Hypnotic History

How a barn in Hollywood became the place where servicemen rubbed elbows with movie stars Sources: “Curtains for the Hollywood Canteen.”  The National WWII Museum , 22 November 2020,  https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/hollywood-canteen-ends-1945 . “Hollywood Hospitality at the Hollywood Canteen.”  The National WWII Museum , 19 September 2017,  https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/arti...

It’s not the one you were born in, and it cost a pretty penny! Sources: Bizzarri, Amy. “The History of Nudie Suits.” Smithsonian Magazine , 17 May 2023, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-rhinestone-cowboy-from-ukraine-left-his-mark-on-music-world-180982138/ . Olenberger, Fritz. “History of Nudie Cohn and his Nudie Suits.” The Carriage and Western Art Museum , https://carriagemuseum.o...

What cooking an egg has to do with this trippy piece of decor and why its inventor raised some eyebrows Sources: Craven Walker, Christine. “Early Days of the Astro Lava Lamp.” Mathmos , 9 March 2020, https://mathmos.com/mathmos-in-poole/ . “Edward Walker | Lemelson.” Lemelson-MIT , https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/edward-walker Gutoskey, Ellen. “What Is Inside a Lava Lamp?” Mental Floss , 3 Janu...

We interrupt this podcast to bring you news of your impending doom. Sources: Falk, Ben. “The Best Alien Invasion Movie You Probably Haven't Seen.”  The Companion , 27 May 2023,  https://www.thecompanion.app/without-warning-1994/ .  “Without Warning.”  Halloween Wiki ,  https://halloween.fandom.com/wiki/Without_Warning . “Without Warning (1994).”  Moria ,  https://www.moriareviews.com/sciencefi...

Were people in 1938 just more gullible, or was there more at play in convincing the country that aliens had invaded? Sources: Henderson, Amy. “Orson Welles and the 70th anniversary of War of the Worlds.”  facetoface , Smithsonian Institute,  https://npg.si.edu/blog/orson-welles-and-70th-anniversary-war-worlds . HISTORY.com  Editors. “Orson Welles’s ‘War of the Worlds’ radio play is broadcast.”  Hi...

How well do you know your superstitions? Play along with this full-episode true or false session to find out! Sources: Fribush, Abby. “15 Southern Superstitions We Dare Not Dispute.”  Southern Living , 26 May 2024,  https://www.southernliving.com/southern-superstitions-8643283 . Onion, Rebecca.  Lists gathering the lost superstitions of early-20th-century America. , 1 June 2016,  https://slate.com...

Where vampires and congress collide! Sources: “Night Trap – Frights, Camera, Action! – Games From The Black Hole.” Games From The Black Hole , 24 January 2021, https://gamesfromtheblackhole.wordpress.com/2021/01/24/nighttrap/ “Night Trap.” Sega Wiki , https://sega.fandom.com/wiki/Night_Trap . Rojas, Fred. “Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition Analysis.” Gaming History 101 , 17 August 2017, https:/...

This episode has everything. Cheese caves, cheese operas, cheese lagoons, and an explanation of ham salad. Sources: Blakemore, Erin. “How the US Ended Up With Warehouses Full of 'Government Cheese' | HISTORY.”  History.com , 26 July 2018,  https://www.history.com/articles/government-cheese-dairy-farmers-reagan .  DiModica, Callie. “Cheese Caves and Food Surpluses: Why the U.S. Government c...

For our 100th episode, let’s talk about our namesake: hypnosis! Sources: Ashing, Stuart. “History of the Stage Hypnotist and State Hypnosis Shows.”  thedreamweaver , 23 January 2015,  https://www.thedreamweaver.co.uk/history-stage-hypnotist-stage-hypnosis-shows/ . “History of Hypnosis.”  Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis ,  https://www.oregonhypnosis.org/History-of-Hypnosis . Rose, Jane. “Franz...

Hey, Vern, it’s the ad guy who became a Disney star! Knowhutimean? Sources: “Jim Varney - Death, Ernest & Facts.”  Biography , 25 May 2021,  https://www.biography.com/actor/jim-varney . Lind, J.R. “Worrell History: A Look at the Making of a Cult Classic With Nashville Ties.”  Nashville Scene , 2 June 2022,  https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts_culture/coverstory/worrell-history-a-look-at-the-ma...

How detecting enemy aircrafts led to reheating your leftovers. Sources: Ackerman, Evan. “A Brief History of the Microwave Oven.”  IEEE Spectrum , 30 September 2016,  https://spectrum.ieee.org/a-brief-history-of-the-microwave-oven . “For the Microwave Oven.”  Vintage Recipe Cards ,  https://vintagerecipecards.com/category/for-the-microwave-oven/ . “History of the Microwave Oven: Invention & Tim...

The Mandela effect for this one is blowing our minds. Sources: Faw, Larissa. “The Curious Case Of Ed McMahon And The Publishers Clearing House.”  Forbes , 21 November 2012,  https://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2012/11/21/the-curious-case-of-ed-mcmahon-and-the-publishers-clearing-house/ .  Lammle, Rob. “You May Already Be a Winner! The Story of Publishers Clearing House.”  Mental Floss , 21 Jun...

