1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,919 Speaker 1: In the fall of the effects of the Roaring Twenties 7 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: literally came crashing down. Americans had left their farms in 8 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: rural towns for the promises of wealth and excess only 9 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: found in big cities. Unfortunately, the stock market, which had 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: been on a meteoric rise, finally fell from the sky 11 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: and took with it the fortunes of countless investors. This 12 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: kicked off a period of time known as the Great Oppression, 13 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: which lasted from nineteen twenty nine until nineteen thirty nine, 14 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: and during those ten years people lost their jobs, their homes, 15 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: and even their lives. But one man refused to let 16 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: the depression get him down. Instead, he channeled his sadness, 17 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: his anger, and the last of his money into some 18 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:21,039 Speaker 1: prime swamp front property in New Jersey. His name was 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: George Dyer, and he believed that he had been led 20 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: to New Jersey by an angel. This same angel allegedly 21 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: gave him a vision of what he would build on 22 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: the four acres of land that he purchased for four dollars, 23 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: and so George walked for ten days and one twelve 24 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: miles to the South Jersey town of Vinland. Once he arrived, 25 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: he got to work building himself a house with whatever 26 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: he could find around him. The walls were crafted from 27 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: random rocks and pieces of cement, while he used old 28 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: car chassis to make floorboards. Fenders were bent into gables, 29 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: and he repurposed old bed frames as doors. He even 30 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: made the paint from scratch by grinding up red bricks 31 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: into motor oil. Any object, vehicle part, or piece of 32 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: debris was fair game for inclusion in the home. Wagon 33 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 1: wheels formed the base of towers he built around its perimeter, 34 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: and he carved up a massive cypress log for his 35 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: dining table. The chairs were made from smaller stumps. Around 36 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: the exterior of the property, George had dug out ponds 37 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: and cultivated gardens to keep himself going. He relied on 38 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: the natural New Jersey fauna for sustenance. There were plenty 39 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: of rabbits and fish to eat, as well as squirrels 40 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: and even the occasional frog. By the time he finished 41 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty two, he was ready to unveil his 42 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: Depression Palace to the world. George Dyer had built it 43 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: to show visitors that they didn't have to let the 44 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: current economy keep them down. He believed that and I quote, 45 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: education by thought can lift all the depressed peoples out 46 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: of any depression, calamity, or catastrophe. George Daner welcomed people 47 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: into the palace for twenty five cents apiece and gave 48 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,519 Speaker 1: them grand tours of the various rooms he had structed. 49 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: For example, he had guests crawled through an area named 50 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: the Jersey Devil's Den before visiting a room he called 51 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: the Knockout Room. This room was home to a single chair, 52 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: above which George Danner had hung a large boulder. He 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: encouraged anyone who wanted to forget their troubles to sit 54 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: in the chair and let the boulder take away those worries. 55 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: No one, as far as we can tell, ever sat 56 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: in that chair. George was quite a character and a 57 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: brilliant marketer. Robert Ripley of Ripley's believe it or Not. 58 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: Fame published a cartoon about the Depression Palace, and George 59 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: appeared on the nineteen fifties human interest television program You 60 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: Asked For It. A documentary film titled The Fantastic Palace 61 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: was also made by Universal Pictures and followed the intrepid 62 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: homeowner around the house on one of his tours. The 63 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: Depression Palace's popularity came to a head in nineteen fifty seven, though, 64 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: when George Daner inserted himself into a very serious criminal investigation. 65 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: An infant named Peter Weinberg had been kidnapped in New 66 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: York State. The police and the FBI searched for weeks 67 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: and were eventually led to the Depression Palace by Danner himself. 68 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: He claimed that he had been contacted by the kidnappers, 69 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: who had allegedly stowed the child in one of the 70 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: dungeons in his home. The authorities arrived and George was 71 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: forced to admit that the whole thing had been a charade. 72 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: He'd done it for the attention and to draw more 73 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: tourists to the house. As punishment for providing false information 74 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: to federal officials, he was sentenced to one year in prison. 75 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: The house was left abandoned, and tourists kept coming, but 76 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: not for guided tours. They picked the place clean and 77 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: stole all sorts of random objects from the property. They 78 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: even burned down part of the house. Danner was released 79 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: one year later at the ripe old age of one hundred. 80 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: He was an old, broke and broken man with almost 81 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: nothing to his name. His home was in a serious 82 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: state of disrepair, which he was too old and destitute 83 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: to fix up himself. He died on October nineteen sixty four, 84 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 1: at the age of one and four. The city eventually 85 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: tore the rest of the structure down in nineteen sixty nine, 86 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 1: but it wouldn't be gone forever. In two thousand one, 87 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,840 Speaker 1: a nonprofit organization took up the cause to restore the 88 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: eccentric home back to its former glory. Over the next 89 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: sixteen years, with help from numerous grants and donations, the 90 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: Palace of Depression was mostly rebuilt, and a small museum 91 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: was at a next door. This strange and unconventional home 92 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: continues to persist through depressions, recessions, abandonment, and new ownership, 93 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: truly living up to the reason it was built in 94 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: the first place. The show people everywhere that no matter 95 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 1: how things get, home can be anywhere you make it, 96 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: even apparently if that home is made out of old 97 00:05:47,440 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: card parts and bed frames. One of the oldest sports 98 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: in history also happens to be one of the most violent. 