1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: Let me tell you a curious story from South Munster, 7 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: in Ireland, before recorded history. A chieftain falls in battle. 8 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: Dying of his injuries, he crawls to the banks of 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: the River Lee, and there he lies upon a large 10 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: flat stone and waits to die. Now his identity has 11 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: been lost to time, but not so for the woman 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: who finds him by the river. She was the Queen 13 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: of the Fairies, a woman of immense power. For many 14 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: years she had doated on this chieftain, but she had 15 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: been unable to win his love. As his blood ran 16 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: onto the stone at the river's edge, she wept for him, 17 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: her tears mixing with the blood upon the rock. She 18 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: kissed the stone as well, and with the gesture her 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: powers sank into the mineral itself. Countless centuries later, in 20 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: the fifteenth century, Kormick Lardit McCarthy, ninth, Lord of Muskery, 21 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: was facing a dilemma. He was to appear before Queen 22 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: Elizabeth the First to make an appeal to keep his 23 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: ancestral lands. On the eve of this appearance, he prayed 24 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: to the pagan goddess Cleona. That night he would be 25 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: visited by this very same Queen of the Fairies, and 26 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: she told him that there was a stone in his 27 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: castle that had absorbed her magic. If he was to 28 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: kiss that stone, any problem he had would be resolved. 29 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: And of course he followed her advice, and after he 30 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: kissed that stone, he was able to eloquently argue his 31 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: case against the Queen and keep his land. This is 32 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: one of the many legends that circulate around a particular 33 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: castle in Ireland, or, more specifically, a part of that 34 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 1: castle's battlements, a block of limestone set into the tower 35 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: sometime around fourteen forty six. What makes this block so 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: special has been shrouded in myth and fanciful history. There's 37 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: not a single part of the story that everyone agrees on, 38 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: up to and including the ways in which Cormick, Lord 39 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: of Muskery, learned of its special powers. One myth says 40 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,839 Speaker 1: that Cormick rescued an old woman from drowning in a river, 41 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: and the woman, revealing herself to be a witch, informed 42 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: him of this magical stone that existed in the foundations 43 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: of his own castle. A more historically grounded tale says 44 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: that this stone was a gift from Robert the Bruce 45 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,119 Speaker 1: to Cormick in thanks for aiding him in battle during 46 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: the First War of Scottish Independence. This would imbue the 47 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: stone with great significance, having been gifted from Scotland to Ireland. 48 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: The legend even claims that this stone is from the 49 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: same bed as the Stone of Scoon, the traditional stone 50 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: used in the ceremony to crown Scottish and later British monarchs. 51 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: It's an appealing tale of solidarity, although the geology tells 52 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: a very different story. You see, the Stone of Scon 53 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: is red sandstone, while the Stone of Cormick Lardit McCarthy's 54 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,119 Speaker 1: castle is three hundred and thirty million year old limestone, 55 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: more similar in composition to the rock in the south 56 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: of Ireland. This also cast out on another of the 57 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: stone's fanciful origin stories, that it was the stone the 58 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: biblical figure Jacob slept on in the Holy Land, the 59 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: resting place that gave him a vision of the latter 60 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: to heaven, which would henceforth be known as Jacob's Ladder. 61 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: Some have maintained that this stone was retrieved during the 62 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: Crusades and eventually made its way back to Ireland, where 63 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: McCarthy installed it in a place of honor upon his castle. 64 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: Oh and the name of that castle, by the way, 65 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: is Blarney Castle. The stone itself is known as the 66 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: Blarney Stone, and it said that if you kiss it, 67 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: it will bestow upon you the fabled gift of the 68 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: gab or, a special eloquence and charm. Over the years, 69 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: many famous figures had traveled to Blarney Castle to receive 70 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: this particular blessing, including most famously Winston Churchill. A countless 71 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: number of taurusts have followed in his footsteps. Kissing the 72 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: Blarney Stone may sound trivial, but it's not the easiest 73 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: thing to do. In order to reach the stone, you 74 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: have to lie on your back and lean out over 75 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: the castle's battlements. If you have a fear of heights, 76 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: it would be a literal way to face your fears. 77 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: But in the end it just might be worth it. 78 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: Whether you're partaking in the blessing of the God of 79 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: Jacob and Irish, which the Queen of the Fairies, or 80 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: simply linking yourself to the history of Robert the Bruce 81 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: and his fight against the English, you are taking a 82 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: moment to connect yourself with the past in a very 83 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,479 Speaker 1: tangible way that at the very least will give you 84 00:04:49,560 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: something curious to talk about. Randy was roughly four days 85 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 1: into the experiment when he started to think that he 86 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: had made a terrible mistake. The high school student from 87 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: San Diego was out for a midnight's stroll when he 88 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: saw something that just about broke his brain. As he 89 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: approached an intersection with a pedestrian crossing sign at the corner, 90 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: the stick figure man at the center of the sign moved. 