Fascinating Nouns

Howard Hughes in Hollywood Howard Hughes was one of the most influential men of the 20th century.  He was the first official billionaire in American history, and he was declared a national hero due to his record-setting aviation exploits.  Towards the end of his life, he became infamous as an eccentric recluse, and at one time bought up so many Las Vegas casinos that he was Nevada’s largest...

The Scientific Formula for Free Will Dr. Michael Dennin is known for his scientific work with foam, superheros, and aliens.  What’s next you ask?  How about answering one of mankind’s oldest questions:  “Do We Have Free Will”?  In this episode not only does he lay out a humanity altering model for Free Will, but we discuss Terminator 2 & 3, my philosophy 101 teacher&#82...

The Art of Traveling Lightly Airline travel is a hassle.  Everyone knows this.  I have great news for you:  It doesn’t have to be.  What’s the secret?  “The Go-Light Guru” Doug Dyment can go anywhere, for an indefinite amount of time, needing only one carry-on bag.  How is this possible without using a magical bag of holding?  Doug claims that not only is it possible, anyon...

In this bonus episode, Lisa and I discuss The Day of the Dead, which is a Halloween-esue holiday celebrated in Mexico, as well as Central and Southern America.  We discuss pan de muertos, sugar skulls, dancing skeletons, and The Temple of Doom!

The Haunted History of Halloween Halloween is clearly one of my favorite holidays.  It is also one of the most complex holidays to trace the origins of!  Luckily I have Lisa Morton, Halloween historian, to guide me along this dimly lit path. We string together all the random stuff that makes up Halloween, including ghosts, the dead rising from the grave, witches, the Devil, black cats, bats, vampi...

In this bonus episode, Roger and I take a look at how the zombie has changes in pop culture, from the single captive, mesmerized by the voodoo priest, to the hordes of undead chasing people through the streets.  We also take a look at How Frankenstein’s Monster factors into the zombie mythos, as well as the inevitable flu pandemic that will destroy us all!

The Creepy History of the Common Corridor Why do dark corridors fill us with a sense of unease?  Why was The Shining so successful at creating an escalating sense of dread as Danny Torence explored the haunted corridors of The Overlook?  I have an eye-opening conversation with the the worlds foremost expert on corridors Roger Luckhurst.  We discuss the history of how corridors became the most fear...

Just like every superhero has an origin story, so do all the super toys you remember as a kid.  In this bonus episode, we discuss how Lizzy McGee’s ‘Landlord’ game became monopoly, the inspiration behind Viewmaster, how Silly Putty is used by NASA, and how NASA inspired the Super Soaker water gun.

Classic Toys Whether it’s your Big Wheel, Crayola crayons, a Barbie doll, or your G.I. Joes, nothing conjures up your childhood like seeing your favorite toy again.  Toy historian Tim Walsh knows all about this.  Not only has he documented their amazing history, but he has invented several toys of his own, including Tribond and Blurt!, which have sold millions of copies worldwide! Listen as...

Creating a Neon Sign *Bonus* – Creating a Neon Sign The actual process of crafting a neon sign was a lost art for decades.  The only record of their creation was chronicled in a trade magazine entitled “Signs of the Times”.  To master his craft, Todd tracked down hundreds of these publications.  In a nod to his predecessors, Todd’s process is very analogue.  Listen as he de...

The Art of Neon Signs What is not to love about neon signs?  These buzzing beauties have become synonymous with the open road.  From their invention in the 30’s, to their downfall in the 50’s, to their modern resurgence, neon signs have directed us to the most delicious places to eat, the most comfortable place to sleep, and the most entertaining places to frequent. One man believes th...

The Billy Mitchell Situation Recently, the legendary arcade player Billy Mitchell had all of his scores removed from Twin Galaxies, including his perfect game of Pac-Man, because he cheated when submitting the infamous “King of Kong” score.  I ask Walter his thoughts. Walter Day on Social Media Facebook Twitter Websites The Walter Day Collection Fascinating Nouns on Social Media Facebo...

The Father of Esports Walter Day is best known for his work as founder/head referee of Twin Galaxies, the official video game scorekeeper for Guinness.  In the early days of arcades, Walter (an early world record holder himself) helped establish a system for tracking the top video game scores in the world.  That competition for world records evolved into what is now called Esports. That may be eno...

