1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:04,042 - [Dan] Warning, what you're about to see 2 00:00:04,042 --> 00:00:06,750 could be disturbing to some viewers. 3 00:00:06,750 --> 00:00:09,083 (suspenseful music) 4 00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:16,542 Imagine this, a chicken 5 00:00:16,542 --> 00:00:20,583 that spends two years walking around without a head. 6 00:00:21,542 --> 00:00:24,875 - Turns out that you don't need a whole brain 7 00:00:24,875 --> 00:00:26,250 to run a chicken. 8 00:00:28,042 --> 00:00:31,667 - Or a 10-year-old taller than Michael Jordan. 9 00:00:31,667 --> 00:00:33,208 - He's gigantic. 10 00:00:33,208 --> 00:00:36,875 He never, ever, ever, ever stops growing. 11 00:00:36,875 --> 00:00:38,750 (dramatic music) 12 00:00:38,750 --> 00:00:43,083 - What about a lake believed to turn animals to stone? 13 00:00:43,083 --> 00:00:45,083 - And they basically become petrified. 14 00:00:45,083 --> 00:00:46,542 It's like they looked at Medusa. 15 00:00:48,292 --> 00:00:50,208 - These are the bodies so surprising, 16 00:00:50,208 --> 00:00:52,875 they are truly unbelievable. 17 00:00:52,875 --> 00:00:55,208 (dramatic music) 18 00:01:05,667 --> 00:01:10,583 - It's 1918 and proud parents, Harold and Addie Wadlow, 19 00:01:10,583 --> 00:01:14,333 welcome a new baby boy to their family, little Robert. 20 00:01:14,333 --> 00:01:17,375 At first, his size is relatively normal, 21 00:01:17,375 --> 00:01:22,083 but what happens when Robert starts growing and never stops? 22 00:01:22,083 --> 00:01:24,500 (suspenseful music) (children chattering) 23 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:28,667 - So when Robert Wadlow is born in 1918 in Alton, Illinois, 24 00:01:28,667 --> 00:01:30,708 by all appearances, he's perfectly normal. 25 00:01:30,708 --> 00:01:35,292 But very quickly, his parents notice that something is off. 26 00:01:35,292 --> 00:01:38,583 He begins to grow at a phenomenal pace. 27 00:01:38,583 --> 00:01:41,792 When he's eight years old, he's 5 foot 11, 28 00:01:41,792 --> 00:01:43,292 as tall as his father. 29 00:01:43,292 --> 00:01:47,417 - By the time he's 10, he's 6 foot, 6 inches tall. 30 00:01:47,417 --> 00:01:50,708 - [Dan] The Wadlows try to give their boy a typical childhood, 31 00:01:50,708 --> 00:01:53,750 but it's soon clear Robert is anything but. 32 00:01:53,750 --> 00:01:57,042 - The average male height in America at this time 33 00:01:57,042 --> 00:02:00,792 is like, 5'9", and he's not yet done growing. 34 00:02:02,625 --> 00:02:05,750 - Even simple, basic things like going to school 35 00:02:05,750 --> 00:02:08,208 present a huge challenge to him. 36 00:02:08,208 --> 00:02:10,917 - When he goes to have lunch with his friends, 37 00:02:10,917 --> 00:02:12,875 he can't even sit at the dining tables 38 00:02:12,875 --> 00:02:15,125 because he's gonna break them when he sits down, 39 00:02:15,125 --> 00:02:17,625 so he has to eat standing up. 40 00:02:17,625 --> 00:02:19,333 He's gigantic compared 41 00:02:19,333 --> 00:02:21,583 to all the other students in his classes. 42 00:02:23,292 --> 00:02:25,042 He can't even fit in the desks 43 00:02:25,042 --> 00:02:27,125 that the regular students sit in. 44 00:02:28,250 --> 00:02:30,458 They try raising them on blocks. 45 00:02:32,250 --> 00:02:35,083 And eventually, he has to stand in the back of the class 46 00:02:35,083 --> 00:02:38,125 because there's nothing else that can accommodate his height. 47 00:02:39,167 --> 00:02:41,500 Life is a complete challenge for the guy. 48 00:02:42,417 --> 00:02:44,542 - But he joins the basketball team. 49 00:02:44,542 --> 00:02:47,375 He's approximately the same size as Michael Jordan. 50 00:02:47,375 --> 00:02:49,667 Can you imagine showing up in Alton, Illinois 51 00:02:49,667 --> 00:02:52,500 to play basketball and there's this 6 foot 6 guy 52 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:56,250 on the team and he's a legit fifth grader? 53 00:02:58,292 --> 00:03:01,875 - I'm Robert Wadlow, seven feet tall, 12 years old, 54 00:03:01,875 --> 00:03:03,417 and weigh 240 pounds. 55 00:03:03,417 --> 00:03:05,458 - [Dan] When he reaches middle school, 56 00:03:05,458 --> 00:03:07,958 Robert experiences another growth spurt, 57 00:03:07,958 --> 00:03:10,458 but his is extreme. 58 00:03:10,458 --> 00:03:13,708 - At the age of 13, Robert's 7 foot, 4 inches tall 59 00:03:13,708 --> 00:03:16,167 and he's the world's tallest boy scout, 60 00:03:16,167 --> 00:03:18,292 which of course makes the merit badges real tiny 61 00:03:18,292 --> 00:03:20,417 on his chest, I suppose. 62 00:03:20,417 --> 00:03:22,833 - And when you say someone's too big for their britches, 63 00:03:22,833 --> 00:03:24,333 well, he literally is. 64 00:03:24,333 --> 00:03:27,208 - [James] The shoes, the pants, the shirts, all of it 65 00:03:27,208 --> 00:03:29,083 has to be made from scratch. 66 00:03:29,083 --> 00:03:32,500 - I wear the largest pair of shoes ever made. 67 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:34,708 - Obviously, Robert Wadlow is not gonna be walking 68 00:03:34,708 --> 00:03:37,833 into a shoe store and asking for a size 37. 69 00:03:37,833 --> 00:03:39,458 It's simply not gonna happen. 70 00:03:40,458 --> 00:03:44,375 - [Dan] But what exactly is making young Robert so big? 71 00:03:44,375 --> 00:03:48,333 - Robert Wadlow has gigantism, which is almost always caused 72 00:03:48,333 --> 00:03:51,958 by the pituitary gland constantly resupplying the body 73 00:03:51,958 --> 00:03:53,250 with growth hormone. 74 00:03:53,250 --> 00:03:55,708 - He never, ever, ever, ever, 75 00:03:55,708 --> 00:03:58,583 through his whole life, stops growing. 76 00:03:59,917 --> 00:04:01,500 - [Dan] By the time he's 22. 77 00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:04,917 Robert reaches an astonishing 8 feet, 11 inches. 78 00:04:04,917 --> 00:04:08,792 That's taller than Andre the Giant by a foot and a half. 79 00:04:08,792 --> 00:04:11,208 - The tallest players ever to play in the NBA 80 00:04:11,208 --> 00:04:12,708 are 7 foot 7, 81 00:04:12,708 --> 00:04:16,958 so he dwarfs the tallest persons ever to play in the NBA. 82 00:04:16,958 --> 00:04:18,542 (car honking) 83 00:04:18,542 --> 00:04:21,542 - [Dan] Now, that might sound like every short person's dream, 84 00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:25,250 but for Robert, it's sometimes a nightmare. 85 00:04:25,250 --> 00:04:27,500 - This world isn't built for Robert. 86 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:29,208 Imagine nothing fitting. 87 00:04:29,208 --> 00:04:31,833 Everything is just too small for him. 88 00:04:31,833 --> 00:04:33,875 - Wadlow hopes to have a full-blown career 89 00:04:33,875 --> 00:04:35,750 like a lot of people his age in that era, 90 00:04:35,750 --> 00:04:38,000 but it's out of his reach in many ways 91 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,042 because he is so enormous. 92 00:04:40,042 --> 00:04:44,250 - He wants to be a lawyer and he never achieves that. 93 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:45,750 How many people in that era 94 00:04:45,750 --> 00:04:48,500 would've sought out an almost-nine-foot lawyer? 95 00:04:50,125 --> 00:04:54,500 - When Robert Wadlow would go out in public, people stared. 96 00:04:55,542 --> 00:04:57,667 (camera snapping) But they even went beyond that. 97 00:04:57,667 --> 00:05:00,583 They actually would walk up to him and knock on his legs 98 00:05:00,583 --> 00:05:02,875 because he appeared to be a person on stilts. 99 00:05:05,625 --> 00:05:10,292 - [Dan] His size obviously makes a desk job somewhat challenging. 100 00:05:10,292 --> 00:05:12,042 - Robert Wadlow and his family 101 00:05:12,042 --> 00:05:14,500 had spent pretty much his entire life 102 00:05:14,500 --> 00:05:18,125 desperately avoiding the show business angle. 103 00:05:18,125 --> 00:05:20,875 - [Dan] Then, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus 104 00:05:20,875 --> 00:05:22,167 come knocking. 105 00:05:22,167 --> 00:05:24,542 - And money's money. 106 00:05:24,542 --> 00:05:27,500 But Robert has conditions. 107 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:30,458 Robert is never pictured in much of anything other 108 00:05:30,458 --> 00:05:31,792 than a three piece suit 109 00:05:31,792 --> 00:05:34,417 and he will not be presented as a freak. 110 00:05:34,417 --> 00:05:37,208 He's presented as the tallest human being in the world 111 00:05:37,208 --> 00:05:39,750 and in recorded human history. 112 00:05:39,750 --> 00:05:41,417 - Wadlow gets lots of attention 113 00:05:41,417 --> 00:05:43,667 and he does his best to deal with it gracefully. 114 00:05:43,667 --> 00:05:45,917 In one radio interview, the radio interviewer asks him, 115 00:05:45,917 --> 00:05:47,917 "Does it bother you that people stare at you?" 116 00:05:47,917 --> 00:05:52,458 And he chuckles and he says, "I just overlook them." 117 00:05:52,458 --> 00:05:54,792 (tense music) 118 00:05:56,375 --> 00:05:58,458 - Eventually, Robert grew so tall 119 00:06:00,708 --> 00:06:05,833 that it puts tremendous stress on his body 120 00:06:05,833 --> 00:06:09,333 and particularly on his bones and on his leg muscles. 121 00:06:10,708 --> 00:06:13,542 This causes him to need braces. 122 00:06:15,083 --> 00:06:18,667 - [Dan] Those braces ultimately do more harm than good. 123 00:06:24,708 --> 00:06:29,500 - In 1940, he's invited to walk in a 4th of July parade. 124 00:06:29,500 --> 00:06:33,208 The metal brackets on his legs start to cut into him 125 00:06:33,208 --> 00:06:35,792 and develop bruises and lesions. 126 00:06:35,792 --> 00:06:38,375 - [Dan] The cuts on Robert's legs become infected 127 00:06:40,042 --> 00:06:41,750 and he ends up in the hospital. 128 00:06:43,792 --> 00:06:47,167 - After the parade, he developed sepsis, 129 00:06:47,167 --> 00:06:50,375 high fevers, low blood pressure. 130 00:06:50,375 --> 00:06:53,125 - Robert's temperature rises to 104 degrees. 131 00:06:56,042 --> 00:06:58,375 July 15th, 1940, 132 00:06:58,375 --> 00:07:01,000 the world's largest human being passes away. 133 00:07:02,792 --> 00:07:05,708 - [Dan] Robert is just 22 when he passes, 134 00:07:05,708 --> 00:07:09,042 but the strangeness that marked his life continues in death. 135 00:07:10,375 --> 00:07:12,875 - You can't just have a normal coffin. 136 00:07:12,875 --> 00:07:15,542 Robert needs an extra large coffin 137 00:07:15,542 --> 00:07:18,042 that requires 12 pallbearers 138 00:07:18,042 --> 00:07:20,125 to carry him to his grave site. 139 00:07:20,125 --> 00:07:24,625 - [Dan] Even after his death, the public remain oddly curious. 140 00:07:24,625 --> 00:07:26,875 - So in the sorrow of losing their son, 141 00:07:26,875 --> 00:07:29,042 the family is informed that they really need 142 00:07:29,042 --> 00:07:31,750 to take some precautions about his body being stolen. 143 00:07:31,750 --> 00:07:34,500 - His parents start to hear rumors 144 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:38,375 that curiosity seekers may want to exhume his corpse 145 00:07:38,375 --> 00:07:40,667 and put it on display. 146 00:07:40,667 --> 00:07:41,875 - [Dan] The rumors are credible enough 147 00:07:41,875 --> 00:07:43,833 that Robert's parents take action. 148 00:07:44,958 --> 00:07:48,500 - They pour thousands of pounds of concrete on top 149 00:07:48,500 --> 00:07:51,042 of his grave so that he can rest in peace. 150 00:07:52,708 --> 00:07:56,000 - [Dan] These days, a life-sized statue near Robert's grave site 151 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,625 causes visitors to do what everyone did when he was alive: 152 00:07:59,625 --> 00:08:02,708 Look up. Way, way up. 153 00:08:05,667 --> 00:08:09,833 Record holders like Robert are indeed more than strange. 154 00:08:09,833 --> 00:08:12,542 Our next story transports us around the world 155 00:08:12,542 --> 00:08:15,708 to uncover a different kind of astonishing body. 156 00:08:19,208 --> 00:08:23,542 - In a remote village 250 miles away from Kathmandu, 157 00:08:25,583 --> 00:08:28,042 a worker is just passing through the village 158 00:08:28,042 --> 00:08:30,375 and sees something moving in the distance 159 00:08:30,375 --> 00:08:31,792 out of the corner of his eye. 160 00:08:31,792 --> 00:08:33,875 It looks like a child, 161 00:08:33,875 --> 00:08:36,958 but this is someone who's walking much too quickly 162 00:08:36,958 --> 00:08:39,333 and much too confidently to be a child. 163 00:08:39,333 --> 00:08:42,750 - This road worker really is struggling to make sense of it. 164 00:08:42,750 --> 00:08:47,167 This is in fact, a 72-year-old man. 165 00:08:48,167 --> 00:08:53,292 - [Dan] Chandra Bahadur Dangi stands a mere 21 inches tall, 166 00:08:53,292 --> 00:08:56,750 or as he jokes, 21 inches short. 167 00:08:56,750 --> 00:09:00,500 - The worker who discovered him decides this is worthy 168 00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:01,750 of going to Guinness. 169 00:09:02,708 --> 00:09:04,750 This gentleman needs a world's record. 170 00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:09,208 - [Dan] Calls are made, emails are sent, 171 00:09:09,208 --> 00:09:12,208 and the Guinness World Records Organization is contacted. 172 00:09:12,208 --> 00:09:14,792 When officials see photos, they have lots of questions, 173 00:09:14,792 --> 00:09:18,208 starting with, who is this guy? 174 00:09:18,208 --> 00:09:20,333 (tense music) 175 00:09:20,333 --> 00:09:23,875 - Chandra is born in 1939, the seventh of eight children. 176 00:09:23,875 --> 00:09:26,917 Some of his siblings are normal size. 177 00:09:26,917 --> 00:09:30,708 Some of his siblings have dwarfism like he does. 178 00:09:30,708 --> 00:09:33,875 The village builds ramps for him and lower shelves 179 00:09:33,875 --> 00:09:36,292 so that he can live a normal life 180 00:09:36,292 --> 00:09:39,042 in this extremely rural village. 181 00:09:39,042 --> 00:09:41,625 - He himself often tells people, jestingly, 182 00:09:41,625 --> 00:09:43,625 "I am taller than the chickens, 183 00:09:43,625 --> 00:09:45,542 but I am shorter than the goats." 184 00:09:47,083 --> 00:09:48,542 - [Dan] Then in 2012, 185 00:09:48,542 --> 00:09:51,833 Chandra's small world gets much larger. 186 00:09:51,833 --> 00:09:54,833 - At this point, to validate his stature 187 00:09:54,833 --> 00:09:58,292 and his position as the tiniest human on record, 188 00:09:58,292 --> 00:10:01,958 Guinness Book of World Records, they invite him to Kathmandu. 189 00:10:03,875 --> 00:10:07,875 - Kathmandu is a bustling metropolis for Chandra compared 190 00:10:07,875 --> 00:10:11,292 to the rural life that he had lived prior. 191 00:10:12,417 --> 00:10:13,708 - For someone who has never 192 00:10:13,708 --> 00:10:14,917 been out of their village before, 193 00:10:14,917 --> 00:10:17,458 this is a massive sea change. 194 00:10:17,458 --> 00:10:20,083 He is suddenly in a big city. 195 00:10:20,083 --> 00:10:22,875 He is seeing things he never before imagined 196 00:10:22,875 --> 00:10:25,917 in a world that really is not set up to accommodate him, 197 00:10:25,917 --> 00:10:28,750 but he seems pretty game about the whole thing. 