1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:38,919 Speaker 1: Let's be honest for a moment. Sports fans are not 7 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: necessarily known for their good behavior. It's not unheard of 8 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: for riots to break out if a beloved team loses 9 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: or even wins. Fans take it on themselves to defend 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: the honor of their team and clash with fans from 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: the opposing club. Whether it's the football hooligans of the 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: UK or baseball fans in the US, these upheavals rarely 13 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: end well. In Ohio, there is one such episode from 14 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies that remains the most infamous in professional 15 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: sports history, and it all happened in June of nineteen 16 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: seventy four. First, the Cleveland Indians were coming off of 17 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: a loss in Texas to the Rangers. It was a 18 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: bitter defeat that included an on field brawl between some 19 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: of the players not a good example for the fans. Second, 20 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: the Indians returned home and prepared to face off against 21 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: the Rangers, only now on their own turf. The stadium 22 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: management prepared a promotion a ten cent beer night to 23 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: draw fans to the game, and the Cleveland Indians hadn't 24 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: been performing well, it must be said, so the attendance 25 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: was down. They typically drew only about twelve thousand fans 26 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: per game. And Third, a local shock jock named Peter 27 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: Franklin spent the weeks leading up to the game urging 28 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: people to attend, saying that this would be their chance 29 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: to take revenge on the Rangers for the brawl in Texas. 30 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: All of this leads to a virtual powder keg on 31 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: the night of the games is double what it normally 32 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: is due to the promotion. There are about twenty four 33 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: thousand fans at the stadium, and beyond that, they're consuming 34 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: lots and lots of beer. Now it's only three percent alcohol, 35 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 1: but if the beers are only ten cents a piece, well, 36 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: the sky's the limit. As one fan said, I had 37 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: two dollars. You do the math. Management supposedly limited fans 38 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: to six beers each, which is already too many, but 39 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: their ability to enforce that limits is questionable. Down on 40 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: the field, the game is close. As the night progresses, 41 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: fans get more and more restless. Things start to get 42 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: wild when a female fan makes her way onto the field. 43 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: She crawls on top of the dugout, removes her top, 44 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: and starts dancing. She eventually wandered over and tried to 45 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: kiss the umpire before finally leaving. Bizarrely, the nudity parade 46 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 1: was only just getting started. Next a man stripped down 47 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: and ran across the field in just his socks. You know, 48 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: you've got to keep your feet safe after all. Now 49 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: it must be said that streakers were actually common at 50 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: this time. There had just been one on live TV 51 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: at the Academy Awards that previous April. People in the 52 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: seventies just really seemed to think it was funny to 53 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: get naked in public, and in the case of this 54 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: Cleveland Indians game. Next up was a father and son duo, 55 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: you know, just to make things even weirder, who walked 56 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: out on the field together and mooned everyone. Clearly, the 57 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: beers were taking their toll. Soon enough, fans were hurling 58 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: cups and hot dogs onto the field management removed the 59 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: player's wives from the bleachers, sensing that things were going 60 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: to get worse from there. And then suddenly, Rangers player 61 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: Jeff Burrows was swarmed with multiple drunk Indian fans who 62 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: taunted him, trying to take his hat, and Indians players 63 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: came to his defense, tackling the most aggressive fan, and 64 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: then all hell broke loose. Hundreds of fans swarmed the field, 65 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: running a muck, taking swings at each other and at 66 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: the players. Security couldn't handle so many people. The best 67 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: they could do was get the players off the field. 68 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: The riot raged on for forty five minutes. Police arrived, 69 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: but in all the chaos they only managed to arrest 70 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: nine people. After that, the umpire you know, the one 71 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: who had narrowly escaped being kissed by a streaker earlier, 72 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: ruled that the game was a forfeit in favor of 73 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: the Rangers. The Cleveland Indians fans had lost their team 74 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: the game. Now, curiously, this was not the last ten 75 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: cent beer Knight at the stadium. The promoters argue that 76 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: it had actually been successful. They had doubled attendance, never 77 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 1: mind the fact that they had gotten everyone so drunk 78 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: that they started a riot. Subsequent beer knights went more 79 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: smoothly after that, as the Cleveland locals wanted to prove 80 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: that they could behate themselves. They were earning their city 81 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: quite the negative reputation. However, over the years, the legend 82 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: of ten cent beer knights only grew to where it 83 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: became something of a badge of honor if you were 84 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: actually there. Fans loved to talk tough about how they 85 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: drank twenty beers, or took a punch to the jaw, 86 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: or stole one of the bases, literally stole one of 87 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: the bases. Nowadays, baseball team are very careful to avoid 88 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: another of these incidents, limiting guests to two beers and 89 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: upping the security at the stadium. But I have to 90 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: say that it's curious this did not occur to them 91 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: so much sooner. The ancient