Show Notes
John Hornby left a privileged background in England to roam the vast subarctic tundra of northern Canada. There he became known as "the hermit of the north," famous for staying alive in a land with very few resources. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll spend a winter with Hornby, who's been called "one of the most colorful adventurers in modern history." We'll also consider an anthropologist's reputation and puzzle over an unreachable safe. Intro: In 1902, Ambrose Bierce proposed that we learn to sever our social ties. Can it make sense to pray for a change in the past? Sources for our feature on John Hornby: Malcolm Waldron, Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands, 1931. Pierre Berton, Prisoners of the North, 2011. David F. Pelly, Thelon: A River Sanctuary, 1996. Morten Asfeldt and Bob Henderson, eds., Pike's Portage: Stories of a Distinguished Place, 2010. Misao Dean, Inheriting a Canoe Paddle: The Canoe in Discourses of English-Canadian Nationalism, 2013. Michael D. Pitt, Beyond the End of the Road: A Winter of Contentment North of the Arctic Circle, 2009. Mckay Jenkins, Bloody Falls of the Coppermine: Madness and Murder in the Arctic Barren Lands, 2007. Clive Powell-Williams, Cold Burial: A True Story of Endurance and Disaster, 2003. Brook Sutton, "Long Before McCandless, John Hornby Tested Himself in Northern Canada -- and Failed," Adventure Journal, Oct. 27, 2016. C.B. Sikstrom, "Hjalmar Nelson Hamar (1894–1967)," Arctic 67:3 (2014), 407-409. Alex M. Hall, "Pike's Portage: Stories of a Distinguised Place, Edited by Morten Asfeldt and Bob Henderson," Arctic 63:3 (2010), 364-365. David F. Pelly, "Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands," Arctic 53:1 (March 2000), 81-82. Hugh Stewart, "Arctic Profiles: John Hornby," Arctic 37:2 (June 1984), 184-185. M.T. Kelly, "Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands," Books in Canada 27:7 (October 1998), 29. Thomas H. Hill, "John Hornby: Legend or Fool," Torch Magazine 89:2 (Winter 2016), 6-9. Martin Zeilig, "Touring Canada's Untouched North a Treat," [Regina, Sask.] Leader Post, Oct. 27, 2006, F2. "Privation and Death in 'the Barrens,'" Toronto Star, Aug. 9, 1987, A8. Anne Ross, "John Hornby," Globe and Mail, March 21, 1978, P.6. George J. Lustre, "Hornby's Adventures," Globe and Mail, March 10, 1978, P.7. Allan Irving, "John Hornby," Globe and Mail, March 9, 1978, P.6. "Last Hours of John Hornby Are Pictured by Christian," [Washington D.C.] Evening Star, Dec. 31, 1929, 2. "Bodies of Three Explorers Found," [Washington D.C.] Evening Star, Sept. 6, 1928, 29. "Identity of Bodies Not Entirely Clear," New Britain [Conn.] Herald, Aug. 15, 1928, 10. "Musk-Ox Sanctuary," Montreal Gazette, Aug. 26, 1927. James Charles Critchell Bullock Archive, Sherborne School, June 1, 2015. John Ferns, "Hornby, John," Dictionary of Canadian Biography (accessed Nov. 8, 2020). Listener mail: "Building Name Review: Kroeber Hall," Berkeley: Office of the Chancellor (accessed Nov. 7, 2020). "Proposal to Un-Name Kroeber Hall," UC Berkeley Building Name Review Committee, July 1, 2020. Karl Kroeber and Clifton B. Kroeber, Ishi in Three Centuries, 2003. Vicky Baker, "Last Survivor: The Story of the 'World's Loneliest Man,'" BBC News, July 20, 2018. Dom Phillips, "Footage of Sole Survivor of Amazon Tribe Emerges," Guardian, July 19, 2018. Monte Reel, "The Most Isolated Man on the Planet," Slate, Aug. 20, 2010. 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
More from Futility Closet
