1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. The Bubonic plague, also 5 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: known as the Black Death, was a particularly devastating sickness 6 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: in the hundreds that caused fevers, seizures, gang green and 7 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: eventually death. When the plague tour through Europe, it killed 8 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: millions across multiple countries as people fled from one contaminated 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: area to another looking for safety. While the epidemic only 10 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: lasted four years, it was known to crop up again 11 00:00:54,440 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: in various cities later on. London, Vienna, Marseilles, Russia all 12 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: saw recurrences of the disease throughout the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. 13 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: It was during a particularly bad outbreak in sixteen thirty 14 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: three when the residents of a small village in Bavaria 15 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,919 Speaker 1: were struggling. The plague had been ravaging the neighboring area 16 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: and the villagers of Oberammergu were terrified of its spreading 17 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: to their small town, so they turned to the only 18 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: one they could think of for help. God. They prayed 19 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: long and hard for salvation, and in the process they 20 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: made a kind of deal with God. If he would 21 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 1: spare them from the bubonic plague that had wiped out 22 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: the nearby towns, they would put on a play about 23 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 1: the life and Death of Jesus every ten years as 24 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: a way of saying thanks. I know it might sound 25 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: strange to do nothing but pray for help with such 26 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: a threat looming over them. When the plague typically showed 27 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: up in a town, it became a waiting game to 28 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: see who would be taken next, and biotics wouldn't be 29 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: developed for another three years. But the people needed help, 30 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: and they had nowhere else to turn except to the 31 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 1: one place where they had gone looking for peace so 32 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: many times before. For some faith is a light that 33 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: frightens away the darkness, and a certainly described these villagers. 34 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: So they decided to shed a little light on their 35 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: current problem. But they needed a sign. Only one person 36 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: out of every thousand died from the plague in October 37 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: of sixteen thirty two, but that number rose to twenty 38 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: by March of sixty three, and the disease was spreading fast. 39 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: The villagers put their plan to work and prayed for guidance. 40 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: The following July, the number of deaths plummeted back down 41 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: to just one out of a thousand. It seemed their 42 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: prayers had been answered. Ober ahm ergu immediately went to 43 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:59,399 Speaker 1: work putting their play into production. The Passion Play, as 44 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: it was called, took almost an entire day to perform 45 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: all sixteen of its acts, beginning with Jesus driving the 46 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: money changers from the temple and ending with his death 47 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: and resurrection. It became such a spectacle that people started 48 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: coming in from all over the world to see it. 49 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: In seventeen ninety, the town began charging admission, also creating 50 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: package deals that combined tickets with stays at local inns 51 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: and hotels. The Passion Play had become a once in 52 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: a decade event not to be missed. Through it all, 53 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: the winds of rumor would often carry news to the 54 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: villagers of a fresh outbreak of the plague each time 55 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: it happened, though it would fade away before it ever 56 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: reached their borders, and as the plague became less and 57 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: less of a threat over the centuries, the need for 58 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: that elaborate performance. The villager's end of the bargain so 59 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: to speak became less and less over a Mergou hasn't 60 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: seen the plague since the sixteen hundreds, so maybe their 61 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: idea worked. Perhaps God really did honor their agreement, or 62 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: maybe it just faded away on its own. Regardless of 63 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: what stopped it, the town has continued to put on 64 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: the Passion Play every decade for the last three hundred 65 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: and seventy seven years. Over two thousand people now work 66 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: to produce the show, which spans one hundred days of 67 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: live performances. The number of visitors to the village has 68 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: averaged half a million since nineteen and a special theater 69 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,559 Speaker 1: has even been constructed to house the production. For many, 70 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: science and medicine have upstaged faith, while others believe their 71 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: faith provided the best defense against the darkness. One thing 72 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: is certain, though, when it comes to handling a deadly outbreak, 73 00:04:47,800 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: it certainly takes a village. M NASA is known for 74 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: making the impossible possible, from launching astronauts into space and 75 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: landing on the Moon to sending a robot to Mars 76 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 1: to gather