1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: Wash your hands. It's a common refrain, whether you're an 7 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: elementary schooler in a classroom or an adult hard at work. 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,520 Speaker 1: When you're a child, you're told to wash your hands 9 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: because the throw up germ lives between your fingers. When 10 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: you're an adult, you're given the less fun version, you 11 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: don't want to spread disease to yourself and others. Abrasive 12 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: though it can be, this hand washing propaganda is actually 13 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: the result of decades of hard won medical none that 14 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,119 Speaker 1: represents a major public health breakthrough on par with vaccinations 15 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: and fluoride. And as it so happens, we owe that 16 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: breakthrough to one man who no one wanted to listen to. 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: Ignaz Semmelweis was born in eighteen eighteen to a Jewish 18 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: family in Hungary. By eighteen thirty seven, he was pursuing 19 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: a career in the budding world of medicine. He traveled 20 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: to Vienna, Austria, to work at the hospital Vienna General, 21 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: was one of the premier medical facilities in all of Europe, 22 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: but being that Ignaz was both Jewish and Hungarian, he 23 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: met with a lot of prejudice that limited the areas 24 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: of medicine that he was allowed to work in. However, 25 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: that prejudice set Ignas on a fateful course. He landed 26 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: in obstetrics, the area of medicine dealing with pregnancy and childbirth. 27 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: This wasn't seen as a particularly desirable post back then. 28 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: Childbirth had been the domain of female midwives for centuries, 29 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: but Ignaz was determined to make the best of it. 30 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: Upon his arrival at the maternity division, he soon learned 31 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: of a disturbing trend. There were two wards under his purview, 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: one where midwives delivered babies and one where doctors performed 33 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: the deliveries. In the midwives ward, the mortality rate of 34 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: the mothers was relatively low. In the doctor's ward, though, 35 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: the mortality rate was shockingly high, potentially as much as 36 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: one in ten women. The women died of what was 37 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: called child bed fever, a horrible affliction that saw the 38 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: women develop fevers, terrible sores, and other symptoms that are 39 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: just too gruesome to mention here. Needless to say, they 40 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: died in a lot of pain. Ignaz was determined to 41 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: find the cause of this affliction, and he went about 42 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: it in a fairly scientific way for his time. He 43 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: observed the conditions in both wards and tried to come 44 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: up with as many differences as possible, but many of 45 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: these differences were superficial. In the midwives ward, for example, 46 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: women gave birth on their side, while in the doctor's 47 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: ward they gave birth on their backs. And when he 48 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: asked the doctors to start changing the position of the women, 49 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: he didn't notice any change in their mortality rates. He 50 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: noticed that a priest in the doctor's ward would ring 51 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: a bell that sometimes startled the word women. Ignaz had 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: the priest get rid of the bell, but he still 53 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: didn't notice any change in the deaths. Finally, a somewhat 54 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: morbid breakthrough came when Ignaz's friend and fellow doctor, Jakub 55 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 1: Kolechka nicked himself while performing an autopsy. Within days, he 56 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: developed the same symptoms as the women, and he eventually died. 57 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: It was an almost sacrificial death, because it led Ignaz 58 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: to realize that the answer had been in front of 59 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: him all along. The most important difference in the doctor's 60 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: ward was that it had doctors, doctors who performed autopsies 61 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: and then carried particles from those dead corpses and passed 62 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: them on to their pregnant patients. Ignaz immediately ordered the 63 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: doctors in his division to start washing their hands and 64 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: instruments after autopsies. His choice of cleaning solution was less scientific. 65 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: He picked chlorine because that was what the janitors used, 66 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: and that just so happened to be an excellent sterilizer, 67 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: and wouldn't you know it, the mortality rate in the 68 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: doctor's ward plummeted. Ignaz didn't have the word words yet, 69 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: but we know today that his corpse particles were bacteria 70 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: and childbed fever was sepsis a form of infection that 71 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: still affects tens of millions of people each year. Unfortunately, 72 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: Ignaza's guidelines didn't stick. His doctors didn't like the idea 73 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: that they were killing their patients, so they ignored his advice. 74 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: Ignaz eventually left the hospital and ultimately ended up in 75 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: an insane asylum, where some believe he died of the 76 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: very infection he had worked to prevent. But in the 77 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: decade following his death, scientists would start to observe and 78 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:37,479 Speaker 1: identify bacteria as the cause of infection. Ignaz Semmelweis's discoveries 79 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: taught us a very important lesson, wash your hands, but 80 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: his colleagues's reactions taught us another one, don't be afraid 81 00:04:44,920 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: to admit when you're wrong. On the twenty first of 82 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: May of nineteen fifty two, a large crowd gathered at 83 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: speak Airport in Liverpool, England. They watched as a Dakota 84 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: aircraft climbed into the sky. In the back of the 85 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: plane sat a man. The main attraction for this event 86 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: a man with a pair of wings strapped to his back. 87 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: Leo Valentine was a birdman, not a superhero, perhaps, but 88 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: one whose sense of showmanship would not be out of 89 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: place in a comic book. Between the years nineteen thirty 90 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: and nineteen sixty, there were seventy five daredevils who earned 91 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: the title Birdman for their attempts to fly. Seventy two 92 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: of the seventy five died while attempting their stunts, so 93 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: it was not a pastime for the faint of heart. 