1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of I Heart Radio, Elizabeth 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Done Sarah Burnett. You know it's ridiculous. Did you know 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: that the good Year blimp is the official bird of 4 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: Redondo Beach, California, Redondo Beach, California. Like that about they 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: did like a resolution in We're like, guess what, that's 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: our bird. That's it. They pointed, they said that one's 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,159 Speaker 1: ours in the sky. Look, it's a bird. It's the 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 1: Redondo Beach. Wait's city bird. It's a city bird. Yeah. 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: I didn't know what hesitated there because official city bird. 10 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's moored there, if that's the deal. 11 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: But whatever, it's their city bird. They're proud. I'm happy 12 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: for them, and you know what, it's ridiculous. It's definitely ridiculous. 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: You know it's also ridiculous. Tell me how about a 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: four decade long inside joke about Sir Francis Drake. Okay, 15 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: that is ridiculous. Tell me more. There's more. There's also 16 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: a rivalry between historians, some embarrassed, publicly tricked experts from 17 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: Berkeley and Columbia, and a lie so convincing that it 18 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: was added to the curriculum of California's school children's education. Yes, right, Oh, 19 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: I forgot the best part. It also involves a curious 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: little historical drinking society, or rather historical society with the 21 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: drinking problem. You ever, it's called e clampus vitis. Clampus 22 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: is not a Latin Okay, you know what. I'm just 23 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: gonna sit back and let the ridiculousness wash up for me. 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: Buckle up. This is Ridiculous Crime, a podcast about absurd 25 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: and outrageous capers, heists, and cons It's always ninety nine 26 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: percent murder free and ridiculous. Elizabeth, I'd like to tell 27 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: you about Herbert E. Bolton. He was a famed historian 28 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,959 Speaker 1: and a researcher. He focused on Spanish American history of 29 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: the Southwest primarily, but generally American history. He created something 30 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: that was called the Bolton theory of the History of 31 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: America's you ever heard of this? Yeah, it's basically this 32 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: idea that, in his opinion, if you're going to tell 33 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: this history of the United States, you cannot just limit 34 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: it to the US. You have to braiden the narratives 35 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: of South and Central America, Canada, and Mexico. So basically 36 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: all of the America's to tell the story of America. 37 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: It's just too much of a braided narrative. That's completely logical. 38 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: Yeah right. He basically pushes for what he describes as 39 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: a hemispheric history, and that was going against the narrative 40 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: of the time. They preferred more of a frontier version 41 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: of history. So basically you have this super smart dude. 42 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: He's the chair of history at Berkeley for about two decades, 43 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: twenty two years, I think exactly. In two he was 44 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: named the president of the American Historical Association. This dude 45 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: is like big time muet. Congratulations to him. You know, 46 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: I'm so happy for you. Did it. Joe Bolton is 47 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: like basically, if you're looking at the pre World War 48 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: two historians, he is like, you know, up there on 49 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: their amount Rushmore. Right, Okay, is he is he Michael 50 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: Bolton's grandpa. Yes, that's awesome. No he's not, but anyway 51 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: he is. Uh. He was the type of professor that 52 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: that was so beloved. Students would sign up for his 53 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: History of the America's class. And when I say students, 54 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: I'm talking like not just a lot or hundreds, literally 55 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: a thousand students would enroll for the class. Where would 56 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: they have this class was at Berkeley. I don't know 57 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: if they held it like in the stadium. I've been 58 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: looking to see, Yeah, where were they holding a thousand kids? 59 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, I think this is too 60 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: early for when like when I was in college, if 61 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: there was an overflow, they would just broadcast at the 62 00:03:53,960 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: lecture to other rooms. But they didn't have talkies, no 63 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: no talking. So anyway, this guy's like he's he's not 64 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: just like good at his job, but you know, at 65 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: the level of I'm a researcher, I'm a professor. I've 66 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: got this great theory and I'm changing the way people 67 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: think about history. But also the kids related. Everyone loves 68 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 1: this guy, right, so he who would connect with his students, 69 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: and one of his favorite things to tell them always 70 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: was to keep an eye out for history, like the actual, living, 71 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,799 Speaker 1: breathing history, but also the history that's undiscovered, the stuff 72 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: that you wouldn't think is there, you know, flip over 73 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: a penny, checked the date, kind of like look into 74 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: your history because maybe that might be the buffalo nickel. 75 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: I guess that's I'm mixing metaphors with or coinage. But 76 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: you get the idea. The dude was always like keep 77 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: an eye out right and one not passive learning but 78 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: actively yeah, And he wanted them to have that stoke 79 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: for history that he felt. He wanted them to also 80 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: realize that they were part of history and that they 81 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: too could discover it. And it wasn't just something that 82 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: was dusty and in libraries, right, maximum stoke it maximum exactly. 83 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: So he was really in particularly fond of this thing 84 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: called Drake's late It was evidence that Drake had visited 85 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,679 Speaker 1: the Pacific and no one had found it. To the 86 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: researchers and historians and archaeologists have been looking forward for century. 87 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: So he used to always tell the students, say, if 88 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: you're going out to the beach this weekend, keep an 89 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: eye out for Drake's plate. You know, there's also a 90 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: sixpence from Queen Elizabeth. And they also you also tell them, 91 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: I'll also be up all night for that sixpence. You 92 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: never know if you'll find him. Either. One would confirm 93 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: that Drake had visited California, I thought, okay, well, yeah 94 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:28,480 Speaker 1: it was. This is the nineteen thirties and there it 95 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: was accepted that he had, but they wanted some hard 96 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: proof that in this plate would have been an incredible 97 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: proof because he used it to mark defined or got 98 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: it got him. Okay, So one day the miraculous occurs, right, Okay, 99 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:49,159 Speaker 1: picture it. It's the spring of nineteen thirty six, twenty 100 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: six year old department store clerk from Oakland. A guy 101 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: named Barrel Shin. You don't like that name, no, I 102 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: just you know, sometimes parents don't think ahead, although maybe 103 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: at the time, like this guy is going to be 104 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: a world burner barrel. Our boy Barrel is gonna go 105 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 1: right to the top. Say now, barrel. The spelling of 106 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: his name is odd. It's b E y r l E. 107 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: I thought it was like barrel, like what you put 108 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: on to go over Niagara Falls. I like that that's 109 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: where you g's your first barrel. There's all the possible 110 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: wine barrel. Nope, the ones that go over Niagara Falls. Whatever. 