333-Stranded in the Kimberley

In June 1940, German forces took the Channel Islands, a small British dependency off the coast of France. They expected the occupation to go easily, but they hadn't reckoned on the island of Sark, ruled by an iron-willed noblewoman with a disdain for Nazis. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Sibyl Hathaway and her indomitable stand against the Germans. We'll also overtake an earthquake and puzzle over an inscrutable water pipe. Intro: Raymond Chandler gave 10 rules for writing a detective novel. In 1495 Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical knight. Sources for our feature on Sybil Hathaway: Sybil Hathaway, Dame of Sark: An Autobiography, 1961. Alan and Mary Wood, Islands in Danger: The Story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands, 1940-1945, 1955. Gilly Carr, Paul Sanders, and Louise Willmot, Protest, Defiance and Resistance in the Channel Islands, 2014. Madeleine Bunting, The Model Occupation: The Channel Islands Under German Rule, 1940-1945, 2014. Roy MacLoughlin, Living With the Enemy: An Outline of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands With First Hand Accounts by People Who Remember the Years 1940 to 1945, 2002. Cheryl R. Jorgensen-Earp, Discourse and Defiance Under Nazi Occupation: Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1940-1945, 2013. Hazel Knowles Smith, The Changing Face of the Channel Islands Occupation: Record, Memory and Myth, 2014. George Forty, German Occupation of the Channel Islands, 2002. Paul Sanders, The British Channel Islands Under German Occupation, 1940-1945, 2005. George Forty, Channel Islands at War: A German Perspective, 2005. Gilly Carr, "Shining a Light on Dark Tourism: German Bunkers in the British Channel Islands," Public Archaeology 9:2 (2010), 64-84. Gillian Carr, "The Archaeology of Occupation and the V-Sign Campaign in the Occupied British Channel Islands," International Journal of Historical Archaeology 14:4 (2010), 575-592. Gilly Carr, "Occupation Heritage, Commemoration and Memory in Guernsey and Jersey," History and Memory 24:1 (Spring 2012), 87-117, 178. Gilly Carr, "Concrete's Memory: Positioning Ghosts of War in the Channel Islands," Terrain 69 (April 2018). Peter Tabb, "'You and I Will Eat Grass ...,'" History Today 55:5 (May 2005), 2-3. Paul Sanders, "Managing Under Duress: Ethical Leadership, Social Capital and the Civilian Administration of the British Channel Islands During the Nazi Occupation, 1940-1945," Journal of Business Ethics 93, Supplement 1 (2010), 113-129. Lucas Reilly, "How the World's Only Feudal Lord Outclassed the Nazis to Save Her People," Mental Floss, Nov. 6, 2018. "Dame of Sark, 90, Ruler of Channel Island, Dead," New York Times, July 15, 1974. John Darnton, "St. Helier Journal; Facing Nazis, Upper Lips Were Not Always Stiff," New York Times, May 6, 1995. Robert Philpot, "New Film on Nazi Occupation of Channel Islands Prompts Disquieting Questions for Brits," Times of Israel, April 13, 2017. Francesca Street, "Radio Tower: Jersey's Former German WWII Gun Tower Now for Rent," CNN, Aug. 28, 2018. Liza Foreman, "The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark," Daily Beast, Oct. 4, 2014. Julie Carpenter, "John Nettles: 'Telling the Truth About Channel Islands Cost Me My Friends,'" Express, Nov. 5, 2012. Ben Johnson, "Sark, Channel Islands," Historic UK (accessed June 2, 2019). William D. Montalbano, "Nazi Occupation in WWII Haunts Islands Off Britain," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 29, 1996. Graham Heathcote, "Quiet Occupation by German Troops on Britain’s Channel Islands," Associated Press, May 9, 1995. William Tuohy, "Britain Files Reveal a Dark Chapter of War Years Nazis Occupied the Channel Islands Until Mid-1945, and Many Residents Collaborated," Los Angeles Times, Dec. 5, 1992, 3. Marcus Binney, "Release of War Files Reopens the Wounds of Nazi Occupation," Times, Dec. 2, 1992. Julia Pascal, "Comment & Analysis: Our Hidden History: Sixty Years After the Deportation of Britons from the Channel Islands, the Suffering Is Neither Acknowledged Nor Compensated," Guardian, Sept. 5, 2002, 1.23. Ray Clancy, "War Files Show How Alderney Was Left Alone Against Nazis," Times, Dec. 2, 1992. William Montalbano, "Nazi Reports Raise Islands' Painful Past: Channel Islands' Invasion Created Moral Dilemmas," Toronto Star, Dec. 1, 1996, A.8. Andrew Phillips, "The Ghosts of War," Maclean's 106:1 (Jan. 4, 1993), 50-51. "Taylor: Remembering the Channel Islands Occupation," Toronto Sun, Nov. 3, 2018. Rosemary F. Head et al., "Cardiovascular Disease in a Cohort Exposed to the 1940–45 Channel Islands Occupation," BMC Public Health 8:303 (2008). Madeleine Bunting, "Living With the Enemy," The World Today 71:3 (June/July 2015), 10. Listener mail: "'Not on Your Life!' Says Actress, Flees Spotlight," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 12, 1993. "Seismic Waves," xkcd, April 5, 2010. Sune Lehmann, "TweetQuake," Aug. 25, 2011. Rhett Allain, "Tweet Waves vs. Seismic Waves," Wired, Aug. 26, 2011. Javed Anwer, "Delhi Earthquake Proves Twitter Is Faster Than Seismic Waves. Again," India Today, April 13, 2016. Brad Plumer, "Tweets Move Faster Than Earthquakes," Washington Post, Aug. 25, 2011. Lauren Indvik, "East Coasters Turn to Twitter During Virginia Earthquake," Mashable, Aug. 23, 2011. Catharine Smith, "Twitter's New Ad Claims It's Faster Than An Earthquake (VIDEO)," Huffington Post, Sept. 1, 2011. Alex Ward, "Larry the Cat, UK's 'Chief Mouser,' Caused a Brief Headache for Trump's Security Team," Vox, June 4, 2019. Jennifer Ouellette, "No, Someone Hasn't Cracked the Code of the Mysterious Voynich Manuscript," Ars Technica, May 15, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was offered by M. Lobak in the old Soviet popular science magazine Kvant (collected with other such puzzles by Timothy Weber in the excellent 1996 book Quantum Quandaries). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

