1 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: Hello, Hello, welcome to the show, this show. My name 2 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: is Ben, my name is Noel. Noel, what are we 3 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: doing here? I just thought it was a cool cadence 4 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: for ridiculous history. Oh I see what you did there? 5 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: You said the name of the show, so people know 6 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: what they're listening to. Yes. Yes, for everyone who is 7 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: in such a rush to hear the latest episode that 8 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: they haven't bothered to read the title and aren't sure 9 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,239 Speaker 1: what show they're listening to, you are in the right 10 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: place and right and let us know. Should we do 11 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: an entire show a rhyming show, or we're just like 12 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: the whole thing rhymes? I think I don't know if 13 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: we have the band with to pull that off. Ben, 14 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: I bet we could pull it off, though, Nol. We 15 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: would just have to take it slow at first, then 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: eventually accept that some rhymes will be better and some 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: will be worse. You know what, That's a good way 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:11,119 Speaker 1: to approach life. Is true, Indeed, it is true. Indeed, 19 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: this is of course the show where we look at 20 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: all these strange, fascinating, at times silly and often ridiculous 21 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: stories of yesteryear, and this one that that you found 22 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: was completely new information to me. I had no idea, 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,559 Speaker 1: and Nolan I have talked about. Oh, and also shout 24 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: out to our super producer, Casey Pegrum Hey, Casey, we 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: got a thumbs up. He's in a good mood today. Uh. 26 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: Nolan and I have talked often about these strange cockamami 27 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: assassination attempts that sound like there's something out of Naked Gun. 28 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: You mean, just like in our spare time it comes up, 29 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: because what is spare time right now? I love the 30 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: Naked Gun movies. Um, what I always think about is 31 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: all of the kind of James Bond and esque devices 32 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: that were already so ridiculous they barely needed to be satirized, 33 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: but the Naked Gun always managed to kind of take 34 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: it to another level. Absolutely. And the truth of the 35 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: matter is that in decades past, with the emergence of 36 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: modern intelligence agencies or their precursors, from let's say call 37 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: it after World War One through World War Two and 38 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: on and on to the present day, UH, we saw 39 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: this rise in very what should we call them, out 40 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: out of the box plans to assassinate world leaders. Probably 41 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: one of the most famous examples for this for most people, 42 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: it would be UH, the CIA's plans and their various 43 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: attempts to either humiliate, undermine, or assassinate Fidel Castro. You know, like, 44 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: what are some of the weird things they tried there? 45 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: I mean, the one you think of is like practically 46 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: a prank that you would play on, you know, an 47 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: unsuspecting friend who smokes lots of cigars, the old exploding 48 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: cigar trick. You think about it from like Looney Tunes 49 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: and stuff, And I always thought of it as you know, 50 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: like a little ha ha, but no, if there was 51 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: like thermite in that thing. But take your head off, right, 52 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: And what we found was that Fidel Castro and the 53 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: CIA are not unique entirely. And what you introduced me 54 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: to is today's topic, very strange story about former British 55 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 1: Prime Minister Winston Churchill. And it's cool because there's actually 56 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: a biopic coming out about Churchill with the absurdly talented 57 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: Gary Oldman portraying um Mr Churchill. So Churchill was one 58 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: of the first European leaders that was vehemently opposed to 59 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: Adolph Hitler and the Nazis, and it sounds like kind 60 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: of like a no brainer, but it was there. You know, 61 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: there was sort of a I don't know, not I 62 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,119 Speaker 1: don't ask, don't tell policy, but kind of like let's 63 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: see what happens kind of policy in Churchill you know, 64 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: really took up the mantle of this is a humanitarian crisis, 65 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: this is an issue of um good versus evil, and 66 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: sort of framed the UK as being on the good side. Um. 67 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: His broadcasts really boosted the nation. The whole mindset of 68 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: the nation um and who were pretty freaked out by 69 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: what Hitler would be capable of. And as a result, 70 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: Hitler and his you know god squad, uh really really 71 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: wanted to put an end to this man. How how 72 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: do you? How do you do a thing like that? 73 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: I mean the Churchill was incredibly insulated, you know, he 74 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: as you know, any leader of a nation is constantly 75 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: under surveillance, kept under lock and key. You know, how 76 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: are they going to reach a guy like that, right, 77 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: one of the most protected non royal family members in 78 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: the in the Kingdom. But he was actually like working. 