111 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: So our boy barrel Shin is taking a drive in 112 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: Marin County and now at this time it's pretty much 113 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: rural to dairy farms, you know how it was back then, 114 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: Not that you were there, but you're seeing pictures. So 115 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: his car tire goes flat. There's like nobody around, right, 116 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: so he pulls over and he's like, you know what, today, 117 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: it's too nice for me to deal with this right now. 118 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: I ain't got time for this. BS. Barrel is going 119 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: to go enjoy himself a nice hike. So he's like, yeah, boom, 120 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: kind of a barrel roll. You're gonna keep doing this, 121 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: which just I can't stop it. So Barrel rolls himself 122 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: out of the car and heads off on through a 123 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: hike and it's like, you know, green grassy hills, and 124 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: he says, you know what, I know there's this spot. 125 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: If I can go up over there and then I 126 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: go over that fence, I can see the city from here. 127 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: It'll look super cool from the marine side. So it's 128 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: exactly what he does. He goes on this little short hike. 129 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: He goes up to that spot he knows he can 130 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: see the city and he basically is overlooking what is 131 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: now San Quentin Prison, all right. So he's sitting up 132 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: there above Sam Quentin and he's like going to look 133 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: at the city and he something like catches his eye 134 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: some light coming off the ground, and he looks down 135 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: and he sees this little bit of brass sticking out 136 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: of the dirt, and he's like todd. So he grabs 137 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: it and he's like, you know, kind of dusted off, 138 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: and he noticed it has like writing and it looks old, 139 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: and he's like, that's pretty cool. So he just takes 140 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: it with him when he leaves the hill. Alright, he 141 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: goes back, fixes his flat tire, drives into town, forgets 142 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: about the plate for a while, just you know, it's like, 143 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: that's a cool thing I found. Terrible. Barrel is kind 144 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: of a freewheeler. Like he gets a flat, he's like, 145 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: you know what, time for a hike, break, goes traversing, okay, 146 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: find something cool, doesn't even really read it, and then 147 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: tosses it in the back of the jelape and it's 148 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: like I gotta get back to Oakland and he's just rolling. Yeah, 149 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: Beryl Barrel. Eventually, you know, he does check the plate 150 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: and he sees that on the plate are letters, right, 151 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: he can make out these like it looks like two words. 152 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: He's like, what is that? It's an F R A 153 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: N C I S D R A K K E boom. 154 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: Francis Stree. Nice job. Now you have to understand Barrel is, 155 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: as I said an Oakland store clerk. He's like, not 156 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: not saying the guy, I don't know how intelligent he is, 157 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: but of his own volition. He tells the local press 158 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: when this find is later on announced that quote history 159 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: never met anything to me. So he's like, I don't 160 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: even know what to do with this plate. Friend goes, hey, man, 161 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 1: take it over to Berkeley. All those big brains got 162 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,199 Speaker 1: to know something. What's up with this plate? Right? And 163 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: it's a good idea, bro, I'm gonna go do that. 164 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: So he goes over and who does he run into? 165 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: Herbert E. Bolton, the chair of history at Berkeley, Herbie 166 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: Herbie Herbie. So Herbie inspects to plate closely, and he's like, huh, okay, 167 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: so five by eight brass plate. There's some handwriting on it. 168 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: He's the same thing. F R A n C I S. 169 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: He's freaking out right. He's like, and it's hand scrawled. 170 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: He recognizes it looks correct, it's sixteenth century type, fawn, 171 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: the lettering is correct. He's like, wait a minute, he 172 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: loses his incontinence. The bros like, well, not really, I'm 173 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: just saying it, because you know, he lost his ship. 174 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: Should be really, let's say, respectful of this professor, right, 175 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:45,719 Speaker 1: And he soiled his tweed trousers. So the man is 176 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,559 Speaker 1: beside himself, right, Barrel is sitting there watching and he's like, 177 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: just as he told a newspaperman later on quote, he 178 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: flustered all over the place. Boy was he excited? Right? 179 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: And you're just seeking kind of picture the scene. Now, 180 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: can you imagine that moment for a historian? Sound stranger 181 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: walks in with the greatest fine you may see and 182 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: you're like, you know, Career, that's his holy grail, right, yeah, completely, 183 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: his holy grail as a historian of the West. To 184 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: be able to connect to Drake. It was like in 185 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: a Californian Yeah, now I don't even know quite how 186 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: to best place, Like how how Bolton? You know he 187 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: sees this plate. He doesn't think necessarily purely for himself. 188 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: He doesn't go like I'm gonna be no famous for 189 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 1: finding this. He's just so excited about it. He's a 190 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: true researcher. He focuses entirely on the plate. He tries 191 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: to authenticate it, and he's like, what can I do 192 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: about this? How can I authenticate? And he gets other 193 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: experts to look at it at the university and he's 194 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: like he becomes convinced, absolutely convinced, this is authentico, the 195 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: real deal, Holy Field. He's like, this plate is Sir 196 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: Francis Drake's plate. We found it right. So on April six, 197 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: Professor Bolton calls all of historical colleagues together. He's got 198 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: a big un announcement. Get around, fellows, Suit up, guys, 199 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: put on your best tweet. We're going to an announcement, 200 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: so put on your glad rags. In his words, he says, 201 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: it is a fine quote most sensational, right, you know, 202 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: he talks like this charming. Can't you just picture this guy? 203 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 1: And he's like kind of not like he's a funny daddy. 204 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: But I just keep calling him Bolton, and then in 205 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: my mind I'm either imagining Michael Bolton or John Bolton. 206 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: Oh those are rough, yeah, so rough back and forth 207 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: in my head. But you need to get you a 208 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: new Bolton. But that's kind of how it always is, 209 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: the old rough back and forth in my head. Go on, 210 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna set that aside for now. Okay, So 211 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 1: it's April seven. Now he picks for his big announcement 212 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Alright, a 213 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: little historians, but nice place. Oh, definitely nice place. I 214 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: actually never stayed there, but I've been in a nice place. 215 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: Pressor Bolton takes the stage and he greets his gathered colleagues. 