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They're designed to be
diabolical and destructive...
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00:00:11,208 --> 00:00:16,042
They were bombs, hidden bombs,
attached to everyday objects.
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00:00:18,292 --> 00:00:19,792
Concealed killers,
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00:00:19,917 --> 00:00:22,207
waiting for the
unwary to trigger them.
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00:00:22,375 --> 00:00:28,667
28 men were scalded to death
by the steam boiler explosion.
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00:00:28,792 --> 00:00:30,500
From ancient tombs...
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00:00:30,625 --> 00:00:34,250
A series of crossbows,
just waiting for anyone
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00:00:34,375 --> 00:00:37,957
who would dare to try to
rob the grave of the emperor.
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00:00:38,042 --> 00:00:40,167
To world wars...
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00:00:40,292 --> 00:00:42,457
This is how bonkers
World War II could be.
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00:00:42,542 --> 00:00:45,667
You had smart people that
imagined the weaponization
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00:00:45,750 --> 00:00:47,457
of the Norwegian roof rat.
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00:00:47,542 --> 00:00:51,332
There was even a plan to
weaponize a chocolate bar.
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00:00:51,457 --> 00:00:55,500
Tonight, we'll explore the
evolution of booby traps,
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00:00:55,625 --> 00:00:58,667
sinister weapons
hidden in plain sight.
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00:01:04,207 --> 00:01:08,625
Not all inventions are
made with good intentions.
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00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:10,832
Unlock the twisted history
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00:01:10,957 --> 00:01:13,542
behind the world's
darkest marvels.
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00:01:18,375 --> 00:01:20,667
From movies to books,
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there's one surefire way
to add suspense to a story...
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Booby traps.
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00:01:29,332 --> 00:01:33,332
But these devices aren't
purely works of imagination.
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Ancient Egyptians used them
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00:01:36,207 --> 00:01:39,832
to safeguard the
tombs of pharaohs.
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The ancient Egyptians
believed that you had to take
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00:01:41,875 --> 00:01:45,167
everything you would
need in the afterlife with you.
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And the richer people in
ancient Egyptian society
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had a lot more
to take with them.
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00:01:49,667 --> 00:01:52,457
Things like rare
minerals, gold, and silver.
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00:01:52,542 --> 00:01:56,582
Things like wood that's been
imported, like cedar from the Lebanon.
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00:01:56,707 --> 00:01:59,500
And then all of that
material would be collected,
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pushed into these
tombs, and then sealed up,
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00:02:03,167 --> 00:02:05,582
locked away,
ostensibly for forever.
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00:02:05,707 --> 00:02:09,832
Also inside the
tombs are clever traps
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00:02:09,917 --> 00:02:11,832
designed to trick intruders,
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including those following orders
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from an infamous general.
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00:02:18,042 --> 00:02:21,167
August 1799.
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00:02:21,250 --> 00:02:24,332
Napoleon and the
French army invade Egypt.
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00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:27,667
Fascinated by the
civilization's great pharaohs,
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00:02:27,792 --> 00:02:32,042
Napoleon orders his engineers
to map the Valley of the Kings.
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There they uncover the
tomb of Amenhotep III,
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who ruled in the
14th century B.C.
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and a booby trap designed
to kill anyone who enters.
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00:02:44,542 --> 00:02:46,207
When you go into the tomb,
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if you were entering this
tomb in the 18th century,
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you head straight
down and hit a well,
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and it is a pit that is
25 feet straight down.
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00:02:55,542 --> 00:02:57,250
You're on your way
in there in the dark,
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00:02:57,375 --> 00:02:59,457
even if you have a torch,
and you hit that well room,
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you're gonna fall 25 feet to
your death, and then that's it.
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00:03:03,375 --> 00:03:05,500
The well appears
to be a variation
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on one of the oldest known
booby traps... the pit trap.
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00:03:12,707 --> 00:03:16,332
Early man uses it to
catch and kill animals,
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from wooly mammoths
to saber-toothed tigers.
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00:03:20,417 --> 00:03:22,500
After digging a deep hole,
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the opening is camouflaged
with lightweight debris.
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A single step sends
unsuspecting intruders
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00:03:28,832 --> 00:03:33,582
plummeting through a false
floor and into a dark abyss.
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00:03:33,707 --> 00:03:35,225
There aren't any
spikes at the bottom of it
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that we know of,
but there's not a way
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to walk around the well chamber.
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It just goes straight down.
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00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:44,667
So it is a means of
making it very difficult
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to get through to the
other side of the tomb.
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The well is just the
first line of defense.
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Behind the well itself
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00:03:52,375 --> 00:03:54,875
is this false wall that
you have to break down.
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So you have to figure out
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00:03:56,707 --> 00:03:59,792
how you're going to
bridge this expanse
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00:03:59,875 --> 00:04:03,582
while at the same time
break through this false wall.
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00:04:03,707 --> 00:04:05,832
And once you get
past the false wall,
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00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,667
there's more interesting stuff
in store because the tomb turns.
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00:04:08,792 --> 00:04:11,457
18th dynasty tombs
did this all the time.
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00:04:11,542 --> 00:04:15,542
They had a kind of circuitous
route that they would take,
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as if we're in the
underworld itself
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and there's no
straight lines anymore
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00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:21,292
and you can't quite
find your way in the dark.
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00:04:21,417 --> 00:04:24,582
And the tomb of Amenhotep
III is meant to replicate that.
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At the end of this labyrinth
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lies the pharaoh's
burial chamber,
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but it's empty.
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The Valley of the Kings
was systematically ransacked
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at the end of the 20th dynasty
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and into the
beginning of the 21st.
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They had stripped all of these
mummies of their precious metals...
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Silver, gold, all
of these things,
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And they were
able to recommodify
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00:04:47,125 --> 00:04:50,625
or resell a whole
number of things.
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But some ancient chambers
are found perfectly intact,
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most famously, the tomb of
Amenhotep's grandson... King Tut.
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00:05:00,041 --> 00:05:04,916
Tutankhamun was a king
of the late 18th dynasty.
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00:05:05,041 --> 00:05:08,333
And yet, when that tomb was
found in 1922 by Howard Carter,
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00:05:08,500 --> 00:05:12,333
an Egyptologist who was working
with his patron Lord Carnarvon,
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00:05:12,458 --> 00:05:15,250
it was found jam-packed
with all kinds of stuff.
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The discovery of Tutankhamun's
tomb was absolutely unprecedented,
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00:05:21,207 --> 00:05:26,707
a complete tomb, untouched,
all of the grave goods intact,
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the body intact, the
sarcophagus intact.
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Tutankhamun's tomb gave
us the first complete view
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of Egyptian society that
we had ever received.
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Nothing like this had been
discovered up to that point.
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And honestly, nothing like
this has been discovered since.
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Despite the vast
treasure it holds,
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there's no sign of a physical
booby trap in Tut's tomb.
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But rumors soon spread
of a different deterrent,
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one that also kills.
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Almost immediately,
we start to see headlines
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00:06:02,333 --> 00:06:05,541
talking about the
curse of the tomb,
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the curse of the mummy.
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Dateline, Egypt,
February 16th, 1923.
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00:06:12,208 --> 00:06:16,957
It's very easy to dismiss
this idea of spells and curses.
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But the idea of the tombs
as this special place,
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as being guarded
by this sacred magic
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that can strike against
you if you do not respect it,
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00:06:28,917 --> 00:06:31,542
this is not simply invented
by the modern media.
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The Egyptians themselves
thought of these places
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as being cursed and
protected by spells.
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00:06:37,917 --> 00:06:41,167
Six months after
the tomb is opened,
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a macabre series
of events unfolds.
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The man who funded the excavation
and all of this work, Lord Carnarvon,
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00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:54,082
he dies in a very unexpected
and strange manner.
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George J. Gould,
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00:06:55,875 --> 00:06:58,542
an American financier
who comes to the site,
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suddenly comes down with
pneumonia later that year
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00:07:01,833 --> 00:07:04,666
and then dies under
mysterious circumstances.
