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 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: There were probably several other places Sam would have preferred 7 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: to be at that moment. In nineteen thirty nine, then 8 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: on a Nazi ship. The Bismarck was launched just a 9 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: few months before Germany invaded Poland, and by nineteen forty 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: one was prawling the northern part of the Atlantic. Their 11 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: job was to sabotage nabl envoys sailing between Canada and 12 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: the UK. Sam was one of twenty two hundred crew 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: members who wished that they weren't there on May twenty 14 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: seventh of nineteen forty one, when the Bismarck engaged in 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: a violent two day battle with the British Royal Navy 16 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: alongside her sister ship. Given that they were outnumbered and outgunned, 17 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: no one was surprised that the Bismarck sink. Really it 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: was a couple of biplanes that dealt the crushing blow. 19 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: But I digress now. According to the story, one of 20 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: the British ships, the HMS cossack lingered in the area 21 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: attempting to rescue survivors. Out of the over twenty two 22 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 1: hundred crewman, there were just one hundred and fourteen souls 23 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: left alive after the sinking, including Sam, who was floating 24 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: on a plank in the sea of debris. They hauled 25 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: him aboard and started calling him Oscar as a nod 26 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: to his German origins. Oh, did I forget to mention 27 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: that Sam was also a cat, A sweet little tuxedo 28 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: cat with black fur and a white patch on his 29 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: faced chest and pause. There's a long history of cats 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: on board ships, hundreds of years of companionship and pest 31 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: control in one adorable package. Cats were really the best 32 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: animal to have on a ship, no matter how many 33 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: stories you hear about parrots. They'll eat anything and were 34 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: very good at their job protecting any provisions in cargo 35 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: from rats and other pests. It's a tradition that carries 36 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: through even today. Some private ships will keep their own cats, 37 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: although most every navy in the world has banned them 38 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: at this point. Back in the nineteen forties, though sailors 39 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: could still have a furry little friend on board, which 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: leads us back to Oscar. He served on the Cossack 41 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: as it conducted escorts in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. 42 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: They were protecting a convoy from Gibraltar to Britain on 43 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: October twenty fourth of nineteen forty one when things started 44 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: to get exciting, and honestly, no one wants things to 45 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: be exciting in a war zone. Oscar wasn't on the 46 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: Cossack for long. To be fair, no one was on 47 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: the Cossack for much longer. Within a few months, they 48 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: were torpedoed and sank, leaving these survivors bobbing among the 49 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: remains of their ship. Luckily, the HMS arc Royal and 50 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: Aircraft Carrier was in the area and managed to scoop 51 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: up the remaining sailors and of course Sam or Oscar 52 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: whatever you want to call him now. In another stroke 53 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: of bad luck, Sam's new home wasn't long for this world. Well, 54 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: there was a war on and the HMS arc Royal 55 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: had their own tangle with a torpedo on November fourteenth 56 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: of nineteen forty one. Luckily, the cat managed to survive 57 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: once again, although at this point I bet that he 58 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: was definitely down a few lives. When the HMS Legion arrived, 59 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: they pulled Sam or Oscar and the other survivors out 60 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: of the water. Apparently he was quite angry after his 61 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: third ship sinking, but ultimately unharmed. As soon as they 62 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: learned their new furry friend's history, they christened him Unsinkable Sam. Luckily, 63 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: for Sam, his third sinking was his last. Maybe they 64 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: were superstitious, or maybe the sailors just felt bad about it, 65 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: but either way, Sam was sent off the Legion to 66 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: live with the Governor of Gibraltar, where he hunted mice 67 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: to his heart's content. His final destination was the UK 68 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: at a Belfast home for sailors. So far as I know, 69 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: he never left dry land again, passed seen away in 70 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty five. We've certainly heard plenty of stories about 71 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: people who survived shipwrecks time and time again. Violet Jessup 72 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: comes to mind the star of one of our very 73 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: own earlier Cabinet episodes. It's been done, But the thing is, 74 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: we're not entirely sure if the story about Sam is true. 75 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: Really Sam's whole adventure might just be a tall tale. 76 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:24,799 Speaker 1: There's no record of a cat being brought on board 77 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: the Bismarck, and none of the survivors mentioned him later, 78 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: although to be fair, at that moment they had other 79 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: things on their mind. There are only a couple of 80 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 1: images of Sam. One is a pastel drawing of him 81 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: sitting on a floating piece of wood by an unknown artist. 82 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: The other is a photograph of a tuxedo cats in 83 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: a collar. The cat looks like every description of Sam, 84 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: except there's one problem. The collar is inscribed HMS Amethyst, 85 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: which Sam never served on. This is likely a photo 86 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: of another famous ship cat named Simon. Maybe Sam was 87 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: a stowaway, or it's some kind of good luck charm 88 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: for one of the sailors on the Bismarck, which would 89 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: explain why he was never officially registered as the ship's cat. 90 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: In all likelihood, we will never know if Sam was 91 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: real or not, but I'm not sure that that matters. 