Futility Closet - 290-Voss' Last Stand

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Futility Closet podcast, forgotten stories from the pages of history. Visit us online to sample more than 11,000 quirky curiosities from a heightened palindrome to a moving town. This is episode 290. I'm Greg Ross. And I'm Sharon Ross. In 1917, German pilot Werner Voss had set out for a patrol over the Western Front when he encountered two flights of British fighters, including seven of the best pilots in the Royal Flying Corps. In today's show,

Starting point is 00:00:38 we'll describe the drama that followed, which has been called one of the most extraordinary aerial combats of the Great War. We'll also honk at red lights in Mumbai and puzzle over a train passenger's mistake. Late in the afternoon of September 23, 1917, Lieutenant Werner Voss of the Imperial German Air Service climbed into his Fokker triplane and took off for a late flight over the Western Front. It already had the makings of a great day. Voss had taken off shortly after dawn, surprised a British bomber, and shot it down, scoring his 48th victory in less than a year.

Starting point is 00:01:17 Then he'd return to the field to greet his brothers, Otto and Max, who had arrived to accompany him home on leave the next day. At age 20, Voss had already had an impressive career. As a boy, he'd been drawn to mechanics and patriotic service. He'd qualified early as a motorcyclist and motorcycle mechanic, and when Germany had entered the Great War, he'd enlisted in the cavalry. He was sent to the Eastern Front, where he advanced rapidly and then transferred to the Air Service, where he revealed himself to be a gifted natural pilot. At length, he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 2, where he advanced rapidly and then transferred to the air service where he revealed himself to be a gifted natural pilot. At length he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 2 where he became friends with Manfred von Richthofen, who would become famous as the Red Baron. Their rivalry

Starting point is 00:01:54 was friendly. They often flew combat sorties together and would go hunting at Voss's home in Krefeld. The two of them were given early models of a new Fokker triplane, which combined impressive climbing ability with quick, tight turns, and Foss became a commander in Richthofen's fighter wing. When he wasn't in the air, Foss was often on the airfield, wearing oil-stained clothing and tinkering on engines with his mechanics. Before taking off, he would put on a colorful silk shirt to protect his neck, joking that it would impress the ladies of Paris if he were captured alive. Now his brothers watched him take off for his final patrol of the day. Nine aircraft left the field, but Foss immediately outclimbed the others and set out on his own. He had no way

Starting point is 00:02:36 of knowing it, but at about the same time, on the other side of the lines, 11 aircraft of Britain's 56 Squadron were taking off from their own field. Nearly all of them were flown by experienced pilots. It's not clear why Foss wanted to fly that day. One squadron mate wrote, He was on edge. He had the nervous instability of a cat. Possibly he hoped to raise his score to 50 before going home on leave. Perhaps he wanted to show off for his brothers, and perhaps he simply loved the new triplane. He was known for being reckless and impetuous, never shunning a fight, even against overwhelming odds, and

Starting point is 00:03:09 consistently he'd got away with it. The British found the skies busy with both Allied and German planes. James McCudden, who was leading the six fighters of B-Flight, wrote, As soon as we crossed over Hunland, I noted abnormal enemy activity, and indeed there seemed to be a great many machines of both sides about. Away to the east, one could see clusters of little black specks, all moving swiftly, first in one direction and then another. McCudden turned south and shot down a German reconnaissance plane, then led his flight north and climbed to around 6,000 feet. As they arrived at Pool Capella, he was about to give the signal to attack a flight of nearby German fighters when, just ahead of him and slightly below, he saw a British biplane descending, pursued by what he called a silvery-blue German triplane at very close range.

