Loading summary
Transcript12 lines
- [00:00]
A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
- [00:04]
B
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 and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University made for what's next. Learn more at apu. Apus. Edu.
- [00:39]
C
Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities,
- [00:42]
A
a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and mild.
- [00:48]
C
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. Every single one of us, in our own way, is passing through history. We have no way of knowing exactly who is going to earn their place in a history book on the main page or or who will wind up as mere footnotes. But those of us who read history for a living know one thing to be there's more life in between the lines than any history book can tell us. And it's there that the most fascinating questions live. Follow me to the Haymarket Theater in London. In the year 1745, an opera called L' in Costanza da Luza has just premiered, a lavish spectacle. But what made this opera notable was not its content or its production, but a little known musician who contributed three arias that he'd written. He had just arrived in Europe and writers of the time described him as suave and charming, with dark hair and a fine sense of dress. This man was arrested in London that same year under suspicion of spying, but later released due to lack of evidence. Horace Walpole, the famous British author and politician, referred to him in one of his letters. He has been here these two years and will not tell who he is or whence, but profess that he does not go by his right name. He sings, plays the violin, wonderfully, composes, is mad, and not very sensible. He is called an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole, a somebody that married a great fortune in Mexico and ran away with her jewels to Constantinople, a priest of Fiddler, a vast nobleman. The man who fits this intriguing description was known by a single French title, the Comte de Saint Germain. He seemingly came out of nowhere in the 1740s, impressing high society in London with his musical talents. But after his arrest in 1745, he did not stay long in London. Instead, he traveled to mainland Europe, where he ingratiated himself with the French court of King Louis XVI. By the late 1740s, he had become a close counselor and occasional political agent for the French crown. He spoke many languages, including French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, and Spanish, and was able to converse on a wide variety of topics, from politics to science, Although perhaps science might be overstating it just a little. You see, one of the count's primary interests, according to the stories, was. Was the field of alchemy. It was, at this point in history on the decline in comparison to other natural sciences. But there were still many eager practitioners. After all, goals like turning lead into gold or achieving immortality will always inspire some people. As the decades wore on, members of high society pointed out that he barely seemed to age. One anecdote tells of an encounter with an elderly countess in the 1760s who expressed disbelief at seeing him. She said that she had known a Count Saint Germain in Venice back in 1710. She asked if it was his father that she had met, and instead, St. Germain said that he had lived in Venice at that time. So it was he that she remembered, and she was amazed. The man she knew was 45 years old at the time, meaning that he would be 100 years old. During their conversation, Saint Saint Germain accepted the suggestion proudly, still never confirming what his original name was nor where he came from. Later, at various dinner parties, he would claim to be over 300 years old. Both Voltaire and Casanova wrote about him with skepticism, referring to him as a teller of enormous lies. Voltaire referred to him as, and I quote, a man who never dies, who knows everything. But Casanova conceded that As a liar, St. Germain was an incredibly persuasive one. In 1760, for example, he talked his way into the Hague and began peace talks to end the Seven Years War between England and France. No one ever knew where all his money came from, either. He seemed to be wealthy, but had no bank account or land to speak of. This observation, of course, fueled rumors of him being a powerful alchemist. After all, if you can turn any substance into gold, then you don't need a bank account, do you? After 40 years of traveling freely throughout Europe, charming high society, and writing music, St. Germain spent the last few years of his life in central Germany doing alchemy experiments with the Danish Prince Charles. Now in his 80s, he confided to the prince that he was the son of Francis II Rakozi, a renowned nobleman from Transylvania, which would explain his wealth and comforts among nobility. Like all of his stories, this part was never confirmed. St. Germain seemingly died in 1784, but that was not the end of his story. Sightings of him persisted long after his death. After his tall tales, a growing number of people believe that he really was immortal. In the 200 years that followed, many copycats have appeared claiming to be the man himself, still alive after all these years. The most recent was in the 1970s. Even if the original Count of St. Germain was just an incredibly skilled con artist, a talented Mr. Ripley of the 18th century, there is still something about him that makes even skeptics want to believe the impossible. Through his lies and charms, he cast a spell on history.
- [06:48]
B
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.