216 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: We look up at him, all these other you know, 217 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: tweetie luminaries, like, what's he got for us? I can't 218 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: imagine what the announcement is going to be. And everyone's 219 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: got a hush falls on the crowd, and he goes 220 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: out there. He lifts up the five by eight plate 221 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 1: and he says, behold Drake's plate, the plate of brass, 222 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:20,679 Speaker 1: California's choicest archaeological treasure. And they all go claps and 223 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: woos and exhortations of excitement. I don't know what his 224 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: story and sounds like when lifted his shirt up, just 225 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: nipple flash. So the crowd's impressed. Right, That's that's how 226 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,839 Speaker 1: it works. Historians are known to be loose people, right, 227 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: and when now all these historians know what this plate means. 228 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: But for you to know exactly what this means, let's 229 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: take a quick break. I'll be right back and I'll 230 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: tell you why these history buffs were so excited and 231 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: what this plate would mean for all of history and 232 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: for you know, Professor Bolton's career, that would be helpful 233 00:12:54,320 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: for me. Enjoy the break, all right, So back to 234 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: our story. Berkeley History Professor Herbert E. Bolton, he gets 235 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: brought a plate by the Oakland Department store clerk, your boy, 236 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: Beryl Shin. Beryl, Yeah, right, it's the flat tired Marin 237 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: Barrel Shin. Now, the the historians are are super excited 238 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 1: because what this will mean for the history of the 239 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: Southwest and for California and just in general. It's one 240 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 1: of those things that it's like kind of a fixation, 241 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: as you pointed out, like the Holy Grail. It's just 242 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: something that even though it's it is just one archaeological find, 243 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,440 Speaker 1: it has great significance to them symbolically. So if it's 244 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: their holy Grail, But why why is that? Well, basically, 245 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: this would be the physical evidence that Drake's expedition actually 246 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: visited California during his top secret world circumnavigation Globe Trek 247 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: sent off by Queen Elizabeth right, and she's like, oh, 248 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: go off, and we have his record. We have like 249 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: he left a voluminous diary and there's all these he 250 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: basically says, obviosit this latitude, this longitude. So he puts 251 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,679 Speaker 1: himself there, but we want a physical proof that he 252 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: set foot on the shores the historians in this space. 253 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: So when the storians and an archaeologists are all sitting 254 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: there gathered at the Sir Francis Drake hotel, and Bolton 255 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,120 Speaker 1: holds up the plate, behole Drake's plate, and they read. 256 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: The body's all excited. Right, you have to understand a 257 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: little bit about Professor Bolton and treasure, right, and also 258 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: about Sir Francis Drake writ large. Professor Bolton was brought 259 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: this old document, this dude Adam Fisher had found. He goes, hey, Professor, 260 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: can you translate this for me? It's in this weird 261 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: old Spanish. And he's like, oh, yes, it's a royal 262 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: Spanish from this certain period of time. And that's cool, cool, 263 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: I don't need at all the details, doc, we can 264 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: you translate it fresh? Boltons like yeah, sure, translates it 265 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 1: and he's like, okay, what you have here is a 266 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: document the details the location of a buried Spanish treasure. 267 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: And the guy's like for real, and he's like, well, 268 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: he knew what he had, but he's like, it really 269 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: does say that. He's yeah, these are all the instructions 270 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: to go find it. And Guy's like, man, Doc, you 271 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: want to maybe go with me on this treasure hunt? 272 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: Pressure Boltons like, no, I'm too busy for a treasure hunt. 273 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: He had history to get to, right, So that sounds okay, right, zo? Yeah. 274 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: Six months later, Bolton hears word that the same dude 275 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: Fisher would come to visit him was busy U and 276 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: he was arranging an export permit agreement with Mexico, with 277 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: the government of Mexico, and he hears about it because 278 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: he needed help. This guy Fisher needed help with the 279 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: permit because he was moving fifty tons of gold. He 280 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: discovered it, he found the treashure. Yeah, fifty tons of gold? Right? 281 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: And now, who's too busy for a treasure? Right? What's up? Professor? 282 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: Who's a smart guy? I just have to say, I 283 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: am never too busy for a treasure why I So 284 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: the gold back then was worth thirty six million dollars, 285 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 1: all right, Professor Bolton's cut would have been eighteen million. 286 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: In today's dollars, his cut would be worth two hundred 287 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 1: and seventy five million dollars. Wow, but he didn't take 288 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: the cut, are you so? No, he didn't. He told 289 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: the guy up two. So the guy didn't come back 290 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: and go, well here's a little bit. It could have 291 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: thrown him a little bit translate, but he's not like, 292 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: you know, take him to dinner. I think he may 293 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: have been attend them in the edible arrangement something. No. Um, 294 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: this like you have to understand that this stuck in 295 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: the professor's cross, right, Like I kind of messed up 296 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: on that one. So now when Drake's plate comes around, 297 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: he's like he's a little bit will and more willing 298 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 1: to risk things because and also he loves this is 299 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: just the money, whatever, Spanish gold, whatever Drake's plate is, 300 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: you know what matters to him. Yeah, So who was 301 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: Sir Francis Drake? Do you know make your California But 302 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: you went to of it schol You went to Catholic school, 303 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: So I don't know like what all you were taught. 304 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,679 Speaker 1: I know the California curriculum, But what do you know 305 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,200 Speaker 1: about Sir Francis Drake. Um? I know that there's a 306 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:14,879 Speaker 1: really long road named after him in Marin County. Um, 307 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: I know that the exit for Sir Francis Drake backs 308 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: up on the one oh one just past sam Quinton 309 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 1: in the morning. No. I remember learning about Sir Francis 310 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: Drake particularly, I think in fourth grade when we did 311 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: California history and we went to on a field trip 312 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: to Marin Headlands, and oh, do you say, I see 313 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 1: Drake's bay. I saw his ghost. That's even better. Yeah, 314 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,719 Speaker 1: we saw Drake's bay. I don't know, you know what, 315 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: I like to keep the past the past. What I'm 316 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: trying to say is, I know they told me something 317 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 1: and they don't remember what. He's an interesting figure because 318 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: I think he doesn't. He gets short shrift now in 319 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: history because he was, you know, a slaver, a colonizer 320 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: in a way that is no longer so sexy and flashy. 