1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Menk's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: and if history is an open book, all of these 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: amazing tales right there on display, just waiting for us 5 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Fans and 6 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: critics were surprised at the two nineteen Grammy Awards. No 7 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: not because the winner was some unknown. In fact, everyone 8 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: knew him, and it wasn't because he was new to 9 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: his craft either. The winner had nine previous nominations. The 10 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,599 Speaker 1: award was his third. He received his first in two 11 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: thousand and seven and his second in two sixteen. He 12 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: called some of music's most prominent stars friends, then performed 13 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: with Willie Nelson and Dizzy Gillespie. Decades before, he spent 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: time on the road with the Allman Brothers, Paul Simon, 15 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: Aretha Franklin's Share, and bands like Fleetwood Mac adored him. 16 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: He counted stars like Bob Dylan as a close personal friend. 17 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: He had musical roots in various genres, from classical and 18 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: southern rock to jazz and blues. As a child, he 19 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: loved hymns, country music, jazz, and of course rock. Part 20 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: of the surprise might have been his age. In twenty nineteen, 21 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: he was ninety four, making him the third oldest Grammy winner. 22 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: In twenty eleven, ninety seven year old Pinetop Perkins won 23 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: for Traditional Blues. In nineteen ninety one, comedian George Burns 24 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,199 Speaker 1: won the spoken Word category for his album An Evening 25 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: with George Burns. Oddly, this new winner never played a 26 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: single instrument, and while he did sing, he never recorded 27 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: a single song. But even this wasn't the biggest shocker. 28 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: The twenty nineteen Grammys had a lot of talented artists 29 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: vying for an award, Lady Beck, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, 30 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: and Tony Bennett, among so many others. Honestly, that nice 31 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: list of talent and nominees is too long to fit 32 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: into any episode. Among the tuxes and designer gowns, the 33 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: audience looked like a red carpet extravaganza. Jennifer Lopez, Weird 34 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: al Billy, Ray, cyrus Well, you get the picture. The 35 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,519 Speaker 1: Grammys az a who's who of the music industry, much 36 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: like the Oscars are to film. The host Alicia Keys 37 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: brought on several artists and even former First Lady Michelle 38 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: Obama to talk about the influence that music had on 39 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: their life. Dolly Parton was even named Person of the 40 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: Year for her musical contributions and her philanthropy. And like 41 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: Dolly Parton, this unique winner had also dedicated much of 42 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: his life to others. He formed his own organization devoted 43 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: to advancing human rights, advocating for democracy, disease prevention, conflict resolution, 44 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: and champion mental help for over eighty countries. Since the 45 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, he and his wife dedicated themselves to fundraising 46 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: for Habitat for Humanity, an organization helping to build affordable 47 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: homes for the underprivileged. But he and his wife didn't 48 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: stop at raising money. No, they pitched in too, and 49 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: during their thirty five year affiliation, the couple helped to build, repair, 50 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: or renovate over four thousand homes. He wrote books when 51 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: he wasn't helping with his organization or Habitat for Humanity. 52 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: In fact, it's the reason he had won two previous 53 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: Grammys and now a third. You see, there's an award 54 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: for the spoken word. Faith A Journey for All joined 55 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: his two previous audio books, Our Endangered Values, America's Moral Crisis, 56 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: and A Full Life Reflections at ninety, all of which 57 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: were Grammy winners. And our winning artist, if you haven't 58 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: guessed his name already, was none other than America's thirty 59 00:03:50,400 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: ninth President, Jimmy Carter. It was the perfect place to 60 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: build a prison. Sprawling over the water on the border 61 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: of Maine and New Hampshire, The castle, as it was dubbed, 62 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: has been active since it was commissioned in the early 63 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: nineteen hundreds. It really does look like something out of 64 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: a fairy tale too, but the real story is something 65 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: much darker. If you look closer, you'll see the concrete, 66 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: the bars, and the foreboding structure of Portsmouth Naval Prison. 67 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: The prison site is CV's Island, which has been essential 68 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: to various military engagements over the years. Initially, it was 69 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: the site of Fort Sullivan, a Revolutionary era structure constructed 70 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: by General John Sullivan and the New Hampshire Militia. It 71 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: sat across the Pascatawa River from Fort Washington and was 72 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: necessary for the defense of Portsmouth, New Hampshire during the war. 73 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,040 Speaker 1: After years of hostilities, the military decided something new was 74 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: necessary since the fort was literally made out of nothing 75 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: but compacted dirt and a prayer. They tore down the 76 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: original structure in eighteen sixty one. The island was perfect 77 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: for training naval personnel, so when the Spanish American War 78 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: broke out in eighteen ninety eight, Camp Long was built, 79 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: along with a stockade to house captured Spanish prisoners until 80 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: they could be traded, or at least until hostilities ceased. 