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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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I turned off news altogether. I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Perhaps you've heard this message before on a speaker above your heads. Please maintain control of your personal belongings at all times. Unattended baggage is subject to search, inspection, damage and removal. That's the standard TSA security message in an American airport. Its message is simple and clear, too. If you have a bag, keep it with you at all times. And if you leave the bag alone, you're essentially giving up responsibility for what happens to it. But what does happen to a suitcase that gets left behind? Where does it go? We know that every airport has a lost and found. But do items remain there forever if they are never claimed? Does security eventually throw them out like they do with suspicious water bottles and knives on carry on luggage? If you've ever wondered this, then you wouldn't be the first person. For decades, people would forget about their bags in airports and it would go straight to whatever storage they could find for it. It was a problem not just for airlines, but for all sorts of mass transit companies. If there's one thing more universal than the human desire for travel, it's our ability to leave our important belongings behind at the first opportunity. It's estimated that half a percent of baggage goes perhaps permanently unclaimed at airports. But with hundreds of millions of people traveling the country in a year, that still means millions of bags that need somewhere to go. Well, one curious tale might just answer the question. In 1970, Doyle Owens of Scottsboro, Alabama, was talking to a bus driver friend on ham radio. The bus driver mentioned offhand that the buses always deal with loads of excess baggage that gets left behind far more than they could ever deal with. Owens was just an insurance salesman, but he knew a market opportunity when he saw one. Shortly after, he borrowed a pickup truck, took out a loan, and drove to Washington, D.C. to pick up a load of unclaimed baggage from the bus company's headquarters. Along with his wife sue and his two sons, he went to work selling the baggage and its contents thrift store style, first from a rented house, then from a warehouse. It was enough of a success that eight years later, he partnered with his first airline in order to handle their leftover baggage for them. Eventually, all domestic airlines had deals with this little company in Alabama. Even as it kept expanding, the unique appeal of the Unclaimed Baggage center remained intact. It's like a miniature city of lost and forgotten objects, from the mundane to the truly strange. And it should come as no surprise that when news outlets found out about the company, they were eager to feature them. A 1995 piece on the Oprah show catapulted them into a greater stratosphere of awareness. And soon the Unclaimed Baggage center was not just a small business anymore. It was a tourist attraction. In the late 1990s, they founded the Museum of Lost Treasures, a companion building that would feature the strangest and most interesting items that the Owens family had found over the years. At various times throughout history, they found such items as a Renaissance lute, a live rattlesnake, an Egyptian burial mask. And in the late 1990s, they found a bag full of props and puppets from the Jim Henson Company. And among those Henson objects was the full puppet for the character Hoggle from the film Labyrinth. Naturally, the Unclaimed Baggage center reached out to the Henson Company to see if they wanted the bag back. In a spirit of good humor, the Henson family allowed them to keep the puppet of Hoggle, which now lives in the Museum of Lost Treasures. And it's easy enough to see why. After all, the Unclaimed Baggage center is, in a way, a special sort of labyrinth. I turned off news altogether. I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts. Maybe we can calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. This show is sponsored by American Public University. The future won't wait. And neither should you. That's why American Public University offers master's programs and designed for momentum, affordable, high quality and flexible. So you keep moving forward with career relevant programs in business, healthcare, education, IT and more. You can gain skills you can use right away and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University made for what's next? Learn more at apu apus Edu. Marilyn and Maurice watched the sunrise over 64 million square miles of endless deep blue water. They had sailed over 6,000 miles from England, across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal and past the Galapagos Islands. It was an absolute triumph. Maurice rested a hand on his wife's back, taking in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean from the sun bleached deck of their small ship. They had named it the Orelan, from a combination of Maurice and Marilyn's first names and a symbol of the adventure that they were