History Spelunkers

Welcome back to part two of this special episode of History Spelunkers. In this one we continue talking about the origins of the sport of fencing, with a special focus on how western culture transitioned to stabbing people with swords for honor to instead doing it for points! Shownotes: Episode art is "Säbelmensur" by Georg Mühlberg c. 1900 Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://...

Welcome back to another episode! The gauntlet is at your feet, will you answer the call? Today we begin our talk on the strange history of dueling in western society during the 16th through 19th centuries. We explain how people came up with the idea and how its popularity grew throughout the centuries. Shownotes: Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the...

Welcome back one and all to another episode of History Spelunkers. Today our journey into the niche and obscure will take us back to the American Civil War. Mostly when one thinks of this conflict they imagine fighting in the fields of Gettysburg, Vicksburg, or Shiloh. But have you ever thought about the gray and blue duking it out off the shores of Northern France? Learn about that battle and mor...

!Content warning!- this one is basically entirely about death and medical misfortune Welcome back to another episode of History Spelunkers. Heads up, today's episode might be a bit depressing because there is a lot of terrible things that get talked about. In this episode we dive into the most high profile members of the famous family of American Royalty: the Kennedys. We also attempt to lay o...

Welcome back one and all to Season 2 of History Spelunkers! Starting of our journey into the niche and obscure we are going back in time and across the pond to give you the strange tale of the time someone tried to steal the Crown Jewels of England. Shownotes: https://britishheritage.com/history/man-steals-crown-jewels#:~:text=Known%20as%20one%20of%20the,madness%20and%20ended%20in%20arrest . https...

In this, the final episode of Season 1, we mesh two topics: the history of Santa Claus and the history of Coca-Cola promotions. It works, I promise, you just need to trust the process... Shownotes:   https://seekingalpha.com/article/131886-why-is-pepsico-buying-its-bottlers https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/history/five-things-you-never-knew-about-santa-claus-and-coca-cola https://historice...

This is part 2 of our series on Thanksgiving. Today we focus on what happened after the first meal and how the relationship between the colonists and the Indigenous people rapidly deteriorated. But to not be entirely depressing we also end the episode talking about some of the weird traditions that have become associated with the holiday. Shownotes: Photo of Plymouth rock is from the public domain...

Happy Thanksgiving! Join us as we discuss the history of the holiday and the background of both the Pilgrims and the Indigenous people who played a part with it. Shownotes: Intro clip is from Rick and Morty. An [adult swim] show from the minds of Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. Specifically Season 5 Episode 6. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clo...

Happy Halloween!! We couldn't get enough cryptid content so I had to share this list of bizarre creatures. Let us know which ones are your favorite as historyspelunkers@gmail.com!

Happy Halloween to all you witches, ghouls, and other spooks that go bump in the night!! We are back at it with a look at the history behind some famous Halloween monsters that haunt our imagination (and perhaps even our reality)… Shownotes: Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds Opening Clip is the Main Theme from John Carpenter's Hallowee...

This is part two of the Theodore Roosevelt Episode. In this we pick up from the moment of his retirement and follow TR as he romps across the world going on fun(?) adventures. Shownotes: Apologies about the audio quality! Cover Photo is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons: Theodore Roosevelt with Elephant (1909) https://www.si.edu/object/auth_exp_fbr_EACE0006 https://transcription.si.edu/pr...

Theodore Roosevelt often sits near the top of the American Pantheon. He was influential, popular, and a true force of nature. But behind the spectacles of that Mount Rushmore face, he was also just a guy being a dude! Join us as we discuss some of the lesser known incidents of his life. Shownotes: Apologies about the audio quality! https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/theodo...

You have heard of Star Wars; now it is time to learn about the Bone Wars! Join us this week as we learn about the dramatic and petty professional rivalry that launched the study of paleontology in the United States. Shownotes: https://ansp.org/exhibits/online-exhibits/stories/bone-wars-the-cope-marsh-rivalry/   https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/dinosaur-rivalry/ https://www.thou...

75 years ago something fell from the sky in New Mexico. Join us as we discuss the birth of the modern UFO era and place your bets on what the Government has said to explain away all evidence of extra terrestrial contact! Hint: read the title of this episode. Shownotes: https://archive.org/details/1947RadioNews/1947-07-08-ABC-News-Roswell.mp3 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/answers-unclassified-ufo...

One Year Anniversary Episode!!! Summertime is the perfect time for swimming in the ocean... and running from the creatures that call it home. Join us as we talk about the most famous shark story ever told and the true story that inspired it... Shownotes: Photo: The only surviving photo of the "Matawan Man-eater" Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/thro...

If you are ever looking for fun weekend plans here is a suggestion. Commandeer an abandoned piece of military property, and then declare independence from your home country! As we discuss in today's episode absolutely nothing can go wrong! Also apologies in advance if the audio quality is less than perfect on this one. Shownotes: https://sealandgov.org/ https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200...

You know about the Titanic: the tragedy and romance of the "unsinkable ship". But its safe to bet that you have not yet heard of the Sultana or the Halifax Explosion. Today the gang and I discuss a couple of major naval disasters that have been eclipsed by the Titanic's fame. Just a heads up there a lot of death in this episode, some of it pretty gruesome. Shownotes: https://www.npr.or...

Today we take a look at the birth of a religion in the South Pacific and ask the question: "How difficult could such a task truly be?" Shownotes: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-john-they-trust-109294882/ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CargoCult https://www.academia.edu/3279401 https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/15553/1/OP36-47-57.pdf https://www.r...

Some wonder what America would have been like if we had a King. Little do people know there was a time when we had something better.... An Emperor!

The gang and I look to the past to try and find some new hobbies. Maybe our ancestors had novel ways of entertaining themselves, like pole sitting??? Shownotes: Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds Opening is from the 2006 film Night at the Museum. Directed by Shawn Levy https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1787&dat=19521013&id=tuMc...

There have been four Presidential Assassinations, it's a safe bet you only know about two of them... Show Notes: Garfield and Guiteau: . https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-stalking-of-the-president-20724161/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/james-garfield/ https://famous-trials.com/guiteau/2197-home https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-execution-of-charles-gu...

Happy Holidays! Join us as we hear the heroic and often tragic tales of those who attempted to reach the North and South Poles. Show Notes: Trans-Antarctic Expedition: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernest-Henry-Shackleton#ref184881 Peary and Henson: https://kacv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pbs-world-explorers-henson-peary/pbs-world-explorers-henson-peary/ American Museum of Natural Histor...

What are we to do with all the nuclear waste spread across the country? How are we going to keep people away from it? We ponder these questions in this episode. Show Notes: Yucca Mountain: https://www.yuccamountain.org/ Marshall Islands: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05/20/us-put-nuclear-waste-under-dome-pacific-island-now-its-cracking-open/ New Mexico: https://www.wipp.energy.gov/ Mu...

Ryan and Jamie return to join me in a discussion about the history of filibusters; its probably not the kind you're thinking about. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds Opening from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

A Special Halloween Episode! Join us as we discuss one of America's most iconic monsters and its relatives. We also have a guest co-host. Music Credit: "Headless Horseman"- Bing Crosby (1949) Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds