1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Few people throughout history have contributed to the 7 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: development of the modern world more than Renee des Cartes. 8 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: He was a philosopher, a scientist, and a mathematician who 9 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: wrote on a variety of subjects. He believed that the 10 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: human body possessed the spirits of animals, which affected the 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: human soul, and he also helped prove our own existence 12 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: with the phrase that I'm sure you've heard before. I 13 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: think therefore I am. But perhaps the most interesting part 14 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: of descartes life didn't actually occur while he was alive. 15 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: It was how he got ahead after he died. Descartes 16 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,279 Speaker 1: hailed from tour in France and helped shape the age 17 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: of Enlightenment of the seventeenth century. His life was relatively short, 18 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: with the noted philosopher passing away from pneumonia in Sweden 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: at the age of fifty three. But in his wake, 20 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: he didn't just lead behind one of the most influential 21 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: legacies ever recorded, he also left a surprisingly tantalizing skull. 22 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: You see, Descartes died at a particularly gruesome time when 23 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 1: the dead, especially dead celebrities, were not always allowed to 24 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: rest in peace. Grave robbing and sales of remains were 25 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,839 Speaker 1: popular pastimes for people looking to make a quick buck. 26 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: After his initial burial in a Catholic cemetery in Stockholm, Sweden, 27 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: his body was transferred to the Saint Etienne du Monts 28 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: in Paris in sixteen sixty six, but it wouldn't stay 29 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: there forever. The French Revolution of the seventeen nineties brought 30 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: with it the fear of losing descartes remains forever, so 31 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: he was dug up to be moved once again. However, 32 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 1: the man who exhumed the body, an archaeologist named Alexander Lenoir, 33 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: noticed that he wasn't all there. Literally, all that remained 34 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: of Renee Descartes were his femur, tibia, and some skull fragments. 35 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: Lenoir abscond with the few bones left behind and fashioned 36 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: them into a set of rings. But what happened to 37 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: the skull. Well, while descartes remains were being reinterred in 38 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: eighteen eighteen, everyone noticed the missing cranium, and one man 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,399 Speaker 1: in attendance, a chemist by the name of jonce yaka Brazilius, 40 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: happened to be visiting France at the time. He eventually 41 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: returned to Stockholm and a few years later found out 42 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: that a wealthy Swedish man had bought the skull at auction. 43 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: This collector had allegedly wanted it as part of his 44 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: eccentric collection of oddities, which he kept in what was 45 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: called a Wunderkammer. A Wunderkammer, by the way, was actually 46 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: one of the most appropriate places for descartes missing skull 47 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: to end up. It's a German word that means cabinets 48 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: of curiosities. Hey, how about that? Anyway, Brazilius met with 49 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: the collector and persuaded him to part with the skull. 50 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: It didn't take more than a quick glance for Brazilius 51 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: to know that he now possessed the real deal, how 52 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: because someone had gone to the trouble of labeling it 53 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: for him. Written across the forehead was the identity of 54 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: the person who had taken it from its grave a 55 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: man named Plantstrom. You see, back in sixteen sixty six. 56 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: Planstrom had actually been tasked with guarding Descartes's body on 57 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: its way back to France. However, he didn't really watch 58 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: over it. It was more like he looted it, taking 59 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: the skull for himself. After his own death, it was 60 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: revealed that Planstrom had been in serious debt, and the 61 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: skull was given to a brewer in Stockholm as payment 62 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: for the money that he owed him. The skull was 63 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: then passed down from father to son before making its 64 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: way into the hands of various other owners. Several of 65 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: those owners added to Planstrom's note with inscriptions of their 66 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: own writing directly onto the skull. Once Brasilius got his 67 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: hands on it, he brought it back to France, where 68 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: it has remained ever since, stored safely at the Musa 69 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: Delme in Paris. Or is it not. According to scholars 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: at Lund University in Sweden, they believe that the writing 71 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: on the skull doesn't actually prove that it was Descartes. 72 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: In fact, they claim it's proof that the object is 73 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: certainly a fake. The real skull doesn't exist anymore, well, 74 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,799 Speaker 1: not in one piece. Anyway, a fragment of parietal bone 75 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: that was donated to the university in seventeen eighty bears 76 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: a curious inscription, the skull of Descartes number six. The 77 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: number six seems to indicate that there are at least 78 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: five other pieces out there, and perhaps more. In fact, 79 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: researchers believe that descartes skull was a victim of a 80 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: practice called skull blasting. This was a way of separating 81 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: the cranial bones along their seams or suitures. The result 82 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: turned a skull into a series of individual bones that 83 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,280 Speaker 1: could then be sold to the highest bidders. They grew 84 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: quite popular during the sixteenth and seventeen centuries among vendors 85 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: who trafficked in unusual goods. But even the authenticity of 86 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 1: the skull fragment at Lund University is up for debate, 87 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: leaving many to wonder what really happened to the Philosopher's skull, 88 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: and we may never get an answer. All we can 89 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: do is philosophies it was, therefore it might still be. 90 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: The Beatles had a pretty contentious relationship with the spiritual realm. 91 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: Although they had been raised as either Protestant or Roman Catholic, 92 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: they eventually gave up their original religions to pursue other beliefs. 