1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: There's nothing like kicking back after a long day of 7 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: work with the good book and a hot cup of tea. 8 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: The taste of delicate herbs and fruit flavors help to 9 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: warm the body and the soul, melting away the day's problems. Today, 10 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: tea is as accessible as the water you steep it in. 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: But that wasn't always the case. In nineteenth century Ireland, 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: the idea of regular people drinking tea nearly ruined society. 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: That's what the rich nobility would have you believe, you see. 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: Tea was mostly an Asian commodity until the Portuguese and 15 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: the Dutch started bringing it to Europe in the mid 16 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds. In sixteen sixty two, Catherine of Braganza, daughter 17 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: of John the fourth of Portugal, married King Charles the Second. 18 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: Catherine traveled from Portugal to the United Kingdom for her 19 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: nuptials and brought along her must have items, namely trunks 20 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: and trunks of Chinese tea. Once her new husband got 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: a taste, tea became a certified hit. In fact, Catherine 22 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: of Braganza was credited as the person who made tea 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: popular in Britain. Most people who experienced the beverage praised 24 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: it for its seemingly endless uses. They claimed that it 25 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: could do everything from amplifying one's intelligence to giving a 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: person more energy throughout the day, but not to everyone 27 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: liked it. There were skeptics who believed that tea was 28 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: harmful to European complexions and their sensitive digestive tracks, and 29 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 1: many of their complaints had more to do with where 30 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: the tea had come from than the drink itself. By 31 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: the mid eighteenth century, anti tea rhetoric was rife with 32 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: racist innuendos about the beverages country of origin. That sentiment 33 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: found its way into numerous writings of the time too. 34 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: British traveler Jonas Hanway wrote in seventeen fifty seven that 35 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: to what heights of folly must a nation be arrived 36 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: when common people are not satisfied with wholesome food at home, 37 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: but must go to the remotest regions to please a 38 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: vicious palate. But as time went on, voices, like handways, 39 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: fell away to the side. Eventually tea drinking took on 40 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: a life of its own. The eighteen hundreds saw Ireland 41 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: adopt a new custom, a mid afternoon tea time. Wealthy 42 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: Dublin women would host tea parties to show off their 43 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: status as well as their etiquette to their equally posh peers. 44 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: There were certain rules to be abided by during these parties, 45 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,119 Speaker 1: of course, lest you wanted to look uncivilized. For one, 46 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: the tea had to be of an appropriate quality and 47 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,239 Speaker 1: only one cup was to be consumed by each guest. Also, 48 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: all stacks were required to be presented upon a silver tray. 49 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: Oh and certain topics were forbidden from discussion to avoid 50 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: those uncomfortable arguments or silences. Tea time was meant to 51 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: be a light break in the day, but only for 52 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: people of means. You see, even though the poor also 53 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: had access to tea, their consumption of it was frowned upon. 54 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: The upper class felt that those of lesser means could 55 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: not properly prepare it. The reason they thought that was 56 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: because that poor folks often left tea brewing for hours 57 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: on the flame, so that there was always a pot 58 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: ready to pour for unexpected guests. Doctors, on the other hand, 59 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: believed that steeping tea leaves for so long would remove 60 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: all of their tannins, making the drink more toxic to 61 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: the body and causing stomach aches as well as hallucinations. 62 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: The rich, on the other hand, only steeped their tea 63 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: for a short amount of time prior to consuming it. 64 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: But medical professionals and the wealthy weren't really concerned with 65 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: the health of people on the bottom of the social ladder. 66 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: They were worried about those people I mean that ladder. 67 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: Members of the lower class wanted better lives for themselves, 68 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: and one way they saw of achieving such a thing 69 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: was in drinking what the upper class was drinking. It 70 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: also allowed poor women to exert some control over their 71 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: own lives. The wealthy elite did not approve of how 72 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: these poor women would get together regularly and enjoy a 73 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: cup of tea rather than endlessly tend to the housework 74 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: that was expected of them. What would happen next? Demanding 75 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: the right to vote, and that was actually a great 76 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,239 Speaker 1: fear that poor women who congregated over tea would become 77 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: politically active and discuss all the ways they were being 78 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: mistreated by the upper class. Well, the rich couldn't allow that, 79 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: could they. Tea was their beverage and the poor needed 80 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: to know their place. So the elites started spinning narratives 81 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: warning young poor women that drinking tea would make them 82 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: addicted to the point where they would steal from loved 83 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: ones and throw their families into bankruptcy, anything to make 84 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: them second guess their choice in a beverage. Fortunately, those 85 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,239 Speaker 1: tactics didn't really work. Tea time became a common practice 86 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: across class lines, and just as the wealthy had feared, 87 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: it did help jumpstart the women's liberation movement. Today, we 88 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: regularly enjoy tea and are even more aware now of 89 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: its health benefits such as antioxidants boosting our immune systems. 