May 12, 2014
After losing his feet in an accident in the 1880s, South Africa
railway worker James "Jumper" Wide found an unlikely friend in a
baboon named Jack. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet
podcast we'll learn how Jumper taught Jack to work as a signalman
on the railway line, where he won the trust of both authorities and
passengers.
We'll also meet an Englishman who dreamed the winners of horse
races, ponder the strange case of the Stringfellow Acid Pits, and
present the next Futility Closet Challenge.