Hack-a-thon

Summary

Summary of "Hack-a-thon" Episode from Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

Released on June 12, 2025, Aaron Mahnke's "Cabinet of Curiosities" delves into the fascinating and often unsettling stories that pepper our history. In the "Hack-a-thon" episode, host Aaron Mahnke explores two distinct tales: the infamous South Sea Bubble, an early example of a financial catastrophe, and the legendary MIT hacks, showcasing the ingenuity and audacity of students. This detailed summary captures the essence of both stories, highlighting key discussions, insights, and memorable quotes.

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1. Introduction

Aaron Mahnke opens the episode by setting the stage for a journey into the inexplicable and bizarre facets of history. He emphasizes the importance of exploring these curious tales to understand the complexities of human behavior and societal developments.

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2. The South Sea Bubble: A Historical Financial Catastrophe

Overview: Aaron Mahnke delves into one of the earliest and most dramatic financial bubbles in history—the South Sea Bubble. This event, which occurred in early 18th-century England, serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of speculative investment and the manipulation of perceived value.

Key Points:

• Economic Climate of Early 1700s England:

  • England was grappling with significant national debt accrued from continuous wars. The political landscape was unstable, with frequent conflicts over the monarchy.

• Formation of the South Sea Company:

  • Spearheaded by politician John Aislabie, the South Sea Company was established to consolidate England's national debt. The company was granted exclusive rights to the slave trade with Spanish colonies in Central and South America, a morally reprehensible yet profitable venture anticipated to sustain the nation's finances.

• Inflation of Stock Prices:

  • Despite the company's failure to turn a profit due to restrictive Spanish agreements limiting trade to one ship per year, the South Sea Company's stock prices soared. This was fueled by widespread investment from all social classes across Europe, driven by inflated perceptions of the company's value.

• Market Collapse:

  • By spring 1720, stock prices had reached unsustainable heights. However, by September, the bubble burst as investors recognized the stock's true worth, leading to a dramatic plummet in prices. The aftermath saw significant financial losses for the nobility, some of whom faced dire personal consequences, including suicide.

• Political Repercussions:

  • John Aislabie was briefly imprisoned, demonstrating the limited accountability of the era's political figures. The stability of the Hanoverian monarchy remained intact, preventing further political turmoil.

Notable Quotes:

• Aaron Mahnke [02:27]: "They were very literally putting the country's burden on the backs of African slaves."

• Aaron Mahnke [03:54]: "They were very literally putting the country's burden on the backs of African slaves."

• Aaron Mahnke [06:05]: "It goes to show how disastrous it can be when politicians and financiers neglect their responsibility to the public."

Insights:

• The South Sea Bubble illustrates the peril of speculative bubbles driven by herd mentality and the manipulation of perceived value.
• It underscores the ethical failings of historical financial practices, particularly the exploitation inherent in financing national debts through the slave trade.
• The episode highlights the recurring theme of financial systems being vulnerable to human greed and the lack of regulatory oversight.

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3. MIT Hacks: The Legacy of Student Pranks

Overview: Transitioning from financial intrigue, Mahnke explores the culture of hacking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). These "hacks"—ingenious and often audacious pranks—have become a hallmark of MIT's student life, blending creativity, humor, and sometimes, subtle commentary.

Key Points:

• Definition and Variety of Hacks:

  • MIT hacks range from whimsical to wild, involving elaborate installations atop iconic campus landmarks like the Great Dome. Notable hacks include placing a fire truck, a lunar lander, and even an MIT campus police car on the dome.

• Famous Hacks:

  • In 1958, a group of Lambda Chi Alpha pledges measured the Harvard Bridge using a unit called the "smoot," named after pledge Oliver Smoot. This prank not only left a lasting mark on the bridge's infrastructure but also became a beloved tradition, with Smoot marks still visible today.

• Impact and Legacy:

  • Beyond entertainment, these hacks demonstrate the students' desire to leave a lasting imprint on their environment. The smoot measurement even influenced Oliver Smoot's future career, leading him to become the head of the International Organization for Standardization.

