1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, we're rerunning two episodes today, which means you 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: might hear two hosts. Enjoy the show. Hi, and welcome 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: to this day in history class. It is July three, 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: and an artifact called the face Dose Disc was unearthed 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: on this day in night. Here are some highlights of 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: this history mystery. The face Dose disc was found during 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: a dig at the old palace of Minoan face Dose, 8 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: and that's on the island of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea. 9 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: And it was actually found in a basement of one 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: of the buildings, not in the actual palace itself. So 11 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: the Minoans, if you're not familiar with them, they were 12 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: an ancient civilization that flourished from roughly thirty five hundred 13 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: to five thousand years ago, and they were very known 14 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: for making great palaces, just enormous beautiful palaces, as well 15 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: as their written language and their artwork. So this disc 16 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,959 Speaker 1: is roughly thirty seven hundred years old, so towards the 17 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: end of the Minoan civilization. It's made of fired clay, 18 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: about sixteen centimeters or six and a half inches across, 19 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: and it's not completely regular. The thickness varies a little bit, 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: as does the diameter. It's etched on both sides in 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: this spiral pattern that's made up of forty five repeating 22 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: symbols for two symbols total. So imagine kind of a 23 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: clay frisbee with a spiral pattern and a lot of 24 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: little symbols on it. These symbols are all stamped, and 25 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: it also looks like there are places where somebody made 26 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: a stamp and then rubbed it out to do it 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: over or perhaps replace it with a different stamp. And 28 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: both of the sides of the disk have one symbol 29 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: at the center and then they progress outward from there. 30 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: On side A it looks like a simple flower, and 31 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: on side BAT it's more like an abstract symbol of 32 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: wavy lines and a rounded triangle. The spiral lines that 33 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: go to the center and some other dots and dashes 34 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: were all done by hand and not with a stamp, 35 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: or at least that's how it looks. But there are 36 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: so many things we don't know about this thing. There's 37 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: a debate over which direction you should read it. Do 38 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: you start with the symbols in the center and work 39 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: out or do you work from the outside and work 40 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: in And what do the symbols represent Some of them 41 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: are really obvious pictograms, they look like real things out 42 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: in the world, but other ones are really a lot 43 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: more symbolic. Not sure what they might represent. Some people 44 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: have suggested that the symbols might represent syllables, but according 45 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: to linguists, they're not arranged in a pattern that makes 46 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: sense if they're symbols. Other people have said maybe they 47 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: are an alphabet, but that's a lot of characters for 48 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: an alphabet, so people are not quite sure about that either. 49 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: So in spite of all these things that we don't know, 50 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: a whole lot of people have said that they have 51 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: cracked the code, and in today's era, these are usually 52 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: accompanied by great trumpeting headlines proclaiming face dose disc Decoded 53 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: is more like people claim based dose disc Decoded. The 54 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: most recent of us is from ten, when Dr Gareth 55 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: Owens and Professor John Coleman concluded that the disc maybe 56 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: contains a prayer to a Minoan goddess, not trying to 57 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: just their work, just saying believes not really a we 58 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: definitely cracked the code. There are also some people who 59 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: think that this is all a fraud. That was the 60 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: conclusion of Jerome Eisenberg, who was the director and owner 61 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: of the Royal Athena Galleries in New York and an 62 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: expert on ancient art. He made that claim in two 63 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: thousand and eight. His hypothesis is that Luigi Pernier, who 64 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: is the person who discovered this disc, fabricated the whole 65 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: thing because he was envious that his colleagues were making 66 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: these great discoveries and he wasn't. So testing could pretty 67 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: easily determine whether this disc is something that was made 68 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: in eight or if it was instead made thousands of 69 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: years ago. The problem is that the museum and Creed, 70 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: where this is housed, would prefer it not be tested. 71 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: They make the legitimate points that it's impossible to test 72 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: it without in some way possibly damaging it. People have 73 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: talked about some not invasive methods of testing, but most 74 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: of the testing methods involved to involve taking just a tiny, 75 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,359 Speaker 1: tiny amount of the actual disc, and the museum is 76 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: not willing to allow that. So Isisenberg contends that it's 77 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: not about preserving the disk, that the museum is just 78 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: worried about losing out on tourism dollars. If if it 79 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: turns out that this whole thing is a hoax, you 80 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: can learn more about the Face Does disc and the 81 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: Minoan civilization on the August third episode of Stuffy miss 82 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: in History class called The Face Dose Disc of Minoan Crete. 