1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry, I'm Tracy Wilson. And recently there's been 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: a mild trend going on on social media thanks to 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: post on boing boing um about Felicia the ferret who 6 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: worked at the National Accelerator Laboratory. And it's a really 7 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: fun story involving some very creative thinking um on the 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: part of some people that were trying to solve some problems. 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: But the more I read about it and that that facility, 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: the more that I realized that this is one of 11 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: those cool moments where science and animals meet and it's 12 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: not horrible and scary and there aren't icky experiments, uh, 13 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: which is hooray. Uh. So Felicia was a kickoff, but 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: it's really sort of particle physics and animals meeting and 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: how that happens. Yes, and very unique scenario. And then 16 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: inteen seventies, the Fermy National Accelerator Laboratory, which is referred 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: to as firm A Lab for short, is a US 18 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: Department of Energy lab that's operated by the university's Research Association, 19 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: and it's located in Batavia, Illinois. It's not far from Chicago, 20 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: and it's on a site that's uh six thousand, eight 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: hundred acres, which if you go by hectares, that's about 22 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: two thousand, eight hundred uh. And the lab opened up 23 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen sixties to address a nineteen sixty 24 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: three Atomic Energy Commission recommendation for the US to develop 25 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: a facility for nuclear physics research. And since that time, 26 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: Ferma Lab has built several particle accelerators to conduct that research, 27 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: and they've really become a place where people from all 28 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: over the world come and study and work. Uh. And 29 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: it you know, continues today. Yes, as of early Fermal 30 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: Lab produces the world's most intense meme of neutrinos. The 31 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: facility employs about two thousand people and the scientists who 32 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: work their research dark matter, dark entered and the as 33 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: yet unexplained phenomena of the universe. But in those early 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: days they were focusing on getting the lab up and running, 35 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: and of course, building a particle accelerator is fairly serious business. 36 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: Is is is that's something you just kind of throw together. Uh. 37 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: There are many challenges and very exacting specifications that have 38 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: to be meant for everything to work perfectly. It is 39 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: no good for sub atomic particles traveling through vacuum pipes 40 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: to encounter a whole bunch of dust and debris along 41 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: the way. But cleaning out the pipes used to construct 42 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: the network that would eventually carry these particles into adam 43 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: smashing collisions was a challenge. They were assembling a four 44 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: mile course designed to carry a beam of energy around 45 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: its seven seventy thousand times in one point six seconds, 46 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: and this challenge of cleanliness was one that was met 47 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: with a unique solution thanks to Robert Sheldon, who was 48 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: a British scientist that was working at firm A Lab 49 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: at the time. Originally a chemist, Robert Sheldon born November 50 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: at three was a man who could innovate and think 51 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: out of the box. He was known for all kinds 52 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: of off the wall ideas at firm A Lab, including 53 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: one which involved the construction of panels for a doodesic 54 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,399 Speaker 1: dome that was being built for it in v as 55 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: part of the National Etcetera Accelerator Laboratories Bubble Chamber building 56 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: and along with Hank Hinterberger, also from the National Accelerator 57 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: lab Um, he worked in the Technical Services Group. Sheldon 58 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: pitched this idea of using recycled garbage, specifically aluminum soda 59 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: and beer cans to assemble these panels for the bubble 60 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: chamber building. And once the cans were collected, the tops 61 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: and bottoms would be cut off and then they would 62 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: be stood together honeycomb style and then sandwich between layers 63 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: of glass reinforced fiber plastic sheets. So this is really 64 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: groundbreaking in terms of like building a scientific structure. Firm 65 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: a Lab collected cans from employees and the community for 66 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: the project, and by late July of nineteen seventy one 67 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: the panels were complete, more than a decade after they 68 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: went into place. In nineteen two, they were covered with 69 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: copper to address leaking issues that had developed over the years. 