WEBVTT - William Cunningham, the Ghoul of Cincinnati 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:05.320 Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shonda Land Audio in 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:15.440 partnership with I Heart Radio. It said that this body 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:18.800 snatcher once returned to the same grave side at which 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:22.639 he had earlier been caught digging, after he'd bought those 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:26.200 who had had detained him a dream. It's also said 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:28.760 he dressed the bodies he stole, and that he had 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:34.159 a quote villainous bald head. Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarque, 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:38.840 and I'm Holly Fry. Ohio was a hotbed of grave 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:42.120 robbing activity in the United States in the nineteenth century. 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:46.280 The first recorded account of a body snatched from its 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:48.960 grave in the state was at Zanesville in the early 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:54.280 nineteenth century. There are numerous stories about body snatching activities 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.280 in Columbus, about fifty miles away, too, and nearly all 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.440 were related to the supply and demand for cadavers at 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:06.320 medical schools. One stands out for us among many snatchers 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:08.559 from that town and state, who was a man named 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:13.080 Charles Morton. Charles was a University of Michigan medical school 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.000 dropout who went on to become well known in the 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:20.760 body snatching business. He transported corpses in large vats that 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:27.120 he had labeled pickles. But colorful though he is, Charles 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:31.399 is not actually the only standout. This episode of Criminalia 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:33.680 doesn't take place in Columbus, Ohio. It takes place in 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.920 Cincinnati during the mid eighteen hundreds, during the time of 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.959 the American Civil War. Cincinnati was a rapidly growing city 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:45.600 during the nineteenth century. The Ohio River provided numerous business opportunities, 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:49.120 and hotels, restaurants, and taverns quickly opened to meet the 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.520 developing needs of those traveling along the river. The city 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.920 was also becoming a significant meat packing center and was 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:00.640 nicknamed the Porkopolis of the United States. We're interested in 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:06.560 one of its notorious residents, the resurrection man William Cunningham. 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:10.560 Thirty six years before William hit the Cincinnati body snatching scene, 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:15.000 Daniel Drake established the Medical College of Ohio in Cincinnati, 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:19.239 which welcomed its first class in eighteen nineteen. The city 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:23.799 became a center for medicine. Thirteen medical schools were operating 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:28.480 there between eighteen twenty and eighteen eighty. William was born 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:32.440 in Ireland. His age is disputed, but many historians estimate 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:36.440 he was probably born around eighteen oh seven, when he 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.920 died in eighteen seventy one. The corner estimated his age 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.600 to be sixty five, which you know that matches up, 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:46.840 But according to the US Census, William's self reported age 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.480 in eighteen seventy was fifty. He may or may not 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:54.760 have passed through Virginia before settling in Cincinnati, but we 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:59.040 do know that William was actively stealing bodies from grave 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:02.200 sites around since in Addie from eighteen fifty five to 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:07.840 seventy one. William's wife, Mary Cunningham, was frequently described as 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.120 a quote fun loving woman that liked her whiskey and 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:15.800 was rough around the edges. She sounds great. She was 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:20.040 also described as quote a bony, brawny john Irish woman 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.800 with a mouth like an alligator. She still sounds great. 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:28.679 Good to say that still great. She may or may 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:31.720 not have assisted her husband during his nighttime trips to 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:35.360 the graveyard, at least in some capacity during his sixteen 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.400 years in the business. We'll talk more about her later. 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.640 No one seems to have called William by his given name. 