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Our world is full of the unexplainable,

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and if history is an open book, all

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of these amazing tales right

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there on display, just waiting

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for us to explore. Welcome

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to the Cabinet of curiosities.

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Mankind's fear of the other is

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dangerous. It has led to colonization

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and destruction, as well as the erasure

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of entire cultures, all because differences

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were perceived as threats. A people

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that looks different or lives outside

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with the dominant culture deems as acceptable

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is suddenly put on the defense. For

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example, Thanksgiving as taught as a

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unity story between two different groups

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coming together to celebrate the harvest. In

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reality, the Wampanoag tribe didn't

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trust the Puritans, who had come ready

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to negotiate at a protection treaty with the

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native people, in essence a

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contract of mutually assured destruction.

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After all, the Puritans hadn't left England

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just for religious freedom. They had also

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wanted to establish a theocracy,

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and if the Wampanoag had gotten in the way,

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they would have been removed through violence

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by the Europeans. Hundreds

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of years later, another local population

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would also come under fire, just not

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how they expected. In

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eighteen fifty five, a rash

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of robberies and kidnappings across

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the Midwest were being reported by the

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Choctaw tribe. What had started

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out with the disappearance of livestock and crops

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quickly turned darker as children

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started going missing. The tribe

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organized a search party, led by a

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group of seven foot tall warriors

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known as the Light Horsemen, who ventured

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into the wilderness. They

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rode for hours, armed with rifles and side

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arms, in the dead of summer, the sun beating

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across their backs before they decided

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to stop near a river and rest. After

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a quick meal to refuel and recharge,

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they set back out for another long journey

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through the woods. They were determined

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to find the criminals, one way or another, and

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they would not return home until justice

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had been served. Almost

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an entire day of NonStop riding passed

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before something was spotted in the distance.

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The leader of the party, a half Choctaw

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half French general named Joshua la

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Fleur, told the men to stop and wait.

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He pulled out the telescope he kept at his side

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for a closer look. The horses moved

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around in place, agitated by something

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no one else could see. La

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Fleur spotted movement ahead. It

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must be them, he thought. The Bandits

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had been known to hang around this area, and

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now the time had come for the general and his gang

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to exact their vengeance. They charged

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forward, their horses, pounding the grass

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with their strong hoofs, while the men shouted

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their arrival. And then

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it hit them, not a weapon,

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nor a bullet, but an odor,

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powerful and nauseating, unlike

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anything they had ever smelled in their lives.

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The horses bucked and whinnied and protest

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Some of the men fell to the ground, gasping

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for air, some sort of reprieve from

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the stench. After a few minutes

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of frenzied coughing, the men looked ahead

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to a clearing where they saw the cause of

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the wretched smell. It

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was a mound of dirt and mud, overflowing

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with human remains. The decay

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had drawn out swarms of flies that hovered

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around like black clouds. Behind

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the mountain of death at the edge of the woods

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across the clearing were three figures,

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the Bandits themselves. The floor

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and his men gathered their horses and pressed

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onward, holding their noses as best

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they could. It was now or

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never, they thought, but the figures refused

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to move, refused to run away

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from the fight, and the Choctaw warriors,

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who rushed toward them with their weapons drawn

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the floor got to them first, with a saber

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and pistol held out in front of him.

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He never saw it coming. His

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horse fell to the ground dead, and the general

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rolled several feet away. He got

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a better look at the bandits, who now appeared

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to be as big as him, if not bigger, and

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covered in hair. He

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fired on the one that had brought down his horse. The

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bullets disappeared into his mat of fur,

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but didn't stop it. It only angered

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it. The creature reached out towards

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the floor, grabbed him by his head, and

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well, that was the end of the general. The

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other men watched it happen and drew their

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rifles. They also fired into

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the three bandits who had mass sacred the

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people of their tribe, managing to

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bring down two of them. The third tried

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to escape into the woods, limping away,

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but the soldiers wouldn't have it. What these

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men, these beasts, had done, was

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unthinkable, and there was no way they were

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going to be allowed to do it again. One

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of the warriors tackled the remaining bandits

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knife in hand, and finished

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the job. When

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the dust had settled, the survive members

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of the search party examined the bodies of their

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attackers closely. They had

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stood upright like men. They'd

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moved like men. But they've been

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stronger, bigger, harrier

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than any men they'd set their eyes upon

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before. They were enormous, hulking

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brutes who bore only a passing

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resemblance to actual human beings.

