1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. William Kent was a 5 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: humble innkeeper in mid seventeen hundreds, England. During the many 6 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: months when he and his wife Elizabeth were expecting the 7 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: birth of their first child, the woman's sister Fanny came 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: to stay with them and help around the house. Sadly, 9 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: Elizabeth died giving birth to their son, and the frail 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: little infant passed away a short while later. William was 11 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: in turmoil, having lost both his beloved wife and his 12 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: newborn son just days apart. Fanny decided to stay and 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: help him, and eventually the two fell in love. He 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: wanted to marry her, so he set out for London 15 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: to seek counsel on how to proceed, but there was 16 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: a problem. The Church wouldn't let William mary Fanny, as 17 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: canon law forbade it. William was again heartbroken and decided 18 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: to get away from his job, from his old house, 19 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: from every bad memory he had. He and Fanny parted ways, 20 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: and then he moved to London, where he started a 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: new life for himself. Fanny, however, couldn't forget William. She 22 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: wrote him letter as professing her love for him, and 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: he wrote back each and every time. Eventually, William could 24 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: no longer hide his feelings and he invited her to 25 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: come stay with him. The two lived secretly as husband 26 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 1: and wife. They moved to a property on Cock Lane, 27 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: just outside of London, which was owned by a man 28 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: named Richard Parsons. Parsons was a parish clerk who owed 29 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: William a debt for a loan given to him some 30 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: time earlier. But there was something about the couple that 31 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: didn't sit well with Parsons. Some believe that Fanny's family 32 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: had reached out to him and let him in on 33 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: their little secret because they were upset about their daughter's behavior. 34 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: Whatever the source of information that led him to the truth, 35 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:10,519 Speaker 1: he used canon law as justification to simply not repay William. 36 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: One day, William was called away to a wedding out 37 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: of town, leaving an now pregnant Fanny alone. To make 38 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: sure she was watched over while he was gone, he 39 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: asked Parson's daughter Elizabeth to stay with her, sleeping in 40 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: the same bed, just in case something went wrong with 41 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: the baby. Mr Parsons agreed to the arrangement too, and 42 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: then William left and that was when the scratching started. 43 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: It occurred at different parts of the day and night 44 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,519 Speaker 1: around the home, often paired with a knocking sound. Parsons 45 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: daughter Elizabeth said that a cobbler worked by and that 46 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: was probably what they'd heard. But when the sounds resurfaced 47 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: the following Sunday, a day of rest for many tradesmen, 48 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: they knew something was wrong. Another local landlord came to 49 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: inspect the house and claimed to witness a glowing white 50 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: spirit climbing the stairs. Richard Parsons confirmed that he had 51 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: also seen this same thing. When William returned home, he 52 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: moved Fanny out, not just because of the ghost, but 53 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: also because of her pregnancy. She was only a few 54 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: weeks away from giving birth and he had a comfortable 55 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: place ready for her to deliver in. Unfortunately, tragedy would 56 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: strike once again. Fanny contracted smallpox, and after several days 57 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: of fever, she passed away. William inherited her small estate 58 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: and used the money to pay for her burial costs, 59 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: leaving him with very little leftover. Still, he didn't stay 60 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: down for long. He eventually remarried and became a successful stockbroker. 61 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: With his new status and happy family, he returned to 62 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: cock Lane, taking over for the previous tenant, who had 63 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: left after the scratching and knocking noises became too much 64 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: to bear. Richard Parsons eventually discovered the cause. His daughter 65 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: Elizabeth claimed the ghost had returned, but now there were two, 66 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: not one. The first ghost, which had bothered Fanny prior 67 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: to her death, was thought to be her deceased sister, 68 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: also confusingly named Elizabeth, and this new ghost why it 69 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: was Fanny herself? Of course, Parsons believed they had important 70 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: messages to share, and that's why they refused to move on. 71 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: Fanny's sister. Elizabeth's presence was meant to be a warning 72 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: to her sister about her coming death. Fanny, however, bore 73 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: more shocking news. Her spirit, communicating yes and no through 74 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: a series of knocks, let the Parsons know the secret 75 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: about her widow or husband, William, that he had murdered her, 76 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: possibly both of them. William had allegedly poisoned Fanny with 77 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 1: arsenic before she could have the baby and then had 78 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: her buried quickly to hide the evidence. The church believed 79 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: the ghosts were telling the truth, after all, how could 80 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,840 Speaker 1: you argue with the spirit. As a result, William soon 81 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: became a prime suspect in the murder of Fanny. Desperate 82 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: to clear his name, he asked for a seance to 83 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: be held in the home so that he could ask 84 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: her himself. Upstairs, Richard Parson's daughter and her sister were 85 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: sleeping while William, Richard, several others in the community gathered 86 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: around the table. They asked the spirit questions about her 87 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: marriage to William and whether he'd poisoned her. One knock 88 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: meant yes, Two knocks meant no. Had they been married? 89 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: Two knocks? Had he poisoned her? One knock? Things weren't 90 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: looking good for poor Mr Kent, But there was something 91 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: about the ghosts that struck everyone as odd. She seemed 92 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: to go wherever Elizabeth Parsons went. While Elizabeth was staying 93 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,799 Speaker 1: in another person's home, knocking sounds were reportedly heard throughout 94 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: the night there. When she returned to her home just 95 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: in time for another seance, though so did the noise. 