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Bailey Sarian
Do you guys remember the Heaven's Gate cult? I actually did a murder mystery makeup on it. But essentially, they were a religious group who believed they were going to catch a ride on the Halebopp Comet in 1997. Now, they believe that this comet was actually a spaceship. Oh, yeah. And in order to ride the spaceship, you actually had to die. Yeah. Heaven's Gate is honestly such a wild, wild story. But what a lot of people did not know was that their leader, the leader of Heaven's Gate, was a eunuch, meaning he voluntarily had himself castrated, AKA his testicles. They were removed. You know, he did this because he wanted to achieve spiritual purity. Aw. I know. Now, I know to you and I, this sounds like a little extreme, but there was actually a time when choosing to become a eunuch was pretty normal. And not just for religious reasons, but as a career opportunity and a way to climb the social ladder. Oh, yeah. Over many cultures and many years, being a eunuch has meant something different. Like in ancient China, eunuchs were thought to be more trustworthy, so they became political advisors. Or in Italy, they realized it stopped men's voices from developing. Oh, yeah. So eunuchs formed a special class of opera singers. I know sometimes the process of becoming a eunuch was voluntary, and other times not so much. Look, a lot of the times, it was done by force. And, look, they didn't even want it, okay? I know. Bailey, why the hell are you doing an episode about wieners and balls getting cut off? Where am I? Am I okay? No. Welcome to dark history. But where did these traditions start? And why is this Heaven's Gate guy, like, the only unic I personally knew about? Well, guess what? We're about to learn a lot more, because today, we are talking about the dark history of eunuchs. Hi, friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Hi. Hi. How are you today? Here, we believe history does not have to be boring. It might be tragic. Sometimes it's happy, A lot of times it's sad. But either way, you know, it's our dark history. Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe, because I'm always here for you, posting new content. Oh, yes, I am. And also, don't forget to let me know what you think down below in the comment section, because I love hearing from you. You're wild. So, Unix, how'd we get here, huh? Let me tell you, we're Going to start with the basics. Because if you're anything like me, you might be wondering what makes a eunuch a eunuch. Or you're wondering why. Why? Why eunuchs, Bailey? Because it's interesting and that's what this whole show is. All right, so just go on this journey. Unix. The first thing I was thinking about was, like, do they take the whole situation, the whole enchilada, the twig, the berries? Do they take everything? What is it I wanted to know. Well, that depends really on the culture. Basically, a eunuch is a man that has been castrated. Sorry for the men listening out there, listen, this is history. Basically, a eunuch is a man that has been castrated. Now, that could mean he just had his testicles removed. Or sometimes it could mean that he had his penis and his testicle removed. Testicles, sorry, removed. Sometimes you didn't need to remove anything. Back in ancient Rome, there were three different types of eunuchs. Men who had been infertile since birth, men who were castrated, and men who had their testicles crushed. Yeah, yeah, exactly what you're imagining. Their testicles were squished until they were no longer functional. Other times, a string would be tied around the testicles, which would just, like, cause the blood supply to be cut off completely. And then. And they would like, wither and fall off. Now, no one really is sure who created the first eunuch, since they exist across, like, a ton of different cultures. Now, the earliest record of a eunuch goes all the way back to the 21st century BC in Mesopotamia. So you're probably wondering why they would do it in the first place. Why, Bailey? Why are they doing this? Back in the 1800s, there was a Russian cult called the Skopsy, and they believed having your testicles cut off made you free from sin. In their opinion, one of, like, the worst sins you could do was to have sex. So castration meant that, like, they would never be tempted and they could stay pure. The Scopsi called themselves the White Doves. They believed in order to be a real Christian and follow the path of Jesus Christ, you had to castrate yourself. The Skopsi were so intense that they actually. They freaked Stalin out, and he actually ended up banning them. That kind of says a lot. Cause Stalin was wild. But in other places, people became eunuchs for their career. It was believed that losing your genitals gave you special abilities that made you better qualified for certain jobs, which is why eunuchs were specifically made to be servants and political advisors to kings. In Ancient China and Persia. Now, here was the logic. If a eunuch couldn't have a family of his own, he would be more dedicated to his king and his career. It makes sense. He wouldn't be all distracted with, like, boning all the ladies, you know? And this, in turn benefited the king because if all of his closest advisors were eunuchs, then he wouldn't be, like, worried that this guy was gonna be fucking all of his chicks. His wife, you know, Kind of makes sense. I get it. I get it. An added bonus, a eunuch