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00:00Warning, what you're about to see could be disturbing to some viewers.
00:05Viewer discretion is advised.
00:13Would you believe that one of America's greatest presidents was a pioneer in the wrestling ring?
00:20Wrestling today is a billion-dollar spectacle, and you've got all these iconic moves that have developed over time.
00:28But the chokeslam traces its origins back to a rather unexpected figure.
00:34Or that peregrine falcons owe their existence to one of the weirdest creation stories in the animal kingdom.
00:40The origin of these falcons is a strange form of breeding, the falcon copulation hat.
00:48This hat is not worn by the falcon, it's worn by a human being.
00:53How about the twisted tail behind a popular phrase?
00:58If someone is accused of speaking out against the government, a king or queen could order that that person's tongue
01:05is cut out.
01:06To make sure that the message was transmitted to the rest of the population, the tongue would be fed to
01:14a royal cat.
01:17These are the origin stories, so strange, they can only be described as unbelievable.
01:37Wars have been started over some of the most unimaginable things.
01:41Tea, pigs, even pastries.
01:44But one war stands above the rest when it comes to its bizarre beginnings.
01:50It's the early 18th century.
01:53Spain and England are wrestling over who will control the vast resources of the North American continent.
02:01Spain feels very strongly that they are 100% entitled to control of trade in the Atlantic.
02:08Because they keep telling everybody, we discovered America.
02:13There is a tenuous treaty that's developed called the Treaty of Seville.
02:17And as part of this treaty, Spain is given the privileges to board any British ships and inspect them.
02:26Britain plays nice until a hot-headed captain named Robert Jenkins sails in around 1731.
02:31Captain Jenkins is in charge of an actual smuggling ship called the Rebecca and the Spanish board and investigate the
02:39ship to seize contraband and smuggle items.
02:43Instantly, there's a lot of tension.
02:45People start yelling.
02:48There's a language barrier, so they're yelling at each other in languages the other crews cannot understand.
02:54In the middle of this chaos and confusion, one of the Spaniards draws a sword and wields it in such
03:01a way that he slices off Jenkins' ear.
03:07Jenkins stumbles backwards.
03:08He's gushing blood out of the side of his head.
03:11And the Spaniard then castigates him by saying,
03:15Pick up your bloody ear and take it back to England as a lesson to you people that this is
03:19what happens when you challenge Spanish authority.
03:23Jenkins does indeed pick up his ear and he decides,
03:27Fine, we're going to sail back to England.
03:30But he doesn't go right to his superiors and tell them what happened.
03:34It's unclear whether he's embarrassed or what, but he does keep that ear.
03:38He actually puts it in a jar and has it preserved.
03:41It might seem like a strange keepsake, but seven years later, Jenkins' preserved ear becomes the spark Britain's been waiting
03:48for.
03:48The trade conflict with Spain is reaching a boiling point and Jenkins is summoned to the House of Commons to
04:00testify about Spanish transgressions.
04:03With Jenkins clutching the jar in one hand with his severed ear floating around inside of it,
04:09he relates the happenings of that day on Rebecca to the members of the House of Commons,
04:14telling the story in the most animated way possible.
04:17And it has the desired effect of filling them with outrage.
04:21It is then widely reported in the popular press and reaches the people.
04:27The English decide, we've got to teach Spain a lesson.
04:30They are ready for blood at this point.
04:35So they set sail and they invade the port of La Guayra in Venezuela and thus begins the War of
04:43Jenkins' Ear.
04:46This war stretches on for nine years.
04:50407 ships on both sides are destroyed and over 55,000 have lost their lives.
04:57England has gained nothing.
04:59It's a little bit of a waste of a severed ear, if you ask me.
05:03Of the hundreds of thousands of people involved in the conflict, one person is conspicuously absent.
05:11Interestingly, Jenkins himself, a master seaman, never fights in the War of Jenkins' Ear.
05:17He never fights in his own war.
05:20After his performance in Parliament, he essentially disappears from the historical record.
05:25Some speculate that Jenkins could just have been a blowhard, a storyteller.
05:29Maybe he lost his ear in a pub brawl.
05:32But none of that actually matters because it catalyzed the British public to fight against the hated Spanish and wage
05:39a nine-year-long war.
05:42An ear isn't the only trivial thing to start a war.
05:46Next up, how one tiny tale sparked an international incident.
