1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Menk's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: and if history is an open book, all of these 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. When 6 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: an athlete injures a muscle or attendant, they'll go through 7 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: a variety of treatments to mend the tissue. They might 8 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: soak their body in an ice bath to reduce inflammation, 9 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: or do certain stretches to loosen things up again. But 10 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: one man is actually responsible for many of the machines 11 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: and techniques used today, and he brought them all the 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: way from Sweden. His name was Gustaf Xander. Born in 13 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: the thirties in Stockholm. He was kind of obsessed with 14 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: fitness from a young age, focusing much of his study 15 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: on Swedish medical gymnastics otherwise known as the Swedish movement Cure. 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: Medical gymnastics were first introduced by Paer heinrich Ling, a 17 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: poet and theology student who was tired of seeing Sweden 18 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: taking a backseat to other stronger countries. So he came 19 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:25,399 Speaker 1: up with training regiments centered around physical education, fencing, massage, 20 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: and dance that were eventually adopted by these Swedish government 21 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: and Xander mastered Ling's exercises, but he lamented the need 22 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: for other people to provide resistance so that the exerciser 23 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: could build muscle. I mean, what if the assistant couldn't 24 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: lift the weight or they just didn't feel up to 25 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: helping out that day. So he came up with an alternative, 26 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: one that removed assistance from the equation. Xander got to 27 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: work on a series of machines which he built and 28 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: honed through the fifties. The utilized levers and weights to 29 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: provide the needed resistance, much like today's exercise and therapy equipment. 30 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: They resuled something more akin to medieval torture devices than 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: workout gear, but each machine was designed to massage or 32 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: sculpt a particular muscle group within the body. They would provide, 33 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: according to Xander's own words, increased well being and capacity 34 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: for work. He earned his medical license in the sixties 35 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: and began testing his machines on the students of a 36 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: local school. The results were encouraging, with children demonstrating increased strength, 37 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: then improved overall health. After using the devices for some time, 38 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: Xander then opened his own school, the Medico Mechanical Institute 39 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: of Stockholm, to give the public a taste of what 40 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: mechanotherapy machines could do. They were built of wood and metal, 41 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: some with cables and pulleys, while others required the user 42 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: to be strapped in and pulled in a specific way. 43 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: One device bore a striking resemblance to the lateral pull 44 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: down machine used in today's modern gyms. The user would 45 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: sit on a chair at an angle and pulled down 46 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: on a rod connected to a cable. The resistance would 47 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: agitate the muscles in their arms, and yet another contraption 48 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: pummeled a person in the mid section with padded disks 49 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: to stimulate their abdominals. Of course, with great success comes 50 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: great profits. After winning awards for his designs in the 51 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: seventies and opening more institutes, Xander eventually pivoted to private 52 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: health spas for the wealthy. He also got his devices 53 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: into private elite institutions, and the upper class certainly approved. 54 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: Thanks to these miracle machines, it didn't matter if someone 55 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: was actually fit. All that mattered was how they looked 56 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: all the gains with very little effort. There were medico 57 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: mechanical institutes in one hundred and forty six countries by 58 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: O six and four years later. America had also gotten 59 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: wind of his workout machines. But the thing was, these 60 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: wooden appliances wouldn't fit in with modern gym equipment, which 61 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 1: was made of steel, iron and rubber. But Xander didn't 62 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: get a chance to improve his devices and the techniques 63 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: that he pioneered. He didn't live to see their widespread 64 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: adoption either, because he died in nineteen twenty. Almost all 65 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: of his machines were invented in the eighteen hundreds. He 66 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: didn't know it at the time, but his mechanotherapy ideas 67 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: would eventually be adopted by physical therapists and doctors all 68 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: over the world. They employed the use of machines to 69 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: help repair and rehabilitate injured tissue in their patients. Today, 70 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: mechanotherapy is used to treat everyone from injured athletes to 71 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: people recovering from car accidents and major falls. And Jim 72 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: Rats are quite familiar with his devices too, even if 73 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: they don't realize it. The fitness world just wasn't ready 74 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: for what Gustav Xander had built, and sadly he fell 75 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,040 Speaker 1: into obscurity following his death about fifty years later, though 76 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: someone else would unknowingly pick up the torch. His name 77 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: was Arthur Jones, the founder of exercise brand Nautilus. Jones 78 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: also invented numerous devices and held the variety of patents 79 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: from machines that targeted specific muscles in the body. He 80 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: just didn't know that he was retreading ground that Zander 81 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: had already worked on. When asked about Xander's contributions, Jones 82 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: was quoted as saying, if I had known about and 83 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: understood Xander's work, it would have saved me a lot 84 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: of time and a rather large fortune in money. Because 85 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: the man was a genius. His only problem was that 86 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: he lived about a century ahead of his time. So 87 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 1: the next time you visit the gym, give thanks to 88 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: the Swede who brought fitness to the masses, and remember 89 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 1: to wipe down the machine for the next person who 90 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: uses it. Look around and you'll likely find an everyday 91 