Futility Closet

In the 19th century, an enormous hedge ran for more than a thousand miles across India, installed by the British to enforce a tax on salt. Though it took a Herculean effort to build, today it's been almost completely forgotten. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe this strange project and reflect on its disappearance from history. We'll also exonerate a rooster and puzzle over a racing murderer. Intro: A group of plasterers working in London's Tate Britain art gallery in 1897 left a message for future generations. Four chemical elements were discovered in the same Swedish mine. Sources for our feature on the Great Hedge of India: Roy Moxham, The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier that Divided a People, 2001. Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A World History, 2011. Sir William Henry Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official, 1844. Shugan Chand Aggarwal, The Salt Industry in India, 1976. Sir John Strachey, India, 1888. Ajit K. Neogy, The Paramount Power and the Princely States of India, 1858-1881, 1979. Henry Francis Pelham, Essays, 1911. G.S. Chhabra, Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: 1813-1919, 1971. D.A. Barker, "The Taxation of Salt in India," The Economic Review 20 (1910), 165-172. Nicholas Blomley, "Making Private Property: Enclosure, Common Right and the Work of Hedges," Rural History 18:1 (2007), 1-21. Barry Lewis, "Village Defenses of the Karnataka Maidan, AD 1600–1800," South Asian Studies 25:1 (2009), 91-111. Roy Moxham, "Salt Starvation in British India: Consequences of High Salt Taxation in Bengal Presidency, 1765 to 1878," Economic and Political Weekly 36:25 (June 23-29, 2001), 2270-2274. Roy Moxham, "The Great Hedge of India," in Jantine Schroeder, Radu Botez, and Marine Formentini, Radioactive Waste Management and Constructing Memory for Future Generations: Proceedings of the International Conference and Debate, September 15-17, 2014, Verdun, France, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2015. "The Great Hedge of India: A Lost Wonder of the World," The Long View, BBC Radio 4, March 14, 2017. Adrian Higgins, "The Odd Tale of Britain's Wall — a Hedge — Across a Swath of India," Washington Post, Feb. 13, 2019. David G.W. Birch, "When Britain Built Its Own Wall: The Great Hedge of India," iNews, Feb. 9, 2017. Stephen Pritchard, "Privets on Parade ..." Guardian, Jan. 14, 2001. Nilanjana S. Roy, "Of Indian Elections, Onions and Salt," New York Times, Nov. 20, 2013. Maurice Chittenden, "Great Hedge of India Defended the Empire," Sunday Times, Dec. 10, 2000, 7. Aneesh Gokhale, "Why British Built the Great Hedge of India," DNA, Aug. 12 2018. Roy Moxham, "The Great Hedge of India," Sunday Telegraph, Jan. 7, 2001, 4. Annabelle Quince, "Border Walls Around the World," Rear Vision, ABC Premium News, May 17, 2017. "Have You Heard of the Salt Hedge?" New Indian Express, March 16, 2015. Roy Moxham, "Magnificent Obsession," Weekend Australian, Oct. 5, 2002, B.26. Matthew Wilson, "In the Thicket of It," Financial Times, Nov. 12, 2016, 20. Moxham writes, "My GPS reading at Pali Ghar was 26° 32.2' N, 79° 09.2' E. If this reading is put into Google Earth, the embankment of the Hedge is clearly visible – but only if you already know it is there." Listener mail: Jonathan M. Gitlin, "Geeky License Plate Earns Hacker $12,000 in Parking Tickets," Ars Technica, Aug. 13, 2019. Brian Barrett, "How a 'NULL' License Plate Landed One Hacker in Ticket Hell," Wired, Aug. 13, 2019. Kim Willsher, "Maurice the Noisy Rooster Can Keep Crowing, Court Rules," Guardian, Sept. 5, 2019. "French Rooster Maurice Wins Battle Over Noise With Neighbours," BBC News, Sept. 5, 2019. "If It Quacks Like a Duck: Boisterous Poultry Land French Owner in Court," Agence France-Presse, Sept. 2, 2019. Tom Whipple, "Larry the Cat Faces Rival as Jack Russell Puppy Arrives in Downing Street," Times, Sept. 2 2019. Amy Walker, "Downing Street Gets New Resident -- a Dog Named Dilyn," Guardian, Sept. 2, 2019. Hayley Dixon, "Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds to Move Rescued Jack Russell Puppy Into Downing Street," Telegraph, Sept. 1, 2019. "Boris Johnson's New Rescue Puppy Moves Into Downing Street," BBC News, Sept. 2, 2019. "Dogs That Keep Mice Away," Animal & Pest Control Specialist, Dec. 5, 2013. "Working History of the Jack Russell Terrier," Jack Russell Terrier Club of America. Tom Ough, "Sepsis, Incontinence, and Murder Mysteries: A History of Downing Street Pets," Telegraph, Sept. 2, 2019. Meagan Flynn, "A Lawsuit Against Maurice the Rooster Divided France. Now a Judge Says He Can Crow in Peace," Washington Post, Sept 6, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Dafydd Viney, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1868, Scottish sailor Jack Renton found himself the captive of a native people in the Solomon Islands, but through luck and skill he rose to become a respected warrior among them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Renton's life among the saltwater people