Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable,
Speaker 1: and if history is an open book, all of these
Speaker 1: amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for
Speaker 1: us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. In
Speaker 1: the chile Lands of Norway, there is a story about
Speaker 1: a knight who captures the heart of the Norwegian people.
Speaker 1: He is Sir Niles Olav, a brave and gallant soldier
Speaker 1: who has served in the Norwegian Army for over forty years.
Speaker 1: Named after a distinguished member of the King's Guard and
Speaker 1: King Olav, it seems that he was always destined for greatness.
Speaker 1: Sir Niles Olav is a true patriot, having been promoted
Speaker 1: to the rank of Brigadier and I did for his
Speaker 1: outstanding service to his country. He became a young recruit
Speaker 1: for the Norwegian Army in nineteen seventy two. Full of
Speaker 1: energy and enthusiasm, Niles quickly won the soldier's hearts with
Speaker 1: his playful antics and his unwavering loyalty. It soon became
Speaker 1: apparent that Niles was special and the army promoted him
Speaker 1: to corporal. The promotion was a great honor for Niles,
Speaker 1: and he took his duties very seriously. He marched alongside
Speaker 1: his fellow soldiers, saluting them as they passed. He was
Speaker 1: always the first to rise in the morning and the
Speaker 1: last to go to bed at night. The soldiers could
Speaker 1: count on Niles to be by their side no matter
Speaker 1: what as time progressed. He was promoted to sergeant in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three and given a custom made uniform that
Speaker 1: fit him perfectly. It was a beautiful sunny day and
Speaker 1: the brass buttons on his suit gleamed in the sunlight.
Speaker 1: In two thousand and one, the army promoted him yet again,
Speaker 1: this time to honorable Regiment sergeant major. In two thousand
Speaker 1: and five, Niles advanced to honorary Colonel in chief. Since then,
Speaker 1: he has attended countless ceremonies and events, always looking sharp
Speaker 1: in his uniform. Accolades and awards kept coming. He has
Speaker 1: received promotions and awards for his service to his country.
Speaker 1: Niles became the pride of the Norwegian Army and he
Speaker 1: continued to work tirelessly for his country. In two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight, King Harold the fifth of Norway knighted Niles,
Speaker 1: bestowing him the title of Sir Niles Olav, knighted to
Speaker 1: the Order of Saint Olav. He was now a true
Speaker 1: knight with all the privileges and responsibilities that came with
Speaker 1: that title. During the ceremony that took place in Scotland
Speaker 1: instead of Norway, Sir Niles Olav walked alongside one hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty of the King's Guard. British Major General Ewan
Speaker 1: Laudon performed the ceremony of knighthood on behalf of King
Speaker 1: Harold the Fifth. Sir Nils Olav received another promotion in
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen to the rank of Brigadier, which also means
Speaker 1: that currently he outranks one of his namesakes. Two bronze
Speaker 1: statues are dedicated to him, one in Oslo, Norway, at
Speaker 1: the King's Guard Compound, and the other stands in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Speaker 1: So who is Sir Nils Olav. You might think that
Speaker 1: he's a brave soldier, a gallant knight, or a loyal patriot,
Speaker 1: and you would be right. Ever, the distinguished diplomat Sir
Speaker 1: nows Olav is credited with uniting Norway and Scotland together
Speaker 1: in a way that no one has done before. But
Speaker 1: Sir nows Olav is different from your average knight. He's
Speaker 1: a bit shorter than most, and he has an almost
Speaker 1: insatiable fetish for raw fish, krill and squid. No one
Speaker 1: seems to mind that though. Sir niles Olav is full
Speaker 1: of personality. After all, he's been known to charm everyone
Speaker 1: he meets, from bar keeps to foreign diplomats. After each
Speaker 1: promotion and celebration, Sir noles Olav is happy to return
Speaker 1: home to the Edinburgh Zoo, not far from his statue.
Speaker 1: You see, Sir nows Olav is a penguin, that's right,
Speaker 1: a king penguin, to be precise. When he isn't marching
Speaker 1: alongside the King's guard or dining on fish and squid,
Speaker 1: he and the other penguins charm everyone from school children
Speaker 1: to dignitaries. And of course, even when he's not in uniform,
Speaker 1: he's always dressed for the occasion in that classic black
Speaker 1: and white penguin suit. When the temperature drops and the
Speaker 1: snow starts to fall, it's nice to get away for
Speaker 1: a while. There's nothing like trading your boots for a
Speaker 1: pair of flip flops and soaking up the sun while
Speaker 1: everyone else is stuck shoveling a path back at the office.
