1 00:00:06,042 --> 00:00:08,375 (tense music) 2 00:00:11,208 --> 00:00:16,042 Imagine falling asleep in your armchair one peaceful evening 3 00:00:16,042 --> 00:00:18,250 and then suddenly bursting intamo fles. 4 00:00:19,208 --> 00:00:22,208 - There's a pile of ash where Mary is sitting. 5 00:00:22,208 --> 00:00:24,625 One of her feet is completely intact. 6 00:00:25,708 --> 00:00:29,542 - Or being crushed to death by a falling poodle. 7 00:00:30,833 --> 00:00:34,208 - The dog is getting closer and closer to this balcony. 8 00:00:34,208 --> 00:00:36,250 - It falls the 13 floors. 9 00:00:37,750 --> 00:00:40,500 - How about leaping off the Eiffel Tower in a flying suit 10 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:43,542 and plummeting 18 stories to the ground? 11 00:00:43,542 --> 00:00:47,167 - Frantz is so excited to show the world this wingsuit 12 00:00:47,167 --> 00:00:48,542 and then, he jumps. 13 00:00:48,542 --> 00:00:50,250 (dramatic music) 14 00:00:50,250 --> 00:00:52,208 - These are the deaths so surprising, 15 00:00:52,208 --> 00:00:54,625 they are truly unbelievable. 16 00:00:54,625 --> 00:00:56,792 (dramatic music) 17 00:01:07,750 --> 00:01:10,917 It's not unusual for oily rags, grass clippings, 18 00:01:10,917 --> 00:01:13,708 or even coal to spontaneously catch fire 19 00:01:13,708 --> 00:01:15,917 when the conditions are right, 20 00:01:15,917 --> 00:01:17,958 but could the same thing happen 21 00:01:17,958 --> 00:01:20,542 to a 67 year old woman? 22 00:01:20,542 --> 00:01:22,625 (tense music) 23 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:27,875 - Mary Reeser gets home one night to her apartment, 24 00:01:27,875 --> 00:01:31,375 plops down in her overstuffed, upholstered easy chair, 25 00:01:31,375 --> 00:01:33,000 pops a couple of sedatives 26 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:34,500 'cause she's trying to get some rest, 27 00:01:34,500 --> 00:01:36,208 passes out and goes to sleep. 28 00:01:40,042 --> 00:01:42,750 - 8:00 AM the next morning, 29 00:01:42,750 --> 00:01:46,500 her landlord, Pansy Carpenter, smells some smoke. 30 00:01:46,500 --> 00:01:48,833 So she goes and she touches the doorknob 31 00:01:48,833 --> 00:01:50,583 and it's too hot to touch. 32 00:01:50,583 --> 00:01:53,792 So she fears, rightfully so, that there's a fire inside. 33 00:01:53,792 --> 00:01:55,125 (knocking) 34 00:01:55,125 --> 00:01:56,625 - The police department's immediately called 35 00:01:56,625 --> 00:01:57,708 and they show up 36 00:01:57,708 --> 00:01:59,750 and when they open the door, they see something 37 00:01:59,750 --> 00:02:01,208 that they've never seen before. 38 00:02:02,542 --> 00:02:04,667 (tense music) 39 00:02:05,875 --> 00:02:07,292 - Very little is left of the chair, 40 00:02:07,292 --> 00:02:08,833 just some springs and some debris. 41 00:02:10,208 --> 00:02:13,375 There's a pile of ash where Mary was sitting. 42 00:02:13,375 --> 00:02:17,958 One of her feet is completely intact, still in the slipper. 43 00:02:17,958 --> 00:02:20,333 - Stranger still, nothing else 44 00:02:20,333 --> 00:02:22,500 in the apartment has caught fire. 45 00:02:24,375 --> 00:02:29,125 A pile of newspapers, feet away, completely untouched. 46 00:02:29,125 --> 00:02:30,875 Light switches on the wall are melted, 47 00:02:30,875 --> 00:02:33,875 but the outlets on the bottom are still operational 48 00:02:33,875 --> 00:02:35,417 and perfectly intact. 49 00:02:35,417 --> 00:02:37,083 - The pictures are on the walls, 50 00:02:37,083 --> 00:02:39,042 the floor perfectly fine, the ceiling, 51 00:02:39,042 --> 00:02:41,375 no smoke damage and yet Mary Reeser, 52 00:02:41,375 --> 00:02:43,750 burned to a crisp, gone. 53 00:02:45,375 --> 00:02:50,708 - [Dan] So what caused Mary Reeser to suddenly go poof? 54 00:02:50,708 --> 00:02:53,625 - For a human body to be fully cremated, you have to be 55 00:02:53,625 --> 00:02:56,750 in a fire that is upwards of 3,000 degrees 56 00:02:56,750 --> 00:02:59,125 for upwards of three hours. 57 00:02:59,125 --> 00:03:01,208 Perhaps she lit a cigarette, 58 00:03:01,208 --> 00:03:04,208 the cigarette lit her clothes on fire and she burned. 59 00:03:04,208 --> 00:03:08,125 Yet somehow, fire didn't spread to any other apartment. 60 00:03:08,125 --> 00:03:10,792 No one smelled smoke, saw smoke. 61 00:03:10,792 --> 00:03:14,500 - There's just no way that any household fire 62 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:17,583 would be able to consume a human being that way. 63 00:03:17,583 --> 00:03:20,875 - [Dan] Even more bizarre, Mary's skull is found, 64 00:03:20,875 --> 00:03:22,875 but it's mysteriously smaller. 65 00:03:22,875 --> 00:03:25,083 - In a normal cremation setting, 66 00:03:25,083 --> 00:03:27,458 the human skull is going to crack. 67 00:03:27,458 --> 00:03:29,417 - In her case, the skull shrinks down 68 00:03:29,417 --> 00:03:32,208 to the size of a baseball. 69 00:03:32,208 --> 00:03:34,000 - And doesn't that sound suspicious? 70 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:35,542 (dramatic music) 71 00:03:35,542 --> 00:03:37,250 - The authorities begin to wonder, 72 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:39,667 is there some Soviet weapon at play? 73 00:03:39,667 --> 00:03:42,875 So the FBI begins investigating this. 74 00:03:42,875 --> 00:03:45,792 - [Dan] It's so perplexing, it makes it all the way up 75 00:03:45,792 --> 00:03:47,458 to director J. Edgar Hoover. 76 00:03:48,542 --> 00:03:50,708 - He looks at this case and he's so concerned 77 00:03:50,708 --> 00:03:53,792 that he actually lets the president, Harry S. Truman, 78 00:03:53,792 --> 00:03:56,458 know about this case going on in Florida. 79 00:03:56,458 --> 00:03:58,375 He employs his top forensic anthropologist 80 00:03:58,375 --> 00:04:00,667 at the time, Wilton Krogman. 81 00:04:00,667 --> 00:04:04,208 - [Dan] Wilton Krogman is a pioneer in the forensics field 82 00:04:04,208 --> 00:04:07,375 and the most qualified man in the country to solve the case. 83 00:04:07,375 --> 00:04:09,375 - He shows up to the scene 84 00:04:09,375 --> 00:04:11,083 and he has no idea what's going on. 85 00:04:11,083 --> 00:04:14,333 How does a skull shrink in a fire? 86 00:04:14,333 --> 00:04:16,708 That's not a thing that's supposed to happen. 87 00:04:16,708 --> 00:04:19,042 - [Dan] Desperate, the FBI entertains 88 00:04:19,042 --> 00:04:21,375 a number of strange possibilities. 89 00:04:21,375 --> 00:04:23,792 (tense music) 90 00:04:23,792 --> 00:04:25,708 - A lot of people speculate foul play 91 00:04:25,708 --> 00:04:29,250 and that someone had come in and doused Mary 92 00:04:29,250 --> 00:04:31,583 with kerosene and set her alight. 93 00:04:33,125 --> 00:04:34,417 - All the associated things 94 00:04:34,417 --> 00:04:36,042 that you would have inside of an arson case 95 00:04:36,042 --> 00:04:38,792 with accelerant, all the samples that were collected 96 00:04:38,792 --> 00:04:41,208 and sent to the laboratory, none of it comes back 97 00:04:41,208 --> 00:04:44,125 with any sort of traces of accelerant in it. 98 00:04:44,125 --> 00:04:47,042 - The next theory the FBI investigates 99 00:04:47,042 --> 00:04:49,000 comes from an anonymous tip. 100 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,875 - An anonymous person calls up 101 00:04:50,875 --> 00:04:53,875 and says that a fireball comes in through the window, 102 00:04:53,875 --> 00:04:55,333 lights Mary on fire. 103 00:04:55,333 --> 00:04:57,667 (dramatic music) 104 00:04:59,375 --> 00:05:02,208 - Gave an official statement, said, "I've seen it. 105 00:05:02,208 --> 00:05:04,333 A fireball came in her window and hit it." 106 00:05:05,208 --> 00:05:07,708 (fire crackling) 107 00:05:07,708 --> 00:05:11,708 Generally speaking, fireballs don't fly through windows. 108 00:05:11,708 --> 00:05:13,875 - What it could be is another unexplained phenomenon 109 00:05:13,875 --> 00:05:16,542 of ball lightning, which is controversial. 110 00:05:16,542 --> 00:05:18,125 It may or may not exist. 111 00:05:18,125 --> 00:05:20,875 I mean, how much credence do we put into anonymous tips? 112 00:05:20,875 --> 00:05:23,375 I mean, right there we think it's a little bit of BS. 113 00:05:23,375 --> 00:05:26,000 - [Dan] Is it possible the most likely explanation 114 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,542 is also the most unbelievable? 