1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Architects, like artists, have specific distinct styles. The 7 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: open floor plans and low pitched roofs of Frank Lloyd 8 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: Wright's designs are iconic and a masterful work, clearly influenced 9 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: countless others in the field. No matter what the style, though, 10 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: architects all over the world all share the same characteristic, 11 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: a clear vision, and John had a vision too many 12 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: of them in fact. Born in Anderson County, Tennessee, John 13 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: lived a fairly standard life. He got married relatively young 14 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,119 Speaker 1: to a woman named Julia Anne, and together they had 15 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: four beautiful children. Unfortunately, their daughter, Ethel, became sick with 16 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,759 Speaker 1: diphtheria when she was only two years old and tragically 17 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 1: passed away. Julia Anne blamed her husband for Ethel's death, 18 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,199 Speaker 1: as he had disciplined her with a spanking a short 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: time earlier, something that she believed caused her illness, so 20 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: she took her three remaining children and headed to Arkansas, 21 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: where she started a new life without him. John, though, 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: had trouble moving on. He just lost his entire family 23 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: and was in search of new direction in his life. 24 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,759 Speaker 1: He soon founded in city planning. Standing before a large 25 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,119 Speaker 1: committee of neighbors, he once gave a speech about how 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: he planned to see his town of Bear Creek Valley change. 27 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: Homes and fields would be replaced with giant factories and 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: tall buildings. He said, their purpose to build a weapon 29 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: that would help the Allies win World War Two. The 30 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: main railroad line would split off into other routes through 31 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: the town. A new city would be built unlike anything 32 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: they had ever seen before, where the nearby town of 33 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: black Oak Ridge currently sat. And that city was built 34 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: in secret to the U. S. Army brought up almost 35 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,239 Speaker 1: sixty acres of land in East Tennessee near the Clinch River. 36 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: The rest of the county had no idea, of course, 37 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: even the locals in nearby towns didn't know why all 38 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: that land had been purchased. The Army called their new 39 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: city Clinton Engineer Works, but it would eventually adopt the 40 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: name oak Ridge. They built reactors and facilities that processed 41 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,519 Speaker 1: the rani um used in the first atomic bomb. But 42 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: John didn't design any of the buildings in Oak Ridge. 43 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: He wasn't an architect. His vision for the future of 44 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: his town didn't come from years of education or experience. 45 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: It came from a more unusual source. You see, after 46 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: the death of his young daughter, and after his wife 47 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: and children left him, John religion and a gift. This gift, though, 48 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: didn't make him too popular among his friends and neighbors. 49 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: One example came early on in his born again life. 50 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: After his friends had him committed to an institution against 51 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,359 Speaker 1: his will. He escaped and swore that God would burn 52 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: the place down within thirty days. A month later, lightning 53 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: struck the facility and it went up in flames. He 54 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: also claimed to have heard a voice that promised to 55 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: reveal the future of Bear Creek Valley. All he had 56 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: to do was camp out in the woods for forty 57 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: days and nights. After doing so, John saw exactly what 58 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: would happen to the town during the war. A speech 59 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: he gave that day wasn't to a board of trustees 60 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: or elected officials, though he told it to a bunch 61 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: of people gathered in the town's general store. Sadly, John 62 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: never got to witness his dream realized. He eventually remarried 63 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: and had another child, a son, But John himself succumbed 64 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: tuberculosis at the young age of just forty nine. Some 65 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: believed that he came down with the disease is after 66 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: his month and a half stay in the woods. Whatever 67 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: actually caused it, there was no doubt that John was 68 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: someone special, so special, in fact, that he's still buried 69 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: at oak Ridge, and the town even named a half 70 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: mile nature trail in his honor. John Hendrix saw what 71 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 1: would happen long before it actually did, earning him the 72 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: nickname the Profit of oak Ridge. Perhaps even more amazing, though, 73 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: was when he'd had his prophetic vision. John Hendrix, you see, 74 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: was born in eighteen sixty five and died in nineteen fifteen, 75 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: almost three decades before the city of his dreams would 76 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: be built a profit. Indeed, here's to the people who 77 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: thrive under pressure, to the student cramming all night for 78 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: their exam because they waited until the last minute to study, 79 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: to the diverse women in shark infested waters for the 80 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: ultimate thrill, And to the Chinese sailor who defied the 81 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: odds and survived in one of the harshest environments in 82 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: the world. Pun Limb was born in China in early on. 83 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: He gained his sea legs working as a second steward 84 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: on the British merchant ship the s S ben Lamon. 