- Some people think history is boring,
but I think Ben Franklin might have been involved
in some weird sex parties.
(grand orchestral music)
Guys, what do you know about Ben Franklin?
- Kites, kites.
- Ethics.
- Kites and--
- Kites and keys.
- And the feather with the ball, right?
He did that.
- Hang on a sec.
- Is that Newton?
- Yeah, nevermind, that was so Newton.
- He also helped Nicholas Cage find treasure.
- Okay. (laughing)
Born in 1706, Benjamin Franklin is often regarded
as the model American citizen.
Throughout his life he was, well, he was a lot of things.
Look at all these things.
Beyond all that stuff, though, he seems
like the kind of guy you wouldn't mind sharing
a beer with.
But, if you did spend some quality time with
Ben Franklin, things might get weird.
- Wait.
Are these saucy things?
- These are some saucy things.
- He's gonna ruin the history books for all of us.
- [Shane] In the years during and after America's
fight for independence, Franklin spent much of his time
serving as a diplomat in Europe,
and it's a good thing he did.
Author Walter Isaacson has argued that America
wouldn't have won the war without Franklin's
diplomacy in France.
It wasn't all politics for Franklin, though.
At the time, Paris was regarded as one of the most
cosmopolitan cities up to that point in history,
and a wave of cultural enlightenment,
paired with the strong economy, afforded the upper class
with the means to, um, get just,
get a little crazy.
(tense music)
But we'll dig into that in just a moment.
Franklin seemingly found himself right at home
in this environment.
To give you an idea of his Bohemian life abroad,
consider the curious morning routine he picked up
during his time in France.
- [Ryan] Oh Jesus Christ.
- I think it was powder on the balls.
(laughing)
- Powder the wig, powder the balls.
- That sounds awesome.
- Powder those balls and get out on the street
and go do somethin'.
(laughing)
- [Shane] Writing to a friend of his,
Franklin described his habit of taking what he called
air baths.
"I rise almost every morning and sit in my chamber
"without any clothes whatever.
"Half and hour or an hour according to the season,
either reading or writing.
"The practice is not in the least bit painful
"but, on the contrary, agreeable."
- Describing sexual acts in this kind of language
makes them feel dirtier than they are.
- This isn't sexual.
- There's no sexuality here.
- He's just sittin' around his house naked.
- You know, if his hand happens to fall
to his lap.
- Do you think guys just jerk off on accident or?
- I mean kinda.
- [Ryan] Wait, what?
- Uh oh.
Not this again.
- Ah damn, well I gotta finish now.
(laughing)
- [Shane] Franklin's social calendar in Europe
was chock full of invites to gluttonous,
all night ragers where his status as an
American statesman made him a novelty.
The women of France allegedly couldn't get enough of him.
One account describes hundreds of women surrounding him,
placing a beautiful wreath upon his head
and practically lining up to kiss him.
- No, that didn't happen.
- That sounds like something, though, that you'd do
to your old grandpa.
- What? - What?
- Not like, like--
- So you are saying at family gatherings--
- No, I'm saying like, is that something
you're gonna do to someone you wanna get with?
Like, put a fun hat on them and?
- It sounds like a fantasy for sure.
Like, "Oh they adorned me with a wreath."
- [Shane] Ben's home life was equally saucy.
When famous painter, Charles Willson Peale paid
Franklin a surprise visit one afternoon,
he spied the elderly diplomat with a young woman
seated on his lap.
This sketch of his is believed to depict the two.
Kind of a weird thing to sketch.
- It looks like she's got a hearty grip on his balls.
- She's got a straight vice on there.
- They're still wearing pretty much everything.
- Yeah.
- [Ryan] One thing I will say that disturbs me about
this picture is the fact that they both are looking
into each other's eyes as they do it.
- Yeah, the eyes are very striking.
- They're kissing but they're--
- [Sara] Yes.
- He looks shocked.
- [Shane] Some historians have evaluated
Franklin's habit of charming the elite women
of Europe as a strategic ploy,
suspecting that he hoped that they would speak
favorably of Franklin and his case
for American liberty to their policy making husbands, but,
many others argue that he was just a vulgar man.
Author Albert Henry Smith wrote that Franklin's, quote,
"Animal instincts and passions were strong and rank."
(laughing) - Ew.
- You know, good ol' animal Ben.
- An animal.
- Rank.