81 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: This was the first prison on the island. Really, it 82 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 1: was the perfect place to have a prison. The island 83 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: was close enough to shore but surrounded by frigid waters, 84 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: so it would be very difficult to escape without a boat. 85 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,039 Speaker 1: When they tore down Camp Long in nineteen o one, 86 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: naval authorities decided that they needed a new and better 87 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,359 Speaker 1: reinforced prison and had it constructed. Portsmouth Naval Prison was 88 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: completed in nineteen oh eight using some of the best 89 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: materials money could buy. The new prison was based on 90 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: a more infamous model, the Alcatraz. The Inescapable Island prison 91 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: on the west coast seemed to be the perfect structure 92 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: to take inspiration from, and hopefully their track record would 93 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:58,359 Speaker 1: be just as good. The prison was a nasty place 94 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: to be. We don't know much about the eighty thousand 95 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: some prisoners that passed through the gates, but we do 96 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: know that it was cold and cramped, and contraband and 97 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: criminal activity inside the prison were left unchecked by the guards. 98 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: There have been plenty of stories about the prison itself. 99 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: The mystique alone would ensure that a far few urban 100 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: legends would crop up. According to one story, Walt Disney 101 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: himself spent time inside the prison. Whether he was a 102 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: visitor or prisoner was unclear. I can't imagine someone would 103 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: want to spend much time inside there, no matter who 104 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: they were, though, But in any case, according to the story, 105 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: Disney was so struck by the castle and the fairytale 106 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,359 Speaker 1: like design that he based a palace in one of 107 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: his movies on it. Now, I personally don't think Cinderella's 108 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: Castle looks much like the Portsmouth Naval Prison, but you've 109 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: got to admit it's a pretty good story. Unfortunately not true. 110 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: Another story, though, from World War One, seems to have 111 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: basis in reality. On May eighteenth of nineteen seventeen, President 112 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: Woodrow Wilson signed these Selective Services Act to draft men 113 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: for the military. It was the first time since the 114 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: Civil War that that had been done. Very few were exempt, 115 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: no matter their wealth, race, or in some cases their health. 116 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: By the end of the war in nineteen eighteen, two 117 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: point eight million men had been drafted into the armed forces. Now, 118 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: of course, some jobs were more attractive than others. For example, 119 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,679 Speaker 1: if it was a choice between being a prison guard 120 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: in New Hampshire or serving in the trenches of France, 121 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: I know what I would choose. Part of a guard's 122 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: job was prisoner transport, and at that point the main 123 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: method of transport was trains. When the guard and his 124 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: prisoner arrived in Boston's South station, they had to change 125 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: trains to complete the journey to Portsmith. The prisoner was 126 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: handcuffed then was secure enough, or so they thought. Unfortunately 127 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: for one guard, the prisoner decided the castle was the 128 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: last place he wanted to be. As they moved from 129 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: one train to another, the prisoner asked the guard if 130 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: he could bomb a smoke. The guard was a habitual 131 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: smoker and was perfectly willing to share as he rooted 132 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: around in his pockets for his matchbook and cigarettes. Though 133 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: the prisoner swung his arms wide and smashed his manacled 134 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: hands into the guard's face. Bruised, bloody, and more than 135 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: a little dazed, the guard knew that he was in trouble. 136 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: According to some versions of the story, if a guard 137 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: lost their charge, they would have to serve the prisoner's sentence. 138 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: Whether or not that's true, I don't know, but it's 139 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: certainly a good incentive to never let a prisoner escape. 140 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: The guard went after the man and laid him out 141 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: flat with his forty five automatic. The guard was treated 142 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: by the Navy, then had to undergo surgery to repair 143 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: his badly split lip. It didn't go well. The operation 144 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: was botched, and later attempts to fix it with plastic 145 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: surgery didn't improve matters either. Still in later pictures in films, 146 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: it's hardly noticeable. However, no matter how well the scar healed, 147 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: there would always be one thing that reminded Humphrey Bogart 148 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,319 Speaker 1: of his time as a guard at the castle, his 149 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: famous lisp that would set him apart from so many 150 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: Golden Age actors. Bogart may have gone on to become 151 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: one of the most recognizable actors in the world, but 152 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: one thing was certain. He would always have Portsmith. I 153 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities, 154 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 155 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 156 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,559 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Manke in partnership with how 157 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 158 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 159 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 160 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: of Lure dot com. And until next time, stay curious.