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00:07:04,791 --> 00:07:07,458
There's also Archibald
Douglas Reid,
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00:07:07,583 --> 00:07:10,250
the radiologist who
x-rays Tutankhamun,
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00:07:10,375 --> 00:07:13,041
and three days later, he dies.
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00:07:13,208 --> 00:07:17,125
Hugh Evelyn White, another British
archaeologist who looks upon the artifacts
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00:07:17,250 --> 00:07:21,875
and then shortly thereafter
unfortunately kills himself,
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leaving behind a note that he
has been overcome by this curse
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coming from Tutankhamun's tomb.
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Are these tragic deaths
just a strange coincidence?
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Or is it possible they result
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from a supernatural booby trap?
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Is the curse of the tomb
real? Beside the point.
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What matters is its
effectiveness as a deterrent,
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keeping people from
breaking into the tomb,
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00:07:49,542 --> 00:07:51,375
from threatening the
body of the pharaoh,
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that is what that booby
trap is actually all about.
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00:07:56,707 --> 00:07:58,625
Egypt isn't the only culture
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that protects its dead
rulers with hidden traps.
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Over 4,400 miles away,
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00:08:07,041 --> 00:08:09,375
in the Shaanxi
province of China,
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00:08:09,541 --> 00:08:12,958
there's a booby trap
worthy of Indiana Jones
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00:08:13,041 --> 00:08:17,082
guarding the majestic tomb
of the country's first emperor
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Qin Shi Huang.
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00:08:20,832 --> 00:08:26,625
This massive mausoleum is
discovered by farmers in 1974.
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00:08:26,707 --> 00:08:30,500
It is among, if not the
most intricate burial sites
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00:08:30,667 --> 00:08:32,667
for a single human
being that's ever existed.
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00:08:32,832 --> 00:08:35,582
Qin commissions its construction
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00:08:35,707 --> 00:08:38,707
after he takes the
throne in 246 B.C.
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An estimated 700,000 laborers
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00:08:42,707 --> 00:08:45,707
spend 38 years building it.
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00:08:45,832 --> 00:08:50,207
On completion, it's 20%
larger than the Great Pyramid.
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00:08:50,332 --> 00:08:54,667
The tomb is
surrounded by an army
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00:08:54,792 --> 00:08:57,500
of 8,000 terracotta warriors.
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They are meant
to protect his grave.
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00:09:00,125 --> 00:09:03,000
There's been plenty of
work done around the tomb,
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00:09:03,125 --> 00:09:06,667
but archaeologists are
yet to actually crack it open.
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00:09:06,750 --> 00:09:10,667
And the reason for that,
there are still safety concerns.
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00:09:10,792 --> 00:09:11,933
There's a lot of
mercury in there.
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00:09:11,957 --> 00:09:15,125
We know that from
ground samples.
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00:09:15,207 --> 00:09:19,125
According to ancient
Chinese historian Sima Qian,
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00:09:19,250 --> 00:09:22,500
mercury was considered
a wonder element
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00:09:22,582 --> 00:09:25,500
that bestowed immortality.
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00:09:25,625 --> 00:09:27,250
That mercury can't disappear.
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So even if it had evaporated,
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that elemental
mercury is still present
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in some capacity
inside the tombs.
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00:09:35,792 --> 00:09:38,292
And, of course, that's a
serious health consideration.
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What ends up happening
when you get mercury poisoning,
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it basically messes with your central
nervous system and your nerves,
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00:09:45,082 --> 00:09:46,875
and it also messes
with your kidneys.
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00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:49,832
It doesn't allow your kidneys
to function the appropriate way,
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00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,832
you get buildup of
byproducts that ultimately
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cause cardiac arrhythmia,
and then will die.
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Surprisingly, the
toxic mercury rivers
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are not designed for defense.
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00:10:00,832 --> 00:10:05,750
Something far more
deadly takes care of that.
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00:10:05,875 --> 00:10:07,794
Much of what we know
about what's inside the tomb
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00:10:07,875 --> 00:10:09,750
comes from Sima Qian.
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00:10:09,875 --> 00:10:14,167
His writings explain that
there are booby traps,
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00:10:14,292 --> 00:10:18,667
a series of crossbows
just waiting for anyone
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00:10:18,750 --> 00:10:22,917
who would dare to try to
rob the grave of the emperor.
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00:10:23,042 --> 00:10:26,500
Though many question if
the crossbows still work.
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00:10:26,667 --> 00:10:31,082
So far, there are no
volunteers to find out.
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00:10:31,207 --> 00:10:32,500
2,000 years is a long time.
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00:10:32,625 --> 00:10:34,042
There's plenty of
reason to expect
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00:10:34,167 --> 00:10:35,768
that those crossbows
are not going to fire.
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00:10:35,792 --> 00:10:37,625
All the same, you
got to ask yourself,
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00:10:37,707 --> 00:10:40,332
do you really want
to be the first person
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00:10:40,500 --> 00:10:44,542
that steps inside the
tomb to excavate?
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That's going to be the
person who really finds out
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00:10:47,375 --> 00:10:50,125
whether or not they've
endured the last 2,000 years.
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00:10:53,332 --> 00:11:01,332
But protecting the dead
isn't relegated to antiquity.
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00:11:01,457 --> 00:11:04,917
In 18th century England,
the study of human anatomy
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00:11:05,042 --> 00:11:08,000
is improving medical
care for the living,
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00:11:08,167 --> 00:11:13,417
while also creating a
demand for dead bodies.
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00:11:13,542 --> 00:11:18,250
As medicine becomes more
scientific, more formalized,
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00:11:18,375 --> 00:11:23,042
there is an increased need for
cadavers to teach anatomy to students.
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00:11:23,207 --> 00:11:27,000
The problem is that there are
not enough legally available bodies,
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00:11:27,167 --> 00:11:33,417
and there's a really pressing
need to get fresh corpses.
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00:11:33,542 --> 00:11:37,250
You can't just go dig up somebody who's
been dead for two weeks, three weeks.
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00:11:37,375 --> 00:11:41,667
They are no longer useful to learn
anatomy because of decomposition.
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00:11:41,832 --> 00:11:42,957
So, for fresh cadavers,
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00:11:43,082 --> 00:11:44,832
you need to employ grave robbers
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00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,417
who are going to be
watching out for new burials
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00:11:47,542 --> 00:11:49,417
and can go in and
steal these bodies.
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00:11:49,542 --> 00:11:52,582
Known as resurrectionists,
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00:11:52,707 --> 00:11:56,082
these body snatchers
can make a nice profit.
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00:11:56,207 --> 00:11:58,500
Cadavers, they're
not readily available,
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00:11:58,582 --> 00:11:59,893
and that's what
gives them their value,
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00:11:59,917 --> 00:12:02,000
so they turn a pretty penny.
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00:12:02,125 --> 00:12:03,764
The resurrectionists
would sell the bodies
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00:12:03,792 --> 00:12:05,750
from $5 to $30.
217
00:12:05,875 --> 00:12:07,582
And, if you look at
what that's worth now,
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00:12:07,707 --> 00:12:11,667
it's like $2,000 to $12,000.
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00:12:11,792 --> 00:12:14,417
So it was not a bad gig.
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00:12:14,542 --> 00:12:17,792
One frequent customer
is Dr. William Hewson,
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00:12:17,875 --> 00:12:21,750
known today as the
father of hematology.
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00:12:21,875 --> 00:12:24,375
William Hewson was a
very respected doctor,
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00:12:24,500 --> 00:12:26,957
and he was very knowledgeable
of the human body.
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00:12:27,042 --> 00:12:29,167
And in 1998, a group
of restorationists
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00:12:29,292 --> 00:12:30,792
went to 36 Craven Street
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00:12:30,917 --> 00:12:32,792
where Hewson had
been living in London,
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00:12:32,875 --> 00:12:35,082
and they found about 1,200 bones
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00:12:35,207 --> 00:12:37,000
underneath the
foundation of this house.
