Whiskey Soured

by sitting with them in their final hours. Scientists were baffled, but it was clear that the cat knew something nobody else did. Such occurrences sound far fetched, but they're actually quite common. Cats and dogs have been able to detect pregnancies, illness, is and severe weather all before their humans ever realized what's going on. And perhaps the greatest evidence of such

intuition happened in China in nineteen seventy five. The city of High Kings, one million citizens, had never experienced a major environmental event. It was your average city, with the dynamic skyline filled with buildings of all shapes and sizes, shops, restaurants, offices, apartments, all within walking distance of Liaodong Bay. Seismologists had threatened the possibility of an earthquake over the previous few months, but it had never materialized, so when they came back

with another dire warning, no one cared. Like the villagers who heard the boy cry wolf, the city's people had stopped listening. Then, in February of nineteen seventy five, residents noticed something bizarre going on around the city. It had been a particularly cold winter that year, and large bodies of water had frozen all over. However, a portion of the ice in a frozen reservoir had melted due to

a sudden burst of high temperatures. Snakes and rats that had been hiding from the cold left their nests and quickly died as they succumbed to the ice. Cold. Ground water levels in lakes, ponds, and rivers fluctuated wildly elsewhere. An express train traveling from Beijing was on its way to High King when flashes of purple lights illuminated the

sky above. The engineer applied the emergency brake out of fear of what was ahead, and in perhaps the most significant omen of impending doom, local livestock and pets started behaving abnormally. Cows and horses refused to stand still, pacing in their pens until they grew tired. The rats that hadn't frozen to death stumbled around like they had been drinking. Chickens stayed out of their coops, and other birds refused

to come down from the safety of the sky. Then there were the dogs, who provided the greatest warning of all. They barked for hours, refusing to quit as they let their owners know what was about to happen. They sensed the ground shifting beneath their sensitive pause, and not long after, minor trembles started to rumble throughout the city. Authorities placed everyone on high alert and ordered a full evacuation of

the city. Although there were a few who didn't listen to the order, most of the population did and they made it out in time. At seven thirty six pm on February four, it happened a seven point five magnitude earthquake hit the city, leveling roughly nine of its structures. Over two thousand people died and more than twenty seven thousand were injured, but thankfully, tens of thousands of residents

had managed to evacuate before the quake struck. In fact, the quake was so large it was felt as far away as Soul in South Korea, as well as parts of Russia, and had the animals been ignored, scientists predicted that the death toll might have reached more than one hundred fifty thousand. But thanks to some loud pups and dizzy rats, almost everyone was saved and the city was able to rebuild. And perhaps the strangest thing of all is that similar events have happened throughout the world, although

with far less successful results. One year later, the same symptoms that had preempted the quake in High Kang occurred in the city of Tangshan in northeastern China. Chickens stopped eating and clucked wildly, Goldfish nearly jumped out of their bowls, mice ran for cover, and of course, dogs barked incessantly. All of the animals sent something building below the surface of the city, yet no one did anything about it. No one evacuated. Over a million people were jostled out

of bed by a magnitude seven point six earthquake. Tangshan was reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes. When it was over two hundred forty thousand people had perished if only someone there had listened to the animals. Some arguments start over little things the toilet seat was left up, or someone forgot to put gas in the car after they used it. Other times arguments stemmed from deep wounds inflicted during a time of strife. The murder of Asa McCoy at the hands of the hat Fields comes to mind.

And occasionally disagreements turn into something more, something bigger than an argument or a feud. Sometimes they turn into all out war. You wouldn't know it based on the lack of news reports, but Canada and Denmark have quietly been waging war against each other since the early nineteen thirties. I know it sounds weird that Canada, America's friendly neighbor to the north, would be at odds with a country four thousand miles away that is often voted as the

happiest place to live. But that's exactly what happened, and unsurprisingly, it's over a piece of land. It's known as Hans Island, and in the early eighteen hundreds it was considered part of Denmark's territories, along with nearby Greenland. That is until America purchased Alaska, and the British colonies within North America were combined into one dominion of Canada. After that, the US and the British started looking around for more land

to take ownership of. Then, in eighty Britain gave all of the land within its British Arctic Territory to Canada to keep it out of American hands. Hans Island wasn't officially listed in the deal, but that didn't mean it wasn't part of the territory. It was simply overlooked. But then a new wrench was thrown into the mix. In the nineteen twenties, Danish explorers mapped the island and its location with respect to Greenland and Canada, and they found

a problem. They discovered Hans Island had the unfortunate position of rising precisely between both countries. Under international law, any territory within twelve miles of a country shore belongs to that country. Can you guess where Hans Island falls exactly twelve miles from Canada on one side and twelve miles from Greenland on the other. The question of ownership has

been contentious, to say the least. In nineteen thirty three, the Permanent Court of International Justice declared Denmark the owner of the island. However, after the court disbanded, the ruling was deemed meaningless and the battle over ownership over Hans Island continued. Things quieted down over the next few decades as both countries took care of more pressing matters. I mean,

it's not like there was much to fight over. Hans Island stands roughly one mile wide, and it's entirely uninhabitable. There are no trees, no soil, and it's surrounded entirely by water. It's literally just an enormous rock in the middle of the rate. But none of that matters to the Danes and the Canadians. To them land as land, and in the mid nineteen eighties, the battle over this

tiny island started anew. The Danish Minister for Greenland paid Hans Island a visit in four and brought with him two things, a Danish flag and a bottle of schnaps. He planted the flag and left the bottle at its base, along with the sign that said welcome to the Danish Island. Not long after, Canadian officials came to the island and

brought their own gifts for their Danish neighbors. They tore down the Danish flag and dumped out the schnaps, and in their place they erected a sign reading Welcome to Canada and left behind a bottle of Canadian whiskey. And that's how the Whiskey War has raged on all these years. Each country's leader makes a pilgrimage to the island, replaces the other side's flag and alcohol, and then heads home. Canada and Denmark have tried working out new ways of

dealing with the island, but nothing has stuck. They don't worry too much about it, though. Eventually both sides will come to an understanding about Hans Island and the Whiskey War will come to a bloodless, humorous end. Until that happens, just pour yourself another shot and maybe put on a movie. Might I suggest something starring The Rock. 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.