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Welcome to Aaron Benky's Cabinet of Curiosities,

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a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and

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Mild. Our

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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 are 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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Not every job is glamorous. The

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person who cleans the horse stables or mops

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the floor at a football stadium doesn't

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win any awards. They aren't lauded

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for their efforts despite their necessity.

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Some jobs are thankless, even though without

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them things would get pretty bad, and

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it's been that way for a very long time. Some

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jobs during the sixteenth century seemed

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less than desirable. Certain individuals

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were tasked with helping kings and queens

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in intimate and unpleasant

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ways. Queens often had women

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of the bedchamber who would assist them in daily

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duties like getting dressed or drawing

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a bath. A lady of the bedchamber would

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also act as a confidant and a personal

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assistant. Kings had a

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similar arrangement with someone entitled

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the groom of the stool, like a

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woman of the bedchamber. The Groom of the Stool

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would help the king wash up and put on his

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clothes, but he also had another duty

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which involved helping him onto his throne.

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And you're not thinking of the right throne

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at this moment. When a king had to

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use the bathroom, he relied on his Groom

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of the Stool to assist him. This very

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important person would prep the king's

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toilets, which was a velvet padded

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box with a hole in the top. Inside

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the box for two pewter chamber pots,

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while outside a length of fabric

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for cleanup was also provided. This

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royal stool could be carried anywhere for

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those times when the king had to shed

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his clothes quickly and do his business.

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King Henry the seventh even created

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a special room known as the Privy Chamber

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for when he had to go. Only grooms

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were allowed to go in there with him.

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But the Groom of the Stool wasn't just responsible

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for being the king's bathroom caddie. His

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um duties also consisted

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of things like watching what the king ate

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and when anticipating he might

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have to go next, oh and controlling

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who had access to him at any time.

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On top of all, of that, the groom assisted

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the king with getting dressed and undressed

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each day, but perhaps his most

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important function was as a sounding

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board for when the King was at his most vulnerable,

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like when he was using his portable commode.

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You see, the groom of the stool served as the king's

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personal secretary during bathroom time,

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which made him very popular with lower members

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of the court. They would pass on their questions

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and concerns to him so that he could

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ask the King. Given that the groom

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had his captive audience squatting

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nearby, he was a personal assistant

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and chief of staff all in one. However,

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if you think the job was a bad gig, you'd

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be wrong. The groom had the power

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to influence the King's opinion on almost

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any subject. With a few words,

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a person could have their life changed for better

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or for worse. So it was a good

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idea to always be on the groom's good

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side. King Henry the Eight's groom,

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Sir Anthony Denny, held the King's

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stamp, which acted as an official signature.

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Denny had the power to approve any documents

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on behalf of the King and King

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Henry the Seventh entrusted his groom to

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carry out what was considered fiscal terrorism

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on the local gentry made up of wealthy

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farmers, knights, and their heirs. In

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order for the court to bring in more money, they came up

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with numerous laws and taxes to siphon

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money away from the workers and into

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the king's pockets, all of which was

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orchestrated by the king's personal treasurer,

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the groom. Grooms were also

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keenly aware of the political dealings

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going on within the court. Though they almost

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never attended official meetings, the

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us really heard things later on when the king

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was regaling them well seated upon

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his stool. In some cases, the

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role of groom was performed by a whole

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entourage who would sit with the king while he went

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to the bathroom. It was rare for a

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king to ever be alone even while

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he slept. Personal attendants

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often stayed in the same bedroom as the king in

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case he needed anything during the night. To

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be a groom of the stool was a great

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honor. Groom positions were coveted

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by many, and for good reason. They

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allowed unfettered access to the king

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at almost all times, and

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all they had to do was make sure the king

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could do his business, both official

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and otherwise, safely and

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securely, and that doesn't sound

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like a crappy job at all. In

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eighteen fifty nine, English poet Edward

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fitz Gerald translated astronomer

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and poet Omar Khayam's poems and

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published them as a collection. At

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first, the book didn't farewell commercially,

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but by eighteen seventy two the poems became

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so successful in the United States that

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there were clubs dedicated to the Persian

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poets. Most of Kayam's

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works were quatrains, a stanza

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of four lines with alternating rhymes.