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00:12:37,082 --> 00:12:40,332
They were bones from men,
women, children, animals.
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00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:46,082
And the bones showed evidence
of scalpel marks and cuts,
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00:12:46,207 --> 00:12:48,082
like the kind of cuts
that you would make
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00:12:48,207 --> 00:12:51,000
when you were amputating a limb.
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00:12:51,125 --> 00:12:53,832
The grisly discovery
gets worldwide attention
234
00:12:53,957 --> 00:12:55,875
because of Hewson's roommate,
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00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,125
none other than
Benjamin Franklin,
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00:12:58,250 --> 00:13:02,750
who worked in London as
a diplomat in the mid-1700s.
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00:13:02,875 --> 00:13:05,500
This led to a whole
bunch of questions initially.
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00:13:05,625 --> 00:13:07,832
Was it possible that
Benjamin Franklin
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00:13:07,917 --> 00:13:09,875
was actually
maybe a serial killer?
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00:13:11,207 --> 00:13:13,167
No. It turned out that Hewson
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00:13:13,292 --> 00:13:15,832
was actually running an
underground anatomy school
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00:13:15,917 --> 00:13:18,207
and dissecting
loads of cadavers.
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00:13:18,332 --> 00:13:20,917
The medical schools
in London at the time
244
00:13:21,042 --> 00:13:22,750
were teaching anatomy
245
00:13:22,875 --> 00:13:25,832
but not teaching
anatomy as in depth
246
00:13:25,957 --> 00:13:28,500
as you would with a cadaver.
247
00:13:28,667 --> 00:13:33,875
So he opened essentially a private
anatomy school in the basement of the house
248
00:13:34,042 --> 00:13:35,792
that he was sharing
with Ben Franklin,
249
00:13:35,875 --> 00:13:38,332
teaching all of these
physicians about anatomy.
250
00:13:38,417 --> 00:13:41,000
But it doesn't
last terribly long.
251
00:13:41,082 --> 00:13:43,792
He dies at the age
of 34 from septicemia,
252
00:13:43,917 --> 00:13:45,582
or blood poisoning,
253
00:13:45,707 --> 00:13:49,792
probably from his work
cutting into cadavers.
254
00:13:49,875 --> 00:13:52,042
Hewson isn't the only doctor
255
00:13:52,167 --> 00:13:55,167
looking for fresh
cadavers to dissect.
256
00:13:55,250 --> 00:13:57,457
Both private and
public medical schools
257
00:13:57,542 --> 00:14:02,167
ramp up their demand,
which enrages the public.
258
00:14:02,250 --> 00:14:04,582
The idea that people
were being dissected
259
00:14:04,707 --> 00:14:06,832
was absolutely horrific to them,
260
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:08,582
because if these
bodies were cut up,
261
00:14:08,707 --> 00:14:09,832
where would their souls go?
262
00:14:09,957 --> 00:14:11,625
It might absolutely destroy
263
00:14:11,707 --> 00:14:12,988
people's lives
for the afterlife.
264
00:14:13,042 --> 00:14:15,707
And they riot.
265
00:14:15,832 --> 00:14:17,667
They go after the
medical schools
266
00:14:17,832 --> 00:14:19,625
because they recognize that
267
00:14:19,750 --> 00:14:21,582
if the medical
schools weren't buying,
268
00:14:21,707 --> 00:14:25,125
there would be
no resurrectionists.
269
00:14:25,207 --> 00:14:27,750
When authorities do
little to end the practice,
270
00:14:27,875 --> 00:14:31,082
some take matters
into their own hands.
271
00:14:31,207 --> 00:14:35,917
And so, we start seeing people
paying others to protect bodies
272
00:14:36,042 --> 00:14:39,707
until the body would be decomposed enough
to where it wouldn't be worth stealing.
273
00:14:39,832 --> 00:14:42,125
Cemeteries began
erecting watchtowers,
274
00:14:42,207 --> 00:14:44,248
and people were employed
to watch over the graveyard
275
00:14:44,292 --> 00:14:46,582
all night to make sure
nobody was going to come in.
276
00:14:46,707 --> 00:14:49,582
We also see the
use of mortsafes,
277
00:14:49,707 --> 00:14:52,292
these iron cages that
were placed over coffins
278
00:14:52,375 --> 00:14:55,042
that would make it impossible
for somebody to break in.
279
00:14:55,167 --> 00:14:58,167
As countless bodies
continue to vanish,
280
00:14:58,332 --> 00:15:01,375
inventors step up with
creative deterrents.
281
00:15:01,542 --> 00:15:05,167
The earliest is known
as the grave gun.
282
00:15:05,292 --> 00:15:08,792
This gun is a bit similar to a
shotgun. It has a shotgun barrel.
283
00:15:08,917 --> 00:15:11,957
It was placed on a grave,
284
00:15:12,082 --> 00:15:13,500
and someone
coming up to the grave
285
00:15:13,625 --> 00:15:15,292
would step on a trip wire.
286
00:15:15,375 --> 00:15:19,750
And this would trigger
the gun shooting the person
287
00:15:19,875 --> 00:15:22,082
who was coming up to the grave.
288
00:15:22,207 --> 00:15:23,667
The grave gun
was set up in a way
289
00:15:23,792 --> 00:15:26,500
so that way it was on a
swivel so it could turn towards
290
00:15:26,667 --> 00:15:28,267
the direction of the
actual grave robber.
291
00:15:29,292 --> 00:15:31,250
But even grave guns
292
00:15:31,375 --> 00:15:35,000
couldn't stop the most
determined robbers.
293
00:15:35,082 --> 00:15:37,417
Anatomists were
particularly interested
294
00:15:37,542 --> 00:15:40,417
in different type of
people, deformed people,
295
00:15:40,542 --> 00:15:41,957
people who were extremely tall,
296
00:15:42,082 --> 00:15:43,667
people who were extremely short.
297
00:15:43,792 --> 00:15:46,750
These bodies are rare, so
grave robbers will earn loads
298
00:15:46,875 --> 00:15:51,417
if they're able to excavate one of
these types of bodies for the anatomists.
299
00:15:51,542 --> 00:15:54,167
So an interesting
story occurs in 1817.
300
00:15:54,332 --> 00:15:59,292
In this year, a seven-foot-tall
soldier died, and he was buried.
301
00:15:59,417 --> 00:16:01,582
The caretaker of the cemetery
302
00:16:01,707 --> 00:16:04,832
knows that this soldier
is going to be a target,
303
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,000
and he sets up the
mega grave gun,
304
00:16:08,167 --> 00:16:10,707
which sounds like a
terrible B movie honestly.
305
00:16:10,832 --> 00:16:14,917
It is multiple grave guns
306
00:16:15,042 --> 00:16:17,332
pointing at the grave.
307
00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:21,917
This meant that one single trip wire
would set off several grave guns at once
308
00:16:22,042 --> 00:16:24,225
to make sure that they're
actually going to kill the person
309
00:16:24,250 --> 00:16:26,542
attempting to rob the grave.
310
00:16:26,667 --> 00:16:29,582
One night, the gravedigger
heard all the shots go off...
311
00:16:31,457 --> 00:16:33,875
and when he and other
authorities went to the grave,
312
00:16:34,042 --> 00:16:35,393
they found it actually
quite undisturbed.
313
00:16:35,417 --> 00:16:38,000
No one had actually
robbed the grave,
314
00:16:38,125 --> 00:16:39,917
but they did find a helmet
315
00:16:40,042 --> 00:16:42,500
that had a single
bullet hole in it.
316
00:16:42,625 --> 00:16:44,167
A bullet in the
brain is something
317
00:16:44,250 --> 00:16:46,582
that would have
been of interest also
318
00:16:46,707 --> 00:16:48,332
to the anatomy schools.
319
00:16:48,457 --> 00:16:51,457
So it is entirely possible
that this resurrectionist
320
00:16:51,582 --> 00:16:54,500
who got shot in the
head ended up themself
321
00:16:54,625 --> 00:16:57,375
on a dissection table
at a medical school.
322
00:16:59,125 --> 00:17:00,375
By 1832,
323
00:17:00,542 --> 00:17:02,292
new laws are enacted
in Great Britain
324
00:17:02,417 --> 00:17:05,458
to deter the body snatchers.
325
00:17:05,583 --> 00:17:07,333
The United Kingdom
passed the Anatomy Act,
326
00:17:07,458 --> 00:17:09,625
and what this did,
is for the first time,
327
00:17:09,708 --> 00:17:13,291
it allowed families to donate
bodies of their dead loved ones
328
00:17:13,416 --> 00:17:15,375
to medical schools
and anatomists.
329
00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,333
It also allowed people to
designate their own bodies
330
00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:21,041
after they died in order
to go to anatomists,
331
00:17:21,166 --> 00:17:22,625
and any unclaimed bodies,
332
00:17:22,750 --> 00:17:25,208
those who perhaps
had no family to speak of,
333
00:17:25,333 --> 00:17:29,041
those bodies could also get donated to
anatomists and other medical schools.
334
00:17:29,208 --> 00:17:31,541
And by 1844 in
the United Kingdom,
335
00:17:31,666 --> 00:17:34,041
grave robbing had pretty
much ceased to exist
336
00:17:34,208 --> 00:17:36,333
because it was no longer
a money-making endeavor.
337
00:17:36,500 --> 00:17:40,166
But it's a different
story in the U.S.
338
00:17:40,250 --> 00:17:43,375
As grave robbing
increases, a concerned public
339
00:17:43,541 --> 00:17:51,541
takes extreme steps to protect
their deceased loved ones.
340
00:17:51,791 --> 00:17:53,458
By the late 19th century,
341
00:17:53,541 --> 00:17:56,500
grave robbing is an
issue of public concern.
342
00:17:56,625 --> 00:18:00,250
But one incident in
1878 in North Bend, Ohio,
343
00:18:00,375 --> 00:18:03,666
triggers a national uproar.
344
00:18:03,791 --> 00:18:07,208
John Scott Harrison is an
interesting figure in U.S. history.
345
00:18:07,333 --> 00:18:10,000
He's the only man
346
00:18:10,125 --> 00:18:13,375
that is both the father
of a U.S. president
347
00:18:13,541 --> 00:18:15,250
and the son of a U.S. president.
348
00:18:15,375 --> 00:18:17,458
On May 29th, 1878,
349
00:18:17,541 --> 00:18:21,500
John Scott Harrison is
buried in an Ohio cemetery.
350
00:18:21,625 --> 00:18:27,250
His family is concerned about the rash
of grave robbings that have occurred,
351
00:18:27,375 --> 00:18:30,333
so they put John
Scott Harrison's body
352
00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:34,041
in a family vault
walled up by brick,
353
00:18:34,208 --> 00:18:37,666
and then hire a watchman
to check the grave
354
00:18:37,833 --> 00:18:39,666
every hour for a month.
355
00:18:39,750 --> 00:18:42,958
At the burial of
his late father,
356
00:18:43,041 --> 00:18:46,666
John Jr. Sees
something troubling.
357
00:18:46,791 --> 00:18:51,541
Harrison's son notices that
one of their family friends...
358
00:18:51,708 --> 00:18:56,833
Augustus Devin, who has
died just about 11 days before...
359
00:18:56,916 --> 00:18:58,791
That his grave
has been disturbed,
360
00:18:58,875 --> 00:19:01,625
that his body is missing.
361
00:19:03,666 --> 00:19:05,708
The family is shocked.
They're outraged.
362
00:19:05,833 --> 00:19:09,416
John Scott Harrison
Jr. Goes to the police,
363
00:19:09,541 --> 00:19:12,125
seeks out a warrant, so
that they can potentially
364
00:19:12,208 --> 00:19:15,625
go find the body
of Augustus Devin.
365
00:19:15,708 --> 00:19:18,458
John Jr. and the police
366
00:19:18,541 --> 00:19:24,333
eventually visit Ohio
Medical College in Cincinnati.
367
00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:28,166
They begin searching
the building with police.
368
00:19:28,250 --> 00:19:31,500
They move through the
building to the upstairs
369
00:19:31,666 --> 00:19:36,541
and find a square hole on
the second floor of the building.
370
00:19:36,666 --> 00:19:39,083
In that hole, there's a rope.
371
00:19:39,208 --> 00:19:41,333
The rope is attached to a body.
372
00:19:41,458 --> 00:19:45,083
They think they've
found Augustus Devin.
373
00:19:45,208 --> 00:19:48,500
When they pull up the rope,
374
00:19:48,583 --> 00:19:51,083
it's the body of
Harrison's father,
375
00:19:51,208 --> 00:19:53,041
John Scott Harrison.
376
00:19:53,208 --> 00:19:59,291
The discovery
causes a firestorm.
377
00:19:59,375 --> 00:20:01,666
This idea that somebody as
important as Scott Harrison
378
00:20:01,791 --> 00:20:05,500
can still end up as a successful
target of the resurrectionists
379
00:20:05,583 --> 00:20:09,583
really is the spark that
kicks off this sort of industry
380
00:20:09,708 --> 00:20:14,791
of booby-trapping
graves with explosives.
381
00:20:16,833 --> 00:20:19,458
One of the earliest attempts
382
00:20:19,541 --> 00:20:22,875
comes from Ohio
inventor Philip Clover.
383
00:20:23,041 --> 00:20:25,833
It's called the coffin torpedo.
384
00:20:25,916 --> 00:20:29,666
What it is is a bomb
that goes inside the coffin.
385
00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:31,416
You can hide it under
the coffin trimmings
386
00:20:31,541 --> 00:20:33,375
of the lining on the inside,
387
00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:36,041
or you can hide it under
the clothes of the body.
388
00:20:36,166 --> 00:20:39,666
And it is designed
so if somebody tries
389
00:20:39,750 --> 00:20:43,500
to remove the body, it explodes.
390
00:20:48,750 --> 00:20:51,791
If you're in close proximity
to an explosive device,
391
00:20:51,916 --> 00:20:54,333
the amount of ways
that it can actually kill you
392
00:20:54,416 --> 00:20:55,625
and hurt you are innumerable.
393
00:20:55,708 --> 00:20:57,750
You have the concussive forces,
394
00:20:57,875 --> 00:20:59,333
so you can rupture
your eardrums.
395
00:20:59,458 --> 00:21:00,726
You can actually
collapse your lung,
396
00:21:00,750 --> 00:21:02,500
cause something
called a pneumothorax...
397
00:21:02,583 --> 00:21:04,333
Basically air around your lung.
398
00:21:04,458 --> 00:21:07,125
Then shards of
what's flying at you,
399
00:21:07,208 --> 00:21:10,375
nails or pieces of
wood or metal debris,
400
00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:14,750
they are basically flying
objects that at a high velocity
401
00:21:14,875 --> 00:21:16,833
could puncture and
go into your tissue.
402
00:21:16,958 --> 00:21:19,397
And then obviously, now you
have all these open, gaping wounds.
403
00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:22,583
That destructive
force is unleashed
404
00:21:22,708 --> 00:21:25,083
in a graveyard in
Mount Vernon, Ohio,
405
00:21:25,208 --> 00:21:28,375
on January 17th, 1881.
406
00:21:28,500 --> 00:21:31,000
Three potential grave diggers
407
00:21:31,083 --> 00:21:32,458
are attempting to disturb
408
00:21:32,583 --> 00:21:34,791
the body of the
recently deceased.
409
00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:38,541
They hit the coffin,
triggering the torpedo.