For this final episode of the Futility Closet podcast we have eight new lateral thinking puzzles — play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Sears used to sell houses by mail. Many of Lewis Carroll's characters were suggested by fireplace tiles in his Oxford study. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In some cases we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from Greg. Here are two links. Puzzle #2 is from listener Diccon Hyatt, who sent this link. Puzzle #3 is from listener Derek Christie, who sent this link. Puzzle #4 is from listener Reuben van Selm. Puzzle #5 is from listener Andy Brice. Puzzle #6 is from listener Anne Joroch, who sent this link. Puzzle #7 is from listener Steve Carter and his wife, Ami, inspired by an item in Jim Steinmeyer's 2006 book The Glorious Deception. Puzzle #8 is from Agnes Rogers' 1953 book How Come? A Book of Riddles, sent to us by listener Jon Jerome. 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. Many thanks to Doug Ross for providing the music for this whole ridiculous enterprise, and for being my brother. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
One of the most remarkable pilots of World War II never fired a shot or dropped a bomb. With his pioneering aerial reconnaissance, Sidney Cotton made a vital contribution to Allied planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his daring adventures in the war's early months. We'll also revisit our very first story and puzzle over an unknown Olympian. Intro: Hall's Law holds that a group's social class is reflected in its members' initials. In 1814 Richard Porson wrote a sonnet to nothing. Sources for our feature on Sidney Cotton: Michael Smith, The Secret Agent's Bedside Reader: A Compendium of Spy Writing, 2019. Chaz Bowyer, Air War Over Europe: 1939-1945, 2003. David Marshall and Bruce Harris, Wild About Flying!: Dreamers, Doers, and Daredevils, 2003. "Spies in the Sky: The Secret Battle for Aerial Intelligence During World War II," Contemporary Review 294:1705 (June 2012), 249. Taylor Downing, "Spying From the Sky," History Today 61:11 (November 2011), 10-16. "Sidney's Sky Spies," Air Classics 37:12 (December 2001), 30. Walter J. Boyne, "Reconnaissance on the Wing," Air Force Magazine 82 (1999), 72-78. "Parkes Display Plane's Remarkable Career," Parkes [N.S.W.] Champion Post, Nov. 1, 2015. Jessica Howard, "Daughter Tells of Spy Who Loved Her," [Hobart Town, Tas.] Mercury, July 27, 2013. "007 Cotton Inspires Bond," Gold Coast Bulletin, Sept. 27, 2008. "Aussie Maverick Who Fooled Nazis," [Surry Hills, N.S.W.] Daily Telegraph, Nov. 9, 2002. Christopher Bantick, "Aussie Spy in the Sky," [Hobart Town, Tas.] Mercury, Nov. 2, 2002. Stephen Holt, "Oh, What a Lovely War," [Brisbane, Qld.] Courier-Mail, Oct. 19, 2002. David Morris, "The Real Bond - Revealed: 007 Was Actually a Queenslander," [Brisbane, Qld.] Sunday Mail, July 15, 2001. David Wroe, "The Original Spy in the Sky," [Melbourne] Age, June 8, 2000. "He Fought the R.A.F. as Well as the Enemy," Sydney Morning Herald, April 12, 1969. "The Cheeky Missions of a Young Spy-Flier Helped to Save Thousands of Allied Lives," Sydney Morning Herald, Feb. 9, 1969. "May Be the Wreckage of French Airplane," Morristown [Tenn.] Gazette Mail, July 15, 1927. "Search for Lost Men Is to Be Discussed," New Britain [Ct.] Herald, July 14, 1927. "Plans Search By Air For Nungesser, Coli," New York Times, May 26, 1927. "Was Proserpine's Sidney Cotton the Real James Bond?" Breakfast, ABC, Sept. 19, 2021. "Guide to the Papers of Frederick Sidney Cotton," Australian War Memorial (accessed Nov. 1, 2021). John McCarthy, "Cotton, Frederick Sidney (1894–1969)," Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1993. Listener mail: Norman Fraser, "Sad Ending to Beautiful Betsy Wartime Mystery," [Brisbane] Courier-Mail, March 18, 2015. "Beautiful Betsy," Monument Australia (accessed Nov. 13, 2021). "Monto-Historical and Cultural," North Burnett, Queensland (accessed Nov. 14, 2021). "Cylinder, Iowa," Wikipedia (accessed Nov. 18, 2021). "The Skeleton in the Bale," Atlanta Constitution, Oct. 2, 1892. (Greg's blog piece is here.) This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener S Wan. 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. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