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He believed that fate was an unstoppable

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force and nothing could change it. Many

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of his poems centered around death, or

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at least hinted at it. So

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beloved were the poets versus that renowned

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English bookbinder Francis sang Gorski,

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decided to make the most expensive and elaborate

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book ever made. That was no small

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feat, since back in the late eighteen hundreds,

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book binding was an art form. Pages

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were often gilded, using a light coating

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of gold along the edges. While

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earlier books had been bound in paper

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over stiff boards, Other books were bound

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in cloth and leather. The more prominent

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books were leather bound and used gold tooling

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on the covers and spines. San

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Gorski covered the pages in the finest

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leather died in royal green. The

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cover included a thousand jewels,

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including rubies, turquoise, and garnets.

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All six hundred pages were made

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from gold. He spared no expense.

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He had the front stamped with a gilded

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Greek bazuki, an instrument similar

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to a mandolin. On the back, there

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were gilded images of three peacocks,

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and apparently that was what doomed

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the book. You see, many European

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cultures consider peacock's bad luck.

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In the thirteenth century, for example,

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invaders often wore the bird's magnificent

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plumes. Others believe that keeping

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a peacock feather in the house would bring you

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bad luck, and then there's the

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superstition that bad luck comes in

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threes. The ornately appointed

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book became known as the Great Omar, and

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it took Sangorsky two years to complete

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it. Once finished, he put it

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on a ship bound for New York City, where the

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book might find the most influential buyer.

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But US customs wanted and a nor

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miss customs fee, so san Gorsky

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had the book returned to England. Unfortunately,

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a coal strike there brought the economy to a

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standstill, and few wanted to purchase

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such an expensive item. Disheartened,

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he placed the book up for auction, where

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it is sold for less than half his target

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price. The new owner was proud

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of his bargain, and like san Gorsky,

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he tried to send it to New York City. For

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whatever reason, though he wasn't able to secure voyage

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on a cargo ship, but was delighted to

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send it aboard a first class luxury

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liner on its maiden voyage.

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You can see where this is going, right, That's

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right. The book set sail to America on

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the Titanic. Whatever is left

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of the book is still somewhere beneath

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the North Atlantic Ocean. A

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second tragedy struck not long after the

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Titanic's fateful journey, though. Although

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san Gorsky couldn't swim, he at

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some point in his life jumped into a river

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to save a drowning woman, only to

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drown as well. After that, there

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were whispers that the book had cursed him.

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Sandor Sky's partner, George Sutcliffe

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scoffed at such a rumor and set out to

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create a second version of the book. While

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not as elaborate as the first, it was still an

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expensive and ornately decorated book.

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Surely the new owner would be delighted to

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have such a beautiful piece of work. That

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wasn't to be, though, When World War Two erupted.

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Sutcliffe had the book placed into a London

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bank vault for safekeeping, and

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that's when the Germans dropped bombs all over

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the city. The bank, the vault,

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and the book were all destroyed. Shortly

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afterwards, Sutcliffe suffered a stroke

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and passed away. He had left the firm

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to Stanley Bray, his nephew, who

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decided to make his own version of the

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book. His effort took decades

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and was finally completed in nineteen nine.

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Five years later he also died.

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The book never made it to auction, and instead

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was donated to the British Library, where

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it resides today. Bray was asked

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shortly before his death if he was superstitious

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or believed in fate. He replied

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that he wasn't a believer, though admitted that

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the peacock might be a symbol of disaster.

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That was his story, and like fate,

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he was bound to it. I

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hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the

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Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe

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for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn

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more about the show by visiting Curiosities

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podcast dot com.

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The show was created by me Aaron

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Manky in partnership with how Stuff

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Works. I make another award winning

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show called Lore, which is a podcast,

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book series, and television show, and

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you can learn all about it over at the World

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of Lore dot com. And

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until next time, stay curious.