WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Church Choir That Didn't Explode

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck and Dave is here in spirit. He wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to let us know that he's thinking of each and

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<v Speaker 1>every one of you individually, and this is short stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>that's right. I was raised in the church choir, my friends,

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<v Speaker 1>so this one hits really close to home. Actually not

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<v Speaker 1>at all, right, but I did sing in the church choir.

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<v Speaker 1>I've seen church choir's performed before, so it really hits

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<v Speaker 1>home for me too. This is a really fun story,

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<v Speaker 1>I think. Is this Were you familiar with the story before?

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<v Speaker 1>You know where I first heard of it a time

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<v Speaker 1>life books? Ad? Are you really? Is there anything those

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<v Speaker 1>things haven't taught us? I don't know. I wish I

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<v Speaker 1>had a upset of those. Those are fun me too.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll have to go on eBay and look for him together.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure they're all there. So, um, what we're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about is not necessarily just a church choir. It's almost

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<v Speaker 1>tangential to it. Or we're really talking about is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most astounding coincidences in a history of documented history, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no coincidence that really holds a candle to this.

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<v Speaker 1>In my book and there's plenty of coincidences. I remember

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<v Speaker 1>we did an entire episode on one. Remember the poor

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<v Speaker 1>guy who was in both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

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<v Speaker 1>and survived them both. Um, there's been some amazing coincidences before.

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<v Speaker 1>This one, to me takes the cake. It's a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>good one. And we're talking about a terrible incident that happened,

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<v Speaker 1>but it could have been a lot worse. On the

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<v Speaker 1>evening of March first, nineteen fifty and Beatrice in Nebraska,

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<v Speaker 1>when a church blew up, I mean blew up, like

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<v Speaker 1>the walls blew out, the roof came down, windows got

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<v Speaker 1>knocked out of houses in the vicinity, a radio station

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<v Speaker 1>got knocked off the air by the blast. However that works.

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<v Speaker 1>It was. It was a big time explosion that just

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<v Speaker 1>destroyed this church. Uh. And I guess we should go

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<v Speaker 1>ahead and say how this happened. Uh. The ideas that

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<v Speaker 1>there was probably a gas leak, and that gas leak

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<v Speaker 1>just you know, did what gas leaks do and filled

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<v Speaker 1>a space with gas. And Uh, there was a gentleman

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<v Speaker 1>there who would show up. What was his name? Was

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<v Speaker 1>it the reverend himself? It was the reverend. Yeah, Walter Clempole. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>what a great reverend name, Reverend Clinpole in nineteen fifties,

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<v Speaker 1>Nebraska reverend name too. So he shows up at his

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<v Speaker 1>West Side Baptist church, uh, like he always does ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of time, to light the furnace to get it nice

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<v Speaker 1>and warm for choir practice, because in early March in

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<v Speaker 1>that part of Nebraska can be a little chilly. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And then he went back home to go to dinner.

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<v Speaker 1>And so the idea is that this gas fills up,

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<v Speaker 1>it eventually reaches the flame of that furnace and church explodes. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so a church exploding from a natural gas explosion lit

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<v Speaker 1>by a reverend. This is not all about making reverend

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<v Speaker 1>Climpole look back. Now, he didn't like that furnace because

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted to blow up the church. Like you said,

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<v Speaker 1>he was lighting it for choir practice. What makes this

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<v Speaker 1>astounding is that that explosion took place at seven pm

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<v Speaker 1>on March one, like you said, which was a Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>and every Wednesday was choir practice, and every Wednesday at

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<v Speaker 1>seven twenty pm choir practice started. So this explosion that

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<v Speaker 1>destroyed the entire church took place five minutes after choir

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<v Speaker 1>practice officially started. And The thing that makes this the

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<v Speaker 1>most astounding coincidence of all time is that not one

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<v Speaker 1>single member of that fifteen person choir was in the

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<v Speaker 1>church at the time. Every single one happened to be late.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right, Uh, And I think we should save the

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<v Speaker 1>reasons for everyone being late till after the break with

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<v Speaker 1>a little cliffhanger, but before the break. Uh. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out the odds of something like this happening,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no exact scientific way to do that, obviously, But

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<v Speaker 1>what they can do, and what they have done, is

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<v Speaker 1>look back and said, well, how often were people generally

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<v Speaker 1>late at choir practice at this church, and what are

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<v Speaker 1>the odds of that happening to everybody? And they kind

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<v Speaker 1>of went back and look at past um choir practices

