The first thing Ludmila Trut noticed on the farm was the smell.

A mix of wet fur and animal droppings. The stench of foxes packed too close together.

But what truly terrified her

was the viciousness of the foxes

Every time she approached their cages they snarled at her snapping their teeth

the dmila referred to them as fire-breathing dragons. And somehow, it was her job to tame them.

It was all part of an experiment to try and domesticate foxes. It was

highly dangerous work and not just because of the snarling and snapping.

Ludmila was working in Siberia, where temperatures regularly dropped to 40 degrees below zero. Even more dangerous was the political climate.

For reasons I'll explain in a moment, this research was illegal in the Soviet Union then.

Her boss's brother had actually been murdered for doing similar work.

And between the Soviet authorities and the bloodthirsty foxes,

Ludmilla couldn't help but wonder if her life would be next.

Now this story about Ludmilla's secret research actually started with an idea from a listener,

Penelope in South Dakota. Penelope suggested a story about the science of stuffed animals.

And when I heard that suggestion, I admit I was stumped.

What science was there in stuffed animals?

But I quickly realized there was way more science here than I ever expected.

Probably the most famous stuffed animal of all time was the Teddy Bear, named after Teddy Roosevelt.

And if you go back and look at those first teddy bears, they look a little unusual.

The first teddy bears were cute, but they had long gangly limbs like a teenager and really small heads.

They looked nothing like stuffed animals now.

...