All language subtitles for Beyond.the.Unknown.S03E19.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH

WILDMAN: The truth
behind a killer lake.

It felt like a scene
out of a horror movie.

WILDMAN: An unlikely hero
aboard the Titanic.

[ Crashing ]

PHINEAS: He knew he was going
to go into these icy waters.

He was ready to meet his maker.

[ Man screaming ]

WILDMAN: And the riddle
of the pyramids

is finally solved
by a farmer in Nebraska.

He possessed the power
of the ancient pharaohs.

WILDMAN: But first,
this pilot’s jacket

recalls the fate of
an American adventurer

in a strange region
known as the Nevada Triangle.

This is the story
of a famous aviator

who disappeared into thin air.

♪

WILDMAN: Amazing mysteries,

bizarre phenomena,

and chilling secrets.

I’m Don Wildman.

Join me on a journey
beyond the unknown.

♪

It’s September 3, 2007.

[ Telephone rings ]

Authorities in Nevada
get a distressing call ‐‐

a small single‐engine plane
has gone missing.

It took off from a private ranch
for a short round‐trip flight

and after 4 hours
has not returned.

At the controls
was a well‐known millionaire

named Steve Fossett.

Steve Fossett was
a highly experienced aviator.

He was fearless, and he had
a really adventurous spirit.

WILDMAN:
The 63‐year‐old expert airman
holds numerous flying records,

including one for the first
nonstop solo flight

around the world.

The disappearance of such
a seasoned pilot is puzzling.

But then they learned Fossett
was flying

through one of the most
mysterious sections of airspace

in the country ‐‐

the Nevada Triangle.

This 25,000‐mile swath
of the American Southwest

is bound by Reno to the north,
Las Vegas to the south,

and Fresno, California,
to the west.

And since the 1940s,
as many as 2,000 aircraft

have crashed or gone missing
in the area.

HANSEN: Nobody could figure out
what had happened to them,

what had caused this region

to be so treacherous
to airplanes.

We might start high
and parallel down.

WILDMAN: For 5 weeks,
officials scour

the rugged mountainous terrain
and dense forests,

but Steve Fossett and his plane
are nowhere to be found.

In October,
the search is called off.

Steve Fossett had vanished
into the Nevada Triangle.

WILDMAN: In the weeks
and months that follow,

a host of theories emerge
to explain

what could have happened
to the expert aviator

and all the other aircraft
that have crashed or disappeared

in the Nevada Triangle.

Some believe the answer
can be found

within a vast
top‐secret military zone

that lies in the heart
of the Triangle ‐‐

Area 51.

HANSEN: Because Area 51 is so
top‐secret and heavily secured,

some feared that pilots

may have inadvertently wandered
into its airspace

and been intercepted
by the U. S. Air Force.

WILDMAN:
Some even speculate that aliens
might be to blame.

HANSEN: Area 51 is known for
UFO sightings, alien encounters,

so this, of course,
spurs the imagination.

WILDMAN:
But no one really knows.

HANSEN: There was
no conclusive evidence,

and everyone was desperate
for answers.

WILDMAN: Then, a year
after Fossett’s disappearance,

the truth emerges,
and with it,

the key to unlocking the secrets
of the Nevada Triangle.

♪

In September 2008, near
Mammoth Lakes in California,

a hiker makes an unexpected
discovery in the woods ‐‐

an ID card bearing
the name Steve Fossett.

Just 2 days later, the wreckage
of Fossett’s aircraft is found

along with his remains.

The discovery
re‐ignites the debate

over what really happened.

HANSEN: People were more
determined than ever

to get to the bottom
of this mystery.

WILDMAN: The case is handed over
to the acting chairman

of the National Transportation
Safety Board, Mark J. Rosenker.

Rosenker and his team start

by carefully examining
the wreckage.

Knowing Fossett’s skill set,
they ruled out pilot error.

So Rosenker turns his attention

to another possible
contributing factor ‐‐

the weather.

The Nevada Triangle is plagued

by a series of bizarre
wind conditions.

The wind in the Nevada Triangle

creates these really
intense wave‐like patterns

that aircraft
can get caught up in.

