1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: On September ninth of twenty twenty two, John Chapel walked 7 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: the grounds of Buckingham Palace, black ribbons in hand. The 8 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,480 Speaker 1: nation was in mourning just a day before Queen Elizabeth 9 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: had passed away, ending her seventy year reign over the 10 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: United Kingdom. The Queen's death was the top story broadcast worldwide. 11 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: It seemed like practically everyone on earth had heard the news, 12 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: but still till someone had to tell the bees. As 13 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,479 Speaker 1: part of his duties as Royal beekeeper, John went hive 14 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,400 Speaker 1: to hive, tying black ribbons to their entrances and informing 15 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: the bees their mistress had moved on. They shouldn't worry. 16 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: He told them their new master, King Charles the Third, 17 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: would be good to them. For centuries, beekeepers just like 18 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 1: John have been careful to inform their buzzing charges when 19 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,639 Speaker 1: their owners die. According to superstition, if the bees weren't 20 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: told bad things could happen to the colony, they might 21 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: fly away, stop producing honey, or even die themselves. It's 22 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: not clear when or where exactly the superstition started, but 23 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: records of the practice exist throughout the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, 24 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,839 Speaker 1: the Czech Republic, and even parts of the United States now. 25 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: Telling the bees is a ritual that differs from place 26 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: to place. In some traditions, the hive was turned so 27 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: that it could watch the funeral procession. In others, it 28 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: was customary to leave a piece of cake from the 29 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: service as a gift to the bees. Any of these 30 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: customs highlight the historically close relationship between humans and bees. 31 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: They aren't just fuzzy bugs. They're important members of the household, 32 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: with their own thoughts, feelings, and grief. In one case, 33 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: the Associated Press reported on back in nineteen fifty six, 34 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: the bees actually attended a funeral when a beekeeper named 35 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: John Zeppa died in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. His 36 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: mourners arrived at the tent erected over the grave to 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: find a swarm of unexpected guests. According to the news article. 38 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: Bees buzzed lazily around the ceiling of the tent and 39 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: rested on the funerary flowers. Perhaps it was their way 40 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: of saying goodbye to their beloved caretaker. Although the practice 41 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: comes from nineteenth century folklore, its roots may actually be ancient. 42 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 1: Bees have been associated with death and the underworld for millennia. 43 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: In ancient Egypt, for example, honey was important in certain 44 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,119 Speaker 1: burial rituals and may even have been used to preserve bodies. 45 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: Because honey is anti microbe, it can slow bacteria as 46 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: they break tissue down. This is probably why honey was 47 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: also used in Babylon, where Babylonians supposedly buried their dead 48 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: in the liquid. In both Egyptian and Celtic mythologies, bees 49 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: were seen as messengers that could cross boundaries into the 50 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: realm of the gods or the land of the dead. 51 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: When Christianity spread to Celtic lands, early Christians co opted 52 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: these beliefs as well. But don't worry, you don't have 53 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: to wait for someone to die to talk to your 54 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: ap and amigos. In fact, many of the traditions about 55 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: talking to bees maintained that you must keep them updated 56 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: on all new changes to a household, deaths, births, marriages, 57 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: and children moving out. Throughout the Victorian era, it was 58 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: customary to decorate hives with flowers for a wedding in 59 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: the United Kingdom. Perhaps this was their way of getting 60 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: bees into the party spirit. In some cases, it was 61 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: necessary to make sure the bees were fed too, by 62 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: leaving them a slice of wedding cake, and in certain 63 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: regions of Germany, newly weds needed to introduce themselves as 64 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: a couple to the bees of the household lest they 65 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: suffer an unhappy marriage. Today, we know that bees play 66 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: an important role in all of our lives, whether we 67 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: have hives in our backyard or not. Bees are essential 68 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: to pollinating plants, from the trees that give us shade 69 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: and oxygen to the crops that feed us. Without them, 70 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 1: we all suffer, and with the rise of pesticides, habitat loss, 71 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: and global warming, the bees need our help if they 72 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: hope to survive. So go tell those bees thanks for 73 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: all their hard work. And if you're dealing with grief, 74 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: maybe try telling the bees bitter loss can go down 75 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: easier with just a bit of honey. Many of us 76 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 1: wish that we could get on a horse and ride 77 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: into the countryside, never to be bothered by civilization again. 78 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: We dream of setting up our own little kingdoms where 79 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: everyone does what we say and agrees that we are 80 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,160 Speaker 1: the best person to lead. Of course, this is all ego, 81 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: and most of us lack the arrogance and persistence that 82 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: it would take to truly become a cult like king figure. 