1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. The march of progress 5 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: is a ruthless one. In its wake, it leaves the 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: antiquated and inefficient behind, while the demands for newer, faster, 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,919 Speaker 1: and better get louder and louder. Player pianos gave way 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: to phonographs, which were eventually put out of pasture by 9 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 1: eight tracks. Those lost the war against cassette tapes and CDs, 10 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: which eventually led to the rise of streaming music over 11 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 1: the Internet. But one thing is certain about the past, 12 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: and technology in particular, it doesn't go away forever, and 13 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: it tends to repeat itself. Vinyl records have made a 14 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: triumphant return, though in a way they never really left. 15 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: Analog technology doesn't die, It just goes underground, often dug 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: up later by hobbyists and the nostalgic. We have cell 17 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: phones that allow us to talk to people anywhere in 18 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: the world, yet there are still roughly three million ham 19 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: radio operators. Amateur radio operators often begin transmissions with their 20 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: call signs a combination of letters and numbers rattled off 21 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: using the NATO phonetic alphabet. It's as easy as alpha, Bravo, Charlie. 22 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,479 Speaker 1: What they expect to hear back is usually the same 23 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: thing from the other person, letters and numbers identifying the 24 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: party on the other end of the line. They don't 25 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: expect music, however, beginning in the nineteen seventies, music is 26 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: exactly what they got. A jaunty electric tune like something 27 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: played by a passing ice cream truck, followed by a 28 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: creepy recording of a woman reading this series of numbers. 29 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: They're called number are stations, and while their origins aren't definitive, 30 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: an initiative known as the KNAT Project has been cataloging 31 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: these recordings for decades. Shortwave radio transmissions utilize the Earth's 32 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,679 Speaker 1: atmosphere to propagate all over the world with the help 33 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: of an unlicensed station to maintain anonymity, These number stations 34 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: became the perfect vessels for one way communications. The original 35 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: number stations were thought to have been started back in 36 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: World War One as a way to transmit encoded messages. 37 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: The person listening to the message would often have a 38 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: paper or a small pamphlet with a key of random 39 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: numbers and letters by which to decode the messages. Once 40 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: they'd been deciphered, the keys would then be shredded, making 41 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: it nearly impossible for enemies to uncover its meaning. From 42 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: the Gong station in East Germany broadcast coded number groups 43 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: that corresponded to specific times and locations where active spies 44 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,839 Speaker 1: would be dropped. Air Force printer Joaquim Pruss used those 45 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: recorded messages to transcribe over sixteen thousand documents for his superiors, 46 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 1: and as recently as Russian stations made several unscheduled broadcasts 47 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: with new numbers during an attempted coup from the U. 48 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: S s Are against President Mikhail Gorbachev. Several years later, 49 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: Cuban spies were caught decoding fourteen hundred pages worth of 50 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: secret messages being transmitted by a local station. Some of 51 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: those messages said things like prioritize and continue to strengthen 52 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: friendship with Joe Dennis and congratulate all female comrades for 53 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: International Day of Women. Since the end of the Cold War, 54 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: listeners are theorized as to why these stations still exist. 55 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: Some believe drug cartels are using them to coordinate shipments 56 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: across the US border. Others think they're still being utilized 57 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: by the counterintelligence community for their original purpose. In fact, 58 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: many of the prevailing theories about the use of number 59 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: stations were confirmed in the late nineties by a government 60 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: official from the United Kingdom who stated that the transmissions 61 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: were not meant for regular users, including the ham radio operators. 62 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: Despite the proliferation of technology such as cell phones, email, 63 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: and Twitter, number stations are still in use today, and 64 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: new ones have been known to crop up from time 65 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: to time. They transmit all over the globe in different languages, 66 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: including Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and English. No one knows why 67 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: or for what purpose. All they know is that someone 68 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: somewhere is listening and waiting. The Canned Film Festival brings 69 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: over on people to the shores of the French Riviera 70 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: every year. Among the guests and general tourists, you'll find directors, actors, producers, 71 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: and some of the wealthiest members of Hollywood's elite, accepting 72 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,600 Speaker 1: awards and making deals. And where do these elite members 73 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: choose to stay? Many prefer the luxury of the Carlton 74 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: can an Art deco hotel