410
00:21:41,708 --> 00:21:45,375
One of the grave robbers,
who we know as only Dipper,
411
00:21:45,541 --> 00:21:47,666
is killed outright
by the device.
412
00:21:47,791 --> 00:21:50,375
A second grave robber
has his legs broken.
413
00:21:50,541 --> 00:21:53,250
The third left to tell the tale
414
00:21:53,375 --> 00:21:55,416
of what actually
occurred that night.
415
00:21:55,541 --> 00:21:59,333
This is the only documented case
416
00:21:59,416 --> 00:22:03,541
of a coffin torpedo
actually being detonated.
417
00:22:03,666 --> 00:22:05,375
But the coffin torpedo
418
00:22:05,541 --> 00:22:09,291
isn't the only explosive
graveyard booby trap.
419
00:22:09,416 --> 00:22:11,666
Thomas Howell, in 1881,
420
00:22:11,791 --> 00:22:16,333
develops a different
kind of coffin torpedo,
421
00:22:16,416 --> 00:22:18,333
but he calls it a grave torpedo.
422
00:22:18,416 --> 00:22:19,958
And it sits on
top of the coffin,
423
00:22:20,041 --> 00:22:22,750
and any kind of
jostling of the coffin
424
00:22:22,875 --> 00:22:25,750
after it's been buried
sets it off to explode.
425
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,291
And Thomas Howell took
out rather ghoulish ads
426
00:22:34,416 --> 00:22:37,500
in the newspapers to
advertise his device.
427
00:22:37,625 --> 00:22:39,541
One of the ads read,
428
00:22:39,666 --> 00:22:42,291
"Sleep well, sweet angel,
429
00:22:42,375 --> 00:22:45,416
let no fears of
ghouls disturb thy rest,
430
00:22:45,541 --> 00:22:47,416
for above thy shrouded form
431
00:22:47,541 --> 00:22:51,125
lies a torpedo ready
to make minced meat
432
00:22:51,250 --> 00:22:52,643
of anyone who
attempts to convey you
433
00:22:52,666 --> 00:22:55,375
"to the pickling vat."
434
00:22:55,541 --> 00:22:57,333
By the end of the 19th century,
435
00:22:57,458 --> 00:23:00,041
body snatching
starts to decline.
436
00:23:00,208 --> 00:23:03,375
Six states passed
laws making it easier
437
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:06,000
for medical schools to
use unclaimed bodies.
438
00:23:06,083 --> 00:23:09,875
But it takes 30 more
years for all of the states
439
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,083
to have enacted these laws
440
00:23:12,208 --> 00:23:15,875
that make the access
to legal cadavers
441
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:22,958
much easier for
the medical schools.
442
00:23:23,083 --> 00:23:25,750
In 1862, the U.S. enters
443
00:23:25,875 --> 00:23:28,791
the second year
of a bloody civil war.
444
00:23:28,875 --> 00:23:32,208
As Union soldiers push
into southern territories,
445
00:23:32,333 --> 00:23:34,833
the Confederate Army
seems outmatched.
446
00:23:34,958 --> 00:23:38,416
The Union Army and
the northern states
447
00:23:38,541 --> 00:23:41,750
have a numerical advantage
448
00:23:41,875 --> 00:23:44,666
in just about every possible
way you can imagine.
449
00:23:44,750 --> 00:23:47,583
The South is playing catch
up in terms of resources,
450
00:23:47,708 --> 00:23:50,875
ordinance, powder,
guns, weaponry.
451
00:23:51,041 --> 00:23:55,416
Then a new Confederate
general steps in.
452
00:23:55,541 --> 00:23:59,083
Gabriel Rains, he
attended West Point.
453
00:23:59,208 --> 00:24:02,333
He had always been
fascinated with explosive devices,
454
00:24:02,458 --> 00:24:07,083
gunpowder, how that technology
could be used in warfare.
455
00:24:07,208 --> 00:24:10,333
Rains lived by a
military maxim...
456
00:24:10,458 --> 00:24:12,833
Deception is the art of war.
457
00:24:12,916 --> 00:24:17,333
This leads Rains to
create a new type of device
458
00:24:17,416 --> 00:24:20,958
called the land torpedo.
459
00:24:23,583 --> 00:24:25,291
Made from a
common artillery shell,
460
00:24:25,416 --> 00:24:27,250
it's filled with gunpowder
461
00:24:27,375 --> 00:24:30,333
and attached to a detonator.
462
00:24:30,416 --> 00:24:31,916
Once buried underground,
463
00:24:32,041 --> 00:24:34,750
when the detonator
is touched directly,
464
00:24:34,875 --> 00:24:36,416
it explodes.
465
00:24:38,041 --> 00:24:40,833
It could also be
detonated through a wire
466
00:24:40,916 --> 00:24:43,875
or a string being connected
to the sensitive primer,
467
00:24:44,041 --> 00:24:46,583
and then subsequently
to another object.
468
00:24:46,708 --> 00:24:51,083
And then if someone
moved that object,
469
00:24:51,208 --> 00:24:52,791
it could detonate the primer
470
00:24:52,875 --> 00:24:55,458
and the subterra
shell would explode.
471
00:24:57,375 --> 00:25:00,208
Rains' booby traps
are first used in Virginia
472
00:25:00,333 --> 00:25:01,916
in the spring of 1862,
473
00:25:02,041 --> 00:25:06,708
the start of a dark new
era in modern warfare.
474
00:25:06,875 --> 00:25:09,625
The Battle of Yorktown in 1862.
475
00:25:09,750 --> 00:25:13,000
Confederates that are
now being pushed to retreat
476
00:25:13,083 --> 00:25:15,750
fear that George
McClellan, the Union general
477
00:25:15,875 --> 00:25:17,666
commanding the
Army of the Potomac,
478
00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:19,593
is going to be able to
overtake them quickly.
479
00:25:20,625 --> 00:25:25,000
On the evening of May 3rd, 1862,
480
00:25:25,125 --> 00:25:30,000
the Confederate Army is
ordered to withdraw from Yorktown.
481
00:25:30,083 --> 00:25:32,833
As they're retreating,
Gabriel Rains leaves
482
00:25:32,958 --> 00:25:36,000
a little present for
the Union Army.
483
00:25:36,166 --> 00:25:41,916
He orders his men to
begin planting subterra shells
484
00:25:42,041 --> 00:25:44,333
all over the position
of Yorktown...
485
00:25:44,458 --> 00:25:49,583
The parapets, the
fortifications, in the city itself.
486
00:25:49,708 --> 00:25:54,625
They were bombs, hidden bombs,
attached to everyday objects.
487
00:25:56,958 --> 00:25:59,833
Coffee pots, a
pickaxe, a shovel.
488
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,000
After the traps are set,
489
00:26:03,125 --> 00:26:04,958
Rains and his men leave Yorktown
490
00:26:05,041 --> 00:26:08,916
to join Confederate soldiers
heading to Richmond.
491
00:26:09,041 --> 00:26:13,708
As the Union army arrived
on May 4th, 1862, in Yorktown,
492
00:26:13,833 --> 00:26:18,666
the soldiers stumbled
upon Rains' devices.
493
00:26:18,791 --> 00:26:20,958
Booby traps all over town.
494
00:26:21,041 --> 00:26:24,750
So as the Union troops
come into the camp
495
00:26:24,875 --> 00:26:26,541
that the Confederates have fled,
496
00:26:26,666 --> 00:26:28,558
the Union army is gonna
stop and see valuable goods.
497
00:26:28,583 --> 00:26:30,416
This is not a world
of mass production.
498
00:26:30,541 --> 00:26:32,666
They're going to
grab those items
499
00:26:32,791 --> 00:26:34,101
and confiscate
them, bring them in
500
00:26:34,125 --> 00:26:37,333
to their own supply.
501
00:26:37,416 --> 00:26:39,375
As they're picking
up coffee pots,
502
00:26:39,541 --> 00:26:41,833
they're picking up
all sorts of supplies...