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:46.400 Those who didn't call him Old Man Dead called him 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:49.560 Old Cunney. He was known to be the local boogeyman 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.000 known as the ghoul of Cincinnati, and tales of him 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.840 coming to snatch you were used to frighten badly behaving 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:59.680 children into shaping up. He appeared in fulk Kills around 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:02.880 Since and Eddie, including stories of his body snatching adventures 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:07.640 as well as his luck eluding the law. The Cincinnati 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:12.760 Inquirer on January nine, eighteen seventy described William in this 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:16.799 charming way quote to have seen Cunningham is to retain 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:20.320 him in your memory for a lifetime. For that ponderous 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:24.920 yet gaunt frame, that strong marked face corrugated with age 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.599 and crime, a canine mouth from the corners of which 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:34.280 slowly trickles the generous saliva impregnated with the juices of nicotine. 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.719 And that shuffling gait caused by a broken leg received 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:43.240 from a charge of buckshot constitutes a tout ensemble, sufficiently 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:47.120 striking to make a very vivid impression. I love that 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:51.640 entire description. May I be described in such colorful ways. 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:56.040 I will take care of business for you. He is 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:00.640 also described as having been quote a big, raw boned am, 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:04.320 was a protruding lower jaw, and an insatiable thirst for 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:09.600 hard liquor. According to the William drove an Express wagon 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:12.560 at least for his day job. That's how he's listed 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.080 in the city directory at the time, and local papers 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.680 note that as his occupation as well. Some records suggest 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:20.960 he was a Draymond driver, which is a person who 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:24.839 delivers beer at night. Though he snatched and sold fresh 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:29.080 corpses and undercover job that was definitely not listed in 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.880 the city directory. It's estimated that Williams snatched at least 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.360 a hundred bodies during his career and sold each four 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:39.960 between twenty and thirty dollars to medical schools without a 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.520 legal way for people to donate their body for dissection. 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.719 This is a problem we've talked at length about this season. 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.000 The schools were eager to buy them, even if they 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:53.159 were procured illegally. We're going to take a break here 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:55.919 for a word from our sponsor, and when we're back, 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:59.880 we're going to describe exactly how old Man Dead transported 0:05:59.880 --> 0:06:16.080 the bodies he stole. Welcome back to Criminalia. Go ahead 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.600 and guess what was in the box william deposited at 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.960 the US Express Office sent c O. D. Let's see 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:26.040 if you're right. Being a body snatcher was hard work. 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:30.800 It was physically demanding work. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.960 the body snatching process was kind of like this quote. 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:37.359 They don't really open the grave. They simply dig a 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:40.479 hole about two ft square over the head of the coffin. 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.320 When they get to that, they break out the coffin 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.760 head and fastened big hooks to which strong ropes are 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.479 attached under the arms of the corpse and haulowed out 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:55.000 by main force. William, it said, it was fearless when 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.920 it came to both digging up and transporting bodies greg 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:03.960 hand Locals. Sinati historian describes William's transportation set up and 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:07.880 we quote he would disguise the corpses that he had 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.160 just pulled from the grave by having them sit next 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:12.480 to him on his wagon as he drove through town, 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:16.400 passing the police. After his death, a story about William 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.600 told by a quote very knowing acquaintance appeared in a 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:24.600 local newspaper on March first before It was very likely 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.320 a physician who did business with him, and it goes 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.760 like this. One night, I remember I met Connie driving 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.480 into the city with a stiff and horrible as the 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:37.800 site was, there was something grotesquely ludicrous about it. He 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:40.160 had placed the corpse in a sitting position on the 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.480 seat beside him, and had dressed it in an old 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.720 coat and a vest and a plate out hat. He 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:46.480 kept his arm round the waist of the corpse to 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:49.160 steady it from the jolting of the vehicle. But every 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.600 now and then the horrid thing would double up on 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.440 the seat, and its head kept bobbing up and down 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:57.880 in the ghastliest way you ever saw. Then Old Coney 0:07:57.960 --> 0:07:59.800 would give the stiff a slap in the face and 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.080 