1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Nke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: On Christmas Eve of nineteen seventy one, seventeen year old 7 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: Juliana Kopka took her seat next to her mother on 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: Lansa flight five oh eight. She figured it would be 9 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: a routine flight once she had done a dozen times before, 10 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: But just a few hours later, she was free falling 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: through the sky, about to land in the middle of 12 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: the world's densest jungle, completely alone. If anyone was going 13 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: to survive through the Amazon, it was Juliana Kopka. Daughter 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: of two German zoologists, she had spent most of her 15 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,480 Speaker 1: childhood seeing her parents' work at the Lima Museum of 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: Natural History. When she was just fourteen years old, she 17 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: accompanied her parents to establish a research station inside the Amazon. 18 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: Her parents made sure that she was well versed in biology, zoology, ecology, 19 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,839 Speaker 1: and most importantly, the skills to survive the jungle. She'd 20 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: returned to Lima to finish school, and initially she and 21 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: her mother were planning to return to the research station 22 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,040 Speaker 1: on December nineteenth or twentieth, but Juliana insisted she wanted 23 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: to attend her graduation ceremony on December twenty third, leaving 24 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: them scrambling to book a flight home on Christmas Eve. 25 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: The Peruvian airline Lanza had a reputation for old and 26 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: malfunctioning planes, and Juliana's father begged them to avoid flying 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: on it, but since it was the only flight left 28 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: on Christmas Eve, they booked their tickets for Lanza flight 29 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: five oh eight. Things began okay, but midway through the flight, 30 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: the plane flew into a thunderstorm. Lightning struck its right wing, 31 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: igniting a fuel tank. The plane exploded in midair, ripping 32 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: apart over the rainforest. In an instant, Juliana was falling 33 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: ten thousand feet to the ground, still strapped into a 34 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: row of seats. Somehow, though miraculously, she survived the fall. 35 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: Perhaps it was the updraft from the storm, or the 36 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 1: surface area of the seats slowing her descent. Maybe it 37 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: was even the dense jungle canopy that broke her fall 38 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: before she hit the ground. Either way, Juliana was still 39 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: alive after plummeting nearly two miles to the Earth's surface, 40 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: but now she had to stay that way. Juliana had 41 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: blacked out during the fall, but came to on the 42 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: forest floor. She had a broken collarbone, a swollen eye, 43 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 1: a deep gash on her arm, and a concussion. She 44 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: had lost one of her shoes and only wore a 45 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: thin cotton dress. She had no food except for a 46 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: bag of candy from the plane, but she knew that 47 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: if she wanted to make it out of this she 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: had to find help. Well. She remembered her father's advice 49 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: follow water. People always live near water, so when she 50 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: found a creek in the jungle, she began treking down it. 51 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: She kept walking for ten days. She was constantly worried 52 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: about animals, jaguars, scorpions, poisonous insects, all of which she 53 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: could barely see because she had lost her glasses. As well. 54 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: She was repeatedly soaked by the December rains and attacked 55 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: by mosquitoes. Botflies began to infest the open wound on 56 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: her arm. But despite all of this, she kept moving forward. Finally, 57 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: on January third of nineteen seventy two, she found a 58 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: small boat and a hut. A few hours later, local 59 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: lumberjacks arrived at the encampment. Shocked at her condition, they 60 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: cleaned her wounds and placed her in a canoe, and 61 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: then they paddled her eleven more hours down the river 62 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: to a settlement, where finally a helicopter was able to 63 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: airlift her to the hospital. Ninety two people were flying 64 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: on Lanza flight five oh eight. It's estimated that as 65 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: many as fourteen survived the crash but died from their 66 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: injuries in the jungle. Only one person survived, Juliana Kopka. 67 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: Juliana recovered and led authorities back to the crash site. 68 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: Just a few days later, she finished school and eventually 69 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: returned to the rainforest to study zoology, just like her parents, 70 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: specializing in bats. Her story would have been incredible enough 71 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: if it ended there, but there was one more twist 72 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: of fate that Flight five oweight had to offer. You see, 73 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: in the nineteen nineties, German director Werner Herzog reached out 74 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: to Juliana asking to make a documentary about her. In 75 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: the years since the crash. Dozens of journalists and filmmakers 76 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: had approached her with a similar request, and normally she 77 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: brushed off these messages, but in Werner's case, she listened 78 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: because Werner Herzog was supposed to be on flight five 79 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: oh eeight with her in nineteen seventy one. Werner had 80 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,159 Speaker 1: been scouting locations in the Peruvian Amazon for his film 81 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: agire The Wrath of God. He was supposed to take 82 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: LANSA flight five oh eight that Christmas Eve, but a 83 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: conflict caused him to reschedule his flight. In the documentary 84 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: that he made, called Wings of Hope, Juliana told her 85 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: own story while leading Werner to the crash site. She 86 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: felt making the documentary was therapeutic, a way to put 87 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: to rest some of the trauma that had haunted her 88 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: for years. Juliana Kapka didn't just survive her ordeal. She thrived, 89 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: and even after falling nearly two miles through the air, 90 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: she somehow landed on her own two feet. Looking back 91 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: on the news of the past year, it seems that 92 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: a lot of people have subscribed to the unusual belief 93 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,679 Speaker 1: that we can gauge the state of the economy based 94 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: on the price of eggs. It's difficult to say exactly 95 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: when this started, but it certainly sounds logical right. Eggs are, 96 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: after all, one of the most ubiquitous grocery propt the 97 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: bedrock of baking, breakfasts and batter the world over, and 98 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: when dairy prices rise, the average person can feel the 99 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: strain acutely, from the farmers who raised the chickens to 100 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: the individuals who were just trying to shop for their family. 