data on the planet's soil. NASA is at 77 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: the forefront of space exploration. It's been that way ever 78 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: since President Dwight D. Eisenhower formed the organization in with 79 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: a goal of sending America's best and brightest out to 80 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: explore the farthest reaches of space, and in order to 81 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 1: perform such explorations, the people going up there were required 82 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: to wear state of the art space suits to regulate 83 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: pressure and temperature, allow them to communicate with mission control, 84 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: and to collect surface samples. Space suits are complicated feats 85 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: of engineering that need to be tested rigorously, otherwise one 86 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: flaw can spell disaster for the person wearing it, and 87 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: as we all know, in space, no one can hear 88 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,679 Speaker 1: you scream. NASA as all sorts of ways to test 89 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: a space suit. The one such method is the vacuum test, 90 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: where engineers wear the suit and enter a chamber that 91 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: has all the air sucked out of it. The suits 92 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: are hooked up to life support systems while the engineers 93 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: monitor performance and stability. It's a great way to mimic 94 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: the demands of space. Other tests are a little simpler, 95 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: and they involve an astronaut simply wearing the suit and 96 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: letting a team of scientists know how it feels. Can 97 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: they move freely? Is there any resistance? Such a test 98 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: depends on the person inside the suit and any number 99 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: of factors, including how they feel on that particular day 100 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 1: and their state of mind. An astronaut with a pulled 101 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: muscle might unintentionally cause a change to the design that 102 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: could fail at the worst possible moment. NASA doesn't want 103 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 1: anecdotal data clogging up their research. If they miscalculate based 104 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: on one person's experience, the rest of the suits may 105 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 1: be compromised, so engineers have sought more objective methods and 106 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: testing their suit designs. One such method is K six 107 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: five zero one. Not really a catchy name, I know, 108 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: but what else do you call a six ft tall 109 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: robot designed by some of the best scientists in the world. 110 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: I'm not sure a name like Phil would work in 111 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: this situation. K six five zero one is a custom 112 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: designed android that is able to grow from five ft 113 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: five to six ft two and cover a wide range 114 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: of body types. The wires and tubes that fill its 115 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,679 Speaker 1: body are like our own arteries, but instead of pumping blood, 116 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: they pump electricity and hydraulic fluid in order to move 117 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: its aluminum skeleton. K six five zero one is more 118 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: than just a glorified mannequin. Though it can shake hands, 119 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: lift small objects, and balance itself without any assistance, all 120 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: of which comes in pretty handy when testing the viability 121 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: of a suit designed without relying on a human subject. Unfortunately, 122 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: K six five zero one has one small problem. Well, 123 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: it's more like a bunch of small problems that add 124 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: up to one bigger problem. He leaks. At least he 125 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: did when he was first built and tested, but it's 126 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: been over fifty years since then built in NASA's Android 127 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: was the first victim of the materials at the time. 128 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: It's hydraulic system required ten thousand pounds of fluid force 129 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: to move its arms and legs. The tubing couldn't take 130 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: the pressure, and one leak had the ability to destroy 131 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: a space suit that today would be worth three quarters 132 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: of a million dollars. Imagine that. At a time when 133 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: resources were strained as they worked to put a man 134 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: on the Moon, NASA invented a metal man who could 135 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: have helped them build the perfect space suit, But the 136 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: risk was too great and the costs were too high, 137 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: so NASA scrapped the project. They went back to their 138 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: tried and true method of testing human guinea pigs for 139 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: their space suits but don't work. You can still see 140 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 1: K six five zero one on display at the National 141 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: Aeronautics and Space Museum in Washington, d C. Or you 142 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: can look up. If you squint hard enough, you just 143 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: might see its descendant, robinot To, assisting the humans on 144 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: board the International Space Station. It runs in the family, 145 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: after all, Like father, like son. I hope you've enjoyed 146 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 147 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 148 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 149 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 150 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 151 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 152 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 153 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.