1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 2: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 2: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. I don't know about you, 7 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 2: but my memory these days is pretty bad. I can 8 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 2: barely remember to pick up the milk when I'm at 9 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 2: the grocery store anymore. And yet there exists people in 10 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 2: this world whose minds contain multitudes. Actress Mary Lou Henner 11 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 2: famously had a condition called hyperthymesia, which allows her to 12 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 2: remember almost every detail of her entire life. She can 13 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: recall names, dates, and times of various events from her 14 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 2: past asked, no matter how small. Only sixty two people 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 2: in the world have been diagnosed with hyperthymesia, and we 16 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: are still learning what causes it and how it affects 17 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 2: those who possess it. But Stephen Wiltshier doesn't have hyperthymesia, 18 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 2: which you might think he does considering his special talent. 19 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 2: His mind is also a steel trap, but he isn't 20 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 2: able to recall every moment of his life like the others. Instead, 21 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 2: he has cities on the brain. Wiltshier was born in 22 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 2: London in April of nineteen seventy four. His parents had 23 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 2: come from the Caribbean, raised their son in the Little 24 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 2: Venice district of West London, and Stephen was nonverbal early on, 25 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 2: and three years into his life he was officially diagnosed 26 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 2: with autism. Sadly, that same year, his father was killed 27 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 2: in a motorcycle accident. Around five years old, Stephen developed 28 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: a number of interests. Like a lot of kids, he 29 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: had a passion for vehicles, especially American cars and London buses, 30 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 2: as well as animals, and to express his love for 31 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 2: these topics he began drawing them. But a few years 32 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 2: later he shifted his focus from cars and creatures to buildings. 33 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 2: His skills were evidence even from a young age. He 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 2: understood perspective and proper technique in a way that most 35 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 2: children his age just didn't. And he couldn't keep the 36 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 2: pencil out of his hand either. But his teachers saw his. 37 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: Obsession withdrawing as a means to an end in an 38 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: effort to get him to speak, they confiscated his art supplies. 39 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: Their thought was that if he wanted them badly enough, 40 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: he would ask for them. After struggling with the sounds, 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: Stephen eventually managed to say the word paper, and from 42 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 1: there his vocabulary quickly grew. He was speaking in full 43 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: sentences by the age of nine. But his language skills 44 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: weren't the only thing progressing. His drawings were also getting better, 45 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: and one of his teachers took notice. They didn't just 46 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: see raw talent, they saw true art, and started entering 47 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: his work in a number of local competitions and exhibitions. 48 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: Stephen sold his first piece when he was only eight 49 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: years old. As he took home more and more awards, 50 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: I started asking questions, how could this child create such 51 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: stunning drawings? And the answer is simple, That's because Stephen 52 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: is a savant. When he stopped drawing animals and automobiles, 53 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: he pivoted to crafting elaborate and detailed architectural sketches of 54 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 1: made up cities. He would create them in his head, 55 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: then transfer them to paper. He drew soaring skyscrapers and 56 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: road systems, all of which were proportional and well thought out. 57 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: He then turned his attention to actual skylines and cities. 58 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: His first ever commission came from the former Prime Minister 59 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: Edward Heath, who asked Stephen to draw Salisbury Cathedral for him. 60 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: Now you have to understand what set Stephen's sketches apart. 61 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: Isn't necessarily his artistic talent, which, don't get me wrong, 62 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: is significant. It's that he only needs to see a 63 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: place once in order to recreate it from memory. For example, 64 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: after a brief helicopter ride over London, he drew a 65 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: detailed four mile expanse of the area without the need 66 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,839 Speaker 1: for a single reference photo. Another chopper trip, this time 67 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: twenty minute flyover of New York City, yielded a nineteen 68 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: foot long panorama incorporating over three hundred square miles of 69 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: the city, all from memory. But he still manages to 70 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: add some flare of his own to his scenes every 71 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: now and then. One of his sketches is titled City 72 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: of London ten Years in the Future and features a 73 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: number of yet to be built skyscrapers overlooking the Thames. 74 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: Another is called the Great brand New and depicts a 75 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: pair of hands holding a globe teeming with buildings that 76 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: jut out from its surface like porcupines, quills, Stephen's work 77 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: spans the globe, with drawings of places in America, Singapore, 78 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: Canada and Europe that would be hard enough for any 79 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: artists to draw, even with the use of reference photos, 80 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: but knowing that they were all done from memory and 81 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: in such great detail puts them on a whole other level. 82 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: Stephen Wiltshire is someone with incredible talent, one that he 83 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: has honed over the past forty some odd years, and 84 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: it's clear that his only limits now are his imagination 85 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: and having enough paper. Long before Martha Stewart taught television 86 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: viewers how to bake bread and fluff their pillows, another 87 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: lifestyle guru imparted her wisdom on the masses. Her name 88 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: was Hannah Woolley. You've probably never heard of her before, 89 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: but if you had been around during the sixteen hundreds, 90 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: you definitely would have known her name. She was the 91 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: Martha Stewart of the seventeenth century, the Gwyneth Paltrow of 92 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: the pre industrial era. She was, to use the terminology 93 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: of her day, a domestic goddess, although her road to 94 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: fame was quite bumpy. Hannah was born in England in 95 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,239 Speaker 1: sixteen twenty two. While little is known about her early life, 96 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: she must have had access to a handful of educational opportunities. 