Starting point is 00:03:55 As McCutton watched, another British pilot, H.A. Hammersley, dove to the rescue. The triplane quickly changed direction and attacked, and the two flew at each other almost head-on, firing. At the last minute, Hammersley turned to avoid a collision and found the triplane above him and driving in aggressively from the flank. He wrote, The Hun was above me and heading straight at me, firing from about 30 degrees off the bow. There was a puff of smoke from my engine, and holes appeared along the engine cowling in front of me and in the wings. Realizing I could do nothing further in the matter, I threw my machine into a spin. The Hun followed me down, diving at me while I was spinning, and I had to do an inverted dive to get away. Foss had riddled the plane from nose to tail and was following it to do more damage.

Starting point is 00:04:39 Hammersley's companion, R. L. Chidlaw Roberts, tried to go to his aid and fired several bursts from short range, but they had no effect and the German turned on him next and shot his rudder bar to pieces. Unable to continue, the two British pilots disengaged from the fight and limped west. All of this had unfolded almost underneath B flight, and McCudden waggled his wings to signal an attack. The British fighters descended on Foss from above, McCudden attacking him from the right and Lieutenant Arthur Rhys-Davids from the left. Both came in from behind and fired as they went past, with Lieutenants K.K. Muspratt and V.P. Cronin following along in line. The other two pilots in McCudden's flight took little part in the fight but stayed above, perhaps to keep an eye

Starting point is 00:05:20 on the other enemy aircraft in the area. Foss may have been surprised to face so many opponents, but he had never shunned a fight. McCudden wrote, the German pilot saw us and turned in a most disconcertingly quick manner, not a climbing nor Immelmann turn, but a sort of flat half spin. By now the German triplane was in the middle of our formation and its handling was wonderful to behold. The pilot seemed to be firing at all of us simultaneously, and although I got behind him a second time, I could hardly stay there for a second. His movements were so quick and uncertain that none of us could hold him in sight at all for any decisive time. I now got a good opportunity as he was coming towards me, nose on, and slightly underneath, and had apparently not seen me. I dropped my nose, got him well in my sight, and pressed both triggers. As soon as I fired,

Starting point is 00:06:05 up came his nose at me, and I heard clack, clack, clack, clack as his bullets passed close to me and through my wings. I distinctly noticed the red-yellow flashes from his parallel Spandau guns. The last to dive on Foss was Cronin. He fired well, but pulled out of his dive to find that his fuel pressure was low, and now Foss turned on him ferociously. Desperately, he tried to turn to shake him off. The author Barry Diggins writes, The indefatigable Foss flew like the devil, dazzling his opponents with expert zooms and lightning-fast turns never before seen by any of the experienced British pilots, who, for the most part, were shooting at thin air whilst he was riddling them with murderous fire. To their utter

Starting point is 00:06:44 frustration, every time they fired, the German danced away in a series of spectacular sideslips and remarkable flat turns. As his fuel pressure dropped, Cronin struggled weakly to gain altitude. He wrote, I take my hat off to that Hun as he was a most skillful pilot, but he did give me a rough passage. On seeing my feeble attempt, he whipped round in an extraordinary way, using no bank at

Starting point is 00:07:05 all, but just throwing his tail behind him. He was at very close quarters and could hardly miss me. The bullets ripped all around me. I did not stick my machine down in an attempt to run, as I certainly would have done two months ago, but dived just enough to give me speed to turn under him and prevent him getting on my tail. The others were above, and I knew sooner or later they would drive him away, and the longer I stayed, the better their opportunity to nail him. I don't know how many times I turned under him. I did not stop to count, but it seemed an eternity. He finally got too close for me, and I resorted in desperation to the old method of shaking a pursuing machine. On the completion of the second revolution of my spin, I flattened out, and to my intense relief,

Starting point is 00:07:44 the Hun was no longer following me, nor had he escaped the others of the patrol who were busily engaged scrapping him. I looked back once to see two more SE-5s had joined in, and the Hun was making no attempt to escape. What is more, he was holding his own against the very uneven odds. With his plane now unable to fight, Cronin dove out of the contest and headed home. Foss had now effectively forced down three British planes, all of them flown by experienced pilots. This still left him facing three British fighters, and now three more joined the fray. Jeffrey Bowman, R.A. Mayberry, and R.T.C. Hoyge of Sea Flight. Bowman and Mayberry dove from above while Hoyge climbed from below.

