Summary: <p></p> <p>In 1910, four Alaskan gold miners set out to climb Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, to win a two-cent bar bet. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the surprising story of the Sourdough Expedition, a mountaineering effort that one modern climber calls "superhuman by today's standards."</p> <p>We'll also hear about a ghoulish tourist destination and puzzle over why a painter would blame himself for World War II.</p> <p>Sources for our feature on the Sourdough expedition:</p> <p>Bill Sherwonit, "The Sourdough Expedition," <em>Alaska</em> 68:4 (May/June 2002), 28.</p> <p>Jason Strykowski, "Impossible Heights: The Alaskan Miners Who Conquered Mount McKinley," <em>Wild West</em> 24:4 (December 2011), 20.</p> <p>Terrence Cole, ed., <em>The Sourdough Expedition</em>, 1985.</p> <p>W.F. Thompson, <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C07E3DF1E39E333A25756C0A9609C946196D6CF">"First Account of Conquering Mt. McKinley,"</a> <em>New York Times</em>, June 5, 1910.</p> <p>Listener mail:</p> <p>The <em>Telegraph</em> has <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/8296522/Ghoulish-mummies-in-the-Capuchin-Catacombs-in-Palermo-Sicily.html">a photo of the mummies in the Capuchin catacombs</a> in Palermo, Sicily.</p> <p>Wikipedia has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombe_dei_Cappuccini">a photo of Rosalia Lombardo</a>, the immaculately preserved 2-year-old embalmed in 1920, and another appears here:</p> <p>Karen Lange, <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090126-sicily-mummy.html">"Lost 'Sleeping Beauty' Mummy Formula Found,"</a> <em>National Geographic News</em>, Jan. 26, 2009 (accessed 10/10/2015).</p> <p>This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2005 book <em>Outstanding Lateral Thinking Puzzles</em>.</p> <p>You can listen using the player above, <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/futilitycloset/Futility_Closet_podcast_-_Episode_77.mp3">download this episode directly</a>, or subscribe <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast?id=842593579">on iTunes</a> or via the RSS feed at <a href="http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset">http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset</a>.</p> <p>Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our <a href="http://www.patreon.com/futilitycloset">Patreon page</a> you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support.</p> <p>You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website.</p> <p>Many thanks to <a href="http://dougross.net/">Doug Ross</a> for the music in this episode.</p> <p>If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at <a href="mailto:podcast@futilitycloset.com">podcast@futilitycloset.com</a>. Thanks for listening!</p>
