29 min listen
006-Texas Camels, Zebra Stripes, and an Immortal Piano
FromFutility Closet
ratings:
Length:
33 minutes
Released:
Apr 21, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
The 1850s saw a strange experiment in the American West: The U.S. Army imported 70 camels for help in managing the country's suddenly enormous hinterland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll see how the animals acquitted themselves in an unfamiliar land under inexperienced human masters.We'll also learn a surprising theory regarding the origin of zebra stripes; follow the further adventures of self-mailing ex-slave Henry "Box" Brown; ask whether a well-wrought piano can survive duty as a beehive, chicken incubator, and meat safe; and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Released:
Apr 21, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
016-A Very Popular Sack of Flour: Nevada mining merchant Reuel Gridley used a single sack of flour to raise $250,000 for wounded Union soldiers during the Civil War. by Futility Closet