Starting point is 00:08:23 Foss was now single-handedly facing six ace fighters from the most famous British squadron on the Western Front. In the course of the war, these six would collectively shoot down 168 enemy aircraft. But Foss showed no sign of fear, banking, rolling, zooming, and diving among the British planes and firing at each as it passed through his gun sights. Bowman wrote that the odds, quote, did not appear to deter him in the slightest. At that altitude, he had a much better rate of climb, or rather zoom, than we had, and frequently he was the highest machine of the seven and could have turned east and got away had he wished to. But he was not that type and always came down

Starting point is 00:08:59 into us again. McCudden wrote, the triplane was still circling around in the midst of six SEs who were all firing at it as opportunity offered, and at one time I noted the triplane was still circling around in the midst of six SEs who were all firing at it as opportunity offered, and at one time I noted the triplane in the apex of a cone of tracer bullets from at least five machines simultaneously, and each machine had two guns. Undaunted, Foss turned on Musprat next, sending bullets through his radiator, sump, and an oil pipe and forcing the British pilot to dive for home before his engine seized. Foss had now eliminated four opponents, and the remaining pilots of 56 Squadron renewed their resolve. They tried to trap him in a circle, but he shot his way out and climbed away. The pilot of an onlooking Bristol fighter wrote, I sat a thousand feet above, watching with profound

Starting point is 00:09:40 admiration this display of skill and daring. The dexterity of his maneuvering was quite amazing. He was in and out and round about our scouts, zigzagging like forked lightning through the sky. None of our men could get at him. Bowman wrote, his machine was exceptionally maneuverable and he appeared to take flying liberties with impunity. I myself had only one crack at him. He was about to pass broadside on across my bows and slightly lower. I put my nose down to give him a burst and opened fire perhaps too soon. To my amazement, he kicked on full rudder without bank, pulled his nose up slightly, and gave me a burst while he was skidding sideways, and then kicked on opposite rudder before the effects of this amazing stunt appeared to have any effect

Starting point is 00:10:20 on the controllability of his machine. But Hodge saw his chance and fired a long burst into Foss's starboard flank, and Rhys Davids, who had flown out of the thick of the fight to change the drum on his Lewis gun, now returned, closed on Foss from behind and above, and fired the full contents of the drum. It appears that Foss had not seen him return to the fight, and for the first time, Foss was flying in a straight line. Rhys DavDavids wrote, He made no attempt to turn until I was so close to him I was certain we would collide. He passed my right-hand wing by inches and went down. I zoomed. I saw him next with his engine apparently off, gliding west. Most likely, Foss had been hit by Rhys-Davids' unexpected attack,

Starting point is 00:11:00 but possibly he'd been wounded earlier in the fight, run out of fuel, or sustained some mechanical damage. Whatever the reason, he was no longer flying evasively. Rhys-David's dove again, got off a single shot with his Vickers gun, reloaded, fired another 20 to 30 rounds into the triplane, and zoomed past it and away. Foss's valiant stand was at an end. McCudden wrote, I saw him go into a fairly steep dive, and so I continued to watch, and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments, for it seemed to me that it

Starting point is 00:11:30 literally went to powder. The effects of Voss's stunning skill became even clearer when the British flights returned to their airfield. Cronin counted 42 bullet holes in his biplane. It had been close to stalling as he landed. He wrote, I went to bed as soon as I had a good look at my machine, but could hardly sleep a wink. I just lay in bed perspiring, though it was a cold night. All the other planes bore holes in their fabric and spars. Wings were riddled and bracing wires shot through. Two of them were total write-offs. It seemed incredible that none of the British pilots had been injured. The triplane had crashed near an entrenched position known to the British as Plum Farm, three-quarters of a mile northwest of Freisenberg in Belgium. Papers found on the pilot's body would identify him as the German fighter ace

