1 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. A journal is a sacred thing. It holds 7 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: our deepest dark it's secrets. It doesn't judge us, it 8 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: doesn't betray our trust, and it doesn't hold a grudge. 9 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: A journal or a diary can be our best friend, 10 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: as long as it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. 11 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: That is. During the nineteen fifties, enormous husband had encouraged 12 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: her to keep a diary of her own. She was 13 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: a bit of a social butterfly, often attend lavish parties 14 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: and meeting fun and interesting people. He thought it would 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,559 Speaker 1: be good to save those stories for posterity, so Norma 16 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: started writing down her encounters. Except unlike most people who 17 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,839 Speaker 1: kept their private thoughts hidden from the rest of the world, 18 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: Norma had no qualms about sharing hers with almost everyone 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: she met. A close friend of hers named Robert claimed 20 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,320 Speaker 1: to have seen the diary for himself. He wrote about 21 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: his time with Norma and the thing she'd allegedly written about. Unfortunately, 22 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,279 Speaker 1: days after he'd caught a glimpse of it, she died. 23 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: Ever since then, the circumstances surrounding her death had been 24 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: discussed and debated. Was it an accident or was it 25 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: foul play? Robert wanted to learn more, and he thought 26 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: the diary would have been a great place to start, 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: But it was gone. It had been full of anecdotes 28 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: about the people in her inner circle. Politicians, athletes, and 29 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: celebrities of the time had all graced its pages, some 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: more than once. In fact, rumor had it that her 31 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: dealings with a pair of brothers were what did her in, 32 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: and the diary the CIA made sure no one ever 33 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: saw it again. The Norma I'm referring to is none 34 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: other than Norma Jean Mortenson a k a. Marilyn Monroe. 35 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: Maryland's book of Secrets was known as her Red Diary, 36 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: and between its covers was a lifetime's worth of trouble 37 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: for both its author and the men in her life. 38 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: Her husband, the legendary baseball player Joe DiMaggio, had suggested 39 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: she start the diary as a way to remember all 40 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 1: the amazing actors she worked with in Hollywood. He never 41 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: expected her to record state secrets in it. Though Monroe 42 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: had been involved with President John F. Kennedy, but rumors 43 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: started to circulate that his brother Robert was also tied 44 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: to the star. According to certain reports, both men had 45 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: decided to cut ties with her, and she threatened to 46 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: go public with their affairs. Of course, they couldn't let 47 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: that happen. On top of that, Monroe had recorded details 48 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: about a White House plot to assassinate Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, 49 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: which she had learned about from JFK himself, Kennedy's though 50 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: We're only the tip of the iceberg. In the days 51 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: and weeks leading up to her deaf Monroe was being 52 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: monitored by the CIA, the FBI, and even the mob. 53 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: They had all tapped her phone lines and bugged her 54 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: house in an effort to learn what she knew. But 55 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: the key details were in her diary, including state secrets, 56 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: pillow talk, and a lot of information that could have 57 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: put the country in jeopardy had it ever gotten out. 58 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: Mobster Sam Giancara saw the diary as a way to 59 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: blackmail JFK and his brother Robert. Some people thought he 60 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: had killed Marilyn Monroe just to get it. Others still 61 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: held to the idea that it had been Robert Kennedy 62 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: who gave her the drugs that inevitably took her life. 63 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: You see, Peter Lawford of rat Pack fame had planned 64 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: on visiting Monroe along with Kennedy the day she died. 65 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: They were going to have her fake a suicide to 66 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: get back in the news, which would have enticed twentieth 67 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: century Fox to rehire her. Except something went wrong. The 68 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: FBI knew about it. They've been listening the whole time. 69 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: By the time the authority showed up to estigate her death, 70 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: the diary was gone. So the natural question is who 71 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: took it? Did Robert Kennedy take the diary? It's possible. 