99 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: The concept of fighting another person has existed since the 100 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: dawn of humanity, but fighting someone for sports can be 101 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: charted all the way back to the third millennium BC, 102 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: possibly even earlier. We simply don't know because of the 103 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: lack of written record from before that point. And while 104 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: boxing has taken on many forms over the years, the 105 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: sport we recognized today seems to find its early roots 106 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 1: in England during the sixteenth century. Back then, it was 107 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: called bare knuckle boxing or prize fighting. This was an 108 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: era before weight classes were established, before they even had 109 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: referees to call a match. As time passed, though, boxing 110 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: as a sport was often outlawed and considered no different 111 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: than any other illegal activity, but it sure was popular, 112 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: so much so that Thomas Edison and his staff filmed 113 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: a fights in his New Jersey film studio in the 114 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties. You see, Edison wanted to test his new 115 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: kinscope by showing short films that he had made at 116 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 1: the studio. This boxing movie would be one of them. 117 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: In the film, two fighters named Sullivan and Corbetts went 118 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: head to head their hands clad in boxing gloves, as 119 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: their manager watched from outside the ring. The manager was 120 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: a circus owner by the name of Professor Wilton, and 121 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: his traveling show was quite a spectacle. Forty performers entertained 122 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: audiences with daring feats of danger, such as jumping through 123 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: flaming hoops and putting up fires. Walton's circus made appearances 124 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: at countless vaudeville theaters all over the US at the 125 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: turn of the century. The man himself was quite an 126 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: established trainer up to that point, which made sense. Most 127 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: of his family was in the training business as well. 128 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: Sullivan and Corbett had trained for two years before they 129 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: made the Edison film. The movie was directed by William 130 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: Kennedy Dixon, one of Edison's employees and the man responsible 131 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: for bringing both the kinetograph camera and the kinetoscope to life. 132 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: He also came up with the idea for using thirty 133 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: five millimeter perforated film in both advices, but the accountants 134 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: at Edison Studios weren't convinced that people wanted to see 135 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: a boxing match on film. After all, they'd witnessed such 136 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: exciting sequences as a handshake in which a man and 137 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: a woman shook hands for four seconds, as well as 138 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: fred OTTs sneeze five second tour to force, where one 139 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: man experienced the earth shattering relief of unclogged nostrils on camera. 140 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: Dixon and his cameraman, William Hays, believe the boxing match 141 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: would not only be exciting but also profitable. With kinetoscopes 142 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: starting to appear in most major cities, people were going 143 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,839 Speaker 1: to line up and pay whatever it took to see 144 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: the fight of the century, and so the filmmakers pointed 145 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: the camera straight at the boxing ring they had set 146 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,560 Speaker 1: up in their West Orange studio. The fighters were brought in, 147 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: gloved and ready for action as Professor Welton took a 148 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: seat behind them. Watching the film today, it's hard not 149 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 1: to sneak a glance at Welton, who can't seem to 150 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: take his eyes off of Corbett and Sullivan as they 151 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: rained down punches on each other for a whopping twenty seconds. 152 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: That's right, Their new movie tripled the length of their 153 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: previous endeavors. It was a glimpse into the future of cinema, 154 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: as stories would require more time and more film to 155 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,959 Speaker 1: say everything they needed to say and what didn't you 156 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: know it? The boxing picture was a hit and not 157 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: only demonstrated the capabilities of Edison's technologies, but also the 158 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,839 Speaker 1: skill with which Professor Welton trained his fighters. After all, 159 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: it wasn't easy tying such boxing gloves on their little paws. 160 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: Oh I'm sorry, I forgot to mention Professor Welton was 161 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,440 Speaker 1: in charge of a traveling cat circus. His fantastic feelines 162 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: could do all sorts of tricks like ride bicycles and 163 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: walk across tight ropes. In fact, the cats were so 164 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: well trained it only took Dixon in Heists one take 165 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: to get the footage they needed of the fighting fee lines. 166 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: You may not be able to teach an old dog 167 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: new tricks, but Professor Welton proved that you can at 168 00:09:55,679 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: least teach a couple of cats two box. I hope 169 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 170 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 171 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 172 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,439 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Manky, in partnership with how 173 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Works, I make another award winning show called Lore, 174 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show and 175 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,199 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the world 176 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.