- [07:18]
A
Edu Eczema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with epglis, a once monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema after an initial four month or longer dosing phase. About four in ten people taking EBGLIS achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks and most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing.
- [07:38]
D
Come MGLIS Lebricizumab. LBKZ, a 250mg injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. Eglis can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you are allergic to ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebglis. Before starting ebglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.
- [08:12]
A
Ask your doctor about ebgliss and visit eglislily.com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 1-800-545-5979.
- [08:26]
C
The animal rights movement seems like a modern phenomenon. You might think that People only started to speak out against killing animals once food became plentiful in the second half of the 20th century. However, even in the past, when modern conveniences were still a long ways off, there were compassionate individuals begging others to think of the animals. One such person was Anna Kingsford, a 19th century physician with some very curious methods when it came to furthering the cause. Anna was born near London in 1846 to a wealthy merchant family. From an early age, she claimed to receive strange visions and communicate with fairies. These communications gave her a profound sense of spiritualism and a connection to the natural world. Though she initially enjoyed fox hunting with her family, a vision where she saw herself as a fox being hunted led to her never wanting to participate again. As she grew older, her love for animals only increased. She had a pet guinea pig named Rufus, who she confided in. She became a vegetarian and realized that she needed to pursue a medical degree if she wanted to convince others that her diet was the healthiest. Now, women weren't allowed to become doctors in England at the time, and so she traveled across the channel to Paris. But she soon found herself in her own personal hell. It was while studying at the Natural History Museum there, that she heard a horrible scream of pain from down the hall. Afraid that someone was being hurt, she raced toward the sound, only to find a lab where a professor was dissecting a live dog. At this time, anesthesia wasn't common and it wasn't used on animals. These vivisections, as they were known, were a horrible thing to behold. Anna was mortified, and she continued to be every time she saw one of these experiments. As part of her coursework, she began her own studies into the chemical composition of both meat and plant matter, and was encouraged when she found that they can contain the same chemical compounds. It seems obvious to us now, but finding that you could get protein from both meat and certain plants, for example, was a big discovery at the time. Darwin's theory of evolution was growing in prominence as well, and the idea that we are all related to every other animal on the planet only further encouraged her. She wrote her thesis on the benefits of a vegetarian diet, including some of these discoveries, while also including some less scientific assertions. For example, she believed that eating meat made someone more violent and lowered their iq. And she also believed that all great warriors in history, like the Spartans, were great because they ate bread. And her legacy would continue to be a mixture of science and superstition. Although she had become a doctor, she would never let go of her spiritual side. She continued to claim to have visions, and believed in frequent prayer to evoke God into saving animals. Anna disliked organized religion, though, believing that it was corrupt. But she did believe in God, and she believed that if he was the divine source of life, then all humans and animals were a part of Him. But her compassion didn't always extend to her fellow human beings. You see, Anna made it her life's mission to put an end to the kind of vivisection that she witnessed in medical school. She decided to start practicing what she called white magic, which was essentially the use of prayer to try and cast spells in the physical world. Most famously, or perhaps most infamously, this included directing psychic attacks against some of the greatest vivisectionists of the day. Among them were names that are still recognizable, such as Louis Pasteur. When scientists Claude Bernard and Paul Burt died in 1878 and 1886, Anna took credit, claiming that she had used her abilities to assassinate them. Of course, no one took her seriously. They had died of natural causes, of course. But to be fair, it wasn't as if every other scientist of this era behaved rationally all the time and that Anna was just an outlier. For example, many scientists of her day had the opposite view of hers, believing that eating meat actually made someone superior. They used this to justify racist beliefs that Asians and Africans who ate a mixed diet were were somehow inferior to Europeans. Today, we know that eating a well rounded diet is best, although vegetarianism has benefits when it comes to heart health, and a carnivore diet has some advantages for those dealing with certain chronic diseases. And so Anna's legacy is less about accurate scientific discovery and more about compassion and determination. She reminds us to remain curious about the world around us and to not take anything for granted. In the end, how we treat our fellow animals may impact us in ways we simply can't imagine. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and Mile team, and produced by Jesse Fungus. 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.
- [14:08]
B
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.
- [14:41]
A
Guaranteed Human.