1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: Hey, folks, erin here. I have some exciting news to 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,480 Speaker 1: share with you, so please don't skip this message. We'll 3 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: get to our new stories in just a moment. Don't worry. 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: This podcast has been delivering stories to you for roughly 5 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: five years now, with today's episode featuring stories numbered eleven 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,959 Speaker 1: sixty nine and eleven seventy. It's wild to think that 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: we've crafted so many little journeys for you to enjoy. 8 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: But I also know that that means that finding older 9 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: ones can often be a challenge. Well, I might have 10 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: a solution for you. On November twelfth, we're publishing our 11 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: very first cabinet of Curiosity's Book with our partners over 12 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: at Saint Martin's Press. As of today, the cover has 13 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: been revealed and the pre order page has gone live, 14 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: So you know what I'm going to ask for next, right, 15 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:45,880 Speaker 1: Every single pre order that we get will go into 16 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: a bucket that counts toward the book's release week sales, 17 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: which means that you find, folks, have a great shot 18 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: at making this a New York Times bestseller, and knowing 19 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: how amazing all of you are, I feel pretty good 20 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: about those odds. This book will be a collection of 21 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: hundreds of Cabinet stories that you know and love, plus 22 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: a handful of new ones. And best of all, they'll 23 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: be sorted topically, making it really easy for you to 24 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: pick your favorite category to read or to look up 25 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: a tale you remember but haven't been able to find before. 26 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: And the book is gorgeous too, making it a great 27 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: addition to any bookcase or bedside table. I've put the 28 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: link to the official Cabinet of Curiosities book pre order 29 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: page in the episode description, so just tap on that 30 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: and let it take you to your favorite bookstore where 31 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: you can pre order your very own copy, and now 32 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: on with the show. You know, film has changed a 33 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: lot over the last one hundred and thirty years. We 34 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: went from short clips of only a few seconds long 35 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: to three hour motion pictures. Silent films gave way to 36 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: the talkies, and given the amount of computer generated effects 37 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: in today's movies, it might be safe for referring to 38 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: many of them as animated films instead of a life 39 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: live action pictures. But when film was still in its infancy, 40 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: as directors were learning how to fool the audience with 41 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: tricks of the lens, actors were also on the hunt 42 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: for new ways to keep everyone on the edge of 43 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: their seats. Now, stunt doubles have been used since nineteen 44 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: oh three's The Great Train Robbery, but some actors preferred 45 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: to do their own stunts, and sure we still see 46 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: that today. Just look at any film where Tom Cruise 47 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: is running or hanging from an airplane, a mountain, or 48 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: a building. But back in nineteen nineteen, one silent action 49 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: star stood above the rest. Harold Lloyd born in Birchard, Nebraska, 50 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety three. Harold walked a rocky path on 51 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: the way to start them. After performing with Thomas Edison's 52 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: Motion Picture Company early in his career, he had a 53 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: west to try his luck with the burgeoning movie industry 54 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: out there. After a series of rejections at a studio 55 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: head who wouldn't give him a shot, he met his 56 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: future collaborator, Hal Roach. Now Roach was in charge of 57 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: his own studio, and together the pair made a series 58 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: of silent shorts that drew in big crowds. Lloyd's lonesome 59 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: Luke and Glass characters were often involved in chaotic, mad 60 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: cap situations with a lot of slaps to humor and 61 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: some pretty dangerous stunts. For example, in the nineteen fifteen 62 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,119 Speaker 1: short called Lonesome Luke Messenger, Lloyd and a fellow bike 63 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: messenger get into a number of shenanigans. One scene has 64 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: their bicycle knocking someone off a ladder before careening into 65 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: a tree. These are the kind of stunts that he 66 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: became known for, and they helped rocket him to the 67 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: top of the box office, and so it was no 68 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: surprise that Lloyd would find himself being courted by the media. 69 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: He often appeared in magazines and on posters advertising his films, 70 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: and in August of nineteen nineteen, several months after signing 71 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: a new contract with the Pathe Distribution Company, he was 72 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: invited to WHITSL Photography Studio in Los Angeles for a 73 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: photo shoot. But it wasn't just him. He also had 74 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: his fellow co stars and a box of props at 75 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: his side to help sell his adventurous escapades. Among the 76 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: various odds inside that box were some paper mache bombs, 77 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: completely harmless and not filled with explosives at all. And 78 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: that's when one of Harold's gagmen, a guy named Frank Terry, 79 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: lit one of the fake bombs and handed it to 80 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: the actor. Harold had been holding a cigarette which he 81 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: had tried to light using the wick from the prop. 82 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: Plumes of smoke began to pour out from the top 83 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,679 Speaker 1: of the bomb, and he knew that so much smoke 84 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: would ruin the shoot, so he went to place the 85 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: object on a nearby table, and that's when the worst 86 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: thing happened. It blew up in his face. Apparently, Pathay 87 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: had been planning on a scene in an upcoming film 88 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: not starring Lloyd, and it involved the use of some 89 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: very real bombs. One of these explosive devices found its 90 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: way into the prop box at the studio, and of 91 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: all the ones that Terry could have handed him, he 92 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: picked the only real one to do so. The explosion 93 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,840 Speaker 1: nearly blew the roof off, leaving a gaping hole sixteen 94 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: feet above their heads. It also fractured Terry's upper dental 95 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: plate into two pieces while rendering the foot potographer unconscious, 96 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 1: but Harold Lloyd was still standing despite being closest to 97 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: the blast. Sure he suffered burns across his chest and 98 