A story about a couple who turned the tables on exploitation by making their home into a palace.

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*French subtitles coming soon!

Disclaimer: The use of the 'M' word in this episode is specifically due to the fact it was repeated constantly in the primary source documents—there was no way around it because it was embedded in how the Nicol's marketed themselves and the palace. When we refer to it, it's from direct quotations from the pamphlets and press releases by the Nicols. Phillipe and Rose clearly lived in a different time, but they re-appropriated the word in order to turn their home into the landmark it became. They were part of an international movement that would work towards de-stigmatizing people of short stature, and part of that process opened the eyes of many to the fact the 'M' word was—and is—a derogatory slur projected by those that exploited little people. We encourage everyone to take a look at the Little People of America's press release on the topic here: https://goo.gl/7AZP3C

"The dwarfism community has voiced that they prefer to be referred to as dwarfs, little people, people of short stature or having dwarfism, or simply, and most preferably, by their given name."

Their names are Phillipe Nicol, Rose Nicol, Phillipe Nicol Jr., and Huguette Rioux.

There's another possible thread to the story of Rose and Phillipe's son, Phillipe Nicol Jr., that we couldn't quite verify. He may have actually gone to the United States and performed as a little person boxer for a while—a disturbing sideshow trend at the time. Afterwards, he might have come back to Montreal, living out the rest of his days alone, before passing away in 1992 in complete destitution. We aren't quite sure if it's true, or if this happened after the robbery, because we only saw one mention of it from a questionable source in our research.

Many thanks to La Banquise — that delicious poutine restaurant in Montreal, Quebec — for permitting our team to film there. Next time you're in Montreal, grab a poutine and discover some nearby Canadian history, too!