Don't Look Now

The Pony Express only functioned for about 18 months in 1860-61, but the mail delivery service has somehow managed to sink it's way into the zeitgeist of the America West due to the influence of the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show.  Take a listen and find out what the Pony Express was really like.  

The concept of the Holy Grail as ultimate quest item, the true goal of any quest has sunk into the fabric of our culture.  When did the concept of the Grail and the Grail quest get started?  What is the Grail: last supper cup? serving dish? magic rock?  Is there any adaptation of the Grail Quest better than that of Monty Python?  These questions and more are answered this week.

Take a listen and learn about the history of the hit cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.  Created in the late sixties and still going strong today, it was originally made as part of an attempt to push back against violence in kid's cartoons.  Want to know how the characters got their personalities, what Shaggy's real name is, and how Scooby got is strange name?  We've got you covered.

In today's podcast we discuss the phenomenon of The Wild Hunt, a bit of folklore shared under various names and guises all over much of Europe.  The core principle is a spectral hunt of spirits roaming the countryside lead by a shadowy figure rumored to be anything from death itself to King Arthur.  Spirits condemned to join the hunt are forced to ride until they have absolved themselves, and...

Take a listen and learn about Nellie Bly, or Elizabeth Cochran.  She was a pioneer in the filed of investigative journalism, famous for going undercover as a patient to expose the horrible conditions in mental institutions and for traveling around the world in less than 80 days to break the record of the fictional Phileas Fogg.  Her various turns in life lead her to running a steel company and bei...

The Voynich Manuscript is a roughly 240 page hand written and illustrated manuscript that appears to be from the early renaissance which appears to be filled with information about plants, biology, astronomy, and other subjects but has proven completely impossible to decipher.  Originally purchased by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, it has been eluding the best cryptographers ever since.  Will some...

In 2016 the Tromp family living on a farm near Melbourne, Australia appeared to suffer a group delusion and went on an impromptu family road trip.  The disappeared suddenly, leaving behind, money, vehicles with keys still in the ignition, and many other strange things.  Within a few days all were located.  Some had left the group and tried to make it home, others seemed to exhibit strange paranoid...

When you think of Western philosophy, science, and thought, almost everything traces back to the philosophers of ancient Greece.  Take a listen as we discuss Socrates and friends.

Today's episode is about the history of automobile safety.  From improvements in roads and signage, to improvements in driver training, to improvements in crash survivability, we recount the long (sadly slow) march of progress from the days of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to the modern roadway.

The Third Man Syndrome or Third Man Factor is a phenomenon wherein a person in extreme duress will suddenly feel the presence of another that helps guide them through the ordeal.  Is this an example of a common mental disassociation that occurs under extreme stress or some sort of guardian angel or other paranormal event?  Take a listen and see what you think.

In 1970 a the remains of a woman were found in the Isdal valley near Bergen, Norway.  She was burned over the front of her body and unrecognizable and strangely all of the tags on her clothing were removed as well as any other identifying marks on any personal items.  Police have speculated about her identity for over 50 years, slowly piecing together strange facts that lead many to think she was...

Charles Babbage was a 19th century inventor and polymath who is most famous for inventing the programmable digital computer in a purely mechanical as opposed to electrical form.  He was joined by Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, who was an early visionary with ideas about the application of computers beyond mere calculation.

Gather your pocket full of posies and plague doctor's mask, it's time to discuss the Black Death.  The bubonic plague struck Europe in the 1340s and resulted in one of he most devastating pandemics in human history.  We discuss a bit about the disease itself, the history of the pandemic, how it lead to the Renaissance and the fall of Feudalism, and how it is still with us today, virtuall...

King Tutankhamun or King Tut is probably the most well known Egyptian pharaoh due to his unspoiled tomb being found and unsealed by Howard Carter in 1923.  Learn a bit about his life, when he reigned, what ailments he suffered from (hint, Royal Incest was def. a thing), and how his tomb was discovered and opened over 3000 years after his death.  Is there really anything to the supposed Curse of Tu...

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was an Oxford mathematician and photographer with a knack for telling stories and entertaining the children of his friends.  At the request of Alice Liddell he wrote down the stories he told of her imaginary adventures underground, and the work became famous as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with Dodgson adopting the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.  Come learn the history...

Ever wonder where your fork and spoon came from?  This episode is all about the invention of eating utensils: Chop Sticks, Spoons, Forks, and the backwards cousin of the table setting, the Spork.  Take a listen and learn of the great wickedness of the fork users and England's most celebrated spoon.

Our topic this week is the HIV virus and what science has uncovered about how and when it crossed over and mutated from the SIV virus that infects African primate populations.  We also discuss when the virus is most likely to have first shown up in North America (hint: probably earlier than you think) resulting in the American AIDS epidemic.

Come learn about the history of New Year's Day and New Year celebrations from around the world.  Time to sit back, eat some Hoppin' John, much on some Niangao, and taste some Samanu as we tour some traditions.

It's the Christmas season, and what better way to kick it off than to discuss Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Come learn a bit about what inspired Theodor Geisel to create the Grinch, how the subsequent TV shows and movies were made, and a bit about the in-world continuity of The Grinch. (apologies for the audio quality... had to record without the good microphone) 

Mixing fantasy and true crime for our 200th episode.  The idea of a Changeling, a replacement creature left in place of  a child or other relative taken by the fairies, is a concept that permeates through most European cultures.  Sometimes real life parallels folklore and we discuss three true crime stories that involve real life changelings.    

The International Space Station (ISS) has been a model of international cooperation, being run by five cooperating space agencies (US, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada).  It has been continuously manned since November 2000, having housed people for more than two decades.  Listen in and learn about its history, purpose of operation, and uncertain future.

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886 as a gift to the United States from the people of France.  We discuss the history of the statue, so well known bits like the statement above, and others less well known, such as the Statue being damaged by an explosion in 1916 set by German agents.  Take a listen and find out the hidden history of Lady Liberty.

The Filles du Roi or Daughters of the King, was a term used to describe roughly 800 young French women who's dowries and passage to the new world was paid for by King Louis the 14th in an attempt to correct the imbalance of men in New France and help encourage the creation of families and the agricultural settlement of the territory.  Between 1663 and 1673 these women braved the trip across t...

We discuss the invention of manmade snow and how its usage at ski resorts around the world has increased economic activity but also resulted in many unintended impacts.

We discuss two topics tied to birth control: Margaret Sanger's fight to make birth control and information about it accessible to American women and George Rosenkranz and his work to synthesize human sex hormones which led to the creation of mass produced contraceptive pills.