Vote with Your Feet

Published Jun 27, 2023, 9:00 AM

Curious things can happen when you least expect them, as these two tales so perfectly prove.

Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. It's impossible not to cheer at a one in a million shot, whether it's an ace from across the green or a game winning half court basket right at the buzzer. People love a long shot. Well, most people you see a few soldiers in Battery b first Rhode Island Light Artillery during the Civil War weren't huge fans of a particular hole in one. They were in Pennsylvania in early July eighteen sixty three to take on the Confederates at the Battle of Gettysburg. General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia had already defeated the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville months earlier. Lee then started moving north from Fredericksburg, Virginia, with seventy five thousand men in tow. They were feeling pretty good ready to take over the northern territory. Meanwhile, Major General Joseph Hooker and the Union side was also heading north, but he wasn't so keen to take on Lee again. He was still reeling from his defeat at Chancellorsville. President Lincoln refused to let Hooker carry on in command of the Army of the Potomac. He put Major General George Mead in charge instead, who took control of the ninety thousand strong army and moved them northward. They had one goal, keep Lee out of the nation's capital of Washington, DC. Mead, however, wasn't going to just act as a roadblock to the Confederacy. He also wanted to take down his rival. By the end of June, General Lee had already made it to Pennsylvania. Spy General Jeb Stewart let him know that Union troops were close behind, so Lee packed up and headed toward Gettysburg. The battle kicked off early on the morning of July first, as Confederate Major General Henry Heath took the Union cavalry while on his way to Gettysburg for supplies. Pretty soon, reinforcements on both sides arrived, and the fight was officially underway, thirty thousand Confederates against twenty thousand Union troops. Union soldiers retreated towards Cemetery Hill in the south, where they took up a fortified position. The next day, General Lee sent Lieutenant General James Longstreet to take on the Union's left flank, while various landmarks in and around Gettysburg became bloodsoak battlegrounds, but the Union held firm against the Confederate traders, staving off as Southern victory for one more day, although the final day of the battle would become the most crucial of all and the most bizarre. You see. On July third, Lee picked up the fight at Culp's Hill, where meads men were trying to take back the ground they had lost the day before. Smoke in the smell of gunpowder filled the air as the Blue and Gray went head to head. Bayonets pierced flesh, while musket balls and bullets found their marks or wound up in nearby tree trunks, and cannons let fly with grapefruit sized balls of bronze and iron. It was one of these cannon balls that did something unexpected, as Private Alfred Gardner of Battery b first Rhode Island Light Artillery was reloading his cannon. An enemy shell struck it, killing both gardener and Private William Jones. And not only were the two men killed in the blast, but the impact also dented the cannon's muzzle. Sergeant Albert Straight had been behind it waiting to fire it when it happened. He hurried around to the front in an attempt to reload it himself, but quickly realized that the cannon wasn't just damaged, it was burning hot. It seems that when the enemy shell has struck the muzzle, it caused the barrel to rapidly heat up, and as Straight tried to push the new melon size twelve pound cannon ball down its shaft, the heavy sphere melded with the metal. He tried every thing to get it to go in, including hitting it with an axe and then a hammer, but the shell refused to budge. It was now a part of the canon. Luckily, this one cannon was not meant to decide the fate of the Battle of Gettysburg. Union forces successfully defeated the Confederates and eventually went on to win the war, but the cannon remained unaltered today, the Gettysburg Gun, as it's now called, now resides in the Rhode Island Statehouse, where visitors can see it on full display. It still bears the axe marks made by Sergeant Strait, as well as the dent in the muzzle, and the cannon ball is still there too. Just don't try to fire it unless you want to end up looking like Yosemite Sam in a bugs Bunny cartoon. Politics can be tough for even the most seasoned veteran nasty business, with mud flying in both directions, sordid pasts coming to light, and heated debates that can quickly turn ugly. People enter politics for a number of reasons, such as helping their community, gaining power over others, or even just to get rich. Money doesn't just talk in Washington, it screams. But before they became senators or members of Congress, many politicians got their start at the local level, as representatives in towns and cities where they could hopefully do the most good, and not just in America, but all over the world. In fact, in one small town in Ecuador, two mayoral candidates went up against a third party choice who had come out of nowhere a candidate who had swept everybody in town off their feet. It was nineteen sixty seven and a small Ecuadorian village was facing a dilemma. It was called Picawasa, a parish near the Pacific coast. Today, it's known as a prominent historical site, home to several archaeological discoveries, including an ancient settlement dating back to before Christopher Columbus was even born. Unfortunately, Picawasa was also an impoverished area that lacked many of the basic necessities its residents needed to thrive, including clean drinking water in a proper sewage system. But nineteen sixty seven marked a time of change in the town. They were electing a new mayor that year, one who would hopefully usher in a new era of success and prosperity for the people who lived there. The voters, on the other hand, felt differently. It seemed that no such person existed. It's hard to know why they didn't vote for one of the two main candidates who had been vying for the position, but one must assume that people just didn't like them. Maybe it was their policies, or perhaps they simply didn't understand the plight of the Picawasan people. Whatever the case, the citizens drifted toward a third contender, a newcomer who entered the mayoral race late in the game. His name was Pulvapis. He was new to the political scene and decided to get his feet wet in this local election. He started by distributing literature throughout the town, such as leaflets and flyers, and they bore the slogan vote for any candidate, but if you want well being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapis. It was an odd message for someone running for mayor, but it made an impact on the people. They bought into the straightforward and wholesome nature of his campaign. This wasn't someone looking to drag others down to get ahead. Pulvapis only cared about the voters and their well being, and it worked. Come election day, the people of Pikawasa knew who they wanted to be their new mayor. But there was just one problem. He wasn't on the ballot. But as anyone who has participated in a democratic election would tell you, that wasn't the end of the story for Pulvapis. Rather than default to one of the other two candidates, voters began to fill in this dark horses name as a rite in choice. One by one, the Pikawasans added Pulvapi's name to the ballot, and when the election had ended, the votes were tallied up and the winner was declared. There was no denying it. Pulvapis had been elected mayor of Pikawasa. Unfortunately, he was unable to fill the position. Despite fighting a clean and hard won campaign, Pulvapis was not eligible to serve as the town's mayor because he was not a person. He was a foot powder. You see, during the election cycle, the company that made Pulvapis started advertising in the town, and their efforts bore a striking resemblance to an actual political campaign. It was enough to influence the local population into ignoring the two actual human being candidates and write in their foot powder instead. We don't know if Pulvapi's success led to an increase in sales of the product, but it's clear that when voters are unhappy with the choices they're given, they won't settle for anything less. They'll think on their feet and look for a better option, one who cares about the people, heart and soul. 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.

Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities

From the creator of the hit podcast Lore comes a new, bite-sized storytelling experience. Each twice 
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