February 25, 2025 • 9 mins
Today's trip through the Cabinet will be both sweet and sour.
Order the official Cabinet of Curiosities book by clicking here today, and get ready to enjoy some curious reading!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
On September ninth of twenty twenty two, John Chapel walked
the grounds of Buckingham Palace, black ribbons in hand. The
nation was in mourning just a day before Queen Elizabeth
had passed away, ending her seventy year reign over the
United Kingdom. The Queen's death was the top story broadcast worldwide.
It seemed like practically everyone on earth had heard the news,
(00:59):
but still till someone had to tell the bees. As
part of his duties as Royal beekeeper, John went hive
to hive, tying black ribbons to their entrances and informing
the bees their mistress had moved on. They shouldn't worry.
He told them their new master, King Charles the Third,
would be good to them. For centuries, beekeepers just like
(01:19):
John have been careful to inform their buzzing charges when
their owners die. According to superstition, if the bees weren't
told bad things could happen to the colony, they might
fly away, stop producing honey, or even die themselves. It's
not clear when or where exactly the superstition started, but
records of the practice exist throughout the UK, Ireland, Germany, France,
(01:42):
the Czech Republic, and even parts of the United States now.
Telling the bees is a ritual that differs from place
to place. In some traditions, the hive was turned so
that it could watch the funeral procession. In others, it
was customary to leave a piece of cake from the
service as a gift to the bees. Any of these
customs highlight the historically close relationship between humans and bees.
(02:05):
They aren't just fuzzy bugs. They're important members of the household,
with their own thoughts, feelings, and grief. In one case,
the Associated Press reported on back in nineteen fifty six,
the bees actually attended a funeral when a beekeeper named
John Zeppa died in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. His
mourners arrived at the tent erected over the grave to
(02:27):
find a swarm of unexpected guests. According to the news article.
Bees buzzed lazily around the ceiling of the tent and
rested on the funerary flowers. Perhaps it was their way
of saying goodbye to their beloved caretaker. Although the practice
comes from nineteenth century folklore, its roots may actually be ancient.
Bees have been associated with death and the underworld for millennia.
(02:50):
In ancient Egypt, for example, honey was important in certain
burial rituals and may even have been used to preserve bodies.
Because honey is anti microbe, it can slow bacteria as
they break tissue down. This is probably why honey was
also used in Babylon, where Babylonians supposedly buried their dead
in the liquid. In both Egyptian and Celtic mythologies, bees
(03:12):
were seen as messengers that could cross boundaries into the
realm of the gods or the land of the dead.
When Christianity spread to Celtic lands, early Christians co opted
these beliefs as well. But don't worry, you don't have
to wait for someone to die to talk to your
ap and amigos. In fact, many of the traditions about
talking to bees maintained that you must keep them updated
(03:34):
on all new changes to a household, deaths, births, marriages,
and children moving out. Throughout the Victorian era, it was
customary to decorate hives with flowers for a wedding in
the United Kingdom. Perhaps this was their way of getting
bees into the party spirit. In some cases, it was
necessary to make sure the bees were fed too, by
leaving them a slice of wedding cake, and in certain
(03:56):
regions of Germany, newly weds needed to introduce themselves as
a couple to the bees of the household lest they
suffer an unhappy marriage. Today, we know that bees play
an important role in all of our lives, whether we
have hives in our backyard or not. Bees are essential
to pollinating plants, from the trees that give us shade
and oxygen to the crops that feed us. Without them,
(04:18):
we all suffer, and with the rise of pesticides, habitat loss,
and global warming, the bees need our help if they
hope to survive. So go tell those bees thanks for
all their hard work. And if you're dealing with grief,
maybe try telling the bees bitter loss can go down
easier with just a bit of honey. Many of us
(04:50):
wish that we could get on a horse and ride
into the countryside, never to be bothered by civilization again.