Starting point is 00:12:14 Werner Voss. In the mess of 56 Squadron that night, Arthur Rhys Davids was congratulated by his friends, but there was none of the usual celebration that followed a hard-fought victory. The most somber were those who had participated in the fight. After the war, Cronin wrote, during the discussion at dinner, we somewhat theatrically stood and toasted a very courageous and tenacious fighter, who could have disengaged himself from the combat at any time. To detract from the tribute or credit deservedly received by Rhys Davids is the last thing I would wish to do. I had a great admiration for him as a brave young man of high moral courage. On the other hand, it is inconceivable that no one else who took part in the fight with Foss contributed by gunfire to his defeat. In truth,

Starting point is 00:12:55 such horrible glory must be shared between Rhys Davids and 56th Squadron. Bowman wrote later, Our elation was not nearly as great as you might have imagined. It was an amazing show on the part of Foss. I remember at the time feeling rather sorry it had to end the way it did. Rhys Davids, I think, was genuinely upset. During dinner, Rhys Davids turned to McCudden and said, Oh, if only I could have brought him down alive. Bowman would actively praise the gallantry and courage of his opponent. In reading accounts of the fight later,

Starting point is 00:13:23 he objected to seeing Foss described as dazzlingly elusive. He wrote, the use of the word elusive gives the impression that Foss was trying to escape from danger. Nothing is further from the truth. He would add later, we were all genuinely upset at having killed such a fine fighter. A week after the encounter, the British acknowledged Foss's stand in a statement to the press. It read, Foss was killed on 23 September while engaged in a spectacular combat with a British airman. He died fighting determinedly and magnificently. And they dropped notices of his death behind the German front. Werner Voss had been just 20 years old at his death. Arthur Rhys-Davids, who was credited with the victory, was 19. The victory

Starting point is 00:14:01 would be short-lived. Just over a month later, Reese Davids was shot down on the German side within five miles of where Voss lay buried. Werner Voss's last stand has been counted among the greatest aerial encounters of World War I and one of the most spectacular battles in the history of air warfare. James McCudden, who is in the center of it, wrote, As long as I live, I shall never forget my admiration for this German flyer, who kept seven of us in check for ten minutes and riddled all our aircraft with bullets. His flying ability was masterly, his courage outstanding, and in my opinion, he was the bravest German flyer it has been my privilege to see in aerial combat. Thank you. And this week we're sending out a special thank you to Kevin Clark, our newest super patron. If you would like to join Kevin and all our other wonderful patrons who support the show, you can check out our Patreon campaign at patreon.com slash futilitycloset.

Starting point is 00:15:14 Besides supporting us, if you become a patron, you'll get access to bonus content, such as extra discussions on some of the stories, more lateral thinking puzzles, outtakes, and peeks behind the scenes of the show. the stories, more lateral thinking puzzles, outtakes, and peeks behind the scenes of the show. Again, that's at patreon.com slash futilitycloset, or see the support us section of our website. And thanks again to everyone who helps support Futility Closet. We wouldn't still be here without you. The main story in episode 262 was about Richard Prenicky, who lived a life of self-reliance in harmony with nature for 30 years in a hand-built log cabin near a remote Alaskan lake. Colton Baker wrote,

Starting point is 00:16:01 Hi, Greg and Sharon. I'm a longtime listener and a Patreon supporter. I absolutely love the show. Thank you so much. I'm sure you've heard, but the Richard Prenicky Museum is about to release the fifth and final edition of his journals that include the entire 30 years that he was in Alaska. I just pre-ordered it and I'm very excited. In case you hear from anyone who is curious, here's a link to the page that has the contact info and the chance to support the museum. So thanks, Colton. And Colton sent a link to the official Prenicky website. And if anyone was interested in Prenicky's story, I do recommend checking out the site. They have various photos and links to some videos of the museum so that you can see a replica of his cabin and some of his possessions and creations, including a rather interesting handmade wooden locking system for his front door. And besides buying the journals that Colton mentioned, you can also buy some of Prenicky's sourdough starter and view sourdough recipe and tips. I found it rather heartwarming

