And That's Why We Drink - E493 Wiffle Ball Whimsy and Tastebud Tickling Treats (featuring Guest Host Bethany Watson)

Episode Date: August 9, 2026

It’s Episode 493 and today Em is joined by guest host and longtime friend, Bethany Watson! First Em covers the tales of Frano Selak the “luckiest man”, though some may say the unluckiest. Then Bethany cracks into a maritime mystery with the story of the disappearance of El Fausto. And who else wants to let out a big satisfied sigh after drinking something delicious? …and that’s why we drink!Want to hear more from Bethany? Follow her on socials @msbethanywatson, catch The Check-In Podcast for free on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/denniscahlo, or watch The Trouble with Tessa on Tubi!Want to listen ad-free? Join our Certified Yapper tier for $10/month on Patreon! Ad-free episodes starting at E469 at: http://patreon.com/ATWWDPodcast !Catch our bonus Yappy Hour intermissions on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3L28lDw or subscribe on Patreon!___________________Get 40% off your first Hungryroot order plus a free item in every box for life at https://hungryroot.com/DRINK with code DRINK.Get 50% off your order at https://DailyLook.com with code DRINKGet 40% off your first Hungryroot order plus a free item in every box for life at https://hungryroot.com/DRINK with code DRINK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm Rachel and I have a new show Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch. It's an other world league comedy podcast where I, along with my co-host Irene Bremis, talk to my funny friends about their own experiences with the eerie and the unknown. Psychics, spirits, astro projection, check, check, and check. You may think we live in a world where there's a logical explanation for anything out of the ordinary. But after you spend some time with me and my pals, you might have your doubts and find that you too are woo-woo. So when the lobsters come for us, when our lobster overlords come, you heard it here first.

Join me for a podcast that turns the mysterious tales of my funny friends into a spirited conversation. Search for Woo Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch, wherever you're listening now. Hello, everybody. Welcome to, and that's why we drink. I am not with Christine today. She cannot make it, but we have someone who is here to help me out. It is one of my, I think, like, I think you're one of my longest friends now, Bethany. This is Bethany Watson. Hello.

I was prepared to give you like a whole little intro and I got nervous. Friend. I just, I can't believe I'm recording with you. This is, we're both, well, both podcasters and we're both like in this world and that's how I met you. But I have never actually done an episode with you before, I don't think, have we? Oh my God. Is this our first time? If this is our first time, that is a travesty.

Did we, did Kathleen and I never have you on Acquire Taste? We didn't really do guests very often. Oh my gosh. This is our first time recording M together. This is incredible. How long have we been friends? We have been friends. So we have been friends for at least seven, probably eight years.

I think, which is crazy. Yeah. Because you know what's funny. I was originally a fan of yours. And I remember. I remember meeting you in my I DM'd you, I think. Is that how we became friends? I think so, yeah.

So I think that I had been listening to and that's why we drink for years and years. And I would always listen to you guys as I took the train into, onto Long Island. to take like my aerial circus fabric classes, I would listen to you guys. And then like we, I think we started following each other. And then that's right, you reached out and you were like, I listened to an acquired taste, which is the podcast I used to do

with my co-host Kathleen at the time. And I remember I almost fell over because I didn't think anyone had heard of our show who hadn't already heard of our show, you know? No, I remember saying something. Either you mentioned us or we mentioned you on our podcast. I think you mentioned me. Anyway, I was a big fan and I ended up DMing you and then somehow we became friends throughout all this and you've come to a lot of my shows. I visited you and

been at your place. Anyway, just to give everyone an intro as to who you are. But no, you're where we've been a long time friends and Christine couldn't make it. So I asked Bethany if she could hop on and you are equally into the spooky stuff. So I had a feeling. you'd be able to throw out a true crime case in a pinch. So thank you for doing that. It's my absolute pleasure. It's funny because right before we recorded, I was on a phone call with a police officer getting information about blood spatter patterns for my day job. I'm a researcher and a scriptwriter for a true crime YouTube channel called The Lore Lodge. The Lore Lodge.

They've been going on for a while, and they are very evidence-focused. They are not super into, let's believe everything is aliens, unless we know it's aliens, which I think most of us are kind of like, we would love to believe it's aliens, but let's make sure it's not just like the mundane first, right? So I was researching a script that I'm writing for them. And so I had to talk to a police officer because I didn't know the difference between different kinds of bullets. So I'm psyched to be further dipping my toe in the true crime world today with you. It's going to be really fun.

I really appreciate it. Before we even get into that, though, I have to ask you. I did ask you to very last minute to bring a drink. And then you said, don't worry, I have three. So you're in exactly the right thing. What do you drink or what are all three of your drinks? So I am drinking today. I'm drinking a Diet Coke because I am a millennial and it's, I can't help it.

Perfect. And I am also drinking a fresca because I am my mother's daughter and my mom is a fresca bitch. And then I'm also drinking a water with a little bit of lemon in it because I am a white woman. and so these are all the required beverages that we drink. You know, I, it's, my mom was also, she was in the 90s, she was that girl about Fresca. And also same with, she was specifically, may she rest in peace, the Diet Coke with lemon and the Diet Coke with Lyme. Ooh, yeah. Really had a chokehold on her.

So, um, I feel like now I'm just podcasting with my mom. That's what I just, that's. I mean, look, it's. Fine with me. I can give off that maternal energy if you want. Hell yeah. You know, you and her in a wet bar with a Diet Coke. It sounds like just history in the making. That and like a lemoncello martini and we'll go to town. Oh, she loved, who? Linda? I feel like I'm, she loves a lemoncello. Okay. Oh, and then I should ask, of course. Sorry, I'm used to being the soul.

I should be asking you. I should be like doing this in return. I'm not being a very, good co-host. No, no, no. I wanted to know what you drink. I also want to know why you drink. Is there like a good, a bad, anything, small, big? I think so I drink because it's a good. I drink because my partner, Dennis, and I recently discovered a wiffle ball set that we didn't know we had. And M and gentle listener, I don't know when the last time you hit around a wiffle ball was, but it is so dang fun. And now that it is getting kind of warm on the East Coast and things are starting to be a little bit more outside, we have started at the end of the day going outside and like hitting wiffle balls back and forth at each other. And it is so fun.

It is like, and when is the last time you played in a lawn? Oh, a lawn. Man, it has to have been a decade. I think maybe, and you know what's even sadder about that? I don't think I was playing. I think I was monitoring others on the lawn. Yeah. During like a slip and slide situation.

An SSS, slip and slide situation? Yeah, not even a fun one. Like it was children and I was making sure they didn't careen into a fence. Absolutely. I, man, I don't know. I just told Allison last night that I want to start throwing a frisbee around. I don't know who the fuck I've turned into. But I was like, yes.

I think all of us, first of all, and I clump you in. So tell me if I'm wrong here, but I don't think I am. The millennials, we yearn for whimsy. We yearn for nostalgia. Obviously, you're, you know, your 90s fresca, and now you just want to go play some catch. I mean, it's, I think we just all want to live in a full house theme song. Like just kind of. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I think that we've realized that life is harder than we were led to believe it was going to be. And so like, let's have fun when we can. And then we're just like drawing on our childhood memories of what fun looks like. And playing a wiffle ball was that. You know, I remember playing Dizzy Bat a lot with a wiffle ball, but I don't remember ever really playing with a wiffle ball. They're fun. That's so fun.

Have you ever played disc golf? I have not. Is that, is that, is that frisbee? Is that frisbee golf? it's yes it's like frisbee but but darts I don't know they're it's it's target frisbee you just throw it until you hit the basket I don't know the official rules or anything but Allison and I during the pandemic we're trying to find like an isolating thing to do outside totally and it really became like such a fun thing for us we again still don't know the rules it's basically like we just want to throw something and then walk to the next spot and then throw it again so but it's very straight that sounds great I that's great I that's great I that's great Next time you and I are in the same proximity. We're going to throw things at things and hopefully try to hit them. That sounds perfect.

Perfect. Perfect. It's not perfect. It's not perfect. Well, today I drink the leftover of a water bottle that I fell asleep with. And then I also, the exact same type of water bottle, but I threw a little, talk about the 90s. What's happening here? A little crystal light packet threw her in. She looks red.

What flavor? You know, the only one that I have found in the store is raspberry lemonade. So I'm a loyalist by force. You know what I mean? Delicious. She's the yummy. I actually will chug these. I am turning into an old man where if I'm really enjoying something I'm drinking, by the end of the drink, I go, oh.

Like I'm just, oh, like I erased for no reason, but with myself. I'm like, that was incredible. And that's how I am with these little crystal light packets. I'm like, holy shit, this is delicious. If you find something that tickles your tasteful, it's like that hardcore, you got to go for it. And I'm glad that you're going to go for it. Just gasping for air by the end. Oh, God, it's so good.

And why do you drink? Why do you drink? That was from... And for those you can't see, they just took a long sip and then their eyes rolled back in their head. Like, Em, if you were wearing pearls, you would have... watched them. I've never. Like, I was trying to do it quietly because there was a microphone, but like usually, like, when the microphone is in here, it's like the whole house here is that I've had crystal light. That's so funny.

Why do I drink? You know, I didn't even really think it through, but I'm going to land on my dog is a little sick today. Oh. And I, he clearly just ate something. But in the middle of the night, we taught him early on, we. I taught him early on. I taught him early on. that had to ring bells on the door if he has to go to the bathroom because I was not going to be someone who had to guess when he needs to go outside. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I was already hesitant on getting a dog. It's a whole thing. I was like, how do I make this as convenient for me as possible? I mean, look, I remember following your social media when you were like, Hank needs a forever home. And I think I and everyone else was like, yeah, M. Yeah, he does. Really, what I need to do is lock the fuck in and just accept what's happening. Um, but he, so I taught him how to, how to ring the bells when he has to go.

And I didn't teach him this, but he did learn that if he, based on intensity, I know how badly he has to go. And all through the night, he's been like slamming on these bells. He's like, open the door. I gotta go. Oh, bud. Um, and so I, and then I woke up this morning. We had to delay our recording because I had to clean up again for him.

And then I just walked over to his dog bed right before he recorded and found out that he threw up. And so he's having a bad tummy day. So we might be taking a trip to the vet. So that's why I drink. Not one that he's sick, but I know he'll be fine. But it's like, ugh, I just got to keep cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. I'm Cinderella over here. So anyway.

Yeah, you are. Yeah. I know. It's just like, that's literally the fucking point of having a dog, like I need to get over it. But man, some days are harder than the others. You know what? It's like having a pet is just having a permanent toddler. And, um, and.

And, um, and you're, yeah, you're in that like terrible twos and for a decade. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Forever. Well, okay, I have a story for you today. I need you to know I, again, we have been friends for a very long time. I've never hosted you on the show before. You also like not just the spooky, but like the weird and mysterious and the what the fuck kind of stuff going on. Actually, you're the one who taught me on your old podcast and Acquired Taste. Um, you're the one who taught me about the Kentucky. The Kentucky. meat showers. Oh, yes. I remember the Kentucky meat showers. I remember listening to that and thinking, that's a fucking slam dunk of the story. So I wanted to find a story like that because I remember you being so jazzed about that. So I was like, okay, I got to bring that energy here. So I found something similar.

And for all I know, you actually have covered this before on your own show or when you did radio in my mind, you did the exact same thing on radio. I know you didn't, but that's how... That would have been so cool. It would have been so cool, but I just tell myself that. In the last few days, people have done some very kind things for me. I have just stayed on my mind where Allison made me a cake when I came home from my long trip. Someone sent me a thank you note, which like never happens.

