1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menke'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 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: A trip to a major theme park is a time 7 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: honored tradition enjoyed by families all over the world. Whether 8 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: it's Disneyland, The Magic Kingdom or Universal Studios, vacationer's waits 9 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: in excruciating lines and shell out wads of cash to 10 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: visit resorts filled with talking animatronics, light shows and themed rides. 11 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: But there's one place that you may not have heard 12 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: of that offered a bit of a twist on that formula. 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: Closed now, but in its day it was unparalleled in 14 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: the world of amusement parks. Located near the village of 15 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: Hesden in northern France, it was once home to a 16 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: breathtaking collection of animatronic prank machines worthy of Home Alones 17 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: Kevin McAllister. Unlike the booby traps from that movie, these 18 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: machines were not intended to maim or injure intruders, but 19 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: to shock, startle, and delight the estate's guests. They still 20 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 1: came at you pretty hard, though. Pipes in the floors 21 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: would spurt visitors with jets of water from below, while 22 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: opening the wrong book could get you a face full 23 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: of flour or soot. One animatronic statue instructed you to 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: rush to the next room. If you did as you 25 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: were told, you encountered a large machine that would start 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: beating you with sticks. There was also larger walkthrough experiences, 27 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: similar to the ones that you might find today around 28 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: these Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. The largest one was 29 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: the Chamber of the Golden Fleece, a room with elaborate 30 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: frescoes depicting the myth of Jason and the Argonauts. A 31 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: wooden hermit statue near the front recited parts of the 32 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: story to you, and as you came to the end, 33 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,919 Speaker 1: a trapdoor opened in the ceiling, pelting you with snow 34 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: and rain to mimic a thunderstorm. But things weren't much 35 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: safer once you got outside the main building. The sprawling 36 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 1: grounds were crafted to look like natural woodlands and marshes 37 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: similar to the way that Disneyland approximates wilderness in its 38 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: Jungle cruise areas, live deer ran through the trees and 39 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: fish swam in the ponds. There were plenty of animatronic 40 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: delights there too, though, like mechanized fountains, trees full of 41 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: robotic birds, and a bridge guarded by mechanical monkeys with 42 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,359 Speaker 1: badger pelts for skin. However, the wolf that prowled the 43 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: grounds was very, very real and not remotely tame. It 44 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: doesn't seem like any attempt was made to keep it 45 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: locked up, even after the neighbors complained that it was 46 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: killing their livestock. The wolf was simply outfitted with a 47 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: collar of bells so that people would know when it 48 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,239 Speaker 1: was headed their way. Now, you might be wondering why 49 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: guests would visit such a park, considering the dangers and 50 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: flat out annoyances they faced at Hesden. Part of the 51 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,359 Speaker 1: draw may have been the exclusivity. Hesden didn't sell tickets 52 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: or allow the public to enter. Anyone who stepped inside 53 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: was a personal guest of the estate's owner. Mainly, though, 54 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: people came to Hesden because you couldn't experience its delights 55 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: or surprises anywhere else. There was no Disneyland or Universal Studios. 56 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: In fact, neither park would open for well over six 57 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: hundred years. But just like the Wolf, Hesden's Castle was real. 58 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: Its founder, Count Robert the second of Artois, was a 59 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:33,679 Speaker 1: lord who lived near the end of the thirteenth century. 60 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: His mechanical pranks, which he called engines of Amusement, were 61 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: inspired by a trip to Italy, where he likely encountered 62 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: advanced animatronics from the Middle East. We don't know what 63 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: inspired the count to turn his estate into such a 64 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: unique place, but his daughter continued to maintain and expand 65 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: it after his death. Unfortunately, the castle was destroyed in 66 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: fifteen fifty three, along with all the machines. Most of 67 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: what we know about Hesden comes from maps and receipts 68 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: for the payments to a fleet of engineers and metal 69 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: workers who built and maintained the animatronics. There are also 70 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: a few surviving accounts from visitors, like one bishop who 71 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: compared Hesdin to the Garden of Eden, and that's a 72 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: ringing endorsement from a medieval Catholic leader. He might as 73 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: well have called it the happiest place on Earth. Throughout history, 74 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: there have been many examples of people enduring pain for 75 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: the sake of physical appearance. Tattoos and piercings are two 76 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: of the most common examples, both of which can be 77 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: traced back to ancient civilizations. But unlike traditional body art, 78 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: some beauty practices cause people to go to extreme links. 