WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Coconut Cult

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh. There's Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>There's other Josh who's basically fast becoming. He's gunning at

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<v Speaker 1>Jerry's heels. I would say, Chuck. When't you agree? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I think at the very least he's the new Frank

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<v Speaker 1>the chair. For sure. He may soon be the new bird,

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<v Speaker 1>the bobbing bird. Oh that's right. Yeah. At any rate,

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<v Speaker 1>we're glad Josh is here, and we just almost two

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<v Speaker 1>inanimate objects. Exactly. We just ate up about a third

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<v Speaker 1>of our time. So let's we're gonna have to remove

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<v Speaker 1>the ending from this one. Okay, Yeah, this one is

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<v Speaker 1>interesting because I read the original New York Times piece

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<v Speaker 1>from nineteen o five or whatever, la la very different

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<v Speaker 1>than the story we get here in a lot of ways.

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<v Speaker 1>So I can't wait to who knows, Let's just I'll

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<v Speaker 1>just point out what the New York Times article said

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<v Speaker 1>compared to what we have in front of us. Do

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<v Speaker 1>it like a cranky I T guy when I say something,

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<v Speaker 1>just be like wrong? Well, who knows? It is New

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<v Speaker 1>York Times, But I don't know what There's andreds were

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<v Speaker 1>like in nineteen five. I don't know either, right, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>So there's this this article from How Stuff Works that

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<v Speaker 1>we found um does a really good job of of

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<v Speaker 1>of placing this in context in the world and saying

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<v Speaker 1>that in Sanskrit, the word for coconut is kalpa vershka,

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<v Speaker 1>which means tree which gives all that is necessary for living,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a mouthful. I mean, that says a lot

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<v Speaker 1>about what you're saying about the coconut. You're saying, you

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<v Speaker 1>don't need anything else but this one tree. That's how

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<v Speaker 1>great this tree is. Yeah, and that's also just a

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<v Speaker 1>slightly fancier way than saying Webster's defines a little blank

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit. It's it's definitely fancier, for sure. It's

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<v Speaker 1>it's got like cursive everywhere. But the whole point is it,

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<v Speaker 1>coconuts m m are pretty fun and good to eat

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<v Speaker 1>and offer a decent amount of nutrition. It is it

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<v Speaker 1>turns out that the sans Christs were saying is quite wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>like it's not everything you need. You couldn't just subsist

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<v Speaker 1>on coconuts. And there was actually a guy who was

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<v Speaker 1>born in eighteen seventy five named August Engelhardt who who

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<v Speaker 1>basically proved that inadvertently it wasn't his intention to prove

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<v Speaker 1>that the Sanskrit term was wrong, but um, he actually

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<v Speaker 1>took it to heart, um and and tried to live

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<v Speaker 1>exclusively on coconuts because he believed that all you needed

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<v Speaker 1>was coconuts and sunlight. And uh ended up living on

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to say deserted island, but certainly a

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<v Speaker 1>sparsely populated island. Um living and dying there to to

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<v Speaker 1>spoil the ending. Yeah, yeah, this is uh interesting mostly

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<v Speaker 1>to me because it was when it happened. He was

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<v Speaker 1>born in eighteen seventy Like, if this happened in the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen seventies would be like, sure, of course this happens

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<v Speaker 1>all the time. But this guy was born in eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy five in Germany, and then after college sort of

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<v Speaker 1>became uh well there's a lot of debate and whether

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<v Speaker 1>or not he was mentally ill, but regardless of that,

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<v Speaker 1>he became very much into the Laban's Reform, which is

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<v Speaker 1>life reform movement. Basically what you would think of these

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<v Speaker 1>days is like a very sixties hippie American thing they

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<v Speaker 1>were doing, I guess in Germany in the you know,

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<v Speaker 1>early twentieth century. Yeah, I took it to be kind

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<v Speaker 1>of like a prototype for Goop, for who for Goop,

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<v Speaker 1>Gwyneth Paltrow's site. Oh good lord, Yeah, that's that's kind

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<v Speaker 1>of I mean, like raw foods, alternative medicine. There was

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of crossover between what this guy believed and

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<v Speaker 1>what you could find on like some of the sites

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<v Speaker 1>that Coop endorses and coop itself, especially if you take

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<v Speaker 1>into account this book that he wrote, Um, it sounds

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<v Speaker 1>a lot like the advice that Goop offers these days.

