1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: The ocean is full of secrets. It covers the majority 7 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: of the planet, and only through immense technical effort can 8 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: we even begin to glimpse what lies in the depths. 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: Before deep sea submarines, we could only judge what lay 10 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: below by what made it to the surface, which has 11 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: led to some pretty curious tales. On November thirtieth of 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety six, two boys were walking along a beach 13 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: on Anastasia Island, off the coast of Florida. They spotted 14 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: something that they couldn't quite make sense of. It was 15 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,839 Speaker 1: a large mass about twenty one feet long, seven feet wide, 16 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: and just over four feet tall. They didn't know what 17 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: to make of it. It seemed to rise out of 18 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: the sand unmoving, so the boys ran to the nearby 19 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: town of Saint Augustine and told a local physician that 20 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: they'd found a dead whale washed up on the beach. 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: The physician was doctor DeWitt Webb, the president of the 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: local scientific society. Excited by the boy's story, he immediately 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: went to see this thing for himself, and when he arrived, 24 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: he too was puzzled by its appearance. This was some 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: kind of animal, but it didn't look much like a whale. 26 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: It was largely featureless, partially decayed, with several stump like limbs, 27 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: and its skin was a faded pink gray with a 28 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: tough rubbery texture. Needless to say, this was a creature 29 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: unlike any kind he had ever seen before, and soon 30 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: enough crowds of locals were flocking to the beach to 31 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: get a glimpse of the thing. Local papers described it 32 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: as a and i quote pear shaped blob of grayish goo. 33 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: With effort, doctor Webb and the others dug it up 34 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: and had it hauled out of the sand. The immense 35 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: size of the thing owed everyone who saw it. It 36 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: weighed an estimated seven tons. Webb took samples and sent 37 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: them to his colleagues, writing that he thought he'd found 38 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: an undiscovered species here. One of the men that he 39 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: sent them to was Professor Addison Verel at Yale University, 40 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,359 Speaker 1: one of the foremost naturalists of his day. Verel said 41 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: that this must be the carcass of a giant octopus. 42 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: He proposed that the species should be called Octopus giganteus, 43 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: and of course, the press latched onto the story eagerly. 44 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: Stories of giant tentacles sea monsters are as old as 45 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: human history. Twenty six years earlier, Jules vern had famously 46 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: described a giant squid in twenty thousand leagues under the 47 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: sea before my eyes. Vern wrote was a horrible monster, 48 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 1: worthy to figure in the legends of the Marvelous Locals 49 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: dubbed it the Saint Augustine Monster. Doctor de Witt recruited 50 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: a lot local photographer to capture the image of the 51 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: creature and its strange shape. Vero meanwhile, began to doubt 52 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: his original conclusions. It might actually be a whale, after all, 53 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: he wrote to a colleague in eighteen ninety seven. The 54 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,079 Speaker 1: following January, a storm washed the Saint Augustine Monster out 55 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: to sea, only to deposit it on another beach two 56 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: miles to the south. Concerned that the creature would be 57 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: lost forever, doctor de Witt assembled a team of horses 58 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: and men to carry the monster several miles inland. It 59 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: was ultimately set up by a hotel, and there it 60 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: became a tourist attraction. The mystique of the Saint Augustine 61 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: Monster drew tourists from all over Florida. They came to 62 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: speculate on its origin what deep sea behemoth had been 63 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: deposited on their shores. But like many tourist attractions, its 64 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: novelty faded over the years, and after a while it disappeared. 65 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: We have no record of what happened to the original carcass. 66 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: Even the photographs of the creature have been lost. It 67 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: wasn't until nineteen fifty seven the creature would resurface. Doctor 68 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: Forrest Wood, a museum curator and cryptozoologist, managed to find 69 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: an old newspaper article about the creature, and he eventually 70 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: managed to find the samples of the creature that were 71 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: held at the Smithsonian Institute. He examined all of it 72 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,799 Speaker 1: and concluded in nineteen seventy one that it was indeed 73 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: some kind of octopus. However, rather than provide the final 74 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: word on the subject, doctor Wood's paper provoked another wave 75 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: of public interest which concluded with another analysis in nineteen 76 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: ninety five. In this case, the research team fully disagreed 77 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: with Wood. The Saint Augustine monster was made up of 78 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: pure collagen, which meant that it was matter from a 79 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: warm blooded creature, not an octopus. And in two thousand 80 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: and four a DNA test determined what this mysterious creature 81 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 1: actually was, a collection of whale blubber. It aimed. After 82 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: all this time, and all this mystery, the initial assessments 83 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: of the boys on the beach had been correct. What 84 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: they had found was a whale, or part of a whale. 85 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: In their eagerness for the fantastical, the naturalists had let 86 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 1: their imaginations run wild. It's curious, really, of all the 87 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: mysteries the sea has yet to give us, this one, 88 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: it seems, was an open and shutcase. On a spring 89 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: day in twenty fifteen, police in Mosman, a sleepy town 90 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: in northwestern Australia, received a report of a major accident 91 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: along a remote coastal road. When first responders arrived on 92 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: the scene, they found the truck of local conservationist Dennis 93 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 1: Lee Lafferty wrapped around a large gum tree. Sadly, Lafferty 94 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: had not survived the crash. He had lived in nearby 95 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: Danetree and was well known in the area for his 96 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: encyclopedic knowledge of local flora and fauna, and for his 97 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: full throated advocacy for the local ecosystem. He made a 98 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: living leading boat tours down the Daintree River, which wound 99 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: through one of the most diverse rainforests in the world. 100 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,679 Speaker 1: He was well respected and would be sorely missed. Weeks later, 101 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: and halfway across the world, the Tampa Bay Times published 102 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: an article outlining the life and death of one Raymond 103 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: Grady stan Cell, a Florida angler who had become something 104 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: of a local legend himself. Stanzell had been the son 105 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 1: of a fisherman and had grown up on Florida's West coast, 106 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: where he'd showed an early affinity for the family business, 107 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: learning by the age of six how to catch bait 108 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: for his father to use. This affinity for fishing continued 109 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: into adulthood, but while he was passionate about his line 110 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 1: of work, making a living as an angler required long 111 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: days and backbreaking labor, and despite his almost preternatural skill, 112 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: he still yearned for a better life. It's unclear exactly 113 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 1: how he began to smuggle marijuana, but we do know 114 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: that by nineteen seventy one he was running it from Jamaica, 115 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: where he would buy loads of it from inland farm 116 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: The crops were packed into large burlap sacks, which he 117 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: would transport back across the Caribbean into US waters, hiding 118 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: the massive loads under piles of fish that he would 119 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: catch on the way back. Now, from his lifetime on 120 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: the west coast of Florida, he was familiar with all 121 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: of the quiet coves where a smuggler could unload his 122 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: product onto the beach out of the site of law enforcement. 123 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: The product would then be loaded onto waiting semi trucks 124 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: and then distributed to cities all over the country. Stanzell 125 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: only worked with people that he'd grown up with and 126 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: trusted inerrantly, and so was able to work with impunity 127 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: for many years. By nineteen seventy four, he'd made contacts 128 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: in other countries too, his crowning achievement being his connection 129 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: in Columbia, who supplied him with some of the best 130 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: marijuana in the world at the time. At its peak, 131 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: he was one of the most productive marijuana smugglers in America, 132 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: but it couldn't last forever. Authorities began to take notice, 133 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: and in June of nineteen seventy four, he was arrested 134 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: holding twenty five thousand dollars in cash checks from a 135 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: Swiss bank and a blank Nicaraguan tourist visa which allowed 136 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: him to come and go at will. There was more 137 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: than enough proof to put him away. His bail was 138 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: set at five hundred thousand dollars, which was paid with 139 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: a cashier's check. On the day he was to return 140 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: to court to face trial, his lawyer informed the authorities 141 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: Raymond Grady stan Cell Junior had drowned while scuba diving 142 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: in Honduras. Authorities could not believe it. Over the course 143 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: of the following years, there would be the occasional sighting. 144 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: He was seen on a beach in Jamaica in Key West, 145 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: and at one point a report from authorities in Honduras 146 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: informed American officials that they had him in custody, but 147 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: when they showed up to collect him, they were shown 148 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: an empty cell. Raymond Grady's stan Cell Junior was a ghost. 149 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: He left behind a family, close friends, everything he owned. 150 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: He was never seen in Florida again, which brings us 151 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: back to Australia. You see. Weeks after the car crash 152 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: that led to the death of Dennis Lee Lafferty, the 153 00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: Dantree Police received a message linking to an article from 154 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Times which outed the beloved conservationist as 155 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: none other than Raymond Grady's Stanceill Junior. His longtime partner 156 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: Janet Wood, decided that it was time to finally come clean. 157 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: She had been in Key West when she met him 158 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 1: at the storied chart Room Bar, a watering hole famous 159 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: for its eclectic clientele politicians rubbing elbows with fishermen, musicians 160 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: and the occasional smuggler, and they began a relationship. Anne 161 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: would confirm the newspaper's story after Stancell skip Bale in 162 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four. The two had sailed to Venezuela, flown 163 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: from there to Peru and then Tahiti, and finally ended 164 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: up on the remote northwestern coast of Queensland, where they 165 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: had reinvented themselves entirely and started a family. He billed 166 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: himself as a marine biologist and began the Daintree River 167 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: Crew Center, which he would run for the rest of 168 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 1: his life. In Florida, he has long since moved on 169 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: into legend, but curiously in Daintree, his company still operates, 170 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,680 Speaker 1: with his daughter at the helm, leading his legacy of 171 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:08,559 Speaker 1: conservation onward into the future. I hope you've enjoyed today's 172 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 173 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,959 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 174 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 175 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,680 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 176 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,559 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 177 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 178 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 179 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.