115 00:05:28,542 --> 00:05:31,375 Spontaneous human combustion? 116 00:05:31,375 --> 00:05:34,458 - Spontaneous human combustion is an idea 117 00:05:34,458 --> 00:05:37,375 that someone just all of a sudden bursts into flames 118 00:05:37,375 --> 00:05:39,542 and it only impacts the individual 119 00:05:39,542 --> 00:05:41,792 and it doesn't impact anything else. 120 00:05:41,792 --> 00:05:44,750 - Spontaneous combustion does happen in nature. 121 00:05:45,708 --> 00:05:48,375 Hay bales, you have wet and dry hay, 122 00:05:48,375 --> 00:05:49,917 the wet hay still alive, 123 00:05:49,917 --> 00:05:51,875 going through its respiration process, 124 00:05:51,875 --> 00:05:53,542 taking in carbon dioxide, 125 00:05:53,542 --> 00:05:55,875 pumping out oxygen, and this creates heat. 126 00:05:55,875 --> 00:05:59,000 So you'll have hay bales that just spontaneously combust. 127 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:00,500 - [Dan] The question is, 128 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:02,833 could this also happen to humans? 129 00:06:03,833 --> 00:06:07,667 Shockingly, there have been roughly 200 recorded cases 130 00:06:07,667 --> 00:06:10,833 of spontaneous human combustion in history. 131 00:06:10,833 --> 00:06:15,583 - In 1470, there is an Italian knight in Milan 132 00:06:15,583 --> 00:06:20,792 who after a night of drinking, according to witnesses, 133 00:06:20,792 --> 00:06:24,167 begins to actually belch up flame. 134 00:06:24,167 --> 00:06:29,667 And finally, his entire body combusts seemingly from within. 135 00:06:29,667 --> 00:06:32,917 - In 1982, a woman named Jean Safin 136 00:06:32,917 --> 00:06:37,875 in the UK, again, same exact circumstances, 137 00:06:37,875 --> 00:06:38,833 completely burned, 138 00:06:38,833 --> 00:06:41,083 yet parts of her body found intact. 139 00:06:41,083 --> 00:06:42,667 No one could understand it. 140 00:06:42,667 --> 00:06:45,458 - And a little bit more recently, in 2010, 141 00:06:45,458 --> 00:06:48,708 an Irishman named Michael Faherty is found 142 00:06:48,708 --> 00:06:53,542 completely burned and charred to ashes on his floor. 143 00:06:53,542 --> 00:06:55,042 None of the combustible materials 144 00:06:55,042 --> 00:06:59,833 around him are also found burnt, so eerily similar to Mary. 145 00:07:00,875 --> 00:07:03,583 - [Dan] But in Mary's case, the FBI is unwilling 146 00:07:03,583 --> 00:07:06,667 to list spontaneous human combustion 147 00:07:06,667 --> 00:07:09,000 as the official cause of death. 148 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,042 What they come up with isn't any less strange. 149 00:07:12,042 --> 00:07:15,042 - So the belief is that Mary succumbed 150 00:07:15,042 --> 00:07:18,042 to something known as the wick effect. 151 00:07:18,042 --> 00:07:20,875 - In essence, the body is an inside out candle. 152 00:07:20,875 --> 00:07:24,542 The clothing is the wick that catches flame, 153 00:07:24,542 --> 00:07:28,208 but the combustible hydrocarbons found in human fat 154 00:07:28,208 --> 00:07:30,375 literally serve to fuel the fire. 155 00:07:30,375 --> 00:07:33,917 - Because she's an overweight woman that was also a smoker, 156 00:07:33,917 --> 00:07:37,583 the FBI suggests that the cigarette burns her nightgown, 157 00:07:37,583 --> 00:07:39,458 which causes her to go up in flame, 158 00:07:39,458 --> 00:07:41,417 because she's a heavier woman, that leads 159 00:07:41,417 --> 00:07:43,292 to the fire continuing to burn 160 00:07:43,292 --> 00:07:45,125 for a longer period of time. 161 00:07:45,125 --> 00:07:47,917 - [Dan] Not everyone accepts this answer. 162 00:07:47,917 --> 00:07:50,667 - There are lots of problems with this theory. 163 00:07:50,667 --> 00:07:53,292 The first of which is that millions of people fall asleep 164 00:07:53,292 --> 00:07:57,667 with lit cigarettes and they don't usually end up cremated. 165 00:07:58,542 --> 00:08:00,708 - So people are thinking, 166 00:08:00,708 --> 00:08:04,542 why would you not wake up if you are currently on fire? 167 00:08:04,542 --> 00:08:08,042 - Even with sedatives, there's still a great likelihood 168 00:08:08,042 --> 00:08:11,333 that a person would start thrashing around. 169 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:13,667 Spontaneous human combustion, 170 00:08:13,667 --> 00:08:16,708 it's the last place investigators want to go, 171 00:08:16,708 --> 00:08:18,833 but sometimes they're forced to go there 172 00:08:18,833 --> 00:08:21,542 in the absence of any other explanations. 173 00:08:24,167 --> 00:08:27,042 - I think it's a damn strange world. (laughing) 174 00:08:27,042 --> 00:08:28,750 I never take anything off the table 175 00:08:28,750 --> 00:08:30,500 until we're absolutely certain. 176 00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:31,958 (dramatic music) 177 00:08:31,958 --> 00:08:32,000 - The forensic anthropologist hired by the FBI 178 00:08:33,208 --> 00:08:34,542 - The forensic anthropologist hired by the FBI 179 00:08:34,542 --> 00:08:36,417 has this to say. 180 00:08:36,417 --> 00:08:38,625 "Were I living in the Middle Ages, 181 00:08:38,625 --> 00:08:41,083 I'd mutter something about black magic." 182 00:08:45,583 --> 00:08:47,167 - We all know the feeling. 183 00:08:47,167 --> 00:08:49,125 You leave the house only to realize you forgot your wallet 184 00:08:49,125 --> 00:08:50,708 or your keys or your phone. 185 00:08:50,708 --> 00:08:53,375 Now imagine for a moment you've just jumped out 186 00:08:53,375 --> 00:08:55,750 of an airplane and realize what you forgot 187 00:08:55,750 --> 00:08:58,917 to bring is something much more vital. 188 00:08:59,667 --> 00:09:02,250 (tense music) 189 00:09:04,292 --> 00:09:06,167 - Ivan McGuire, adrenaline junkie. 190 00:09:06,167 --> 00:09:10,292 Avid skydiver, this guy loves to jump out of planes. 191 00:09:10,292 --> 00:09:12,000 (plane whirring) 192 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,083 - Nowadays, you see people with GoPros 193 00:09:14,083 --> 00:09:16,542 and phones attached to their helmets. 194 00:09:16,542 --> 00:09:18,208 It's a pretty standard thing 195 00:09:18,208 --> 00:09:20,542 to see this aerial view and this angle of jumping out 196 00:09:20,542 --> 00:09:21,708 of a plane, but it's something 197 00:09:21,708 --> 00:09:24,417 that we didn't really see back in 1988, 198 00:09:24,417 --> 00:09:26,667 but Ivan McGuire wanted to capture that. 199 00:09:28,333 --> 00:09:31,542 He's done more than 800 skydives 200 00:09:31,542 --> 00:09:34,125 and he has this dream of showing the world 201 00:09:34,125 --> 00:09:36,167 what he sees when he leaves the plane. 202 00:09:39,708 --> 00:09:42,042 - [Dan] On April 4th, 1988, 203 00:09:42,042 --> 00:09:45,375 Ivan mounts a brand new, 8mm video camera 204 00:09:45,375 --> 00:09:50,333 to his helmet and is ready for his third jump of the day. 205 00:09:50,333 --> 00:09:51,542 - This is the 1980s, 206 00:09:51,542 --> 00:09:53,833 so these cameras are still pretty large. 207 00:09:53,833 --> 00:09:55,042 They're pretty bulky, 208 00:09:55,042 --> 00:09:56,417 certainly compared to what we know today. 209 00:09:56,417 --> 00:09:57,875 There's gonna be a lot of force of wind 210 00:09:57,875 --> 00:09:59,083 and so forth, so this has 211 00:09:59,083 --> 00:10:02,167 to be really carefully attached to the helmet. 212 00:10:02,167 --> 00:10:04,917 - He takes the entire plane right up there 213 00:10:04,917 --> 00:10:08,125 to check the camera, wipe the lens to make sure 214 00:10:08,125 --> 00:10:10,083 that he's gonna get the perfect shot. 215 00:10:11,208 --> 00:10:14,208 - [Dan] Warning, the footage you are about to see 216 00:10:14,208 --> 00:10:15,667 may be unsettling. 217 00:10:15,667 --> 00:10:18,250 - The two tandem jumpers give him the thumbs up. 218 00:10:18,250 --> 00:10:21,917 So Ivan seizes the moment and leaps from the plane. 219 00:10:24,583 --> 00:10:26,625 They're plummeting through the air. 220 00:10:26,625 --> 00:10:28,333 The tandem guys pull their parachute 221 00:10:28,333 --> 00:10:31,500 and boom, it's the perfect shot. 222 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:33,750 Now, it's time for Ivan's money shot, 223 00:10:33,750 --> 00:10:36,375 the POV of him falling silently 224 00:10:36,375 --> 00:10:38,083 through the North Carolina sky. 225 00:10:39,042 --> 00:10:42,917 - But he goes to deploy his own parachute 226 00:10:42,917 --> 00:10:44,667 and there's nothing there. 227 00:10:46,750 --> 00:10:49,708 - Ivan has forgotten his own parachute. 228 00:10:49,708 --> 00:10:51,833 - His total free fall was about 30 seconds 229 00:10:51,833 --> 00:10:54,250 at 150 miles per hour, 230 00:10:54,250 --> 00:10:57,250 and he fell more than 10,000 feet from the air. 231 00:10:59,042 --> 00:11:01,708 - [Dan] Ivan does not survive the fall, 232 00:11:01,708 --> 00:11:04,208 but miraculously, his camera does. 233 00:11:04,208 --> 00:11:07,208 - Investigators surmised that Ivan's preoccupation 234 00:11:07,208 --> 00:11:09,917 with his video camera caused him to forget 235 00:11:09,917 --> 00:11:11,958 to shoulder his own parachute. 236 00:11:11,958 --> 00:11:16,208 And so ironically, he ends up filming his own death. 237 00:11:16,208 --> 00:11:20,542 Reason 1,000 why I am never jumping out of an airplane. 238 00:11:20,542 --> 00:11:22,542 - [Dan] Ivan isn't the only daredevil 239 00:11:22,542 --> 00:11:24,250 who needed a good parachute. 240 00:11:24,250 --> 00:11:28,708 An even more infamous case took place 80 years earlier. 241 00:11:28,708 --> 00:11:32,833 Here, friends, is the sad case of the flying tailor. 242 00:11:34,208 --> 00:11:38,708 - Frantz Reichelt is an Austrian tailor living in Paris. 243 00:11:38,708 --> 00:11:40,333 He makes dresses for a living, 244 00:11:40,333 --> 00:11:44,458 but his real passion is this new budding field of flying. 245 00:11:44,458 --> 00:11:46,708 (tense music) 246 00:11:46,708 --> 00:11:48,958 - It's the early 20th century, 1903, 247 00:11:48,958 --> 00:11:51,583 the Wright brothers take their first heavier than air 248 00:11:51,583 --> 00:11:54,125 powered flight, brave new world 249 00:11:54,125 --> 00:11:56,333 and everyone is aviation crazy, 250 00:11:56,333 --> 00:11:58,208 especially the French, 251 00:11:58,208 --> 00:12:01,125 'cause the French also invented the hot air balloon. 252 00:12:01,125 --> 00:12:05,083 - In 1910, flying is extremely dangerous. 253 00:12:05,083 --> 00:12:08,042 He sees all of these pilots dying in these test flights, 254 00:12:08,042 --> 00:12:10,208 so he wants to do something to help out. 255 00:12:11,333 --> 00:12:12,792 And up until this time, 256 00:12:12,792 --> 00:12:15,500 parachuting technology has really only been used 257 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:19,042 for jumping out of balloons and very high altitudes. 258 00:12:19,042 --> 00:12:22,833 So there's this push to find new parachute technology, 259 00:12:22,833 --> 00:12:26,042 much lighter weight for pilots themselves to be able 260 00:12:26,042 --> 00:12:29,458 to jump out at lower altitudes when they're taking these 261 00:12:29,458 --> 00:12:31,375 test flights around the country. 262 00:12:31,375 --> 00:12:33,958 - [Dan] Coincidentally, a French aviation organization 263 00:12:33,958 --> 00:12:35,625 offers a hefty prize 264 00:12:35,625 --> 00:12:38,208 to anyone who can create a smaller chute. 265 00:12:38,208 --> 00:12:41,167 - So Frantz decides to enter this contest 266 00:12:41,167 --> 00:12:45,500 and take his expertise as a tailor, sewing dresses 267 00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:48,667 and garments using silk and rods, 268 00:12:48,667 --> 00:12:52,125 and he ends up developing a wingsuit. 269 00:12:52,125 --> 00:12:54,000 - It looks like a Batman suit. 270 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,333 It looks like something out of a futuristic superhero movie. 271 00:12:58,333 --> 00:12:59,917 - [Dan] More peculiar than his design 272 00:12:59,917 --> 00:13:02,000 is his method for testing it. 273 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,042 He puts it on a dummy and tosses it from the window 274 00:13:05,042 --> 00:13:07,417 of his fifth floor Paris apartment. 275 00:13:08,958 --> 00:13:11,708 - I don't really understand how he was allowed to do this, 276 00:13:11,708 --> 00:13:14,708 that there were just dummies landing on the streets of Paris 277 00:13:14,708 --> 00:13:16,958 and nobody had any complaints about this. 278 00:13:16,958 --> 00:13:18,958 - [Dan] Unsatisfied with the results, 279 00:13:18,958 --> 00:13:20,917 Frantz decides there is only one way 280 00:13:20,917 --> 00:13:23,500 to truly test this wingsuit. 281 00:13:23,500 --> 00:13:25,500 (suspenseful music) 282 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:27,000 - He puts on his own wingsuit 283 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,417 and climbs out of his fifth floor window. 284 00:13:31,583 --> 00:13:33,417 And he breaks his leg. 285 00:13:33,417 --> 00:13:34,833 - But Frantz is onto something. 286 00:13:34,833 --> 00:13:36,708 He goes, ah ha, ha ha. 287 00:13:36,708 --> 00:13:39,750 I didn't give my wingsuit enough time 288 00:13:39,750 --> 00:13:42,958 to gather enough air to create resistance. 289 00:13:42,958 --> 00:13:44,875 I need to go higher. 290 00:13:44,875 --> 00:13:46,417 Luckily, he's in Paris 291 00:13:46,417 --> 00:13:48,542 and at this point in time, the tallest structure 292 00:13:48,542 --> 00:13:51,083 on Earth is the Eiffel Tower. 293 00:13:52,042 --> 00:13:55,292 - He starts petitioning the Paris Police to allow him 294 00:13:55,292 --> 00:13:59,000 to throw winged dummies off of the Eiffel Tower 295 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,208 as part of a test for his new suit. 296 00:14:02,208 --> 00:14:04,875 - [Dan] Surprisingly, not only do the French authorities 297 00:14:04,875 --> 00:14:08,458 grant permission, but it becomes a huge press event. 298 00:14:08,458 --> 00:14:12,333 - Frantz is so excited to show the world this wingsuit. 299 00:14:12,333 --> 00:14:15,042 He puts out a press release to announce to the world 300 00:14:15,042 --> 00:14:19,208 that he has found the solution of aviation safety. 301 00:14:19,208 --> 00:14:23,042 - [Dan] On the cold morning of February 4th, 1912, 302 00:14:23,042 --> 00:14:27,208 Frantz arrives at the Eiffel Tower sans dummy. 303 00:14:27,208 --> 00:14:31,167 - It's Frantz himself dressed in his wingsuit 304 00:14:31,167 --> 00:14:32,500 and everyone goes, where's the dummy? 305 00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:35,042 And he goes, there is no dummy. 306 00:14:35,042 --> 00:14:37,250 - [Dan] From this moment on, Frantz Reichelt 307 00:14:37,250 --> 00:14:40,292 becomes known as the Flying Tailor. 308 00:14:40,292 --> 00:14:41,958 - His friends are pleading with him, 309 00:14:41,958 --> 00:14:43,792 "You're not gonna do this, are you? 310 00:14:43,792 --> 00:14:45,875 You're not gonna actually do this yourself." 311 00:14:45,875 --> 00:14:48,500 But Frantz is convinced the suit will work 312 00:14:48,500 --> 00:14:50,292 and he's gonna prove it. 313 00:14:50,292 --> 00:14:53,333 - [Austin] Frantz is leaning forward on the edge 314 00:14:53,333 --> 00:14:55,500 of the parapet of the Eiffel Tower. 315 00:14:57,292 --> 00:14:59,458 - He hesitates for about 40 seconds. 316 00:14:59,458 --> 00:15:01,042 He seems to actually have second thoughts 317 00:15:01,042 --> 00:15:02,917 for the first time in this story, 318 00:15:04,208 --> 00:15:06,875 but then Frantz sees the crowd below him and he waves 319 00:15:06,875 --> 00:15:09,042 and he says, "À bientô," 320 00:15:09,042 --> 00:15:11,250 which means, "I'll see you soon." 321 00:15:12,583 --> 00:15:14,000 And then he jumps. 322 00:15:18,542 --> 00:15:21,208 - [Dan] The parachute never fully opens. 323 00:15:22,208 --> 00:15:25,750 Two seconds after jumping, Frantz hits the ground 324 00:15:25,750 --> 00:15:28,708 and dies, leaving a six inch deep 325 00:15:28,708 --> 00:15:31,167 Frantz shaped imprint in the ground. 326 00:15:31,167 --> 00:15:32,708 - What's particularly sad 327 00:15:32,708 --> 00:15:36,125 and ironic about this entire story is that just two days 328 00:15:36,125 --> 00:15:39,708 before Frantz parachuted to his death, 329 00:15:39,708 --> 00:15:42,083 an American named Rodman Law 330 00:15:42,083 --> 00:15:44,792 had successfully parachuted off the top 331 00:15:44,792 --> 00:15:46,875 of the torch of the Statue of Liberty, 332 00:15:46,875 --> 00:15:49,500 which he just did on a whim for fun. 333 00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:51,083 - There's part of me that looks at him 334 00:15:51,083 --> 00:15:54,917 and thinks this is classic hubris. 