1
00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,480
Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of

2
00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:13,840
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is

3
00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,960
Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,

4
00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,640
Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

5
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,600
Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet

6
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:40,159
Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Many folkloric and mythological objects do not appear

7
00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,360
Speaker 1: in real life. Poseidon's trident, Paul Bunyan's acts, and King

8
00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,080
Speaker 1: Arthur's sword ex Caliber. They're all known to just about everyone,

9
00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,599
Speaker 1: yet they're nothing more than fiction. The same goes for

10
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,280
Speaker 1: certain structures. There have been no reports of a witch's

11
00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,760
Speaker 1: house running through the Russian wilderness on chicken legs, and

12
00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,400
Speaker 1: yet the tale of Bobby Yaga is one that's passed

13
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,679
Speaker 1: down from generation to generation. But sometimes an item or

14
00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,720
Speaker 1: building jumps out of the story and into reality. In Japan,

15
00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,200
Speaker 1: for example, there's a bridge with a tall tale behind it.

16
00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,360
Speaker 1: About fifty miles from Tokyo in Yamanashi Prefecture is the

17
00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,319
Speaker 1: city of Otsuki. It's history dates all the way back

18
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,679
Speaker 1: to the Goman period. Between fourteen thousand and three b

19
00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,319
Speaker 1: c e. The city was nearly wiped off the map

20
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,959
Speaker 1: in nineteen two days before the end of World War Two,

21
00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,200
Speaker 1: following a bombing by the United States, but it was

22
00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,759
Speaker 1: able to bounce back after two other towns and four

23
00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,680
Speaker 1: villages combined to form a new Otsuki in nineteen fifty four.

24
00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,280
Speaker 1: Despite hundreds of years of change and turmoil, including near extinction,

25
00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,280
Speaker 1: one of the city's lasting treasures is the Saruhashi Bridge,

26
00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,440
Speaker 1: also known as the Monkey Bridge. It's listed as one

27
00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,120
Speaker 1: of the six official Places of Scenic Beauty in Japan,

28
00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,840
Speaker 1: and those who crossed the gorge know that it's a

29
00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,720
Speaker 1: well earned designation. Although no one knows exactly when the

30
00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,560
Speaker 1: bridge was built, an early military document from fourteen seventy

31
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,160
Speaker 1: nine does mention its existence. It is supported by four

32
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,239
Speaker 1: pairs of cantilever beams underneath, which are embedded directly into

33
00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,320
Speaker 1: the cliff on each side. The beams are also tented

34
00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,280
Speaker 1: with their own peaked roofs to keep the rain and

35
00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,000
Speaker 1: other debris a way, while the actual center of the

36
00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,000
Speaker 1: bridge is held up by an arch Of course, a

37
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,000
Speaker 1: bridge doesn't wind up in the cabinet of curiosity simply

38
00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,680
Speaker 1: because it's beautiful. No, it's the reason for its nickname

39
00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,200
Speaker 1: that elevates it from a basic way of crossing a

40
00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:39,040
Speaker 1: river into an architectural marvel. According to the legend, the

41
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,880
Speaker 1: monkey Bridge earned its name in one of two ways.

42
00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,440
Speaker 1: The first comes from a story that dates back to

43
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,639
Speaker 1: the seventh century, which told of a couple who desperately

44
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,680
Speaker 1: needed to cross the gorge with no bridge in place

45
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,280
Speaker 1: at the time. Monkeys living in the surrounding forest emerged

46
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,120
Speaker 1: and used their bodies to form a makeshift bridge so

47
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,679
Speaker 1: that the couple could cross safely. A gardener, am Shiracho,

48
00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,639
Speaker 1: watched all of this happen, so he took it upon

49
00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,520
Speaker 1: himself to build a permanent bridge so that others could

50
00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,840
Speaker 1: cross the gorge easily and without any help from the

51
00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,280
Speaker 1: local wildlife. The other tale isn't as romantic, but it

52
00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,239
Speaker 1: does make more sense. Before the Saruhashi Bridge was installed,

53
00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,840
Speaker 1: there was another, more dilapidated structure in its place. It

54
00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,080
Speaker 1: was said to have been so dangerous that the only

55
00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:29,079
Speaker 1: creature capable of crossing it was an agile monkey. Whether

56
00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,000
Speaker 1: either of those tales is true remains to be seen,

57
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,760
Speaker 1: but the saru Haashi bridge is highly revered. It's one

58
00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,800
Speaker 1: of Japan's three unique bridges, and its beauty has inspired

59
00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:44,480
Speaker 1: numerous paintings over the last two centuries. Japan is rich

60
00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,120
Speaker 1: in history and mythology, and much of its architecture incorporates both.

61
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,680
Speaker 1: The truth behind iconic bridges like the Monkey Bridge, though

62
00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,320
Speaker 1: is not as magical as the stories convey, and yet

63
00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,880
Speaker 1: their elegance and composition make them wonders of the world.

64
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,640
Speaker 1: Beauty and industrial construction don't have to be mutually exclusive.

65
00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,640
Speaker 1: All it takes is a skilled builder, or in some cases,

66
00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:26,240
Speaker 1: a bunch of monkeys. The bridge the gap between them.

67
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,679
Speaker 1: When an author dies, we have their books to remember

68
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,359
Speaker 1: them by. Mary Shelley wrote numerous novels and short stories,

69
00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,320
Speaker 1: but the work she is best remembered for is Frankenstein,

70
00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,440
Speaker 1: her story of a mad scientist who brings to life

71
00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,440
Speaker 1: a creature made of cadaver parts. Frankenstein has been adapted

72
00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,120
Speaker 1: into countless films and is considered by many as the

73
00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,880
Speaker 1: birth of the science fiction genre. Shelley's legacy is more

74
00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,839
Speaker 1: than just a catalog of literary works, though she paved

75
00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,400
Speaker 1: the way for the films, books, and comics we enjoy today.

