1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. In nineteen eighty two, 7 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 2: Martha Stewart published her debut book called Entertaining, a breathed 8 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 2: new life into the idea of cocktail hours and themed 9 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 2: dinner parties. Martha gave instructions on how to throw elaborate 10 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 2: celebrations with friends. She thought of everything too, from the 11 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 2: menu to the decor. The book quickly became a bestseller. 12 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 2: Forty three years later, it sold over a million copies, 13 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 2: and people still loved the recipes and tricks hidden within 14 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 2: its pages. It just goes to show that hosting is 15 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 2: an art. Stephen understood that when he. 16 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: Decided to throw a reception at the college where he worked, 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: everything had to be perfect because his guests were traveling 18 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: a long way to attend. But with careful preparation and 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: attention to detail, he was able to throw a party 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: for the ages in fact, it's still talked about today, 21 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: and if all went according to plan, it would be 22 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: remembered for centuries to come. On June twenty eighth of 23 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, an event planner hurried around a 24 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: reception hall at the University of Cambridge. She wanted everything 25 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: to be perfect for that day's reception, especially considering who 26 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: was hosting the party. She covered the tables with crisp 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: Linen's so that the caterers could arrange the appetizers. She 28 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 1: blew up balloons to decorate the hall, and placed champagne 29 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: glasses on the nearest table by the door, and then 30 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: a finishing touch, a cherry bouquet of flowers at the 31 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: center of the food table. The room looked perfect. At 32 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: twelve pm, on the nose, the party's host came into 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: the room, Professor Stephen Hawking, the world famous theoretical physicist 34 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: and cosmologist. He was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge 35 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: and the director of Research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology, 36 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,679 Speaker 1: so any party he threw was bound to be well attended. 37 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: And yet the minutes crept by and the reception hall 38 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: stayed empty. Not one person pop by to say hello. 39 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: The staff there exchanged looks. Stephen Hawking was a renowned 40 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: scientist and one of the most respected minds in his field. 41 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: When he threw a party, people showed up. It had 42 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: been a long road to get there. Hawking began his 43 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: study of physics at the age of seventeen at University 44 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,919 Speaker 1: College Oxford. He then went on to earn a PhD 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Cambridge. But a 46 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: year into his PhD program, when Hawking was just twenty 47 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: one years old, he was diagnosed with a rare, slow 48 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: moving form of motor neuron disease. It would slowly paralyze 49 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 1: him over the course of his life. Soon enough, he 50 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: was bound to a wheelchair, and then he lost his 51 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: ability to speak and relied on a speech generating computer 52 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: to be his voice. But while Hawking was physically limited, 53 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: his mind traversed the cosmos. As a scientist, he made 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: a number of breakthroughs and furthered our understanding of the 55 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: laws that govern our universe. He wanted a wider audience 56 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: to understand his findings, so he wrote books that managed 57 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: to simplify complex scientific ideas so that non scientists like 58 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: us could better understand time and space. His most popular book, 59 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: A Brief History of Time, was on the New York 60 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: Times bestsellers list for an astounding two hundred and thirty 61 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: seven weeks. All of which is to say he was 62 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: not the kind of person to throw a dud of 63 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: a party. But Haking didn't seem upset. In fact, a 64 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: small smile crept across his face. He moved around the 65 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: room passing time, and finally, after a few hours, he 66 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: thanked the staff for their work and told them the 67 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: party had been a great success. The event planner was 68 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: obviously confused, but told the staff to go ahead and 69 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: clean up. The next morning, on June twenty ninth, Stephen 70 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: Hawking told his assistant that he had an errand to run. 71 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: He gestured to a stack of invitations on his desk 72 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: and said that they needed to be mailed out immediately. 73 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: They were invitations for the previous night's party. The assistant 74 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: raised an eyebrow, after all, people usually send out invitations 75 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: a few weeks before a party, not to the day 76 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: after when nobody could show up. But when she read 77 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: one of the invitations on Hawking's desk, she suddenly understood 78 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: and burst out laughing. The invitations read you are cordially 79 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,560 Speaker 1: invited to a reception for time Travelers twelve pm, June 80 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, two thousand and nine. No RSVP required. Stephen 81 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: Hawking had thrown a party for time travelers, but waited 82 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: to mail out the invitations until the next day. Hawking 83 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: wanted to prove whether or not time travel was possible. 84 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:57,919 Speaker 1: He was confident that at least one copy of his 85 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: invitation would survive for hundreds or even thousands of years. 86 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: Surely someone from the future would travel back in time 87 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: and join him for a glass of bubbly. But nobody 88 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: showed up, which meant that time travel is either impossible 89 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,840 Speaker 1: or is never achieved by humans. Of course, there's always 90 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: a chance that his party invitations got lost, or that 91 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: time traveler simply had no interest in attending his party. 