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 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: Most of us have heard about Moby Dick, the huge 7 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: ship smashing whale that Captain Ahab was desperate to catch. 8 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: The book about this fantastical menace has earned a reputation 9 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: as one of the great American novels. Published in eighteen 10 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: fifty one, it's even been called the greatest book of 11 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: the sea ever written. Now, whether you agree with that 12 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: assessment or not, the book's popularity makes it very clear 13 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: that we have a fascination with creatures of the deep, 14 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: including gigantic whales. But giant whales, you see, aren't just 15 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: a thing of fiction, and they've been around for a 16 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: lot longer than good old Moby Dick. Whales haven't always 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: been as well understood as they are now. For many 18 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: in the Middle Ages, a whale was essentially just a 19 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: sea monster. It was seen as something vicious that was 20 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: to be avoided, if at all possible. In the sixth century, 21 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: the seafarers of Constantinople were dealing with their own monster 22 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: of a whale, and just like Moby Dick, he was 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: causing a bit of a problem for sailors, and really 24 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: that makes sense. No one had been able to study 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: them or their personalities much at this point in history. 26 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: Instead of scientific reports about their migration patterns, sailors shared 27 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: stories about unfortunate deckhands being swallowed up by these huge creatures. 28 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: Their logical conclusion was that anything that big and with 29 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: that many teeth had to be a man eating monster. 30 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,919 Speaker 1: The specific whale in question that was giving the Byzantines 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: a rut around was named Porphyrious. We can't know for sure, 32 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: but it suspected that he was either a sperm whale 33 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: or a very, very large orca. Measuring forty five feet 34 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: long and fifteen feet wide, he was absolutely massive. Unfortunately, 35 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: he wasn't a friendly giant. Most of what we know 36 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: about Porfirius comes from the sixth century Byzantine historian Procopius. 37 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: He wrote about Porfirius's exploits in two of his books, 38 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,799 Speaker 1: and in both of them, the giant whale was something 39 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: to fear. Porfirius was a terror. He had a pension 40 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: for destroying ships, and he didn't discriminate. We have stories 41 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: going back hundreds of years about whales attacking whaling ships, 42 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: but Porfirius he didn't target whalers. He targeted everyone. Fishing vessels, 43 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: merchant ships, warships. They were all at risk of being 44 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 1: smashed by Porfirius. His selection process seemed to be completely random, too, 45 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: and that utterly terrified the sailors of the day. They 46 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: were all afraid that he would choose to go after 47 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: them next. Porphirius was usually seen swimming through the boss 48 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: for a strait which connects the Black Sea to the 49 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: Sea of Marmara. It was such a strategically important strait 50 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: that it actually played a part in where Constantine decided 51 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: to establish the capital of Constantinople. The strait was wildly important, 52 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: but it also wasn't very big. The tight squeeze meant 53 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: that there weren't many places these ships could sail to 54 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: escape the whale's wrath, so they started to avoid sailing 55 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: in the area where Porphyrius lurked, which of course led 56 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: to long detours and late shipments. Aside from the logistical nightmare, 57 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: the whale was hurting the economy, ships bringing in imports 58 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: and supplies had a fair chance of being obliterated, which 59 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: also meant that those shipments were lost whenever it happened. 60 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: The whales attacks also had an impact on their military, 61 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: since more and more soldiers were being killed at sea 62 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: by the whale. The fear the deaths and the immense 63 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: property damage became such an issue that Emperor Justinian actually 64 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: put out a bounty on the whale's head. No one 65 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: ever cashed it in, though everyone was too scared to 66 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: get close. And the craziest part of the story, This 67 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: behemoth of a whale ended up terrorizing the seas of 68 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: Constantinople for fifty years. He likely would have thrived many 69 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: more years too, if he didn't make a fatal error. 70 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: According to Procopius, the whale was beached one day after 71 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 1: chasing dolphins a little too close to the shore. His 72 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: gigantic body couldn't roll itself back into the surf, so 73 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 1: the locals found him thrashing there, completely at their mercy. 74 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: I'm sad to say that Porphyrius did not have a 75 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: happy ending. The Byzantines, ready to take revenge for fifty 76 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: years of terror, brought their weapons to meet him on 77 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: the beach. After his death, the seas were once again safe, 78 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: but Porfirius has not been forgotten. To this day. The 79 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: records of his exploits are the earliest ones we have 80 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: about whales attacking humans. He's even mentioned in Moby Dick, 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: and this legacy is oddly present even today. Recently, stories 82 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: of whale attacks have been on the rise. News reports 83 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: about orcas banding together to go after boats had been 84 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: all over our screens, and it's safe to assume that 85 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: these stories will be around for quite a while. In 86 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: a classic tale of man versus nature, some whales are 87 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: still carrying out Porphurius's mission. Will they keep it up 88 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: for as long as he did? Though only time will tell. 89 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty three, a trio of brothers from Manchester, 90 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: Connecticut saw the future and it was lined in silk. 91 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: Ward Rush and Frank Cheney began growing mulberry trees, the 92 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: perfect meal for their meal ticket of choice, the silkworm. 