couldn't impregnate anyone, so the king would know that all of the children born in the palace were indeed his. The king, you know? But there were some eunuchs who took advantage of being constantly underestimated. Some of them even gained more power than the kings that they served. You know what mistake I made last holiday season? Well, I got Paul a cigar of the month club subscription. Now, I've been trying to tell him, paul, it is not good for your health. And he's all, look, I don't have lungs. And I was like, fine, fine. You win. Now it's a year later, and I'm still paying for the cigars subscription, and I don't know how to get out of it. I am stuck in this subscription. And did you know that over 74% of people have subscriptions that they've completely forgotten about? Well, luckily, I use Rocket Money to help me find them. 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Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to Rocketmoney.com DarkHistory that's Rocketmoney.com DarkHistory Rocketmoney.com DarkHistory One of the first Eunuchs to defy all odds and like rise to power. This guy was badass and guess what his name is. You'll never guess. His name was Bago Ass. The Elder Bag O Ass. Yeah, that was his name though. But this was back in like 4th century BC in Persia. Bago Ass. I guess Bagoas was a name that was commonly given to eunuchs in Persia. Now this was because there were hundreds if not thousands of eunuchs serving the king at the time. And I guess the king had better things to do than learn every eunuch's name. So he would refer to all of them as Bago Ass. It's not funny. It was the same in China because there were so many eunuchs. The emperor made them choose from like a small number of names. Their names would emphasize their loyalty to him. Many were called Jinjong, which meant entered the palace in loyalty. It kind of reminds me of like those 18 kids and counting, how they're like John Jacob, Josephina Janania, Jedidad, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. You know, it's like that, I don't know, made it easy for them. So if you were a eunuch and you were working in the palace now, you were kind of like low key the shit. Because you knew everything about everybody. Like the eunuchs knew everyone's business. They would be the people you'd want to gossip with because they knew shit and they weren't preoccupied with, you know, raging boners or anything. They had time to sit, listen and watch. And I like those types of people. Technically they were like on the lower end of the totem pole. But like, look, you didn't want to mess with a eunuch because a eunuch had the king's ear. I don't know if this is a fair comparison, but look, it kind of reminds me like they're the little minions. Not little minions, but they're kind of like the minions and they hear and then they watch everything and then they go back to the king and they let him know what's going on. You know what I'm saying? The eunuchs. So like if you got on a eunuch's bad side, he would go right to the king and let him know what is up. And this was not, this was not ideal. You did not want the king to know you were doing something fishy. So there are a bunch of eunuchs and you know, not all of them became close with the king. Just because you went through with the procedure didn't automatically make you the king's Right hand man. But Bagoas the elder, he was one of those special eunuchs who ended up rising to the top. He worked hard. He became a private minister to the King of Persia, King Artaxerxes iii. So the king relied on Bagoas opinion heavily. So whether it was for personal matters, politics, whatever was going on, he wanted to know. He wanted to hear it. But what the king didn't know at the time was that Bagoas was not a friend. Ooh. He was shay d. Baguas was looking out for himself, okay? And only that he had bigger plans. He wanted to take over Persia. And he felt like he could. He knew everything about everyone and how the king worked. It's kind of smart. Now Bago ass knew like, okay, I can't just, like, take over with this current king in charge. You know, this guy's too powerful. So instead he's like, you know what I gotta do? Murder. So Bagoas ended up murdering the king. I don't know how. And not only that, but also murdered his sons. He ended up leaving one of his sons alive. And that was on purpose because Bagoass wanted this son specifically to be in charge because he was kind of a little shit, kind of dumb. Moldable. I can get this guy to like, work for me is what he's thinking. It's part of his plan. So, you know, the whole family just got murdered. No one knows who did it. And then the son now becomes king. What he didn't know was that he was really just a puppet. Bagoass was right by his side, you know, giving him feedback, telling him what to do. And this new king is doing as he suggested because, you know, Bagoas seems to know better. He's been here longer. He's been working for the king for like, a long time. So, yeah, I'm gonna listen to him. So a couple of years go by, Bagoass decides it's time to switch things up again. Bagoass kills this last king, okay? And now there's a new guy. His name's Darius. I know we get some, like, wild king names and then sometimes you get the normal ones that are just like, Darius. Anyways, Darius is on the throne. He's the new king. Unfortunately for Bago ass, though, Darius was, like, smart. He was a little smarter than the last two kings. Maybe