503
00:26:46,666 --> 00:26:47,666
they're exploding.
504
00:26:47,833 --> 00:26:49,416
Things are going boom.
505
00:26:51,458 --> 00:26:53,500
Several men are killed outright,
506
00:26:53,666 --> 00:26:58,041
another dozen are
wounded by Rains' devices.
507
00:26:58,208 --> 00:27:02,166
The Union Army's
pursuit slows to a crawl
508
00:27:02,291 --> 00:27:05,833
and the Confederates
successfully retreat to Richmond.
509
00:27:05,958 --> 00:27:10,750
But Rains' booby traps
have a much bigger impact.
510
00:27:10,875 --> 00:27:15,166
The immediate reaction
to the use of Rains' devices
511
00:27:15,291 --> 00:27:17,458
at Yorktown is negative.
512
00:27:17,541 --> 00:27:22,416
Both the Union and Confederate
Army operated under the Articles of War
513
00:27:22,541 --> 00:27:24,833
at the beginning of
the American Civil War.
514
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,875
And it was understood that
acts of deception were allowed.
515
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,208
But perfidious acts,
acts that were not
516
00:27:31,375 --> 00:27:34,833
to some tactical advantage
or military objective,
517
00:27:34,958 --> 00:27:38,875
an act that would just kill
or maim for no purpose,
518
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,791
those military acts
were not permitted
519
00:27:41,875 --> 00:27:44,000
under the Articles of War.
520
00:27:44,125 --> 00:27:46,916
But we're at a point in
American military history,
521
00:27:47,041 --> 00:27:48,875
in world military history,
522
00:27:49,041 --> 00:27:52,916
when the laws of war are
very much in a state of flux.
523
00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:57,041
Then enters Francis Lieber,
524
00:27:57,208 --> 00:28:01,583
America's first political
scientist and trained historian,
525
00:28:01,708 --> 00:28:05,833
a German emigre who had been in
the United States for nearly 40 years.
526
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,833
Lieber eventually is
going to be charged
527
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,166
by Abraham Lincoln
and his administration
528
00:28:11,250 --> 00:28:14,250
for writing a new code
for the laws of war.
529
00:28:14,375 --> 00:28:17,375
The importance
of the Lieber Code
530
00:28:17,541 --> 00:28:19,083
really cannot be understated.
531
00:28:19,208 --> 00:28:21,291
This isn't something that
happens in the 19th century
532
00:28:21,416 --> 00:28:22,666
and then fades out.
533
00:28:22,791 --> 00:28:23,666
It's really the building block
534
00:28:23,750 --> 00:28:24,750
that will continue
535
00:28:24,833 --> 00:28:26,000
to build our concepts
536
00:28:26,125 --> 00:28:27,484
of how warfare
should be conducted,
537
00:28:27,541 --> 00:28:29,000
right into the 20th,
538
00:28:29,083 --> 00:28:30,541
and even into the 21st century.
539
00:28:30,666 --> 00:28:32,833
The future Geneva Conventions
540
00:28:32,958 --> 00:28:34,000
and so forth, those all...
541
00:28:34,125 --> 00:28:36,666
At their core, if you will,
542
00:28:36,791 --> 00:28:38,666
the foundation that
those were built upon,
543
00:28:38,791 --> 00:28:44,333
it's the Lieber Code.
544
00:28:44,458 --> 00:28:46,500
As the Civil War rages on,
545
00:28:46,666 --> 00:28:50,333
the Confederacy continues
using nefarious explosive devices.
546
00:28:54,791 --> 00:28:58,708
The most devious design
of all debuts in 1864
547
00:28:58,833 --> 00:29:02,333
disguised as a
simple lump of coal.
548
00:29:02,458 --> 00:29:04,875
Another of the
most sinister devices
549
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,041
designed by the
Confederates during the course
550
00:29:08,208 --> 00:29:11,083
of the American Civil
War was the coal torpedo.
551
00:29:11,208 --> 00:29:14,750
Its inventor, Thomas
Edgeworth Courtenay,
552
00:29:14,875 --> 00:29:16,833
was born in Belfast, Ireland,
553
00:29:16,958 --> 00:29:18,916
and had emigrated
to the United States.
554
00:29:19,041 --> 00:29:23,958
Coal torpedo is an ingenious
form of camouflage sabotage,
555
00:29:24,083 --> 00:29:26,875
by taking a small iron
canister filled with gunpowder
556
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,583
coated in a mixture of beeswax,
557
00:29:29,708 --> 00:29:31,166
pulverized coal, and coal tar.
558
00:29:31,333 --> 00:29:34,875
What this does is it
makes this little tiny bomb
559
00:29:35,041 --> 00:29:36,416
look like a piece of coal.
560
00:29:39,833 --> 00:29:42,000
And when it's thrown
into a big pile of coal,
561
00:29:42,125 --> 00:29:43,750
it's basically undetectable.
562
00:29:43,875 --> 00:29:46,000
Eventually, that coal
563
00:29:46,125 --> 00:29:47,958
will be shoveled
into the boiler,
564
00:29:48,041 --> 00:29:49,683
and then instead of
burning like a piece of coal,
565
00:29:49,708 --> 00:29:50,708
it explodes...
566
00:29:53,125 --> 00:29:54,833
damaging whatever it is
567
00:29:54,916 --> 00:29:58,625
that the coal
torpedo is put inside.
568
00:29:58,708 --> 00:30:01,500
This is at a time
when coal powers
569
00:30:01,583 --> 00:30:04,125
almost any major
piece of machinery.
570
00:30:04,250 --> 00:30:09,125
This left the Union Army
incredibly vulnerable
571
00:30:09,208 --> 00:30:12,750
to this new
deceptive technology.
572
00:30:12,875 --> 00:30:16,125
On April 15th, 1864,
573
00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:19,250
that vulnerability is made clear
574
00:30:19,375 --> 00:30:22,000
aboard the USS Chenango,
575
00:30:22,166 --> 00:30:26,375
a 947-ton steamboat
making its maiden voyage
576
00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:28,708
from New York to Virginia.
577
00:30:28,875 --> 00:30:31,083
The Chenango was a
paddlewheel gunboat
578
00:30:31,208 --> 00:30:34,000
that was stationed
in New York harbor.
579
00:30:34,083 --> 00:30:36,083
And before it even
leaves the harbor,
580
00:30:36,208 --> 00:30:40,083
the steam boiler of
the ship explodes.
581
00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:46,833
It kills 28 men, who
are scalded to death
582
00:30:46,916 --> 00:30:49,416
by the steam boiler explosion.
583
00:30:49,541 --> 00:30:53,208
Eventually, Courtenay would
take credit for this attack.
584
00:30:53,333 --> 00:30:56,416
The coal torpedo was successful.
585
00:30:56,541 --> 00:31:00,166
The USS Chenango
isn't the only ship
586
00:31:00,291 --> 00:31:02,375
targeted by Confederate
stealth attacks.
587
00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:04,791
On November 27th, 1864,
588
00:31:04,916 --> 00:31:09,750
the Greyhound was headed back
down the river toward Fortress Monroe,
589
00:31:09,875 --> 00:31:13,916
and it had Admiral David
Dixon Porter on board.
590
00:31:14,041 --> 00:31:17,000
As they're headed back
down the river, the explosion
591
00:31:17,083 --> 00:31:20,833
of the Greyhound
steam boiler occurs...
592
00:31:22,583 --> 00:31:25,208
sinking the Greyhound
in a catastrophic manner.
593
00:31:25,333 --> 00:31:28,791
Admiral David Dixon Porter,
who survived the attack,
594
00:31:28,916 --> 00:31:31,166
believed that the coal
torpedo was the culprit,
595
00:31:31,333 --> 00:31:33,958
the technology that
had sunk the Greyhound.
596
00:31:34,083 --> 00:31:37,541
Ultimately, such
tactics aren't enough
597
00:31:37,666 --> 00:31:39,958
to turn the tide of war.
