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[Music]
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caution
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the show you're about to see is headed
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for disaster
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beyond belief fact or fiction
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hosted by jonathan frakes
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[Music]
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we live in a world where the real and
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the unreal live side by side
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where substance is disguised as illusion
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and the only explanations
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are unexplainable can you separate truth
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from fantasy
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to do so you must break through the web
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of your experience
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and open your mind to things beyond
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belief
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talk of disaster is very much with us in
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these times
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one day we're discussing the sinking of
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great ships the next we're contemplating
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comets headed toward the earth
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but disasters like most things depend on
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your perspective
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some people look at this drawing and see
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a high mountain
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safe from harm while others see a tunnel
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spiraling down into an endless abyss our
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stories in this show
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all deal in some way with disasters or
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their consequences
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some of the stories are inspired by
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actual events while others are totally
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made up
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we'll give you the answers at the end of
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our show and one suggestion
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when evaluating whether they are true or
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false
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take your perspective from the
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mountaintop at all costs
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avoid having tunnel vision
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cheers salute score whatever the
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language whatever the culture
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there's always a toast to good times a
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design for celebration
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these life-affirming rituals are
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important because they give us hope for
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the future
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and recognize triumphs over past
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adversities
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charles and gwen chandler have good
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reason to celebrate
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they're alive due to the strangest of
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circumstances
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let's join them now in their celebration
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the party is about to begin
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it was the spring of 1937. charles and
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gwen chandler loved traveling with their
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good friends the delaney's philip and
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margaret
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they'd seen much of the world together
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gwen and charles couldn't think of
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anyone else they'd rather celebrate
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their 22nd wedding anniversary with
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i'd like to propose a toast here's to
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smooth sailings
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and happy landings here
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and i would like to propose another
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toast to 22 years of wedded bliss
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may you have 22 more at least here
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i can't believe it was 22 years ago
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we never did get to take our dream
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honeymoon
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the one we had was fine ah yes
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this mystery honeymoon are you ever
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going to tell us what actually
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happened to make you change your plans
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it's just that what happened is so
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unbelievable that we decided a long time
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ago to
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keep it between ourselves come on
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charlie spill the beans
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tell us the story we've got the time
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it's more than just a story philip it