It's so rare these days. And my barista this morning, she charged me for a small when she knows full well that I ordered a large. And if you're hiring, great candidates can also go the extra step and tell you why they're interested in your job on ZipRecruiter as a way to stand out from the others. Right now, you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash drink. And ZipRecruiter has a new feature that shows you the most interested qualified candidates first, so you meet the right people faster. We are always singing ZipRecruiter's praises. They help us find Eva within 24 hours. And that's because ZipRecruiter's powerful matching technology finds qualified candidates quickly.

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Anyway, I'm covering Frano Zilak. Do you know who that is? I do not. Oh, I'm excited. Perfect. Okay. He's no Kentucky meat shower, but he's something. Is he, is he an exploding whale? Do you know, but have you covered, have you covered? You've covered the exploding whale, right? No. Oh, you need to cover the exploding whale. That time that whale exploded on the beach. I, okay, I haven't covered that. And I, one time we covered spontaneous combustion.

Yes, yes. that was fine. I really have, I mean, a majority of my stories are ghosts, but I do remember every now and then, and Allison has been very kind to remind me, because sometimes I get stumped on what to cover next, and she's like,

you literally started this podcast saying that you'll also just cover, like, what the fuck things? That was like the way I used to phrase it, I think. So I was like, all right, I'm going to do that. So here we go. This is Frano Zilak. He was born in 1929. He's from Croatia.

And whether or not you'll agree by the end of this story, but I'm interested in your answer. He was nicknamed in his life, Mr. Lucky or Lucky One, even though he was actually probably the unluckiest man alive. Yo, I've never heard of this man in my life. I'm so excited to see if he is unlucky or so truly unlucky. Even he, I mean, he has an answer. I won't tell you yet, but he has been asked, like,

do you think you're lucky or unlucky? And he, I'll insert the quote later. But this is a shout out to one of the shows on our network, creeps and crimes. You have met them many times on the show, all the listeners. But Morgan of creeps and crimes is actually the one who suggested this to me.

So I was like, I need something real silly. And then this was the first suggestion she gave me. So thank you, Morgan. Thank you, Morgan. So basically, as soon as he was born, his life got pretty interesting. He was born two months premature,

when his parents were out boating together. And I don't know if that's like fun rich people speedboating or like we're on like an old oil tankered. You know, I don't know. Yeah. What that means. Boating feels like it's one or the other extreme ends of a spectrum.

You're never boating because you're comfortable. You're boating because you have so much money or because you are trying to get to a different country because everything is bad, you know? Or you're like a pirate. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, so I'm assuming they were fishing because when she, when her water broke, I don't know how long they were on this boat or how far out into sea they were because it sounds like the water broke and she had all of her labor and gave birth in this boat all at once. Jesus. So maybe they were living on a ship. Yeah. Maybe it was a houseboat. Yeah. So maybe actually that goes against everything we just said. You can just live on a boat.

Okay. That's true. That's true. erase erase So his father delivered him and cut the umbilical cord with his own fishing knife which feels dirty

that feels like I mean it's better than I've heard of men biting it like I don't know I don't look I've never delivered a baby I don't I don't know I don't know how that works I guess a fishing knife is

if that's all you got it's all you got I guess it's all I I hope there was a little sink in some dawn soap and we like did a scrub. But like, maybe not. Maybe just the first thing that ever made human contact with him was just a germy old fishing knife. Oh, God. We don't know. But anyway, so within that same year, he's already like, I guess, I don't know if we're

calling that lucky, but certainly interesting. Yeah. Within that same year, Frano nearly died from an intestinal issue. He wasn't even a year old yet. And then as a child, he nearly lost his vision. He recovered from both of those, which I would consider pretty darn lucky. Yeah. And growing up, he loved music.

His parents actually were able to send him to a conservatory. He learned piano and I think violin. And he also learned how to compose music. And he grew up to be a music teacher. Oh, yeah. Okay, great. He got married. He had a son.

And what I say he got married, I mean like four times, maybe five times. No hate. Just interesting. Just saying. Look. Sometimes is this a rough. Sometimes you're with someone for a reason, for a season, or for a lifetime, and he had several reasons and a couple seasons. He had at least four or five seasons.

And as someone who has grown up in a family of four or five marriages, I certainly are not poo-pooing on it. I'm just saying him and I would have finally something in common. Totally. Absolutely. So he ends up kind of just living a normal life until he's about 28 years old. and the most fun fact he had at the time was probably like my dad cut my cord with a fishing knife.

Yeah, yeah. However, we're now in 1957 and he's 28. Okay. And this is when his Mr. Lucky nickname starts kind of making the rounds because he, a music teacher, is riding the school bus home after a field trip. And while he's on that bus, the bus driver,

I'm imagining it like a cartoon, but it's actually like so effing. and scary. He's on a on the school bus and then the driver tried to like make a turn and the wheel just fell off in his goddamn hands. No. No. That's a nightmare. Which like did we not feel the wheel was loose? Like did we not we should tighten that, you know? Or it's just like snap off. Like in that in that case are you the Hulk? Like what happened? Right. Is he like so so very strong? How does that a wheel by nature should be able to turn many times and not come off. Right?

My definition, I think. That's its job, is to turn and stay where it is. So it breaks off in the driver's hands. The bus crashes into a nearby river. However, the river was incredibly shallow. So I don't know, even if the bus hit the floor of the water, it seems that they were able to kind of like just walk out. It sounds like they fell into a puddle.

It sounds like not a river. When you said however the river, I thought you were going to say, however, the river was okay. I was going to be like, M. That is not what we're going to. She's not a bruise on her. She's sturdy. She's better than ever. She laughed all the way home.

Yeah, yeah. So it was super shallow. It sounds like they were able to just kind of like open the door and walk out. So that ends up being fine, but still super scary. I mean, I think the scariest part of that is absolutely the wheel coming off. and you and the driver look at each other like, well, now what? Because all you can do is stare. There's like, what else are you going to do?

You have to take that moment. It's just like genetically ingrained in all of us now because we've seen so many comedies in cartoons. So you have to take the moment and just stare at it and then look at someone else and stare. And now you lost like five seconds of reaction time. Like in that moment, I'm praying that the other person is like a wheel expert and knows exactly how to put it back on right now. So this is just the beginning of Frano cheating.

death multiple times in his life. And since it says the first time, which I would argue not really, because as a baby, it sounds like he survived something, but that one doesn't count, I guess. Okay. But so, okay, this bus situation is the first time this ever happens. And this incident, by the way, isn't even listed, this bus one, include, I know I just said the time when he was a baby, but this one also isn't even listed as one of the official near-death experiences he had.

This is like the prequel. I guess. Imagine if you knew what your day was going to look like when you first woke up in the morning. And Frano, Frano wakes up and he's like, oh, no, the bus is going to crash into a river and no one's even going to write it down in my official life story. Because everything else is going to be so crazy that no one's even going to remember today. Today's going to suck and no one's going to know it. And no one's going to really care because, like, they won't. Yeah. At the bar, I'm going to hear people talking about my life and they're going to miss. like key points. Imagine being the bus driver and you're like, you're like, no, I was a part of that guy's story,

but like no one talks about that time when the wheel fell out of my hands. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. He's the victim in all of this. Thank you. I mean, he's certain, to somebody, that's true. Yeah.

So, okay, he, that was just like the preview, I guess, of evidence that this guy has had close encounters. Okay. The first official time. is in 1962. He's 33 years old. And Frano is on a train. Guess where we're going?

So he's on a train. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, as if the Grim Reaper is just looking for ways to get this man, a freak mudslide happens, runs down a hill, and debris lands on a bridge where the train tracks are. No! then the train ends up hitting that part of the bridge

with all the debris flies off the rail and goes flying into the icy river below no somehow Frano broke through the window with his arm and when the right when the train hit the water he held his breath long enough broke the window swam out of the window

and like floated down the riverbank to safety some versions actually say that he floated all the way down the riverbank still wearing his best hat of course frano he might as well be smoking a cigarette being like i've done this before he's in a top hat and tails baby and he's just like gently kicking his legs he's lived his whole life on a boat baby he doesn't do is he did anyone else survive or is it just frano do we know no other passengers survived no and it's even said um I mean, the only thing that he had to deal with after that was a broken arm, probably from smashing into a train window and hypothermia because the water was so cold.

But he ended up being fine. And that was just the beginning of people being like, this guy has had a lot of experiences. It's crazy. After that one, I'd start making jokes at the bar with him. Like, oh, I'm not ever going to take a trip with you, you know? No, totally. It's amazing that this man has not served. like as a president or something.

Like I feel like this, like, how have I never heard of this? Like, not that I've heard of everybody, but I feel like the circles that I run in, I would have heard of this man. I'm floored. It certainly should be like, like in today's world, someone would have put him on a podcast by now. I've been like, talk about this.

For sure. Yeah, he would have been on Rogan, like talking about some sort of powder that you can take to make you bulletproof or something. You know, that's what Joe would have snuck into an ad or something afterwards. Yeah, totally. So the second encounter is only a year later in 1963. He heard that his mother was sick. And let's remember, planes, trains, automobiles.

He's already done the trains and automobiles. So now he's got to get on a plane. No, Frano. He hears his mom is sick and he needs to take the next flight out. P.S. This is his first ever flight. And last ever, by the way. on this flight he is either there were different accounts or different interviews kind of handled

different parts of the story but my understanding is that he was either sat in the back of the plane near the flight attendants or he had gotten up at some point to make small talk with the flight attendants okay we don't know either way he's drinking tea with the flight attendant so he's getting real chummy okay and so he's they're in flight and while at the back the plane, Frano hears a really loud sound. And the emergency door malfunctions. No! In the air.

In the air. This is a quote from him. A quote from him is, one minute we were drinking tea, and the next, the door was ripped open, and the flight attendant was sucked into midair, followed shortly by me. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So the flight attendant got sucked out? And so did he. They're flying through the air now.

They're defying gravity? So Frano is ripped out of the plane. He's ripped out of the plane. And by the way, the plane is now on fire. So it's almost like, would you rather be in a plane full of fire or just the sky falling? Yeah, sky with no plane. Yeah, I'll choose sky with no plane over a plane full of fire any day. So both of them come barreling down.

We don't know about the flight attendant anymore. She's not important. She served her purpose. You know what? She got everyone see, felt it and die-coked. If she wanted her own story out there, she got to set it. We do actually find out about the flight attendant later. So right now it's just him and this plane and they're coming on down.

Oh, no. And the G forces of him falling so quickly out of the air actually have him pass out midair. And four days later, he wakes up from a coma. Shut. Shut up. Em. Get out. This is, how dare he?

How dare you? This is insane. How does one? How does one? The craziest part is that other than the coma, no other injuries are on his body. He's not a, not a scratch. Like that river. Like the river, just fine, not a scratch on her.

Not a scratch honor. Did you see Unbreakable starring Bruce Willis? No. There's a scene in Unbreakable starring Bruce Willis where he is, he realizes that he's never had a and he's with his son and his son is like, how much weight can you lift? And they just keep putting more and more weight on his bar bell. And he's like, and they're just like, damn, you are unbreakable.

