Barrel of Fun

so that the kingdom can flourish. Denmark had flourished under kings before, but it's very first superstar king was often considered Gorm the Old. He and his wife Tira ruled from the village of Yelling for about twenty years between nine thirty six and night, and they had three sons, Canute, Tokey and Harold. Now these young men were warriors in the truest sense. Every summer they would leave Denmark and travel to a new land which they would pillage and conquer.

One night in Dublin, after the Gormson's had spent the day battling, Canute was killed by a vengeful Irish archer. Gorm was heartbroken over his son's death, but it wouldn't be the last in the family. After Gorm's own passing in, Harold took his father's place on the throne, and Harold had grand plans for Denmark too. The theme of his reign was unification, bringing it all together. First, he started by erecting a large runic stone and yelling to honor

his late parents. He then ordered the construction of five forts, all shaped like giant rings, in five separate parts of the country. These forts were made to bolster his military presence throughout Denmark, which of course they did, and then he brought his growing army to Normandy, where he fought alongside his ally Richard the Fearless. Later, he and his nephew Harold Great Cloak killed Norway's King Haakon the First.

Great Cloak was then named the vassal King of Norway, but his reign was cut short in nine seventy when he was assassinated by the former king's son. Because life has a way of evening things out, sometimes, doesn't it, So, Harold Gormanson himself stepped in as the acting king, and if you're keeping track, he now had control of both Denmark and Norway. He would eventually add Normandy, northern Poland, areas of northeastern Germany, and even parts of Sweden, all

of it unified as one kingdom under Harold. While he waged his wars overseas, the interior of his kingdom was peaceful. However, he didn't resign himself to uniting countries only through force. He also broke away from his Norse roots and converted to Christianity sometime in the nine sixties. The hope was to spread it across Denmark and Norway. Now. The story

surrounding his conversion differ depending on who you read. A contemporary of Harold wrote that a cleric name Papa turned him on to this new religion, and in order to prove his faith, Harold had to carry a heavy hot iron without burning him. Another author named Adam of Bremen wrote his own take of Harold's conversion about one years

after the king's death. According to Adam's account, the king had lost a major battle against Holy Roman Emperor Otto the First, who had forced him to convert to Christianity. Whatever the case, Harold lost much of his army after his defeat by Otto the First. The power shift caused Norway to rebel against him and drive him out. Harold managed to keep control of northeastern Germany for a short while,

but the clock was ticking. You see, his son, Spain fork Beard, had grown tired of waiting around for his father to die. He turned on Harold and took up arms against his father, and the uprising worked too. Harold Gormson died fighting to defend his throne in Night six, making his son the new King of Denmark. But Harold's story doesn't end there. A little known fact about the former king was that he had a bit of a

sweet tooth and his treats of choice blueberries. A thousand years later, his reputation for uniting Denmark under one kingdom, as well as his taste for the little blue fruit, inspired an engineer by the name of Jim Cardak. Cardak was working for Intel on a project that would allow computers and mobile phones to talk to each other. In a sense, it was a way to unite everything under one ruler. The project has grown over the past few

decades and now it's found everywhere. In fact, every mobile phone, tablet, computer, and wireless headset we used today is evidence of Harold's legacy, a legacy built right into the logo for the technology itself, which is a combination of the two runs for his initials H and B. Understandably, Cardak didn't want to call his new wire list technology Gormson. Instead, he used the nickname that Harold was better known by thanks to his

love for blueberries. So the next time you click on your headphones and pair them to your mobile device, spare a thought for the man that technology is named after, Harold Bluetooth daredevils make their living by cheating death. Whether they're walking a tight rope between two skyscrapers or jumping a motorcycle over the Grand Canyon, these stunt performers never failed to disappoint well. Usually born in eighteen fifty eight in Cornwall, England, Bobby aspired to that sort of greatness.

He had always wanted to do something fantastic with his life, something that would leave his mark on the world. He'd gotten his start as a performer in the Barnum and Bailey circus, but were eventually striking out on his own. Bobby wanted to become the first person to complete the

Triple Challenge at Niagara Falls. This included three events, going through the rapids and a barrel and ending at the whirlpool, then taking that barrel over the falls to the bottom, until finally jumping off the upper steel arch bridge with a parachute on their back. Bobby accomplished his first task by parachuting off the bridge on July one, nineteen oh eight. Two years later, he arrived at Niagara Falls with the barrel,

which he attempted to ride through the rapids. The jagged rocks in the water, however, severed the rope that connected him to the anchor that he needed to guide the barrel through the water. Without that anchor, Bobby was tossed around the rapids and had to be rescued by a fellow daredevil, William red Hill, who pulled the unconscious body from the barrel and then climbed in and wrote it

to the whirlpool himself. But Bobby wasn't discouraged. He managed to successfully ride the river to the whirlpool rapids three more times during the summer of nineteen ten, but it was the final act of his triple challenge that he looked forward to the most. You See, Bobby had heard about American School teacher Annie Taylor and her trip over the Niagara Falls in a barrel in nineteen o one,

and he'd been inspired to do the same. Although he could no longer claim to be the first person to go over the falls, he would make it his mission to become the first man to do so. In July of nineteen eleven, he did just that, except instead of using a standard wooden barrel as Taylor had done, Bobby had constructed one out of metal. Around three o'clock on the afternoon of July, Bobby crawled into the two and a half meter long tube and then launched himself over

the falls. Upon reaching the bottom, the tube was pulled out by Fred Bender, an employee of the Ontario Power Company. He swam out to Bobby, tied a rope around the barrel, and then pulled it to shore, where he opened it to find Bobby's shake and battered, but alive. Like Annie Taylor, Bobby had survived the drop, but not without a few scars to show for it. He ended up being hospitalized for a whole six months with two broken kneecaps, a broken jaw, and a bunch of other minor injuries. The

consequences though We're worth it. After recovery, Bobby used his experiences to travel the country on a speaking tour. He talked to audiences about his time with the circus, his feats at the falls, and he always brought along his metal barrel for photo ops. Over the next decade, Bobby found work running a pool hall in Niagara, but he

still dreamt of his earlier fame in his sixties. At that point, he tried to swim across the falls on multiple occasions, but it's rough waters proved too hazardous to cross. He had to be saved more than once, and after several attempts, he just sort of gave up. With his pride shattered and the restlessness growing inside him, Bobby went

act on the road. This time he traveled overseas to New Zealand, where he picked up his lecture tour once more, and it was there that Bobby met his unfortunate end. He performed one final drop, which resulted in a broken leg. Shortly after, the fracture became infected and then it turned gangrenus. Doctors attempted to amputate, but by the time they had reached the infection and had spread too far throughout his body. The elderly Bobby Leech passed away from complications on April

six of nineteen. But oddly enough, it wasn't a new stunt that had killed him. No, he hadn't gone over another waterfall in his metal barrel. He hadn't tried to swim across raging rapids either. Bobby had slipped on an orange peel that someone had carelessly tossed on the ground. A tragic, senseless accident. Indeed, and you'll have to forgive me for saying, but while Bobby might have been someone to look up to, it's fair to say that he himself should have been doing a lot more looking down.

I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,