In 1891, a mysterious figure appeared on the streets of London, dispensing pills to poor young women who then died in agony. Suspicion came to center on a Scottish-Canadian doctor with a dark past in North America. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the career of the Lambeth Poisoner, whose victims remain uncounted. We'll also consider a Hungarian Jules Verne and puzzle over an ambiguous sentence. Intro: How can an investor responsibly divest herself of stock in a company that she feels has acted immorally? Lightning can vitrify sand into rootlike tubes. Sources for our feature on Thomas Neill Cream: Dean Jobb, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer, 2021. Lee Mellor, Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder, 2012. Joshua A. Perper and Stephen J. Cina, When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How, 2010. John H. Trestrail III, Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys, 2007. Angus McLaren, A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, 1995. Paula J. Reiter, "Doctors, Detectives, and the Professional Ideal: The Trial of Thomas Neill Cream and the Mastery of Sherlock Holmes," College Literature 35:3 (Summer 2008), 57-95. Ian A. Burney, "A Poisoning of No Substance: The Trials of Medico-Legal Proof in Mid-Victorian England," Journal of British Studies 38:1 (January 1999), 59-92. Penelope Johnston, "The Murderous Ways of Dr Thomas Neill Cream," Medical Post 33:38 (Nov. 11, 1997), 47. Carolyn A. Conley, "A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream by Angus McLaren," American Historical Review 99:3 (June 1994), 899-900. Philippa Levin, "Modern Britain -- A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream by Angus McLaren," Canadian Journal of History 28:3 (December 1993), 595-597. E.H. Bensley, "McGill University's Most Infamous Medical Graduate," Canadian Medical Association Journal 109:10 (1973), 1024. "A Crazy Poisoner," British Medical Journal 1:3302 (April 12, 1924), 670. Michael Dirda, "A True-Crime Columnist Turns His Attention to Victorian-Era Serial Killer Thomas Neill Cream," Washington Post, Aug. 11, 2021. Evan F. Moore, "New Book Details Canadian Serial Killer's Murderous Legacy in Chicago and Beyond," Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. 10, 2021. Rick Kogan, "Story of Serial Killer Dr. Thomas Neill Cream Takes You on a Grand, Gruesome, Historical Journey, With His Time in Chicago," Chicago Tribune, July 22, 2021. W.M. Akers, "Getting Away With Murder, Literally," New York Times, July 13, 2021. "When Canada's 'Jack the Ripper' Serial Killer Struck in Ontario," Toronto Star, May 29, 2021. Marc Horne, "Doctor Who Had a Taste for Poison," Scotland on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. Jill Foran, "The Evil Deeds of Dr. Cream," The [Winnipeg] Beaver 86:4 (August/September 2006), 16-22. "Coincidences Point the Finger at Cream as the Ripper," [Regina, Saskatchewan] Leader-Post, May 5, 1979. "The Violent and Sadistic Dr. Cream," [Regina, Saskatchewan] Leader-Post, April 28, 1979. "Poisoner Trailed Over Three Countries," Knoxville [Tenn.] Journal, Feb. 2, 1947. Ruth Reynolds, "When Justice Triumphed," [New York] Daily News, Feb. 2, 1947. "His Last Letter," Waterloo [N.Y.] Advertiser, Dec. 9, 1892. "Cream's Joke," Arizona Republican, Nov. 30, 1892. "Execution of Neill," [Cardiff] Western Mail, Nov. 16, 1892. "Cream's Two Manias," Waterbury [Conn.] Evening Democrat, Nov. 16, 1892. "Execution of Neill, the Poisoner," Yorkshire Herald and the York Herald, Nov. 16, 1892. "A Demon Strangled," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 15, 1892. "Cream's Many Crimes," Boston Globe, Nov. 15, 1892. "Neill Cream Hanged," [Wilmington, Del.] Evening Journal, Nov. 15, 1892. "Neill Will Hang," [Brockway Centre, Mich.] Weekly Expositor, Oct. 28, 1892. "Neill Cream On Trial," [Wilmington, Del.] Eve