335 00:15:54,917 --> 00:15:57,417 This is pride goes before the fall, literally. 336 00:15:58,417 --> 00:16:00,375 And at the same time, this is the genius of madness. 337 00:16:00,375 --> 00:16:00,625 And at the same time, this is the genius of madness. 338 00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:03,042 When it works, we celebrate those people 339 00:16:03,042 --> 00:16:04,708 who are willing to push through as heroes, 340 00:16:04,708 --> 00:16:06,208 and when it fails, it's very easy 341 00:16:06,208 --> 00:16:08,542 to dismiss them as being crazy. 342 00:16:08,542 --> 00:16:12,208 - [Dan] Sometimes, there's no way to know if it works 343 00:16:12,208 --> 00:16:17,208 until it doesn't. 344 00:16:17,208 --> 00:16:18,792 - What do an Argentinian poodle 345 00:16:18,792 --> 00:16:21,125 and a world renowned 19th century amputation surgeon 346 00:16:21,125 --> 00:16:22,375 have in common? 347 00:16:22,375 --> 00:16:25,542 The answer is as tragic as it is bizarre. 348 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:29,875 Cachi the poodle's story begins fittingly high up, 349 00:16:29,875 --> 00:16:32,708 on an apartment building's unluckiest floor. 350 00:16:32,708 --> 00:16:35,083 (eerie music) 351 00:16:37,042 --> 00:16:40,333 - In Buenos Aires in 1988, the Montoya family 352 00:16:40,333 --> 00:16:42,500 has this apartment on the 13th floor. 353 00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:45,750 Their son is playing with the pet poodle, Cachi. 354 00:16:45,750 --> 00:16:48,542 - And the son throws the ball towards the open door 355 00:16:48,542 --> 00:16:52,333 to the balcony and the dog goes bounding after it. 356 00:16:53,708 --> 00:16:56,125 - As it is getting closer and closer to this balcony, 357 00:16:56,125 --> 00:16:58,375 the dog tries to stop. 358 00:16:59,542 --> 00:17:02,167 The dog does not. 359 00:17:02,167 --> 00:17:03,792 (dramatic music) 360 00:17:03,792 --> 00:17:08,667 This story saddens me so much more than any human tragedy. 361 00:17:09,708 --> 00:17:13,750 - Cachi falls the 13 floors, which is heartbreaking 362 00:17:13,750 --> 00:17:15,792 if you are an animal lover. 363 00:17:15,792 --> 00:17:19,458 At that very moment, a 75 year old woman named Marta Espina, 364 00:17:19,458 --> 00:17:21,208 she's walking around her neighborhood 365 00:17:21,208 --> 00:17:23,542 doing some shopping and then all of a sudden- 366 00:17:23,542 --> 00:17:25,000 (claps) 367 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:30,375 - Cachi falls directly onto the head of Marta, they both die. 368 00:17:30,375 --> 00:17:33,792 - The impact constitutes essentially a blunt force trauma 369 00:17:33,792 --> 00:17:35,042 to the head. 370 00:17:35,042 --> 00:17:37,417 (sirens blaring) 371 00:17:37,417 --> 00:17:41,042 - [Dan] But the tragic chain of events doesn't end here. 372 00:17:41,042 --> 00:17:43,167 - Another woman named Edith is across the street, 373 00:17:43,167 --> 00:17:44,833 happens to see this. 374 00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:48,000 Immediately, her good Samaritan intent kicks in, 375 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,792 she jumps up to run across the street to check on this woman. 376 00:17:50,792 --> 00:17:52,042 - And she... 377 00:17:53,708 --> 00:17:55,708 (claps) Gets hit by a bus. 378 00:17:57,167 --> 00:17:58,833 So now you have Cachi the poodle, 379 00:17:58,833 --> 00:18:00,708 you have Marta, you have Edith. 380 00:18:02,125 --> 00:18:04,375 - There is a third person, a man 381 00:18:04,375 --> 00:18:06,458 who apparently has just come outta the pharmacy 382 00:18:06,458 --> 00:18:09,333 with his prescription, sees all of this play out. 383 00:18:09,333 --> 00:18:10,875 - It's too much for him to take. 384 00:18:10,875 --> 00:18:13,958 - He has a heart attack and he dies there on the spot. 385 00:18:13,958 --> 00:18:18,833 The fourth casualty of Cachi the poodle's game of fetch. 386 00:18:18,833 --> 00:18:22,917 - [Dan] Cachi, a legend, an unbelievable killer dog. 387 00:18:22,917 --> 00:18:25,958 His odd death toll should be unrivaled, 388 00:18:25,958 --> 00:18:27,542 but consider the case 389 00:18:27,542 --> 00:18:30,167 of one of the 19th century's top surgeons, 390 00:18:31,042 --> 00:18:33,125 Dr. Robert Liston. 391 00:18:33,125 --> 00:18:37,542 - Robert Liston is a surgical phenom. 392 00:18:38,542 --> 00:18:41,208 - He's one of the most respected surgeons in London. 393 00:18:41,208 --> 00:18:43,542 At 14, he's already practicing medicine 394 00:18:43,542 --> 00:18:47,292 and at 22, he's teaching in the medical college at Edinburgh. 395 00:18:47,292 --> 00:18:49,292 - [Dan] He quickly comes to master 396 00:18:49,292 --> 00:18:53,500 a very specific type of surgery, amputations. 397 00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:57,042 - If someone has an infected or otherwise wounded limb 398 00:18:57,042 --> 00:18:59,167 or a broken bone that cannot be set, 399 00:18:59,167 --> 00:19:01,250 the sole practice of medicine 400 00:19:01,250 --> 00:19:03,875 at this time is amputation. 401 00:19:03,875 --> 00:19:07,583 - Moreover, there is no such thing as anesthetic. 402 00:19:07,583 --> 00:19:09,875 If you're in surgery, you are awake 403 00:19:09,875 --> 00:19:13,833 as you endure this unbelievable amount of pain. 404 00:19:13,833 --> 00:19:17,625 - In an age where there's no anesthesia, speed counts. 405 00:19:17,625 --> 00:19:19,500 Liston prides himself in being able 406 00:19:19,500 --> 00:19:23,458 to conduct amputations faster and cleaner than anyone else, 407 00:19:23,458 --> 00:19:24,917 and the statistics bear him out. 408 00:19:24,917 --> 00:19:29,000 Where most surgeons at the time have a 25% mortality rate, 409 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,125 he only has a 15% mortality rate. 410 00:19:31,125 --> 00:19:33,000 You are in better hands with Robert Liston 411 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,417 than with anyone else in London. 412 00:19:35,417 --> 00:19:38,375 - [Dan] His swiftness earns him an impressive nickname. 413 00:19:38,375 --> 00:19:42,250 - He's known as "the Fastest Knife on the West End." 414 00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:45,042 - He would argue he's the fastest knife in the world. 415 00:19:45,042 --> 00:19:46,333 (tense music) 416 00:19:46,333 --> 00:19:49,833 - Liston is a very large man. 417 00:19:49,833 --> 00:19:51,375 He's built like a bull. 418 00:19:51,375 --> 00:19:54,417 Other surgeons require at least two 419 00:19:54,417 --> 00:19:58,667 or three assistants to hold down a struggling patient. 420 00:19:58,667 --> 00:20:01,667 Liston requires only one assistant. 421 00:20:01,667 --> 00:20:05,042 He takes his knife, holds it in his teeth, 422 00:20:05,042 --> 00:20:09,375 fastens down the tourniquet above the point of amputation, 423 00:20:09,375 --> 00:20:11,250 removes the knife, 424 00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:14,042 holding the patient down, along with the assistant. 425 00:20:14,042 --> 00:20:16,833 (cracking) (tense music) 426 00:20:16,833 --> 00:20:19,000 Severs the limb. 427 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,500 As brutal as it sounds to us today, 428 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:27,375 if you are in such a situation, Liston is the surgeon 429 00:20:27,375 --> 00:20:29,667 to whom you want to go. 430 00:20:29,667 --> 00:20:31,875 - [Yohuru] Liston becomes very full of himself 431 00:20:31,875 --> 00:20:33,042 and his prowess. 432 00:20:33,042 --> 00:20:35,417 - He is a showboat, he is cocky. 433 00:20:35,417 --> 00:20:37,125 - He loves to call out to the medical students, 434 00:20:37,125 --> 00:20:38,667 "Time me, gentlemen." 435 00:20:38,667 --> 00:20:40,875 And it becomes in some sense, his catchphrase, 436 00:20:40,875 --> 00:20:42,750 - [Dan] Hubris and haste, 437 00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:45,583 a dangerous combination for a surgeon 438 00:20:45,583 --> 00:20:48,042 and one that leads to an infamous moment. 