Unknown Sponsor Voice (6:24)

This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Talkspace, the leading virtual therapy provider, is telling everyone let's face it in therapy, by talking or texting with a supportive licensed therapist at Talkspace, you can face whatever is holding you back, whether it's mental health symptoms, relationship drama, past trauma, bad habits or another challenge that you need support to work through, it's easy to sign up. Just go to talkspace.com and you'll be paired with a provider, typically within 48 hours. And and because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule. Plus, Talkspace is in network with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. Make your mental health a priority and start today. If you're not covered by Insurance, get $80 off your first month with Talkspace when you go to talkspace.com and enter promo code SPACE80. That's S P A CE83. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to talkspace.com and Enter promo code SPACE80.

Erin Menke (7:25)

Are you prepared to venture to the darkest, most haunted locations in the world?

Amy Bruni (7:32)

There's no question you always feel like there's something around you. You hear noises that you shouldn't hear. You think you see somebody duck around a corner, but you go run to see who it is. There's nobody there.

Erin Menke (7:44)

As your host, Amy Bruni, I'm ready to take you on a spine tingling journey through the unknown where the line between the living and the dead blurs. He said he saw black fingers curl.

Unknown Sponsor Voice (7:55)

Up over the edge of the end.

Erin Menke (7:56)

Of the footboard and then a head pop up. Brace yourself for a supernatural journey unlike any other. Whether you count yourself as a believer or skeptic, Haunted Road is the journey for you.

Amy Bruni (8:08)

And there was a man sitting in a corner at a table. She saw him, and then it was gone.

Erin Menke (8:14)

Listen to new episodes of Haunted road on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Unknown Host (8:30)

The ancient Greeks told the story of a boy named Icarus who was the son of the world's greatest inventor. When the pair were imprisoned in a tower, the inventor created mechanical wings out of feathers, beeswax, and thread so that they could escape together. But Icarus was intoxicated by the thrill of flight and forgot his father's warning to stay low. He flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he plummeted to his death. It is, of course, a story about hubris, but on a literal level, it was also a reminder that humans were never really meant to fly. To the Greeks and many other ancient peoples, the skies belonged to the gods. Mortals could dream about visiting but would never belong there. And for roughly 300,000 years, that was true. Then, on a blustery December day in 1903, it ceased to be true. Two bicycle mechanic brothers named Orville and Wilbur Wright became the first humans to achieve powered flight. Their journey lasted 12 seconds and 120ft, but it changed history in an instant. Within hours, the Wright brothers Flight was making headlines. The news of their accomplishments spread across the globe, igniting imaginations and inspiring a generation of aviation enthusiasts. Among them was a seven year old boy from Worcester, Massachusetts, named Gene. Gene had always been a small boy, and his classmates never let him forget that. Their teasing left him feeling isolated, and so he found solace in his daydreams. He spent a lot of time staring out the window, wishing that he could leave the world and his bullies behind. So when Gene heard about the Wright brothers flight, he became obsessed. Boys had dreamed of flying for centuries, but now it was possible, and Gene was determined to be part of it. Over the next decade, he devoured every book and magazine on aviation he could find. And by the time he reached adulthood, the American aviation industry was just beginning to take off. No pun intended. He graduated from high school the very same year the first commercial passenger flight was conducted. The plane was still light years from the jumbo jet days of today. Of course, air travel was a rickety open cockpit experience experience. Loud, unsteady, and far from reliable. Most people at the time saw flying as more of a daredevil stunt than a way to travel. But to Gene, it was the future. He threw himself into the world of flight, taking every opportunity he could to get in a cockpit. Within a few years of graduating high school, he earned a reputation as one of the best pilots in the country. At a time when that was a very small group. When he wasn't in the cockpit, the Gene was analyzing flights in the classroom. He attended Clark University and studied physics with Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry. That education and personal connection became a launching pad for Gene's career. Pretty soon, he was rubbing elbows with aviation legends. He met Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, and Charles Lindbergh. He was even an early passenger on the Hindenburg and, as the story goes, predicted that it would go up in flames by the time World War I broke out. Jane was no longer just a dreamer. He flew for the US army in Europe, engaging in dogfights that were more like duels, where pilots circled each other in fragile wooden biplanes, firing rudimentary machine guns from the cockpit. And two decades later, when World War II erupted, Gene returned to the skies, this time in a sleek, metal closed cockpit monoplane that barely resembled the primitive aircraft of his youth. Aviation was evolving at lightning pace, and Gene adapted with it. By the war's end, he was working on experimental aircraft for the US Air Force, pushing the boundaries of human flight. Gene served until 1956, when he retired at the rank of colonel. He stayed active in the advancing field and later became a consultant for NASA. In July of 1969, the 73 year old was watching history unfold yet again. Gene had already witnessed aviation's evolution from fragile biplanes to supersonic jets, but this was something else entirely. A rocket carrying three men beyond Earth's atmosphere. As the lunar module touched down, Gene held his breath. And when the grainy black and white image flickered onto the screen, he saw the impossible become real. A man stepping onto the moon's surface. For Gene, though, this was more than just history in the making. It was also deeply personal, because one of those lunar astronauts was his very own son, Eugene Aldrin Jr. Better known to us as Buzz.

Aaron Manke (13:06)

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 curiosities podcast.com the show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in partnership with How 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 over@theworldoflore.com and until next time, stay curious.

Unknown Sponsor Voice (13:39)

This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Talkspace, the leading virtual therapy provider, is telling everyone let's face it in therapy, by talking or texting with a supportive, licensed therapist at Talkspace, you can face whatever is holding you back, whether it's mental health symptoms, relationship drama, past trauma, bad habits or another challenge that you need support to work through. It's easy to sign up. Just go to talkspace.com and you'll be paired with a provider, typically within 48 hours. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare. You'll meet on your schedule. Plus, Talkspace is in network with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. Make your mental health a priority and start today. If you're not covered by insurance, get $80 off your first month with Talkspace when you go to talkspace.com and enter promo code SPACE80. That's S P A CE80 to match with a licensed therapist today, go to talkspace.com and Enter promo code SPACE80.

Unknown Host (14:38)

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.