Starting point is 00:16:50 to see and hear these people who still really honor Prenicky and his life, and the little museum is clearly a labor of love. Yeah, it's amazing how people really seem to have been personally touched by that story. In episode 270, I covered some creative ways that some places were testing out to try to get motorists to stop speeding. Melissa Smith, who merrily invited me to purposefully mispronounce her name as creatively as I saw fit, wrote, Hello, Sharon and Greg. I was listening to the reader mail about inventive experiments to reduce speeding, and it reminded me of another driving-related story I recently saw in the news. Mumbai is trying to reduce honking at intersections by installing machines that increase wait time if people honk. What an ingenious and maddening

Starting point is 00:17:34 solution to a noisy problem. Way to harness social pressure for a good cause. And Melissa sent a link to an article in The Guardian titled, Honk More, Wait More. Mumbai tests traffic lights that reward the patient driver. Now, it wouldn't occur to me to honk my horn at a red light, but apparently this is quite a thing in India. The article states, there is a truth universally acknowledged by drivers in India. Honk your horn loud enough and the traffic lights will surely change to green. So to try to reduce the deafening noise pollution, the police in Mumbai, which has an estimated population of 20 million people, tried out a traffic light system at some intersections that would reset the red traffic signal if the sound

Starting point is 00:18:15 of car horns exceeded 85 decibels. Apparently, the traffic lights in Mumbai, as well as several other Indian cities, display countdown timers so people can see how much time there is left before the light changes to green. So drivers would actually see this countdown timer reset when the noise level went too high. The Mumbai police made a video that went viral showing this in action with a voiceover saying, welcome to the honking capital of the world. People hear honk even when the signal is red. Maybe they think that will turn the signal green faster. The video shows a great number of vehicles stopped at a red light and a countdown timer showing what looks like 90 seconds, which is a fairly long time to be stopped at a red light. And an article in the New York Times explained that the drivers actually start leaning on their horns to make sure that the other drivers are ready to go, which is what it looked like to

Starting point is 00:19:04 me in the video, that the honking starts as the countdown gets below about 20 seconds. In the video, the decibel level rises, as shown on a digital sign measuring the noise level, and when it hit 85, the timer reset to 90, completely confusing many of the drivers. The police had put up some signs that said honk more, wait more, but clearly many drivers had no idea what was happening. Some drivers started yelling at others to stop honking their horns. Many amused bystanders were laughing at the confounded drivers and watching cops exchanged a happy hand slap. The video ends with a voiceover of feel free to honk if you don't mind waiting. The Times quotes a Mumbai police spokesperson as saying,

Starting point is 00:19:45 this is what we wanted to tell them. Honking or making noise doesn't move the traffic. The traffic takes its own time to move, okay? This experiment was run in November and December 2019, and the articles that I saw reported that the police were discussing how to implement this system across Mumbai, and that officials in other locations were also interested in setting up a similar system in their areas. So perhaps the punishing signal, as the Mumbai police called it, will get a wider rollout in India. If you didn't understand the system, and you were just impatient, your first impulse would be to lean on the horn. Even more. Also, they have to be sure that there's nothing else loud enough in the area. Yeah, I was wondering about that. That's pretty loud, though.