that has been featured in 75 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: films like to Catch a Thief starring Carry Grant and 76 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: Grace Kelly. In the film, Carry Grant plays of former 77 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: cat burglar trying to clear his name after he's accused 78 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: of a string of robberies plaguing the hotel's guests. It's 79 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: an eerily appropriate film to be set at the Carlton, 80 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: seeing as how the hotel has been a hotbed of 81 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: crime over the years, ranging from simple pickpockets to brazen 82 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: armed robberies. Those who choose to spend the night in 83 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: one of its suites must do all they can to 84 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: hold onto their valuables, but even then their diligence may 85 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: not be enough, not when someone is holding a gun 86 00:05:54,200 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: to their head. Literally. In the summer of months, after 87 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: the festival had ended, three men walked into a jewelry 88 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: store within the Carlton and opened fire. Guests and employees 89 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 1: fell to the ground. The assailants smashed the glass cases 90 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: housing over sixty million dollars worth of jewelry, while terrified 91 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: hostages kept their heads low and their eyes pointed at 92 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: the ground. The whole affair was over in minutes. When 93 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: it was clear that the thieves had gone, everyone got 94 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: up and assessed the damage. No one had been killed 95 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: or shot. Glass lay shattered on the ground as the 96 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: smoke dissipated. Authorities arrived to take statements and investigate the scene. 97 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: They inspected the walls, the ceiling, and all the places 98 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: where the guns had been fired and found nothing. No bullets, 99 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: no bullet holes, no evidence that anything had been fired 100 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: at all. The people who committed the robbery were never caught, 101 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: but the story they left behind is one that's still 102 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: told by hotel staff to this day. Beginning in it 103 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: was labeled as the costliest jewel high in history, according 104 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: to the Guinness Book of World Records, and whenever a 105 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: similar crime occurs in the world, the robbery at the 106 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: Carlton inevitably comes up as well. It's a fun tale, 107 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: especially since it was clear the people responsible had no 108 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: interest in hurting anyone, only making off with millions and 109 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: stolen jewels. But dig a little deeper and you'll notice 110 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: something strange. There was no mention of the robbery in 111 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: any newspaper at the time, including local outlets. No TV 112 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: reports were broadcast, no photos exist of the crime scene. 113 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: Even the items that were stolen weren't described to the police, 114 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: who claim they have no record of the heist either, 115 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: and according to Guinness, they published their ranking without any 116 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: verifiable source to back it up. So did the incident 117 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: even happen. The same could be asked of a similar 118 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: robbery in two thousand and thirteen, in which a suspect 119 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: stole over one hundred thirty six million worth of precious 120 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: stones in just thirty seconds. The jewels belonged to billionaire 121 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: Lev Lovyev, and the evidence leaves much to be discussed. 122 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: The items were part of an outdoor exhibit where no 123 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: security guards had been posted to keep intruders away from 124 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,119 Speaker 1: the tables. The thief approached a man and a woman 125 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: working the booth where the jewels were going on display. 126 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: One glimpse of the gun at the thief side and 127 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: they dropped to the floor. Then the thief reached behind 128 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: the counter and grabbed the black bag that seemed to 129 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: have been prepared ahead of time. On the way out, 130 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: he also swiped two trays of random jewels. No one 131 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: was ever caught for the crime, and it remains open 132 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: to this day. The insurance company paid out roughly half 133 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 1: the worth of the stolen merchandise, despite how quickly and 134 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: seamlessly the job was performed. It was clear the thief 135 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: had help on the inside, but no one could prove anything. 136 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: Some say hotel employees assisted, while the French police have 137 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: their own theory. They think lovyev orchestrated the theft himself 138 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,959 Speaker 1: as a way to resell his jet ms while also 139 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: pocketing the insurance money. No one can prove anything yet, 140 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: but this case and the one from are just a 141 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:13,079 Speaker 1: few in a long string of unsolved crimes committed at 142 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: the Iconic hotel, proving just how hard it can truly 143 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: be to catch a thief. I hope you've enjoyed today's 144 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 145 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 146 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,959 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 147 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 148 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 149 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 150 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com. 151 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.