17 Juni 201931min

In 1800 a 12-year-old boy emerged from a forest in southern France, where he had apparently lived alone for seven years. His case was taken up by a young Paris doctor who set out to see if the boy could be civilized. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore the strange, sad story of Victor of Aveyron and the mysteries of child development. We'll also consider the nature of art and puzzle over the relationship between salmon and trees. Intro: Reading Luc Étienne's expressions forward and backward produces sentences in different languages. In 1883 John Maguire invented a raincoat that wouldn't make your legs wet. Sources for our feature on Victor of Aveyron: Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron, 1976. Geoff Rolls, Classic Case Studies in Psychology, 2010. Julia V. Douthwaite, The Wild Girl, Natural Man, and the Monster: Dangerous Experiments in the Age of Enlightenment, 2002. Adriana S. Benzaquén, Encounters With Wild Children: Temptation and Disappointment in the Study of Human Nature, 2006. Patrick McDonagh, Idiocy: A Cultural History, 2008. Richard M. Silberstein and Helen Irwin, "Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard and the Savage of Aveyron: An Unsolved Diagnostic Problem in Child Psychiatry," Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry 1:2 (1962), 314-322. Murray K. Simpson, "From Savage to Citizen: Education, Colonialism and Idiocy," British Journal of Sociology of Education 28:5 (September 2007), 561-574. Annemieke1 van Drenth, "Sensorial Experiences and Childhood: Nineteenth-Century Care for Children With Idiocy," Paedagogica Historica 51:5 (October 2015), 560-578. Raf Vanderstraeten and Gert Biesta, "How Is Education Possible? Pragmatism, Communication and the Social Organisation of Education," British Journal of Educational Studies 54:2 (June 2006), 160-174. Patrick McDonagh, "The Mute's Voice: The Dramatic Transformations of the Mute and Deaf-Mute in Early-Nineteenth-Century France," Criticism 55:4 (Fall 2013), 655-675. Nicole Simon, "Kaspar Hauser's Recovery and Autopsy: A Perspective on Neurological and Sociological Requirements for Language Development," Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia 8:2 (1978), 209-217. Andrey Vyshedskiy, Rita Dunn, and Shreyas Mahapatra, "Linguistically Deprived Children: Meta-Analysis of Published Research Underlines the Importance of Early Syntactic Language Use for Normal Brain Development," RIO, Aug. 31, 2017, 846-857. Nancy Yousef, "Savage or Solitary?: The Wild Child and Rousseau's Man of Nature," Journal of the History of Ideas 62:2 (April 2001), 245-263. Kenneth Kidd, "Bruno Bettelheim and the Psychoanalytic Feral Tale," American Imago 62:1 (Spring 2005), 75-99. Roger Shattuck, "The Wild Boy of Aveyron," New York Times, May 16, 1976. Paul Sieveking, "Savage Behaviour: Children Who Really Are Running Wild," Sunday Telegraph, March 3, 2002, 37. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Marcel Duchamp" (accessed May 29, 2019). Wikipedia, "Fountain (Duchamp)" (accessed May 29, 2019). "Art Term: Readymade," Tate (accessed May 29, 2019). "Marcel Duchamp: Fountain, 1917, Replica 1964," Tate (accessed May 29, 2019). "Duchamp's Urinal Tops Art Survey," BBC News, Dec. 1, 2004. Jonathon Keats, "See Why This Urinal Was the Leading Artwork of the 20th Century (But Is Still Underappreciated)," Forbes, Nov. 8, 2017. Wikipedia, "Andy Warhol" (accessed May 30, 2019). "Lesson: Brillo: Is It Art?", Andy Warhol Museum (accessed June 1, 2019). Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Brillo Boxes, Andy Warhol, American, 1928-1987" (accessed June 1, 2019). Wikipedia, "Vocaloid" (accessed June 1, 2019). Mark Jenkins, "This Singer Is Part Hologram, Part Avatar, and Might Be the Pop Star of the Future," Washington Post, July 5, 2018. Hatsune Miku, "World Is Mine - Live HD," June 9, 2011. "Lucky Orb feat. Hatsune Miku," May 6, 2019. James Vincent, "This AI-Generated Joe Rogan Fake Has to Be Heard to Be Believed," The Verge, May 17, 2019 (contains explicit language). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Sharon. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

