1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 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 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Dr Thornwell Jacobs was a 5 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: key figure in the life of Atlanta's Oglethorpe University. The 6 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: school actually predates him, dating all the way back to 7 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty five, but the Civil War managed to close 8 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: the place down for a number of years. It reopened 9 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy, but went bankrupt just two years later. 10 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: For a very long while after that, it seemed the 11 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: old college would never come back. But that's where Dr 12 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: Jacobs entered the picture. In en he managed to get 13 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: a new charter for the school, and two years after 14 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: that it opened its doors to the public. It was 15 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 1: a fitting accomplishment for Jacobs too, since his own grandfather 16 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: had served on the faculty their years before poetic even 17 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: Jacobs was an interesting man. For example, shortly after the 18 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: school reopened, he dreamed up the unusual plan to travel 19 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: to England and bring back the body of the man 20 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: who founded Georgia and who the university was named after, 21 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: British General James Oglethorpe. It turns out that after establishing 22 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: the colony in what is now Savannah, the general returned 23 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: to England, where he passed away in sevent Jacobs had 24 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: this dream of burying Oglethorpe beneath the university, so he 25 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: traveled to England to locate the general's tomb, which had 26 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,639 Speaker 1: been lost to time. Like a real life Indiana Jones, 27 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: Jacobs found it and after digging down into it, he 28 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: had himself lowered in just to verify his discovery. After that, 29 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: he put in his request to have the body moved 30 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: back across the Atlantic, and it was declined. Jacob certainly 31 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: had a fascination with buried objects. When Ringling Brothers donated 32 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: several dead elephants to the university, they first dissected them 33 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: and then had them buried under the wilton Er Library. 34 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: But that wasn't the weirdest thing Jacob's oversaw. No. His 35 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: crowning achievement came a few years earlier, in the late 36 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, when he started plans for something that had 37 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: never been done before. Troubled by the lack of well 38 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: preserved artifacts from human history, he set about making sure 39 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: future generations wouldn't feel the same about our modern world. 40 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: In the basement of Phoebe Hearst Hall, where an old 41 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: swimming pool once sat, he began construction of a large chamber. 42 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: His design called for a space measuring twenty ft long 43 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: by ten feet wide, which would sit on a foundation 44 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,399 Speaker 1: of solid granite bedrock. Then the floor and walls were 45 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: covered in plates of enameled porcelain and waterproofed with pitch. 46 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: It was a massive project with exacting specifications, but that's 47 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: because Jacobs had a very particular vision. When it was 48 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: completed three years later, the room was filled with a 49 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: huge assortment of objects that represented the world of nineteen 50 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: forties America. There are micro film records of more than 51 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: eight hundred books on every subject known to mankind, voice 52 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: recordings of prominent individuals, including Stalin Hitler and a champion 53 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: hog collar. I'll let you make your assumptions about that one. 54 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: They put hundreds of other objects in there as well, 55 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: a television, various pieces of furniture, sewing machines, artwork, even seeds, 56 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: but nothing precious or theft worthy. In fact, jewelry wasn't allowed, 57 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: or precious metals of any kind. It was a collection 58 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: of easy, attainable, everyday objects. And then it was sealed. 59 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: They had a massive stainless steel door set into the 60 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: wall of the chamber, closed it tight, and then well, 61 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: did it shut. Jacobs called it the Crypt of Civilization, 62 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: but you and I would probably think of it as 63 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: a time capsule. It was, in fact the first of 64 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: its kind. Did it work well? Nearly eighty years later? 65 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: No one knows. Everything could have rusted into piles of 66 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: scrap by now, or it all might be as pristine 67 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: as the day they sealed it. We'll never know, though, 68 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: because this time capsule isn't one of those one year 69 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: projects or something designed to be opened on a significant 70 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: national or local anniversary. No, Jacobs had a much bigger 71 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: target in mind when he had it built. The Crypt 72 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: of Civilization won't be opened for another six thousand, nine years. 73 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: I hope your patient. It seems we've got a lot 74 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:22,919 Speaker 1: of waiting to do. Dr Silas Weir Mitchell was an 75 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: American physician with a career that straddled the Civil War 76 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: and the decades beyond it. During his lifetime, he was 77 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: known for his focus on what they called nervous disease, 78 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: what we would refer to today as neurological disorders. Basically, 79 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: if it had to do with the nervous system, he 80 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: took care of it. But that's not all he pioneered. 81 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: We've all bumped into his discoveries and ideas in our 82 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: modern world. The concept known as the phantom limb. That 83 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: was a Mitchell discovery. Headaches being caused by excessive eyestrain, 84 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: that was Mitchell too. The idea of bed rest yep. 85 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: Mitchell again. He had an intuitive understanding of medicine that 86 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: transcended the textbook and moved right into everyday life, and 87 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: people respected him for that. But one of his most 88 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: memorable encounters happened after office hours. As the story goes, 89 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,239 Speaker 1: Dr Mitchell had come home after a long day of work, 90 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: had himself a bit of food, and then sat down 91 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 1: in front of the fire to read before bed. It 92 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: was one of those quiet winter nights where the snow 93 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: is falling in every sound seems to be muffled by it. 94 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: I imagine. It didn't take long for his exhaustion to 95 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: catch up with him, and before long he was sleeping 96 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: right there in his chair. It was his doorbell that 97 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: ended the brief nap, though Dr Mitchell found his way 98 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: to the door and opened it to find a young 99 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: girl standing in the snow. She was thin and pale, 100 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: and had nothing warmer on than a well worn shawl 101 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: pulled around her narrow shoulders. Without pausing, the girl motioned 102 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: towards the street. My mother, she said, she's not well. 103 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: Can you come and help her? Please? Before Mitchell could answer, 104 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: the girl was off, heading down the steps of his 105 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: house and into the snow covered streets of Philadelphia. Mitchell 106 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: grabbed his coat and bag and quickly followed her. Maybe 107 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: it was the excitement of the moment, or perhaps it 108 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: was just the chill of the winter air, but all 109 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: of a sudden he no longer felt tired. She led 110 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: him to a worn down tenement house, up a set 111 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 1: of stairs, and then through the maze like hallways to 112 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: her own door. Inside, Mitchell was greeted by a familiar face, 113 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: the girl's mother, it turned out, was a former housekeeper 114 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 1: of his, although she was in much worse health than 115 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: he had ever seen her before. Feeling a sense of urgency, 116 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: Mitchell got to work Soon enough. He determined that the 117 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: woman was suffering from pneumonia and found the necessary medication 118 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: to administer. After rounding the critical corner, Mitchell sat back 119 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: with relief, lad for a break, but also glad for 120 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: the girl's quick timing. So he said as much, letting 121 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: the woman know her daughter most likely saved her life. 122 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: That can't be, she replied, My daughter died more than 123 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: a month ago. Shocked, Mitchell described the girl who had 124 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: led him there and the tattered shawl she had worn 125 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: against the winter chill. The woman nodded in recognition. Yes, 126 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: she replied, that sounds like my daughter. But her things 127 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: are all put away over there in that cupboard, and 128 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: she pointed to a small cabinet in the room. Mitchell 129 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: approached it and then slowly opened the door. Inside he 130 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: found a small pair of shoes and a perfectly folded shawl. 131 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: The fabric was very worn, with carefully mended holes and 132 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: faded colors, but it was also dry and warm. Confused, 133 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: the good doctor quickly looked in the other rooms of 134 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,079 Speaker 1: the home, lancing around for the familiar face. Try as 135 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: he might, he wasn't able to find her, the mysterious 136 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: girl who had guided him to the woman's rescue. That night, 137 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: It was no longer in the house. She was gone. 138 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 139 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 140 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 141 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership 142 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 143 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 144 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 145 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.