Starting point is 00:20:24 That is pretty loud. But I mean, yeah, what if there was construction or anything else going on? You'd never get to leave. The main story in episode 284 was about a scandalous murder in the Red Barn, where William Corder killed and hid the body of Maria Martin in the village of Polstead in Suffolk, England in 1827. Corder's rather sensational trial was held in Bury St. Edmunds in 1828, where he was also hanged after being found guilty. Brian Hatt wrote, Dear Greg and Sharon, I was thrilled by the coincidence this morning, Monday, the 17th of February, to see your latest episode is about the Red Barn murder. It's an amazing coincidence because I live in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England, and yesterday I visited the Moises Hall Museum, which is in the

Starting point is 00:21:09 center of Bury St. Edmunds. One of the displays in the museum is dedicated to the Red Barn murders. The display contains various items, including the book bound in Quarters' skin, as well as his scalp and right ear, a death mask, and a carved bust copy of his head used for studying phrenology. Also in the display are William Corder's pistols, one of which was a weapon used in the murder. The pistols are very small, intended as a self-defense item. Maria Martin was shot through the neck but also had stab wounds, and it was suggested that the shot from the pistol was not enough to kill Maria. There was also a snuff box made from part of the red barn itself. The description of this item said that it is the only verified genuine piece of the barn itself that is known

Starting point is 00:21:49 about. The barn was stripped and demolished in order to create souvenirs. You mentioned during the episode that the skeleton was claimed by a descendant. Before it was claimed, it had been used by anatomy students at a hospital, and there was a bit of description that mentioned that students like to dance with William's skeleton. Descendants have tried to claim the parts of And the article that Brian sent a link to was about how Linda Turner had hoped to persuade a special committee set up by the St. Edmondsbury Borough Council to release the remains of Corder that are currently housed in the Moises Hall Museum. Turner's claims to the remains are that her step-grandmother was a descendant of Corder's grandfather, and she insisted that she and Allison Johnston, who is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Corder's sister, Mary Borum, had a right to have his remains buried in Polstead, which she said was also the wishes of the people of Polstead.

Starting point is 00:22:49 However, Rory Corder, who was the nearest known surviving male descendant from the second marriage of Corder's grandfather's eldest son, had asked the committee to keep the remains at the museum. He stated that Turner was not an actual blood relative of Corder's and thus shouldn't have any claims on the remains. The committee unanimously voted to deny Turner's request. After the meeting, the committee chairman said, we took it extremely seriously. We had a week to consider all the papers. I am confident the decision we made was made on the basis of all the evidence that was available. And he said that the main reasons for denying Turner's request were that she wasn't a direct descendant, that closer relatives could one day come forward and want something different for the remains,

Starting point is 00:23:29 and that the council had what the article called a presumption against getting rid of public assets. And I'm just glad that I didn't have to try to work out who was a nearer relative than whom, and thus who gets to have their wishes carried out in this way. I always have a lot of trouble making sense of these kind of lineage things. But it did seem a bit odd to call some of Corder's remains public assets. Every part of that story is gruesome somehow. They've got his ear and part of his scalp in a museum and people are fighting over it.

Starting point is 00:23:57 Every detail. Thanks so much to everyone who writes to us. We are always glad to get your feedback, comments, and follow-ups. So if you have any of those that you'd like who writes to us. We are always glad to get your feedback, comments, and follow-ups. So if you have any of those that you'd like to send to us, please send them to podcast at futilitycloset.com. It's Greg's turn to try to solve a lateral thinking puzzle. I'm going to give him an odd sounding situation,

Starting point is 00:24:25 and he has to try to work out what's going on, asking yes or no questions. This puzzle comes from Marie Nearing with some minor rewording by me. A tourist is at a train station. He boards the correct train, only to then realize that he hasn't boarded it correctly. What happened? Okay, correct train meaning the train that's going to the destination he hopes to reach. Yes. But he hasn't boarded it correctly.

Starting point is 00:24:50 Correct. So he's in some, all right, does this have to do with the customs of the locale that he's in, whatever that is? Along those lines. There's a way that people customarily enter trains? Not exactly. Is this what I would think of as a regular train? Yes. Okay.

Starting point is 00:25:08 Do I need to know? Would it help me to know where this is? No, I'll tell you it's in Japan. Customarily. Okay. Is there anything more I need to know about him? Is he just a sort of an ordinary person? Sure.

Starting point is 00:25:21 And do I need to know more about where he's going or occupation, anything like that? No. He's just a person, anything like that? No. He's just a person getting on a train? Yes. Okay. So the first thing I think is that there's some social custom peculiar to Japan that he didn't know about. Is this true? Yes.