embarking on together. The Baileys were surprised to find that a life at sea suited them. Since setting sail in June of 1972, they'd become closer than ever before. And nine months later, in March of 1973, the prospect of another few months spent in tight quarters felt comforting, not daunting. New Zealand, their final destination, lay another 5,000 miles away across the largest ocean in the world. Marilyn looked up at her husband, beaming at his tanned brow and newfound freckles. What a perfect day spent with her perfect husband on this perfect boat. And then came the whale. An injured, confused sperm whale, rising to the surface for a breath of air and destroying the Orelan in one fell swoop. Maurice and Marilyn couldn't believe their bad luck. Here they'd been, floating through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, literally millions of square miles of water, and they were rear ended by a whale. Needless to say, this was not what they were expecting. Maurice and Marilyn Bailey were not particularly adventurous people. The whole point of the sailing trip had been to break up the monotony of their quiet middle aged lives back in England. And they weren't professional sailors either. In fact, Maryland couldn't even swim. They sold all their possessions to buy the Orelan and pay for Marisa's sailing lessons down at a nearby harbor. Now, thousands of miles away from home, they were literally on a sinking ship, in close proximity to at least one massive whale and no idea how to call for rescue. The Orelan sank within minutes. Fortunately, Marilyn and Maurice were calm in the crisis. Maurice retrieved the circular rubber life raft, about the size of a kiddie pool, while Marilyn raced to find medical supplies, a compass and enough provisions in case rescue took a few days. Minutes earlier, they'd been enjoying a beautiful sunrise aboard the ship they called home. A ship that was currently sinking to the bottom of the Pacific, taking all their worldly possessions with it. The first week passed easily. Yes, the small raft was uncomfortable. Yes, alone time became a forgotten luxury. But each day the Baileys were sure they'd be rescued they rationed their canned food, calculated their approximate location, and took turns watching for passing ships. By the end of the first month, things started to look dire. Several ships had passed without seeing the Baileys raft or their signal flares. They were out of food and out of water. They were sunburnt, exhausted, and significantly less hopeful than before. Sharks bumped against the bottom of the rubber raft, and to survive, the Baileys ate raw fish and turtles caught with their bare hands and drank rainwater collected in their empty cans. But surprisingly, this turn of events also pushed Maurice and Marilyn closer than ever before. They played games together. Imaginary dinner party was their favorite. What a delicious roast beef, Maryse would comment when Marilyn handed him a strip of turtle meat. And those buttered rolls smell incredible. Lovely, Marilyn would agree. She would jab her finger at Maurice's ribs, poking through his skin. But save room for dessert. I think it's lemon tart. On June 30, over a year since the Baileys had set sail and nearly four months after the Orelan sank, a South Korean fishing boat spotted a piece of debris floating on the surface. The Baileys had done everything they could to flag down the ship, but they were weak with malnutrition and they were out of flares. Since becoming stranded on the open sea, seven ships had passed Maurice and Marilyn by. And as this fishing boat, the eighth ship, passed through, the Baileys lost hope. But then the fishing boat turned around and it headed straight for them. When the Baileys were finally pulled aboard, they were skeletal. Each of them had lost approximately 40 pounds and were covered in sores from the disintegrating rubber raft. And more than that, after months trapped in 4 square feet of space, they were unable to stand. But what they could do was eat and finally enjoy the real food they'd been dreaming of. While scarfing down raw turtle meat for the past few months, their first proper meal was a bowl of warm noodles and a mug of sweet, hot coffee. It was the best thing either of them had ever eaten. No one would blame the Baileys if they returned home to England and vowed never to lay eyes on the sea again. But within two years of being rescued, they built a new boat. And they named it, of course, the Oreland ii. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in in partnership with Iheart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grimm and Mild team, and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and the people who make it over@grimandmild.com curiosities. You'll also find a link to the official Cabinet of Curiosities hardcover book available in bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an ad free option, consider joining our Patreon it's all the same stories, but without the interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign up over@patreon.com grimandmild and until next time, stay curious.
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