Welcome to Erin Mankie'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.

Walk through any grocery store and you'll find countless items with interesting backstories.

Cornflakes, for example, were invented by John Harvey Kellogg and his brother as a way

to curb one's passions.

They were bland and flavorless, exactly what lustful patients at his sanatorium needed

to keep their hands off each other and themselves.

And thanks to botanist William Hughes' work in South America during the 17th century,

people all over America and Europe now enjoy piping hot cups of cocoa every winter.

But before one particular item showed up in grocery stores and farmers markets, it stood

as a symbol for wealth and aristocracy.

It was discussed as though it had been handcrafted by the House of Faberier itself for those

privileged enough to afford it.

This item originally hailed from South America, where the Tupinamba people grew and ate it.

According to an English translation of André Tivez, 1568 original French account,

the new found world, it was called Hoi Riri.

But these things were notoriously difficult to transport, making the rare few that found

their way to Europe prohibitively expensive.

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