Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClane Smith, where for the weeks in between episodes, we look at stories and ideas that, for one reason or other, didn't make it into the previous show. Last week's episode, Wilderness Be Still told the tragic story of the Jamison family, whose mysterious deaths in two thousand and nine remain unsolved. Despite all sorts of salacious rumormongering about the family and what
they may or may not have been involved in. No official explanation has been given to explain the incident, and no arrests have been made in connection with it. Ordinarily, with these extra episodes we explore something relevant to the previous week's story. However, this week's is a little different. The following story was something I came across while conducting research for the episode, as it took place in a region close to where the Jamison family went missing, So
apologies for the rather tenuous link. The place in question is Robber's Cave State Park, a large wooded area of Oklahoma's Sands Boys Mountains five miles north of the town of Wilburton. The area became infamous during the American Civil War as a place of refuge for fugitives such as Jesse James, who used its dense forest and treacherous terrain
to evade capture by the law. However, more recently, its name became synonymous with one of the most audacious and controversial social psychology experiments ever carried out in the name of science, known as the nineteen fifty four Robbers Cave Experiment. It remains a highly valued textbook example of realistic conflict theory, and one that it's fair to say would never be
allowed to happen today. It was a bright summer morning in June nineteen fifty four when the bus arrived in Oklahoma City to pick up the first group of boys. Once on board and heading toward their destination, friendships were soon being formed as the boys wasted little time in getting to know each other, discussing hobbies into what schools they went to. Before long, the boys had arrived at the Tom Hale Scout Camp in Robber's Cave Park, a two hundred acre site in which they would be spending
the next month together at summer camp. That the boys, all eleven years old and from similar socio economic backgrounds, might get on so well was not unexpected, since, unbeknownst to them and their parents, they had all been specifically chosen to do so, because this was no ordinary summer camp, but a radical clandestinis berriment devised by soon to be
famed psychologist Muscifer Sherrif. Cherif, who was born in Turkey in nineteen oh five, had grown up right in the thick of perhaps the most turbulent thirty year period in modern European history, beginning first with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, followed by World War and the resulting fight for the Turkish independence, all of which pitied individuals against
each other along strict nationalistic and societal lines. After moving to the US in the late nineteen twenties to study psychology, Chief, who had been profoundly scarred by the events of his
formative years, became interested in theories of conflict. More specifically, who wanted to understand if systems of society that encouraged conflict truly reflected human nature, an idea often touted by supporters of those societies that are based on visualistic tendencies and the protection of private property, or if it was
in fact the system that influenced behavior by extension. If the reason why different groups form in competition with each other could be shown to be merely arbitrary and not based on any inherent reason, could there be a way to eradicate the desire for conflict. The robbers Cave experiment
was an attempt to find out. On arrival at the camp, the boys were greeted by the camp counselors and invited to choose their bunks For the rest of the day, The boys were left to their own devices to get to know each other as the staff, who were in fact Sherrif's research team masquerading as counselors, carefully observed their behavior.
Over the next few days, the boys participated in a number of act ativities together, from swimming to dam building and playing baseball, most of which had been carefully orchestrated to forge a sense of unity and team spirit amongst them. By the end of the week, although a natural hierarchy had been established, the boys were clearly identifying as a
single group, coalescing around their shared experience of camp. One morning, having been told that camp t shirts were available to purchase, one of the boys suggested that they each emblazoned them with the name Tom Hale Rattlers, with all agreeing to do so. From that point on they became known as the Rattlers. It was one evening after dinner that the boys became aware of unfamiliar voices coming from the direction
of the baseball diamond. Moving in to take a closer look, the Rattlers discovered, to their horror that another group of boys were playing on it. Incensed by this or dayous intrusion on their territory, the Rattlers started to wonder if they had also been swimming in their lake, with one boy even driven to tears at the thought of it.
The next day, the boys were informed by staff that there was indeed another group of campers staying at the exact same camp as them, and that they had asked if they could take the Rattlers on in a game of baseball. As it happened, this other group of eleven year old boys from the exact same socioeconomic background as the Rattlers had also been carefully managed over the last
week by another of Sherrif's research teams. Due to strategic planning, the two groups had been carefully kept unaware of each other the whole time. Interestingly, the revelation of each other's existence resulted in an increased show of unity amongst the respective groups and had urged to improve together. One of the rattlers, who was yet to swim, was praised when he swam for the first time, and other less able
swimmers were roundly encouraged by the rest of the group. Meanwhile, in the other camp, though two of the boys had gone home due to homesickness, the remaining nine had steadily forged a strong unit in their own right. Having heard that the other boys had given themselves a name, this second group decided to call themselves the Eagles. A few
days later, a tournament was announced. There were to be a series of games played out over the next few days, after which one team would be crowned to the winners and receive a set of medals and pen knives as a reward. Stage one of Sheriff's experiment was complete. Are you always taking care of your family? Do you often take care of others and not yourself? Now it's time to take care of yourself. To make time for you
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The Rattlers, who considered the baseball diamond exclusively theirs, were the first to arrive, stringing up a large rattle of flag behind the backstop to mark their territory. Moments later, the ominous notes of the Dragnet theme tune sung by nine eleven year old boys could be heard from a distance, getting nearer, until finally the Eagles appeared, marching purposely toward the pitch and waving a large Eagles flag above their heads.
Even before the first ball had been pitched, insults were hurled between the two groups as they attempted to outcuss and intimidate each other. This aggressive name calling set the scene for the tournament and only became more intense as things progressed. Having lost one particularly heated game of tug of war, some of the Eagles tore down the Rattlers flag on the baseball pitch and set it on fire.
The following morning, the staff made sure that the Rattlers would be the first to arrive at the diamond to take stock of the damage that had been done. When the Eagles arrived soon after to face the wrath of the Rattlers, it wasn't long before physical fights broke out between the boys, only being stopped once staff members stepped in to break it up. Later that night, with the Eagles all asleep in their cabin, eleven boys, with their arms and faces painted black, moved silently from out at
the forest as their leader yelled to charge. The boys tore into the Eagles cabin and ran a muck overturning beds and stealing whatever they could get their hands on before being eventually chased out. The Eagles repaid the compliment the next day while the Rattlers were out eating breakfast. By the final day of the tournament, the Rattlers had taken to singing the enemies coming as soon as they saw the eagles, and had covered every inch of the
camp with their flags. When the Eagles were eventually crowned winners of the tournament, the Rattlers left it less than twelve hours before mounting a raid on their winners medals. With the two groups now in what Sharif described as an unmistakable state of friction with one another, it was time to move on to Stage three. The changes were subtle at first. Both the layout of the bunks and the benches in the eating areas had been altered to
try and disrupt the boy's normal friendship groups. Soon, the Rattlers and the Eagles found themselves taking part in exercises together. However, despite being forced to share space and time together, each tribe member stuck resolutely to their own and refused to mingle. Then, one afternoon, the Eagles and the rattlers were given the alarming news that the camp's water supply had been cut off.
Told that it may well be vandals, the boys were encouraged to fill up their canteens with whatever was left in the taps, and asked if they wanted to help with fixing the problem. Boys from each group immediately agreed to do so and duly set off to find out
what had gone wrong. Though at first the boys remained in their teams as they tried to figure out the problem, by early evening there was only one possibility left, and before long they found themselves congregated around the main water tank, with dehydrations setting in and their canteens running low on water. One of the rattlers spotted a ladder by the side of the tank, and, with the help of some other boys,
used it to take a look inside. Relieved to find that it was three quarters full, he invited the rest of them, regardless of their group, to come and fill up their water bottles. When someone else spotted that a sack had been placed inside to block the main outlet, the boys worked together to free it. When the water was finally flowing again, the boys rejoiced and congratulated one another on a successful job, having been faced by this
global issue that rendered their petty differences irrelevant. The friction between the eagles and the rattlers started slowly to disappear as a number of other shared activities were laid on. Almost all antagonism and sense of tribal superiority had vanished completely. On the eve of the final day together, some of the boys asked if it might be possible for all of them to travel home on the same bus. When the staff agreed to it, the rattlers and eagles cheered
in unison. When the bus finally pulled away the following morning, with rattlers and eagles all sitting next to each other in harmony, many looked back and cried sad that their time at summer camp had finally come to an end. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and would like to help support us, you can now go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward slash support. All donations, no matter how large or small, are massively appreciated. All elements have Unexplained
are produced by me, Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained odd and Facebook at Facebook dot com. Forward slash Unexplained Now. It's time to take care of yourself. To
make time for you. Teledoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most insurance or employers. Download the app or visit telldoc dot com, Forward slash Unexplained Podcast Today to get started, That's t e l a d oc dot com Slash Unexplained Podcast