1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,479 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Here is an episode from our ten episode 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: playlist that we're calling Offbeat History. Yeah, we're adding this 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: to our our regular publishing schedule as one kind of 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,279 Speaker 1: big drop all at the same time on March nineteen. 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: And that is so that you have maybe have a 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: little bit of extra entertainment options available to you, particularly 7 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: if you are self quarantined or sheltering in place. Welcome 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: to Stuff you missed in History Class, a production of 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 10 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: Polly Fry and I'm Tracy be Wilson. And today is 11 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: the second part of our two part episode on a 12 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: series that ran The New York Sun Uh in August 13 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: of eight, detailing some incredible and amazing discoveries that have 14 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: been made by viewing the lunar surface through a brand 15 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: new type of telescope created by Sir John Herschel. It 16 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: had discussed at some length bison that had been seen, 17 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: Flora goat like unicorns, and in the last chunk that 18 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:18,839 Speaker 1: we talked about before we cliff hung the first episode, 19 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: bat people right, and also the bipedal beavers with no 20 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,320 Speaker 1: tales that carried their babies around like human babies. Yeah. 21 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: I was telling our producer Nol that I want to 22 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: start a band called Lunar Beavers because that's funny to me. 23 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: I don't have any musical talent, but I'm going to 24 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: do it just the same. I figure I can at 25 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: least make band t shirts. Right, It's a great idea. 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: So now we're going to pick up with the fifth 27 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: entry in this sixth part series UH, and we will 28 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: go on to describe it and the sixth part UH 29 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: and what they contain, and then we will talk about 30 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: sort of the cultural context of all of this and 31 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: how it affected people. The fifth entry in this series 32 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: appeared in in the newspaper on Saturday, August twenty nine, 33 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: and this one started with the description of three oceans 34 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: on the surface of the Moon, which were visible even 35 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: with the puniest of telescopes. That also described seven seas 36 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: and innumerable smaller bodies of water. Additionally, there were all 37 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: manner of outcroppings that the astronomers really started to struggle 38 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: to name because there's not really a comparable geography on Earth. 39 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,559 Speaker 1: And while they were surveying all of these lunar attributes, 40 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: and again this is after they had just this is 41 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: the the following session. After they had discovered these bat people, UH, 42 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: the astronomers identified an unusual architectural figure in the landscape. 43 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,119 Speaker 1: So they paused for a moment and they adjusted their instruments, lenses, 44 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: and its settings so that they could take a closer 45 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: look at it. What they discovered was a triangle shaped 46 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: temple that was made entirely of sapphire or some other 47 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: bluestone that closely resembled sapphire. The temple had numerous massive 48 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: columns around its outside edges that were estimated to be 49 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: six feet or one pot eight meters wide and seventy 50 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: ft one tall. These columns were spaced at about twelve 51 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,639 Speaker 1: feet or three point seven ms apart. Yeah, and when 52 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: we say triangle shaped, what we mean is the footprint 53 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: of it was triangle shaped. It wasn't a pyramid. It 54 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: was kind of like if you were looking at it 55 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: from above, it was a triangle, but it rose like 56 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: a column UH in the sum of its parts. And 57 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: it was according to Dr Andrew Grant, who you will 58 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: recall if you listen to the first part, was the 59 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: assistant to UH, Sir John Herschel, who was relaying this 60 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: information to UH in Edinburgh. Scientific Journal and sharing these 61 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: notes with the press, and he said that this was 62 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: quite a beautiful structure. The roof was a golden metal, 63 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: and it appeared to mimic the look of flames. And 64 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: within the flames, as though it was being consumed by them, 65 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: was a sphere that the astronomers have observed that looked 66 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: as though it were made of a clouded copper, And 67 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: on each of the temple's three corners was a smaller 68 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: sphere of what appeared to be the same copper material. 