1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Nke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Radio technology has always 7 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 2: been complicated, but we still use it every day. Wi 8 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 2: Fi operates on radio frequencies, which means that you're probably 9 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 2: listening to this podcast right now. Because of radio, you 10 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 2: probably can't explain how it works. 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: But don't worry. I'm not going to ask you to, 12 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: but I am going to tell you to feel grateful 13 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: because while today we may have our own high functioning 14 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: radio transmitters in the form of why Fi routers, one 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: hundred years ago, a radio transmitter was a rare, expensive 16 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: and dangerous piece of equipment that few people had in 17 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: their homes, and it took a boxing match of all 18 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: things to change that. In nineteen twenty one, Jay Andrew 19 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: White was a thirty one year old Radio Corporation of 20 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: America employee who had served in the Army Signal Corps 21 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: in World War One. This meant that he was a 22 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: radio expert, which was still a new technology at the time, 23 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: and because of this, he was approached by promoters from 24 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: Madison Square Garden who had the crazy idea to transmit 25 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: the upcoming fight between world boxing champions Jack Dempsey and 26 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: George Carpontier. They wanted to transmit to different radios all 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: over New England and as far away as Ohio, and 28 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: charge people a fee to listen at various local theaters, 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: and White jumped at the chance to make this happen. 30 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: You see, at the time, radio was the domain of 31 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: hobbyists and the government, and he knew that this would 32 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: prove that the technology deserved a wider place in society. 33 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: Working with the team, he set about crew aiding the 34 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: infrastructure to make the broadcast possible. The fight would take 35 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: place in July at a makeshift arena in New Jersey, 36 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: and as such, there was no antenna or transmitter available 37 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: at the actual site of the fight. To find suitable equipment, 38 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: White and his team had to search far and wide. 39 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: The only suitable transmitter they could find belonged to the 40 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: United States Navy, and so they had a meeting with 41 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: none other than the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin 42 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: delan Or Roosevelt, the young future president, believed in helping 43 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: civilian projects whenever he could, and so he readily agreed 44 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: to lend the transmitter as long as the Navy received 45 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: a small cut of the profits. The transmitter was transported 46 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: to New Jersey, but it still needed an antenna. White 47 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: had to run a telephone line all the way from 48 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: the arena to a nearby train station, where he rigged 49 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: a massive antenna from a local clock tower. The transmitter 50 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: was housed at the station, and White had one of 51 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: the assistants guarded day and night. And after this, White 52 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: secured a broadcasting license from the government to broadcast his 53 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: own unique radio station called WJY. Amateurs were hired across 54 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: the country to man their own radio and speaker setups 55 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: at local theaters. The promoters did everything they could to 56 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,919 Speaker 1: drum up interest in the big day, and then AT 57 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: and T came along and tried to ruin the whole thing. 58 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: The company, just a few decades old at the time, 59 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: came out of nowhere right before the fight and claimed 60 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: that they wouldn't allow one of their telephone lines to 61 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: be used in a radio broadcast. Essentially, they saw the 62 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: Radio Corporation of America RCA as a competitor and didn't 63 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: want to help them. White had to think up a 64 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: new plan on very short notice. His final workaround proved 65 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: to be his cleverest idea so far. He would report 66 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: on the fight from ringside, talking on the phone to 67 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,119 Speaker 1: one of his assistants at the train station. They would 68 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: then type up the play by play commentary for yet 69 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: another assistant to read out over the radio. They even 70 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: had a gong in the booth to simulate the gong 71 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: from the ring. Listeners all over they would actually be 72 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: listening to a slightly delayed report of the fight, but 73 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: they were none the wiser. But the exciting commentary and 74 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: the sound of the gong, they were completely drawn in. 75 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: Some listeners even later reported that they could hear the 76 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: sound of the crowd, although this was entirely in their imagination. 77 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: Jack Dempsey knocked out George Carpontier in the fourth round, 78 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: and as excited as the people were to watch the 79 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: fight in New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of people around 80 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: the country were just as thrilled to be listening in 81 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: their own hometowns of course, they had no way of 82 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: knowing how much hard work had been done to make 83 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: it all possible. In fact, the assistant who read out 84 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,559 Speaker 1: the fight over the radio, Jo Smith, ended the match 85 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: in worse shape than Carpontier. It seems that he was 86 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: temporarily blinded by the bright burning tubes of the radio 87 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 1: transmitter and even burned his hands when one of those 88 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: tubes exploded and had to be switched out mid fight. 89 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: But it did the trick. Over the next few years, 90 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 1: radio sales skyrocketed, and the rest is history. Men like 91 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: Jay Andrew White and Josia Smith let their curiosity guide them, 92 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: and it changed entertainment forever. Without them, you might not 93 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: be listening to me right now, So be thankful for that, 94 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: and for the later developments that made it possible for 95 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: your phone to do amazing things like not explode in 96 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: your hand or blind you. For most people, fear works 97 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: as evolution intended, keeping them out of dangerous situations. But 98 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: for others, fear is more of a challenge, a call 99 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: to face whatever obstacles might be standing in their way. 100 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: Cave divers definitely fall into that second category. They squeeze 101 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 1: into narrow spaces that most of us would only visit 102 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: in our nightmares, trying to prove to themselves that it 103 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 1: won't kill them. Most of the time they're right, but 104 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: sometimes the cave wins. A word of warning, the story 105 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: is not for those with claustrophobia. About an hour south 106 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a place called Nutty 107 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: Putty Cave. It's not the kind of high ceilinged, stalactite 108 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: filled cave that you might be used to. It's a 109 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: series of very tight passages, most of them no bigger 110 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: than the opening of a washing machine. It was discovered 111 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty by diver Dale Green, who named it 112 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: after the clay that forms in its humid tunnels. Thousands 113 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: of divers flocked to the cave every year to test 114 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: themselves against its narrow, twisty passages, but the cave was 115 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,920 Speaker 1: closed in two thousand and six after multiple rescue missions. 116 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: No one died, but one young man was hospitalized for days. 117 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: It was becoming too common for divers to go at 118 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: nights without proper equipment and then become stuck. Typically, rescue 119 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: teams had to then enter the cave, tie a rope 120 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: around the stuck person's foot, pulling them free. The cave 121 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: eventually reopened in two thousand and nine after the state 122 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: instituted an application process for visitors. Now they had to 123 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: prove that they had all the necessary training and equipment, 124 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: and that very same year, two brothers signed up, Josh 125 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: and John Jones. As kids, they'd been on many cave 126 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: exploration trips with their father, although they hadn't been on 127 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: any trips for a few years. They thought that it 128 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: would be a fun way to relive old memories, and 129 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: so they descended into the cave headlamps guiding their way. 130 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: They crawled through the biggest chamber, first known as the 131 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: Big Slide, which is big enough for a diver to 132 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: turn around in. But after this they wanted more of 133 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: a challenge. Josh and John decided to look for the 134 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: birth canal, a narrow passage that only the most experienced 135 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,119 Speaker 1: divers could pass through. They proceeded through the most narrow 136 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: sections of the cave. These are such tight spaces that 137 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: you could stretch out your hand to where it's touching 138 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: both the top and the bottom of the cave. At once. 139 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: John was in the lead and he thought he was 140 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: approaching the birth canal. He thought the cave would open 141 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: up there where he could turn back around, but in reality, 142 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: he and Josh had made a wrong turn. They were 143 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: in an even more narrow, uncharted part of the cave. 144 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: Suddenly John fell forward, his body going from fully horizontal 145 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: to fully vertical. One arm was trapped underneath him and 146 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: the other arm trapped to his side. He was stuck 147 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: upside down. At first, Josh, still behind him, thought that 148 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: he could pull him free, but it was no use. 149 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: Josh crawled back out of the cave and called nine 150 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: to one one before returning to his brother. But the 151 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 1: climb from the spot where John was stuck can take 152 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: as much as one hour each way. By the time 153 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: rescue teams arrived, John was still conscious, but he was frightened. 154 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: They tried the traditional pulley system, hammering studs into the 155 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: cave walls that could then be rigged with ropes and 156 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: pulleys to try to create leverage to pull John out. 157 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: They also considered using vegetable oil to slide him out, 158 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: but none of these would work. As rescue diver Brandon 159 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: Kowala soon realized John was at such an angle that 160 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: he couldn't be pulled out without breaking his legs. There 161 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: wasn't enough space at the top of the tunnel for 162 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: his legs to clear. It would be like trying to 163 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: move a couch around a tight corner in an apartment 164 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: with no way to pivot. The rescue team even brought 165 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: power tools to try and chisel John out, but the 166 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: space was too narrow to angle them properly. Eventually, rescue 167 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: diver Brandon saw John's legs spasimen blood and fluid had 168 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: started to pool in his brain and lungs after being 169 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: upside down for hours. His blood couldn't circulate and had 170 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: become toxic. He couldn't breathe. John Jones passed away just 171 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: before midnight. It was a tragic end to what was 172 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: supposed to be a fun family outing. Even more tragically, 173 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: the divers couldn't recover John's body. The caves were finally 174 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: sealed with cement, having proven that they were more than 175 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: humans could handle. A plaque was left in John's honor. 176 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: It's a curious tomb, with several winding passageways going in 177 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: all directions, but only one of those passageways contains a body, 178 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:55,959 Speaker 1: one that will forever be trapped upside down. I hope 179 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,319 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities, 180 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: subscrib i pre free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more 181 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The 182 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: show was created by me Aaron Manke in partnership with 183 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 184 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 185 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the Worldolore 186 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.