Rare Video Game Artifacts What do The Power Glove, Sega Neptune, Atari Mindlink and Barbie Gameboy all have in common?  Sean Kelly owns the original prototypes for all of those items!  Listen as Sean walks me through his incredible collection of rare and one-of-a-kind video game artifacts which includes the first military training video game, and a sewing machine add-on for the Nintendo Gameboy! T...

A Brief History of Video Games When it comes to video games, no one has amassed a more impressive collection of rare and historically significant items than Sean Kelly, co-founder of the National Video Game Museum in Frisco Texas.  Not only is he a world class collector, but he is a walking encyclopedia of video game knowledge!  We try to cover the important moments in video game history, includin...

The Magnificence of Mustard While Barry may be a food law aficionado, his true passion will always be mustard.  In 1986, after a devastating World Series, Barry was looking for a purpose, and he found it during a routine shopping trip.  How did a wrong turn down the condiment aisle turn into The National Mustard Museum?  How did the humble mustard seed become the most elegant condiment in the worl...

Barry Levenson, AKA Capt. Mustard, is a Wisconsin lawyer who became enthralled with U.S. food laws.  So much so, that he tried a case in front of the Supreme Court with a jar of mustard in his pocket (he won 5-4).  From the famous Stella Liebeck 'Hot Coffee' case, to the legal definition of ketchup, he covers it all in his book Habeas Codfish.  We discuss those topics, as well as The Great Cookie...

The original Alien movie had the immortal tagline "In space, no one can hear you scream".  Thanks to Extraterrestrial Audio Engineer Jason Achilles, that may no longer be true.  Hired by NASA in 2017, he was tasked with finding the perfect microphone to capture the landing sequence of the new Mars Rover.  That is no small feat.  The microphone has to be rugged enough to survive extreme temperature...

Implanting False Memories Most of us believe what our memory says.  If we remember being lost in a mall as a kid, then we probably were.  The details may not be exactly how we remember them, but the broad strokes are there.  Or at least that is what we believe.  The truth is memories can be implanted pretty easily in our brains.  IN one of her experiments, Dr. Loftus successfully convinced people...

The Inaccuracies of Eyewitness Testimony Dr. Elizabeth Loftus is world renowned for her work in the field of eyewitness testimony.   Before her work in the 70’s, eyewitness testimony was considered rock solid.  Her experiments proved that not only does memory NOT work like a tape recorder, it is in fact routinely altered before, during, and after an event!  In her words, it is like a Wikiped...

More Design Flaws of the Human Body In this bonus episode, Dr. Lents walks me through our backwards eye, a nerve that takes the three foot scenic route instead of going 3 centimeters, and why we need to eat a varied diet while our dogs can eat the same thing every day and live long, healthy lives. Nathan Lents on Social Media Facebook Twitter Tumblr Website Human Errors Nathan Lents Fascinating No...

Human beings are pretty confident by nature.  As a species, we are pretty sure that we are at the top of the evolutionary scale.  It turns out, this is not true at all.  While we are without a doubt at the top of the food chain, there are several species that have remain unchanged for millions of years (the cockroach is a great example).  We have changed a lot in the couple hundred thousand years...

*Bonus*  Cheerleading’s Greatest Rivalry In this episode, Natalie and I discuss the rivalry between Lawerence “Herkie” Herkimer and his protege Jeff Webb.  Herkie is credited as the father of cheerleading, while Jeff is consider the modernizer of the sport.  Not only that, but we get into the origin and correct spelling of the Pom Pons (not POM POM), the Spirit Stick, fake unifor...

At first glance, cheerleading can be mistaken for a trivial, vapid, activity that not only creates "mean girls" at the top of the social hierarchy, but it perpetuates the stereotype of women holding secondary roles to men, literally cheering them on.  The reality is, nothing could be further from the truth. Dr. Natalie Adams, the world's foremost expert of cheerleading, explains how the sport went...

*Bonus* Alien Phenomena Derrel and I continue our conversation and get into some of the more fringe topics including cattle mutilations, Greek Conquerors, RFID chips, the 1880’s, abductions, and the idea of ancient aliens. For background on Cattle Mutilations, listen to my episode with Linda Moulton-Howe . For background on paleocontact/ancient aliens, listen to my episode with Erich von Dan...