We dream of setting up our own little kingdoms where
everyone does what we say and agrees that we are
the best person to lead. Of course, this is all ego,
and most of us lack the arrogance and persistence that
it would take to truly become a cult like king figure.
(05:11):
But of course history is full of those who took
their monarchical ambitions beyond the realm of their imagination. None, however,
have ever done it with as much bizarre brutal flare
as the Baron Roman von ungen Sternberg. Roman was always
a troubled boy, to say the least, the kind who
creeps out all of his classmates and even the teachers.
(05:33):
Born into Baltic German nobility, his favorite childhood hobby was
dissecting small animals. It worked out for him, then, that
by the time he reached adulthood, World War One broke
out and he was enlisted as an officer. His family
had sent sworn allegiance to the Tsar of Russia, and
so he fought viciously for that nation. But Roman's violent
tendencies got the better of him. Man. He was eventually
(05:55):
court martialed and jailed for slicing another officer in the
face with his sword. Once again, history was on his side,
as the Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen began a civil
war between the Bolshevik Reds and the monarchist Whites. The
whites needed all the help they could get and welcomed
Roman into their ranks. Roman was a lunatic, but he
(06:15):
was a loyal noble through and through. He hated the
communist Bolsheviks, not just because they threatened his family's wealth,
but because he literally associated them with demonic forces. You see,
Roman bought into the mysticism craze that swept the nobles
of Europe during this time. He followed a strange mixture
of Lutheranism, Buddhism, and occult beliefs. As such, he believed
(06:37):
in the divine right of kings, the journey of the
Spirit towards enlightenment, and was adamantly antisemitic. When the Whites
sent him to guard the Chinese border while they fought
the Bolsheviks, he took on the mission as his holy duty.
He oversaw his territory with deadly zeal, executing any civilian
or officer who dissobate his orders or committed what he
(06:59):
saw as a sin. The only problem was the Whites
rapidly lost the civil war, with the Tzar being executed
in nineteen eighteen. All of Roman's diligence was for nothing.
Completely disillusion and looking for a sign from God, he
received it when Bog Khan, the monarch of Mongolia, reached
out to him to form an alliance. The Chinese had
(07:20):
invaded Mongolia and the Khan needed help driving them out.
This suited Roman just fine. If he couldn't defend the
Tsar anymore as a cavalryman, then he would defend the
Khan as one of his warlords. And so from nineteen
nineteen to nineteen twenty one, Roman led his small army
on hit and run attacks against the Chinese in Mongolia.
They often overwhelmed much larger forces, too. None of his
(07:44):
men dared to go against him. The Chinese might shoot
you or stab you, but Roman he would boil you
alive in an oven, or whip you until your flesh
fell off your bones. His ultimate victory, though, came when
he had his men surround the Chinese held Mongolian capital
with bonfires making it look as if the city was
surrounded by a huge horde. It was as if Genghis
Khan had come back to life to reclaim his homeland.
(08:06):
And once they breached the walls, they rushed in and
he slaughtered all of the Chinese and European Jews that
he found inside. It was a vicious and bloody act
in a vicious and bloody time. By today's standards, Roman
was a monster, but to the Mongols he was a god.
In fact, when Roman returned the capital to Bugged Khan,
the Khan gave him an honorary title and referred to
(08:29):
him as the God of War. Roman dreamed of continuing
his crusade, leading the Mongols to capture China and Russia,
creating a Mongol Russian empire that would eventually conquer the world,
but he seems to have forgotten about the massive Red
army to the north. When the Bolsheviks now better known
as the Soviets, heard that the white Russian commander had
(08:49):
conquered Mongolia, they wasted no time in sending troops to
take it back from him. They installed the Communist government
and executed Roman by firing squad. He died at thirty five,
having lived a life that was equal parts ambitious and horrific,
and taught us the lesson that the best way to
unite is not to divide. I hope you've enjoyed today's
(09:15):
guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free
on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by
me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I
make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show, and you can learn all
(09:37):
about it over at the Worldolore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious.