69 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: A scroll made from the same metal as the flames 70 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: unfurled from the roof over the upper walls of the building, 71 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: and the temple was open and airy. There weren't really 72 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: any additional walls or are altars um that existed in 73 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: addition to all these columns. With the inclusion of the 74 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: flame ornamentation on the top, they estimated that it was 75 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: almost a hundred feet or thirty meters high. There were 76 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: no man, bats, or other humanoid moon beings at the temple, 77 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: only birds. And this fifth entry pretty much just describes 78 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:57,119 Speaker 1: this temple uh and then it concludes with speculation about 79 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,280 Speaker 1: the meaning of the temple and its flame symbolism. It 80 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: asked the question, quote, did they, by this record any 81 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: past calamity of their world or predict any future one 82 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: of ours. The sixth and final entry in the New 83 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: York Sun's Lunar series was printed on Monday, August one. Yes, 84 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: so that at this point they've run basically for a week. Uh, 85 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: not far from the temple discussed in the fifth entry, 86 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: which they referred to as the Veil of the Triads. 87 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: The astronomers saw similar beings to their man bats that 88 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: they had talked about in the fourth entry, which they 89 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: had named Vespertilio homo. These creatures, however, were a lot larger, 90 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: and they were lighter colored than the ones that they 91 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: had seen in the Ruby Colosseum. Doctor Grant claimed that 92 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: these man bats were quote an improved variety of the race. 93 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: The team observed these larger man bats eating yellow gourd 94 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: like fruits and then sucking the juice from a red 95 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: fruit that was sort of tape like a cucumber. Uh. 96 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: The astronomers observed these creatures and their group dynamics, and 97 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,239 Speaker 1: they noted how polite they seemed to be in terms 98 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: of their society, and they're seeming serenity overall. They also 99 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: observed eight or nine previously unseen quadruped species, including a 100 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: really elegant stag like beast that had a white coat 101 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: and black antlers. Grant commented on the way that all 102 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: of the beings of the moon seemed to cohabitate peacefully 103 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: without any sort of predator prey kind of relationship, which 104 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: kind of contradicts the earlier accounts where they decided that 105 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: there must be fish in the water because the birds 106 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: were diving for them. Yeah, that's not brought up again 107 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: at all, um And at this point, uh, they sort 108 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: of it's a shorter observational period. They kind of conclude 109 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: the day's observation. However, this is not the end of 110 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: this sixth entry in the newspaper series. After gawking at 111 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: all of this amazing stuff and the more advanced man 112 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: bats of the moon, the astronomers wrapped up for the 113 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: night by accidentally failing to correctly lower the lens and 114 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: place it horizontally. They lowered it, but they left it 115 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: in a perpendicular position, and consequently, Uh, the observatory that 116 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: Herschel and his team had constructed caught fire because of 117 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: the light that continued to reflect in the telescope because 118 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: it hadn't been laid down flat. So while the structure 119 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: and its contents were saved, there was a massive hole 120 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: that had been burned in the reflecting chamber of the observatory, 121 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: and that's why everything was abruptly cut short. Of course, 122 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: workmen were hired for a rush repair job, according to 123 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: this account by Grant, and within a week, the telescope 124 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: and its supporting elements were once again fit to do 125 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: their work. But unfortunately, at that point the moon had 126 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: moved out of observable position and it wouldn't come back 127 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: again for a bit. What follows is a whole section 128 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: where the telescope was then turned to Saturn and its rings, 129 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: and the account detailed various things about that celestial body 130 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: rather than the moon, UH, which is all a very 131 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: fascinating read, but we're going to keep focused to the 132 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: moon stuff for UH for this UH. And by the 133 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: time the moon had moved back into an observable position UH, 134 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: Grants notes indicated that Herschel was still really deep in 135 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: his Saturn studies, so that he couldn't quite refocus back 136 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: to the Moon yet. But doctor Grant and the other 137 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: two assistants that were there did decide to take another 138 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: peak at the moon, and at this point the three 139 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: found an even more beautiful group of Vespertilio homo, which 140 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: seemed to have a ceremonial social structure which was similar 141 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: to what they had seen among the bat people near 142 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: the Sapphire Temple, and an even more advanced proclivity for 143 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: producing art. But that's where the account of doctor Grant ends. 144 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 1: He said he wished to quote let the first detailed 145 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: account of appear in Dr Herschel's authenticated natural History of 146 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,840 Speaker 1: this planet, which is so kind of him. Did not 147 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: want to steal the spotlight. So, uh, we are going 148 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: to talk next about how the world of felt about 149 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 1: all of this moon talk and these amazing and fantastical discoveries. 150 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,199 Speaker 1: But before we do, we're going to pause for a 151 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: word from a sponsor. Okay, So back to uh the 152 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: New York Sun's published accounts based on the notes of 153 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:43,959 Speaker 1: doctor Grant, of the things they had seen on the 154 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: Moon as part of Sir John Herschel's expedition. Uh So, 155 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: this newspaper series featured a moon filled with lush landscapes 156 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: of crystals and poppies, fauna similar to bison unicorn and 157 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: sheep and a relatively advanced race of bad people. Uh 158 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: so you are probably wondering what on earth did the 159 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,679 Speaker 1: public make of all this? And the short answer was 160 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: people were really excited. They debated over the veracity of 161 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: these reports from the lunar surface. There were lectures given 162 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: and open panels to discuss the implications of this new 163 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: finding of life on the moon, and other news outlets 164 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: started picking up the story even before all of the 165 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: installments had been published, so like by the second one, 166 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: they began to reprint this and within weeks the tale 167 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: of lunar civilization had really kind of traveled around the world. 168 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: Uh it's as one outlet picked it up and shared 169 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:43,839 Speaker 1: it with another, etcetera, etcetera. The Sun made a nice 170 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: chunk of cash from this hoax. The readership numbers might 171 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: have bumped up a little, but the paper also sold 172 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 1: really popular pamphlets about the discoveries, prints of artist renderings 173 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: of the various elements that have been described in the series, 174 00:10:56,679 --> 00:11:00,199 Speaker 1: and that included the solar temple and the bat people. Yeah, 175 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: those images are fantastic. I love them. Um And in 176 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: terms of context in the greater cultural landscape, a decade 177 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: before the Great Moon Hoax, German professor at Munich University 178 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 1: had published a paper that translates to discovery of many 179 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: distinct traces of lunar inhabitants, especially of one of their 180 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: colossal buildings. And this one was not intended as a hoax. 181 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: That discusses the multicolored patches of the Moon and how 182 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: they might relate to gradations, uh how those gradations might 183 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: relate to possible different climate zones, different crops, and perhaps 184 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: even different cities and man made structures. Just a few 185 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: months before The New York Sun ran this story, there 186 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: was also an Edgar Allen Post short story that came 187 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: out called The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Fall and 188 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 1: that had been published in the Southern Literary Messenger. This 189 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: was the story of a man's return to holland that 190 00:11:57,360 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: when he was filled with stories of a balloon advention 191 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: or that had taken him to the Moon. This had 192 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: been intended, as was the case for satire at the time, 193 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: to fool at least some of its readers, but post 194 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:12,680 Speaker 1: story was quickly recognized as fiction by typical readers most 195 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: of the time. Further, the Southern Literary Messenger had a 196 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: really small circulation, whereas the New York Sun had a 197 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: much larger readership. Yeah, some of the numbers that you'll see, uh, 198 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: we'd like in the nineteen thousands for distribution. There is 199 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: some debate about what the true numbers were and how 200 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: much of that was a bump from this story. But 201 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: thousands versus a much smaller group that we're reading, uh, 202 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: the Southern Literary Messenger. And whether the Hans Fall tale 203 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: inspired this lengthy fae scientific series of notes that the 204 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: Sun published, We don't know for certain. It's certainly entirely 205 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: possible that both were developed independently. But this was a 206 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: time when an expedition like Herschel's trip to South Africa, 207 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: which was a real thing to observe. Hayley's comment, was 208 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: big news, and astronomy and the possibility of life on 209 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 1: other worlds were really sparking the imaginations of the general public. 