WILDMAN: As air moves in
from the Pacific Ocean,

it flows over the peaks
of the Sierra Nevadas.

Then with tremendous force,
it rushes down the other side.

This creates
a powerful downdraft.

Rosenker examines
meteorological records

from the day
of Fossett’s disappearance,

and what he finds
is that the downdrafts

reached a staggering
400 miles per hour.

HANSEN: Even an
experienced pilot like himself

was no match
against these forces.

[ Wind whistling ]

♪

WILDMAN: Rosenker and his team
believe Fossett’s plane

was swatted out of the sky
by these fierce winds

and crashed in the dense woods,

which made it
extremely difficult to find.

It’s a fate that could have
befallen scores of aviators

over the years.

HANSEN: This may very well
have been the reason

that so many planes
had disappeared

in the Nevada Triangle.

♪

WILDMAN:
Today, a pilot jacket once worn
by Steve Fossett sits on display

at the Museum of Flight
in Seattle, Washington.

It’s a haunting reminder
of not just one pilot,

but many who may have been lost

to a mysterious
and natural power.

♪

This tall pleated hat recalls
an act of extraordinary bravery

[ People screaming ]
in the face of certain death.

This story is about
the very last man

to go down on the Titanic.

♪

WILDMAN: It’s April 10, 1912.

The RMS Titanic embarks
on her maiden voyage

from Southampton, England,
to New York City.

On board are some of the richest
and most powerful people

in the world.

Among them is real estate tycoon
John Jacob Astor IV,

mining magnate
Benjamin Guggenheim,

and the owners of Macy’s
department store,

Isidor and Ida Straus.

No expense has been spared
for their delight.

PHINEAS: The Titanic was the
crème de la crème of its era,

with ballrooms and orchestras
and piano bars...

[ Chuckles ]

...every kind of delicacy
of food.

This ship was
a floating 5‐star hotel.

WILDMAN: Maintaining
these luxurious accommodations

is a staff of 908
dedicated crew members.

Among them is the chief baker,
Charles Joughin.

PHINEAS: Charles was a very,
very good baker

extolled for the quality
of his bakery goods.

And we’re talking
not just bread,

but we’re also talking desserts

and all kinds
of things like that.

He was a very accomplished chef.

WILDMAN: But he’s about
to assist the passengers

in a way he never anticipated.

♪

Just after 11:30 P. M.
on April 14th...

[ Crashing ]

[ Dishes rattling ]

...the Titanic strikes
an iceberg and starts to sink.

[ People screaming ]

As passengers scramble
to locate loved ones

and board lifeboats,
panic spreads.

And that’s when Joughin
springs into action.

Instead of preparing
to abandon ship,

he gathers loaves of bread

and hands them out
to desperate passengers.

PHINEAS:
He was basically thinking,
if they went off that ship,

at least they would go
with a loaf of bread

because who knows
when they would be rescued.

[ Screaming continues ]

WILDMAN:
In a matter of moments,
Joughin’s supply runs out.

With the ship rapidly sinking,

he rushes to
his assigned lifeboat.

The chef finds the craft packed

full of terrified passengers
and crew members,

with still more
waiting to board.

Luckily, a seat
has been saved for him.

♪

But just as he’s about
to climb in,

he notices a young woman
and her child

towards the back of the crowd.

Sensing their impending doom,

Joughin gives them his place
on the tiny vessel.

That a person would go
into action like that,

rather than just seeking
to save himself,

that’s a hero.

♪

WILDMAN:
But it seems his selfless act
has sealed his fate.

The remaining lifeboats
are all full.

It’s only a matter of minutes

before the ship is completely
submerged in 28‐degree water.

He knew he was going to go
into these icy waters,

and I think he was really ready
to meet his maker.

♪

WILDMAN: So, to steel himself
for the ordeal ahead,

Joughin takes a few pulls
from a bottle of whiskey.

Then he climbs to
the highest point of the stern,

grabs ahold of the railing,
and braces for the worst.

Just as the ship
goes underwater,

he steps off into
the frigid North Atlantic.

He’s the last person
to get off the Titanic,

and he does it
with incredible grace.

