Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Speaker 1: Space is infinite. There is so much we don't know
Speaker 1: about the countless stars and galaxies that surround our tiny
Speaker 1: rock of a planet, and yet we continue to explore.
Speaker 1: We send rockets and satellites and other technologies out into
Speaker 1: the unknown, hoping for a little insights into the endless
Speaker 1: void around us. But in nineteen fifty eight, a Soviet
Speaker 1: scientist noticed something peculiar on one specif rock, one we've
Speaker 1: been looking at for millennia, and his alleged discovery, if
Speaker 1: proven true, was on track to change the course of
Speaker 1: history forever. His name was Nikolai Kosirev, an astrophysicist who
Speaker 1: made a name for himself in the nineteen thirties as
Speaker 1: one of the co founders of theoretical astrophysics, and it
Speaker 1: was early November of nineteen fifty eight when Nikolay observed
Speaker 1: the surface of the Moon, and that's when he spotted
Speaker 1: a red cloud of gas pluming from the middle of
Speaker 1: the crater Alfonsis. He believed what he had witnessed was
Speaker 1: an active volcano on the Moon. Now, Nikolai was hardly
Speaker 1: the first person to spot what he thought were volcanoes
Speaker 1: on the Moon, dating all the way back to the
Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds, a British chemist named Robert Hook conducted extensive
Speaker 1: research on space and also deduced that the craters of
Speaker 1: the Moon had been the result of volcanic activity. But
Speaker 1: where Hook only had telescopic observations and rudimentary experiments to
Speaker 1: help him in his research, Nikolai had modern technology on
Speaker 1: his side. He used spectrogram to track the emissions from
Speaker 1: the crater and repeated his observations the next few nights,
Speaker 1: hoping to find a pattern or further evidence to support
Speaker 1: his claims, and it led him to the conclusion that
Speaker 1: there must be active volcanoes on the Moon's surface, except
Speaker 1: the common belief among experts at the time was quite
Speaker 1: the opposite. Even if there had been volcanoes on the
Speaker 1: Moon at one point, they'd no longer be active. So
Speaker 1: when another scientist, a Dutch American astronomer named Gerard Kuiper
Speaker 1: got wind of Nikolai's claim, he got to work proving
Speaker 1: it false. You see, Kuiper had gone on record as
Speaker 1: theorizing that moon volcanoes just weren't a thing anymore. If
Speaker 1: Nicolai's evidence was real, then Kuiper would be out of
Speaker 1: a job as a trusted advisor to several government agencies.
Speaker 1: Active volcanoes would also indicate the presence of an atmosphere
Speaker 1: on the Moon that would affect the design of future
Speaker 1: spaceflight vehicles as the Russians and Americans competed for first
Speaker 1: place in the space race. But as Kuiper dug deeper
Speaker 1: into Nikolai and his claims, he ran into a few
Speaker 1: big problems. The first being the language barrier between the
Speaker 1: two men. They couldn't really speak over the phone or
Speaker 1: via written correspondence. There was also the issue of the
Speaker 1: images themselves. Nicolay's photographs were not as definitive as he
Speaker 1: had originally believed, and Kuiper saw no conclusive proof of
Speaker 1: recent volcanic activity on the Moon's surface. It quickly became
Speaker 1: clear to Kuyper that in order to judge the veracity
Speaker 1: of his rival's claim. He needed to judge the man first,
Speaker 1: so he reached out to a few Soviet astronomers for
Speaker 1: insights into Nickeolay's character, and it didn't take long for
Speaker 1: someone to spill the intergalactic tea on their colleague's true nature.
Speaker 1: According to one scientist named v I Krassovski, Nikolay's scientific
Speaker 1: rigor wasn't up to snuff. There were even whispers that
Speaker 1: he had fabricated evidence to support his theory. This only
Speaker 1: accelerated Kuiper's descent into Nicolai's history and reputation. It all
Speaker 1: came to head in the early nineteen sixties when both
Speaker 1: Soviets and American astronomers joined together the other at a
Speaker 1: gathering called the International Astronomical Union. What transpired was a
Speaker 1: discussion about lunar theory, with Nikolai defending his claim of
Speaker 1: active moon volcanoes. But it wasn't until two astronomers from
Speaker 1: Leningrad stepped forward with a theory of their own. They
Speaker 1: believe that what their colleague had really witnessed was the
Speaker 1: effect of cold gases escaping, not the hot molten cloud
Speaker 1: of a moon volcano. Kuiper agreed, and after inspecting Nikolai's
Speaker 1: photos again determined that he hadn't made anything up, he
Speaker 1: had simply misinterpreted the data. In the end, it was
Speaker 1: clear that there were no active volcanoes on the Moon,
Speaker 1: just remnants of inactive ones, although we should still probably
Speaker 1: send someone back out for proof that the Moon isn't
Speaker 1: made of cheese all those holes. That might be a
Speaker 1: job for Switzerland. When we talk about the French Revolution
Speaker 1: were usually referring to the civilian rebellion that ended in
Speaker 1: the seventeen nineties. That's the one with the storming of
Speaker 1: the Best Deal and the execution of Marie Antoinette, which
Speaker 1: led directly to the reign of Terror and the rise
Speaker 1: of Napoleon Bonaparte. But if I can get technical for
Speaker 1: a moment, there were actually several major revolts in French history,
Speaker 1: some that led to changes in power and some that
Speaker 1: just failed, like the June Rebellion of eighteen thirty two,
Speaker 1: featured in the popular movie and Broadway show Les Miz
Speaker 1: or the February Revolution of eighteen forty eight, in which
Speaker 1: Napoleon's nephew was elected to lead the Second Republic. But
Speaker 1: before any of these rebellions, there was something called the
Speaker 1: Fraund a series of civil wars during the mid sixteen hundreds.
