1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Every family has its quirks. 7 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 2: Often these little idiosyncrasies are passed down through the generations. 8 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 2: It could be a distinctive smile shared by a group 9 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: of siblings, a unique saying that originated with a great grandparent, 10 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: a superstition that's persisted for centuries. Whatever the curious trait 11 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 2: may be, it unites the family and represents their shared history. 12 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 2: The same could be said for the Fugate family of Kentucky, 13 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 2: only their cork was much more than curious. It was 14 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 2: completely inexplicable. The story begins with Martin Fugate, a French 15 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 2: orphan who emigrated to eastern Kentucky in eighteen twenty. Martin 16 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 2: claimed a land grant in a remote area known as 17 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 2: the Troublesome Creek. It got its name because the hunting 18 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 2: trail that ran alongside the creek was overtaken by large trees, vines, 19 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 2: and rocks, making it nearly impassable or troublesome. Very few 20 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 2: people lived there, but it was what Martin could afford, 21 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 2: so he built a life in the rough environment. Soon 22 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 2: he met Elizabeth Smith, an American woman with red hair 23 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: and porcelain skin. They got married and had seven children, 24 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 2: and this is where the few gates odd Cork became apparent. 25 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 2: Three of Martin and Elizabeth's children looked perfectly normal. They 26 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 2: had pale skin, just like their mother. But the other four, well, 27 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 2: they were not white, and they weren't any other recognizable 28 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 2: human shade either. They were blue, and I don't mean 29 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: slightly blue tinted, I mean bright, cartoonish, and impossibly indigo. 30 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 2: The few other locals who lived near Troublesome Creek said 31 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 2: that they were an I quote, bluer than Lake Louise. 32 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 2: According to local legend, Martin himself was also blue. And 33 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 2: while we have to take two hundred year old stories 34 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 2: with a grain of salt, it would certainly make sense 35 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 2: if the family patriarch was indigo colored. His children's hue 36 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 2: was slightly less shocking. Still, the obvious question was what 37 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 2: on earth was going on with the so called Blue Fugates. Well, 38 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 2: Seeing as this was the mid eighteen hundreds, medical science 39 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 2: wasn't exactly equipped to find the answer. People in Troublesome 40 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,079 Speaker 2: Creek and the surrounding communities thought that the family had 41 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 2: some kind of curse. Very few people were willing to 42 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,119 Speaker 2: marry into the family. Often few Gates married their cousins 43 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 2: or their aunts. This led to even more Blue babies 44 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 2: being born. Still, despite their social isolation and restricted genepool, 45 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 2: they seemed to be relatively healthy. By the nineteen hundreds, 46 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,959 Speaker 2: there were dozens of Blue Fugates and they were living 47 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 2: well into old age. Whatever curse they had, it wasn't 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 2: shortening their lifespan. But nevertheless, the family continued to be 49 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 2: the subject of judgment and gossip. In nineteen sixty, nearly 50 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty years after Martin Fugate moved to 51 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 2: Troublesome Creek, rumors about the Kentucky's Blue Family reached a 52 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 2: man named Madison Coween. Luckily, though medicine had advanced in 53 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 2: that last century and a half, Madison was a young 54 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 2: doctor at the University of Kentucky, and specifically, he was 55 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 2: a hematologist or a doctor who specializes in studying blood. 56 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 2: When Madison heard about the blue Fugates, he wondered if 57 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 2: their oddskin color could be the result of a blood disorder. 58 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 2: So he went to Troublesome Creek and he met with 59 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 2: a few of the members of the family himself. He 60 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 2: took blood samples, and then he ran some tests. What 61 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 2: Madison found was both groundbreaking and surprisingly simple. The blue 62 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 2: Fugates had a disorder called met haemoglobinemia. You see the Fugates' 63 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 2: skin turn into go because their blood lacked an enzyme 64 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 2: called diaphrays. The enzyme helps process hemoglobin, which is a 65 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 2: protein that contains iron. When hemoglobin isn't processed correctly, a 66 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 2: person's blood oxygen level can drop dramatically. So the few 67 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 2: Gates had an abnormally low blood oxygen level. It wasn't 68 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 2: enough to cause any noticeable health problems, but it was 69 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 2: enough to turn their skin bright blue. Luckily, doctor Madison 70 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 2: Coeen found an existing treatment within the medical literature. He 71 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 2: injected the feu gates with a chemical ironically known as 72 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 2: methylene blue. It counteracts the enzyme deficiency and helps the 73 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 2: body process hemoglobin. Within seconds of the injection, the fugates 74 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 2: indigo hue faded to white. Madison gave the family a 75 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: pill version of the methylene blue, which they could take 76 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: daily to maintain their quote unquote normal skin. The story 77 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 2: of troublesome creeks isolated indigo family is a curious one. Indeed, 78 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 2: luckily the fugates medical mystery was salt, and these days 79 00:04:53,720 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 2: they don't feel nearly so