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<v Speaker 1>and saw that each person would be late about of

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<v Speaker 1>the time one and every four choir practices. So everyone

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<v Speaker 1>being gone for this specific night ended up being a

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<v Speaker 1>you guessed it, one in a million chance. Yeah. I

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<v Speaker 1>think all of them had either an equal chance or

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<v Speaker 1>twice the chance of being struck by lightning that year,

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<v Speaker 1>as this actually happening is all of them being late

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<v Speaker 1>for choir practice at the same time Okay. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that's a great setup. We'll come back after our short

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<v Speaker 1>break and we'll talk about why these folks were late

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<v Speaker 1>right after this. So before we get going on the reasons,

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<v Speaker 1>I think one important thing we didn't point out is

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<v Speaker 1>it's not like everyone got on a bus somewhere to

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<v Speaker 1>go to choir practice and the bus broke down. Like

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<v Speaker 1>everyone was late for their independent reasons. Some had a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit of overlap, as we'll see, but that's sort

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<v Speaker 1>of the remarkable part of all this. Yeah, yeah, it

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<v Speaker 1>is amazing. So um, Reverend clempole Uh, he usually got

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<v Speaker 1>there as early as anybody. Um, he usually got there

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<v Speaker 1>about seven ten um. And it turns out that his daughter,

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<v Speaker 1>who was going to come with a Marylyn Ruth, the

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<v Speaker 1>dress she had put on it was was dirty. So

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<v Speaker 1>his wife, the Mrs Reverend Walter clempole Um, had to

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<v Speaker 1>put a new dress on the irony board get it ready,

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<v Speaker 1>and that made the family late. That's pretty okay. I

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<v Speaker 1>like that one. That's a good one. It just keeps

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<v Speaker 1>going from there, though, And we should mention we could

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<v Speaker 1>not find Reverend Walter Clemple's wife's name. We are not

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<v Speaker 1>just doing the antiquated thing of calling a woman Mrs

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<v Speaker 1>so and so so and so husband's name, right, thank

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<v Speaker 1>you for that. So let's go over some of these

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<v Speaker 1>all right. So, Um, like I said, it just keeps

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<v Speaker 1>going from Reverend Clemple and his family's reason for being late.

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<v Speaker 1>Next up, we've got Ladona vander Grifft, which sounds like

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<v Speaker 1>a made up name. She was struggling with the geometry problem.

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<v Speaker 1>She was a sophomore in high school, and um, she

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<v Speaker 1>she was like, I'm not letting this problem beat me.

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<v Speaker 1>I have to finish this before I leave for choir practice.

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<v Speaker 1>Best part of this whole story, I think, I think

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<v Speaker 1>so too. So she not only did that make her late,

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<v Speaker 1>but it also ended up making the sd s sisters

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<v Speaker 1>Royena and um what was her name? Sadie Rona and

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<v Speaker 1>Sadie st S were late because of La Donna indirectly

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<v Speaker 1>as well, right, because I think they were supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>Uh were they supposed to ride together? Yeah? Well no,

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<v Speaker 1>they had car trouble. The sts sisters had car, so

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<v Speaker 1>they called La Donna. Vander Griffin said, hey, can you

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<v Speaker 1>come pick us up? She said, just after I figure

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<v Speaker 1>out this Pythagorean theorem thing. Oh yeah, yeah, so they

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<v Speaker 1>were supposed to ride together, I got you. Yeah, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>but they weren't supposed to they they they only called her.

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<v Speaker 1>They would have arrived had their car not been um

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<v Speaker 1>in trouble. And then even furthermore, had La Donna not

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<v Speaker 1>been doing geometry, all three of them might have made

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<v Speaker 1>it on time. Yeah, they were double blessed. Yes, amazing stuff. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course the reason I say double blest is

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<v Speaker 1>obviously with a situation like this in a church, the

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<v Speaker 1>entire church believes that this was God's hand leading them

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<v Speaker 1>away from that explosion. Naturally, I would too, indubitably, indubitably

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<v Speaker 1>what else do we have here? We have Mrs Leonard Schuster.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh And and Schuster went to her mom's house to

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<v Speaker 1>get her ready for a missionary meeting. Apparently, so that's

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<v Speaker 1>what made Schuster late, Right, had to untirer mom's shoes,

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<v Speaker 1>each to their own shoe. What about Herbert Kith? He

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<v Speaker 1>was a late operator, which is that's the late operator

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<v Speaker 1>in Nebraska's name. In sure, he supposedly had a letter

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<v Speaker 1>that he had been putting off writing, and he finally

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<v Speaker 1>sat down to write it, and the letter itself made

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<v Speaker 1>him late. Um, And that's apparently unusual for him. He

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't necessarily the most prolific letter writer, but that was

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<v Speaker 1>the one for him. Do you know what it sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like to me? What sounds like chary practice wasn't much

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<v Speaker 1>of a priority for anyone there. It kind of sounds like,

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<v Speaker 1>I got a math problem. I really need to write

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<v Speaker 1>this letter. Yeah. Or Joyce Black really demonstrates that too.