70 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: So what does all this have to do with the ferrets. Uh? Well, 71 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: Robert Sheldon thought out of the box when it came 72 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: to cleaning out those pipes for the construction of the 73 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: particle accelerator as well. So in the second half of 74 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, when they had lots of pipes to 75 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: clean and no easy way to do so, he had 76 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: a bolt of inspiration. Sheldon recalled poachers in Britain running 77 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: ferrets into rabbit burrows on English estates to retrieve bunnies. 78 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: Because ferrets were silent, especially when compared to firearms, estate 79 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: owners wouldn't even know that their game was being stolen. First, 80 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: he made contact with the Brookfield Zoo to search for 81 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: a ferret for this project, and then Felicia, as she 82 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: came to be known, was acquired from a wild game 83 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: and fur farm in gay Lord, Minnesota, for the sum 84 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: of thirty five dollars. Because the spaces that needed cleaning 85 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 1: were sometimes very small, they asked for the smallest ferret possible. 86 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: Felicia was only about fifteen inches long and about four 87 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: inches tall when standing on all fours, as opposed to 88 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: raising up on her back legs as sometimes ferrets new. 89 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: In an interview with the Chicago Sun Times in September 90 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: of nine, Walter Pelzarski, a firm Alab mechanical designer and 91 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: Felicia's boss, said, quote, Felicia is ideal for the work. 92 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: The ferret is an animal filled with curiosity and seeks 93 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: out holes and burrows. Its instinct is to find out 94 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: what's at the other end of a burrow, or for 95 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: that matter, a tube or a pipe. Felicia's diet was 96 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: similar to what mink would be fed on far farms. 97 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: We won't even get into animals raised for fur. That's 98 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: a whole other loaded discussion, but it was mainly made 99 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: up of chicken liver, raw meat, and fish heads. She 100 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 1: also left hamburger and would get some sometimes as a 101 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:55,479 Speaker 1: special treat. And the scientists trained Felicia to travel through 102 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: these pipes while wearing a small leather collar and a harness, 103 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: and this collar and harness assembly was attached to a long, 104 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: lightweight string that would unferral as Felicia made her way 105 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: along the lengths of pipe, and she was trained for 106 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: progressively longer and longer runs, eventually taking on assignments as 107 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: long as three hundred feet because that was the length 108 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: of the sections that were needed for assembly of the 109 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: Mason lab. So a brief science aside, a mazon is 110 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: any member of a family of subatomic particles composed of 111 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,359 Speaker 1: a quirk and an antiquark. That is, thanks to Mariam Webster, 112 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: they are unstable that many of them can last for 113 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: a few billions of a second, and that's long enough 114 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: for particle accelerators, or that's long enough for particle detectors 115 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:44,719 Speaker 1: to find them. You can produce them by colliding high 116 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: energy subatomic particles together. So that's what this machine that 117 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 1: they were building was going to do. Uh. So they 118 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: had trained Felicia to goo these distances, and once she 119 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: was through a pipe, workers would attach a swab that 120 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: was soaked with cleaning fluid to one end of the string, 121 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: So she was at this point out of picture she 122 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: was done with her part, and then they would pull 123 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: that through the other side and it would remove stray 124 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: steel particles and dust, and only after they were clean 125 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: in this way could they be welded together. I think 126 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: as this got kicked around social media, people thought that 127 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: it was a ferret with like a cleaning duster cut 128 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: type thing attached to her behind and she was running 129 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: through and cleaning as she went. But that really wouldn't 130 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: be a very feasible for an animal to do because 131 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: of the weight of it, and she was so tiny 132 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: and be uh, it's kind of high enough priority that 133 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: you want human hands involved in it, right, So she 134 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: was basically she was carrying the string that they would 135 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: use to pull the cleaner through. She became very famous 136 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: for a brief period in nineteen seventy one. She was 137 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: even featured in a Time magazine article in October of 138 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: that year, but her time in the spotlight wasn't all 139 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: that long. By December of nineteen seventy one, firm A 140 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: Lab was ready to retire Felicia, and there's actually some 141 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: slightly nebulous information regarding this retirement. Some sources say that 142 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: Felicia had