05:53In the first Balkan war, Greece and Bulgaria are allies.
05:58They fight together to defeat the Ottomans and take over huge chunks of land in Thrace and Macedonia.
06:07But there's a problem.
06:09Once they have become the victors, then the question comes of, okay, who gets what?
06:16So after overthrowing the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Bulgaria get into their own war against each other.
06:23The Second Balkan War.
06:27This fighting between Greece and Bulgaria goes on for a long time, right through the First World War.
06:33But when the war ends, it's almost like the whole world collectively takes a little breather.
06:39And for seven years, there is this very fragile sense of peace in the region.
06:46That is until one unlikely catalyst crosses the line.
06:51On October 19th, 1925, a Greek soldier stationed at his post, which is across the border from Petrish and Bulgaria,
07:00has this dog that's become his buddy.
07:02It was just a stray, but they've clearly kind of become family.
07:06The dog at one point, though, unaware of political boundaries,
07:12wanders away from the guard shack toward the Bulgarian border.
07:16The Greek soldier comes out and cries out after the dog and continues calling him back,
07:22even after the dog has crossed the border into Bulgaria.
07:26And the Bulgarians on the other side of the border interpret this as an act of war.
07:34And they open fire,
07:37killing the Greek soldier.
07:39After hearing the shots, other Greek soldiers run over and they open fire on the Bulgarians.
07:44A Greek captain intercedes and he tries to make peace, but the Bulgarians
07:50shoot him dead.
07:52In response to the incident, the Greek prime minister, Theodoros Pangalos,
07:57demands that the Bulgarian government pay a sum of $95,000 to the family of the dead soldier.
08:05In today's dollars, that would amount to $1.7 million.
08:11When Bulgaria refuses to pay within 48 hours, Greece launches a swift and aggressive response.
08:19The Greeks pillage and loot the town of Petrik and end up occupying several villages in the immediate vicinity of
08:26it,
08:26thus beginning the War of the Stray Dog.
08:29After days of bloodshed and 50 mostly Bulgarian deaths,
08:35Bulgaria appeals to the League of Nations for help.
08:38The League of Nations orders an immediate ceasefire and orders the Greeks to leave.
08:43When the Greek army doesn't, the League of Nations sends in their own troops to forcibly remove them.
08:50And on October 29th, 10 days after a soldier's wayward pooch strayed over the border,
08:57the War of the Stray Dog is finally over.
09:01In the end, Greece is found at fault for invading Petrish.
09:06And the country is ordered to pay 3 million Bulgarian levas, which is about a million dollars today.
09:14As for the dog, let's hope he found himself a new home, somewhere outside of a war zone.
09:22Have you ever been on a treadmill at the gym and thought, this is torture?
09:26Well, that's because this machine you love to hate has some punishing origins.
09:32In the 1800s in Britain, the death penalty isn't just reserved for the highest of crimes, like murder or treason.
09:41It's used for pretty much anything.
09:44If you do something wrong, there's a solid chance that you are going to be executed by the state.
09:51By the early 1820s, the British public start to criticize this.
09:55They say, you know, maybe we shouldn't just kill anyone for any minor infraction.
10:00And so by 1823, the Judgment of Death Act comes out, which allows judges the freedom to not have someone
10:09executed.
10:12Although there are far fewer executions, you now have far more prisoners.
10:18British jails are overcrowded, and the prison population is a large cohort of bored men with very little to do
10:28all day.
10:29Meanwhile, around the same time in 1818, a civil engineer named William Cubitt invents a device to help farmers grind
10:37grain called the treadwheel.
10:40Farm laborers line up in a row and walk in unison, thus turning the cylinder, which is attached to a
10:45shaft, then grinds meal.
10:47There's one problem with the treadwheel, which is that it's very labor-intensive.
10:50You need a lot of men to operate it over a very long period of time.
10:53It's not very cost-effective.
10:55But William Cubitt has a clever solution for the labor shortage, and it comes with a captive workforce.
11:02Cubitt goes to the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and pitches this as a device to improve the
11:11lives of all the inmates in these overcrowded prisons,
11:15because they can learn the habits of industry, and he calls it the penal treadwheel.
11:20Prison officials fall in love with the idea and start putting them in penitentiaries all around London.
11:27By 1824, you've got 54 penal treadmills in prisons all across Britain, three in Wales.
11:33Some of them are used to grind grain, but others just for the pure punishment.
