1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,239 Speaker 1: Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: in history today. Heads up that you also might hear 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,039 Speaker 1: two different hosts, me and Tracy V. Wilson. With that said, 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: on with the show. Welcome to this day in History 5 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: Class from how Stuff Works dot com and from the 6 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class. It's the 7 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: show where we explore the past one day at a 8 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: time with a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 9 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: it's September nineteen. Let's see the Iceman was discovered on 11 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: this day. In Two German hikers found him. Their names 12 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: were Erica and Helmet Simon. They were hiking in the 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,959 Speaker 1: Alps near the border of Austria and Italy, and they 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: walked past this gully that was full of mostly melted snow. 15 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: They saw something there that they thought was trash, but 16 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: when they look a little closer, they realized it was 17 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: a body. They took a picture and they to report 18 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: it to the authorities because they thought this was somebody 19 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: who was recently deceased, somebody who had been murdered or 20 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: had accidentally died. Getting lost in the mountains not long ago. 21 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: Authorities came the next day to try to drill the 22 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: remains out of the ice. Because his upper body was 23 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: exposed but his lower body was just encased, and because 24 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: everybody thought this was a recent victim of some kind 25 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,479 Speaker 1: of accident or violence, there weren't any archaeologists in the scene, 26 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: and the attempts to remove the body were pretty rushed 27 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: because of this incoming bad weather, so along the way 28 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: they inadvertently damaged it, not realizing that what they were 29 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: looking at was an archaeological find and not a recent 30 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: murder victim. They did start to get some clues that 31 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: maybe this body was really old. There was an axe 32 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: nearby that was removed from the scene and was definitely 33 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: not a modern tool, and also as they started to 34 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: get more of a look at his clothing and the 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: material around him, it seemed odd and out of place 36 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: in the modern world. The body was finally recovered on September, 37 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: along with pieces of string and hide and leather and 38 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: other materials. While there was no archaeological oversight to the removal, 39 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: it was filmed by the Innsbruck University Institute of Forensic Medicine. 40 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: The body and the acts and the recovered materials were 41 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: all sent for analysis, but they were still all thinking 42 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: that this was a hiker hiker who had died really recently. Finally, 43 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,519 Speaker 1: Conrad Spindler of Innsbruck University was called in to examine 44 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: the body on September and he said he was sure 45 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: it was at least four thousand years old. This led 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: to some discussion about what nation should be responsible for 47 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: this body because it was found so close to the 48 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: border between Austria and Italy. It's also led to some 49 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: discussion about which nation should be responsible for this body 50 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 1: because it was found so close to the border between 51 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: Austria and Italy, and eventually it was decided it should 52 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: remain at Innsbruck and July. In August two there was 53 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,639 Speaker 1: further archaeological research in the area where the body had 54 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: been found and more materials brought back from that. It 55 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: was ultimately determined that this man nicknamed Hutsie, it was 56 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: about five thousand, three hundred years old, and we have 57 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: learned so much about him and about the world from 58 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: five thousand years ago since this discovery. Butts he had 59 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: sixty one tattoos which were made from rubbing charcoal into 60 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: incisions that were made in his skin. It was probably 61 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: around forty five when he died. He had some horizontal 62 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: grooves also known as bows lines on the one recovered 63 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: fingernail that they found, which suggests that he experienced some 64 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: great physical stress at several points in his life. His 65 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: last meal concluded dried goat meat that for some reason 66 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: was widely reported as bacon. He had plaques in his 67 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: arteries that suggests some cardiovascular disease, and a DNA contains 68 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: the world's oldest evidence of lime disease. Probably Lutzy has 69 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: relatives still living today. Researchers have gone back and forth 70 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: over Utsi's cause of death as they've done more and 71 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: more research on his remains. The earlier hypothesis is that 72 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: he was murdered, but more recent research suggests that the 73 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: wounds on his body that led to the conclusion that 74 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: he was murdered probably would not have been fatal. He 75 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 1: may have just frozen to death. You can learn more 76 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: about Utsi in the January fourth episode of Stuff You 77 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class, called Utsi Everyone's Favorite copper age Man, 78 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: along with almost every episode in the unearthed series of 79 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: episodes of Stuff You missed in History class. You can 80 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: subscribe to This Day in History class on Apple Podcasts, 81 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts, and you 82 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: can tune in tomorrow for a battle that was famous 83 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: but not violent. Hello, Welcome to this Day in History class, 84 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: where we flipped through the book of history and bring 85 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: you a new page every day. The day was September nineteenth, 86 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty seven. The first fully contained underground detonation took 87 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: place at a research center in Nevada. The test, which 88 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: was part of a series of nuclear tests called Operation 89 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: plum Bob, did not produce any radioactive fallout. Operation plum 90 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,720 Speaker 1: Bob stirred up controversy once much of it was declassified. 91 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,239 Speaker 1: Operation plum Bob was a series of twenty three nuclear 92 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: detonations and six safety tests conducted by the US military 93 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: between May and October of nineteen fifty seven at the 94 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: Nevada test site. The tests took place during the Cold War, 95 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: at a time when the US and the Soviet Union 96 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: were engaged in a nuclear arms race. The two were 97 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: spending a lot of time and money on developing bigger 98 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 1: and better nuclear weapons like the hydrogen bomb. The threat 99 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: of nuclear war was always present. The Nevada Test site 100 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: was an important site for atmospheric and underground nuclear testing 101 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: from the nineteen fifties to the nineteen nineties. Operation plum 102 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: Bob was one of many series of nuclear tests conducted 103 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: during this time, but it was a particularly long and 104 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 1: comprehensive series. It tested nuclear weapons for potential inclusion in 105 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: the defense arsenal. Most of the shots in the series 106 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: were conducted to test design principles for nuclear warheads that 107 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: would be put on intercontinental and intermediate range missiles, but 108 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: plum Bob also tested warheads to make advances in air 109 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: defense and anti submarine web and systems. The safety tests 110 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: were designed to make sure that there would be no 111 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: nuclear reaction if its high explosive components were accidentally detonated. 112 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: In addition to this, the operation allowed the military to 113 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: test the effect of nuclear blasts on structures and aircraft, 114 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: and it allowed scientists to study the effects of radiation 115 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: on living organisms. Pigs were subjected to experiments to test 116 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:32,239 Speaker 1: protective materials and the effects of flying debris. The Rainier 117 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: test was conducted on September nineteen at four pm local 118 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: time in an underground tunnel A modified W twenty five 119 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: warhead was used for the test. It's explosive yield was 120 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: one point seven kilotons. Because it was an underground test, 121 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: it was not easily observable by outsiders and had less 122 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: potential of causing a massive amount of fallout. Seismologists around 123 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: the world could detect the tests, which was conducted to 124 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: evaluate containment and detection of underground nuclear tests. The success 125 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: of Rainier incited efforts to understand the phenomenology of contained 126 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: underground explosions. Those included tunneling into the radioactive zone, theoretical modeling, 127 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: and lab measurements. More underground tests were conducted the next year, 128 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: but in late nineteen fifty eight, the US, Britain, and 129 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union agreed to a three year moratorium on 130 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: nuclear testing. After that, almost all nuclear testing in Nevada 131 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: was done underground. During the nuclear testing phase of Operation 132 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: plumb Bob, a lot of radiation was released into the 133 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: air since the other tests were not underground. Declassified documents 134 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 1: revealed that the plum Bob tests released about fifty eight 135 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: thousand and three hundred kilo cries of radio iodide into 136 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: the atmosphere over four months. Civilians and troops who conduct 137 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: did exercises near detonations were exposed to the relatively high 138 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: levels of radiation. Nuclear fallout is a hazard to the 139 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: environment and to biological life, and it can cause illness 140 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: and death. In nineteen sixty three, the US and the 141 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: Soviet Union, along with other countries, signed the Partial Test 142 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:24,439 Speaker 1: Band Treaty, which banned nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, 143 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: in outer space and underwater. I'm Eve stef Code and 144 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 145 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, 146 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: and Facebook at t d i h C podcast. We'll 147 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: see you here in the same place tomorrow. For more 148 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 149 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.