1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full 3 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. We've all been there, those days when we 7 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: wake up too early and barely function on a few 8 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: hours of sleep. We pump ourselves full of coffee, but 9 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: it's never enough, and so we shamble through the workday 10 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: like zombies. It's unknown whether French neurologist Jules Qatard was 11 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: a morning person or not, but he certainly understood what 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: it was like to feel like the walking dead. He 13 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: observed it firsthand. Qatard, born in France It's in eighteen forty, 14 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: started his medical career at the Pier Sulpetriar University Hospital, 15 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: where he interned later on as a full fledged doctor. 16 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: He took a strong interest in those who suffered from 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: cerebral vascular accidents otherwise known as strokes. He wanted to 18 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: know more about the effects on the brain, so he 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 1: would often perform autopsies on those who had died because 20 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: of them. But in eighteen eighty two, a woman walked 21 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: into his office with something new, something different, something strange. 22 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: She was only ever known as Mademoiselle X, and on 23 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: that day she rattled off a list of symptoms for 24 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: doctor Quitard. She claimed, as hard as it is to 25 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: believe to have nobody, an odd admission that probably sounded 26 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: like a joke at first, but she was completely serious. 27 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: According to Mademoiselle X, she had no nerves, stomach, chest, 28 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: or bowels, not even a brain. She was literally nothing 29 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: but skin and bones. Now, clearly doctor Coutard could see 30 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: that something about the woman was not right, but it 31 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: wasn't the symptoms she listed off. She was all there physically, 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: All the body parts that she claimed to be lacking 33 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: were still intact. Her mental faculties, however, had taken a 34 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: nose dive. Mademoiselle X went on claiming to have no 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: soul and that without any internal organs to process her food, 36 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: she had stopped eating. There was no God, no devil, 37 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: and believed that she was immortal. She was convinced that 38 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,359 Speaker 1: she could not die, at least not by natural means. 39 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: In order to kill her, she said she would need 40 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: to be set on fire. Qatard, fascinated by the patient's claims, 41 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: turned to his medical texts for help. He found that 42 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: another woman about a hundred years earlier had been examined 43 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: by a Swiss scientist named Charles Bonnet, who had recorded 44 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: symptoms almost exactly like these endured by Mademoiselle X. This 45 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: other woman had been cooking at home when she suddenly 46 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: lost feeling in one half of her body. She had 47 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: become partially paralyzed. Eventually, the paralysis subsided a bit, and 48 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 1: the woman was able to explain to her daughter's the situation. 49 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: She was now dead and had to be dressed in 50 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: a shroud and put into a coffin. The daughters did 51 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: as they were told and laid her to rest until 52 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: she fell asleep. Once the ruse was over, they took 53 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: off the shroud and put her back in her own bed. 54 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: Clearly their mother was sick. There had actually been a 55 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: number of cases over the years where people believe that 56 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: they were dead, and Cotard believed that it was a 57 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: previously undiagnosed form of depression that he called hypochondria, called delirium. 58 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: Those who suffered from it were often sad, shut down, mentally, 59 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: didn't feel pain, believed they had no internal organs, and 60 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,119 Speaker 1: thought that they would actually live forever unless forcibly killed. Today, however, 61 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: the syndrome has a new name, derived from the man 62 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: who discovered it. It's called Qatard's delusion, and it's believed 63 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: to be caused by neural misfirings in the part of 64 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: the brain that recognizes and reacts two faces. It's similar 65 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: to capgrad delusion, which makes people think that their loved 66 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: ones have been replaced with impostors. Cotard's delusion occurs in 67 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: patients who don't recognize their own faces and insist that 68 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: the people they are or were don't exist anymore. It's 69 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: a rare condition, affecting about two people worldwide, and is 70 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: typically treated with a variety of medications like antidepressants and 71 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: anti psychotics. However, pills don't always work, and electro convulsion 72 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: or shock therapy is sometimes needed. As for Mademoiselle X, 73 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: there were no pills for her to swallow, nor was 74 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: she subjected to any kind of therapy. She eventually passed away, 75 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:31,119 Speaker 1: but not from fire. Sadly, she started to death. Doctor 76 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,239 Speaker 1: Jules Quatard went into medicine to understand the human brain. 