sit up. This is the last time, by God, I'll 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:05.440 ever take you home. When you get drunk. You ought 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:07.960 to be ashamed of yourself, drunk as a boiled owl 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:10.640 with a wife and children to support. Can you even 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:16.320 imagine this scene? Can you? My? I have many times 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:19.320 in my imagination. It's weekend at Bernie's. We've seen it, 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:24.600 We've seen it all. As we talked about earlier, a 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:28.320 growing number of medical schools opened and flourished in Ohio 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.920 during the mid nineteenth century. During the years that William 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:34.800 was active at his night job, there were at least 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:40.120 five established schools operating throughout Cincinnati, including the Medical College 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:43.640 of Ohio on Sixth Street, The Cincinnati College of Medicine 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:47.880 and Surgery at Central in Longworth, the Eclectic Medical Institute 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:52.200 at Court and Plum Streets, Miami Medical College on Twelfth Street, 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.439 and the Physio Medical College on the corner of Seventh 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:59.400 and Cutter Streets. Each of those schools had anywhere from 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.640 a few dozen into a few hundred students, all of 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:07.200 whom needed cadavers to study human anatomy. Medical schools needed 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:10.160 a certain number of bodies not for season classrooms, but 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:13.640 for anatomy training. Because they weren't able to secure them 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.920 through legal means. Most worked with body snatchers, and some 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:20.440 were pretty creative in their relationships with the local resurrection 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.960 ment if you were delivering to Sixth Street. For instance, 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.640 the Medical College of Ohio had a pretty convenient feature. 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:31.400 The school, and we quote historian Greg hand on this again, 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.800 had a drop off shoot for bodies, so that a 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.880 wagon could drive down the alley out back of the school, 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:41.120 unloaded body into the shoot, and it was picked up 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:45.679 there by the anatomical professor the next day. Deliveries took 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.680 place at night, and so did dissection demonstrations, which have 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.400 been described as taking place in quote, poorly lit laboratories 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.080 in the midst of a rowdy crowd of tobacco smoking 0:09:55.080 --> 0:10:00.200 and chewing students. William didn't let something like location hold 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.200 him back from making money in his business, and unlike 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:07.880 most body snatchers, his reach went beyond Cincinnati. He would 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:10.920 ship bodies to out of town and out of state physicians, 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:14.400 including as far away as Kansas, at least that's the 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:18.360 farthest we know of. As reported in the Cincinnati Daily 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:23.720 Gazette on January and note that there's some outdated language 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:28.640 in this quote, Cunningham, the resurrectionist, deposited a box at 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:32.719 the US Express office marked glass with care c O 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:37.680 d Dr M. P. Hayden, Leavenworth, Kansas. Suspicions of the 0:10:37.720 --> 0:10:41.160 company's agents were excited, and when they opened the box, 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.440 it contained the body of a Negro woman, prepared for 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.920 the dissecting knife and served up in a sack. The 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.839 freight was returned to Mr Cunningham. That's just crazy, they 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:59.320 just sent it. So we're now going to take a 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:02.520 break for from our sponsor. When we return, we'll talk 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.240 about the end of William's career as a resurrection man 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:09.360 and how he's at least partly to blame for the 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:26.040 invention of something called the coffin torpedo. Welcome back to criminalia. 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:30.360 For more than a decade, William evaded arrest and punishment 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:34.600 for his involvement in the illegal body trade, but nothing 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:40.360 less forever. William is described as having been vindictive, and 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:43.320 this came through in his work, at least in his 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:48.040 graveyard work. In an act of revenge, William once sold 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:52.440 and delivered a body infected with smallpox to naive medical 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.840 students who had once played a joke on him, and 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.679 several reports suggest that this was the beginning of the 0:11:57.880 --> 0:12:01.160 end for his career. That's a fast way to lose 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:03.880 your goodwill with the medical community that's been covering up 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.040 your stuff for a while, and new kidding, Just give 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.880 a bunch of them smallpox. He had evaded arrest for 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.240 roughly fifteen years when his good luck changed for the worse. 