Comet Cures

in the universe? That last one is a bit tougher to answer, but the point is, as largely earthbound creatures, people have always been fascinated by the mysteries of space, and that certainly was the case in May of nineteen ten when Halley's comment was hurtling towards Earth. Now, if you're not familiar, Halley's comment is a regular visitor to our solar system, passing by Earth once every seventy five

years or so. But we didn't always know that. Records about a fiery ball shooting through the sky can be found as far back as ancient Babylon. However, it wasn't until seventeen oh five that British mathematician Edmund Helly realized that we were looking at the same commet every three quarters of a century, and now that comet's named after him. But there's something else that you should know about Edmund Helly.

He didn't think the comet came just because he thought its appearance coincided with significant world events, most famously the Battle of Hastings in ten sixty six, when William the Conqueror took control of England. Because of this, Halle's comment became known as a harbinger of political and social upheaval. So in nineteen ten people were primed and ready to believe the comet would have some kind of effect on

life on Earth. Let me set the stage. This was forty seven years before the launch of Sputnik, than fifty nine years before Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon. Humans were still decades away from reaching space, but science was rapidly advancing, and Hallie's comet was a point of study that spring. As numerous scientists tracked the comet's approach,

a French astronomer named Camille Flammarion noticed something. According to his calculations, Halle's comet was going to pass closer to Earth than ever before, so close that our planet was going to pass through the comet's tail, which might not sound like a big deal, except Flammarian had also discovered evidence of cyanogen gas in the comet's taiale. Cyanogen gas is similar to cyanide. It's extremely toxic and often deadly.

And what did Flammarian do with this information? He published it in The New York Times, along with the warning that the dangerous gas could and I quote impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet. But like no reason to panic, right, of course, people freaked out. Some families used cock towels and newspapers to try to insulate their homes so that that toxic air

couldn't get inside. Others removed lightning rods from their houses for fear that they would attract the comet even closer to Earth. Soon. Other scientists spoke out against Flammarian's claims, assuring the public that there wasn't enough cyanogen gas in the comet's tail to hurt anybody, But by then the damage had already been done. And where there's sickness, reel or imagined someone will inevitably show up peddling a miracle cure.

In the wake of this cosmological panic, gas masks flew off the shelves so fast that store owners couldn't keep them in stock. Advertisements for comet proof umbrellas showed up in the newspapers. Entrepreneurs even offered anti commet pills, which claimed to protect against the effects of cyanogen gas. People bought these at a dollar a pop, which would be roughly thirty bucks per pill today, a small price to say you and your family from a ball of toxic

space gas. The only problem was this anti comic cure was just sugar pills and fancy packaging. Luckily, nobody needed protection from Halle's comment anyway. Flammarian's calculations had been wrong, and the comet tail missed Earth by nearly two hundred thousand miles. The comment did return to our solar system in nineteen eighty six, after scientists had learned a lot about the cosmos, and this time there wasn't a market

for gas masks and magic medicine. But nineteen eighty six was full of historic landmarks, like the Iran Contra affair, the space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl, which begs the question if Halle's comment really does incite political and social upheaval, who knows what will happen the next time it comes around in twenty sixty one. Many of us grew up hearing the following words from our parents when we hit a certain age, get a job.

If we wanted to go out with our friends or buy a new video game, we needed money, and once we were old enough to get a job, that's how we earned our keep. But at the turn of the twentieth century, things looked a lot different For America's youth. Children had been working in dangerous conditions and in jobs that most adults were too scared to take on, either

to support themselves or their whole families. Despite what popular movie musicals would have you believe, newspaper boys or newsies weren't just trying to eke out a living by selling papers on the streets. They also worked with organized crime as informants and gophers. Many who tried to hitch free rides on passenger trams would fall and have their arms and legs crushed by the vehicle's wheels. Making their lives

that much harder. But perhaps one of the most life threatening jobs held by children, dating all the way back to the twelfth century, was that of the chimney sweep. Because of their small size, the young workers would climb into the flues to scrub them clean of soot and ash. In England, they were often bought by adult sweeps from orphanages or kidnapped from their parents. In the United States,

many were African American children. Unsurprisingly, a lot of these kids died from various illnesses and cancers brought on by their work. It wasn't until the National Child Labor Committee was formed in nineteen oh four that the push to end child labor in America really took off. But one New Yorker didn't get the memo because he needed someone to help clear his chimney, and the only person available

for the job was his nephew. In April of nineteen forty four, Rose Colgan heard a noise coming from behind her wall. She lived at nineteen seventy three Bryant Avenue in an area of the Bronx known as West Farms. Back in the eighteenth century, this part of New York was a massive farm belonging to one Theophilis Hunt and let that sink in for just a moment. It is hard to imagine the Bronx today as nothing but rich

soil and grass. But for a very long time there stood only a couple of houses on the land, not a six story apartment building. Rose probably would have preferred the sound of the wind blowing across the fields to what she was actually hearing. Someone was crying day and night for help from behind her wall, and Rose, who lived on the first floor, reached out to her building

superintendent for help. His name was William Setzer. He looked into the issue and discovered that someone had fallen down the chimney on the roof of the building had gotten themselves stuck in the walls of Rose's home. Unfortunately, Setzer was too large of a guy to fit down the chimney himself, but he knew someone who was just the right size, his ten year old nephew, Charles. William tied a rope around Charles's waist and lowered him down into the chimney. All was going well until the boy had

descended about ten feet. Then his own whaling began because now he, too was stuck. His uncle spent thirty minutes tugging at the rope, eventually sliding his nephew back out to freedom. With no other small children to dangle precariously over his building's chimney, sets Her turned to a different kind of professional for help. Another man name unknown arrived on the scene with some tools and a little food.

Hoping that this would do the trick. He entered Rose Cooligan's apartment and cut a small hole into her wall, and then, using a little milk and meat, he waited for the interloper to reveal themselves. Soon enough, they appeared, But milk and meat were only part of the equation. You see. This savior with the saw was from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and

he also brought with him some catnip. The crying that had been keeping Miss Cooligan up for the last few nights had come from a cat who had tumbled down the chimney and gotten himself trapped. He was safely captured and transported to ASPCA headquarters. Yuks for William Setzer and his nephew. It's probably safe to say that neither OSHA nor Child Services made a visit to their homes, although I wouldn't be surprised if young Charles had lifelong claustrophobia

from that point onward. 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 Mankey 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 Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.