1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today's episode is 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: another classic from our previous host, Christian Sagar. These days, 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:16,600 Speaker 1: with printing and digital technologies being what they are, books 5 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: can be very affordable, but when you get into collector territory, 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: prices can be astounding. Today's question is what is the 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: most expensive book in the world? Hey brain Stuff, It's 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: me Christian Sagar. Sometimes I like to imagine that long 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: after I'm dead, a wealthy philanthropist is going to buy 10 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: my diary for millions of dollars and lend it to 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: museums across the planet. Then everyone would finally know the 12 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: answer to today's question, what is the most expensive book 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: in the world? Something by William Shakespeare, The Necronomicon, Twilight, 14 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: New Moon. Well, it all depends on if the book 15 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: is printed or if it's handwritten. If we're talking books 16 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: that have had multiple copies printed, then the answer is 17 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: the Bay Psalm Book, which sold for more than fourteen 18 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: million dollars in November. It was originally printed by Puritans 19 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in sixteen forty. Seeking religious freedom. These 20 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: settlers wanted their own translation of the Old Testament. Today 21 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: there are only eleven copies remaining, and it is considered 22 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: the first book printed in America. But if we include 23 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: one of a kind handwritten texts, then the base Psalm 24 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: Book isn't even worth half the value of the most 25 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: expensive book ever sold. That title goes to Leonardo da 26 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: Vinci's Codex Lester, which sold for thirty point eight million 27 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: dollars in nineteen ninety four to a little known computer 28 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: programmer by the name of Bill Gates ad just that 29 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: amount for inflation, and today the Codex is almost worth 30 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: fifty million dollars. In fact, that's forty nine million, five 31 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: d eight thousand, five hundred and sixty one dollars and 32 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: forty cents if you want to be technical. It's an unbound, 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: seventy two page notebook filled with da Vinci's drawings and thoughts, 34 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: mainly about how to move water. Yeah, the most expensive 35 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,799 Speaker 1: book in the world is basically a plumbing manual. More 36 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: on that in a minute. A lot of da Vinci's 37 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: writing was lost to history, almost half of it, in fact, 38 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: so the Codex Lester is mainly important because it's a 39 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: single collection of his focused ideas. The Codex is written, 40 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: like many of da Vinci's works, in something called mirror hand. 41 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,399 Speaker 1: All the letters are reversed and it's written from right 42 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: to left, so the only way you can read it 43 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: is when it's held up to a mirror, and you 44 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: probably need a fluency and antiquated Italian as well. So 45 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: it's a book about water that's written backwards. Well, to 46 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: be fair, that's oversimplifying things a bit. It's primarily about 47 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,519 Speaker 1: how astronomy and geology relate to water, considering the functionality 48 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: of tides, eddies, and dams. Really, da Vinci was trying 49 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: to figure out how to harness the power of moving water. 50 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: He demonstrates how pressure increases with depth in a fluid, 51 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: and the Codex examines configurations of siphons and differently shaped pipes. 52 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: He's particularly interested in the fluid mechanics of how water 53 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: moves around obstacles. This manuscript was first purchased in seventeen 54 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: seventeen by a guy named Thomas Coke, who later became 55 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: the Earl of Lester, hence the title Codex Lester, But 56 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty an art collector named armand Hammer bought it, 57 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: changing its name to the more badass Codex Hammer. This 58 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: only lasted fourteen years though, until Gates bought it and 59 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: changed it back then he made it into a screensaver 60 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: for windows. Actually, Gates seems genuinely inspired by Da Vinci's 61 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: example of pushing himself to find more knowledge. He's even 62 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: loaned the book to a number of museums over the 63 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: years so it can be viewed and studied by the public. 64 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: So that's the most expensive book in the world for now, 65 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: until the Codex Sager hits the South Aby's auction block. 66 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Christian and produced by Tyler Clay. 67 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other topics, visit 68 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: how Stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production off 69 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio more podcasts. My heart Radio is the 70 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 71 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.