WEBVTT - Bagged & Tagged

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of

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<v Speaker 1>the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all

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<v Speaker 1>of these amazing tales are right there on display, just

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you've heard this message before on a speaker above

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<v Speaker 1>your heads. Please maintain control of your personal belongings at

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<v Speaker 1>all times. Unattended baggage is subject to search, inspection, damage,

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<v Speaker 1>and removal. That's the standard tsa security message in an

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<v Speaker 1>American airport. Its message is simple and clear too. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have a bag, keep it with you at all times,

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<v Speaker 1>and if you leave the bag alon, you're essentially giving

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<v Speaker 1>up responsibility for what happens to it. But what does

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<v Speaker 1>happen to a suitcase that gets left behind? Where does

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<v Speaker 1>it go? We know that every airport has a lost

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<v Speaker 1>and found, But do items remain there forever? If they

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<v Speaker 1>are never claimed? Does security eventually throw them out like

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<v Speaker 1>they do with suspicious water bottles and knives on carry

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<v Speaker 1>on luggage? If you've ever wondered this, then you wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be the first person. For decades, people would forget about

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<v Speaker 1>their bags in airports and it would go straight to

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<v Speaker 1>whatever storage they could find for it. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>problem not just for airlines but for all sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>mass transit companies. If there's one thing more universal than

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<v Speaker 1>the human desire for travel, it's our ability to leave

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<v Speaker 1>our important belongings behind at the first opportunity. It's estimated

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<v Speaker 1>that half a percent of baggage goes permanently unclaimed at airports,

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<v Speaker 1>but with hundreds of millions of people traveling the country

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<v Speaker 1>in a year, that still means millions of bags that

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<v Speaker 1>need somewhere to go. Well, one curious tale might just

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<v Speaker 1>add answer the question. In nineteen seventy, Doyle Owens of Scottsboro, Alabama,

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<v Speaker 1>was talking to a bus driver friend on Ham radio.

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<v Speaker 1>The bus driver mentioned offhand that the buses always deal

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<v Speaker 1>with loads of excess baggage that gets left behind, far

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<v Speaker 1>more than they could ever deal with. Owens was just

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<v Speaker 1>an insurance salesman, but he knew a market opportunity when

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<v Speaker 1>he saw one. Shortly after, he borrowed a pickup truck,

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<v Speaker 1>took out a loan, and drove to Washington, d C.

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<v Speaker 1>To pick up a load of unclaned baggage from the

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<v Speaker 1>bus company's headquarters. Along with his wife, Sue, and his

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<v Speaker 1>two sons, he went to work selling the baggage and

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<v Speaker 1>its contents thrift store style, first from a rented house,

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<v Speaker 1>then from a warehouse. It was enough of a success

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<v Speaker 1>that eight years later he partnered with his first airline

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<v Speaker 1>in order to handle their leftover baggage for them. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>all domestic airlines had deals with this little company in Alabama.

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<v Speaker 1>Even as it kept expanding, the unique appeal of the

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<v Speaker 1>Unclaimed Baggage Center remained intact. It's like a miniature city

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<v Speaker 1>of lost and forgotten objects, from the mundane to the

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<v Speaker 1>truly strange, and it should come as no surprise that

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<v Speaker 1>when news outlets found out about the company, they were

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<v Speaker 1>eager to feature them. A nineteen ninety five piece on

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<v Speaker 1>the Oprah Show catapulted them into a greater stratosphere of awareness,

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<v Speaker 1>and soon the Unclaimed Baggage Center was not just a

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<v Speaker 1>small business anymore. It was a tourist attraction. In the

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<v Speaker 1>late nineteen nineties, they founded the Museum of Lost Treasures,

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<v Speaker 1>a companion building that would feature the strangest and most

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<v Speaker 1>interesting items that the Owens family had found over the

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<v Speaker 1>years at various times throughout history. They found such items

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<v Speaker 1>as a Renaissance loot, a live rattlesnake, an Egyptian burial mask,

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<v Speaker 1>and in the late nineteen nineties they found a bag

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<v Speaker 1>full of props and puppets from the Jim Henson Company,

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<v Speaker 1>and among those Henson objects was the full puppet for

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<v Speaker 1>the character Hoggle from the film Labyrinth. Naturally, the Unclaimed

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<v Speaker 1>Baggage Center reached out to the Henson Company to see

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<v Speaker 1>if they wanted the back back. In a spirit of

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<v Speaker 1>good humor, the Henson family allowed them to keep the

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<v Speaker 1>puppet of Hoggle, which now lives in the Museum of

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<v Speaker 1>Lost Treasures. And it's easy enough to see why, after all,

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<v Speaker 1>the Unclaim Baggage Center is it away a special sort

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<v Speaker 1>of labyrinth. Marylyn and Maurice watched the sunrise over sixty

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<v Speaker 1>four million square miles of endless, deep blue water. They

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<v Speaker 1>had sailed over six thousand miles from England across the Atlantic,

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<v Speaker 1>through the Panama Canal and past the Galopagus Islands. It

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<v Speaker 1>was an absolute triumph. Maurice rested a hand on his

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<v Speaker 1>wife's back, taking in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean

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<v Speaker 1>from the sun bleached deck of their small ship. They

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<v Speaker 1>had named it the Orlon, from a combination of Maurice

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<v Speaker 1>and Maryland's first names and a symbol of the adventure

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<v Speaker 1>that they were embarking on together. The Baileys were surprised

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<v Speaker 1>to find that a life at sea suited them. Setting

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<v Speaker 1>sail in June of nineteen seventy two, they'd become closer

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<v Speaker 1>than ever before, and nine months later, in March of

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventy three, the prospect of another few months spent

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<v Speaker 1>in tight quarters felt comforting, not daunting. New Zealand Their

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<v Speaker 1>final destination lay another five thousand miles away, across the

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<v Speaker 1>largest ocean in the world. Marilyn looked up at her husband,

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<v Speaker 1>beaming at his tanned brow and newfound freckles. What a

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<v Speaker 1>perfect day spent with her perfect husband on this perfect boat.

