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 --> 00:00:22,159 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 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: The past is a foreign country. Author LP Hartley coined 7 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: this phrase in nineteen fifty three in the opening lines 8 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: of his book The Go Between. An instantly iconic simile, 9 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: it describes how alien even our own history looks to ourselves. 10 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: With enough time, history just becomes archaeology. But if human 11 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: history is a foreign country, natural history is like another planet. 12 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: Cleopatra live closer in history to the invention of the 13 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: iPhone than the construction of the Great Pyramids. Your lifespan 14 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: is closer to your great great grandparents than a Tyrannosaurus 15 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: rex was to a Stegosaurus. And after the passage of 16 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: so much time, it requires an immense act of imagination 17 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: to fill the gaps left by time. When you enter 18 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: a natural history museum, for example, one of the first 19 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: sites you're likely to see is a fully assembled dinosaur skeleton. 20 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: They're impressive, eye catching, and give a sense of immediacy 21 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: and scale to the past that might otherwise elude us. 22 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: We can easily imagine what it would be like to 23 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: be in that thing's presence, even if our species never overlapped. 24 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: But what we don't often think about is all the 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: trial and error that it took to assemble the skeleton properly. 26 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: Some skeletons are found intact, but others require mixing and 27 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: matching with bones from other sites or replicas made to 28 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: replace missing or damaged fossils. And if multiple fossils are 29 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: found the same place, the possibility for mixing creatures up 30 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: becomes very present. And one of my favorite examples of 31 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: this happening took place in central Germany. Sometime in the 32 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: seventeenth century, workmen who were mining near the town of 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: Magdeburg unearthed the Strange Cave. In this cave, they found 34 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: strange bones, bones that looked nothing like any animal they 35 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: had ever seen. Word quickly spread throughout the town, and 36 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: eventually the mayor Otto von Gurika studied the bones himself. 37 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: Gurica was initially quite worried that the workmen had damaged 38 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: the bones by handling them improperly, but as worries were 39 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: soon eclipsed by his own excitement at the discovery. He 40 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: wrote an article about this amazing find in the local newspaper, 41 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: and shortly thereafter they set about reconstructing this strange, strange beast. 42 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: We have to remember that the field of paleontology just 43 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: didn't exist back then. There was no ruling authority for 44 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: Gurka to report to for this kind of esoteric discovery, 45 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 1: so instead Gurika brought the bone bones to the town's abbess, 46 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: who helped lead a reconstruction of the creature. As they 47 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: tested which bones fit with which they were met with 48 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: another miraculous revelation. This creature had a long horn protruding 49 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: from its skull, sharp as a knight's lance, and for 50 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: many years, local legend had contended that there were unicorns 51 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,359 Speaker 1: in these lands. In fact, there was a small cottage 52 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: industry among the villagers that involved selling medicine made out 53 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: of unicorn bones, but this was the first full skeleton 54 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: assembled of such a creature. It would become a prized 55 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: possession of the town, famed in local legend. Later in 56 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: the seventeenth century, a German polymath named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz 57 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: drew a version of the creature's skeleton, using Gerica's description 58 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: as his primary basis. The resulting depiction of the so 59 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: called Magdeburg unicorn looked strange, a strong jawed skull with 60 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: two massive forelegs framing ribs, and a spinal column that 61 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: tapered off with the tail. The bipedal creature didn't really 62 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: look like a horse, like one assumes in most unicorn legends, 63 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: but more like a narwhal with an enormous head and 64 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: two over developed front legs. Although the bones themselves would 65 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: be lost over the centuries, the creature passed into legend 66 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: thanks to the drawings that leaven it's maid. Of course, 67 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: it would become obvious that Gurica, the Abbess and the 68 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: people of Magdeburg had not discovered a unicorn. They'd made 69 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: a haphazard assembly of different prehistoric animal fossils. The so 70 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: called unicorn is mostly made up of fossilized wooly rhinoceros, 71 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: a creature whose existence was not known at the time. 72 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: To the modern eye, it looks downright outrageous, a goofy 73 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: bipedal creature with proportions out of a cartoon. And while 74 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: we don't know for certain how seriously this discovery was 75 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 1: taken by the scientific community of its era, we do 76 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: know that the Magdeburg unicorn has a special place in 77 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: the annals of science. It's gone down in history as 78 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: the worst fossil recon instruction of all time. It was 79 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: August of nineteen eighty five, and New York City was 80 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: in the grip of its annual late summer heat wave. 81 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: In downtown Manhattan, two young boys strolled through the busy sidewalks, 82 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: gaping at the towering skyscrapers an endless stream of yellow cabs. 83 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: They were ten year old Keith Burne and thirteen year 84 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 1: old Noel Murray, and this was their first time in 85 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: the Big Apple. They were here without their parents or permission, 86 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: and so far they were loving every second of it. 87 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: The boys had been dreading the rapid approaching school year 88 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: and had decided to squeeze in one last summer adventure. 