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 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of curiosities. Everyone needs a hero. 5 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: I think it's fair to say that many of us 6 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: have been inspired by the amazing lives of other people. 7 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,279 Speaker 1: Heroes give us a target, a destination that we might 8 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: try and reach for ourselves. They drive us forward and 9 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: call us to action. So it's no wonder that Charlie 10 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: fell in love with the story of Sir John Franklin. 11 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: He was a British naval officer in the first half 12 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,959 Speaker 1: of the nineteenth century who had a taste for adventure. 13 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: This was a time when people were still trying to 14 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: find an easier way to get from the Atlantic Ocean 15 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: to the Pacific fick then sailing all the way around 16 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: the tip of South America. They called this elusive route 17 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: the Northwest Passage and assumed that it was somewhere north 18 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: of Canada through the icy waters of the Arctic. Franklin 19 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: had the experience to get the job done too. He 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: was a rear admiral had served as governor of Tasmania 21 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: and over the years had already helped explore the Hudson 22 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: Bay in North America. He wasn't a slouch, that's for sure, 23 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: and he was a fighter too. On one expedition that 24 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: ended in eighteen twenty two, he and his crew got 25 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: into such dire straits that at one point they were 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: forced to try and eat their own leather shoes. But 27 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: it was his last journey that he's best known for. 28 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: His own expedition to find that undiscovered Northwest passage. He 29 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: was given a large crew, food for three years, and 30 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: two sturdy ships that you might have heard of, the 31 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: Terror and the Arabas, named after the Greek god of darkness. 32 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: If you know your history, then you know that the 33 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: voyage was a failure. In fact, Franklin and his crew 34 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: were never heard from again. And that's the story of 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: inspiration that caught Charlie's attention. He read about it in 36 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: his local Vermont newspaper when it happened in eighteen forty seven, 37 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: and it stuck with him every day after that. He 38 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: wanted to be an explorer like Franklin. In fact, he 39 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: wanted to be the explorer who found Franklin. So he 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: set out aboard a ship in eighteen sixty to do 41 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: just that. He and the others made it about as 42 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: far as Baffin Island, up in Frobisher Bay, and then 43 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: winter caused them to stop and wait. He heard about 44 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: Franklin from the local Inuit people and got the impression 45 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: that the legendary explorer and his crew might actually still 46 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: be alive. So after returning from that first voyage in 47 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two, he immediately began planning a return trip. 48 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: He was this close to learning the truth and possibly 49 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,239 Speaker 1: even making his own great contribution to the world of exploration. 50 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: Arlie could feel it in his bones. His second expedition 51 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 1: began in July of eighteen sixty four and lasted five 52 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: whole years on King William Island. Charlie was able to 53 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: find the remains of Franklin's expedition, but it was nothing 54 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: more than artifacts. No one had survived the tragedy of 55 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: the Terror and the Erebus, and that was a realization 56 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: that must have crushed Charlie's spirits. He didn't give up, 57 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: though in some ways he'd succeeded. He gave the world 58 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: a definitive answer about the Franklin expedition and closure was 59 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: a good thing, but it also left Charlie believing that 60 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: he was somehow faded to follow in Franklin's footsteps to 61 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: leave his own mark on history through brave daring exploration, 62 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: So he planned yet another trip. With funding from the 63 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: US Congress and a ship of his own, Charlie headed 64 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: out in July of eighteen seventy one to try and 65 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: reach the North Pole. He had a crew of twenty 66 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: five men with him, including a German physician named Dr Bessels, 67 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: who was there to serve as his science officer. But 68 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: even with all of those resources, things were rocky. His 69 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: sailing master was a drunk who kept sneaking alcohol from 70 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: the cargo area. Dr Bessels was constantly arguing with him, 71 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: and the weather wasn't cooperating with their plans. In fact, 72 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: even though they had gone farther north than any previous expedition, 73 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,159 Speaker 1: the sea ice was becoming too thick to move forward, 74 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: so they guided their ship into a nearby bay for arrest. 