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<v Speaker 1>You got sand Coop Coop so in he wrote a book,

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<v Speaker 1>uh called a care Free Future colon the New Gospel Semicolon.

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<v Speaker 1>That's rare glimpse into the depth and distance for the

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<v Speaker 1>selection of mankind, comma comma for the reflection of all

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<v Speaker 1>comma for consideration and stimulation. And he should have just

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<v Speaker 1>put an exclamation point at the end, just over all spaces.

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<v Speaker 1>He missed that Oxford comma after consideration though. But it

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<v Speaker 1>was a kind of a cookie book. He talked about life,

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<v Speaker 1>his lifestyle and what you know he believed his version

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<v Speaker 1>of the Laban's reform was. And then he also wrote

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<v Speaker 1>poems about coconuts. Yeah, like mother Coconut, The Coconut Spirit,

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<v Speaker 1>How to Become a Coconut. Those were titles of some

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<v Speaker 1>of the poems and tracks that he included in this book.

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<v Speaker 1>And like, it's really hard to overstate just how much

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<v Speaker 1>faith this guy placed in the coconut as the source

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<v Speaker 1>of not just life but health. And um it was based.

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<v Speaker 1>It was based on some somewhat unfounded ideas. So it

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<v Speaker 1>tied in very much with an idea that he had

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<v Speaker 1>that the sun was the source of all life in

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<v Speaker 1>the universe, and that coconuts grew on coconut palms um

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<v Speaker 1>toward the top, just like the brain in the human

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<v Speaker 1>head does. And since the brain is closest to the sun,

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<v Speaker 1>coconuts are closest to the sun. Ergo the coconut can

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<v Speaker 1>care for the brain and everything else you need in life.

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<v Speaker 1>And um, that was it. Yeah, that probably would have

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<v Speaker 1>been the end of his story had he not had

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<v Speaker 1>a substantial amount of money. Uh. I was about to

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<v Speaker 1>say donated, but I guess he inherited it from a relative,

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<v Speaker 1>so he had some cash. All of a sudden, he

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<v Speaker 1>bought a hundred and eighty five acres of land on

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<v Speaker 1>a tiny little island called kabakan Um off of Papa

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<v Speaker 1>what is now known as Papua New Guinea, and he

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<v Speaker 1>took a long books, got rid of most of his

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<v Speaker 1>clothes and went out there and lived um by himself.

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<v Speaker 1>Well not by himself because there uh, there are indigenous

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<v Speaker 1>peoples in the area, but he was certainly the only

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<v Speaker 1>white German there right. And his whole jam was that

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<v Speaker 1>he he had either heard or figured out that that

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<v Speaker 1>humans had evolved in the subtropics, between Tropic of Cancer

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<v Speaker 1>and Tropic of Capricorn. And that's what we were basically

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<v Speaker 1>evolved too, That's where we were evolved to be. So

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<v Speaker 1>the idea of living in like a house and driving

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<v Speaker 1>a car eventually, I don't know if cars were invented yet,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm sure this guy prefigured them. Um. The idea

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<v Speaker 1>of just basically living in a boxing, cubicalized, stuffy life.

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<v Speaker 1>It was and athetical of how we were designed by

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<v Speaker 1>evolution or natural selection or even God if that's your bag, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And so he moved to this island so that he

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<v Speaker 1>could wander around naked, walking under the sun, eating coconuts,

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<v Speaker 1>living how This guy genuinely believed humans were meant to live.

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<v Speaker 1>And from what I can tell, he fully expected to

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<v Speaker 1>basically be free of all disease and any kind of

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<v Speaker 1>terrible condition living this way. But that's not the way

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<v Speaker 1>that it ended up at all. No, because, first of all, coconuts,

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<v Speaker 1>you cannot live on coconut alone. Um. They do have

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of good stuff in there. They have good

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<v Speaker 1>carbs and fat and stuff like that, but they lack

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of vitamins, notably B twelve, B six A K,

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<v Speaker 1>calcium um and protein. There's a little bit of protein,

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<v Speaker 1>about three to three grams or so, uh, but that's

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<v Speaker 1>that's not very much protein. So if you're gonna eat

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<v Speaker 1>enough coconuts to supply your body, and he was about

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<v Speaker 1>five ft eight, didn't weigh a lot and weighed increasingly

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<v Speaker 1>less as time went on, Obviously he would have had

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<v Speaker 1>to been eating, you know, between fourteen and eighteen coconuts

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<v Speaker 1>a day. That's a lot of coconuts. But I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>if that's all you're doing, if you're wandering around naked

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<v Speaker 1>on an island, reading some books, you got time to

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<v Speaker 1>eat fourteen to eighteen coconuts a day. So he could have,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's not clear that he knew he needed to

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<v Speaker 1>eat that amount. And it's also not clear that he

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<v Speaker 1>would have responded to that information. So he didn't and

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<v Speaker 1>he started to wither away, which, as you said, um,

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<v Speaker 1>probably would have been the end of the story had

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<v Speaker 1>this guy actually not managed to convince other people through

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<v Speaker 1>his book and then through correspondence with them to come

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<v Speaker 1>join them. And so people started to show up on

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<v Speaker 1>this island. And we'll talk about what happened after that

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<v Speaker 1>after this. Alright, So this this is where the New

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<v Speaker 1>York Times story has diverged already. Okay, they wrote an

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<v Speaker 1>article and everyone, if you don't know that The New

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<v Speaker 1>York Times has pretty much every article they've ever written,

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<v Speaker 1>uh scanned online. It's kind of great. Yeah, it's uh.

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<v Speaker 1>So there was an article failure of a womanless Eden

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<v Speaker 1>in the Pacific Dash, a strange story from the South seas.

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<v Speaker 1>As the New York Times tells it, only two people

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<v Speaker 1>joined the Sona Norton cult the Order of the Sun

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<v Speaker 1>cult um. This article that we have says, and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>inclined to go with ours, because you know, investigative journalism

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<v Speaker 1>has gotten better since nineteen UM. But the New York

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<v Speaker 1>Times set a boat showed up in the end that

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<v Speaker 1>he was thought was going to be full of like

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<v Speaker 1>twenty people and there was only two guys. Uh. The

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<v Speaker 1>rest of the people got worried that the island was

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<v Speaker 1>full of cannibals and decided not to show up. Which

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<v Speaker 1>if that's wrong, it sounds like it was completely made

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<v Speaker 1>up by the by the writer, because our thing says

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<v Speaker 1>that about fifteen people showed up, uh and took their

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<v Speaker 1>clothes off, and we're basically like, let's do this. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>They did agree on the two two dudes though one

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<v Speaker 1>one guy's name was Einrich Yukin's. He was four years old,

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<v Speaker 1>he was a vegetarian, and he was away down with this, uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And the other was very famous person actually um or

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<v Speaker 1>at least medium famous in Germany at the time. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a lot of qualifiers. His name was Max Lutzow

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<v Speaker 1>and he was a concert pianist and eventually conductor of

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<v Speaker 1>the Lutzeu Orchestra in Berlin. Right. So, so Yukin's and

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<v Speaker 1>lets ou basically showed up, from what I understand, and said,

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<v Speaker 1>we're here, Um, we're very enthusiastic for this. Let's see

