1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: to the cabinet of curiosities. Whether it's Steve McQueen out 5 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,599 Speaker 1: running a Dodge charger in bullet or Sheriff Roscoe pea 6 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,160 Speaker 1: Coltrane in hot pursuit of those good old Duke boys, 7 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: a chase can provide thrilling entertainment to a wrapped audience, 8 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: and not just on TV or in the movies. Go 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: to any rodeo and you're liable to see folks chasing steer, 10 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: leaping from horses to tackle and pin them to the ground. 11 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: The people of Gloucester, England, also love a good chase. 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: They hold one every year, though not for cars or livestock. 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: The events got its start over one fifty years ago, 14 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: so the actual dates are unknown. Originally held by the 15 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: local village of Brockworth, the chase takes place each spring 16 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: at nearby Cooper's Hill. One theory states it began as 17 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: a method of preserving grazing rights for local farmers. Another 18 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: claims that stemmed from a pagan ritual where objects such 19 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: as burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to ring 20 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: in the new year. It's also believed that the ceremony 21 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: acted as a way to encourage a bountiful harvest, regardless 22 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: of how it all started, though it wasn't written about 23 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: formally until the eighteen hundreds. Once word got out, Brockworth 24 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: villagers got more than they bargained for. People from New Zealand, Australia, 25 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: and the United States started coming in to join in 26 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,399 Speaker 1: the festivities, either as competitors or merely as spectators, and 27 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: with more contestants came more opportunities for injury. People were 28 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: treated for everything from mild bruises two broken bones, all 29 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: sustained as a result of the chase. In two thousand nine, 30 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: the event was canceled entirely because it was deemed a 31 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: public health crisis, but a few local organizers got together 32 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: the following year and held a much smaller version. Every 33 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: time government officials attempt to put a stop to the 34 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: Cooper's Hill Chase, journalists and citizens who refuse to abandon 35 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: tradition put on a chase of their own, which leaves 36 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: one final question, what exactly was everyone chasing? The answer 37 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: is cheese. That's right. As many as five hundred people 38 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: from all over the globe still gather to this day 39 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: at the top of Cooper's Hill to chase an eight 40 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: pound wheel of cheese for two hundred yards double Gloucester cheese, 41 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: to be exact, which is protected on its side by 42 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: a wooden casing and decorated before it's set loose. Now 43 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: you might not think chasing cheese down a hill could 44 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: be so dangerous, but with so many people colliding into 45 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: one another or tripping on rocks and divots in the ground, 46 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: the injuries start to pile up. Even the cheese itself 47 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: can be a hazard. No one has ever died during 48 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: a chase, but one or the cheese reached a whopping 49 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: seventy miles per hour and hit a spectator, sending them 50 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: to the hospital. And that's why at the bottom of 51 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: the hill are an army of paramedics waiting to treat 52 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: anyone involved in a cheese related incident. Local rugby players 53 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: even volunteered to catch participants who may lose their footing 54 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: or carry people down the hill who aren't able to 55 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:25,519 Speaker 1: do so on their own. Gloucester's tradition has inspired other 56 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: English towns to try something similar. The City of Chester 57 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,639 Speaker 1: has been holding their own cheese rolling competition since two 58 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,399 Speaker 1: thousand two as part of their Food and Drink Festival. 59 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: Their total injury list remains at zero, but not Cooper's Hill. 60 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: The broken ankles and concussions sustained during the Gloucester event 61 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: have made it a kind of rite of passage for 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: thrill seekers and athletic types. It's estimated that there are 63 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: roughly thirty three injuries reported for every one contestants one year. 64 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: So many participants got hurt that there weren't enough ambulances 65 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: to cart them all off to the hospital afterwards. Still, 66 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: every year folks come back to try their luck again 67 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: for fame, for glory, and for the grand prize. But 68 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: it's not a massive pot of money. Thereafter, whoever catches 69 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: the cheese before it reaches the bottom gets to take 70 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: the cheese home. It seems that when it comes to 71 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: that eight pound wheel of double Gloucester cheddar, no one 72 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: is a fan of catch and release. When a crime 73 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: goes beyond the capabilities of the average beat cop, a 74 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: detective is often called in. They'll interview witnesses and aalize 75 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: a crime scene and pour over the clues until they 76 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,799 Speaker 1: found the culprit. Francois vi Doc was a French criminal 77 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: during the early nineteenth century, but eventually turn his expertise 78 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,080 Speaker 1: and crime into a legitimate business as the first ever 79 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: private detective is He. Einstein and Moe Smith were federal 80 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: officers during Prohibition. Together they arrested over four thousand, three 81 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: hundred people and had a nine percent conviction rates. They 82 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: were so successful they were laid off after Washington officials 83 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 1: grew jealous of their fame. They left policing behind and 84 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: became successful insurance salesman. And then there's Arthur Price Roberts. 