An Old Timey Podcast

Nintendo couldn’t believe their luck. Their latest arcade game, Donkey Kong, had become a surprise hit. But then Universal, one of the largest media companies in the world, came knocking. They claimed that Donkey Kong infringed on their King Kong trademark. Even worse? They were ready to go to war. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Audureau...

Nintendo was in trouble. It was 1980, and they’d just poured a ton of money into an arcade game they’d hoped would be a hit. They called it Radar Scope. It was a massive flop. In a panic, the company rushed to create a new game that they hoped would make good use out of all their unsold Radar Scope arcade cabinets. That game – Donkey Kong – took the world by storm. Nintendo basked in the success o...

Hachi was just a puppy when he was adopted by a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. The two bonded instantly. Every day, Hachi greeted Professor Hidesaburo Ueno at the Shibuya Train Station as he came home from work. The pair would walk home together. But when the professor suddenly died, Hachi’s loyalty didn’t. For years, Hachi still went to the train station, waiting for the professor to ret...

By the mid-1800’s, the River Thames was essentially a massive sewer. People poured their waste into it. They also drank from it. That combination resulted in thousands of deaths. People weren’t sure what caused the deaths, but in the summer of 1858, when the temperatures rose and the water levels dropped, London stunk to high heaven. It took a lot of money, creativity, and an incredible act of civ...

Prepare for battle – a cookie battle, that is! Back in the early 1900s, two brothers invented a game changing cookie. It consisted of two crisp chocolate wafers, stuck together with a vanilla cream filling. It was delicious! It was fancy! They called it… Hydrox. Years later, Nabisco created their own knockoff version of Hydrox. They called it the Oreo. For decades, Hydrox was the undisputed king o...

As his trial drew closer, Charles Guiteau became more delusional. He wrote demanding letters to the new president, Chester A. Arthur. He announced plans to run for president himself. He got the word out that he was looking for love — the love of a wealthy, Christian woman under 30, that is! He wasn’t worried about what the future held. He was certain that, if he did go on trial for murder, he’d be...

Mere minutes after the shooting, a doctor arrived on the scene. Using his ungloved, unwashed fingers, he dug into President James Garfield’s bullet wound. The doctor hoped to retrieve the bullet. That would prove a common theme in the president’s medical care. As James Garfield struggled to survive, doctors obsessed over retrieving the bullet. They subjected him to daily examinations — always with...

Charles Guiteau was seething. He’d convinced himself that he deserved a political appointment. When he didn’t get one, he placed the blame squarely on President James Garfield’s shoulders. James Garfield was a liar. A cheat. The country would be better off without him! Over time, Charles convinced himself that God wanted him to assassinate the president. So? He bought a gun. He tracked the preside...

When James Garfield won the presidential election, Charles Guiteau was ecstatic. He was certain that he’d played a major role in Garfield’s victory. So, fueled by delusion, Charles Guiteau began hounding James Garfield for a political appointment. Meanwhile, New York Senator and political boss Roscoe Conkling threw a temper tantrum. James Garfield had the tenacity to fill his cabinet with members...

It was the summer of 1880, and Charles Guiteau didn’t have much going for him. He was unemployed. He had very little money. He had no relationships. His family members feared he was insane. But Charles didn’t see himself that way. He thought he was destined for greatness. He’d convinced himself that he was an excellent public speaker with an eye for politics. So? He dedicated himself to James Garf...

As James Garfield’s surprise presidential campaign got underway, he knew he didn’t have it in the bag. The Republican party was divided. The Democratic party was united. And there was some weirdo third-party candidate campaigning for an 8-hour workday. *I guess people don’t wanna work anymore!?* The fact that many members of his party — including his own vice president — were, at best, mildly enth...

James A. Garfield was a remarkable man. He was an academic. A Union war hero. A family man. And in 1880? He *accidentally* became the Republican nominee for president. In this episode, you’ll get a boatload of context about 1880s politics (omg, are you still reading?), and you’ll learn how a man oops-fudge-striped his way into the presidency. In the weeks to come, we’ll cover his presidency, his a...

John Colt never denied killing Samuel Adams. As the murder trial wrapped up, the defense argued that John Colt never planned to kill Samuel Adams. He’d acted in self defense. In the finale of this series, the jury returns their verdict. John Colt faces the aftermath. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Dunphy, Thomas. Remarkable Trials of All...