79 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 1: One such practice originated in the mid nine hundreds AD 80 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: in an area of southern China. A girl named Yo 81 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: Nyang good in the wings of a small stage. Yao 82 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 1: was a servant to the Emperor Li Yu, and part 83 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: of her job was to entertain the emperor and his court. 84 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: No one in the audience knew that they were about 85 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: to see something unlike anything they had seen before. The flutes, 86 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: soft melody, and twinkling chimes cued Yoo's entry to the stage. 87 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: She walked slowly, careful not to fall, and when Yao 88 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: appeared on stage, the audience gasped. It wasn't her dress, 89 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: or her makeup, or even her dance moves that was 90 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: so captivating. It was her feet. Each one was bound 91 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: in white silk so tight they appeared like little crescent moons, 92 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,919 Speaker 1: and everyone in the room thought that they looked beautiful 93 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: as a cherry on top. Yo delicately balanced on top 94 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: of a lotus shaped platform. Her performance cast a spell 95 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: on the whole room, and the emperor was mesmerized. Afterward, 96 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: Yao became one of the emperor's favorite servants. His other 97 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: servants wanted to make their feet look just like hers, 98 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: and soon the trend spread to the common people as well. 99 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: Lotus feet, as they became known, were a sign that 100 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: a woman did not have to do any physical labor 101 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: to support herself, and that her husband could support her instead. 102 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: This way of life was aspirational in Chinese society at 103 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: the time. Soon lotus feet became a sign of overall wealth. 104 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: A young woman looking for a husband would have better 105 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: prospects if her feet were fashioned this way. However, this 106 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: appearance was so in demand that at some point it 107 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 1: stopped being enough for women to wrap their feet so Instead, 108 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: before they even reached a marrying age, young girls underwent 109 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: a permanent, painful procedure. And this is what the procedure involved, 110 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,919 Speaker 1: and it might be disturbing to hear, so please listen 111 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: with care. First, a girl's feet were soaked in hot water, 112 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: Then her toenails were clipped short, her toes were massaged 113 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: with oil and then broken and bound against the soles. 114 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: And then finally her feet were folded in half and 115 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,119 Speaker 1: wrapped in long silk or cotton strips. And this wasn't 116 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: a one time event. It could take months or even 117 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: years for someone's feet to permanently hold this shape. Many 118 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: of the steps were repeated to ensure the arches stayed 119 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: bent in half. Often those undergoing this process were required 120 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: to walk long distances to force their arches into this shape. 121 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: In the end, bound feet were only about three or 122 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: four inches long. As you can imagine, this effectively disabled 123 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,119 Speaker 1: girls and women. They lost the ability to move around 124 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: freely and independently. But bound feet were so in fashion 125 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: that it didn't seem to matter. Not only that, some 126 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: young men's parents wouldn't allow them to marry a woman 127 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: whose feet weren't bound, so a woman's future often depended 128 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: on it. Therefore, the practice continued for centuries. At some 129 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: point in the nineteenth century, people started to acknowledge the 130 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: true perils of footbinding more widely. It was bad enough 131 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: that women couldn't move around easily, but their feet were 132 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: also prone to infection, and their broken toes would heal, 133 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: but the bones would break more easily after that, and 134 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: the lack of balance caused women to fall and break 135 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: other bones as well. Never mind the fact that these 136 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,119 Speaker 1: women often started this process when they were children, meaning 137 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: that they had no choice in the matter. This was 138 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: forced on them. They were powerless to stop it. In 139 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three, the first official anti footbinding society was founded. 140 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: From there, people urge their local governments to take action. 141 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: By nineteen twelve, the Chinese government had banned footbinding nationwide, 142 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: but many people still viewed lotus feet as a symbol 143 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: of beauty and continue the practice in secret. It has 144 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: taken decades, but thankfully the practice is almost entirely gone, 145 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: and it stands as a reminder that oftentimes beauty and 146 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: freedom do not go hand in hand, that beauty shouldn't 147 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: involve pain or suffering or abuse, and that when it 148 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: comes to freedom, sometimes popularity is the enemy. I hope 149 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 150 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 151 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities Podcasts. The show was created 152 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manke in partnership with How Stuff Works. 153 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore which is 154 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show and you can 155 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 156 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.