101 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: So with that in mind, I'd like to tell you 102 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: a story of what happens when dairy products can turn 103 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: into their own form of natural disaster. It started with 104 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: an economic issue and became a local news crisis. It 105 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,600 Speaker 1: was the spring of nineteen ninety one. For the previous 106 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: fifteen years, Since nineteen seventy four, the United States government 107 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: had been purchasing dairy products from farmers in an effort 108 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: to keep prices stable. This ensured that the US had 109 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,039 Speaker 1: an enormous surplus of butter and cheese, all stored in 110 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,040 Speaker 1: warehouses around the country. This was a little inconvenient, but 111 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: it was thoroughly ignorable as far as problems go. One 112 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: such complex was on Cottage Grove Road in Madison, Wisconsin. 113 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: It was half a million square feet, storing up to 114 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: fifteen million pounds of surplus butter, cheese, hams, and Oscar 115 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: Meyer sausages would also be stored at this facility in 116 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: significantly smaller quantities. At around three pm on May third, 117 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: there were about twenty five people working in this warehouse 118 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: when someone smelled smoke. The source was a forklift malfunction 119 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: whose battery sparked and ignited a fire inside the temperature 120 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: controlled building. The warehouse's insulation was extremely flammable, as was 121 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: the butter being stored within it. Under intense heat, butter 122 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: will melt and then burn and then catch fire, and 123 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: it doesn't burn like coal or wood. It burns more 124 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: like grease. So the entire building was a flame. Firefighters 125 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: were on the scene immediately. They poured thousands of gallons 126 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: of water on the fire, which would slow down the 127 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: flame slightly, but not put them out altogether. Water only 128 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: spread the melted butter around. After a few hours, the 129 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: walls of the warehouse began to give way. The fire 130 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: spread to a second building, and the first fully collapsed, 131 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: leashing a wave of butter, cream and melted cheese onto 132 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: the streets of Madison. The currents of dairy made it 133 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: impossible for fire trucks to maneuver, so in order to 134 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: fight the flames, firemen had to wade through a cholesterol 135 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: dense river that was almost five feet deep in places. 136 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: More frightening though, the fire was creeping closer to the 137 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: factories an hydrous ammonia tanks, and if these tanks burst, 138 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: it would release a toxic gas into the city. Residents 139 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: that lived within half a mile radius of the factory 140 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: were prompted to evacuate. Fortunately, though, the firefighters were able 141 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: to keep the flames away from the tanks. Within twenty hours, 142 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: the fire was contained, but the battle was far from over. 143 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: You see, the butter and cheese flood was ongoing, putting 144 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: the city's fresh water supplies at risk as well as 145 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,680 Speaker 1: the surrounding natural environment. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 146 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: joined the fire Department's effort to stem the tide, erecting 147 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,199 Speaker 1: levees and dams to keep the butter, cheese, and assorted 148 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: meats from running into nearby lakes and streams. Public Works 149 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: dug a pond for the runoff, and then quickly realized 150 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: they had to dig a second one before it completely 151 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: filled with butter. Heck, they had to bring in pumps 152 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: to help divert thirteen million gallons of melted butter mixed 153 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: with water and other runoff from the fire. In the end, 154 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: they had to use construction vehicles to dump sand on 155 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 1: the burning butter in order to fully put out the flames, 156 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: and the fire was officially declared out on May eleventh, 157 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: eight days after it had begun. Clearing the surrounding streets, however, 158 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: took an extra week. The event became known as the 159 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: Great Wisconsin Butter Fire. It was the most costly fire 160 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: in the state's history, causing seven point five million dollars 161 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 1: in property damage, destroyed seventy million dollars worth of food products, 162 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: and an extra one million dollars in clean up expenses, 163 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: which was ironic since it all started because the US 164 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:54,439 Speaker 1: government wanted to avoid a financial crisis. It's a delicious 165 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: cautionary tail. When you keep way too much butter near 166 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: flammable materials, your city might become toast. I hope you've 167 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 168 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 169 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: show by visiting curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 170 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 171 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 172 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show and you can 173 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And 174 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: until next time, stay curious.