He kept his face and head dry,
probably had his baker’s hat on,

you know, and he just
kept treading water.

[ Bubbling ]

WILDMAN: For more than 2 hours,
Joughin floats in the icy water.

[ Ship horn blares ]

Finally, the RMS Carpathia
arrives to rescue the survivors.

Remarkably, among them
is Charles Joughin.

♪

After the baker
is pulled from the water,

the ship’s doctors
assess his injuries.

Strangely, Joughin only suffers
from swollen feet.

The physicians are baffled.

Almost everyone else who’d been
in the water froze to death

in less than 30 minutes.

It’s a miracle that anybody

could get in water
that temperature

and not have
immediately hypothermia.

WILDMAN: So how did
the brave baker survive?

Many think it was due

to the precious extra minutes
he stayed out of the water.

Others believe the alcohol
in his system

may have warmed his blood.

But some credit karma.

PHINEAS:
I can’t help but think

because he did so much
to help everybody,

he survived with just a little
bit of chill to his feet.

♪

WILDMAN:
After the tragedy, Joughin
continues to bake on ships

and goes on to serve aboard
World War II troop transports.

He’s even portrayed in the 1997
blockbuster film "Titanic."

It’s a fitting honor for one of
the ship’s unsung heroes.

This man put everyone
ahead of himself.

It’s an amazing story.

♪

WILDMAN: Today, a chef’s toque
recovered from the wreckage,

like the one
worn by Charles Joughin,

is on display at Titanic:
The Artifact Exhibition

in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It recalls the baker who served
up hope in the face of disaster.

♪

This enigmatic item was the key

that unlocked a long‐lost secret
of the pharaohs.

PORGES:
The answer to one of history’s
biggest mysteries

might be even simpler
than you think.

♪

WILDMAN: Egypt.

For centuries,
the pyramids have stood

as perhaps the most famous
structures in the world.

And looming over
the ancient wonders

is the largest of them all ‐‐

the Great Pyramid of Giza.

♪

The massive stone monument
was built around 2500 B. C.

as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu.

The pyramid has a footprint
the size of 10 football fields,

and the tip towers
nearly 500 feet above the sand.

It is made up of an estimated
2.3 million stone blocks,

each weighing up to 15 tons.

PORGES:
For more than 3,000 years,
the Great Pyramid held the title

as the tallest man‐made
structure on the planet.

♪

WILDMAN:
The structure’s colossal size

lies at the heart
of its most enduring mystery.

How could something so big
have been built

when the ancient Egyptians
had access

to only the most
rudimentary technology?

♪

Many historians contend

that the Egyptians
used a simple crane‐like device

made of a weighted pole
balanced on a crossbeam

called a shadoof.

Others believe the blocks
were levered onto wooden slats

and then hauled up
giant ramps of sand.

And some have even suggested
a more out‐of‐this‐world idea ‐‐

that the Egyptians
had help from aliens.

PORGES: This theory might
seem outlandish,

but almost everything
about this ancient monument

just feels impossible.

♪

WILDMAN: But perhaps the most
intriguing theory

comes from
the unlikeliest of places.

♪

It’s 1988 in rural Nebraska.

Herman Ostry is a farmer

who lives in the tiny community
of Bruno.

PORGES: He was largely
a soy and corn farmer,

and he kept some animals.

♪

WILDMAN:
But this small‐time homesteader
has a big problem.

A road construction project

has diverted a nearby creek
towards his farm,

and it seems every month,
the waters overrun the banks

and flood his barn
with devastating consequences.

Ostry needed a dry barn
to keep feed,

to keep animals,
and to store equipment.

♪

WILDMAN:
Ostry lacks the money

to build a new barn
elsewhere on his property,

and he can’t afford to pay
for the heavy equipment

needed to move the structure
to drier ground.

It seems his barn
is doomed to a soggy fate.

♪

But a solution is about
to present itself

that will save Ostry’s farm

and perhaps unravel one
of the world’s greatest riddles.

PORGES:
Ostry was about to discover

that he possessed the power
of the ancient pharaohs.

♪

♪

WILDMAN: How did the Egyptians
build the pyramids?

The answer may be found
in the unlikeliest of places ‐‐

rural Nebraska.

One night,
while farmer Herman Ostry

is eating dinner
with his family,

his son Mike makes a seemingly
ridiculous suggestion.

PORGES: He suggested, "Well, if
we get enough people together,

we can just pick up the barn
and move it."

WILDMAN:
The joke gives Ostry an idea.

The gears began to turn
in Ostry’s mind,

and he thought maybe
there’s something there.

♪

WILDMAN:
The farmer and his son do some
back‐of‐the‐napkin calculations

and realize their crazy plan
might just work.

PORGES: He estimated the entire
structure weighed about 9 tons,

and he figured that
if 344 people

could help him lift his barn,

each person would only have
to carry about 58 pounds,

which is totally feasible.

♪

WILDMAN: To pull off the
tremendous task,

Ostry creates a massive grid
of steel tubing.

Sticking out from the sides
are 344 metal handles,

one of which is on display

at the Butler Country
Historical Museum

in David City, Nebraska.

He then bolts
the entire contraption

to the barn’s vertical beams.

With the giant tool complete,

the farmer recruits
the necessary labor

from his high school
alumni association.

On July 30th,

more than a thousand people
show up at Ostry’s Farm

to catch a glimpse
of the novel spectacle.

More than 340 volunteers
take their places

around the 16,000‐pound
structure.

PORGES: Everybody was hoping
for the best,

but nobody had any idea if this
kind of crazy plan would work.

WILDMAN: Finally, Ostry
gives the order to lift.

♪

As the old barn is raised
into the air,

it creaks and groans
under the strain.

Then slowly but surely,

the team makes its way
across the property.

PORGES:
The crowd lifted up the barn
and moved it a couple feet,

and they put it down,
and they lifted up again

and moved it a couple more feet

until they got it
where they needed to go.

WILDMAN: After a journey
of more than 100 feet,

the crowd places the structure
down on a new foundation

safely away
from the flooding creek.

♪

Ostry’s barn goes down
in the record books

as the largest man‐made
structure ever moved

by human strength alone.

But one group disagrees ‐‐
Egyptologists.

Some historians
and archeologists suggest

that ancient Egyptians
used thousands of men

working in unison to lift the
giant stone blocks into place

and build the pyramids of Giza,

just like the team of volunteers
did thousands of years later

in Nebraska.

This was an amazing
and practical demonstration

of what people working
together can accomplish.

♪

WILDMAN:
Simple pipes, just like these,
played a crucial role

in solving a mysterious
and deadly disaster.

WILLIAMS:
This is a story of mass carnage,
scientific investigation,

and the hunt
for a silent killer.

♪

WILDMAN:
For hundreds of years,

the West African nation
of Cameroon

has been home
to a sinister legend.

As the story goes,

Lake Nyos, in the mountainous
northwest of the country,

is possessed
by a powerful force.

Folklore and legend spoke
of an evil spirit

who had in the past

invoked carnage
on the lakeside community,

WILDMAN:
And in 1986, the ominous curse
seems to become a reality.

On August 21st,
residents of a nearby village

hear a deafening blast
from Lake Nyos.

[ Boom ]

There was
a mysterious explosion

and also the smell of sulfur
in the air.

♪

WILDMAN:
Nervous residents see a cloud
rise up from the lake.

Then, to their terror,
as the vapor expands...

[ Bird cawing ]

...birds start
to drop from the sky.

Moments later, livestock
fall dead in the fields.

It was a scene
of almost biblical proportion.

♪

WILDMAN: Soon, the villagers
themselves are enveloped

by the forbidding haze
and struggle to breathe.

[ Man breathing heavily ]

[ People screaming ]

Then, as quickly as it started,

the mist dissipates.

It’s left a scene of
unparalleled devastation

in its wake.

♪

Almost 2,000 people
have perished.

It felt like a scene
out of a horror movie.

WILDMAN: As the villagers try
to make sense of the tragedy,

they noticed that the stunning
blue waters of Lake Nyos

have turned
an eerie orange color.

It seems the centuries‐old
legend has finally come true.

At a loss
to explain the carnage,

the locals blame an evil spirit.

WILDMAN:
So what terrible secret lies at
the heart of this deadly lake?

♪

WILDMAN: It’s 1986 in
the African nation of Cameroon.

On the shores of Lake Nyos,
a tragedy is unfolding.

[ Boom ]

A mysterious cloud
has taken the lives

of more than 1,000 people.

Desperate to solve
the mystery of the deadly lake,

the Cameroonian government
calls in a team

of international experts
to investigate.

The scientists start by testing
the lake’s water,

and the results point
to a likely cause

for the pestilent cloud.

The lake contains
an unusually high concentration

of carbon dioxide.

This clearly was not normal.

WILDMAN: It appears the elevated
level of gas

is related to a geological quirk
of Lake Nyos.

The body of water is
what is known as a crater lake,

as it sits atop
a bed of volcanic rock

studded with vents
that lead deep underground.

These vents release
carbon dioxide into the water.

Normally, the CO2 would then
rise to the surface of a lake

and be released into the air
slowly

through a process
known as lake turnover.

But Lake Nyos
is an unusually still lake

with little lake turnover.

Over time, it became saturated
with dangerous levels of CO2.

This was an important
scientific discovery.

♪

WILDMAN: The experts conclude
that on the day of the tragedy,

a rockslide on
one of the lake’s banks

[ Boom ]
churned up the water,

causing a large amount
of the gas

to be released at once.

That sudden surge of CO2
formed a dense cloud

that then suffocated
everything in its path.

WILLIAMS: At the time,
it was a new phenomenon

that scientists had not really
seen in the natural world.

♪

WILDMAN:
To ensure a similar disaster
doesn’t happen again,

scientists propose a simple fix.

In 2001, a team installs
a system of PVC pipes

to siphon the deadly CO2
from the bottom of the lake

and safely and gradually release
it into the air.

It’s a process called degassing.

WILLIAMS: It now gave scientists
an important tool

to prevent other such tragedies
from across the world.

WILDMAN: As a result
of their efforts,

there hasn’t been
a deadly incident since.

The livestock
and the vegetation

and the waters of Lake Nyos
returned to normal,

and the community is back to
its beautiful, serene state.

♪

WILDMAN: Today, these pieces of
PVC piping are on display

at the Plumbing Museum
in Watertown, Massachusetts.

They’re a reminder
of an explosive disaster

and an immersively
inventive solution.

♪

This item recalls a doomed
mission to space

and a chilling
Cold War conspiracy.

This is a story of a race
to the stars ‐‐

one of manned space flights’
most enduring mysteries.

♪

WILDMAN:
October 4, 1957.

The Soviet Union
has just put

the world’s first
man‐made satellite into orbit ‐‐

Sputnik.

The achievement
sends shock waves

through the United States
and the world.

Now the two superpowers
are locked in a heated race

to see who can be the first
to send a man into space.

COSTELLO: When the Soviets
put Sputnik up into orbit,

it was a huge event.

But the ultimate challenge

was putting a man up into orbit
and having him survive.

♪

WILDMAN:
And across the globe,

people are fascinated by
the intensifying space race ‐‐

perhaps none more so than
2 amateur astronomers in Italy,

brothers Achille and Giovanni
Judica‐Cordiglia.

Using scavenged parts,

Achille and Giovanni
build a radio receiver

capable of listening in

on American and Soviet
satellite transmissions.

[ Radio tuning ]

COSTELLO: Anytime anything
was launched into orbit,

they would get a glimpse
of what was happening above.

WILDMAN:
For months, the brothers
intercepted radio signals

from orbiting satellites.
[ Radio tuning ]

They’re even able to listen in
on the sounds of monkeys

launched into orbit
on test flights.

♪

But in May 1960,

Achille and Giovanni pick up
an unexpected transmission.

[ Static, indistinct speaking
in Russian ]

They hear a heartbeat
and a voice speaking in Russian.

♪

The brothers think it’s the
sound of a cosmonaut

speaking with Soviet
mission control.

But there’s one problem ‐‐

the Soviets
have not announced

that they’ve launched
someone into space.

COSTELLO: Anytime an astronaut
or a cosmonaut

reaches
a certain milestone,

it’s seen as a huge achievement
that gets a lot of coverage.

