500 Open Tabs

Our Season 2 finale brings back the ancient tournament of Kumitab, where we pit some of our most unhinged subjects against one another including Bat Boy, Khutulun, and the 1800s self-replicating robot Jesus in a battle to the death. Email your closed tab submissions to:  500opentabs@gmail.com Support us on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs 500 Open Tabs Wiki:  https://50...

This week we are joined by award winning author Amal El-Mohtar as we learn about herbiary plagiarism from the 16th century, how Kix cereal once offered toys with radioactive material, and the tale of a 14th century French dog pulling a reverse John Wick. A listener mail tells us about the most lopsided football game of all time. Holiday Market at Tito Rick's Garage Saturday December 13th, 11am-4pm...

This week we learn about the fascinating life of Russian inventor Leon Theremin, whose eponymous instrument led to the birth of electronic music and how San Francisco happily obliged a formerly successful South African businessman after he delcared himself Emperor of the United States. A listener mail tells us about the real birthplace of Captain Kirk. Kaveh's Shop: https://www.blacksmithfilms.com...

It's Thanksgiving week so we're showing our thanks to our tens of listeners by dedicating an entire episode to their tabs! Join us as we learn about Existentialism, criminals who are bad at stealing ruby slippers, and a prophet's foreskin. Listener Tabs: Philosophize This https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Austin Dam 1911 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DmZCpgl1FDY Catherine of Siena https://en.m.wik...

This week we're joined by very special guest, comic artist Harris Fishman AKA BeetleMoses as we discuss Roald Dahl's relationship to Tim Burton's 2005 adaptation of his book, how Wooly Mammoths helped propagate pumpkins in the Americas, and how the world's tallest man helped save some dolphins. A listener mail tells us about the GOAT of goats, the Christmas Gävle in Sweden. Episode Tabs: Charlie a...

This week we deep dive into how a political cartoon of William Howard Taft inspired Billy Possum who once tried to take control of the plush market from the Teddy Bear and how a listening device within a seemingly innocent gift from the Soviets during the Yalta Conference inspired the modern day RFID. A listener email shows us a TV portal to the past. 500 Open Tabs Wiki https://500-open-tabs.fando...

This week we deep dive into the true story of ten strangers who were picked to live on a "sex raft" to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start banging, and the hilarious origins of Bat Boy, the Weekly World News's flagship creation. A listener email informs us about the PT Barnum of Baseball. Kaveh's KPop Demon Hunters / Calvin and Hobbes mashup shirt (also available in kids'...

It's finally Halloween! This week we're joined by very spooky guest Alyssa Cooper as we learn about Gef, a talking Mongoose who haunted a rural home on the Isle of Man, how haunted houses share a history with Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and how unfounded rumors about razor blades in apples continue to ruin trick or treating for everyone. A listener mail tells us about an aspiring lawyer who...

This week we're together in New York as we discuss the grand finale of the Astor Place riot which unfolded like a Looney Tunes style fight and Barry Bremen, the great sports impostor who posed as players for the MLB, the NBA, and a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. A listener email informs us of the official rubbing mud of Major League Baseball. Episode Tabs: The Astor Place Riot: Blood On The Cobblesto...

This week the story of the Astor Place riot continues with the Bowery Boys gang further fueling the divide between English and American theatre styles and the fearsome Mongolian Warrior Khutulun, who refused to marry a man who couldn’t beat her in wrestling. A listener mail tells us all about rejection sensitivity dysphoria. Episode Tabs: THE MOST FASCINATING RIOT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF https://the...

This week we're in NYC as we deep dive into how a satirical 1800s magazine helped coin the city's nickname and the origins of a bitter rivalry between the American stage actor Edwin Forrest and English actor William Charles Macready that led to a full scale riot in 1849. A listener email explains Action Bronson's connection to November Rain. Come see us at NEW YORK COMIC-CON! Artist Alley, Table D...

This week we deep dive into activist Dan Kwong's efforts to restore a baseball field at a former California internment camp and about researchers who lived in subterranean caves for months at a time without access to clocks, calendars, or the sun. A listener email explains some sweet, sweet history. Come see us at NEW YORK COMIC-CON! Artist Alley, Table D-33 October 9-12, 2025 Episode Tabs: The Mo...

This week we deep dive into the absolutely disgusting history of medical researchers who experimented on themselves and the story of teenager Sybil Ludington, the unfortunately nicknamed "female Paul Revere," who rode 40 miles in the pouring rain to warn American revolutionaries of the encroaching British army. A listener email explains a werewolf baby phenomenon. Kaveh's Panel at LA COMIC-CON: Mi...