Wrapping up our NASA food episodes, we’ll let you know what a food stick is and–like Tang and freeze-dried ice cream–if the astronauts really ate it. Sources: Bruns, Natasha. “Space Food Sticks went to the moon too.”  General Mills , 18 July 2019,  https://www.generalmills.com/news/stories/space-food-sticks-went-to-the-moon-too . Lidsky, David. “On the Moon, the astronauts snacked on sweet Slim Ji...

Did astronauts actually drink Tang? Sources: “About Tang Drink.”  Tang ,  https://tang-drink.com/ . Barber, Casey. “Tang recipe ideas: Get inspired by the space-age orange drink powder.”  CNN , 1 May 2021,  https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/01/world/tang-space-age-scn-wellness/index.html . Blitz, Matt. “How NASA Made Tang Cool.”  Food & Wine , 18 May 2017,  https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/how-...

Do astronauts really get to eat ice cream in outer space? Sources: “THE 50 YEAR HISTORY OF ASTRONAUT ICE CREAM.”  Astronaut Foods , 24 June 2024,  https://astronautfoods.com/blogs/news/the-50-year-history-of-astronaut-ice-cream . “Astronaut Foods Celebrates 50 Years of Out-Of-This-World Treats.”  Astronaut Foods , 27 June 2024,  https://astronautfoods.com/blogs/news/astronaut-foods-celebrates-50-y...

We have cows to thank for the ice cream of the future. Sources: “Company History.”  Dippin' Dots ,  https://www.dippindots.com/about/company-history/ . Danley, Sam. “Dippin Dots’ technology expanding beyond ice cream | 2020-08-06.”  Food Business News , 6 August 2020,  https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/16578-dippin-dots-technology-expanding-beyond-ice-cream .  “Do you know the accident...

Find out which food was legally required to be pink. Sources: “A Brief History of Food Colors + How to Dye Easter Eggs with Natural Ingredients.” A Dollop of History , 18 April 2019, https://historydollop.com/2019/04/18/a-brief-history-of-food-colors-and-how-to-dye-easter-eggs-with-natural-ingredients/ . “Color Additives in Foods.” FDA , 6 July 2023, https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-inform...

America’s first federally-funded theatre, but was it spreading un-American ideas? Sources: Shapiro, James. “The theater project that sparked a congressional probe — and culture war.” The Washington Post , 26 May 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/05/26/federal-theatre-project-dies-committee/ . Tyson, Charlie. “Stealing the Show: Why conservatives killed America's federally funde...

Creative ways people avoided sun damage throughout history and why you won’t find sunblock in the U.S. today Sources: Drissi, Madeeha et al. “Sunscreen: a brief walk through history.” Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) vol. 35,1 121-123. 1 Sep. 2021, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8682817/ . Finklea, Gillian. “10 Pre-Sunscreen Methods for Dealing with the Sun.” Mental Floss...

The “True or False” part of this episode may make you avoid swimming pools forever. Sources: “10 Interesting Facts About Swimming Pools.” Sanchez Pools , https://www.sanchezpoolsinc.com/10-interesting-facts-about-swimming-pools/ . “15 Weird Facts about Swimming ... #12 is Pretty Gross.” Natare Pools , https://natare.com/15-weird-facts-swimming-12-pretty-gross/ . Everton, Alise. “20 Fun Facts You D...

Because putting through old tires and gutter pipes is more ladylike than playing actual golf. Sources: “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mini Golf.”  Main Event ,  https://www.mainevent.com/stories/10-mini-golf-facts/ . Bush, Hamilton. “The History of Mini Golf in the Scenic City.”  Choose Chattanooga , 14 January 2021,  https://choosechatt.com/blog/mini-golf-in-the-scenic-city/ . “Business: Tom Th...

Substitution for or gateway to chewing tobacco? Sources: Greco, Julie. “Rob Nelson, 71, the Inspiration Behind Big League Chew, 'the Unofficial Gum of Cornell Baseball."” Cornell University , https://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Update/Dec10/EU.Big. League. Chew.html . Johnson, Dave. “Inventor of Big League Chew Talks About Getting in the Bubble Gum Zone.” WTOP News , 19 May 2020, https://wto...

The drink with balls. Sources: Foley, Maddy. “Whatever Happened to Orbitz, aka Lava Lamp Juice.” Bustle , 2 July 2015, https://www.bustle.com/articles/93475-whatever-happened-to-orbitz-soft-drink-a-brief-history-of-the-lava-lamp-beverage . Gouda, Hebba. “What Happened to Orbitz (the Drink)?” Sporked , 16 August 2024, https://sporked.com/article/what-happened-to-orbitz-drink/ . Nato. “Orbitz Drink...

The best-selling book that was rejected by 30 publishers. Sources: Hartel, Bill. “Steal This Book-Abbie’s Magnum Opus.” Tenant , 26 August 1996, http://www.tenant.net/Community/steal/index.html . Hoffman, Abbie. Steal This Book . Hachette Books, 2002. Kaufman, Michael T. “Abbie Hoffman Accused Before 'Court' of Peers.” The New York Times , 2 September 1971, https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/...

Do you have small feet and good teeth? If so, we just might have a match for you! But be careful. Sometimes people wind up dead. Sources: Laneri, Raquel. “How the First Personal Ads Seeking Women 'Not Deformed' Evolved into Tinder.” New York Post , 3 October 2020, https://nypost.com/2020/10/03/how-the-first-personal-ads-eventually-evolved-into-tinder/ . Young, John. “A Brief History of Per...