76
00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,360
Speaker 1: Much like Shelley, there was another author whose novels broke

77
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,200
Speaker 1: ground and influenced those who followed him. Robert Louis Stevenson,

78
00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,640
Speaker 1: the man behind Treasure Island, is why pirate tropes like

79
00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,400
Speaker 1: X marks the spot and parrots on the shoulders are

80
00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,680
Speaker 1: there in the first place. But Stevenson left behind more

81
00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,040
Speaker 1: than his books, and his legacy goes beyond the pirate genre.

82
00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,359
Speaker 1: He practically created. A piece of the author lives to

83
00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,600
Speaker 1: this day, and one lucky person still owns it. In

84
00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,120
Speaker 1: a twelve year old girl named Annie I'd moved to

85
00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,080
Speaker 1: the island of Samoa in the South Pacific. Her father,

86
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,080
Speaker 1: Henry Clay I'd, had been appointed American Land Commissioner there

87
00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,520
Speaker 1: by President Benjamin Harrison. While in Samoa, Henry met Robert

88
00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,160
Speaker 1: Louis Stevenson, the author. His wife and her children from

89
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,960
Speaker 1: her first marriage had moved to the island so Stevenson

90
00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,520
Speaker 1: could recover from the Scottish climate that had been making

91
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,359
Speaker 1: him sick. The two men became fast friends. Stevenson was

92
00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,320
Speaker 1: quite involved in Samoa and politics, and advocated for the

93
00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,280
Speaker 1: rights of Polynesians in the press. He wrote letters to

94
00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,839
Speaker 1: various international publication about his concerns for those at the

95
00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,599
Speaker 1: mercy of colonizing countries like England and the United states.

96
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,840
Speaker 1: He had lived in Samoa since eighteen eighty nine, two

97
00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,240
Speaker 1: years before I'd arrived, and he had seen firsthand the

98
00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,640
Speaker 1: havoc that great powers were doing to the region. Despite

99
00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,280
Speaker 1: i'd being on one side of the conflict and Stevenson

100
00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,040
Speaker 1: on the other, a friendship bloomed between them. It was

101
00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,560
Speaker 1: during one of their conversations when Henry talked to his

102
00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,320
Speaker 1: friend about some trouble he was having with his daughter Annie.

103
00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:29,919
Speaker 1: She had been sad because she had been born on

104
00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:35,240
Speaker 1: December Christmas Day and had never had a proper birthday celebration.

105
00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,279
Speaker 1: The festivities had always been directed towards the birth of well,

106
00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,400
Speaker 1: someone else. Sure, she received Christmas presents, but she had

107
00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,279
Speaker 1: never felt the joy of opening gifts specifically given to

108
00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,400
Speaker 1: her for her birthday. But on June nine, Annie received

109
00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,359
Speaker 1: the greatest gift of all. It had arrived in the

110
00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,799
Speaker 1: form of an official document delivered to her father. It read,

111
00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,839
Speaker 1: in short, I, Robert Louis Stevenson, have transferred and do

112
00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 1: hereby transfer to the said a h i'd all and

113
00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,560
Speaker 1: whole of my rights and privileges on the day of

114
00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:15,480
Speaker 1: November formerly my birthday. In other words, Robert Louis Stevenson

115
00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,400
Speaker 1: had given his own birthday No. To twelve year old

116
00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,400
Speaker 1: Annie I'd. The contract also directed her to use it

117
00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,280
Speaker 1: with moderation and humanity, and that if she didn't, then

118
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,000
Speaker 1: the rights to Stevenson's birthday would revert to the President

119
00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,440
Speaker 1: of the United States. The documents also made Annie his

120
00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,680
Speaker 1: named daughter. She didn't leave her parents or live with him,

121
00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,080
Speaker 1: but Stevenson, in his contract did engage the girl to

122
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,800
Speaker 1: adopt the name Louisa, at least in private, he added,

123
00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,440
Speaker 1: and she did. She also celebrated November as her birthday

124
00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,000
Speaker 1: for years to come. When she got older, she and

125
00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,520
Speaker 1: her family moved back to the United States, and she

126
00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:56,760
Speaker 1: eventually married a U. S congressman. A couple didn't have

127
00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,000
Speaker 1: any children, so Annie passed the birthday down to her niece.

128
00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:02,920
Speaker 1: The niece held onto it until her death, when it

129
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,680
Speaker 1: eventually found its way to her granddaughter, Heather fin of Ireland.

130
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,320
Speaker 1: Heather was born on February four but also pops open

131
00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:14,840
Speaker 1: a bottle of champagne every November to celebrate. It's safe

132
00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,880
Speaker 1: to say that Heather will leave the November thirteen declaration

133
00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,320
Speaker 1: to the next in line for now, though Stevenson's memory

134
00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:25,320
Speaker 1: lives on, not as an author or political agitator, but

135
00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,720
Speaker 1: as someone who just wanted to give his friend's daughter

136
00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,640
Speaker 1: the one thing she had never received a birthday gift.

137
00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,600
Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet

138
00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,480
Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn

139
00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:46,120
Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com.

140
00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,680
Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership

141
00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:53,040
Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show

142
00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,200
Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show,

143
00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,360
Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the

144
00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:04,200
Speaker 1: World of Lore dot Come and until next time, stay curious.

145
00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:05,280
Speaker 1: H