1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 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 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to the cabinet of Curiosities. For many of us, 5 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: our idea of archaeology comes from a certain set of 6 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: movies starring a fedora clad professor. He follows the clues, 7 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: assembles the puzzle, and at the end he's found whatever 8 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: mystical mcguffin had propelled him into action in the first place, 9 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: and stop the Nazis. Of course, in reality, though, it's 10 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: not as exciting. Sure, an archaeologist might follow a clue 11 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: to the location of a lost city or a set 12 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: of dinosaur bones. But sometimes all it takes is some 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: heavy machinery and a bit of dumb luck. It came 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: from outer space, at least that's what people thought at 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: first when they pulled it out of the ground. In 16 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: It's known as the wedge of aud and upon first 17 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: glance you might not see what all the fuss is about. 18 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: It was found roughly ten meters below the sand in 19 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: aud Romania. Besides two enormous mastodon bones, the fossils and 20 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: the wedge were set for testing in Transylvania, where it 21 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: was determined that the bones were over ten thousand years old. 22 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: The wedge, however, proved a much greater mystery. Its existence 23 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: dumbfounded the scientists. The object was light lighter than any 24 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: metal from that era should have been. Metal objects found 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: that deep underground tend to be made of iron or 26 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: some other heavy ore. This was nothing like that. In fact, 27 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: it shouldn't have existed at all. Tests revealed that the 28 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: wedge was composed of copper, silicon, zinc, bismuth, silver, and 29 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: most importantly, aluminum illuminate them to be exact. There was 30 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: just one problem. Metallic aluminum, the kind used in soda 31 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: cans and cell phones, wouldn't be discovered until eighteen twenty five, 32 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: thousands of years after the wedges supposed creation. No one 33 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: outside of Romania knew about it, mainly because of the 34 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:23,679 Speaker 1: restrictions on sharing information outside of communist Romania at the time. Additionally, 35 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: it had been given to a historical museum in Transylvania, 36 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: where it resided in storage for over twenty years, and 37 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: then in a Romanian UFO magazine. Yes, a Romanian UFO 38 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 1: magazine discovered it again and That's when the biggest theory 39 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: about the object came to light. The wedge had not 40 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: been man made at all, but by something out of 41 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: this world. Watch any documentary show about ancient civilizations, and 42 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: you're bound to hear one word over and over again aliens. 43 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: After all, how else could humans have mapped thet ours 44 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: or developed irrigation without help from visitors from another planet? 45 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 1: At least that's the idea. I'm being facetious, of course, 46 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: But Romanian, you aphoologist, Flooring gay or Geta was not. 47 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: She believed the wedge had been part of the landing 48 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: gear on an alien spacecraft that had visited Earth during 49 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: the Ice Age, hence its presence so far deep underground 50 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: and its proximity to those masted on fossils. Skeptics, however, 51 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: have an alternate theory. See Aluminum does not spark the 52 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: way steel does, so it's often used to make tools 53 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: for dangerous jobs, for example, digging foundations for buildings near 54 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: possible gas lines, and when the aluminum is coated in 55 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: a substance called dura linum, it becomes incredibly strong. Unfortunately, 56 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: dura lynum has one negative side effect. It oxidizes very quickly. 57 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: In the eyes of the skeptics, the wedge was never 58 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: part of an alien spaceship. Rather, it was a tooth 59 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: that had fallen off an excavator shovel during a construction job. 60 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: This would explain the wedges place of discovery and its 61 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: ancient appearance, But even the skeptics have skeptics that oxidized 62 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: exterior it might not be as new as they thought. 63 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: It has been determined to be around four hundred years old, 64 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: at least two hundred years older than aluminum. Itself hard 65 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: to explain without further testing, but none of it has 66 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: been done. As of yet, we still lack sufficient data 67 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: on the Wedge's origins. For every conspiracy theory that pops up, 68 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 1: someone is ready with the rational explanation as to why 69 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: the whole thing is just a hoax. We may never 70 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: know where it came from or why it was discovered 71 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: beside a pair of mastodon bonds, but maybe that's okay. 72 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: It was a fun story to entertain, after all, and 73 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: every now and then we all need to find a 74 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: way to wedge a little wonder into our lives, don't we. 75 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,559 Speaker 1: Her name was Locusta and she was born in gaul 76 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: An area known today as present day France during the 77 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: Roman Empire in the first century. Her origins are a mystery. 78 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: It was suspected she was a peasant, but one who 79 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: had developed a green thumb of sorts, not for crops, 80 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: though she didn't care much for growing roses either. She 81 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: went for something with a little more kick. Locusta discovered 82 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,679 Speaker 1: that if she mixed fun guy, deadly nightshade, and other 83 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: types of plants, and even blood, she could create something toxic, 84 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: something poisonous. She started out by testing her various potions 85 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 1: on animals she found, then adjusted the ratios for maximum potency. 