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really happened
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charlie it's fine gwen
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we were young and so much in love we
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were married the day before
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and we were scheduled to leave for
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europe on the most wonderful honeymoon
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imaginable
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[Music]
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we were sailing late in the day so that
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we could sleep late that morning
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remember how we both woke up at the same
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moment
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yes we figured all we had was a bit of
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packing to do and we'd be off
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i'll never forget when we tried to get
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out of bed
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so what happened well this is when it
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becomes
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a little strange
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as we attempted to get out of bed we
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couldn't separate our hands
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that was when we noticed that our
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wedding rings had fused
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together what
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that's the most absurd thing i've ever
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heard of we told you it was unbelievable
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well rings don't just fuse then how is
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that even possible
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no one could explain how it happened but
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it certainly was fate that it did happen
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[Music]
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no matter what we did we couldn't get
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our hands apart
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they were locked in place
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why didn't you just slip them off oh we
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tried to
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our fingers were so swollen they
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wouldn't budge
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[Music]
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we finally had to call a jeweler to our
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hotel room
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but he was at a loss he'd never seen
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anything like it
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he wanted to be very careful about not
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damaging the rings or
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our hands
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by then we were very worried that we
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were going to miss the departure of our
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ship
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but what did we do we couldn't even get
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out of our nightclubs
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wow that's an amazing story well it gets
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even more
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amazing philip you won't believe what
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happened next
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after sending for just the right tools
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the jeweler was finally able to cut us
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free of the rings
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so you made it to your ship it's a
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fabulous story it's not
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finished yet we rushed to the dock but
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we were too late
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our ship had sailed we missed it by
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minutes oh
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that is the saddest story i've ever
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heard it was the luckiest thing that
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ever happened to us
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you see the ship that we were set to
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depart on was the rms lusitania
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six days later it was torpedoed and sunk
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almost 1200 people died
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that is incredible these are the lucky
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rings we wear them every day
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you can see where they were cut apart oh
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it it truly is a miracle
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well i would like to propose another
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toast to the luckiest people in the
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world our best friends
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the chandlers oh indeed
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oh look everyone's going to the
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observation deck
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we must be getting ready to dock
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look at that view it's absolutely
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spectacular i can't believe i'm not the
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slightest bit airsick
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now what city do you suppose that is
