1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcomed. Aaron Mankey's Cabinet of Curiosity is a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: iHeart 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 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Born and raised in Norfolk, England, in nine six, 7 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: Arthur started getting visions early on. He was only twelve 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: years old when he began dreaming of a city made 9 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: of stone. It had been carved into the side of 10 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: a mountain in the desert, somewhere far from England, a 11 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 1: place he had never seen before with his own eyes. 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: The visions only grew more intense as Arthur got older, 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: with the image of the city becoming clearer in his mind. 14 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: As time by. They left him upset, but he couldn't 15 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: figure out the reason why. It was during a visit 16 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: to his local beach when the clearest vision presented itself. 17 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: Arthur had been playing among the orange and pink colored 18 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: pebbles along the shore when he was whisked away to 19 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: the city in the mountain. There was as though he 20 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 1: had been teleported there. The beach faded away around him, 21 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: and he was suddenly standing within the walls of the 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: city itself. What he didn't realize was that the colors 23 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: of the pebbles had triggered his strongest vision yet due 24 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: to their resemblance to the son of the city. What 25 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: confounded him was that he had never seen such a 26 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: structure before in his life. He didn't read books about 27 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: traveling to exotic locations, nor had he left Norfolk, but 28 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: the place felt so real and familiar. He hadn't invented it. 29 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: It was like he was living someone else's memories. After 30 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: that day at the beach, Arthur received more bits and 31 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: pieces of information. They were being beamed straight into his 32 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: brain from some far off satellite. He returned to the beach, 33 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: to the pink and the orange pebbles under his feet, 34 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: and just as before, they transported him back to the 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: city in the mountain, but he saw more on each 36 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: mental trip. There were streets and passageways. A military barracks 37 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: had been built nearby, and he got the sense that 38 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: he was a soldier, one who had been killed by 39 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: a spear in battle. Arthur stopped going to the beach 40 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: after that. He kept his dreams to himself, although he 41 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: continued to have them well into his old age. It 42 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: wasn't until he was watching a BBC documentary about ancient 43 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: Jordan when he finally saw the city he had been 44 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: dreaming about for real. It was Petra, also known as 45 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: the resting place of the Holy Grail for fellow Indiana 46 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: Jones fans. Arthur was a static at the realization and 47 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: reached out to the BBC about the documentary. He told 48 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: them about his lifelong visions, and rather than hang up 49 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: on him, they believed him. He became the subject of 50 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: a segment on another BBC program and was subsequently interviewed 51 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: by an archaeologist with a deep knowledge of Petra. The 52 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: archaeologist was floored by how much Arthur knew about the city, 53 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: considering he had never laid eyes on it before the documentary. 54 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 1: He knew details that no average person would know without 55 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: having been there themselves. The Jordanian government got wind of 56 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: Arthur's miraculous story and invited him to Petra to demonstrate 57 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: his innate knowledge. Set loose on his own, he walked 58 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: through it as though he had grown up there. He 59 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: knew every street and landmark. He was even able to 60 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: explain parts of the city that had been yet to 61 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: be excavated. When presented with artifacts and buildings that the 62 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: so called experts could not understand, Arthur calmly told them 63 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: about their true purposes, which happened to be correct. All 64 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: attempts to stump him or prove him to be a 65 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: sham failed. Arthur knew more about Petra than archaeologists and 66 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: the people of Jordan's but how it was believed that 67 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: he had been glimpsing the past life of a Jordanian soldier, 68 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: one who had died centuries ago. Arthur was seen by 69 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: many spiritual leaders as proof that reincard nation was a 70 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: real phenomenon. True or not, it was certainly curious. Arthur 71 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: flower Do didn't see much more excitement during his time 72 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: on Earth, but he and his past life did prove 73 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: one thing. Life's a beach and then you die. When 74 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: someone loses a limb, such as an arm or a leg, 75 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: the road to recovery can be rough. They may have 76 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: to fight off infection or learn how to do things 77 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: with only one appendage that they used to do with two. 78 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: Tying their shoes, walking, and buttoning up their shirt are 79 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: all made more difficult. But the story doesn't end with 80 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: that loss. It goes on as the person at its 81 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: center continues to grow and adapt. They may get a 82 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 1: prosthetic device, which brings its own set of challenges. But 83 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: no matter what, the tail of a lost limb is 84 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: always about the person it once belonged too well. Usually. 