Hypnotic History

We will attempt to answer the big question: Is it real? Sources: Conradt, Stacy. “7 Cases of Alleged Spontaneous Human Combustion.” Mental Floss , 11 April 2025, https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/quick-7-seven-cases-spontaneous-human-combustion .  History Staff. “Is Spontaneous Human Combustion Real?” History , 27 May 2025, https://www.history.com/articles/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real . ...

Why we used these products and which ones survive in antique stores today Sources: Buchholz, MA, and M. Cervera. “Radium Historical Items Catalog - Final Report.” Nuclear Regulatory Commission , August 2008, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml1008/ml100840118.pdf .  Daugherty, Greg. “Radium: The Deadly Health Fad of the Early 1900s | HISTORY.” History.com , 29 October 2025, https://www.history.com/article...

It may have started in the 1960s, but did it actually end? Sources: “The British Invasion: 60 Years Of Influence.” Ed Sullivan Show , 18 November 2024, https://www.edsullivan.com/the-british-invasion-60-years-of-influence/ .  Paese, Meagan. “British Invasion.” The History of Rock and Roll , https://thehistoryofrockandroll.net/british-invasion/ .  Partridge, Kenneth. “21 Fab Facts About The Beatles...

Find out where they got their name and which world leader had his own custom POGs. Sources: Erbland, Kate. “The Weird History of Pogs.” Mental Floss , 3 January 2014, https://www.mentalfloss.com/fun/toys/weird-history-pogs . Kincaid, Christy. “The History of POGs: A Fun Childhood Game.” Kalamazoo Valley Museum , 1 September 2025, https://kalamazoomuseum.org/blog/the-history-of-pogs-a-fun-childhood...

American birthday parties are not as old as you may think. Sources: “After all, when did celebrating birthdays became a thing?” The Oakland Post , 15 February 2023, https://oaklandpostonline.com/45230/features/after-all-when-did-celebrating-birthdays-became-a-thing/ . Cieslik, Emma. “The festive history of American birthdays | National Museum of American History.” National Museum of American Histo...

We’ll tell all of you non-Kentuckians what this is and where it got its name. Sources: “Family Secret.” Ale-8 , https://ale8one.com/heritage/family-secret/ .  “Fun Facts..” Ale-8 , https://ale8one.com/heritage/fun-facts/ .  “G. Lee Wainscott: The Ale-8 Man (Part One).” Win City Voices , 22 October 2024, https://www.wincityvoices.org/g-lee-wainscott-the-ale-8-man-part-one/ .  “G. Lee Wainscott: The...

Who did the Senate charge with attempting to “steal the Bicentennial?” Sources: Goetz, Matthew, and Marlyne Sexton. “Gerald R. Ford's Bicentennial Adventure.”  White House Historical Association , 6 March 2026,  https://www.whitehousehistory.org/gerald-r-fords-bicentennial-adventure . Kalikin, Autumn. “Off the Shelf: The People's Bicentennial.”  DC History Center , 12 February 2026,  https...

The candy with an alleged death count. Sources: “Ever Wonder About Pop Rocks?” Science World , 7 November 2014, https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/ever-wonder-about-pop-rocks/ . Hunt, Krisin. “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Pop Rocks.” thrillist , 25 March 2015, https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/things-you-didn-t-know-about-pop-rocks-trivia-about-pop-rocks-candy . Muse, Tyler. “The Unknown Hi...

Uncle Sam had a wife! Or was she? Sources: Griffith, Bobby. “Turn Your Radio On and Learn How to Cook Mouth-Watering Treats the Aunt Sammy Way.” UNT Sycamore Stacks Blog , https://blogs.library.unt.edu/sycamore-stacks/2022/10/04/turn-your-radio-on-and-learn-how-to-cook-mouth-watering-treats-the-aunt-sammy-way/ . Hill, Alexis N. “Aunt Sammy and Her Radio Recipes – The Unwritten Record.” The Unwritt...

Is it okay to eat your Chia Pet? Sources: “About Chia.” Chia Pet , https://chia.com/pages/about-us . Edwards, Owen. “Chia Pet.” Smithsonian Magazine , https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chia-pet-180308610/ . Fawcett, Kirstin. “9 Nostalgic Facts About Chia Pets.” Mental Floss , 13 February 2017, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/91683/9-nostalgic-facts-about-chia-pets .  Rasmussen, Patty...

Which celebrity walked on broken glass? Sources: “Circus of the Stars.”  Retro Video Inc. ,  https://www.retrovideo.com/footage_library/circus-of-the-stars/ . O'Connor, John J. “TV: 'Circus of the Stars,' a One-Ring show on CBS.”  The New York Times , 13 January 1977, p. 49,  https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/13/archives/tv-circus-of-the-stars-a-onering-show-on-cbs-tacky-bicentennial.htm...

Who was the holdout who refused to do the show, and why? Sources: Gajewski, Ryan. “Hollywood Flashback: 'Battle of the Network Stars' Turned Celebs Into Gladiators.” The Hollywood Reporter , 25 August 2025, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/battle-of-the-network-stars-celebs-gladiators-1236348098/ . Harris, Will. “A Battle Royale Revisited: An Oral History of Battle of the N...

