1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Hey, folks, erin here. Today is the day the first 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: ever official Cabinet of Curiosities book has arrived, and this 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: is the week to grab a copy in whatever format 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: fits your needs hardcover, ebook or audiobook. For audio lovers, 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: we have a special guest to accompany me as we 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: move through the Cabinet audiobook. Danish Schwartz, host of the 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: Amazing history podcast Noble Blood, joins me in the audiobook 8 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: for little conversations in between the topical sections, adding a 9 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: cool layer of insight into the stories that you'll hear. 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: And of course, the hardcover is available everywhere. I specifically 11 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: want to mention that Target has gone all in with 12 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: me on this, putting the Cabinet of Curiosities book into 13 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,319 Speaker 1: stores all across the country. Honestly, I'm blown away by 14 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: the response the book has received in the lead up 15 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: to launch and here we are, so please, please please 16 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: grab a copy today, set it aside as a holiday 17 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: gift for a history lover in your life, or selfishly 18 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: clutch it to your chest and refuse to let anyone 19 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: else touch it. You do you. I'm just grateful that 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: you find listeners are here, supporting the show and spreading 21 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: the word and pointing friends and family to the book 22 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: might be the easiest way to share cabinet with others. 23 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: Find all the links that you'll ever need over at 24 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: Grimandmild dot com slash curiosities, And again, thank you so 25 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: much for helping this book become reality. And now on 26 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: with the show. Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, 27 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:43,279 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild. Our world 28 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an 29 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,639 Speaker 1: open book, all of these amazing tales are right there 30 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to 31 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. In Monawai, Nebraska, Elsie Isler's tavern 32 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: is the only place to be. Well, that's because it's 33 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: the only place, period, because Elsie Isler is the sole 34 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: resident of America's smallest incorporated town. Monawai, Nebraska's population is one. Monawai, 35 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: located just over the border from South Dakota, feels remote 36 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: and isolated. The county it sits in has just two 37 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: thousand people living there. It's seven miles to the nearest 38 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: gas station and sixty to the closest walmart, but Monawai 39 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: wasn't always that small. The town was founded in nineteen 40 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: oh two as a stop on the Chicago North and 41 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: Western Railroad. By the nineteen thirties, it was a bustling 42 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: farming community. Back then, the town had a whopping one 43 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three residents, huge by today's standards. Obviously, 44 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: it had a school, a post office, a church, a 45 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: grocery store, and even a jail. Over the years, though 46 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: the world moved past Monawai. Modernization and the high cost 47 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: of equipment and labor led many farmers to just leave. 48 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: By the time Elsie and her husband Rudy bought the 49 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: Monawai Tavern in nineteen seventy one, much of the town's 50 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: population had already gone. When the railroad shuttered in nineteen 51 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: seventy eight, that was the final blow. The population dwindled 52 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: to just two, Rudy and Elsie. When Rudy passed away 53 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: in two thousand and four, that number dropped to one. Today, 54 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: Monowai's main street is an unpaved dirt track. The downtown 55 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: is completely shuttered except for three buildings Elsie's house, Rudy's library, 56 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: which runs on the honor system, and the Monawai Tavern 57 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: with no noisy neighbors or town meetings. You would think 58 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: being the last person in Monawai would be peaceful, but 59 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: you'd be surprised how busy it gets living in an 60 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: empty town. Ninety year old Elsie spends her days being 61 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: a one woman town. She is the mayor, treasurer, and librarian, 62 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: and she pays taxes to herself to keep everything up 63 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: and running. She secures funding from the state for water 64 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: and power, and even finds time to approve a liquor 65 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: license for herself every year. When she's not running the town, 66 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: of course, she's running the Monawai Tavern, the beating heart 67 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: of Monowai. For fifty years, she's been serving up the coldest, 68 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: not to mention, the only beer in town. Step inside 69 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: and you'll enter Elsie's world. Elsie is a diminutive figure. 70 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: She greets customers kind heartedly from the grill. The wood 71 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: paneled bar is covered with dusty paraphernalia, from vintage road 72 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: signs to black and white pictures of the town. The 73 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: bathroom is an outhouse out back, and above the bar 74 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: is a handwritten placard that reads, if you are grouchy, irritable, 75 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: or just playing mean, There will be a ten dollars 76 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: charge for putting up with you inside the tavern. You 77 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: will see that while Elsie lives alone, she is far 78 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,839 Speaker 1: from lonely. Around fifty people stop in each day to 79 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: grab a burger and chat with Elsie. That number balloons 80 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: on Sundays when local farmers join the weekly running card game. 81 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,799 Speaker 1: She can even count on some of her local patrons 82 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: to jump behind the bar and wash dishes and sling 83 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: drinks on a particularly busy night. Although she's got a 84 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: close crew of regulars from the surrounding towns, people have 85 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: come to visit Elsie from all fifty states and sixty 86 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: different countries. Although the town and the tavern have been 87 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 1: Elsie's life for the past fifty years, she has no 88 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: desire to change things now. As she's told reporters, she 89 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: adores her life in Monowai. She loves meeting all sorts 90 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: of people who come to the tavern and tell her 91 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: about themselves over cheap beers. So if you're driving across 92 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: Highway twelve in Nebraska and find yourself hankering for a bite, 93 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: stop in and say hi. You can count on Elsie 94 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: being behind the bar Tuesday through Sunday morning until night. 