321 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,199 Speaker 1: You know, it's like people no longer like he's not 322 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: just an explorer. Right. I had a really well, let's 323 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: just go over a couple of things about Sir Francis Drake. Okay, 324 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: In fifteen seventies seven, Francis Drake was a pirate. Essentially, 325 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: he was the English would have called a privateer, right, 326 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: So as an example of like what he did as 327 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: a privateer, he went over to an Irish island was 328 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:26,760 Speaker 1: called Raithland Island, right, and he slaughtered a bunch of 329 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,719 Speaker 1: Irish men and women and children, and uh killed so 330 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: many of them that he caught the Queen's eye and 331 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: she's like, bring him to me. And Queen Elizabeth is like, yo, 332 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,199 Speaker 1: could you do that to the Spanish? It's like, I 333 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 1: like the cut of your chin. It really gets me 334 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: going heathen Irish, but heathen to them. Yeah. And Drake's like, hey, 335 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:48,959 Speaker 1: Queen bet I'm on it to send me out there, 336 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,160 Speaker 1: give me a boat. I'll chop up them Spanish dogs. 337 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: And she's like, okay, then it is odd. Here's a 338 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: fleet of ships. Go rex shop on the Spanish dogs deal. 339 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: I don't like this one bit, right. Yeah, he's told 340 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: you he's not a really likable He's yeah, he's bad business. 341 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,199 Speaker 1: Now he's also a hardass like this dude. He's like, well, 342 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: I'll tell you I wouldn't imagine it to be a 343 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 1: little soft teddy bear if he's going around murdering families 344 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,160 Speaker 1: and then being like you like that, I got more 345 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: where that came from. That's just my left foot. What 346 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: should we do with my right foot? No? So the 347 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: dude is like he's up there with like the definitely 348 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: Columbus or with Cortez where he just goes over and 349 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: is really cruel to the people he encounters. So but 350 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: also the people with him. There was his his co commanders, 351 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: his dude Thomas Dowdy, right, he wants to get rid 352 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: of Thomas Dowdy. After Thomas Daddy like in the middle 353 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:44,360 Speaker 1: of the Indian Ocean is like just saying, I don't 354 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: believe what you're doing. Man, I'm having problems with your leadership. 355 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: I think we need to go back to England. He's like, 356 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: you know what, you're a witch and you're treating us 357 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 1: and you're a mutineer. I mean that's like the three 358 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: big taste you can say in right. So he's like, dudes, 359 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,959 Speaker 1: like okay with then I demand the trial the English 360 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: law and he's like, nope, the Queen Elizabeth gave me 361 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: special dispensation. I ain't got to do nothing with no 362 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: law here. Well, here's what, here's the trial. You're on 363 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 1: trial before me, and you know what, you're guilty. So 364 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,120 Speaker 1: then he's like that sucks. And Thomas Dowdy like they 365 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: have dinner the night before he like you know, they 366 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,120 Speaker 1: he's going to serve sentence. The two of them are 367 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: like old chums. There's this record that some excribe rights 368 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: basically a witnessed to the dinner. He's like, oh, and 369 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 1: they were the most dear chummy as they had always 370 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: been before. Right. The next day, Drake gets up and 371 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,680 Speaker 1: beheads Thomas Dowdy after sharing an evening of feeding each 372 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: other fatty goose meat. Exactly what a rude rude demand? Well, 373 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: I say, so, he keeps on going. He loses ship 374 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,679 Speaker 1: after ship. His fleet is down to one boat. Right, 375 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: it's called the Pelican, and he decides, you know why 376 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,239 Speaker 1: that's not a good name from my last boat. I'm 377 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,879 Speaker 1: gonna rename it the Golden high Ah. That strikes a 378 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: memory of mine. Remember them telling me about that? Wait 379 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: a minute. He woke up and was like, we've heard 380 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,160 Speaker 1: of that. I know this one. So he starts taking 381 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,360 Speaker 1: the Golden Hind And now he's over in the Pacific, right, 382 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,679 Speaker 1: and he's skirting no long South America. He's raised in Spanish, like, 383 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 1: you know, uh, towns are not really towns, but you 384 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: know the encampments, and he's raiding Spanish ships. He's going 385 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: after because they have the treasure fleet that's pulling all 386 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:18,360 Speaker 1: the silver and gold out of the west, but they're 387 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: not going back all the way to Spain. They go 388 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: to the Philippines, they go that direction. He's catching the 389 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,239 Speaker 1: ships going west. They're coming off the shore, but at 390 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: the same time they're covered by you know, the treasure 391 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,439 Speaker 1: galleons have again escort, so they he doesn't really want 392 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: to run into them. He's looking for like any ship 393 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: that maybe by itself going to meet the flotillas exactly. 394 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: So he catches one and he pulls in basically what 395 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: to be the equivalent of ten million dollars off of 396 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: one ship. It's not the big ship, just gets this 397 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 1: one treasure ship. Yeah. Right, So he continues north after 398 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: he gets that, and he's like, you know, going on. 399 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: He eventually makes it all the way up to Oregon, right, 400 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: and then he goes back south because he's like, oh, 401 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: this place is all foggy and lame, and he goes, yeah, 402 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 1: it's I don't like this was all loggy everyone. So 403 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: he then bumps his way down south and he gets 404 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: to northern California and he shows up at conveniently enough, 405 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:19,920 Speaker 1: Drake's Bay, the bay that eventually obviously hold his name. 406 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: He goes ashore and he claims the land for the 407 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,920 Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth Kingdom. That don't seems weird, right, excuse be 408 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 1: the Queen's queendom, right, But like so he claims the 409 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 1: land for Queen and queendom and names it Nova Albion right, 410 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: which means New Albion anyway. To mark his claim, Drake 411 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: consecrates this land with an engraved brass plate, the plate 412 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: that we've been discussing, and then he and his crew 413 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: just kicking crew. They know they careen. They're like cleaning 414 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: the boat. They're getting ready to make the long trip 415 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: back to England. He's like, look, I'm done with it. 416 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: I've claimed this whole continent. And he doesn't know how 417 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: big it is, but he's like, yeah, the Spanish canna 418 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: have what's south of here? We got all whatever. This 419 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 1: is like beach bonfires and oh yeah, totally like back 420 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 1: like old school burn man stuff, dancing around naked, rubbing 421 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,400 Speaker 1: like charcoal dust on each other's faces and murderous freaks. 422 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: So when Drake arrives back in England, he has so 423 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 1: much treasure that he's stolen because he keeps taking others 424 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: like that's that's just one ship I mentioned. He comes 425 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 1: back and he gives Queen Elizabeth half of his of 426 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: his load. Her half share is more than all of 427 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,120 Speaker 1: England took in that year. Wow. Yeah. So she's like, bro, 428 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: you did it. So I'm going to name you. See 429 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:33,200 Speaker 1: Francis Drake Taparoo doubles them up, double tap And now 430 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 1: there's a hotel in San Francisco named after the prize. 431 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: So this the hotel that we've you know where Bolton 432 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 1: makes his announcement that that plate was real. But was 433 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 1: it real? Okay? There's this group that I mentioned earlier, 434 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: the drunken Lovers of history, and they were called the Clampers. 