93 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: George Harrison studied with Hindu gurus, and all four band 94 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: members learned from an Indian yogi during the nineteen sixties, 95 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: but nothing really stuck With John Lennon. He shunned all 96 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: forms of organized religion, although considered himself a religious and 97 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: spiritual person. In an interview back in September of nineteen eighty, 98 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 1: he was quoted as saying people always got the image 99 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 1: I was an anti Christ or anti religion. I'm not. 100 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: I'm a most religious fellow. So it was no wonder 101 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: that Lenin was someone who participated in non traditional spiritual practices. 102 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:26,799 Speaker 1: For example, in the nineteen sixties, he employed a personal 103 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: astrologist named Alex Martis, also known as Magic Alex. Magic 104 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: Alex would consult the stars and provide insights into Lennon's future. 105 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty nine, John and Yoko were on a 106 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: vacation in Greece with Magic Alex in tow when John 107 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: asked him to tell him about his future, what would 108 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: it be like, what would happen to him next? And 109 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: Alex seemingly didn't know. The Beatles would break up just 110 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: a few months later, but he did have a premonition 111 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: of something bad happening to Lenin. According to Magic Alex, 112 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: the singer songwriter was in grave danger. He was going 113 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: to be killed by a gunshot on an island. The 114 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: couple were understandably shocked by the prediction and immediately canceled 115 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: their scheduled boat trip around the Greek Islands. Later that week, 116 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: John and Yoko returned home and continued to live their 117 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: lives normally, eventually moving to New York City in nineteen 118 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: seventy one. Lennon then became an activist and an outspoken 119 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: critic of the Vietnam War, which nearly got him deported 120 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: by the Nixon administration. He had a successful solo career 121 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: and even collaborated with legendary artists such as David Bowie 122 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: and Elton John, But in nineteen eighty he came face 123 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: to face with his fate in a way that he 124 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: never saw coming. That fate's name was Mark David Chapman. 125 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: Chapman was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in nineteen fifty 126 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: five to a father in the Air Force and a 127 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: mother who worked as a nurse. He had a rough childhood, 128 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: his father was often abusive to him and to his mother, 129 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: while he faced regular bullying at school. Chapman eventually moved 130 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: to Georgia and found religio as a born again Presbyterian. 131 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: He got a job working at the local y m 132 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: c A as a camp counselor during the summer of 133 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, when he was sixteen years old. He 134 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: was beloved by both the kids and the staff. But 135 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: around the same time, Chapman discovered something that would change 136 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: his outlook on the world forever. In fact, it became 137 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: something of an obsession. It was a book by author J. D. 138 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: Salinger called The Catcher in the Rye. The story followed 139 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: a disillusioned teenager named Holden Caulfield who felt alienated by 140 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: the world around him. It was a world filled with 141 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: adults he called phonies, hypocritical and shallow, people who couldn't 142 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: see what they had become. Chapman internalized the novel to 143 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: a disturbing extent. He didn't just see himself in Caulfield, 144 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: he wanted to be him. Chapman had been a big 145 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: Beatles fan when he was younger, but resented John Lennon 146 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: for a statement that he had made back in nineteen 147 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: sixty six when he had called the band more popular 148 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: than Jesus. The hyper religious. Chapman wouldn't stand for such 149 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: blasphemous remarks. Lennon's hypocritical beliefs also bothered him. After all, 150 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: Lenin was a successful musician with millions of dollars, yet 151 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: he's sang about living a life of peace without material things. 152 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,560 Speaker 1: Chapman traveled to New York City in December of nineteen eighty, 153 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: then checked into the Sheraton Hotel on December eighth. He 154 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: exited the hotel, leaving his clothing and other belongings behind 155 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: for the authorities to find later. He bought a new 156 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: copy of The Catcher in the Rye at a nearby 157 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: store and wrote the words this is my statement on 158 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: the inside, and then he signed it Holden Caulfield. Chapman 159 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 1: found his way over to West seventy two Streets on 160 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: Manhattan's upper west side. This was the home of the 161 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: Dakota co Op building, where John and Oko lived. Chapman 162 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 1: hung out there all day waiting to catch a glimpse 163 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: of Lenin. He spotted both John and Yoko leaving the 164 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,719 Speaker 1: building as they headed to a recording session around five PM. 165 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: Chapman even got Lennon to sign a CD for him 166 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: in the process, but hours later, around eleven pm, he 167 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: was still at the Dakota. The couple eventually returned from 168 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: the studio, and as they entered the building, Chapman pulled 169 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: out a thirty eight Special revolver and fired four bullets 170 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,439 Speaker 1: into John Lennon's back and shoulder. When the police arrived, 171 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: they found the shooter sitting by himself. He was reading 172 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: the catcher in the rye and willingly allowed them to 173 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: take him into custody. Lennon sadly passed away from his 174 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 1: injuries on the way to the hospital. The strange part 175 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: was that John Lennon had known he was going to die, 176 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: just not at that moment. He had been told eleven 177 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: years earlier that he would be killed by a bullet 178 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: on an island. What he didn't realize was that island 179 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:41,199 Speaker 1: would be Manhattan, and the bullet would be fired by 180 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: one of his fans. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 181 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 182 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 183 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 184 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 1: and Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 185 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 186 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: book series, and television show and you can learn all 187 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com. 188 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious, Yeah,