- How young was Franklin at this point?
- He probably would have been around 60 or 70.
- Oh god, the story got so much worse.
- How many butts did he touch?
- A lot of butts.
- [Shane] Based on Franklin's party animal lifestyle,
it makes sense that he would be in the same social circles
as some of Europe's more notorious scoundrels,
and so he was.
So let us now turn our attention to a man
whose life would soon intersect with Franklin's,
Sir Francis Dashwood.
(gasping) - Shit.
- Sir Francis Dashwood?
(laughing)
(tense music)
- [Shane] Born in 1708, Sir Francis Dashwood was the only
heir of a wealthy merchant.
He is perhaps best summed by one author's description,
quote, "An enormously rich man with a genius for obscenity."
Dashwood's primary interests were seemingly set in stone
when in his formative years, he embarked on his grand tour,
a traditional rite of passage during which
wealthy young men traversed through Europe
on a cultural odyssey.
As his tutor put it, Dashwood quote,
"Fornicated his way across Europe."
In one instance, he even seduced the Empress of Russia
while claiming to be Charles the 12th of Sweden,
a man who was, at that point, dead.
- Holy shit, this guy's like James Bond.
- Yeah, a little bit.
- Yeah. - Did he have a magic penis?
- No.
- Why did girls find him so attractive?
- How'd you jump to that?
- Oh, I thought you said matching.
- I thought you said matching penis also.
- I feel like most men have a matching penis.
- Yeah, you'd think.
(laughing)
- I don't wanna, okay. (laughing)
- [Shane] These travels also inspired Dashwood's fascination
with sacred rituals of the past.
He kind of hated the religious institutions of his day
but he was simultaneously mystified by Europe's
rich history.
So when he wasn't womanizing, he was sauntering
through dusty catacombs lined with mummified corpses,
or sitting in old Roman ruins imaging
the orgies of the past.
So it's this old mutual appreciation for debauchery
and sacred history that would lead to
Dashwood's greatest achievement and ultimately,
his friendship with Ben Franklin,
The Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe.
Or, as it was popularly known,
(tense music)
the Hellfire Club.
- Oh shit.
- That sounds cool.
- [Shane] Dashwood's Hellfire Club was meant to attract
the most depraved and intellectual men of the time.
And over the course of the club's history, its
lineup would allegedly include such notable men
as the Prime Minister of England,
the Lord Mayor of London,
several of England's greatest artists and poets,
the Prince of Wales, and possibly, as evidence
would strongly suggest, Ben Franklin.
See, Dashwood was publicly known to sympathize
with the cause of the American rebels,
and he had exchanged letters with Franklin
on many occasions.
Furthermore, Franklin actually visited Dashwood's estate
at West Wycombe for an extended period
in July of 1772, and during his stay, there is a record
of a club meeting taking place.
According to author Daniel Mannix quote,
"There seems to be no reason why Franklin
"should have gone to Wycombe at this special time
"unless he was a member.
"Only club members were allowed at Dashwood's estate
"during club meetings."
So with Franklin's likely involvement in mind,
let's look at what he might have encountered
during his visits with the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe.
The members of the club reportedly donned white
monk's robes, and were each allowed to invite along quote,
"A lady of a cheerful, lively disposition,
"to improve the general hilarity."
These women also dressed the part, wearing nun's robes
and masks to avoid an embarrassing run in with
a husband or acquaintance.
- This is some freaky shit here.
- Eyes Wide Shut.
- That's where the train's headin', I can tell.
- [Shane] One of the first locations of the Hellfire Club
was on the shores of an island in the Thames River.
Shrouded in a thick grove of elm trees, the island
was the perfect location for the makeshift monks
to spend an evening with their dates away from
the prying eyes of the public.
It was also ideal because it was home to the crumbling
remnants of an old medieval ruin built
in the year 1160 known as Medmenham Abbey.
Dashwood actually set about reconstructing the site,
but as he had a flair for the theatrical,
he asked that it still resemble a spooky old ruin.
But he did install a few upgrades.
A series of stained glass windows depicting
the club members in quote, "Indecent poses."
A brilliant pornographic fresco, the John Wilkes, who wasn't
known to shy away from vulgarity described as quote,
"Unspeakable."
And an expansive library stocked with classical literature
as well as what was called, quote,
"The finest collection of pornographic books
"in Great Britain."
- This kind of sounds fun 'cause it's like,
oh they probably all came in and then he was like,
"Hey, Barry, I got a stained glass window of you."
- Was it just a big stained glass window
of Franklin's boner or something?
- He was known for them.
- He was known for his boners.
- What?
To be clear, he was not know for his boners.
- He was known for his boners.
Stop lying, Shane.
- Big Boner Ben.
- Stained glass dick.
- Now that the scene is set,
let's run through a hypothetical meeting.
Please refer to the educational materials
beneath your desks.
- [Ryan] Oh.
- Ooo.
- Ooo, are we putting on robes?
- I will say, if you have a mask on like this,
I guess it would make it easier to do weird,
debaucherous things.
- Yeah, don't you feel a little sexier with it on?
- Oh, god, you're like one of those medieval doctors.
I don't like it al all. (laughing)
(slow, tense music)
- [Shane] In the cover of night, the hooded monks
and their dates would arrive to the island
on a red gondola.
Stepping ashore, they were greeted by the far off drone
of the Abbey's organ and the ringing
of a ghostly church bell.
Outside the Abbey, they'd come upon an ominous statue
of Harpocrates, the Egyptian God of silence.
(slow, tense music)
Once inside the Abbey, Dashwood would pour his guests
a special cocktail of brandy and brimstone
and they'd all raise a glass and toast
to the powers of darkness.
- This sounds fucking incredible.
(laughing)
- I'm so into it.
- I love theme parties, and this just sounds
like it just takes it to a next level.
- Except you just don't wanna go to that last level.
- Yeah, I don't wanna, I just wanna do the fun stuff
and everyone else is like, starts kissin' in the corner
and you're like, "I gotta go."
- [Shane] With the striking of a gong, the monks
would move further into the Abbey and file
into the chapel.
Here, it is suspected they practiced a black mass,
in which a woman laid naked on the altar,
and the monks proceeded to drink sacrificial wine
from her navel.
- This is pretty cool so far.
- Yeah, they're havin' fun.
- Oh yeah, you were in a fraternity.
- We didn't do that.
- You didn't do?
- Nope.
Only good things.
- Didn't do shots off the navel?
- Only did community service.
- Ah ha, lies.
- [Shane] Now, it's generally thought that the members
weren't actual Satanists, despite all these weird rituals.
Some members actually found this aspect
pretty boring.
John Wilkes actually found the rituals so dull
that he once dressed a baboon up as a demon,
bear with me, he locked it in a trunk
and he stowed it in the Abbey.
Then, when the members called upon Lord Satan to appear,
Wilkes pulled a string to release the frightened animal.
For a moment, the members stared in disbelief.
Then they lost their minds.
The terrified baboon leapt onto Lord Sandwich,
yes the guy who invited the sandwich,
causing him to allegedly shout,
"Spare me, gracious devil!
"I never knew that you'd really come
"or I'd never have invoked thee!"
- I like that, even among this like weird society,
there was one guy who was like,
"This society is dull."
- The baboon also, after this happened,
jumped out the window, and they weren't able to catch it.
- Yeah, that makes sense. - Bye, suckers!
- So now there's a baboon running around the city amuck.
- Fuck you. (laughing)
- [Shane] As the alcohol continued to flow,
the monks and their guests might share dirty stories,
or read from the eras more popular works
of pornographic literature.
I've each provided you with a snippet of pornography.
These are from a piece published in 1740 titled,
"A Dialogue Between a Married Lady and a Maid."
So without further ado.
- "There is between the thighs,
"just at the bottom of the belly, a piece of flesh.
"Underneaths hangs in a bag or purse, two little balls,
"pretty hard, and the harder the better.
"They call them stones, and in them is contained
"that white thick liquor."
(laughing)
- I didn't find that that repulsive.
- No, very fun.
- Alright, well, here we go.
(laughing)
"He took hold of that place which distinguishes
"us from men.
"At the same time he cried out,
"'O!
"'I have a maid!
"'A virgin to my share!'"
- I like that they seem to not know the words
for penis and vagina.
- "The place that distinguishes us from men."
- Yeah.
- Okay.
"His member was stuff and hard as a horn.
"Just as he had finished,"
uh why?
"My mother, who had heard me shriek, came into the room."
- "'What a happy girl you are!," said she.
"'Pluck off this smock, which I will keep for a relick,
"'since it is stained with thy virgin's blood.'"
