1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:29,159 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Iceland doesn't have a 5 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: whole lot in common with the United States, but it 6 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: does share a few similarities. Like the US, It's home 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: to some of the most impressive and beautiful phenomena nature 8 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: has to offer. Stare into the sky during a solar 9 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: flare and you might catch the swirling greens and blues 10 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: of the Aurora borealis. Jump on a boat and watch 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: out for splashes from the tales of gentle humpbacks breaching 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: the water, or take a dip in the one degree 13 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: Blue Lagoon, a geo thermal spa forty minutes outside the capital. 14 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: Explore is looking for more of a thrill, however, can 15 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: venture into Thing their national Park. It boasts the longest 16 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: mountain range on Earth, set atop of constantly shifting landscape. 17 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: In fact, the land actually moves two centimeters every year, 18 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: which results in falling rocks and landslides that can prove 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: dangerous for careless divers. Yes, I said divers as It 20 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: turns out the mountain range known as the mid Atlantic 21 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: Ridge rests under the clear blue waters of the Silfra Crack. 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: Silfra is actually a fissure caused by the separation of 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in nine. The 24 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: resulting split caused melt water from a nearby glacier to 25 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: be filtered through porous underground lava for decades before filling 26 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: Sulfra's underground spring. That means the water is not just 27 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: safe to drink, it's also so clear you feel like 28 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: you're floating in air, though you won't find much in 29 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: terms of aquatic life there. While the Silfra Crack does 30 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: boast the cleanest water around, it's far too cold for 31 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: any aquatic wildlife to survive. Instead, the fish tend to 32 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: stick to a nearby lake where the temperatures are more 33 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: comfortable to live in. But there are two important attractions 34 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,399 Speaker 1: that bring divers down into Sulfra. The first is the Cathedral, 35 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: which is a three thirty foot long underwater fissure in 36 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: the earth. It's not the length of the crack that's 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: so impressive, though, it's that the water is clear enough 38 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: to see from one end of the cathedral to the other, 39 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: as if the water wasn't even there. The other attraction 40 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: is one meant for more experienced divers. While tourists and 41 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: casual divers take it easy near the surface, those who 42 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: are brave enough can swim down into the crack, which 43 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: descends roughly sixty meters. Like I said before, the land 44 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: is always moving, almost like it's alive, and as the 45 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: plates shift, new tunnels and caves open up, providing divers 46 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: with new avenues of exploration. It's also much more dangerous 47 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: because of that Tunnels can close up at any moment, 48 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: Rocks can come loose and crush someone if they're not 49 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: paying attention. But if they make it down that far, 50 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: divers can see how the North American and Eurasian plates 51 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: have pulled apart over time. Oh and did you notice 52 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: anything special about those names? The North American Plate and 53 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: the Eurasian Plate. If you guess that they were part 54 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: of the North American and European continental landmasses, you would 55 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: be correct. What we see on a map is like 56 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: the tip of an iceberg. There's so much beneath the 57 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: water we never see, and if we did, it would 58 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: give us a greater understanding of just how large our 59 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: continents really are. Put another way, the crack is a 60 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: lot like the Four Corners in the American Southwest, where 61 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: a person can technically stand in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, 62 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: and Colorado all at the same time, which is impressive, 63 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: I know, but not nearly as oppressive as what you 64 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: can do down in the Silfra Crack. Because they're brave, 65 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: divers can stand between two separate tectonic plates, stretch out 66 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: their arms and touch both sides. And since anyone who 67 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: does that is touching the very edge of both continents, 68 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: they are technically in North America and Europe at the 69 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: exact same moment. It's entirely possible, I assure you, but 70 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: at the same time, it is a bit of a stretch. 71 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: It's amazing how the threat of imminent danger can add 72 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: such clarity to our daily lives. When faced with the 73 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: serious threat, we're able to see what's truly important and 74 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: what can be disregarded to ensure our safety. Oftentimes, war 75 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: is the catalyst for such realizations, and for the people 76 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: who participated in World War One, that danger didn't just 77 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: add clarity, it also added a little engine uity. It 78 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: was called the Great War for a reason. The conflict 79 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: lasted for four years and stretched across almost all of Europe, 80 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: but its effects were especially felt in Great Britain. It 81 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: wasn't just that almost nine million British soldiers fought in 82 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: the trenches. If you were an average citizen in the 83 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: United Kingdom in nineteen fifteen, then you likely witnessed firsthand 84 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: the terrifying creation of Count von Zeppelin. This new weapon 85 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: of mass destruction, as you can probably guess, was an 86 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:37,799 Speaker 1: enormous hydrogen filled aircraft, appropriately called the Zeppelin. It floated 87 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: above the streets of England late at night, its engines 88 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: thrumming in the ears of sleepy and frightened families below. 89 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: While the Zeppelin did drop bombs and caused quite a 90 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: bit of damage, that wasn't their intention. Their primary mission 91 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: was to instill fear in the British in order to 92 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: break the morale and pull them out of the war, 93 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: and it almost worked. People jumped out of their beds 94 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: with their clothes on their backs and dashed into smoke 95 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: filled streets littered with rubble buildings. Collapsed homes were destroyed. 96 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: Survivors of the Zeppelin raids recalled not knowing where the 97 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: danger ever really was, and whether they were running toward 98 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: it or away from it. Functioning on little sleep and 99 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: a sudden jolt of adrenaline, British citizens often found themselves 100 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: shivering in the street, wondering if and when the big 101 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: one would hit them next, or whether they'd have a 102 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: home to return to when it was all over. And 103 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: as the raids grew more and more frequent and people 104 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: began to expect them, fear quickly turned to embarrassment. After all, 105 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: folks were standing in public in their nightgowns and underwear, 106 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: something only their significant others were supposed to see. Women 107 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: began preparing the night before by hanging cloaks and scarves 108 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: by their door. Bald men had emergency to pays at 109 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: the ready. This was Britain in the early nineteen hundreds, 110 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: and social status was everything. What would the neighbors think 111 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: if one was caught looking less than their best, even 112 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,799 Speaker 1: when the war was doing its worst. But there were 113 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: other problems with their choices of nighttime fashion. First, and 114 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: most importantly, they weren't that fashionable. A cloak was just 115 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: a big wearable blankets, and nobody wanted to look frumpy 116 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: in front of their friends. Second, running from explosions proved 117 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: incredibly difficult when one's legs were being restricted by long, 118 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: bulky coats, so they turned to the French, who had 119 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: been known to lounge around in comfortable, luxurious clothing when 120 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: they were waiting for the bombs to strike. It was 121 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: a solution that was breathable and stylish, So stylish, in fact, 122 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: that a British fashion editor at the time stated she 123 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: actually looked forward to the evening raids just so she 124 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: could show off her new black threads. Funny enough, this 125 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: new fashion trend quickly issued function for form. Rather than 126 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: keeping the colors dark so that targets were harder to spot. 127 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: During the night, colors lightened up from blacks and dark 128 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: blue is two pinks and reds. Sure, friends and their 129 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: neighbors could get a good look at them, but the 130 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: British didn't mind, and eventually the raids subsided as German 131 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: resources were needed elsewhere during the war. But they're hot. 132 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: New nighttime clothing only grew in popularity and we still 133 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: wear them today, though thankfully not for bombing raids. We 134 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,679 Speaker 1: just wear them to relax in bed or in front 135 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: of the television while we binge our favorite shows. So 136 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: I guess we can thank the French and the British 137 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: for a lot of the things we still love today. 138 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes, a good glass of wine, and of course, pajamas. 139 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 140 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 141 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 142 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership 143 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another ward winning show 144 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 145 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 146 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.