Starting point is 00:25:37 So he was just, he would get on in the way, let's say, can I assume he's American or can we say he's American? I believe he's American. Or he's me, let's say. Okay. I would just get on the train the way I would do it in America. If I did that in Japan, are we saying that that's not the way it's normally done in Japan? I wouldn't say that. But it's not correct?

Starting point is 00:25:59 I mean, that sort of sounds like what you're saying. Oh, you would say it's not correct? He has done something incorrect. Illegal? sounds like what you're saying oh you would say it's not correct he has done something incorrect illegal um i'm not 100 sure but possibly i think it's maybe not exactly illegal but close along those lines does he does he end up on the train yes correct or not yes all right well does he go through a door in the train? Yes. So he goes from outside the train and arrives inside the train. Yes. And thereafter travels on the train.

Starting point is 00:26:33 Yes. Incorrect. Boy, how do you even... Does he walk from one point to the other? Yes. Are there other people involved? I mean, is it that he should have waited for other people to get on first, something like that? No. So if he were alone, he'd still have done this incorrectly, still have been seen to have done it incorrectly?

Starting point is 00:26:54 Yes. Trying to answer the best I can. Okay, well, if he walked from the platform onto the train and that's deemed to be incorrect, then that means he— No. That part of it isn't deemed to be incorrect. I guess, if I understand what you mean. Well, we said it's not the timing. It's not the timing. And it's—I'm understanding that it has something to do with him getting from the platform onto the train? Not exactly, no.

Starting point is 00:27:29 Not the timing. His route, somehow? No. I don't know how else to ask that. No. And other people aren't involved. Not directly, no. And this is something that you said, let's pretend it's you, and I could say, yes, we could, but we couldn't pretend it's me.

Starting point is 00:27:50 Because I'm a man? Yes. But we said, so it's not that women should get on for something like that, because you said there might even not be other people involved. Right. He could have gotten on the train entirely by himself, and there was nobody else at the station trying to get on. Are trains in Japan segregated by gender? Some of the cars are, yes. Marie's answer is he is a tourist in Japan and has boarded the correct train, but he

Starting point is 00:28:12 has mistakenly boarded one of the women-only train cars. These cars were introduced as a way to prevent sexual harassment or groping of female passengers, mainly during rush hour. And Marie explained that this almost happened to her husband during their trip to Japan to visit her grandmother when the three of them almost got on a woman-only train car by mistake. Marie says you might ask what's the big deal? He could have switched to a different car once he realized his mistake, but the train car doors were locked at both ends, so you were essentially stuck until the next station. And Marie sent an article that explains

Starting point is 00:28:43 that Japan really has had ongoing problems with female passengers being inappropriately touched during rush hour, when there are often long commutes and people are crammed together. And there are some men who object to these women only train cars as discriminating against them. But so far, there just hasn't been another effective solution to the problem. That's interesting. So thanks to Marie for that puzzle, which was a bit eye-opening for me. And if anyone else has a puzzle for us to try, please send it to podcast at futilitycloset.com. Futility Closet really relies on the support of our listeners. If you'd like to help support our celebration of the quirky and the curious, please check out our Patreon page

Starting point is 00:29:24 at patreon.com slash futilitycloset, or see the support us section of the quirky and the curious, please check out our Patreon page at patreon.com slash futilitycloset, or see the support us section of the website at futilitycloset.com. While you're at the site, you can also browse through Greg's collection of over 11,000 bite-sized distractions, check out the Futility Closet store, learn about the Futility Closet

Starting point is 00:29:40 books, and see the show notes for the podcast, with links and references for the topics we've covered. If you have any questions or comments for us, you can email us at podcast at futilitycloset.com. All of our music was written and performed by Greg's incredible brother, Doug Ross. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next week.

Futility Closet - 290-Voss' Last Stand

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