1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Sometimes we need a career change. Doing the 7 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: same job, working for the same boss every day for 8 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: a number of years can get tiresome, especially if that 9 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: boss doesn't have our best interests at heart. We get 10 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: burned out, and the job we've loved all that time 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: no longer fulfills us the way it used to. Except 12 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: Belgium's sisters of the Order of Poor Claire did love 13 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: their job. They were nuns living simple, sheltered lives, full 14 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: of prayer and joy. But when one of their own 15 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: put that simple life in jeopardy, they jumped into action 16 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: in a way nobody ever expected. The Poor Claires, as 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: they were sometimes called, were formed in twelve twelve by 18 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: Claire of Assisi. She had been born in Italy to 19 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: a wealthy family, but gave it all up when she 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: was seventeen to follow St. Francis and his teachings. She 21 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: became a nun and swore herself to a life of 22 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: extreme poverty. Claire was eventually joined by her mother and 23 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: two sisters, along with several other rich women from Florence. 24 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: Soon Claire had her own order, and she put down 25 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: some pretty strict rules for everyone to follow. They weren't 26 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,199 Speaker 1: allowed to own any property, nor could they have much money. 27 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: Anything they owned was to be given to them by 28 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: the people in their community. Now, over the years, the 29 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: poor Claires grew in number and spread out across Europe 30 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: and the America's including Belgium. There in the city of 31 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: Bruge there was a six year old convent that had 32 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: been home to a group of Claires. They loved it 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: there and kept mostly to themselves, not interacting much with 34 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: the people on the outside, at least not until Ronnie 35 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: Crabs showed up on their doorstep. Crab came to them 36 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: in ninety five, working as a groundskeeper and a jack 37 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: of all trades around the convent. If the nuns needed 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: to be driven somewhere, they called on Ronnie. Something broken 39 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: needed fixed. There was Ronnie. Grass had to be cut. 40 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: You guessed it, Ronnie. Now, although he wasn't a woman, 41 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: a nun, or a devout member of their order. The 42 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: Claires took a liking to Crab. He started giving them 43 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: small tastes of the outside world, and in return, they 44 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: put him in charge of their financial holdings. Things ran 45 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: smoothly for the next three years until they overheard some 46 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: unsettling news. They were going to lose their convent. But 47 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: it wasn't Ronnie's fault. It was the bishops. You see. 48 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: The bishop wanted to separate the Claires, placing each of 49 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: them in different churches while he sold off the art 50 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: and artifacts within the convent. We're talking about hundreds of 51 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: years worth of holy relics. As for the building itself, 52 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: it would also be sold off and probably demolished so 53 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: that private buyers could use the land. So, not wanting 54 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: to lose their home and their bond, the sisters took 55 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: matters into their own hands. They found out that they 56 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,399 Speaker 1: actually had more rights than they known about. The existing 57 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: by laws allowed them to change the rules of ownership 58 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: without the diocese's involvement, so the nuns quickly took over 59 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: complete ownership of the convent. They also amended the by 60 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: laws stating that their assets would go to the church 61 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: when they died. Now their families would be compensated instead. 62 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: From there, the Claires, with Ronnie Crabbe's help, started selling 63 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: off whatever they could, including art and holy relics. The 64 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: bishop found out what the sisters were doing and he 65 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: met with the mother superior sister Anna. He wanted to 66 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: salvage the situation and keep them from selling the convent 67 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: to The Bishop promised her that the church would take 68 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: care of all of them and give them everything they 69 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: needed for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately for him, 70 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: though he'd already missed the boat, the sisters had already 71 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: sold the convent to a series of textile companies for 72 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: nearly one point five million dollars. The bishop flipped. He 73 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: called the authorities and tried to have the Claires arrested 74 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: for stealing from the church, except they hadn't stolen from 75 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: the church. They had done their due diligence and had 76 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: every right to sell their own convent. The Claires used 77 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: the money to buy a fixer upper of a castle 78 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: in the south of France, and those old timey rules 79 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: of extreme poverty and no possessions that they've been following, well, 80 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: those went out the window too. The poor Claires bought 81 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: a Cadillac, half a dozen Mercedes sedans, and a fully 82 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: stocked limousine with the sticker price of over a hundred 83 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. They also chartered an ambulance to bring Sister Agnes, 84 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: the oldest of their order, up to their new home. 85 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: Once they reached the castle, the sisters dropped some more 86 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: cash on eleven race horses and lived out the next 87 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: several weeks in the lap of luxury, well sort of, 88 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: you see. The castle didn't have heat or running water, 89 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: and Ronnie Crabb turned out to be not such a 90 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: great friend after all, while the sisters had been selling 91 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: off church property, he was pocketing millions of dollars for himself. 92 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: Crab was eventually arrested, spending over a month in prison 93 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: as he awaited his trial until he was mysteriously released. 