85 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: The ship had left South Africa in November of ninety 86 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: two and was on its way to South America when 87 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: trouble began. The armed ship was sailing on its own 88 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: across the Atlantic Ocean rather than among a fleet of 89 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: other friendly ships, an easy target. It was struck by 90 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: a German U boat on November, which had fired two 91 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:43,600 Speaker 1: torpedoes into the ben Lamon's hull, sinking it instantly. Pun 92 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: Limb grabbed the life jackets and abandoned the ship as 93 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: it went down. It took about two minutes for the 94 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: vessel to slip beneath the waves, and as it turned out, 95 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: pun Limb was one of only a handful of survivors. 96 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: He bobbed in the water for over two hours before 97 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: locating a floating wooden raft and quickly climbed on board. 98 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,360 Speaker 1: Of the fifty four crew members, he would eventually become 99 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: the only survivor. The raft was small, but had been 100 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: loaded with supplies, including eleven gallons of water, tins of biscuits, chocolate, 101 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 1: a bag of sugarcubes, a flashlight, flares, and two smoke pots. 102 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: Knowing a good thing when he saw it, pun Limb 103 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: secured himself to the raft with a rope around his 104 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: wrist in the event that he fell overboard. He apparently 105 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: wasn't that talented of a swimmer. He rationed his biscuits 106 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: in water for as long as he could, but after 107 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: several days it was all gone and he needed to 108 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,840 Speaker 1: find another way to keep his body nourished. So he 109 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: rigged the canvas from one of the unused life jackets 110 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: into a roof, which he then fastened above his head 111 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: to catch rain water for him to drink. By twisting 112 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: one of the wires from the flashlight to the end 113 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: of a hemp rope, he was able to fashion himself 114 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: a working fishing line. When he wanted to catch larger fish, 115 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: he would use a nail from one of the boards 116 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: in the raft instead of the wire as a hook. Unfortunately, 117 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 1: for all of Punlimb's success in surviving on his own, 118 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,840 Speaker 1: fate would throw yet another test at him. One night, 119 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: a massive storm swept over his raft. The fish that 120 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: he had caught were ruined, and his supply of water 121 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: was contaminated with seawater. Running out of time and options, 122 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: he caught a bird and cut it open with a 123 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: knife that he'd made out of one of the biscuit tins. 124 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,239 Speaker 1: Without a way to cook it, he opted to drink 125 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: its blood to survive, but the blood from the dead 126 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: bird started to attract other things, like sharks. Being an 127 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: optimistic man, he assumed a shark might make a sizeable meal, 128 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: so he braided the hemp rope to increase its strength, 129 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: and then tied the bird carcass to the end before 130 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: throwing it into the water. A hungry shark took the 131 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: bait with his hands wrapped in canvas. He reeled it 132 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: in and hauled it on board. After whacking it a 133 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: few times with a jug of sea water to subdue it, 134 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: he sliced it open. The blood in its liver provided 135 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: a good bit of sustenance, and then he cut off 136 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: the shark fins and set them out to dry in 137 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: the sun for a snack. Later. The ocean current eventually 138 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: carried his raft towards land, which he recognized a few 139 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: days earlier by the change in watercolor. As his raft 140 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: floated down a river inlet, three fishermen spotted him and 141 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: helped him ashore. Surprisingly, he had completed the journey that 142 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: his ship never could. The land he stood on was 143 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: in fact South America. It had been a frustrating journey though. 144 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: During his voyage, pun Limb had been passed by several 145 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: large vessels, but none of them stopped to pick him up. 146 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: They believed that his raft was a trap set by 147 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,359 Speaker 1: German submarines, which had been known to leave a survivor 148 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 1: out in the open to be found by an Allied ship. 149 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: When that ship stopped to help, the U boat would 150 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: sink it. Pun Limb was quickly taken to a hospital, 151 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: where he spent one month in recovery. He had lost 152 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: twenty pounds from the ordeal. When he returned to Britain, 153 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: King George the sixth awarded him a British Empire metal. 154 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: His story of survival was also recorded by the Royal 155 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: Navy as part of a survival guide for sailors. But 156 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: perhaps the greatest achievement of all was the world record 157 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: that he had set, and this day it remains unbroken. 158 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: Poon limb had survived alone in the South Atlantic for 159 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty three days. I hope you've enjoyed 160 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for 161 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show 162 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created 163 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. 164 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 165 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 166 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 167 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Ye