11:39This is the very definition of hard labor.
11:42You'll have about 20 prisoners, and they will walk anywhere from 6 to 10 hours, walking the equivalent of halfway
11:51up Mount Everest.
11:52We're talking about a little over 16,000 feet.
11:56It causes exhaustion, rheumatism.
12:00There are also grave accidents, sometimes badly constructed treadwheels, collapse, causing serious injury, even death.
12:10In addition to the physical torture of this device, it's also psychologically damaging.
12:17Inmates are not allowed to say a word to anyone next to them.
12:21All they can do for those 10 hours is stare at a wall and walk.
12:26Over time, however, the treadmill runs its course.
12:32Finally, the Prisons Act of 1898 puts a stop to the penal treadmill, saying it's too cruel, it's inhumane,
12:41no one's getting better because they're forced to walk miles on end.
12:45And a few years later, all penal treadmills are gone from the entire country.
12:51But the torture device makes a surprising comeback, thanks to a clever reimagining.
12:57A man by the name of William Edward Staub figures that the treadmill might actually be something that could be
13:02pretty good exercise.
13:04And so in 1960, he develops and introduces the first ever commercial treadmill.
13:09Now, we can't say for certain that William Staub looked at the penal treadmill and used that as his inspiration,
13:15but a lot of the mechanics are pretty similar to that penal treadmill.
13:22If the treadmill was built to keep you moving, this next move is designed to stop you cold.
13:31Wrestling today is a billion-dollar spectacle.
13:35You've got stadiums that are packed to the rafters with tens of thousands of spectators all watching to see what
13:41crazy moves these performers are going to be doing in the ring.
13:45And one that has become probably the most iconic is the chokeslam.
13:53Some people contend that it traces its origins back to a rather unexpected figure, the great emancipator himself, Abraham Lincoln.
14:02Long before he was president, Lincoln was just a kid trying to survive and learning to fight back.
14:10Abe Lincoln is born in a one-room cabin in Kentucky.
14:14Abe's mother dies when he's young of milk sickness.
14:18His father is a brutal man, frequently beats him.
14:22He grows into a gangly, lanky young man with a high, squeaky voice.
14:28And it seems everywhere he goes, he is an easy target for bullies.
14:34He's fighting in the streets.
14:36And this slowly but surely develops an ability we wouldn't suspect of our late president.
14:43By his early 20s, the once scrawny boy has grown into a six-foot, four-inch powerhouse.
14:48Abe leaves home, relocates to New Salem, Illinois, and becomes friendly with a local man named William Berry.
14:56Berry is a town drunk, but he also wants to open a bar.
15:01They form a partnership, and they open Berry and Lincoln's.
15:06The bar is a rough establishment.
15:08Abe has to both tend bar and serve as bouncer, getting rid of rowdy drunks.
15:13One night at the bar, there's a promoter, and he sees Lincoln wrestling some of these rough-and-tumble kind
15:19of guys.
15:20And he tells him, you know what? I really think that you would make a splash on the wrestling scene.
15:24And just like that, Abraham Lincoln, the professional wrestler, is born.
15:29Abe's bouncing around Illinois, making a name for himself.
15:32Over the course of a decade, Abe Lincoln wrestles in 300 matches and only loses a single bout.
15:40Key to his near-perfect record, a signature finishing move, first seen in 1831.
15:47In New Salem, you have a local gang called the Clary's Grove Boys, and they're hearing about Abe Lincoln talking
15:55smack and saying that, you know, he's the toughest fighter in the frontier and stuff.
15:58And so the gang's leader, a guy by the name of Jack Armstrong, who is a wrestler in his own
16:04right, decides, I'm going to challenge this tall drink of water.
16:09A large crowd forms around the ring, and at first, Abe and Jack, they're just circling around, both hesitant to
16:14make the first move.
16:16But pretty soon, it's on.
16:21And Abe starts dominating.
16:25But it's not enough for Abe to just win the match. He wants to send a message.
16:29Lincoln takes his hand, and he wraps it around the throat of Jack Armstrong, strangling him.
16:34And then Lincoln proceeds, lift Armstrong off of the ground, and then slam.
16:42A crowd-pleasing move that cements Lincoln's reputation, not just as a fighter, but as a leader in the making.
16:50Many historians believe that Abe's presence in the ring helped launch his political career.
