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 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: On July eighth of eighteen fifty three, American commodore Matthew 7 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: Perry sailed four ships into Tokyo Bay, essentially declaring Japan 8 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: open to Western business. Whether they wanted it or not. 9 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: Japan had been relatively isolated for about two hundred years, 10 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: but Perry's unceremonious gate crashing led to huge changes for 11 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: the country and the world at large. Now I doubt 12 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: very much that Perry and tissated that his actions, however indirectly, 13 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: would lead to thousands of lives being saved. But let's 14 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: make sure creda goes to those who deserve it. In 15 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty nine, the Axis Powers faced down the Allies 16 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: for the revenge sequel no one really wanted. Germany had 17 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: created an alliance with the Soviet Union, which absolutely no 18 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: one thought would last, including the Soviets and the Germans. 19 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: As the Germans rolled over Europe, Japan was dominating the Pacific, 20 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: but there were a few Japanese officials posted in Europe 21 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: as well, including Shiyuni Sugihara. Now. Sugihara was a career diplomat, 22 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: and in November of nineteen thirty nine was posted to 23 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: the then capital of Lithuania to serve as Japanese consul. 24 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: Part of that job included monitoring the Germans movements so 25 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: that the Japanese could prepare for the Germans attack on 26 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: the Soviets. Remember, Japan had their own beef with the 27 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: Soviets and it wouldn't do well for them to be 28 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: caught unawares. Sugihara was born on January first of nineteen 29 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: hundred and grew up at a time when Japan was 30 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: asserting itself globally. Unlike many Japanese children, Sugihara was exposed 31 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: to different cultural influences from a young age, even choosing 32 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: to study English literature in Tokyo rather than becoming a 33 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: doctor like his father wanted. He received diplomatic training after graduation, 34 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: becoming deputy consul in Manchuria and helping the Soviet Union 35 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: win control over the Manchurian Railroad, which neded Japan a 36 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: fat profit. But the Chinese living in the area were 37 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: treated terribly by the Japanese, and that turned Sugihara's stomach. 38 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: He resigned in nineteen thirty four, returning to Tokyo to 39 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: ask for hopefully quieter assignments in Europe. He had no 40 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: idea what was coming, though. While he was in Tokyo 41 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: he met a woman named Yukiko Kikuchi and married her 42 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: before he was shipped out to his next post. Of course, 43 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: Lithuania was about to suffer a double occupation by the 44 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: Soviets and the Nazis, but for about ten months at 45 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: the start of the war, it was still an independent 46 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: country full of spies and refugees fleeing the destruction wrought 47 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: by world powers. Nineteen thirty nine found the Sugihara fans 48 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: in the city of Canues now with two young children, 49 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: and they became close with many of their neighbors. Some 50 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: were Jewish families who quietly explained their fears of the Nazis. 51 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: Maybe it was this close contact that pushed Sugihara to act, 52 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: or maybe he was just trying to be a good 53 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:19,679 Speaker 1: person in the face of unimaginable evil. Sugihara began interfacing 54 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: with the Polish underground, getting information from the resistance as 55 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: he watched the Jewish refugees from Poland and other areas 56 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 1: pour in by the day and begin flocking to the 57 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: Japanese consulate that doubled as the Sugiharas home. Now, before 58 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: we continue, it's important to point out that World War 59 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: II has a nasty history with refugees, even without the 60 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: benefit of hindsight that we have today. It's difficult to 61 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: read all the articles that discussed how the mighty United States, 62 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: you know, the land of give me your poor, you're 63 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: tired your huddled masses, was turning refugees away. But it's 64 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: true the United States turned away hundreds of thousands of 65 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: Jewish refugees before, during, and even after the war. Most 66 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: returned to Europe to their doo. Sugihara's position was complicated. Technically, 67 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: he could give out visas, but there were protocols and 68 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: his government would certainly never accept the number of people 69 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: who turned up daily begging for an escape. One of 70 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: the only ways out was through the Soviet Union to Japan. 71 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: There was very little safety, but there was a chance, 72 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: and so Sugihara decided that he would do what he could, 73 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: in clear violation of repeated orders. He sat down, picked 74 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: up a pen, and began to write, and he didn't 75 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: stop for days. His wife joined in too, working day 76 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: and night to give visas to anyone who came. Sugihara 77 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: knew that he didn't have much time. The Soviets were 78 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: closing in and there was a rapidly approaching deadline for 79 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: foreign staff to get out of the country. He worked 80 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: right up until he was forced out. According to one story, 81 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: he was still writing and stamping visas as he was 82 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: loaded onto the train when it began to pull away, 83 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: throwing the precious papers out the window to the folks 84 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: who were waiting for them. From there, Sugihara and his 85 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: family returned to Ja Pan and he was assigned to 86 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: several Nazi occupied territories. When the Soviets took Romania his 87 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: final posting, the Sugihara family was arrested, although not treated badly. 88 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: Rather than receive a hero's welcome, when he returned to 89 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: Japan in nineteen forty seven, he was pressured to resign. 90 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: He always believed that it was because of those visas. 91 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: We don't know exactly how many people Sugihara managed to save. 92 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: Some estimated it could have been as many as six thousand, 93 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: well worth a few ignored telegrams and a reprimand he 94 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: spent the rest of his life in relative obscurity. The 95 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: world moved on from the war, and he worked odd 96 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: jobs to keep his family afloat. He never even spoke 97 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: of what he did in Lithuania, but some never forgot. 