96 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: An investigation was conducted, as were several more seances, and 97 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: present for all of them in some part of the 98 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: house was Elizabeth Parsons. One night, the investigators asked her 99 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: to sleep with her arms outstretched, her hands outside the bed. 100 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: No scratching or knocking were heard that night, not a 101 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 1: single sound. The experiment was repeated the next night and 102 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: the same results happened, absolutely nothing. The truth was finally 103 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,160 Speaker 1: exposed when Elizabeth's maids noticed the small plank of wood 104 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: she kept tucked into her clothes. They alerted investigators right away. Elizabeth, 105 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: it seems, had been the ghost the entire time, knocking 106 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: and scratching with the block of wood. But why well, 107 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: because her father had put her up to it. He 108 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: still owed William Kent money for the loan he'd taken, 109 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: and he didn't want to pay it back. After Fanny died, 110 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: William had sued him for the remaining money, so Parsons 111 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: exacted his revenge the only way he knew how, by 112 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: pretending to be a ghost and framing the man for murder. 113 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: His Scooby Doo style plan didn't work, though, After a 114 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,159 Speaker 1: quick trial, Richard and his wife were ordered to pay 115 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: hundreds of pounds in damages to William and Richard was 116 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: also sentenced to prison. In the end, the lesson is 117 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: obvious and simple. If you plan to skip out on 118 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: your debts, you better have a really good plan, a 119 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,679 Speaker 1: lot of luck, and just in case things go south, 120 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: you better knock on wood. Everyone has their vices. Some 121 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: enjoy playing the lottery, others love a good chocolate bar. 122 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: For Antonio Magliavecki, his vice was knowledge. Born in Florence, Italy, 123 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: in three Antonio apprenticed for a local goldsmith until he 124 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: was forty years old. It was then when he met 125 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: Michel Ermini, the librarian for Cardinal de Vedici. Michelle saw 126 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: something in Antonio, a passion for learning, a desire to 127 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: rise above his status as an apprentice and do more 128 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: with the mind he was given. With Michelle's help, Antonio 129 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: learned several languages, including Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Years later, 130 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: after decades of study, Antonio found himself in the same 131 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: position as his one time tutor, becoming the librarian to 132 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: the Grand Duke of Tuscany. From there, his reputation stretched 133 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: far beyond the confines of his bookshelves. He became an 134 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: academic celebrity of sorts, engaging with scholars from all over 135 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: the world who wanted to learn more about the self 136 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: taught genius from Florence. However, genius often breeds other problems 137 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: for all his intelligence, and Tonio was quite negligent about 138 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: his state of dress. He tended to wear his clothes 139 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: until they were literally falling off of him in tatters. 140 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: He typically only ate three hard boiled eggs for dinner 141 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: with the glass of water, and as someone came to 142 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: his door who he didn't care to entertain, he simply 143 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: wouldn't let them in. He was an incredibly private man, 144 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: devoid of pride or extravagance. He once worked for an 145 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: entire year without taking a salary. In fact, the concept 146 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: of money or bills just didn't occur to him, allowing 147 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: him to amass quite a fortune, But he didn't really 148 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: ended on anything, well almost Antonio enjoyed spending what money 149 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: he had on his greatest obsession, books. He was known 150 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: as a literary glutton, filling his work library with over 151 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: forty thousand titles and more than ten thousand manuscripts. His 152 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: home also held thousands of volumes, many of which lined 153 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: the staircases and extended outside the house onto his porch. 154 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: Even more impressive was the fact that he had read 155 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: every single one of them. As someone whose side table 156 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: practically groans under the weight of all the new books 157 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: that I want to read, I can't help but be 158 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,559 Speaker 1: a little jealous. Clearly, Antonio dedicated his life to expanding 159 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: his mind with a written word. Perhaps all of that 160 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: reading had a profound effect on him, or maybe his 161 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: brain had always been wired a certain way. But aside 162 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: from his extensive library, Antonio was also known for his 163 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: extensive memory. Today, he might be called a human search engine, 164 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: capable of citing the exact book, author, and even pay 165 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: age number when asked of him. According to the stories, 166 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: he was once asked by his employer, the Duke, where 167 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: he might find a specific title without hesitation, Antonio told 168 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,119 Speaker 1: him there was only one copy of it in existence. 169 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 1: Arrested in the Grand Seignior's library in Constantinople, on the 170 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: second bookcase from the right, eleven volumes in it said 171 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: that a priest asking for a eulogy on a certain 172 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: saint would often get a list of over a hundred 173 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: authors who had ever written about that saint and where 174 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: their books could be found amongst the many thousands of 175 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: books in his possession. But all that book knowledge came 176 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: at a price. Antonio almost never traveled outside of Florence 177 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: to see the world. He slept in his clothes, rarely 178 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: ate anything other than those hard boiled eggs, and spent 179 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: hours each day reading in the palace library. And yet 180 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: he lived to be eighty one years old and was 181 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 1: revered for his sharp mind and endless memory. For him, 182 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: a work life balance just didn't exist, because his work 183 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: was his life. When he died, Antonio left his entire 184 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: fortune to the poor. His library, though tens of thousands 185 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: of books, all went to the Grand Duke, but with 186 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: one condition that they'd be used to found a public library. 187 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: It was called the Magliabechiana, and through various mergers with 188 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: other private libraries around Italy, it went on to become 189 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: the National Central Library of Florence, the largest public library 190 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,160 Speaker 1: in all of Italy. Antonio didn't just believe in learning. 191 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: He believed that knowledge was meant to be shared with everyone. 192 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 1: If he were alive today, he'd be amazed at how 193 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 1: easy the Internet has made that dream come true. Either 194 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: that or he'd spend his entire life online reading everything 195 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: he could get his hands on. I'd expect nothing less 196 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: from the world's most ravenous bookworm. I hope you've enjoyed 197 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,719 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 198 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 199 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 200 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 201 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 202 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:16,079 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 203 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 204 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.