79 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: You know, you'd think they would protect him more. They 80 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: just kind of prop up a queen and you know, 81 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: just kind of trundle her out during you know events, 82 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: smile away, oh boy. Uh So in two thousand and 83 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: twelve we finally learned what they were planning. And oh, body, 84 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: is it weird? Yeah, this is not a thing that 85 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: was like super common knowledge until a letter or a 86 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: few letters. I have a parcel of letters, shall we say, 87 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: was unearthed Um bearing a secret stamp a little on 88 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: the nose, isn't it. He just like, don't look at this, 89 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: it's secret. Okay, that's I'm going to open that right 90 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: on up. Uh. And the letter was commissioned by a 91 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: Lord Victor Rothschild, who was an m I five senior 92 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: intelligence chief. Now, Ben, is this the Roth's child of 93 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: Roth's child, Roth's child? I was a mouthful Yeah, related 94 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:08,039 Speaker 1: to for sure, big powerful family from from the UK, 95 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,720 Speaker 1: far reaching political control and even to this day, uh 96 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: influence over the banking system of the UK and politics 97 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: correct financial clout. For sure, Lord Victor Rothschild during peacetime 98 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: was a scientist and a key member of the Rothschild 99 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:33,360 Speaker 1: banking dynasty. When he so he wrote this letter to 100 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: talented illustrator that he was aware of named Lawrence Fish. 101 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: Is such a good British name. And on May four, 102 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: Lord Victor Rothschild wrote to Mr Fish and asked him 103 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: to draw poster sized images of a particular type of 104 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,839 Speaker 1: chocolate for the purposes of warning the public to be 105 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: on the lookout a nice chucky. You've seen that episode 106 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:03,799 Speaker 1: of Money Python where they have the is a candy 107 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: company that has an assortment, and they're all really unpleasant. 108 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: Like one of them it's called like the the New 109 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: Get Surprise, and then you bite into it, it shoots 110 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: out bolts through either cheek, piercing them from the inside. 111 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: And there's one that's the Crunchy Frog that has has 112 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: an actual tiny amphibian inside of it and the crunch 113 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: comes from the crunch of its bones. Uh, this particular 114 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: device would be quite at home in that assortment because 115 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: one of the devices that was sketched out by Mr 116 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: Fish was a chocolate bar containing a layer within that, 117 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: when snapped, would explode. That's right, you see, Lord Victor 118 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: Rothschild had received word of a possible Nazi plot to 119 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: kill Winston Churchill by smuggling this chocolate into the war 120 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: cabinets dining room. And this war cabinet here is a 121 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: group of people, it's not a specific cabinet. I just 122 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: now I'm victory of Winston Churchill getting up at three 123 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: in the morning and his skivvy's and then walking to 124 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: the war to get chocolate. You know he had some fine, 125 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: fine silk pajamas. You're probably right, and you're probably right 126 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: the treating question. This chocolate bar was finally wrapped in 127 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: black and gold paper and labeled uh Peter's Chocolate. And 128 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: here's the thing. It wouldn't have aroused suspicion, at least 129 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: the Nazis hoped, because it wasn't a fake chocolate bar. 130 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: It was actually chocolate. And they put a lot of 131 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,840 Speaker 1: thought into this. Right. According to a British spy who 132 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: actually firsthand got a look at this exploding delicacy, Um, 133 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: he was able to draw the first artist's rendering of it. 134 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: And what it was was a steel plate, a very 135 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: thin steel plate, covered by a thin layer of dark chocolate. 136 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: And as I said before, when the chocolate bar was 137 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: broken along those those nice square lines where you can 138 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: get you a little piece, you know you want to 139 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: snap it because it's tempered chocolate. We'll get it in 140 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: a second, um that would detonate the device. And only then, 141 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: that is when there was a canvas strap that connected 142 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: to the explosive inside. And only once you broke it, 143 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: could you actually see it had a seven second delay 144 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: following that very satisfying snap, and apparently was powerful enough 145 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: explosive that the effects could be felt for uh several 146 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: meters in all directions, right, and this was high powered explosive. Yeah, 147 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 1: And in all the research about this, I couldn't find 148 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: specific mention of the type of explosive used. But in 149 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: this cash of drawings uncovered from mr Fish there there 150 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: were multiple drawings various devices exactly, one of which looked 151 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: sort of a military are a issue crock pot, I 152 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: guess um where there was a false bottom and it 153 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: had like you know, peas and bangers and mash kind 154 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: of dish on the inside, and it looks like it 155 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: used thermite, which then you can probably speak to. This 156 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,600 Speaker 1: is a pretty powerful substance that can burn through steel 157 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: and when ignited properly and used in a certain way, 158 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: can cause some serious carnage. Yeah. Thermite is a composition 159 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,559 Speaker 1: of metal powder that could be a fuel a metal oxide. 160 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: The thing with thermite is when you ignite it with heat, 161 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: it undergoes pretty intense exothermic reduction oxidation or redox. If 162 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 1: you want to be cool with the the explosive crew 163 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: uh redox reaction, and most varieties of this stuff are 164 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: not explosive. They just create brief burst of heat and 165 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: high temperature in a small area. But you can make 166 00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: it explosive, and that's what you'll see the That's how 167 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: you can make like thermite hand grenades and stuff like that, 168 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: so it can be weaponized. And I guess because we're 169 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: dealing with such a thin, um and small item. Like 170 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: I said, even though I didn't see specific mention of 171 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: thermite and the chocolate bar drawing, it was in some 172 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: of the other drawings in this cache of of of illustration. 173 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: So um, let us know if you've heard anything beyond 174 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: um this speculation. But the point is this could really 175 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 1: do some serious damage, especially if you're holding it close 176 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,959 Speaker 1: to your face. It would, you know, cause a blast 177 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: that would you know, could of course kill you. Right, 178 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: And this chocolate bar, in an our our opinion, was 179 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: one of the strangest devices, but it was, as as 180 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: we said, one of several. There's the military mess ten 181 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: and there are a couple of different diagrams I believe 182 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: of the chocolate which you can view online. There's a 183 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: historian named Nigel West to speaking with the BBC, said 184 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: that he believes Rothschild probably paid out of pocket for 185 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 1: these diagrams. Uh. This just for context with Lord Victor Rothschild. 186 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: It's not like he was hard up for the scratch 187 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 1: or the cheddar. But he was a good uh, a 188 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: good citizen. He was a very what's the word patriotic 189 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: individual and wanted to use his wealth um for the 190 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 1: greater good. And he was I guess sort of more 191 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: of a consultant, I guess, or like a board member 192 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: of some kind. Yeah, he just for person draw salary. Right, 193 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: just for perspective. When m I five was scouting out 194 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: some offices to locate in Paris, he said, you guys 195 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: just used one of my mansions. You got a few, Yeah, 196 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: you guys just kicking around to he was the Paris mansion. 197 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: And so once Fish completed the illustrations and sent them 198 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: to Rothschild, he liked them so much that he had 199 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: he had one framed in his home library. And this 200 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 1: is top secret stuff and then you put the remaining 201 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: prints in storage. So when these letters were found, when 202 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: this parcel of letters was found in historians around the 203 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: world wondered, well, what happened to the illustrations because at 204 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: first they only found the letters. But then super recently 205 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: in early September of UM, some of the members of 206 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: the Rothschild family we're sorting through some documents and they 207 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: found the drawings, and experts consider them pretty incredible for 208 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: pre digital graphics. These are like hand drawn kind of 209 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: cross sections of diagrams of all these different devices. And 210 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: actually here in the house Stuff Works offices in Atlanta, Georgia, 211 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 1: upon City Market, we have UM a bunch of framed 212 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: illustrations that are right along these lines. We've got one 213 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: that shows a gas mask in cross section and all 214 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,839 Speaker 1: the different layers