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Their bodies were brought back to the tribe

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and burned, while the deceased Choctaw

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were given proper burials. The survivors

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waited for a reprisal from other members

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of the beast's own tribe, but it

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never came. Instead,

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what had transpired has gone down in history

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as the only battle on record of

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the human Bigfoot War of

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eighteen fifty five. Desperation

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can be quite a motivator. In the original

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Thousand and one Nights, a king finds

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out his wife has been unfaithful and

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has her killed. He then marries a

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series of women and orders the same

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fate the morning after their wedding nights, so

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that they never get a chance to commit the same

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infidelity. Once there are no more

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women left in the kingdom. His adviser's

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daughter, Shaherazade, volunteers to

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become his next bride. The advisor

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is hesitant, but allows her to sacrifice

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herself. On their wedding

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night, she begins to tell a story to the king,

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but she doesn't finish it. He

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refuses to kill Shahrazade until

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she can complete the story, which she does

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the following night. As soon as she's done,

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however, she begins another tale,

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and the cycle starts over. And

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it's her desperation to stay alive

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that gives birth to a collection of stories

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that have influenced cultures and literature

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all over the world. Her desperation

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didn't just allow her to keep her head, it

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gave her security. She became

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too important to discard, much

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like a young Italian scientist in

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Scotland around. His

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name was John Damien, and he arrived

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promising great, big things to King James,

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the fourth King. James

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allowed Damien to set up a laboratory

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inside Sterling Castle in order

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to carry out his experiments under a watchful

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eye. The king was in

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search of something important, something

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that had eluded rulers and explorers for

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thousands of years. Every culture

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had a different name for it, the elixir

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of life, the elixir of immortality,

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and occasionally the Philosopher's Stone,

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and yes, for fans of a certain boy

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wizard, it's that Philosopher's

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stone. The king gave

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Damien everything he needed, money,

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time, resources, all in

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the pursuit of a substance that would not only

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bring eternal life, but turn any other

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material into gold. And

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Damien certainly took advantage of

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his benefactor's generosity.

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Records from the time denote the purchases

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of all sorts of scientific equipment,

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including cauldron's, glass, flasks,

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and other materials. He spared

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no expense and bought whatever he needed

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whenever he needed it, including

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copious amounts of whiskey. Like

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many rulers throughout history, King James

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sought to control and maintain his wealth

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by any means necessary.

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This often involved research into the supernatural

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when realistic solutions proved too

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time consuming or unsuccessful. Unfortunately,

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after about seven years, it didn't

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look like Damien was any closer to eternal

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youth than when he started. Instead,

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he turned his eyes towards the heavens. Specifically,

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he wanted to get as close to them as possible,

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dreams of wealth and immortality

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were set aside as. The alchemist became

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obsessed with making man fly. He

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watched birds, how their wings caught

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the wind and propelled themselves up higher

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and higher, how they could glide on a current

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of air for seconds before needing to flap

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it end. Damien

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studied the mechanics until he thought he'd figured

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it out. He began designing wings

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for himself based on his observations,

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even going so far as to include feathers

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in the final product. To that end,

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he ordered eagle feathers, but could

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only get hen feathers at the time. No

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matter, feathers were feathers right, and

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these would have to do. There

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was only one problem. Damien

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worked alone. He had no one to test

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his theory or his new fangled contraption,

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which left only one other possibility.

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He'd have to test it himself. So

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at the end of September in seven,

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he strapped his feathered wings to his back

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and climbed to the top of Sterling Castle,

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and then he jumped Onlookers

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applauded as Damien took to the skies.

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He was a man of conviction who bravely tested

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his scientific advancements on himself

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when no one else would. If

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only his conviction was enough to keep him

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airborne. You see, Gluing

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feathers together and flapping his arms

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didn't have the intended effect. He

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felt like a stone just after takeoff.

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He managed to survive, though, thanks to

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a well placed pile of dung waiting

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below. A bruised and smelly

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Damien blamed his failure on his choice

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of feathers, claiming hen's feathers were

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more attracted to the ground than eagles

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feathers would have been. That didn't sound

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very scientific, though, perhaps

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he should have sought some advice from a good friend

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of his back in Italy, who had also been

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sketching plans for his own flying

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machines. Together, they

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might have had more success, or at

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least brought more of their drawings to life.

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That friend, by the way, was none

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other than Leonardo da

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Vinci. I

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hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of

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the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe

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for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn

10:54

more about the show by visiting Curiosities

10:56

podcast dot com.

10:59

The show was created by me Aaron

11:01

Manky in partnership with how stuff

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works. I make another award winning

11:05

show called Lore, which is a podcast,

11:08

book series, and television show and

11:10

you can learn all about it over at the world

11:12

of Lore dot com. And

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until next time, stay curious.