1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: Sometimes you just want to pack your bags and get 7 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: away from it all for a while, and a regular 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: vacation just won't cut it. You need sun, you need sand, 9 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: You need your own micronation. A micronation is a piece 10 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,599 Speaker 1: of territory whose residence demand that they be recognized as 11 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: an independent nation. However, they're usually tiny and rarely considered 12 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: self governing because they don't technically exist under international lot. 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,279 Speaker 1: Most micro nations never get the approval they need from 14 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,479 Speaker 1: the other countries. That doesn't mean people stop trying, though. 15 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: Plenty of people have attempted to form their own micronations 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: in the past hundred years, people like Lester. Lester was 17 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: born on April first of nineteen fifteen and was the 18 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: baby of the family. He already had an older brother 19 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: far away fighting in the Great War, and four older 20 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: sisters who didn't have much time for a toddler, with 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: his sisters outmost of the day and his doctor father 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: making house calls. Little Lester was largely raised by his 23 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: mother and his grandparents. He became fascinated with his absent brother, 24 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: always playing with his old toys, going through his books, 25 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: and trying on his clothes. To Lester, there was no 26 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,199 Speaker 1: one better in the world than his big brother, Ernie. 27 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: Ernie didn't always feel the same, as anyone with little 28 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: siblings knows, they get on your nerves better than anyone else. 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: Ernie called him Lester de Pester, which was later lovingly 30 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: shortened to the Pest. Still, Lester watched everything his big 31 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: brother did and even dreamed of being an ambulance driver 32 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: and a writer when he grew up, just like Ernie. 33 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: That would certainly come to pass. In nineteen forty one, 34 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: when the United States entered World War Two, Lester served 35 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: in both France and Germany, and those experiences would make 36 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: up the bulk of his first novel, The Sound of 37 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: the Trumpet, published in nineteen fifty three. He wrote six 38 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: other books, but couldn't quite catch up to his brother. 39 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: Of all his books, The Biography of his brother, published 40 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty two was the most successful. You see, 41 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: his brother Ernest Miller Hemingway had more influence on Lester 42 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: than anyone, which made his untimely death in July of 43 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty one all the more heartbreaking. There was a 44 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: hole in Leicester Depestor's life, and he decided to fill 45 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: it with the money from the sale of his book 46 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: My Brother Ernest Hemingway. Lester resolved to get away from 47 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: it all. He would start his own country. He relied 48 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: heavily on something called the Guano Islands Act of eighteen 49 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,239 Speaker 1: fifty six, which basically said any US citizen could claim 50 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: and mine any unclaimed island that contained soil enriching guano deposits, 51 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: guano being accumulated bird droppings, which certainly wouldn't make my 52 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: top ten of beach destinations. But to each their own. Now, 53 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:16,639 Speaker 1: were there a large number of bird poop islands waiting 54 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: to be claimed? No? But did that stop Lester from 55 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: creating his own micronation also No. On July fourth of 56 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, Lester wrote a good sized homemade raft 57 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: a few miles off the coast of Jamaica. Once he'd 58 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: found his perfect destination. He tied his raft to an 59 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: old car engine and dropped anchor. This, he declared, was 60 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: the micronation of New Atlantis. Well, at least half of 61 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: it was. The half of his raft was New Atlantis. 62 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: The rest belonged to the United States, in keeping with 63 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: the Guano Act, which said that any claimed island had 64 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: to be claimed on behalf of the US of A. 65 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: Couldn't just have American citizens creating new countries, willy nilly, 66 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: could we? Lester took his new country extremely seriously. He 67 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: wrote an institution, or he borrowed one anyway. Really it 68 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: was just the United States Constitution, with New Atlantis replacing 69 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: United States in the text. His wife Doris, created a flag, 70 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: and Lester even created a national currency of carabeans and 71 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: shark teeth, which he called scruples. Oh yeah, Lester wasn't 72 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: Alane out there. Sure, the raft was small, but he 73 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: had plans to expand. For the permanent residence. His wife 74 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: and two daughters lived there with him, as well as 75 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: his assistant and a PR specialist named Edward K. Moss. 76 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: Lester was elected president amazing right, though the idea seemed ridiculous. 77 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: Most described Lester as decent and well meaning. He even 78 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: received a letter from the White House calling him acting 79 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: President of New Atlantis allegedly, but his term as president 80 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: didn't last. Lester had trouble securing investments and new residents, 81 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,719 Speaker 1: and money disappeared quickly. Unfortunately, the mainland didn't accept scruples. 82 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: New Atlantis was trying to raise money for marine research 83 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: by producing and selling their own st amps. However, despite 84 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: some lovely designs, the Universal Postal Union didn't recognize their 85 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: legitimacy and the stamps were void. Disaster struck in nineteen 86 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: sixty six when a storm blew in and the tether snapped. 87 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: High winds and waves dragged New Atlantis out to see. Luckily, 88 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: no one was injured, but New Atlantis was no more. 89 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: A few pieces of the micronations still survived, though, including 90 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: its stamps, thanks to the attention of a dedicated librarian. 