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 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: For all of recorded history, humans have looked to the 7 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: sky for answers to our most important questions. What time 8 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: is it, what's the weather like? What is humanity's place 9 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: in the universe? That last one is a bit tougher 10 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,599 Speaker 1: to answer, but the point is, as largely earthbound creatures, 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: people have always been fascinated by the mysteries of space, 12 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: and that certainly was the case in May of nineteen 13 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: ten when Halley's comment was hurtling towards Earth. Now, if 14 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: you're not familiar, Halley's comment is a regular visitor to 15 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: our solar system, passing by Earth once every seventy five 16 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: years or so. But we didn't always know that. Records 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: about a fiery ball shooting through the sky can be 18 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 1: found as far back as ancient Babylon. However, it wasn't 19 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: until seventeen oh five that British mathematician Edmund Helly realized 20 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: that we were looking at the same commet every three 21 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: quarters of a century, and now that comet's named after him. 22 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: But there's something else that you should know about Edmund Helly. 23 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: He didn't think the comet came just because he thought 24 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: its appearance coincided with significant world events, most famously the 25 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: Battle of Hastings in ten sixty six, when William the 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: Conqueror took control of England. Because of this, Halle's comment 27 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: became known as a harbinger of political and social upheaval. 28 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: So in nineteen ten people were primed and ready to 29 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: believe the comet would have some kind of effect on 30 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: life on Earth. Let me set the stage. This was 31 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: forty seven years before the launch of Sputnik, than fifty 32 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: nine years before Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon. 33 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: Humans were still decades away from reaching space, but science 34 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: was rapidly advancing, and Hallie's comet was a point of 35 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: study that spring. As numerous scientists tracked the comet's approach, 36 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: a French astronomer named Camille Flammarion noticed something. According to 37 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: his calculations, Halle's comet was going to pass closer to 38 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: Earth than ever before, so close that our planet was 39 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: going to pass through the comet's tail, which might not 40 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: sound like a big deal, except Flammarian had also discovered 41 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: evidence of cyanogen gas in the comet's taiale. Cyanogen gas 42 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: is similar to cyanide. It's extremely toxic and often deadly. 43 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: And what did Flammarian do with this information? He published 44 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: it in The New York Times, along with the warning 45 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: that the dangerous gas could and I quote impregnate the 46 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet. 47 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: But like no reason to panic, right, of course, people 48 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: freaked out. Some families used cock towels and newspapers to 49 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 1: try to insulate their homes so that that toxic air 50 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: couldn't get inside. Others removed lightning rods from their houses 51 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: for fear that they would attract the comet even closer 52 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: to Earth. Soon. Other scientists spoke out against Flammarian's claims, 53 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: assuring the public that there wasn't enough cyanogen gas in 54 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: the comet's tail to hurt anybody, But by then the 55 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: damage had already been done. And where there's sickness, reel 56 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: or imagined someone will inevitably show up peddling a miracle cure. 57 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: In the wake of this cosmological panic, gas masks flew 58 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: off the shelves so fast that store owners couldn't keep 59 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: them in stock. Advertisements for comet proof umbrellas showed up 60 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: in the newspapers. Entrepreneurs even offered anti commet pills, which 61 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: claimed to protect against the effects of cyanogen gas. People 62 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: bought these at a dollar a pop, which would be 63 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: roughly thirty bucks per pill today, a small price to 64 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: say you and your family from a ball of toxic 65 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: space gas. The only problem was this anti comic cure 66 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: was just sugar pills and fancy packaging. Luckily, nobody needed 67 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: protection from Halle's comment anyway. Flammarian's calculations had been wrong, 68 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 1: and the comet tail missed Earth by nearly two hundred 69 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: thousand miles. The comment did return to our solar system 70 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty six, after scientists had learned a lot 71 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: about the cosmos, and this time there wasn't a market 72 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: for gas masks and magic medicine. But nineteen eighty six 73 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: was full of historic landmarks, like the Iran Contra affair, 74 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: the space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl, 75 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: which begs the question if Halle's comment really does incite 76 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: political and social upheaval, who knows what will happen the 77 00:04:48,320 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: next time it comes around in twenty sixty one. Many 78 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: of us grew up hearing the following words from our 79 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: parents when we hit a certain age, get a job. 80 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: If we wanted to go out with our friends or 81 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: buy a new video game, we needed money, and once 82 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: we were old enough to get a job, that's how 83 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: we earned our keep. But at the turn of the 84 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: twentieth century, things looked a lot different For America's youth. 