97 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: She was said to have so called musical abilities and 98 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: a working knowledge of Italian. The details of her parents' 99 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: lives have been lost to history, but we do know 100 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: that Hannah became an orphan in sixteen thirty six at 101 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: the age of fourteen. Needing a way to support herself, 102 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: Hannah applied for jobs as a governess, which was sort 103 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: of like being a live in tutor. Her aptitude for 104 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: music and languages landed her a job in the home 105 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: of an English noble woman, teaching the family's children. Ten 106 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: years later, when Hannah was twenty four, she quit her 107 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: job to marry a teacher named Benjamin Woolley, and together 108 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: they had four kids of their own. Throughout the sixteen 109 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,799 Speaker 1: forties and sixteen fifties, Hannah devoted her time to caring 110 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: for her home and her children. She was unique in 111 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: that she kept meticulous records of her household chores during 112 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: a time when less than a quarter of British women 113 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,600 Speaker 1: were literate. Hannah could read and write, which gave her 114 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: the ability to catalog the recipes that she made at home. 115 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: By the early sixteen sixties, Hannah had journals full of 116 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: domestic advice. There were exact measurements for preparing a violet 117 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: flower syrup, detailed instructions on how to make eel high, 118 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: and her opinions on the best way to decorate a 119 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: mantle with wild moss and mushrooms. Of course, she planned 120 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 1: to pass these writings down to her children when they 121 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: grew up, but Hannah thought other people might benefit from 122 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: her knowledge too, and so in sixteen sixty one she 123 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: published a cookbook entitled The Ladies Directory. While cookbooks weren't 124 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: brand new, Hannah's was the first ever published by a woman, 125 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: and it was a big hit, big enough that she 126 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: decided to keep writing more. In sixteen sixty four she 127 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: published another cookbook called The Cook's Guide, and then very suddenly, 128 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: her husband passed away. Now an orphan and a widow, 129 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: Hannah had to figure out how to care for herself 130 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: and her four children. In sixteen seventy she wrote a 131 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: book called The Queen Like Closet, which, despite the name, 132 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: did not chronicle the clothing of monarchs. Instead, it was 133 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: in all around how to manual for housekeepers. It was 134 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: also Hannah's biggest success yet, being reprinted four times and 135 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: translated into German. Hannah became one of the first British 136 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: women ever to make a living as a writer. She 137 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: continued publishing cookbooks and housekeeping manuals all throughout the seventeenth century, 138 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: eventually becoming a household name in England. And here's the 139 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: most interesting part. Hannah was writing during a time when 140 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: medicine was considered part of the domestic sphere. In addition 141 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: to eel pie and mushroom decor, she also created recipes 142 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: for medications and wrote instructions on how to perform minor surgery. 143 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: And yes, most of these home remedies were what we 144 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: would now call old wives tales. This was, of course, 145 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: the era when medicine centered around balancing the bodies for humors, 146 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: which were believed to be blood, yellow bile, black bile, 147 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: and phlegm. Gross, I know, but this idea of four 148 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: humors dates all the way back to ancient Greece and 149 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: it was the way that people understood their bodies for 150 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: over two thousand years. And so a lot of Hannah's 151 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: medicinal recipes are focused on how to raise or lower 152 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: the amount of certain humors. Lentils and cabbage were thought 153 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: to increase levels of black bile. Blood letting, literally making 154 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 1: yourself bleed on purpose was thought to decrease fever. Vinegar 155 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: syrup could flush out excess phlem and it also was 156 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: a cure for the plague. But if that's not a 157 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: bold enough claim for you, Hannah also thought that she 158 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: had a cure for breast cancer. Just mix a little 159 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: goose dung with the juice of a celidyne flower, apply 160 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: it like an ointment, and you'll be better in no time. 161 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: But while a lot of Hannah's medicinal experiments should never 162 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: be recreated, there is value in her work and in 163 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: folk medicine in general. Modern studies often find nuggets of 164 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: truth in weird ancient medicinal beliefs. In fact, a two 165 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,440 Speaker 1: thousand and six study found that the extract from the 166 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: celandine flower actually does slow the growth of cancer cells, 167 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: which means that Hannah Woolly's curious seventeenth century cancer treatment 168 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: might not be as crazy as it sounds. But still, 169 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,319 Speaker 1: I think all of us can agree we can probably 170 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: skip out on that goose dung. I hope you've enjoyed 171 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 1: today's guide it tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities, subscribe 172 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 173 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 174 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 175 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 176 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 177 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 178 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.