75 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: Side note, Charlie was so grateful for that bay that 76 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: he named it Thank God Harbor, because why not? Right? Anyway, 77 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: things didn't improve. In fact, as the winter got colder, 78 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: the ice got thicker, and so their weight got longer. 79 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: Days became weeks, weeks became months, and patient people became unbearable. 80 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:56,799 Speaker 1: At one point, Charlie left the ship on a short 81 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: solo expedition to look around and see if there might 82 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: be an their way through the ice. But after reading 83 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: about all the personal issues on the trap ship, I 84 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: also think he just needed some space to think. When 85 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: he returned, he was exhausted and cold. The first thing 86 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: he apparently did was asked for a cup of hot coffee, 87 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: which was quickly rounded up for him and delivered to 88 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: his cabin. A short while later, though, he began to 89 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: complain about not feeling well. Within days he could barely 90 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: talk or sit up in bed, and a short while 91 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: after that he was dead. Later the crew took his 92 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: body to shore and managed to dig a shallow gray 93 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: for his coffin. They held a little funeral there in 94 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: the frigid cold, and then waited for their chance to 95 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: go home. It's interesting to note that Franklin was killed 96 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: by the elements, but Charlie Charles Francis Hall, as history 97 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: will remember him, was killed by something else. At least 98 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: that's what two historians believed back in nineteen so they 99 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: traveled north to Greenland Halloween in Charlie's footsteps, to the 100 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: very shore of Thank God Harbor, where they searched for 101 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: his frozen grave. And they found it. They found it, 102 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: and they dug it up. Inside Charlie's corpse was little 103 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 1: more than a skeleton with a bit of skin and 104 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: tissue still attached, his head resting on a pillow as 105 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: if sleeping. An American flag was draped over his body, 106 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: but the entire coffin had flooded and was frozen, perfect 107 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: conditions for preserving a body for certain kinds of testing. 108 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: The two scholars, doctors Loomis and Paddock, took samples of 109 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: Charlie's hair and fingernails and then brought them to Toronto 110 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,559 Speaker 1: for examination. What they discovered was that Charlie hadn't gotten 111 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: sick and died at all. He'd been murdered. The trouble 112 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: is on a ship as big as his, with twenty 113 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: five other tired, trapped, and angry shipmates. Anyone could have 114 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 1: been the suspect. Charles Francis Hall left Vermont to solve 115 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: the history of what really happened to Franklin's expedition, and 116 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: he managed to do that, but in the process he 117 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: left us with a mystery of his own. We may 118 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: never know for sure who killed Charlie, but maybe that's okay. 119 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: Maybe this new mystery will inspire someone else to do 120 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: great things as well. Everyone needs a hero, after all, 121 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: even a dead one. There's so much advice out there 122 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: that involves our heads. Keep a level head, don't lose 123 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: your head, do your best to get a head in life. 124 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,679 Speaker 1: It's all in your head. You get the idea, I'm sure, 125 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: But this focus isn't without justification. Think of all the rulers, traders, criminals, 126 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: and soldiers who have literally lost their heads over the 127 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: span of history, and well, it's all has become normal. 128 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: In November of nineteen o four, Michigan business owner Herbert 129 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: Hughes was getting ready for his hotel's weekly Sunday dinner. 130 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: Part of that involved slaughtering the chickens that would be 131 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: part of that night's meal. While it wasn't the most 132 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,239 Speaker 1: pleasant process, at least it was efficient. With a whack, 133 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: he would remove the chicken's head and then pass the 134 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: body to a maid for cleaning and gutting. Everything had 135 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: been going fine, that is until she started screaming. With 136 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: a shriek, the maid bolted from the room, leaving Hughes 137 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: alone to figure out what had frightened her. It was, 138 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: as you might expect, one of the chickens that had 139 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: driven her away, but not for the reasons you might 140 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: have assumed. No it wasn't the blood, and no it 141 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: wasn't the process of gutting the bird or cleaning the 142 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,559 Speaker 1: feathers off. It was something a lot less expected. One 143 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: of the chickens was still walking around the room without 144 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: its head. I imagine there was a moment of shock 145 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: for Hughes, but after he recovered, he began to see 146 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: things in a more positive light. He decided to keep 147 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,719 Speaker 1: the hen around and even gave her a name, Biddy. 