Speaker 1: That's why certain places seem perfect for vacation spots. But
Speaker 1: one place turned into more than that for a bunch
Speaker 1: of people. It became home, at least for a little while.
Speaker 1: Off the coast of southern Europe is the island of Malta.
Speaker 1: It's located in the Mediterranean between Italy and Libya, and
Speaker 1: despite its small size, it boasts a diverse culture, spanning music, art, literature,
Speaker 1: and architecture. In fact, architecture is where Malta shines. The
Speaker 1: temple complex known as Gigantia meaning Giantess, was constructed during
Speaker 1: the Neolithic era. It's one the oldest freestanding structures in
Speaker 1: the world. In the northern region of Malta, in the
Speaker 1: village of Meliaha is something much newer, but still just
Speaker 1: as impressive. It exists along the coast to overlooking the
Speaker 1: clear blue waters of Anchor Bay. It was built because
Speaker 1: of one man born in nineteen twenty nine. This individual
Speaker 1: gained quite a following over the years, and in nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy nine a group of fans decided to erect a
Speaker 1: monument to him in Malta. They came to Meliaha, all
Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty five of them, and got to work.
Speaker 1: They had timber imported from the Netherlands to build houses
Speaker 1: and shops for themselves, and wooden shingles were brought in
Speaker 1: from Canada. They worked day and night, hammering eight tons
Speaker 1: of nails and slathering on two thousand gallons of paint
Speaker 1: to bring their creation to life. The workers toiled for
Speaker 1: seven months building an homage to this one man, a sailor,
Speaker 1: and in January of nineteen eighty he arrived along with
Speaker 1: his wife and child. What the people had constructed wasn't
Speaker 1: a statue though, nor was it a monument. It was
Speaker 1: a town. It didn't look like much at first. In fact,
Speaker 1: the place looked like it had been constructed one hundred
Speaker 1: years prior and then left to rot. The buildings leaned
Speaker 1: to and fro rufe sagged in the middle. Even with
Speaker 1: the fresh paint, it looked almost like the structures needed
Speaker 1: another few coats. But then again, its rustic look was
Speaker 1: part of its charm. They wouldn't have seemed right if
Speaker 1: everything was shiny and new. In the end, nineteen wooden
Speaker 1: buildings were erected to welcome the sailor, his family, and
Speaker 1: many others to the village. The goal was to turn
Speaker 1: it into a thriving hub of fun and mischief for
Speaker 1: everyone who lived there. Soon after the sailor arrived with
Speaker 1: his wife and child in tow, others followed suits he
Speaker 1: brought along his father, a grizzled sailor himself. There was
Speaker 1: a scam artist who often tried to con local eateries
Speaker 1: out of food, and there was even a rival for
Speaker 1: his wife's affections who attempted to kidnap her on more
Speaker 1: than one occasion. But the sailor prevailed because he not
Speaker 1: only had the support of the town behind him, but
Speaker 1: he also had his secret weapon, spinach. Now if all
Speaker 1: of this sounds familiar, that's because this sailor was none
Speaker 1: other than Popeye himself, portrayed by Robin Williams in the
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty musical comedy by the same name. When the
Speaker 1: movie set department needed to create the coastal town of Sweethhaven,
Speaker 1: they didn't have green screens or backlots to rely on.
Speaker 1: They built an entire fishing village on the coast of Malta,
Speaker 1: and when filming wrapped up several months later, they left
Speaker 1: it all behind. The village decided not to tear it
Speaker 1: down either. It didn't matter that the film was a
Speaker 1: flop back in the United States. They capitalized on the
Speaker 1: fact that they had a living, breathing movie set right
Speaker 1: in their backyard, and so the village hired actors to
Speaker 1: portray the iconic characters from the comic strip, turning this
Speaker 1: fake town into a very real theme park. Popeye Village
Speaker 1: now welcomes thousands of guests every year to its shores,
Speaker 1: from movie fans, two couples getting married, to tourists looking
Speaker 1: for a unique activity while visiting the island. Not many
Speaker 1: people remember Robin Williams's debut film role, but thanks to
Speaker 1: one village in Malta, they can experience what it was
Speaker 1: like on set for themselves and come home with the
Speaker 1: memory of making a little movie magic in the process.
Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet
Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn
Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com.
Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manke in partnership
Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works, I make another award winning show
Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television
Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at
Speaker 1: the World offlore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.