16:58When Lincoln is running for Illinois Senate in 1858, National News begins reporting on his wrestling career, and it reflects
17:07well on him.
17:08He is a fighter. He is scrappy. He has what it takes as a politician.
17:18In 1992, the rail splitter himself earns a post-mortem career high by being inducted into the National Wrestling Hall
17:26of Fame.
17:29Some origin stories begin with a problem, others with a wild idea.
17:34This one blends both, and it all hinges on one unforgettable act of teamwork.
17:41For decades, the falcon has been a huge status symbol, and in fact, it becomes the national bird for Saudi
17:49Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
17:53If you're a wealthy prince, or a sheikh, or from a prominent family, you're likely going to own one or
17:59two falcons.
18:00They even have beauty contests for these falcons.
18:05I mean, they're looking for features like, who has the thickest ankles, the best feathers, the most golden hue?
18:12The U.S. white gerfalcon are arguably considered the most coveted falcons on Earth.
18:21A purebred can go for an insane amount of money.
18:25In 2001, an auction showcases a pure white gerfalcon that goes for over a million dollars.
18:33In fact, as unbelievable as it sounds, in 2017, a falconer buys out an entire plane to transport his 80
18:42falcons, giving each one their own seat.
18:46But getting your hands on one of these exclusive birds isn't as simple as it used to be.
18:50The origin of these immaculate falcons are all thanks to a strange form of breeding, the falcon copulation hat.
19:08The falconer puts on the falcon copulation hat, walks around the falcon's chambers, rocking his or her head, imitating the
19:19call of the female falcon.
19:23And somehow, that excites the male falcon.
19:28When the falcon appears ready, the breeder turns his back to the male, and the male flies down onto the
19:38copulation hat and attempts to mate with it.
19:41The dimples in the hat catch the valuable semen, and the breeder then uses a syringe to extract every drop.
19:51One tube of semen is enough to fertilize several falcon eggs.
19:55A month later, a bird fit for a prince is born.
19:59It does make you wonder, though, why the funny hat?
20:02In the 1940s, biologists and conservationists notice steep declines in peregrine falcon populations.
20:11The culprit is the popular insecticide, DDT.
20:14It accumulates in food chains, so that predators at the top, like peregrine falcons, get a lot of it in
20:22their diet.
20:23The DDT weakens the structure of the shells of their eggs, so that simply the weight of the female sitting
20:32on her eggs is enough to crush them and kill the babies long before they have a chance to hatch.
20:38By the 1970s, the peregrine falcon is on the verge of extinction, when a falconer named Lester Boyd invents the
20:46copulation hat.
20:47The only way to save these falcons is to breed them in captivity.
20:52But a peregrine falcon isn't naturally going to want to mate with a hat, so Boyd uses a technique called
21:00sexual imprinting, where from a very young age, the falcons are trained to associate the hat with mating.
21:08And it works.
21:11The population of peregrines begins to grow again as birds are bred in captivity and released back out into the
21:19wild.
21:20The copulation hat opens up the possibility for controlled breeding, not only of peregrines, but of other falcon species, especially
21:29in the Middle East.
21:32Sometimes preserving a species means putting on a funny hat.
21:36Other times, it means rewriting the rules of biology.
21:42For decades, scientists believed there was no way that you could clone anything as complex as a mammal.
21:48But in 1986, in Scotland, scientist Ian Woolman and his crew decide they're going to try it with a sheep.
21:57Ian and his team attempt this technique known as somatic cell nuclear transfer.
22:03The idea is you take the nucleus from an adult cell and transfer it into an egg cell.
22:10Inside the nucleus is the DNA, and the DNA has the code that builds the entire sheep.
22:16So if you take the code and put it in a new egg, you're making a copy of that original
22:21sheep.
22:23For ten years, they performed the same technique over and over again, but the scientists fail more often than they
22:29succeed.
22:30After 277 tries, only 29 of the embryos survived more than six days.
22:37Finally, on the morning of July 5th, 1996, Ian Woolman wakes up to the news he has been waiting for.
22:44However, a baby lamb that is a clone of an adult lamb has successfully been born, and they give it
22:51the name 6LL3.
22:54Well, that doesn't stay for very long.
22:57The stockman who's helping them, he decides, you know, you should name this Dolly after Dolly Parton.
23:04Dolly opens up the floodgates.
23:06Soon, scientists are cloning everything from pigs to horses.
23:10But one animal is more stubborn than the rest.