In 1856, a mysterious man appeared on the roads of Connecticut and New York, dressed in leather, speaking to no one, and always on the move. He became famous for his circuits through the area, which he followed with remarkable regularity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Leatherman, whose real identity remains unknown. We'll also consider the orientation of churches and puzzle over some balky ponies. Intro: Western Poland contains a grove of 400 pine trees that appear to have been deliberately bent. In 1902 Montgomery Carmichael published the life story of an imaginary man. Image: The Leatherman, photographed on June 9, 1885, by James F. Rodgers at the Bradley Chidsey House, Branford, Ct. Sources for our feature: Dan W. DeLuca, ed., The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend, 2008. Robert Marchant, Westchester: History of an Iconic Suburb, 2018. Jim Reisler, Walk of Ages: Edward Payson Weston's Extraordinary 1909 Trek Across America, 2015. Kathleen L. Murray, Berlin, 2001. Clark Wissler, The Indians of Greater New York and the Lower Hudson, 1909. Dave Zucker, "Who Was Westchester's Mysterious and Legendary Leatherman?" Westchester Magazine, March 24, 2021. Jon Campbell, "Mystery Man: Will Anyone Ever Know the Real Story Behind the Leatherman?" Village Voice, June 16, 2015. Steven R. Cooper, "Clues to the Past," Central States Archaeological Journal 58:3 (July 2011), 162-163. "Legend in Leather," Hudson Valley Magazine, March 11, 2010. Jim Fitzgerald, "Wanderer From 1800s Gets More Peaceful NY Grave," Associated Press, May 25, 2011. Dan Brechlin, "Leather Man Body May Yield Clues," [Meriden, Ct.] Record Journal, Jan. 3, 2011. "Would Leatherman Be Welcome Today?" New Haven Register, June 6, 2011. Pam McLoughlin, "Mystery Man," New Haven Register, Feb. 13, 2011. "Walker's Unusual Legend Is Told," Hartford Courant, Sept. 12, 2005. Steve Grant, "Final Journey Made to Resting Place of Legendary Wanderer," Hartford Courant, July 18, 1993. Steve Grant, "On the Road, Retracing the Leatherman's Path," Hartford Courant, June 20, 1993. Frances Phipps, "A Man Known by All, and by None," New York Times, Sept. 23, 1984. "The Leather Man," [Meriden, Ct.] Journal, July 19, 1886. "A Leather-Clad Hermit," Burlington [Vt.] Free Press, April 7, 1870. "Search For Clues Only Deepens 'Leatherman' Mystery," Morning Edition, National Public Radio, May 26, 2011. "Leatherman," Perception, WTIC-TV, Feb. 14, 1965. Listener mail: "Orientation of Churches," Wikipedia (accessed Oct. 10, 2021). Patrick Arneitz et al., "Orientation of Churches by Magnetic Compasses?" Geophysical Journal International 198:1 (2014), 1-7. "Brazil Nuts," ORAU Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity (accessed Oct. 10, 2021). "Natural Radioactivity in Food," EPA (accessed Oct. 14, 2021). "Brazil Nut," Wikipedia (accessed Oct. 16, 2021). G.V. Damiano, Hadhuch-Anti Hell-War: Monarchy's Victory; Constitution's Triumph; Tribute's Annihilation, 1922. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener James Venning. 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 [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