10 Juni 201933min

In 1830 Joseph Palmer created an odd controversy in Fitchburg, Massachusetts: He wore a beard when beards were out of fashion. For this social sin he was shunned, attacked, and ultimately jailed. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of a bizarre battle against irrational prejudice. We'll also see whether a computer can understand knitting and puzzle over an unrewarded long jump. Intro: Prospector William Schmidt dug through California's Copper Mountain. The bees of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, are customarily informed of funerals. Sources for our feature on Joseph Palmer: Stewart Holbrook, "The Beard of Joseph Palmer," American Scholar 13:4 (Autumn 1944), 451-458. Paul Della Valle, Massachusetts Troublemakers: Rebels, Reformers, and Radicals From the Bay State, 2009. John Matteson, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, 2010. Richard Corson, Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years, 2001. Stewart H. Holbrook, Lost Men of American History, 1947. Zechariah Chafee, Freedom of Speech, 1920. Clara Endicott Sears and Louisa May Alcott, Bronson Alcott's Fruitlands, 1915. George Willis Cooke, Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Life, Writings, and Philosophy, 1881. Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Theodore Parker: A Biography, 1874. Louisa May Alcott, Transcendental Wild Oats, 1873. Joseph J. Thorndike Jr., "Fruitlands," American Heritage 37:2 (February/March 1986). David Demaree, "Growing the Natural Man: The Hirsute Face in the Antebellum North," American Nineteenth Century History 18:2 (June 2017), 159–176. Richard E. Meyer, "'Pardon Me for Not Standing': Modern American Graveyard Humor," in Peter Narváez, ed., Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folkore and Popular Culture, 2003. J. Joseph Edgette, "The Epitaph and Personality Revelation," in Richard E. Meyer, ed., Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture, 1989. Herbert Moller, "The Accelerated Development of Youth: Beard Growth as a Biological Marker," Comparative Studies in Society and History 29:4 (October 1987), 748-762. Carl Watner, "Those 'Impossible Citizens': Civil Resistants in 19th Century New England," Journal of Libertarian Studies 3:2 (1980), 170-193. Ari Hoogenboom, "What Really Caused the Civil War?", Wisconsin Magazine of History 44:1 (Autumn 1960), 3-5. Richard Gehman, "Beards Stage a Comeback," Saturday Evening Post 231:20 (Nov. 15, 1958), 40-108. Stewart H. Holbrook, "Lost Men of American History," Life 22:2 (Jan. 13, 1947), 81-92. George Hodges, "The Liberty of Difference," Atlantic Monthly 117:6 (June 1916), 784-793. James Anderson, "'Fruitlands,' Historic Alcott Home Restored," Table Talk 30:12 (December 1915), 664-670. Marion Sothern, "'Fruitlands': The New England Homestead of the Alcotts," Book News Monthly 33:2 (October 1914), 65-68. Rick Gamble, "Speaking From the Grave Through Monuments," [Brantford, Ont.] Expositor, Feb. 23, 2019, D.2. James Sullivan, "Beard Brains: A Historian Uncovers the Roots of Men's Facial Hair," Boston Globe, Jan. 1, 2016, G.8. Kimberly Winston, "When Is Facial Hair a Sign of Faith?", Washington Post, Oct. 11, 2014, B.2. Christopher Klein, "Pulling for the Beards," Boston Globe, Nov. 2, 2013, V.30. "Shared History: Whisker Rebellion Whets Writer's Curiosity," [Worcester, Mass.] Telegram & Gazette, Jan. 27, 2009, E.1. William Loeffler, "Facial Hair Has Said a Lot About a Man," McClatchy-Tribune Business News, Oct. 26, 2008. Paul Galloway, "A Shave With History: Tracking Civilization Through Facial Hair," Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1999, 1. Billy Porterfield, "Bearded Abolitionist Set Fad on Both Sides of Mason-Dixon," Austin American Statesman, Jan. 19, 1990, B1. "Very Set in His Ways," Bridgeport [Conn.] Evening Farmer, Oct. 26, 1916, 9. "Man's Beard Cause of Jeers," [Mountain Home, Idaho] Republican, Jan. 9, 1906. "'Persecuted for Wearing the Beard': The Hirsute Life and Death of Joseph Palmer," Slate, April 16, 2015. "Joseph Palmer, Fashion Criminal, Persecuted for Wearing a Beard," New England Historical Society (accessed May 19, 2019). Listener mail: Wikipedia, "TX-0" (accessed May 24, 2019). Wendy Lee, "Can a Computer Write a Script? Machine Learning Goes Hollywood," Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2019. Sean Keane, "First AI-Scripted Commercial Tugs Hard at Our Heart Strings -- for a Lexus," CNET, Nov. 19, 2018 Reece Medway, "Lexus Europe Creates World's Most Intuitive Car Ad With IBM Watson," IBM, Nov. 19, 2018. Janelle Shane, "Skyknit: When Knitters Teamed Up With a Neural Network," AI Weirdness, 2018. Alexis C. Madrigal, "SkyKnit: How an AI Took Over an Adult Knitting Community," Atlantic, March 6, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was suggested by one that appeared in 2005 on the National Public Radio program Car Talk, contributed by their listener David Johnson. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