always been intended as attempts so that they 143 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: could keep construction going on the lab while they worked 144 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: on a long term solution for the need for pristine 145 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: pipe works, but others hint that Felicia didn't work out 146 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: as intended and that she stopped being really cooperative and 147 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: they were going to need her to go longer distances 148 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: than she was actually able to be trained for. In 149 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: an article in the Aurora Beacon News in September of 150 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: nineteen one, she is said to have made three successful 151 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: three hundred foot runs, with nine more scheduled, and that 152 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: certainly sounds like a finite number, like a plan that 153 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: they had that was definitely temporary. However, in the very 154 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: same article, lab technician Don Richieid is quoted as saying, quote, 155 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: Felicia has saved me much time and effort will use 156 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: her over and over again, and perhaps in other sections 157 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: in the lab as time goes by. So it's a 158 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: little contradictory in terms of what was actually uh the 159 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,199 Speaker 1: the catalyst of her retirement. In any case, the engineers 160 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: at firm A Lab developed the robotic rig to do 161 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: the same thing Felicia had been doing, and it ran 162 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 1: on compressed air and control wires instead of liver and 163 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: hamburger meat, and also didn't shed, and so Felicia no 164 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: longer had to fret about staying tiny and she could 165 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: lead a life of leisure. Uh. Sadly, however, Felicia's golden 166 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 1: years of retirement were really not to be on ninety two, 167 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: so late late in the following spring, the National Accelerator 168 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: Lab announced in the Village Crier, which was sort of 169 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: their internal newsletter, that Felicia had passed away that Sunday, 170 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 1: May seven. Felicia was at the home of Charles Crows, 171 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: who worked in the accelerator section of the Lab, and 172 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: he would often care for Felicia in his home from 173 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: time to time, as would Walter Pozarsky that we mentioned earlier. 174 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 1: UH and Crows noticed that Felicia did not seem well 175 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: on Sunday evening, and he took her to a vet 176 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: Monday morning. Under the care of veterinary staff. Felicia really 177 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: rallied and she seemed much improved by the following Tuesday morning. 178 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: But that Tuesday afternoon, she was found dead when the 179 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: vet staff came back from lunch, and a neck cropsy 180 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,559 Speaker 1: that they performed revealed that she had a ruptured abscess 181 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,479 Speaker 1: in her intestinal tract, which is not super common for ferrets. 182 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: Although I could not find anything that suggested that her 183 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: science work contributed to her death. I mean, as anyone 184 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: who has animals nose, sometimes bizarre things just pop up. 185 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: So that was felicious passing. But she left a really 186 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: really huge mark on science, and she was at that time, 187 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: like v one. She really was in tons of papers 188 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: because it was so novel to have this high grade 189 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: scientific facility being aided by a cute little animal. Yeah. 190 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,679 Speaker 1: I think people just really glommed onto that story well, 191 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 1: and especially since ferrets don't have the reputation for being 192 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: like the cleanest and nicest animals. I mean they are, 193 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: they can be a little bidy and a little dirty. 194 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,079 Speaker 1: That would make all the ferret people. Man, all the 195 00:10:58,120 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: faret people who are going to write us nasty letters. 196 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: It like, that's one of the things that you hear 197 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: is cautionary tales before people adapt ferrets, is that they 198 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: do tend to take some care and maintenance to have 199 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: them be kind and delightfully non melodious in your home. Yeah. 200 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: I mean, like any animal, I have met great ones 201 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: and less than great ones, and a lot of that 202 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: just has to do with the experience and knowledge of 203 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: the person that raises them. Yes, so I think they're 204 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: awfully cute. They are very cute. I wanted one very 205 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: badly when I was a small child. So this is 206 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: one of the reasons why I know that that they're 207 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: things to keep in mind everything. Keep getting a ferret. 208 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: Are you sure that wasn't people warding you off? It 209 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:42,679 Speaker 1: will just bite you. No, it was actual research and 210 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: ferrets when I was old enough to do such a thing. 