- A fun little souvenir.
- Remember your first night?
- I think we got the lesser of it.
I think we got let off easy here.
- I don't know about that.
- You had a playful little description of balls.
- You said "thick white liquor," that's hilarious.
- Yeah, thick white liquor.
- [Shane] With bellies full of drinks and minds
full of smut, guests would start to pair off and retreat
to any of the private cells which were prepared
and stocked with the quote,
"Proper objects for lascivious activities."
- This is probably what like all Hollywood parties are like.
- You think Spielberg's just runnin' through,
hard as a horn.
- Not Spielberg but like--
- You should've seen Spielberg last night.
His white liquor was so thick.
(laughing) - Ew!
- [Shane] After operating in secret for many years,
the details of the Hellfire club at Medmenham Abbey
were recounted in a popular novel in the year 1760.
It captivated the public's imagination to the point
that tourists began to line the shores to spot
the sex monks arriving.
But, not wanting to give up his weird sex parties,
Dashwood bounced back by having an elaborate system
of caves dug on his own private property a few miles
away from the Abbey, and it was here that the monks
of the Hellfire Club continued to hold their orgies
in total privacy.
This new location, and the fact that it was gated
from the public and accessible only to club members,
lends further credence to Franklin's participation.
As he once wrote in a letter,
"The exquisite sense of classical design,
charmingly reproduced at West Wycombe, is as evident
"below the earth as above it."
Author Daniel Mannix argues that Franklin's letter
must be referring to the caves and further adds
that quote, "Franklin would have been shortsighted
"if he hadn't joined the club.
"He was a diplomat trying to help his country
"and the club gave him the entree to some of the
"most influential men in England."
So as the guest list for secret societies are
kind of hard to crack, we will never know for sure if
Franklin attended any of these salacious affairs
but his documented friendship with Dashwood,
and his time spent at the estate puts it well
within the realm of possibility.
And if you're left wondering if a sex club
fits with Franklin's moral compass, then let's take
one last look at the man's true character
with some passages from an infamous piece penned
by Franklin himself titled,
"Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress."
This is a letter in which Ben Franklin
encourages his friend to go after older women.
It was written in 1745.
A copy of it sits in the Library of Congress,
and it's kind of gross.
And here to present this letter, through the magic
of theater, is Benjamin Franklin himself.
(laughing)
- [Kate] What?
- It is I, Benjamin Franklin.
By some curious miracle, transported to
a most peculiar time.
- Hm. - Interesting.
- Yeah.
- So Ben, we've learned a lot about you today
but we have some lingering questions.
- Right.
- Why did you enjoy the company of older women?
- "Because as they have more knowledge of the world
"and their minds are better stored with observations,
"their conversation is more improving
"and more lastingly agreeable."
Wouldn't you say?
- Sure, I guess.
- Wasn't he like 70 years old when he wrote this letter?
Why does he look so young right now?
- "Because the sin is less--"
- [Shane] No, no.
(laughing)
Ask him, he was old, he's an old man.
- I'm old.
- Hey, Ben.
- Go ahead, son.
- Why do you prefer the company of older women?
- "Because the sin is less," my dear boy.
"The debauching a virgin may be her ruin,
"and make her for life unhappy."
- That's deep.
- Do you have anymore reasons?
- Yep.
(laughing)
"Because in every animal that walks upright,
"the deficiency of the fluids that fill the muscles
"appears first in the highest part.
"The face first grows lank and wrinkled;
"then the neck; then the breast and arms;
"the lower parts continuing to last as plump as ever:
"So that the covering all above with a basket,
and regarding only what is below the girdle,
"it is impossible of two women to know an old
"from a young."
- [Shane] To be clear--
- He's like, paper baggin' it.
- You're saying when you put a basket
over the head of a woman-- - Yeah.
I don't know.
(laughing)
- You don't know?
You wrote it! - History will tell.
History will tell.
- I think history has told.
Do you guys have any final thoughts?
- It was a different time.
- He got really weird.
- [Shane] He was a pretty weird guy.
- He got really weird.
- [Benjamin] Thanks, dude.
- I mean, I definitely think it would be an interesting
movie, but as a person, I wouldn't really
wanna hang out with him.
- [Shane] Well there you have it, folks.
Ben Franklin, a surprisingly
multi-faceted individual.
History, it's never that boring if you just
know where to look.
(grand orchestral music)