Welcome to AirNManky's Cabinet of Curiosity's, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm

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 Curiosity's.

According to legend, every year for over 1,000 years, writers and their horses would gather

in the Middle East for a race.

It was a test of endurance known as the Ocean of Fire and it spanned 3,000 miles of desert.

Frank T. Hopkins wrote a detailed account of his participation in that race, which he'd

competed in toward the end of the 19th century.

While many don't remember Hopkins today, they certainly remember his horse.

Hidalgo.

Today the ocean of fire has been deemed nothing more than a tall tail.

Hopkins and his brave steed probably never traversed the Middle Eastern desert, but similar

tests of endurance are still run to this day.

One such competition was held in the French city of Nunt back in 1997.

Racers gathered from all over Europe to show the world who was the best, who had the stamina,

the drive, the determination to get back to England and take home the gold.

The race's motto translated to English as, at dawn we go, and at 6.30 in the morning

on June 22nd, that's what they did.

The racers took off making their way across the English channel with gusto.

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