3 Juni 201931min

In 1904 a Manhattan church outing descended into horror when a passenger steamboat caught fire on the East River. More than a thousand people struggled to survive as the captain raced to reach land. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the burning of the General Slocum, the worst maritime disaster in the history of New York City. We'll also chase some marathon cheaters and puzzle over a confusing speeding ticket. Intro: In 1959 a Norwegian insulation company wrangled a three-ton block of ice from the arctic to the equator. At his death in 1838, the governor of Bombay was transported into innumerable pussycats. Sources for our feature on the General Slocum: Edward T. O'Donnell, Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum, 2003. Henry Davenport Northrop, New York's Awful Steamboat Horror, 1904. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce, 1915. "In re Knickerbocker Steamboat Co. (District Court, S.D. New York, April 7, 1905)," in The Federal Reporter: Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, Volume 136, 1905. Gilbert King, "A Spectacle of Horror -- The Burning of the General Slocum," Smithsonian.com, Feb. 21, 2012. Frances A. Scully, "Tragic Last Voyage of the General Slocum," Sea Classics 37:2 (February 2004), 14-17, 66-67. Valerie Wingfield, "The General Slocum Disaster of June 15, 1904," New York Public Library, June 13, 2011. Ted Houghtaling, "Witness to Tragedy: The Sinking of the General Slocum," New York Historical Society Museum & Library, Feb. 24, 2016. Valerie Bauman, "Anniversary of 1904 General Slocum Steamboat Disaster Marked," Newsday, June 10, 2017. "100 Years After the General Slocum Fire, Smoke on the Water," Newsday, June 15, 2004, A42. Glenn Collins, "A 100-Year-Old Horror, Through 9/11 Eyes," New York Times, June 8, 2004. John E. Thomas, "Echoes of a Church Picnic," Newsday, May 23, 2004, G06. Douglas Martin, "Last Survivor of General Slocum Steamboat Disaster Was 100," Montreal Gazette, Feb. 6, 2004, E7. Douglas Martin, "Adella Wotherspoon, Last Survivor of General Slocum Disaster, Is Dead at 100," New York Times, Feb. 4, 2004. Jay Maeder, "Built Like a Bonfire General Slocum, 1904," New York Daily News, March 12, 1998, 31. Eric Pace, "Years After Ship Fire Captain's Role Debated," New York Times, June 11, 1984. "Survivors Remember the General Slocum," New York Times, June 11, 1979. David C. Berliner, "Fateful Day on Which 1,030 Died Is Recalled," New York Times, June 9, 1974. "General Slocum Disaster Is Commemorated Here," New York Times, June 10, 1963. "Mrs. Anna Kindley Dies; Nurse Took Part in General Slocum Rescue in 1904," New York Times, Nov. 7, 1958. "Van Schaick Pardoned; Captain of the Ill-Fated Slocum Is Restored to Full Citizenship," New York Times, Dec. 20, 1912. "The General Slocum Gone; Ill-Fated Steamer, Converted Into a Barge, Sinks Off Atlantic City," New York Times, Dec. 6, 1911. "Last of the General Slocum; Hull of the Steamer of Disaster Sinks as a Brick Barge," New York Times, March 7, 1909. "Captain of Slocum Surrenders to Law," Deseret News, Feb. 27, 1908. "Full Extent of the Law: Sentence of Captain of the Gen. Slocum," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, January 28, 1906, 2. "Thousands Sob as Baby Unveil Slocum Statue," New York Times, June 16, 1905. "Indictment for Slocum Captain," Minneapolis Journal, July 29, 1904, 1. "Slocum Memorial," New York Tribune, July 8, 1904, 2. "Slocum's Owners and Crew Held," Clinton [Iowa] Morning Age, June 30, 1904. "Grand Opera House Benefit," New York Tribune, June 25, 1904, 3. "No More Needed for Relief," New York Tribune, June 24, 1904, 7. "Over Six Hundred Perish," Muskogee [Okla.] Cimeter, June 23, 1904, 2. "Official Inquiry Into Burning of the Steamer General Slocum," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, June 22, 1904, 6. "Seven Hundred Lives Lost," Stark County [Ohio] Democrat, June 17, 1904, 1. "Hundreds Perished by Fire and Water," [Newberry, S.C.] Herald and News, June 17, 1904, 1. "504 Bodies Found," Boston Evening Transcript, June 16, 1904. "The 'General Slocum,'" New York Times, June 16, 1904. "The General Slocum an Unlucky Craft," New York Times, June 16, 1904. "More Than Six Hundred Women and Children Die on Flaming Vessel or Leap Overboard to Drown," San Francisco Call, June 16, 1904, 1. "Horror in East River," New York Tribune, June 16, 1904, 1. "Horror Claims Over a Thousand," Washington Times, June 16, 1904, 1. "An Appalling Catastrophe Women and Children Perish," [Walla Walla, Wash.] Evening Statesman, June 15, 1904, 1. "City and Suburban News," New York Times, June 26, 1891. Listener mail: Stephanie Gosk, Rich McHugh, and Tracy Connor, "Marathon Investigator Derek Murphy Reveals How He Catches Cheaters," NBC News, Jan. 22, 2017. Nik DeCosta-Klipa, "For a Marathon Cheater, the Biggest Obstacle Isn't in Boston," Boston Globe, April 3, 2019. Mark Wilding, "Meet the Marathon Cheats," Guardian, Oct. 28, 2018. Jen A. Miller, "Cheating to Make the Boston Marathon? You Can’t Run From This Detective," New York Times, April 11, 2019. Wikipedia, "Rosie Ruiz" (accessed May 19, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Lex Beckley. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

