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 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: Josephine Garris was born in Ohio in eighteen thirty nine, 7 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: but she was raised in Indiana. She had a modest 8 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: life growing up, but flowing through her veins was the 9 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: knack for inventing. Literally. Her father, John was a civil engineer, 10 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: and her grandfather invented the first patented steamboats in the US. 11 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: Although little is known about her upbringing, we do know 12 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: that Josephine eventually married a man named William Cochrane in 13 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: October of eighteen fifty eight. William had gone off to 14 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: California to try his luck with the gold rush, a 15 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: return home empty handed the year before, he and Josephine 16 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: tied the knot. He eventually became a successful merchant and 17 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 1: a politician within the Democratic Party, and they had two 18 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: daughters named Hallie and Catherine. William's fortune continued to grow, 19 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: and in eighteen seventy the family moved into a sizeable 20 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: home just outside of Chicago. It was perfectly suited for 21 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: hosting dinner parties with other members of the city's elites. 22 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: But there were two big problems that Josephine still faced 23 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 1: even with all that money. First, her husband had a 24 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: nasty drinking problem and it was affecting their family life. 25 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: And Second, despite her elevated status, she was still in 26 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: charge of cleaning up after each get together. After one 27 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: dinner party, Josephine was in the kitchen washing dishes when 28 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: she noticed something. Some of them were chipped. There was 29 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: an inescapable problem of hand washing them. Some of them 30 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: got dropped or were knocked against other cups or plates 31 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: and wound up losing pieces. Plus, she hated being relegated 32 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 1: to the kitchen to clean up at the end of 33 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: the night. She was sure other housewives hated it too, 34 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: so she got the thinking. Sadly, in eighteen eighty three, 35 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: William passed away after losing his long battle with alcoholism, 36 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: leaving the widow to Josephine with his hefty debts which 37 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: she needed to pay off, so she got to work. 38 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: She converted the shed in her backyard into a workshop 39 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: where she started tinkering on her new invention. She also 40 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,119 Speaker 1: got a local mechanic named George Butters to help her. 41 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: With George's technical know how, Josephine was able to construct 42 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: a prototype of her new machine, which she called the 43 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: Cochrane Dishwasher. She filed the patent for it in December 44 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty five. Others had tried to automate the 45 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: dishwashing process in the past. A man named Joel Houghton 46 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: had been among the first with his wooden version that 47 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: he cranked by hand. It was a popular idea, and 48 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: someone else tried again fifteen years later with another model 49 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: that used a hand crank, but Josephine's was something revolutionary. 50 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: She had measured every plate, cup, fork, knife, and spoon 51 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 1: so they each had a perfectly sized home in her machine. 52 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: Once filled, the compartments rotated around a copper boiler with 53 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: help from a motor as the dishes were blasted with 54 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: SuDS from below. And unlike other designs that used harsh 55 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: brushes to get the dishes clean, Josephine's version used hot, 56 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: pressurized water to do the trick, just like today's modern dishwashers. Unfortunately, 57 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: Josephine had put her cart before the horse, so to speak. 58 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: She was so busy trying to get her invention off 59 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: the ground she didn't consider its cost to produce. Her 60 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: machine retailed for as much as one hundred dollars, and 61 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: that was too rich for most people. Plus few were 62 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: able to supply it with enough hot water to get 63 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: those dishes clean, so Josephine and her new company decided 64 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: to market it to larger entities instead, like restaurants at hotels. 65 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: She was a single woman running her own business at 66 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: a time when most women were tending to their homes, 67 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: but after her debut at the Chicago World's Fair in 68 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety three, none of that mattered. While other companies 69 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: folded due to the economic depression that had occurred that year, 70 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: Josephine was able to sell her dishwasher to businesses in 71 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: need of a way to mass clean their cookwar. She 72 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: and George opened a factory in eighteen ninety eight, capturing 73 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: the entire American market north to south and east to west, 74 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: But she didn't get to see the dishwasher's adoption in 75 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: households all over the world. Josephine died in nineteen thirteen, 76 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: when she was seventy four years old, but her legacy 77 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: lives on today. Her company was sold to mixer maker 78 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: Kitchen Aid in nineteen twenty six, which was eventually absorbed 79 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: into the Whirlpool Corporation. So the next time you load 80 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: up that stainless steel box in your kitchen, you know, 81 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: the one with all those buttons and dials on it, 82 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: you can thank Josephine Cochrane, a b brilliant inventor who 83 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 1: also hated doing the dishes. Let's be honest for a moment. 84 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: If the last few years have taught us anything, it's 85 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,559 Speaker 1: that Americans love a good conspiracy theory. Maybe a little 86 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: too much in some cases. But as bizarre as this 87 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: might sound, these outlandish theories aren't a new phenomenon. The 88 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:36,680 Speaker 1: oldest conspiracy theories in American history revolve around the Freemasons, 89 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: a name that's familiar to many a national treasure fan. 90 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: The Freemasons were founded in the Middle Ages by Stonemasons, 91 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: but during the Enlightenment they focused more on religious tolerance 92 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: and the sciences than actual physical building projects. They're not 93 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: really a secret society, although they do have their own rituals, symbols, 94 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: and handshakes that would put any summer campers to shame. 