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 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Leaders come in all 5 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: shapes and sizes, but they tend to possess certain similarities. 6 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: They must be strong, opinionated, and their dedication to their cause, 7 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: good or bad, must be great enough to convince others 8 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: to join with them. In the case of two particular leaders, however, 9 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: it seems timing was everything. When we think about Napoleon, 10 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: we think of an emperor, his hand tucked into the 11 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: front of his uniform and his diminutive figure perched atop 12 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: a dark horse crossing the Alps in paintings we've seen 13 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: all over the world. He didn't get that way by 14 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: acts in it, though. Napoleon and his ambitious rise to power, 15 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 1: had to start somewhere. Born in August of seventeen sixty 16 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: nine to Italian nobility, he eventually moved to France when 17 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: he was just nine. He graduated from French military school 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: at sixteen as a second lieutenant in the artillery. Napoleon 19 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: rose through the ranks from second lieutenant to brigadier general, 20 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: winning battles across Europe for the French army. In eighteen 21 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 1: o four, his military prowess paid off in a ceremony 22 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Pope Pious the seventh 23 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: declared the thirty five year old Napoleon Emperor of France. 24 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: This was the uh crowning achievement of what is known 25 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: as the Napoleonic Era, a period of roughly sixteen years 26 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: when Emperor Napoleon conquered countries across continental Europe and things 27 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: went well for the young emperor. Following his coronation, he 28 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: established the French Empire and began a lengthy crusade to 29 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: expand it as far as possible. Eighteen o nine saw 30 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: his victory against the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram. 31 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: The clash lasted only two days but resulted in a 32 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 1: devastating loss of life for both sides. The Austrians, unable 33 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: to bear any more casualties, surrendered Vienna to Napoleon's forces. 34 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: His ambitions only grew larger after conquering Vienna. French forces 35 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: sought occupation in Spain and Russia as well, but the 36 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: opposing armies were prepared there. It was at eighteen twelve 37 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: when Napoleon witnessed the first of several crucial defeats. He 38 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: invaded Russia to enforce a stricter trade system and to 39 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: expand his empire, but was forced to retreat. In fact, 40 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: that's what the period became known as the Great Retreat. 41 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: He battled for several years after that, but each battle 42 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: saw his forces pushed back even farther. Napoleon had lost 43 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: the territories he'd taken, and by April of eighteen fourteen, 44 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: the time had come for a new ruler. Louis the 45 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: eighteenth took over on the throne and poured defeat in 46 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: Napoleon and was banished to an island in Tuscany. You know, 47 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: people like Napoleon don't come around every day. In fact, 48 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: they're often one of a kind. At least that's what 49 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: people thought for over a hundred years. It wasn't until 50 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three when shades of Napoleon started to appear 51 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: across Europe. That was the year Adolph Hitler became Chancellor 52 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: of Germany one hundred twenty nine years after Napoleon's coronation. 53 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: Five years later, Hitler's forces took over Vienna and turned 54 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: it into a Nazi territory one twenty nine years after 55 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: Napoleon's invasion and eventual conquering of Vienna in the name 56 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: of the French Empire. And in nineteen one, Hitler sent 57 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: over four million Access troops, the largest force in history, 58 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: to take on one million Soviet soldiers in Russia. You 59 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: might assume that that much firepower would mean a quick 60 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: defeat for the Russian forces, but the Nazis hadn't counted 61 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: on the harsh Russian whether to slow them down. The 62 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: Soviets used the muddy to reign to their advantage and 63 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: beat the Germans back in a glorious defeat, marking the 64 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: beginning of the end of Hitler's power in World War Two. 65 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: Oh and can you guess the span of years between 66 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: Hitler's defeat in Russia and that of Napoleon's. If you 67 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: guessed one nine years, then you've been paying attention. It 68 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: seems to leaders with over zealous plans for Europe had 69 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: more in common than we thought. Could Hitler have been 70 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:32,679 Speaker 1: Napoleon reincarnated, his lust for power unquenched even after one years? 71 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: Or is the answer much simpler than that. Perhaps this 72 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: strange coincidence is nothing more than a perfect example of 73 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: history repeating itself. Anyone with a sibling knows the typical 74 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: struggles they face. One it's more attention than the other. 