27 Maj 201933min

In 1954 a social psychologist started a war between two teams of fifth graders at an Oklahoma summer camp. He wanted to investigate the sources of human conflict and how people might overcome them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the Robbers Cave Experiment and examine its evolving reputation. We'll also dredge up a Dalek and puzzle over a hazardous job. Intro: Butler University mathematician Jerry Farrell can control coin flips. Nashville attorney Edwin H. Tenney gave a baffling Independence Day speech in 1858. Sources for our feature on the Robbers Cave experiment: Muzafer Sherif et al., Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment, 1961. Gina Perry, The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment, 2018. Ayfer Dost-Gozkan and Doga Sonmez Keith, Norms, Groups, Conflict, and Social Change: Rediscovering Muzafer Sherif's Psychology, 2015. Paul Bloom, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, 2013. Gina Perry, "The View From the Boys," Psychologist 27:11 (November 2014), 834-836. Ralph H. Turner, "Some Contributions of Muzafer Sherif to Sociology," Social Psychology Quarterly 53:4 (December 1990), 283-291. Muzafer Sherif, "Superordinate Goals in the Reduction of Intergroup Conflict," American Journal of Sociology 63:4 (January 1958), 349-356. Gregory M. Walton and Carol S. Dweck, "Solving Social Problems Like a Psychologist," Perspectives on Psychological Science 4:1 (January 2009), 101-102. O.J. Harvey, "Muzafer Sherif (1906–1988)," American Psychologist 44:10, October 1989, 1325-1326. Elton B. McNeil, "Discussions and Reviews: Waging Experimental War: A Review," Journal of Conflict Resolution 6:1 (March 1962), 77. Alex Haslam, "War and Peace and Summer Camp," Nature 556:7701 (April 19, 2018), 306-307. Steven N. Durlauf, "A Framework for the Study of Individual Behavior and Social Interactions," Sociological Methodology 31 (2001), 47. Gary Alan Fine, "Review: Forgotten Classic: The Robbers Cave Experiment," Sociological Forum 19:4 (December 2004), 663-666. Andrew Tyerman and Christopher Spencer, "A Critical Test of the Sherifs' Robber's Cave Experiments: Intergroup Competition and Cooperation Between Groups of Well-Acquainted Individuals," Small Group Research 14:4 (November 1983), 515-531. Samuel L. Gaertner et al., "Reducing Intergroup Conflict: From Superordinate Goals to Decategorization, Recategorization, and Mutual Differentiation," Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice 4:1 (March 2000), 98-114. Furkan Amil Gur, Benjamin D. McLarty, and Jeff Muldoon, "The Sherifs' Contributions to Management Research," Journal of Management History 23:2 (2017), 191-216. Anna E. Kosloski, Bridget K. Welch, "Confronting Student Prejudice With 'Mario Kart' Nintendo Wii," Social Thought and Research 31 (2010), 79-87. Carol Tavris, "Thinking Critically About Psychology's Classic Studies," Skeptic 19:4 (2014), 38-43, 64. Michael J. Lovaglia, "From Summer Camps to Glass Ceilings: The Power of Experiments," Contexts 2:4 (Fall 2003), 42-49. J. McKenzie Alexander, "Group Dynamics in the State of Nature," Erkenntnis 55:2 (September 2001), 169-182. Maria Konnikova, "Revisiting Robbers Cave: The Easy Spontaneity of Intergroup Conflict," Scientific American, Sept. 5, 2012. Peter Gray, "A New Look at the Classic Robbers Cave Experiment," Psychology Today, Dec. 9, 2009. David P. Barash, "Why People Kill," Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 8, 2015. Barbara McMahon, "I Survived the Real-Life Lord of the Flies," Times, April 25, 2018, 2. Leyla Sanai, "'The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment', by Gina Perry - Review," Spectator, April 28, 2018. Anoosh Chakelian, "The Lasting Wounds of Robbers Cave," New Statesman 147:5425 (June 29-July 5, 2018), 16-17. Judy Golding Carver, "What Lord of the Flies Is Really About," Guardian, April 20, 2018, 8. Eleanor Learmonth and Jenny Tabakoff, "'What Are We? Humans? Or Animals? Or Savages?'" Independent on Sunday, March 16, 2014, 26. Darragh McManus, "The Real-Life 'Lord of the Flies,'" Irish Independent, May 5, 2018, 18. David Shariatmadari, "A Real-Life Lord of the Flies: The Troubling Legacy of the Robbers Cave Experiment," Guardian, April 16, 2018. Gina Perry, "Real-Life Lord of the Flies," Qatar Tribune, Feb. 24, 2018. Peter Waterson, "Letters: Love-Hate," Guardian, Oct. 18, 2001, 25. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Mojibake" (accessed May 10, 2019). Victoria Ward, "'Weekend Foggy Earphones': How Three Random Words Helped Police Come to Rescue of Mother and Daughter," Telegraph, March 25, 2019. Tiffany Lo, "How Mum and Daughter Were Saved by Saying Words 'Weekend Foggy Earphones' to Cops," Mirror, March 26, 2019. Jane Wakefield, "Three-Unique-Words 'Map' Used to Rescue Mother and Child," BBC News, March 26, 2019. Mark Bridge, "Valerie Hawkett: Three Words Find Woman Who Crashed Car in a Field," Times, March 26, 2019. "Dr Who Dalek Found in Pond," Telegraph, March 4, 2009. Wikipedia, "Dalek" (accessed May 10, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Sam Dyck, who, for background, sent this summary of 2017 fatal occupation injuries from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

