1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: I'm far Down and I'm debline and chocolate boarding. And 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: the central figure of today's episode is one that's been 5 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: requested quite frequently. It's Tico bra Hay, a famous Danish 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: astronomer of the sixteenth century who is remarkable because he 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: made a lot of his observations with the naked eye. Essentially, 8 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: this was pre the invention of the telescope. Yeah, impressive stuff. 9 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: And I think people keep on requesting him because he's 10 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: been in the news a lot recently because of a 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: certain dig that's going on, an exhamation excitation, which most 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: of you know that's like the theme of the podcast. 13 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: So I was really pleased when you picked this lend 14 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: of bline. I was like, you're you're learning fat well, 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: you know, I want to I want to blend. So 16 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: this is my chance. But the news that Sarah is 17 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: referred to is Chico brought His remains were brought up 18 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: for the second time. He was exhumed in November for 19 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: about a week um His remains were taken from the 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: tomb that they rested in Prague and scientists. They did 21 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: this because they want to get a better idea, some 22 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: more insight into the unusual circumstances that surrounded his death. Yeah, because, 23 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: I mean, for a long time, people have thought that 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: he died of a bladder infection. I know, it's kind 25 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 1: of unfortunate, it's an unfortunate reputation to have, But people 26 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: thought that he died because while he was at a 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: banquet at the Emperor's court in Prague, he refused to 28 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: excuse himself to go to the bathroom. So he's like 29 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: a good example for teaching your kids, don't hold it 30 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: too long, don't go ahead and say you need to go. 31 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: He claimed he had a good excuse. He thought it 32 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: would be rude, um, basically a breach of court etiquette 33 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: to do that in the middle of this dinner. But 34 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: suffice to say, what happened as he returned home and 35 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: he was unable to urinate after that experience. That was 36 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: the case for actually eleven days. Can you imagine, sounds 37 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: agonizing until he finally died on October one. So this 38 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: is kind of the back story to it. Um. There 39 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: have been varying reports. People said that his bladder burst, 40 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: it had become twisted somehow torn. It was kind of unclear. 41 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: Kidney disease was also proposed as a possible suspect in 42 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: the situation. Even at that time, though, there were some 43 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: rumors going around, some some murmurings that maybe murder had 44 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: been involved because Tico was basically healthy guy. He was 45 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: about fifty four fifty five years old, um didn't have 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: any illness. So it was a little suspect and he 47 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: had enemies, and he had enemies definitely. We'll find out later. 48 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: So fast forward to the nineteen nineties, the Progue National 49 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,519 Speaker 1: Museum happens to be in possession of Tico's mustache. I also, 50 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: I thought this was really like timely knew is because 51 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: it's November, you know, the whole mustache month. You're supposed 52 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: to grow mustache if you are so able to do 53 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: so in November to celebrate mustache. So I mean, I 54 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: feel like maybe they dug him off to coincide with this. 55 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: Probably not, but cheers. Oh well, they actually that was 56 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: his first exhamation in one where they got the mustache, 57 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: so maybe they celebrated November at that time as well. 58 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: Basically they got the mustache and then in they brought 59 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: it back out the prog Museum. They sent a few 60 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: hairs over to some researchers in Denmark and they discovered something. 61 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: At that time, they discovered some really high mercury levels 62 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: in ticos system. It was about a hundred times above normal. Yeah, 63 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: and so in nine Danish and Swedish scientists decided to 64 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: do a few more tests on those hairs, and this 65 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: time they used a proton microbe, which was more sophisticate 66 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: to technology, and they found out that all that mercury 67 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: hadn't accumulated over years and years, It had all come 68 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: in one single dose, which was only about thirteen hours 69 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: before he died. So suddenly this seemed very suspicious, very 70 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 1: likely the cause of death not this first ladder or 71 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,479 Speaker 1: kidney disease or something. Right, So that's basically what they're 72 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: trying to get more information on with this current exhimation. 