of that. We have one that shows 215 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,959 Speaker 1: believe like a NERF gun or or something like super 216 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: super soccer. That's what it is, but very similar in 217 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: style and not an easy feat to do accurately by hand, 218 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: especially you know in in in those days. And we're, yeah, 219 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: we're huge fans of cutaway diagrams. If you have any 220 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: really cool ones, please send them to us, because we will. 221 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: We'll just look at them for fun. We literally want 222 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: to know how stuff works, It's true. And so the 223 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: chocolate bar drawing in particular was seriously compelling because it 224 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: really could actually work um because you know, people like 225 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: a nice tasty chocolate treat, and the bar was designed 226 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: to detonate um using minimal effort from the individual consuming 227 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: said treat. Right, So, like, all you gotta do is 228 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: do that thing you're gonna do anyway, give it a snap. 229 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: You don't have to do anything special. It won't feel 230 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: unusually difficult. Doesn't have to be any particular line, right, 231 00:14:57,920 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: because the whole thing runs throughout the whole bar, so 232 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: it be like you know, breaking in half or just 233 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: breaking off a little piece. Yeah, and so this kind 234 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: of strategy, spycraft espionage was very common on the German side. 235 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: They were super into it. Oh and I forgot to 236 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 1: mention Lawrence Fish the reason he got hit up for this. 237 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: He was the son of one of the three m 238 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: I five counter sabotage agents at the top, so there 239 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: was a family relation there too. He wasn't I don't 240 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: think Rothschild was just you know, flipping through a magazine 241 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: and said, ah, this is the guy. Let me just 242 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: ask him this weird question. There's another weird detail at 243 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: about Churchill at the end. But as as Noll said, 244 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: they've we found these documents quite recently when the Rothschild 245 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: family were sorting through stuff on the estate in September, 246 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: and you have to wonder how strange and fascinating that 247 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,280 Speaker 1: cave of wonders must be. Yeah, look at this trove 248 00:15:55,360 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: treasures untold, yes, yes, exactly, gizmos as a plenty, and 249 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: you know, I'll tell you it's significant to that the 250 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: Germans did not use milk chocolate. They didn't use white chocolate. 251 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: They use dark chocolate, and that is because of the 252 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: way chocolate in a chocolate bar, and dark chocolate in particular, 253 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: has to be tempered. So what's the deal with tempering then? Right? Okay, 254 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: Tempering chocolate is essentially melting it and then stirring it 255 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 1: vigorously as it cools. Pastry chefs know all about this. 256 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,600 Speaker 1: I learned about it pretty recently because my daughter is 257 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: a big fan of this new pastry cooking show on 258 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: Netflix called Zombo's Just Desserts, and also The Great British Bakeoff, 259 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: where tempering chocolate is hugely important when they're making decorations 260 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: or things that have to stand up to pressure or 261 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: like you know, chocolate shapes that they then put on 262 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: cakes or decorate the sides with it, because otherwise it 263 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: will not hold its shape and it will melt all 264 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: over the place. The same is true for a chocolate bar. 265 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 1: In order to be able to hold it and have 266 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: it be you know, manipulatable and break on those lines 267 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: of the marcation, the chocolate has to be tempered correctly, right. 268 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: And one of the questions would be why why tempered chocolate? 269 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: So I propose that we take a page from our 270 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: good friends Lorn and Annie over at our sister show 271 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: food Stuff, and we'll talk it just briefly about the 272 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: food science here. The short answer for why you would 273 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: want to temper chocolate is that chemically it's composed of 274 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,360 Speaker 1: several different tiny crystals, six to be exact. Of these 275 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: six there are, there's one desirable type, and they're called 276 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: beta crystals. Developing informing these crystals is what makes that's 277 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,440 Speaker 1: the key to the good chocolate. So the one in 278 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: comparison be like a cup of chicken stock. It might 279 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: seem homogeneous, uniform throughout, but the fat's gonna rise to 280 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 1: the surface. And when chocolate is an emulsion, but if 281 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,680 Speaker 1: you warm and melt it, you break the emulsion as 282 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:57,439 Speaker 1: it cools. Cocoa butter rises to the surface unattractive but harmless, 283 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: and sometimes that even makes people throw away the chocolate. 