85 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: Henry Paget, the Earl of Uxbridge and the first Marquess 86 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: of Anglesey, was born in seventeen sixty eight to a 87 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: wealthy English family. He was well educated and entered Parliament 88 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: when he was only twenty two years old. Paget continued 89 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: to climb the political ladder into the eighteen hundreds, while 90 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: also joining the military to fight the French in seventeen 91 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: ninety three. As major general and later lieutenant general, Paget 92 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: commanded formidable cavalries against France, and his men regularly defeated 93 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: them in battle. However, it was at the Battle of 94 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: Waterloo where Paget had his uh Waterloo moment. On June 95 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: eighteenth of eighteen fifteen, he was in charge of thirteen 96 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: thousand cavalry and forty four members of the horse artillery, 97 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: which he led into the fray after taking on thousands 98 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: of French infantry. The charge of two thousand British heavy 99 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,919 Speaker 1: cavaltry led by Paget had successfully managed to drive them back. However, 100 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: Paget's men continued to chase after them and were eventually 101 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: met with force by additional French cavalry. Paget did his 102 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: best to counter their attacks with roughly nine lightly armed 103 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: cavalry charges, but he kept running into the same problem. 104 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: His horses continued to get blown out from under him 105 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: by cannon fire. Every time he went down, Paget got 106 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: back up on a new horse. By the end of 107 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: the fight, it seemed as though he had made it 108 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: out okay, though the same couldn't be said of the horses. Unfortunately, 109 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: the French weren't done yet, though. They fired their cannons 110 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: a few more times, and as Paget was trotting away 111 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,359 Speaker 1: beside the Duke of Wellington's one of their cannon balls 112 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: collided with his knee. It was shattered into a thousand pieces. 113 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: Although Paget's stiff upper lip refused to buckle, he allegedly 114 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: said to the Duke, by God, Sir, I've lost my leg, 115 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: and the Duke of Wellington was believed to have replied 116 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: by God, sir, so you have. Paget was brought to 117 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: a surgeon who took one look at his leg and 118 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: knew immediately that it couldn't be saved. The limb was 119 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,160 Speaker 1: amputated shortly thereafter at the Belgian home of a man 120 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: named Hyacinthe Joseph Marie Kari, but since Paget was in 121 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,039 Speaker 1: the midst of war with no access to proper health 122 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: care facilities, the surgery was completed without anesthetic, but that 123 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: didn't phase the general. He said that the knives felt 124 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: kind of blunt as the doctor cut the limb away, 125 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: and when it was all over, Henry Paget was down 126 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: one leg, and Monsieur Peris had increased his number of 127 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: appendages by one. That's right. The owner of the house 128 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: where the amputation had taken place had also taken possession 129 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: of Paget's discarded leg. He buried it in his garden 130 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: outside and turned it into a kind of shrine or altar, 131 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: complete with a tombstone. Others heard about the strange leg 132 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: grave at Pari's home and began showing up at his 133 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: doorstep to see it, and Paris, seeing a lucrative business 134 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: opportunity before him started charging a fee for visitors. Sixty 135 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: odd years later, Paget's son made a pilgrimage to the 136 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: house to see the shrine for himself. What he found 137 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: flabbergast at him. The leg had been removed from its 138 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: grave and placed on display for all to see. The 139 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: change in ven you had been made after a big 140 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: storm had disturbed the ground where it had been interred. 141 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: The British government stepped in and requested the bones be 142 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: returned to the Paget's family. Peri's Air said that he 143 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,679 Speaker 1: would happily hand it over for a price. The Belgian 144 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: Minister of Justice then told him to put the leg 145 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: back in the ground so as to avoid an international incident. 146 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: Paris Airs obliged taking down the public display, but he 147 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: didn't rebury the bones as ordered. Instead, he tucked them 148 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: away in his study, only to have them discovered by 149 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: his widow following his death in nineteen thirty five. She 150 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: was so upset by the presence that she tossed them 151 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: in the homes furnace and cremated them. But Henry Paget, 152 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: the Earl of Uxbridge, had moved on from his injury 153 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: long before. After a year long recovery, he was fitted 154 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: with one of the first ever prosthetic limbs that could 155 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: bend at the knee. It had been built from wood 156 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,839 Speaker 1: and leather with springs inside. With it strapped onto his thigh, 157 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: he was able to ride horses again until his death 158 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty four at the age of eighty five. 159 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: Paget never got to see his lost limb again. His 160 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 1: son did have the chance to bring it home later 161 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: in life, but unfortunately, thanks to Monsieur Perry's own air, 162 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: it would have cost him an arm and a leg. 163 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 164 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 165 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 166 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership 167 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,839 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 168 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 169 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 170 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.