1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,920 Speaker 1: and if history is an open book, all of these 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. It's 6 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: the dream of many a reader. A vast library stocked 7 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: with beautiful leather bound tomes in all sizes and colors, 8 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: and inside their stiff covers pages of cepia toned vellum 9 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: with the words of the greatest writers in history, like Austin, 10 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: Duma and Shakespeare. Rare book collections often have these volumes 11 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: in their own libraries, some behind glass, others in thick 12 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: But one book has eluded every reader and collector for 13 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: over one hundred years, and for good reason, because no 14 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: one can get to it. It had started life as 15 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: a series of poems written in the eleventh and twelfth 16 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: centuries by Persian polymath Omar Kam. In the mid eighteen hundreds, 17 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: of poet named Edward Fitzgerald decided to translate these quat 18 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: trains into a collection called the Rubiat of Omar Khayam 19 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: Rubiat is Persian by the way for Quatrain. Fitzgerald's book 20 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: became quite popular all the way into the twentieth century, 21 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: so much so that English bookstore owner John Stonehouse commissioned 22 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,639 Speaker 1: a special edition of the collection for his own shop 23 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: in nineteen ten. He went to London bookbinder's Sangorski and Sutcliffe, 24 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: known for their impeccable quality and flair, for the dramatic 25 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: Stonehouse instructed co owner Francis Sangorski to do it, and 26 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: do it well. There is no limit. Put what you 27 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,919 Speaker 1: like into the binding, charge what you like for it. Money, 28 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: in other words, was no object, because the amount that 29 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: the final product would bring would make it all worth it. 30 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: The front and back covers were made up hundreds of 31 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: layers of leather. One thousand jewels were inlaid on the 32 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: front and back within their own settings. Gold tooling adorned 33 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: the elaborate covers, while end sheets bearing images of peacocks, 34 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: skulls and Persian symbols were made for the inside. The 35 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: designs of these end pages were meant to represent life 36 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: and death. It was called the Great Omar, and it 37 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: was the definition of opulence and extravagance. At the time, 38 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: Stonehouse called it the finest and most remarkable specimen of 39 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: binding ever designed or produced at any period or in 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: any country. Completed in nineteen eleven, it represented the best 41 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: that Sangorsky in Sutcliffe had to offer. Now, the store 42 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: that Stonehouse managed, Southern's, put it up for sale at 43 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: the eyewatering price of one thousand pounds equivalent to about 44 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty thousand pounds today. But not everyone 45 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: was taken with a book. Many believe that its design 46 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: was ostentatious and tacky, and this only made it harder 47 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: to sell. But then a book the alert named Gabriel 48 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: Wells stopped into Southernds. He was visiting from New York, 49 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: and offered the shop eight hundred pounds for the Great Omar. 50 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: Stonehouse declined. The offer encountered at nine hundred pounds, but 51 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,119 Speaker 1: they still couldn't come to an agreement. It was soon 52 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: decided that the Great Omar would go to New York 53 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: to be sold anyway where it might find more willing buyers. 54 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: The book was loaded onto a ship and was sent out, 55 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: although it ran into some trouble when US customs officials 56 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,239 Speaker 1: required a hefty duty tax to be paid in order 57 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: for the tome to be released. Refusing to pay the fee, 58 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: the Omar made its way back to London, still unwanted 59 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: by any buyers or collectors. The bookstores owner, Henry Cecil 60 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: wanted it sold as quickly as possible. He had been 61 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: kept out of the loop on its creation, and demanded 62 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: that he recoup at least some of the money that 63 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: had been spent on making it, And so it went 64 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: up for auction at Sotheby's, where it sold for four 65 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: hundred and five pounds two Gabriel Wells. It was April 66 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: of nineteen twelve and the Great Omar was loaded onto 67 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: the next ship headed to its new home of New 68 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: York City. Sadly, just a few days into the trip, 69 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: the vessel struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom 70 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: of the Atlantic. That's right, The gold and jewel encrusted 71 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: rubiat of Omar Khayem now resides somewhere within the wreckage 72 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: of the unsinkable Titanic, seemingly lost forever. Many years after 73 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: the sinking, the plans for the Omar were discovered by 74 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: Sutcliffe's nephew, Stanley Bray, who had been hired as an 75 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: apprentice bookbinder. He thought it would be a good idea 76 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: to rebank the book, Jewels and all, and spent most 77 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: of the nineteen thirties cloning the work that his uncle 78 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: and Sangorsky had done. By the time it was finally finished, 79 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: though the Germans were flying over London, bombs dropped from 80 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: the sky, sending everyone fleeing. Bray did his best to 81 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: protect his new great Omar, wrapping it up and putting 82 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: it in a vault on four Street for safe keeping. Well, 83 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: as it so happened, four Street was the first place 84 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: the Germans bomb. That area was reduced to ash and 85 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: rubble in an instant Once the debris had been cleared away. 86 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: Sometime later, the vault was located and Bray's Omar was found. 