210 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: And in fact, forty years earlier, Sir John Herschel's father, 211 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: William Herschel, had published a paper speculating about life on 212 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: other planets. So this was a topic that was kind 213 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: of rumbling through culture already. The Sun's series had been 214 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: really carefully designed to capitalize on all that interest in 215 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 1: space and life on other worlds, and all of that 216 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 1: it was grounded in truth thanks to the use of 217 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: Herschel's name and his very well reported trip research trip 218 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: to Cape Town. It developed slowly, first establishing all of 219 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: the scientific instruments that were being used in the research, 220 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,719 Speaker 1: and then it unwound the details of these lunar wonders 221 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: bit by bit. And while you will hear and read 222 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: if you look at many historians treatment of this different 223 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:01,439 Speaker 1: accounts of really how this kind of UH came out 224 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 1: in terms of numbers of like what proportion of the 225 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: population believed it versus what didn't. At least for the 226 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 1: first several installments, it seemed that a lot of people 227 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: did believe these claims, or were at least sort of 228 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: wanted to believe them enough to think about them of 229 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,559 Speaker 1: flora and fauna that were being observed with this amazing 230 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 1: fictional telescope. But the fourth installment, so that's where they 231 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: introduced these bat people, UH, went a little too far 232 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,560 Speaker 1: past believability for a lot of readers. That kind of 233 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: tipped the scale of like, uh, you've gone too far now. 234 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: By the time the fifth entry was published. Most of 235 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: the other papers had started denouncing the entirety of this 236 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 1: series as a hoax. Richard Adams Lock, a British journalist 237 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: who had moved to America, was accused of penning the 238 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 1: faux discovery narrative. Lock had been hired as an editor 239 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: of the Sun just two months before this hoax began, 240 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: and Locke actually addressed these accusations with a nebulous denial 241 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: letter that he wrote of the New York Herald on 242 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: August thirty one, so that was the same day that 243 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: the last installment of the tale was published in the 244 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 1: New York Sun. And in this letter Locke wrote, quote, 245 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: I beg to state, as unequivocally as the words can 246 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: express it, that I did not make those discoveries. And 247 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: it is my sincere conviction, founded on a careful examination 248 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: of the internal evidence of the work in which they 249 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 1: first appeared, that if made at all, they were made 250 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: by the great astronomer, to whom all Europe, if not 251 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: an incredulous America, will undoubtedly ascribe them. A Philadelphia paper 252 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: reprinted Locke's letter along with an advertisement for real estate 253 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: auction to sell off newly discovered property identified by Sir 254 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: John Herschel, the sale of which could include the native 255 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: one horn sheep with the fleshy lid flaps if the 256 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: buyer so desired. Yeah. So some people were definitely kind 257 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: of picking up the joke and running with it in 258 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: their own ways. Uh. And even though at this point 259 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: it clearly seemed to all be one big lark and 260 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: most people had accepted it as such, there were still 261 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: people who believed the accounts. Plus there was this added complication. 262 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: Remember we're talking about a hundred and eighty years ago 263 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: that in some places the news of the discovery had spread, 264 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: but the follow up hoax discussions had not, So they 265 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: were only getting the accounts as though they were real. 266 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: They had not had any of the follow up talk 267 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: that was going on in other papers. Of course, there 268 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: was no doctor Andrew Grant who had been traveling and 269 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: working with Sir John Herschel. He was completely made up. 270 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: But Herschel did exist, and he had been working on 271 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: a new telescope, and he did travel to the Cape 272 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: of Good Hope in thirty four. It was on that 273 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: trip that he made some important observations of Howe's comments. 