• Notable Incidents:

  • Some hacks have had unintended consequences, such as the 1930s incident where thermite bombs were set off under a Boston streetcar, welding the wheels to the rails. Remarkably, one of the pranksters later became an MIT dean, showcasing the complex relationship between youthful rebellion and professional achievement.

Notable Quotes:

• Aaron Mahnke [09:04]: "They wanted the markers so that he could easily see how far he had left to walk."

• Aaron Mahnke [11:42]: "With each new hack, MIT students hope to make their mark on history."

Insights:

• MIT hacks reflect a unique blend of ingenuity, humor, and a desire to challenge norms, serving as a testament to the creativity fostered within the institution.
• The legacy of these pranks extends beyond mere acts of defiance, influencing culture, infrastructure, and even international standardization.
• The enduring nature of some hacks, like the smoot measurement, highlights the potential for playful actions to have lasting and meaningful impacts.

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4. Conclusion

In the "Hack-a-thon" episode of "Cabinet of Curiosities," Aaron Mahnke masterfully weaves together narratives of financial downfall and inventive pranksterism to explore the multifaceted nature of human endeavor. The South Sea Bubble serves as a historical lesson on the volatility of financial markets and the ethical pitfalls of investment schemes, while the MIT hacks celebrate the boundless creativity and audacity of academic youth. Together, these stories underscore the complexities of human behavior, the consequences of our actions, and the enduring legacy of our choices.

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Final Thoughts: This episode of "Cabinet of Curiosities" offers listeners a captivating exploration of two seemingly disparate topics, unified by their profound impact on history and culture. Whether delving into the dark recesses of financial manipulation or the lighthearted yet ingenious world of student pranks, Aaron Mahnke ensures that each tale is both informative and engaging, leaving audiences with a deeper appreciation for the curious facets of our past.

Transcript

[iHeart Podcast]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Richard Karn]

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[Pocket Hose Announcer]

By texting 64,000 you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pockethose.com terms.

[Aaron Manke]

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.

[Narrator]

Today, we take the stock market as a given. Every developed nation has one, and anyone with extra cash sees it as a.

[Co-Narrator]

Good idea to invest.

[Narrator]

It allows startup companies to grow quickly, and it allows the middle class to.

[Co-Narrator]

Have a retirement fund.

[Narrator]

But at the end of the day, it's all about perceived value. How much the market, AKA human beings, think something is worth. And when that perceived value proves to be way off from the actual value of a stock, well, then we call that a bubble. One of the first examples of this happened over 300 years ago, and when it burst, it almost took all of England with it. In the early 1700s, England already wasn't doing so great. The monarchs of Europe conducted wars like.

[Co-Narrator]

They were a regular part of doing.

[Narrator]

Business, and England had racked up quite.

[Co-Narrator]

A bit of debt from all the fighting.

[Narrator]

On top of all of this, there was still quite a bit of fighting.

[Co-Narrator]

Over the English monarchy itself.

[Narrator]

Politician John Aislabie, along with several of.

[Co-Narrator]

His fellow politicians, formed a committee to address the national debt.

[Narrator]

At first, they conducted several lotteries, just like the ones we have today, where participants pay a small amount on the.

[Co-Narrator]

Tiny chance that they'll win a huge sum.

[Narrator]

The government takes some of the profits and then uses them how it sees.

[Co-Narrator]

Fit, such as paying off the national debt.

[Narrator]

But this was too slow a solution.

[Co-Narrator]

For England's significant financial woes.

[Narrator]

And so the politicians turned to another scheme. You see, large private banks were a.

[Co-Narrator]

Relatively new development in England.

[Narrator]

They were sometimes still called companies back then. And it was around this time that members of Parliament decided to create a.

[Co-Narrator]

Company of their own, the South Sea.

[Narrator]

Company, which would take advantage of a new peace agreement signed with Spain in 1713. And what would their investment be? Well, human trafficking. The company purchased an agreement from the English Crown granting them exclusive rights to the slave trade with Spanish colonies in.

[Co-Narrator]

Central and South America.

[Narrator]

They expected this to be hugely profitable, and so they would sell shares in the company in order to consolidate the national debt. In other words, they paid investors who England was indebted to with shares in the South Sea Company, promising them shares that would grow in value over time. To be even more clear here, Parliament was betting the entire national debt on.

[Co-Narrator]

Their ability to sell human beings to Spain.

[Narrator]

They were very literally putting the country's.

[Co-Narrator]

Burden on the backs of African slaves.

[Narrator]

It was a new wrinkle in a.

[Co-Narrator]

Centuries long pattern of horrific abuse.

[Narrator]

The members of Parliament were so lacking in empathy that they didn't see anything.

[Co-Narrator]

Wrong with paying off the debt from.

[Narrator]

Endless pointless wars by transferring it to.

[Co-Narrator]

The labor of innocent Africans who had.

[Narrator]

Nothing to do with any of it. Over the next few years, they managed.

[Co-Narrator]

To sell around 30,000 enslaved people to.

[Narrator]

The Spanish, which is already an incomprehensible.

[Co-Narrator]

Amount of pain and suffering.

[Narrator]

And yet, despite all of that, it wasn't actually enough to make the company profitable. You see, Spain limited England to just.

[Co-Narrator]

One ship a year.

[Narrator]

And when that ship arrived in the New World, the human traffickers were often met with bureaucracy and logistical difficulties that kept them from turning a profit. And so the South Sea Company was a failure. But no one seemed willing to admit it. The company had practically become a money printing machine. People from all over Europe and all social classes invested their money and used their shares to inflate their own wealth. And that's when John Aislaby, the English politician first tasked with eliminating the debt, joined with other politicians to make the problem even worse. They proposed a new scheme to Parliament to have the South Sea Company take.

[Co-Narrator]

Over even more of the national debt.

[Narrator]

They wanted to inflate their own wealth.

[Co-Narrator]

By inflating the stock price of the company.

[Narrator]

And people went along with it for a few reasons. For one, many of the members of Parliament were bribed by Aislabie and his cohorts. And for another, Aislabie had made King.

[Co-Narrator]

George the first honored honorary governor of.

[Narrator]

The company, giving everyone false confidence. By spring of 1720, the stock price for the South Sea Company had inflated.

[Co-Narrator]

To an incredibly high number.

[Narrator]

But by September, investors began to realize how worthless the stock really was. The bubble burst and the price of the stock plummeted. Many members of the nobility lost a.

[Co-Narrator]

Substantial amount of their wealth. Some even took their own lives as a result. And there were other consequences as well.

[Narrator]

Aislabi was imprisoned, but only for five months. Of course, the King was held blameless.

[Co-Narrator]

In all of this.

[Narrator]

He was the first monarch of the Hanover dynasty, a stable line that had persisted all the way to the modern day. Parliament wasn't going to risk another civil war by calling him into question. So, what does it all mean for us? Well, it goes to show how disastrous it can be when politicians and financiers neglect their responsibility to the public. And it showcases the curious tendency of humans to fall victim to a herd mentality, continuing to invest in something they know is worthless. It seems that whether you are a peasant or a king, no one is immune to the lure of a get rich quick scheme.

[Richard Karn]

Hi, I'm Richard Karn and you may have seen me on TV talking about the world's number one expandable garden hose. Well, the brand new pocket hose Copperhead with pocket Pivot is here and it's a total game changer. Old fashioned hoses get kinks and creases at the spigot, but the Copperhead's pocket pivot swivels 360 degrees for full water flow and freedom to water with ease all around your home. When you're all done, this rust proof anti burst hose shrinks back down to pocket size for effortless handling and tidy storage. Plus your super light and ultra durable pocket hose Copperhead is backed with a 10 year warranty. What could be better than that? I'll tell you what. An exciting radio exclusive offer just for you for a limited time. You can get a free pocket Pivot and their 10 pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size Copperhead hose. Just text water to 64,000. That's water to 64,000 for your two free gifts with purchase w a t e r to 64,000 by texting 64,000.

[Pocket Hose Announcer]

You agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available@pocket hose.com terms.

[Co-Narrator]

The Massachusetts Institute of.

[Narrator]

Technology, or MIT, is known for a lot of things. World class professors, cutting edge technology, and.