284 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: We can briefly laundry lists the reasons you would do. 285 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: You a temper chocolate, avoid fat and sugar bloom, you know, 286 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,120 Speaker 1: those white streaks or blotches on the surface. You raise 287 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 1: the melting temperature the finished chocolate so it doesn't melt 288 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: on contact with your fingers, which would be super awkward 289 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: if someone's like, hey, what is it? Why is there 290 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: canvas at this bar? Uh preserves you know, the keeping quality, 291 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: cools it quickly, and it gives it that classy glossy 292 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,199 Speaker 1: shine makes it especially if you're using it like like 293 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: a pastry chef would use it. And the final most 294 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:36,200 Speaker 1: important thing, not just for pastry chefs, but for would 295 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:41,199 Speaker 1: be Nazi assassins again, would be Nazi assassins, is that 296 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: tempering chocolate gives it that capacity for that crisp, clean 297 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: snap at to pop the pea for emphasis. There's a good, good, 298 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,960 Speaker 1: good pe popper. Good thing. We've got these nice popper 299 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: stoppers on our mics here. Um, but yeah, and I 300 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:57,199 Speaker 1: hope I didn't set it up too much at the 301 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: top of the show. This sound like this was a 302 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 1: successful attempt, because everyone's like, I don't remember hearing about 303 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: any exploding chocolate bars and attempts on Winston Churchill's life. Yeah, 304 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: because it didn't really happen. Um, these were beta tests 305 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:13,159 Speaker 1: at the very best, right, these drawings. But my question 306 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: to you, Ben is these drawings were commissioned by the 307 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: British government based on technology the Nazis may have had. Um, 308 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,400 Speaker 1: how where what's the connection there? Reported by a British 309 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: spy who was embedded on the German side. And because 310 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: this this is part of the story that they don't 311 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: emphasize too much. It's just a funny little detail. So 312 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,920 Speaker 1: the British spy was actually the first one to draw 313 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: the diagram. Uh, let's say, I don't wanna I don't 314 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 1: want to cast too much aspersion on the guy, but 315 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: let's say he was stressed and maybe a little distracted 316 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: with this other stuff, because apparently the first drawing he 317 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: made was just garbage, terrible, you know, it's like a 318 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: dumpster fire candy bar drawing. But then Fish was past 319 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: those documents and was able to get a little more 320 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: granular and detailed with it. So I just have this 321 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: picture in my head of Lord Rothschild reading the messages 322 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,440 Speaker 1: from the spy and going mmmmm, quite quite and then going, 323 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: oh no, it's a very poor sketched This won't do 324 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 1: one bit. And then you know who's who has the 325 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: boy who draws? Someone send a someone send a memo 326 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: to the boy, the boy. I hope he addressed it, 327 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 1: dear the boy. Yes, of course, that's how they referred 328 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: to their underlings. I hope we've done a pretty good 329 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: job establishing the worry that they were tackling at this time, 330 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 1: or that they were addressing because as well, I hate 331 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: to overuse the word and all, but as ridiculous as 332 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: it sounds today, in this was a very real concern. 333 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,400 Speaker 1: This was quite possibly a way to kill the Prime Minister. Absolutely, 334 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: And then looking through these, uh, these drawings, the thing 335 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: that that occurred to me was, you know, think about 336 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:09,440 Speaker 1: what happens when we go through airport security. Now we 337 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: gotta take out our laptops. There's all kinds of like 338 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: they have to. We can't have you know, hair gel 339 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:18,359 Speaker 1: or certain types of liquid because the technology now and 340 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 1: the everyday objects that it could be embedded in are 341 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: much more complex these drawings and these devices are very 342 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: very analog and very um just practical and functional. And 343 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: it required you know, a physical uh touch to actually detonate, 344 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:38,720 Speaker 1: you know, as opposed to being done by remote or 345 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: being integrated into the circuitry of a phone or a 346 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 1: computer or something like that. So this this was cutting 347 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: edge for the time, right sure, yeah, this stuff. I 348 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 1: really appreciate you saying that because this stuff is all mechanical, 349 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: there's no there's no sort of electronic wizardry or sorcery 350 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: going on here. We also want to tell you about 351 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,360 Speaker 1: just a couple of the other items, no life think 352 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,919 Speaker 1: you mentioned that army mess kit that does look like 353 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 1: a crock pot. They also had a motor oil can 354 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: with explosives inside. You know, maybe not, maybe that's a 355 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: little too on the nose, since motor oil is already 356 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: a dangerous thing around fire. Uh. One of the ideas, 357 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 1: going back to this history in Nigel West, that Germany 358 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 1: was focusing on was destroying ships that would reach the 359 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: United Kingdom so they could deprive Britain of food stuffs. 