Futility Closet

In 1930 Harold Lasseter claimed he'd discovered an enormous deposit of gold in the remote interior of Australia, and a small group of men set off into the punishing desert in search of a fortune estimated at 66 million pounds. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Lasseter's reef, one of the most enduring legends of the Australian outback. We'll also reconsider the mortality rates of presidents and puzzle over an unlocked door. Intro: Where is pain? In the early 1800s a Frenchman known as Tarrare gained fame for eating practically anything. Sources for our feature on Lasseter's reef: David Hill, Gold!: The Fever That Forever Changed Australia, 2010. Ion Llewellyn Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, 1940. National Library of Australia, National Treasures from Australia's Great Libraries, 2005. Andrew Bain, "Lasseter's Footsteps," Australian Geographic 69 (January-March 2003), 100. Declan Cooley, "Gladstone Man's Massive Gold Find Claim, Needs Mining Giant," [Gladstone, Quee