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.560 On August thirty one, eighteen seventy one, the Cincinnati Enquirer 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:21.080 ran a feature on William when he was finally arrested. 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:26.079 They wrote, quote, everybody knows Old Cunney, the resurrectionist whose 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:29.480 occupation for many years past has been to supply the 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:32.880 various medical colleges of the city with subjects for dissection, 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:37.719 and who, it is understood, has amassed quite a handsome competency. 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:42.240 At his contraband employment. Twelve or fifteen years ago, when 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:45.199 he was in the prime of manhood, Coney was so 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.920 adroit and careful, though daring withal, that he carried on 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:53.200 the business almost without molestation. But of late years, his 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:57.400 increasing age and infirmity have several times thrown him into 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:01.040 the hands of the officers, though by sing uller good fortune, 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:06.480 he has hitherto escaped punishment. Their feature continued as so 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.319 yesterday morning. About one o'clock, the attention of two police 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:12.760 officers was attracted by the figure of an old man 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.080 driving at a rapid rate down to Cincinnati Street, followed 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.080 by a crowd of men and boys running after him, 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:20.840 hooting and hollering stop him, shoot him, and the like. 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.480 The officers called him to stop, but he only laid 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.600 whip to his horse and drove past them. The horse, however, 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.560 was lame, and the load in the wagon seemingly heavy, 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:33.880 and after a short race, one of the officers grasped 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.120 the bridle while the other took charge of the driver. 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:39.480 The driver was old Cunney, who, returning after a night's 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.320 work at his ghoulish employment, had been delayed on his 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.480 road home by an accident to his vehicle. In the 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:48.080 wagon was found a sack containing the dead body of 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:50.840 a man, while a similar package on the seat beside 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:53.600 him contained the remains of a child, a boy ten 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:58.120 or twelve years old. The Cincinnati Daily Gazette reported on 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:01.480 his arrest as well, but their take was a little different, 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:05.360 though they wrote, quote, William Cunningham first fired his brain 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:10.080 with whiskey, then fired off an enormous revolver on Central Avenue. 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:14.480 On September twelfth, eighteen seventy one, local papers reported William 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.240 had been indicted on five counts. We've actually seen that 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.400 number also reported as low as two. He entered a 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.080 plea of not guilty, paid three hundred dollars bail, and 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:27.160 was released. He was to answer to the charge of 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.880 a legal possession of dead human bodies at the next 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.760 session of the Common Pleas Court on January thirty one, two, 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:38.720 but he didn't make it. On October seventy one, local 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.680 papers reported that William was a patient in the Cincinnati 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:45.640 hospital and that he, as quoted from The Inquirer, regarded 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.640 the announcement of his demise yesterday morning as an error. 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.720 The article described William as suffering from a quote temporary 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:57.600 derangement of his system from heavy alcohol consumption. He promised 0:14:57.640 --> 0:14:59.280 the press he'd be out in a few days and 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.840 he'd be back to business, but William died on November two. 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:08.240 After his death, William was on the other side of 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.640 the dissection door. He sold his body to the Medical 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:15.360 College of Ohio for fifty dollars, and after their students 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.520 were done practicing on it, the faculty had the skeleton 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:24.160 put on display, wrote the Cincinnati Enquirer on September two. 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:29.640 His ghastly skeleton, neatly articulated and wired, sits on a 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:33.480 tombstone in the cabinet of that institution. Well. In his hand, 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:37.360 he grasps a spade, the emblem of his calling in life. 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.720 Between his teeth, he holds a short pipe, as he 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.480 was wont to in the days of flesh. The reporter 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.320 noted that the only things missing from the exhibit were 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:51.720 his gray horse and his wagon. And then there's Mary. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.720 It's possible that it was William's wife who sold his 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:57.600 corpse for fifty dollars, but it's not the story most 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:01.280 often pulled of his death. We do know she picked 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:05.240 up or perhaps continued body snatching work after he died. 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:09.640 As reported in the Ohio State Journal in December eight 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:12.800 she was arrested along with four others for snatching the 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.600 body of a child and selling it to Miami Medical 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:19.800 College in Cincinnati. The article noted her as quote the 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:26.080 widow of Cunningham, a former notoriety in this business. Historians 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:29.440 estimate that as many as five thousand bodies were exhumed 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:33.720 for dissection in Ohio in the nineteenth century, although these 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.400 kinds of methods weren't in place yet when William was 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:41.160 actively snatching bodies Ohioans. This was not limited to Ohio, 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.840 we should be clear, developed a few inventive ways to 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.280 prevent bodies from being stolen from the grave. A lot 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.640 of it had to do with old man Dead in 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:54.640 his work, though. Six years after William died, Philip K. 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:59.040 Clover of Columbus, Ohio, for instance, invented and patented a 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:02.880 device that was to quote prevent the unauthorized resurrection of 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:07.439 dead bodies. Clover called his device a coffin torpedo, and 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:11.720 here is how it worked. Buried underground the torpedo would 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.359 fire several lead balls into anyone who disturbed the grave. 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:20.600 A few years later, in former probate Judge Thomas and 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:24.560 Howell of Circleville, Ohio, received a patent for an exploding 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:27.600 shell that would sit above a coffin and go off 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:32.359 if the grave was disturbed. Over time, the development of 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:36.080 and and the improvement of embalming methods slowed down the 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.240 high demand for bodies at medical schools, not only in Ohio, 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.159 but also across the United States and outside of the 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:45.959 United States as well. And donated bodies to made a 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:49.720 big impact on supply. Under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:55.159 of the Ohio Revised Code, body donations, also called anatomical donations, 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:59.000 became legal and commonplace at medical schools in the state, 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:08.639 making names profession they're obsolete. Now that we just mentioned 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:14.320 embalming methods, right time for embalming fluid. I'm for embalming fluid. 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.320 Let's talk about what we're going to tip back for Williams. 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.480 I think this one will surprise you. The name is horrifying, 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:27.520 so just know that upfront, because I'm calling it corpse juice. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:32.359 I'm playing a little bit with this and that I 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:35.679 kept thinking about the idea of someone that would dress 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:40.080 a corpse and play act in entire scenario as they 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:43.960 drove along. There was a whole dialogue there, right, he 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.960 had scenes written in his head to me that was 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.080 all very funny, and so I thought it would be 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.600 funny like that scene. Right. It's hilarious, but it is 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:55.240 also grizzly as well when you think about it. We 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.520 laugh a little bit in these episodes because there's some 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:01.359 of it really truly is on one level laughable, but 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:05.960 it's grizzly laughable. It's terrible. And so I wanted to 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.119 come up with a drink that sounded and even looks 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:13.720 a little like huh, but it's amazingly delicious. I'm gonna 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.119 surprise you out of the gate with what the first 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:19.480 ingredient is. I can't because you'll be like, wait, oh, 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.240 this doesn't seem like where we're going. First, You're gonna 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:29.679 chop some watermelon. It's as if I have conjured this 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.760 in the universe. So watermelon is one of my favorite things, 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:34.760 and I am looking more and more and more and 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:37.919 more and more now that it's springtime to watermelon. So 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:41.440 I am with you on it. That's exactly where I'm at. 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.919 We are on the precipice here in the northern hemisphere 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:47.639 of summer coming, and I also want to just have 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:50.840 good summer drinks at ready. But this one is fun. 