85 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: Children had been working in dangerous conditions and in jobs 86 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 1: that most adults were too scared to take on, either 87 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: to support themselves or their whole families. Despite what popular 88 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: movie musicals would have you believe, newspaper boys or newsies 89 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: weren't just trying to eke out a living by selling 90 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: papers on the streets. They also worked with organized crime 91 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: as informants and gophers. Many who tried to hitch free 92 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,119 Speaker 1: rides on passenger trams would fall and have their arms 93 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: and legs crushed by the vehicle's wheels. Making their lives 94 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,799 Speaker 1: that much harder. But perhaps one of the most life 95 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 1: threatening jobs held by children, dating all the way back 96 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: to the twelfth century, was that of the chimney sweep. 97 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,280 Speaker 1: Because of their small size, the young workers would climb 98 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: into the flues to scrub them clean of soot and ash. 99 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: In England, they were often bought by adult sweeps from 100 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: orphanages or kidnapped from their parents. In the United States, 101 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: many were African American children. Unsurprisingly, a lot of these 102 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: kids died from various illnesses and cancers brought on by 103 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: their work. It wasn't until the National Child Labor Committee 104 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: was formed in nineteen oh four that the push to 105 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,840 Speaker 1: end child labor in America really took off. But one 106 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: New Yorker didn't get the memo because he needed someone 107 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: to help clear his chimney, and the only person available 108 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: for the job was his nephew. In April of nineteen 109 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: forty four, Rose Colgan heard a noise coming from behind 110 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: her wall. She lived at nineteen seventy three Bryant Avenue 111 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: in an area of the Bronx known as West Farms. 112 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: Back in the eighteenth century, this part of New York 113 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: was a massive farm belonging to one Theophilis Hunt and 114 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: let that sink in for just a moment. It is 115 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: hard to imagine the Bronx today as nothing but rich 116 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: soil and grass. But for a very long time there 117 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: stood only a couple of houses on the land, not 118 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: a six story apartment building. Rose probably would have preferred 119 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: the sound of the wind blowing across the fields to 120 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: what she was actually hearing. Someone was crying day and 121 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: night for help from behind her wall, and Rose, who 122 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: lived on the first floor, reached out to her building 123 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: superintendent for help. His name was William Setzer. He looked 124 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: into the issue and discovered that someone had fallen down 125 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: the chimney on the roof of the building had gotten 126 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: themselves stuck in the walls of Rose's home. Unfortunately, Setzer 127 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: was too large of a guy to fit down the 128 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 1: chimney himself, but he knew someone who was just the 129 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: right size, his ten year old nephew, Charles. William tied 130 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: a rope around Charles's waist and lowered him down into 131 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: the chimney. All was going well until the boy had 132 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: descended about ten feet. Then his own whaling began because 133 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: now he, too was stuck. His uncle spent thirty minutes 134 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: tugging at the rope, eventually sliding his nephew back out 135 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: to freedom. With no other small children to dangle precariously 136 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: over his building's chimney, sets Her turned to a different 137 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: kind of professional for help. Another man name unknown arrived 138 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: on the scene with some tools and a little food. 139 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: Hoping that this would do the trick. He entered Rose 140 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: Cooligan's apartment and cut a small hole into her wall, 141 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: and then, using a little milk and meat, he waited 142 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: for the interloper to reveal themselves. Soon enough, they appeared, 143 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: But milk and meat were only part of the equation. 144 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: You see. This savior with the saw was from the 145 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and 146 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: he also brought with him some catnip. The crying that 147 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: had been keeping Miss Cooligan up for the last few 148 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: nights had come from a cat who had tumbled down 149 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: the chimney and gotten himself trapped. He was safely captured 150 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: and transported to ASPCA headquarters. Yuks for William Setzer and 151 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: his nephew. It's probably safe to say that neither OSHA 152 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: nor Child Services made a visit to their homes, although 153 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if young Charles had lifelong claustrophobia 154 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: from that point onward. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 155 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 156 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 157 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 158 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 159 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 160 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 161 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 162 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.