1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,400 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 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: Stop me if this sounds familiar. You are sitting at school, 7 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: paying attention to, or struggling to pay attention to, your teacher, 8 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: not really taking notes. Your hands wander across your desk, 9 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: feeling its edges, and then without thinking, sliding underneath the drawers. 10 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: Almost immediately, you find a lump down there, hard as 11 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: a rock, stuck firmly to the lacquered wood, like a 12 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,039 Speaker 1: barnacle on the hull of a ship. It's a piece 13 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: of chewing gum that some other student planted there after 14 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: it lost its flavor. Maybe as recently as earlier this week, 15 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 1: or as long ago as the start of the semester, 16 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: you aren't really sure, but whatever the case, you are disgusted. 17 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: Chewing gum is just one of those things. It's commonplace, 18 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: but if you see it outside of its wrapper, it 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 1: immediately goes from being a candy to a nuisance. It 20 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: sticks to the bottom of your shoes, gets caught in 21 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: the grooves of your cars tire. 22 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 2: The fact that it inspired a. 23 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: Whole term of phrase, gumming up the works, says everything 24 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: we need to know about chewing gum's reputation. But if 25 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: chewing gum is an annoyance to us, it has been 26 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: a public menace to others. In nineteen eighty three, in Singapore, 27 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: the Minister of Foreign Affairs raised this problem before their 28 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: local government. It seemed that leftover gum was everywhere they 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: looked in the country, on mailboxes, street signs, public restroom, 30 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: to the point where it started to take a toll 31 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: on the very infrastructure of Singapore itself. The largest problem 32 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 1: occurred in Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit or MRT. Occasionally, chewing 33 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: gum stuck to the door sensors of MRT trains would 34 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: cause the doors to fail to close and the whole 35 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: train would be stuck at the station until someone removed it. 36 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: And even after it was removed, the residue would cause 37 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: problems of its own. Beyond that, chewing gum on elevator 38 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: buttons in public buildings also became a smaller version of 39 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: the same problem. It prevented people from going to their 40 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: destination unless they were willing to endure the indignity of 41 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: touching someone else's used gum. 42 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 2: Throughout the nineteen. 43 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: Eighties, the government of Singapore started to take measures to 44 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: control the literal and figurative spread of chewing gum. The 45 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:56,080 Speaker 1: Singapore Broadcasting Corporation largely stopped showing advertisements for gum shops 46 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: near schools were instructed not to sell gum to students anymore. 47 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: But that was not enough, which is why on January 48 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: third of nineteen ninety two, almost a decade after the 49 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: Foreign Affairs Minister's proposal, chewing gum was officially banned in Singapore. 50 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,519 Speaker 1: Anyone caught with it would be fine, and those who 51 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: manufactured or sold it could face jail time. Convenience store 52 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: owners had to get rid of all of their remaining stock. 53 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: And you probably don't need me to tell you that 54 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: this legislation provoked an immediate backlash. The public understandably felt 55 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: like this was an overreaction. Many people suggested that there 56 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: should just be harsher fines but no ban, but the 57 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: law remained on the books. In spite of the controversy, 58 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: though the law does seem to have worked. 59 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 2: In a year, average reported. 60 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: Cases of chewing gum vandalism went down from five hundred 61 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: and twenty five each day to just two, and because 62 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: of this, the band held firm from nineteen ninety two 63 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: until two thousand and four, where it underwent a sudden revision. 64 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: As part of a new trade agreement with the United States, 65 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: the government of Singapore agreed to relax the chewing gum ban. 66 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: Now there were carve outs for gum that had medicinal benefits. 67 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: This included a wide range of gums, anything between sugar 68 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: free dental hygiene gum and nicotine gum, but any approved 69 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: gum had to be approved by a doctor or a dentist, 70 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: and the chewing gum law remains in place to this day. 71 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 2: In its revised. 72 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: Form, Now it only really affects sellers of the product, 73 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: rather than those who just happened to be possessing chewing 74 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: gum or bubblegum. Tourists coming to the country with a 75 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: small amount of gum won't face any prosecution so long 76 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: as they dispose of it safely and not in a 77 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: public space. So if you're planning to go to Southeast 78 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: Asia anytime soon, Just keep this in mind. What you 79 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: may think of as a harmless candy might change legal 80 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: status on the plane over, transforming from a treat to 81 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: a public sanitation menace in waiting. Just a little something 82 00:04:56,279 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: for you to chew on. In February of twenty fourteen, 83 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 1: five finished divers were preparing to do the unthinkable. They 84 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: were standing on the ice at Pleura Lake in Norway, 85 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: cutting a hole in the surface and diving down below. 86 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 1: They weren't fishing or looking for treasure, though, they were 87 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: cave divers who wanted nothing more than to explore the 88 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: subterranean caverns connected to the lake. Now, before we move on, 89 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: there are a lot of difficult to pronounce finish names 90 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: in this story, and so to make it easier on 91 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: me and also on you to keep track of everyone, 92 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,679 Speaker 1: I'm just going to refer to them by their first names, Patrick, Yari, 93 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: h Vesa, Yari, You and Kai. Now they were a 94 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,600 Speaker 1: group of male friends with many diving hours under their belts. 