That feels like this moment for this man where it's just like, you fell out of a plane four days ago and you're unbreakable. At this point, I'd be like someone just like, I mean, I wouldn't actually, but I would start to wonder like, if I got shot, what would happen? Like, what would? Like, I would start thinking, I'm clearly. Bruce Willis and also unbreakable. Yeah. How soon M, be honest, you've survived a river and you've survived falling out of a plane. How long before you start doing stupid experiments? Like, I would

at least do little ones. I would, I don't know, I don't know what the setup would be, but I'd at least start thinking. There would be thoughts, but they're not for you. Oh, no, I'd have someone shoot me in the leg, like so fast. I mean, yeah, I'd make a real bad choice so fast. Because my first thought is like, I'd be like, there's got to, I have to have a kryptonite and like, what if I go too far? And like, and I find out too quickly what that one is. Like I would be like, maybe, I don't know, because all of them happen.

I don't know. I would get so in my head about it because every time so far has been something that he wasn't anticipating. Yeah. So maybe if he was anticipating it. Yeah. Maybe expecting it as the kryptonite. I don't know.

Oh, dang. Okay, no, you're right. You're right. You would live longer than I would. I'd be like, someone shoot me. Let's see what happens. And that would be the end of my story. I would be like the superpower I currently have is the mystia around it.

Let's not break it, you know? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's great. So he wakes up from this coma four days later, not an injury on him. And he finds out that the reason he survived and nobody else did again. is because he, out of the sky, landed into a very large haystack, and it just cushioned his fall. I mean, perfect target.

This is cartoon physics, right? Yes. This is like Wiley Coyote. Yes. I feel like he was carrying a sign in the air that said, uh-oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is crazy. Like, I can't, this is, okay, obviously, this is crazy.

I'm adding nothing useful or new to the story. This is crazy. Continue. Sorry. wire here though, that's okay. That's okay. Lord. I just, I knew you would like this story because I was reading it and I was like, this is some shit that Bethany would say like off the cuff like while we're eating pizza. She'd go, oh, you know, Frano Zilak, who obviously survived everything that's ever happened.

Oh, you know Tico Brahe, the man who died when his bladder exploded and had a metal nose, Tico. What? Tico Brahe. He was an astronomer and a mathematician and he died when his bladder exploded because he was at dinner with his patron and he didn't want to be rude, but he was. had to go to the bathroom so badly. And that's how he died. And he, and that's how he died.

You know, now you can bring that up. Just evidence that. Just, just evidence that, um, fuck manners, right? Like,

just no need to be polite. Absolutely. Nope. You got to, you got to advocate for yourself. There's evidence that people die if I don't pee. If like, we have to be.

That's right. We have to now. Yeah. And that's, what I'm talking about. Like, the fact that you just whipped that out like it was the ABCs is crazy. So, like, I knew I needed to bring it. Well, and I appreciate that because I have, I feel like I've used Tico Brahe to death. And so, no pun intended. And so I am happy that as a friend, you are giving all of us this gift of like the next random topic to bring up when you're

uncomfortable in a social situation and you don't know what to say. You bust out the weirdest thing you can think to say. And now it's this. So, uh, it, the, The third near-death event was in 1966, so a couple years later. He just was on another bus, which after the first one, I'd be a little nervous about buses. Yeah, totally. He's on this bus, and the bus skids off the road over an embankment into a river. Again, so it's just the same thing, a bus going into a river. And he swims away, and he's totally fine.

And yet the four other, I don't know if it was just five people, but four. four people on this bus drowned. So he once again survived where others did not. This is, this is bonkers. In 1970, or 1972, depending on who you ask, Frano was driving his car and his engine caught on fire at nowhere. And he gets out and like, I'm sure it happened at least once in Bruce Willis. this movie, or at least one of them, it's very diehard.

He sees that the car is catching on fire. He runs out right before the car explodes. That's so badass. That's so cool. Honestly, that's my favorite one so far. Do you think that there was a part of him even in that moment going like, I bet that looked so cool? I would.

You were thinking, like you asked earlier what my thought would be through all of this. If there was a moment like that, I'd be like, that was a superhero shot for sure. I bet that looked awesome. And then there was one. credible. There was a quote that someone wrote about him after this and they said, finally, Zilak was then given a four-year respite from death messing with him,

but all good things must come to an end. Because in 1979, in 1973, he's once again driving his car, which there's not a way to transport yourself anymore that's safe. he's driving his car and he notices that his engine is now again on fire this is years later it's not the same car this is a different car it's a different car well yeah the other one exploded that's right no you're right and he walked away i got so distracted by how cool he looked that i forgot that the car exploded

basically he so I guess some gas like the like one of the gas pumps he he previously used was bad and like sprayed a gas all over and then it landed on his hot engine and ignited and the only way he found out was because he was flying down the highway and so with that wind he saw fire coming through his air vents oh my god which is like if imagine if he had like the temperature and and the air vents set to like hot and all of a sudden there's fire and he's like wow this is like a really good car dang they're not joking holy cow and apparently in this situation he did get away but not before the air vent fire i mean it was not just like a little flicker of flame it was hades blowing through and he ended up burning his hair off that's fine it'll come back I fully, I thought you were going to say like he burned his face off. His face melted. Like his hair is great.

Like if this is the worst thing that's going to happen to him, he, I agree. Who's making this car? Who wants him dead? Someone is working so hard to kill him. Imagine you had plans with people. Like you were driving to plans. Yeah. And then you show up and now you don't have hair.

And you're like, guess what just happened. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Or if you say like, I can't make it. My car exploded. They're going to say no, again? Like, no, you've used that one already.

Yeah, they'd be like, I honestly am starting to not be able to believe why you're late all the time to lunch. Yeah, I bet he lost so many friends. Some of them in explosions, but like some of them just because, like, they didn't believe him anymore. Well, he ends up actually losing friends because they think he's, like, bad luck. Like, no one wants to be near him. Oh, man. Oh, I didn't even think about that. Oh, how isolating.

I actually, I had that quote later, but I'll just say it now. he said there came a stage wherein I was lucky to have any friends at all many stopped seeing me saying I was bad karma and then when one of his neighbors was asked if he was bad karma he did say let's put it this way if I heard Frano had booked a flight I would cancel I'm like yeah no dude I would too like

yeah that's every time you were ever going to hang out I'd be like let's drive separate yeah let's meet we're going to meet somewhere yeah meet in the middle. So in, this is his sixth time now, we're on. And this is in 1995. He's now a 66-year-old man. Like, give him a goddamn break.

Yeah, totally. A city bus literally hits him. Some sources say ran him over. No. Oh, my God. And again, despite minor injuries somehow, he just walked home. Do we know what city this was in? No, I don't because he was born in Croatia.

Then he spent time in Bosnia. It was kind of all over the place. But it was, it's like, can you just imagine you're like every day at this point. You have to be like, I hope I don't almost die again. I hope I don't almost write again. And it's happening, it's happening far too frequently for any one person, but it's not happening frequently enough that you can brace yourself for it. So like he had that four years off.

And I wonder if every day for four. four years he was an absolute paranoid mess because like how many times did he drive where nothing bad happened but then like all of a sudden his you know engines catches on fire and burns all of his hair off like that's torture that's more torture than if every day someone's trying to kill you it's just happening intermittently and like I would love if I could interview him I would be like what the hell were you doing in your 80s because nothing happened in the 80s at all like it was like from 1974 and then he had a break into like 95. So like

what were you doing differently? I wonder if he was in jail. The safest place. Prison. Yeah. Honestly, I do wonder like would the safest place for him be like out in the middle of like the rainforest or like in a den with a lion?

Like I would just start wondering like is there any? Because I would imagine even being in my own home. I'm like is the house going to catch on fire? Like he must have had a 24-7 therapist. I mean, it really seems like any time he tries to take a motorized form of transportation. Yeah. It's transportation. So if he stays at home, I think he's okay.

But the second he tries to leave. He really can't leave his house because you said a mode of transportation. That includes after this one, he got hit by a bus walking. Like just walking here. Yeah. Dude, this is crazy. But you know what? A scooter never failed him.

I'll tell you that. You know what? A scooter's never heard of anyone. scooter, except in the ankles, but that's it. And shins, man. There's some guy on the internet where his whole, like, I don't know if I just keeps getting the same video over and over again, but it seems that his thing is that he just wax himself in the shins with a razor scooter.

And I'm like, you, if you're not making a million dollars from this, then you need to fucking stop. That's when I start to feel like, is there something sexual here that I don't know about. Look how strong my femur is. Are you getting something from this that I didn't know about? Am I playing into something weird? I like, and I must, it's got, I hope it's just one video and it just is so viral that I

keep showing up. I can't imagine just waking up every day going, well, I know what I'm going to do today. Oh my gosh. Okay. This is the final near death experience. Okay. It's in, he's 67 years old. This is 1966.

And again, he's driving a car, problem number one, through the mountains. He had to think that morning, this could be a bad one. This could be a bad one. Dude, he can't be trusted in cars, on cliffs, around rivers, over anything high. Like this, he has to take a little bit of ownership of some of this. Yeah, yeah. I feel like, I mean, I just, I feel so bad for this guy. the paranoia must be so unreal.

And then I don't know what happened why he was driving a car. He must have thought like, like, do I really have to do this? Can nobody else do this errand for me? Like I would, or maybe he's just so used to he's like, whatever, when death gets me, death gets me.

Like, I don't know what his thinking was. It had to be that. I think at some point, you just have to throw your hands up, you know, and just be like, whelp. Because the other thing is, it hasn't gotten him yet. Like, he hasn't actually died yet.

I don't want to ruin the ending of this. Did he die before or after the Final Destination movies came out? That's an interesting question. I wonder if he saw at least ads for the first one and felt triggered. You know, honestly, so he did, at least some of those movies were already out. And he, a lot of the sources I used mentioned Final Destination because there's like this guy is just like skipping over like how many it's like he's a cat like he just has like um which if he made it if he made it to nine near death experiences i feel like they would have

called them a cat there'd be some reference there i'm sure for sure um so okay he's 67 he's driving in the mountains and he doesn't see that a truck is coming around the corner and it's like a big gas truck. And it almost collides with him. The only way to avoid the crash is for Frano to swerve into the railing, which like just on its own feels like a death sentence. Yeah. And this railing is keeping his car from falling 300 feet over the cliffs. So not just, yeah, not just swerving the railing, by the way. He ends up crashing through the railing. Through. So he does go through the, he's so he does fly the 300 feet. The car is in the air

and on its way down 300 feet. I know. Like, it's like so fucked up. Like, obviously, it's just like, you can't help yourself, but. Yeah, I feel so bad laughing because like, this is a drama. This is awful.

It just makes me think of the, did you ever see the sketch Tuneses the driving cat on SNL years and years ago? Just like, M and gentle listener, go on YouTube, look up Toon's the driving cat. It's just a sketch where every time their house cat drives a car and it always ends with

a car driving off a cliff and they're just like, Toonces, no! And then the car goes off a cliff. That's all I can picture. And it's making me giggle and it's inappropriate giggling. But my God. I mean, with a story like this, you have to expect that someone's going to be, at the very least, people are going, what the fuck? Are you serious?

What the fuck, dude. Yeah. Like, at the very least, if he was telling two people, people like over dinner later the other two people are going to debrief about this when he's not there they're going to go oh for sure what the fuck is he talking about that's crazy she sounded like tunses the driving cat was tunses here at dinner with us so get this he the car flies out over the cliff and um at the very last moment this fucking guy who's unbuckled we do not condone he was able to either leap out of the open window, or he, which maybe that was his plan because he knows he could die any day.

He's like, I got to be ready to tuck and roll. But he got out of the window at the very last moment and Tarzan grabbed a tree limb. No! And watched below, watched his car fall down into the cliffs

and explode when it hit the ground. He George of the jungled and then watched his car explode. This is insane. M. Stop it. Also, that's three cars. That's three exploding cars. Can you imagine? I wonder what his insurance rates were.

