Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I Heart Radio and

Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history is an open book, all of these

amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Science and magic may seem like opposites, but they've always been very close friends.

In the ancient world, religion, superstition, philosophy and

mathematics were all intersecting fields of study. In ancient Greece and Persia

for example, thinkers who practiced astrology also broke new ground in geometry.

In the modern age we tend to keep the natural and the supernatural separate.

After all, through science we can cure disease and fly to the stars. Isn't that magical enough?

But for Jack Parsons, one of the pioneers of rocketry,

enchantments and experiments literally went hand in hand.

Jack was born on October 2nd of 1914 in Pasadena, California.

His childhood was a lonely one,

and he spent more time with comic books and Jules Verne novels

than with other kids. Reading science fiction Jack could dream of escaping his

life in the suburbs to explore the galaxy. As he got older he focused on how

to get there in real life.

By the age of 12, Jack had found a kindred spirit in Edward Foreman, another boy who loves science fiction.

The two engaged themselves in typical, safe pre-teen boy activities, namely creating their own rockets out of

aluminum foil and fireworks.

Around this time, Jack also got interested in magic.

In the same Pulp magazines where he read sci-fi stories he also found incantations to summon demons.

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