92 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: Stories can be important, whether they're real or fake. They 93 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: show us what was important to the people during those 94 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,919 Speaker 1: big moments. World War two was the war that was 95 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: never supposed to happen, especially after the carnage and terror 96 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: of the Great War, the idea that a little critter 97 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: like Sam was rescued time and time again, that even 98 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: during the worst moments of their lives, these sailors wanted 99 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: to save what they could. While fact or fiction, I 100 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: think that's a curious story worth remembering. Imagine you work 101 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: at an art museum. You've had a certain painting, one 102 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: from a legendary artist, on display for decades, and one 103 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: day you and your team take it off the wall 104 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: so you can examine it for an upcoming exhibition. As 105 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: you're analyzing the work, you realize that there's something hidden 106 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: beneath the portrait, as in, behind the actual paint. It's 107 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: something no one has ever seen before. You'd be stunned. Right, 108 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: here's this mysterious thing that could potentially change the entire 109 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: art world, and you just found it. And if you've 110 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: guessed that this hypothetical scenario isn't actually hypothetical at all, 111 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: you'd be right. It really happened in July of twenty 112 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,119 Speaker 1: twenty two at the National Galleries in Scotland. But before 113 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: we get there, let me back up just a bit. 114 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: You see, art is often mysterious, right. Painters from DA 115 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: Vinci and Picasso to Pollock and Moore have been the 116 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: subject of decades, even centuries, of scholarly debate. Staring at 117 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: the mona Lisa's shy expression, or a canvas colored and 118 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: seemingly random splashes of paint, we can't help but wonder 119 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: what does it mean? But while critics mean use about 120 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: symbols and metaphor, some experts look at canvas as much 121 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: more literally. Art conservators analyze the actual matter of the painting. 122 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,119 Speaker 1: This could mean examining the chemical makeup of the paint 123 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: itself to figure out exactly where it came from, or 124 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: using X rays and infrared light to see through the painting, 125 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: usually to get a better idea of how the art 126 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: is sketched or layered paint to create the final product. 127 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: This the X ray examination, is what those experts at 128 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: the National Galleries of Scotland were doing when they made 129 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: their big discovery. They had had a van Go painting 130 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: called Head of a Peasant Woman since nineteen sixty. When 131 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: a lawyer from Edinburgh donated it to the museum. They 132 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: took it down so that they could move it for 133 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: a July twenty twenty two exhibition on Impressionism, which is 134 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: an artistic movement that van Go was a part of. 135 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: Before they hung it back up, though, they decided to 136 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: x ray the piece and see if they could glean 137 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: any new information about it. Now, a few things to know. 138 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: Van Go painted Head of a Peasant Woman in eighteen 139 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: eighty five, but between then and when it landed in 140 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: the National Galleries of Scotland it changed hands quite a bit. 141 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: At some point, maybe around nineteen oh five, someone decided 142 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: to glue the canvas down on a piece of cardboard, 143 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: which seems more like the way that you would treat 144 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: a school project and a portrait from one of the 145 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: world's most famous artists, but hey, I'm no expert. Regardless, 146 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: when they did this x ray, they realized there was 147 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: actually a second van Go painting hidden between Head of 148 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: a Peasant Woman and the cardboard. It had been painted 149 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: on the back of the canvas. Head of a Peasant 150 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: Woman was on one side and this second painting was 151 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,239 Speaker 1: on the other. But nobody ever recorded the second painting's existence, 152 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: and when it was glued to the cardboard it was 153 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: basically lost, until, of course, the x ray revealed it 154 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: was there. This painting was a never before seen self 155 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 1: portrait of van Go. In it, he's wearing a straw 156 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: hat and a neckerchief. He stares directly at the viewer, 157 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: and his left ear that he eventually cut off is 158 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:06,239 Speaker 1: still clearly visible. It's remarkable not only because it's newly discovered, 159 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: but also because Vang painted it around the time that 160 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,439 Speaker 1: he moved to Paris and was first exposed to Impressionist art. 161 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: Chances are that he painted both sides of the canvas, 162 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: not because he was trying to hide something, but because 163 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: he didn't have a lot of money. Canvases were expensive, 164 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: and van Go wouldn't be the first artist to paint 165 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: both sides or even paint over older works. As it stands, 166 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: experts at the National Gallery of Scotland are doing research 167 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: looking for a way to remove the canvas from the 168 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: cardboard without damaging either painting. Until then, Head of a 169 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: Peasant Woman remains on display alongside the X ray image 170 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: of the self portrait, and while this type of discovery 171 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: is rare, it's not unheard of. Experts have also found 172 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: hidden works by both Theicelli and Picasso using similar technology. 173 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: So the next time you're at a museum staring up 174 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: at a curious canvas and wondering what it all meant. 175 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: Consider asking yourself what might be hiding beneath it. I 176 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 177 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 178 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 179 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 180 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 181 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 182 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the Worldoflore 183 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.