95 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: In fact, Patrick and Kai had been the first to 96 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 1: discover the very caves that they were now about. 97 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 2: To act floor. 98 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: So they cut a hole in the ice with chainsaws, 99 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: checked their masks and oxygen canisters, and began the freezing plunge. 100 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,559 Speaker 1: Patrick and Yari h went first. The others wouldn't follow 101 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: them for two whole hours, and this was to prevent 102 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 1: traffic jams in the caves and also allowed time for 103 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: any silt that was kicked up by the first two 104 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: to settle so that the following divers visibility wouldn't be reduced. 105 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: Patrick and Yari made their way through the two hundred 106 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,679 Speaker 1: and fifty meter first passage of the cave. 107 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 2: This was the easy part. 108 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: Eventually the water gave way to air pockets where magnificent 109 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: limestone caves rose above the divers. They took it all 110 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: in and then prepared for the worst part. You see 111 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: now they would have to dive deeper than ever, a 112 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: straight vertical drop of one hundred and thirty two meters 113 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: below where they had started on the lake surface. They 114 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: dove down, and down and down. Eventually they reached the bottom. 115 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: At this point, the cave turns and begins to rise 116 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: back up, but the diver's ascent had to be very controlled. 117 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,839 Speaker 1: If they rose too quickly, they would risk decompression sickness. 118 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: The effect where nitrogen bubbles build in the bloodstream when 119 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: pressure drops too quickly. But at these low depths, the 120 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: body is also working harder to maintain equilibrium, so carbon 121 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: dioxide is building in the bloodstream as well. Divers have 122 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: to remain very calm so that they don't breathe too 123 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: fast and increase the build up. Patrick and yari H 124 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: rose slowly, but after a few minutes, Patrick turned around 125 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: to realize yari H was no longer behind him. He 126 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: swam back and found that some of his equipment had 127 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: gotten stuck on the cave wall. The two divers were 128 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: staring into each other's eyes, trying to communicate. Yarih was panicking, 129 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: breathing too fast and using up his oxygen. Patrick tried 130 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: to give him more, but as yuri H swapped his mouthpiece, 131 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: he took in big gulps of water. Patrick watched in 132 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: horror as his friend drowned. Even more disturbing. He now 133 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: had to remain calm, acting like nothing happened, or else 134 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: risk his own demise. He had to continue the slow 135 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 1: journey to the surface another cave on the opposite side 136 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: of the tunnel that opened back up onto dry land. 137 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: Patrick eventually reached safety and waited anxiously for the. 138 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 2: Other divers to surface. First was Vesa. 139 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: He saw yari H's body and was able to squeeze past. 140 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: He didn't know what had happened to the others. Vesa 141 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: had risen too fast and was now suffering the effects 142 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: of decompression sickness. They had no choice but to head 143 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: back down to their camp. After waiting for what felt 144 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: like an eternity, they finally saw a headlamp emerge through 145 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: the dark and snow. It was Kai, diver number four, 146 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: but yari You wasn't with him. Yari U, diver number five, 147 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: had seen yari H dead in the tunnel, panicked himself 148 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: and also become stuck, and now both Yari's were dead. 149 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: Kai had turned around and come back up through the 150 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: cave entrance. Patrick was devastated. He refused to leave his 151 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: friend's bodies behind. The Norwegian authorities forbade him from going 152 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: back down, and in fact banned diving in the caves altogether. 153 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: But forty six days later Patrick arrived with a team 154 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: of dozens of support divers and his other expert diver 155 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: friend Sami. They set up camps on both sides of 156 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: the cave so that they could attempt the body rescue simultaneously. 157 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: They spent days before having support divers leave gas canisters 158 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,959 Speaker 1: at different depths, and they also set up a decompression 159 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: chamber six meters down on one side. It was an 160 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: airtight chamber where they could rest and even eat underwater safely. 161 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: Patrick entered from the lakeside, diving down and finding Yarih, 162 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: the friend that he wished he could have saved. He 163 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: cut him loose and attached his body to a small 164 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: propulsion vehicle, and then continued the journey that Yarih would 165 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: have in life to the other side of the cave. 166 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: The next day, Sami entered from the other side, finding 167 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 1: yari You. He sent him to the surface as well 168 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: and retrieved any remaining diving equipment. It was a curious 169 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: case of friendship loyalty. In places like Mount Everest's bodies 170 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: are left behind all the time, but these Finnish friends 171 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:18,679 Speaker 1: prove that amongst their countrymen, no one is left behind. 172 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet 173 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. This show was created by me Aaron Manke 174 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: in partnership with iHeart podcasts researched and written by the 175 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: Grim and Mild team and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn 176 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: more about the show and the people who make it 177 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 1: over at Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. You'll also find 178 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: a link to the official Cabinet of Curiosity's hardcover book, 179 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: available in bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. 180 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,439 Speaker 1: And if you're looking for an ad free option, consider 181 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: joining our Patreon. It's all the same stories, but without 182 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: the interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and 183 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: sign up over at patreon dot com slash Grim and Mild, 184 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 1: and until next time, Stay curious, m HM.