This week we conclude the story of Sushi Row with how Koda Farms' development of their proprietary Kokuho Rose rice allowed Kawafuku to become the first Sushi bar in Los Angeles and how historical cure-alls ended up mostly being aggressive laxatives. A listener email explains the traditional Soviet astronaut movie of choice. Episode Tabs: L.A.’s sushi revolution was fueled by this secret ingr...

This week we deep dive into how Monochronic culture forced its will on the Polychronic world and how Ventura Blvd in Los Angeles earned the moniker of Sushi Row by housing the greatest concentration of Sushi restaurants outside of Japan. A listener email explains how the Monkey Puzzle Tree became an Oregon staple. Episode Tabs: Time and Culture https://nobaproject.com/modules/time-and-culture This...

This week we deep dive into how a newly founded America's insecurity about their status in the world led to their obsession with front lawns (and 9/11?) and the story of Portland's most polite train robber, Bill Miner. A listener email explains how Max Headroom briefly took over the Chicago airwaves in 1987. ROSE CITY COMIC-CON: SEPTEMBER 5-7, 2025 ARTIST ALLEY: TABLE D-01 Episode Tabs: The Americ...

This week we deep dive into how an obsessive Irish mechanic changed the world of tractors after a handshake deal with Henry Ford and how in the early 2000s, the Thai government embarked on a mission of gastrodiplomacy by helping Thai restaurants proliferate around the world. A listener voice memo tells the story of an old Serbo-Romanian woman who poisoned people in hundreds. SUMMER 2025 T-Shi...

This week we deep dive into the life of Orangutan Ken Allen, the San Diego Zoo's most infamous escape artist and how the drawings of young boy named Onfim gave art historians insight into what life was like for a child in medieval Russia. A listener voice memo explains the origins of Batman and Robin. SUMMER 2025 T-Shirt Drop: Ken Allen has had Kenough! https://www.bonfire.com/500-open-tabs-ken-al...

This week, we conclude the sagas of John Murray Spear, a 19th‑century activist‑turned‑spiritualist who claimed the ghost of Benjamin Franklin ordered him to build a “Mechanical Messiah” to usher in a new era of world peace and how Guns N’ Roses were able to finish their music video trilogy with Estranged despite the departure of their lead actress. A listener email tells the story of an ancient Gr...

This week, we continue the saga behind the making of Guns N’ Roses’ November Rain music video and dive into the bizarre tale of John Murray Spear, a 19th‑century activist‑turned‑spiritualist who claimed the ghost of Benjamin Franklin ordered him to build a “Mechanical Messiah” to usher in a new era of world peace. A listener email tells the story of finding the long lost bones of Richard III under...

This week we deep dive into how ADHD is a holdover from hunter-gatherer societies and how a short story written by a friend inspired Guns N' Roses to create the most ambitious music video trilogy ever filmed. A listener email explains the phenomenon of industrial musicals. Episode Tabs: ADHD May Have Been an Evolutionary Advantage, research suggests https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/21/...

This week we deep dive into the historic bond between the Choctaw Nation with Ireland and how pigeons were domesticated, leading to some absolutely bonkers looking breeds. A listener email tells the story of the first female Native American lawyer to argue a case in front of the US Supreme Court. Episode Tabs: Choctaw and Irish History https://www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connect...

This week we deep dive into the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history that happened in 1959 and how the Red Scare of the 1950s directly led to the founding of the now iconic Renaissance Pleasure Faire. A listener email informs us of how Nixon's airborne toilet is memorialized in Seattle. San Diego Comic Con Panels: I'm Me and It's This Game's Fault! Friday July 25, 2025 8:00pm - 9:00p...

The ancient tournament of Kumitab returns as we pit some of our craziest subjects against one another including Rube Waddell, an Aswang, and Pepsi bottle cosplay Nixon. Email your closed tab submissions to:  500opentabs@gmail.com Support us on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs 500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide):  https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7 Continue...

Many of you have sent Listener Email submissions that were on the longer side, so we dedicated an entire episode for them to aerate like a fine wine! Amongst many things, we learn about the notorious California Egg Wars and a highly coveted ladies room Picasso. Listener Tabs: World Coal Carrying Championships https://gawthorpemaypole.org/world-coal-carrying/ Pink https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi...