Heavy Lifting

a sweater, and fallen trees blocking roadways. The effect of a tornado on a community is nothing short of devastating, and it could take months or even years before the affected residents can feel whole again. But in seventeen sixty four, in the German town of Volta, a tornado touchdown unlike anything anyone had ever seen before or would ever see again. On June twenty ninth, around one in the afternoon, a

twister appeared southwest to Feldberg. By the modern standards of the Fujita scale, it touched down, measuring at an estimated F two in intensity as it moved northeast. The Fujita scale is a joint effort between meteorologist Ted Fujita and Alan Pearson, the director of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center. In nineteen seventy one, Fujita unveiled his eponymous scale, which

measured and categorized tornadoes by their size and wind speed. Weaker, smaller twisters fell lower on the scale in the F zero to F one range, while the most powerful ones would earn up to an F five rating with me so far good. For example, an F two tornado maintains an average wind speed of between one hundred and thirteen and one hundred and fifty seven miles per hour, but as this particular vortex track, it picked up speed, reaching

F three status in minutes. By this point, its wind speed was over two hundred miles an hour, and it was only getting worse. Two children who had gotten caught in its path were tossed into a nearby lake and survived. The hail it kicked up obliterated a small flock of geese in the area as well, and the stumps of previously filled trees were ripped out of the ground like rotted teeth. This tornado was over three hundred feet wide

by now and showed no signs of slowing down. A local witness described it as a wedge tornado as it crossed over a lake and caused the water level to rise. Once it reached the other side, it took out a house by ripping the roof clean off and leveling the walls. Nothing remained, including the poor soul who had been inside when it struck. One common myth about tornadoes is that they weakened when crossing over a body of water, but that's false. Tornadoes have no problem going over lakes and rivers,

as was the case with this particular twister. In fact, it's believe that at another tornado known as a water spout, formed over the lake and merged with the tornado, fueling its growth and intensity. Once back on dry land, it turned northward and wiped out a beach timber forest in its path. The tornado was possibly an F four by now with a width of seven hundred and thirty eight feet across and wind speeds of up to two hundred

and sixty miles per hour. Massive oak trees were pulled out of the ground and hurled over one hundred feet into the air, while crops and grasses were ripped from the earth. The tornado shifted once again, this time toward the northeast, where it wiped out Liechtenberg Forest. The further it traveled, the worse it got with a tornado, eventually reaching its maximum intensity. Based on what we know now, its wind speeds would have measured roughly three hundred miles

per hour, officially making it an F five tornado. One of the strongest ever to be recorded, and in its crosshairs was a dairy farm with a mansion on its property. The tornado ran through the stately home as though it were made of twigs, leaving only the first floor behind. People on the ground reported seeing birds get sucked into it as well, but that wasn't the worst of it. It now measured almost three thousand feet across and was so strong it ripped the skeleton out of its grave.

The woll Deck tornado traveled for about an hour over a distance of eighteen and a half miles before it finally disappeared. The damage it left behind was unfathomable, and yet, despite the carnage left in its wake, only one person died, and although their death was a tragedy, it's a miracle that more people weren't grievously hurt or killed. While this freaked tornado, wreaked havoc on this poor corner of Germany. Oh and last I checked, no wicked witches or little

dogs were harmed in the process. Strength can manifest in a number of ways. It might be the strength to leave a cheating partner, or the strength to speak in front of a crowd of people. But a Canadian man named Louis sear knew a very different, more literal kind of strength. Louis was born in eighteen sixty three in a small town in Quebec, Canada. When he turned twelve, he began helping on his family's farm, tending to the livestock, among other tasks. In the winter, he would work in

a logging camp among lumberjacks. The people around Louis noticed that there was well something different about him. He was a little bigger than the other kids and a lot stronger. It wasn't a surprise, after all, his mother, Philamina Berger Sir, Was allegedly a strong woman as well. Louis was often seen moving large equipment by himself, or lifting massive bales of hay and cords of wood with no one to

help him. His feats of strength caught the attention of other loggers who would encourage him to perform for them. One day, on his way home from camp, Louis saw that a farmer's wagon had gotten caught in the mud. The farmer had been unable to free it by himself, even with the help from his horse, so the burly teenager stepped in to take the reins, well, not literally, He lifted the wagon out of the mud with his bare hands, leaving the farmer in awe of his raw strength.

But once Louis reached seventeen years old, he began taking his talents more seriously. At the time, someone named David Michaud was considered the strongest man in all of Canada. Well, Louis wasn't about to let him claim all the glory, was he, and so he challenged David to a weightlifting competition. But despite the man's best efforts, Michau was unable to

hold onto his title of strongest man in Canada. That mantle now belonged to Louis Sear, who was able to lift a four hundred and eighty pound bowlder with ease. In the late eighteen seventies, Louis's family moved from Canada to Boston, Massachusetts, and after a few years he started competing in strongman competitions professionally. His first ever show in America saw him take home first prize. But what exactly did he have to do to win it? Did he pull a heavy wagon across a field or rip a

thick book in half? No. To win this competition, as well as many other strength contests, Louis had to lift an adult male horse over his head, which he did without breaking a sweat. The horse, by the way, weighed almost a full ton. Unfortunately, there wasn't much money in being a professional strongman, so he found work as a

police officer back in Canada. For two years from eighteen eighty three to eighteen eighty five, he became Montreal's strongest cop, weighing in in over three hundred pounds compared to the average officer's weigh of one forty to one sixty five. He was large and imposing, and his stature no doubt put criminals on edge. He'd earned the job after he'd stopped a knife fight between two strangers. Being as big and strong as he was, Louis easily confiscated their knives

and then curled one man under each arm. Before hauling them to the nearest police station. Throughout his career, the strong man with a neck and biceps measuring twenty inches around, accomplished a number of mind boggling feats. He once lifted eighteen men on a platform strapped to his back for a total of four thousand, three hundred and thirty six pounds.

He also used one finger to lift five hundred and thirty four pounds of weight, and one time he managed to restrain four draft horses going in opposite directions, a test of strength that would have ripped a weaker man in half. But one of his most impressive demonstrations occurred when Louis lifted a two hundred and seventy three pound dumbbell with one arm. No one else could manage it. In fact, most other strong men couldn't lift his dumbbells

with two hands. That's how strong Louis was. And finally, later in life, Louis became a boxer and a wrestler. He once took on a kin eighty and sideshow performer named Eduard Bouprey, who stood a whopping eight feet two and a half inches tall. Louis, by the way, it was only five eight and a half, but Boo Prey was no match for his rival's sheer strength and force of will. Louis took him down and won. Sadly, everyone's favorite Canadian Juggernauts eventually slowed down his immense size only

ballooned as he ate more and exercised less. He died of nephritis or inflamed kidneys in nineteen twelve, but his legacy lives on in the numerous weightlifting records he held throughout his life. Louis Seer was a man who knew how to have a good time. He could lift you up with a kind word or you know, just as pinky. 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 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 Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.