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 --> 00:00:22,119 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 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: If you walked outside and spent a few minutes digging 7 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: through the grass, chances are you would find a beetle. 8 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: Beetles are defined as insects with hardened front wings which 9 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: protect a second set of softer wings. They come in 10 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: all kinds of shapes and sizes too. The biggest can 11 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: be larger than a grown man's hand, while the tiniest 12 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: can be as small as the tip of a ballpoint pen. 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: And here's a fact that will really make your heads. 14 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: If you counted up all the animal species on Earth, 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: one fourth of them would be beetles, which seems impossible, 16 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: I know, But the sheer amount of beetle biodiversity means 17 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 1: there are well over three hundred and fifty thousand documented species. 18 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: Some fly, some don't. Some are shaped like ladybugs, others 19 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: like violins. Some live on land, some in water, a 20 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: few make their homes inside mushrooms. Beetles can be bright blue, 21 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: jet black, neon green, and nearly every other color in between. Really, 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: when you get down to it, there's nothing that beatles 23 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: can't do. So it probably wouldn't surprise you to learn 24 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: that there's an entire branch of science dedicated to studying 25 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:44,319 Speaker 1: these curious creatures. It's called Coleepterology, which comes from the 26 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: word colyeptera, the scientific name for beetles. There is even 27 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: an international organization of beatle fanatics called the Coleopteris Society. 28 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: It's made up of professionals and amateurs, brought together by 29 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: their love of this hardshelled insect. Speaking of amateurs, one 30 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: of them most important figures in the history of coleopterology 31 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,279 Speaker 1: wasn't a scientist at all. He was an investment banker, 32 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: a philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest men who ever lived. 33 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: Enter David Rockefeller, the youngest son of John D. Rockefeller Junior. 34 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: David grew up fabulously wealthy. His childhood spanned the Roaring twenties, 35 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: and his New York home was certainly the setting for 36 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: many parties and negotiations, but At the time, David wasn't 37 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: yet old enough to have a head for business. In 38 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty five, ten year old David was just beginning 39 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: his education, taking lessons with a summer tutor. This teacher 40 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: introduced him to a few different kinds of beatles, and 41 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: I truly don't think that they could have imagined the 42 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: kind of obsession that this lesson would spark. Young David 43 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: began collecting beatles, and this was far more than a 44 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: childhood hobby. He did lots of research to learn about 45 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: the different species and kept his specimens carefully arranged in 46 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: display cases. Over the next eight years, he amassed an 47 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: impressive catalog. By this point, David was eighteen years old 48 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: and with a last name like Rockefeller, he had some 49 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: seriously big shoes to fill. He moved from New York 50 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: to Massachusetts, where he studied economics at Harvard University. He 51 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: went on to earn a PhD from the University of 52 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: Chicago in nineteen forty. After a stint in the military 53 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: during World War II, he started working as a member 54 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: of the executive staff at Chase National Bank. It probably 55 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: helped that his uncle was chairman of the board. David 56 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: quickly rose through the ranks, becoming senior vice president in 57 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two and taking over his uncle's position as 58 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: chairman in nineteen sixty nine. He also served as CEO 59 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: from sixty nine to nineteen eighty, making him one of 60 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: the most influential bankers in the world. But outside of 61 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: his day to day grind as a high powered executive, 62 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: David had a secret passion his undying love for beatles. 63 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: You see, David had never stopped collecting the little bugs. 64 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: When he was a student at Harvard, he spent his 65 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: free time combing Massachusetts for specimens. When he came home 66 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: from serving in World War II, his bags were full 67 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: of beatles. Even as the CEO of Chase National Bank, 68 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: he planned his vacations around these little critters, traveling to 69 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: locations where he knew he could find exotic species. When 70 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: David passed away in twenty seventeen at the age of 71 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: one hundred and one, he left behind thirty massive cabinets 72 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: filled with over one hundred and fifty thousand beetle specimens. 73 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: His relatives were understandably overwhelmed with this bounty, so they 74 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: called up Harvard University, David's alma mater, and offered to 75 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: make a donation. Today, David Rockefeller's beatle collection is on 76 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: display at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. Brian Farrell, the 77 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: museum's director of Entomology, has expressed admiration for David's extensive catalog. 