Cock and Bull

On June 1, 1783, a 7'7" Irishman named Charles Byrne died of tuberculosis and complications with giantism. Eagerly awaiting his death was a man regarded as England's greatest surgeon, who was competing with others in the medical community to earn the opportunity of dissecting such a rare medical specimen. Byrne, however, was terrified of post-mortem dissection, and begged his friends to take...

On June 24, 1801, Victor Hugo was conceived on the peaks of the Vosges Mountains. It's unclear whether this is pertinent to him writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Cock and Bull is a somewhat-weekly history podcast about unbelievable characters and shockingly true stories, brought to you by Spencer Foust and Nathan: a sophisticated text-to-speech program. You can donate to our show with the tip j...

February 2 of 1685, Charles II, King of England, woke up feeling a little under the weather. What followed was perhaps the most aggressive case of "good intentions, poor execution." Cock and Bull is a somewhat-weekly history podcast about unbelievable characters and shockingly true stories, brought to you by Spencer Foust and Nathan: a sophisticated text-to-speech program. You can donate...

After the discovery of atomic decay, radioactive medicines were soon stocked in drug stores across the world. Today's episode centers on "Radithor," a radioactive patent drug consumed by famed semi-pro golfer Eben Byers; who would go on to be known as "a guy you absolutely shouldn't look up on Google images. Please." Cock and Bull is a somewhat-weekly history podcast about unbe...

The mellified men, also known as human mummy confections, were a legendary medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver in honey. Join us as we unravel another Bipin Banger History Mystery! Cock and Bull is a primary source on The Dollop. It's also a somewhat-weekly history podcast about unbelievable characters and shockingly true stories, brought to you by Spencer Foust and Nathan: a s...

The Japanese climate is not exactly conducive to mummification. There are no peat bogs, no arid deserts, and no alpine peaks perennially encased in ice. The summers are hot and humid. Between 1081 and 1903, at least 17 monks managed to mummify themselves. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Cock and Bull is a somewhat-weekly history podcast about unbelievable characters and shockingly true stories, brought to...

CONTENT WARNING: ANIMAL CRUELTY, EATING DISORDERS In the early 1780s, a family of French famers made the awful, and no-doubt difficult decision to abandon their son. The boy was incredibly skinny, had angel-fine hair, and an insatiable appetite--able to eat his weight in beef. Unable to afford this costly extra mouth, the boy (known only as "Tarrare") was thrown out into the French count...

Famed geologist and paleontologist William Buckland was among the most energetic and eccentric Deans to ever pass through the halls of Oxford. Not only did he help name the fist-ever dinosaur, but he also played a role in discrediting the Biblical Flood Theory, and... and... checks notes ... And he wanted to eat one of every animal on earth? Cock and Bull is a somewhat-weekly history podcast about...

Nathan and Spencer take it down a notch from last week by talking about a silly 18th century doctor who longed for the life of a fancy boy. Midway through the episode we refer to a pair of pictures. Picture 1 , and Picture 2 . Cock and Bull is a somewhat-weekly history podcast about unbelievable characters and shockingly true stories, brought to you by Spencer Foust and Nathan: a sophisticated tex...

In 1952, construction began on a public housing project in North St. Louis, Missouri. 33 apartment buildings--a herculean spending project in the name of urban renewal. By 1972, they would famously be demolished on television. There’s much more to the story. Pruitt-Igoe was not proof of a Cold War logic; it did not display the “inevitable” failures of planned housing. It was an organized sabotage—...