73 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: But the question still lingers, even if they find out 74 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: if it's murder, who would want to murder Tico? And why? Yeah, 75 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: what did you do that's so wrong? So that's a 76 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: little bit of what we're going to look into in 77 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: this episode. And but first we're gonna take you back 78 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: to the beginning, so we always do as we do. 79 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: He was born Tiga bra Hay actually with a different, 80 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: slightly different first name, on December four six, in an 81 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: area that would now be considered South Sweden, but it 82 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: was then part of Denmark. Yeah, and his parents were nobles, 83 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,279 Speaker 1: but they didn't have that big of an influence on 84 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 1: his life because of something that happens at age two. Yes, 85 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: he was kidnapped, and he's kidnapped by his uncle, Jorgan Brahi. Yeah, 86 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,679 Speaker 1: let's go to the strange part. His dad apparently uh 87 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: made a deal with Jorgan before Tico was even born, 88 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: and the deal was that if the child was a boy, 89 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: Organ could adopt him. You see, Organ, he didn't have 90 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: a son, so therefore he didn't have an air so 91 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: he really wanted this to occur. But after Tico actually 92 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: showed up, Otto kind of changed his mind. He changed 93 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: the deal, or maybe his wife mentioned something like no, 94 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: I'd really rather not give away my firstborn. That could 95 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: also be an aspect of it. But fortunately Otto and 96 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: his wife have a second son named Steen, and at 97 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: this point Organ is like, well, Tico is mine. I mean, 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: if you have two sons, I'm at least taking one 99 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: of them and Otto. Tico's father was pretty upset about 100 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: this at first, that his son got swiped by his brother. Yeah, 101 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: he was. He threatened to murder his brother Organ at first, 102 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: but then he eventually relaxed about it a little bit, 103 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,799 Speaker 1: and he he saw the benefits that the situation could 104 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: potentially present. He saw that, Okay, my brother Organ, he 105 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: is lord of Tranicker Castle. He's very wealthy, he's very 106 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: well educated. So he saw after a while that Tico 107 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: could be on a tractor pretty sweet inheritance if he 108 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: stayed with his uncle. Yeah, that both of his sons 109 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: might end up with a better future, right, And so 110 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: Organ being well educated and his wife inga they sent 111 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: Tico on the trap to getting a good education too. 112 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: By all accounts, they were very loving parents and he 113 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: had like a really good childhood. So in about fifteen 114 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 1: fifteen nine, when he was about twelve or thirteen years old, 115 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: Tico went to the University of Copenhagen and was there 116 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: until about fifteen sixty two. His main area of study 117 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: there was law, which is what his uncle wanted him 118 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: to do. But it was kind of the expected job 119 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,239 Speaker 1: for a man of his class exactly, but it didn't 120 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: take a little. It didn't take very long for a 121 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: couple of things to happen while he was there. First off, 122 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: he started writing his name as Tico instead of Tico, 123 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: which was the more modern style. And then most significantly, 124 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: he witnessed a total eclipse of the sun on August one, 125 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty And this was just an amazing phenomenon to 126 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: him because it was something that had been predicted and 127 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: that it actually came to be, and he was just 128 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: sort of fascinated by the fact that this was possible. Yeah, 129 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: he knew there must be something behind astronomy, and so 130 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: he started to study it more. He started to go 131 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: out and study the stars at night, even though his 132 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: family was trying to get him to focus on law 133 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: and not be out stargazing. But after leaving school, he 134 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: toured Europe and went all over Wittenberg, Rostock, Basil, Augsburg. 