Crummy Food

a restaurant has dreamed of it. The chance to get back at an unruly customer, the kind of sends their plate back because their green beans weren't hot enough, or their burger was a little well done, or, if you're Chef George Speck, because the French fries you made were too thick. Spec born in eight grew up with his sister, Caroline Wicks, in upstate New York. He had made a name for himself by working at two restaurants in Saratoga County, carry Moon's Lake House on Saratoga Lake and the San

Succi Hotel in nearby Boston, SPA. Speck had come to know his regular customers at Moons, especially one Cornelius Vanderbilt. The third Vanderbilt was a trust fund kid who had been given the finest things in life. He'd grown up in New Hampshire, where he attended an exclusive boarding school, after which he had gone off to Yale for a Bachelor of Arts degree. Vanderbilt was a man who've always got what he wanted, even when it wasn't in his

best interest. After marrying the daughter of a prominent banker from New York against his father's wishes, he was cut out of his parents will when his father, Cornelius Vanderbilt the second, passed away in eight The younger Vanderbilt was given five hundred thousand dollars and the earnings from a trust fund worth over one million. The other son, Alfred, and clearly the favorite child, inherited most of his father's seventy million dollar estate. Still, Vanderbilt the third did well

for himself. He held over thirty patents for inventions from his own making, including a way to improve fuel efficiency in locomotives. He also helped form a company that would bring the subway systems of London and Paris to New York City. Though he had to work a little harder than his brother, be never forgot where he had come from an extremely wealthy and impatient family who wanted for nothing. It's what made him so memorable to George. Speck Moons

was a high end establishment, and Vanderbilt ate there often. However, despite his frequent patronage, he never took the time to learn George's last name. Whenever he asked the waiter to pass a message to the chef, he would refer to him as Crumb. George didn't mind too much, though, remarking once that a crumb is bigger than a Spec. The name stuck. Not only did George go by Crumb from that point on, he also named his first restaurant Crumbs.

But that wasn't the only obnoxious habits of Vanderbilt's. It seems that, even though SPEC's food was renowned all over Saratoga County, a certain picky young man and from conquered New Hampshire always found something to complain about. According to the legend, Vanderbilt kept sending plates of French fries he had ordered back to the kitchen. His problem, they had been cut too thick. George cooked batch after batch of fries, each one sliced a little thinner for Vanderbilt, but they

kept getting returned. Angered by the man's audacity, Spec tried something new. Instead of cutting up another potato into fries that would be sent right back, he sliced it into countless pieces, as thin as sheets of paper. Then he fried them until they were hard and crispy, and loaded them up with salt. The idea was to discust Vanderbilt into leaving at least for the day, but the opposite happened. Vanderbilt couldn't get enough of them. Of course, the legend

was just that a legend. The true story was much simpler and gave credit to the food's rightful inventor. Speck had been in his own restaurants kitchen with his sister by his side, when a thin slice of potatoes she had cut fell into a pan of hot oil. She fished it out and put it on a plate. Her brother happened to walk by, popped it into his mouth, and decided that he would serve it at crumbs. What the culinary world had thought was an act of revenge

gone wrong had actually been a complete accident. Either way, we all lucked out, because without George Speck and Catherine Wicks, we would never have gotten the potato chip. At some point in everyone's life they have someone to look up to. It could be a mother or father, or an older brother or sister, or even a celebrity. Often we look up to people because they can do things we can't.

Think of the garage bands that were started after angsty teens first heard Nirvana on the radio, or the kid who Dove into Magic because she saw David Copperfield vanished the Statue of Liberty on TV. But sometimes we don't want to be like someone else. Sometimes we want to be entertained by those with talents beyond our own. Like Sergei Rachmaninoff, the Russian pianist and composer, was born in eighteen seventy three to a family devoted equally to both

the military and music. His father and officer in the Russian Army, played piano, as did his grandfather. Rachmaninoff started piano lessons of his own when he was only four years old, demonstrating surprising talent for a boy his age, He was able to play sections of a piece of music from memory without error. He advanced with the piano over the next several years until his teacher, Anna Ornatskayo, got him into her alma mater, the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

He was ten years old at the time. His family suffered tragic lost during this time, as two of his sisters passed away from illness and his father left the family after squandering their money. Rockemaninoff instead focused on his music. He started taking lessons with the more demanding piano teacher named Nikolais Vereev and earned a scholarship at the Moscow Conservatory. He had hoped to pursue composition, but Zverev told him

not to waste his time. As Rachmaninov pressed him further to allow him to compose, Zverev cut ties with his pupil, the teacher had him live with his relatives, the Sattans in Moscow. These experiences and settings, such as the Sattans home and the surrounding countryside inspired some of the budding

composer's earliest works. He went on to perform his own pieces for the teachers and staff at the conservatory, graduating in eighteen ninety two with one of the highest honors ever awarded, which he'd earned for a one act opera he composed as part of his final exams. Over the next fifteen years, Rachmaninoff toured Russia, lost almost all of his money and continued to compose. However, he was struck with a severe case of self doubt and depression after

the premiere of his symphony Number one in eight. The reviews were scathing and sent Rachmaninoff into a downward spiral. The piece was never performed again. He didn't compose much after that and resorted to teaching piano privately to make money. It wasn't until he was offered a conducting job at the Moscow Private Russian Opera Company where he started to compose again. Still, he was plagued by impostor syndrome, punishing himself for work he felt was never quite good enough.

It didn't help that many of his peers and contemporaries, composers he had looked up to and learned from, also began to pass away. At the dawn of the twenty century. Rock Modernoff's life was one of pain, but not entirely. He continued to conduct, compose, perform and he even started a family. The composer eventually immigrated to the United States, hoping to provide a better life for his wife and children, far from the war and violence that had been ravaging

his home country. He performed concerts all over the US and toured Europe before signing with Victor Talking Machine Company as a classical recording artist. Rock Modernov settled into life in America surprisingly well, a feat made easier thanks to men like Benjamin Kubelski. Kubowski was a violinist who hailed from Chicago. He hadn't been born into a life of comfort as rockmaninnof had, but he did have some love of music. It's what carried him through school and into

a life of entertainment. However, instead of a grand concert hall like rock Monernoff was used to performing in the young Kubelski cut his teeth on vaudeville stages for seven dollars and fifty cents a week. His talent with the violin also earned him admiration from up and coming performers such as the Marx Brothers. He played vaudeville for quite some time as he worked his way up to a

career in radio in the nineteen thirties. He'd always been a capable violinist, and that talent had earned Kubelski guest spots on popular radio programs such as one hosted by Ed Sullivan. He became a hit and counted among his fans one Sergey Rockmaninoff, who found himself in tears every time the man played tears of laughter. That is you see. Kubelski realized early on that he got way more laughs if he played his violin badly on purpose, he'd his

career on it. And Rachmaninoff couldn't help but cry with laughter every time he listened to his act on the radio. Except he wasn't Benjamin Kubalski back then. He hadn't been for a very long time, not since he had changed his name. During his vaudeville days. Audiences everywhere, including Rachmaninoff, had become devout fans of radio and TV star Jack Benny. 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,