439 00:20:48,042 --> 00:20:52,417 Liston is performing an amputation in a medical theater. 440 00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:54,250 - He might as well have walked in like a boxer, 441 00:20:54,250 --> 00:20:55,708 taken his robe off. 442 00:20:55,708 --> 00:20:57,875 - In his typical manner, he turns to the crowd 443 00:20:57,875 --> 00:20:59,542 and says to them, "Time me, gentleman." 444 00:20:59,542 --> 00:21:01,292 - "Gentleman, time me". 445 00:21:01,292 --> 00:21:03,625 (intense music) 446 00:21:04,625 --> 00:21:07,875 Dr. Liston cuts off the limb of the patient so quickly 447 00:21:07,875 --> 00:21:11,833 that he also severs the fingers of his surgical assistant 448 00:21:11,833 --> 00:21:13,917 who is holding down the screaming patient. 449 00:21:15,083 --> 00:21:17,833 - Now, Liston recognizes his mistake 450 00:21:17,833 --> 00:21:21,708 and immediately draws the knife back as quickly as possible. 451 00:21:21,708 --> 00:21:23,917 - He winds up cutting the garments 452 00:21:23,917 --> 00:21:26,375 of an elderly medical colleague 453 00:21:26,375 --> 00:21:30,208 who is standing behind him observing the procedure. 454 00:21:30,208 --> 00:21:32,375 The colleague is so shocked and frightened 455 00:21:32,375 --> 00:21:35,208 that he drops dead from a heart attack. 456 00:21:35,208 --> 00:21:38,333 - Liston's assistant, who had two of his fingers removed, 457 00:21:38,333 --> 00:21:40,333 died later on from infection. 458 00:21:40,333 --> 00:21:43,625 And the patient who had his leg amputated 459 00:21:43,625 --> 00:21:47,000 also ended up dying from infection. 460 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,042 So at the end of this surgical display of prowess, 461 00:21:50,042 --> 00:21:54,292 Dr. Robert Liston, the fastest knife in the West End, 462 00:21:54,292 --> 00:21:56,625 kills not one, not two, 463 00:21:56,625 --> 00:22:00,958 but three separate people of infection, infection and shock. 464 00:22:00,958 --> 00:22:03,542 One surgery, three fatalities. 465 00:22:03,542 --> 00:22:05,042 Take that, Argentinian poodle. 466 00:22:07,708 --> 00:22:10,000 - Now technically speaking, if you look at the math here 467 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,042 and count Cachi himself, the poodle one upped Dr. Liston. 468 00:22:14,042 --> 00:22:16,708 The good doctor must be turning over in his grave. 469 00:22:19,458 --> 00:22:22,750 and count Cachi himself, the poodle one upped Dr. Liston., 470 00:22:22,750 --> 00:22:26,458 an occasional death doesn't come as a shock. 471 00:22:26,458 --> 00:22:29,375 Take mixed martial arts, Formula 1 racing, 472 00:22:29,375 --> 00:22:32,208 perhaps running with the bulls at Pamplona. 473 00:22:32,208 --> 00:22:34,708 But tennis? 474 00:22:36,375 --> 00:22:39,042 - Honestly, most injuries in tennis 475 00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:40,917 happen from watching gameplay, 476 00:22:40,917 --> 00:22:44,292 just watching the ball go from right to left on the court. 477 00:22:44,292 --> 00:22:46,542 - [Dan] But what happens to Dick Wertheim 478 00:22:46,542 --> 00:22:48,833 is truly one for the books. 479 00:22:48,833 --> 00:22:50,542 - Dick Wertheim is a lifelong tennis person. 480 00:22:50,542 --> 00:22:52,625 He's played, he's been a linesman. 481 00:22:52,625 --> 00:22:54,750 It's not exactly what you would consider 482 00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:57,750 to be a dangerous line of work. 483 00:22:57,750 --> 00:22:59,500 Being a ball boy could be argued 484 00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:01,875 as more dangerous than being a linesman in tennis. 485 00:23:01,875 --> 00:23:04,375 (dramatic music) 486 00:23:04,375 --> 00:23:06,875 - [Dan] On September 10th, 1983, 487 00:23:06,875 --> 00:23:10,792 Wertheim is officiating the US Open Junior Boys title match 488 00:23:10,792 --> 00:23:13,542 between a young Stefan Edberg of Sweden 489 00:23:13,542 --> 00:23:16,083 and Simon Youl of Australia. 490 00:23:16,083 --> 00:23:18,042 - Stefan Edberg goes on to become 491 00:23:18,042 --> 00:23:19,875 one of the greatest players 492 00:23:19,875 --> 00:23:21,833 of his generation, once winning Wimbledon 493 00:23:21,833 --> 00:23:25,417 and twice winning the Aussie and US Open. 494 00:23:25,417 --> 00:23:27,625 - The way they officiated back then, 495 00:23:27,625 --> 00:23:31,000 Dick Wertheim is at the end line, right in the center. 496 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,667 - Stefan Edberg being a fantastic player. 497 00:23:33,667 --> 00:23:36,208 - Serves this tennis ball 498 00:23:36,208 --> 00:23:39,458 and just whips it 115 miles an hour. 499 00:23:39,458 --> 00:23:42,542 - That ball hits the court, takes a weird spin 500 00:23:42,542 --> 00:23:45,667 and goes straight at Dick 501 00:23:45,667 --> 00:23:47,333 and winds up hitting him. 502 00:23:47,333 --> 00:23:49,333 - Directly in the groin. 503 00:23:49,333 --> 00:23:51,042 (crowd gasping) 504 00:23:51,042 --> 00:23:54,500 - With such force that it forces Wertheim 505 00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:57,333 straight backwards, his head hits the court 506 00:23:57,333 --> 00:23:59,292 and he's immediately unconscious. 507 00:23:59,292 --> 00:24:02,208 - Dick is rushed to Flushing Hospital 508 00:24:02,208 --> 00:24:06,417 where he dies five days later of a subdural hematoma. 509 00:24:07,458 --> 00:24:09,750 (dramatic music) 510 00:24:09,750 --> 00:24:11,792 - Immediately after this happens, 511 00:24:11,792 --> 00:24:13,875 the International Tennis Federation 512 00:24:13,875 --> 00:24:17,583 stops having linesmen sit on the court in the same fashion 513 00:24:17,583 --> 00:24:19,542 that Dick Wertheim was. 514 00:24:19,542 --> 00:24:21,833 So this will likely never happen again. 515 00:24:23,875 --> 00:24:26,750 - Luckily, the only other loss that day 516 00:24:26,750 --> 00:24:30,208 is suffered by Stefan's opponent Simon Youl, 517 00:24:30,208 --> 00:24:31,583 who is defeated in straight sets. 518 00:24:31,583 --> 00:24:36,083 6-2, 6... Nevermind, not important. 519 00:24:36,083 --> 00:24:39,583 Next, a death that could give even Dick Wertheim 520 00:24:39,583 --> 00:24:41,125 a run for his money. 521 00:24:44,083 --> 00:24:45,667 - Frank Hayes, born in 1901, 522 00:24:45,667 --> 00:24:47,875 He grows up in Ireland and it is his dream 523 00:24:47,875 --> 00:24:51,167 to become a world champion jockey. 524 00:24:51,167 --> 00:24:54,375 - [Dan] Although Frank believes he is born to be a jockey, 525 00:24:54,375 --> 00:24:55,958 his genetics beg to differ. 526 00:24:56,958 --> 00:25:01,792 He weighs 142 pounds, much heavier than most jockeys. 527 00:25:02,750 --> 00:25:04,500 - Frank Hayes moves to New York City. 528 00:25:04,500 --> 00:25:06,375 He still loves horses and he still wants 529 00:25:06,375 --> 00:25:08,250 to be around this sport in some way, 530 00:25:08,250 --> 00:25:11,625 but he's still a little bit too large to be a jockey. 531 00:25:11,625 --> 00:25:14,208 - So he has to reset and he has to start somewhere. 532 00:25:14,208 --> 00:25:17,583 So he starts working as a trainer for race horses. 533 00:25:19,208 --> 00:25:20,500 - But imagine you're Frank Hayes 534 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:22,708 and you grew up wanting to be a jockey 535 00:25:22,708 --> 00:25:24,333 and you're working as a stable hand. 536 00:25:24,333 --> 00:25:26,083 You're doing all of the grunt work, you're getting none 537 00:25:26,083 --> 00:25:29,917 of the glory and you're watching these jockeys 538 00:25:29,917 --> 00:25:32,875 win these races and it's as close 539 00:25:32,875 --> 00:25:35,375 as you can possibly get to it 540 00:25:35,375 --> 00:25:37,500 without actually tasting that victory. 541 00:25:39,167 --> 00:25:41,375 - [Dan] Then, fate steps in when the owner 542 00:25:41,375 --> 00:25:45,583 of a horse named Sweet Kiss finds himself without a jockey. 543 00:25:47,208 --> 00:25:49,042 - The owner says, "Listen, 544 00:25:49,042 --> 00:25:51,792 if you can lose 10 pounds somehow in a day, 545 00:25:51,792 --> 00:25:53,208 then you can ride this horse." 