135 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: But instead of visiting all the courts and doing the 136 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: things he should have done as this young nobleman, he 137 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: spent time studying at a few universities. Exactly, he was 138 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 1: at the University of Leipzig from about fifteen sixty two 139 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: to fifteen sixty five. His uncle actually sent him there 140 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: again to study law, but of course he kept gazing 141 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: at the stars. In fifteen sixty three, he had what 142 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: was his second significant astronomical experience, so to speak, which 143 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: was the first recorded observation of the overlapping of Jupiter 144 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: and Saturn. And this was significant because it was something 145 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: that was sort of off from what other scientists had predicted. 146 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: So he had studied the works of Ptolemy and Copernicus, 147 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 1: but what this showed him was that a lot of 148 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: what was known at the time about the positions of 149 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: the planets and the stars wasn't exactly accurate. Yeah, so 150 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: he knew there was room for him and room to 151 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: improve on what was already knew. Yeah. So he dedicated 152 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: his life at this point to studying astronomy and stars. Yeah, 153 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: And he kept on traveling, kept on studying astronomy and 154 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: at Rostock. He actually got into an argument with another 155 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: student over a mathematical point, which seems like as good 156 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,559 Speaker 1: a thing as any to get into, not arguing over um. 157 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: They take it pretty far. They fight a duel, and 158 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: some people say it was a drunken duel. That doesn't 159 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: sound too surprising. But it ends with the other student 160 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: slicing off part of Tico's nose and a big part, 161 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:34,719 Speaker 1: a big part of it. And to deal with that, 162 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: he had an artificial nose created, which was supposedly made 163 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: of either silver or gold, and that was I mean, 164 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: that's probably what he's best known for its fakes. Yeah, 165 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: and we'll talk a little more about that later. But 166 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:51,839 Speaker 1: during this period he did something else that was a 167 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: little scandalous. He'd already anchored his family by studying the astronomy, 168 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 1: which wasn't as respected as the law, and then he 169 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: went off and married a woman who was basically considered 170 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 1: a peasant. Her name was Kirsten Jorgan's daughter. She was 171 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,719 Speaker 1: a daughter of a parson, and family and friends never 172 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: really accepted her. I mean for a long time his 173 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: they had eight kids, I think, and they were considered 174 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: illegitimate because the marriage was so beneath him, right, people 175 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 1: never really recognized it. But I mean, he's doing all 176 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: right financially at least, even if they're not recognizing his family. 177 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: He's still this wealthy nobleman. And when his father and 178 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: uncle both die in fifteen seventy one, he inherits his 179 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: uncle's estate and at least part of his father's estate, 180 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: so he's he's got all the resources he needs to 181 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: continue his studies and really launched himself fully into astronomy. Yes, 182 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: so then he sets up his own sort of small 183 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: observatory and lab on another relative's property, just to totally 184 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: devote herself. Right and there, on November eleven, fift seventy two, 185 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: he made what is perhaps considered his most significant discovery. 186 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: He noticed what he called a new star and it 187 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: was brighter than Venus and located where no star was 188 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: supposed to be in the Cassiopeia constellation. And he published 189 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: a work about it called Di Nova Stella, which is 190 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: the New Star translated. This was really big news for 191 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,560 Speaker 1: the intellectual community at the time. Yeah, it shook them up. Yeah, 192 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: because they figured that we know everything we could never 193 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: know about where the stars are. The stars do not move, 194 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: you don't get a new one, and so this was 195 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,959 Speaker 1: major news for them. Yeah. It almost was controversial. It 196 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: rubbed some people the wrong way. They didn't want to 197 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,559 Speaker 1: believe it. But he uh, now we know what he 198 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: observed was a supernova or the explosion of a dying star. 199 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: But you know, at the time, just the fact that 200 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 1: he had seen something in there that was different was 201 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: a big deal. So after this, Tico becomes pretty famous 202 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 1: throughout Europe. He's a well known and well respected astronomer, 203 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: and he has a dream of establishing an even larger, 204 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,400 Speaker 1: very large observatory, and he plans to do so in 205 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: Germany until King Frederick the Second of Denmark