Speaker 1: The Frond wasn't led by commoners, but by the wealthy
Speaker 1: aristocrats who wanted to rule alongside the Royalists. Their insurrection
Speaker 1: took advantage of a major power vacuum caused by the
Speaker 1: fact that King Louis the fourteenth was just a child
Speaker 1: and not able to rule on his own. The insurrection
Speaker 1: broke out in Paris when he was just ten. He
Speaker 1: had to be snuck out of the city and was
Speaker 1: forced to flee the country. Louis spent the rest of
Speaker 1: his childhood in exile, while his mother and advisers fought
Speaker 1: and schemed in his place. Finally, though, in sixteen fifty three,
Speaker 1: the royalist forces won a series of major victories, allowing
Speaker 1: Louis to return to Paris. For the moment, the fighting
Speaker 1: had paused, but there were a lot of open questions.
Speaker 1: No one knew whether the Frond was actually over or
Speaker 1: just moving into a new phase. It would be one
Speaker 1: thing if Louis were capable of ruling decisively, but he
Speaker 1: was still a teenager, not even fifteen yet, and no
Speaker 1: one in France had seen him in years. In his absence,
Speaker 1: the nobles had begun to wonder who exactly was their king.
Speaker 1: They got their answer on February twenty third of sixteen
Speaker 1: fifty three. Starting at six o'clock that evening, France was
Speaker 1: reintroduced to Louis the fourteenth through one of the most
Speaker 1: spectacular grand entrances in history. He appeared on stage before
Speaker 1: an audience of Parisian courtiers, and as the orchestra began
Speaker 1: to play, Louis performed a ballet. A hush fell over
Speaker 1: the audience as the young king began to glide across
Speaker 1: the stage, moving with surprising grace and power for such
Speaker 1: a young dancer. His time in exile had been spent
Speaker 1: studying court ballet under notable masters, and he'd become an
Speaker 1: impressive athlete. His talent was matched by incredible endurance and versatility.
Speaker 1: The show was physically demanding, containing forty three separate mini ballets.
Speaker 1: These were broken up by a variety of performance arts,
Speaker 1: all with Louis as the star. He sang, performed poetry
Speaker 1: readings enacted in dramatic scenes brought to life through elaborate
Speaker 1: costumes and groundbreaking special effects. The plot was a clear
Speaker 1: allegory for the country's recent upheaval. Featuring witches, werewolves, and goddesses,
Speaker 1: Louis performed six different roles, culminating in his performance as
Speaker 1: the sun god Apollo. In this final he was elevated
Speaker 1: onto the stage by a rising platform adorned in gold
Speaker 1: and glittering gemstones, heavy plumage, and golden sun rays extended
Speaker 1: from a tiara to frame his painted face. The king
Speaker 1: cut an unforgettable golden figure dancing across the stage while
Speaker 1: the real sun rose over Paris. The performance had lasted
Speaker 1: twelve hours, from dusk to dawn. When it finally concluded,
Speaker 1: the audience was left breathless, reeling at what they had
Speaker 1: just witnessed. But there were no longer any doubts about
Speaker 1: their king. His virility, strength and power had been put
Speaker 1: on display for all to see. Soon after his performance,
Speaker 1: the nobles who had grasped for power quickly fell in line.
Speaker 1: The rebellion was broken, their humiliation complete. In the coming years,
Speaker 1: they would have even less influence than ever before. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth would reign for seventy two years, making
Speaker 1: him the longest ruler in French history. Forever afterwards, he
Speaker 1: was known as the Sun King. In reference to his
Speaker 1: role as Apollo in that first ballet performance. And while
Speaker 1: he wasn't always popular, he maintained an iron grip on
Speaker 1: the government for the rest of his life. And that's
Speaker 1: how Louis the fourteenth put down a French revolution through
Speaker 1: the power of dance. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided
Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting
Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me
Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make
Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all
Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until
Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.