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 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Every country has its heroes, 7 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 2: people who, for better or worse, embody a sense of 8 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 2: national pride and spirit. These sorts of figures, whether they're 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 2: heads of states, are just powerful public speakers, are put 10 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 2: on pedestals by history books, almost mythologized while they're still alive. 11 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: It becomes easy to believe that if they succeed, their 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 2: country will as well, and if they fail, so will 13 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 2: their country. And of course it comes difficult to contend 14 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 2: with the fact that these people, like every other politician, 15 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 2: are just as human as uri, prone to the same flaws, 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 2: the same failures, and the same mundane vulnerabilities. Despite the 17 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 2: pedestal we've put. 18 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: Them on, they aren't figures out of Greek myth, and 19 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: for a particularly beloved head of state, an immense amount 20 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: of public effort would be put toward making sure that 21 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: his eventual death was properly commemorated. This was the case 22 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: with Sir Winston Churchill, who came out of the Second 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: World War with a reputation as a war hero, someone 24 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: who had led his country to victory against the evil 25 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: of the Nazis and had prioritized protecting the pride of 26 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: England even during the worst of the Blitz. No prime 27 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: minister before or since has held the same stature in culture. However, 28 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,279 Speaker 1: Churchill was not a healthy man. He drank like a fish, 29 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: smoked like a chimney, and battled illnesses regularly over the 30 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: course of his career. Everyone close to him was keenly 31 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,639 Speaker 1: aware that he was not invulnerable. In nineteen fifty three, 32 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: he had a major stroke at his home. While his 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: family worked tirelessly to keep the incident's secret, Queen Elizabeth 34 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: I insisted that they needed to draw up funeral plans 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: for Churchill to be prepared for when the time came. 36 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: It would be known as Operation Hope, not the plan 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,959 Speaker 1: for an extravagant state funeral that would honor Churchill's service 38 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: to queen and country. Now Allegedly, the man himself was 39 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: not overly keen on the plan, but at the insistence 40 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: of the Queen, he allowed a committee to be formed 41 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: to plan his own funeral. The eventual plan was intensely specific, 42 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: time down to the second, how long he would lie 43 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: in state at the Houses of Parliament, what route the 44 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: car would take him through London, passed various locations that 45 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: were significant to Churchill's life. The roles of the others 46 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: were also specified, from who would serve as pallbearers to 47 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: where the Queen would be during the ceremony. Also time 48 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: down to the second. Two supplemental booklets, one forty seven 49 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: pages long and the other fifty nine included instructions for 50 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: the London Metropolitan Police and how they would time the 51 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: rays and lowering of bridges, managed traffic and generally just 52 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: control the flow of the city during the day of 53 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,080 Speaker 1: the funeral. And the plan was completed in nineteen fifty three, 54 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: but it wound up undergoing several major revisions because Churchill 55 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,799 Speaker 1: just well, he wouldn't die. He would suffer additional strokes 56 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: and eventually resign the Prime Minister role for health reasons, 57 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: but he lived well into the nineteen sixties and the 58 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: committee had to revisit Operation Hope, not regularly, as one 59 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: Lord put it, Churchill kept living and the pallbearers kept dying. 60 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: It should be noted that state funerals in Britain have 61 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: rarely been given for someone outside of the royal family, 62 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: but as I've mentioned, Churchill's position in British popular culture 63 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: was a special one. Ultimately, Churchill would die in January 64 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: of nineteen sixty five, almost twelve years after the plan 65 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: was first drawn up. Estimates say that as many as 66 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty million people watch the funeral worldwide. 67 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: As of twenty twenty five, his funeral will be the 68 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: last British state funeral held for someone not from the 69 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: royal family. Afterward, the initial documents remained a state secret 70 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: for thirty years, not seeing the light of day until 71 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five. Some of these documents have been since 72 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: auctioned off to private collectors. Others are held by museums 73 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: or the British government itself. Although he would not be 74 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: the last non royal to get such a treatment, Operation 75 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: Hope Not was not the only funeral plan that was 76 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: on the books in the nineteen sixties. At around the 77 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: same time they were working on the plans for how 78 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,119 Speaker 1: to honor Churchill, Queen Elizabeth had her own funeral plans 79 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: drawn up as well, just in case. The code name 80 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: for that plan would be different, though they called it 81 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: Operation London Bridge. Sometimes things have a second life beyond 82 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: what we first imagined. How The Shawshank Redemption grossed less 83 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: than thirty thousand dollars at the box office, but is 84 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: now considered one of the best films of all time. 85 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: The Big Lebowski also flopped in theaters, but is now 86 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: so popular that it spawned its own religion, Dudaism, with 87 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: six hundred thousand ordained ministers. And the subject of this story, 88 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: a man named Roy, dreamed that his creations would tear 89 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: up the American highways, and he did leave his mark, 90 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 1: just not in the way that he expected. In the 91 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, the American auto industry was experiencing a boom 92 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: after two decades marked by a great depression in World 93 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: War II. The economy recovered and Americans could afford cars again. 