94 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: The charges, you see, had been dropped. The sale of 95 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: the convent was also avoided, and the church regained control 96 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: of everything. And as for the Claires, they were rewarded 97 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: with a permanent stay in a retirement home for the 98 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: rest of their lives. Things might not have ended the 99 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: way they'd hoped, but the poor Claires did pull off 100 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: in Ocean's eleven style heist of their own convent from 101 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,679 Speaker 1: right under the bishop's nose, at least for a while. 102 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: And through it all they've done what any sister would 103 00:05:48,040 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: have done. They kept the faith. It seems like there's 104 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: a medicine for everything these days. Dealing with about of 105 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: indigestion got a weird rash, There are treatments for those. 106 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: There's even a medicine to help people with Catard's delusion, 107 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: a disorder that makes those afflicted think that they are 108 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 1: dead and rotting. But before there was a pill or 109 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: a cream or an injection for every little ailment, there 110 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: was silphium. Silphium was a miracle drug. Among its many applications, 111 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: it was used to season meals fed to livestock, to 112 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: plumping them up, to increase one's libido. It was even 113 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: used as a contraceptive. But perhaps most commonly, sylfium was 114 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,559 Speaker 1: deemed a cure all, a wonder drug that was taken 115 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,159 Speaker 1: to alleviate everything from the sniffles and headaches to hernia's 116 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: and tumors. Anytime someone asked, does this look infected, the 117 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: answer would inevitably be, just take some sylvium. It was 118 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: also relied on to jump start menstruation, just stirred up 119 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: with a little pepper, a dashamer and some wine. Now 120 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: miracle products that promised to cure everything under the sun 121 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: became commonplace throughout the eighteen hundreds. They were branded as 122 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: snake oil solutions and were mostly chock full of addictive 123 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: drugs like cocaine and opium, but not sylfium. It wasn't 124 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: a snake oil, at least not to the likes of 125 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: Julius Caesar, who depended on it so much he kept 126 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: fifteen hundred pounds of it in his treasury. You see, 127 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: sylfium was nothing more than a plant, and a popular 128 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: one at that. According to legend, sylfium started popping up 129 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: after a black rain had fallen over the city of 130 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: Syrene on Libya's northern coast more than two thousand years ago. 131 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: It was identified by its dense, blackened roots covered in bark, 132 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: as well as its yellow green leaves on top. Its 133 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: stock was hollow, and it was covered in tiny yellow flowers. 134 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: When it wasn't being mashed up into medicinal paste or 135 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: sprinkled like salt over a dish, it was being enjoyed 136 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: as a meal unto itself. The stocks were often cooked 137 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: either were a flame or in a pot of boiling 138 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: water before being crunched on. Every part of the sylphium 139 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: plant was utilized for something, from its roots, which could 140 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: be dipped in vinegar and eaten raw, to its flowers, 141 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: which were turned into aromatic perfumes. Looking to spice up 142 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: your salad, just sprinkle on a dried form of its 143 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: sap to boost its flavor. Greece and Rome came to 144 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: use so much of the plant that it puts syrene 145 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: on the map. Sylphium became one of their main exports 146 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: and started appearing on the city's currency. It was literally 147 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: worth its weight in gold. But of course, when someone 148 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: in power gets a taste of something good, they want 149 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 1: to control it for themselves, folks like Emperor Augustus of Rome. 150 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: He ordered that every last plant, seed and by product 151 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: to be sent to him as tributes. But still its 152 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: use continued to spread. Writers and singers wax poetic about it, 153 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,079 Speaker 1: and its name appeared in various written works. Pliny of 154 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: the Elder wrote about it a lot in his ten 155 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: volume naturalist history Area. So what happened to all that sylfium. Well, 156 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,559 Speaker 1: the long story short is it's extinct. But the reasons 157 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: why are numerous. For one, it was used for everything. 158 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: The fact that we don't have it today is primarily 159 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: because all of it was eaten, ground up, shredded, and 160 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: ingested thousands of years ago. It was also believed that 161 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: farmers would let their cattle and sheep graze on it freely, 162 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: but never planted more, which brings us to the other 163 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: problem with sylfium. It was almost impossible to cultivate manually, 164 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: as the ancient Greeks discovered when they tried to grow 165 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: it on their own land and failed. Whatever the reason, 166 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: sylfium is no more, but the image of it still 167 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,319 Speaker 1: exists today throughout culture. And just take a look at 168 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: any greeting card or decoration on Valentine's Day. The sylphium seed, 169 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: as depicted on coins from ancient Syrene, was shown as 170 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:53,719 Speaker 1: a scalloped V shape that came to a point at 171 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: its base. Given sylphium's use and love making, either before 172 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: or after, depending on the knee, it became a symbol 173 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: of love and lust. The ancients saw it as just 174 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: a seed, but we know it today as a way 175 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: to tell someone how we feel that symbol the heart. 176 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 177 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,719 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 178 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 179 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership 180 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 181 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 182 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 183 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 1: World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.