78 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: In Farrell's words, collecting is a result of quote passionate curiosity, 79 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: something David always had in high supply. Every autumn, our 80 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: doctors remind us to get our flu shots, and according 81 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 82 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: at least half of the US population chooses not to. 83 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: Nobody likes being stuck with a needle, but still, in 84 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: an age when vaccines are readily available, it's easy to 85 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: forget how much they change the world. Vaccines are one 86 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: of the greatest marvels of modern medicine. Take the flu shot, 87 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: for example. It first became available to the public in 88 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five. Every year since then it has prevented 89 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: thousands of debts and kept millions of people from getting sick. 90 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: Other diseases like polio, have been completely eradicated through the 91 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 1: use of vaccines. Throughout history, Countless doctors and researchers have 92 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: worked to develop safe and effective shots. But there's one 93 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: immunologist who stand out from the crowd, doctor Maurice Hilleman. 94 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,359 Speaker 1: Maurice was born in Montana in nineteen nineteen, but his 95 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: early years were marked by tragedy. Just two days after 96 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: he was born, his mother died, leaving his father alone 97 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: to raise eight kids. With little money and less time 98 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: to spare, Maurice's father sent him to live with one 99 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: of his uncles. Marie spent his days at school and 100 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: his evenings working on his uncle's farm. He was a 101 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: promising student too, especially when it came to science, but 102 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: he didn't have many prospects when he graduated high school. 103 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: It was nineteen thirty seven, the middle of the Great Depression, 104 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: and he didn't have the money to go to college. 105 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: He worked odd jobs here and there until he heard 106 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: about one that his older brothers was doing. Maurice's brother 107 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: had enrolled in Divinity School on a scholarship. When he 108 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: realized he might be able to go to college for free, 109 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: Maurice applied to Montana State University. He ended up getting 110 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: a full scholarship to study chemistry and microbiology. After he graduated, 111 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: he received a fellowship to attend the UNI University of Chicago. 112 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: As a PhD student. In Chicago, Maurice studied infectious diseases. 113 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: He received his doctorates in microbiology in nineteen forty four, 114 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: when he was just twenty five years old. A long 115 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: way from the farm boy he once was, Maurice had 116 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: now officially become doctor Hilliman. He found a job at 117 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: a vaccination manufacturing company, where he worked to create an 118 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: immunization for a certain strain of encephalitis. A few years later, 119 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty eight, he joined the Army Medical Center 120 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: as a respiratory disease expert. He worked with a team 121 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: researching the flu and in nineteen fifty seven, when a 122 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: novel influenza strain emerged in Japan, doctor Hilliman and his 123 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: team quickly developed a vaccine, quite possibly stopping the strain 124 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: from becoming an epidemic. Then, at thirty eight years old, 125 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: doctor Hilliman left the Army and began working at a 126 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: pharmaceutical company called merk and this is where his research 127 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: really expanded. He led a team developing vaccines for all 128 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: sorts of diseases, including measles, chicken pox, hepatitis A and B, 129 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: and strap, but the most interesting vaccine doctor Hilliman developed 130 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,679 Speaker 1: was for the mumps. At the time, in the early 131 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, nearly every child caught the mumps at some point. 132 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: While the disease itself wasn't usually fatal, it was a 133 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: leading cause of meningitis and hearing loss. One night in 134 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, while he was sleeping next to his wife, 135 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: doctor Hilliman awoke to the sound of his five year 136 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: old daughter toddling into their room. Her name was Jerre Lynn. 137 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: Usually an energetic and happy child, she pulled on her 138 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: dad's arm and told him that she didn't feel good. 139 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: Maurice took stock of her symptoms fever, swollen throats, headache, 140 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: and realized that his daughter had the mumps. Now, not 141 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: every child grows up with a prolific microbiologist for a dad, 142 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: but Jara Lynn did. Doctor Hilliman jumped out of bed, 143 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: grabbed some cotton swabs, and took a saliva sample from 144 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: his daughter. The next morning, he brought the swab to 145 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: the Murk laboratory and got to work. It took some time, 146 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: but four years later, in nineteen sixty seven, doctor Hilliman 147 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: revealed his latest medical marvel. He had developed an effective 148 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: mumps vaccine using a viral sample from his own daughter. 149 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,079 Speaker 1: It was the fastest a vaccine had ever been created 150 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: and approved until in twenty twenty, the COVID nineteen vaccine 151 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: shattered debt record. Doctor Hilliman continued his research for another 152 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,839 Speaker 1: four decades. By the time he passed away in two 153 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: thousand and five at the age of eighty five, he 154 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: had been instrumental in creating over forty different vaccines. It's 155 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: estimated that even now his work saves approximately eight million 156 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: lives every year. So while I know that nobody likes needles, 157 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: I'm sure doctor Hilliman would say that you should shoot 158 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: your shot, or you should get your shots, you know 159 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: what I mean. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 160 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 161 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 162 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manke 163 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 164 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 165 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 166 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.