198 00:10:28,750 --> 00:10:30,250 - The Guinness Book of World Records 199 00:10:30,250 --> 00:10:35,042 measure him multiple times to make sure this is legit. 200 00:10:35,042 --> 00:10:38,792 - He is verified, 21.49 inches. 201 00:10:38,792 --> 00:10:41,708 It's official, Chandra Bahadur Dangi 202 00:10:41,708 --> 00:10:44,542 is the shortest man alive. 203 00:10:44,542 --> 00:10:46,000 - [Dan] And just like that, 204 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,667 Chandra becomes an international celebrity. 205 00:10:50,083 --> 00:10:53,042 - And when he is exposed to the world at large, 206 00:10:53,042 --> 00:10:55,417 he lives this, like, rockstar life. 207 00:10:55,417 --> 00:10:58,792 - Chandra now finds himself flying on jets to places, 208 00:10:58,792 --> 00:11:00,875 he'd never been on a plane before. 209 00:11:00,875 --> 00:11:05,125 He's being limousined around, he's staying in swanky hotels. 210 00:11:05,125 --> 00:11:06,917 - He's going to London, he's going to Mumbai, 211 00:11:06,917 --> 00:11:08,708 he's traveling to Australia. 212 00:11:08,708 --> 00:11:12,875 - Here at the age of 72, Chandra suddenly finds himself 213 00:11:12,875 --> 00:11:14,583 a completely different human being 214 00:11:14,583 --> 00:11:16,167 in a completely different world. 215 00:11:16,167 --> 00:11:19,375 - He gets to meet the current tallest living person 216 00:11:19,375 --> 00:11:22,542 in the world, he also gets to meet the shortest woman 217 00:11:22,542 --> 00:11:24,000 in the world. 218 00:11:25,042 --> 00:11:29,042 - [Dan] Eventually Chandra's new life takes a toll. 219 00:11:29,042 --> 00:11:31,958 - While he's touring, he catches pneumonia. 220 00:11:31,958 --> 00:11:33,667 He's a diminutive individual 221 00:11:33,667 --> 00:11:36,458 and that means that all of his internal organs 222 00:11:36,458 --> 00:11:39,375 are really packed into a tiny space. 223 00:11:39,375 --> 00:11:41,083 - And one could speculate 224 00:11:41,083 --> 00:11:45,000 that Chandra can't bring enough air into and out of his body 225 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,875 and it's a setup for infection. 226 00:11:47,875 --> 00:11:53,292 - [Dan] On September 3rd, 2015, he passes away 227 00:11:53,292 --> 00:11:55,875 at the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center. 228 00:11:55,875 --> 00:11:58,042 (pensive music) 229 00:11:59,042 --> 00:12:02,583 But it comes after packing a lifetime of experience 230 00:12:02,583 --> 00:12:04,708 into his final years. 231 00:12:04,708 --> 00:12:07,042 - And what a beautiful capstone 232 00:12:07,042 --> 00:12:09,750 to finally getting your dues at the end 233 00:12:09,750 --> 00:12:11,750 and going out on a high note. 234 00:12:18,833 --> 00:12:21,125 - Eating as much as you want and still losing weight 235 00:12:21,125 --> 00:12:24,208 sounds great to some of us, but the mysterious case 236 00:12:24,208 --> 00:12:27,458 of one young boy might make you think twice. 237 00:12:27,458 --> 00:12:30,125 (ominous music) (birds chirping) 238 00:12:32,583 --> 00:12:36,208 - Isaac Sprague is a, by all accounts, normal 12-year-old. 239 00:12:36,208 --> 00:12:39,208 In 1853, he goes swimming in a local swimming hole, 240 00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:41,667 but when he comes out, he's not feeling well 241 00:12:41,667 --> 00:12:44,500 and his condition deteriorates very quickly. 242 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:47,042 He gets feverish, achy, fatigued. 243 00:12:47,042 --> 00:12:48,750 Over time, his parents notice, 244 00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:50,375 not only is he looking quite poorly, 245 00:12:50,375 --> 00:12:52,042 but he's also losing weight. 246 00:12:53,083 --> 00:12:55,958 - He's losing weight so rapidly that it scares his family. 247 00:12:55,958 --> 00:12:57,833 Obviously, they're worried about his wellbeing, 248 00:12:57,833 --> 00:12:59,917 but it also scares people around him. 249 00:12:59,917 --> 00:13:01,542 People kind of withdraw 250 00:13:01,542 --> 00:13:03,958 'cause they don't know if he has something contagious. 251 00:13:03,958 --> 00:13:05,875 - [Dan] Even his doctors are mystified. 252 00:13:07,625 --> 00:13:11,667 - He goes from 80-odd-pound adolescent 253 00:13:11,667 --> 00:13:14,375 to a 43-pound human skeleton. 254 00:13:16,375 --> 00:13:18,542 - But his weight levels off at that number. 255 00:13:18,542 --> 00:13:21,542 He stays 43 pounds. 256 00:13:21,542 --> 00:13:24,792 - When you see photos, they are really shocking. 257 00:13:25,750 --> 00:13:28,125 You almost feel like the photograph is a fake. 258 00:13:28,125 --> 00:13:30,750 - You think, oh, that's really weird Photoshop. 259 00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,917 They are actual photographs of him. 260 00:13:35,375 --> 00:13:38,083 - As he gets older, he is able to work a little bit 261 00:13:38,083 --> 00:13:39,542 for his father, who's a shoemaker, 262 00:13:39,542 --> 00:13:41,000 and also for a local grocer. 263 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,083 But he's constantly fatigued by this work 264 00:13:43,083 --> 00:13:46,083 'cause he doesn't have any real muscle mass to speak of. 265 00:13:46,083 --> 00:13:47,708 - His parents support him, 266 00:13:47,708 --> 00:13:49,958 but eventually his parents pass away 267 00:13:49,958 --> 00:13:51,875 and he has to earn a living. 268 00:13:51,875 --> 00:13:53,250 - [Dan] So he asks himself, 269 00:13:53,250 --> 00:13:56,417 is there a way to turn this condition into cash? 270 00:13:56,417 --> 00:14:00,208 - In 1865, he gets an offer from the circus. 271 00:14:02,208 --> 00:14:04,125 It's unclear whether he wants to do it, but he does it 272 00:14:04,125 --> 00:14:06,750 because it's really his only option. 273 00:14:06,750 --> 00:14:09,958 Sprague debuts as The Living Skeleton. 274 00:14:09,958 --> 00:14:14,167 - Isaac Sprague eventually catches the eye of P.T. Barnum 275 00:14:14,167 --> 00:14:18,750 and Barnum gets Sprague to join his company. 276 00:14:18,750 --> 00:14:21,000 He's performing with The Four-Legged Woman, 277 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,542 The Lion-Faced Man. 278 00:14:22,542 --> 00:14:25,542 Zip the "What Is It?", who astounds the crown heads 279 00:14:25,542 --> 00:14:27,875 of Europe when Barnum had him under contract. 280 00:14:27,875 --> 00:14:29,208 - On the one hand, 281 00:14:29,208 --> 00:14:31,542 he is kind of making lemonade out of lemons, 282 00:14:31,542 --> 00:14:35,167 but it's actually kind of a grueling job to have. 283 00:14:35,167 --> 00:14:38,375 - [Dan] Sprague dazzles the crowds, but at a cost. 284 00:14:40,333 --> 00:14:43,750 - Isaac Sprague has neither fat nor muscle. 285 00:14:43,750 --> 00:14:47,042 So for his body to survive, he has 286 00:14:47,042 --> 00:14:51,042 to be constantly consuming caloric intake. 287 00:14:51,042 --> 00:14:53,958 So he deals with that by having a hip flask 288 00:14:53,958 --> 00:14:56,042 of sweetened milk, which gives him fat, 289 00:14:56,042 --> 00:14:58,083 gives him some sugar and keeps him going. 290 00:14:58,083 --> 00:15:00,208 Of course, many sideshow performers had flasks, 291 00:15:00,208 --> 00:15:02,083 but they were filled with alcohol. 292 00:15:03,042 --> 00:15:05,000 - The great part of his story, in my eyes, 293 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,083 is that he does find love. 294 00:15:07,083 --> 00:15:08,542 He meets a young woman 295 00:15:08,542 --> 00:15:10,625 and he falls in love with her and they get married. 