89 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: So two nights before they'd met up just before dinnertime. 90 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: Ignoring Keith's mother's insistence that they not go too far, 91 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,679 Speaker 1: Keith and Nol headed straight for the local train station, 92 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: where they snuck under a turnstile and hopped aboard a 93 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: random train car. They didn't have a plan or a 94 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: destination in mind, but they kept changing transportation at random 95 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 1: until they wound up in New York. The city was 96 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: like anything they had ever experienced, and they spent hours 97 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: soaking in the sights and sounds. They kept their hunger 98 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: at bay by fishing coins from public fountains and using 99 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: the money to buy hot dogs and chips. The boys 100 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: were just discussing their next move when a shadow fell 101 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: over them. They looked up into the stony face of 102 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: one of New York's finest The cops said that his 103 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: name was Officer White and asked the boys where their 104 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: parents were. Nol slipped on a confident, easygoing smile and 105 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: gestured back down the sidewalk, as if to say that 106 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: she was just behind them and would catch up at 107 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: any minute. This trick had served the boys well throughout 108 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: their adventure, getting them passed more than a few ticket agents, 109 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: but Officer White did not buy it. He pressed them 110 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 1: for answers, and eventually Keith stammered that they were on 111 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 1: their way to meet their parents in the center of town. 112 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: Officer White frowned, and then he reached for his radio, 113 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: and minutes later the boys were seated in the back 114 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: of Officer White's police car, racing through the busy New 115 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: York traffic. Despite finding themselves in police custody, Keith and 116 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: Knowle were in high spirits. They marveled at the cruiser's 117 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: controls and pestered Officer White to turn on his sirens 118 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: and his megaphone. And while they knew that their trip 119 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: was rapidly coming to a close, they didn't mind too much. 120 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: This was shaping up to be a better adventure than 121 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: they could have ever hoped for. When they got to 122 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: the precinct, Officer White and his sergeant put the boys 123 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: in a holding room. After feeding them hamburgers and soda 124 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: and letting Noel play with an unloaded pistol. They begged 125 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: the boys to say where they were from, and finally 126 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: Keith and Knowle agreed that it was time to come 127 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: clean first. Though Noel asked how Officer White knew that 128 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: they were runaways, Officer White laughed and said that he 129 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: suspected something was up. When Noel mentioned meeting their parents 130 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: at the center of town. A local might say that 131 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: they were meeting a friend in Midtown or maybe even 132 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: Times Square, but no New Yorker would ever say the 133 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: center of town. However, the real giveaway was their thick accent. 134 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: The boys laughed at the comment and finally told Officer 135 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: White the whole story about their journey, how they had 136 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: stowed aboard several trains, a ferry, and finally a seven 137 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: forty seven, all without ever paying for a single ticket. 138 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: When he heard the tale, Officer White was sure that 139 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: they were pulling his leg yet again, but he made 140 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: some calls and discovered that it was all true. He 141 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: managed to get a hold of their parents, as well 142 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: as the airline they had conned, which responded by putting 143 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: Keith and Nol up in a five star hotel for 144 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: the night. To keep them busy and out of trouble. 145 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,560 Speaker 1: Officer White's sergeant took them sightseeing and bought them all 146 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: the souvenirs they could carry. A few days and a 147 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: plane ride later, the adventure was finally over. Keith and 148 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: Nol were safe and sound back home in Dublin, Ireland. 149 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 150 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts. Or learn 151 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,479 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 152 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 1: This show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 153 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 154 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television 155 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,559 Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at 156 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.