convinces him 206 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: to stay. Um basically makes him an offer he can't refuge, 207 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: makes them a pretty sweet offer. King Frederick is basically 208 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: Frederick the second becomes a patron of sorts for Tico. 209 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: Possibly because his life had been saved by Tico's uncle, 210 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: That could factor into it, but I think part of 211 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: it was also that here's this fabulous, famous astronomer, and 212 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 1: I don't want to lose him. I want him to 213 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: stay in my country. So all these things combined maybe 214 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: convince him to offer Tico the entire island of then 215 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: and foot the bill for the construction of a large 216 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: observatory and house, and essentially makes the villagers Tico's tenants. 217 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 1: So basically he can get rent from them. You can 218 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: get rent from them, duties. It's an awesome deal from 219 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: Tico's point of view. Yeah, so he gets to build 220 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: his observatory, picks his own architect and he calls it Urannaborg, 221 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 1: which translates to Castle of the Heavens, and it's complete 222 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: with it's a pretty swanky place, even complete with indoor plumbing, 223 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: which is ironically I think you're considering his unusual death. 224 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: Yet it's a little ironic. But he designs his plumbing himself, 225 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:25,959 Speaker 1: and it was very uncommon at the time, so it's 226 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,079 Speaker 1: always something that you'll see mentioned about Uranna borg Um, 227 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: even though it's kind of a funny thing to mention, 228 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: I guess. And this was considered the world's first large 229 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: research institute. So he has all these assistance that help 230 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: him and he is just observing away and they do 231 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,679 Speaker 1: a lot of work there. All of Tico and all 232 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 1: of his assistance catalog the positions of at least seven 233 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: seventy seven stars. Some people say it's more like a 234 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: thousand stars, and the work replaces Ptolemy's it becomes the 235 00:13:55,040 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: standard astronomical text, I guess or or data set. Yeah, 236 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: it was a pretty big deal. And then in the 237 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: fifteen eighties he came up with what he thought to 238 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,679 Speaker 1: be his biggest achievement ever, and that was a theory 239 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,679 Speaker 1: about the Solar system that contradicted Copernicus. Basically, he hoped 240 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: with this, he hoped to eventually confirm this with his data. Yeah, 241 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: and just to give you a rundown of how these 242 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: theories differed. Copernicus thought that the Sun was the center 243 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: of the universe and all the planets revolved around the Sun. 244 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: But Tico thought that the Earth stayed put, it remained 245 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 1: in this stationary position, and the Sun and the Moon 246 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: revolved around the Earth, orbiting the Earth, and the other 247 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: planets orbited the Sun. So it was kind of a mishmash, 248 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: I guess. Yeah, it was a little topsy turvy compared 249 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: to Copernicus his theory. And of course, and now we 250 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: know that Copernicus was actually correct, but that came later on. 251 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: So all of his data collecting, all of his observations 252 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: later in life were to help confirm this theory. Up 253 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: until this point, he appears to have led a charm 254 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: to Life Islands his observatory two estates from his family. 255 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: I mean, he's well known, he's well respected. But then 256 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: in fifteen six things start to go south a little bit. 257 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: Frederick the second has died and his son Frederick son, 258 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: that is, Christian the fourth assumed the throne of Denmark 259 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: and Norway, and he's not as fond of Tico. Yeah, 260 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: and you mentioned earlier that you saw different accounts of that. 261 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: Maybe Christian just doesn't like Tico and wants to completely 262 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: shut down his operation. Maybe it was more of a 263 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: budgetary issue, you know, he just didn't have room to 264 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: fund this astronomer as much as his father had. Yeah, 265 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: and I mean Tico was not cheap. He was living 266 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,479 Speaker 1: large out on the island of then, throwing parties, drinking, 267 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: eating lots, and really not treating his tenants very well 268 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: at all. So because of this clash with Christian the fourth, 269 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: he ends up moving to Prague with his wife, where 270 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: or Roudolph the Second gave him refuge and he continues 271 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 1: his work there. But really at that point he had 272 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: collected the majority of the data that he was going 273 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: to collect over the course of his lifetime. So he 274 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: has all of that. He's still working with it, he's 275 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: still observing things, um, but at this point he most 276 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 1: of his life's work is complete. Time to analyze everything 277 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: you've gotten and what happened to the island and his 278 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: large observatory. Well, Christian the Fourth reportedly had it torn down, 279 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 1: so unfortunately it doesn't exist today. We can't even visit 280 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: this place, you and your plumbing and everything, you know. 281 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: So while he's in Prague, another significant thing happens. Tico 282 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: takes on an assistant named Johannes Kepler in six hundred Yeah, 283 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: and Kepler is a very different guy in away from Tico. 284 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: He comes from a different background. He's not a nobleman, 285 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,479 Speaker 1: but by the time they meet, he's got a good reputation. 286 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: He's a respected sigh antis and he's also a Copernican. 287 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 1: So opposite opposite theories. They don't believe the universe works 288 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: the same way, so he thinks that the planets orbit 289 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,880 Speaker 1: the Sun. It seems like it would be really hard 290 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: to have a productive partnership with another astronomer if you 291 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,359 Speaker 1: had such a fundamental difference, but it seems like it 292 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: could have worked well together. They could have worked well together. 293 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:27,920 Speaker 1: Kepler was a theory guy and Tico was the data guy, 294 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: So if they had put their heads together, who knows 295 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: what could have happened. But it turns out that they 296 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,040 Speaker 1: had kind of a tough working relationship. But couple really 297 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 1: wanted to work with Tico because he had come up 298 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: with sort of his own theory about um the orbits 299 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: of the planets. He thought that they were spheres, one 300 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: inside of the other, and so he really wanted to 301 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: work with Tico so that he could use his data. 302 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: But then, of course he comes to Tico, and Tico's 303 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: totally stingy with all his observations in his data and 304 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 1: completely at odds with his own beliefs. You don't want 305 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 1: your data to prove something that disproves what you've been 306 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: working on. Sure, so, as we mentioned that the two 307 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: butted heads, they argued. Kepler even walked down and left 308 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: at one point, and then Tico kind of came back 309 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: and relented and they came back together. But then, of 310 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: course Tico dies suddenly in six o one, and Kepler 311 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: after that point becomes the Imperial Mathematician in Prague, which 312 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: gives him access to all of Tico's data, So what 313 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: he wants, he's finally got what he needs. Unfortunately, though, 314 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: once he has all this data he's been waiting for 315 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,080 Speaker 1: for so long, it doesn't confirm his theory about the 316 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: spherical orbit. That's true. At least he knows this, and 317 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 1: he did confirm Copernicus' view of the Solar system and 318 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: to come up with the important laws of planetary motion 319 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 1: that he's still known for today. Yeah. So Kepler's work 320 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:56,200 Speaker 1: definitely benefits from having this data, which of course comes 321 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: from Tico's death. So suspicious. Yeah, And in things about 322 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: the mercury poisoning came out, a lot of people started thinking, well, 323 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: what did this guy have to gain from it? And 324 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: it makes them a pretty likely suspect, but there's no proof, 325 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 1: there's no proof. A lot of people suggest that he 326 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: might be a suspect, but there's no real hard proof 327 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 1: I don't think to support that. Fortunately, we have we 328 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: have some other suspect. There are some other suspects lined 329 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: up here. One suspect is the Jesuit Order. They could 330 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: have been to blame because they didn't really like the 331 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: influence that Tico had as a Protestant over Prague's emperor 332 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,120 Speaker 1: Routolf the second. So that was what would have made 333 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: them a suspect. Their motive in it, I guess, And 334 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:43,959 Speaker 1: there are others that think that Christian the Fourth may 335 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: have had something to do with it, since he's not 336 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,400 Speaker 1: a fan, no, not a big fan of Tico at all, 337 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: so he might have had a score to settle there, 338 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: and there's been some sort of recent theorizing about that front, 339 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: at least, hasn't there. Yes, there has a guy named 340 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,479 Speaker 1: Peter andrews En who is a Strasburg German studies expert. 