[Co-Narrator]

Some of the best science, engineering and.

[Narrator]

Mathematics programs in the world. Want to go to space or the.

[Co-Narrator]

Depths of the ocean or get inside.

[Narrator]

An atom, then MIT is the place to be. But aside from its academics, MIT is.

[Co-Narrator]

Also known for another characteristic.

[Narrator]

With world class students come world class pranks. Called hacks by the student body, they range from the whimsical to the wild. Many hacks include the Great Dome, a neoclassical building topped by, of course, a very large dome. Over the years, a fire truck, a lunar lander, and an MIT campus police car have all made their way onto the top of the building. Other hacks are lighthearted, like how in 2007, MIT students dressed the statue of their rival, Harvard University's founder, in armor.

[Co-Narrator]

From the Halo video game series.

[Narrator]

And sometimes they can get downright dangerous, like how in the 1930s, five MIT students set off thermite bombs under a Boston streetcar, welding the wheels to the rails. Notably, one of those pranksters later became an MIT dean. Perhaps the most famous hack at mit, though, was began as a fraternity hazing ritual and left a lasting mark on the school. It was a cool October night in 1958 when 7 Lambda Chi Alpha pledges arrived at the Harvard Bridge armed with chalk. They were therefore a simple task to put down markers along the half mile.

[Co-Narrator]

Overpass that spanned the Charles river from Cambridge to Boston.

[Narrator]

The whole thing was their pledge master's idea. He, like many MIT students, lived in Boston proper nearly every day he had crossed the bridge to get to the.

[Co-Narrator]

MIT campus in Cambridge.

[Narrator]

He wanted the markers so that he could easily see how far he had left to walk.

[Co-Narrator]

But he didn't want them to measure in feet or yards.

[Narrator]

Instead, they would measure in smoots. What exactly is a smoot? Well, a Smoot is a person. Oliver Smoot, to be exact. Oliver was one of the pledges that.

[Co-Narrator]

Year, and as the shortest member of.

[Narrator]

The group, at 5 foot 7 inches tall, the pledge master chose him to.

[Co-Narrator]

Make measuring the bridge more labor intensive. On top of that, he reasoned, Smoot's name sounded scientific.

[Narrator]

An ampere measures electrical current, a watt total power, and a smoot distance across the Harvard Bridge. So that evening, the seven pledges set.

[Co-Narrator]

Out to measure the bridge.

[Narrator]

They had Oliver Smoot lay down, marked the length of his body and then moved on. And at first Smoot was jumping up.

[Co-Narrator]

And moving on to the next spot on his own. But as the Smoot lengths reached into.

[Narrator]

The hundreds and he grew too tired to do that, his brothers started picking him up and carrying him to the next chalk mark. Partway through, the brothers were forced to run off the bridge and hide when a Boston police car rolled by. Once the police lost interest, they returned to their task.

[Co-Narrator]

After over an hour and a half.

[Narrator]

The brothers made their final chalk mark at Smoot's feet. Together, they found that the Harvard Bridge stretched 364.4 smoots long, plus or minus one ear. Now, even though the measurement known as smoots originated as a fraternity prank, over.

[Co-Narrator]

The years they became part of the city.

[Narrator]

Lambda Chi Alpha repaints the Smoot marks every year. When the bridge was rebuilt in the 1980s, the contractor added Smoot marks to the sidewalk, and today you can convert.

[Co-Narrator]

Any distance on the Google calculator into Smoots.

[Narrator]

As for Oliver himself, his foray into measurement marked the beginning of a career.

[Co-Narrator]

He became head of the International Organization.

[Narrator]

Of Standardization, which is the group that.

[Co-Narrator]

Sets standard measurements for scientific research.

[Narrator]

With each new hack, MIT students hope.

[Co-Narrator]

To make their mark on history.

[Narrator]

But after nearly 70 years, none quite measure up to Oliver Smoot.

[Aaron Manke]

I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or learn more about the show by visiting kitchen curiositiespodcast.com the show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in partnership with House Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series and television show and you can learn all about it [e-mail] and until next time, stay curious.

[iHeart Podcast]

This is an iHeart podcast.