So, why is this not something
the Soviets are talking about?

WILDMAN: As the brothers try to
make sense of the transmission,

they hear something
even more disturbing.

♪

The sounds suggest the
cosmonaut is gasping for breath.

[ Panting ]

As they listen, the gasping
gets faster and faster,

and then the heartbeat
suddenly stops.

The siblings come to
the shocking conclusion

that whomever they’ve heard
has died.

COSTELLO:
You can imagine the feeling
of hearing this recording

and you get the last moments
of life

carried across the airwaves.

♪

WILDMAN:
In February 1961,

the brothers take their findings
to Italian newspapers,

and the story hits the press
with spectacular results.

COSTELLO: It sets off a wave
of speculation

among both journalists
and experts.

♪

WILDMAN:
The Soviets, for their part,
deny the brothers’ claims.

And experts suggest that
what Achille and Giovanni heard

wasn’t a dying cosmonaut,

but one of the many animals
that had been sent into orbit.

But the brothers are steadfast
in their belief

that they heard
a cosmonaut speaking Russian.

This must have been incredibly
frustrating for the brothers.

♪

WILDMAN:
Then, almost a year later,
on April 12, 1961,

the Soviet Union announces
that they’ve successfully sent

the first man into space ‐‐
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Gagarin’s flight was a
tremendous feat for the Soviets.

♪

WILDMAN:
Despite this, the brothers
stand by their story

that another cosmonaut
may have made it there first.

So what’s the truth

behind these mysterious
Russian transmissions?

♪

♪

WILDMAN: In 1960,
two amateur radio hams in Italy

make an extraordinary claim ‐‐

that they detected secret
radio transmissions

from a manned Soviet spaceship

a full year
before cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

became the first man in space.

More than two decades later,
in 1986,

the long‐secret files
of the Soviet space program

are declassified.

And they reveal
evidence of a shocking cover‐up.

♪

In early 1960,

a Russian cosmonaut
named Valentin Bondarenko

was participating in a series
of space flight simulations

at a rocket facility
just outside Moscow

when tragedy struck.

The oxygen tanks that
supplied Bondarenko’s capsule

caught fire,

and the unfortunate cosmonaut
was killed in the ensuing blaze.

Then the Russian space agency
covered up the accident.

After Bondarenko’s death,
he was subsequently erased

from any lists or photographs
of the cosmonauts training.

♪

WILDMAN:
In light of this revelation,
many now believe

that what Achille and Giovanni
actually heard

wasn’t the first man in space,

but the final moments of an
unfortunate Russian cosmonaut.

Bondarenko’s death was
conclusive evidence

of a lost cosmonaut.

The brothers’ claims
seem to be true.

♪

WILDMAN: Today, this glove used
in the Russian space program

is on display at the Cosmosphere
in Hutchinson, Kansas.

It’s a testament
to a forgotten soul

who risked it all for
mankind’s quest to the stars.

♪

This ornate artifact
played a starring role

in a centuries‐long
treasure hunt,

one that was linked to a
sinister and supernatural force.

This is a story about explorers,
a lost city, and a deadly curse.

♪

WILDMAN:
It’s 1939 in New York.

29‐year‐old Theodore Morde

is an American reporter
with a thirst for excitement.

His coverage
of the Spanish Civil War

for the Associated Press

has made him one of the most
read journalists of the day.

BIANCO: When Morde reported
on the Spanish Civil War,

he put himself in danger

covering both sides
of the conflict.

♪

WILDMAN: One day,
Morde makes an announcement

that terrifies and excites
his readers in equal measure.

He says he has teamed up

with the
Museum of the American Indian

to lead an expedition deep
into the rainforest of Honduras.

There, he will search
for the long‐lost remains

of an ancient civilization.

♪

It’s known only as
the City of the Monkey God.

BIANCO: Even hearing the name
of it makes you think

the city’s got secrets
that you want to figure out.

WILDMAN:
The City of the Monkey God
was first mentioned

in the 16th century writings

of Spanish explorer
Hernán Cortés.

The conquistador describes tales
of a ruined city

brimming with untouched riches.