148 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: He put his new headless chicken in a cage, gave 149 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: her space to walk around that even fed her using 150 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: a syringe to inject food down into her open esophagus. 151 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: Biddy could do lots of normal chicken like things, such 152 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 1: as flap her wings and sit on a perch, and 153 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: most surprising of all, she showed no signs of pain 154 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: or disease. Hughes new business opportunity when he saw one. 155 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: Believing the notion that a living, breathing, headless chicken might 156 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 1: bring in more patrons than ever before, he put Biddy 157 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: on display for his guests, and it worked too. People 158 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: flocked to his hotel no pun intended, I swear, and 159 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: enjoyed watching the show. Sadly, though, it would all come 160 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: to an end. Less than a month after it all began, 161 00:09:55,040 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: poor headless Biddy passed away on novemb You might think 162 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: that Biddy was one of a kind bird, but you'd 163 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 1: be wrong. Roughly forty years later, in September of nineteen, 164 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: a similar thing happened. A Colorado man named Lloyd Olsen 165 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: tried slaughtering one of his chickens in the same way 166 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: Herbert Hughes had and was just as surprised when his 167 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: bird got back up and walked away sants head. Of course, 168 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: Olson named his walking miracle Mike the Chicken. There didn't 169 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: seem to be much the bird couldn't do either. He 170 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: would walk around the yard, flap his wings, even crow 171 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: like the other birds, except well without a head. It 172 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: just sort of sounded like a low gurgling noise. But 173 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: you get the idea. Maybe it was the more modern 174 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: world that Mike lived in compared to Biddy, or perhaps 175 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: Olsen had a better sense for publicity. But word about 176 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,959 Speaker 1: the Headless Chicken traveled far and wide. He even landed 177 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,679 Speaker 1: on the covers of magazines like Life and Time. Olsen 178 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: took the bird on the road to traveling with sideshows 179 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: and giving folks across the country a chance to lay 180 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: eyes on the bird who lived sadly. In March of ninety, 181 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: nearly two years after losing his head, Mike got a 182 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:15,680 Speaker 1: kernel of corn caught in his throat while out on 183 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: the road. Olsen had forgotten his cleaning and feeding tools 184 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: at the show the day before, and so he was 185 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,679 Speaker 1: helpless to remove the corn. With no way of saving 186 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: his beloved bird, Olson had no choice but to say goodbye. 187 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: Even now, seventy years later, Mike's hometown of Fruda, Colorado, 188 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 1: remembers the remarkable chicken with a special holiday held in 189 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: his honor. Mike the Headless Chicken Day celebrates the creatures 190 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: short yet determined life with a series of events including 191 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:50,839 Speaker 1: a five k run, egg tosses, and live music, including 192 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: of course, the Chicken Dance. It sounds unbelievable, I know, 193 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: one chicken surviving a beheading is amazing, but two chickens, well, 194 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: that almost seems too good to be true. Scientists say 195 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: it has to do with the way a chicken's brain 196 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: sits inside their head. Unlike our own brains, there's rests 197 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: at a forty five degree angle near the top of 198 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: the skull, and basic motor functions are carried out by 199 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: the brain stem. So if the head is removed in 200 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: a sloppy manner at just the right angle, the brain 201 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:26,080 Speaker 1: stem might actually remain intact, giving the chicken a second 202 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: chance at life. Some might say chickens represent the best 203 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: of us. They're carrying social creatures, they share child raising duties, 204 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: and they fiercely protect their own. But perhaps there's one 205 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: new lesson that Biddy and Mike can teach us even 206 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: after all these years. Don't lose your head, but if 207 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: you do, try to make the best of it. I 208 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 209 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on podcasts, or learn more about the 210 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 211 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,560 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff works. 212 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore which is 213 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show and you can 214 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the world of Lore 215 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.