77 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: What he found was one of the rarest and strangest 78 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: symptoms ever recorded. The truly dead may not have been 79 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: able to speak for themselves, but for Qatard, the undead 80 00:04:44,800 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: certainly had a lot to say. William never set out 81 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: to become a legend, yet that's exactly what he became 82 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: later in life. Though many don't know his name today, 83 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: they're familiar with the character he inspired, but we'll get 84 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: to that later. William was born in New York City 85 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen nineties seven. To Janets and Felix, travel was 86 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 1: practically built into their DNA, with Janet whisking a young 87 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: William off to Mexico to witness an ongoing revolution when 88 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: he was only six weeks old. Though he was born 89 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: in New York, William spent many years growing up in Asia. 90 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: He attended the Buddhist monastery of Nishi hang Ganji in 91 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: Kyoto and graduated as a Doctor of Divinity. From there, 92 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: he traveled to Paris and Germany for additional schooling at 93 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: the Sorbonne and University of Berlin, respectively. William was practically 94 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: a professional student, eventually getting his doctorates in philosophy from 95 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,239 Speaker 1: christ Church, Oxford in nineteen twenty two, which he paid 96 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: for by teaching Chinese at the University of London. During 97 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: his time there, the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and 98 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,039 Speaker 1: Ireland asked the school to send an academic mission to 99 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: the capital of Tibet, Lassa. At the time, permission had 100 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: to be granted to Westerners looking to visit, permission that 101 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: was often denied. William and the mission were sent with 102 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 1: several specific goals. First, to sit with His Holiness the 103 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: Dali Lama and explain to him how Buddhism was being 104 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: taught in the West. Second, William and his team were 105 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: to get filmed footage of Tibet, specifically of the city's 106 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: great Cathedral. Though the trip had been approved by the school, 107 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: the Tibetan government had other ideas. Neither William nor the 108 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,480 Speaker 1: mission would be allowed into Lassa. He tried three different 109 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: times to convince them to let him in, either alone 110 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 1: or with one other colleague, but each time he was 111 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: met with the resounding no. William, however, refused to take 112 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: no for an answer. Rather than turn around and head home, 113 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: he went deep undercover. According to a Time magazine article 114 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: from ninety eight, it said that he stood naked while 115 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: a companion covered his body with brown stain and squirted 116 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: lemon juice into his blue eyes to darken them. William 117 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: you see, disguised himself as a Tibetan cooley or low 118 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: status worker, and paid a few locals to help him 119 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: over the mountains to the forbidden city. He overcame a snowstorm, dysenterry, leeches, 120 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: and mosquitoes, finally reached Lasa in February of n Once there, 121 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: he alerted the Tibetan authorities of his arrival, and they 122 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: agreed to furnish him with lodgings and keep his identity 123 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: under wraps. Unfortunately, a mob of monks discovered who he 124 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: was and began stoning his house. William snuck out, clad 125 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: in his disguise and joined the throng of monks attacking 126 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: his home. He lasted six weeks there before he was 127 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: finally forced to leave. Back in London, it was clear 128 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: that William had kicked off an international incident, with the 129 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: school's India office in constant communication with William himself. After 130 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: much back and forth, William resigned from teaching and took 131 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: a job with the Chicago Times to become their Far 132 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: East correspondent. He then went on served during World War 133 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: Two as a naval officer and put his knowledge of 134 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: the Japanese language to good use. But war was no 135 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: place for an academic like William. Once the fighting had ended, 136 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: he returned to his first love, teaching, and lectured all 137 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: over the United States. He taught at Harvard, gave talks 138 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and 139 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: even spoke at various military colleges across the country. He 140 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: finally settled down at Northwestern University, where he taught political 141 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: science for the remainder of his life. Williams soon learned 142 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: that even the most boring classes would fill up quickly 143 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: if students wanted to learn from certain teachers. William had 144 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: become something of a celebrity, you see, due to his 145 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: questionable antics when he was younger. Students wanted to hear 146 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: his stories and learned from the man who had snuck 147 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: into places he wasn't meant to go all in the 148 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: name of knowledge. They registered in droves, filling up his 149 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: classes each and every semester. Had William been right in 150 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: forcing his way into Tibet and most likely not, but 151 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: that had been typical of Americans and Europeans for centuries. 152 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: Williams actions did, however, go on to inspire his students 153 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: and Hollywood as well. The story of a swashbuckling professor 154 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: traveling to ancient cities and even taking on the Nazis 155 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: sounds like just the kind of character to enthrall movie audiences, 156 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: and he did when he debuted in nine Raiders of 157 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: the Lost Dark. William Montgomery McGovern had been one of 158 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: the key influences in the creation of everyone's favorite fictional archaeologist, 159 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: Indiana Jones. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 160 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 161 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 162 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky 163 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 164 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 165 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 166 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: over at the World of Lore dot com. And until 167 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious. Yeah h