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 --> 00:00:22,159 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 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: Long before it haunted medieval stories, the Bacterium Yoursenia pestis 7 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: emerged on the steps of Central Asia, setting the stage 8 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: for a catastrophe that would later be remembered across Europe 9 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: as the Black Death. In the thirteen hundreds, it was 10 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: carried westward in caravans on the Silk Road, and in 11 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: thirteen forty seven it made itself known to the population 12 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: of Europe in horrifying fashion in the town of Messina, 13 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: when twelve ships docked from the Black Sea. Port workers 14 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: and onlookers were horrified to discover that the bulk of 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: the sailors aboard each of the ships had died, covered 16 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 1: in black boils. And in the many years to follow 17 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: it would decimate nations and in one case may have 18 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: actually been used as the first instance of biological warfare 19 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: in the fourteenth century, Crimea was a hotspot for commerce, 20 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: and the Republic of Genoa now northern Italy, had a 21 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: trading outpost in Kafa, where enslave people's silk and foodstuffs 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 1: were bought and sold. But the Genoese town stood as 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: an affront to the Golden Horde, an offshoot of the 24 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: Mongolian Empire under the rule of Khan Johnny Beg. Due 25 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: to religious differences and trade disagreements, the Khan found the 26 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: Genoese troublesome, and after a massive brawl between Muslims and 27 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: Christians in the city of Tana, they laid siege to 28 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: that city. The Genoese escaped to Kafa, another trading post 29 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: long allowed by the Golden Horde, and continued their business there, 30 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: but the Khan had grown tired of the Genoese. Tensions 31 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: rose enough that the Genoese government sent a fleet to Kafa, 32 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: including a considerable number of soldiers, to fortify the settlement's defenses. 33 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: It was the end of August in thirteen forty six 34 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: when the Golden Horde arrived to surround Kafa with an 35 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: army numbering in the thousands. They began the work of 36 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: laying siege to the city, digging trenches and building siege 37 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: towers from which to attack. Any attempt by the Genoese 38 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: to halt their action was violently pushed back, and so 39 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: by early September, as stones flew from trebuchets and archers 40 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,959 Speaker 1: sent cascades of arrows over the city walls, the Genoese 41 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 1: were cut off from any reinforcements or supplies that could 42 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: ever come by land. Their attackers did not go unscathed, 43 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: though the plague had entered the Mongol camp with the 44 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: rats and quickly began infecting their army. Now historians all 45 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: agree that the plague eventually did spread on to the Genoese, 46 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: but a particular story emerged to explain how. You see. 47 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: In addition to the stones and arrows that the Golden 48 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: Horde hurled over the walls of the city, they also 49 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: began launching the bodies of their plague victims, and as 50 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: the defenders inside the walls attempted to remove those bodies, 51 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: the disease began to infect them too. As a result, 52 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: the Genoese found themselves increasingly outnumbered as their own fell 53 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 1: to the plague. In desperation, they came up with a 54 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: daring plan. Under the cover of night, they slipped out 55 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: from the city walls and set fire to the trebuchets 56 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 1: and siege engines that had caused so much destruction, attacking 57 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: those who came to fight the blaze. By the time 58 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: they made it back to the city, they had managed 59 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: to kill a large number of their attackers, although not 60 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: nearly enough to make a difference. In the end. It 61 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: wasn't clever warfare that finally ended the siege. It was 62 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: a second wave of plague that swept through the Golden Horde, 63 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: killing nearly a third of their entire army. This massive 64 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: blow made the CON's campaign increasingly untenable. On the fourth 65 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: of October, the Khan made the decision to abandon Kafa. 66 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: His men retreated, leaving the besieged city to the Genoese. 67 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: It could hardly be described as a victory, though their 68 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: own ranks had been ravaged, and the boatloads of victims 69 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: that they had sent to other ports only helped us 70 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: spread the Black Death across Europe. It was the first 71 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: wave of a pandemic that a claim between a quarter 72 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: and one third of the entire population of Europe. The 73 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: siege of Kafa illustrates how a single flashpoints can intertwine warfare, trade, 74 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: and disease into a torrent that reshapes continents. Although the 75 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: Genoese managed to hold the city, the conditions created by 76 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: the siege created a series of channels for the Black 77 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: Death to make its way into Europe. Whether or not 78 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: the Golden Horde truly catapulted plague infested corpses over the 79 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: walls remains a topic of debate, but the legacy of 80 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: the siege reminds us that the consequences of warfare extend 81 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: far beyond the battlefield, creating tragedies that echo down to 82 00:04:50,080 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: us through history. Austin, Texas is home to its fair 83 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: share of skyscrapers. The city slogan keep Austin Weird is 84 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: exemplified in the unusual designs that are used in buildings 85 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: all over the city, from a power plant built in 86 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: an Art Deco style to the lonely moonlight towers illuminating 87 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: the city at night. Austinites have been redefining urban architecture 88 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: for decades, and perhaps no one more than the artist 89 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: Vince Hanneman. In nineteen eighty eight, Vince began creating what 90 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 1: has become Austin's most unusual structure, and he did it 91 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: in his very own backyard. Weighing over sixty tons and 92 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: standing more than thirty feet high, it is much smaller 93 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: than the skyscrapers a few blocks north. But what makes 94 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: this tower so special are the materials used in its construction. 