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 --> 00:00:14,440 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 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Water. 6 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: It's one of the most essential resources around. Most of 7 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: our bodies and most of the planets are made up 8 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: of it. Nowadays, we take water for granted, very literally. 9 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,919 Speaker 1: You turn on the tap and water flows indefinitely. It 10 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: never crosses your mind that there is a finite amount. 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: The sky is blue, the earth is round, and water 12 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: comes out of a faucet. Our ancient ancestors used to 13 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,319 Speaker 1: spend every day of their life ensuring that they had 14 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,679 Speaker 1: access to clean water. They developed ingenious methods for supplying it, 15 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: methods that have shaped our modern world more than we realize. 16 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: Four thousand years ago, for example, an ancient people began 17 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: to make their way north from the Maya civilization in Mexico. 18 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: Their entire worldview was different. They had no concept of 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: how big the earth is or their place in it, 20 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: no scientific method to give them answers to where the 21 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: weather comes from or what it might be like one 22 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: day after the next. And the Sonoran Desert where they 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: were headed, is not an ideal place to live. There 24 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: is so little moisture there that everything has evolved to 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: protect what little water it can get. The cacti will 26 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: prick you, and the rattlesnakes will poison you. There's an 27 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: insect there known as the tarantula hawk that's basically a 28 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: massive wasp with orange wings. It sting is the most 29 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: painful of any insect on the planet. It will leave 30 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: you in such excruciating pain that you won't be able 31 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: to form a coherent thought for five whole minutes, which 32 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: of course will feel like five out. So naturally, our 33 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: desert people stuck to the Salt and Ghia rivers, and 34 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: they thrived. They traded with other ancient people in Mexico 35 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: and southern California and formed an empire. But as their 36 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: population grew into the tens of thousands, they could no 37 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: longer confine themselves to the river banks. They had to 38 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: venture further into the desert. Now, given the dangers we've discussed, 39 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: one would think that they might have just tried some 40 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: population control. We all know that humans aren't great at that, though, 41 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: so instead they began to dig. They dug canals fifteen 42 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: feet deep and forty five feet wide, lengthening the rivers 43 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: further into the desert. When the water flow was too weak, 44 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: they narrowed the canals, creating a pressure. When it was 45 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: too strong, they widened the canals. And they did this 46 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: for over one thousand miles, making adjustments for every hill 47 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: and valley. Soon their civilization numbered as much as eighty thousand, 48 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: and then just like that, they disappeared. Hundreds of years later, 49 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: a new civilization arrived in the desert, American settlers looking 50 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: for gold. One of those settlers, a man named Jack Swilling, 51 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,519 Speaker 1: stumbled across a massive underground ditch while he was working 52 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: his gold claim. He realized that it went on for miles, 53 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: eventually connecting to a river. So with the help of 54 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: sixteen other miners, he dug out the canals and reconnected 55 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: them to the Salt River. Soon he had water flowing 56 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: again in the desert, allowing for thousands of miners to 57 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: drink from the canals and grow crops. Darryl Dupa, an 58 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: English lord who had come to settle in the area 59 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: was moved by the site of this new civilization born 60 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: out of ancient canals. He took it all in and said, 61 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: a city will rise Phoenix, like new and beautiful from 62 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: the ashes of the past. And so Phoenix, Arizona was born. Today, 63 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: Phoenix continues to get its water from improved versions of 64 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: the same canals dug by the ancient Sonorans. They are 65 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: now called the Johokum, a word from the more modern 66 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: Pima Native Americans that means those who have vanished, and 67 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: Arizonans do well to remember that name and its meaning, 68 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: because as much as the Johokum civilization flourished, it ended 69 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: just as quickly, and the prevailing theory is that they 70 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: moved on after they finally ran out of their most 71 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: valuable resource, water. The canals are susceptible to drought, and 72 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: Arizona has experienced one for fifteen years. Though modern advances 73 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 1: allow for greater water pumping and storage, the system is 74 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: experiencing more strains than ever, and in our modern world, 75 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: various corporate interests compete for the water on top of 76 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: what has already needed to sustain the local lives. Today, 77 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: Phoenix is the fifth largest city in America. But if 78 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: its occupants don't learn from history, their city, risen from 79 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: the ashes of the past, will be reclaimed by the 80 00:04:44,560 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: desert where the rattlesnakes and the tarantula hawks are waiting. Officially, 81 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: then national drink of England is tea. But if you've 82 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: spent any time in the United Kingdom, then you know 83 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: that another beverage reigns supreme in the hearts of many Brits, 84 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:14,679 Speaker 1: a drink that causes millions to race to the nearest 85 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: watering hole every day at quitting time. I'm talking, of course, 86 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: about beer. Yes, the British loved their pints and have 87 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: for centuries. In the sixteen hundreds, beer was almost more 88 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: popular than water, which was easily contaminated, especially in urban areas. 