in the hot summer sun fingers crossed 7 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: for a sail every few days was not going to 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: get it done. Charlie wanted to make it rain, so 9 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: he did. He'd been born in Kansas in but his 10 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: Quaker family packed up and moved to southern California. Five 11 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: years later. They settled in on their dusty ranch about 12 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: thirty five miles north of San Diego, and then life 13 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: just sort of kept going. By four, Charlie was a 14 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,960 Speaker 1: twenty nine year old sewing machine salesman who was frustrated 15 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: with his lot in life. He still lived with his parents, and, 16 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: judging by how hard they had both worked just to 17 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: stay afloat all these years, Charlie's own future was far 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: from bright and sunny. Charlie was a smart guy, though 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: he'd been paying attention, and he noticed something about the 20 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: weather as far as he could tell, rain storms had 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: a way of following big battles that involved cannons and rifles. 22 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: He wondered if there was a chemical reason why, and 23 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: started to dig into the field of pluviculture, literally the 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: science of making rain. Charlie got busy testing out his ideas. 25 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: He began to experiment with different chemicals, mixing them inside 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: a large wooden tub. When he was sure he had 27 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: the recipe right, he covered it and let it sit 28 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: for a while before carefully pushing the lid off from 29 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: some distance with a long pole. The resulting steam drifted 30 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: up into the sky and then caused rain to fall 31 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: on his father's bone dry ranch. He'd done it. The 32 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,639 Speaker 1: first place he took his services was north to Los Angeles. 33 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: They agreed to pay Charlie a thousand dollars if he 34 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:14,519 Speaker 1: could give them eighteen inches of rain, and that was 35 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: a lot of money to a poor sewing machine salesman, 36 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: close to twenty eight thousand dollars in modern American currency 37 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,639 Speaker 1: in fact. So Charlie built himself a small tower near 38 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: ruby O Canyon, put his big wooden vat on top 39 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,239 Speaker 1: of it, and let the chemicals get to work. And 40 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: it was a success. Charlie gave Los Angeles over eighteen 41 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: inches of rain and took home a big, fat paycheck. 42 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: With success under his belt and the testimony of a 43 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: happy city, he started going elsewhere. In the decade between 44 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: nineteen o five and nineteen fifteen, Charlie worked on as 45 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: many as seventeen contract jobs. Sometimes they were cities, other 46 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: times they were groups of farmers looking for a little help. 47 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: And then San Diego called. They were in the middle 48 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: of a big drought, and after hearing about Charlie's services, 49 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: they decided to give the rainmaker a try. They asked 50 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: him to fill their depleted reservoir, and he agreed. The 51 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: city council met and voted on the project and agreed 52 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: to pay him ten thousand dollars if he could deliver 53 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: on his promise. The first thing he did was build 54 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: another of his towers about sixty miles to the east 55 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: of the city, right on the edge of the Moraina River. 56 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,959 Speaker 1: I'm not sure how moving his chemicals twenty feet higher 57 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: was supposed to help a process that involves sending fumes 58 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: into the clouds to agitate them and create rain, but 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: Charlie insisted on it. That was January one of nineteen sixteen. 60 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: Four days later, the rain arrived. The local newspaper reported 61 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: on a light sprinkle that day, but it was certainly 62 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: not enough to fill the local reservoir. But it rained 63 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: the next day as well, and the next after that. 64 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: In fact, it wasn't stopping. The ranges seemed to keep coming, 65 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: pouring from the sky day night. In those first five days, 66 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: the city recorded at least seventeen inches of rain. It 67 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: was wonderful, but also a bit troubling. The rain had 68 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: filled the San Diego River and it was beginning to 69 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: spill over into the land around it. Reports of flooding 70 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: and mud slides began to pour in, as was the 71 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: news that homes were being swept away. It was still 72 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: raining on January when the reservoirs dam broke. A torrent 73 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: of water at least forty ft high, crashed down from 74 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,799 Speaker 1: the hills towards the city, destroying buildings and taking lives 75 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: along the way. It was pure and utter destruction, all 76 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: because of the rain. The January nineteen sixteen rain storm 77 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: brought thirty inches of rain into San Diego, but it 78 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: was also a disaster for Charlie. The city was so 79 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: upset over the destruction his rain had caused that they 80 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: refused to pay him. The resulting legal battle took two 81 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: decades to fizzle out, but Charlie never saw a dime 82 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: or it. He did well elsewhere for a while. He 83 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: apparently signed a contract in nine up in Canada and 84 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: received offers from Cuba, but when the Great Depression arrived, 85 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,480 Speaker 1: cities no longer had the funds to pay for something 86 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: as frivolous as rainmaking. He eventually closed up shop and 87 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: went back to selling sewing machines. Charlie Hadfield never wrote 88 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: his recipe down. He repeated it dozens and dozens of times, 89 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: and we have accounts from witnesses about what he did 90 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: with his mixture or what it smelled like, but never 91 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,679 Speaker 1: what the ingredients were. So when Charlie died in nineteen 92 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: fifty eight, he took his secret formula with him to 93 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: the grave. His recipe might be forgotten, but the catastrophe 94 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: he delivered certainly hasn't been. San Diego still remembers Hatfield's flood, 95 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: although folks are still divided on how it all really happened. Either. 