20 Maj 201931min

In 1944, an American soldier discovered a Yorkshire terrier in an abandoned foxhole in New Guinea. Adopted by an Army photographer, she embarked on a series of colorful adventures that won the hearts of the humans around her. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Smoky the dog, one of the most endearing characters of World War II. We'll also contemplate chicken spectacles and puzzle over a gratified diner. Intro: In 1955 a Wisconsin supermarket manager fulfilled the requirements for a promotional trip to Mars. In 1898, Jules Verne sent a congratulatory telegram to honor the first submarine to operate successfully in the open sea. Sources for our feature on Smoky the dog: Damien Lewis, Smoky the Brave, 2018. Kari Williams, "Champion Mascot, Fearless War Dog," VFW Magazine 105:10 (August 2018), 42-43. "The Tale of Bill Wynne and 'Smoky the War Dog,'" Veteran's News Journal, Aug. 6, 2018, A3. Rebecca Frankel, "Dogs at War: Smoky, a Healing Presence for Wounded WWII Soldiers," National Geographic, May 22, 2014. Brian Albrecht, "Smoky of World War II Recognized by U.S. War Dogs Association," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 13, 2017. Linda Slusser, "The Story of Smoky, The First Therapy Dog," American Kennel Club, Aug. 11, 2016. Marie Wilson, "A 'Yorkie Doodle Dandy' Dog," [Arlington Heights, Ill.] Daily Herald, Aug. 3, 2014, 1. Damien Lewis, "The Tiniest Hero," [Adelaide, South Australia] Advertiser, June 9, 2018, 18. Ron Simon, "A Veteran's Story: WWII Recon Photographer's Canine Sidekick Is Claim to Fame," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal, Jan. 14, 2008, A3. Ron Simon, "Local Man's Dog Prompts War Memorial," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal, Nov. 11, 2005, A1. Karl Terry, "Author of Dog Tales Visits ENMU," McClatchy-Tribune Business News, May 9, 2007, 1. Harry Levins, "Museum Notes: Every Dog Has His Day, Even the Soldierly Breeds," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 29, 1996, 4. Ron Simon, "Veteran's Dog Was a Loved Mascot for Unit During WWII," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal, Aug. 8, 2004, B1. Ron Simon, "Stuff: Special Wartime Hero Gets an Award," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal, July 25, 2012. Lara Lauth, "Braveheart War Dog Wins Honour at Last," [Brisbane, Queensland] Sunday Mail, July 22, 2012, 10. Tanya Bielski-Braham, "Courageous, Yet Unconventional, War Dog Awaits Her Memorial," AKC Gazette 122:5 (May 2005), 14. Lissa Kaplan, "Smoky Is Remembered in a Book Celebrating Canine Participation on the Battlefield," Dayton Daily News, July 27, 1996, 8D. Ron Simon, "Stuff: Smoky Awarded for Heroic Actions," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal, May 22, 2011. "An Honour Roll of Australia's Most Decorated Canine War Heroes," [Brisbane, Queensland] Courier-Mail, June 2, 2018, 15. "Smoky the Terrier: A Tiny War Hero Immortalized," Morning Edition, National Public Radio, Aug. 3, 2011. Janelle Miles, "Smoky's Heroics Honoured," [Brisbane, Queensland] Courier-Mail, Dec. 12, 2012, 11. Robert Reno, "The Dog Days of Washington," Austin American Statesman, May 16, 1998, A13. Cleo Fraser, "QLD: War Hero Pup Honoured," AAP General News Wire, Nov. 17, 2015. Scott Eyman, "Therapy Dog Is Unlikely Teacher," [West Palm Beach, Fla.] Post, July 28, 2013, F5. "A Dog Is Not Just a Pet, But a 'Kind of Counsellor With Fur,'" [Dublin] Sunday Independent, Dec. 9, 2018, 30. Tina White, "Remembering Furry Heroes," [Palmerston North, New Zealand] Manawatu Standard, Feb. 24, 2018, WM17. "Remembering the Animals of War," [Invercargill, New Zealand] Southland Times, Feb. 24, 2018, A16. "Animals to the Fore at Museum's New War Exhibit," Asbury Park Press, July 26, 2010. Listener mail: Adam Alter, Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave, 2012. "Game Theory: Red vs Blue, The SECRET Color Strategy," The Game Theorists, June 25, 2015. Russell A. Hill and Robert A. Barton, "Psychology: Red Enhances Human Performance in Contests," Nature 435:7040 (May 19, 2005), 293. Andrei Ilie et al., "Better to Be Red Than Blue in Virtual Competition," CyberPsychology & Behavior 11:3 (June 7, 2008), 375-377. "Effect of Colors: Blue Boosts Creativity, While Red Enhances Attention to Detail," Science Daily, Feb. 6, 2009. "Stop On Red! The Effects of Color May Lie Deep in Evolution ...," Association for Psychological Science, June 7, 2011. "League of Legends: Are There Any Advantages to Starting on the Red or Blue Side?," Quora (accessed May 3, 2019). Jack Kee, "Why Does Blue Side Win More Games in League of Legends?" 5v5 Esports, March 1, 2018. "Blue Side Advantage," League of Legends (accessed May 3, 2019). "Interesting Statistic Regarding Sides in League of Legends," DBLTAP, June 20, 2017. Sara A. Khan et al. "Red Signals Dominance in Male Rhesus Macaques," Psychological Science 22:8 (August 2011), 1001-1003. Wikipedia, "Cayo Santiago" (accessed May 3, 2019). Darrel G. Clarke and Randall E. Wise, "Optical Distortion, Inc. (A)," Harvard Business School Case 575-072, January 1975. Wikipedia, "Chicken Eyeglasses" (accessed April 27, 2019). Esther Inglis-Arkell, "Thousands of Chickens Once Wore Glasses to Stop Them Killing Each Other," io9, April 27, 2015. B. Huber-Eicher, A. Suter, and P. Spring-Stähli, "Effects of Colored Light-Emitting Diode Illumination on Behavior and Performance of Laying Hens," Poultry Science 92:4 (April 2013), 869–873. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2012-02679 This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Anne Joroch, who sent this link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