546 00:25:53,208 --> 00:25:54,917 Now, frankly, I'm not sure if the owner 547 00:25:54,917 --> 00:25:57,125 expected him to be able to do it. 548 00:25:57,125 --> 00:25:59,875 - Frank is fired up. 549 00:25:59,875 --> 00:26:02,167 He is ready to do whatever it takes to make sure 550 00:26:02,167 --> 00:26:04,167 that he can get on the back of Sweet Kiss 551 00:26:04,167 --> 00:26:05,833 and ride this horse to victory. 552 00:26:05,833 --> 00:26:09,583 So over the next 24 hours, we are going full Rocky, 553 00:26:09,583 --> 00:26:12,583 Rocky IV, 1980s montage. 554 00:26:12,583 --> 00:26:14,958 We are talking about shadow boxing. 555 00:26:14,958 --> 00:26:17,875 We're talking about running, fasting, not drinking water, 556 00:26:17,875 --> 00:26:21,458 losing as much weight, sweating, doing whatever he can 557 00:26:21,458 --> 00:26:23,083 to drop as much weight as possible. 558 00:26:24,417 --> 00:26:25,875 - The next day when he weighs in, 559 00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:27,708 he actually loses 12 pounds. 560 00:26:27,708 --> 00:26:30,208 It's about 8.5 percent of his body weight. 561 00:26:30,208 --> 00:26:33,375 This sort of rapid weight loss is really taxing on the body 562 00:26:33,375 --> 00:26:35,542 because it taxes your immune system, 563 00:26:35,542 --> 00:26:38,208 your kidneys, and your heart. 564 00:26:38,208 --> 00:26:40,458 - [Dan] But it's all worth it when a thrilled Hayes 565 00:26:40,458 --> 00:26:42,875 suits up for his debut race. 566 00:26:42,875 --> 00:26:45,042 - So the horse that Frank Hayes is riding, 567 00:26:45,042 --> 00:26:49,083 Sweet Kiss, enters as a 20 to 1 underdog. 568 00:26:49,083 --> 00:26:51,250 The far and away favorite in this race 569 00:26:51,250 --> 00:26:52,708 is a horse named Gimmy 570 00:26:52,708 --> 00:26:56,333 who was expected to just run away with this race. 571 00:26:56,333 --> 00:26:59,042 - And Sweet Kiss takes off like a bat outta hell 572 00:26:59,042 --> 00:27:00,042 with Frank on top. 573 00:27:00,042 --> 00:27:01,792 - And Hayes is doing everything he can 574 00:27:01,792 --> 00:27:03,750 to get this horse into the lead and he starts 575 00:27:03,750 --> 00:27:05,875 to bound away, he's starting to pull it off. 576 00:27:05,875 --> 00:27:07,708 He's starting to gain length 577 00:27:07,708 --> 00:27:09,333 ahead of all the rest of the field. 578 00:27:09,333 --> 00:27:10,458 Can he do it? 579 00:27:10,458 --> 00:27:12,083 - Frank is living the dream 580 00:27:12,083 --> 00:27:15,417 and he slumps forward at one point during the race. 581 00:27:15,417 --> 00:27:17,708 Seems weird, but the horse just kind of kicks it 582 00:27:17,708 --> 00:27:19,167 into higher gear. 583 00:27:19,167 --> 00:27:21,500 - [Announcer] In the home stretch, it's all over, 584 00:27:21,500 --> 00:27:23,083 but the statistics. 585 00:27:23,083 --> 00:27:25,542 - He crosses the finish line in this hunched position. 586 00:27:25,542 --> 00:27:27,125 - He has won the race. 587 00:27:27,125 --> 00:27:28,375 Frank Hayes has done it. 588 00:27:28,375 --> 00:27:31,708 He has achieved his dream of being a champion jockey. 589 00:27:31,708 --> 00:27:34,250 - [Dan] Instead of raising his arms to celebrate, 590 00:27:34,250 --> 00:27:36,542 Frank is oddly still. 591 00:27:36,542 --> 00:27:38,792 - The owner comes rushing over to him, 592 00:27:38,792 --> 00:27:42,542 ecstatic with this completely long shot victory. 593 00:27:42,542 --> 00:27:44,417 - And as he's about to congratulate him, 594 00:27:44,417 --> 00:27:46,625 Frank Hayes falls off the saddle, 595 00:27:46,625 --> 00:27:49,042 face first into the racetrack. 596 00:27:49,042 --> 00:27:51,750 - As it turns out, Frank has had a heart attack. 597 00:27:52,750 --> 00:27:55,917 He died before crossing the finish line. 598 00:27:57,833 --> 00:28:02,042 Frank Hayes becomes the only person in horse racing history 599 00:28:02,042 --> 00:28:04,542 to ever ride across the finish line of a race 600 00:28:04,542 --> 00:28:06,625 and win as a dead man. 601 00:28:07,750 --> 00:28:10,417 - [Dan] As for the horse, he never races again, 602 00:28:10,417 --> 00:28:14,167 earning the unofficial nickname, "Sweet Kiss of Death." 603 00:28:15,417 --> 00:28:18,083 - Frank ends up getting buried at Holy Cross Cemetery 604 00:28:18,083 --> 00:28:21,083 in Brooklyn, wearing the very jockey uniform 605 00:28:21,083 --> 00:28:23,583 that he was wearing when he crossed the finish line 606 00:28:23,583 --> 00:28:25,458 and won this race at Belmont. 607 00:28:25,458 --> 00:28:25,667 He very literally died a winner. 608 00:28:26,375 --> 00:28:27,208 He very literally died a winner. 609 00:28:31,458 --> 00:28:34,208 - Dead jockey wins at Belmont. 610 00:28:34,208 --> 00:28:37,708 Now, that's a funny headline you don't read every day. 611 00:28:37,708 --> 00:28:43,250 But is it funny enough to kill you? 612 00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:45,500 - The 1970s are a great era for sketch comedy, 613 00:28:45,500 --> 00:28:47,083 I should know. 614 00:28:47,083 --> 00:28:51,208 But has a bit ever been so funny it has literally killed? 615 00:28:51,208 --> 00:28:53,208 (tense music) 616 00:28:54,500 --> 00:28:57,000 - It's March 24th, 1975. 617 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,458 Alex Mitchell, 50 year old bricklayer from Norfolk, England 618 00:29:00,458 --> 00:29:03,875 sits down and watches favorite TV program, "The Goodies". 619 00:29:03,875 --> 00:29:06,292 - [Dan] The Goodies are very big in Britain 620 00:29:06,292 --> 00:29:07,333 at the time. 621 00:29:07,333 --> 00:29:10,292 Your classic, broad humored comedy trio. 622 00:29:10,292 --> 00:29:13,667 - Alex Mitchell watches the show religiously. 623 00:29:13,667 --> 00:29:17,875 That night, the episode is "Kung Fu Capers". 624 00:29:17,875 --> 00:29:21,250 - The height of it being a kilt clad Scotsman 625 00:29:21,250 --> 00:29:24,125 with his bagpipe battling another opponent 626 00:29:24,125 --> 00:29:26,542 armed with a black pudding. 627 00:29:26,542 --> 00:29:29,042 - I assume this was funny in 1975. 628 00:29:29,042 --> 00:29:30,583 - You know who thought it was funny? 629 00:29:30,583 --> 00:29:31,958 Alex thought it was funny. 630 00:29:32,917 --> 00:29:37,917 - Mr. Mitchell begins to laugh and it increases in volume 631 00:29:37,917 --> 00:29:40,208 and it increases in ferocity. 632 00:29:41,292 --> 00:29:44,917 - He begins to laugh uncontrollably to the point 633 00:29:44,917 --> 00:29:48,042 that he is literally urinating in his pants. 634 00:29:48,042 --> 00:29:51,750 He cannot control his bowels, all systems are go. 635 00:29:53,167 --> 00:29:54,542 - [Dan] After a full three minutes, 636 00:29:54,542 --> 00:29:57,417 his blood pressure has doubled, his abdominals tighten. 637 00:29:58,583 --> 00:30:01,750 (tense music) (clock ticking) 638 00:30:01,750 --> 00:30:04,042 - He's laughing uncontrollably for six minutes 639 00:30:04,042 --> 00:30:07,917 and that six minutes then extends into 15 minutes. 640 00:30:07,917 --> 00:30:10,042 - It gets more and more convulsive. 641 00:30:10,042 --> 00:30:13,000 He's grasping at his chest both for air 642 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,042 and the pain in his accelerating heartbeat. 643 00:30:19,292 --> 00:30:22,708 - He's laughing so hard that it's taxing his respiratory 644 00:30:22,708 --> 00:30:24,458 and circulatory system 645 00:30:26,042 --> 00:30:28,208 and he has a massive heart attack 646 00:30:28,208 --> 00:30:32,208 and dies, coronary due to laughter. 647 00:30:32,208 --> 00:30:34,208 They say that laughter is the best medicine. 648 00:30:34,208 --> 00:30:36,042 I think Alex overdosed on it. 649 00:30:37,417 --> 00:30:40,000 - [Dan] Now, we all know laughter can be contagious, 650 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,500 but did you know that dancing can be too? 651 00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:45,333 (tense music) 652 00:30:45,333 --> 00:30:48,125 - In the summer of 1518, 653 00:30:48,125 --> 00:30:50,875 a dance craze sweeps through the town 654 00:30:50,875 --> 00:30:54,417 of Strasbourg, France, but it's not a dance 655 00:30:54,417 --> 00:30:57,792 that people are actually choosing to do. 656 00:30:57,792 --> 00:30:59,375 You have people convulsing, 657 00:30:59,375 --> 00:31:02,042 flailing around, tripping over themselves, 658 00:31:02,042 --> 00:31:05,208 dancing in the street until their feet bleed. 