296 00:15:10,625 --> 00:15:12,750 They have three children, completely healthy, 297 00:15:12,750 --> 00:15:14,792 but that also means that he has 298 00:15:14,792 --> 00:15:16,417 to keep performing in the sideshow 299 00:15:16,417 --> 00:15:18,542 because he now has to support a family. 300 00:15:21,125 --> 00:15:24,417 - He feels the universe owes him something 301 00:15:24,417 --> 00:15:26,458 because of his problem. 302 00:15:26,458 --> 00:15:29,125 - He believes that a stroke of good luck 303 00:15:29,125 --> 00:15:30,375 is right around the corner. 304 00:15:30,375 --> 00:15:32,958 And so he develops a problem with gambling. 305 00:15:32,958 --> 00:15:35,792 And so all that great money from the circus 306 00:15:35,792 --> 00:15:37,500 doesn't get funneled to his family. 307 00:15:38,542 --> 00:15:41,875 - [Dan] By late 1886, Sprague is too weak to travel 308 00:15:41,875 --> 00:15:45,542 or work, so he comes up with a bizarre plan 309 00:15:45,542 --> 00:15:48,458 to secure desperately needed cash for his family. 310 00:15:50,208 --> 00:15:52,542 - So he approaches Harvard Medical School with an idea. 311 00:15:52,542 --> 00:15:55,292 How about when I die, you can get my body, 312 00:15:55,292 --> 00:15:57,417 but you have to pay my family $1,000? 313 00:15:58,542 --> 00:16:03,375 - [Dan] Just a few weeks later, on January 6th, 1887, 314 00:16:03,375 --> 00:16:04,583 Sprague dies. 315 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,708 It's not clear if Harvard ever claims Sprague's body 316 00:16:09,708 --> 00:16:11,375 or pays his heirs, 317 00:16:11,375 --> 00:16:14,417 but allegedly the guy had another trick up his sleeve. 318 00:16:14,417 --> 00:16:17,042 According to friends, he bet someone that he wouldn't live 319 00:16:17,042 --> 00:16:19,083 to the following Saturday. 320 00:16:19,083 --> 00:16:22,208 In fitting fashion, Isaac Sprague wins 321 00:16:22,208 --> 00:16:24,167 the last bet of his life. 322 00:16:25,458 --> 00:16:28,125 Let's consider another unbelievable tale. 323 00:16:28,125 --> 00:16:31,500 Meet Gary Turner, The Elastic Man. 324 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:33,583 (pensive music) 325 00:16:36,208 --> 00:16:38,750 - Gary Turner, he's born in 1971 326 00:16:38,750 --> 00:16:42,000 about 150 miles outside of London. 327 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,125 He plays sports, he goes to school, 328 00:16:44,125 --> 00:16:46,083 he eats his breakfast every morning. 329 00:16:46,083 --> 00:16:47,708 He has a normal childhood. 330 00:16:47,708 --> 00:16:50,708 - [Dan] But as Gary gets older, he discovers he can do something 331 00:16:50,708 --> 00:16:52,375 that's anything but normal. 332 00:16:53,375 --> 00:16:56,125 - He can pull the skin from his neck up over his face. 333 00:16:56,125 --> 00:16:58,125 He can pull his arm skin out. 334 00:16:58,125 --> 00:17:01,292 - [Dan] How is it possible that Gary can do this? 335 00:17:01,292 --> 00:17:04,625 - Gary Turner has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. 336 00:17:04,625 --> 00:17:09,417 The typical form is diagnosed in one in every 5,000 births. 337 00:17:09,417 --> 00:17:13,208 The more extreme examples range in one in every 40,000. 338 00:17:13,208 --> 00:17:17,375 Gary Turner is the most extreme of the most extreme. 339 00:17:19,375 --> 00:17:21,833 - Gary Turner's an amazing example 340 00:17:21,833 --> 00:17:25,417 of what used to be called The Rubber Skin Man Act. 341 00:17:26,792 --> 00:17:31,333 - So we all have stretchy skin to one degree or another, 342 00:17:31,333 --> 00:17:38,083 but in this case, there is a strange combination of collagen 343 00:17:38,083 --> 00:17:41,208 and elastin in his skin that allows it 344 00:17:41,208 --> 00:17:44,208 to be extremely plastic in nature, 345 00:17:44,208 --> 00:17:47,708 allowing him to stretch it to an incredible degree. 346 00:17:47,708 --> 00:17:49,250 - Gary's a natural performer. 347 00:17:49,250 --> 00:17:53,833 He loves the spotlight and nature gave him this gift. 348 00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:56,125 He's on movies, he does interviews. 349 00:17:56,125 --> 00:17:58,125 - Have a try yourself? 350 00:17:58,125 --> 00:18:00,625 - [Interviewer] (laughs) That's amazing. 351 00:18:00,625 --> 00:18:04,125 - Gary mesmerizes crowds by stretching his abdominal skin 352 00:18:04,125 --> 00:18:06,083 to 6.25 inches. 353 00:18:06,083 --> 00:18:10,042 If you think you can do that, go ahead, try. 354 00:18:10,042 --> 00:18:13,292 - In 1999, he is declared 355 00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:15,208 to have the world's stretchiest skin. 356 00:18:15,208 --> 00:18:18,292 And yes, that is a real category. 357 00:18:18,292 --> 00:18:21,167 - Unlike others who have physical differences, 358 00:18:21,167 --> 00:18:25,167 he doesn't have to worry about being nine feet tall. 359 00:18:25,167 --> 00:18:28,542 He doesn't have to worry about being 21 inches tall. 360 00:18:28,542 --> 00:18:31,542 He can throw on a sweatshirt and be anybody. 361 00:18:31,542 --> 00:18:34,292 - [Dan] And there's an additional upside. 362 00:18:34,292 --> 00:18:36,750 - As a silver lining, he doesn't get wrinkles. 363 00:18:40,875 --> 00:18:43,042 - Take a look at this picture. 364 00:18:43,042 --> 00:18:46,875 At first glance, does it seem in any way strange? 365 00:18:46,875 --> 00:18:48,875 What if I told you that a few years 366 00:18:48,875 --> 00:18:50,333 before this photo was taken, 367 00:18:50,333 --> 00:18:54,208 that iron bar shot straight through this man's head? 368 00:18:55,167 --> 00:18:57,458 (pensive music) 369 00:18:59,542 --> 00:19:04,292 - Phineas Gage is a 25-year-old railroad worker in the town 370 00:19:04,292 --> 00:19:06,542 of Cavendish, Vermont. 371 00:19:06,542 --> 00:19:11,333 - Phineas is a professional, hardworking, brilliant citizen. 372 00:19:12,292 --> 00:19:14,708 - His specialty is explosives 373 00:19:14,708 --> 00:19:16,417 'cause they need to lay down railroad track, 374 00:19:16,417 --> 00:19:18,042 you have to blow up a lot of rock. 375 00:19:18,042 --> 00:19:20,875 And so he's the guy that sets the charge. 376 00:19:20,875 --> 00:19:23,167 - As part of Phineas's job, 377 00:19:23,167 --> 00:19:27,208 he has a 3.5 foot iron bar that he uses 378 00:19:27,208 --> 00:19:29,000 to tamp down the gunpowder. 379 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,708 (metal clinking) 380 00:19:30,708 --> 00:19:33,375 - But it's very, very, very dangerous work 381 00:19:33,375 --> 00:19:35,208 because it's black powder 382 00:19:35,208 --> 00:19:37,458 and black powder can go off, like that. 383 00:19:37,458 --> 00:19:40,375 (suspenseful music) (metal clinking) 384 00:19:40,375 --> 00:19:44,625 - He strikes the rock just so with his rod, creates a spark. 385 00:19:44,625 --> 00:19:46,417 (explosion booming) 386 00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:50,667 (ominous music) 387 00:19:54,875 --> 00:19:58,542 - That tamping iron essentially became a bullet. 388 00:20:01,458 --> 00:20:03,167 - [Edward] It shoots upward 389 00:20:03,167 --> 00:20:05,042 and it goes right into his cheek, 390 00:20:05,042 --> 00:20:06,208 (man screaming) 391 00:20:06,208 --> 00:20:08,625 passes behind his left eye, 392 00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:12,167 and then out the top of his head through the frontal left lobe. 393 00:20:13,750 --> 00:20:16,458 It flies 80 feet away from the explosion. 394 00:20:17,333 --> 00:20:19,625 (iron clanging) 395 00:20:19,625 --> 00:20:24,083 - Everyone is absolutely certain the man is dead. 396 00:20:24,083 --> 00:20:28,292 To the shock of his crew mates, he stands up, 397 00:20:28,292 --> 00:20:31,542 starts walking around, asking what happened. 