Like, that's like three now two, two and now three of your cars have exploded. At that point, I think, like, do you even tell the people? Like, how do you even, because they have to be like, oh, this one's in a fiery crash and this one's in a fiery crash and that one's in a fiery crash. And also two buses have ended up in the river, a trains ended up in the river, and a plane full of of people have died. Yeah. Hmm. You just hope that they think you're a dirty liar.

I think you just hope that the insurance agent is like, this man is clearly lying. We're just going to pretend we didn't hear him. Let's just pretend he has some sort of crippling mental illness and we'll give him like a really good rate. Exactly. You, if somehow that is the hope. Yeah. Yeah.

And so then that happened from 1996 to 2002, nothing happens somehow. Okay. Okay. But 2003. he's already had his seven near-death experiences. And he's, I think, about to turn 75, or he's having some sort of milestone birthday. Okay.

And he's like, you know what? Fuck it. I'm just going to go buy a lottery ticket. No. Home boy wins a million dollars. Shut up. Go to him. No way.

He wins a million dollars. So it's essentially, I mean, the numbers are kind of like iffy, but it's equivalent to a million dollars. Is this a movie and you're telling me a fictional movie as though it's a real story? And then you're going to be like, psych, you idiot, it's a movie. That would be hilarious. I don't know if anyone's ever bought the rights to his life, but that, I mean, that here's, if you wanted a story to film, here it is. Oh, my gosh.

He ends up buying, as he should, multiple homes. He's on a private island, which is probably the safest place for him to be. Safe as place. A boat. And he gets married again. This is his fifth wife. now. He was like, when in Rome, let's have a good year. This is when as the ex-wife, one of the four ex-wives, you're so mad because you've made it,

you've been through hell with this guy. And then the fifth ex-wife gets the money and like, doesn't have to deal with any of the potential death. She just like gets all the bonuses. Yes, 100%. She's like, and also imagine she's telling all of her friends like, oh my God, I just got engaged. You're never going to believe this guy's story. like everyone all of her girlfriends are going to be like he's a liar dump him yeah yeah dump him so um he did later say that he felt like this was maybe like the universe kind of paying him back after all of the trouble he's been through literally paying him back um in one quote he said god has been watching over me all these years okay and the devil has moved on to torment someone else

that's how he took it okay that's not how I take it that's frame no that's not how I took it either that's one way to frame it my guy I'd be like fucking finally like that was that's kind of would be the only statement I gave people yeah yeah yeah yeah so when press started coming out

not because of anything else that ever happened to him but because he won the lottery now they're like who's this guy that is a millionaire now tell us your story he tells them the story and all the reporters are like um jackpot what the fuck are you you're talking about. And so, the media also heard,

I mean, not only, yeah, they heard about his close calls with disaster. He actually later went on to say, oh,

I'm getting married for a fifth time, and they were like, oh, what happened to your other marriages? And he said, they were also disasters, which I thought was funny. That's very funny.

So that's how the world found out about his insane story, but this is a fun fact that I wanted to throw in here. Because he got so much notoriety just by, his life story um doritos reached out and wanted to do a commercial with him but he would have to fly to Australia and he was like i'm not touching another goddamn plane and so that's so mean of doritos that's so

mean you're just setting him up for failure i know they're like also like that i will say you know who would have taken him on today for a commercial would have been red bull because they like send people to the fucking moon and make them skydive and shit you know Yeah, they're going to make you jump out of the moon. Something like that. Yeah. So he, they basically go, oh, okay, that's a shame. How about we come film next to you?

We'll fly to you. And so he goes, great. So apparently there is a commercial, a Doritos commercial with this guy in it from the early 2000s. And he was like, okay, yeah, yeah, I don't have to fly. That makes me so much happier. He goes to the shoot. He films the commercial.

And then he gets in his car, gets in a car. gets in a car accident and hits a deer. Oh my God. I mean, it's never, he's never safe. A few years later, I don't know what happens, but he decided that he was going to give away his fortune. He was like, I don't want anything to do with this. Maybe he thought it was like, you know,

dirty money from the universe or something. I don't know what he thought, but he was like, I don't want anything to do with this. Also, he was like, he just hit 80, so I think he was like, let me give it to other people. I like how my first thought is, It's dirty money. And for him, he's probably like, it's just, I'm giving fucking charity.

Whatever. I wonder if his wife felt good about that, giving away all that money. She's like, damn it, we just got married. He sold off everything. He moved back to his previous town and they lived a frugal life together on his old military pension. And funny, I mean, this blows my mind that he was in the military and nothing life-threatening worth documenting happened in the goddamn military. Really? Oh, you're right.

I feel like for all we know, he just like held a grenade and it didn't go off in his hand. Like it feels like he's the person that would happen to. Totally. Or maybe, yeah, I feel like he's the guy where, you know, your buddy accidentally trips over a wire and you're the one who gets like hit with the landmine. Is that what happens in the military? That's military stuff, right? To me it is. It's just like a bunch of like buzzwords about action. Um, action buzzwords. He just, uh, kept enough money when he gave it all away. It mainly to friends and family, but he sold off everything and he kept just enough for a hip replacement, smart thinking.

And to build a shrine to the Virgin Mary because he believed that she was who was keeping him safe all these years. Okay. Um, and then I don't know where, I don't know the point of this quote, but I thought it was nice that they were asking why he didn't need all the money anymore, I guess. his response was all i need at my age is my wife katerina money would not change anything when she arrived i knew that i knew then that i really did have a charmed blessed life okay that's so sweet though that's a good man that's so sweet so although these experiences are all technically possible a lot of people for obvious reasons have doubts that all this is true i like to think the people leading this march are the woman at his wife's bachelor rap party who were like, I'm still

unsure about this guy. That's that we don't trust him. Yeah. Basically, there have been a lot of inconsistencies in interviews. Okay. And it's also shocking to a lot of people, including me, that there are very few records of any of these disasters. Mm-hmm. For example, a freak train crash in 1962 where everyone died or a freak train crash.

or a freak plane crash at 1963 where everyone died. And the only person who survived either of those was the exact same man. Should have some, like, either journalists didn't do their job well or it didn't happen. And I'm so trusting. I'm so naively trusting. The only time, the first time it occurred to me that he might be lying is when you said that his car went over, he got out the window and grabbed like a vine and like held on. that to me was a little bit more than I could believe,

but every other thing up until that time was like, that checks out. Yeah, that seems right. Sure. I also am like so, I'll say trusting because I was going to say gullible, but trusting is a much better word. But if someone told me that story, I would be like, oh my God. Like it wouldn't even occur to me that you're lying because it's so outrageous that it must be true. Yeah, why would you lie about this?

This is insane and no one would believe. leave it. So you must be telling the truth. Yeah. Yeah. So the best that BBC could do was they did find, they were looking for the fatal train crash in 1962. They found a fatal bus crash in 1957. That was the closest they could get. So wrong year, wrong type of vehicle, probably wrong cause. Probably. And he was nowhere to be found. But also in some interviews about the train crash, Frano did say that he, like his story changed up or either he was. the only one who survived. In other versions, he was actually escorting the mother of a mayor in town, which is crazy

because, like, would there not be public record of a mayor's mother not surviving mid-travel while being escorted? Like, the mayor would remember. You could at least go ask the mayor, is your mom dead? Yeah, find the man downtown wearing the sash that says mayor and ask him. He's always around. So when they're like, we have no way of knowing, it's like, I think the mayor might have some information.

Yeah. Which it's so weird that I would actually use the phrase like, get me the mayor, he'll know. I know, but it's such a cool thing to yell into a phone, isn't it? Get me the mayor! It feels like, I mean, it's just adding to this cartoonish, like this feels like something Roger Rabbit would do, you know? Totally.

Yes. And they're like, on the other end, the mayor's secretary, there's a tongue coming through the receiver of the phone because you're yelling so hard. And the car, the whole way there to the mayor's office is crack and jokes. Yeah, totally. Um, so another example of like why this may not be true or is that there's really very little evidence of a whole plane crash where someone fucking survived or a plane crash at all. Like there's no info that's like it's not easy to find any of it. But like you should have a flight number. You should have like a day that you were on the plane. Like there's no information.

Also in some interviews, remember the flight attendant, uh, he said like, oh yeah, she also survived and we stayed lifelong friends. Okay. We'll go talk. to her. Where's her testimony? She's alive and your friend, she would know, right? But nobody's ever been able to find her. And in other interviews, he said that he was the only person who survived. Hmm. Oh, come on. And it's interesting, because

this is right on the cusp of when you could no longer tell lies like this. Like, it was the first year that like a flight number existed. Yes. Yeah. You know, and that people could people could really start to talk to each other and look back and internet. You know, like it's

You can't really, you used to be able to go to the next town over and say you were a doctor. And then people would come and let you open their heads. And you know, you can't really do that anymore. It is tougher. It is tougher. Yeah, it's harder. Yeah. There's Yelp now, you know, so.

So another example is the car explosions. In some interviews, he said that his wife was there and witnessed the whole thing and even smelled gas before the explosion. But in other interviews, he was the only one there. And his wife outlived him. So people could have gone and asked his wife, did you smell gas? asked were you there? And yeah, I didn't find an interview like that. And then the last one I have is his lottery ticket. He did win a million dollars, but he was telling people after he'd won, he was like, oh, this was my first ever lottery ticket. What are the odds? It's like, you've had enough,

what are the odds in your life? Like, I have to question something. And they went back and looked at earlier interviews when he had just won versus like a few years later. And he was telling people that he was always playing the lottery and he's happy he finally won. So did we Did we learn about him only after the lottery win? Yes, I think so. So most interviews are in of 2003,

which is when he won the lottery. So it sounds like he won the lottery and was given all of this attention all of a sudden and decided to make a meal out of it. Is that what we're thinking? I think you're about three bullets ahead of me. So. because I'm thinking what I would do.

He was like, well, while the cameras are on me and I need to carry this longevity. Exactly, exactly. Keep my name out there. So in one interview, actually, he also seemed to make up a completely different near-death experience involving a mule kick. Oh, damn. But we never heard about that again after that one interview. And another man came out claiming to be his son and said what you did, which is that my dad always like, played the lottery. He finally won. And now that the reporters were talking to him, he like paid some people to like put out a really good story about him to keep his name in this in cycle, in the cycle. Yeah. And so, but again, we never even verified that this guy was his son. So it could just be a guy who was jealous or didn't believe his stories. I don't know. So how mad would you be if you're this guy and some kid comes out and says you're, you know, he's your son and like you've been lying this whole time. And so you kind of have to go along with it too because this kid is just playing the same.

game that you've been playing. I literally, I was, I would, and imagine if it was your son, I'd be like, shut, oh! Like, what is wrong with you? So, some people do believe his entire story is real and that the only reason the stories were not consistent was because he was getting older, so there was some failing cognitive things going on. Plus, he did, whenever he was quoted about this, he did sound like he was actually resentful of the experiences because, like I mentioned, although he was called Mr. Lucky, he, he

he did not feel very lucky. But that could have also been a reporter being an early PR agent saying, like, make sure you like, you got to really play it up. Don't be like so proud of this. You know, it's like it's bothered you your whole life. You know, like getting character. That's a good point. This guy does seem very ahead of his time in terms of like really spinning the narrative

he wants and grabbing his time in the spotlight. And so I can absolutely see that he understood I have to seem resentful and not gleeful. Yes. Like this is, oh, it's been, it's been weighing on me. It's been weighing on me. He did say, I never thought I was lucky to survive all my brushes with death. I thought I was unlucky to be in them in the first place.