91 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: Lester never lost hope in New Atlantis and tried to 92 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: track her supposed trajectory around the Caribbean, but it was 93 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: never discovered. Maybe it's floating out there somewhere, waiting, like 94 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: all good micronations, to be recognized. Music, arts, and literature 95 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: are important components of the human experience. All three our 96 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: avenues to our emotions and help us better understand the 97 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: world we live in. A song has the ability to 98 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: let us process heartbreak or grief, while a good book 99 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 1: may open our eyes to perspectives we never would have 100 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,679 Speaker 1: considered before. But one thing we don't often think about 101 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: is actually something we interact with every day, even when 102 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: we don't realize it. It's on our walls and ceilings, 103 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: our phones, our purses, and our cars. It's literally everywhere. 104 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: What is it color? We tend to only notice color 105 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: during certain activities, such as picking an outfit out or 106 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: painting a room, but color plays a greater part in 107 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: our lives than we know. Certain colors like red can 108 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: evoke love and romance, while blues and greens can make 109 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: a person feel calm and relaxed. And when he expanded 110 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: his Mount Vernon home, George Washington chose bold colors for 111 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: the rooms inside to show off his status. But during 112 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,479 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century, one woman believed that color could do 113 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: more than convey wealth or alter moods. She believed that 114 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: emotions and mental states themselves could be charted along a 115 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: color scale. In other words, that feelings and colors were 116 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: connected spiritually. Her name was Annie Bessant. Born in London, 117 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: England in eighteen forty seven. Bessant was a socialist and 118 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: women's rights activist for much of her life before joining 119 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: the Theosophical Society around eighteen ninety three. Theosophy was a 120 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: religion founded in New York City in eighteen seventy five. 121 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: Those who followed its teachings believed in a secret cabal 122 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: of spiritual experts who called themselves the Masters, who were 123 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: based in Tibet. Bessant, along with fellow theosophist C. W. Ledbetter, 124 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,119 Speaker 1: compiled a series of Theosophist teachings into a book called 125 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: Thought Forms, A Record of Clairvoyant Investigations, published in nineteen 126 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: oh five. One of the book's core concepts centered around 127 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: color and its meaning. It taught that thoughts are things, 128 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: and that the quality of the thought determined the color 129 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: attributed to it. For example, a certain shade of light 130 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: blue might signify a devotion to a noble ideal, while 131 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: black was equated with malicious thoughts. Soon enough, this juxtaposition 132 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: of colors and thoughts bled out from Theosophy into the mainstream. 133 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: Artists jumped on board and came up with a new 134 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: movement called synchromism, which tied colors to music. In shorts, 135 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: a painter could create a painting using a specific arrangement 136 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: of pigments, similar to how a composer would arrange notes 137 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: in a symphony. The synchromism movement didn't gain a large following, 138 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: but the idea that colors affected moods certainly did. Eventually, 139 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: other industries found ways to make color a putter of 140 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: their marketing strategies. Art Deco buildings were suddenly being adorned 141 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: with dyed concrete and terra cotta in different hues. DuPont 142 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: invented a new kind of lacquer they called Duco, meant 143 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: to give automobiles a vibrant boost. To brighten up the road, 144 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: Magazines began printing ads in color rather than black and white, 145 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: allowing readers to get a good look at the new products, 146 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: all in their technicolor glory, and the paint company Sherman 147 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: Williams started pitching the idea of painting one's house multiple 148 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: times a year, using different colors depending on the season. Suddenly, 149 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: color wasn't something to be disregarded or ignored. Henry Ford 150 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: even walked back his famous line about the Model T 151 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: being available in any color the customer wanted, as long 152 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: as it was black. He started selling his Model A 153 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: in a variety of hues to keep up with the 154 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: new color forward movement sweeping the nation. Many companies also 155 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 1: looked in nature for inspiration. According to a nineteen twenty 156 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: eight issue of The Saturday Evening Post, motor cars and 157 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: I quote are borrowing their hues from the waters of 158 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,479 Speaker 1: the Nile and the sands of Arabia, the plumage of birds, 159 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 1: and the fire of gems, and nothing has changed ever since. 160 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: During the nineteen fifties, typewriters, which had been instruments of 161 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: productivity found in the office, came in colors like those 162 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: used on automobiles. Color became an important part of the 163 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: equation for a large swath of consumer goods, and for 164 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: many people it's still the most important opponent. Even now. 165 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: When we go to the hardware store to buy paint, 166 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,559 Speaker 1: we're not buying red or yellow or green. We're buying eggshell, 167 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: vermilion or dead salmon. That last one is a real 168 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: paint color, by the way. And we have Annie Bessant 169 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: and the Theosophist movement to thank for it. I hope 170 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 171 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,559 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 172 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 173 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mank in partnership with how 174 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 175 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 176 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 177 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: of Loore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.