398 00:20:31,542 --> 00:20:33,917 He doesn't seem particularly alarmed. 399 00:20:33,917 --> 00:20:39,542 Because the tapered end of the bar exits his skull, 400 00:20:39,542 --> 00:20:41,750 he is spared greater brain damage 401 00:20:41,750 --> 00:20:43,917 than he otherwise would've suffered. 402 00:20:43,917 --> 00:20:46,708 - [Dan] Doctors managed to stop the bleeding, 403 00:20:46,708 --> 00:20:51,250 but they wonder, what are the long term consequences? 404 00:20:51,250 --> 00:20:54,958 - Phineas was known as an easygoing, 405 00:20:54,958 --> 00:20:57,417 likable guy before his injury. 406 00:20:57,417 --> 00:21:01,875 The person who returns to the railroad crew 407 00:21:01,875 --> 00:21:05,167 is argumentative, abrasive. 408 00:21:05,167 --> 00:21:07,875 - He's irritable, short-tempered, impulsive, 409 00:21:07,875 --> 00:21:10,708 and he's kind of a jerk to everybody around him. 410 00:21:10,708 --> 00:21:14,208 - He's prone to alcoholism and violence 411 00:21:14,208 --> 00:21:17,458 and we could say definitively, these are two different people. 412 00:21:18,542 --> 00:21:21,208 - Gage becomes kind of a medical curiosity 413 00:21:21,208 --> 00:21:23,875 and people are wondering how on earth he survives 414 00:21:23,875 --> 00:21:26,875 and also what is it that has changed his personality? 415 00:21:26,875 --> 00:21:30,500 And it's really, in some ways, the beginning of neuroscience. 416 00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:33,792 - The way the rod goes through his brain, it pierces an area 417 00:21:33,792 --> 00:21:37,833 of the brain that controls emotional responses. 418 00:21:37,833 --> 00:21:39,417 - The frontal lobes, 419 00:21:39,417 --> 00:21:41,917 frontal lobes are really super important 420 00:21:41,917 --> 00:21:43,917 for behavioral control. 421 00:21:43,917 --> 00:21:47,292 When Phineas severely damages his frontal lobes, 422 00:21:47,292 --> 00:21:49,542 it's like a brake has been taken off 423 00:21:49,542 --> 00:21:51,875 of his behavioral regulator 424 00:21:51,875 --> 00:21:54,792 and it is not uncommon with patients 425 00:21:54,792 --> 00:21:58,167 that have frontal lobe damage that they act impulsively. 426 00:21:58,167 --> 00:22:00,375 They can act aggressively. 427 00:22:00,375 --> 00:22:01,708 - Prior to this, people thought personality 428 00:22:01,708 --> 00:22:03,542 was sort of like an extension of your soul. 429 00:22:03,542 --> 00:22:05,792 It was some sort of ethereal part of you 430 00:22:05,792 --> 00:22:08,833 that, you know, you had to work on all the time as opposed 431 00:22:08,833 --> 00:22:10,750 to something that literally came out of synapses 432 00:22:10,750 --> 00:22:13,333 and cells and things in your brain. 433 00:22:13,333 --> 00:22:14,792 - [Dan] However, temper tantrums 434 00:22:14,792 --> 00:22:17,708 are just one possible side effect of a brain injury. 435 00:22:18,708 --> 00:22:21,500 - One of the consequences of certain types 436 00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:24,542 of head injury is Pseudobulbar affect. 437 00:22:24,542 --> 00:22:28,125 Essentially, that results in inappropriate laughter 438 00:22:28,125 --> 00:22:32,292 or crying without any sort of emotional context. 439 00:22:32,292 --> 00:22:34,667 - [Dan] In Hollywood, we call this Tuesday, 440 00:22:34,667 --> 00:22:36,875 but there's an even more unusual medical condition 441 00:22:36,875 --> 00:22:41,208 brought on by a brain injury, foreign accent syndrome. 442 00:22:41,208 --> 00:22:44,625 - I woke up this morning, I didn't do anything different. 443 00:22:44,625 --> 00:22:48,083 Then all of a sudden I was talking in an Irish accent. 444 00:22:48,083 --> 00:22:52,375 - A victim of brain trauma in Australia recovers, 445 00:22:52,375 --> 00:22:54,958 retains the ability of speech 446 00:22:54,958 --> 00:22:58,417 but starts to speak in an Irish brogue. 447 00:22:58,417 --> 00:22:59,917 - I can't shake it. 448 00:23:01,042 --> 00:23:02,583 - It's a bizarre phenomenon 449 00:23:02,583 --> 00:23:05,542 and just one of the many strange secrets the curious case 450 00:23:05,542 --> 00:23:07,625 of Phineas Gage begins to unlock. 451 00:23:09,042 --> 00:23:12,542 - What I find fascinating about the Phineas Gage case 452 00:23:12,542 --> 00:23:16,000 is that 175 years later, 453 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,292 scientists are still studying his case. 454 00:23:19,292 --> 00:23:22,833 He is that important in the history 455 00:23:22,833 --> 00:23:26,500 of our understanding of the human brain. 456 00:23:26,500 --> 00:23:29,208 - [Dan] What eventually becomes of Phineas Gage? 457 00:23:29,208 --> 00:23:32,208 - Because of the change in character 458 00:23:32,208 --> 00:23:34,542 that transpires in Phineas, 459 00:23:34,542 --> 00:23:37,833 he can no longer get along on crew work 460 00:23:37,833 --> 00:23:40,875 and he actually finds work driving a stagecoach 461 00:23:40,875 --> 00:23:43,667 in South America in the nation of Chile. 462 00:23:46,333 --> 00:23:48,625 - Phineas Gage's skull and tamping iron 463 00:23:48,625 --> 00:23:51,375 are on display in the Countway Library of Medicine 464 00:23:51,375 --> 00:23:53,292 at Harvard University. 465 00:23:53,292 --> 00:23:55,083 The relics serve as a reminder 466 00:23:55,083 --> 00:23:58,708 of how remarkably resilient the human body can be, 467 00:23:58,708 --> 00:24:03,708 but it's nothing compared to the resilience of chickens. 468 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,792 1945, Fruita, Colorado. 469 00:24:10,792 --> 00:24:13,583 Farmer Lloyd Olson is ready for dinner. 470 00:24:13,583 --> 00:24:18,000 The main course, a chicken named Mike. 471 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,208 (suspenseful music) 472 00:24:20,208 --> 00:24:22,083 (chicken clucking) 473 00:24:26,458 --> 00:24:29,083 - So Olson walks out, hatchet in hand. 474 00:24:30,958 --> 00:24:32,708 He performs the act 475 00:24:32,708 --> 00:24:34,500 that he has performed countless times 476 00:24:34,500 --> 00:24:36,375 with many other chickens. 477 00:24:36,375 --> 00:24:39,458 (suspenseful music) (chicken squawking) 478 00:24:40,667 --> 00:24:42,750 - Something's different. 479 00:24:42,750 --> 00:24:45,708 The chicken is still alive, 480 00:24:45,708 --> 00:24:48,833 still walking and acting like a chicken, 481 00:24:48,833 --> 00:24:51,250 but Lloyd is holding his head in his hand. 482 00:24:53,167 --> 00:24:55,000 - [Dan] How is this possible? 483 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,708 The answer has a lot to do with the unique attributes 484 00:24:57,708 --> 00:24:59,667 of the gallus gallus domesticuss, 485 00:24:59,667 --> 00:25:02,792 also known as the common chicken. 486 00:25:02,792 --> 00:25:05,958 - Chickens are descended from the dinosaurs 487 00:25:05,958 --> 00:25:09,542 from a group called the theropods, 488 00:25:09,542 --> 00:25:13,167 which include all of those famous meat eaters 489 00:25:13,167 --> 00:25:16,958 like Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus Rex. 490 00:25:18,292 --> 00:25:21,542 - Chickens have over 30 different kinds of vocalizations 491 00:25:21,542 --> 00:25:23,708 that they use to communicate with other chickens. 492 00:25:23,708 --> 00:25:25,917 They can remember up to a hundred different faces, 493 00:25:25,917 --> 00:25:27,583 human or chicken or otherwise. 494 00:25:27,583 --> 00:25:29,875 They actually experience REM sleep 495 00:25:29,875 --> 00:25:32,667 because we can measure their eye movements. 496 00:25:33,667 --> 00:25:35,167 These are pretty smart birds. 