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that must be lakehurst new jersey oh
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good we'll be
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docking this has been such an incredibly
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smooth ride
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i can't believe we left frankfurt two
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and a half days ago an amazing way to
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travel much more relaxing than my ship
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i can't wait to see this part of america
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we're taking a car to new york tomorrow
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look that man down there has a
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microphone they must be broadcasting the
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land game
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i have one last toast here's to this
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great airship
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the hindenburg here
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it's practically standing still now
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they've dropped ropes out of the nose of
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the ship
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and uh has been taking a hold up down on
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the field by a number of men
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it's starting to rain again as the plane
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had uh slacked up a little bit
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it burst into place
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well this is the one of the worst
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catastrophe that the world is a terrific
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great ladies and gentlemen of smoking
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and flames now
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all the humanities all the best baby
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garages
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i do i never talked about
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i i can't not make this development
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[Music]
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students of history know that the
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hindenburg a luxury dirigible
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exploded upon its arrival in new jersey
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one of the most infamous air disasters
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of all time killing almost one half of
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the passengers on board
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charles and gwen chandler who had
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escaped the fate of the lusitania
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leaped out of the frying pan and into
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the fire is this cruel joke based on an
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actual event
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or have we ignited an explosion of lies
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we'll tell you whether this story is
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true or false at the end of our show
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next a swap meet is visited by a
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mysterious stranger
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on beyond belief fact or fiction
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[Music]
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have you ever visited a flea market swap
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meet or garage sale
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to run a successful booth takes a
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combination of desirable merchandise
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a positive attitude and an irresistible
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charm
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elmo p middleton had much to offer in
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all those departments
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but despite all this you might say his
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business was a disaster
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the local swap meet was a place where we
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used to go to browse and shop for
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bargains but this week we were going to
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operate our own booth
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it was part of the plan i had to get
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some extra money that
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would help my daughter molly go to the
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state university
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the swap meet had been closed for about
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a month since the earthquake
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and there were still aftershocks going
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on but at 8am
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all the people were arriving just like a
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regular sunday
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my daughter molly is the best daughter a
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parent could ever wish for
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she worked hard throughout high school
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with one goal in mind
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college that was her dream to go to a
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good school somewhere and make me proud
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as if she hadn't done that already
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[Music]
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as any parent will tell you college
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education isn't cheap
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tuition books room and board and with a
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small scholarship it's
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way more than i can afford my late
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husband marv
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was a good man he always provided for
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his family but his insurance only
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covered so much
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my job just gets us by i didn't have a
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lot to sell at this market but
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i was determined to go home with some
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money for molly's education
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[Music]
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molly was preoccupied all the time i
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knew she was worried and anxious about
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what her future choices were going to be
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[Music]
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at the start of the day we just couldn't
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seem to interest anyone in anything we
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had to offer
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molly turned on all her school
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schoolgirl charm but nothing seemed to
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be helping
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we have been here for three hours and we
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haven't even sold a lampshade
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mom the day is not over yet
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i don't know honey this may not have
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been one of my best ideas
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can i help you all you got here is just
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a bunch of regular junk i don't see
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anything special in the whole line
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you want to sell that old station wagon
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i could use something to haul my stuff
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in no thanks
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we needed to haul our stuff have it your
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way
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but i wouldn't count on having a big day
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well thank you so much
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[Music]
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mom i've been thinking maybe i should
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put off going to college for a little
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while
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get a job make some money it's no big
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deal
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really you are going to go to college
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we'll find a way
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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that was when we first saw him the man
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in the model t
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[Music]
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hello hello hello hello the name is
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middleton
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elmo p middleton yes purveyor
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of unusual and rare merchandise
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did you feel that feel what well that
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tremor
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actually i didn't feel anything well
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maybe next time
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the back of his truck was loaded with an
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amazing assortment of things
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he didn't waste a moment and unloaded
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quickly as he did i kept wondering
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who was this strange man and what was he
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doing in northridge
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another question that kept haunting me
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was why didn't he feel the earth tremor
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we all felt
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hello anything you see you like anything
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you'd like you see come on folks take a
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gander
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how much uh how much would that grandma
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put how much you got
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looks awfully new probably fake i know
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everything you see here is a genuine
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article mister
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okay how much how much you got
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well how much were those old books how
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much you got look mister i'm trying to
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buy something here
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give me a price how much you got
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how about you mister how about you guys
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see how much you got ladies
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no matter what people asked for mr
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middleton would repeat those same words
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everybody felt insulted by his questions
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so nobody bought anything
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[Music]
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it's a lovely lamp isn't it yes
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how much would a lamp like that cost
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how much have you got oh i couldn't buy
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anything we're here trying to sell stuff
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too i know isn't everybody
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[Music]
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uh molly
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how'd you know my name you really love
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this lamp don't you
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yeah but like i said i couldn't buy
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anything
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how much money you got in your pocket
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three dollars
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sold the beautiful little lady
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[Music]
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enjoy
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molly told me later that she wasn't sure
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why she gave the man her three dollars
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there was just something about him that
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she liked and trusted
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mr middleton wait you forgot your chest
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it belongs to you
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molly it comes with the lamb
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[Music]
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what a strange man yeah
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but nice yeah
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mom look at this
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oh my gosh i don't believe it this was
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from the titanic
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this could be worth
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[Music]
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a million thoughts were racing through
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my head oh molly molly's great
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grandfather was one of the passengers
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lost on the titanic
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he had a handlebar mustache too just
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like mr middleton
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his name was marvin l jergens
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[Music]
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oh my god molly this was your
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[Music]
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great-grandfather's
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the titanic artifacts proved to be
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authentic and paid for molly's college
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education
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but who was elmo p middleton was he
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really the spirit of a long-lost
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relative of the jurgens family
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or was he just an old man who had a soft
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spot for a struggling mother and
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daughter
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but then how did he come into possession
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of relics from the titanic
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is this story of unexpected treasures
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based on actual event
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or are we swapping the truth for more
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lives
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we'll tell you whether this story is
00:17:32
true or false at the end of our show
00:17:34
next a strange dream of disaster haunts
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a reporter
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on beyond belief fact or fiction
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today news reports travel at lightning
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speed around the world and back again at
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the flick of a switch
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but at the turn of the century the last
00:17:49
century that is
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news came by way of the telegraph like
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this
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jack hogan is a reporter who needs a
00:18:00
good story
00:18:01
but the only one he can come up with is
00:18:03
in his dreams
00:18:04
those dreams are about to become
00:18:12
nightmares
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so
00:18:40
it was a monday morning in 1883 and i
00:18:42
couldn't find a story to save my life
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it wasn't my fault that nothing much was
00:18:46
happening in the world that day
00:18:54
as i looked around everybody else seemed
00:18:56
to have a story
00:18:58
or were they just trying to impress old
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man trapwell the managing editor
00:19:02
work work work here hey when i
00:19:05
click any clock clickity clack that's
00:19:07
the way to go
00:19:08
roy wally listen when i was a young
00:19:11
reporter back in north york
00:19:13
we didn't have modern machines like that
00:19:15
keep it up for him
00:19:20
you need a new ribbon for your
00:19:22
typewriter hogan or is this some other
00:19:25
reason why you're just sitting there
00:19:26
staring what is the last thing
00:19:28
no sir i i just i i can't find a story
00:19:32
that's ridiculous my boy a good reporter
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can
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find a story anywhere now you look out
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the window
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that's philadelphia one of the biggest
00:19:41
cities in the country show
00:19:43
some initiative son
00:19:47
yes sir
00:19:53
at that moment i hated my job i hated
00:19:56
philadelphia
00:19:57
and i hated the way trapwell said
00:20:00
initiative
00:20:04
jack want to grab a drink
00:20:07
oh no not tonight thanks wally i think
00:20:09
uh
00:20:11
i'm just gonna wait around for the late
00:20:12
wire copy see if anything interesting
00:20:14
comes in
00:20:15
okay jack see you tomorrow
00:20:21
nothing came in over the wire that night
00:20:24
i really needed to find a story but i
00:20:25
was exhausted
00:20:27
i laid down on the couch closed my eyes
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for a minute
00:20:30
and fell right to sleep
00:20:39
[Music]
00:20:46
[Music]
00:20:58
my dream was so vivid and real that i
00:21:01
decided to write it all down
00:21:03
i thought maybe i could sell it as a
00:21:04
short story look at mark twain
00:21:07
he didn't do so bad and he started out
00:21:08
as a reporter too
00:21:14
i wrote of a beautiful tropical island
00:21:16
called pralipe
00:21:18
it began as an idyllic day in paradise
00:21:21
natives fishing and
00:21:22
swimming in the shallow surf suddenly
00:21:25
the ground began to shake violently and
00:21:28
then it happened
00:21:32
an entire mountain exploded in a
00:21:34
cataclysmic volcanic eruption
00:21:37
the eruption set off a monstrous tidal
00:21:38
wave which killed thousands in its path
00:21:41
the words just poured out of me and in
00:21:43
less than an hour
00:21:45
i had finished my story
00:21:50
i was spent reliving my dream had
00:21:53
drained all my energy
00:21:55
all i wanted to do was go home and get
00:21:56
some sleep
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i made the mistake of leaving my work of
00:22:00
fiction in the typewriter
00:22:02
[Music]
00:22:06
the next morning i slept in copy boy
00:22:09
made his usual rounds
00:22:10
which meant stopping at my desk for any
00:22:12
late copy
00:22:15
[Music]
00:22:19
mr trappo read the story that the copy
00:22:21
boy mistakenly grabbed off my desk
00:22:23
the more he read the more excited he
00:22:25
became this could be the biggest scoop
00:22:28
in years
00:22:29
joey
00:22:31
[Music]
00:22:33
tell george i want this in the early
00:22:35
edition and let me know the minute that
00:22:37
jack hogan comes
00:22:44
[Music]
00:22:52
congratulations
00:22:55
what are you talking about
00:22:56
congratulations jack your story is sweet
00:22:59
from the country
00:23:00
what it's our scoop we printed it first
00:23:04
what story is this your story about the
00:23:06
volcano erupting on that island of
00:23:09
probably
00:23:11
what oh mr trapwell that uh
00:23:15
that story that's uh that's not true
00:23:18
what do you mean it's not true it was uh
00:23:21
a dream i had and and
00:23:22
i i wrote it all down i was gonna sell
00:23:24
it as a short story
00:23:25
but uh you're gonna have to print a
00:23:29
retraction
00:23:30
can't bring a retraction i can't print a
00:23:31
retraction
00:23:33
i've become a laughing stock i know but
00:23:35
it never happened there was no volcano
00:23:37
i could cheerfully break your neck hogan
00:23:42
do me a favor if i ever say the word
00:23:45
initiative to you again don't listen to
00:23:49
me
00:23:53
[Music]
00:23:57
mr trapwell had no choice but to prepare
00:23:59
the retraction
00:24:09
he was about to send it out over the
00:24:10
wire when a report came in
00:24:12
about unusually high waves hitting the
00:24:14
coast of california hey joey bring me
00:24:16
back that copy
00:24:23
another report followed the first twin
00:24:25
he told of a cataclysmic event that had
00:24:27
taken place somewhere in the indian
00:24:29
ocean
00:24:30
throughout the day there were more
00:24:31
reports of giant swells hitting mexico
00:24:33
and the coast of south america somebody
00:24:36
get me
00:24:37
jack hogan the last thing i needed was
00:24:40
another reprimand
00:24:41
about pralip uh
00:24:44
you wanted to see me mr trapwell come on
00:24:47
in
00:24:49
well your initiative paid off son
00:24:55
your dream was true what are you talking
00:24:57
about there was a volcanic eruption
00:25:00
in the straits of sunday yesterday
00:25:03
happened
00:25:03
on an island called krakatoa just west
00:25:06
of job
00:25:07
still going on there are reports of
00:25:10
tidal waves coming in from all over the
00:25:12
world
00:25:14
i i don't believe it it's krakatoa
00:25:18
uh-huh but the natives
00:25:22
the natives call it pralapay
00:25:36
was jack hogan's psychic did he actually
00:25:38
have a premonition of the volcanic
00:25:40
eruption
00:25:41
or was it just a dramatic coincidence if
00:25:43
so
00:25:44
how could he have dreamed the original
00:25:46
name for krakatoa
00:25:48
a name so obscure he couldn't have
00:25:50
possibly known it beforehand
00:25:52
is this story of the scoop of the
00:25:54
century real
00:25:56
or is it something that we dreamed up
00:25:59
we'll tell you whether this story is
00:26:01
true or false at the end of our show
00:26:03
next a pleasure trip turns into a voyage
00:26:05
into terror
00:26:06
on beyond belief fact or fiction
00:26:13
a flight on an airplane can be a great
00:26:14
escape from the pressures of the world
00:26:17
especially if you're traveling for
00:26:18
pleasure you can avoid the phone and the
00:26:21
facts if you choose to and simply make
00:26:23
yourself at home
00:26:24
high above the cares of the world beth
00:26:27
mcguire is going on vacation
00:26:29
she's flown many times before to europe
00:26:31
asia and beyond
00:26:33
but she's about to take off on a trip
00:26:34
where the final destination
00:26:36
is beyond belief
00:26:42
[Music]
00:26:48
i couldn't believe i was finally getting
00:26:50
on the plane
00:26:51
it was a vacation i had dreamed about
00:26:53
for a long time
00:26:54
a whole week in tahiti no phones no late
00:26:58
meetings
00:26:59
just me lying on a white sand beach in
00:27:01
the south pacific
00:27:02
drinking pina coladas hi you're in row
00:27:04
3b
00:27:06
thanks that's 2a
00:27:17
ma'am ma'am the first class section is
00:27:20
up here
00:27:21
first class i i didn't pay for first
00:27:23
class hmm
00:27:25
well you must have been upgraded well
00:27:27
that's funny nobody said anything when i
00:27:29
checked in
00:27:29
this must be your lucky day yeah must be
00:27:34
the trip was off to a great start i'd
00:27:37
never been upgraded before and here i
00:27:39
was in first class
00:27:48
ma'am i'm sorry you're in the wrong seat
00:27:50
3b
00:27:51
is the aisle seat oh i'm sorry i didn't
00:27:53
realize it's no problem
00:28:00
if you prefer the window i don't mind
00:28:01
sitting on the aisle uh
00:28:08
um no thank you uh i'm fine here
00:28:13
it's weird i tried to put the fact that
00:28:17
i didn't really belong in first class
00:28:18
out of my mind
00:28:20
all i wanted to do was enjoy the
00:28:22
experience
00:28:23
all kinds of new things were happening
00:28:25
to me like a personal visit from the
00:28:28
pilot
00:28:31
are you enjoying the flight so far oh
00:28:34
yes i am
00:28:35
i have never flown first class before
00:28:38
and it is great
00:28:39
it's always a good idea to keep your
00:28:40
seat belt fastened you never know when
00:28:42
we might hit a small pocket of
00:28:43
turbulence
00:28:44
thank you
00:28:49
that was nice of him excuse me
00:28:53
oh the captain
00:28:58
didn't didn't you see him no i didn't
00:29:01
well he was right there
00:29:13
at the time it seemed a little strange
00:29:16
but looking back
00:29:17
that all makes sense to me now
00:29:29
this is the captain just wanted to let
00:29:31
you know that we're about an hour away
00:29:32
from beginning our descent into oahu
00:29:34
international airport
00:29:36
we have a two-hour stop over there
00:29:37
before we continue on to
00:29:39
haiti after the captain's announcement
00:29:42
the oddest feeling came over me i was
00:29:45
suddenly very anxious
00:29:46
tense why were those passengers looking
00:29:50
at me and smiling
00:29:52
it was as if they knew what i was
00:29:53
feeling and were trying to reassure me
00:29:56
it only added to my nervousness
00:30:09
i just couldn't shake the anxiety i was
00:30:12
so uptight
00:30:13
attention all passengers please return
00:30:15
to your seats at once
00:30:16
what was happening to me oh
00:30:28
excuse me did the captain's announcement
00:30:31
mean that we're beginning
00:30:32
our descent into oahu early what
00:30:35
announcement i didn't hear any
00:30:36
announcement
00:30:37
oh come on what are you talking about
00:30:38
didn't you hear the captain tell
00:30:40
everyone to get back to their seats just
00:30:41
now
00:30:43
no i didn't but
00:30:46
but i heard it in the bathroom it must
00:30:47
have been out here too
00:30:50
it wasn't i mean if he made the
00:30:52
announcement why is everybody still
00:30:53
walking around the cabin
00:30:56
[Music]
00:30:57
are you all right uh yeah i'm fine i'm
00:31:00
i'm just having a very strange flight
00:31:02
experience
00:31:05
a lot of people have a fear of flying
00:31:07
yeah well i don't i
00:31:08
love to fly well i just
00:31:11
try and relax we'll be there pretty soon
00:31:19
[Music]
00:31:22
tighten your seatbelt
00:31:26
[Music]
00:31:30
i felt that the stewardess was
00:31:31
communicating with me telepathically
00:31:34
warning me to buckle up i thought about
00:31:37
telling the man next to me
00:31:38
but i knew he had heard enough of my
00:31:40
strange fears
00:31:47
[Music]
00:31:53
i looked for the man seated next to me
00:31:55
but he was gone
00:31:56
a mechanical malfunction tore a door
00:31:58
loose and ripped a gaping hole in the
00:32:00
body of the plane
00:32:01
the fuselage and roof had been ripped
00:32:03
off the aircraft
00:32:04
i was holding on for dear life
00:32:09
a handful of passengers including beth
00:32:11
maguire
00:32:12
miraculously survived that flight but
00:32:15
the four rows of passengers in front of
00:32:16
beth were lost
00:32:18
as was the passenger in the seat next to
00:32:20
hers a seat
00:32:21
she almost took a series of mysterious
00:32:24
circumstances led beth to the right seat
00:32:27
at exactly the right time was there some
00:32:30
angelic force with her throughout the
00:32:32
flight
00:32:33
in fact other surviving passengers told
00:32:35
of similar stories to beths
00:32:37
was there a band of angels at work here
00:32:40
or simply a band of writers
00:32:42
we'll tell you whether this story is
00:32:44
true or false at the end of our show
00:32:46
next a young girl trapped beneath the
00:32:48
ground and a rescue
00:32:50
that's beyond belief
00:32:53
weather forecasting is no longer a
00:32:55
guessing game the satellites that watch
00:32:57
over the earth's atmosphere
00:32:58
are able to predict meteorological
00:33:00
disasters well before they occur
00:33:02
the ability to project tornado watches
00:33:05
and hurricane warnings have saved
00:33:07
thousands of lives but there are always
00:33:09
people who are still victims
00:33:11
people like little louisa she was
00:33:13
playing in the basement when the storm
00:33:15
hit
00:33:16
now she's trapped and her life hangs on
00:33:18
the whims of fate
00:33:19
luis's favorite words are buenos dias
00:33:22
spanish for a good day
00:33:24
but a good day is the last thing louisa
00:33:26
is happy
00:33:28
a tornado ripped apart homes and a local
00:33:30
high school as it cut a 10 mile swath
00:33:32
across southeast texas yesterday
00:33:34
the twister struck without warning
00:33:36
during powerful afternoon thunderstorms
00:33:38
at least eight people are dead sixty
00:33:40
injured and dozens are still reported
00:33:42
missing
00:33:43
according to the texas emergency
00:33:45
management agency
00:33:52
all right let's go here we go
00:33:56
ray okay we can do this now all right
00:34:00
let's go all right it's been 24 hours
00:34:02
since the storm hit but rescue teams
00:34:04
here are still hopeful that they might
00:34:05
find some survivors
00:34:07
still buried beneath the rubble that was
00:34:08
once their homes this is wanda lopez
00:34:11
knsc news live
00:34:12
[Music]
00:34:15
hey guys
00:34:18
we've been scouring the area for
00:34:19
survivors for the past 14 hours
00:34:22
i just about given up hope of finding
00:34:23
anyone else alive when i first heard the
00:34:25
faint sound of a child crying
00:34:35
hello is there somebody down there
00:34:39
is there anybody down there
00:34:42
maybe it's nothing skiff we've been at
00:34:43
this a long time now
00:34:45
hey maybe you're right
00:34:50
wait wait wait wait we got one
00:34:54
sounds like a kid
00:34:58
i hear you honey i hear you oh what's
00:35:00
your name
00:35:02
i am louisa all right luisa now don't
00:35:05
you worry we're gonna get you out of
00:35:06
there
00:35:07
she must be trapped in the basement help
00:35:09
me please i am hungry i'm so
00:35:12
tired luisa listen honey my name is skip
00:35:16
a sweetheart i need you to be a brave
00:35:18
little girl and hang in there for me
00:35:19
okay
00:35:20
i'll try what do you think
00:35:23
oh it's too risky to dig straight down
00:35:25
we'll collapse the whole thing on her
00:35:26
we're gonna have to go in at an angle
00:35:28
it's gonna be slower but it's the best
00:35:29
way all right listen we're coming to get
00:35:32
you luisa won't take long
00:35:34
let's get moving guys we gotta get her
00:35:35
out of
00:35:43
did something hit there head yes it's
00:35:45
bleeding
00:35:47
please get me out of here all right
00:35:50
honey we'll get you out of here i
00:35:52
promise
00:35:54
what are we doing it's going slow well
00:35:56
listen try and speed it up she's got a
00:35:58
head injury
00:36:00
so tired i want my grandpa i know it's
00:36:03
gonna be okay luisa now try and stay
00:36:06
awake for me okay honey
00:36:08
louisa it was urgent that i keep luisa
00:36:12
awake she might have had a concussion
00:36:13
and i didn't want her to slip into a
00:36:15
coma
00:36:16
i didn't know how old she was so i
00:36:18
talked about anything i could think of
00:36:20
is this your house louisa louisa is this
00:36:24
where you live answer me honey
00:36:26
i want my grandpa oh is this your
00:36:29
grandpa's house
00:36:30
yes my mommy went away every morning my
00:36:34
grandpa wakes me up all happy and says
00:36:36
buenos dias louisa i wish i could hear
00:36:39
him now
00:36:41
i know honey i know it won't be long it
00:36:43
won't be long just hang in there for me
00:36:45
sweetheart
00:36:46
louisa come on stay awake honey
00:36:50
talk to me luisa louisa
00:36:54
anyone on this channel yeah paulie this
00:36:57
is skip over here on albrecht road
00:36:59
listen i got a little girl named louise
00:37:01
and she's trapped in the debris of her
00:37:02
house
00:37:03
she keeps asking for a grandfather now
00:37:05
look you gotta find him
00:37:06
and try and get him over here soon as
00:37:07
possible all right all right you call me
00:37:10
back just as soon as you find out
00:37:11
anything
00:37:12
all right i'll be waiting for you that
00:37:14
was wrong
00:37:15
we need another hour i ran into a ton of
00:37:17
concrete down there
00:37:19
all right let's just do the best you can
00:37:21
i'll try and keep her awake all right
00:37:25
lisa lisa honey can you hear me
00:37:30
lisa
00:37:33
the center called back but the news
00:37:35
wasn't good
00:37:36
luis's grandfather's body was found
00:37:38
yesterday a victim of the tornado
00:37:41
are you sure
00:37:44
all right yeah got it
00:37:49
lisa lisa please wake up and talk to me
00:37:52
honey come on luisa
00:37:53
can you hear me
00:37:56
roger i can't get a response i'm afraid
00:37:58
we're losing her we're digging as fast
00:38:00
as we can skip
00:38:00
it's going to take time all right lisa
00:38:04
please honey come on talk me sweetheart
00:38:08
[Music]
00:38:15
buenos dias grandfather
00:38:26
[Music]
00:38:30
yeah where the heck's that coming from
00:38:34
i don't know luisa continued to hear her
00:38:37
grandfather's voice calling out buenos
00:38:39
dias louisa
00:38:41
it was the only thing that kept her
00:38:42
awake until we finally broke through and
00:38:44
pulled her out
00:38:47
bravery mixed with tears is the theme of
00:38:49
the day a miraculous rescue just
00:38:51
occurred
00:38:51
of a little girl who was buried for 48
00:38:53
hours in the rubble that was once her
00:38:58
hope
00:39:06
[Music]
00:39:11
my grandfather's parrot
00:39:15
pedro where's grandpa
00:39:20
buenos dias luisa buenos
00:39:30
could this story have really happened is
00:39:32
it possible that a parrot could give a
00:39:34
young girl the will to live
00:39:36
in the delirium of her fear could louisa
00:39:39
have imagined it was her late
00:39:40
grandfather's voice or did the
00:39:42
grandfather
00:39:43
somehow transfer his spirit to the
00:39:45
parrot in order to save his precious
00:39:47
granddaughter
00:39:48
is this story totally made up or is
00:39:51
there truth buried here in the rubble
00:39:54
coming up we'll find out which of our
00:39:56
stories tonight were fact
00:39:57
and which were fiction when beyond
00:40:00
belief
00:40:00
returns
00:40:04
let's take another look at our stories
00:40:05
and find out which ones are fact
00:40:07
and which ones are fiction
00:40:10
what about the story of the unlucky
00:40:12
couple who survived the lusitania
00:40:14
only to celebrate aboard the hindenburg
00:40:16
you see the ship
00:40:18
that we were set to depart on was the
00:40:20
rms lusitania
00:40:22
six days later it was torpedoed and sunk
00:40:26
almost 1200 people died
00:40:30
that is incredible these are the lucky
00:40:33
rings we wear them every day
00:40:35
you can see where they were cut apart oh
00:40:38
it truly is a miracle
00:40:41
well i would like to propose another
00:40:43
toast to the luckiest people in the
00:40:45
world our best friends
00:40:46
the chandlers the the tale of these
00:40:49
fated passengers really happened
00:40:52
no we made it up
00:40:58
let's see a glimpse of the story of the
00:41:00
strange man at the swap meet
00:41:11
[Music]
00:41:19
it's a lovely lamp isn't it yes
00:41:25
how much would a lamp like that cost
00:41:28
how much have you got is this plot of
00:41:30
the couple who found treasures in a most
00:41:32
unexpected way based on an actual event
00:41:35
no this one was invented by a writer
00:41:43
let's look back at the news reporter who
00:41:45
had the premonition of a volcanic
00:41:47
explosion
00:41:48
was it true or false
00:41:54
well your initiative
00:41:58
paid off son your dream was true what
00:42:01
are you talking about
00:42:02
there was a volcanic eruption in the
00:42:05
straits of sunday yesterday
00:42:07
happened on an island called krakatoa
00:42:10
just west a job
00:42:11
still going on there are reports of
00:42:15
tidal waves coming in from all over the
00:42:17
world
00:42:18
was this story based on a real event
00:42:21
yes it's true
00:42:22
[Music]
00:42:27
how about the story of the woman who
00:42:29
seemed to be watched over by angels on
00:42:31
an ill-fated flight
00:42:36
ma'am i'm sorry you're in the wrong seat
00:42:38
3b
00:42:39
is the aisle seat oh i'm sorry i didn't
00:42:41
realize it's no problem
00:42:48
if you prefer the window i don't mind
00:42:49
sitting on the aisle uh
00:42:56
oh no thank you uh i'm fine here
00:43:01
it's weird you think that this was based
00:43:04
on a similar event
00:43:06
you're right it was
00:43:12
what of the story about the little girl
00:43:14
kept alive by the words buenos dias
00:43:16
how did you judge that louise honey come
00:43:19
on talk to me sweetheart
00:43:23
[Music]
00:43:29
buenos dias
00:43:42
you hear that yeah
00:43:46
where the heck's that coming from
00:43:49
i don't know is this saga of a parrot
00:43:51
who saves a girl's life inspired by
00:43:54
an actual event not this time
00:43:57
it's fiction
00:44:01
so how was your judgment did you guess
00:44:03
them all right or was your score a
00:44:04
disaster
00:44:06
and did our show on disasters
00:44:07
demonstrate that truth and fiction
00:44:09
are almost inseparable or perhaps our
00:44:11
stories like the great disasters of our
00:44:13
time
00:44:14
are truly beyond belief i'm jonathan
00:44:17
friggs
00:44:18
join us for more stories on beyond
00:44:20
belief fact or fiction
00:44:37
[Music]
00:44:39
[Applause]
00:45:03
you