93 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: Their goal was to cultivate silk domestically in order to 94 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 1: siphon business away from overseas companies, and it looked like 95 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,919 Speaker 1: they had made a wise investment. At first, the price 96 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: of mulberry trees grew by almost eight hundred percent from 97 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty four to eighteen thirty six, and their tiny 98 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: farm blossomed into several full blown factories across two more states. Unfortunately, 99 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: as time, warn looked as though the Cheneys had gone 100 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: barking up the wrong tree because their mulberry inventory started 101 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: dying and investors began looking elsewhere. Luckily, the brothers Ward, Frank, 102 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 1: and Rush had not been caught out on a limb. 103 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: They saw the market's downfall in time and pivoted from 104 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: the production of silk to the processing of the material instead. 105 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: They opened a new plant with their other brother, Ralph, 106 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: and a man named Edwin Arnold in eighteen thirty eight, 107 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: which bloomed over the next twenty two years into a 108 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: six hundred workers strong silk processing powerhouse, and that growth 109 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: continued into the early twentieth century. Silk became a highly 110 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: coveted commodity in America thanks to Cheney silks. At its height, 111 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: the company employed a whopping four thousand, five hundred workers 112 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: in its factories. Sadly, just as had happened in the 113 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: eighteen thirds, the silk economy was about to go bust. 114 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 1: The Great Depression brought a halt to the production of 115 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: luxury textiles, especially silk, and the company scrambled to save itself. 116 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: Between nineteen twenty nine and nineteen thirty three, Cheney Silks 117 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: sold off as much property as it could to stay afloat, 118 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: but it wasn't enough. They filed for bankruptcy protection in 119 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty five. But then something happened. A few years 120 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: later the company got a second chance. It teamed up 121 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: with DuPont and the United States Air Force in nineteen 122 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: thirty eight to help with the war efforts. The goal 123 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: was to bring to market a brand new kind of parachute, 124 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: and to do that, a new subsidiary was formed called 125 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: Pioneer Parachute Company. Now Cheney Silks had aided in the 126 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: manufacture of parachutes before by providing silk to different companies, 127 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: but now Pioneer was doing it all on their own, 128 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: and to accommodate the military's generous order, it could no 129 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: longer rely on expensive fabrics such as silk. Instead, it 130 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: turned to synthetic mater burials like DuPont's brand new invention nylon, 131 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: which was strong and easy to sow into predetermined patterns. 132 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: The product had originally been intended to make stockings, but 133 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: with the war growing overseas, Pioneer began testing the fabrics 134 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: viability in parachutes. It used unmanned payloads at first to 135 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: measure the rates of dissent in any damage that might 136 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: be incurred upon landing, although in order to verify how 137 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: it handled on a real jump, a true parachutist would 138 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: have to strap in and take a leap of faith, 139 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: so the company continued to hone its design over the 140 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: next few years until nineteen forty two, when twenty four 141 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: year old Adeline Gray from Oxford, Connecticut was enlisted to 142 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: test its latest shoot. Gray had been jumping since she 143 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: was nineteen and was working at DuPont as a parachute 144 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: rigger and packer. On June sixth of nineteen forty two, 145 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: she not only became the first person to use a 146 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,439 Speaker 1: nylon parachute, she became the first woman to do so 147 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: as well. She leapt from a height of twenty five 148 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: hundred feet before an audience of reporters and miss military 149 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: officials that it was a success. The United States military 150 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: placed a massive order for nylon parachutes, which were used 151 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: to safely airdrop supplies into hard to reach territories during 152 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: World War Two. Plus the new parachutes also helped American 153 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: soldiers land at Normandy on June sixth of nineteen forty four, 154 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: exactly two years after Adeline Gray's successful test. On that day, 155 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:27,200 Speaker 1: Private Robert C. Hillman donned his own nylon parachute and 156 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: jumped out of a C forty seven skytrain over France. 157 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: He was one of the tens of thousands of Allied 158 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: soldiers who were responsible for D Day's success, from Hillman 159 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: to DuPont's engineers, to Adeline Gray, and all the way 160 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: back to the Cheney brothers. It's possible that we might 161 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 1: not have won the war without the nylon parachute. But 162 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: Private Hillman had one specific person to thank for his 163 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: role that day. You see, he was carrying a special 164 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: parachute with a woman's initials on it. When asked by 165 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: an NBC War correspondent riding in the plane with him 166 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: why he was so sure about his upcoming jump, Because 167 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: my mother works for the Pioneer Parachute Company, Hillman replied, 168 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: and her initials are on my shoot. I hope you've 169 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 170 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 171 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 172 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 173 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 174 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 175 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 176 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.