435 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 1: So the question is these clampers, what was there involved 436 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: men as historical drunken lovers of history? Like, basically, I'll 437 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: back up, I'll put it in seven. Professor Herbert Bolton, 438 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: he puts his full weight of his academic rigor. Right, 439 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: He's like, this plate is authentic. I want everybody to know. 440 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 1: And he says, quote, the authenticity of the tablet seems 441 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: to me beyond all reasonable doubt. Right, it sounds like 442 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 1: all reasonable He tells the Oakland Tribune. If the Drake 443 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,880 Speaker 1: played his bogus. The hoax was perpetrated by someone who 444 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: had not only studied the history of his voyages minutely, 445 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: but who had also had the knowledge of ships fittings 446 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 1: of the sixteenth century. And you know, also there's one 447 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,680 Speaker 1: other thing he said that his finding would quote may 448 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: remake California history. Right. So he then, because he's basically 449 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: risking his reputation, he goes only has some other people 450 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: at Columbia, some experts from the Electrochemical Division, run an 451 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: analysis on his plate, and they're like, oh yeah, bro, 452 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: it's real. This is totally real. So Columbia backs his play, 453 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 1: and now the headlines go out. Right. The plate is 454 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: proclaimed a lost part of California history. School kids learned 455 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,720 Speaker 1: about it in the textbooks. It becomes official California history 456 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: for forty years. Then comes the four hundredth anniversary of 457 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: Drake's arrival. It's the year's nineteen seventy seven, right, somebody's like, Hey, 458 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: that plate that we've always been talking about the last 459 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 1: forty years, what if we tested to really because remember 460 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,360 Speaker 1: there were some people who doubted it when it first 461 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: good Before we go to put it out on display, 462 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,719 Speaker 1: we'll just make sure that it's right better, you know, 463 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: technology completely completely. So the professor is this dude, James d. Hart, Right, 464 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: he's also a UC Berkeley professor. At this point, Herbert 465 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: Bolton is gone, right, he has passed away, So r 466 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: I p our man Herbert Herbert E. So he has 467 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,639 Speaker 1: the this other professor, James de Hart, he has chemists 468 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,200 Speaker 1: at Oxford and Berkeley test the plate. Choker ball Shockers, 469 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: the officially recognized forty year long piece of official history 470 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:04,119 Speaker 1: of California is a fake. Yeah, I know, but he 471 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: didn't live to see it, so he went out thinking 472 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: he was top So the plate had too much zinc 473 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: in the alloy mix and far too little copper. That's 474 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,399 Speaker 1: what the chemists come back. They're like, yeah, this couldn't 475 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: have been made in sixteenth century, and there's also these 476 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: little cuts on the edge, and basically people ruled out 477 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: it on multiple reasons. Right, So, now that the Jake's 478 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,679 Speaker 1: plate is a fake, who would fake this plate of 479 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:33,119 Speaker 1: Sir Francis Drake? The Clampers? Right, who are these clampers? 480 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: I have to know because it sounds like a bunch 481 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 1: of rascals. The Clampers, I will tell you more about 482 00:26:40,840 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 1: them when we're back after this break. Okay, and we're 483 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: back with the final revelation of how this Drake's Plate 484 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,120 Speaker 1: fake could come to be. And I've told you I've 485 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: hinted at it with the Clampers. Have you ever heard 486 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: of the Clampers And they're part of California history. I 487 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: heard about him when you first started talking about that's it. 488 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: So their their official name is the title is the 489 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,439 Speaker 1: Clampus Vitus. It sounds like Latin, right, but it's not. 490 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: Clampus is not a Latin word, yeah right, But what 491 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: do you think it sounds like because I was doing 492 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 1: the same thing as clamp Its, Yeah, Jed Clampit, so 493 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,119 Speaker 1: I don't know. I hadn't look it up right, and 494 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 1: you know he is it is Latin. It means like 495 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: out of like the plurbison, amount of many comes one. 496 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,719 Speaker 1: But then we you have the as you pointed out, 497 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: Clampus is not really Latin, but Vitus is not really 498 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 1: Latin either. It's the name of a saint, Saint Vitus 499 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: or we get the St. Vitus dance from it was Latin, 500 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: it would be Vta, which would be life as you know, 501 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,399 Speaker 1: so it should be at a lampusk lampus vita, and 502 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,160 Speaker 1: that would mean behold the light of life. But they 503 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,000 Speaker 1: decided to because you know the historical funny guys, they 504 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 1: decided to split it and they made it eck e 505 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,639 Speaker 1: Clampus vitus. And so they take this one thing and 506 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: they basically turned into the dog Latin. And now this 507 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,959 Speaker 1: is their sentence. So we made a little twist on Latin. Right. 508 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:25,000 Speaker 1: The group's official motto is also in Latin, and it's 509 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: credo queria absurd um, and that means I believe because 510 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,920 Speaker 1: it is absurd That's kind of my motto. It's your 511 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 1: motto as well, exactly. So that's their whole vibe of 512 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: absurdity and Latin basically, right, No Latin just vibes, just vibes, baby. 513 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:43,959 Speaker 1: So the full name of this order is the Ancient 514 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: and Honorable Order of the Clampus Vitis and the they're 515 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: basically a fraternal society and they call themselves Clampers. And 516 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: they love history. But when they say history, they mean 517 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,680 Speaker 1: street level people's history. They don't like old, rich white 518 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: man's history. And that's their term. That's not me saying that, 519 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: even though I may agree. So this is like yeah, 520 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: kind of, but a little less political. You know, they're 521 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,160 Speaker 1: much more cultural historians, got it um. So they've placed 522 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: a thousand plaques all over California marking special historical things. 523 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: I'm really enjoying this. So the types of things. Here's 524 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: a here's an example of what they They have a 525 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: plaque in the town of Volcano, California, population one that celebrates, quote, 526 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: moose milk. You ever heard of moose milk? I mean, 527 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:29,280 Speaker 1: I mean, like the actual milk of a moose is 528 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: the milk. So it was a gold Rush eric cocktail. 529 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: I think bourbon rum and heavy cream. Wait is that 530 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: a real thing? It was a real drink. Yeah, And 531 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: so they had this bar they used to make it. 532 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: So they put up like a plaque celebrating just the 533 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 1: idea of moose milk. But like, give it up from moosemelk. 534 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 1: Another example is a in the town of Murphy's, another 535 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 1: gold Rush town, they slapped up a plaque that celebrated 536 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: the historic sabertooth tiger that once was in that area. 537 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: There's another town and the town of lee Vining, population 538 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: I have been there. You by Mono Lake and every Okay, 539 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: so there's Silent film star Nellie Bligh had a house 540 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: built out there that was built upside down. Okay, that's 541 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,719 Speaker 1: a whole other thing. On the Clampers went out there, 542 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 1: they put up a plaque and they hung it upside 543 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: down to mark the That's cute, celebrate good times. Come on, 544 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: that's cute. Have you ever seen a clamper plaque anywhere? 