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:54.600 So you're gonna chop some watermelon. You don't want uniform 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:57.919 slices or cubes. You want it to look a little chunky, 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:01.280 and you're gonna retain the juice along with your chopped 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.600 fruit and set it aside. You don't need a ton 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:05.639 of it. I would say a couple of table spoons, 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.440 and you have more than enough. You can also do 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:11.040 it the lazy way, which I have done, which is 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:14.320 you buy a bunch of watermelon and chop it, or 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.399 you buy pre chopped watermelon and you leave the juice 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:20.000 and debris in the bottom of your bowl or wherever. 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:22.679 I just use that. At the end. I eat watermelon 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:24.840 at an alarming rate, so there's always plenty of this 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:28.639 around the house. So then you'll have your little couple 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:32.320 of tablespoons of sliced, chopped, chunked up watermelon and it's juice. 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:36.120 Set that aside and into a glass with ice. You're 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:38.760 gonna pour an ounce and a half of vodka. If 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:41.280 you have a fruit infused vodka, this is a great 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:43.119 time to pull it out. I have one that is 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:48.120 watermelon and basil. Oh my god, that sounds delicious, Yes, delicious, 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:51.919 And onto that. I just poured four ish ounces of 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.320 ginger ale and then you just pour in your watermelon 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.399 juice in the slurry, and so as it's falling to 0:20:58.480 --> 0:21:00.840 the bottom of the glass, it looks like viscera, and 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.800 it looks a little like there's chunks of flesh in it. 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.920 But it is so beautiful and taste like summer. I'm 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:10.639 I'm so conflicted here with it. I'm like, if you 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:13.080 started talking about chunks going and I'm like, oh my god, 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:14.800 this is called corpus juice and has chunks and it 0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:21.560 is going to be fantastic and horrible. It's so good 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:23.480 I first tried it. I will tell you in case 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:26.439 anyone is listening and they're like, I know what I'll do. 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:29.280 You could do this, Um, you might be tempted to 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:33.760 throw your watermelon in a blender or food processor. I 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.320 found that came out too smooth. You wanted a little 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:40.480 chunkier than that. If you want to take away that 0:21:40.600 --> 0:21:44.520 sort of gruesome association. You could just pure it or whatever. 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:48.240 That will work fine. Obviously, the mocktail on this is easy. 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:51.399 Just leave out the vodka, You're fine. Just the ginger 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:54.320 ale with the chunks of fruit in it is pretty 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.959 darn delicious. I'm gonna keep saying the word chunks just 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:02.040 to watch Maria's face squeak up every time. Chunky juice. 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.280 It's so good, it's so delicious. I mean, this is 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:07.479 like one of the simplest ones we've ever done. And 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:09.400 as you're sipping in and you get to the end, 0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:13.879 because they fall to the bottom, chunks, you'r chunks, Maria, 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:17.040 those small ones. Towards the end, we'll start to creep 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:19.479 into your SIPs and then you're reminded that you're drinking 0:22:19.960 --> 0:22:27.520 corpse juice, old man chunks. Delicious delicious is what I'm saying. 0:22:27.760 --> 0:22:30.160 So yes, I will drink this in mocktail form all 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:33.320 day long, because delicious. I'm gonna go ahead and say 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:37.000 that Mary I would serve this to her, I'd be like, hey, 0:22:37.400 --> 0:22:39.080 I don't think she'd like it. She would be like, 0:22:39.119 --> 0:22:42.080 please just give me a glass and eight ounce glass 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:45.920 of whiskey. I don't mess with smaller portions. We could 0:22:45.920 --> 0:22:48.440 say to her, but the scruvy, that's good for you. 0:22:48.840 --> 0:22:52.199 This is like a nutritional cocktail exactly. There's chunks in it, 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:57.479 like Okay, enough of the chunky talk. So gross, got Maria? 0:22:57.640 --> 0:23:05.840 What why it's wrong with you? Elicio? That all being said, 0:23:06.200 --> 0:23:08.240 this is a super yummy one. I'm gonna go have 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:10.720 another one here in a minute. Thank you for spending 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:14.119 this time with us. I hope you have enjoyed this 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:19.919 story of old Cunney and his strange, strange vocation. We 0:23:20.000 --> 0:23:22.560 will be right back here next week with another episode 0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:34.119 of Criminalia, and we hope you join us. Criminalia is 0:23:34.160 --> 0:23:36.720 a production of Shonda land Audio in partnership with I 0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:40.680 Heart Radio. For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, please 0:23:40.760 --> 0:23:43.840 visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:45.400 you listen to your favorite shows,