85 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: Arthur didn't have the criminal history that Vidoc had, nor 86 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: was he as well known as Einstein and Smith. But 87 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: he had a gift, and he used that gift to 88 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: help others. Born in Wales in eighteen sixty six, he 89 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: moved to the United States early in life to seek 90 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: out opportunity. Once settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roberts began helping 91 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 1: others with unique and unfortunate problems. Duncan McGregor, for example, 92 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: hailed from the city of Peshtigo along the eastern edge 93 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: of Wisconsin. In nineteen o five, Mr McGregor had gone 94 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: missing and his wife was distraught, so she saw the 95 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: assistance of Mr Roberts. Arthur was known around town as 96 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: a psychic. He went into a trance hoping for a 97 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: sign of Mrs McGregor's husband. After some time, he found him, 98 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: but the outlook wasn't good. He informed both Mrs McGregor 99 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: and the police that Mr McGregor had been murdered. According 100 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: to Arthur, the man's body had been thrown into the 101 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:15,919 Speaker 1: man Nominee River. The police traveled to the spot that 102 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: he told them about and found the body of the 103 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: late Mr McGregor amongst some sunken logs. Roberts started building 104 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: a reputation for himself as a man who could find 105 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: anyone anywhere. J D. Leroy, a wealthy Chicago businessman, had 106 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: been looking for his missing brother. Roberts was brought in 107 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: and got a read on Mr leroy sibling, and, much 108 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: like Mr McGregor, it was bad news. Roberts described an 109 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: area of Devil's Canyon in New Mexico where j D's 110 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: brother could be found. He too had been murdered and 111 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,799 Speaker 1: his body had been disposed of among the rocks and mountains. 112 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 1: New Mexico authorities followed Robert's directions and found the late Mr. 113 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: Leroy two hundred yards from the exact spot that he 114 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 1: had described to them. But Arthur didn't just to help 115 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: find missing people. He could also predict events that might 116 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: happen in the future. On October eighteenth of nineteen thirty five, 117 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: he told Milwaukee police that a series of bombings would 118 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: take place around the city. Banks, police stations, and city 119 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: hall were all at risk. By that time, Roberts was 120 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: a known entity and someone to pay attention to, where 121 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: other so called psychics might go ignored, the Milwaukee police 122 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: force was on alert. Just over a week later, the 123 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,239 Speaker 1: first explosion occurred at the Village Hall. Two people were killed. 124 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: Two banks were blown up. The following day, just as 125 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: Roberts had predicted, followed by two police stations. A detective 126 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: by the name of English pleaded for more details. Will 127 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: there be another bomb? How big? And who is doing this? 128 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: Roberts told him that on Sunday, November four, the biggest 129 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: and final explosion would take place on the Menominee River. 130 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: Sure enough, a garage just beyond the river exploded that day. 131 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: It turns out that the two men responsible for all 132 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: the other bombings had been putting a new device together 133 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: when it accidentally went off and killed both of them. 134 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: Roberts had gotten some details wrong in his prediction, the 135 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: names of the bombers, for example, as well as the 136 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: timing of the explosion. Still, there were enough similarities to 137 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,119 Speaker 1: make any skeptic consider that Robert's predictions weren't complete. Monk 138 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: his talents had given numerous people closure over the years 139 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: and saved countless lives, and they even worked on himself. 140 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: At a dinner party in nineteen thirty nine where he 141 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: was the guest of honor, he stood up and thanked 142 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: everyone for coming. He told them that sadly he wouldn't 143 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: be present for the next one. I won't be with 144 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: you beyond January second, nineteen forty, he told them, And 145 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: he wasn't, because that was the exact day that Arthur 146 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: Price Roberts passed away. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 147 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 148 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 149 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 150 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankie in partnership with how stuff works. I make 151 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 152 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 153 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: about it over at the world of Lore dot com. 154 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,439 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.