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
On September ninth of twenty twenty two, John Chapel walked
the grounds of Buckingham Palace, black ribbons in hand. The
nation was in mourning just a day before Queen Elizabeth
had passed away, ending her seventy year reign over the
United Kingdom. The Queen's death was the top story broadcast worldwide.
It seemed like practically everyone on earth had heard the news,
(00:59):
but still till someone had to tell the bees. As
part of his duties as Royal beekeeper, John went hive
to hive, tying black ribbons to their entrances and informing
the bees their mistress had moved on. They shouldn't worry.
He told them their new master, King Charles the Third,
would be good to them. For centuries, beekeepers just like
(01:19):
John have been careful to inform their buzzing charges when
their owners die. According to superstition, if the bees weren't
told bad things could happen to the colony, they might
fly away, stop producing honey, or even die themselves. It's
not clear when or where exactly the superstition started, but
records of the practice exist throughout the UK, Ireland, Germany, France,
(01:42):
the Czech Republic, and even parts of the United States now.
Telling the bees is a ritual that differs from place
to place. In some traditions, the hive was turned so
that it could watch the funeral procession. In others, it
was customary to leave a piece of cake from the
service as a gift to the bees. Any of these
customs highlight the historically close relationship between humans and bees.
(02:05):
They aren't just fuzzy bugs. They're important members of the household,
with their own thoughts, feelings, and grief. In one case,
the Associated Press reported on back in nineteen fifty six,
the bees actually attended a funeral when a beekeeper named
John Zeppa died in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. His
mourners arrived at the tent erected over the grave to
(02:27):
find a swarm of unexpected guests. According to the news article.
Bees buzzed lazily around the ceiling of the tent and
rested on the funerary flowers. Perhaps it was their way
of saying goodbye to their beloved caretaker. Although the practice
comes from nineteenth century folklore, its roots may actually be ancient.
Bees have been associated with death and the underworld for millennia.
(02:50):
In ancient Egypt, for example, honey was important in certain
burial rituals and may even have been used to preserve bodies.
Because honey is anti microbe, it can slow bacteria as
they break tissue down. This is probably why honey was
also used in Babylon, where Babylonians supposedly buried their dead
in the liquid. In both Egyptian and Celtic mythologies, bees
(03:12):
were seen as messengers that could cross boundaries into the
realm of the gods or the land of the dead.
When Christianity spread to Celtic lands, early Christians co opted
these beliefs as well. But don't worry, you don't have
to wait for someone to die to talk to your
ap and amigos. In fact, many of the traditions about
talking to bees maintained that you must keep them updated
(03:34):
on all new changes to a household, deaths, births, marriages,
and children moving out. Throughout the Victorian era, it was
customary to decorate hives with flowers for a wedding in
the United Kingdom. Perhaps this was their way of getting
bees into the party spirit. In some cases, it was
necessary to make sure the bees were fed too, by
leaving them a slice of wedding cake, and in certain
(03:56):
regions of Germany, newly weds needed to introduce themselves as
a couple to the bees of the household lest they
suffer an unhappy marriage. Today, we know that bees play
an important role in all of our lives, whether we
have hives in our backyard or not. Bees are essential
to pollinating plants, from the trees that give us shade
and oxygen to the crops that feed us. Without them,
(04:18):
we all suffer, and with the rise of pesticides, habitat loss,
and global warming, the bees need our help if they
hope to survive. So go tell those bees thanks for
all their hard work. And if you're dealing with grief,
maybe try telling the bees bitter loss can go down
easier with just a bit of honey. Many of us
(04:50):
wish that we could get on a horse and ride
into the countryside, never to be bothered by civilization again.
We dream of setting up our own little kingdoms where
everyone does what we say and agrees that we are
the best person to lead. Of course, this is all ego,
and most of us lack the arrogance and persistence that
it would take to truly become a cult like king figure.