23:15Dogs constantly prove impossible to clone, partly because the eggs are released at a much less mature stage than other
23:22mammals.
23:23Finally, in 2005, a Korean scientist named Wusok Wong cracks the code.
23:29Someone on the team figures out that there's another way to harvest the eggs.
23:33If they harvest them from the fallopian tubes, then they're going to be much more mature, and now they're viable.
23:39After more than a hundred attempts, one finally survives.
23:44They name him Snuffy, which is a combination of the letters S-N-U for Seoul National University, and the
23:52word puppy.
23:53It's pretty amazing, and Snuffy goes on to live a really full dog life, dying just 13 days after his
24:0110th birthday.
24:02And his legacy lives on.
24:05Snuffy's DNA is used to create 10 more clones in 2008, and 4 more in 2017.
24:16Amid the chaos of World War I, a trend quietly took hold in bedrooms all across Britain.
24:27In the 21st century, we are very accustomed to seeing people in their pajamas.
24:32They have become a leisure garment.
24:34People will wear pajamas when they're out walking their dog, when they go to get their hair done, anytime they
24:39want to be comfortable.
24:40But in the early 1900s, it was not common to see people in pajamas, because in the Western world, nobody
24:48was wearing them.
24:52Both men and women are wearing either night shirts or night gowns down to their ankles to go to bed.
24:58It is unheard of for a woman to go to bed in pants.
25:02But when bombs start falling from the sky, the way people prepare for bed will never be the same.
25:09On January 19th, 1914, two German Zeppelins end up dropping bombs on Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn on the eastern
25:17British coast.
25:18Deadly Zeppelin attacks become a regular thing in daily British life.
25:24When these attacks occur, typically they're heralded by air raid sirens.
25:29These attacks often occur in the early morning or late at night, and people are woken from their beds and
25:35have to flee to air raid shelters.
25:38People don't have the time to change clothes.
25:41It's a panic situation, and you have to get to shelter.
25:44So this means there are all of these women running around the streets of London in their night gowns, which
25:51pose a couple of different problems.
25:52For one, these night gowns are ankle length.
25:56Long gowns do not lend themselves to ease of movement.
26:00And for another thing, it is not really something that most people would want to be seen in publicly.
26:08This is an age of decorum.
26:09Women can't be seen in this state of undress running through the streets of London, able to be ogled by
26:15other women's husbands and strangers.
26:19And that's when women's magazines start putting forth this idea of a solution, and that solution is practical nightwear.
26:28Pajamas start to be sold in England as a sort of loose-fitting jacket and pant combination.
26:34The pajama suits a whole litany of needs in this wartime situation.
26:39You can run in them something that you cannot do in an ankle-length nightgown.
26:44They have pockets sewn into them so you could quickly grab valuables and dash out into the street.
26:50And most importantly for these survivors, you maintain a sense of dignity as you are fleeing for your lives.
26:58There is always a lot of talk about all of the technological advances that often come with wartime.
27:04So if you're listing out the advancements that we have thanks to World War I, you can put in there
27:09trench warfare, mustard gas, and pajamas.
27:14A decade and a half later, the British are going to need something better than a comfy pair of PJs
27:19to get through an air raid.
27:23In 1935, there's great anxiety among the British people because Hitler has come to power.
27:29He's rearming Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty from World War I.
27:33And the British know that one key element of Hitler's rearmament is the building of a massive air force called
27:39the Luftwaffe.
27:42Adding to the anxieties are these intelligence reports that suggest that Germany is on the cusp of developing a death
27:53ray.
27:54An invisible beam that can vaporize people, buildings, maybe even entire cities.
28:03It's a weapon that sounds like science fiction, but this is an era where even more outlandish weapons were actually
28:08being tested and fielded.
28:10So back then, it seemed quite feasible.
28:14The British are stuck. What do you do? How do you fight a death ray?
28:18Well, the best defense is a good offense. Build your own death ray.
28:23The British gather some of the most brilliant scientific minds on the planet and get to work.
28:28What would it take to create a radiation or particle beam that could be used to shoot down attacking aircraft?
28:35The idea is that this weapon could cook the pilot, killing him, or could be used to detonate a bomb
28:40on board the aircraft.
28:41This team spends months running the numbers, doing simulations, and guess what? They come up with nothing.
28:48Their experts can't come up with a solution, so they turn to the general public, and they have a contest.
