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 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: Charles Lindbergh is a controversial name in American history. He 7 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: was an aviator first, but in many ways he was 8 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: also one of the first American mass media celebrities, and 9 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: like so many celebrities, his downfall was as sharp as 10 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: his rise to fame. But before he was a household name, 11 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: he had to make his famous NonStop transatlantic flight. While 12 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: the average person might worry about mechanical failure or getting 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: lost at sea, for Charles, the only real issue was 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: staying awake for such a monumental undertaking. Charles approached his 15 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: transatlantic flights as if it were an everyday chore. In 16 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: the weeks leading up to his flight, he studied navigation 17 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: at his local library. He learned how to track the sun, 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: the moon, and the stars, and how to calculate his 19 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: rate of travel and rate of fuel loss. He needed 20 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: to be able to do these things in his head 21 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: because he couldn't bring much equipment on board. The plane 22 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: was small and made of wood and fabric. Like many 23 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,279 Speaker 1: planes of the time, it couldn't handle a lot of weights, 24 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: and he would have to dedicate most of that to 25 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: the four hundred and fifty one gallons of gasoline that 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: he would need to make it all the way from 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: New York to Paris. That was the challenge issued by 28 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: an American businessman who wanted to see a pilot from 29 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: an Allied nation make a NonStop flight across the Atlantic. 30 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: He offered up twenty five thousand dollars as a prize, 31 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: which Charles aimed to win. In addition to the gasoline, 32 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: Charles packed a bottle of water and a bag of sandwiches, 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: and that was about it. You would think that he 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: was just taking a bus cross country, not crossing the 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: entire Atlantic on his own in a rickety plane. But 36 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: that's not to say that Charles wasn't nervous. In fact, 37 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: he didn't sleep at all the night before his flight, 38 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: and this was a problem because the trip was already 39 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: meant to take thirty hours. He'd have to remain alert 40 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: the entire time, So now he was running on fumes 41 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: at the start and facing another night without sleep, But 42 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: of course, this time he'd be hundreds of miles above 43 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: the ocean. He took off from New York the morning 44 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: of May twentieth, of nineteen twenty seven. The first few 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: hours were exhilarating and passed without issue. There's always that 46 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: first rush of adrenaline whenever you set out on a trip, 47 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: much less a historic flight. But by hour number four, 48 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: Charles's eyelids started to droop. He snapped awake. He had 49 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: to keep himself alert, and so he decided to drop 50 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: the plane into the ocean, now maybe not completely beneath 51 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: the waves, but just ten feet above the water to 52 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: keep himself frosty. The plane required more of his attention 53 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: at this height, and the sea spray was nice. He 54 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: also believed that planes traveled faster just above the water, 55 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: Although this was likely just a superstition. It was enough 56 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: to keep him awake for a few more hours, but 57 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: then nights started to fall. Imagine trying to keep yourself 58 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: awake in the pitch dark with a cool breeze blowing 59 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: across your face. He didn't even have the light from 60 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: the moon or the stars. As a fog crept across 61 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: the sky and engulfed his plane, there was nowhere to 62 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: land and nowhere to pull over. He had to keep 63 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: going at one hundred miles an hour into pitch black, 64 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: and then the sleet started. Icy chunks flicked across his 65 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: face and threatened to weigh down the plane. He had 66 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: to lower his altitude once again, while also keeping track 67 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: of his overall altitude in his head to ensure that 68 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: he didn't crash into the ocean. He considered closing the windows, 69 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: but then he thought better of it. The ice on 70 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: his face might have been painful, but this was the 71 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: first time in hours that he didn't feel like closing 72 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: his eyes. Finally, mercifully, he saw the sun on the 73 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: horizon through the fog until the fog was no more, 74 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: and once it dissipated, a welcome site appeared Ireland. He 75 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: was close to his destination. Just five hours later, he 76 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: finally arrived in Paris, exactly on time. He hadn't slept 77 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: for fifty five hours. He was greeted with overwhelming support 78 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: from the French people, but all he really wanted from 79 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: the French ambassador was a pair of pajamas. In the 80 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: years that followed, Charles received endless medals from the US 81 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: and other allied nations, but the nineteen thirties were a 82 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: traumatic time for him, and his infant son was infamously 83 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: kidnapped and murdered. While touring Germany, he saw firsthand the 84 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: might of the Nazi air force, and was so frightened 85 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: that he became an ardent proponent of isolationism, wanting to 86 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: keep America out of the war and blaming the British, 87 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: American Jews and Franklin Roosevelt for wanting to involve the US. Ultimately, 88 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,919 Speaker 1: this lost him the support of the American people, and 89 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: it took him flying missions in the Pacific to regain 90 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: some of their respect. He was a complicated man who 91 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: quickly found himself out of his depth on the public stage. 