1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Communication is key. It's the 5 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: cornerstone of all successful relationships. Effective communication can bring people 6 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: closer together, help them understand each other better, and even 7 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: stop certain problems before they start. In a case of 8 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: hiro Da, communication could have saved him and the Japanese 9 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: military a whole lot of headaches. Onoda had been stationed 10 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: in the Philippines during World War Two. An intelligence officer 11 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: by trade, he had been given strict orders to do 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: everything within his power to hinder all enemy attacks on 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: the island. The airstrip and the peers at the harbor 14 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: became his primary targets, and should he be caught, he 15 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: was to fight until death. Capture and suicide were not allowed. 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: Once Onoda arrived on the island, he fell in with 17 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: a group of Japanese soldiers who had already been stationed there. 18 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: He was of a lower rank than them and so 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: had to follow their orders instead. His mission had stopped 20 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: before it had even started, and it wasn't long before 21 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: the United States took over the island with the Philippine 22 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: Commonwealth in February of ninety seven, months before the official 23 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: end of the war. The other soldiers had been given 24 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: orders to fights, which they did, but they were no 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: match for the Allied forces. It would have been much 26 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: easier had they allowed Onoda to carry out his original mission, 27 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: but it was too late for that. All but a 28 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: handful fell, leaving Onoda the acting commander. He ordered the 29 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: remaining men to retreat into the nearby hills where they 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: would be safe. He and three other Japanese soldiers lived 31 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: in the Philippine wilderness for months, building huts out of 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: bamboo and stealing food from local villages. When they got desperate, 33 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: they slaughtered cows and ate their meat. Time in the mountains, though, 34 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: changed them, and the men eventually grew paranoid of anyone 35 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: who dared venture near their camp. Stray islanders were often 36 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: mistaken for enemy guerillas and killed without question. The soldiers 37 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: managed to avoid all American and Filipino search parties for 38 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: a time until their position was compromised and a shootout 39 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: killed two of them. A third surrendered to the authorities, 40 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: while Onoda ventured deeper into the mountains, and no one 41 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: heard from him after that. Lieutenant Onoda was declared dead 42 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: by the Japanese governments in nineteen fifty nine. All search 43 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: party efforts had failed to locate him. Then, after the 44 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: killing stunted, they stopped looking, and then in nineteen seventy four, 45 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: a Japanese student named Norio Suzuki set out to find 46 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: the missing soldier. Well, he set out to find three 47 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: things really, in his words, lieutenant a noa, a panda, 48 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: and the abominable snowman, And four days after his journey began, 49 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: he found him alive. Suzuki tried to coax the soldier 50 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: off the island to return to the modern world back home, 51 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: but a Nooda wouldn't listen. He was still awaiting orders 52 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: from his commanding officer. Unable to convince the soldier to 53 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: leave with him, Suzuki took some pictures as proof and 54 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: let the Japanese government handle the recovery of their missing assets. 55 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: Those government officials asked a notice superior officer Major Yoshimi 56 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: Tanaguchi to fly out to the Philippines to deliver the 57 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: orders as he had promised years earlier, and once those 58 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: orders had been given a Noda surrendered and handed over 59 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: all the weapons he had a mass during his time 60 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 1: on the island. For over thirty years, Hirou Onoda believed 61 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: World War two was still being fought all over the world. 62 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: He had no idea that Adam bombs had been dropped 63 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or that the Allies had won. 64 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: The Japan he came home to was like an alien planet, 65 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: with tall glass buildings all around him and cars clogging 66 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: all the streets. He became a celebrity of sorts back 67 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: home and eventually released a book about his experiences on 68 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: the island, how he had fought his own war on 69 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: behalf of a country that had left him behind. But 70 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: he found fitting into the new world difficult so much 71 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: had changed while he was away. Unable to handle living 72 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: in a modern Japan, he traveled to Brazil, got married, 73 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: and established schools to help troubled kids both at home 74 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: and abroad. Hiro Ona had been lost in time for 75 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: most of his life. He'd missed so much and had 76 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: come back to a world he did not recognize. Yet, 77 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: despite his hesitation and wariness, he never forgot his primary 78 00:04:50,320 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: mission survive at all costs, and thankfully he succeeded. Its 79 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: name instills mystery and wonder in those who hear it, 80 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,799 Speaker 1: it strikes fear in others. Its influence around the world 81 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,279 Speaker 1: is unmatched, as evidenced by the symbols and signs on 82 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: our own currency. It has influenced political elections and, according 83 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: to some, replaced popular celebrities with brainwashed clones. It's also 84 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: been linked to the Freemasons and a clandestine organization known 85 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: as the New World Order, which seeks to take over 86 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: the world by way of a global authoritarian government. Of course, 87 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: I'm referring to the Illuminati. It's reputation has solidified it 88 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: as one of the most influential and sinister organizations and history. However, well, 89 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: it might seem like the Illuminati is a far reaching, 90 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: underground society with a deeply historical foundation, The truth is 91 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: a lot more ordinary. It all started when an eighteenth 92 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: century German scholar named Adam weiss Hopped had an idea. 93 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: Growing up, vice hop found a passion for reading and philosophy, 94 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: but philosophers he enjoyed studying went against the Catholic conservatism 95 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: permeating Bavaria at the time. He started looking for others 96 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: like him, folks who also believed that religion and the 97 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: monarchy were stifling the growth of modern society. He thought 98 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,280 Speaker 1: about joining the Freemasons for a while, whose group was 99 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: flourishing throughout Europe at the time, but Vice Hoped couldn't 100 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: get beyond some of their beliefs. Instead, he decided to 101 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: create his own secret society, one that didn't renounce religion, 102 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: but gave its members freedom from the prejudices and limitations 103 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: religion seemed to impose. The goal was not to establish 104 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: another theocracy. Vice Hopped wanted members of this new organization 105 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: to find happiness and liberty without all the political trickery 106 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: that he linked to the church. The Illuminatis first meeting 107 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: was conduct it one evening in a nearby forest on 108 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: May one, seventeen seventies. Six five men gathered together and 109 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: set the foundation for what would eventually become an association 110 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: of three thousand members. Soon enough, big names started joining 111 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: their ranks, including Baron Adolph von Koniga, a former Freemason 112 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: whose efforts within the Illuminati not only brought it publicity 113 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: but also heightened tensions inside the group. He fought often 114 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 1: with Vice hopt about the direction of the organization, encouraging 115 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: him to behave more like the Freemasons by giving everyone 116 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: secret names and organizing the members based on a hierarchy 117 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: of thirteen complicated degrees. He eventually left the group, but 118 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: his work added to the mystery that would eventually elevate 119 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: it to the public consciousness and inspire numerous books, television shows, 120 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: and movies about its undercover operations. Except the Illuminati, as 121 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: it was known during the seventeen hundreds never made it 122 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: to the levels described by authors like Dan Brown or 123 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: Burnto Echo. An edict issued by the Duke of Bavaria 124 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: in sevent four put an end to all secret societies 125 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: not previously sanctioned by a law. Anyone caught practicing as 126 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: a member of an outlawed order was to be sentenced 127 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: to death. VISs Hopt lost his job as a professor 128 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: at the local university, and so he fled to Saxony, 129 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: where he ended up teaching philosophy. And that was the end. 130 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: But if the Illuminati was forcibly disbanded over two thirty 131 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,560 Speaker 1: years ago, why does its name still crop up whenever 132 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: someone mentions the Kennedy assassination or the Moon Landing. Well. 133 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: For that we can thank one book series, No, not 134 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: the one about secret messages in famous Italian paintings. We 135 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,719 Speaker 1: have to go back even further to the nineteen seventies, 136 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: when popular culture was defined by counterculture like Robert Crumb 137 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: and the National Lampoon and Robert Anton Wilson. You might 138 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: not have heard of him, but the work he did 139 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: with his friend and partner Robert Shay could evaded much 140 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: of the Illuminati lore that we're all familiar with today. 141 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 1: It started while the pair were working at Playboy magazine 142 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: as associate editors. They and some of the other writers 143 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: started mailing in fake letters to the magazine about a 144 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: secret society called the Illuminati. Then they'd write more letters 145 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: to contradict the first batch, adding an air of mystique 146 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: and intrigue around the organization. Wilson and Shay turned their 147 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: hijinks into a popular series of satirical books called the 148 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: Illuminatus Trilogy, which flushed out the conspiracies behind the assassination 149 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: of JFK and the meaning of the Eye of Providence 150 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: on the back of the one dollar bill. The books 151 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: eventually influenced numerous films and stage adaptations. Only further spreading 152 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: their misinformation to the masses. These stories took on a 153 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: life of their own, and the fiction soon mutated into 154 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: rumors and eventually full blown conspiracy theories. Thanks to the Internet, 155 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: those theories have now grown more elaborate over time, and 156 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: thanks to a pray inc from two magazine editors, a 157 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: failed German secret society was reborn as one of the 158 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 1: most powerful and far reaching organizations in the world, well 159 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: at least by reputation, that is. I hope you've enjoyed 160 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 161 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 162 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 163 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. 164 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 165 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 166 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 167 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.