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 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. It was an Alaskan hunters 5 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: pot luck. I know those are a lot of unrelated words, 6 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: but let me try to unpack them for you. You see, 7 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: state laws in Alaska ban the sale of game meat, 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: so if you were to swing on down to the 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: local steakhouse, you aren't going to find caribou on the menu, 10 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: no matter how badly you might want to try it. 11 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: Of course, no one can stop you from eating something 12 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: you hunted yourself. So a common event all across the 13 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: state is for hunters to invite a few friends over 14 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: for a meal. Maybe everyone brings their own hunting related dish, 15 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,119 Speaker 1: or perhaps there's just one main dish that everyone will share. 16 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: It's different each time, depending on the success they've had 17 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: that season. With all that said, Dale had had a 18 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: very successful hunt. He had brought home meat from a 19 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,759 Speaker 1: prized catch, something to be proud of, so he invited 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: a few friends over to celebrate and partake in the bounty. 21 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: The trouble was there wasn't a lot of meat to 22 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: go around, so he did what people have done for centuries. 23 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: He made a stew out of it. Dale cut up 24 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: carrots and potatoes, diced some onions, and crushed some garlic, 25 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: and put the whole thing on the stove for a 26 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: good long simmer. By the time guests arrived that evening, 27 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: there was a rich aroma filling. The house wine was poured, 28 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: bowls were filled, and then every single one of the 29 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: eight people around the table dug into their meals. Dale 30 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: wasn't a celebrity chef, so don't expect something amazing to 31 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: have taken place. According to one interview, everyone managed to 32 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: finish their portion, but no one remembers anyone going back 33 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: for seconds. I get it, there's nothing unusual or curious 34 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: about a gathering of Alaskan's around the dinner table enjoying 35 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: a nice stew that one of them cooked up. But 36 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: this was no ordinary dinner party, and the meal was curious. 37 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: That's because the meat in dale stew was from a bison, 38 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: a bison that died over fifty thousand years ago. Reggie 39 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: was a bit of a practical joker. Sure, he was 40 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: a physicist by training and used his skills to help 41 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: the British military defend itself from the Germans during World 42 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: War Two. But trickster nature was always right there near 43 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: the surface. It said that in the nineteen thirties, while 44 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: he was a research fellow at Oxford, he called up 45 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: one of the other professors to carry out a prank. 46 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: The first few times he called, Reggie immediately hung up 47 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: as the man was answering. Finally, after sowing the seeds 48 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: of frustration and doubt, he called and pretended to be 49 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: a representative from the telephone company and reported a faulty line. 50 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: He then went on to ask the professor to run 51 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: a series of tests to see if the problem was 52 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: on his end. Those tests included tapping his pencil on 53 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: the phone, standing on one leg, and dipping the receiver 54 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: into a bowl of cold water. Much to Reggie's enjoyment, 55 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: the professor followed all of the instructions to a t. 56 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: Let's be honest. Though the college campus is no stranger 57 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: to practical jokes. In fact, Steve Wozniak, one of the 58 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: founders of Apple Computer, engaged in his own fair share 59 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: of fund Wozniak actually built a sort of signal jammer 60 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: for early televisions and would carry it in his pocket 61 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: in the dorm and cause TV shows to cut in 62 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: and out, much to everyone else's frustration. But most people 63 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: grow up, they move on and leave those college pranks 64 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: behind them. Steve Wozniak went on to help found one 65 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: of the most culturally significant companies of the last century, 66 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: and Reggie went on to work for British military intelligence. 67 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: His training as a physicist allowed him to help the 68 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: British avoid the bombing raids that the Germans continuously sent 69 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: their way. The Germans had developed a technology they called 70 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: the nick and bine, which was a method of guiding 71 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: airplanes to a very specific target using a pair of 72 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: radio beams that intersected over the location. Reggie's first assignment 73 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: was to find a way to bend one of those 74 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: beams and throw off the German bombers, and it worked. 75 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: Rather than dropping bombs on major cities, the German planes 76 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: were guided out into the countryside, where their bombs did 77 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: much less damage. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 78 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 79 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 80 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky 81 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 82 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,600 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 83 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: and television show and you can learn all about it 84 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: over at the World of Lore dot com. And until 85 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.