and his return to the Western world. We'll also catch some more speeders and puzzle over a regrettable book. Intro: Thanks to one representative's 1904 demand, the U.S. House dining room serves a perpetual bean soup. A 1962 Times correspondent asserts that all thrushes quote Mozart. Sources for our feature on Jack Renton: Nigel Randell, The White Headhunter: The Story of a 19-Century Sailor Who Survived a South Seas Heart of Darkness, 2004. Clive Moore, Making Mala: Malaita in Solomon Islands, 1870s–1930s, 2017. Judith A. Bennett, Wealth of the Solomons: A History of a Pacific Archipelago, 1800-1978, 1987. Walter George Ivens, Revival: Melanesians of the South-East Solomon Islands, 1927. Dennis Chute, "Shipwrecked on an Island Paradise," Edmonton Journal, Feb. 1, 2004, D11. Christopher Hudson, "Life and Death of a White Headhunter," [Melbourne] Sunday Herald-Sun, Aug. 17, 2003, 37. "The White Headhunter," Geographical 75:8 (August 2003), 64. Stephen McGinty, "Portrait of a Head Hunter," Scotsman, July 26, 2003, 1. "Secret Life of the White Headhunter," Scotsman, March 2, 2003. "The Adventures of John Renton," [Melbourne] Argus, Oct. 23, 1875. "The Recovery of John Renton From the Solomon Islands," Rockhampton [Queensland] Bulletin, Sept. 17, 1875. "Renton, John," Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia 1893-1978 (accessed Aug. 25, 2019). Listener mail: "German Constitutional Court Questions Speed Camera Reliability," TheNewspaper.com, July 5, 2019. "Finland," SpeedingEurope.com, July 7, 2019. Joe Pinsker, "Finland, Home of the $103,000 Speeding Ticket," Atlantic, March 12, 2015. Wikipedia, "Day-Fine" (accessed Aug. 31, 2019). Bill McKelvey, "Along the Delaware & Raritan Canal: A History & Resources Database," D&R Canal Watch, 2011. Ken Hansen, "How-to: Texas Amateur Radio Operator License Plate," Irving Amateur Radio Club, Jan. 25, 2018. "Speed and Red Light Cameras," Governors Highway Safety Association (accessed Sept. 3, 2019). "Automated Speed-Camera Enforcement," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (accessed Sept. 3, 2019). Wikipedia, "Traffic Enforcement Camera" (accessed Sept. 3, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Sharon. Here are three corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

Confined in a Soviet prison camp in 1941, Polish painter Józef Czapski chose a unique way to cope: He lectured to the other prisoners on Marcel Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Czapski's ambitious project and the surprising importance of literature to the prisoners of oppressive regimes. We'll also race some lemons and puzzle over a woman's birthdays. Intro: A piano keyboard can be used as a calendar mnemonic. After the Civil War, thousands of Confederates settled in Brazil. Sources for our feature on Józef Czapski: Józef Czapski, Lost Time: Lectures on Proust in a Soviet Prison Camp, 2018. Eric Karpeles, Almost Nothing: The 20th-Century Art and Life of Józef Czapski, 2018. Józef Czapski, The Inhuman Land, 1952. Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, 2012. György Faludy, My Happy Days in Hell, 1962. Jan Zielinski, "Milosz and Wat Read Brzozowski," Studies in East European Thought 63:4 (November 2011), 293-302. Aden Kumler and Christopher R. Lakey, "Res et significatio: The Material Sense of Things in the Middle Ages," Gesta 51:1 (2012), 1-17. Józef Czapski et al., "An Appeal on Behalf of the Western Edition of Puls," Polish Review 24:4 (1979), 122. Eric Karpeles, "Proust in Prison," Brick: A Literary Journal 102 (Winter 2019), 128-137. John Gray, "Józef Czapski: Painter, Prisoner, and Disciple of Proust," New Statesman, May 1, 2019. Marta Figlerowicz, "Poland's Forgotten Bohemian War Hero," Boston Review, Feb. 6, 2019. Paul Dean, "In Memoriam," New Criterion 37:7 (March 2019), 60-62. Andrew Schenker, "The Work of Historical Witness: Józef Czapski's 'Lost Time' and 'Inhuman Land,'" Los Angeles Review of Books, Dec. 18, 2018. Ayten Tartici, "Reading Proust in the Gulag," New York Times Book Review, Jan. 16, 2019. Michael Pinker, "Józef Czapski: A Life in Translation," Review of Contemporary Fiction 29:3 (Fall 2009), 182-183. Edward Alden Jewell, "Polish Art Works to Assist Relief," New York Times, Dec. 13, 1939. "Jurzykowski Fund Gives Awards to 11," New York Times, Jan. 13, 1966. Ewa Kuryluk, "Subverting Poland From Paris," New York Times, April 1, 1990. "Red Massacre of Poles Told," Manitoba Ensign, Dec. 31, 1949. Stanislaw Frenkiel, "Obituary: Jozef Czapski Krakow to Katyn," Guardian, Jan. 27, 1993. Cynthia Haven, "Shouldering the Century's Burden," Wall Street Journal, Jan. 25, 2019. Malgorzata Kitowska-Lysiak, "Józef Czapski," Culture.pl, 2001. Listener mail: Michigan City Historical Society Old Lighthouse Museum, March 24, 2018. Wikipedia, "24 Hours of LeMons" (accessed Aug. 22, 2019). Tadd Haislop, "24 Hours of Lemons Is Like the 24 Hours of Le Mans — Just Funnier and Cheaper," Sporting News, June 15, 2019. 