13 Maj 201933min

Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was suggested by an item on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are two corroborating links. Puzzle #2 is by Greg. Here's a link. Puzzle #3 was suggested by an item in Dan Lewis' Now I Know enewsletter. Here are two links. Puzzle #4 is from Greg. Puzzle #5 is from Sharon. Puzzle #6 was contributed by listener David White, who sent this link. 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. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

6 Maj 201932min

At the height of her fame in 1943, movie star Gene Tierney contracted German measles during pregnancy and bore a daughter with severe birth defects. The strain ended her marriage to Oleg Cassini and sent her into a breakdown that lasted years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Tierney's years of heartbreak and the revelation that compounded them. We'll also visit some Japanese cats and puzzle over a disarranged corpse. Intro: The indexes of two mathematics textbooks contain hidden jokes. In 1973 Stanford statistician Herman Chernoff proposed using cartoon faces to encode information. Sources for our feature on Gene Tierney: Gene Tierney, Self-Portrait, 1979. Oleg Cassini, In My Own Fashion, 1990. Steven Rybin, Gestures of Love: Romancing Performance in Classical Hollywood Cinema, 2017. Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film, 2013. Agatha Christie, The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side, 1962. Dan Callahan, "Only a Dream," Sight & Sound 22:3 (March 2012), 50-53. Maureen Orth, "Cassini Royale," Vanity Fair 52:9 (September 2010), 302. Amy Davidson Sorkin, "Wakefield's Vaccine Follies," New Yorker, May 26, 2010. "Gene Tierney," Variety, Nov. 10, 1991. "Welcome for a Troubled Beauty," Life, Sept. 29, 1958, 87-92. "Debutante Gene Tierney Makes Her Entrance in a Broadway Success," Life, Feb. 19, 1940, 35-40. Donald G. McNeil Jr., "Rubella Has Been Eliminated From the Americas, Health Officials Say," New York Times, April 29, 2015. Patti S. Spencer, "60-Year-Old Divorce Agreement Put to the Test," [Lancaster, Pa.] Intelligencer Journal, Sept. 24, 2012, B.8. "Oleg Cassini," Times, March 21, 2006, 63. Richard Severo and Ruth La Ferla, "Oleg Cassini, Designer for the Stars and Jacqueline Kennedy, Dies at 92," New York Times, March 19, 2006. Donald P. Myers, "Call Him Casanova," Newsday, Aug. 16, 2001, B06. Alex Witchel, "At Home With: Oleg Cassini; Ducking the Hunters," New York Times, Nov. 16, 1995. Frank Rizzo, "Glimpses of a Troubled Life: Gene Tierney Was More Than Just a Beautiful Vision," Hartford Courant, July 3, 1994, G1. Richard Severo, "Gene Tierney, 70, Star of 'Laura' And 'Leave Her to Heaven,' Dies," New York Times, Nov. 8, 1991. "Actress Gene Tierney, Screen Beauty of 1940s," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 8, 1991, 10. "Gene Tierney, Acclaimed as Star of 'Laura,' Dies at 70," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 8, 1991. "Actress Gene Tierney Dies at 70," Washington Post, Nov. 8, 1991, D4. Carrie Rickey, "Gene Tierney, Famed for Her Roles in 'Laura' and 'Heaven Can Wait,'" Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 8, 1991, C.9. "Actress Gene Tierney Dies," Ottawa Citizen, Nov. 