1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: to the cabinet of curiosities. When it comes to the 5 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: invention of the telegraph, one name stands above the rest, 6 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: Giulielmo Marconi. Marconi was an inventor who revolutionized the wireless 7 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: telegraph and laid the foundation for the phones we hold 8 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: in our hands today. But another man had caught a 9 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: glimpse of the telegraph system long before Marconi, about three 10 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: thousand years before him. In fact, James Campbell Besley was 11 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: in shorts and explorer. However, one look at his accomplishments 12 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: and he starts to sound more like a myth than 13 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: a man. And yet he and his exploits seemed to 14 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: have faded into obscure rity. Bestley was born in London 15 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy four. At least that's what he liked 16 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 1: to tell people. He actually had been born in Australia. 17 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: But that was the thing about James Bestley. He enjoyed 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: a good story. He traveled to London later in life 19 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: to receive an Ivy League education, in metallurgy, but he 20 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: didn't finish, opting instead to travel the world and make 21 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: a little money along the way. By nineteen or three, however, 22 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: the only thing he'd seen was the inside of a cell. 23 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: He was arrested twice in the Yukon on several charges 24 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: of money fraud. He didn't let that keep him down, though. 25 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: He soon ventured to South Africa and Australia, where he 26 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,639 Speaker 1: tried and failed to start several small businesses. Eventually, Bestly 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: made his fortune in mining for gold down Under before 28 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: packing up for Alaska and joining the military. After serving 29 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: in the Boer War in Africa, Bestly headed to Mexico 30 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: to mine for silver and copper when polo tournaments, and 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: run a massive cattle ranch. For anyone else, that would 32 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: have been quite a life, but Bestley still felt that 33 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: there was much more to do and more places to see, 34 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: so he booked a trip to Peru. He and eleven 35 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: other scientists and photographers fought disease and deadly wildlife, only 36 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: to uncover three Incan cities once thought lust and while 37 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: doing so, they used a relatively new technology called motion 38 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: pictures to capture the first footage of Machu Picchu After 39 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: his jaunt through the Amazon, Bestley and his team traveled 40 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: to New York, where the footage they shot was stolen. 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,359 Speaker 1: Apparently someone had broken into the trunk where five thousand 42 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: feet of film was being stored for later review. He 43 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: couldn't rest knowing that all he'd worked for had suddenly 44 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: been ripped away from him, so Bestley took another trip 45 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,399 Speaker 1: down south to reshoot his films and do something more. 46 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: That was when he realized something strange about his trip 47 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: through the Amazon. No matter how far or how quickly 48 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: he traveled, the native people in the next location always 49 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: knew that he'd be coming. Over the course of five months, 50 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: Bestley traveled from Lima to the Amazon River Delta. Every 51 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: time he came to a village, he realized that he 52 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: had been expected. When he asked how they knew about 53 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: his impending arrival, they pointed to a contraption made for 54 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,559 Speaker 1: the purpose of letting neighboring villages know of incoming threats 55 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: or visitors. The transmitter was comprised of a hollow tree 56 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: trunk hung just above the ground. According to Besley, inside 57 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: the trunk had been arranged very much like our violins, 58 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: presumably with strings fashioned out of the innards from a 59 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: jungle cat. When someone hit the trunk with a small mallet, 60 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: the vibration would carry for miles to a receiver in 61 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: a neighboring village. That receiver was also made of a 62 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: hollowed out tree trunk, but instead of being suspended in 63 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: the air, it was mounted on a wooden platform. The 64 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: vibrations from the transmitter would result in a mild ringing 65 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: sound in the receiver. Vibrations of varying lengths would let 66 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: others know all sorts of news, similar to the dots 67 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: and dashes of Marconi's telegraph system. It was ancient and 68 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: revolutionary all at the same time. Besley's expedition proves something 69 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: that we're not always willing to admit. When a new 70 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: invention is unleashed on the world, that rarely are those 71 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: of us from so called civilized countries first to do anything. 