he took notice that the, you know, something funky was going on because murder kept taking place. And, you know, he decided to keep an eye out for seliner anyways, but he's kind of putting Two and two together. He's thinking that this Bago Ass guy is the common denominator. And everyone's getting murdered. Hmm. So Darius is in charge and, you know, he's making his own decisions. But Bago ass wanted him out. Like he wasn't listening to his advice like the others. So one day, Bago ass decides he's going to poison Darius. Drink. Once again, murder, trying to get rid of him. So Bago ass has this drink, comes to Darius, and he's like, here, I brought you something to drink. And instead, Darius was like, you know what? Why don't you drink it? You know, to prove, like, there isn't poison in it or anything, just to make sure. So Bagoass was put on the spot, and Bagoass was really dedicated to the bit. So he drank the poisoned drink, which then led to his death. Aqua Tofana. That's a real Aqua Tofana. That is the Acqua Tofana story, right? Come on, my murder mystery friends. You know what's up. Bago Ass wasn't the only power hungry eunuch. Over in China, eunuchs also served as political advisors. One difference was that in China, in China, eunuchs were considered men whose penis and testicles were removed. You gotta do both. Eunuchs were extremely important to the Emperor of China. Traditionally, the emperor kept about 2,000 eunuchs in his service at any given time. Now, that number varied a lot, depending on the emperor's personal preference. In the 16th century, there were as many as 100,000 eunuchs living in the Forbidden City, which was China's main palace complex. So working in the Forbidden City was like getting an internship in the White House, except you had to do a lot more. The process of becoming a eunuch and getting to work in the Forbidden City, it wasn't easy. Shit, it was actually pretty messed up. During the holidays, it feels like I always have a million things to do. And I don't know about you guys, but I can only get through my to do list if I'm listening to something. I know, but listen, I need a break from, like, Christmas carols, okay? Joan, I told you, Little Drummer Boy is great. It's beautiful and you do a great job at it. But, like, I'm very tired of that song. It's the only song you know, Joan. I'm very tired. We get it. Luckily, it's never been easier to pick something to listen to. That's all because of audible's best of 2024 picks. I am loving this because now you can find the year's top audiobooks, podcasts, and originals in all of your favorite genres. And they're only showing you, like, the best of. And I love a best of list. Oh, I love a best of list. Okay. Audible has everything from memoirs to romances to mysteries. Audible has carefully made this list, so there's something in every category. And it's the easiest way to hear 2024's best of year in audio entertainment. You can listen to celebrity memoirs like, Ooh, Lisa Marie Presley's From Here to the Great Unknown that is on my list. I heard it's really good. But you know what I've been listening to? Remember, Jojo, get out right now. It's the end of you and me. So she came out with a memoir. Okay. And I've been listening to that on Audible. Okay. There's something for everyone is what I'm getting at. Okay. But I recommend that one. Well, do I? Yeah, sure. So look through audible's Best of 2024 and find your new favorite Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Go to audible.com darkhistory and discover all the years best waiting for you. It was believed by those in charge that the best eunuchs with the most potential came from poor families. I mean, the ideal candidate for a eunuch was believed to be about 11 or 12 years old. Now, usually, young boys from poor families would get scouted by Imperial recruiters. They would tell these boys that becoming a eunuch was, like, their only option for a better life. They would tell the boy, you get to live in the royal palace. You get an allowance, you know, and you can send that allowance, like, back to your families. Like, you want to work in the palace, is what they're telling these boys. Usually the boys, they had no idea what they were being asked to give up. Most of the time, the boys didn't even realize what exactly they were agreeing to until after the situation, the surgery, the removification of it all. Well, maybe the boy would agree and be like, oh, my God. Yeah, this sounds great. I'll do it. So the recruiter would take the boy to a special group of people who performed the eunuch surgery. These people were called the knifers. All right? I mean, very straightforward, you know, they were very familiar with the surgery, and they had it down to a science. Before chopping off the boy's penis and testes, it was a ritual for the knifer to always ask in Chinese, will you come to regret this decision? So they're, like, asking. They're asking for consent, but, like, from a young boy, you know, it's like, it's not appropriate. But the boy would say no, and then they would chop it off. So once the parts were removed, it was actually tradition for the severed penis and testicles to be hung in the family's home from the highest beam in the ceiling. Now, this was to signify the heights that he might reach in his upcoming career as a eunuch. Once the boy was healed and ready to get to work, he would take his parts down from the ceiling and then put them in a jar and then bring