24 Hours of Lemons. "Lemons Penalties 101," rahulnair.net, April 7, 2009. "Prices & Rules," 24 Hours of Lemons (accessed Aug. 22, 2019). Murilee Martin, "LeMons Prize Money: Rubles, Nickels, or Toilet-Seat Checks!" RoadKill, July 11, 2016. Eric Rood, "The Index of Effluency: How to Win 24 Hours of LeMons' Top Prize," RoadKill, Dec. 1, 2015. Estes Park Police Department, Facebook, Aug. 10, 2019. Justin Wingerter, "Bear Crashes Through Estes Park Home 'Like the Kool-Aid Man,'" Denver Post, Aug. 11, 2019. "Bear Breaks Into House and Smashes Wall to Leave," BBC News, Aug. 12, 2019. Wikipedia, "Kool-Aid Man" (accessed Aug. 24, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Romy Higgins. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1968, Richard Proenneke left his career as a heavy equipment operator and took up an entirely new existence. He flew to a remote Alaskan lake, built a log cabin by hand, and began a life of quiet self-reliance. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll hear Proenneke's reflections on a simple life lived in harmony with nature. We'll also put a rooster on trial and puzzle over a curious purchase. Intro: Joshua Steele preserved David Garrick's line readings in a "prosodia rationalis." The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 passed because one large MP was counted as 10. Sources for our feature on Richard Proenneke: Sam Keith, One Man's Wilderness, 1973. John Branson, More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 2012. "Reflections on a Man in His Wilderness," National Parks 91:2 (Spring 2017), 52-58. Rosanne Pagano, "A Pebble in the Water," National Parks 83:2 (Spring 2009), 24-31. Rona Marech, "Off the Grid," National Parks 91:2 (Spring 2017), 4. Leigh Newman, "Cabin Fever," Sunset 234:2 (February 2015), 28-32. "A Modern Day Thoreau," Alaska 69:7 (Sept. 2003), 78-79. Jennifer Rebecca Kelly and Stacy Rule, "The Hunt as Love and Kill: Hunter-Prey Relations in the Discourse of Contemporary Hunting Magazines," Nature and Culture 8:2 (2013), 185-204. Shelley Fralic, "An Icon for Modern Times; He Lived Alone for 32 Years in a Cabin He Built in Alaska," Vancouver Sun, March 26, 2010, A.15. Jene Galvin, "Alaskan Cabin an Adventurer's Shrine," Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct. 28, 2007, 1. Jenna Schnuer, "An Alaska National Park as Big as Connecticut. Annual Visitors? 23,000," New York Times, July 16, 2018. Michael Babcock, "Check Out 'Alone in the Wilderness,'" Great Falls [Mont.] Tribune, Dec. 8, 2011, O.1. Robert Cross, "Wrangell-St. Elias/Lake Clark: A Pair Too Big to Comprehend," Knight Ridder Tribune News Service, June 16, 2003, 1. "Proenneke's Cabin," Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, National Park Service (accessed Aug. 11, 2019). Alan Bennett, "Dick Proenneke – Hiking With a Legend," The Alaska Life (accessed Aug. 11, 2019). Here's an excerpt from Alone in the Wilderness, a 2004 documentary about Proenneke's life on the lake. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). "Saint Louis du Ha!Ha! Gets Guinness World Record Nod for Its Exclamation Marks," Canadian Press, Sept. 20, 2017. Wikipedia, "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). Wikipedia, "Buffalo Jump" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). Wikipedia, "Happy Adventure" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). Wikipedia, "Swastika, Ontario" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). Wikipedia, "Pain Court, Ontario" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). Wikipedia, "Punkeydoodles Corners" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). (Non-family-friendly Newfoundland place name.) Jack Guy and Antoine Crouin, "Maurice the Rooster in the Dock in Divisive French Trial," CNN, July 4, 2019. Henry Samuel, "Trial Over Maurice the Cockerel's 'Rowdy' Dawn Crowing Becomes Gallic Cause Celebre," Telegraph, July 4, 2019. "Rooster Maurice in Noisy French Court Battle With Neighbours," BBC News, July 4, 2019. Adam Nossiter, "'The Rooster Must Be Defended': France's Culture Clash Reaches a Coop," New York Times, June 23, 2019. "The Londoner: Entreprepurr Jeremy Hunt Backs Larry the Cat," Standard, July 18, 2019. Boris Johnson, "A very happy #InternationalCatDay to our Chief Mouser, Larry," Twitter, Aug. 8, 2019. Jimmy Nsubuga, "Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Could Be Ousted Under Boris," Metro, July 26, 2019. Wikipedia, "International Cat Day" (accessed Aug. 15, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was adapted from Edward J. Harshman's 1996 book Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In May 1840 London was scandalized by the murder of Lord William Russell, who'd been found in his bed with his throat cut. The evidence seemed to point to an intruder, but suspicion soon fell on Russell's valet. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the investigation and trial, and the late revelation that decided the case. We'll also marvel at Ireland's greenery and puzzle over a foiled kidnapping. Intro: Marshal Ney directed his own execution. Lewis Carroll invented an alphabet he could write in the dark. Sources for our feature on the murder of Lord William Russell: Yseult Bridges, Two Studies in Crime, 1959. Claire Harman, Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London, 2019. Thomas Dunphy and Thomas J. Cummins, Remarkable Trials of All Countries, 1870. J.E. Latton Pickering, Report of the Trial of Courvoisier for the Murder of Lord William Russell, June 1840, 1918. William Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard: A Romance, 1839. "Remarkable Cases of Circumstantial Evidence," in Norman Wise Sibley, Criminal Appeal and Evidence, 1908. Samuel Warren, "The Mystery of Murder, and Its Defence," in Miscellanies, Critical, Imaginative, and Juridical, 1855, 237-271. "Trial, Confession, and Execution of Courvoisier for the Murder of Lord Wm. Russell: Memoir of F.B. Courvoisier, Lord W. Russell's Valet [broadside]," 1840. "Russell, Lord William (1767-1840)," in D.R. Fisher, ed., The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1820-1832, 2009. "The Practice of Advocacy: Mr. Charles Phillips, and His Defence of Courvoisier," Littell's Living Age 25:313 (May 18, 1850), 289-311. "English Causes Celebres," Legal News 14:39 (Sept. 26, 1891), 310-311. O'Neill Ryan, "The Courvoisier Case," Washington University Law Review 12:1 (January 1926), 39-46. Michael Asimow, "When the Lawyer Knows the Client Is Guilty: Legal Ethics, and Popular Culture," Law Society of Upper Canada 6th Colloquium, University of Toronto Faculty of Law 10 (2006). J.B. Atlay, "Famous Trials: The Queen Against Courvoisier," Cornhill Magazine 2:11 (May 1897), 604-616. Paul Bergman, "Rumpole's Ethics," Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law 1:2 (April 2012), 117-124. Abigail Droge, "'Always Called Jack': A Brief History of the Transferable Skill," Victorian Periodicals Review 50:1 (Spring 2017) 39-65, 266. Albert D. Pionke, "Navigating 'Those Terrible Meshes of the Law': Legal Realism in Anthony Trollope's Orley Farm and The Eustace Diamonds," ELH: Journal of English Literary History 77:1 (2010), 129-157. Matthew S. Buckley, "Sensations of Celebrity: Jack Sheppard and the Mass Audience," Victorian Studies 44:3 (2002), 423-463. Elizabeth Stearns, "A 'Darling of the Mob': The Antidisciplinarity of the Jack Sheppard Texts," Victorian Literature and Culture 41:3 (2013), 435-461. Ellen L. O'Brien, "'Every Man Who Is Hanged Leaves a Poem': Criminal Poets in Victorian Street Ballads," Victorian Poetry 39:2 (Summer 2001), 319-342. Matthew Buckley, "Sensations of Celebrity: Jack Sheppard and the Mass Audience," Victorian Studies 44:3 (Spring 2002), 423-463. "This Day's Examination of the Valet for the Murder of Lord William Russell, M.P.," 1840, English Crime and Execution Broadsides, Harvard Digital Collections. Peter Dean, "Death by Servant," Daily Mail, May 18, 2019, 12. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, "The Victorian Melodrama That Led to Murder and Mayhem," Spectator, Nov. 10, 2018. Hannah Rosefield, "The Strange Victorian Murder of Lord William Russell," New Statesman, Oct. 31, 2018. "Look Death in the Face," [Liverpool] Daily Post, Sept. 1, 2018, 12. Alexandra Mullen, "Bloody-Minded Victorians," Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2013. Dalya Alberge, "Vital Clue Ignored for 50 Years," Independent, Dec. 9, 2012. "Murder of Lord William Russell -- Confession of the Murderer," Sydney Herald, Oct. 20, 1840, 3. William Makepeace Thackeray, "Going to See a Man Hanged," Fraser's Magazine 128:22 (August 1840), 150-158. "Murder of Lord William Russell," New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin, June 16, 1840. "Further Evidence Concerning the Murder of Lord William Russell," Spectator, May 23, 1840, 7. "Francois Benjamin Courvoisier: Killing: Murder," Proceedings of the Old Bailey, June 15, 1840 (accessed Aug. 4, 2019). Annalisa Quinn, "Could A Novel Lead Someone To Kill? 'Murder By The Book' Explores The Notion," National Public Radio, March 27, 2019. Listener mail: "Local Elections Results," Irish Times, Aug. 17, 2019. Wikipedia, "List of Political Parties in the Republic of Ireland," (accessed Aug. 8, 2019). Wikipedia, "List of Political Parties in the United States" (accessed Aug. 9, 2019). Wikipedia, "United States Marijuana Party" (accessed Aug. 9, 2019). Wikipedia, "United States Congress" (accessed Aug. 8, 2019). Justin McCurry, "South Korea Mulls Ending Arcane Age System to Match Rest of World," Guardian, June 2, 2019. James Griffiths and Yoonjung Seo, "In South Korea, You're a 1-Year-Old the Day You're Born. Some Want to Change That," CNN, June 3, 2019. Beatrice Christofaro, "In South Korea's Unique Aging System, Some Babies Turn 2 Years Old the Day After They Were Born. A Bill Is Trying to Change That," Insider, Jun. 3, 2019. "Life Term in Murder Contested; Culture Cited on Age," KDKA Pittsburgh, Aug. 7, 2019. James Halpin, "Killer Claims Ignorance of Korean Age Custom," Citizens' Voice, Aug. 8, 2019. James Halpin, "Killer Blames Culture Quirk for Age Miscalculation," Citizens' Voice, Aug. 7, 2019. Wikipedia, "National Assembly (South Korea)" (accessed Aug. 11, 2019). Penelope's drawing: This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Ken Murphy. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1934, two Englishwomen set out to do what no one had ever done before: travel the length of Africa on a motorcycle. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron from Algiers to Cape Town on a 14,000-mile adventure that many had told them was impossible. We'll also anticipate some earthquakes and puzzle over a daughter's age. Intro: Among the survivors of the Titanic were two boys who were unclaimed by any adult. In 1638, Galileo saw through a mistake in Aristotle simply by thinking about it. Sources for our feature on Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron's trans-African odyssey: Theresa Wallach, The Rugged Road, 2001. Steven E. Alford and Suzanne Ferriss, Motorcycle, 2007. Iain Burns, "The British Women Who Conquered the Sahara," Daily Mail, Jan. 22, 2018. Miles Davis, "Incredible Journeys," Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader 267 (June 2006), 143-145. "Theresa Wallach – Motorcycle Pioneer of the 1930s," Archives Blog, Institution of Engineering and Technology (accessed July 28, 2019). "Through Africa by Motor-Cycle (1934-1935)," Africa Overland Network, July 9, 2014. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Earthquake Warning System" (accessed July 27, 2019). Wikipedia, "Earthquake Early Warning (Japan)" (accessed July 27, 2019). Wikipedia, "Mexican Seismic Alert System" (accessed August 1, 2019). Wikipedia, "2017 Puebla Earthquake" (accessed August 1, 2019). "Earthquake Early Warning System," Japan Meteorological Agency. Sarah E. Minson, et al., "The Limits of Earthquake Early Warning Accuracy and Best Alerting Strategy: Discussion," Scientific Reports 9:1 (Feb. 21, 2019), 2478. Sarah E. Minson, et al., "The Limits of Earthquake Early Warning: Timeliness of Ground Motion Estimates," Science Advances 4:3 (March 21, 2018), eaaq0504. "Earthquake Early Warning," United States Geological Survey. "Earthquake Early Warning: Background," United States Geological Survey. Mary Halton, "How Effective Are Earthquake Early Warning Systems?," BBC News, March 24, 2018. Jonathan Amos, "Are Mexico's Two September Earthquakes Connected?," BBC News, Sept. 20, 2017. "How Did Mexico's Early Warning System Perform During Recent Earthquakes?," Seismological Society of America, Feb. 7, 2018. "False Earthquake Warning Panics Japan," BBC, Jan. 5, 2018. ShakeAlert. Richard M. Allen, et al., "Lessons From Mexico's Earthquake Early Warning System," Eos, Sept. 17, 2018. Mary Beth Griggs, "LA's Earthquake Warning System Worked — Just Not How People Expected," The Verge, July 5, 2019. Emily Baumgaertner, "L.A.'S ShakeAlert Earthquake Warning App Worked Exactly as Planned. That's the Problem," Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2019. Alex Dobuzinskis, "California Expanding Early Quake Detection and Warning System," Reuters, July 9, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Paul Schoeps. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

The second-bloodiest riot in the history of New York was touched off by a dispute between two Shakespearean actors. Their supporters started a brawl that killed as many as 30 people and changed the institution of theater in American society. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Astor Place riot, "one of the strangest episodes in dramatic history." We'll also fertilize a forest and puzzle over some left-handed light bulbs. Intro: In 1968, mathematician Dietrich Braess found that installing a traffic shortcut can actually lengthen the average journey. What key is "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" written in? Sources for our feature on the Astor Place riot: Nigel Cliff, The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America, 2007. Richard Moody, The Astor Place Riot, 1958. Lawrence Barrett, Edwin Forrest, 1881. Joel Tyler Headley, Pen and Pencil Sketches of the Great Riots, 1873. H.M. Ranney, Account of the Terrific and Fatal Riot at the New-York Astor Place Opera House, 1849. Leo Hershkowitz, "An Anatomy of a Riot: Astor Place Opera House, 1849," New York History 87:3 (Summer 2006), 277-311. Bill Kauffman, "New York's Opera House Brawl," American Enterprise 13:4 (June 2002), 51. M. Alison Kibler, "'Freedom of the Theatre' and 'Practical Censorship': Two Theater Riots in the Early Twentieth Century," OAH Magazine of History 24:2 (April 2010), 15-19. Edgar Scott, "Edwin Forrest, First Star of the American Stage," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 84 (1960), 495-497. Adam I.P. Smith, "The Politics of Theatrical Reform in Victorian America," American Nineteenth Century History 13:3, 321-346. Daniel J. Walkowitz, "'The Gangs of New York': The Mean Streets in History," History Workshop Journal 56 (Autumn 2003), 204-209. Gretchen Sween, "Rituals, Riots, Rules, and Rights: The Astor Place Theater Riot of 1849 and the Evolving Limits of Free Speech," Texas Law Review 81:2 (December 2002), 679-713. Michael