And then he talked about how he doesn't really have a lot of friends. So, I mean, maybe that was just good PR. I don't know. Maybe he really was, like, struggling and paranoid out of his gourd and, like, lost all of his close people. I don't know. It's a real toss-up. Regardless, he did officially cheat death seven times. I would argue there were like upwards of 10 based on some of the other things going on.

He also won the lottery. It's still like this bizarre little story that people talk about. And craziest thing about the story to me, this is the craziest part of it, is that in 2016, he did die at 87 and nobody wrote why or how. What? The guy who cheated death, nobody fucking mentions how he actually did not cheat death finally. So we don't actually have a cause. of death. We have that

fuck-ass Google AI answer when you start searching things. Who says that he died this, if it's true it's ironic, he died peacefully

of natural causes. But other than that, I, there's nothing. That's crazy. That's the way. I'm like, not what,

to this day, I'm like, are you, how can you be a reporter? The guy who escapes death died. You don't tell me how. I'm over.

So, I mean, I mean, that's like, that's the story that writes itself. That writes itself. We, so Dennis and I interviewed our favorite UPI odd news reporter. Um, a couple weeks ago. His name is Ben Hooper. If you read any of UPI's odd news ever on their website or you read an odd news story,

nine times out of 10, Ben Hooper wrote it. And I feel like Ben Hooper understands the artistry involved in writing an odd news story. And the fact that this man died, after almost dying a million different times, I feel like somewhere Ben Hooper is rolling over and is not grave, because that's just like that is like such a, that just is handed to you. If you're an odd news writer,

that is handed to you. How dare you? I just don't respect your job. And there's nobody to really ask either because he's now dead. His wife has passed on. The son, the only son we know of is the one that we never even verified that it was his. And he sounded a little butt hurt about all this anyway.

So I don't know if he were. But there's nobody to ask. it's just like, well, he died and like, that's it. No, really? All right. All right. Fine. And like, he's also.

Unfortunately, that is the anti-clamatic end to Frano Zelak. Damn. Well done. Well done. Thank you. I'm sorry. I know we were dealing with some internet stuff. So I, thank you for getting through that with me.

But I wanted to tell you that story so bad. I was like, you're the only person I think who would react exactly as a need. So thank you. that story rules. I think that man is a dirty liar and I am so impressed with like his ability he figured out his market

which is like we can't fact check it because it's also the articles that were written probably weren't written in English. You know what? That's a great point. And also I, that's such a good point. I didn't even think about that.

I was thinking like the he, in 2003 he wins the lottery and that's right when like the internet is getting big and he's like, this is my moment to be on a platform that nobody has touched yet. That's what I think. He was like, I'm going to use the shit out of this because maybe Yahoo News will bring this up eventually,

you know? I think you're right. I think that he was actually probably incredibly clever and forward thinking and like figured out how to make a meal out of this. And he did it. This guy rules. Even if he's a total liar across the board, he rules for the reason of he saw his.

moment and he grabbed it. Yeah, I agree. He's an opportunist, I suppose. Yeah. Good opportunist. Yes. Yeah, totally. So usually before we get into the your side of this, we do what we call a yappy hours for

Patreon people. And it's just like 10 or 15 minutes of us just like talking about whatever we want. So is there a topic you would like to talk about? It can literally be like, we just find our way. as we as we chat. I'm trying to think if there's anything. I should have prepared something. I feel like I should have.

No, I will have something. Let me, I have just like notes of things that I have thought about recently. Just, you just try to type them on in, huh? You know what? I just thought a thing. And that thing was fun for me. Okay, I have a thing. Okay, great.

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I did not expect you to be the one leading the path, but you really did it. So thank you for that. And if you would like to hear about our awkward intros into trying to make friends or how to make small talk out of party or how to talk to celebrities that have happened a few times, go check out Patreon. And now, Bethany, you are going to regale us with some true crime story. all I asked of you was can you fill in. I need someone who can do true crime.

I trust you with all my might. I know you've got it. What did you bring? I got you. All right. So I wanted to, so I don't know how much you love maritime mysteries, but I love them. You know what, Bethany? You know what, Bethany Watson?

Also, actually, you told me for the first time in our friendship to start calling you, Bibi, literally like moments before we start recording. You can call me anything. You can totally call me. it's not like I'm offended if you don't call me BD BD up. Call me whatever, yeah. I saw Bibi and I went, oh, I was like, do you want to switch? I thought like, oh, should I tell her she should switch it to Bethany? And you're like, you can call me Bibi.

And I went, we've been friends for like a decade. What do you fucking mean? You can call me anything you want. It's like, it's all new for us. So it's so funny that you mentioned maritime mysteries. You're like, I've never once thought about them in my life. And this is the third time this week that somebody has brought them. up. So I'm taking the sign universe. So please tell me. What am I missing out on?

First of all, maritime mysteries are the best because they are like locked room mysteries because you're stuck on a boat, right? Like they're amazing. So this is a little bit different because it is not, it doesn't take place on the boat. It takes place. It's from the perspective of everyone off the boat. Okay. Oh, okay. Yes. So this is a story that happened in 1968. It is the mysterious disappearance of El Fausto. Have you heard of El Fausto?

I know nothing. Okay. So in October of 1968, a fishing boat called Fausto was discovered drifting in the Atlantic Ocean off of the Canary Islands. Okay. And I am going to speak now to the listener who is like me who is not good at geography. That is nearly all of us. So thank you so much. So I got you. So if you need a refresher, the Canary Islands sit off the northwestern coast of Africa.

So picture Africa and then Northwest and you got like a sprinkle of islands. And so right off of the Canary Islands, There was a boat and inside was a mummified corpse. And while this was obviously alarming, something that made it even more mysterious was that originally the boat had contained four men. And now there was one and he was mummified. Oh. So technically two are now missing is what you're saying. Three are missing and they found one.

Oh, oh, I see. I thought you meant there was one left, one mummified, two missing. But you're saying three are missing and only one is in existence in a mummified form. You're correct. Yeah, that's right. Horrifying. Okay. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Yeah. How do I know about this? Mist. Okay. It's, it's crazy. So, all right, let's start at the beginning. So the Fausto was just this average fishing boat. It was about 46 feet long, which I guess is a good average fishing boat length. It had like a, solid motor. It could reach about eight miles an hour, which was good solid boat speed. It was just like, it was a good boat. And just trust me, it was a good boat. I like, I have no reason to doubt you, but like the way you're like harping on it, I'm like, maybe this wasn't a good boat. It was a good, and it was a good boat. I don't know why you're thinking it wasn't a good boat. All right. So the owner was a man named Raphael Acosta. And he used

it to fish, but he also realized that it was, you know, big enough that he could also make money carrying things around the island, transporting goods and moving things throughout the islands for people. And he had four men who crewed with him. So it was two brothers named Ramon and Eliberto Hernandez. And then cousins, Miguel and Viterbo Acosta. So all five of these men, they're like family. And all of them are in their 40s. They are like the boat. They are good. They are. These are like, they're solid. They're family men.

They're like just, these are the guys that you want to help you move. You know, like if you need someone to help you lift boxes, like these guys. They won't steal your stuff and they're good. They're coming to help you fix your tire on the side of the road. Exactly. And you're happy to see them because you're like, oh, these guys know what they're doing. Okay. Perfect.

Okay. So on July 20th, 1968, so three guys had been on the Fausto. So it was the brothers, Ramon and Elieberto. And then it was Miguel. So three of the four. Viterbo had a previous engagement. He promised that he was going to help with like this festival that was going out back home. So he wasn't working that day.

And they were like, that's fine. We can handle it. So they had sailed from La Palma to El Hierro. And so if, okay, now picture the Canary Islands. They're just a spray of islands. The furthest two to the left, to the west, you have La Palma on the top. you have El Jiero on the bottom and they are one above the other. Okay.

Okay, perfect. And the distance if you're just looking is about 60 miles straight up or straight down. It is just super easy. Thank you for this. Wow. You're welcome. Could have always used geography classes like this. Thank you.

I cannot picture geography. I don't know anything about it. And I'm just like, you know, let's not even pretend. We're just going to go through it. I appreciate it. So, so the boat had carried. like some explosives that sounds crazy, but it was just to help, it was like farming equipment, so like to move land and help like irrigation and stuff. They had traveled from the north to the

south to deliver this. And then they were getting ready to pack up some fruit and stuff and head back home to La Palma. And as they're packing up, a man rushes up to them. He's 27. He's in a panic. And his name is Julio Garcia. He says that he just got a call from his wife. She lives back on La Palma. And she said that their daughter, who was only, I think, a month and a half old was ill and needed medicine. Okay. And Julio desperately needed to get back to La Palma. And there was a ferry that would travel between the islands and drop people off. But it had just left. And depending on what source, you read, the next one wouldn't come between two to three days later. Okay.

So Julio needed to get home ASAP. So this was the only boat he could find. He was like, can you guys take me back? I will pay you. Now, what are these guys? These are solid guys. They're good guys. Yes.

They're good guys. So they were like, absolutely, we don't want your money. Help us load the fruit. We'll take you back. Great. Everything's great. Everyone's great. Okay.

The next morning, two, third. 30 a.m. They're getting ready to go out. The weather's great. They're happy. Everything is good. They get on the boat. It should take them between 7 and 10 hours to get back to La Palma because the weather is great. They never show up. So it's about 10. They're expected around 10. 11, 12, no one's come. Shit, okay. Yeah. So Raphael Acosta, the man who owns the boat, he sends out another boat to try and intercept

them. It's an easy route. So like if this boat travels in the exact opposite direction, they should run into each other. He thought it was maybe a motor issue. Okay. The boat gets all the way to the other side and calls radios and says, there's no Elfosto is not out here. Okay.

The boat's gone missing. So that evening, the Spanish Navy and the Air Force launched a search operation. Plains and ships were sent out to try to find the Fausto because there's no reason for it to have gone missing. It's such a, like these men knew this route. Yeah. There's nothing. It's like driving to the. store for them. Totally. It's like, it's like getting lost and disappearing on the way to the grocery

store. There's just, this is, there's no reason. Four days go by. Oh my God. And their family and friends are freaking out because these men were not loaded up for a four day journey. They had enough water and fruit to like get them, you know, a couple hours. Yeah. Okay. And also like, so, and there would be, there's no, not even like, like the boat hasn't wrecked or anything. Like, Can they see the boat? There's just no boat. It just vanished. No boat.

No boat. It's gone. Crazy. Okay. So on July 25th, so four days later, in the middle of the night, there is a British refrigerated ship called the Duchess. And the Duchess is moving along en route from South America to the Netherlands. And as they're sailing along, they spot a light blinking.

And then they realized that this light was coming from something that was bobbing. in the sea off in the distance. Oh shit. Intentionally, it wasn't like a light that was being moved in and out of the waves. It was like an intentional like Morse code kind of. Like SOS. Oh my gosh. So they get closer and closer.

And finally they realized that it was the El Fausto. Oh, my God. And someone had been signaling to the Duchess with the flashlight, which means that someone was alive. Oh, that's so easy. Eerie. Yes. Oh my God.

Now, 109 miles west of La Palma. They are so far away from home. This is, this is an insane, they're just in the middle of the ocean. So the Duchess pulls up. All four men in El Fausto are fine.

They're alive. They're awake. They're in good spirits. They're sunburned and de high. and hungry, and like, they're not thrilled, but they're alive. Okay. And, like, typically when you find castaways, and I don't know how often you've found castaways. I've only been a castaway.