211 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: Um Anyway, So, while Felicia is the most famous animal 212 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 1: that they ever had on staff at firm A Lad, 213 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: she's not the only animal they ever worked with. No. 214 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: It turned out particle physicists really love animals, apparently, so, 215 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: and when you have all of that acreage to work with. Yeah, 216 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: and most of these types of facilities, like those those 217 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: pipe works and stuff, a lot of them are underground, 218 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: so they still have all the above ground space to 219 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,679 Speaker 1: work with. UH. So six buffalo were moved into a 220 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: fence theory like a pasture near Laboratory village in nineteen 221 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: sixty nine, and their pr would say that, oh, they 222 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: cut the grass for us uh and that herd was 223 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: expanded in nineteen one and then continued to expand as 224 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: new calves were born each year thanks to the ponds 225 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 1: around the site. And many birds would stop by during migration, 226 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: and we're welcomed and often observed by birdwatching enthusiasts on 227 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: the staff. Canada geese and numerous duck species were frequent visitors. 228 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,960 Speaker 1: Herron's have been seen during summers, as well as sandpipers 229 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: and other water birds. In an article in the Village 230 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: Crier from October nineteen seventy or reported fifty seven species 231 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: had been identified, No doubt many more have since then. 232 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy one, they established a Canada East flock, 233 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 1: beginning with five males and five females. At the time, 234 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: the species was considered relatively rare yeah, and that's um 235 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: Canada Insis maxima, which is the giant Canada goose, which 236 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: is a little bit different. It has since rattied in 237 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: its numbers going by my quick research, so they probably 238 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: helped with that. UH. In v seven, the firm and 239 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: lab group hosted their first national Audubon Bird count and 240 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,319 Speaker 1: they did several more after that, where if you don't 241 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: know what that is, birdwatchers and bird experts will come 242 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: and they will listen and visually get identification on birds 243 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,679 Speaker 1: and they'll count them all. And it's a way that 244 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: they monitor UH species migration patterns and sort of the 245 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: health and robustness of a species. In late nineteen seventy three, 246 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: Mr and Mrs James Banister of St. Charles, Illinois gave 247 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: the National Accelerator Lab the gift of a small herd 248 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: of Scottish Highland cattle. The cattle had been hand raised 249 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: by the Banisters and allegedly even responded to basic commands 250 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 1: and we're very gentle and loving. The herd was given 251 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: a twenty acre pasture to graze on and was retained 252 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,199 Speaker 1: by the Lab as a registered stock herd until ninety seven, 253 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,079 Speaker 1: when it moved to the Brookfield Zoo. Yeah, that's an 254 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: interesting story because kind of like what happened with the banisters. 255 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: They started with a few, and they were so careful 256 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,920 Speaker 1: with them and really race them almost like pets. Uh. 257 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: They really flourished, and then so they moved to the 258 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: spot at the Accelerator Lab, and then they realized they 259 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,479 Speaker 1: really did not have the ability to care for them 260 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: much away. The banisters had kind of hit their limit 261 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: of what they could do. Uh, they did, so they 262 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: moved to the Brookfield Zoo for more specialized care. Uh. 263 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: And swans, barn owls, deer, butterflies, and even coyotes have 264 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: found haven on Firmal labs lands throughout the years. They 265 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: actually have an entire page on their site that's just 266 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: about like the wildlife that visits them and the various 267 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: animals that they've kept through the years. As for Felicia's legacy, 268 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: not only was she very adorable and extreme helpful in 269 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: her brief time at the facility, it's estimated that she 270 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: saved them thousands of dollars with her runs through the tubes. Yeah, 271 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: they could keep construction going and they didn't have that 272 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: expense hemorrhage that happens with big construction product projects of 273 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: a specialized nature where waiting actually costs you money while 274 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: you solve problems. So she was really doing even though 275 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: it seems like she didn't do that much. She did 276 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: you know, a finite number of these runs cleaning out 277 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: tubes prior to their welding assembly. That was time that 278 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 1: they would have just sat there on their hands, paying 279 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: people to like to do nothing, keep those welters ready 280 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: just in case. So yeah, she really did do a 281 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: great deal for science and again a great deal for 282 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: Farret ambassadorship. Yes, obviously it didn't make it all the 283 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: way to me. I do like ferrets. I like many animals. 