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: face and nearly lost his eye. Thankfully, he wound up 99 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: saving his sight. Unfortunately, he did lose one thing, well 100 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,119 Speaker 1: two really, his thumb and forefinger on his right hand. 101 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: Once he had healed and got back to work, though 102 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: hal Roach and producer Sam Goldwyn invented a prosthetic device 103 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,480 Speaker 1: for him to wear. Goldwyn had been a glove salesman 104 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: before founding his own studio, so he put that knowledge 105 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: to work and took a rubber mold of Lloyd's complete 106 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: left hand, and then, according to silent film historian Annette 107 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 1: the Gastino, Lloyd no relation by the way, the mold 108 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: was reversed to simulate the incomplete right hand. The missing 109 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: fingers were then removed from the mold and inserted into 110 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: a leather glove, which slipped over Lloyd's right hand, giving 111 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: him the appearance of having all five fingers intact. He 112 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: only ever wore it while on the camera. When walking 113 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: about town, he simply kept his hand jammed inside his pocket, 114 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: and if he had to greet anyone, he shook their 115 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: hand with his left. Harold Lloyd was one of the 116 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 1: most talented stars of the silent era. He pulled off 117 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: some of the wildest stunts ever captured on film, including 118 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: hanging from a giant clock, and he did it all 119 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: after surviving a bomb blast and losing two of his fingers, 120 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: and for that we should give that man a hand. 121 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: We've probably all had a situation at work where we're 122 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,160 Speaker 1: asked to do something we don't want to. Maybe someone 123 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 1: left and now we have to take on their responsibilities 124 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: as well, or a manager is trying to avoid hiring 125 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: a new person, so they're just adding those old duties 126 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: onto our own list. But even though we would love 127 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: to say not my job and then walk away, we 128 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: don't always get that satisfaction. The truth is if we 129 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: want to stay employed, then sometimes we have to perform 130 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 1: tasks that we were never meant to do. British marine 131 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: biologist Jeffrey Tandy ran into something similar in nineteen forty one, 132 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: except if he'd said not my job, then World War 133 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: two might have gone a lot differently. Tandy was born 134 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen hundred and graduated from Oxford in nineteen twenty one. 135 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: He then attended Burbeck College in London for a graduate 136 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: school with a focus on marine biology. After his studies 137 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: were over, he took a job at the Natural History 138 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: Museum in London, where he worked for over twenty years 139 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: studying cryptogams. Notice how I said cryptogams, which is a 140 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: word used to describe plant like organisms that do not 141 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: produce spores or flowers, not to be confused with cryptograms 142 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: or puzzles involving encoded text. Basically, Tandy's line of work 143 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: was algae, moss and fung guy, not word games. But 144 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: during the war he found himself in the very strange 145 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: position of an impromptu career change. He had joined the 146 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was sent to Bletchley Park, 147 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,239 Speaker 1: which happened to be a massive mansion. It was built 148 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: during the nineteenth century, but after Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, 149 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, bought the estates 150 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty eight, it became home base for Allied codebreakers, 151 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: and it was there that Tandy ran into a bit 152 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: of a hiccup. You see, the Ministry of Defense was 153 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: in need of someone with well to borrow a phrase 154 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: from mister Liam Neeson a particular set of skills cryptography skills, 155 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: to be exact. But Tandy wasn't a cryptogrammist. He was 156 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,560 Speaker 1: a cryptogamist, the foremost experts and algae in the reserve 157 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: in fact. But those two similar words got confused and 158 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: the Ministry of Defense came knocking, and Tandy was in 159 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: no position to say no. So for two years he 160 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: served in a secret code breaking group, biding his time 161 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: as a member of one of the most important and 162 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: covert units of the war. And then in nineteen forty 163 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: one he got his big break. Some German U boats 164 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: had been destroyed by Allied torpedoes, leaving behind a number 165 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: of documents that had been salvaged from the recks. But 166 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: this wasn't just any paperwork. Among the materials rescued from 167 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: the bottom of the ocean were instructions on how to 168 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: decipher enemy messages written using Germany's Enigma machine. In other words, 169 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,680 Speaker 1: the key to understanding what the Germans were saying to 170 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: each other in secret. Unfortunately, those papers were unusable in 171 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: their current state. They were soggy and hardly readable. They 172 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: needed to be dried out and repaired before they could 173 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: be used. Enter Jeffrey Tandy. His previous experience in handling 174 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: water logged objects and organisms such as algae were finally 175 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: being put to good use. He grabbed some supplies from 176 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: the museum and he got to work. His skill set 177 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: had come in quite handy as he dried out the 178 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 1: documents Once they were in good enough condition to be 179 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: read by his colleagues, they were passed along to the 180 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: code breakers for further deciphering. The Allies now had a 181 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: way to unlock intercepted German communicays, and of course it 182 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: proved invaluable to the war effort. Thanks to Tandy's expertise, 183 00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: he shortened the length of World War II by his 184 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: many as two to four years, and saved countless lives 185 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: as well. Jeffrey Tandy didn't throw his hands up until 186 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: the Ministry of Defense that it wasn't his job. He 187 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: did what many of us do when thrust into occupations 188 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: were unqualified for. He faked it until he made it. 189 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 190 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 191 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 192 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 193 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 194 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 195 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 196 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 1: Worldolore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.