75 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: The younger sibling always has to tag along behind the 76 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: older one, and the copying whatever the older sibling does 77 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: just has to be imitated by the younger one. And twins, 78 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: you might say, have it worse. They are only too 79 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: aware of the nature of their close relationship. Twins have 80 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:22,119 Speaker 1: been known to share secret languages or every waking moment 81 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: together as each other's best friends. In some families, twins 82 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: can be highly competitive. One will not let the other 83 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: outdo them in a particular sport or activity. Everything becomes 84 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: a contest to show who can do it better, who 85 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: is the superior twin. You might also be surprised to 86 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,840 Speaker 1: know it's not uncommon for twins to read each other's thoughts. 87 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: One can know what the other is thinking. They can 88 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: finish each other sentences too. There are even stories of 89 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: twins connections being so strong one knows when the other 90 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: is injured or in trouble. It's hard not to think 91 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: that might have been what happened with a pair of 92 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: seventy three year old Finnish twins over fifteen years ago. 93 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: One brother had been riding his bicycle in the town 94 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: of Rage, almost four hundred miles north of Helsinki along 95 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,119 Speaker 1: the western coast. This wasn't an unusual ride for the man. 96 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: He rode his bike everywhere, navigating suburban streets and busy 97 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: thoroughfares with ease. However, on this day, only weeks before 98 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: the snow would give way to springs budding flowers, fate 99 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: had caught up with the man. The elderly gentleman would 100 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,479 Speaker 1: never arrive at his destination. While crossing a busy road 101 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: on his bicycle, a road he'd crossed hundreds of times 102 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: without incidents, he was struck and killed by a passing truck. 103 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: It's not clear why the truck hit him. We don't 104 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: know whether the old man hadn't been looking where he 105 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: was going, or if the driver of the truck had 106 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: been distracted. But in a split second, the poor finished 107 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: man and his bicycle we're gone. Police arrived at the 108 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: scene and established a perimeter, questioning witnesses as to what 109 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: they'd seen just before the accident. It was odd, They noted. 110 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 1: Though the road had been infamous for its high traffic levels, 111 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: accidents were rare, especially involving pedestrians or cyclists. The police 112 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: had not reported the man's death to his family just yet. 113 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: There was still more to investigate. While crews cleaned up 114 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: the road and prepared the body for transport, no one 115 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: other than the first responders, the truck driver, and the 116 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: witnesses at the scene knew what had transpired. But like 117 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: I said, twins are known to possess a kind of 118 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: sixth sense between them. One always knows when the other 119 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: is hurt or scared, or in deep trouble. There's an 120 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: inexplicable connection that comes from sharing a womb with another person, 121 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: which is why it's not so hard to believe the 122 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: man's brother had some idea of what had happened. It's 123 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: possible he'd been on his way to see his brother 124 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: when the truck collided, or maybe he'd felt a sudden 125 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: loss of life, the shifting of the air and the 126 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: clouds darkening above him, a twang of pain in his heart, 127 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: like a string snapping on a guitar. He had to 128 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: go see what had happened for himself and so he 129 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: mounted his own bicycle and headed down the same stretch 130 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: of road. Two hours after the collision, the victim's twin brother, 131 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: only one mile away from the scene of the accident, 132 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: crossed the same road on his own bicycle, and, in 133 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: a twist of fate too impossible to believe, he too 134 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: was hit and killed by a passing truck. Such coincidences 135 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: have an almost supernatural feel, like someone or something is 136 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: playing a sick game with our lives. What befell the 137 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: twins was, without a doubt, a tragedy to tragedies in fact, 138 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: but it cements the relationship between twins better than anything else. 139 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: Wherever you'll find one, the other isn't far behind. I 140 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 141 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 142 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 143 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 144 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 145 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 146 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 147 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.