it with him to live in the palace. And then you actually kept your penis and testes in that jar your whole life until you died, and then you would be buried with it. Oh, yes. This was so that you could be whole in the afterlife. Sometimes poor families would try to create a loophole and perform, like, you know, the surgery on their kids themselves, hoping for the best. I don't know how they. Maybe they would do it and then be like, go. Just sneak into the palace. They'll never know. So I guess they were even grown men who would try to castrate themselves in hopes of bettering their lives. I don't know what the plan was. Like, they would castrate themselves, and then would they sneak into the palace? Would they tell it like, I don't know, but they did that, you know, I don't know. But, like, let's say you did castrate yourself. If people found out that you did that, you. It would backfire, and you would actually be, like, completely banned from the palace. But even if you went about it in, like, the right way, being a eunuch just wasn't easy. It seems so complicated depending on where you're at, too. Like, once you became a eunuch, you were kind of a social pariah. So if you were a eunuch and you decided to go home to your village and, like, just visit family, you're like, hey, I'm going to go see, like, my friends. Yay. If people knew you were eunuch, you would totally get treated differently. Like, even your own family, they were like. Like, they were kind of afraid of you because, again, like, you worked for the emperor or the king or whoever was in charge. So it's like, if I mess up, are you going to rat on me? Are you gonna rat on me, Brad? You know, and then if they did rat on you, you could be killed. So this was, like, intimidating. And a lot of people just kind of didn't want to be around eunuchs. Cause you had to be on your best. Best behavior. They were judging. They were judging. So there were some eunuchs who would actually end up running away from the palace because they missed home. You know, they were taken from, like, a young age. They didn't know what they were getting into. So then they wanted to get the F out of there, and then would run away. Then if they did run away and they were now living at home, they would try to blend in and pretend that everything was normal. Right? I'm not a eunuch. That's crazy. You think that. Cause I'm not. Whoa. If they ever were found out, they could, like, get kicked out of their home again. Everyone would know. No one would feel safe around you, and you were just kind of screwed. But the reason so many people became eunuchs and, like, took that risk was because there was always a small chance that you could become insane, insanely powerful. And if that happened, it was like winning the lottery. And this is what happened to a eunuch named Zhao. Gao. Zhao came from a family who had been through a lot of trauma. Like, his father was convicted of a crime. I'm not sure what crime, but it was bad. It was bad enough that he ended up being castrated as punishment. Meanwhile, Zhao's mother and siblings were all taken to live in the palace as slaves. Now, because of their father's crime, because he was a bad guy, Zhao and all of his brothers were castrated at birth because they came from his dad. You know, it's punishment. Zhao worked as an official for the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang. And everyone really liked Zhao. He quickly rose to the ranks and became the number one guy to Emperor Qin Shiwang. Now, this emperor was a very big deal. He conquered and united different warring states within China. Basically, he created China, like, as we know it today. He also was the emperor who started the Great Wall of China. So who was. He was doing big things, okay? And Zhao was right there as his right hand, just in a really good spot. Most people in China today, they know him as the original gaslighter. Zhao is associated with a very popular Chinese expression. Ready for it? Pointing at a deer and calling it a horse. Huh? I know. Okay, go on. Well, even though the emperor thought Zhao was trustworthy, Zhao was only, ever, like, looking out for himself. In fact, he was considering doing the worst thing possible, betraying his country and taking over the Qin government. So he has to, like, make a plan, you know? So before he takes over the whole government and everything, Zhao has to be sure that the other court officials would listen to him and only him. So he came up with a little test. He brought a deer. Here's my deer. Into the palace, and he marched it right up to the emperor. And he tells the emperor, this is a horse. And the emperor, I guess, laughed and said, like, is the chancellor perhaps mistaken calling a deer a horse? Drama. I know. And then the emperor asked everyone around him to back him up. He's like, right, that's not a dear everyone. So the emperor asked everyone to, like, back him up. And a lot of the people stayed quiet while others tried to please Zhao and say, like, yeah, it's. It's a horse. That's crazy. That's a horse. What? That's a horse, you know, because they didn't want to, like, upset Zhao. Zhao was, like, very powerful. Some people didn't agree with him, and they were like, that's a deer, Zhao. Like, are you dumb? And he was like. He didn't say anything. And then afterwards, when this was all over, behind closed doors, he got everyone who said it was a deer and had them executed. That'll teach them. After this, you