J. Collins, "'The Rule of Men Entirely Great': Republicanism, Ritual, and Richelieu in Melville's 'The Two Temples,'" Comparative American Studies 10:4 (December 2012), 304-317. Loren Kruger, "Our Theater? Stages in an American Cultural History," American Literary History 8:4 (Winter 1996), 699-714. Dennis Berthold, "Class Acts: The Astor Place Riots and Melville's 'The Two Temples,'" American Literature 71:3 (September 1999), 429-461. Cary M. Mazer, "Shakespearean Scraps," American Literary History 21:2 (Summer 2009), 316-323. Barbara Foley, "From Wall Street to Astor Place: Historicizing Melville's 'Bartleby,'" American Literature 72:1 (March 2000), 87-116. Neil Smith, "Imperial Errantry," Geographical Review 102:4 (October 2012), 553-555. Betsy Golden Kellem, "When New York City Rioted Over Hamlet Being Too British," Smithsonian.com, July 19, 2017. Amanda Foreman, "A Night at the Theater Often Used to Be a Riot," Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2015. Scott McCabe, "At Least 22 Killed in Astor Place Riots," [Washington, D.C.] Examiner, May 10, 2011. Timothy J. Gilfoyle, "A Theatrical Rivalry That Sparked a Riot," Chicago Tribune, April 22, 2007, 14.11. Paul Lieberman, "The Original Star; On His 200th Birthday, America's First 'Celebrity' Actor, Edwin Forrest, Still Has Fans," Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2006, E.1. Michael Grunwald, "Shakespeare in Hate; 150 Years Ago, 23 People Died In a Riot Over 'Macbeth,'" Washington Post, March 28, 1999, G01. Mel Gussow, "Richard A. Moody, 84, American-Theater Expert," New York Times, April 4, 1996. Frank Rich, "War of Hams Where the Stage Is All," New York Times, Jan. 17, 1992. "Theater: When 'Macbeth' Shook the World of Astor Place," New York Times, Jan. 12, 1992. "The Biggest Publicity Coup in the History of the Stage," New York Tribune, May 4, 1913, 4. "Death of an Aged Actress," New York Times, March 17, 1880. J. Brander Matthews, "W.C. Macready," Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly 10 (1880), 97-101. "The Astor Place Riots," New York Times, April 11, 1875. "An Old Story Retold; The Astor Place Riot -- Reminiscences of Macready," New York Times, April 3, 1875. "Dreadful Riot and Bloodshed in New York," British Colonist, May 23, 1849. "Remembering New York City's Opera Riots," Weekend Edition Saturday, National Public Radio, May 13, 2006. Listener mail: M. Ben-David, T.A. Hanley, and D.M. Schell, "Fertilization of Terrestrial Vegetation by Spawning Pacific Salmon: The Role of Flooding and Predator Activity," OIKOS 83 (1998), 47-55. James M. Helfield and Robert J. Naiman, "Effects of Salmon-Derived Nitrogen on Riparian Forest Growth and Implications for Stream Productivity," Ecology 82:9 (2001), 2403-2409. Wikipedia, "Salmon" (accessed July 13, 2019). Paul Clements, "An Irishman's Diary on Football Legend Danny Blanchflower," Irish Times, April 11, 2015. "Danny Blanchflower," Big Red Book (accessed July 13, 2019). Alex Finnis, "Jersey Is Being Terrorised by 100-Strong Gangs of Feral Chickens Waking Up Locals and Chasing Joggers," i, June 18, 2019. "Jersey Residents Annoyed by Feral Chickens," BBC, July 6, 2018. "Channel Islands Residents Cry Foul Over Feral Chickens," Morning Edition, National Public Radio, June 28, 2019. Daniel Avery, "Gang of 100 Feral Chickens Terrorizing Town," Newsweek, July 2, 2019. Will Stewart, "Russian Hermit Cut Off From World Refuses to Leave Despite Rocket Debris Fears," Mirror, June 21, 2019. "Siberian Hermit, 75, Who 'Lives in 18th Century' Refuses to Be Moved by Space Age," Siberian Times, June 21, 2019. A bridge of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), from listener Alex Baumans: This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Greg. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1855 a band of London thieves set their sights on a new target: the South Eastern Railway, which carried gold bullion to the English coast. The payoff could be enormous, but the heist would require meticulous planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the first great train robbery, one of the most audacious crimes of the 19th century. We'll also jump into the record books and puzzle over a changing citizen. Intro: British birdwatcher Chris Watson discovered Scottish starlings memorializing forgotten farm machinery. Can a psychotic patient's "sane" self consent to a procedure on his "insane" self? Sources for our feature on the great gold robbery of 1855: David C. Hanrahan, The First Great Train Robbery, 2011. Donald Thomas, The Victorian Underworld, 1998. Adrian Gray, Crime & Criminals of Victorian England, 2011. Jonathan Oates, Great Train Crimes: Murder & Robbery on the Railways, 2010. G.A. Sekon, The History of the South-Eastern Railway, 1895. David Morier Evans, Facts, Failures, and Frauds: Revelations, Financial, Mercantile, Criminal, 1859. Michael Robbins, "The Great South-Eastern Bullion Robbery," The Railway Magazine 101:649 (May 1955), 315–317. "The Story of a Great Bullion Robbery," Chambers's Journal 2:59 (Jan. 14, 1899), 109-112. "Law Intelligence," Railway Times 19:46 (Nov. 15, 1856), 1355. "Chronicle: January, 1857," Annual Register, 1857. "The Gold Dust Robbery," New York Times, Nov. 12, 1876. "Edward Agar: Deception: Forgery, 22nd October 1855," Proceedings of the Old Bailey (accessed July 19, 2019). Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Kiwi Campus" (accessed July 14, 2019). Carolyn Said, "Kiwibots Win Fans at UC Berkeley as They Deliver Fast Food at Slow Speeds," San Francisco Chronicle, May 26, 2019. Kalev Leetaru, "Today's Deep Learning Is Like Magic -- In All the Wrong Ways," Forbes, July 8, 2019. James Vincent, "The State of AI in 2019," The Verge, Jan. 28, 2019. Wikipedia, "Carl Lewis" (July 9, 2019). Wikipedia, "Wind Assistance" (accessed July 14, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Wayne Yuen. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1943 an isolated sledge patrol came upon a secret German weather station in northeastern Greenland. The discovery set off a series of dramatic incidents that unfolded across 400 miles of desolate coast. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow this arctic struggle, an often overlooked drama of World War II. We'll also catch some speeders and puzzle over a disastrous remedy. Intro: In 1970 the Journal of Organic Chemistry published a paper in blank verse. In 1899 the Journal of Mental Science described a man who cycled in his sleep. Sources for our feature on the North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol: David Howarth, The Sledge Patrol, 1957. Mark Llewellyn Evans, Great World War II Battles in the Arctic, 1999. John McCannon, A History of the Arctic: Nature, Exploration and Exploitation, 2012. Bjørnar Olsen and Þóra Pétursdóttir, Ruin Memories: Materialities, Aesthetics and the Archaeology of the Recent Past, 2014. Spencer Apollonio, Lands That Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland, 2008. Jens Fog Jensen and Tilo Krause, "Wehrmacht Occupations in the New World: Archaeological and Historical Investigations in Northeast Greenland," Polar Record 48:3 (2012), 269-279. Leif Vanggaard, "The Effects of Exhaustive Military Activities in Man: The Performance of Small Isolated Military Units in Extreme Environmental Conditions," Royal Danish Navy Gentofte (Denmark) Danish Armed Forces Health Services, 2001. "History: The Sledge Patrol," Arctic Journal, April 6, 2017. M.J. Dunbar, "Greenland During and Since the Second World War," International Journal 5:2 (Spring 1950), 121-140. Maria Ackrén and Uffe Jakobsen, "Greenland as a Self-Governing Sub-National Territory in International Relations: Past, Current and Future Perspectives," Polar Record 51:4 (July 2015), 404-412. Anthony K. Higgins, "Exploration History and Place Names of Northern East Greenland," Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Bulletin 21, 2010. David Howarth, "Secrets of the Unknown War," Saturday Evening Post 230:9 (Aug. 31, 1957), 30-90. Stephan Wilkinson, "10 Great POW Escapes," Military History 28:4 (November 2011), 28-33. Denver David Robinson, "The World's Most Unusual Military Unit," Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 2016. Robert P. Sables, "Coast Guard Emergency Acquisitions in WWII," Sea Classics 36:10 (October 2003), 12. "News From the Field," American Foreign Service Journal 21:7 (July 1944), 363, 397. Joe Alex Morris, "The Nazis Get Licked in Greenland," Saturday Evening Post 216:35 (Feb. 26, 1944), 16-86. Kevin L. Jamison, "The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival and Victory [review]," Military Review 83:4 (July/August 2003), 67. Denver David Robinson, "The Men on the Ice," Boston Globe, March 19, 2016, 1. "Danes Get Merit Medals; Group Is Honored for Reporting Nazi Base in Greenland," New York Times, June 10, 1944. Sidney Shalett, "Secret Nazi Base in Arctic Erased; U.S. Planes and Coast Guard Discover and Destroy Radio Station Off Greenland," New York Times, Nov. 10, 1943. Eric Niderost, "The Weather War of WWII," Warfare History Network, Dec. 11, 2018. Listener mail: "Debate to Decide How 'Shrewsbury' Should be Pronounced?", BBC News, July 2, 2015. "Shroosbury Voted the Triumphant Pronunciation in Charity Debate," University Centre Shrewsbury, July 3, 2015. "What Means 'Strekningsmåling' on Norwegian Roads?", Travel Blog Europe, June 19, 2018. Tanya Mohn, "Does The U.S. Take Road Safety Seriously? The Low Cost of Traffic Violations Suggests We Don't," Forbes, Nov. 27, 2018. "BBC's 'Top Gear' Allegedly Caught Speeding Through Norway at 151 MPH," Fox News, June 26, 2017. "Norway," Speeding Europe, July 7, 2019. Wikipedia, "SPECS (speed camera)" (accessed July 3, 2019). "Speed Cameras Catch One Million Offenders on A2 and A12 Last Year," DutchNews.nl, Feb. 7, 2018. Patrick Scott and Ellie Kempster, "A Record Two Million Speeding Tickets Were Handed Out Last Year -- How Punitive Are the Roads You Drive on?", Telegraph, Oct. 25, 2018. Wikipedia, "Pit Stop" (accessed July 4, 2019). Wikipedia, "Denny Hulme" (accessed July 4, 2019). "Denny Hulme," New Zealand History, Nov. 8, 2017. "Denny Hulme," ESPN (accessed July 4, 2019). Susan Orlean, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, 2011. Susan Orlean, "The Dog Star," New Yorker, Aug. 22, 2011. Bruce Davis, "No, Rin Tin Tin Didn't Really Win the First Best Actor Oscar," The Wrap, Feb. 15, 2017. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Greg. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1930 Harold Lasseter claimed he'd discovered an enormous deposit of gold in the remote interior of Australia, and a small group of men set off into the punishing desert in search of a fortune estimated at 66 million pounds. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Lasseter's reef, one of the most enduring legends of the Australian outback. We'll also reconsider the mortality rates of presidents and puzzle over an unlocked door. Intro: Where is pain? In the early 1800s a Frenchman known as Tarrare gained fame for eating practically anything. Sources for our feature on Lasseter's reef: David Hill, Gold!: The Fever That Forever Changed Australia, 2010. Ion Llewellyn Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, 1940. National Library of Australia, National Treasures from Australia's Great Libraries, 2005. Andrew Bain, "Lasseter's Footsteps," Australian Geographic 69 (January-March 2003), 100. Declan Cooley, "Gladstone Man's Massive Gold Find Claim, Needs Mining Giant," [Gladstone, Queensland] Observer, Feb. 24, 2017. Simon Caterson, "Lasseter's Gold: Search for Reef a Sparkling Story by Warren Brown," Australian, Sept. 5, 2015. Warren Brown, "Lasseter's Gold: Could Letter Finally Solve the Mystery of Dead Explorer Harold Lasseter and Gold Treasure?" Sunday Telegraph, Sept. 12, 2015. Bob Watt, "Battered Suitcase Reveals a Rich History," Northern Territory News, May 3, 2015, 38. "Google Earth Helps in Hunt for Lasseter's Reef of Gold," Sunshine Coast Daily, July 2, 2013, 2. Kathy Marks, "El Dorado 'Found' on Google Earth," Independent, June 30, 2013. "Lasseter's Legendary Reef of Gold Still Beckoning Aussie 'Battlers,'" New Zealand Herald, June 22, 2013, B.4. Nicole Hasham, "Google Puts Gold on Map for Mates Seeking Lasseter's Reef," Sydney Morning Herald, Nov. 10, 2012, 10. Sally Brooks, "Lasseter's Reef: Rock Samples Gold Test Riddle," Centralian Advocate, Nov. 11, 2011, 5. "NT: eBay Map Could Hold Key to Lasseter's Reef," AAP General News Wire, Sept. 27, 2011. Mark Day, "Lasseter's Legendary Gold Still Beckons," Weekend Australian, Sept. 24, 2011, 5. Penelope Bergen, "Alice Focus in Hunt for Lasseter's Reef," Centralian Advocate, May 4, 2010, 3. Alison Bevege, "'I've Found Lasseter's Reef,'" [Brisbane] Courier-Mail, May 10, 2007. Penelope Bergen, "Lasseter's Reef Is Real, Claims Son," ABC Rural, April 13, 2010. "Lasseter's Reef Remains Legend," Gold Coast Bulletin, July 15, 2006, 13. Rebel Black, "In the Footsteps of a Famous Father," Daily Telegraph, June 1, 2002, 13. Noula Tsavdaridis, "Lasseter's Reef: Fabulous Fortune or Fool's Gold," Daily Telegraph, Jan. 24, 2002, 27. "Outback Treasure Australian Firm May Be on Trail of Gold Deposit," Reuters, Sept. 6, 1990, 3D. "Has Lasseter's Reef Been Found?" Australian Women's Weekly, Oct. 26, 1935. "Gold Rush in Desert Is Aided by Planes," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 14, 1932. "Geologist Gets Trace of Fabulous Gold Reef; Will Face Australian Desert Perils to Find It," New York Times, May 25, 1931. In a sense, Lasseter has never ceased his search -- above his grave in an Alice Springs cemetery is a statue perpetually assaying the desert sands. It bears an inscription by Theodore Roosevelt: It is not the critic who counts, or how the strong man stumbled and fell or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion and spends himself in a worthy cause. If he fails, he fails by daring greatly, So that he will never be one of those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory or defeat. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Mortality Rate" (accessed June 27, 2019). "Measures of Risk: Mortality Frequency Measures," Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006. "Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities: Dangerous Jobs," Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 28, 2018. Guy A. Toscano, "Dangerous Jobs," Compensation and Working Conditions 2 (Summer 1997), 57-60. "National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017," Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dec. 18, 2018. Michael B. Sauter and Charles Stockdale, "25 Most Dangerous Jobs in America," 24/7 Wall St., Jan. 2, 2019. Wikipedia, "Remembrance of the Daleks: Filming and Effects" (accessed June 24, 2019). "These 10 Towns in Idaho Have the Most Bizarre Names," Only in Your State, Jan. 21, 2016. Wikipedia, "Dickshooter, Idaho" (accessed June 29, 2019). "Tobar, Nevada," Howard Hickson's Histories, Great Basin College, Nevada, 2005. Wikipedia, "Eagle, Alaska" (accessed July 1, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Gregory LeBlanc. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!