598
00:31:40,083 --> 00:31:45,000
And in 1865, the South
surrenders to the Union.
599
00:31:46,750 --> 00:31:50,500
But a precedent is set
for using ordinary objects
600
00:31:50,583 --> 00:31:54,000
to hide deadly explosives,
601
00:31:54,083 --> 00:31:59,000
a practice that continues
well into World War II.
602
00:31:59,125 --> 00:32:01,500
It's well known and established
that during World War II
603
00:32:01,583 --> 00:32:06,125
both the Axis and Allies
used some rather crafty
604
00:32:06,208 --> 00:32:08,458
and inventive ways
to get at one another.
605
00:32:08,583 --> 00:32:12,500
Evidence of this is
uncovered in 2015 in England.
606
00:32:12,625 --> 00:32:15,333
Victoria Rothschild,
she and her family
607
00:32:15,458 --> 00:32:19,333
are clearing out some
old things in the house,
608
00:32:19,458 --> 00:32:22,916
and they come across something
that belonged to her father.
609
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:26,916
Her father, Victor Rothschild,
610
00:32:27,041 --> 00:32:31,000
had been the head of
MI-5 during World War II.
611
00:32:31,125 --> 00:32:33,208
And that, of course, was
this counter-espionage
612
00:32:33,333 --> 00:32:35,333
element of the
British government.
613
00:32:35,458 --> 00:32:38,833
Rothschild commissioned
this self-taught artist
614
00:32:38,916 --> 00:32:41,375
named Laurence Fish
to create these drawings
615
00:32:41,541 --> 00:32:44,166
so that they could
have a guidebook
616
00:32:44,291 --> 00:32:47,166
that illustrated the types of booby
traps the Germans were using.
617
00:32:47,291 --> 00:32:51,333
Fish's drawings
provide vivid proof
618
00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:56,500
of how far explosive booby traps
have evolved since the Civil War.
619
00:32:56,625 --> 00:33:00,875
It was everything from a thermos
that concealed an incendiary bomb
620
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:05,333
to a British mess tin that
had a false bottom to it
621
00:33:05,416 --> 00:33:09,916
that concealed an explosive charge
beneath a meal of bangers and mash.
622
00:33:10,041 --> 00:33:13,166
Or a can of motor oil
that had a false bottom
623
00:33:13,291 --> 00:33:15,416
and below it was
an explosive charge.
624
00:33:15,541 --> 00:33:18,083
You could even pick
it up and shake it,
625
00:33:18,208 --> 00:33:20,143
and it would sound like a
can containing motor oil.
626
00:33:20,166 --> 00:33:23,958
There was even a plan to
weaponize a chocolate bar.
627
00:33:25,583 --> 00:33:27,166
This was an
exploding chocolate bar
628
00:33:27,291 --> 00:33:29,166
that detonated when
you broke off a piece,
629
00:33:29,291 --> 00:33:31,166
and it was thought
that this could be used
630
00:33:31,250 --> 00:33:32,750
to assassinate Winston Churchill
631
00:33:32,875 --> 00:33:34,583
because he was
a bit of a sensualist
632
00:33:34,708 --> 00:33:36,458
and he had a
taste for chocolate.
633
00:33:36,583 --> 00:33:38,500
And if you could
slip one of these bars
634
00:33:38,666 --> 00:33:42,166
into his collection of chocolate,
you might just get him.
635
00:33:42,291 --> 00:33:44,500
While the Nazis are developing
636
00:33:44,583 --> 00:33:47,708
their cunning collection
of booby traps,
637
00:33:47,833 --> 00:33:49,541
British intelligence is busy
638
00:33:49,666 --> 00:33:56,833
creating diabolical
designs of their own.
639
00:33:56,958 --> 00:34:00,458
1941.
640
00:34:00,583 --> 00:34:04,333
Covert British agents
enter Nazi occupied territory
641
00:34:04,458 --> 00:34:07,291
with a mission to
sabotage enemy operations
642
00:34:07,375 --> 00:34:12,208
using secret devices worthy
of James Bond himself.
643
00:34:12,375 --> 00:34:14,684
Now the Nazis aren't the only
ones who can think outside the box.
644
00:34:14,708 --> 00:34:16,833
And the Allies, the
British in particular,
645
00:34:16,916 --> 00:34:18,416
they're doing the same.
646
00:34:18,541 --> 00:34:21,625
So with a mandate
from the prime minister
647
00:34:21,708 --> 00:34:24,166
to set Europe ablaze,
648
00:34:24,291 --> 00:34:26,458
we have British officers
that are behind enemy lines
649
00:34:26,583 --> 00:34:30,166
doing their best to use
incognito booby-trapped items
650
00:34:30,250 --> 00:34:32,083
to disrupt the
German war effort.
651
00:34:32,208 --> 00:34:33,833
Then there's the
hollowed-out book.
652
00:34:33,958 --> 00:34:36,166
It detonates immediately
when the book is picked up.
653
00:34:36,291 --> 00:34:39,208
The items that were being
used ranged from an explosive
654
00:34:39,333 --> 00:34:41,250
that was disguised
as a bar of soap,
655
00:34:41,375 --> 00:34:44,666
or an explosive disguised
inside a pack of cigarettes.
656
00:34:44,791 --> 00:34:47,541
Here, the trap is being
set in a motorcycle.
657
00:34:47,708 --> 00:34:51,000
Anyone sitting on the saddle
is in danger of instant death.
658
00:34:51,083 --> 00:34:53,583
Just about anything
that didn't look dangerous
659
00:34:53,708 --> 00:34:58,125
could be made into something that
was in the end actually very dangerous.
660
00:34:58,250 --> 00:35:00,125
But the most exotic booby trap
661
00:35:00,208 --> 00:35:03,458
the British come up
with sounds insane...
662
00:35:03,583 --> 00:35:05,791
The explosive rat.
663
00:35:08,041 --> 00:35:10,500
The plan was they'd take a
couple of hundred rat carcasses,
664
00:35:10,625 --> 00:35:15,833
they would insert small doses of
plastic explosive underneath the skin.
665
00:35:15,916 --> 00:35:18,916
And then that rat would be put
into German occupied territory,
666
00:35:19,041 --> 00:35:22,083
like in a plant or a factory.
667
00:35:22,208 --> 00:35:23,768
The practice at the
time was that if you're
668
00:35:23,791 --> 00:35:26,750
loading a furnace and
you see a dead rat, well,
669
00:35:26,875 --> 00:35:30,000
you pick it up by its tail,
fling it into the furnace.
670
00:35:30,166 --> 00:35:33,000
That's a good way to
get rid of this dead rodent.
671
00:35:33,125 --> 00:35:38,500
So the thinking was that if you
could turn dead rats into an explosive,
672
00:35:38,625 --> 00:35:42,750
this could be a great way to disrupt
German supply lines and manufacturing.
673
00:35:45,083 --> 00:35:47,291
This is how bonkers
World War II could be.
674
00:35:47,375 --> 00:35:52,500
You had smart people that imagined the
weaponization of the Norwegian roof rat.
675
00:35:52,666 --> 00:35:54,347
By the time that the
project was over with,
676
00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:56,708
it had accomplished nothing.
677
00:35:56,875 --> 00:35:58,333
The first consignment of rats
678
00:35:58,458 --> 00:36:00,416
was intercepted by the Germans
679
00:36:00,541 --> 00:36:02,268
and none of them caused
any damage to anything.
680
00:36:02,291 --> 00:36:03,666
But the Brits' mission
681
00:36:03,833 --> 00:36:05,916
is not a complete failure.
682
00:36:06,041 --> 00:36:11,583
The Germans realized, okay,
they're putting explosives in rats now.
683
00:36:11,708 --> 00:36:15,833
We need to be on the
lookout for any rat carcasses.