341 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: He a couple of years ago came up with a 342 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: scenario that has Christian the Fourth as a mastermind and 343 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,880 Speaker 1: a plot that also involves Tico's distant cousin, Eric Brahe, 344 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:18,159 Speaker 1: and it's assumed in this scenario that Eric Brahe is 345 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,000 Speaker 1: the killer. And the reason Anderson came up with this 346 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,959 Speaker 1: theory is that he found he discovered Eric Brahe's six 347 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: hundred page diary in the Royal Library of Stockholm, and 348 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,399 Speaker 1: he says it contains some pretty definitive evidence that shows 349 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: it shows Eric Brahe going away on this huge mission. 350 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: Around this time, he's wrangling an invitation to the banquet 351 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: that Tico attended, the one where he didn't use the 352 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:47,120 Speaker 1: bathroom the entire time, And it also shows that Eric 353 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: visited Tico at his home after the banquet in the 354 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:56,119 Speaker 1: day's length, and he also expresses some remorse in his 355 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: diary in his writing, so there's one theory for you. Um, 356 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,959 Speaker 1: but other people think and this is not maybe not 357 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: quite as exciting and scandalous, but some people think that 358 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 1: Tico's death was accidental mercury poisoning. That because he was 359 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: also a bit of an alchemist, he might have tried 360 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: to cure himself by dosing himself with too much mercury 361 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: and accidentally dying from it. Yeah, that's another possibility. And unfortunately, 362 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: scientists say that we'll never know the truth because even 363 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: though they can find out that they might find out 364 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: if it's murder or if it was accidental poisoning, but 365 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: after former plus years, it's unlikely that they'd be able 366 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: to identify specific killer. So we this may have to 367 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:43,879 Speaker 1: remain a mystery. We do have one thing we can 368 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: look forward to though. Yes, they may solve the mystery 369 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 1: of the fake knows, and that came about the first 370 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 1: time they exhumed Tico bra Hay in nineteen o one. 371 00:21:55,240 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: They discovered that the metal plate that was his nose thesists, Yes, 372 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,440 Speaker 1: it was missing, it was not in his tomb, and 373 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,719 Speaker 1: when they sort of tested the area, they found copper 374 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: there rather than silver and gold, which everyone thought it was. 375 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,119 Speaker 1: So they're hoping to test now and see if they 376 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: can figure out what the nose was actually made up 377 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: with a silver and gold Was it a silver and 378 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: copper alloy? Maybe he had multiple notes. Maybe he had 379 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: multiple ones. That's also a theory. Maybe he had one 380 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 1: for special occasions and one for just everyday use. Yeah, 381 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: you need a females need different looks, So that's one 382 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 1: thing that we can look forward to hopefully. Yes, I 383 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: would like to learn about the nose, if not the 384 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 1: murder something um. But I guess that about wraps it 385 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: up with Tico. If you have any more fun stories, 386 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: you should email us. We talked about Katie and I 387 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: talked about his moose or Elk earlier on the Animals podcast. 388 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: So poor l pretty interesting guy. Yep, there's so much 389 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,639 Speaker 1: more we could say about Ticco if we had all 390 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: the time in the world. So do you have any 391 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,440 Speaker 1: other specific questions or you want to add something, definitely 392 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,399 Speaker 1: write us. Yeah, you can email us at History Podcast 393 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. We're also on Twitter 394 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: at mist in history, and we have a Facebook fan page, 395 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: so we have a lot of ways to share your 396 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 1: Tico stories with us. And if you want to learn 397 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: a little more about supernovas and other stellar events. You 398 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,360 Speaker 1: can check out our article how stars Work on our 399 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: home page at www dot how stuff works dot com 400 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: for more on this and thousands of other topics. Does 401 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: it how stuff works dot com. To learn more about 402 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:41,960 Speaker 1: the podcast, click on the podcast icon in the upper 403 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,159 Speaker 1: right corner of our homepage. The How Stuff Works iPhone 404 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: up has a rise. Download it today on iTunes.