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 --> 00:00:22,159 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 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: They say that trends happen in cycles. We often see 7 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: resurgences in fashion, food, music, you name it. But every 8 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: time something becomes popular again, new generations add their own twist. 9 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: And in the digital age, trends spread faster and wider. 10 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: This means anyone's ideas can take hold and reshape our culture. 11 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: Let's start with the current day. The fashion trend known 12 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: as ballet core has become popular in recent years. In turn, 13 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: ballet has been used a lot in fashion marketing, and 14 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: because of the Internet, people on social media make fun. 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: It seems like it's usually experienced ballerinas who point out 16 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: poor representations of ballet. There's a whole Instagram account dedicated 17 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: to making fun of ads where the models obviously don't 18 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: know what they are doing, but the power of advertising 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: prevails because what started as a fashion trend has become 20 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: a genuine interest in ballet. There's a whole world of 21 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: ballet on Instagram and TikTok. Novice dancers share videos of 22 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: themselves practicing it's their ballet journey, if you will, but 23 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: experienced dancers also post their own videos about how dangerous 24 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: it can be to try certain moves without knowing the 25 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: right technique. To some, this might seem a little snobby, 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: like they're gatekeeping a historic art form, especially since ballet 27 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: was built on taking risks. In the early nineteenth century, 28 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: ballet was entering its Romantic era. Ballets such as Giselle 29 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: featured the forest dwelling spirits of women scorn, But as 30 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: the art form evolved, a choreographer named Charles Louis Didelo 31 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: saw his dancer's potential for conveying emotion through movement. Didelo 32 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: was a professionally trained dancer, but a leg injury ended 33 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 1: his career early, but he still taught others. It's possible 34 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: that his inability to express himself through dance gave way 35 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: to his ingenuity in helping others do so, because he 36 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: made some key contributions to the art form. Overall, one 37 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: simple but impactful change was the way Didelo simplified costumes. 38 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: He wanted to make it easier for dancers to move, 39 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,679 Speaker 1: so he did away with the aristocratic layers, ruffles, and 40 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: petticoats and replaced them with shorter, one or two piece costumes. 41 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: By then, the original ballet shoe, a slipper with a 42 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: low heel, had also been revised. A French ballerina named 43 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: Marie Camargo removed the heel from her shoe, and this 44 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,359 Speaker 1: made it easier for her to perform leaps and complex footwork. Today, 45 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: Camargo is now credited with creating the first ballet slipper 46 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: and Charles Louis Didelo also made a more daring change. 47 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: As dancers techniques evolved and stories became more dramatic, he 48 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: wanted performers to reach new heights literally. He designed a 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: pully mechanism with the wire which he attached to the dancers. 50 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: The mechanism could lift them just enough to make it 51 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: look like they were dancing on the tips of their toes. 52 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: This became known as Didelo's flying machine, and it made waves. 53 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: Choreographers used the machine to distinguish mortal characters from the 54 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: supernatural by eighteen twenty, ballerinas realized that they could imitate 55 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: the art Didallo had introduced by dancing on their toes 56 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: all on their own. But it wouldn't be easy. That 57 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: was when an Italian dancer named Amalia Bruniuli don square 58 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: tip slippers for extra support. While she was able to 59 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: rise onto her toes, it took an obvious amount of 60 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: strain and effort, still it was unprecedented. About ten years later, 61 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: Bruniulli's achievements inspired another dancer named Marie Talioni. Talioni is 62 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: known to be the first ballerina to perform a full 63 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: length ballet on point, and unlike those before her, Marie's 64 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: shoes had leather soles and were tied with ribbons for 65 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: extra stability, and this was a major milestone. Dancing on 66 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: points became the norm. Later that century, Italian shoemakers began 67 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,119 Speaker 1: adding stiff boxes at the toe. Point shoes have continued 68 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: to evolve over the years. Some brands even offer high 69 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: tech shock absorption. Today. A ballet dancers prepared to go 70 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: on point from a young age, although it's not recommended 71 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: they do so before around the age of eleven, when 72 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,839 Speaker 1: their feet are fully developed. Otherwise they risk serious injury. 73 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: Adult dancers can go on point two even if they're 74 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: new to ballet. In this case, orthopedics recommend about three 75 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: years of training first, and this is why today experienced 76 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: dancers urge others not to dance in point shoes that 77 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: they haven't been properly fitted for or without training for it. 78 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: It's been two hundred years since Didelo's flying machine revolutionized ballet, 79 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: and the art form is much more inclusive Nowadays. Dancers 80 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: can find point shoes in different skin tones, and professional 81 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: companies hire more diverse casts every day. There's still a 82 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: long way to go, but with the level of interest 83 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: scene on social media, I think it's fair to say 84 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,919 Speaker 1: that every day people can help propel the world of 85 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:19,679 Speaker 1: ballet to new heights. It's one of the most famous 86 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: paintings in the world. A bridge stretching far into the background, 87 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: a squirreling sky of unsettling yellows in reds, and a 88 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: figure hands to its ears features hazy, its mouth open 89 