Okay. You're usually pretty stressed out and, like, not happy, right? You're not great. These guys were fine. So luckily, there were a couple of sailors on the Duchess who spoke Spanish. And so they're like, hey, you seem very lost. Why don't we tow you back? and we will get you back home.

And the four men on the Fausto were like, no, we're good. What? Which is crazy. So what this reminds me of is when you're on an elevator with a bunch of other people and you accidentally get off on the wrong floor and then you have to pretend that that's what you meant. Yes, yes, yes, you commit. You like make it like, oh, I wonder where the office is on this floor until the door closes. And they're like, oh my God, I should redo that.

It's so embarrassing. I once got off on like a half floor and I hid. I tried to hide like around the side so no one would see me. I just told you in our yappy hour that I like to explore hotels in the middle of the night. And one time I accidentally got off and like the like the clearly the employee in the basement laundry room. Yeah. And I was like and there was a camera and I freaked out. I was like I have to act like I was meant to be here.

So I just walked in confidently to the laundry room and like checked things. And then I got back on the elevator. Yeah. But the whole time I was like, whoever's looking at this camera knows what's happened. Because I'm in PJs. I'm not like in like an electrical construction outfit, you know. So they know what's going on. They're flannel.

They got reindeer on them. That's amazing. It's good. You know what? Confidence and a clipboard or a high vis vest will like get you far. Anywhere. Yeah. Okay.

So the sailors talk to the format. on the Fausto and the men were just like, look, we're good. Can you just give us some water and food and fuel? And then we'll be on our way. And the sailors were like, let's come on board. Like, come on, let's figure out what's going on. We're worried about you. And the guys were insistent. We're good. We just want fuel, food and water. And so the British soldiers or sailors gave them some cigarettes, too. And then the British sailors watched as the Fausto sailed back east toward La Palma, okay? What?

They saw them go. And they radioed to the La Palma where the port was and said, hey, we found your boys and they're on their way. And they should be back, I think around 7 p.m. is what they said. Okay. Okay, great. So now you're these guys' families, you're so relieved. They're alive.

You're sight. So everyone basically in this village went and waited at the port. Seven o'clock comes. They're like, they're going to be here any minute. Eight o'clock comes. Oh, my God. And then the dread sits in again, a second time. Again.

Midnight comes. This, so I know that Christina's covered this before, the story of, I think it was Brian Las Pisa, who was driving and then like kept being found by that truck driver and kept being alive. and kept being alive and then just disappeared. This feels a lot like that. And do we know, I mean, it was 1968, so it's not like we had, like, I mean, do we know for sure it was, in fact, those four people, or could it be four people who, like, pirated the ship and were pretending to be them or something like that?

That is, you're ahead, but, like, maybe. Okay. But we don't know. I mean, I'll just, like, say we don't know. But that's a real, so we'll put a pin in that because that's, yes, that's got it. Really good. So, okay, so the men never came back. So then next morning, an even larger search was launched because these guys had literally

been here. Like, they're alive. We know they're alive. So this now becomes the largest search and rescue in the Canary Islands because they had military and civilian boats that went out. And what they decided to do was go to. the point in the ocean where the Duchess had intercepted El Fausto. They were like, okay, this is our ground zero, this is our home base, and then we're going to start searching

in increasing distances to try and figure out, yep. And they did that. And there was nothing. And they searched for 13 days. And there was nothing. At that point I give, at that point, either they're dead or they don't want to be found. That would be my thought. Yes. That's the thing, because it's like, okay, so they knew that they had enough now food, fuel, and water to get through a week or so. But, you know, you're pushing your luck after, I think, 13 days. After two weeks, yeah. It's like, oh, yeah. Okay, we're hurting.

Or we found land and we're starting life all over again. Yeah, we're starting a fresh civilization here. Yeah. So on August 7th, they called the search off. And obviously, everyone's just devastated. So now we fast forward to October 9th, which is two months later. An Italian ship called the Anademayo was heading to Venezuela when they spotted a boat adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Tropic of Cancer. Now, I know that everyone listening knows exactly where the Tropic of Cancer is, but if you forgot and you just need a quick reminder.

So the Tropic of Cancer goes for us, like, through Mexico and the Bahamas on our side. And then if you, again, picture Africa, it, like, slices through the top of Africa. So it goes through, like, Niger and Algeria and Libya and Egypt, like that, the hat part. If Africa put on a hat, the Tropic of Cancer would sort of be, like, along the brim of that hat. Thank you so much. I got you. I got you. Okay. So this is too far.

It's not. It's like not La Palma. Yeah. Yeah. This is not great. So they see the boat. It says Fausto on it. They see the identifier letter number combo, which is like T.E.2-1268.

There's no question. This is all Fausto. So they look out. There's no one on the dock. There's no sign of life. There's no one waving. There's no damage to the ship. There's no sign of violence.

everything is where it should be. So the first mate and a deck sailor board the Fausto, and they didn't find any sort of log book that could have written down, you know, bad weather on this fortnight. We will hunker down and pray for bread. I don't like, nothing is written. So then the first mate opens up the hatch that leads down into the engine room. And by the way, and okay, well, you finish your sentence first.

Sorry, go ahead. Now we're back to where we began. He found one man mummified in the engine room. Okay, I was going to say that like if you're already on an abandoned ship that everyone's been looking for. And now you're going to open the hatch and go down by yourself, I would assume there's a serial killer or a dead body. And what do you know? Yeah. Yeah.

Did you ever see that picture on the internet? And mummified to boot. Do you ever see that picture on the internet of like the guy who was. his job was to just make sure that this boat, a huge container shipping container boat, had no one in it. And he like took a picture. And then he lit the picture up later in Photoshop and saw a man

leaning out from behind a wall with an axe. Have you seen that one? Shut the fuck up. What are you talking about? Hey, I actually have a new fear. What are you talking? What? I've never heard of that.

It was one of the first things to ever scare me on the internet. Yeah, that'll do it. I'll send it to it. It's just like it was a man who's, whenever this boat came into port, his job was to just go through it and make sure that everything was literally ship shape. And like, he was going through the basement and he took a picture for some reason. I think he took a picture without a flash and then he took it with a flash. And when he took it with a flash, you can see a man like leaning out the side with an axe.

It is so scary. Especially because like if you did it with a flash, that he knew you were there. For sure. Yeah. Oh, for sure. He knew you were there. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Like the chills are at a lot. It's like those pictures that I always, what? Every now, I'm just like, yeah. I was like, what? What else is there that you could possibly say to me? Like, there's these pictures online that are, um, it's always like eerie pictures like

five minutes before a famous tragedy happened. And it's like, those really get me too where it's like everyone's happy. Like there was a picture I saw of someone smiling with the Twin Towers behind them and you can see the plane that's like right. Like it was seconds before. seconds before. Like, it's just shit like that where I'm like, just eerie knowing what is going to happen or could happen. Oh my God. Yep. Yep. And like, dude, this show, your show has a long history with, like, Queen Mary maritime nonsense. Like, it's this stuff. It's like, it's this, it's this stuff.

It's, so, okay, so the first mate opens the hatch, sees a mummy and not like a mummy, you know, He sees a man who's like very dead and has been partially preserved. And he says to the other sailor with him, go back onto our ship and like radio that we found the Fausto. And I just imagine that the other sailor ran so fast back. So fast. There was like a puff of smoke in the shape of his body that like he just like, like, he was breathing like I just had some crystal light. He was. Yes.

You know, I. And I wonder too if like I wonder that we were just talking and. Gapier about like the tone of how we say things is like I wonder if the tone said like this is not good like you need and this needs because also if I found I'm not a mummy expert. I know but like if I found a mummified body when I'm looking for four live non mummified bodies I don't I wouldn't even think it was one of the four people I would think oh they were transferring a mummy like someone put a new cargo on this boat Because doesn't mummifying take like hundreds of years or some shit?

Am I stupid? I don't. No, no, no, you're not stupid at all. So, I mean, I think that what it was, because like, mummifying is taking out all of the moisture, right, and like preserving with salt and wrapping and making sure that bacteria is, like, isn't able to eat anything within the body that is warm or wet. So I think it's that where this, so spoiler alert, the man who is a man who is a the boat ended up being Julio, the 27-year-old guy who was trying to get back to his daughter.

Oh, my God. Awful. So what they think happened is that the salty air that was getting into the boat basically preserved him. And so, like, there wasn't the wrapping portion of the mummy, but his skin was very dried out and not as, like. It's not like they were doing a science experiment on him and learning how to might. Like it was just natural by being up in the ocean. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah. Makes so much more sense. Yeah. Yeah. So, so as the other, you know, sailor is like radioing and saying, hey, we found the Fausto. The first mate, God bless him. He's like balls of steel. He's going through the engine room and looking around.

And he sees that 27 year old Julio Garcia was lying next to a radio. So he was clearly attempting to make contact or something. he also had a book with him and the book had um the first few pages had some like quick numerical calculations some words in Spanish like it looked kind of like scratch paper is what it sounded like and then 28 pages had been torn out of the notebook and they were just gone interesting and then the last page or two um Julio had written a letter to his one wife whose name was Luce Maria and the letter contained instructions for her on how to access his life insurance money and then it said quote don't ever tell Huline who was their son all that

has happened to me you know that God wanted this fate for me love you oh my god right so he knew he was dying this isn't like he was surprise killed so this was a yeah so okay my first well you're not asking my thought yet. But I, no, no, no, no. I actually am curious what you're, what you're thinking right now. The, the torn out pages of the book kind of freak me up, a part of me is like, maybe, honestly, this is like wild for my first thought, but like, if he's sick, maybe he was using it as, like, tissues or toilet paper or something.

Like, he was like. Ooh, that's interesting. Versus it being, like, some sort of, like, I hate these 28 pages, you know, like, I hate this part of the story. I feel like it was for some sort of purpose because it sounds like they were running, they ran out of materials by a time this thing would have been found or his body would be found.

It's interesting now in hindsight that he was alive at the time when they were all four found on the island, right? So I'm wondering if maybe he was already getting sick and they were like, don't come near us or... Oh, that's interesting. Because they were, they were being kind of shovey about like, we'll find our way back, like we're all alive, like just give us some food but like you don't want to be near this guy he's got scarlet

some shit i don't know so in the boat so when the first boat the duchess found them they were still in the boat they weren't on an island or anything where they were like still floating they were just found oh they were just in they were all together but it is interesting the idea of of like sequestering him yeah but also if they were i mean it's because it sounds like he died of something that was not like it wasn't like a of violence it doesn't sound like he maybe unless when they look at so it's not like they killed him and now they were like don't come on the boat where you'll find out we're murderers it sounds like they're trying to protect you and maybe they knew they were going to get sick and they just left him and they they jumped ship to not get whatever he had I don't know dude this is I haven't even thought about this so it is it is really interesting because yeah they there was no sign of any violence there wasn't any nothing was knocked over there was any blood like it didn't seem like anything had happened Right. In any way.

They had the life insurance there, like, so he knew he was going to die. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So the crew member grabbed the notebook and a few other people. He found, like, insurance documents on the boat. And he's like, these will be useful.

So he grabbed those. He brought them back onto the Anadamayo. And then they alerted Spanish authorities. They said, hey, we found the ship. And they promised to send the documents. And they were going to tow the Fausto behind them. to, I believe, Venezuela. They're like, we'll bring it to the closest port that we're going to get to.