98 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty eight, one visa recipient tracked him down, 99 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: and Sugihara even visited Israel shortly before he passed away 100 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty six, and there the country honored him 101 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: at their official Holocaust memorial with the title Righteous among 102 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: the Nations, which goes to show you sometimes the Kuri 103 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: path is the best one to take. Humans have a 104 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: tendency to look for patterns and meaning where there shouldn't 105 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: be any. For example, we might look at the holes 106 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: on a wall outlet and see a face, or stare 107 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: at a cloud and see an animal of some kind. 108 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: That's called paradolia. But there's a related concept called apophenia, 109 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: which are connections made between unrelated stimuli, like the recurring 110 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: appearance of a certain number. Back in nineteen sixty four, 111 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: two California college students set out to prove that one 112 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: particular number shows up far more than any other, and 113 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: as a result, their academic exercise took on a life 114 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: of its own. Lori Metz and Bruce Elgin joined forces 115 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: on a research project while attending Pomona College in Claremont, California. 116 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: Their premise whether the number forty seven appears more regularly 117 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: in the world than it should be expected to Now, 118 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: the number forty seven is interesting in its own rights. 119 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: It's a prime number. It also appears in the Lucas sequence, 120 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: a sequence of integers named after mathematician Frescois Eduard Anatol Lucas, 121 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: as its sixth prime number. But look deeper and you 122 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: might begin to understand what Metz and Elgin we're getting at. 123 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: Because the number forty seven is more than a mathematical digit. 124 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: It's a world unto itself. The planet Mars slides into 125 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: the same position relative to the Sun and the Earth 126 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: every forty seven years. One of the most used military 127 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: rifles on the planet is the AK forty seven. There 128 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: is also the CH forty seven, Chinook tandem rotor helicopter 129 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: and the P forty seven Thunderbird fighter plane, which was 130 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: used during World War Two. The number also occurs throughout 131 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: pop culture. For example, on the television series Lost, forty 132 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: seven people initially survived the crash of Oceanic Flight eight fifteen. 133 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: Then in the Pixar movie Monsters, Inc. There's a sign 134 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: at the Scare Factory that reads accident free for forty 135 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: seven days. But what was it about this number that 136 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: made it so appealing to two college students in California, Well, 137 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: because it was important to the school. You see exit 138 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: forty seven off the sand Berddino Freeway will take you 139 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: straight to Pomona College, and the organ in the Ralph H. 140 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: Lymanhall Auditorium is equipped with forty seven pipes on its 141 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: top row. Perhaps most intriguing is the fact that in 142 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety four, the year of the school's first graduating class, 143 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: forty seven students were enrolled at the college. Over a 144 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: century later, the freshman class of the year two thousand 145 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: had forty seven valedictorians. Meanwhile, forty seven even appears in 146 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: places that you might not expect. The tropic of Cancer 147 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: and the Tropic of Capricorn are forty seven degrees apart 148 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: on a map. Depending on the version, forty seven sentences 149 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: have been tabulated within the Declaration of Independence, and Julius 150 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,559 Speaker 1: Caesar was believed to have coined the phrase ven a 151 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: vdvici in the year forty seven BC. It's no wonder 152 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: that Elgin and mets decided to focus their efforts on 153 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: this strangely popular number, but they didn't exactly go into 154 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: it with scholarly intentions. You see, Lori Metz and Bruce 155 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: Elgin approached their research project with their tongues firmly planted 156 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: in their cheeks. It was kind of a joke. Even 157 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: a professor at the school was in on it. By 158 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: creating false mathematical proof where forty seven was equal to 159 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: every other integer, and they didn't have the Internet to 160 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: spread their satirical project to the rest of the school, 161 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: they went viral organically, eventually becoming a meme among other students, 162 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: even those who would enroll at Pomoma later on. What 163 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 1: started in nineteen sixty four carried on for decades to come, 164 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: which is partly why the number forty seven shows up 165 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: in so many TV shows and movies. Television writer Joe 166 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: Minoski wrote for several Star Trek shows in the eighties 167 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: and nineties. He managed to squeeze the number forty seven 168 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: into practically every script he wrote. He also grat situated 169 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: Pomona College in nineteen seventy nine. Since then, other Star 170 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 1: Trek riders have carried on the tradition, even those who 171 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 1: never attended Pomona. And if you watch the old Disney 172 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: film The Absent Minded Professor, you might notice the number 173 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: show up on the scoreboard of a scene set at 174 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,680 Speaker 1: a college basketball game. The final score is forty seven 175 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: to forty six. Oh and one last thing. That scene 176 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: was shot at Pomona College, but three years before Metz 177 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,200 Speaker 1: and Elgin's research project had even started. Was it just 178 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: a coincidence or is there something about the school that 179 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: attracts the number forty seven? The debate rages on to 180 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: this day, and it probably will for another forty seven years. 181 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:48,320 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 182 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 183 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 184 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 185 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: with How Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 186 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:07,679 Speaker 1: called Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television 187 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at 188 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.