1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered who lived in your home before 7 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: you did, or what the land was used for before 8 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: your home was built there. Most of the time the 9 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: answer is nothing unusual. Before you and your family, there 10 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: was another family, or before someone built the house, there 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: was probably empty land, or farmland or an orchard. Sometimes 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: there are more shocking stories, though, like people finding artifacts 13 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: in their cellar walls or a burial ground discovered in 14 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: their backyard. It makes you think you never really know 15 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: the story of the space you occupy, who was there, 16 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: or what they did. But in the early nineties, some 17 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: waterside communities in Virginia and Maryland got an answer to 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: this question that they never expected. It started in nineteen 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: eighty nine when a fleet of trucks rolled onto the 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: Culvert Peninsula on Virginia's eastern shore. The peninsula juts into 21 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 1: Chesapeake Bay, which is a pretty elaborate body of water. 22 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,559 Speaker 1: Its inlets reach into the land like vanes. The shorelines 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: looked like crackling ice on a window. It makes a 24 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: lot of people wonder how the bay got that way, 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: But the people in these trucks weren't thinking about that. 26 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: You see, these were seismic survey trucks owned by oil 27 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: company Texico. The workers were sending sound waves into the 28 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: ground in hopes of finding petroleum. Two other men happened 29 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: to be strolling the peninsula that day, and when they 30 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: saw the trucks and the crew, they approached them and 31 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: asked what they were doing. The Texico workers told them, 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: but they wouldn't say anything about their findings. But these 33 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: two men weren't just curious onlookers. They had a hunch 34 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: that the oil workers might have gotten their hands on 35 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: precious data. That's because these men were employees of the 36 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: US Geological Survey. One of them was named doctor David Powers, 37 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: and he knew that he needed to get his hands 38 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: on the Texico findings. It took him four years to 39 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: get the data, and it was worth the weight. You see. 40 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: Texico didn't know it, but their survey proved something that 41 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: powers long suspected. An enormous, ancient pile of geological rubble 42 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: sat at the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. Now, to understand 43 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: what's so important about this pile of rubble, we need 44 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: to dive a little deeper into the shape of the bay. 45 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: To start. Let's compare the rivers on the Chesapeake to 46 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: others on the East Coast. Other rivers curved gently into 47 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean, but the James, the York, and the 48 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: Rappahannock have sudden bends at angles. Plus, the Chesapeake region 49 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: is dotted with groundwater aquifers, which are basically water bearing rocks. 50 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: These facts alone stumped geologists for decades, but a discovery 51 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: made in nineteen eighty three gave them a huge hint. 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: A couple hundred miles off the coast of New Jersey, 53 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: deep sea drillers excavated a slab of molten glass that 54 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: was ten centimeters thick. This glass wasn't just some litter 55 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: that had found its way to the ocean floor from 56 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: Atlantic City. It was a special kind of glass. It 57 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,079 Speaker 1: could only have been formed under serious heat and pressure. 58 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: The scientists who found it knew that it was evidence 59 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 1: of an asteroid impact. Further studies showed that the material 60 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 1: was thirty five million years old. Identical materials had previously 61 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,239 Speaker 1: been found in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. 62 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: This means that all those years ago, a single asteroid 63 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: crashed into the Earth and rained debris hundreds of miles 64 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: in every direction. And this brings us back to the 65 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: rubble that texacoat uncovered, the one that doctor Powers knew 66 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: was a huge discovery. Once he had his hands on 67 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: the Texaco records, Powers contacted a US Geological Survey colleague 68 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: who was studying an underwater crater further north, and this 69 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: colleague confirmed that Powers was indeed looking at an asteroid impact. 70 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: Powers published his finding, and Chesapeake locals and researchers had 71 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: an explanation for the bay's spindly shape. However, not everyone 72 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: in the scientific community was sold on powers research, so 73 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: he returned to the bay and collected samples of the rubble. 74 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: His samples matched the ones found in New Jersey a 75 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: few years prior, and this was enough to convince the skeptics. 76 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: The massive impact changed the geology in a matter of seconds. 77 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: Sediment deposits cracked the shorelines and thirty five million years later, 78 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: boaters and crabbers have seemingly endless inlets and islands to explore. 79 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: And not only that, but the debris that went flying 80 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: created a link between the Chesapeake and other regions, states, 81 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: and countries. Before humans even walked the earth, an object 82 00:04:42,560 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: crashed down and gave us all something in common. We 83 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: talk a lot on this show about what the past 84 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: can teach us about our present day lives. We learned 85 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: about how our ancestors prevailed and how they might have failed. 86 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: Today's story exists within blurred lines. It raises more questions 87 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: than answers, and the realities it poses force us to 88 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: take a cold, hard look at what it means to 89 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: be human, what it means to sacrifice and to suffer. 