497 00:25:35,167 --> 00:25:37,042 - [Dan] Unfortunately, Mike loses every one 498 00:25:37,042 --> 00:25:40,542 of these attributes once Lloyd Olson brings the ax down 499 00:25:40,542 --> 00:25:41,875 on his feathery neck. 500 00:25:41,875 --> 00:25:43,583 (suspenseful music) (ax thumping) 501 00:25:43,583 --> 00:25:45,208 - When farmer Olson heads out 502 00:25:45,208 --> 00:25:48,083 for the traditional ax and stump routine 503 00:25:48,083 --> 00:25:52,125 with Mike the chicken, he ends up conducting what amounts 504 00:25:52,125 --> 00:25:55,958 to a complicated form of brain surgery. 505 00:25:55,958 --> 00:25:59,667 His ax cleaves the skull in such a way 506 00:25:59,667 --> 00:26:03,292 that it leaves the stem of the brain. 507 00:26:03,292 --> 00:26:07,833 If you have that brain stem, the circulatory functions, 508 00:26:07,833 --> 00:26:12,000 the respiratory functions, the motor skills are left intact 509 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:17,625 and he is left with this living, essentially headless chicken. 510 00:26:17,625 --> 00:26:20,125 Turns out that you don't need a whole brain 511 00:26:20,125 --> 00:26:21,292 to run a chicken. 512 00:26:21,292 --> 00:26:22,667 (chicken clucking) 513 00:26:22,667 --> 00:26:26,083 - Now, he has to feed it very peculiarly. 514 00:26:26,083 --> 00:26:28,833 - So Mike, being headless, has no mouth 515 00:26:28,833 --> 00:26:31,208 and so can't eat in the traditional way. 516 00:26:31,208 --> 00:26:33,750 But after the beheading, there's a little opening 517 00:26:33,750 --> 00:26:36,208 to the esophagus exposed right there. 518 00:26:36,208 --> 00:26:39,250 Lloyd is able to keep Mike the headless chicken alive 519 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:42,250 by feeding food with an eyedropper through that opening, 520 00:26:43,208 --> 00:26:45,042 - [Dan] Pretty soon, Farmer Olson's chicken 521 00:26:45,042 --> 00:26:47,208 becomes the talk of the town. 522 00:26:47,208 --> 00:26:49,417 - He starts to show it around the neighbors, like, 523 00:26:49,417 --> 00:26:51,125 "Look, I've got a headless chicken." 524 00:26:51,125 --> 00:26:52,208 I would show it off. 525 00:26:52,208 --> 00:26:54,750 - Lloyd Olson realizes pretty quickly 526 00:26:54,750 --> 00:26:57,667 that a headless chicken which is still alive 527 00:26:57,667 --> 00:26:59,750 is an amazing attraction 528 00:26:59,750 --> 00:27:03,292 and he takes that animal on the road. 529 00:27:03,292 --> 00:27:06,958 So Lloyd's doing everything he can with Mike. 530 00:27:06,958 --> 00:27:10,708 He's featured in "Life Magazine" and he plays a World's Fair 531 00:27:10,708 --> 00:27:12,667 and he's going to carnivals and circuses. 532 00:27:12,667 --> 00:27:14,125 They're staying in hotels, 533 00:27:14,125 --> 00:27:17,000 and Lloyd and Mike are living large, 534 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,167 and he's making the equivalent of like, 60,000 bucks a month 535 00:27:20,167 --> 00:27:24,083 off this bird that's headless, but still alive. 536 00:27:24,083 --> 00:27:27,667 At long last though, things do come to an end. 537 00:27:28,708 --> 00:27:32,083 - After 18 months of touring on the road, 538 00:27:32,083 --> 00:27:36,083 Mike unfortunately chokes to death on a kernel of corn. 539 00:27:39,167 --> 00:27:42,958 - [Dan] But Mike's short life makes a lasting impact. 540 00:27:44,708 --> 00:27:47,542 - Fruita, Colorado still does celebrate 541 00:27:47,542 --> 00:27:50,125 their most famous citizen, 542 00:27:50,125 --> 00:27:53,375 Mike the Headless Chicken, with an annual festival, 543 00:27:53,375 --> 00:27:54,875 the catch line for which is, 544 00:27:54,875 --> 00:27:57,708 "Keeping an open mind since 1945." 545 00:27:59,375 --> 00:28:03,083 - Mike's unbelievable tale raises an obvious question. 546 00:28:03,083 --> 00:28:07,125 If a headless chicken can survive, can a headless human? 547 00:28:08,958 --> 00:28:13,042 - In 1905, a French doctor is present at the guillotine. 548 00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:16,708 He's waiting for the guillotine to slice a criminal's head off 549 00:28:16,708 --> 00:28:20,042 and after the head has been decapitated, 550 00:28:20,042 --> 00:28:22,750 the doctor calls out the criminal's name 551 00:28:22,750 --> 00:28:25,708 and apparently the criminal looks at the doctor. 552 00:28:25,708 --> 00:28:27,250 and then looks back, 553 00:28:27,250 --> 00:28:29,750 and the doctor calls out the name again and looks back, 554 00:28:29,750 --> 00:28:31,292 and then the doctor calls out 555 00:28:31,292 --> 00:28:33,833 the criminal's name a third time and there's no response. 556 00:28:33,833 --> 00:28:36,500 So based on that, this French doctor estimates 557 00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:40,958 that the human brain is able to stay conscious and awake 558 00:28:40,958 --> 00:28:44,000 and present for up to 30 seconds after death. 559 00:28:45,042 --> 00:28:47,083 - [Dan] Sometimes, the line between life 560 00:28:47,083 --> 00:28:50,875 and death isn't as clear as we think. 561 00:28:55,167 --> 00:28:57,042 - Not all astonishing bodies are bodies 562 00:28:57,042 --> 00:28:58,708 in the conventional sense. 563 00:28:58,708 --> 00:29:02,792 Consider one mysterious salt lake on the border 564 00:29:02,792 --> 00:29:04,708 of Tanzania and Kenya. 565 00:29:04,708 --> 00:29:06,917 (tense music) 566 00:29:08,708 --> 00:29:11,125 - As soon as you see pictures of Lake Natron, 567 00:29:11,125 --> 00:29:14,375 you know that something strange is happening here. 568 00:29:14,375 --> 00:29:19,250 It seems eerie, dead, and otherworldly. 569 00:29:19,250 --> 00:29:22,417 - It's 13 miles away from a volcano. 570 00:29:22,417 --> 00:29:25,250 The locals call it the Mountain of God 571 00:29:25,250 --> 00:29:28,125 and it spits out carbonatite lava. 572 00:29:28,125 --> 00:29:30,250 And that stuff is pretty extraordinary 573 00:29:30,250 --> 00:29:34,167 because it's calcium, sodium, and carbon dioxide 574 00:29:34,167 --> 00:29:36,292 and that's what makes it so corrosive. 575 00:29:39,250 --> 00:29:41,917 - [Dan] This is currently the only place on Earth 576 00:29:41,917 --> 00:29:45,042 spewing this particularly nasty kind of lava 577 00:29:45,042 --> 00:29:47,333 and much of it makes its way into Lake Natron. 578 00:29:48,875 --> 00:29:51,833 - So water is constantly flowing into the lake, 579 00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:53,875 carrying with it minerals, 580 00:29:53,875 --> 00:29:56,375 and then the water evaporates off the surface 581 00:29:56,375 --> 00:29:59,583 and it leaves behind a high concentration 582 00:29:59,583 --> 00:30:01,542 of sodium carbonates. 583 00:30:01,542 --> 00:30:04,750 These are molecules made of sodium and carbon. 584 00:30:04,750 --> 00:30:06,750 You are very familiar with a certain kind 585 00:30:06,750 --> 00:30:11,708 of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, AKA baking soda. 586 00:30:11,708 --> 00:30:16,042 This makes the lake extremely alkaline. 587 00:30:16,042 --> 00:30:19,458 It has similar pH to straight ammonia. 588 00:30:21,208 --> 00:30:24,000 - Alkaline is the opposite of acidic, 589 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,042 but the effects that it'll have on you 590 00:30:26,042 --> 00:30:28,042 are equally corrosive. 591 00:30:28,042 --> 00:30:30,125 If you were to drink some of that water, 592 00:30:31,083 --> 00:30:33,667 you're gonna feel it immediately on your lips 593 00:30:33,667 --> 00:30:37,083 as it goes down your tongue and into your esophagus, 594 00:30:37,083 --> 00:30:40,917 all along the way, nothing but horror and pain. 595 00:30:42,875 --> 00:30:45,083 Even though most of the animals avoid it, 596 00:30:45,083 --> 00:30:47,417 sometimes animals do get in the lake 597 00:30:48,375 --> 00:30:50,625 and they basically become petrified. 