Interestingly, they did not immediately tell Spanish authorities about the notebook. It sounds like they just said, like, hey, we have some papers and documents and stuff. So they tethered the Fausto to the back of their ship. They started going. And then, somehow, either immediately or within a couple days, the Anna DiMaio contacted Spanish authorities again to let them know that somehow the Fausto had sunk. So at some point, the toe cable had snapped and the boat went under, the Fausto went underneath and sunk. So Julio Garcia's body was still on the Fausto when it went down and the Spanish authorities did not have a chance to take a look at anything on the ship and it sunk to the bottom.

which is bad luck. I just came back from traveling yesterday. It was across the country. So it was like an eight hour day of flying. When I got home, like I was so hungry and I did not want to just eat something that came out of a pantry and probably wasn't going to be that good for me. But I also didn't want to be in the kitchen and cooking nonstop. And luckily, we had hungry root within 10 minutes from going into the kitchen. I was sitting down and eating my food.

They had this recipe. It was their creamy garlic summer raviolole. and it was a seven-minute recipe. So truly, by the time I went into the kitchen, to the time I was sitting down and eating the ravioli, it was less than 10 minutes. It was so good for me. It was so healthy.

It felt really good to just not eat like garbage. It felt really great. And on top of it, it was really quick. They actually, one of my favorite things about hunger root is that they have different timed meals. So if you're someone who can cook for 20 minutes in the kitchen that night, there's meals for that. If you have 10 minutes, there's that. But you have all these different options on how much effort you're willing to put into the kitchen.

I really appreciate that. And there's so many recipes. Every time I go on their website, there's something I haven't tried that I need to try immediately. Since we've been working with Hungry Root, I'm constantly appreciative of just how many recipes are able to turn out. I do not know how they do it. You're going to love Hungry Root as much as I do. For a limited time, get 40% off your first order plus a free item in every box for life.

that is if you go to hungry root.com slash drink and use code drink. That's hungry root.com slash drink. Use code drink to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. So the crewman sent the notebook and the other papers back home. And immediately as soon as Julio's wife saw his notebook and the letter that he wrote, she recognized the notebook and she recognized his handwriting. So that was definitely him and he was the one who wrote that. Okay.

So that's what we know. And there are so many questions that, like, first of all, where are the other three men? Yeah. Why were they unwilling to be towed by the Duchess when they were found alive? Why were they so adamant about not being rescued? Like who ripped out the 28 pages? Why did they rip out the 20? What was on the 28 pages? Why didn't they tell anyone on the British ship what they had, like these, there's theories, but like these are the main questions that people are asking. What are your theories?

So the first time I heard this, when the Duchess, the first, the British ship, when when those guys approached them and saw them in the water and the guys were like, we're great, don't worry about it, all I could think of was, was there someone like threatening them? Was there another person on board now who was saying, you better get rid of these British guys or, you know, I'm going to, whatever. Right. Like basically being held hostage. Right.

I also wondered if Julio Garcia, because he was like the wild card, they didn't know him, he didn't know them, the other three guys, good solid men. Yes. He's the wild card, right? And part of me was like, well, he talked about having a daughter who was sick, but then he wrote to his son in the letter, was he lying to get onto the boat. Right. But then they checked and he had a daughter and a son and a wife and his whole story checked out. so it doesn't seem like it was him. Still fucked up.

He didn't mention his daughter in the letter. But I know, I know, right? I do wonder, I'd be like, what, dad? What the fuck's wrong with you? Yeah, yeah. What do you think happens? And part of me wonders, like, I don't know. I mean, my, my hunch, which means nothing,

is that, like, I feel like maybe he really was just sick and, or maybe he was allergic to something that they were, eating to stay safe. I don't know. There's something. I feel like either they, someone came on board and held the other three hostage, but because that guy happened to be down in the hatch, they didn't know there was a fourth guy. And so he instead of not being maybe kidnapped and he was just stuck on the boat by

himself or something. And maybe he didn't know how to operate a boat. So you just floated around until he died. I have no idea. It is so. So this is so interesting because it never occurred to me that, that, that he may have been in the engine room because he was being kept away. And now I think, okay, well, what was his daughter sick with?

Is it possible that he had something and they were trying to, they realized too late and they were trying to, quarantine him or, yeah. I also wonder, I mean, maybe they thought he was just like a fucking creep. Like, maybe he asked questions about like the layout of the boat, you know, and like, and so like, maybe they were like, just stay in the hatch till we get there. And then why are you blinking? Yeah. And so, that's from our Patreon folks. That's from the yappy hour.

But like I feel like maybe something gave them a bad vibe. For some reason, he was separated from them. Or like maybe they didn't know him. And so at night, maybe they were like, we don't know you. Like, you're going to sleep in the hatch. We're all going to sleep here. We'll get you in the morning. And then something happened to them.

And he was just locked down there. Oh, man. Something happened where I feel like he was. separate on purpose or like why is he down there like who's hanging out in the hatch i don't know what a hatch is by the way maybe that's where the living room is i don't know anything about a boat i mean i mean yeah i don't know i mean my thought is like i always assumed that if the you know it's like you know it's like a trapdoor in the floor you go down and if it closes over you i i assume you can push it back open again but maybe you couldn't right because it's got the spinny thing

right yeah right right or or like or i think or handle i think depending on if you're going under or not. Yeah. Depending on how nice your boat is. Yeah. I don't know. In my mind, I mean, maybe he could have always gone up. But I feel like if he was down there and literally writing, like worried about his life insurance and doing some sort of numbers, which for me is like how much food do I have left or how many, how much longer till I'm dead or something.

Because I think you're right. Because I, it doesn't seem. I always assumed he was in the hatch because that's where the radio was. But that doesn't make sense. Why do you keep your radio in the engine room? You'd keep your radio. Two people who know nothing about boats are talking about boats. We're trying really hard to be like the captains of the ship.

And I don't know like a fucking thing besides what below deck on Bravo reality has taught me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I feel like there's got to be something. I mean, unless maybe like the crazy thing would be like he killed all of them and threw them overboard. And then like. Yeah. And then he just like what, lie down? Like in.

I mean, that doesn't make any more sense. and like maybe two tragedies happened at once. Something happened to the guys up top while he was down there. Yeah. And he got, so there are theories. Okay. So here's some theories.

There's, there's, wild. So this is, so the first one I talked about, like, someone was in the boat with them and said, hey,

get rid of the British ship. Um, but that's four guys against one guy or two guys. Like, and I also feel like that maybe, they would have been able to sort of give a sign to the British soldier or the British sailors like, hey, you should go away. You should definitely call and get us some help.

I mean, that was my first thought when I heard them being like, no, we're fine, we're fine. I assumed they, like, if they could have done like the hand gesture back then. Yes. What is it? The thumb and then close. Thumb and close over, yeah. They were giving some sort of sign of like, please. Like, don't we look obviously suspicious?

Please do something with that information. Totally. Totally. So, yeah, it's probably not that one. So a lot of people think that they were trying to escape poverty and they were trying to get to Venezuela to start a better life. And there's more to this that involves a lot of information about the Spanish Civil War. Here's what I'm not going to make you do.

Go into the history of the Spanish Civil War. Thank you. What I will say is that the Spanish Civil War was from 1936 to 1939. And then after that, Francisco Franco came to power and was in power until his death in 1975. So that was about 40 years where Spain was under, some would say, a fascist ruler. Some would say a dictatorship. Some would say just a patriotic guy.

But it wasn't great for the regular citizens and the economy. was devastated. So a lot of people believed that people on the Canary Islands were trying to escape to Venezuela because everyone was so poor at this time. But this falls apart a little bit because the economy actually started to bounce back in the 40s and then was getting better in the 50s and 60s. So the economy had improved enough that people probably wouldn't be risking their life, taking boats across the ocean to go to Venezuela if it wasn't like extreme poverty back home. And plus these guys had families. Like they would have brought their families with them or they would have at least brought

more food and water if they were thinking we're going to take a boat for a month. You know? I feel like they would have at the very least had enough goods to get them further. Or because I can see them trying to come back with whatever they were able to scrap up over there. But like people would have known about that. Like, I don't think they would have just, let's all make a really spontaneous decision and not tell our families where we went. Like, that's totally. And like if, and if you're not going to go back to La Palma, I don't think they would have said yes to Julio. I don't think they would have brought him with them. Right. I think they, like, they absolutely had, I think, one specific, unless they were going to now take him as a hostage, but like you said, they're good guys. So yeah, they're good. They're solid. They're solid. So I feel like that I believe that theory less than something they were held hostage and trying to make a hostage.

clear to the people i mean let's not forget they were literally doing like sOS signals or morse code signals to alert a boat like clearly something was going on and then they got there to help them and they went never mind we're good yeah something was happening unless they unless they just wanted to alert them to get more food and water sure like maybe can you give us stuff and if the venezuela theories right then maybe that was their plan all along we'll just morse code it out and hope that people find us along the way oh which is really really that's a really really risky, man. That's quite a gamble.

Yeah. I don't know. I believe the first one more so far. What about drugs? What about drugs? So some people think that they were trafficking drugs or guns or other illegal things and that they were attempting to avoid any maritime law enforcement. And by doing that, they got turned around basically and got lost.

Oh, interesting. Like they were saying, like, instead of like, meet me on the corner. We'll do the exchange. was like, meet me in international waters and no one will ever get us arrested. Yeah. I mean, it sounds like they're good guys. But I don't know. I also know a lot of solid good guys who were drug dealers, but in high school, not like these days.

Of course. I don't know. Did they find any residue of a single, like any gunpowder or drugs at all on the boat? Because it sounds like. No, not that anyone has said that I read. No, not at all. And also, these guys reportedly, none of them were in debt. They all, like, they weren't rich, but they had solid blue collar lives.

They just, it doesn't seem like they were desperate enough to do something incredibly dangerous, like, you know, float around in the ocean. Especially while they have, like, a new cast member on set. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. If it was just like the buddies that all know each other and they were like, oh, let's go here and try this thing or let's go a different route and then they got mixed up.

But I can't imagine them really getting mixed up either if like their whole job is boats. Like I feel like they kind of know what they're doing, you know? So yeah. I don't know. I really, I really think something was threatening to them. I don't know why that's mine, but some, they were scared of something. They wanted help at some point and then refused it. And they had to know that when they were saying, no, we're good.

they had to know if they were a proper crew that a sailor was then going to report back. They had to know that they were missing. They had to know that this boat was excited to see them and was like, are you guys okay? We've been looking for you. Yeah. And when they turned them away after giving them like a signal to come find them, they had to know that the sailors were going to be like, we found, like, that's, there's something there.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, you're, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

So, okay. So then. Maybe honestly, maybe that guy, maybe the Julio guy was trying to rob them. And they were freaked out because for a second, that guy did have like some sort of power over them or was able to like threaten them or something was going on. And then they got him in the hatch and trapped him down there. Dude, I, I'm so thrilled that you brought up the point of the hat. Like, it just never occurred to me. Why is he down there?

Except they put him down there. Well, it's just like, why is he down there and nobody else is on? on the boat, period. And I'm like, well, if he got, if all of them were buddies and they all got trapped in the hatch together, then we would have four or five mummified people. Yeah, totally. But it's like, he is, he was by himself and obviously sick. They, they knew he was sick.

He wrote out his fucking life insurance. And, but it's also possible that he did that as he realized that no one was coming. Like, so he may have been starving. Oh, shit. And as he's starving. I haven't thought about that. Yeah, he's like, okay, so this is it for me. You're totally right.

So they probably never even saw that he was writing it. So then I feel like maybe they, he had the upper hand at some point and they got him in the hatch. And then they escaped or something. I don't fucking know. I have no idea. It's so weird. Okay. So here's another thought.

