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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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. What color is rain supposed to be? Now, I know this is a pretty silly question. Rain is the color of water, and water sometimes has a tint. Based on the particles that it picks up along the way, or if you step back and look at it atmospherically, you might argue that rain looks gray or cumulatively, a sort of muted white. But when rain has an actual color, something very strange is happening between the clouds and the earth. The Indian state of Kerala has been a frequent site of strange rainstorms on the southwest coast of the country. It's home to over 33 million people, and in the summer of 2001, a number of villages located among the mountains there experienced a rainstorm that puzzled scientists all around the world. Between July and September of that year, dark red water poured from the sky, staining clothing pink and turning the streets into red rivers. In other parts of Kerala, the rain was yellow or green or black, but the most prominent color was that red. This alarming meteorological event puzzled the locals, but it didn't shock as much as you might assume, because it wasn't the first time that it had happened. On and off for decades, red rain had fallen in this region, some say as early as the 1950s, with other sources pointing even further back than that, as early as 1896. Now, according to locals, the strange rainfall began with a flash of light, and then the red downpour began. The area that it covered was sometimes alarmingly localized, so that normal rainfall would only be a few kilometers away. After that 2001 rainstorm, local scientists gathered enough of the rain to finally run some proper tests on it and determine what could cause a sudden explosion of dark red precipit. At least 50,000 kg of the stuff had fallen during this storm, and much of it seemed to be made up of strange particles in the rain. Theories abounded Was it volcanic ash? Was it red sand? Or maybe dust in the air? On closer examination, scientists saw cell like structures in the red rain, but they were completely absent of any DNA. The leading theory early on was a dramatic one. The red rain had been caused by an exploding meteor in the upper atmosphere. The red partic were extraterrestrial in origin, and this theory seemed to be supported by the local anecdotes about the rain, which was always preceded by a flash. But the more they studied the cells, the less likely the extraterrestrial theory became. It turns out the cells were mostly made of carbon and oxygen with amino acids and a neutral ph. Essentially, it was far more likely that these particles came from Earth than space, based on their chemical composition. Later studies also seem to contradict the early claim that they lacked DNA, pointing more firmly toward a terrestrial origin. What's more, strange red rainstorms continued sporadically throughout the 2000s, with the most recent being in the early 2010s. Does this mean that we're haunted by the mystery of this colored rain to the present day? Fortunately, no. Along the way, scientists backed by the Indian government found the real origin of Kerala's strange rain. It definitely was not from a meteor burst or from a volcano. The red coloring came from spores, specifically spores coming from local algae. Essentially, heavy rainfall inspired lichen to grow all around the area, which then released their spores, and those spores got caught in the subsequent storms. A simple causal relationship between this specific climate and its plants. However, the government report didn't seem to know how the red rain had dispersed so widely across the state of Kerala. For that to happen, it would require all of the lichen in the area to release spores all at once. Which is possible, but not likely. Subsequent studies have posited that the spores weren't local at all, but carried that way from Europe by heavy winds. And I find myself thinking of that old sailing. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight. Except nobody says what we're supposed to do if the storm turns the color of blood. 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 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 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 bit. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News, reporting for America. In the long history of England, there have been a number of notorious rulers and politicians. Take William the Conqueror, for example, whose brutal suppression of any resistance led to the deaths of thousands. Or maybe you're thinking of Oliver Cromwell, whose tyrannical reign included murderous military campaigns in Ireland. But if we turn our eyes toward more modern times, one 20th century politician sticks out not simply for his actions, but for what horrors could have been had he actually risen to power. Sir Oswald Mosley was born into the aristocracy at the end of the 19th century and was an energetic, charming man who showed great promise at the beginning of his career. He was first elected to parliament at just 21 years old, making him the youngest member in 1918. He began as a Conservative, but as the UK sunk into economic despair after the First World War, he lost faith in his party and he joined the Labour Party. But his growing disdain for the establishment led him to resign in 1930 and he founded the new party. After that failed to gain traction, he decided to look elsewhere for a new model of governance to support. He found what he was looking for in Italy, where one Benito Mussolini and his fascist movement had taken firm control of the government. It seems that in fascism, Mosley saw a future for the United Kingdom and that he would sit atop that government. And so in 1932, he founded the British Union of Fascists, or BUF, modeled after what he saw in Italy. Mosley became known for his fiery speeches, his populist rhetoric and his followers, who clad in black shirts and using the Roman salute, better known these days as the Nazi salute. They were the brutal enforcement arms of his party. Although he began with a message of just economic populism, the toxic nature of his movement soon became very clear. The BUF proved itself to be deeply anti Semitic, blaming Britain's Jewish population for the nation's economic failings. His black shirts caused numerous bloody public brawls in the streets, the most famous being the 1936 Battle of Cable street, where the anti fascist movement blocked a street where the BUF was holding a march. A bloody riot ensued. Such hateful rhetoric and rising violence began to slowly wear away public support for Mosley and his Blackshirts. And a looming war with Germany's Nazis forced the British government to move against the threat of domestic fascism. And so, in the spring of 1940, individuals suspected of being a threat to national security were put in jail. This included thousands of suspected fascists, as well as Oswald Mosley himself, who was arrested and held without trial. Throughout his detention, he was moved to various locations and saw the insides of Welsh prison camps and even the Tower of London. The British Union of Fascists was banned in the UK and Mosley's meteoric rise was cut short. His movement was not only no longer popular, but it was looked upon by the public as downright treasonous. And so he sat in confinement for the next three years. And when he was finally released in 1943, it was under the strictest of conditions. Although politics was done with Oswald Mosley, Oswald Mosley was not done with politics. Immediately upon his release, he began to plan his big comeback. Five years later, in 1948, he made his move, founding the Union movement and calling for a monolithic Europe, a nation policy that would unite the entire continent under a central fascist government. This was, he stated, the only way to push back against Soviet communists and American capitalists. But after a lengthy war against fascist regimes, there was a lingering hostility toward the far right. The devastation had been too great, the Holocaust too terrible. Fascism was a dead end, as was Mosley's career. The Union movement had failed to catch on, and his campaigns to re enter government in 1959 and 1966 were met with a deafening lack of support. And so he retreated to the fringes from where he came. He remained virulently anti Semitic and deeply racist. He was a fierce advocate for African apartheid and was a vocal Holocaust denier. In the end, he was considered a laughingstock and deserted the United Kingdom permanently, spending his last years living in France, where he died in complete obscurity. To this day, he remains one of the most notorious British politicians of the 20th century, exposing the violent streak of fascism that ran through British society before the war. Cut it out like a cancer. And yet his shadow still haunts the uk, showing how the allure of authoritarianism can become a real test of democracy's strength and perseverance. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by me, Erin Manke, in partnership with Iheart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and Mile 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. 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 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 this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.