545 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: I've never seen one. No, But now I want to 546 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 1: find them and go, like, that's a really good road 547 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: trip seeking out the clamper plaques. There ghost towns, um 548 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: the gold Rush towns, Old West, like old Sacramento. That's 549 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: the kind of places that I'm already big into that. 550 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:39,720 Speaker 1: But there's the whole silly plaques. Well, they're basically create this. 551 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 1: For me, I'm thinking it's real peak California. I'm i 552 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 1: am peake California. The concept of peak California. Do you 553 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: want to like, how would you articulate that? It's a 554 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 1: sort of an aesthetic and I hate to say it, 555 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: but a vibe. But there's this I look at like 556 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 1: peak California occurred in between like the mid sixties to 557 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 1: the mid to late seventies in my mind, and it 558 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: has to do with the landscapes, so it doesn't necessarily 559 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: have to be in that timeframe. But if you're in 560 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: the landscape in California with like the rolling Golden hills, 561 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:20,800 Speaker 1: there's the smell of like eucalyptus and bailey and ocean 562 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: air and California poppies scattered about, that's like sort of 563 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,520 Speaker 1: peak California. So it's like if you could smell the 564 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,800 Speaker 1: cinematography of Harold and Maud Yes Binga, Okay, so that 565 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 1: peak California is what they also kind of like to 566 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 1: celebrate that feeling, that vibe, if you will, Right, But 567 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 1: for them, it's much more about like the gold Rush, 568 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: and like that's their version of peate California, but very 569 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: much a similar thing to what you're describing. Right. So 570 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: the Ancient and Honorable Order of Eclampus Vitis they get 571 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: kicked off in the gold Rush. They actually started in 572 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: the gold Rush in eighteen fifty one. Right. This was 573 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:57,000 Speaker 1: the group of called it, quote a gold miner's burlesque fraternity. 574 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: You just love that, but it just makes me think 575 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: have like an old timey piano playing. Now, over time, 576 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: they they eventually just you know, fell apart. The original 577 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: configuration of the group dies off was pretty much with 578 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 1: the gold Rush. As people move on, they move on 579 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: to the Klondike and other gold strikes, that vibe falls apart. 580 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: Brett Hartley's Mark Twain leaves Everyone's like me Clampers. Then 581 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:23,320 Speaker 1: the Clampers come back. There are now forty chapters in California. 582 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: Really they're very popular. Like I've run into them in 583 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: like Nevada and stuff, and the problematic or is this 584 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: something that I might want to get into, I'll just 585 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: say this way. We have people who love history, and 586 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: that history is pretty much a a Western history. You're 587 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: often often going to run into some racists who have 588 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: fetishized the history. So there is there is that risk 589 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 1: that I felt when I was around some of the 590 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 1: Clampers of like your facial hair says racism. I don't 591 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,720 Speaker 1: know why, but it does. There's just that right, But 592 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: I love that Still. I'm not I'm not saying I'm 593 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: not tarring them with one feather or one what do 594 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 1: you call one brush? You know, I'm not saying that 595 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: all of them are like that, but there's you run 596 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 1: into that vibe occasionally. Also, this happens with like a 597 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 1: Nordic those celebrations you know, you're like people in the 598 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: Viking culture exactly, You're like, oh, you know, yeah, some 599 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 1: former members of the Clampers. Just to give you a 600 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 1: sense of who these people were. One who wanted to 601 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: bring this back. It was like a kind of an 602 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: honor roll of the early California luminary. So you have 603 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 1: like film director John Houston, but it lasts like we're 604 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 1: like another clamper. Is Herb Kane the San Francisco column 605 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 1: is super awesome? Right? Another example of one was that 606 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: the Hammy actor he used to perform with the Monkeys 607 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 1: and old movies. Um, oh, Ronald Reagan. I think he 608 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: went into politics after the Monkey movies. Yeah, that guy, 609 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 1: he was a clamper. Really. Yeah, So you have a 610 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:51,680 Speaker 1: historical drinking society that loves plaques, loves California and admits 611 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: Ronald Reagan is this group good? But I can't tell 612 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 1: what's up with them? Right? Would you going to go 613 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: to a meeting? Hell? Yeah, okay, so I mean I'll go, 614 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: I'll do I'll go anywhere until they kick me out, 615 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: like or I'd leave in in a in a fit 616 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 1: of disgust. So yeah, exactly, kicking over furniture, you know, 617 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,919 Speaker 1: as I always I'll try anything twice. Oh twice, look 618 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: at you. I'm only willing to do it once. Well 619 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,800 Speaker 1: when first time might be bad on a fluke or whatever. 620 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:16,640 Speaker 1: So I'll do that with food. Like if I went 621 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 1: to one Clamper meeting and I was like now and 622 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 1: then I left, I might be like, well, maybe that 623 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 1: was just that particular chapter, and I check out another 624 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 1: chapter and they're your broad minded that I really am. Yeah, 625 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,600 Speaker 1: so the Clappers probably would dig you. They think of 626 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:33,719 Speaker 1: themselves as like the clown princes of the Freemasons. They're 627 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: like the Lookma no pants version of the American Historical Society. Right. 628 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:41,080 Speaker 1: So because they're all history nerds, they're also like heavy 629 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:43,800 Speaker 1: on the nerd part, so they take everything super seriously. 630 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,560 Speaker 1: This brings us back to our Herbert E. Bolton So 631 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: as a reminder, I'm not sure if I told you this, 632 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: but I think I mentioned it. He was the Grand 633 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:56,520 Speaker 1: Royal Historian of the original revived chapter, the Erba Buena Chapter, 634 00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 1: which is in San Francisco. So he's this vital member 635 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: of the Clampers, right, But he's also a member of 636 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:07,279 Speaker 1: the legit California Historical Society. The clampers, like they pull 637 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: off this historical scam. Why would they scam one of 638 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,960 Speaker 1: their own. He had to know that they were they 639 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:19,439 Speaker 1: were plaquers. They went spreading the plaques. This didn't dawn 640 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: on him, like the calls coming from inside the house. Yeah, well, 641 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:25,680 Speaker 1: I'll tell you this much. He wasn't in on it. 642 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: He went as I said before he went to his grave, 643 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 1: fully confident in the quality of Drake's plate. He was like, 644 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: it's real. Now two decades later the truth comes out. 645 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 1: So what is the truth? Well, back to our clampers. Okay, 646 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:42,120 Speaker 1: there were five men who conspired to embarrass their esteemed colleague, 647 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 1: Herbertie Bolton. Wait, so he was targeted with this. They 648 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:47,160 Speaker 1: wanted to make his wildest dreams come true and that 649 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 1: became his curse. So it's like a gift. But no, 650 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 1: not not necessarily. They wanted to embarrass him. They did. Oh, 651 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:57,120 Speaker 1: we'll get into that. It was just described as a prank. 652 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,160 Speaker 1: But as you hear about the nature of it, I 653 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:01,080 Speaker 1: think some of them are panking, but one of them 654 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: was not pranking. This is a true roller coaster ride, 655 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: because I go from really liking to them. Oh no, 656 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:10,400 Speaker 1: it's all over the place. So here, I'll just tell 657 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,279 Speaker 1: you about these these five men and we'll get into 658 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:15,600 Speaker 1: their clamper spirit. You can, you know, decide on your own. 659 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,560 Speaker 1: So they start this prank, right, and then they don't 660 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,759 Speaker 1: expect it to go so well. They don't expect him 661 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 1: to be so excited and go to the press. Look 662 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:27,000 Speaker 1: what I found. It's Drake's plate, right, So they can't 663 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:29,920 Speaker 1: control what's happening. Their hoax gets out of their hands, 664 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 1: and you have to understand. Okay, I'll just tell you 665 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,719 Speaker 1: the practicals of how they pulled it off. An Alameda 666 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 1: shipbuilder constructed the brass plate, right, so they these nerds 667 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: had hand carved it. They put the lettering into the plate. 668 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,279 Speaker 1: They made sure that it matched sixteenth century spellings, and 669 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:48,080 Speaker 1: they got the grammar one of them like it was 670 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:50,120 Speaker 1: like eyeballing it to make sure it had the right pettina. 671 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,200 Speaker 1: They all had different specialties, all right, so they expected 672 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,360 Speaker 1: it to be convincing, but they didn't expect it to 673 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,200 Speaker 1: be so convincing, right, And they also had left marks 674 00:36:58,239 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: on it to kind of go a little winking a nut. 675 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,560 Speaker 1: You're like, oh, this is not real, bro, but barrel 676 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 1: or old man barrel shin on his eye when he 677 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:08,239 Speaker 1: found it. He found it not where they left it. 678 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:11,080 Speaker 1: Someone else had found it first and threw it there, 679 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,200 Speaker 1: and then Barrel finds it. So it has a little 680 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:15,080 Speaker 1: extra on it. So now it looks maybe I let 681 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:18,560 Speaker 1: it know a little bit more. So the hoaxters basically 682 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,839 Speaker 1: they were like, um, you know, they try to get 683 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,719 Speaker 1: Bolton to basically shut up in in the public. They've 684 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,879 Speaker 1: embarrassed him more than they want to. So they're doing 685 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,000 Speaker 1: things like they write an op ed to the paper 686 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:32,960 Speaker 1: like maybe it's fake, bro, have you ever checked this? 687 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:37,240 Speaker 1: It gets ignored. They write a pamphlet entitled The Preposterous 688 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,120 Speaker 1: Book of Brass with ease all at the end. And 689 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:41,720 Speaker 1: I know that when I want to put a stop 690 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:44,200 Speaker 1: to something, I write a pamphlet, right the first thing 691 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do. And then the pamphlet they say, check 692 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:49,520 Speaker 1: the back, there's a hidden message. It's in paint. Look 693 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:53,400 Speaker 1: on the back, stay, look on the back. Nobody the 694 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:57,120 Speaker 1: pamphlet doesn't. Nobody hears it, right, So the five Clampers, 695 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 1: these dudes, their names are g Ezra Dane Jr. Haviln Baron, 696 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:06,399 Speaker 1: George C. Clark, Lorenznol and Albert Dressler. Dane's the ringleader, right, 697 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:09,480 Speaker 1: He's he's a core member of the e Clampus Vitus 698 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,640 Speaker 1: back in the early thirties. He's a history buff like 699 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: all the others. He wrote three books, two with his 700 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 1: mother and his last who's called Ghost Town. In it, 701 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,360 Speaker 1: he records interviews with all the oldest residents of this 702 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,280 Speaker 1: town called Colombia up in Twolomee County in the Gold Country, 703 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:26,239 Speaker 1: and it's like considered an actual living record of the 704 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:29,360 Speaker 1: speech of how gold diggers talked because they're so old 705 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 1: at that time, the thirty you could actually get some 706 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:32,560 Speaker 1: people who were still alive and they remember. So he 707 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:35,239 Speaker 1: basically records the speech of the gold diggers and the 708 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,799 Speaker 1: Gold era, so it's like a great historical record, right. 709 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:40,279 Speaker 1: Like Bolton, he really does care about the history and 710 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:42,560 Speaker 1: he doesn't care about his you know, his colleague Bolton 711 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:47,400 Speaker 1: too much. So Dane knew Bolton through the Clampers, right, 712 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,799 Speaker 1: He's like, you know, they're they're friendly. He's the one 713 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:53,440 Speaker 1: who's like, you know, we need to put this this 714 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,719 Speaker 1: e c V for you know, e Clampus Vitus on 715 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:58,279 Speaker 1: the back, and they do it, and they pait it 716 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: and glow in the dark fluorescent ain't and they figure 717 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,480 Speaker 1: that'll trigger him. That's his addition, right, So among the 718 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:09,000 Speaker 1: co conspirators was this dude, George Havilyn Baron. Remember that 719 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,359 Speaker 1: name because he's the one. In nineteen o nine, he's 720 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,600 Speaker 1: been appointed the curator of California History at San Francisco's 721 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:18,759 Speaker 1: d Young Museum. Right, that's like a cool museum. It's 722 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:22,279 Speaker 1: like it's like a naturalist museum. Super cool. Yeah, he 723 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,520 Speaker 1: pretty much was like, you know, the way that Bolton 724 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:28,399 Speaker 1: is saying what history is from the university, he's doing 725 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:29,920 Speaker 1: that for the public. So these are kind of like 726 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:33,600 Speaker 1: peers in that regard, but they also are rivals. Baron 727 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,920 Speaker 1: loses his job in nineteen thirty three and he blames 728 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:39,680 Speaker 1: Bolton for it, and he gets pushed out of the 729 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,600 Speaker 1: curator at the d Young Museum, and he's like, there's 730 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 1: only one person who people would listen to, who could over, 731 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:46,359 Speaker 1: who could say that I don't deserve this job. So 732 00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 1: he gets all mad about that and what's his revenge. Well, 733 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,440 Speaker 1: since he's a member of the California Historical Society, just 734 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:53,880 Speaker 1: like Bolton, He's like, you know what I'm gonna do. 735 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:56,279 Speaker 1: I'm gonna embarrass that guy in front of all of 736 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,400 Speaker 1: our people. So allegedly it was his hatred of Bolton 737 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,279 Speaker 1: that is the driver for this embarrassing hoax. It wasn't 738 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:04,759 Speaker 1: just the rest of the co conspirators. They're like, oh, yeah, 739 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:06,480 Speaker 1: this will be great. We'll have this fun thing, will 740 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,879 Speaker 1: embarrass him. And Baron's like, yeah, yeah, that's a yell 741 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:12,240 Speaker 1: embarrass him. Yeah, do it? Do it? Scratch the place 742 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:17,080 Speaker 1: all right. So another co conspirator, Lorenzo Nol, tells us, 743 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,600 Speaker 1: you know, in the through the historic record, that it 744 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,399 Speaker 1: was Barren who's like, you know, we need to get 745 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:23,279 Speaker 1: this guy, and he's like, these are all the things 746 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,799 Speaker 1: we would knew that would fool him. So Baron goes 747 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:28,279 Speaker 1: and he purchases a one eighth inch thick piece of 748 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,719 Speaker 1: commercial rolled brass from the Alameda Channelry. Then he pays 749 00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:34,000 Speaker 1: a shipbuilder to cut the brass sheet to fit to 750 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,960 Speaker 1: the desired size of the sheet. And then once he 751 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,200 Speaker 1: has all this fabricated, he goes and he hands inscribes 752 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: something right, and then he takes the plate over to 753 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:47,120 Speaker 1: the marine shore and it's not exactly where Barrel finds it, right, 754 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,040 Speaker 1: So it gets moved. We know that because he he 755 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,000 Speaker 1: says where it was, just where they had put it. 756 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:53,799 Speaker 1: His plan was to lead Bolton over there, discover it 757 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:55,440 Speaker 1: and be like, oh, look at that. What is that? 758 00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,440 Speaker 1: You wanted to see him discover it. But Barrel discovers 759 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,400 Speaker 1: it before he can set his trap. He doesn't even 760 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 1: get a spring his ego trap, right, so he's all now. 761 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:08,600 Speaker 1: In two thousand one, these notes are discovered in Berkeley's 762 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 1: Bancroft Library that Lorenz Noel, one of the co conspirators, 763 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:14,400 Speaker 1: had left behind after his death. Historians dig through it. 764 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:16,720 Speaker 1: They find wait a minute, this is totally a hoax. 765 00:41:16,719 --> 00:41:19,120 Speaker 1: Now they have all of the evidence from Noel's notes 766 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 1: right now. The historians had created a team to research 767 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,400 Speaker 1: this story. They write a story in two thousand three 768 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:28,319 Speaker 1: and they publish it. You can find this online. It's 769 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: a good you should read it now. This all happened 770 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:34,879 Speaker 1: seven decades after the hoax was first enacted. And this 771 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,560 Speaker 1: was all done so that Baron could settle a score 772 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,640 Speaker 1: like a museum curator and his story history professors who 773 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:43,440 Speaker 1: are both members of the secret drinking club or drinking 774 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,920 Speaker 1: society with a history problem. This is all done just 775 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:54,120 Speaker 1: because of their little rivalry. That's wild. Baron. He like, 776 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:57,040 Speaker 1: he's the in my opinion, the bad guy. I want 777 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,239 Speaker 1: you to recognize one other little bit before we go 778 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:06,320 Speaker 1: about my man. Professor Bolton back to Beryl Shin. Beryl was, uh, 779 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,960 Speaker 1: he had a fiance when he discovered the plate, right, 780 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:11,480 Speaker 1: and he takes the plate to the Drake's plate to 781 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:14,400 Speaker 1: Professor Bolton. He's like, look, here's his a thing. Here's 782 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:17,279 Speaker 1: this plate. Professor Bolton gets all excited. He's oh my god, 783 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:18,839 Speaker 1: this is I can't believe this. Where do you find it? 784 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:20,400 Speaker 1: And he's like, look, bra I'll sell it to you. 785 00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:23,920 Speaker 1: Professor Boltons like, oh okay, yeah, fine, he's like and 786 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:26,680 Speaker 1: then he's like, Professor Bolton, don't let them short shift 787 00:42:26,719 --> 00:42:29,479 Speaker 1: you on this. You gotta get maximum dollar. Like you said, 788 00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:32,000 Speaker 1: this is a major historical fine, don't let the university 789 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:33,520 Speaker 1: short you. And he's like, oh, I'll get you as 790 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:35,480 Speaker 1: much as I can. He's like, no, I'm talking for you. 791 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,640 Speaker 1: Don't let them make them respect you. Man. He's like okay. 792 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:41,439 Speaker 1: He goes he gets two thousand dollars and he gives 793 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:42,799 Speaker 1: it to Barrel and he's like, here, you go for 794 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:46,080 Speaker 1: the plate. And that would be about now. So Barrel 795 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:48,200 Speaker 1: goes and he takes his wife and they go get married, 796 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,480 Speaker 1: they buy a house, they use this money. So some 797 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:54,880 Speaker 1: good was it comes from this story? Right? Well? He 798 00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:58,680 Speaker 1: Barrel described Bolton as he said, uh quote, he made 799 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:00,560 Speaker 1: it possible for me to get that too, thousand dollars. 800 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:02,920 Speaker 1: He's a good guy, all right, and smart too. And 801 00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:05,839 Speaker 1: so I just like focusing on that part of the story, 802 00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,759 Speaker 1: which is ultimately Bolton was a hero in a way 803 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:12,240 Speaker 1: that he would never know. His plate made a whole family, 804 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:14,240 Speaker 1: and we don't know what will come of that family, 805 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:17,320 Speaker 1: but it's far more valuable to history than confirming something 806 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:21,680 Speaker 1: that we already knew. Yeah, true, right, So I like 807 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:25,000 Speaker 1: to think of that as a ridiculous tale of history, 808 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:29,640 Speaker 1: drinking and male ego. That's exactly what that is. So 809 00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:31,759 Speaker 1: what's your ridiculous takeaway here? What do you think our 810 00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:35,239 Speaker 1: ridiculous takeaway is? Well, I think the ridiculous takeaway is 811 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:38,160 Speaker 1: that if you're going to first of all, a prank 812 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,319 Speaker 1: can very easily spiral into a crime. Oh yes, I 813 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:43,600 Speaker 1: know this well as someone who's done as I had. 814 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:45,920 Speaker 1: When the sheriff called me and said, hey man, we 815 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,239 Speaker 1: saw what you did. I think if you're going to 816 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,319 Speaker 1: do a prank, a lot of times, it's easy to 817 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:56,000 Speaker 1: forget what the later ramifications will be or to imagine 818 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,840 Speaker 1: them fully. Yeah, that was. They had no idea that 819 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,600 Speaker 1: they were going to change everything they thought they were. Yeah, 820 00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:04,279 Speaker 1: they just thought that they were going to make this 821 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,040 Speaker 1: and like bust this guy and embarrass him. And instead 822 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:11,000 Speaker 1: they changed the entire way that people were taught things 823 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:13,879 Speaker 1: and school kids to be taught alive for forty years, 824 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,080 Speaker 1: the historians basically created a miseducation. Yeah, but you know what, 825 00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:21,479 Speaker 1: maybe history is all alive. I'm just gonna get deep. 826 00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:26,399 Speaker 1: Damn take it there. Well, that's my story for this week. 827 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:32,520 Speaker 1: That I'm Elizabeth Dutton, I'm Szaron Burnett. You can find 828 00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 1: us online a Ridiculous Crime on both Twitter and Instagram. 829 00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:38,399 Speaker 1: You got a tip for us about ridiculous Crime you'd 830 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:40,719 Speaker 1: like to hear about. You want to confess to Ridiculous Crime. 831 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:42,880 Speaker 1: You just wanted his emails and tell us we're cute. 832 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:45,919 Speaker 1: Go ahead, email us a Ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com. 833 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:54,680 Speaker 1: Thank you. Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and 834 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:58,080 Speaker 1: Zaron Burnett, produced and edited by professor of vibes, Dave Couston, 835 00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,520 Speaker 1: researches by the Dean of all Things in and Rrey 836 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,719 Speaker 1: Marissa Brown. Our theme song is a Boy. The chairs 837 00:45:02,719 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 1: of the music department Dr Thomas Lee and Dr Travis Dutton. 838 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:09,280 Speaker 1: Executive producers are Sir Ben Boland and His Majesty No Brown. 839 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:15,719 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeart Radio. For more 840 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:18,319 Speaker 1: podcasts to my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 841 00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:21,280 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.