BIANCO: Hernán Cortés had heard
about the lost city

from native Hondurans.

He thought it might be
a city full of gold.

♪

WILDMAN:
But the promise of wealth

allegedly comes
with an ominous warning.

The city is said to be cursed.
[ Thunder crashes ]

All who seek it are doomed
to an untimely death.

♪

Over the centuries,

numerous fortune seekers search
for the City of the Monkey God

to claim its riches
for themselves.

And just as the curse predicts,
they all meet a grisly fate.

BIANCO:
A lot of explorers came back
with a mysterious illness.

They were getting sores
all over their face.

It was scary and untreatable
with the medicine of the time.

♪

WILDMAN: But Morde believes
he can succeed

where Cortés and others failed,

and he’s not afraid
of any curse.

So, in 1940,
Morde travels to Honduras

and heads off
into the rainforest.

5 months later,
he returns to the United States

and makes a staggering claim.

Theodore Morde said he had found
the Lost City of the Monkey God.

WILDMAN: As proof, he shows off
hundreds of artifacts

he claims to have discovered

in the ruins
of the ancient metropolis,

including tools,
sculptured idols,

and even this intricate
ceramic drinking vessel

now on display

at the National Museum
of the American Indian

in Washington, D. C.

But Morde remains tight‐lipped

about the location
of the ancient metropolis.

BIANCO: He didn’t want
to reveal the location

because people would go
and loot it.

So he planned to go back
to the city,

do a more thorough excavation,
and then reveal where it was.

♪

WILDMAN: But before he
can return to the lost city,

Theodore Morde commits suicide.

It’s an act that leads many
to conclude

that he, too, has fallen victim
to the very curse he doubted.

People were kind of scared.

It seemed like the curse
had gotten him.

WILDMAN: It seems Morde
has taken the location

of the City of the Monkey God
with him to the grave.

♪

And as decades pass,

interest in
this lost locale fades.

But then, in 2012,
everything changes.

An explorer named
Douglas Preston

and a group of archeologists

are in the Honduran rainforest
when they find a stone altar

and dozens of statues of snakes,
shamans, and monkeys.

But the discoveries
don’t stop there.

Preston and his team go on
to uncover the remnants

of a full‐sized metropolis.

It’s the City of the Monkey God.

BIANCO:
Preston was elated.

It was basically the equivalent
of finding King Tut’s tomb.

WILDMAN: But the revelation
carries a heavy price.

Within days of finding the city,

the explorers come down
with a debilitating sickness.

BIANCO:
First, the team just noticed
they had some kind of weird,

slightly painful spots
on their faces.

But then those got worse
and worse until they developed

into full‐fledged sores
that bled and hurt.

WILDMAN: Unable to explain
their strange symptoms,

members of the expedition
face a terrifying possibility.

It could be the curse.

♪

♪

WILDMAN: It’s 2012 in
the jungles of Honduras.

Explorer Douglas Preston
and a group of archeologists

have just uncovered

the legendary
Lost City of the Monkey God.

Within days of their discovery,
they fall sick

and fear they have become prey
to a deadly curse

that purportedly protects
these ancient ruins.

[ Thunder crashes ]

[ Siren wails ]

Preston and his colleagues
return to the U. S.

and are rushed to the National
Institute of Health Laboratory

in Bethesda, Maryland.

There, physicians rule out
the supernatural.

The doctors told Preston
that he wasn’t cursed.

WILDMAN: But the reality
isn’t exactly comforting.

The sores are caused by
a flesh‐eating parasite.

The disease,
called leishmaniasis,

is transmitted
by a biting insect

native to
the Honduran rainforest ‐‐

the sandfly.

BIANCO:
Those sandflies had actually
been what was causing symptoms

that people had experienced
for hundreds of years.

♪

WILDMAN:
The team is treated successfully
and returns to full health.

News of Douglas Preston’s
discovery

makes headlines
around the world.

BIANCO:
This is an amazing story.

It’s crazy that
there’s still some spots

that we just
don’t know that much about.

♪

WILDMAN: Today, this ceramic
drinking vessel,

discovered by Theodore Morde
in 1940,

is on display

at the National Museum
of the American Indian

in Washington, D. C.