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: wide in an unending whale. When Norwegian artist Edward Munk 90 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: unveiled this scream in eighteen ninety three, people thought he 91 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: was losing his mind. They believed a work that captured 92 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,239 Speaker 1: anguish and terror like that reflected something deeply wrong inside 93 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: the artist. Psyche Monk, frustrated with the public's reaction, wrote 94 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: a hidden message on the piece in protest. In one corner, 95 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: he wrote, the words can only have been painted by 96 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: a madman. But the inspiration for Munk's masterpiece didn't come 97 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: from inside his mind. Instead, it was a true reaction 98 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: to an evening stroll he took in Oslo in eighteen 99 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: eighty three. Those horrible hellish skies that he painted in 100 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: the scream, those were very real, the result of a 101 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 1: natural disaster half a world away. On August twenty seventh 102 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty seven, a tremendous boom came from a small, 103 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: uninhabited island in Indonesia. It was and still is, the 104 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: loudest sound ever recorded. The source was Mount Krakatoa. After 105 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: belching out smoke and lava for months, the volcano erupted 106 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: in spectacular fashion. It killed an estimated thirty six thousand people, 107 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: sent shockwaves rippling throughout the ocean, and its blast was 108 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: heard as far away as Australia and Africa. When the 109 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: smoke cleared, only a deep caldera remained where the island 110 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 1: once stood. The eruption became one of the first viral 111 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 1: news stories, spreading across the world via telegraph wires in 112 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: a matter of hours. But news wasn't the only thing 113 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: that Krakatoa sent circling the globe. The destructive force of 114 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: the explosion set millions of tons of sulfur dioxide and 115 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: volcanic ash into the atmosphere. Clouds of both spread as 116 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: far as Europe and the Americas, drastically affecting weather patterns 117 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: in some places. The next summer, eighteen eighty four, was 118 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: cooler than the average by two degrees celsius, and scientists 119 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: have found sulfur dioxide from Krakatoa trapped in glaciers as 120 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: far away as Greenland and Antarctica. Now while the sulfur 121 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: dioxide affected how people felt, the ash changed what they saw. 122 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty three and in eighty four, Europeans recorded 123 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: that the moon appeared blue, and the sky would sometimes 124 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: look green, orange, and even pink in the middle of 125 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: the day. The red skies created by the ash were 126 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 1: so intense that some people mistook them for fires roaring 127 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: on the horizon, and so that was what happened in 128 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three in Oslo, when Edvard Monk was enjoying 129 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: an afternoon walk. He described what he saw and felt 130 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,119 Speaker 1: that day in a journal entry nearly a decade later. 131 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: Suddenly the sky turned blood red. He wrote, there was 132 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: blood and tongues of fire above the blue black fjord 133 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: and the city. My friend walked on and I stood alone, 134 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: trembling with anxiety. I felt a great, unending scream piercing 135 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: through nature. And of course he committed this feeling to canvas, 136 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: and in eighteen ninety three unveiled The Scream, complete with 137 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: hell fire skies. For many years, the real life inspiration 138 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: for the screams red sky was lost to the annals 139 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: of history. Many patrons just sort of assumed the bloody 140 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: clouds were representative of the screamer's turbulent inner world. But 141 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand and four, researchers at the University of 142 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: Texas were able to track down scientific proof that the 143 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: red skies were not just symbolism. By comparing meteorological data, 144 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,680 Speaker 1: news reports, and Monk's own observations, they concluded that the 145 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,559 Speaker 1: scream owed its desolate atmosphere to Krakatoa, out of a 146 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: natural disaster, came one of the world's most famous paintings. 147 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: The Scream isn't the only lasting art that owes its 148 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: creation to volcanic destruction. Even though Krakatoa's impact was huge, 149 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: it wasn't the first eruption to change the world. Back 150 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifteen, another mountain blew its top in Indonesia. 151 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: The eruption of Mount Tambora also sent ash and sulfur 152 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: dioxide into the air, affecting climate patterns as far away 153 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: as Europe. And thanks to Tambora, the summer of eighteen 154 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: sixteen was very cold and wet, destroying crops, herding economies, 155 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: and worst of all, ruining vacations. In fact, it forced 156 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: one particular group of writers and socialites to spend their 157 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: trip to Lake Geneva inside looking for ways to pass 158 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: the time. That was when one of the writers suggested 159 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: that they could have a ghost story contest, writing gloomy 160 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,679 Speaker 1: tales to match the gloomy mood outside, and during their 161 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: time there, the group came up with half finished sketches 162 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: about vampires and ghosts and quickly moved on to other amusements. 163 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: But one of them took it much more seriously. You see, 164 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 1: one of the women had been haunted by the group's 165 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: discussion of the nature of life. Kept inside by the 166 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: incessant rain, she began to write a story about a 167 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: doctor's quest to restore life to a corpse. Two years later, 168 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 1: she published the book that long volcanic summer had inspired, 169 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: and she called it Frankenstein. I hope you've enjoyed today's 170 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 171 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 172 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by 173 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 174 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 175 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 176 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 177 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.