When John Colt went on trial for the murder of Samuel Adams, it felt like all of New York was watching. The media shared inflammatory, and often inaccurate stories about the defendant. The public clamored for more. Courtroom antics ranged from theatrical to downright gross. John Colt sat at the center of it all, shielded by a defense team that argued he hadn’t murdered Samuel Adams. He’d simply be...

Samuel Adams (no, not *that* Samuel Adams) was nowhere to be found. His friends and family were alarmed. They feared that the respected small business owner had met a violent end. Meanwhile, across town, John Caldwell Colt was up to no good. He tried to cover his tracks, but the man in the office next door was onto him.  Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Nor...

On a sunny fall day in 1841, New York City officials boarded a ship in search of a crate. Crew members found it buried deep in the cargo hold. The odor coming from within it was unbearable. Inside, they discovered the decomposing body of half-naked man, covered in salt. Authorities identified the body as Samuel Adams (No, not that Samuel Adams.) Who could have done such a thing? There was no need...

Welcome to the first annual D.B. Cooper Suspect Awards! In this very real award show, we celebrate a handful of the thin-lipped, military-trained sky divers who *might* be responsible for the only unsolved airplane hijacking in United States history. Plus: Mistakes of Shame! Kristin mispronounced the name of D.B. Cooper suspect Robert Rackstraw. She called him Robert Rackshaw. As punishment, Krist...

On Thanksgiving Eve, 1971, D.B. Cooper parachuted into the night’s sky with $200k in ransom money. That night, the FBI launched their investigation into his identity and location. They interviewed eyewitnesses. They developed sketches. They searched the airplane for evidence, finding a few hairs, cigarette butts, and a clip-on tie. They analyzed the flight path to determine where he might have lan...

This episode kicks off our coverage of the only unsolved airplane hijacking in United States history. On November 24, 1971, a nondescript man boarded a flight to Seattle. He wore a dark suit. He carried a briefcase. As the plane took off, he told the flight attendants that he had a bomb. He demanded $200,000 in ransom money, plus four parachutes. The airline, along with federal agents, scrambled t...

Spite Houses: The architectural equivalent of a middle finger. They’re structures or dwellings designed specifically to piss someone off. This week, Norm does a deep dive into a truly ridiculous spite house, built and owned by an eccentric millionaire named Joseph Richardson. It all started when a man made an offer on Joseph’s 5-foot wide, 102-foot deep tract of land in New York City. Joseph was s...

It had been exhausting. It had been challenging. But Emma Gatewood refused to give up on her dream to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. So? She kept going. As she hiked, media outlets chronicled her journey. They dubbed her Grandma Gatewood. When she finished, Emma became the first woman to solo thru-hike the 2,168 mile Appalachian Trail. But Grandma Gatewood’s hiking days were far from finish...

Emma Gatewood was embarrassed. Her first attempt at solo hiking the Appalachian Trail had been a disaster. But she was nothing if not determined. So, Emma tried again. On her second attempt, the 67-year-old grandmother was better prepared. Although the trail proved challenging, she kept going. Soon, the media took notice. If she completed the 2,000+ mile hike, Emma Gatewood (aka Grandma Gatewood)...

When Emma Gatewood set off on the Appalachian Trail, she didn’t look like much of a hiker. She was 67 years old. She wore a pair of Keds. She had no training. But she figured that wouldn’t matter. An article in National Geographic magazine claimed that anyone in “normal good health” could hike the 2,169-mile trail. The article was misleading, but Emma persevered. In 1955, “Grandma Gatewood” became...

In the final episode of our series on Ann Landers and Dear Abby, the feud reached new heights when Abby fell victim to a “gotcha” moment on Charlie Rose. (Who woulda guessed?) Afterward, she agreed to an interview with Ladies’ Home Journal. In it, she said awful things about Ann. Years later, when Ann died, the feud went intergenerational between the sisters’ two daughters — daughters who became,...

For a few years, the feud between twin sisters Ann Landers and Dear Abby was an industry secret. That changed in 1958, when Life Magazine printed a story that exposed the rivalry. In the article, Abby shared stories that weren’t hers to tell. She talked about Ann’s nose job. She talked about Ann’s broken engagement. Abby told the reporter, “I understand why she’s disturbed. She wanted to be the fi...