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<v Speaker 1>And then came the whale, an injured, confused sperm whale,

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<v Speaker 1>rising to the surface for a breath of air and

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<v Speaker 1>destroying the Orelan in one fell swoop. Maurice and Maryland

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't believe their bad luck. Here they'd been floating through

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of the Pacific Ocean, literally millions of square

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<v Speaker 1>miles of water, and they were rear ended by a whale.

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<v Speaker 1>Needless to say, this was not what they were expecting.

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<v Speaker 1>Maurice and Maryland Bailey were not particularly adventurous people. The

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<v Speaker 1>whole point of the sailing trip had been to break

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<v Speaker 1>up the monotony of their quiet, middle aged lives back

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<v Speaker 1>in England, and they weren't professional sailors either. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>Maryland couldn't even swim. They sold all their possessions to

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<v Speaker 1>buy the Orland and pay for Maurice's sailing lessons. Down

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<v Speaker 1>at a nearby harbor. Now thousands of miles away from home,

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<v Speaker 1>they were literally on a sinking ship, in close proximity

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<v Speaker 1>to at least one massive whale, and no idea how

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<v Speaker 1>to call for rescue. The Orland sank within minutes. Fortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>Maryland and Maurice were calm in the crisis. Maurice retrieved

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<v Speaker 1>the circular rubber life raft, about the size of a

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<v Speaker 1>kiddie pool, while Maryland raced to find medical supplies, a compass,

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<v Speaker 1>and enough provisions in case rescue took a few days.

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<v Speaker 1>Minutes earlier, they'd been enjoying a beautiful sunrise aboard the ship.

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<v Speaker 1>They called home a ship that was currently sinking to

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom of the Pacific, taking all their worldly possessions

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<v Speaker 1>with it. The first week passed easily. Yes, the small

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<v Speaker 1>raft was uncomfortable, Yes, alone, time became a forgotten luxury.

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<v Speaker 1>But each day the Baileys were sure they'd be rescued.

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<v Speaker 1>They rationed their canned food, calculated their approximate location, and

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<v Speaker 1>took turns watching for passing ships. By the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the first month, things started to look dire. Several ships

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<v Speaker 1>had passed without seeing the Bailey's raft or their signal flares.

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<v Speaker 1>They were out of food and out of water. They

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<v Speaker 1>were sunburnt, exhausted, and significantly less hopeful than before. Sharks

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<v Speaker 1>bumped against the bottom of the rubber raft and to survive,

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<v Speaker 1>the Baileys ate raw fish and turtles caught with their

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<v Speaker 1>bare hands, and drank rain water collected in their empty cans.

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<v Speaker 1>But surprisingly, this turn of events also pushed Maurice and

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<v Speaker 1>Maryland closer than ever before. They played games together. Imaginary

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<v Speaker 1>dinner party was their favorite. What a delicious roast beef,

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<v Speaker 1>Maurice would comment when Marylyn handed him a strip of

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<v Speaker 1>turtle meat, and those buttered rolls smell incredible lovely Marilyn

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<v Speaker 1>would agree. She would jab her finger at Maurice's ribs,

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<v Speaker 1>poking through his skin, but save room for dessert. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's a lemon tart. On June thirtieth, over a

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<v Speaker 1>year since the Baileys had set sail, and nearly four

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<v Speaker 1>months after the Orland sank, a South Korean fishing boat

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<v Speaker 1>spotted a piece of debris floating on the surface. The

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<v Speaker 1>Baileys had done everything they could to flag down the ship,

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<v Speaker 1>but they were weak with malnutrition and they were out

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<v Speaker 1>of flares. Since becoming stranded on the open sea, seven

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<v Speaker 1>ships had passed Maurice and Maryland by, and as this

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<v Speaker 1>fishing boat, the eighth ship passed through the Bailey's lost hope,

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<v Speaker 1>But then the fishing boat turned around and it headed

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<v Speaker 1>straight for them. When the Baileys were finally pulled aboard,

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<v Speaker 1>they were skeletal. Each of them had lost approximately forty

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<v Speaker 1>pounds and were covered in sores from the disintegrating rubber

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<v Speaker 1>raft and more than that. After months trapped in four

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<v Speaker 1>square feet of space, they were unable to stand, but

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<v Speaker 1>what they could do was eat and finally enjoyed the

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<v Speaker 1>real food they've been dreaming of while scarfing down raw

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<v Speaker 1>turtle meat for the past few months. Their first proper

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<v Speaker 1>meal was a bowl of warm noodles and a mug

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<v Speaker 1>of sweet hot coffee. It was the best thing either

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<v Speaker 1>of them had ever eaten. No one would blame the

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<v Speaker 1>Baileys if they returned home to England and vowed never

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<v Speaker 1>to lay eyes on the sea again. But within two

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<v Speaker 1>years of being rescued, they built a new boat, and

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<v Speaker 1>they named it, of course, the orel In two. I

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<v Speaker 1>hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities.

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<v Speaker 1>This show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and

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<v Speaker 1>Mild team, and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about

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<v Speaker 1>the show and the people who make it over at

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<v Speaker 1>Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. You'll also find a link

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<v Speaker 1>to the official Cabinet of Curiosity's hardcover book, available in

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<v Speaker 1>bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. And

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<v Speaker 1>if you're looking for an ad free option, consider joining

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<v Speaker 1>up over at patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until

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<v Speaker 1>next time, stay curious,