95 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: The Masons might have i had a great deal of 96 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: influence in the founding of America, from the Bill of 97 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: Rights to the building of Washington, d c. Itself. It 98 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: also helped that Masons had a history of opposing royal claims, 99 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: possibly helping to move the revolution along. After all, when 100 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: a bunch of wealthy white men get together to discuss 101 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: philosophy and decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore, 102 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: anything is possible right now. While most of this doesn't 103 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 1: sound particularly malevolent to us, the Masons had plenty of detractors. 104 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: The Catholic Church was no fan of Theirs, forbidding any 105 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: Catholic from becoming a Mason, which was pretty easy to 106 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 1: enforce in a white Anglo Saxon Protestant colonial America. Still, 107 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: the secrecy of the Masons weighed on many people's minds, 108 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: including Captain William Morgan of Batavia, New York. Morgan was 109 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: born in Virginia and allegedly a veteran of the War 110 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 1: of eighteen twelve, fighting directly under Andrew Jackson. Although we 111 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 1: have no one's word on this except his. Morgan spent 112 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: some time in Little York, Canada, where he operated an 113 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: extremely successful brewery and apparently was inducted into the Freemasons. 114 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,799 Speaker 1: He made no mention of those connections when a fire 115 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: burned his brewery down and he was forced to sell 116 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: off most of his worldly goods to avoid debtors prison. 117 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: From Little York, he moved to Rochester, New York, then Batavia, 118 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: where he became a bricklayer and stonecutter and developed an 119 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: impressive drinking problem and gambling addiction. Morgan claimed that he 120 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: was made a Master Mason, the highest level, while he 121 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: was living in Canada, although again there's nothing in Mason's 122 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: extensive records to prove this. While he was active at 123 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: a lodge in Rochester and tried to build lodges and 124 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: chapters in Batavia, he was unsuccessful, and his constant badgering 125 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: led to other members taking a dislike to Morgan. There 126 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: were even questions about his character than maintaining his membership. 127 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: When the Masons officially ousted him, Morgan soured on the 128 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: organization for good. Deciding that he was going to get revenge, 129 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: He decided the best way to do This was to 130 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: publish a tell all about the Masons, teaming up with 131 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: a local printer named David Kate Miller and two other 132 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: guys to get it done, Which is how, in the 133 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: summer of eighteen twenty six, for a dollar a copy, 134 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: you could get yourself a glimpse into the rarefied secret 135 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: world of the Freemasons. For such a morally superior country. 136 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: Americans certainly love a scandal, and reactions to early advertisements 137 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: seemed to indicate this book could be a bestseller, at 138 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: least until funny things started happening around the print shop. 139 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: You see a series of fires broke out in Miller's 140 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: shop that summer. Morgan blamed the Masons, accusing them of 141 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: trying to silence him. The Masons blamed Morgan and his 142 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: drinking problem. Next, Morgan was arrested for a series of thefts. 143 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,199 Speaker 1: Now he was in dire financial straits, but even as 144 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: he was released from prison after lacking of evidence of 145 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: one theft, he was arrested again. An innkeeper suddenly decided 146 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: to demand Morgan to pay what he was owed. Bail 147 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: was posted by a mysterious benefact on September twelfth, and 148 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: Morgan was promptly picked up outside the jail by an 149 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: unknown group of men. He was bundled into a carriage 150 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: and managed to shout murder before being whisked away. William 151 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: Morgan was never seen again, well, at least not alive. 152 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: In October of eighteen twenty seven, his body washed up 153 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,959 Speaker 1: on the shores of Lake Ontario and was identified by 154 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: his wife. Although there was always some debate about that, 155 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: the investigation, which had been going on for some time, 156 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: became squarely focused on the Freemasons. In response, they protested 157 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,719 Speaker 1: that while yes, an independent faction did kidnap Morgan, all 158 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: they did was give him five hundred dollars and set 159 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: him loose in Canada, far away from all of them. 160 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 1: They did not kill him. Several men, though, were arrested 161 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: and even convicted of kidnapping, but no one was ever 162 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,960 Speaker 1: charged with murder. Miller followed through on his friend's vindictive 163 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: final wishes and published the expose. Thanks to the disappearance, 164 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: the book was a hit. In the coming decades, the 165 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: Freemasonry became a byword for wealthy, corruption and cruelty, more 166 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: like a cult than a philosophical society. On July fourth 167 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: of eighteen twenty eight citizens of Le Roy, New York, 168 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: published the Declaration of Independence from the Masonic Institution, and 169 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: anti Masonic movements far outstripped anything Morgan could have dreamt of. 170 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: They even led to a creation of the first third 171 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: party in American politics, the Anti Masonic Party. As a result, 172 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: Masonic membership in the country plummeted, and while no member 173 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: of the party ever held high office, the political landscape 174 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: had changed. As for William Morgan, although his murder remains unsolved, 175 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 1: he is not forgotten. A stone column with a statue 176 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: of William on top was raised as a tribute to 177 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: the martyr. He faces away from the nearby cemetery, turning 178 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: his back to the gravestones covered in Masonic symbols, one 179 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,560 Speaker 1: final jab at the community that had turned their backs 180 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: on him. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 181 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,319 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 182 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 183 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 184 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 185 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,319 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 186 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: and television show and you can learn all about it 187 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: over at the worldoflore dot com, and until next time, 188 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: stay curious.