28:55Who can figure out the death ray? It's sort of like crowdsourcing your ultimate weapon.
29:01Unfortunately, British civilians also come up short.
29:06In a last-ditch effort, the British Air Ministry turns to a celebrated and renowned radio engineer who works with
29:15the BBC radio service, Robert Watson Watt.
29:19They ask him how high of a frequency would it take to literally melt an airplane out of the sky?
29:26The laws of physics simply say not going to happen.
29:30And that's because the radio waves that you send towards the aircraft just bounce off.
29:37But it's in these calculations that Watson Watt has a real, genuine eureka moment.
29:45These radio waves that bounce off of targets can be picked up by antenna.
29:49By measuring the time it takes for the signal to return, Watson Watt can calculate the relative position of the
29:54aircraft.
29:55So this means they might be able to detect invading aircraft long before they can see or hear them.
30:00Cautious but intrigued, the Air Ministry requests a demonstration.
30:06On February 26th, 1935, the Royal Air Force takes an old bomber and they fly it between two BBC radio
30:14masts that are positioned six miles apart.
30:17Positioned between these two towers sits Robert Watson Watt, his assistant, and an Air Ministry official.
30:22They sit in front of a cathode ray tube with a green indicator light.
30:27Over and over again, as the bomber passes overhead, the green light turns on.
30:33While this was no death ray, these three men alone are essentially seeing the dawn of radar.
30:40This is crazy.
30:42There can be a plane so far away that no naked eye, no pair of binoculars could ever pick it
30:47up.
30:47And yet by sending out radio signals and waiting for them to come back, you can pick it out of
30:53the sky.
30:53It's like a comic book superpower.
30:57Four years later, radar proves its worth, empowering an outmatched British Air Force to outwit and outlast the mightier Luftwaffe
31:06in the Battle of Britain.
31:09Radar technology today is ubiquitous on the planet.
31:13It's used in our daily lives.
31:14We even get speeding tickets based off of it.
31:17It was all due to someone coming up with a crazy idea to build a death ray.
31:25Ironic that what started as a weapon to shoot down aircraft ends up being the greatest advancement in airline safety.
31:34Choosing a best man is a major decision.
31:37They have important duties like holding the rings, making a speech that might get the groom in trouble, and planning
31:42a raging bachelor party.
31:44But the role has strayed very far from its original purpose.
31:49In 16th century Gothic Germany, if you're a young man, say in your 20s, it's time to start thinking about
31:56taking a wife.
31:58However, you may be in a village where there are no available single women for you to marry.
32:04In these situations, the groom-to-be will hire a group of dudes known as Bride Knights and go raid
32:13another village, riding horses, carrying swords, and from that village, kidnap a wife.
32:22That doesn't fly today.
32:24We're talking 16th century Gothic Germany.
32:29Once the groom and his posse of Bride Knights have obtained a bride-to-be, they take her to the
32:35church and attempt the marriage ceremony.
32:38But they are subject to counterattack.
32:41Just remember, this woman does not want to be at this wedding.
32:44It is a kidnapping.
32:46So in a lot of cases, the bride's family then form their own posse to come and try and get
32:54the bride back.
32:56During the ceremony, the couple is at their most vulnerable.
33:00Thus, the Bride Knights will stand assembled facing the congregation.
33:06So if the bride's angry brothers and cousins burst through the door, the Bride Knights are at the ready, and
33:11the best man is the last line of defense.
33:16In those days, the best and best man doesn't mean best friend.
33:21It means he's the best swordsman of the Bride Knights.
33:26Nowadays, the best man is still in the same location next to the groom, but his job is completely different.
33:34He's no longer the best fighter, and he no longer aids in a kidnapping.
33:38It's become a lot more wholesome.
33:431,500 years earlier in Greece, something else is being stolen.
33:48Only it doesn't have an expert swordsman to protect it.
33:53Today, vending machines are a $15 billion a year industry.
33:58More than 100 million people a day buy anything from a bag of chips to a cooked pizza, even underwear.
34:08But the first vending machine on the planet?
34:10Let's just say you better not kick it for stealing your coins, because it might send you straight to hell.
34:17In early Christianity, purifying with holy water against evil spirits was called kernibs, and it's something very important to worship.
34:27Outside of many temples at the time, it's customary to have an urn or vessel of holy water, which people
34:34either imbibe, anoint themselves, or use to wash their hands before entering.