It wasn’t meant to be a drink. Sources: Cooper, Meredith. “The Untold Truth Of Hawaiian Punch.” Mashed, 12 April 2022, https://www.mashed.com/314834/the-untold-truth-of-hawaiian-punch/ . Cox, Cami. “The Nostalgic Drink That Was Supposed To Be An Ice Cream Topping.” Food Republic, 31 October 2024, https://www.foodrepublic.com/1692226/what-drink-ice-cream-topping-hawaiian-punch/ . Hawaiian Punch, 10...

Love, death, and stowaway beds Sources: Associated Press. “Man dies inside Murphy Bed.” Star News, 15 June 1982,  https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19820615&id=_UdOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XBMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5293,3260935 . Caputo, Joseph. “Curator Finds Murphy Bed's Place in American History.” Smithsonian Magazine, 28 April 2009,  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-inst...

We’re sorry to be the ones to tell you this, but you never had a chance. Sources: Hanbury, Mary. “How McDonald's Monopoly Game Was Rigged.” Business Insider, 31 July 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mcdonalds-monopoly-game-was-rigged-2018-7 . “How the 'McMillions' scammers rigged McDonald's Monopoly game and stole $24 million.” CNBC, 9 February 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2...

Do you remember the Shamrock Shake having a flavor other than mint, or is it all a Mandela Effect? Sources: “10 Fun Facts You Probably Didn't Know About the Shamrock Shake.” McDonald's Corporation, 16 March 2021,  https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/shamrock-10fun-facts.html . “Drink Origins: The Shamrock Shake.” Flavorman,  https://www.flavorman.com/media/drink-ori...

Raisins walked so M&Ms could run. Sources: Campbell, Adam. “The California Raisins: The Rise to Wrinkled Stardom.” Food & Wine, 22 June 2017,  https://www.foodandwine.com/news/california-raisins-history . “Our History.” SUN-MAID,  https://www.sunmaid.com/about-us/our-history/ . “The Story of The California Raisins.” MJVibe, 28 January 2021,  https://www.mjvibe.com/the-story-of-the-californ...

If the voice of Morris the Cat sounds familiar, you might be an 80s kid. Sources: Gunter, Melissa. “Morris the Cat: 12 Incredible Facts about the 9 Lives Mascot.” hepper blog, 29 April 2025,  https://articles.hepper.com/morris-the-cat/ . Kurlander, David. “'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Din-Din': Morris the Cat's Presidential Aspirations.” Cafe, 19 January 2023,  https://cafe.com/a...

Garfield wasn’t always about a cat. Sources: Grant County Visitor’s Bureau. Garfield Trail . June 2018. Show Me Grant County , https://showmegrantcounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Garfield-brochure18_WEB.pdf . McIntyre, Gina. “Garfield: The Story Behind the Coolest of the Cats.” LIFE, https://www.life.com/arts-entertainment/garfield-the-story-behind-the-coolest-cat/ . Rossen, Jake. “When ‘Garf...

“Put us all on sticks! We’re the puppets here! We’re the puppets!” Sources: Rossen, Jake. “Out of This World: An Oral History of ALF.” Mental Floss, 22 September 2016, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86458/out-world-oral-history-alf . Ward, Cassidy. “What Was Alf? The Adorable Fuzzy Alien Explained.” SYFY, 8 November 2023, https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/what-was-alf-the-adorable-fuzzy-alien-ex...

Would you trust a computer to find your perfect match … in 1965? Sources: Chen, Alicia M. “Operation Match.” Harvard Crimson , 16 February 2018, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/2/16/operation-match/ . Graham, Nicholas. “Operation Match: Computer Dating at UNC in the 1960s – History on the Hill.” UNC Libraries Blogs , 25 May 2016, https://blogs.lib.unc.edu/hill/2016/05/25/operation-match-co...

Sit back with a tall glass of groundhog punch and find out if groundhogs are more accurate than meteorologists.  Sources: Andrew, Scottie. “The bizarre history of Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil.” CNN, 1 February 2023,  https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/01/us/groundhog-day-weird-history-punxsutawney-phil-cec . “Groundhog Day.” Punxsutawney Groundhog Club,  https://www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day/ ....

The women who traveled alone through the Appalachian Mountains to deliver books. Sources: Brooks, Laken. “Ellen Woodward and the Women Who Brought Literacy to Southern Families.” National Trust for Historic Preservation, 12 January 2021,  https://savingplaces.org/stories/ellen-woodward-and-the-women-who-brought-literacy-to-southern-families . McGraw, Eliza. “Horse-Riding Librarians Were the Great...

We’ll tell you whether the original flea markets really had fleas and what million-dollar finds some lucky buyers have found! Sources: “A Brief Guide to the History of Flea Markets.” Town Farmers Market , https://www.cowtownfarmersmarket.com/a-brief-guide-to-the-history-of-flea-markets/ . “The Fascinating History of Flea Markets.” The Free Tourist Shop , 25 February 2025, https://www.thefreetoursh...

The first credit card accounts were approved on vibes and word of mouth! Sources: Frankel, Robin Saks, et al. “History of Credit Cards: When Were Credit Cards Invented? – Forbes Advisor.”  Forbes , 5 March 2025,  https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/ .  Luthi, Ben. “The History of Credit Cards.”  Experian , 9 March 2024,  https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/t...