83 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: And you can subscribe to this day in History class 84 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts and whatever else you get 85 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: your podcasts. Tomorrow, we have a subject that's not about 86 00:04:49,720 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: American Independence Day, but it is appropriate for it. Hello, 87 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to this dand history class where we desked off 88 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: a little piece of history every day. The day was 89 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:20,919 Speaker 1: July three, nineteen thirty eight. The London Northeastern Railway Class 90 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: A four number forty four sixty eight Mallard set the 91 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 1: record for highest speed ever ratified for a steam locomotive 92 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: when it reached one hundred and twenty six miles per 93 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: hour or two hundred and one kilometers per hour. Mallard 94 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: was of the thirty five A four class of express 95 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 1: locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gressley when he was the 96 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and Northeastern Railway or 97 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: l n e R. It was built in March of 98 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight and it had a streamlined wedge shaped design. 99 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: It usually operated on the East coast line. The A 100 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,799 Speaker 1: four class of locomotives were more efficient than previous locomotives, 101 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: shortening the trip time from London King's Cross to Newcastle. 102 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: The l M S Coronation held the disputable British theme 103 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: record as it was claimed to have reached one d 104 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,239 Speaker 1: and fourteen miles per hour, and in nineteen thirty six, 105 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: Germany's d RG class five locomotive set the world speed 106 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: record for steam locomotives when it reached one hundred and 107 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,279 Speaker 1: twenty four point five miles per hour on the Berlin 108 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: Hamburg line. Gressley and a team of engineers began modifying 109 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: the locomotive to beat the speed record. Mallard was chosen 110 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,479 Speaker 1: to set the world speed record because it was one 111 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: of three A four locomotives that had special exhaust arrangements, 112 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: which included a double blast pipe chimney. Mallard also had 113 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: a Flaman speed recorder, a device that indicated the current 114 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: speed of a vehicle and recorded it on paper tape. 115 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: On Sunday July three, nineteenth Already eight driver Joe Duddington 116 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: attempted to set the world speed record for railways with Mallard. 117 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: The attempt was carried out during trials of a new 118 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: quick acting break. The test run would be between Grantham 119 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: and Lincolnshire and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. Mallard was hauling seven 120 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: coaches waning two hundred and sixty seven US tons or 121 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: two hundred and forty three metric tons, with officials and 122 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: equipment aboard. There were three twin articulated carriages and a 123 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: dynamometer car which contained instruments that recorded the locomotive speed. 124 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: Fireman Thomas Bray was also on board. The remaining crew 125 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: and technical team weren't told that the trip was an 126 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: attempt to beat the world speed record until after the 127 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: trains northbound run from wood Green, North London. Notably, nobody 128 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: from the l N e R magazine was aboard, so 129 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: the magazine had to use an account from the Railway Gazette. 130 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: Mallard went through Grantham station at twenty four miles per hour, 131 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: then accelerated up to sixty miles per hour over the 132 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: next two and a half miles, eventually reaching seventy five 133 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: miles per hour. As a Mallard went down Stoke Bank, 134 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: the dynamometer card recorded the speed at one hundred and 135 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: twenty miles per hour, beating the British theme record. The 136 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: train would soon have to slow down at the S 137 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: and Dine curves, but there was a little time to 138 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: accelerate before that point, so the crew did and the 139 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: train made it to one twenty six miles per hour, 140 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: beating the world record. It maintained a speed between one 141 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three and one and twenty six miles 142 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: per hour for nearly two miles. It was possible they 143 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: could have gone faster had they not had to slow 144 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: at S and Dine. Shortly after Mallard set the record, 145 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 1: the force from the brakes caused Mallard's big end bearing 146 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: for the middle cylinder to overheat and it had to 147 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: go slow into Peterborough. It then had to go into 148 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,439 Speaker 1: the workshop for repairs. Mallard retired from service in nineteen 149 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 1: sixty three. Between nineteen two and nineteen eight, it was 150 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: restored to working order in completed runs until nineteen nine. 151 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: Mallard still officially holds the world record, though others have 152 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: made unsubstantiated claims of reaching faster locomotive speeds. I'm Eve 153 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: Steff Coo and hopefully you know a little more about 154 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If there's something that 155 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: I missed in an episode, you can share it with 156 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: everybody else on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook at t d 157 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: i h C podcast. We'll be back with more history tomorrow. 158 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart 159 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 160 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.