598 00:30:50,625 --> 00:30:53,000 It's like they looked at Medusa. 599 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:54,792 - Creatures that perish in Lake Natron 600 00:30:54,792 --> 00:30:56,250 don't actually turn to stone. 601 00:30:56,250 --> 00:30:58,875 They become calcified, meaning, 602 00:30:58,875 --> 00:31:02,500 they are encrusted in these mineral salts 603 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:06,625 in such a way that preserves their bodies. 604 00:31:06,625 --> 00:31:09,083 - There are these pictures of these birds that are dead. 605 00:31:09,083 --> 00:31:11,875 They look like they're still alive, 606 00:31:11,875 --> 00:31:14,833 but alive like a zombie is alive. 607 00:31:14,833 --> 00:31:17,083 (eerie music) 608 00:31:18,375 --> 00:31:23,250 - [Dan] But not everything that touches this strange lake dies. 609 00:31:23,250 --> 00:31:25,542 - Perhaps most marvelous of all, 610 00:31:25,542 --> 00:31:30,083 you have two and a half million lesser flamingos 611 00:31:30,083 --> 00:31:33,667 who don't just live at this lake, 612 00:31:33,667 --> 00:31:35,250 but they actually nest there. 613 00:31:36,292 --> 00:31:40,667 - The flamingos are specially adapted to this environment. 614 00:31:40,667 --> 00:31:45,208 They have thick scales on their legs that allow them 615 00:31:45,208 --> 00:31:48,417 to withstand this highly corrosive environment. 616 00:31:48,417 --> 00:31:52,208 And then, all the salts that they're constantly ingesting, 617 00:31:52,208 --> 00:31:55,208 they have special salt glands near their beaks 618 00:31:55,208 --> 00:31:58,500 that pull salt out of their bloodstream and expel it. 619 00:32:00,208 --> 00:32:03,292 - [Dan] The algae they eat are also peculiar. 620 00:32:03,292 --> 00:32:05,000 - There's a special kind of algae 621 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,875 that thrives in these conditions 622 00:32:07,875 --> 00:32:10,042 and occasionally has seasonal blooms 623 00:32:10,042 --> 00:32:12,042 that turn it a very red color, 624 00:32:12,042 --> 00:32:14,667 which actually provides the pigment 625 00:32:14,667 --> 00:32:16,542 that makes those flamingos pink. 626 00:32:17,958 --> 00:32:20,208 - [Dan] It's astounding that this body of water 627 00:32:20,208 --> 00:32:23,542 produces such visions of beauty and horror. 628 00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:26,375 - Because the lake water is so clear, 629 00:32:26,375 --> 00:32:28,583 you can't really tell where the horizon is, 630 00:32:28,583 --> 00:32:31,708 where the lake stops and the ground begins. 631 00:32:31,708 --> 00:32:35,292 - [Dan] In 2007, a news crew flying over Lake Natron 632 00:32:35,292 --> 00:32:37,375 experiences that firsthand. 633 00:32:39,042 --> 00:32:40,917 - This lake is very, very shallow, 634 00:32:40,917 --> 00:32:45,375 no more than 10 feet deep, and it's incredibly reflective 635 00:32:45,375 --> 00:32:47,875 and so it's hard to tell where the surface is. 636 00:32:47,875 --> 00:32:49,583 And there was an accident. 637 00:32:49,583 --> 00:32:51,458 (suspenseful music) 638 00:32:51,458 --> 00:32:54,250 - The helicopter crashed into the lake. 639 00:32:55,667 --> 00:32:58,500 What happens is, the people have enough time, 640 00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:01,167 they can survive long enough to swim to the shore. 641 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:05,125 But the helicopter, it's made of metals 642 00:33:05,125 --> 00:33:08,167 and this thing immediately begins to corrode. 643 00:33:11,083 --> 00:33:12,750 - [Dan] Despite its lethal waters, 644 00:33:12,750 --> 00:33:14,875 Lake Natron is a paradise 645 00:33:14,875 --> 00:33:17,167 compared to our next bizarre body. 646 00:33:17,167 --> 00:33:18,958 Anyone who says, "Beam me up, Scotty," 647 00:33:18,958 --> 00:33:21,792 to this place probably shouldn't. 648 00:33:21,792 --> 00:33:24,250 (tense music) 649 00:33:24,250 --> 00:33:30,292 - Planet HD 189733B is 63 light years away, 650 00:33:30,292 --> 00:33:33,542 which in the cosmic scheme of things, is relatively close. 651 00:33:33,542 --> 00:33:36,958 - Now, this celestial body, it is amazing. 652 00:33:36,958 --> 00:33:38,875 We're talking about a planet 653 00:33:38,875 --> 00:33:43,000 that is even bigger than our Jupiter in our solar system. 654 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,375 - It does look to be blue and we kind of have this idea 655 00:33:46,375 --> 00:33:48,208 that you know, we are the pale blue dot. 656 00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:49,667 So another pale blue dot 657 00:33:49,667 --> 00:33:52,875 is therefore going to be the best place for us to go. 658 00:33:52,875 --> 00:33:54,833 - No, this is a hell world. 659 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,792 - It's a little hot and a little windy. 660 00:33:57,792 --> 00:33:59,833 The temperature is 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit 661 00:33:59,833 --> 00:34:04,792 at the surface and the winds blow at 5,400 miles per hour. 662 00:34:04,792 --> 00:34:08,958 - If you were to go to this planet, you would boil and burn 663 00:34:08,958 --> 00:34:13,167 and then the wind would whip you around like a leaf on fire. 664 00:34:13,167 --> 00:34:14,583 Then there's the rain. 665 00:34:15,583 --> 00:34:18,208 It is actually silicate particles that are so hot, 666 00:34:18,208 --> 00:34:21,708 it's kind of like raining molten glass. 667 00:34:21,708 --> 00:34:25,583 - So if you could imagine being sand blasted, right, 668 00:34:25,583 --> 00:34:28,875 you would be reduced to a skeleton in minutes, 669 00:34:28,875 --> 00:34:30,792 if not seconds, on this planet. 670 00:34:32,208 --> 00:34:34,208 - [Dan] With conditions like this, 671 00:34:34,208 --> 00:34:39,792 it's doubtful we'll be visiting HD189733B anytime soon. 672 00:34:39,792 --> 00:34:40,833 - If you're asking me 673 00:34:40,833 --> 00:34:42,667 where to find the most astonishing bodies, 674 00:34:42,667 --> 00:34:43,667 I'm looking to the sky 675 00:34:43,667 --> 00:34:45,667 and I'm looking out into the universe. 676 00:34:46,708 --> 00:34:50,083 This planet is not what I would call hospitable, 677 00:34:50,083 --> 00:34:53,500 but I want to know if there are any other astonishing worlds 678 00:34:53,500 --> 00:34:56,833 that we are gonna find in our galaxy of 400 billion stars. 679 00:35:02,792 --> 00:35:05,708 - We've all heard the phrase, "Two heads are better than one," 680 00:35:05,708 --> 00:35:07,542 but what about 2,000? 681 00:35:07,542 --> 00:35:09,708 (tense music) 682 00:35:16,042 --> 00:35:17,833 - The ancient city of Abydos 683 00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:20,500 is one of the most significant locations 684 00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:22,500 of all ancient Egypt. 685 00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:28,208 The first things we find in Abydos dates back to 3,500 BC, 686 00:35:28,208 --> 00:35:31,333 that's over 5,500 years ago. 687 00:35:33,250 --> 00:35:37,250 - It's a massive, sprawling temple compound. 688 00:35:37,250 --> 00:35:40,542 It is used in part for burial, 689 00:35:40,542 --> 00:35:44,208 including of first dynasty rulers, 690 00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:46,917 but there's all kinds of symbology 691 00:35:46,917 --> 00:35:48,792 that run through the complex 692 00:35:48,792 --> 00:35:51,625 that we modern Westerners do not understand. 