History Buffs or Bluffs

Let's take a trip to 1700s Croatia, where the legend of zov pijetla is remembered even today. In the central town of Sisak, three major rivers converge and made the town the center of the river transport industry for the country. During a rather intense season of rainfall, a lone wild rooster began running through the streets, cawing at the townsfolk and refusing to stop. Fed up with the const...

It's our 20th episode! This week we are changing it up and Sydney will be telling Kyle a historical tale that is either completely true or totally made up. Join us for the most dramatic beauty pageant in history, where the tsar of Russia handed out roses... I mean handkerchiefs, and women from all over Russia came to live in a mansion to compete for the tsar's heart. Tsar Michael of Russia...

We're back with a special guest! Welcome Alycia, the host of Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast. She's going to join us today, discuss her podcast, and try to figure out if this story will be a history buff or bluff! Let's follow the dirt trail from Independence, Missouri to the beautiful landscape of the Oregon coast, on the Oregon Trail! Guides and explorers alike mastered this t...

Join us on a trip down unda! We're discussing British convicts, penal colonies, escape attempts, and the horrible things someone has to do to survive in the Tasmanian wilderness. In 1822, in Macquarie Harbour in Van Dieman's Land, eight criminals made an attempt to flee into the brush. One of those men was Alexander Pearce, who would be the lone survivor. How did Alexander manage to surviv...

We're jumping back into war with the longest recorded war in history! With the fall of the Roman Empire, provinces were suddenly left without a ruler. Kingdoms began claiming land for themselves, and soon began looking to expand into neighboring territories. And three kingdoms started butting heads: Britannia, Spania and Francia. As the Anglo-Franco-Spanish War begun in 546, no one could tell...

Howdy, partner! Join us as we dive into a crazy, wild story set in the wild west! When wannabe bank and train robber Elmer McCurdy began his life of crime, he was expecting riches beyond his meager upbringing. However, life, as it always had been, would not be fair to Elmer. With the law on his tail and nowhere left to run, would Elmer McCurdy stand and fight, or turn and run? Was this it for him,...

Happy Mother's Day! Welcome to a special holiday episode. Not only are we going to celebrate mothers of history, but we are also introducing a new type of episode! We are going to play two truths and a lie! Listen as we discuss three historical mothers in history. We are going to go over Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, Wu Zetian, the only female empress in China's history, and...

Spanning more than 12,000 square miles, the region of the Serengeti is a sprawling, diverse area of the wild kingdom. Hundreds of species of animals and birds, and many, many native tribes. But did you know, at one point in time, there was one major tribe that dominated the Serengeti? The Datooga tribe inhabited the Serengeti for hundreds of years, ruling the area with their strength and knowledge...

As the richest man on Earth, J. Paul Getty was known all around the globe. This brought fame and fortune to the Getty family, but also trouble. When his grandson, John Paul Getty III is taken off the streets in Italy, you'd assume J. Paul and everyone else in the family would rush to get him back. Let's talk a bit about J. Paul, then you might think differently. Who is J. Paul Getty, and w...

We're going to the late 1600's to discuss a tragic bit of Dutch history! With the start of the Dutch's 'Disaster Year' the Dutch Republic was invaded by not only England, but also France and Germany. With their sea-trading cut off and half of their land seized, the people of Holland started looking for someone to blame. And their eyes settled on the De Witt brothers. What cause...

Did you know prohibition wasn't just in America? There was another country, one shaped like fashionable footwear, that also enacted it, and it caused criminal mafia families to grow more than they already were. And one specific crime family, the Dello Russo's, ran an unsanctioned fighting ring that became so violent the Italian government needed to take them down from the inside. Was the u...

Welcome to our podcast! We are a husband and wife, and a writer and lover of stories. Kyle is also a history buff and Sydney knows very little about history. Every episode, Kyle will tell Sydney an obscure, wild tale from history, and at the end of the episode she has to decide if it's true or not. Listen along and see if you can be a history buff...or bluff!

Happy Easter! While this is not a holiday-themed episode, we hope everyone dives in with us as we go over the Khamar-Daban Incident. When seven hikers go up into the titular mountain range, led by Lyudmila Korovina, they believed they would be spending three or four days basking in the beauty of the peaks and trees. Instead, what they got was a horrifying ordeal that none of them could have even i...

Political unrest and violence unraveled in 1850s Kansas, but a small, unknown event took place in Franklin County that involved no fists...or pants. A group of Free-Staters, determined to keep the evils of slavery from their soon-to-be state, would walk any distance to make their voices heard. Even if they arrived in the buff. What caused them to cast their votes naked? Was it enough to keep their...

How far would you walk for peace? If you're like the humanitarian Irina Rupena, you'd walk much more than just 500 miles. As the Cold War was nearing its end, Irina and others with the Slovenian Red Cross launched a humanitarian mission to bring the world together, by walking the world's longest continuous route: The MEANA Trail. As the team began their trek, many around the world chee...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Join us as we dive into an unknown Irish historical event. In 1875, a whiskey storehouse inexplicably went up in flames. As the firemen tried to put it out, the barrels of whiskey burst, leading to flaming, potent whiskey rushing through the streets. Was everyone able to escape the flames? Did the whiskey drown everyone and their sorrows away? Or was all of this made u...

The Great War has ended! While countries return to life at home, a horrible tragedy occurs that no one could've expected. At a shipping warehouse in Boston, Massachusetts, a loud groaning sound began to roar, causing everyone around to look up at one of the large storage tanks. As the tank burst outward, a large wave of a fast moving, sticky substance rushed those unfortunately in its way...mo...

Join us again as we dive into episode 5! As the first winter of World War 1 covered the land, men on both sides of the battlefields laid down their arms for a moment of peace and celebration. In 1914, the Christmas Truce spread across the battlefield, men from all nations agreeing to stop the fight seemingly all at once. Who started the truce and what ended it? Could it have led to an end of the w...

At the height of their reign, the British Empire had controlling stakes all over the world. They seized power and resources, from the largest countries to the smallest islands. It was on one of these islands, that a small rebellion took place. The people of Zanzibar, led by a man desperate for change, tried to take the throne from the British in an attempt for control. It was here, where the true...

Join us as we dive into newly declassified CIA documents pertaining to an early operation of the Cold War. What is that war again? Well Kyle will tell you. Hoping to destabilize the Red Army , the CIA worked alongside scientists to create one of the first insect bioweapons. Were the CIA successful in their operation? Did the KGB foil their plans? Or did Kyle make this whole thing up? Tune in now t...

We're back for episode two! Guess if this topic is a buff or bluff! Join Kyle & Sydney as they dive into the terrifying reign of the Gallant King Heinrich Beorn. Born a bastard, looked over for the throne, Heinrich Beorn makes a claim for the kingdom that was never meant to be his. With his new power, a reign of terror, torture and despair fall on the Hungarian people. Until they cannot ta...

Welcome to episode 1 of the History Buffs or Bluffs Podcast! In this episode, you will meet your hosts, Kyle and Sydney Kochenberger [coke-n-burger]. They will talk about their own history, what they plan on doing with this podcast and then Kyle will tell his first story about the Dancing Plague of 1518. When civilians in Strasburg started randomly dancing for no reason, fear and confusion spread...