91 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 1: Randy froze and rubbed his eyes. Now the stick figure 92 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: man was sliding down the signpost. He reached the pavement, 93 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 1: turned and strode away across the intersection, whistling as he went. Randy, 94 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: of course, almost ran, screaming in the opposite direction. Fortunately, 95 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: his friend Bruce was on hand to calm him down. 96 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: When Randy described later what he had seen, Bruce explained 97 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: that it wasn't real. The man and the sign had 98 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: not moved. Randy was just hallucinating, but he wasn't on psychedelics. 99 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: The only drug in his system was the caffeine from 100 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: the Coca colas that he had downed. The seventeen year old, 101 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 1: you see, hadn't slept in over four days, and unfortunately 102 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: he still had seven more to go. It was December 103 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 1: of nineteen sixty three, and at that point the record 104 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: for the longest time spent awake was eleven days or 105 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: two hundred and forty hours. Randy and Bruce had decided 106 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: to try and break the record as part of an 107 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 1: experiment for their school science fare. Randy lost the coin 108 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: toss to determine who would stay awake, which meant that 109 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: Bruce and their friend Joe would take turns monitoring him. 110 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: Even before they began, though, the experiment started attracting attention, 111 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: Randy was interviewed by a San Diego newspaper and contacted 112 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 1: by scientists who offered to monitor his recovery after the 113 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: experiment was complete. Meanwhile, his parents deliberately tried to convince 114 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: him to choose another project. They had a good reason 115 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: to be concerned too. At that point, no one knew 116 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: the impact of staying awake so long, but a few 117 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: years earlier, scientists had conducted an experiment where some cats 118 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,799 Speaker 1: were kept awake for fifteen days straight. In that case, 119 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: there hadn't been any long term side effects to study, 120 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: because the cats all died from stress. Despite this potential danger, 121 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: Randy and his friends were determined to go through with 122 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: their plan. The first thirty six hours passed with only 123 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: minor changes. Randy had difficulty focusing his eyes and he 124 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: stumbled over tongue twisters, but otherwise he felt okay. The 125 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: next day, though, his body temperature dropped and he struggled 126 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. 127 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: He also grew increasingly irritable, which made monitoring him a 128 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: lot less fun. It wasn't until the hallucinations began on 129 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: day four that the boys started to worry, and things 130 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: got more serious from there. On day five, Randy spent 131 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,239 Speaker 1: several hours convinced that he was a famous football player. Later, 132 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: he screamed at Joe to turn off the radio because 133 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: he thought the DJ was laughing at him. Even when 134 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: Randy was not hallucinating, he was always at risk of 135 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: falling asleep. Bruce or Joe had to accompany him to 136 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: the bathroom out of fear that he would pass out 137 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: while on the toilet. They kept him alert through frequent 138 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: walks or games of basketball, and while these distractions worked temporarily, 139 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: Randy would always start to fade once again when he 140 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: was back home. By the final day, Randy was a zombie. 141 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: His speech became slurred, and he couldn't complete basic math 142 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: problems or recite the alphabet without forgetting what he was doing. Oddly, 143 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: his basketball skills kept improving, though, probably thanks to all 144 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: the practice. On January eighth, Randy finally crossed the finish line. 145 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: After setting a new record for two hundred and forty 146 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: six hours awake. He passed out and slept for fourteen 147 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: hours straight. His brain waves were monitored by those scientists 148 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: who had volunteered to help, and what they found was startling. 149 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: It seemed that different sections of Randy's brain had been 150 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 1: taking turns shutting down for brief periods, so while he 151 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: had never been completely asleep, parts of him had literally 152 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: been dreaming. To everyone's surprise, Randy's sleep patterns were back 153 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: to normal within just a few days with no signs 154 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: of any lasting side effects, and as you'd imagine, his 155 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: story became a national headline. While the data that Bruce 156 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:10,199 Speaker 1: and Joe had gathered was circulated throughout the scientific community. 157 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: Randy's swift recovery in nineteen sixty four seemed to suggest 158 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: that people were capable of staying awake for long periods 159 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: without suffering long term side effects. At least that's what 160 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: they thought at the time. By twenty seventeen, though, Randy 161 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: Gardner was once again lying awake each night, although this 162 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: time it wasn't by choice. Fifty three years after beating 163 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: the world record, he had developed a horrible case of insomnia. 164 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: Perhaps it was his brain having revenge on him, or 165 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: maybe Randy's body had simply gotten use to staying up 166 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: later than most. Either way, the boy who dared to 167 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: stay awake was now desperate to fall asleep. I hope 168 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 169 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 170 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 171 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 172 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore 173 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show and 174 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the Worldoflore 175 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.