(05:11):
But of course history is full of those who took
their monarchical ambitions beyond the realm of their imagination. None, however,
have ever done it with as much bizarre brutal flare
as the Baron Roman von ungen Sternberg. Roman was always
a troubled boy, to say the least, the kind who
creeps out all of his classmates and even the teachers.
(05:33):
Born into Baltic German nobility, his favorite childhood hobby was
dissecting small animals. It worked out for him, then, that
by the time he reached adulthood, World War One broke
out and he was enlisted as an officer. His family
had sent sworn allegiance to the Tsar of Russia, and
so he fought viciously for that nation. But Roman's violent
tendencies got the better of him. Man. He was eventually
(05:55):
court martialed and jailed for slicing another officer in the
face with his sword. Once again, history was on his side,
as the Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen began a civil
war between the Bolshevik Reds and the monarchist Whites. The
whites needed all the help they could get and welcomed
Roman into their ranks. Roman was a lunatic, but he
(06:15):
was a loyal noble through and through. He hated the
communist Bolsheviks, not just because they threatened his family's wealth,
but because he literally associated them with demonic forces. You see,
Roman bought into the mysticism craze that swept the nobles
of Europe during this time. He followed a strange mixture
of Lutheranism, Buddhism, and occult beliefs. As such, he believed
(06:37):
in the divine right of kings, the journey of the
Spirit towards enlightenment, and was adamantly antisemitic. When the Whites
sent him to guard the Chinese border while they fought
the Bolsheviks, he took on the mission as his holy duty.
He oversaw his territory with deadly zeal, executing any civilian
or officer who dissobate his orders or committed what he
(06:59):
saw as a sin. The only problem was the Whites
rapidly lost the civil war, with the Tzar being executed
in nineteen eighteen. All of Roman's diligence was for nothing.
Completely disillusion and looking for a sign from God, he
received it when Bog Khan, the monarch of Mongolia, reached
out to him to form an alliance. The Chinese had
(07:20):
invaded Mongolia and the Khan needed help driving them out.
This suited Roman just fine. If he couldn't defend the
Tsar anymore as a cavalryman, then he would defend the
Khan as one of his warlords. And so from nineteen
nineteen to nineteen twenty one, Roman led his small army
on hit and run attacks against the Chinese in Mongolia.
They often overwhelmed much larger forces, too. None of his
(07:44):
men dared to go against him. The Chinese might shoot
you or stab you, but Roman he would boil you
alive in an oven, or whip you until your flesh
fell off your bones. His ultimate victory, though, came when
he had his men surround the Chinese held Mongolian capital
with bonfires making it look as if the city was
surrounded by a huge horde. It was as if Genghis
Khan had come back to life to reclaim his homeland.
(08:06):
And once they breached the walls, they rushed in and
he slaughtered all of the Chinese and European Jews that
he found inside. It was a vicious and bloody act
in a vicious and bloody time. By today's standards, Roman
was a monster, but to the Mongols he was a god.
In fact, when Roman returned the capital to Bugged Khan,
the Khan gave him an honorary title and referred to
(08:29):
him as the God of War. Roman dreamed of continuing
his crusade, leading the Mongols to capture China and Russia,
creating a Mongol Russian empire that would eventually conquer the world,
but he seems to have forgotten about the massive Red
army to the north. When the Bolsheviks now better known
as the Soviets, heard that the white Russian commander had
(08:49):
conquered Mongolia, they wasted no time in sending troops to
take it back from him. They installed the Communist government
and executed Roman by firing squad. He died at thirty five,
having lived a life that was equal parts ambitious and horrific,
and taught us the lesson that the best way to
unite is not to divide. I hope you've enjoyed today's
(09:15):
guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free
on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by
visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by
me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I
make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast,
book series, and television show, and you can learn all
(09:37):
about it over at the Worldolore dot com. And until
next time, stay curious.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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