It recalls a lost city

and the truth
behind its legendary curse.

♪

This bottle is linked

to a ruthless quest
for world supremacy.

This is the story
of a glass bottle,

a mysterious note,

and a nation aspiring to be
the dominant power in the world.

♪

WILDMAN:
It’s January 21, 2018,

on Wedge Island
in Western Australia.

A woman named Tonya Illman
is walking along the beach

when a glint in the sand
catches her eye.

HYDE: She saw something that
was partially buried in sand.

Could be a little bit
of discarded rubbish,

but she was intrigued
and went to look closer.

WILDMAN: It’s an old
and weathered glass bottle.

Then she notices
something unexpected ‐‐

there’s an item stuffed inside.

It was a piece of paper
rolled up with twine.

♪

WILDMAN:
Illman carefully pulls the
bound paper out of the bottle

and unties the string.

To her amazement,

written on the paper
is some sort of message.

The writing appears
to be in German,

but most astounding of all is
the date of the top ‐‐

June 1886.

If genuine, the tiny scroll
is 132 years old.

She couldn’t believe
what she saw.

♪

WILDMAN:
So Illman takes the note
to an expert to be translated.

The contents of the message
are baffling.

HYDE: It contained a request for
the people who found the bottle

to write
down their exact location

and to return this information
to Germany.

WILDMAN:
The strange note also refers
to someone named Paula.

Illman thought she might have
something really special.

What on Earth could this mean?

WILDMAN:
What Illman doesn’t realize
is that the cryptic instructions

are linked to a sinister bid
for world domination.

So who exactly sent
this message and why?

♪

♪

WILDMAN: January 21, 2018 ‐‐
Western Australia.

A mysterious glass bottle
is found on a beach.

Inside is a cryptic message
dated 1886.

It’s the oldest message
in a bottle ever found.

It’s also linked

to a chilling conspiracy
to take over the world.

The story begins in the 1870s.

Europe’s colonial empires
are jockeying for supremacy.

Great Britain
has long dominated,

but another nation is desperate
to usurp the United Kingdom ‐‐

Germany.

The newly established
Imperial Germany,

led by Kaiser Wilhelm I,

wanted to expand their
political and economic might.

WILDMAN: To become the world’s
next superpower,

Germany is looking for ways
to surpass

Britain’s mighty
naval technology

and gain an edge
in global trade.

♪

So officials turn to
a cunning naval scientist

named Georg von Neumayer.

Neumayer wanted to help his
country with economic expansion.

WILDMAN: The expert navigator
devises an ingenious plan

to map the currents
across the world’s oceans.

The goal?

To track the fastest sea routes
for Germany’s trade fleet.

♪

To achieve this, he plots out
a unique worldwide experiment.

The captains
of German merchant ships

will drop thousands of bottles
into the water.

The hope is that
each of these bottles

will be carried
on the currents

to the far‐flung corners
of the world.

Each bottle has a note with
the name of the ship of origin

and clear instructions
for the person who picks it up.

The slips contained a request

for the people
who found them at the other end

to send them back
to the Naval Observatory

with the information of exactly
where they had been recovered.

♪

WILDMAN:
As the messages are returned

from the bottles
thrown overboard,

the information can be used
to chart faster shipping routes.

It’s a wild plan.

But it works.

More than 600 bottles eventually
make their way back to Germany.

HYDE:
This allowed Germany to see
where the bottles had gone

and to track global currents.

This really helped shed light
on the ocean’s currents,

thus helping to dominate
global trade.

WILDMAN:
And one of the bottles

thrown off a German
merchant ship named the Paula

eventually washes up on the
shores of Western Australia,

where it remains hidden in the
sand for more than a century.

♪

HYDE: It’s a miracle
that it survived so long,

especially with the message
inside it.

WILDMAN:
Tonya Illman’s incredible find
goes down in history

as the oldest message
in a bottle ever discovered.

♪

And today,
it’s on display

at the Western Australian
Maritime Museum in Fremantle.

It recalls the tale

of an extraordinary quest
to rule the seas

long‐buried
in the sands of time.

♪