blue. Historically, emperors are not 80 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 2: the kindest or most compassionate people. That was certainly true 81 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 2: of Caligula. In the four years that he ruled over 82 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 2: ancient Rome from thirty seven to forty one CE, Caligula 83 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,600 Speaker 2: gained a reputation as a psychotic and bloodthirsty ruler. If 84 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 2: you don't believe me, here's a tale to prove it. 85 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 2: According to a Roman historian, in the year forty CE, 86 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 2: King Ptolemy of Mauritania came to Rome for a visit 87 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 2: with the imperial court. Shortly after meeting, Caligula had the 88 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 2: man executed. Why simple King Ptolemy had worn a purple cloak. Now, obviously, 89 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 2: having a man assassinated for his wardrobe choices was not 90 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 2: the most reasonable action, but Caligula was never known for 91 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 2: his logical thinking, and in ancient times the color purple 92 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 2: was truly to die for. That was a color pun 93 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 2: by the way, So let me into some history to 94 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 2: help you understand it. You see, the specific shade of 95 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 2: King Ptolemy's cloak was called Tyrian purple. It was a lush, 96 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 2: jewel like hue that glittered in the sun and deepened 97 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 2: with age. Tyrian purple dye was so rare and so 98 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 2: prized that it costs more than three times its weight 99 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 2: in gold. It was also completely disgusting to make. Authentic 100 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 2: Tyrian purple dye came from only one place, the mucus 101 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 2: secreting glands of a few species of sea snails. The 102 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 2: dye that kings and emperors coveted was literally derived from 103 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 2: snail slime, and the process went something like this. Sea 104 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 2: snails would be harvested from the coast and quickly transported 105 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 2: to a nearby facility. They were then killed and their 106 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 2: mucous glands were collected. To give you an idea of 107 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 2: the scale here, making a single gram of dye required 108 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 2: mucus from over eight thousand snails, so manufacturers had their 109 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 2: work cut out for them. Once the mucus was collected, 110 00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:57,359 Speaker 2: though it was treated in a number of ways, including aging, 111 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 2: exposure to sunlight, and adding acid and heat. Eventually the 112 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 2: slime was transformed into a glittering purple powder. Now, I 113 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,159 Speaker 2: guess this wouldn't be that gross if you can ignore 114 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 2: the fact that hundreds of thousands of snails had to 115 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 2: die to create a handful of purple powder. But the 116 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 2: real clincher was the smell. One ancient Egyptian text noted 117 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 2: that men who worked in Tyrian purple dyeing factories had 118 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 2: hands that smelled like rotten fish. The tel mood actually 119 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 2: gave a woman the right to divorce her husband if 120 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 2: he took work in one of these snail dye factories. 121 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 2: The stench alone was enough to break. 122 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: Up a marriage. But the worst part was even after 123 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: a fabric had been dyed and washed, the scent could 124 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: persist for months. Just imagine a castle full of royalty 125 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: all smelling like rotting snails. Given these gross origins, it's 126 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: kind of surprising that Tyrian purple became the color of royalty. 127 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: But those who wore it weren't thinking about animal rights 128 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: or how bad their clothing smelled. They were thinking about 129 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: what the color represented. It told everyone that they could 130 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: afford to buy a dye that cost more than gold, 131 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: which brings us back to Caligula, the murderous Roman emperor. 132 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: When he saw Ptolemy wearing a Tyrian purple cloak, he 133 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: interpreted it as a sign of aggression, as if the 134 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: king were trying to signal his own superiority, hence the 135 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: reason that Caliguila had the man assassinated. Luckily, today, purple 136 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: is no longer a color worth killing over. An eighteen 137 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: fifty six and eighteen year old British chemist named William 138 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: Henry Perkin accidentally discovered a way to create synthetic dye. 139 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: It was the first of its kind, and it was 140 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: just slightly lighter than Tyrian purple. He called it mauve. Suddenly, 141 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: the shade that had been reserved for royalty became widely available. 142 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: Even so, traditional dye methods still do exist. One factory 143 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,600 Speaker 1: in Wojaca, Mexico, produces authentic Tyrian dye to this day. 144 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: Just like in ancient times. It'll run you thousands of 145 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: dollars for a single gram and it'll probably stink up 146 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: your entire house. But there has been at least one 147 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,439 Speaker 1: improvement in dye production. Over the last two thousand years, 148 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: the Wahaca Factory has discovered a way to extract mucus 149 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: from c snails without killing them. Now they can probably 150 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: say no snails were harmed in the making of this color. 151 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 152 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 153 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 154 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 155 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 156 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,920 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 157 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 158 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.