8, 1991, F10. "Show Bits: Tragedy Clouded Tierney's Triumphs," Windsor Star, Nov. 8, 1991, C2. "Actress Gene Tierney, Star of 'Laura,' Dies at 70," Associated Press, Nov. 8, 1991. Laura Tolley, "Actress Gene Tierney, Known For Role in 'Laura,' Dies At 70," Associated Press, Nov. 7, 1991. Michael Gross, "Oleg Cassini: A Celebrity Life in Fashion," New York Times, Aug. 28, 1987. Mitchell Smyth, "She Fell in Love With Young JFK," Toronto Star, July 21, 1985, D04. "Movie Recalls Gene Tierney," Lodi [Calif.] News-Sentinel, July 3, 1980, 3-G. Seymour Peck, "Star Trouble," New York Times, April 8, 1979. "Gene Tierney Re-Enters Clinic," New York Times, Jan. 22, 1959. "Gene Tierney Leaves Clinic," New York Times, Sept. 26, 1959. "Gene Tierney Enters Hospital," Deseret News, Jan. 21, 1958, A13. "Gene Tierney Gets Divorce," New York Times, April 9, 1953. "Gene Tierney Robbed in Britain," New York Times, July 8, 1952. "Gene Tierney Gets Divorce," New York Times, Feb. 29, 1952. "Gene Tierney Loses Gems; Actress Reports $15,300 Jewels Stolen From Home Here," New York Times, Sept. 24, 1948. "Gene Tierney Suspended; Actress Says She Couldn't Fill 'Walls of Jericho' Role," New York Times, Sept. 29, 1947. "Gene Tierney Wins California Divorce," New York Times, March 11, 1947. "Saves Family Homestead; Gene Tierney Redeems Property 24 Hours After Foreclosure," New York Times, March 8, 1942. "Gene Tierney, Actress, Wed to Count Cassini," New York Times, June 2, 1941. Listener mail: Steve Annear, "Museum of Fine Arts Will Use a Puppy to Sniff Out Pests That Could Damage Its Collections," Boston Globe, Jan. 9, 2018. "Meet Riley the Museum Dog," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accessed April 15, 2019). Jason Daley, "Meet Riley, the Puppy Training to Sniff Out Bugs in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts," Smithsonian.com, Jan. 11, 2018. Lillian Brown, "Riley the Museum Dog Gets His Own Book," Boston Globe, April 3, 2019. "Riley the Museum Dog Stars in New Children's Book Released by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Boston Globe," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accessed April 15, 2019). "A Nose For Art: Meet The MFA's New Four-Legged Employee," WBZ NewsRadio, April 17, 2019. "Popular Dog Has Book Signing, Meets Fans at Museum of Fine Arts," News 7 Boston, April 17, 2019. Wikipedia, "Tama (cat)" (accessed April 15, 2019). Maggie Hiufu Wong, "Meet Nitama, the New Cat in Charge at Japan's Kishi Station," CNN, Aug. 24, 2015. "Cat Stationmaster Tama Mourned in Japan and Elevated as Goddess," Associated Press, June 28, 2015. Maggie Hiufu Wong, "The Cat That Saved a Japanese Train Station," CNN Travel, May 24, 2013. "Stationmaster Cat," Animal Planet, April 18, 2012. Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku, "'Nekonomics' Does Its Bit to Keep Japan's Economy Purring," Japan Times, April 8, 2017. "Can 'Nekonomics' Save Japan's Economy?" Japan Today, March 3, 2016. "31 Pictures That Show Japan's Crazy Obsession With Cats," Business Insider, July 10, 2013. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Christopher McDonough, who suggests this book for further information (warning -- this link spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

29 Apr 201933min