Greeks told the story of 92 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: a boy named Icarus, who was the son of the 93 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: world's greatest inventor. When the pair were imprisoned in a tower, 94 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: the inventor created mechanical wings out of feathers, beeswax, and 95 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: thread so that they could escape together, but Icarus was 96 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: intoxicated by the thrill of flight, and forgot his father's 97 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: warning to stay low. He flew too close to the sun, 98 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: the wax melted, and he plummeted to his death. It is, 99 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: of course a story about Hubris, but on a literal level, 100 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: it was also a reminder that humans were never really 101 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: meant to fly. To the Greeks and many other ancient peoples, 102 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,799 Speaker 1: the skies belonged to the gods. Mortals could dream about visiting, 103 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: but would never belong there. And for roughly three hundred 104 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,799 Speaker 1: thousand years that was true. Then on a blustery December 105 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: day in nineteen oh three, it ceased to be true. 106 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: Two bicycle mechanic brothers named Orville and Wilbur Wright became 107 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: the first humans to achieve powered flight. Their journey lasted 108 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: twelve seconds and one hundred and twenty feet, but a 109 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: changed history in an instant. Within hours, the right brother's 110 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: flight was making headlines. The news of their accomplishment spread 111 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: across the globe, igniting imaginations and inspiring a generation of 112 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: aviation enthusiasts. Among them was a seven year old boy 113 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: from Worcester, Massachusetts named Jean. Jean had always been a 114 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: small boy, and his classmates never let him forget that 115 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: their teasing left him feeling isolated, and so he found 116 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: solace in his daydreams. He spent a lot of time 117 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 1: staring out the window, wishing that he could leave the 118 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: world and his bullies behind. So when Jean heard about 119 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: the Right brother's flight, came obsessed. Boys had dreamed of 120 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: flying for centuries, but now it was possible, and Jane 121 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: was determined to be part of it. Over the next decade, 122 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: he devoured every book and magazine on aviation he could find, 123 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: and by the time he reached adulthood, the American aviation 124 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: industry was just beginning to take off. No pun intended. 125 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: He graduated from high school the very same year the 126 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: first commercial passenger flight was conducted. The plane was still 127 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: light years from the jumbo jet days of today. Of course, 128 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: air travel was a rickety, open cockpit experience, loud, unsteady, 129 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: and far from reliable. Most people at the time saw 130 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: flying as more of a dare devil's stunt than a 131 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: way to travel, But to Jean, it was the future. 132 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: He threw himself into the world of flight, taking every 133 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: opportunity he could to get in a cockpit. Within a 134 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: few years of graduating high school, he earned a reputation 135 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: as one of the best pilots in the country at 136 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: a time when that was a very small group. When 137 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: he wasn't in the cockpit, Jane was analyzing flights in 138 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: the classroom. He attended Clark University and studied physics with 139 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry. That education and 140 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: personal connection became a launching pad for Jane's career. Pretty 141 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: soon he was rubbing elbows with aviation legends. He met 142 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, and Charles Lindberg. He was even 143 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: an early passenger on the Hindenburg, and, as the story goes, 144 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: predicted that it would go up in flames. By the 145 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: time World War One broke out, Jane was no longer 146 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: just a dreamer. He flew for the US Army in Europe, 147 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: engaging in dogfights that were more like duels, where pilots 148 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: circled each other in fragile, wooden biplanes, firing rudimentary machine 149 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: guns from the cockpit. And two decades later, when World 150 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: War II erupted, Jean returned to the skies, this time 151 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: in a sleek, metal, closed cockpit modelplane that barely resembled 152 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: the primitive aircraft of his youth, Aviation was evolving at 153 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: lightning pace, and Jane adapted with it. By the war's end, 154 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: he was working on experimental aircraft for the US Air Force, 155 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: pushing the boundaries of human flight. Gene served until nineteen 156 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: fifty six, when he retired at the rank of colonel. 157 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: He stayed active in the advancing field and later became 158 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: a consultant for NASA. In July of nineteen sixty nine, 159 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: the seventy three year old was watching history unfold yet again. 160 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: Jane had already witnessed aviation's evolution from fragile biplanes to 161 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: supersonic jets, but this was something else entirely, a rocket 162 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: carrying three men beyond Earth's atmosphere. As the lunar module 163 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,680 Speaker 1: touched down, Jane held his breath, and when the grainy 164 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: black and white image flickered onto the screen, he saw 165 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 1: the impossible become real, a man stepping onto the Moon's surface. 166 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: For Gene, though this was more than just history in 167 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,719 Speaker 1: the making, it was also deeply personal because one of 168 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: those lunar astronauts was his very own sun Eugene Aldrin Junior, 169 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: better known to us as buzz I Hope, you've enjoyed 170 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities, subscribe for 171 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,199 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 172 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 173 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. 174 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 175 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 176 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. 177 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.