83 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: But of course history is full of those who took 84 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: their monarchical ambitions beyond the realm of their imagination. None, however, 85 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,359 Speaker 1: have ever done it with as much bizarre brutal flare 86 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: as the Baron Roman von ungen Sternberg. Roman was always 87 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: a troubled boy, to say the least, the kind who 88 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: creeps out all of his classmates and even the teachers. 89 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: Born into Baltic German nobility, his favorite childhood hobby was 90 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: dissecting small animals. It worked out for him, then, that 91 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: by the time he reached adulthood, World War One broke 92 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,359 Speaker 1: out and he was enlisted as an officer. His family 93 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: had sent sworn allegiance to the Tsar of Russia, and 94 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: so he fought viciously for that nation. But Roman's violent 95 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,280 Speaker 1: tendencies got the better of him. Man. He was eventually 96 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: court martialed and jailed for slicing another officer in the 97 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: face with his sword. Once again, history was on his side, 98 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: as the Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen began a civil 99 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: war between the Bolshevik Reds and the monarchist Whites. The 100 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,239 Speaker 1: whites needed all the help they could get and welcomed 101 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: Roman into their ranks. Roman was a lunatic, but he 102 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: was a loyal noble through and through. He hated the 103 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: communist Bolsheviks, not just because they threatened his family's wealth, 104 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,679 Speaker 1: but because he literally associated them with demonic forces. You see, 105 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: Roman bought into the mysticism craze that swept the nobles 106 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,160 Speaker 1: of Europe during this time. He followed a strange mixture 107 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: of Lutheranism, Buddhism, and occult beliefs. As such, he believed 108 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: in the divine right of kings, the journey of the 109 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: Spirit towards enlightenment, and was adamantly antisemitic. When the Whites 110 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: sent him to guard the Chinese border while they fought 111 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: the Bolsheviks, he took on the mission as his holy duty. 112 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: He oversaw his territory with deadly zeal, executing any civilian 113 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: or officer who dissobate his orders or committed what he 114 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,799 Speaker 1: saw as a sin. The only problem was the Whites 115 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: rapidly lost the civil war, with the Tzar being executed 116 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighteen. All of Roman's diligence was for nothing. 117 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: Completely disillusion and looking for a sign from God, he 118 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: received it when Bog Khan, the monarch of Mongolia, reached 119 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: out to him to form an alliance. The Chinese had 120 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: invaded Mongolia and the Khan needed help driving them out. 121 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: This suited Roman just fine. If he couldn't defend the 122 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: Tsar anymore as a cavalryman, then he would defend the 123 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: Khan as one of his warlords. And so from nineteen 124 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: nineteen to nineteen twenty one, Roman led his small army 125 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: on hit and run attacks against the Chinese in Mongolia. 126 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: They often overwhelmed much larger forces, too. None of his 127 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: men dared to go against him. The Chinese might shoot 128 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: you or stab you, but Roman he would boil you 129 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: alive in an oven, or whip you until your flesh 130 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: fell off your bones. His ultimate victory, though, came when 131 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: he had his men surround the Chinese held Mongolian capital 132 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: with bonfires making it look as if the city was 133 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: surrounded by a huge horde. It was as if Genghis 134 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: Khan had come back to life to reclaim his homeland. 135 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: And once they breached the walls, they rushed in and 136 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: he slaughtered all of the Chinese and European Jews that 137 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: he found inside. It was a vicious and bloody act 138 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: in a vicious and bloody time. By today's standards, Roman 139 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,119 Speaker 1: was a monster, but to the Mongols he was a god. 140 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: In fact, when Roman returned the capital to Bugged Khan, 141 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: the Khan gave him an honorary title and referred to 142 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: him as the God of War. Roman dreamed of continuing 143 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: his crusade, leading the Mongols to capture China and Russia, 144 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: creating a Mongol Russian empire that would eventually conquer the world, 145 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: but he seems to have forgotten about the massive Red 146 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: army to the north. When the Bolsheviks now better known 147 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: as the Soviets, heard that the white Russian commander had 148 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: conquered Mongolia, they wasted no time in sending troops to 149 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,319 Speaker 1: take it back from him. They installed the Communist government 150 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:01,200 Speaker 1: and executed Roman by firing squad. He died at thirty five, 151 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: having lived a life that was equal parts ambitious and horrific, 152 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,599 Speaker 1: and taught us the lesson that the best way to 153 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: unite is not to divide. I hope you've enjoyed today's 154 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 155 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 156 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:26,719 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 157 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 158 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,239 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 159 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 160 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldolore dot com. And until 161 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.