92 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: Of all his accomplishments, though it's more than curious that 93 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: he remains most famous for simply keeping his eyes open. 94 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: There are few places on Earth as serene, quiet, and 95 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: downright lovely as New Zealand. The island nation is routinely 96 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: voted among the most peaceful countries on the planet, but 97 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirties, its rolling Green Hills were disturbed 98 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: by a series of shocking explosions. They weren't caused by 99 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: bombs or gunfire. Like the rest of the globe, New 100 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: Zealand was enjoying a brief pause between world wars, so 101 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: for a moment at least, there was no worry about fighting. Instead, 102 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: the explosions were caused by something so perplexing it left 103 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: many kiwis scratching their head and in a few cases 104 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: they're singed bottoms. The first part person affected was a 105 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: dairy farmer named Richard Buckley. One day in April of 106 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three, Buckley was clearing out a large infestation 107 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: of ragwart, a type of yellow flowering weed that's poisonous 108 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,720 Speaker 1: to cows. The countryside was covered in this stuff, which 109 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,480 Speaker 1: was a serious problem for Buckley because it cut down 110 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,679 Speaker 1: on the area where his cattle could graze. After spending 111 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: hours killing the weeds, he decided to take a break 112 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: and headed inside to his farmhouse. He was just sitting 113 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: down to relax by the fire when his pants spontaneously exploded. Now, 114 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,600 Speaker 1: fortunately for Buckley, he wasn't wearing them at the time, 115 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: having just hung the pants up to dry, but he 116 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: was standing close enough that the loud blast threw him backward. 117 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: Somehow he had enough presence of mind to scramble back 118 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: to his feet, grab the burning trousers, race to the door, 119 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 1: and hurl them out into the yard. It wasn't a 120 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: moment too soon. The pants continued to flash and smolder, 121 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: erupting in a series of small explosions until there was 122 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: almost nothing left of them. Now, as you might imagine, 123 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: Buckley was astonished and also relieved who escaped without injury. 124 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: But as he soon learned, this close call was just 125 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: the beginning. A few days later, a cowboy was riding 126 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: his horse through a neighboring farm when his blue jeans 127 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: burst into flames. Then another pair of pants detonated while 128 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: drying on a clothes line in the sun. In each case, 129 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: the fires burned with a strange, almost supernatural intensity, and 130 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: they were incredibly difficult to put out. Smothering the flames 131 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: with dirt or blankets did nothing. In most instances, the 132 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: farmers were forced to just stand back and watch while 133 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: their pants burned up. The incidents spread like wildfire. No 134 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,239 Speaker 1: pun intended, I swear, and within a few short months, 135 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: New Zealand was in the midst of a full on 136 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: exploding trouser epidemic. Most of the victims escaped with little 137 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: more than burnt buttocks, but some were badly injured, and 138 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: there were at least two recorded deaths. And eventually the 139 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: affected farmers started to compare notes and realized what they 140 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: all had in common. Before their pants had exploded, they 141 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: had all been treating ragwort with the same weed killer, 142 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: a chemical herbie being pushed by the government known as 143 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: sodium chlorate. And here's the thing. While the compound is 144 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: effective at killing ragwart, it's also extremely volatile when it's dry. 145 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: The farmers always diluted the chemicals with water before spraying 146 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: the mixture on their plants, but some droplets inevitably blew 147 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: back on their legs, where they blended with the denim fibers. 148 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: When the pants dried, the water in the chemical mixture evaporated, 149 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: leaving behind tiny, highly flammable crystals. At that point, the 150 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: pants were primed for detonation, and it didn't take much 151 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: to set them off. Standing close to an open flame, 152 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: the friction of rubbing against a horse's saddle, or even 153 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: the heat of a sunny day could be enough to 154 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: trigger spontaneous combustion. Once the farmers realized their weed killer 155 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: was causing the fires, they stopped using it. They still 156 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: had a serious weed infestation on their hands, but that 157 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: problem eventually sorted itself out when the industry shifted from 158 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: dairy to sheep farming. Unlike cows, sheep can digest ragwort 159 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: and will eat it happily, making them a natural weedkiller, 160 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: and as an added bonus, they don't spontaneously explode, at 161 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: least not usually. But if I've learned anything, history has 162 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: a way of making exceptions out of every rule. I 163 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,599 Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 164 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 165 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 166 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 167 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 168 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 169 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the Worldoflore 170 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.