95 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: Aside from a few iron trusses, Vince's entire backyard structure 96 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: is made of junk. It started with Vince seeking out 97 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 1: heavy pieces of mass produced materials, but most of the 98 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: structure today is made from donations local schools, closing businesses, 99 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: tour groups of other artisans. They all bring something to contribute. 100 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: You might be picturing a massive pile of trash in 101 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: someone's backyard, but Vince's build is much more artistic than that. 102 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: The central tower of the structure is mostly discarded car 103 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: bumpers and old plumbing equipment, with a thrown room at 104 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 1: its center. An old red recliner welded to a mountain 105 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: of old bicycle parts sits in the middle, and on 106 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: either side of it are staircases made of rusting brass 107 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: instruments and pieces of iron fences. The cathedral of junk 108 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,840 Speaker 1: has quite a few levels and the structures are sound 109 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: enough for most people to ascend them. The second floor 110 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: of the cathedral contains a lookout point where visitors can 111 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: see the Austin skyline from Vince's own backyard. But one 112 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: issue here is that you can also see Vince's cathedral 113 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: from pretty far away. Is see. Austin might embrace its 114 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: weird side and lean into creativity more than a lot 115 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: of other cities, but that doesn't mean that Vince's neighbors 116 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 1: are all that thrilled to be living next door to 117 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: this particular public piece of art. From some perspectives, the 118 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: cathedral is basically just a pyramid of trash in someone's backyard, 119 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: and so a few of the neighbors formed a group 120 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: and they complained to the City of Austin. At first, 121 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: they tried to get the whole thing demolished. Unfortunately, Texas 122 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: is big on personal freedoms, and the local government wasn't 123 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,119 Speaker 1: keen to remove a community landmark just because some people 124 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: thought that it was an iore, which is why in 125 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: twenty ten that same group of neighbors got the Austin 126 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: Code Department involved. Maybe there wasn't much that you could 127 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: do about someone's backyard landscaping. But how could anyone be 128 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: sure the building was even safe if a bad storm 129 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: or a tornado came their way. What was to stop 130 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: debris from flying out from Vince's backyard and straight through 131 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: a neighbor's roof or window. When Vince learned the cathedral 132 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 1: would be subjected to dozens of inspections, he thought about 133 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: throwing in the towel right then and there. He had 134 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: enjoyed making it, certainly, but he had never intended to 135 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: make junk building his entire life. But like all good Texans, 136 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: Vince believed a person should be able to do what 137 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: they pleased with their own property. His mind was made up. 138 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: Let the inspections begin, and so they did. City officials 139 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: poked and prodded every inch of Vince's creation, looking for 140 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: weak spots, and they found virtually none. This thing is 141 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: built to withstand Texas storms, Vince boasted to one man 142 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: who did his best to shake the base of the structure. Engineers, inspectors, 143 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: public safety officers all did their best to find a flaw. 144 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: In the end, only one thing had to go. As 145 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: Vince describes it, I called it the TV pyramid. About 146 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: two hundred old screens i'd stacked together. One guy told me, 147 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 1: this isn't a pyramid, this is just a pile. And 148 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: I told him, well, what kind of pile experts are you? 149 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: Aren't we just a kind of pile. The engineer was 150 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: unmoved by this philosophical question, though, and the pyramid came down. Today, 151 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: they have been moved to a smaller zen garden of TVs. 152 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: Vince is still welcoming guests into his backyard cathedral. He's 153 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,679 Speaker 1: happy to answer question stus about where things came from 154 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 1: or how he put them together. But that isn't what 155 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: everyone wants to know, Vince says. People ask me all 156 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: the time, what made you want to do this like 157 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: it had some sort of profound meaning. I just did 158 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: it because I liked it, and when I stop liking it, 159 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: I'll take it down. And as for those who love 160 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: what Vince has done for Austin's artistic community, they hope 161 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: that day never comes. I hope you enjoyed today's guided 162 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created 163 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manke in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched 164 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: and written by the Grim and Mild team. And produced 165 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and the 166 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: people who make it over at Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. 167 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: You'll also find a link to the official Cabinet of 168 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online, as well 169 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an 170 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: ad free option, consider joining our Patreon. It's all the 171 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,560 Speaker 1: same stories, but without the interruption for a small monthly fee. 172 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,680 Speaker 1: Learn more and sign up over at patreon dot com, 173 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: slash Grimandmild, and until next time, stay curious.