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: object that you don't really think about. It might be 92 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: your keys, or a pair of headphones, or even your 93 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: computer itself. These things are always there because they've always 94 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: been there. John Loud didn't have that luxury. What he 95 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: needed hadn't been invented yet, but he didn't worry about 96 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: it too much. He just made it himself. John Jacob 97 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: Loud was born in November of eighteen forty four in Weymouth, Massachusetts, 98 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: about sixteen miles south of Boston. He graduated from Harvard 99 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: College in eighteen sixty six with a degree in law, 100 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: gaining an appointment to the Suffolk County Bar six years later, 101 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: but ultimately the legal profession wasn't for him. He instead 102 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: gave it up to become an assistant cashier at the 103 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: bank where his father worked, and then took over his 104 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: dad's cashier position after his death in eighteen seventy four. 105 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: It was a job that he held for the next 106 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: twenty one years. But Loud wasn't just a cashier, at 107 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: least in his heart. He had a keen interest in 108 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: his heritage and became a genealogist with several different genealogical 109 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: and historical societies throughout New England. He was even able 110 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: to trace his lineage back to the Mayflower. On top 111 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: of that, he also conducted his local choir was active 112 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: within his church and he wrote poetry in his spare time, 113 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: what little he seemed to have. And he'd gotten married 114 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,119 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy two to Emily Key Vickery, with whom 115 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: he had eight children. Above all else, John J. Loud 116 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: was an inventor. You see. Aside from all the other 117 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: jobs and hobbies that he had, Loud also tanned leather. 118 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: It was a passion for him. But he had run 119 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: into a problem. The writing instruments of the time just 120 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: didn't work well on leather. Fountain pen ink didn't dry 121 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: quick enough and it ran everywhere. Meanwhile, his pencil couldn't 122 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: make a dark enough line for him to see. Loud 123 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: knew that there had to be a better way, and so, 124 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: in true inventor fashion, he built one. As Loud himself 125 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: put it, my invention consists of an improved reservoir or 126 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: fountain pen, especially useful, among other purposes, for marking on 127 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: rough surfaces such as wood, course, wrapping, paper, and other 128 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: articles where an ordinary pen could not be used. It 129 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: was a slender metal tube with a push button at 130 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: the top, a tightly coiled spring inside, and most importantly, 131 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: a small steel bearing at the bottom. As the tube 132 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: was dragged across the surface. The bearing would pick up 133 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: ink from within the reservoir and roll it on, leaving 134 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: behind a darkened line that dried instantaneously. He was issued 135 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: a patent for his invention on October thirtieth, eighteen eighty eight, 136 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: but quickly found out that his creation had limited purpose 137 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: outside of marking rough or coarse surfaces. With no way 138 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: to market his new product, he abandoned it and the 139 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 1: patent eventually expired, But it wasn't done for good. Others 140 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: tried to patent similar inventions with the intent of making 141 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: something that worked on all surfaces equally well, whether they 142 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: were made of paper or fabric, but one man actually succeeded. 143 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: His name was Laslow Bureau from Hungary in the early 144 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: twentieth century. Bureau was a newspaper editor who, just like Loud, 145 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: had grown tired of having to clean up the messes 146 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: left behind by his fountain pens. The pages he marked 147 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: up were often smudged because of the wet ink that 148 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,079 Speaker 1: they used, but one day he noticed that his newspaper 149 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: had been printed with a fast drying ink that did 150 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: not smudge. He thought that ink would work well in 151 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: a pen, but not a fountain pen, so he asked 152 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: his brother at Georg for help. Georg was a dentist 153 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: and a chemist who knew how to mix the ink 154 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: into something more viscous that wouldn't smear and take forever 155 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: to dry. With a suitable vessel already created by others 156 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,680 Speaker 1: before him, Birou was able to devise a new kind 157 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: of pen, one that used a tiny ball at the 158 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: end of a tube to collect the ink from a 159 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: cartridge inside, and as it rolled, it would deposit a 160 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: line onto the paper that was already dry. Birerou demonstrated 161 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: his first ball point pen in nineteen thirty one at 162 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: the Budapesh International Fair. Over the next seven years he 163 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: worked on it until he finally had it patented in 164 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: Paris in nineteen thirty eight, and that patent was bought 165 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,440 Speaker 1: by Marcel Bick, the co founder of the Bick Company, 166 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty five. Today Americans refer to most disposable 167 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: ballpoint pens as bis after the company that produces most 168 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: of them, but over in England they're called Biros, named 169 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: for the man who brought them to the mainstream. Sadly 170 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: for John J. Loud, his name isn't often said at all. 171 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 1: Even though he deserves just as much it as those 172 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: who came after him for the ballpoint pen. Although I'm 173 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: glad his name isn't attached to the pen today, I'm 174 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: not sure anyone would want to write with aloud. I 175 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 176 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 177 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 178 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,439 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mank in partnership with how 179 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 180 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 181 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 182 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: of Lure dot com. And until next time, stay curious.