Futility Closet

In the 19th century, an enormous hedge ran for more than a thousand miles across India, installed by the British to enforce a tax on salt. Though it took a Herculean effort to build, today it's been almost completely forgotten. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe this strange project and reflect on its disappearance from history. We'll also exonerate a rooster and puzzle over a racing murderer. Intro: A group of plasterers working in London’s Tate Britain art gallery in 1897 left a message for future generations. Four chemical elements were discovered in the same Swedish mine. Sources for our feature on the Great Hedge of India: Roy Moxham, The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier that Divided a People, 2001. Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A World History, 2011. Sir William Henry Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official, 1844. Shugan Chand Aggarwal, The Salt Industry in India, 1976. Sir John Strachey, India, 1888. Ajit K. Neogy, The Paramount Power a