know, word gets around about what Zhao did, and now everyone at the palace was, like, terrified of Zhao. Like, what? It was a horse, you know? I don't know. After this, everyone at the palace was terrified of Zhao, and he was able to gain control of the Chinese military. As a result, Zhao was notorious. By the time he died, he became the poster child for why eunuchs should not be trusted. But after Zhao died, the Qin dynasty basically fell apart. So this made people be like, see, you need eunuchs, because if not, like, the whole thing falls apart, you know, like, we need them. We need them for dynasties to succeed. So there was, like, a lot of mixed messaging going on about eunuchs. Some people loved them, some people didn't like them. But in China, the tradition of having them continued for thousands of years. In fact, the very last Chinese eunuch on record, whose name was Sun Yaoting, didn't die until 1996. Another common misconception about eunuchs, besides them not being trustworthy, was people didn't think that they were sexually active. Now, except for in China, where they did remove the penis in addition to the testes, many eunuchs were completely capable of having sex. And, you know, they still had sex drives. It was actually said that eunuchs made better lovers because they lasted longer. I could see that. Yeah, I could see that. But I guess it's all dependent on, like, when exactly the surgery took place. So if a boy was castrated in his early teenage years, usually he would have some hormones still in his body and he would, like, develop normally. Sometimes, like, he wouldn't have body hair, but for the most part, they'd be a normal. A normal boy. Men who were castrated closer to adulthood would have, like, facial hair, body hair, and active sex drives. Some eunuchs were castrated when they were, like, very young children, and then their parts would never, like, fully develop, and this would impact their physical development for, like, ever. In the Qin dynasty, for example, boys who were castrated at this very young age had a tendency to grow extremely tall and lanky because of a hormonal imbalance. Now, because they were, like, tall and lanky, they actually had a special place in the emperor's guard. They were the last line of defense against palace invaders. But across the many cultures where eunuchs existed, there was a common misunderstanding that they were not sexual. This is why many of them were used as guards to protect the women of the palace. In Muslim courts, for example, eunuchs were created to work as bodyguards for the king's harems. A harem is sort of like a house where a king would keep all of his wives and, like, sex servants. And if a eunuch were to have a secret affair with any of the women he was supposed to be guarding, well, it was kind of like. It was kind of like a perfect crime because they wouldn't be able to get the woman pregnant, and bada bing, bada boom. Maybe this is why some eunuchs were actually heartthrobs in their day, especially a castrati. Castrati is the word for a male singer who undergoes castration before puberty in order to keep their high vocal range, that is dedication. This practice started in the 16th century, and the castrati were the biggest stars in the world of Italy's baroque opera. So they started out as young boys from, like, lower class families who had singing talent, just like in China. These boys would be scouted, and before puberty hit and their voices would drop, they were taken in for castration. After the surgery was over, they would usually be sent to study music at schools and churches across the country. And the whole goal was getting more men who could sing in a higher vocal range. I know, and you might be thinking, bailey, Bailey, Bailey, Bailey, why couldn't they just have women sing in this high vocal range? Well, it's 16th century, Brenda. Okay? Women were not allowed to sing in the Catholic church. Get it together. Actually, women weren't even allowed to talk in church. So, no, we must castrate the boys. It made more sense to them to, like, castrate children than to let women sing. So that says a lot, huh? But like I said, the castrati, they were stars. They were celebrating all across Europe. People love them for their talent, but not really a lot was known about the situation. Because castration in Italy at this time was a very taboo subject. I mean, I think it is still a very taboo subject, you can say. So people didn't really know. They just thought these were, like, talented boys, which is so sad. You know, everything about these boys was kept a secret. Like, no one really knew exactly how or when or why or what. These boys were castrated. Yeah. I guess they just wanted the people to believe that these bunch of boys throughout the Italian countryside just happened to have these beautiful singing voices, you know, little angels. Wow. And, like, it just so happens that they also had no testicles. It was just a weird coincidence. I don't know, but listen to them. Wow. You know? But behind those PR stories, the truth obviously was a lot darker. There's so much to remember during the holiday season. Like, what presents to buy, what parties to go to, what outfits am I wearing for these parties? Do I have to put on pants? Ugh. Ugh. I know. 