659 00:31:05,208 --> 00:31:08,667 - [Dan] It all starts one hot July day 660 00:31:09,667 --> 00:31:12,458 when a woman catches what will come to be known 661 00:31:12,458 --> 00:31:14,500 as the dancing bug. 662 00:31:17,417 --> 00:31:20,500 - A housewife walks into the square and begins to dance. 663 00:31:22,792 --> 00:31:24,458 - But it's not like normal dancing. 664 00:31:24,458 --> 00:31:26,042 (tense music) 665 00:31:26,042 --> 00:31:28,417 She starts to gyrate and gesticulate. 666 00:31:28,417 --> 00:31:32,333 She can't be dissuaded from this frantic dancing. 667 00:31:32,333 --> 00:31:34,000 - There's no music. 668 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:35,250 - No accompaniment. 669 00:31:37,208 --> 00:31:39,875 - And a crowd begins to gather around her. 670 00:31:41,167 --> 00:31:43,542 What is this strange spectacle? 671 00:31:43,542 --> 00:31:47,292 - And for some reason, this becomes infectious. 672 00:31:47,292 --> 00:31:49,750 - [Dan] Soon, roughly 30 other dancers 673 00:31:49,750 --> 00:31:53,000 join in the incessant dance-off. 674 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,833 - Each passing day, 675 00:31:54,833 --> 00:31:59,083 more and more townspeople begin to gyrate, 676 00:31:59,083 --> 00:32:02,625 shake out in the streets to the point 677 00:32:02,625 --> 00:32:04,500 where their feet are bloody. 678 00:32:05,708 --> 00:32:08,708 Their bodies are racked with pain 679 00:32:08,708 --> 00:32:10,000 and yet they keep going 680 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,875 through these same hysterical motions. 681 00:32:12,875 --> 00:32:16,125 - [Yohuru] There are 30, 40 people dancing along with her. 682 00:32:16,125 --> 00:32:19,917 - Then, it grows to anywhere up to 400. 683 00:32:21,208 --> 00:32:23,083 The town is now in crisis. 684 00:32:23,083 --> 00:32:26,167 A substantial population is engaged 685 00:32:26,167 --> 00:32:29,833 in this agonizing dance marathon. 686 00:32:29,833 --> 00:32:31,500 Their limbs are getting bloody. 687 00:32:31,500 --> 00:32:34,375 They are falling and collapsing of exhaustion. 688 00:32:34,375 --> 00:32:37,000 - A person would dance, drop dead, 689 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,667 and people would continue to dance around them. 690 00:32:40,667 --> 00:32:43,083 - They assume about 15 people 691 00:32:43,083 --> 00:32:46,417 a week actually die from the dancing plague. 692 00:32:46,417 --> 00:32:48,375 - [Dan] Eager to end the dancing, 693 00:32:48,375 --> 00:32:50,542 officials finally take action. 694 00:32:50,542 --> 00:32:53,042 Their idea, more dancing. 695 00:32:53,042 --> 00:32:54,542 - They add fuel to the fire. 696 00:32:54,542 --> 00:32:58,583 They hire musicians to dance the so-called hot blood 697 00:32:58,583 --> 00:33:02,708 out of the afflicted dancers. 698 00:33:02,708 --> 00:33:03,958 It doesn't work. 699 00:33:04,917 --> 00:33:07,292 - With the weeks passing and deaths mounting, 700 00:33:07,292 --> 00:33:10,875 the city decides it is time to crack down on sin. 701 00:33:10,875 --> 00:33:12,708 Immediately, all of the gambling houses 702 00:33:12,708 --> 00:33:14,792 and brothels are shut down. 703 00:33:14,792 --> 00:33:18,042 They even try making dancing illegal, a la "Footloose", 704 00:33:18,042 --> 00:33:20,375 but none of this works. 705 00:33:20,375 --> 00:33:24,542 Eventually, they turn to a healing shrine nearby. 706 00:33:24,542 --> 00:33:26,208 (tense music) 707 00:33:26,208 --> 00:33:28,958 - They lead some of these hundreds of dancers 708 00:33:28,958 --> 00:33:30,375 to the healing shrine 709 00:33:30,375 --> 00:33:33,375 where the afflicted are given red slippers, 710 00:33:33,375 --> 00:33:36,208 anointed with holy water. 711 00:33:36,208 --> 00:33:39,042 - And it works, believe it or not, 712 00:33:39,042 --> 00:33:41,333 as a result of this effort to kind of remove them 713 00:33:41,333 --> 00:33:44,458 to St. Vitus' Church and these red shoes, 714 00:33:44,458 --> 00:33:47,167 the dancing eventually subsides. 715 00:33:47,167 --> 00:33:51,083 - The dancing plague of 1518 is possibly 716 00:33:51,083 --> 00:33:53,667 the most bizarre case of mass hysteria 717 00:33:53,667 --> 00:33:55,208 that's ever been reported. 718 00:33:55,208 --> 00:33:56,875 There is sickness in the village, 719 00:33:56,875 --> 00:33:58,750 there is plague, leprosy. 720 00:33:58,750 --> 00:33:59,375 there is plague, leprosy. 721 00:34:00,167 --> 00:34:04,083 People might feel anxious about their survival, 722 00:34:04,083 --> 00:34:05,792 but would that in and of itself 723 00:34:05,792 --> 00:34:09,542 be enough to generate this kind of mass hysteria? 724 00:34:09,542 --> 00:34:15,708 - [Dan] Well, we know it wasn't the music. 725 00:34:15,708 --> 00:34:17,375 - Throughout history, many people have come 726 00:34:17,375 --> 00:34:21,000 to an unfortunate end due to an excess of alcohol, 727 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,250 but never in an incident quite as bizarre 728 00:34:24,250 --> 00:34:28,000 as what happened in London 200 years ago. 729 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,333 (tense music) 730 00:34:30,333 --> 00:34:33,708 - In 19th century London, there's a veritable arms race 731 00:34:33,708 --> 00:34:36,833 for who can produce the most and the best beer. 732 00:34:36,833 --> 00:34:39,708 The winner at the time is the Horseshoe Brewery, 733 00:34:39,708 --> 00:34:41,833 in the slums of St. Giles. 734 00:34:43,292 --> 00:34:45,292 - The Horseshoe Brewery is producing 735 00:34:45,292 --> 00:34:47,208 large amounts of porter. 736 00:34:47,208 --> 00:34:50,417 - 103,000 barrels a year. 737 00:34:50,417 --> 00:34:54,208 Imagine, if you will, hundred thousand gallon, 738 00:34:54,208 --> 00:34:59,167 wooden vats held together with iron bands. 739 00:34:59,167 --> 00:35:03,333 A worker wanders by one of the vats one day 740 00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:06,167 and he says, "Ah, a ring slipped down a little bit," 741 00:35:06,167 --> 00:35:07,875 and he tells his boss 742 00:35:07,875 --> 00:35:11,375 and his boss goes, "Oh yeah, that happens. That happens." 743 00:35:12,375 --> 00:35:15,208 - The iron hoop actually buckles, 744 00:35:15,208 --> 00:35:17,750 releasing gas in the tank. 745 00:35:17,750 --> 00:35:21,333 - And a massive explosion 746 00:35:21,333 --> 00:35:24,583 and a chain reaction occurs where one vat pops 747 00:35:24,583 --> 00:35:27,667 and then it pops these subsequent other vats. 748 00:35:28,792 --> 00:35:31,208 - As a result, St. Giles rookery 749 00:35:31,208 --> 00:35:34,125 will now be the site of a 15 foot tidal wave, 750 00:35:35,042 --> 00:35:38,292 388,000 gallons of porter beer, 751 00:35:38,292 --> 00:35:41,042 which comes rushing out of the Horseshoe Brewery. 752 00:35:41,042 --> 00:35:42,708 - [Dan] No matter how much you like beer, 753 00:35:42,708 --> 00:35:44,250 let's face it, 754 00:35:44,250 --> 00:35:46,958 a 15 foot wave of the stuff is terrifying. 755 00:35:46,958 --> 00:35:49,750 - Because it's essentially a slum, St. Giles rookery 756 00:35:49,750 --> 00:35:51,333 is so overcrowded. 757 00:35:51,333 --> 00:35:53,292 There are a lot of people living 2 and 3 families to a home. 758 00:35:53,292 --> 00:35:55,292 People living in basements and we have 759 00:35:55,292 --> 00:35:57,833 a deadly flood of hot beer. 760 00:35:59,333 --> 00:36:03,250 - Mary Banfield is having tea with her daughter 761 00:36:03,250 --> 00:36:05,583 in one of these basements. 762 00:36:05,583 --> 00:36:08,542 The flood fills it from the bottom up 763 00:36:09,583 --> 00:36:12,958 and Mary is able to swim to escape, 764 00:36:12,958 --> 00:36:14,833 but her daughter is not. 765 00:36:16,917 --> 00:36:22,042 Notoriously at this time, there is a Irish wake happening 766 00:36:22,042 --> 00:36:25,208 and this party is absolutely devastated 767 00:36:25,208 --> 00:36:29,625 by a 45 mile an hour deluge of porter. 