Mistakes Were Made

They quickly got to work on their flying vehicle and in just two years they had two prototypes and three more under construction. Well you obviously can’t work that quick by engineering something from the ground up. They instead took two already existing production models and put them together. The actual flying mechanism was a Cessna Skymaster. The Skymaster (great name) is a twin-engine civil ut...

Santa Anna used his military and political influences to rise to the highest ranking general in the Mexican Army and In 1833 Santa Anna was overwhelmingly elected President of Mexico. In the early years of Mexico the country was in extreme turmoil. Santa Anna ran on the promise to unite the nation, but once he got the job things changed. His vice president, Dr. Valentin Gomez Farias (Dr. Go for sh...

In the 1st millennium (or the 1000’s or the 11th century) the city of Pisa was becoming an important Italian seaport. Its fame and power grew gradually as the people of Pisa were involved in various military conflicts and trade agreements. In 1063 the Christian city of Pisa attacked the Muslim-ruled city of Palermo (Pal-air-mo). The attack was successful and the conquerors returned to Pisa with a...

From ancient Egyptians weaving gold into their beards to Mesopotamians curling theirs like fashion icons, humanity’s relationship with facial hair has always been… complicated. Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman take a hilarious deep dive into the surprisingly bloody, bizarre, and stylish history of shaving—starting with cavemen plucking whiskers using seashells 100,000 years ago. It’s an ep...

The Chicago L has had a pretty good safety record throughout history, but when they make a mistake it's a big one. This week we cover from the very first derailment to the O'hare blue line crash. "In the late 19th century Chicago was the fastest-growing city in the country. The downtown became increasingly congested with horses, carts, and carriages. Residents realized that they needed a better, m...

Thomas Midgley Jr. was once hailed as a brilliant inventor—the mind behind leaded gasoline and Freon. Unfortunately, his “genius” inventions also poisoned the world and wrecked the ozone layer. Comedians Robert Bacon and Mike Kauffman dig into the unbelievable story of how one man caused two of the biggest environmental disasters in history—all while thinking he was saving humanity. It’s a tale of...

In 1827 the owner of a nearby hotel, William Forsyth, staged the first tourist stunt at Niagara Falls by sending a lake schooner (that’s a large boat with two masts) with a cargo of live animals over the Falls. He filled it with a buffalo, two small bears, two raccoons, and a dog. Some reports say two fox, fifteen geese, and an eagle were also included. After the schooner was sent adrift, the two...