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<v Speaker 1>some coconuts. They took their clothes off, they started to

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<v Speaker 1>live this way. Um. But there were two big problems

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<v Speaker 1>for for um Yukon's It was that he his body

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<v Speaker 1>did not take to this diet despite from what I understand,

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<v Speaker 1>being a vegetarian, if not a vegan ahead of time. Right, Still,

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<v Speaker 1>the coconuts got him. Maybe had an allergy, maybe he

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<v Speaker 1>got too much sign who knows, but he died. This

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<v Speaker 1>article from how Stuff Works puts that he dropped dead

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<v Speaker 1>within weeks of showing up and starting this this coconut subsistence.

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<v Speaker 1>New York Times confirms that, okay, good, all right, so

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<v Speaker 1>we've got a fact. We've we've unearthed the fact here too.

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<v Speaker 1>It's double double sourced, um unless our house stuff Works

0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:14.200
<v Speaker 1>article used that New York Times as a source. That's

0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.920
<v Speaker 1>how facts get generated. And then the other guy loots

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<v Speaker 1>out the conductor. He was doing fine and apparently he

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<v Speaker 1>got along with um August angel Heart, the leader of

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<v Speaker 1>this cult. But um he also they had they had

0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.079
<v Speaker 1>varying tastes in music, and that actually created a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of tension between the two. Yeah, apparently, let's out. I'm

0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:42.880
<v Speaker 1>sorry Inglehart hated but Set. I think let's love but Set.

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<v Speaker 1>And it says that lets brought his music collection. The

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<v Speaker 1>only thing I can figure is that he brought over

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<v Speaker 1>he was a violinist as well. That he brought a violin,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. He could have probably one of those

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<v Speaker 1>cranky gramophones maybe, you know, or maybe a bird with

0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:03.360
<v Speaker 1>a beak like Flintstone style, or maybe a person dressed

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<v Speaker 1>like a bird who could take direction really well. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe he did bring records. Uh, I mean, Augus Inglehart

0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:15.319
<v Speaker 1>brought books. He could certainly bring a crank up record player.

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<v Speaker 1>So maybe that's what happened. But they they got the

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<v Speaker 1>way The New York Times described it as they started

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<v Speaker 1>getting into arguments about music. Uh. And because it was

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<v Speaker 1>just the two of them, according to that article, it

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it's gonna get a little crazy after a while.

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<v Speaker 1>And looks I was like, I don't want to spend

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<v Speaker 1>the night hit next to you tonight. Um And he

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<v Speaker 1>applied for permission, supposedly with Inglehart, to go spend the

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<v Speaker 1>night on a missionary boat that was nearby. Um at

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<v Speaker 1>one of the other it was a bunch of islands around,

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<v Speaker 1>and I guess Inglehart granted him this. He went on

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<v Speaker 1>board this boat, he spent the night. He would refuse

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<v Speaker 1>to eat any of the food that they had and

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<v Speaker 1>apparently there was a storm that prevented him from getting

0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:02.520
<v Speaker 1>back to his coconut paradise, and he died. Yes, he died.

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<v Speaker 1>And if there were so, if two people showed up

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<v Speaker 1>of the visitors died, but even if there were more

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<v Speaker 1>in this house stuff works articles, right, because this guy

0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:18.520
<v Speaker 1>carried this guy, August Engelhardt, he carried on even after

0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:22.440
<v Speaker 1>these two deaths, um for more than a decade beyond

0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.079
<v Speaker 1>that that New York Times articles. So maybe more people

0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:28.080
<v Speaker 1>showed up afterward, and that accounts for the discrepancy. But

0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:30.680
<v Speaker 1>as this how stuff Works article tells it, um, more

0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.560
<v Speaker 1>people showed up, More people died from things like the hydration,

0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.760
<v Speaker 1>heat stroke. Um. And then this one, this is tough

0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:41.400
<v Speaker 1>to swallow. If it is true, then there is a

0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.760
<v Speaker 1>creator God who does take pleasure in and and messing

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:49.280
<v Speaker 1>with us. But somebody died from being hit by a coconut.

