1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke'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 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: When we're little, the idea of a midday nap can 7 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: launch us into a tantrum. We don't want to sleep. 8 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: We want to stay up so that we don't miss anything. 9 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: As we get older, that desire to remain awake bleeds 10 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: into the nighttime hours, until we find ourselves welcoming the 11 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: sunrise with a crowd of drunken revelers we met the 12 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: night before. Then we hit adulthood and the only thing 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: we want to do is lay in bed and sleep, 14 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: or watch reruns of the Office until we nod off. 15 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: But one woman allegedly got to live the dream in 16 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: more ways than one, so to speak. Her name was 17 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: Carolina Olson born in eighteen sixty one in Sweden. She 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: was the second oldest of five children, but didn't attend 19 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: school like her four other brothers. Her mother took care 20 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: of the house and felt Carolina should learn to help 21 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: as well, so missus Olsen kept her at home On 22 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: top of the household chores, she also taught her how 23 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: to read and write. When Carolina was fourteen, she finally 24 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: started attending school like the other children. Things were going 25 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: smoothly for about a month until one day she came 26 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: home in immense pain. Her tooth hurt, but her mother 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: didn't believe that that was the cause of her ailment. 28 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: She felt that Carolina was under the influence of witchcraft 29 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: or an evil spirit, so she told her to sleep 30 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: it off. What her mother didn't realize, though, was that 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: the toothache would be the least of the girl's problems. 32 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: Carolina tucked herself in and fell asleep. The next morning, 33 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: she was still asleep. No matter what her parents tried, 34 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: they could not wake her up. She hadn't died, she 35 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: was simply unconscious and sadly, they didn't have enough money 36 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: to send for the doctor, but the town banded together 37 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: to pay for one instead. In his opinion, Carolina had 38 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,519 Speaker 1: fallen into a coma. Her mother tended to her around 39 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: the clock, feeding her two glasses of milk each day. Meanwhile, 40 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: her doctor was taking matters into his own hands. He 41 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: penned a letter to the editor of the Scandinavian Medical 42 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: Journal for advice. Soon, other doctors began writing back with 43 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: several pain Carolina visits of their own. They remarked that 44 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: her fingernails, toenails, and hair didn't seem to be growing, 45 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: and one doctor in particular, a guy named Johann amel Almblod, 46 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: transferred Carolina to his hospital in eighteen ninety two for observation. 47 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: He watched her for a month, during which time he 48 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: conducted a number of tests to verify the severity of 49 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: her condition. He poked her skin with sharp instruments, sent 50 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: small jolts of electricity through her body, and even altered 51 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: her diet, but nothing worked. When the thirty days were over, 52 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: he sent her home with a diagnosis of dementia paralytica, 53 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: a neurological disorder typically seen in people suffering from syphilis. 54 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: But Carolina didn't have syphilis. She simply slept and slept 55 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: and slept, although her father claimed to have seen her 56 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:16,959 Speaker 1: crawling around on her hands and knees a few times 57 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: before scuttling back to bed. Otherwise, she slumbered as her 58 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: mother took care of her every need, feeding her, changing 59 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: her clothes, and bathing her, and after that years went by. Sadly, 60 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,119 Speaker 1: missus Olsen passed away in nineteen oh four, and Carolina 61 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: lost one of her brothers in nineteen oh seven. She 62 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: was then taken care of by a maid, but one day, 63 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: without warning, she finally woke up in nineteen oh eight. 64 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: She had been out for a total of thirty two years. 65 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: Her maid had walked in on her, jumping up and 66 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,119 Speaker 1: down and crying. She was emaciated and sensitive to light 67 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: for a short time, but Carolina also didn't recognize her 68 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: remaining brothers who came to see her, nor could she 69 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: speak to them easily. She hadn't uttered a word in years. 70 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: It was as though she had been reborn, but luckily 71 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: she still knew how to read and write. In fact, 72 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: she retained much of what she had learned before her coma. 73 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: In the weeks following her awakening, Carolina was visited by 74 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: scores of reporters looking for a story. They came from 75 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: the United States and Europe to find out everything they 76 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: could about the miracle girl who had slept for three decades. 77 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: She also underwent a battery of psychiatric tests to gauge 78 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,039 Speaker 1: her facilities, and was found to be completely healthy. Mentally speaking, 79 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: she was the same girl she had been all those 80 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: years before. Carolina Olsen managed to live another forty two 81 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: years after that, dying from an inter cranial hemorrhage in 82 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty at the age of eighty eight, finally slipping 83 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: into a slumber that none of us ever come back from. 84 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: This story starts with a bit of a personal anecdote. 