693 00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:56,792 - [Dan] Much of the site remains a mystery 694 00:35:56,792 --> 00:36:00,667 until an unbelievable discovery is made in 2023 695 00:36:00,667 --> 00:36:02,750 by a team from New York University. 696 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:08,167 - So this team is digging, gingerly brushing away at sand, 697 00:36:08,167 --> 00:36:10,333 and they find these pieces 698 00:36:10,333 --> 00:36:13,042 of what ends up becoming the skull of a ram. 699 00:36:13,042 --> 00:36:16,125 - [Dan] Curiously, the ram skull has been mummified 700 00:36:16,125 --> 00:36:18,375 and deliberately placed here for burial. 701 00:36:20,792 --> 00:36:24,667 - This is very, very promising, so they keep going, 702 00:36:24,667 --> 00:36:27,917 thinking, like, we could find an intact ram. 703 00:36:27,917 --> 00:36:32,333 - This team from NYU comes across not one, not two, 704 00:36:32,333 --> 00:36:34,500 not 5, not 10, not 20. 705 00:36:35,875 --> 00:36:39,875 - They find 2,000 ram heads, 706 00:36:39,875 --> 00:36:42,792 all specifically stacked next to each other. 707 00:36:43,958 --> 00:36:46,833 - These are not just skulls straight out 708 00:36:46,833 --> 00:36:48,250 of the butcher shop. 709 00:36:48,250 --> 00:36:51,750 These are treated like sacred objects. 710 00:36:51,750 --> 00:36:54,625 - This is not a cumulative scenario. 711 00:36:54,625 --> 00:36:58,458 All of these skulls got put there at the same time. 712 00:36:58,458 --> 00:37:02,500 - [Dan] But why would anyone mummify 2,000 rams? 713 00:37:03,417 --> 00:37:05,917 - Ramses II, or Ramses the Great, 714 00:37:05,917 --> 00:37:07,375 is the pharaoh that's alive 715 00:37:07,375 --> 00:37:10,333 when the Abydos temple complex is completed. 716 00:37:10,333 --> 00:37:13,083 However, we also know that these rams were placed 717 00:37:13,083 --> 00:37:15,333 into the skull room 2,000 years ago, 718 00:37:15,333 --> 00:37:19,625 which is 1,000 years after Ramses II died. 719 00:37:19,625 --> 00:37:22,208 The theory is that he's still being worshiped 720 00:37:22,208 --> 00:37:23,958 one millennium after he passes. 721 00:37:25,500 --> 00:37:27,458 - Another question raises itself. 722 00:37:27,458 --> 00:37:29,625 What happened to the rest of the bull? 723 00:37:29,625 --> 00:37:34,292 It's only mummified heads of the rams, not the whole body, 724 00:37:34,292 --> 00:37:35,708 which is significant 725 00:37:35,708 --> 00:37:38,583 because we have mummified animals in Ancient Egypt 726 00:37:38,583 --> 00:37:41,958 and the whole body is mummified, not just the skull. 727 00:37:43,458 --> 00:37:46,542 It's very likely that that was done on purpose. 728 00:37:46,542 --> 00:37:48,500 - [Dan] That part is still a mystery 729 00:37:48,500 --> 00:37:50,958 and certainly not the first we encounter in Egypt. 730 00:37:51,958 --> 00:37:56,292 Over 150 years ago, an even stranger collection of bodies, 731 00:37:56,292 --> 00:37:58,292 whole ones, is unearthed 732 00:37:58,292 --> 00:38:01,042 by French archeologist Auguste Mariette. 733 00:38:01,042 --> 00:38:03,542 (tense music) 734 00:38:03,542 --> 00:38:06,583 - In 1851, there is a pretty interesting discovery 735 00:38:06,583 --> 00:38:09,000 that you could say is somewhat similar. 736 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,542 Auguste Mariette has a huge team out at Saqqara. 737 00:38:13,542 --> 00:38:15,458 - And he is searching for a place 738 00:38:15,458 --> 00:38:19,542 that local Bedouin lore says is a burial ground 739 00:38:19,542 --> 00:38:21,375 that's a bit weird. 740 00:38:23,167 --> 00:38:25,208 - It is about 10 miles to the south 741 00:38:25,208 --> 00:38:27,000 of the Great Pyramids of Giza. 742 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,167 I have to also mention, before Mariette's discovery, 743 00:38:31,167 --> 00:38:36,167 the Bedouins of Egypt name this "The Monsters' Cage," 744 00:38:36,167 --> 00:38:38,500 the place that keeps monsters in. 745 00:38:39,458 --> 00:38:42,042 - Local Bedouin tribes tell the team 746 00:38:42,042 --> 00:38:47,375 of excavators something unique exists in this area. 747 00:38:47,375 --> 00:38:50,792 - They come upon a thing that is startling. 748 00:38:52,208 --> 00:38:54,625 - He finds this boulevard of stairs. 749 00:38:56,542 --> 00:38:58,750 - He takes his torch, he enters, 750 00:38:58,750 --> 00:39:01,500 and as he walks through, he finds one room 751 00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:04,667 after the other of massive sarcophagi. 752 00:39:06,292 --> 00:39:09,542 - There's 24 and they're giant. 753 00:39:09,542 --> 00:39:15,208 12 feet, by 6 feet, by 6 feet, 40,000 pound lids. 754 00:39:15,208 --> 00:39:18,083 Why are these coffins so massive? 755 00:39:18,083 --> 00:39:19,375 What are they containing 756 00:39:19,375 --> 00:39:21,333 and what are they trying to keep contained? 757 00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:22,958 - And you have to understand, 758 00:39:22,958 --> 00:39:28,042 Mariette now thinks he's walking into the cage for monsters. 759 00:39:28,042 --> 00:39:30,625 The Bedouins are very upset 760 00:39:30,625 --> 00:39:34,542 because they think Mariette is bringing those monsters out. 761 00:39:34,542 --> 00:39:35,875 - [Dan] Mariette and his team manage 762 00:39:35,875 --> 00:39:38,958 to remove one of these giant lids and peer inside. 763 00:39:40,333 --> 00:39:44,875 - They find a full mummy of an Apis bull. 764 00:39:44,875 --> 00:39:49,958 We're talking a 1,300 pound bull, massive animal. 765 00:39:49,958 --> 00:39:53,583 - Bulls are extremely important to the ancient Egyptians. 766 00:39:53,583 --> 00:39:57,917 They are understood as mediators between the individual 767 00:39:57,917 --> 00:40:02,833 and the gods, in the same way some Westerners today 768 00:40:02,833 --> 00:40:07,083 understand saints as mediators to the holy. 769 00:40:07,083 --> 00:40:10,125 - [Dan] These Apis bulls are sacrificed starting 770 00:40:10,125 --> 00:40:12,917 about 3,000 BCE. 771 00:40:12,917 --> 00:40:15,708 It's part of an elaborate religious ritual that 772 00:40:15,708 --> 00:40:19,917 takes place at key astrological times across centuries. 773 00:40:20,917 --> 00:40:23,958 - Each of these sarcophagi has a inscription on the side 774 00:40:23,958 --> 00:40:27,542 that specifically reads, in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, 775 00:40:27,542 --> 00:40:31,792 "This is where the Apis bull stays," 776 00:40:31,792 --> 00:40:35,708 hence the Bedouins calling it The Monsters' Cage. 777 00:40:36,750 --> 00:40:38,708 - [Dan] To Mariette's surprise, 778 00:40:38,708 --> 00:40:42,042 not all the bulls are left to rest in peace. 779 00:40:42,042 --> 00:40:45,542 - Mariette finds one sarcophagus that is broken through. 780 00:40:45,542 --> 00:40:48,708 It's unclear, is it the monster that broke out 781 00:40:48,708 --> 00:40:53,458 or someone broke in to steal what's inside the sarcophagus? 782 00:40:53,458 --> 00:40:55,042 It is another mystery. 783 00:40:55,042 --> 00:40:57,542 So you dug yourself into another mystery 784 00:40:57,542 --> 00:40:59,917 while trying to solve your first one. 785 00:40:59,917 --> 00:41:02,667 That's the life of an archeologist. 786 00:41:05,917 --> 00:41:10,500 - Whether human, animal, or literally out of this world, 787 00:41:10,500 --> 00:41:12,458 these tales of astonishing bodies 788 00:41:12,458 --> 00:41:17,583 leave us asking one simple question, what else is out there 789 00:41:17,583 --> 00:41:20,792 that could be even more unbelievable?