0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.959
<v Speaker 1>Somebody in the coconut worshiping cult died from being killed

0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:58.240
<v Speaker 1>or died from a coconut injury. Which happens, Sure it does,

0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:02.400
<v Speaker 1>it does, But I mean imagine traveling from Germany in

0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.720
<v Speaker 1>the nineteenth century early twentieth century, showing up to eat

0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.920
<v Speaker 1>nothing but coconuts and then dying because of coconut hit

0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:12.280
<v Speaker 1>you on the head. Pretty ironic. It is pretty ironic.

0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.680
<v Speaker 1>So um August Engelhardt himself died too, but he hung

0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.960
<v Speaker 1>on for a really long time, considering he had the

0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:22.880
<v Speaker 1>true grit of somebody who really would have just eating

0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.040
<v Speaker 1>eaten coconuts. From what I can tell, yeah, I mean,

0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.280
<v Speaker 1>there are some pictures, some rare photos at the time

0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:32.000
<v Speaker 1>from people who, uh, I guess we're nearby, and he

0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.080
<v Speaker 1>he looked awful. He looked like he would expect someone

0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:37.120
<v Speaker 1>to look. They describe him as a bearded bag of bones.

0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:40.680
<v Speaker 1>There were lesions on his body. It was clear that

0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.520
<v Speaker 1>he was suffering from severe malnutrition. As the New York

0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.920
<v Speaker 1>Times tells it, he eventually was one of these missionary

0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.200
<v Speaker 1>boats came and got him and literally wrestled him onto

0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:55.880
<v Speaker 1>a boat, where he fought them physically as best he

0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:58.200
<v Speaker 1>could while they tried to care for him. It's probably

0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.000
<v Speaker 1>not not much now, until he jumped off the boat

0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.520
<v Speaker 1>to swim back to the island where he died. According

0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:08.520
<v Speaker 1>to our article and perhaps further you know, more accurate research,

0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:11.520
<v Speaker 1>he he did go on that boat. He was kind

0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.520
<v Speaker 1>of nurse back to semi health and then left again,

0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:19.680
<v Speaker 1>went back to the island. Um survived until nineteen fourteen,

0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:22.480
<v Speaker 1>and then because of World War One, he was captured

0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:26.000
<v Speaker 1>as a prisoner of war. Released from camp when they

0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.360
<v Speaker 1>realized he was mentally ill, They're like, wait, what is

0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.680
<v Speaker 1>this about coconuts? You're saying uh? And he carried on

0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:35.080
<v Speaker 1>apparently until nineteen nineteen, when he died at the age

0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:37.680
<v Speaker 1>of forty four, weighing less than seventy pounds. So this

0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:42.120
<v Speaker 1>guy did this for like maybe years ish, Yeah, I

0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:46.320
<v Speaker 1>mean eighteen years. That's impressive. Man. Hats off to this

0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:49.760
<v Speaker 1>guy for that level of commitment. So that's the story

0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.560
<v Speaker 1>of August angle Heart. You can learn more about him

0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:55.680
<v Speaker 1>on How Stuff Works. They wrote this article. I also

0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:58.240
<v Speaker 1>want to just throw my two cents in and say

0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.120
<v Speaker 1>I would put pretty decent money on the idea that

0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.400
<v Speaker 1>angle Heart spent at least a significant amount of time

0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.760
<v Speaker 1>married to a coconut on the island probably, so uh.

0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:12.600
<v Speaker 1>Well with that, everyone, we bid you adieu from short Stuff.

0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:17.720
<v Speaker 1>Stuff You Should Know is a production of I Heart

0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.880
<v Speaker 1>Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my heart Radio,

0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.840
<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:28.080
<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows. H