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<v Speaker 1>She was a stenographer, she said. Um. And by the

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<v Speaker 1>way she was saying all this, they were all saying

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<v Speaker 1>all this stuff to Life magazine, which did an article

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<v Speaker 1>on this couple of weeks after it happened, called why

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<v Speaker 1>the choir was late? Um. She said, I was feeling

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<v Speaker 1>just playing lazy. It was very cold out my my

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<v Speaker 1>house was cozy and toasty, and I was just hanging

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<v Speaker 1>out there, all right, That's why I was late. But

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<v Speaker 1>she was the most forthright of all the very honest,

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<v Speaker 1>very honest. Uh. The piano player herself, Marylyn Paul. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>Usually the piano players there pretty early, and I think

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<v Speaker 1>Marylyn had a knack for arriving about a half hour early.

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<v Speaker 1>But Marylyn must have eaten some turkey for dinner, because

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<v Speaker 1>she fell asleep and her mom woke her up at

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<v Speaker 1>seven fifteen and she said, all right, and well, I

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<v Speaker 1>gotta get out of here. I'm kind of already late.

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<v Speaker 1>And it says here she only had time to tidy

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<v Speaker 1>up and then leave. Let me clean up a bit first.

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<v Speaker 1>So her mom was actually the choir director, and she

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<v Speaker 1>was late because Marylyn and was late. So I I

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<v Speaker 1>like in all this stuff too. I wonder if like

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<v Speaker 1>she was mad at Maryland or was like, why are

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<v Speaker 1>you not waking up at seven in the evening? Who

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<v Speaker 1>who naps like that? Um? Or if if everybody was

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<v Speaker 1>very patient. I like to think they're all very patient

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<v Speaker 1>and polite waiting for one another. You know. Well, it

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<v Speaker 1>says that that mom tried unsuccessfully to awaken her earlier, right,

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I'm saying. There was a ghastly at church

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<v Speaker 1>in a carbon monoxide leak in the Paul's will you

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<v Speaker 1>wake Up? And then Lucille Jones and Dorothy would um.

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<v Speaker 1>They were neighbors and they were both in the choir,

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<v Speaker 1>so they would naturally ride together. And one of them,

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<v Speaker 1>oh I think it was Lucille, was listening to a

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<v Speaker 1>radio program from seven to seven third, probably Mannix or

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<v Speaker 1>co Jack and um and uh again. Dorothy was just

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<v Speaker 1>sitting there patiently waiting for her friend to finish listening

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<v Speaker 1>to this radio program. Unbelieved bole. We also left out

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<v Speaker 1>Harvey all the last one. What did Harvey do? He

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<v Speaker 1>had the worst excuse of all of them. He was

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<v Speaker 1>taking care of his kids, his wife was out of town,

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<v Speaker 1>and he started talking, and I guess talking makes Harvey

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<v Speaker 1>loose track of time. But he lost track of time

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<v Speaker 1>and ended up being like, I guess as kids, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not sure. I could not, for the life of me

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<v Speaker 1>find that Life magazine article directly. Um, we have to

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<v Speaker 1>thank our friends at Snopes for helping us out a

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<v Speaker 1>big time with this one. Yeah, it's probably the kids

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<v Speaker 1>were like, Dad's finally talking to us, right, He's paying

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<v Speaker 1>attention to us. Yeah, but I can tell he doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>know what time it is. Yeah, this is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the stories. I'm glad there wasn't some gross dark thing underneath. No,

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<v Speaker 1>it was all above the boards and uh amazing. So

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<v Speaker 1>all of those people, for all those different reasons, were

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<v Speaker 1>late to choir practice, and had they all made it

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<v Speaker 1>on time, they would have perished in that explosion. I

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<v Speaker 1>love it. Thanks Time, Life Books, Thanks Snopes, Thanks to you, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks to Dave for producing this, thanks to you guys

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to it, and short Stuff is out. Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>You Should Know is a production of I heart Radio.

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