768 00:36:29,625 --> 00:36:32,375 - When all's said and done at the end of the day, 769 00:36:32,375 --> 00:36:34,125 more than eight people are dead. 770 00:36:34,125 --> 00:36:36,542 And that's not even accounting for the hundreds of people 771 00:36:36,542 --> 00:36:38,667 that ended up injured from this whole thing. 772 00:36:38,667 --> 00:36:40,417 - [Dan] That doesn't stop hoards of people 773 00:36:40,417 --> 00:36:41,792 swarming the streets 774 00:36:41,792 --> 00:36:45,625 to score free beer, no matter the risk. 775 00:36:45,625 --> 00:36:47,542 - We do have a great deal of illness 776 00:36:47,542 --> 00:36:50,583 because as you can imagine, scooping beer out of the gutters 777 00:36:50,583 --> 00:36:53,000 that are full of human waste and debris 778 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,042 and horse excrement doesn't make for a good drink. 779 00:36:56,042 --> 00:36:59,417 - It seems kind of like a street party, except yuck. 780 00:36:59,417 --> 00:37:01,583 And there's actually an unsubstantiated story 781 00:37:01,583 --> 00:37:05,500 that one of the men dies from alcohol poisoning. 782 00:37:07,417 --> 00:37:09,708 - [Dan] Over 100 years later, 783 00:37:09,708 --> 00:37:12,500 an even weirder flood takes an American city by storm. 784 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,750 - We're in Boston in 1919 785 00:37:16,750 --> 00:37:19,125 and we've got history repeating itself 786 00:37:19,125 --> 00:37:21,708 in an eerily similar fashion. 787 00:37:22,708 --> 00:37:26,083 - Martin Clopherty is in his room taking a nap. 788 00:37:26,083 --> 00:37:28,750 His family is downstairs enjoying a meal. 789 00:37:30,667 --> 00:37:33,417 - And he's awakened by the rumbling noise. 790 00:37:33,417 --> 00:37:36,292 - [Dan] Before he can call out to his family, 791 00:37:36,292 --> 00:37:38,583 an explosion rocks the neighborhood. 792 00:37:38,583 --> 00:37:42,167 - Martin is flung forcefully from his bed, 793 00:37:42,167 --> 00:37:45,917 through his window and lands outside. 794 00:37:52,292 --> 00:37:54,417 - Just imagine you wake up, 795 00:37:54,417 --> 00:37:56,750 you're now in the street in front of your house, 796 00:37:56,750 --> 00:38:01,208 surrounded by a sea of black and sticky tar like substance. 797 00:38:01,208 --> 00:38:02,792 Maybe you're still dreaming. 798 00:38:03,750 --> 00:38:05,583 Maybe it's a nightmare you'll wake up from. 799 00:38:05,583 --> 00:38:07,375 You put your fingers down to taste. 800 00:38:07,375 --> 00:38:09,333 It's not tar. 801 00:38:09,333 --> 00:38:10,833 - [Dan] It's molasses. 802 00:38:10,833 --> 00:38:14,500 So odd that Martin can't quite believe it. 803 00:38:14,500 --> 00:38:16,958 - Everybody's accounted for except for his mother. 804 00:38:16,958 --> 00:38:18,625 He sees her through the window. 805 00:38:18,625 --> 00:38:21,458 Covered head to toe now in molasses, 806 00:38:21,458 --> 00:38:23,542 he realizes he can't lift his feet. 807 00:38:23,542 --> 00:38:25,708 - He's trying desperately to try to get to her, 808 00:38:25,708 --> 00:38:29,333 but the more he moves, the more stuck he gets. 809 00:38:29,333 --> 00:38:32,375 - He sees the house collapse, leaving his mother 810 00:38:32,375 --> 00:38:35,583 as one of the casualties of the molasses flood. 811 00:38:35,583 --> 00:38:38,917 - [Dan] So just how did this syrupy swamp start? 812 00:38:38,917 --> 00:38:42,875 - It happens that Martin's home is adjacent 813 00:38:42,875 --> 00:38:46,833 to an enormous molasses distillery plant. 814 00:38:48,417 --> 00:38:51,042 - [Dan] Yep, the same molasses grandma put 815 00:38:51,042 --> 00:38:54,583 in her gingerbread cookies also creates disasters. 816 00:38:55,458 --> 00:38:56,667 This one starts 817 00:38:56,667 --> 00:38:58,792 with unseasonably warm weather in January. 818 00:38:58,792 --> 00:39:01,667 When the temperatures reach a high of 40 degrees, 819 00:39:01,667 --> 00:39:03,458 the distillery doesn't turn down 820 00:39:03,458 --> 00:39:06,583 the furnaces used to keep the molasses from freezing. 821 00:39:06,583 --> 00:39:09,917 - The molasses heats up precipitously. 822 00:39:09,917 --> 00:39:11,583 It begins to expand. 823 00:39:11,583 --> 00:39:15,917 It begins to buckle the enormous holding vat. 824 00:39:15,917 --> 00:39:18,875 - [Dan] Then, cracks start forming in the tanks. 825 00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:21,708 - The company doesn't fix the problem, 826 00:39:21,708 --> 00:39:24,042 they just paint over it with brown paint, thinking, 827 00:39:24,042 --> 00:39:28,833 oh, no one will notice, which is shady as can be. 828 00:39:28,833 --> 00:39:31,083 (dramatic music) 829 00:39:31,083 --> 00:39:32,833 (rupture booming) 830 00:39:32,833 --> 00:39:35,625 - When this vat ruptures and bursts, 831 00:39:35,625 --> 00:39:39,750 the molasses is completely fluid and it's moving fast. 832 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:44,708 - And then, it's a mad rush to try to survive. 833 00:39:45,708 --> 00:39:48,083 - A public works employee is repairing the streets 834 00:39:48,083 --> 00:39:49,250 with cobblestones. 835 00:39:49,250 --> 00:39:51,375 This huge flood comes down the street. 836 00:39:51,375 --> 00:39:53,958 It knocks him 20 feet into a pile 837 00:39:53,958 --> 00:39:57,917 of unforgiving granite cobble stones and cracks his skull. 838 00:39:59,958 --> 00:40:02,583 - [Dan] He may have survived if not for the fact 839 00:40:02,583 --> 00:40:05,833 that as molasses cools, it becomes thicker. 840 00:40:05,833 --> 00:40:08,083 - The molasses begins to harden. 841 00:40:08,083 --> 00:40:13,875 So like bugs in amber, you have whole humans encased. 842 00:40:13,875 --> 00:40:19,083 Anybody who's trapped within this vast blob 843 00:40:19,083 --> 00:40:21,542 is smothered to death. 844 00:40:21,542 --> 00:40:24,500 - It's slow enough that if you're in it, 845 00:40:24,500 --> 00:40:28,375 you're aware of what's going on as it's all ending. 846 00:40:28,375 --> 00:40:29,375 Awful. 847 00:40:29,375 --> 00:40:31,333 (tense music) 848 00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:34,750 - [Dan] The tidal wave of molasses devastates the city. 849 00:40:34,750 --> 00:40:38,708 - Streetcars, livestock, vehicles, 850 00:40:38,708 --> 00:40:41,542 commercial buildings are covered. 851 00:40:41,542 --> 00:40:42,833 - They're trying to scrape the molasses. 852 00:40:42,833 --> 00:40:44,375 They're trying to dissolve the molasses. 853 00:40:44,375 --> 00:40:46,208 They're adding sand to the situation 854 00:40:46,208 --> 00:40:47,917 so something grippy can grab 855 00:40:47,917 --> 00:40:50,250 some of that molasses stickiness. 856 00:40:50,250 --> 00:40:51,375 - [Dan] After four days, 857 00:40:51,375 --> 00:40:53,792 rescuers stop searching for survivors. 858 00:40:53,792 --> 00:40:56,083 Many of the dead are so covered with molasses 859 00:40:56,083 --> 00:41:00,125 that they are unrecognizable to their families. 860 00:41:00,125 --> 00:41:01,708 - There are 21 deaths 861 00:41:01,708 --> 00:41:04,458 attributed to the great molasses flood. 862 00:41:04,458 --> 00:41:06,542 - Not all victims of the molasses flood 863 00:41:06,542 --> 00:41:08,542 are buried in the molasses. 864 00:41:08,542 --> 00:41:11,708 Some are actually washed right out to Boston Harbor, 865 00:41:11,708 --> 00:41:13,708 as they're now encased in molasses 866 00:41:13,708 --> 00:41:15,750 and sunk under the water. 867 00:41:15,750 --> 00:41:18,625 Some of them are not found until three or four months 868 00:41:18,625 --> 00:41:21,875 after the fact when their bodies begin to float 869 00:41:21,875 --> 00:41:24,042 up to the top of the harbor. 870 00:41:24,042 --> 00:41:27,542 - Bostonians report for years and years later, 871 00:41:27,542 --> 00:41:29,875 the smell of molasses permeating the area 872 00:41:29,875 --> 00:41:32,792 and public fixtures like lampposts and public telephones 873 00:41:32,792 --> 00:41:37,083 and the elevated railways still being sticky to the touch 874 00:41:37,083 --> 00:41:38,583 years down the road. 875 00:41:40,250 --> 00:41:43,708 - Most of us hope our deaths will be fairly uneventful, 876 00:41:43,708 --> 00:41:48,667 but for those facing a speeding tennis ball, a flying poodle, 877 00:41:48,667 --> 00:41:53,208 or a funny TV show, the end came in ways 878 00:41:53,208 --> 00:41:55,625 that are truly unbelievable.