94 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: Born in nineteen nineteen, Leo Valentin had been obsessed with 95 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: flights ever since he was a child. But young Leo 96 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: couldn't just get on a plane and see what it 97 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: was like because commercial aircraft wasn't available yet to the public. 98 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: The Wright Brothers first flew in nineteen o three, and 99 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: aviation had a long way to go before the average 100 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: person could board a plane. Leo, however, was undaunted. Driven 101 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: by his passion for flight, he would join a regiment 102 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: of French paratroopers at the outbreak of World War II. 103 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: He would survive the war with his passion for flight intact. 104 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: His greatest injury was a shattered arm during the invasion 105 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: of occupied France. After he was discharged from military service, 106 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 1: Leo resumed his intense study of aerodynamics. He would, not, however, 107 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: follow in the footsteps of Orville and Wilbur write. His 108 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: goal was not to design an aircraft, but to become 109 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: one himself, flying as free as a bird. He experimented 110 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: with delayed release parachutes, attempting his first free fall in 111 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: nineteen forty eight. This test was in his mind a success, 112 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: as he was able to freefall for about eighteen hundred 113 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: feet before opening his chute and making a safe landing. 114 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: He designed a pair of canvas wings in nineteen fifty, 115 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: getting a step closer to achieving bird like flight. However, 116 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: trial and error can be a risky thing when you're 117 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: defying gravity. His first attempts to flight with these wings 118 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: was a near disaster. He jumped from a plane over 119 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: a French village, only to realize that the canvas wings 120 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: did not fully support his weight. Luckily, he had his 121 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: parachute to fall back on should his wings fail. And 122 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: fail they did over and over again. He would abandon 123 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: his early canvas designs for wings made of balsa wood 124 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: supported with an alloy frame. He flew this design successfully 125 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: a number of times, drawing crowds of greater and greater size, 126 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: and his reputation grew as a performer. He was called Valentine, 127 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: the most daring man in the world, and whether he 128 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: flew successfully or not, viewers would be in for a 129 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: great show. So by the time he boarded that Dakota 130 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: on May twenty first, Valentine had his routine down to 131 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: a science. The plane would fly nine thousand feet over 132 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: the crowd, and he would jump off, gliding majestically through 133 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: the air, deploying his parachute at the last minute to 134 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: land safely. A crowd of over one hundred thousand people 135 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: watched eagerly as the aircraft climbed higher and higher. Leo 136 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: stealed himself and prepared to jump backwards out of the plane, 137 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: much like a scuba diver entering the water. But things 138 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: went wrong almost immediately. One of his wings caught the 139 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: airplane's door and splintered. When Leo exited the plane, he 140 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: was in a tailspin, unable to stabilize himself or extend 141 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: his wings to slow his fall. His parachute deployed and 142 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: immediately caught in the shattered frame of his wingsuit. The 143 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: most daring man in the world crashed into a nearby field, 144 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: dying on impact, a gruesome end to Valentin's career and 145 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: his life. While this may seem like no more than 146 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: a tragic, inevitable downfall, Leo Valentin's death is not the 147 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 1: end of his story. Today, skydiving is a safe and 148 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: popular activity for thrill seekers, and the position you assume 149 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: to control a free fall is known as the Valentin position. 150 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 1: A fitting legacy, you might say, for a man who 151 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,199 Speaker 1: skydived into Brittany to fight the Nazis. Oh and by 152 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: the way, among the crowd at his final air show 153 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: were some of the most famous people from living Paul 154 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: McCartney and George Harrison were there, years before they would 155 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: become world famous as members of the Beatles. Also nearby 156 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 1: was a three year old boy who would remember the 157 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: day for the rest of his life. In fact, his 158 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: shock would eventually transform into a series of influential horror stories. 159 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: His name was Clive Barker, the future author of the 160 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: Books of Blood and director of Hell Raiser, a man 161 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: who Stephen King dubbed the future of horror back in 162 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties. It seems that in the attempt to 163 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: live his dream, Leo Valentin became part of some of 164 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: the world's most infamous nightmares. I hope you've enjoyed today's 165 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 166 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 167 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 168 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 169 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,599 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore which is a podcast, 170 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: book series and tele vision show and you can learn 171 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: all about it over at theworldoflore dot com. And until 172 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.