72 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: Cultures of all kinds have been finding new and inventive 73 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: ways of communicating for millennia. Our communication devices are telegraphs 74 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: and telephones, and even our online chat applications have all 75 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: been based, whether consciously or not, on systems that existed 76 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: for thousands of years. We just hadn't heard about them yet. 77 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: Now that's what I call a bad connection. Everyone handles 78 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: faith in their own way. Some refuse to believe in 79 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: a higher power, while others embraced the notion that our 80 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: lives are on a path set in motion something or 81 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: someone we cannot see. Catherine Labour seemed drawn to religion 82 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: from the moment she and her striking blue eyes came 83 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: into the world. Born a Roman Catholic, she took her 84 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: baptismal name Zoe from St. Zoe, who was coincidentally celebrated 85 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: on Catherine's birthday each year. In eighteen fifteen, when she 86 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: was only nine years old, her mother passed away. However, 87 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: the young Labour quickly found a replacement when she picked 88 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: up a nearby statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and said, 89 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,799 Speaker 1: now you will be my mother. Catherine and her sister 90 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: Antoinette eventually moved out of their father's home and went 91 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: to live with his sister their aunt several miles away. 92 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: Her faith only grew stronger after a dream about St. 93 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: Vincent de Paul. For example, she joined the nursing order 94 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 1: that he'd founded in the sixteen hundreds. Her brushes with 95 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: the supernatural didn't stop there though. There was something special 96 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: about Catherine Labour, how the spirit of St. Vincent de 97 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,480 Speaker 1: Paul seemed to always find its way to her, almost 98 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,719 Speaker 1: as though it had chosen her for something special. When St. 99 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: Vincent de Paul's remains were moved to the Vatican Church 100 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: in Paris, Catherine experienced another vision, three in fact, all 101 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: within the convent chapel. She saw St. Vincent's heart poised 102 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: above the bone of his right arm. With each encounter, 103 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: the heart's color would change for white, to red, and 104 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: finally to black. To Catherine, these colors were messages about 105 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: the future of her community, but the chaplain wasn't convinced. 106 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: A few months later, Catherine was drawn to the chapel 107 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: again by the sound of a child, despite there not 108 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: being any children there at the time. She claimed to 109 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: have heard the Virgin Mary speak to her upon her arrival, 110 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: telling her that God had a plan for her and 111 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: that she needed to see it through, even though she 112 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: would be met with opposition. But that wouldn't be the 113 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: only time the Virgin Mary would speak with her. One night, 114 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,679 Speaker 1: Catherine witnessed her appear within an oval picture frame, standing 115 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: upon the earth with light shooting out of her hands. 116 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: Twelve stars appeared, along with the letter M imposed over 117 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: the cross. Beneath it all, she saw the phrases Sacred 118 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary before she departed. 119 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: Mary then told Catherine to place these images and words 120 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: on medallions so that people could wear them and receive 121 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: great graces. She said, with the help of her superiors, 122 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: the medallions were commissioned and distributed to the congregation. They 123 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: are still popular and still worn today. Catherine Labour continued 124 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: to work within the church, helping those who needed it 125 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: the most. She died on December thirty one of eighteen 126 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: seventy six, at the age of seventy. Whether she had 127 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: actually spoken to the Virgin Mary isn't for any one 128 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: of us to say. She'd believed when others had not, 129 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: and she had cared for the most vulnerable among us 130 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: and had lived a light of life. Catherine was interred 131 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: in the chapel's tomb until nineteen thirty three, when Paris 132 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: Cardinal Verdier decided to take a look inside one day, 133 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: and he was astounded. Fifty seven years had passed and 134 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: Catherine Labour still looked as pristine as the day she 135 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: had died. Even the blue of her eyes hadn't faded 136 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: after all that time. That very same year, Pope Pious 137 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: the eleventh beified her. Fourteen years later, she was canonized 138 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: by Pope Pious the twelfth, officially making her a saint. 139 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: Catherine's undecomposed body was moved into a glass coffin that 140 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: now sits at the altar of the Chapel of Our 141 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: Lady of the Miraculous Metal in Paris. Saint Catherine's incorruptibility 142 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: is said to have been a product of divine intervention, 143 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: where other supposedly incorruptible bodies were mummified or had decomposed 144 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: beyond recognition. This two d year old saint looks like 145 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 1: she might wake up at any moment. When she was alive, 146 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: she demonstrated the power of her faith by caring for 147 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: the elderly and the infirm. Today, she's still inspiring believers, 148 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: only this time from behind glass, herself a vision of 149 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: beauty and grace. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 150 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 151 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 152 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky 153 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 154 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series, 155 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: and television show and you can learn all about it 156 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: over at the World of Lore dot com. And until 157 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious, Ye