90 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: There's no need to worry about starting a revolution over 91 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 1: a cup of tea every now and then, because, of course, 92 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: that's what the Internet is for now. When it came 93 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: to revolutionizing mass transit, the number one concern for inventors 94 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 1: and innovators has always been speed. It's not enough to 95 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: have the biggest cabin or the most luxurious seats. What 96 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: matters most is getting from point A to point B 97 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,559 Speaker 1: in the least amount of time. The Wright Brothers first 98 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: airplane only reached a top speed of about seven miles 99 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: per hour. Today's commercial airplanes and travel seventy times that, 100 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: taking people thousands of miles in only a few hours. 101 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: And the same goes for trains. The first passenger steam 102 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: locomotive took four hundred and fifty people a distance of 103 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: twenty five miles, and it never broke fifteen miles an hour. 104 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: Today's bullet trains can hit almost two hundred miles per hour. 105 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: But around nineteen thirty one German engineer believed that faster 106 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: speeds were possible. It's just a shame that he used 107 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: a design that would come to symbolize tragedy six years later. 108 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: His name was Franz Krukenberg from Ottersen, Germany. He graduated 109 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: with a degree in naval engineering from the Technical University 110 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: of Berlin in nineteen oh seven and went on to 111 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: design various aircraft before World War One. After the war, 112 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: France opened his own consulting firm, where he designed a 113 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: new kind of hanging monorail. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, 114 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: he was never able to secure the money to build 115 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: a prototype. But that didn't stop the engineer from moving 116 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: on to his next great project, high speed railway transportation. 117 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: It's got to Work in nineteen twenty nine, designing a 118 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,279 Speaker 1: new kind of railcar, one that would be aerodynamic, just 119 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: like an airplane. Despite certain modern rail vehicles being called 120 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: bullet trains today, this pre World War II creation was 121 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: actually shaped like a bullet. He carried out a series 122 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: of wind tunnel tests in November of that year before 123 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: beginning construction. The final train measured almost eighty five feet 124 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: long and just over ten feet high. Its lightweight aluminum 125 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: frame sat on top of a steel chassis and two axles, 126 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: and it was powered by a pair of BMWIV six 127 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: cylinder airplane engines. But what set this train apart from 128 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: the others of its time was the four bladed propeller 129 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: at its rear. France famously criticized zeppelins. He hated the 130 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: hydrogen inside of them and its explosive nature, so it 131 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: was funny that his new train car was shaped just 132 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: like one. Even the workers noticed, which is why they 133 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: started calling it the Sheenen Zeppelin or the rail Zeppelin. 134 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: But despite its minimus design, France put a lot of 135 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: thought into its construction. For example, each of the Sheen 136 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: and Zeppelin's wheels had an inner flange that was taller 137 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: than on normal trains. This was meant to keep the 138 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: car on the tracks at high speeds and reduce the 139 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: possibility of derailments. The Sheen and Zeppelin was completed in 140 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: the fall of nineteen thirty. It had been designed to 141 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: shuttle a maximum of forty four passengers at one time. 142 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: Upon its first test with the propeller, the train hit 143 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: sixty two miles an hour in just over a minute, 144 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: traveling a distance of three thousand, two hundred feet. After 145 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: three minutes, the rail Zeppelin reached the top speed of 146 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: one hundred and thirteen miles per hour, at which point 147 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: the test was stopped. Unfortunately, braking was a major issue 148 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: for the train. The vehicle required just over a mile 149 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: of track to stop due to its lightweight and a 150 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: problem with the rear axle. Still, despite its issues, the 151 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: Sheen and Zeppelin was shown off to the press on 152 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: October eighteenth of nineteen thirty, and it became quite a 153 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: draw for crowds who wanted to see what it was 154 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: capable of. The tests continued for another several months until 155 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: June twenty first of nineteen thirty one. That was the 156 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,319 Speaker 1: day when the rail Zeppelin traveled from Karlstadt to Perleberg, Germany, 157 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: with a car full of passengers and crew. It went 158 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: seven and a half miles, setting a new speed record 159 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: by reaching a whopping one hundred and forty three miles 160 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: per hour. The sheen and Zeppelin was then displayed at 161 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: the Renbaannstadian railway station in Berlin for the next several 162 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: days before its crew got to work upgrading its brakes 163 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: in the hopes of sending it back out again. Sadly, 164 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: the train's journey ended there. Its design just wasn't conducive 165 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: to transporting the masses. For one, it couldn't handle tight 166 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: curves at high speed, and second, the rear propeller made 167 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: coupling other cars to its a impossibility. Still, Franz Krukenberg 168 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: had glimpsed the future of travel in more ways than one. 169 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 1: His high speed train was shaped like a zeppelin and 170 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: just as unfit for travel as one too, which reminds 171 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: me of another infamous vehicle, the Hindenburg. The only difference 172 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: between the Sheen and Zepplin and the Hindenburg, though, was 173 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: that the train didn't blow up in more ways than one. 174 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 175 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 176 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 177 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,319 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 178 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 179 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 180 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 181 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.