72 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: It's also possible that the CIA finally got ahold of 73 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: it and burned it to erase any potential threats to 74 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: national security. Much like the story surrounding Monroe's death, we 75 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: may never know the truth about the Red Diary. Any 76 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: proof went up in smoke a long time ago. Mascots 77 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: aren't just limited to high schools and colleges, towns and 78 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: cities all over the world have claimed fun and fascinating 79 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: creatures as their animal representatives. In a town in New Zealand, 80 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: for example, a sheep that had disappeared for six years 81 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,159 Speaker 1: was found hiding in a cave. Its wool had grown 82 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: so thick and mangy the wily animal had picked up 83 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: the nickname Shrek. Shrek was eventually caught and sheared on 84 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: live television. Sixty pounds of wool were auctioned off to 85 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: raise money for local charities, and Shrek became the town's 86 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: on official mascots. But not all animals get such a warm, 87 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: exciting welcome, though. In one town in Wisconsin, a certain 88 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: beast has been both honored and feared for over one 89 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: twenty five years. The town of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, had grown 90 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: since a new railroad had turned it into a bustling 91 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: hub of industry in two Ten years later, lumberjacks in 92 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: the area started telling stories about a strange creature prowling 93 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: the north Woods. They had the head of a frog 94 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: with horns coming out the side. It also bore the 95 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: face of an elephant, short stubby legs with enormous claws, 96 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 1: the back of a dinosaur and a long, spear like tail. 97 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: They called it the ho Dag. Its diet was made 98 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: up of snakes, turtles, fish, and the occasional white bulldog. 99 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: Though few had spotted it up till then, it was 100 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: Eugene Shepherd who was credited with its discovery. Shepherd and 101 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: a posse of local hunters banded together and headed into 102 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 1: the woods. Armed with poisoned water, they tried unsuccessfully to 103 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: take down the creature. Whatever poison they'd mixed together hadn't worked, 104 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: it seems, so they turned to the next best thing, dynamite. 105 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: As you'd imagine, that did the trick. The hodag was destroyed. 106 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,799 Speaker 1: The Wisconsin woods were quiet for the next few years 107 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: until Shepherd showed up again, this time claiming to have 108 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: captured a live hodag. He hadn't done it alone, though. 109 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: Instead of hunters, Shepherd took a few bear wrestlers with 110 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: him for assistance. They poured chloroform over the end of 111 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: a long pole and stuck it inside the opening of 112 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: a cave where the hodag was believed to be hiding. 113 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: The fumes filled the cave, overpowering the hoodag until it collapsed. 114 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 1: Shepherd and the wrestlers dragged it out and put it 115 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 1: in a cage to be toured throughout the state. And 116 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: the Hoodag was a gruesome looking creature, and it knew 117 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: it too. It often cried about terrible appearance and it's 118 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: rotten smell, which had been described as that of dead 119 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: buzzards and skunks. Shepherd visited county fairs where he invited 120 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: spectators into his tent to see it for themselves. Nevertheless, 121 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: they'd approached the cage and the Hodag would growl or 122 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: lunge at them, sending them screaming back into the crowd. 123 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: When he wasn't on tour, he allowed people to see 124 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: the Hodag at his home, where it would inevitably elicit 125 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: the same result. News of the creatures spread to the 126 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: local newspapers before winding around Wisconsin and eventually the rest 127 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: of the country. When representatives from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, 128 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: d c. Paid Shepherd a visit, the Rhinelander native knew 129 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: the jig was up. It was time to tell the truth. 130 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: The Hodag he'd taken to county fairs and displayed in 131 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: his house hadn't been caught in the woods. It had 132 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: been made fabricated out of wood and leather. He hooked 133 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: it up to wires, which he would pull to make 134 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: the creature move. However, just because one Hodag was fake 135 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: didn't mean that it had an existed at all, at 136 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: least not to Shepherd's fellow rhine Landers. Years later, the 137 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: town adopted the Hodag as its official mascot, and so 138 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: did the local high school. The story is about the 139 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: mythical beast still circulate today. Anytime a fish is stolen 140 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: off the end of someone's line, or a golf ball 141 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: goes missing, rhine Landers claim it was the work of 142 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: the Hodag, a creature whose legend has taken on a 143 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: life of its own. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 144 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 145 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 146 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 147 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 148 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 149 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 150 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com. 151 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.