87 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: The covers looked to be in fine shape. The protective 88 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: wrapping and the safety of the vault appeared to have 89 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: saved this second edition from destruction. Unfortunately, looks, as they 90 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,799 Speaker 1: often are, were deceiving, because as soon as the book 91 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: was opened, it was clear that the pages and much 92 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: of the leather had been melted by the heat from 93 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: the blasts. It seems that no matter how Hard Sangorski 94 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: in Sutcliffe and Bray tried a bejeweled version of the 95 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayem was never meant to exist. Some 96 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: say the book was cursed. Others, such as Sir John Fortescue, 97 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: King Edward, the Seventh Librarian within Windsor Castle, would call 98 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: it the most eminent failure perhaps that I ever saw. 99 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,119 Speaker 1: Sought after in popular books often come with that age 100 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: old compliment I couldn't put it down. But for this book, 101 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: at least, the opposite has always been true. No one 102 00:05:49,120 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: can pick it up. Our favorite movies have a tendency 103 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: to stick in our brains forever. We incorporate memorable lines 104 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: into everyday conversations, we shiver every time the music swells 105 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: during the climax, and we happily press play on our 106 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: remotes when we need something to make us feel better 107 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: after a bad day, whether it's the terrifying two notes 108 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: of John William's Jaws theme or the way Humphrey Bogart 109 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 1: tells Ingrid Berman to get on that plane at the 110 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: end of Casablanca. The movies that shape our lives are 111 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: as much a part of us as our DNA, but 112 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: there's one line that's been uttered in over four hundred 113 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: films and television shows, and that number keeps growing. Although 114 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: it's not really a line of dialogue, it's more of 115 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: a pained yell. It first appeared in the nineteen fifty 116 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: one Western Distant Drums, starring Gary Cooper. In the film, 117 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: which takes place during the Second Seminal War of eighteen forty, 118 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,799 Speaker 1: a group of soldiers helped get several prisoners to safety 119 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: by trekking through the floor to everglades. The sound is 120 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: heard as the party navigates a swamp and one of 121 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: the men is devoured by a hungry alligator. According to 122 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: the stories, the scream that the character lets out as 123 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: he's been eaten was recorded by American singer Cheb Woolly, 124 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: and Woolley went on to appear in a number of 125 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 1: high profile films, including High Noon, The Outlawed, Josie Wales, 126 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: and Hoosiers, but he is perhaps best known for his 127 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: hit novelty song The Purple People Eater, released in nineteen 128 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 1: fifty eight. What Woolley didn't realize at the time was 129 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: that his scream would endure well beyond his death in 130 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: two thousand and three, in fact, it might not last 131 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: us all. The recording was cataloged by the studio as 132 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: man getting bit by an alligator and he screams, which 133 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. It wouldn't gain its 134 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: common name until after its use in a nineteen fifty 135 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: three film called The Charge at Feather River. This was 136 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: another Western one in which a character named Private Wilhelm 137 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: screamed after being shot in the leg by an arrow. 138 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: This now iconic moment tied the sound effect to the character. 139 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: In almost twenty five years later, it would gain its 140 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: much shorter and memorable name, the Wilhelm Scream. But why 141 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: did it take nearly a quarter of a century for 142 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: the Wilhelm scream to catch on? For that, we turned 143 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: to a man named Ben Bert. Bert was a Hollywood 144 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: sound designer who only had two films under his belt 145 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: when he was tapped to join a little science fiction 146 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: movie called Star Wars in nineteen seventy seven. Unlike other 147 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: sci fi films of the past, which relied on electronic 148 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: sounds to give them a futuristic feel, Bert developed an 149 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: ear for more natural sound effects. For example, these sound 150 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: a lightsaber makes is a combination of an idline film 151 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: projector and the feedback emitted by a broken television. But 152 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: for one scene in the picture, where a stormtrooper falls 153 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: to his death, Bert needed a sound effect that was 154 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: perfect for the moment, and so he turned to Private 155 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: Wilhelm's faded scream from The Charge at Feather River. The 156 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: Wilhelm scream became Bert's signature, an indication that he had 157 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: worked on a film's sound design. You can hear it 158 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: in the Indiana Jones movies, the Star Wars sequel and prequels, 159 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: and even nineteen eighty eight's Willow, all of which Bert 160 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: had had a hand in. But a funny thing happened 161 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: after Bert first used the scream, it took on a 162 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: life of its own. Since nineteen seventy seven, the Wilhelm's 163 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: scream has become a staple of the motion picture industry, 164 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: appearing in hundreds of movies and TV shows like Disney's 165 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: Toy Story, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Sam 166 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: Ramie's Spider Man from two thousand and two. It also 167 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: became something of an easter egg for film buffs everywhere. 168 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: In fact, at a two thousand and six screening of 169 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: the Charge at feather River. A large portion of the 170 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: audience erupted with applause when Private Wilhelm's leg was punctured 171 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 1: by the arrow. They weren't happy that he was injured. 172 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: They were just glad to hear his iconic scream in 173 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: all its blood curdling glory. I hope you've enjoyed today's 174 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 175 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 176 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 177 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 1: me Aaron Manke in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 178 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,119 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 179 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 180 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: about it over at the World Offlore dot com. And 181 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: until next time, stay curious.