95 00:05:44,040 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: Business is booming, even if the population is not. Visit 96 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: London today and you'll get the sense that the city 97 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: doesn't truly awaken until after dark. From South Bank to 98 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: Covent Gardens, dusk brings a flurry of activity. Hobgoers spill 99 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: out of awnings and congregates on sidewalks, Tourists embark on 100 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: midnight jack the Ripper tours accosted by hawkers and street performers, 101 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: and on weekends the night Tube never stops running. But 102 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: it wasn't always like this. Before the late Victorian era, 103 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,919 Speaker 1: poor street lighting made getting around at night difficult. This 104 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: was true in most major cities, but especially so in 105 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: Britain's capital, which regularly grappled with waves of green and 106 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: black fog. These pea soupers, as they were called, grew 107 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: worse and worse during the Industrial Revolution, when factories and 108 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: homes pumped smog from burning coal into the sky, creating 109 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: a dense, impenetrable haze. In a setting like this, going 110 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: outside at night was a dangerous proposition, like stepping into 111 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: a murky nether world populated by criminals and sterious figures. 112 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: Members of the upper class could avoided as much as possible, 113 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: but every now and then you didn't have a choice. 114 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:09,359 Speaker 1: Say a relative fell ill and you had to fetch 115 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: a doctor, or maybe you just stayed at your club 116 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: playing cards a bit later than you intended. And in 117 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: these situations, what was a gentleman or a lady to do. Well. 118 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: If you were very rich, you might have a carriage 119 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: and a few servants to run ahead with a lantern 120 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: to light the way, but most other people were out 121 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: of luck. You couldn't hail a cab in those days, 122 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: but you could do the next best thing, call on 123 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: the services of a link boy. These torch wielding children 124 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: were everywhere in nocturnal London, as commonplace as double decker 125 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: buses are today. For a small fee, they would escort 126 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: you to wherever you needed to go, providing lights and 127 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: directions so that you wouldn't get lost on the way. 128 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: The name linkboy comes from an outdated term for the 129 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: cotton wick on torches that they used. They worked long 130 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: hours for pitiful pay, typically charging just one farthing per 131 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: trip that would be roughly a quarter of a penny 132 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: in today's money, so perhaps it's not surprising that some 133 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: bolstered their income by partnering with thieving gangs. It was 134 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: an easy task for a link boy to lead their 135 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: clients in the wrong part of town, where older, more 136 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: dangerous criminals were lying in wait. It's hard to say 137 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: how often this actually happened, but it was a common 138 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: enough fear that the link boys quickly gained a reputation 139 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: for trouble. Over time, they became almost mythical figures, representing 140 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: the dangers that haunted London's streets. They were viewed as 141 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: impish will of the wisps, who were more likely to 142 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 1: lead you to your death than to your destination. But 143 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: however society saw them, the link boys were never demons. 144 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: Almost all of them were young males who had fallen 145 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: through society's cracks. Many were orphans trying to survive on 146 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: the fringes of a city that had never loved them. 147 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: Each night, they faced dangers that terrified the city's adults 148 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: without any kind of supervision or protection. Around the end 149 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: of the nineteenth century, electric street lights were gradually installed 150 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: around London. These street lamps were significantly more powerful than 151 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 1: the gas lamps that had preceded them, and far more 152 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: effective at cutting through the city's infamous fog. As a result, 153 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: getting from points A to point B became easier, and 154 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: the demand for link boys plummeted. Soon they vanished entirely. 155 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: The children who had once lit up London's foggy streets 156 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: would now earn their bread like the rest of the 157 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: city's poor, toiling away in dangerous factories. Today, the link 158 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: boys are all but forgotten. The best evidence that they 159 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: once existed at all is the metal cones, which can 160 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: still be found outside older London houses. Link boys would 161 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: use these devices, called snuffers, to put out their torches 162 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: after delivering a client home, and thankfully they live on 163 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: in a popular expression that we all know today, if 164 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: someone wanted to say that a person they knew wasn't 165 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: good enough to be their link boy, they would say, 166 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: you can't hold a candle to them. It's yet one 167 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: more piece of evidence of how these children were used, demonized, 168 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: and forgotten. They deserve to be remembered for their resourcefulness, 169 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,439 Speaker 1: their enduring spirits, and still burning long after the city 170 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: closed its eyes. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 171 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 172 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 173 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 174 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 175 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series, 176 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: and television show and you can learn all about it 177 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: over at the Worldolore dot com. And until next time, 178 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: stay curious.