89 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: The brewing process killed a lot of the bacteria that 90 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,799 Speaker 1: made water dangerous at the time. As a result, beer 91 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: was seen as not just more nutritious, but also healthier, 92 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: and according to a lot of people, it just plain 93 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: tasted better too. It wasn't uncommon for working men to 94 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: have a beer with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Many would 95 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: average eight to ten beers a day. This drinking habit 96 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: became a major problem in sixteen oh seven, when one 97 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: hundred and four English settlers crossed the Atlantic to establish 98 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: the colony of Jamestown. Upon their arrival, one of the 99 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: colonists first acts was to establish a town brewery. But 100 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: simply erecting a building didn't do them much good because 101 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: none of them actually knew how to brew. You see, 102 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: virtually all of the initial colonists were men, and in 103 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: the seventeenth century, brewing was a task that had been 104 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: traditionally done by women, often in their own home kitchens, 105 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: and it wasn't the only skill the colonists lacked. Most 106 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: of them couldn't sew, cook, bake bread, or make cheese, 107 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: all of which were essential skills for basic living. So 108 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,280 Speaker 1: as the months passed, their food stores waned and their 109 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 1: clothes became more threadbare and ragged. Without female companions, many 110 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: of the colonists became lonely, even depressed, and yet one 111 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 1: of their most consistent complaints was the frustratingly poor supplies 112 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: of beer. Within a few years, men were abandoning the 113 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: colonies in droves. England was on the verge of giving 114 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: up on the whole venture altogether, but Sir Edwin Sandy's 115 00:06:57,440 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 1: of the Virginia Company convinced them to give it one 116 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: more shot. They would send another ship of colonists to Jamestown. 117 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,559 Speaker 1: Only this one would not carry men, but young women, 118 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: all eligible brides who hopefully would marry the existing colonists 119 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: and save Jamestown front collapse. Now, as you might expect, 120 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: the company had a hard time finding women willing to 121 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: give up their lives in England and make the trip. 122 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: To convince them, the company offered to pay the women's dowries, 123 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: allowing poorer women to move up the social ladder. But 124 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: they couldn't just send anyone. The company sought out young 125 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: women who had the skills that the male colonists lacked, 126 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:33,679 Speaker 1: and one of the most important skills they were looking 127 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: for was the ability to brew beer. The first ship 128 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: of roughly one hundred women arrived in sixteen twenty, with 129 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: more to follow soon. The next year, the colonists planted 130 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,239 Speaker 1: their first crop of hops, a crucial ingredient in beer 131 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: and ale. After fourteen years, the Jamestown colonists were finally 132 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: on their way to a functional brewing industry. But the 133 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: road before them wasn't easy. They lacked many of the 134 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: ingredients typically used in English beverages, and warm summers made 135 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: brewing alcohol difficult in general to get by, the female 136 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: brewers had to be incredibly creative. Instead of barley, they 137 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: used whatever vegetables they could get their hands on, things 138 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: like corn, pumpkin, molasses, ivy, and even common weeds. They 139 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: experimented constantly, creating complex recipes involving ginger root, sage, rye, 140 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: and more. The resulting drinks had little in common with 141 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: English beer, but they did the trick. The brewing industry blossomed, 142 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:34,599 Speaker 1: and by seventeen seventy the American colonies were awash with alcohol, 143 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: with the most popular drinks being cider, rum and beer. 144 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: Now that changed in seventeen seventy five with the start 145 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: of the American Revolution. Beer was still associated with England 146 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: and drinking it was suddenly viewed as unpatriotic. In its place, 147 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: whiskey rose to become the most popular form of alcohol. 148 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: Everything comes full circle, though, and today beer is back 149 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: on top as America's favorite alcoholic beverage. Cracking a cold 150 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 1: one on July fourth is once again a patriotic pastime, 151 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: so long as your beer of choice is brewed in 152 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:14,559 Speaker 1: the good old us of a. I hope you've enjoyed 153 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 154 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 155 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 156 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 157 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 158 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 159 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 160 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.