92 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: So in twenty eighteen, when Stephen Hawking passed away, his 93 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: estate made one last attempt to prove time travel might 94 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: be real. They allowed anyone with a birthday through December 95 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: thirty first, twenty thirty eight to register for tickets to 96 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 1: his public funeral. That way, if someone from the future 97 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: wanted to come, they'd be able to register online. What 98 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: is entertainment worth to the average person? This question existed 99 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: ever since the first person paid for a poem or 100 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: commissioned a bard to write a song. It's deeply personal 101 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: and inextricably linked to our priorities as people living in 102 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: the world. When we buy a concert or movie ticket, 103 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: how do we know that we're getting our money's worth? 104 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: And the further back in history we go, the higher 105 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: stakes this question becomes, especially since there were far fewer 106 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: avenues for entertainment. 107 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 2: Well. 108 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: This issue came to a head in eighteen oh nine 109 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: in London. Live theater was extremely popular than the previous year. 110 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: The theaters at Covent Garden and Drury Lane burned down. 111 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: Covid Garden rebuilt and planned to reopen its doors to 112 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: the British public, who was eager to get back to 113 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: the theater. However, there was a sticking point. To recoup 114 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: the costs of theater repair, Covid Garden theater management increased 115 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: their ticket prices, so box seats now cost seven shillings 116 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: rather than six. Seats in the pits were raised from 117 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: three shillings to four, and worst of all, the third 118 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: tier of seating was no longer available for individual shows, 119 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: but rented yearly to the tune of three hundred pounds, 120 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: prohibitively expensive for the average member of the British public, 121 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: and the theater management knew that people wouldn't be happy 122 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: in their play bills. They explained the reasoning for the 123 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: ticket prices. The reconstruction had cost one hundred and fifty 124 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: thousand pounds and they were dealing with rent prices that 125 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: had shot up since the fire. Opening nights was Monday, 126 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: September eighteenth of eighteen oh nine. The theatre's manager, John Kembell, 127 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: was scheduled to go up before the show for a 128 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: brief address about the refurbished auditorium. He was also an 129 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: actor who was to play the lead role of the 130 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: play that night. When he stepped out on stage, he 131 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: was greeted with polite applause from the wealthy patrons in 132 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: the boxes, and then hissing and jeers overtook the applause. 133 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: The voices predominantly came from the pit the floor of 134 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: the theater, and they continued to loudly protest throughout the performance. 135 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: Policemen were called in to try and calm them down, 136 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: but it only made matters worse. For show after show, 137 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: people filled the pit with the intention of disrupting the 138 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: action on stage. Some banged pots and pans, others shouted 139 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: loudly or sang songs. A public relations war broke out 140 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: between the theater management and the supporters of the riots. 141 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: Posters went up defending the new prices, and the riots 142 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: continued no matter how many times they were hauled away 143 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: and jailed. The series of disruptions became known as the 144 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: Old Price Riots, with participants referring to themselves as ops. 145 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: Their disruptions were aggressive, loudly criticizing the theater for greed, 146 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: but very little of the theater itself was damaged in 147 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: the chaos. The disruption, however, was too much for the 148 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: managers to handle. In December, John Kemball had the theater 149 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,560 Speaker 1: closed while the managing directors looked over the books to 150 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: make a decision. They settled on returning to the original 151 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: pricing for the remainder of the season. Kemball issued a 152 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: public apology and was greeted by a sign in the 153 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: pits reading simply we are satisfied. Hoping that it would 154 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: be soon forgotten, Kemball attempted to bring back the idea 155 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: of private boxes at the start of the following season, 156 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: when the rioters returned in force, the idea was quickly scrapped. 157 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: At the center of the old price riots was class. 158 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 1: Live theater, which today is extremely expensive, was an entertainment 159 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 1: accessible by all, and attempting to cut working class Londoners 160 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: out of the experience was seen as offensive. Works by 161 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: playwrights like Shakespeare shouldn't be restricted to the ruling class. 162 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: It was a hard learned lesson for the season thespian 163 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,959 Speaker 1: and businessmen like Kemball, but he took it to heart. 164 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,959 Speaker 1: Although the riots caused little property damage, injuries had been 165 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: common throughout the months of protest. It is sad to 166 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: say that in the chaos twenty people died, although historical 167 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: accounts are fuzzy on how these deaths occurred and who 168 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: these twenty people had been. But what it shows to 169 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: us now is that affordable theater was important to them, 170 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: It was worth fighting for. And the play that opened 171 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: that fateful season at Covent Garden naturally it was a 172 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: popu one that would bring in the crowds, and it 173 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: was also the most famous cursed play ever written. William 174 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: Shakespeare's Macbeth. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 175 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 176 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,479 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 177 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 178 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 179 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 180 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 181 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, 182 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: stay curious.