34:39However, early Greek Christians start thinking that the holy water is a cure-all for all of life's ailments.
34:49As a result, churchgoers are taking the holy water at will, and the church elders are obviously a little miffed.
34:59That's because there's not an endless supply at the time.
35:02In the Greek church, holy water is produced once a year on January 6th, in the Feast of Epiphany.
35:09This container of holy water is expected to last the entire year.
35:13It is not meant to be squandered.
35:15The potential for a holy water drought leads church authorities to begin searching for solutions.
35:23And they turn to a very inventive figure known as Hiro of Alexandria.
35:30Hiro is this genius, mathematician, engineer, inventor.
35:35He's been credited with inventing the syringe, the first steam engine.
35:41So if you need a machine, he is the guy to talk to.
35:45Hiro invents an ingenious device, essentially a fountain inside of a box that can only be activated by a compulsory
35:57donation.
35:59Now that people have to pay, they become much more careful stewards of this limited resource.
36:06You put a coin in the urn, it hits a lever, the weight of the coin releases a plunger, the
36:13perfectly measured dose of holy water comes out a spout, the plunger closes again, no more holy water, and the
36:20church gets its much needed tithes.
36:22It's genius in its simplicity today, but for the time, it's an engineering marvel.
36:28It's hard to believe the vending machine was created to distribute a holy sacrament, an incredible point to ponder the
36:36next time you buy a bag of chips.
36:40Ever wonder where some of our most common expressions come from?
36:43Take the phrase, cat got your tongue.
36:46Believe it or not, the strange history behind this saying might leave you lost for words.
36:54Cats were widely venerated in ancient Egypt.
36:58Gods, including Sekhmet and Bastet, were in the image of cats.
37:03The creatures were considered holy, and cats served very practical uses, including keeping rats and mice out of grain supplies.
37:14For the wealthy and for pharaohs, it's very common to keep cats on hand, because they're believed to be the
37:20bringers of good fortune and protectors.
37:23They are so beloved in this culture that it is not uncommon for people to adorn them with jewels and
37:28dress them up as extravagantly and finely as any member of the royal family.
37:35Cats were not only symbols of luxury, they also played a crucial role in the criminal justice system.
37:42In ancient Egypt, if someone is accused of blasphemy, of lying, of speaking out against the government or against established
37:51religion, they can pay a pretty steep price.
37:55If those accusations are deemed valid by the ruler, a king or queen could order that that person's tongue is
38:03cut out.
38:04In some cases, to make sure that the message was transmitted to the rest of the population, the tongue would
38:12be fed to a royal cat.
38:20Whether or not this grisly practice is the actual origin of the expression, cat got your tongue, it sent a
38:27pointed and decided message to rowdy members of the public.
38:33Not every cat has it so lucky.
38:36If you were a South American feline in the 1300s, certain Aztec traditions might have you on edge.
38:44In the Aztec religion, animals were often sacrificed to a higher power.
38:50Some of the most highly prized and valued animals for sacrifice were animals that were noble and bold, like the
38:57jaguar or the crocodile.
38:59But obviously, a jaguar or a crocodile could kill you, so they're not the easiest animals to obtain.
39:08But there's a loophole.
39:16However, they're quite different from the ones we see clowns making at fairs or birthday parties today.
39:25Aztecs create these balloon animal effigies using cat bowels, aka the intestines of cats.
39:35They discover that pulling the entrails from a dead cat, turning them inside out, and then cleaning them up, actually
39:43turns the intestines into a latex-like material.
39:47After the cat intestines are fully prepared, they are cut into shape and then sewn together using vegetable fiber thread
39:54to make the overall shape of the animal that they wish to sacrifice.
39:59Cats were ideal, but not all was available, so priests had to get creative.
40:05Sometimes they would also use pigs, but when you run out of cats and pigs, the next best option are
40:12human intestines.
40:14So next time you're blowing up balloons and you're complaining about the nasty latex taste, imagine if you were actually
40:21blowing up mammal bowels, pig, cat, human, whatever.
40:26It's nastier.
40:27You got the good balloons.
40:30The truth behind many beginnings is stranger than fiction.
40:34The best man who started as a kidnapper, a funny hat integral to breeding prized falcons, and a president who
40:41first found fame choke-slamming in the wrestling ring.
40:43These are the origins, so on, they are truly unbelievable.
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