Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosity's, a production of IHeart 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.

From the time that he was a young boy, Ramon Artavatia knew that the ocean would play a role in his future.

After all, he was born in a coastal city in Uruguay in 1840 and came from a long line of seafarers.

According to family lore, on his deathbed, Ramon's grandfather gifted his father an old wooden

ore. Ramon would often read the inscription his grandfather had etched on its side.

Knowing how to use it, it said, you will never be hungry. Your ancestors have always survived

thanks to the sea. This is your destiny. Follow it. And follow it, he did. Ramon became a businessman,

often traveling by boat to Buenos Aires and other cities for work. When he was 31 years old,

he was heading home for Christmas on board the SS America, a large paddle steamer. In the early

hours of Christmas Eve, the ship was rocked by a deafening

explosion. Ramon rushed to the deck to find black smoke billowing from the hull. The America had

been racing another ship, and the crew had pushed her too hard, causing a steam pipe to burst.

As flames spread, the ship descended into pandemonium. Passengers fought for space

on the lifeboats not yet touched by fire. Ramon watched the chaos and terror, and the America groaned

as it sank. They were only a few miles from the coast, and he could see the lights of his hometown beckoning,

but it was just too far to swim.

Caught between flames and the sea, Ramon remembered his grandfather's words, and he made a choice.

He leapt overboard into the frigid water.

He was fished out soon afterwards, soaked and freezing, but still alive.

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