1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Mankey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeart 2 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: It's one of our greatest fears, waking up in a small, 7 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: confined space under six feet of dirt. During the eighteenth 8 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: and nineteen centuries, safety coffins were manufactured with bells attached 9 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: to let passer buyers know if someone had been accidentally interred. 10 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: Testing whether someone had passed on or not wasn't entirely scientific. 11 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: It usually involved putting pepper and vinegar in the person's 12 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: mouth or poking their feet with hot pokers. But no 13 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: amount of testing was enough for Hannah Beswick, nor was 14 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: a safety coffin. Beswick, like many folk living during the 15 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,319 Speaker 1: middle of the eighteenth century, had a pathological fear of 16 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: accidentally being buried alive. It was kind of a problem too. 17 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: Thousands of people were buried alive in England and Wales 18 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. She didn't want to 19 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,199 Speaker 1: go through that in the event of her possible death, 20 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: and with good reason. A number of years before she died, 21 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: Hannah witnessed the loss of her brother, or so she thought. She, 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: along with the other mourners, watched as the lid was 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: lowered over his coffin until someone saw his eyelids flicker. 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: The family physician, Charles White, stepped in and examined the 25 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: man and determined that he was not, in fact dead. 26 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: Hannah's brother awoke several days later, seemingly no worse for wear, 27 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: but the young miss Beswick was certainly affected. She consulted 28 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: with Dr White and asked him to make sure that 29 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: she was never buried prematurely if she happened to pass 30 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: away without warning. And this is where the details surrounding 31 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: her will and testament get a bit vague. As far 32 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: as we know, she didn't explicitly asked Dr White to 33 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: do anything except keep her from going into the ground 34 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: too soon, and so the good doctor took that to heart. 35 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: When Hannah passed away in seventeen fifty eight, he made 36 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: sure that her body was nowhere near a coffin or 37 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: a grave site. Instead, he had her inbound a mixture 38 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: of turpentine and vermilion were injected into her veins, while camphor, 39 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: nitra and resin were put in place of her organs. 40 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: Her body was then coated in fragrant oils and the 41 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: box she was stored in was filled with plaster of 42 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: Paris to preserve her. By this point, Hannah Beswick was dead, 43 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: there was no doubt about that, but she couldn't be 44 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: placed in the ground yet. Rather, her corpse was held 45 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: at the home of a family member. Before Dr White 46 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: took possession of her body, he put it on display 47 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: in a clock case inside of his own house. She 48 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: remained there until his death in eighteen thirteen, at which 49 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: point the late Miss Beswick was transferred to another doctor 50 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: by the name of Olier, who donated her in eighteen 51 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: and the eight to the up and coming Museum of 52 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: the Manchester Natural History Society. Placed right inside the museum's entrance, 53 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: Hannah became known as the Manchester Mummy and was placed 54 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: next to an Egyptian and a Peruvian mummy. She became 55 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: a big hit with visitors and the press, as there 56 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: were several articles written about her after she entered the museum. 57 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: The facility was eventually taken over by Manchester University in 58 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty seven, at which point it was decided that 59 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: Hannah Beswick was officially dead. There was no chance of 60 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: her coming alive anymore, and so it was time to 61 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: lay her to rest. But it wasn't as simple as 62 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: just placing her in a coffin and lowering her into 63 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: the ground. According to an English law put in place 64 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty seven, a medical examiner had to issue 65 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: a certificate of death before a person could be buried. 66 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: Since Hannah had died in seventeen fifty eight, a letter 67 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: was sent to the Secretary of State asking for permission 68 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: to enter her remains. Permission was swiftly granted, and on 69 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: July twenty second of eighteen sixty eight, Hannah Beswick was 70 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: buried in an unmarked grave in a Manchester cemetery. She 71 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: was ten years old. Some claimed to see her ghost, 72 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: clad in a black silk gown in a white cap, 73 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: walking through the parlor of her old home. She was 74 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: even spotted on the grounds after the house was torn 75 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: down to make room for a factory. Hannah Beswick had 76 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: a pathological fear of being buried alive, but her ghost 77 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: never left. Maybe it wasn't about spending her final moments 78 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: confined to a small box under six feet of dirt. 79 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: Maybe she just had a really bad case a fomo. 80 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: Running a marathon is no small feet. It takes months 81 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: of practice, running almost every day and building up stamina 82 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: until you're able to endure a full twenty six point 83 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: two mile journey from start to finish. The average time 84 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: it takes to complete a marathon is anywhere from four 85 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: to five hours. Fastest time ever taken to complete one 86 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: was back in two thousand eighteen when Eliud kup Jogi 87 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: from Kenya won the Berlin Marathon in just two hours, 88 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: one minute and thirty nine seconds. But what about the 89 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: slowest marathon? I mean sure, someone out there must hold 90 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: the world record for the longest time ever taken to 91 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: reach the finish line. Right For that, we need to 92 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: look no further than Jizo can occurry. Jizo was born 93 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: in Nagomi, Kumamoto, Japan, in eighteen ninety one. He started 94 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: setting records when he was only twenty years old, most 95 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: notably at the domestic qualifying trials for the nineteen twelve 96 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: Stockholm Olympics. Jesu finished to twenty five mile marathon in 97 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 1: just two hours, thirty two minutes and forty five seconds. 