Okay. Some people think that they saw something they shouldn't have. So this was smack dab in the middle of the Cold War. If, so the Cold War, I forgot. The Cold War went until 1991. Like the Cold War. Really? that long? Yes.

19847 to 1991. So some people have wondered if, oh, it's crazy how long it was. They wondered if the Fausto got caught in the midst of a submarine attack between the United States and the Soviet Union. So

earlier that year, in 1968, one of the U.S.'s nuclear submarines, the USS Scorpion, had gone missing and was finally found in October reportedly near where the Fausto went missing. So like some people were wondering if it got in the crossfire of some submarine warfare

or something something, something question mark submarine Cold War. Sure. Okay. I'm with that. But that wouldn't explain why they didn't accept help from the Duchess, from the British guys. And also it doesn't sound like the ship had any damage to it when it was. found either time. So probably not that. So then there's one more theory that has sort of surprisingly been popular. And that is that it was Nazis. You know, and that's always my first

thought. Always. Nazis. So after World War II, the Nazis scattered like cockroaches all over the world. And, you know, the hunt began to find the Nazis. And as wild as this idea sounds, it was apparently pretty popular at the time that a Nazi fugitive had been hiding somewhere on El Jiero, learned that Nazis were being hunted, needed to escape to South America, and kidnapped the Fausto. Oh, shit. So it's become kind of an urban legend. It just feels so specific. And so different than the rest that it, even if it's right, it feels like it stands out way too much. That feels random as shit.

Yeah. Yeah. But this was like a pet theory. And it is, I think it still is a pet theory among some people. Because I think because it is so out of left field that sometimes, sometimes it is that really bizarre thing that ended up being the case. And I just think because of everything that was going on at the time and all of the upheaval after World War II.

But like World War, I don't know, man, World War II had ended over a decade before, at least, you know, our little bit. I literally just told you about that, that guy who, like, cheated death seven times and won the lottery. Like, I mean, like, maybe it is the crazy goddamn thing, you know. Yes, it's true. There's some case, and I cannot remember. I know someone listening knows what I'm talking about. There was some bizarre true crime case where the, like, the victim profile matched the next door. neighbors type of victim. Like they happened to live next door to a guy who loved to kidnap this

type of child and this type of child had gone missing and it wasn't the guy, even though the guy who lived across the street or next door or whatever, like they found the kid's coat in his front lawn and like he loved doing specifically something specific that was also part of the missing child case, but it actually was not him. It was just like a bunch of really crazy coincidences. Oh, my God. And every once in a while I think of that, I have to figure out, it's like really, it's dark and sad.

So I'm sort of skirting over a bunch of stuff. But like, it is something with a ton of coincidences that just are coincidences, which is really frustrating. Okay. Here's what like the most accepted theory of what happened actually is. Okay. People believe that it was four men who made a series. of tiny little mistakes

over the course of a day, two days, four days that kept compounding on themselves that ultimately created a situation that these men could not get out of. Especially when you have run out of food and water. So when the duchess found them, they were alive, but they were definitely dehydrated

and they were hungry. And some people have pointed out the fact that they seemed fine may have been a symptom of them not being fine. Right, right. You know, like a little bit out of their minds. So it's possible that as time went on, they turned more and more irrational and they got scared and they got agitated and more mistakes kept being made. But it's not clear what those mistakes were. it's never been cleared up what the 28 pages were.

Some people think that it was Julio had written down what was happening and then when he realized he was going to die he did not want his family to know. Like was it cannibals? Like was it you

you become desperate and you do what you have to do to survive. So was there like cannibalism involved or was there just it was like heartbreaking and he didn't want his family to have to think about it? You know what's even crazier

if it was if it was cannibals which feels as crazy to me as like Nazis because I just never you never think about cannibals being an option um what if they didn't lock him away what if he locked himself in oh my god to stay away from whatever they were up to but then he would have absolutely journaled like in case you find me this is what the fuck was going on yeah but uh maybe he but like what if he didn't want their families to know? Well, that's awfully nice for a stranger. I would be like, your fucking dad did this. I know I'm dying, but here's the tea.

In 2026, I'd be, if I had TikTok access, I'd be like, if you know a guy who has a ship out here, he's fucking nuts right now up there. He's losing it. He's hot, but nuts. Some people have also thought that, they may have resorted to eating the paper or using it to, you know, clean. Some people have thought that it may have been taken by the Italian sailor who found it. Maybe he, again, like, for whatever reason, didn't want the families to know or for another reason.

He tore those pages out. They've never been found. No one knows. this is so this is known as the ship that went missing and was discovered three times because it went missing and was discovered three times. That's fucking crazy. It's absolutely bonkers. And I have to give like major credit to, um, there is a gentleman who did a full like rundown

of this story. Um, because the majority of the sources were in Spanish, like primary sources were in Spanish. and so someone on Reddit named Hello Lurker here did like a full rundown. So I went and did obviously my own research and verified things, but his or his or her, whoever, their outline was like a huge framework and like a really wonderful body of work that they did to kind of help clear up some things I wasn't quite sure about in terms of translations. But this story, they don't know what has happened.

no one's been able to come up with a solid idea of anything in over forever and it is absolutely fascinating and that is the story of the fausto that's incredible that's incredible and also like the worst part about it like i like i love a mystery the christina's covered quite a lot of um we don't know what happened and they get me every goddamn time because i truly believe i'm going to be the one to crack the case wide open and i can never do it um every time but like so much time eventually passes that there's like there's no evidence. It's just going to be until we have a time machine. We'll just never know.

Yeah. That's crazy. And it's so frustrating because it's like if you don't, Hank Green always says this, right? Like if you don't know, if something seems mysterious and you don't know it, it's not because it's impossible. It just means you're missing like one piece of information. And it's just like, what don't we know? Is it purposefully being hidden by someone who saw something and didn't tell? Or is it like that finally?

the Italian first mate forgot to tell us that there was a broom handle through the handle of the patch door and the man was locked down there. Right. Like there's just like, we don't know what we don't know. And it's so frustrating. I, there's, there's got to be a TV show or a movie about this. No? I feel like this is like prime setup for a script. That is, you know what? Because like, you could think you could also do, even if you're making it up because there is no guarantee. There's no correct theory so far. Like you could do, I've always wanted to see a show where every episode is a different person's perspective. And I'm sure there's something like that out there. Like there's like roots and shit. But like, this is a great one where it's like you, you see a

mystery and then you think, oh, that's the end of the season. But then the next season is the exact opposite perspective. That's, that's awesome. That's awesome. The AI overview is telling me so many things that I don't know if they're right or not. If someone knows how to turn that thing off, Can you please write in the comments because I'm sick of her? Apparently, apparently there was like some documentaries. There was a 2000, oh, this is such a 2001 movie name. There was a 2001 Spanish thriller called Fausto 5.0. I mean, come on.

Do you remember Dracula 2000? No, I do not. But can I tell you something that I thought about covering for you? this um the reason i reached out to morgan of creeps and crimes i was like please give me a topic i kept hitting dead ends i originally i wrote three other sets of notes for you not christian bethany i'm so sorry i wrote three no i mean i'm so sorry that i i'm breaking the news to you now that i i did so many other sets of notes for you and every single one of them i felt like was a dead end and one of them i was really excited about which you know maybe we discuss uh at some other

point but like have you ever heard of i was trying to find something local to you and i know you're a new yorka new yorka cropsy yes oh my gosh so i tried to cover i was gonna originally cover that maybe maybe i'll i'll do that on a separate episode but there is um i i watched burning the burning for you because apparently have you watched that i it feels like something you would have i have i have You and Dennis would eat that shit up. It was based on Cropsey. And so I was trying to get all my ducks in a row and try to know as much as I could. And I was going to give you a full report on how that movie went.

And I watched the movie and I was like, this is not that good. But some people really love like the horrible cheesy 1980s horror movies, like the slasher movies. Yeah. And that's what it was. So if you need something to watch tonight, have fun with Dennis is The Burning. And then there was another one called Madman, which was also about Cropsey. apparently there's some drama that I'm sure Dennis would know about where like the two of them were being filmed at the exact same time and only found out half with your production that both of them were being Cropsy slasher movies. Oh my gosh.

Anyway, just know that if you're a New Yorker and I was going to do Cropsey, maybe one day I'll do it again. But I just felt like it was, it was not getting the X factor I wanted. So you were talking about how you've been hearing a lot about maritime mysteries. Dennis and I were talking about Cropsey yesterday. Shut up. Okay, well, then maybe you come back sometime for a round two and I'll actually do Cropsey. I would love that because he's been to the Cropsey hospital, like the abandoned hospital. Oh, the Willowbrook, right?

Yes, yeah, yeah. He's been there. He said he'll never go back. He said it was just awful. Like the vibes were so dark and sad and like he. He said it was just like he's spooky. He'll never go. And he loves abandoned stuff, you know?

But that one was heavy, heavy, heavy. Well, good to know. I would like your take and his take on all this because it's, for those who don't know, it's an urban legend in New York, but it's also like very, there's some layers of crime there, which I don't usually cover either. But I was trying to find something spooky and hometowny for you. But I ended up going with the thing that I thought would bring more of a, huh, vibe. Dude.

So I'm going to be, you know I'm going to be going down a rabbit hole of that guy. What's that guy's name? Please give me the guy's name again. Frano, Frano Z-Lack. Frano Z-L-A-L-O. It's F-R-A-N-O, Frank with an O, Frano. Okay. And then S-E-L-A-K, S-L-A-K.

Okay. Damn, that guy, he's a dirty liar, but man, he's awesome. You know, I have to believe he's a dirty liar. I really don't want to be true. and I've never hoped that someone has fallen out of a fucking plane, but like I really wanted to be true. For his sake, I hope you fell out of a plane. For my sake, so I can be accurate in my storytelling, next one I'm at the bar. Thank you so much for coming on.

I really appreciate it. I've been like, we've recently had another friend of mine, Stephen, on. And it's so nice to like have, you know, all these friends on and, you know, just see what all of your interests are. And I know you've, I did not expect maritime. mystery from you, but I don't know why because mystery is like your whole vibe. So I love it. I love a maritime mystery. It was awesome.

Thank you so much. And where can people find you? Please plug yourself. Yeah, please. First of all, thank you for, thank you for having me on. This was such a joy. And thank you, you know, to the listeners for being so generous and like opening up your ear holes for this new person.

My Instagram is at Ms. Bethany Watson. So MS. Bethany Watson. I do a podcast with my partner, Dennis. It is free, but it's on Patreon, but it's free. It's called The Check In. And then if you like horror, if you like Smalltown Mysteries, we produced and released a television show last year called The Trouble with Tessa.

And it is now on 2B. You can watch it for free now. And I think all six episodes total are a little over two hours. They're like 20 minute episodes. We're super proud of it. And yeah, so The Trouble with Tessa now on Tooby. I have watched it many times. And it's wonderful.

I'm so proud of you guys. I can't believe I know someone who has made a movie. And not only that, but a power couple because of you made it together. It was, I'm just so blown away. It's wonderful. And Dennis is wonderful. You're wonderful. I love you both very much.

If you ever are interested, everybody, and following two new spooky people, I like to think of Dennis and Bethany as like Dracula and Mrs. Dracula. Oh. They're just, they're, they're perfectly meant to be. It's very spooky. And, you know, that's one of the reasons why I asked you to be here because I was like, I Well, thank you. I know that you'll handle it.

So, um, thank you. And you are, you are loved in our home, by the way, M. You are, you are beloved by both of us. We think the world of you. Oh, your, your dream. your dreams. Okay, well, we'll see everybody next week. And that's why we drink.

That's why we drink.