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Then use our code darkhistory at signup, and you'll get your first Visit for only $5. Hey. A big thank you to Apostrophe for sponsoring today's episode. Now let's get back to the story, huh? So the boys, like, who showed promise from a young age were not only scouted. No, get this. They were often drugged, kidnapped, and taken to a back alley. A back alley surgeon to have their testes cut off. What in the. What is going on? These were boys between the ages of, like, 7 and 9, and many of them didn't even know what happened until, like, they woke up. And it's even worse than, like, what you're imagining in your head right now, because these weren't specialists, like the knifers, you know, in China. These were people called barber surgeons, meaning, like, these are the guys that you would go to for haircuts. Yeah, we actually talked about barber surgeons in our oral hygiene episode. Barber surgeons kind of just belong in the strangest episodes here at Dark History, don't they? Yeah. The barber surgeon. Okay, look, they were drunk, These boys. They were. Take him to the alley. These barber surgeons would cut the duck. The ducts in the testicles. Show a picture. Can we. I don't know. And then the testicles would shrivel up, leading to the boy's testosterone to just plummet. So if the boy even survived the surgery, he'd go on to, like, intense training in order to sing like an angel for the Pope. I know. I was thinking, did the Pope know? Did the pope make them do this? Like, who agreed that this was what they were going to do is what I was thinking too. I don't know. I guess we'll never know. Famous male singers are always going to have groupies. And this was very much true for the castrati. They were extremely desired by women in high society. In England, multiple castrati had affairs with married noblewomen. One especially famous castrati was named Farinelli. And Farinelli was born in 1705. And when he was about 12, he was forced to become a eunuch, which at 12 years old, we now know is actually a lot older than most. So he was like a little bit more developed. But Farinelli became huge. He was major. People love this guy. They're throwing bras, they're like, put lighting their liners, like. And, you know, the ladies just loved him. By 1737, Farinelli was 32 years old and performing all over Europe. And that's when he caught the eye of the Queen of Spain, who brought him over to her court. Apparently the Queen thought, like, his voice was so special that it would heal her sick husband, King Felipe V. King Felipe was going through bouts of mania and depression. Today he might be diagnosed with something like bipolar disorder. But, you know, it's 1737, so they didn't have, like, medicine or anything, so opera was the treatment. Farinelli came to court and started performing for the King every single night. And to everyone's surprise, it kind of worked. His singing really did help the King and Farinelli became very close with him. Like other eunuchs before him, Farinelli was one of the most influential people in the country. But unlike some other guys we've talked about, Farinelli didn't kill anyone for power. I mean, that we know of. He just sung his way into power. He ended up retiring in 1759 and he, I don't know, he just, like, hung out with other famous people like Casanova and Mozart, until he died in 1782. That's his story. You know, this is pretty much like the best case scenario for castrati. Eventually people started to learn about, like, what was going on with this whole forced castration situation. And by 1878, Pope Leo XIII banned any new hiring of castrati by the Church. That took a while. I don't know how word got out, but it just did. Like, people started to find out. The last castrati in the Pope's choir retired in 1913. You know what's crazy, though, that I was thinking about how come the Popes don't become Eunuchs. You know, I think actually it would solve a lot of issues, if you know what I mean. And it would prove their devotion to God and the religion and the church. And I say we, they should do that. Thank you. You know what's surprisingly stressful? Buying holiday gifts for children. Ugh. There are just so many toy options, video games, everything, right? And I have no idea, like, what's cool. What is a kid like? I don't know, you know, you want to, like, get them something that they're gonna love and use. And I'll be the favorite auntie, of course. So this year, you know what? I decided to go with a classic gift. I'm talking a new bike. And listen, the type of bike was easy to choose. Thanks to our friends at Guardian Bike Listen, they make the easiest, safest and quickest bikes for kids to learn on. They have kids learning to ride in just one day. No training wheels needed. Personally, go back in my memory, I remember riding a bike and it definitely took longer than a day. 