85 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: The other weekend, I went to the movies and I 86 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: did what you have to do when you're at the movies. 87 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 1: I spent way too much money on a massive bag 88 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: of popcorn, And as I sat in my seats, eating 89 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: one delicious kernel after another, I started to wonder, how 90 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: did popcorn become the movie theater snack. That was so 91 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: curious that I went home and I did a little research, 92 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: and it turns out the story behind movie theater popcorn 93 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: is actually pretty amazing. You see America's first movie theater 94 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: open in nineteen o five in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was 95 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: called the Nickelodeon. You'll probably recognize that is the name 96 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: of a modern children's TV network, But this is where 97 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: the word originated. The price of admission was a nickel, 98 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: and the ancient Greek word for theater was odeon, hence nickelodeon. 99 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: The Nickelodeon was a classy place too. The goal was 100 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: to emulate the experience of seeing a live theater performance, 101 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: so thick curtains surrounded the movie screen and the floors 102 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: were lined with expensive carpet. The first movie ever screened 103 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: there was a drama called The Great Rain Robbery. It 104 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,799 Speaker 1: was just ten minutes long and it was totally silent, 105 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: and it was also a huge hit. After this movie, 106 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: theaters started springing up all over the country, but they 107 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: had pretty strict rules, the most shocking among them no 108 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: snacking allowed. There were a couple of reasons for this. 109 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: Of course, first, the carpets right, theater managers didn't want 110 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: their nice rugs getting covered in crumbs. And second, snacks 111 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: that were already associated with entertainment, like potato chips and yes, popcorn, 112 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: were crunchy. But the movies didn't have any audio. Imagine 113 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:33,840 Speaker 1: going to a silent film and all you can hear 114 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 1: in the background is people chewing their food. Definitely not ideal. 115 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: It wasn't until nineteen twenty seven, a full twenty two 116 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: years later that the first movie with sound debuted. This 117 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: led to a huge spike in ticket sales. The nineteen 118 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: thirty movie theaters in the US sold about ninety million 119 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: tickets per week. And now that the whole listening to 120 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: people chew thing wasn't a problem, you would think that 121 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: theater managers might be a little more lax about snacking. Right, well, 122 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: sort of. By this point, street vendors had noticed that 123 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: the outside of a movie theater was a great place 124 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: to find customers. Moviegoers would buy popcorn outside and then 125 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: sneak it into the theater in their coat pockets. Theater 126 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: managers realized that there really wasn't any way to get 127 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: around this, so rather than fight human's natural inclination to 128 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: smuggle snacks into a movie theater, they decided to go 129 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: directly to the street vendors. They gave the salesmen an 130 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: ultimatum either take the popcorn carts elsewhere or pay a 131 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: daily fee to do business outside the theater doors. For 132 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: the most part, the vendors agreed to give a cut 133 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: to the theaters, and the arrangement worked well. But then 134 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen thirties, the Great Depression took hold 135 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,239 Speaker 1: of the United States, entertainment became a luxury that people 136 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: weren't so quick to spend money on anymore. Those record 137 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: breaking ticket sales from just a few years before I'll 138 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: dried up. If the movie industry was going to make 139 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: it through the depression, theater owners needed a way to 140 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: increase profits, and popcorn was the perfect way to do it. 141 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: The ingredients were extremely cheap. A bag of popcorn kernels 142 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: that cost ten dollars could last a theater for years. 143 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: Small bags of cooked popcorn cost customers anywhere from five 144 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: to ten cents, which was a profit margin of about 145 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: eighty five percent. This was the point in history when 146 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: movie theaters began relying less on revenue from ticket sales 147 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: and more on the money they made from selling concessions. 148 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: Snacks had become their saving grace. Once outright banned from 149 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: the movies, theaters now played advertisements encouraging patrons to grab 150 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 1: a bag of popcorn and a soda before the film began. 151 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: By nineteen forty five, more than half the popcorn eaten 152 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: in America was enjoyed in front of the big screen. 153 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: So the next time you're at the movies, snacking on 154 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: some overpriced popcorn. Remember your purchase is part of a 155 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: larger story, one in which the humble popcorn Kernel saved 156 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: the American movie industry from financial collapse that I think 157 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: certainly qualifies as curious. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 158 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 159 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 160 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 161 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 162 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 163 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 164 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 165 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.