Futility Closet

In 1769, a Peruvian noblewoman set out with 41 companions to join her husband in French Guiana. But a series of terrible misfortunes left her alone in the Amazon jungle. In this week's episode we'll follow Isabel Godin des Odonais on her harrowing adventure in the rain forest. We'll also learn where in the world "prices slippery traps" is and puzzle over an airport's ingenuity. Intro: In 1949 neurophysiologist Grey Walter built electronic "tortoises" with primitive nervous systems. In 1952 G.V. Carey added an index to his manual of indexing. Sources for our feature on Isabel Godin des Odonais: Anthony Smith, The Lost Lady of the Amazon, 2003. Robert Whitaker, The Mapmaker's Wife, 2004. Jean Godin, "Voyage of Madame Godin Along the River of the Amazons, in the Year 1770," in Charlotte-Adélaïde Dard et al., Perils and Captivity, 1827. Larrie D. Ferreiro, Measure of the Earth, 2011. Edward Julius Goodman, The Explorers of South America, 1992. Londa L. Schiebinger, Plants and Empire, 2009. J. Donald Fernie, "Ma