98 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: Because of his performance, he became the first Japanese athlete 99 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: to ever qualify for the Olympics. His fellow college classmates 100 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: held a fundraiser to help him pay for his travel 101 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: expenses to Sweden, and he did get there eventually. It 102 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: took eighteen days, first by ship and then by Trans 103 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: Siberian railway. It was an immense journey, one that required 104 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: almost a week to recover, but on the day of 105 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: the event, Jesu was ready. He held the weight and 106 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: expectations of an entire nation on his shoulders, a pressure 107 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: only exacerbated by the seventy seven degree Swedish heat. Between 108 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: the travel and the weather changes, most of the runners 109 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: came down with hypothermia, even Canna. Curry's own coach was 110 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: beset with tuberculosis, so he wasn't able to train properly 111 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: before the race. Regardless of his setbacks, though, Jisu was 112 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: at the starting line on race day and he took 113 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: off running. He had the opportunity to not only set 114 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: a new world record by winning this event, but also 115 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 1: be the first Japanese competitor to win a gold medal 116 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: at the Olympics. Hours after the race began, though, the 117 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: first runners started to cross the finish line and Canna 118 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: Curry was nowhere to be found. He had simply vanished. 119 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: Race officials tried looking him up, as did his coach 120 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: and teammate, but he was just gone. So what happened 121 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: to the mirrorical runner who was supposed to carry his 122 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 1: country to Olympic victory. According to some reports, the intense 123 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 1: heat caused him to pass out in a nearby garden. 124 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: Others claimed that he decided to pay a visit to 125 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: an outdoor party that was going on. Regardless of the reason, 126 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: can Of Curry was taken in by a kind Swedish 127 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: family who fed him, gave him a change of clothes 128 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: and a place to sleep for the night. He was 129 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: despondent over failing his team and his homeland, believing he 130 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: had disappointed everybody and brought shame to them. He went 131 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: back to Japan without telling anyone. He didn't even notify 132 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: the race officials that he had returned. The Swedes started 133 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: telling stories about the lost runner, how he was like 134 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: a ghost looking for the finished line that would never come, 135 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: and in a way that was true Jesu can occur. 136 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: It was so distraught over not finishing the Olympic race 137 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: that he never stopped running. He made it his life's 138 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: mission to restore honor to both himself and Japan by 139 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: doing what he did best, and that meant teaching, founding 140 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: other long distance races, and building up an national interest 141 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: in the sport. He also got women involved as well, 142 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: and made an effort to train blind students by letting 143 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: them guide themselves using a string tied from the starting 144 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: line to the finish Canna Curry was all about inclusion, 145 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: but sadly, he never finished the race that had given 146 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: him his start in the first place. And then, in 147 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty seven, Schizo got a call from a Swedish journalist. 148 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: He invited the seventies six year old athlete to finish 149 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: what he had started all those years ago. Kenna Curry 150 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: went back to Stockholm's Olympic Stadium, where eighteen thousands screaming 151 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: fans and handfuls of journalists from all over the world 152 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: watched as he finally crossed the finish line of a 153 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: race that had started fifty four years, eight months, six days, 154 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: five hours, thirty two minutes and twenty point three seconds earlier, 155 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: he was awarded the Guinness World Record for longest time 156 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: to complete a marathon, after which Canna Curry took a 157 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: brief detour to visit the home of the family that 158 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: had taken him in during the original race. The couple, 159 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: of course, was long gone, but their son now lived there, 160 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: and he served Kenna Curry a glass of orange juice. 161 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: When asked for a comment on finally completing his race, 162 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: Kenna Curry didn't give an impassion speech about finishing what 163 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: you've started or seeing things through to the end. He 164 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: simply told the truth. It has been a long race, 165 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: but then I got myself a wife, six children, and 166 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: ten grandchildren during it, and that takes time, you know. 167 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: Curious to say the least, I hope you've enjoyed today's 168 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 169 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 170 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:43,839 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 171 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 172 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 173 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 174 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com, 175 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: and until next time, stay curious.