In 1616, British officer Nathaniel Courthope was sent to a tiny island in the East Indies to contest a Dutch monopoly on nutmeg. He and his men would spend four years battling sickness, starvation, and enemy attacks to defend the island's bounty. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Courthope's stand and its surprising impact in world history. We'll also meet a Serbian hermit and puzzle over an unusual business strategy. Intro: Should orangutans be regarded as human? How fast does time fly? Sources for our feature on Nathaniel Courthope: Giles Milton, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History, 2015. John Keay, The Honourable Company, 2010. Martine van Ittersum, The Dutch and English East India Companies, 2018. Sanjeev Sanyal, The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History, 2016. Paul Schellinger and Robert M. Salkin, eds., International Dictionary of Historic Places, 2012. Daniel George Edward Hall, History of South East Asia, 1981. H.C. Foxcroft, Some Unpublished Letters of Gilbert Burnet, the Historian, in The Camden Miscellany, Volume XI, 1907. William Foster, ed., Letters Received by the East India Company From Its Servants in the East, Volume 4, 1900. Samuel Rawson Gardiner, History of England From the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1895. W. Noel Sainsbury, Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, East Indies, China and Japan, 1617-1621, 1870. Martine Julia van Ittersum, "Debating Natural Law in the Banda Islands: A Case Study in Anglo–Dutch Imperial Competition in the East Indies, 1609–1621," History of European Ideas 42:4 (2016), 459-501. Geraldine Barnes, "Curiosity, Wonder, and William Dampier's Painted Prince," Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 6:1 (Spring-Summer 2006), 31-50. Barbara D. Krasner, "Nutmeg Takes Manhattan," Calliope 16:6 (February 2006), 28-31. Vincent C. Loth, "Armed Incidents and Unpaid Bills: Anglo-Dutch Rivalry in the Banda Islands in the Seventeenth Century," Modern Asian Studies 29:4 (October 1995), 705-740. Boies Penrose, "Some Jacobean Links Between America and the Orient (Concluded)," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 49:1 (January 1941), 51-61. Jennifer Hunter, "Better Than the David Price Deal? Trading Nutmeg for Manhattan," Toronto Star, Aug. 8, 2015. Janet Malehorn Spencer, "Island Was Bargain for Britain," [Mattoon, Ill.] Journal Gazette, Feb. 22, 2013. Kate Humble, "The Old Spice Route to the Ends of the Earth," Independent, Feb. 12, 2011. Sebastien Berger, "The Nutmeg Islanders Are Aiming to Spice Up Their Lives," Daily Telegraph, Oct. 9, 2004. Clellie Lynch, "Blood and Spice," [Pittsfield, Mass.] Berkshire Eagle, Nov. 11, 1999. Kevin Baker, "Spice Guys," New York Times, July 11, 1999. Robert Taylor, "How the Nutmeg Mania Helped Make History," Boston Globe, May 18, 1999. Giles Milton, "Manhattan Transfer," Sydney Morning Herald, April 10, 1999. Martin Booth, "All for the Sake of a Little Nutmeg Tree," Sunday Times, Feb. 28, 1999. Charles Nicholl, "Books: Scary Tales of an Old Spice World," Independent, Feb. 20, 1999. "Mr Sainsbury's East Indian Calendar," Examiner, March 18, 1871. "Courthopp, Nathaniel," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 1885. Listener mail: "Past Divisional Champs – Little League Baseball," Little League (accessed Oct. 6, 2021). "Serbian Cave Hermit Gets Covid-19 Vaccine, Urges Others to Follow," Straits Times, Aug. 13, 2021. Matthew Taylor, "The Real Story of Body 115," Guardian, Jan. 21, 2004. Godfrey Holmes, "Kings Cross Fire Anniversary: It's Been 30 Years Since the Deadly Fireball Engulfed the Tube Station," Independent, Nov. 18, 2017. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tom Salinsky. 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