284 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: H me too, I love them all crazy animal lady. 285 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: But I thought it was really cool. Initially I was like, oh, 286 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: it would be cool to do an episode on Felicia, 287 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: And then as I read more and more about the facility, 288 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: I realized, like, they really have a whole animal connection 289 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: and they do have a mindset of like giving back 290 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: to the environment and you know, furthering species that need assistance, 291 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: and it's kind of awesome. So that's uh, firm a 292 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: lab and their love of animals. Yes, I do like that. 293 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: It's a science story with animals that does not involve like, 294 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: no unsettling experiments or torture at any kind. No dogs 295 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: in space to make everyone cry. No, it's good, no crying. 296 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: Do you also have some listener mail? I do, uh. 297 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: This comes to us from our listener page, and she says, Hi, 298 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: Tracy and Holly. I was just listening to the podcast 299 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: on the Phoenician alphabet and was surprised to hear towards 300 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: the end that it was sometimes written left to right 301 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: and then right to left on alternating lines. I'm, by 302 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: no means an expert in this field, but like one 303 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: of you said, I'd often wondered as a kid why 304 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: we didn't write that way in English, and that was 305 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: you did said? That was me. That just made more 306 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: sense to you know, save your eyestraam uh. And years later, 307 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: page says, when I went to rob Anui, which is 308 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: of course Easter Island, I read a bit of trivia 309 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: that said that their native language used to be written 310 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,360 Speaker 1: back and forth and was one of the few languages 311 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 1: in the world that could be written like that. I'm 312 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,280 Speaker 1: much more intelligent to hear of another. Thank you, yes, 313 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: Wrongo Wrongo, which is how I think it's pronounced. Is 314 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: indeed a boost feedin UH language, as far as I understand, 315 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: not really commonly spoken anymore. I think now the people 316 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: that live on Easter Island speak Spanish is their primary language, 317 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: and some learn good native language UM later on in life. 318 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,120 Speaker 1: But I don't know if even the native language still 319 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: does that when they learn it. I know the old 320 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 1: version did the back and forth lines. UH and Page 321 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: also sent us a picture of her cat who had 322 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: just had some facial surgery done. And she's got this 323 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: awesome partial shaved mohawk situation, and she looks like a 324 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,360 Speaker 1: total punk rock cat and she's very, very cute. We've 325 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 1: gotten so many great cat pictures. I love it. It's 326 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,679 Speaker 1: like crazy Cat Lady Heaven in my inbox. I love it. 327 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: I love it so even if I don't call out 328 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: and mention your cat by name, like I'm enjoying all 329 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: of them. I promise you it makes a day so 330 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:10,080 Speaker 1: fun to start. Yes, looking at everybody's animals. You can 331 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: send us other animals too, are like a mama got faret, 332 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: send me pictures. They are so photogenic. Yes, I would 333 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: much rather get to work and have lots of animal pictures. 334 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: Than eighteen contradictory pronunciations. For some word that we've pronounced 335 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: in an episode, it happens. We do our best, but 336 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: it happens. If you would like to write to us 337 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: and share your animal pictures or your thoughts, you can 338 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. You 339 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: can also connect with us on Twitter at misston history 340 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: and on Facebook dot com slash History class stuff. You 341 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,120 Speaker 1: can find our tumbler at missed in history dot tumbler 342 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,240 Speaker 1: dot com, and you can look us up on Pinterest 343 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,680 Speaker 1: as well. UH. If you would like to learn more 344 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: about the topic we talked about today, you can go 345 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: to our website and type in the words particle accelerators 346 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: in the search bar, and you will get the article 347 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: how Adam Smashers Work, which does indeed mention firm lab 348 00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: uh in the article. If you would like to learn 349 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,360 Speaker 1: about that, or really just about anything else your mind 350 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: can conjure, you can visit our website, and that is 351 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com. 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