274 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: So that little tiny carnel of truth fueled the fires 275 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 1: of belief as this whole hoax played out, and Edgar 276 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: Allen Poe believed that Locke was the author of the 277 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: Great Moon Hoax as the serial came to be known. 278 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: It certainly wasn't published that way, but later on people 279 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: started calling it that, and he suggested that Locke had 280 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: actually stolen the Hans Fall idea and reworked it. And 281 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: after almost ten years of complaining about this, as though 282 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,439 Speaker 1: it had been a slight to him, Poe wrote another 283 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,440 Speaker 1: story which was entitled The Balloon Hoax. And this was 284 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,639 Speaker 1: about an intensely speedy balloon trip across the Atlantic Ocean. 285 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: If I'm remembering correctly, it like took seventy five hours. 286 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: And this too was a hoax, apparently inspired by the 287 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: Great Moon Hoax, and it ended up being published in 288 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: the New York Sun. The Balloon Hoax fooled a lot 289 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: more people than the story of Hans Fall, so the 290 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,400 Speaker 1: New York Sun never retracted this story. It also never 291 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: named the true author, although most historians do believe that 292 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: it was Locke. We'll talk about that more in a moment. 293 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: While most people and other news publications seemed unbothered by this, 294 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: the Sun's primary competitor, The New York Harold declared The 295 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,880 Speaker 1: Sun's printing of the series to be quote highly improper, wicked, 296 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: and in fact a species of He didn't swindling, but 297 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: most people saw it as basically a clever joke. The 298 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: reason that most people were willing to let this hoax 299 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: go without protests about The Sun's journalistic integrity and the 300 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: ethics that they should have upheld sort of stem from 301 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: the fact that The New York Sun was a penny paper. 302 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 1: Uh at the time, there were penny papers, and there 303 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: were six cent papers, and six cent papers at the 304 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: time were aimed at more discerning readers, usually a little 305 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: more educated, a little more highbrow, whereas penny papers UH 306 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: printed more lurid news. They would print gossip, they would 307 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: print crime reports and murder sheets, and they were aimed 308 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: at sort of a wider audience. They just weren't considered 309 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:43,399 Speaker 1: on the same level as the six cent papers. I 310 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: think this is similar to the divide between the tabloid 311 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: format papers and broadsheet papers today. It is, although penny 312 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: papers would report real news as well, but they had 313 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 1: sort of that leverage to have a little bit of 314 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: wits and and tabloids have basically have definitely broken some 315 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 1: legitimate stories before. Uh, you know, you are the classic 316 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,120 Speaker 1: bat boy cover of a you know, a tabloid papers 317 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: is what this whole story kind of reminds me of. 318 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: And who doesn't love that boy. Uh. We're going to 319 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about Locke and about Sir 320 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,679 Speaker 1: John Herschel in just a moment, but before that, we 321 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 1: are going to have a quick word from a sponsor, 322 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 1: if that's cool with Tracy. Sure. So, Almost five years 323 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: after the Great Moon Hoax was published, and after Locke, 324 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: who was noted to be kind of a heavy drinker, 325 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: was said to have confessed his authorship to various colleagues 326 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: in the newspaper industry in various states of intoxication, Locke 327 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: actually wrote a letter to the paper New World, and 328 00:19:57,600 --> 00:19:59,439 Speaker 1: at this point he had returned to life as a 329 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: freelance writer. After he left the Son, he went to 330 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:04,159 Speaker 1: another job at the New Era, but then when he 331 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: resigned from that, he went back to freelance. Locke's letter 332 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: appeared on the front page of the New World on 333 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: May sixteenth of eighteen forty, and in it he said 334 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 1: that he had written the Great Moon hoax, but that 335 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,640 Speaker 1: it had not been intended as a hoax. He claimed 336 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,120 Speaker 1: that it had been written as satire, intended to skewer 337 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,879 Speaker 1: the effect that religion was having on science, which he 338 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:30,639 Speaker 1: believed led to the acceptance of fanciful thinking over solid truth, 339 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,399 Speaker 1: and so that would seem to clear the um the 340 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: case on whether or not Alack had written it. However, 341 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: there is still some debate over whether he could have 342 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,840 Speaker 1: even written this series, given the information about astronomy that 343 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,159 Speaker 1: can that it contained, and that some people say he 344 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: just would not have known. Uh. It is of course 345 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: entirely possible that Locke could have consulted with experts, or 346 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 1: that multiple writers worked on these accounts that they put 347 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: forward as the work of this fictional uh dr Andrew Grant. 