94 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: Demand for American made cars was sky high, and the 95 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 1: market was dominated by three Detroit based automakers, General Motors, Chrysler, 96 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: and the Ford Motor Company. Every year, these companies fought 97 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: to one up each other at auto shows around the country, 98 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: they debuted concept cars that introduced flashy new designs and 99 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: futuristic features, some of which would be adopted into existing 100 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: car models and are still around today. In nineteen fifty five, 101 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: Ford Motor presented a real stunner, the Lincoln Futura. It 102 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: was a sleek, state of the art convertible inspired by 103 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: outer space and the deep sea. The cars hooded headlamps 104 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: and lifted tail fins resembled a reef shark, but its 105 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: roof and windshield looked like something more out of the 106 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: Jetsons than real life. The Lincoln Futura was a bold 107 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: design and the crowd at the Chicago Auto Show loved it, 108 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,599 Speaker 1: which reflected well on the mastermind behind the concept car, 109 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,280 Speaker 1: an up and coming designer named Roy born in Hamilton, 110 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: Ontario in Canada. He started his car designing career at 111 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: Cadillac before landing at Ford in nineteen fifty three. The 112 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: Futura was one of his first projects there, and given 113 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: his success, Ford executives decided to entrust Roy with a bigger, 114 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:53,359 Speaker 1: more ambitious project, the design of Ford's first mid ranged car. 115 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 2: You see. 116 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: At the time, Ford mostly sold two kinds of vehicles, flashy, 117 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: upscale models like the Mercury and boxy, dependable rides that 118 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: would get you from point A to point B. They 119 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: wanted to compete in the mid range car markets and 120 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: debuts something that would rival the Chrysler Dodge and GM's Pontiac. 121 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: So Roy got to work designing a smart, but reliable 122 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: sedan that would appeal to young business professionals and fashion 123 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: forward families. For the next two years, he tuned and 124 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: tweaked eighteen different models of the car. His designs were 125 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:30,119 Speaker 1: guided by countless focus groups that helped develop the car's personality. 126 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: Ford executives also enlisted the help of poet Marina Moore 127 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: to name the new model. She proposed some outlandish suggestions 128 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: like the utopian turtle Top and the Pluma Poluma, but 129 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: finally one executive stepped in and decided to simply name 130 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: the car after Henry Ford's late sun Edzel. By nineteen 131 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: fifty seven, Ford Motor had spent two hundred and fifty 132 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: million dollars on researching, tooling, and expanding production facilities for 133 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: the Ford Edzell. That's about two billion dollars dollars today. 134 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: In exchange, Roy Brown delivered a car that was truly unique. 135 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: The Edzel was large and colorful, with four headlights and 136 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: vertical tail lamps, which set it apart from the other 137 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: Ford models, and Roy also included some luxury touches, like 138 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: a push button transmission on the steering wheel and the 139 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: warning light system that would alert drivers when they were 140 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: low on oil or gas. When it was released in 141 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: September of nineteen fifty seven, eager buyers flooded four dealerships 142 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: across the country. The first weekend, thousands of Edzels were 143 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: driven off the lot, which was great news because Ford 144 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: had spent so much developing the card that they needed 145 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: to sell two hundred thousand units before they would turn 146 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: a profit. But in the coming weeks that outpouring of 147 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: interest slowed to a trickle. The following month, to try 148 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: and drum up business, Ford sponsored a TV special called 149 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 1: The Edzels Show, a variety show starring some of the 150 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: biggest names in Hollywood like Being Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, 151 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: Rosemary Clooney. Fifty million Americans tuned in to watch it, 152 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: but none of those viewers stepped foot on a Ford lot. 153 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: By November, Edzell sales had plummeted. Ford executives were dumbfounded. 154 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: They had expected the Edzel to make a splash, but 155 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,959 Speaker 1: instead it stunk. Unfortunately for all their focus groups in 156 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: market research. There was something Ford had overlooked. Compact cars 157 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: were surging in popularity, in part because a month before 158 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 1: the Edzel debuted, the US dipped into a recession and 159 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: unemployment rates doubled. Compact cars were simply more fuel efficient, 160 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: which people saw as a wiser investment given the economic downturn. 161 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: Ford discontinued the Edzel two years later, in November of 162 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty nine, after selling only one hundred thousand units, 163 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 1: half of what they needed to break even on the car. Afterwards, 164 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: Roy was transferred to Ford London, where he went on 165 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: to design the enormously successful Ford Cortina, and he also 166 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,680 Speaker 1: worked on the Thunderbird, Ford's best known luxury car. But 167 00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: none of Roy Brown Junior's designs would be a sa 168 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: famous as that first one, the Lincoln Futura. In fact, 169 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:06,959 Speaker 1: you've probably seen pictures of it your entire life, because 170 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: ten years after it debuted in Chicago, Ford sold the 171 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: Futura to a Hollywood producer who gave the car some 172 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: serious upgrades and a new paint job. He used the 173 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: Futura in his newest television project, and soon it became 174 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: the most iconic car to ever drive its way through 175 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: the screen. Because that producer was Chuck Barris, creator of 176 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: a TV series based on a legendary comic book character. 177 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: The Futura, you see, was transformed into the Batmobile. I 178 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 179 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 180 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 181 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 182 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 183 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 184 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,800 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. 185 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 2: And until next time, stay curious.