96 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: Charlie Hatfield was the miracle worker he claimed to be, 97 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: or he simply manage to arrive at the perfect time 98 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: for an extraordinary act of God. I'll let you decide 99 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: which option to believe. When Catherine the Great, the longest 100 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: reigning Empress of Russia, passed away in seventeen ninety six, 101 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: her son Paul the First, ascended to the throne. That's 102 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: how things are done in a monarchy, after all, But 103 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: that doesn't mean the people had to like it. Granted, 104 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: the people of Russia had gotten used to Catherine, so 105 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: Paul seemed like a small, cheap replacement for something so 106 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:47,679 Speaker 1: powerful and irreplaceable, which might explain why the conspiracies began 107 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: almost immediately. Five years later, he was assassinated and his 108 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: son Alexander the First took the throne. Now there's been 109 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: debate for decades about that situation about whether or not 110 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: Alexander had played a part in his father's death. Certainly, 111 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: there isn't enough proof to make a solid case for it, 112 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: but there's wiggle room in there for sure. Most of 113 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: the reports from Alexander's life say that he was very 114 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: remorseful about his father's death. Maybe it was guilt or 115 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: maybe it was just grief. We'll never know, but It's 116 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: important to keep that in mind when I tell you 117 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: the rest of the story, because the next twenty four 118 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: years were a roller coaster ride for him, and it 119 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: didn't end well. There were victories, such as the eighteen 120 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: twelve defeat of Napoleon, who had tried to invade Russia 121 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: and marched to Moscow, only to be turned back, but 122 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: he was plagued by attempts on his life and even 123 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: a botched kidnapping plot. By the end of his life, 124 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: he was incredibly distrusting of the people around him and 125 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: wanted to escape at all. In eight he had his chance. 126 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: His wife had been ill for some time, and they 127 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: decided to take a journey to the southern city of 128 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: tagg and Rock on the coast of the Sea of Azov. 129 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: Along the way, he caught a cold and eventually died 130 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: of typhus. His wife passed away while his body was 131 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: being returned, and the throne passed on to his brother Nicholas. 132 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: And that's the story we're all told. But there are 133 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: rumors of something more bizarre. It said that Alexander, haunted 134 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: by remorse for his father's assassination and driven by a 135 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: desire to get out of the Spotlight hadn't died after all, 136 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: but had actually stepped down from his position as emperor 137 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: so he could remove himself from society. It would mean 138 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: two things, though, first that his confid in St. Petersburg 139 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: was empty, and second, the real Alexander lived on for 140 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,599 Speaker 1: many years elsewhere in Russia. It's a fantastic tale, but 141 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: there might actually be some truth to it. In eighteen 142 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: thirty six, someone in the mountains outside of perm claimed 143 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: to see a man who looked exactly like the former emperor. 144 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: He lived as a hermit in the area, and locals 145 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: referred to him as Father Kuzmich. One tale in particular 146 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: spoke of how a student of this monk had the 147 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: chance to visit the city, where she had an opportunity 148 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 1: to see a portrait of Emperor Alexander. Upon returning to 149 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: her teacher, she told him that he was the spitting 150 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: image of the dead ruler. Was Father Kuzmich really Alexander 151 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: the first in a sort of self imposed exile. We'll 152 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: never know for sure, but it's certainly fun to imagine 153 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: it being true that a ruler as powerful as Alexander 154 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: could simply step aside, fabricate his own death and then 155 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: live out the rest of his life helping others in 156 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: the mountains as a monk. Well, it's intriguing at the 157 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 1: very least. Father Kuzmitch passed away in eighteen sixty four 158 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: after a long life of serving and teaching. Over a 159 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: century later, in nineteen eighty four, he was canonized by 160 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: the Russian Orthodox Church. Whether he was an emperor or 161 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: a hermit, the people of Russia have refused to forget him. 162 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: And the coffin of Alexander, Well, it seems that it's 163 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: been opened back up on more than one occasion. The 164 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: most significant of those events took place in It said 165 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,319 Speaker 1: that the Soviet authorities were looking for valuables and had 166 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: opened a number of tombs to see what they could 167 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: find inside. When they reached the tomb of Alexander, they 168 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: found the royal seals on his coffin still intact. Breaking 169 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: it open, they peered inside, hoping for some lost treasure 170 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: or priceless jewelry that might be used to raise money. Instead, 171 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: they found something much less precious, lumps of lead weights. 172 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: Alexander's body. Assuming it had been there in the first place, 173 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:58,839 Speaker 1: it was nowhere to be found. I hope you've enjoyed 174 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 175 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,439 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 176 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 177 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 178 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 179 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 180 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 181 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.