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Plus get free shipping and a free bike lock and a pump with your first purchase. After signing up for their newsletter, visit guardianbikes.com to take advantage of these deals and secure your holiday gifts today. Happy riding. That's how I ride my bike. So the act of castration in itself is pretty gruesome. I'm sure you can. Yeah, you know, it's pretty intense. No one's using some kind of numbing cream. There's no like, you know, IV where you knock out and then like you get it removed. This is just they raw, dogged it to a lot of people who didn't even want it and thought they were gonna have a better life. Like, the whole thing is pretty messed up. But so far, the UNIX we've talked about have gone on to have successful career singing or trying to overthrow the government, murdering people. And it elevated them to another level in society. But stories like these are few and far between. Sadly, the majority of men getting castrated weren't in line for our promotion. Most of them, more often than not, it was just simply mutilation period. Back in the 11th century in France, there was a successful philosopher named Peter Abelard. And Peter was hired to tutor a young girl named Eloise from the Plaza. I know the crossover you didn't expect. I'm just kidding. I don't know any other Eloise. She was considered one of the most educated women of the time. So she needs a tutor, you know, to further her education. So her uncle hired a tutor. Peter. Pretty soon after, like, it was kind of normal, I guess, if you're rich, like, your tutor would move into your house. I've seen rich people do this. I saw a movie about it. What was it called? The Tutor, I think it's called, where, like, the tutor moves in and then he gets all weird. Anyways, so Peter moves into their house. Around this time, Eloise and Peter, they start falling for each other. You know, he's like, teaching her how to do math and she's like, oh, my God, that's so sexy. And they just, like, fall in love and they start to have an there, and it's just hot. Well, Eloise's uncle, he didn't like this. No, he did not. He tried to stop it, but he was too late because Eloise ended up pregnant. Right. Peter's not a eunuch. I forgot. Like, I was like, where are we right now? So Peter, you know, he stepped up. He proposed to her. They ended up getting married, and Eloise had a baby. And she named her baby. Get this. This is great. Astro Blade. Yeah, they named their baby Astroblade. Yeah, it sounds like a roller skate. It's bizarre, but whatever. We're not judging. But Eloise's uncle, she was not done with them yet. He was furious about his niece running off with Peter, so he, being weird, like, tracked them down. Yeah, Eloise's uncle is, like, obsessed. So Eloise's uncle got a bunch of men together and made them break into Peter's home in the middle of the night, I guess, you know, they break into the home, they hold Peter down, and then they violently castrated him as punishment for impregnating Eloise, which is so lame. Like, they already have a kid, they're together, they're married. Just let it go, dude. Right? But, well, Peter, she's like, shit, man. He doesn't know what to do. So he then becomes a monk, and Eloise was forced into a convent. But the two of them kept exchanging love letters. I guess they were very steamy, and they're kind of famous to this day. Eloise's writing is now considered some of the earliest feminist philosophy. So, you know, we've only talked about surgical castration. But as time goes on and science advances, chemical castration becomes a thing. Chemical castration sounds really scary. Well, it all sounds scary, but for some reason, the word chemical castration just sounds really, really scary. Chemical castration is when hormonal drugs are prescribed in an attempt to reduce libido. Now, this has been used for people convicted of sexual crimes like pedophilia. The idea is that if testosterone is reduced, so will the man's sex drive. Huh? And hopefully the goal is that this will stop him from committing sexual crimes. And at one point, being gay was considered a sexual crime. Back in the 1930s, there was this, like, genius mathematician and scientist, and his name was Alan Turing. So basically, During World War II, he worked for the British government to try and break the code Germans were using to send, like, secret messages. So he was like, I'm going to figure out what they're saying. And in fact, without Allen doing what he did, the Nazis might have won World War II. Like, he was an international hero. At least like he should have been. But Alan was gay, and he was in a relationship with another man named Arnold Murray. So one night, Alan called cops regarding a robbery at his home. But the cops decided to ignore the robbery situation and instead investigate something else. Allen's sexuality. It was the 1950s, and in England, technically, homosexuality was illegal. You know, But Allen didn't care. He was living his life. He made it a point to be open about his sexuality and who he loved. So when the police brought the charges of gross indecency against him, Allen refused to deny the allegations on principle. Ultimately, this meant that he was convicted for being in a relationship with a man. And Alan's punishment for that chemical castration? Lame. He was put on hormone therapy meant to reduce his libido and cure him of his criminal interests. But the hormones had awful side effects. His libido wasn't just reduced, he actually became fully impotent. And he was taking a Bunch of estrogen. So it caused him to develop some breasts. So now Allen had a criminal record, and because of this, his security clearance was revoked, meaning he could no longer work. He could no longer do his life's work. Like, everything was taken from him. Now, this is a man who should have been treated like a war hero, you know, like, seriously. But instead, he had his whole life completely destroyed by the government that he protected. I mean, you'd be pissed. Fuck that. You know, it was just. It was horrible. Sadly, in 1954, Alan Turing ended his own life. Poor guy. But, you know, there are some conspiracies out there because whenever, you know, a person dies in a strange way, and, like, the government's kind of involved. And I guess Allen's death was strange. People think, like, maybe he. Maybe he was handled. Do you know what I'm saying? Well, I guess he allegedly poisoned himself by eating an apple laced with cyanide. Very Snow White, huh? But Alan's legacy lives on. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth issued Alan Turing a royal pardon. Wow. I mean, it's nice, but it's, like, a little too late, ma'am, but okay, you know, whatever, sure. And then a year later, a movie came out called the Imitation Game, and Benedict Cumberbatch played Alan. So people now are, like, finally recognizing, you know, how important he was. You know, throughout history, we've been doing this. We've been doing it for thousands of years and somehow keep finding new reasons to do it. It's given us politicians, advisors, guards, singers, celebrities. But I think for the most part, it's, like, really just ruined lives. Some people choose to become eunuchs, willingly believing it will be like their lottery ticket to a better life, or maybe like, a more spiritual one. And sometimes it's just a matter of tradition, but it's a part of history I personally knew nothing about. This was, like, all shocking to me. I was. My mind was blown. I was like, what? Cause I always hear about women's, you know. Mm. Mm. You've heard of it, Jo? I've heard of that, but I haven't heard about, like, male castration. Really? Anyways, that's how I ended up here. But I would love to hear you guys thoughts because I've bought so many books on eunuchs, and I am having a Unix moment right now. It's just wild to me that castration meant so many different things to different cultures. Okay, so let me tell you what you're gonna look forward to next week. I went down a rabbit hole, and I found out the craziest cocktail fact. Did you know that in 2010, Jimmy Heselden, he's the owner of Segway, he died by accidentally Segwaying off a cliff. I was like, what? I mean, that's sad, but, like, kind of ironic. I mean, it's sad because, like, Jimmy probably would still be alive if he had been walking, right? So this got me thinking. I wonder how many genius inventions out there ended up killing the people who invented them. It's kind of Frankensteinish, huh? Well, join me next week because we're doing the dark history of creators ruined by their creations. Oh, shit. It's actually good. Well, friends, thank you for hanging out with me today. I hope you learned something new. Did you know you can join me over on my YouTube where you can. You can actually, like, watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can also catch my murder mystery and makeup. Don't forget to subscribe because I'm here for you weekly. Damn it. I'd love to hear you guys reactions to today's story. So make sure to leave a comment down below so I can see what you're saying. And your comment might actually be featured in a future episode. Now let's read a couple of comments that you guys have left. Left me. Yay. Starry Adventure 8922 left me a comment saying, I love that Bailey comes up with topics for dark history that we'd never expect. Had one. Love you, Bailey. Thank you for our happy place on Thursday. Thursdays. Starry Adventure. Thank you. You're so sweet. I've been saying this for a long time. I'm a very curious person and I love it because when we sit down and we think about topics. Ah, man, you wanna. It's just like you can go anywhere. Everything has a weird dark history is what I've learned. Right. You just like never know what, why, when, where, how blows my mind. Every time I sit down, I'm like, wow. And then I learned so much. I hope you do too. But thank you for watching. It means a lot. I appreciate you. Heather Renee 30292 left a comment on our organ transplant episode saying, I had a kidney transplant. I know my donor, he is allergic to milk, morphine. Also loved fish. I never had an issue with milk or morphine till after my transplant. Now I am allergic. Also hated fish and now I love it. My donor is 1/3 Hawaiian, 1/3 Japanese, and 1/3 white. Also, my hair and eyes both got darker. Heather. Oh my God. First of all, congratulations on your kidney transplant. I hope you're doing well. Secondly, that's nuts. That's nuts. Especially the thing with your hair and your eye color changing and like what you like what? Really? That's crazy. I love. Thank you for sharing. That was very interesting. I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry you can't have milk. SarahJoe3396 left us an episode suggestion. I'd love to hear you Talk about the 1986 Ohio balloon launch disaster. That story has a few different levels to it and I'd love to hear an in depth episode on it. Sarah, it's so funny you bring that up. I literally was just watching a little like mini documentary situation on it and I was like, what is this even about? I'm with you. It's, it's. We should do a story on it. Love this for us, Sarah. Thank you, Sarah. Love this. All right, well, we are done. Finally. I appreciate you so much for hanging out and watching. And if you don't know, Dark History is an Audioboom original. I want to give a big special thank you to our expert, Norman Kutcher. I know, I didn't know we can find a you UNIX expert, but we did and Norman was great. Appreciate you. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good day. You make good choices, please. Thank you so much and I'll be talking to you later. Goodbye.