360 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: And this would be you know, this is almost like 361 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,199 Speaker 1: a siege mentality at that point. And we say this 362 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 1: because sure, killing the prime minister of an enemy country 363 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: would be a setback. Yeah, to say the least. It's 364 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 1: a tremendous coup, right, But if you really want to 365 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: shut down the entire country, then do something that affects everybody. 366 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: So they were really focusing on trying to sink or 367 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: destroy the ships while they were out, let's see and um. 368 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:06,160 Speaker 1: According to an article on the BBC that we found 369 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: from Nick Higghum, the chocolate bar might have been the 370 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: most bizarre explosive device that they found in these drawings, 371 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: but the one that was probably potentially the most effective 372 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: involved the timer. Very intricate timer that would go off 373 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: after twenty one days and involve a rotating disk and 374 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,680 Speaker 1: at the top it says in bold letters, do not 375 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: unscrew here, and at the very bottom equally bold. According 376 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: to this article, unscrew here first. So, you know, very 377 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: important to get those timers right to assure that the 378 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: ship went down well out of range of any kind 379 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:47,399 Speaker 1: of help. Yeah, and devious, right, ingenious daytime. Uh, and 380 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: you know, if we're being objective about it, it's some 381 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,159 Speaker 1: really impressive engineering. We we do have I think a 382 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,359 Speaker 1: cool place to close here, Uh that I think you 383 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 1: will enjoy one of these things might be a surprise 384 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: for uneral. You will be happy to know, friends and 385 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: neighbors that Lawrence Fish went on to become quite a 386 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:12,640 Speaker 1: successful designer graphic artist, right, and he had a longer 387 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: rewarding career. What I probably should have mentioned at the top, 388 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:18,639 Speaker 1: and this is going to be the last fact for 389 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: me regarding this story, is that Winston Churchill himself believed 390 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:29,199 Speaker 1: he had another layer of protection in addition to the 391 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:33,399 Speaker 1: state security forces, in addition to the power of the 392 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: United Kingdom's military. You see, Winston Churchill believed that he 393 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: heard voices and he would obey what those voices told 394 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: him to do when he was convinced on several occasions 395 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 1: that it had saved his life. And it's a very 396 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: it's a very strange kind of HALLOWEENI anecdote to add 397 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 1: their uh, he would hear the voices telling him in 398 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 1: this sort of a bicameral mind thing, almost sit here, 399 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: do this, screwed over here, and followed it without question. 400 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: I would call that intuition, but that's just me. He 401 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 1: was very specific that it was a golden voice that 402 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 1: he would hear. Interesting. I wonder if it told him 403 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: to keep drinking. Probably did, And I wonder if it 404 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: plays into um Gary Oldman's depiction of him in this 405 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,120 Speaker 1: upcoming film Churchill, which we will have to go see. Yes, 406 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: we can only hope. We are off today to fanboy 407 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:34,159 Speaker 1: a little bit about the flawed but amazing historical figure 408 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:39,360 Speaker 1: known as Winston Churchill, who famously and perhaps unknowingly to himself, 409 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: avoided death by chocolate. Oh, I was holding on to 410 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: that reference for a while. I think there's like a 411 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: that's like a fancy like T. G. I Friday's style. Uh, 412 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,880 Speaker 1: you know, molten lava chocolate cake, because it's really death 413 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 1: by chocolate. Absolutely that exists as a thing. Yeah, what's 414 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:01,120 Speaker 1: your favorite delicious treat um, explosive of or otherwise Write 415 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,199 Speaker 1: us at Ridiculous at how stuff works and let us know. 416 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 1: You can also find us on Facebook, on Instagram. Still 417 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:08,920 Speaker 1: working on that vision board for Pinterests. It will come 418 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: one day, um, but not today, my friends, and we 419 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,560 Speaker 1: hope you join us on another day for another installment 420 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 1: of ridiculous history.