684
00:36:15,958 --> 00:36:19,000
So, the Germans from that day
forward, then suddenly had to look
685
00:36:19,083 --> 00:36:21,708
at every dead rat
carcass with suspicion.
686
00:36:21,875 --> 00:36:25,833
Because after all, they might be
bearing explosives into the factory.
687
00:36:25,916 --> 00:36:27,125
So be cautious with them.
688
00:36:27,208 --> 00:36:28,375
The effect of setting
689
00:36:28,500 --> 00:36:29,958
booby traps in an area
690
00:36:30,083 --> 00:36:32,000
is that troops
occupying that area
691
00:36:32,083 --> 00:36:33,184
will have to examine everything
692
00:36:33,208 --> 00:36:34,416
before touching any object
693
00:36:34,541 --> 00:36:36,125
or entering any buildings.
694
00:36:36,208 --> 00:36:38,041
This will tend to
slow up considerably
695
00:36:38,166 --> 00:36:39,333
their rate of advance.
696
00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:40,916
As it turns out, the whole thing
697
00:36:41,041 --> 00:36:42,916
is a great waste of
German resources,
698
00:36:43,041 --> 00:36:47,375
greater than if rats had
actually been thrown into boilers.
699
00:36:47,500 --> 00:36:49,500
The Germans
spending all of this time
700
00:36:49,625 --> 00:36:51,125
and wasting all of this effort
701
00:36:51,208 --> 00:36:53,916
being concerned with dead rats
702
00:36:54,041 --> 00:36:56,208
was a better use of the weapon
703
00:36:56,375 --> 00:36:59,708
than the explosives in
the dead rats to begin with.
704
00:36:59,833 --> 00:37:03,666
While the British are
busy hiding bombs in rats,
705
00:37:03,833 --> 00:37:07,916
across the pond, an American
dentist named Lytle Adams
706
00:37:08,041 --> 00:37:10,166
envisions an
explosive contraption
707
00:37:10,250 --> 00:37:13,333
that's even more bizarre.
708
00:37:13,500 --> 00:37:16,041
On Sunday, December 7th, 1941,
709
00:37:16,166 --> 00:37:19,833
Lytle Adams had
been on a hike in a cave
710
00:37:19,958 --> 00:37:22,208
where he was admiring bats.
711
00:37:22,375 --> 00:37:24,625
Later that day, he learned
of the Japanese attack
712
00:37:24,708 --> 00:37:29,208
on the fleet anchorage at Pearl
Harbor in the territory of Hawaii,
713
00:37:29,333 --> 00:37:31,250
and that's where the
idea first came to life.
714
00:37:31,375 --> 00:37:35,791
The idea of, "What if we could
somehow weaponize bats?"
715
00:37:35,875 --> 00:37:39,416
Because once bats move
into something like a cave,
716
00:37:39,541 --> 00:37:42,166
it's really not possible
to get them out.
717
00:37:42,333 --> 00:37:46,333
It just so happens that Lytle Adams
is acquainted with Eleanor Roosevelt.
718
00:37:46,458 --> 00:37:48,458
And because he has her ear,
719
00:37:48,541 --> 00:37:51,166
he pitches the plan
about the bat bomb.
720
00:37:51,291 --> 00:37:55,166
The bat bomb is an
empty bomb casing
721
00:37:55,333 --> 00:37:57,875
filled with over a
thousand sleeping bats,
722
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,416
each with a small
explosive tied to its leg.
723
00:38:01,541 --> 00:38:03,333
As the bomb is
dropped from a plane,
724
00:38:03,458 --> 00:38:08,000
the casing opens,
releasing the bats.
725
00:38:08,166 --> 00:38:09,666
The idea is as they
would be falling,
726
00:38:09,750 --> 00:38:12,333
they would wake up,
and once they woke up,
727
00:38:12,458 --> 00:38:14,226
they would then use their
natural nesting instinct
728
00:38:14,250 --> 00:38:16,333
to find places to rest.
729
00:38:16,458 --> 00:38:19,500
At some point, the bats
would chew off the charges,
730
00:38:19,625 --> 00:38:22,916
which had a time delay
fuse on them, igniting it,
731
00:38:23,041 --> 00:38:26,833
and causing a large-scale fire
wherever the bats would nest.
732
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,666
And we have to remember that Japanese
architecture is very heavily wooden. Paper.
733
00:38:32,833 --> 00:38:35,166
Bamboo, very
flammable materials.
734
00:38:35,291 --> 00:38:37,916
You now have a thousand
bats starting to roost
735
00:38:38,041 --> 00:38:41,708
in the eaves of these very
wooden and paper buildings.
736
00:38:41,875 --> 00:38:43,250
Well, when they explode,
737
00:38:43,375 --> 00:38:46,041
you're going to cause
a thousand-plus fires
738
00:38:46,166 --> 00:38:49,375
all over this very
flammable city.
739
00:38:51,333 --> 00:38:53,583
The bold idea shockingly becomes
740
00:38:53,708 --> 00:38:56,166
an official U.S. government
research experiment
741
00:38:56,333 --> 00:39:00,416
eventually known
as Project X-Ray.
742
00:39:00,541 --> 00:39:02,083
This project was no joke.
743
00:39:02,208 --> 00:39:04,416
It fell under the auspices
of the U.S. Army Air Force.
744
00:39:04,541 --> 00:39:08,750
In 1943, it moves
into the testing phase
745
00:39:08,875 --> 00:39:12,666
at remote sites in
California and New Mexico.
746
00:39:12,791 --> 00:39:16,166
The testing of the bat bomb
program, it doesn't go well.
747
00:39:16,250 --> 00:39:19,333
During a test at
Carlsbad's Army Airfield,
748
00:39:19,416 --> 00:39:21,333
six bats get
dropped a little early.
749
00:39:21,500 --> 00:39:24,083
They end up lighting
buildings on fire.
750
00:39:24,208 --> 00:39:26,166
They light a
general's car on fire.
751
00:39:26,333 --> 00:39:28,458
And this really
sounds like a disaster,
752
00:39:28,541 --> 00:39:30,559
except the whole point
to this is to be destructive.
753
00:39:30,583 --> 00:39:32,791
So, in a weird way,
754
00:39:32,916 --> 00:39:35,916
the disaster of these fires
only proves to the Air Forces
755
00:39:36,041 --> 00:39:38,375
that they're going
in the right direction,
756
00:39:38,500 --> 00:39:40,541
they should continue
to pursue the project.
757
00:39:40,708 --> 00:39:42,588
The bat bomb project is
transferred to the Navy.
758
00:39:42,708 --> 00:39:45,916
The project remains alive,
and the U.S. Navy continues
759
00:39:46,041 --> 00:39:47,916
the further development
of the bat bomb program
760
00:39:48,041 --> 00:39:50,666
until ultimately the
chief of naval operations
761
00:39:50,791 --> 00:39:53,750
Ernest J. King cancels
the entire project.
762
00:39:55,958 --> 00:39:59,416
In 1944, after
investing two years
763
00:39:59,541 --> 00:40:04,291
and two million dollars,
Project X-Ray is dead.
764
00:40:04,416 --> 00:40:07,125
Among the reasons,
the U.S. must focus on
765
00:40:07,250 --> 00:40:09,541
a far more frightening weapon...
766
00:40:09,666 --> 00:40:12,625
The Manhattan
Project's atomic bomb.
767
00:40:17,541 --> 00:40:20,333
Booby traps, weapons that wait,
768
00:40:20,458 --> 00:40:22,333
infernal machines.
769
00:40:22,458 --> 00:40:24,958
Whatever name they're given,
770
00:40:25,041 --> 00:40:26,833
these deadly contraptions
771
00:40:26,958 --> 00:40:29,916
have left their devilish
mark on history.
772
00:40:30,041 --> 00:40:33,916
They're a testament to the
dark side of human ingenuity,
773
00:40:34,041 --> 00:40:39,041
limited only by the twisted
imaginations of their creators.
62942
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