86 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: Her only problem was her location. There just wasn't a 87 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: call for a professional poisoner out in the countryside, where 88 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: people were more concerned with getting by than casting vengeance 89 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: upon her enemies, So she took her services where she 90 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: knew they'd be in demand, the city, namely Rome Jock. 91 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 1: Full of intrigue and political backstabbing, Locusta fancied herself an 92 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: entrepreneur and saw an opportunity to help the wealthiest Roman 93 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: influencers take each other out without anyone knowing. Oftentimes, her 94 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: assassinations looked like run of the mill heart attacks, enemies 95 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: of Emperor Claudius fell to the ground, clutching their chests 96 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: or their throats as they foamed at the mouth, the 97 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: muscles and their bodies tensing up to the point of 98 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: snapping until all went black. Her talents went viral in 99 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: a way, with her name being passed along through the 100 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: underground networks of ill repute. If you needed someone killed 101 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: without it looking like a murder, you called Locusta the poisoner. 102 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: Of course, once the bad guys knew about her, so 103 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 1: did the authorities, and Locusta found herself arrested on murder 104 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: charges more than once. It didn't matter, though, because the 105 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: throne saw her as an asset, one royal free from Claudius, 106 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: and moments later she was back to toiling and troubling. 107 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: Claudius's fourth wife, Julia Agrippina, took a liking to Locusta 108 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: and employed her as her own personal poison consultant. Agrippina 109 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: had a history of poisoning her husband's and inheriting their wealth, 110 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: all with an eye on the throne. Not for herself, however, 111 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: but for her son Lucius. She couldn't rule, but she 112 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: could control a ruler from behind the scenes. Lucia's father 113 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: had already died, but Agrippina's third husband, the Emperor Claudius, 114 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: needed an air after his son from a previous wife 115 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: had been deemed unfit to lead. What better way to 116 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: secure a new heir than adopting the one living under 117 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: his own roof, and he did, having the boy changed 118 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: his name to Nero, But it didn't take long for 119 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: Agrippina to grow restless. She didn't want to wait for 120 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: her husband to die and her son to take over 121 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: as emperor, so she paid a little visit to an 122 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: old friend. Locusta, mixed a poise and to get rid 123 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: of the emperor's bodyguard, then paid the royal food taster 124 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: to take the day off so she could enact her plan. 125 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: A few deafcap mushrooms in his stew were all it 126 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: took for Claudius to go down. The emperor's doctor was 127 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: summoned immediately. He performed the standard procedure to help a 128 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: choking victim by sticking a feather down Claudius's throat to 129 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: trigger vomiting. Locusta had seen to that as well, though, 130 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: moments before, she had doused the feather in strychnine Claudius 131 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: died and Nero took his place, with his mother in 132 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: his ear all the time. Agrippina had finally made it 133 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: to the top, well as close as she was going 134 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: to get her personal poisoner. However, did it fare so well. 135 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: There was still one loose end to tie up, so 136 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: Agrippina accused Lacusta of poisoning her husband and had her 137 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: sentence to death. It's okay, though, because Nero knew a 138 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: good thing when he saw it and had a young 139 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: woman released. You see, he had fallen out with his mother, 140 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: who had become a bit too much of a burden 141 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: on him, and the two had parted ways. Locusta didn't 142 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: do too badly after that. She moved into a palace 143 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 1: and started a school to teach other women the art 144 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: of poisoning. She also developed new formulas and tested them 145 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,959 Speaker 1: out on thieves and slaves and other people she thought 146 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: were deserving of death. But as we've learned, political turmoil 147 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: exacts a heavy toll on everyone involved, and nobody gets 148 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: out unscathed. Locusta has passed eventually caught up with her. 149 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: After Nero's tragic suicide, his successor, Galba had grown sick 150 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: of all the poisoning and the woman behind it. He 151 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,200 Speaker 1: sentenced Locusta to death and had her dragged through the 152 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: streets and chains before being publicly executed. A gruesome end 153 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,599 Speaker 1: for a gruesome person. Experts have called Locusta Histories for 154 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 1: serial killer, but that title isn't quite right. She didn't 155 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: kill out of compulsion or passion or some sociopathic tendency. No, Acusta, 156 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: the poisoner was something more. She was histories first hit woman. 157 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 158 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 159 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,959 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 160 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership 161 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 162 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,080 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 163 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,200 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 164 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.