90 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 1: But don't worry. This story is also filled with the 91 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: mysteries of science and the natural world. As disturbing as 92 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: it might be, there's also plenty to make you feel 93 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: lucky to be alive at this time. So let's begin. 94 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: Imagine a scene, a serene landscape, cloaked and mist with 95 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: the faint echoes of history whispering through the air. It's here, 96 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: amidst the tranquil beauty of the bog that our taiale unfolds. 97 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: As a couple wanders along a secluded path, their eyes 98 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: are drawn to a curious shape protruding from the earth. 99 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: They approach cautiously, unsure of what they might find, and 100 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: what they discover are the perfectly preserved remains of a 101 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: human body, a man lying in repose amidst the peat. 102 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: His skin and clothes are entirely browned, as if he 103 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: were a sculpture in bronze, but it's clear to the 104 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: couple that this was a living person. The stubble on 105 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: his chin is still visible, perhaps almost shockingly as well, 106 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: the couple can see a rope still tied around the 107 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: man's neck. Bewildered, they alert the authorities, setting in motion 108 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: a chain of events that will unravel the mysteries of 109 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: the bog enter our intrepid investigators tasked with unraveling the 110 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: secrets of these remains. This might sound like a typical 111 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: murder investigation, but there is a twist. This body is 112 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 1: believed to be thousands of years old. The remains the 113 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:41,479 Speaker 1: couple found are something known as a bog body. For centuries, 114 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: these enigmatic figures have captured the imagination of historians and 115 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:49,480 Speaker 1: archaeologists alike. Preserved by the bog's natural gases, these ancient 116 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 1: remains offer a glimpse into the lives and deaths of 117 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: our distant ancestors. The body in question is one of 118 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: the most famous bog bodies ever. He's come to be 119 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: known as the Toland Man, named after the bog where 120 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: he was discovered in nineteen fifty. Toland Man is one 121 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,119 Speaker 1: of the most famous bog bodies ever found. Radiocarbon dating 122 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: places his death during the Iron Age, but who he 123 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: was or how he came to rest in the depths 124 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: of the bog are a mystery. Using advanced imaging technology, 125 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: the investigators peered inside tolan Man's body, examining his internal 126 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: organs with a level of detail that would have been 127 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,239 Speaker 1: unimaginable to our ancient ancestors. What they discovered is evidence 128 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: of tolan Man's robust health and vitality despite the harsh 129 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: conditions of his time. Researchers believe that tolan Man hailed 130 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,119 Speaker 1: from a nearby village where he lived as a member 131 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: of a small farming community. One prevailing theory surrounding his 132 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: death is that he was a sacrificial victim offered up 133 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: to the gods in a ritualistic ceremony. The manner of 134 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: his death supports this theory too. He was found with 135 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: a rope tightly wound around his neck, indicating that he 136 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: had been hanged. Some experts believe that tolan Man may 137 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: have been a willing participant in his own demise, perhaps 138 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: offering himself up in times of hardship or crisis. Others 139 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: suggest that he may have been chosen to atone for 140 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: the sins of his community. It's possible he was even 141 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: chosen when he was a child and lived his life 142 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: knowing what his ultimate fate would be. Peter Glob, a 143 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: Danish archaeology professor and author of the book called The 144 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: Bog People, thinks that tolan Man and many others likely 145 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: met their fate as sacrifices to Nerthus the Earth Mother, 146 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: in hopes of securing a bountiful harvest. Glob explains that 147 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: images of the goddess show her decorated in neck rings 148 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: and a headband. He compares those accessories to the rope 149 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,439 Speaker 1: found around tolan Man's neck and similar ones on other 150 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: bog bodies. Based on the placement of the rope, Glob 151 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: confirms that tolan Man was probably hanged. Investigators also found 152 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: that the contents of tolan Man's stomach at the time 153 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: of his death consisted of winter foods like barley, indicating 154 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: that it was winter when he died. Glob notes that 155 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: tolan Man's contemporaries probably wanting to hasten the spring season. 156 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: There's a lot that we still don't know about tolin 157 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 1: Man and bog people in general. For now, his body 158 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:09,719 Speaker 1: is on display at the Silkborg Museum, where thousands of 159 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: people from all over the world come to see him. 160 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,679 Speaker 1: The museum's director said that people tend to have a 161 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: strong emotional reaction to him, and some even faint. Tolan 162 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: Man lived and died in a time and place far 163 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: removed from that of our own, yet his legacy lives on. 164 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: His tail is but one of many buried beneath the 165 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: Earth's surface, waiting to be uncovered. I hope you've enjoyed 166 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 167 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 168 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 169 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how stuff works. 170 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 171 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,959 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 172 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at Theworldoflore dot com. And 173 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: until next time, stay curious.