348 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: And it's also entirely conceivable that Locke may have learned 349 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: enough about astronomy through his own reading. He was apparently 350 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,880 Speaker 1: a very well read man and sort of a lifelong 351 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,919 Speaker 1: learner that he could have written this piece without assistance. 352 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,640 Speaker 1: So it's not an open and shut but most people 353 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: still think Locke did do the writing. You may be wondering, 354 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: I know I was exactly what Sir John Herschel thought 355 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: of all of this, And while all of this work 356 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: was going down in the States, Sir John Herschel was 357 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: still in South Africa doing actual, legitimate astronomy work. In 358 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,399 Speaker 1: late eighteen thirty five, he was given a copy of 359 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: the narrative that The Sun had published, which had cited 360 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: his work, and his initial reactions seemed to be one 361 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: of amusement. He said to have remarked that his own 362 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: actual work would probably seem quite dull by comparison once 363 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: it was published. So even though the initial reception on 364 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: his part was pretty jolly, over time that amusement wore 365 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: right off. Uh. Several years down the road, he wrote 366 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: a letter to his aunt Caroline Herschel, who was also 367 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: an astronomer of some renowned I have been pestered from 368 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: all quarters with that ridiculous hoax about the moon in English, French, 369 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: Italian and German. As for the Sun, it continued its 370 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,119 Speaker 1: circulation until it merged with the New York World Telegram 371 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty, and that company eventually went under in 372 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:30,640 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty seven. And that's the great Moon hoax, which 373 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: I think I did not credit earlier, but our listener 374 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: Brian wrote to us and mentioned this a while back, 375 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,240 Speaker 1: and it kind of went on my list and I've 376 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: been eyeballing it ever since, so I'm glad that this 377 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 1: was the week that I carved out time to do it. Yeah. 378 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,720 Speaker 1: I UM, I was actually out of the office while 379 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: you were working on this, and you had emailed me 380 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:50,280 Speaker 1: and said that we were going to talk about the 381 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: moon hoax, and I was immediately really excited because I 382 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: loved that episode of The Memory Palace that you mentioned 383 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: at the top of the episode. If you don't listen 384 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: to the Memory Palace, it is quite different from what 385 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 1: we do. They are very short episodes. They usually have 386 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,679 Speaker 1: some music that goes along with them in the background, 387 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: and it's more like a brief story about something that 388 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 1: happened in history. UM. I find them to be very 389 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: lovely and charming, and the one on this is particularly 390 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 1: lovely and charming. Yeah. I like to think of it 391 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 1: as it uh like history as art. Yeah podcast. Yeah 392 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,879 Speaker 1: there there, it's really really delightfully done. I like it heaps. 393 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today for this classic. 394 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: If you have heard any kind of email address or 395 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 1: maybe a Facebook you are l during the course of 396 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: the episode, that might be obsolete. It might be doubly 397 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: obsolete because we have changed our email address again. You 398 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,920 Speaker 1: can now reach us at history podcast at i heart 399 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: radio dot com, and we're all over social media at 400 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 1: missed in History. And you can subscribe to our show 401 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,400 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the I heart Radio app, 402 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuffy miss in 403 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: History Class is a production of I heart Radio. For 404 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:13,680 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 405 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,919 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 406 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: H