Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

What qualifies as a "superpower," and do superhumans exist? Are there any drawbacks to being extraordinary? Don your cape and spandex for an entertaining exploration of the mutants among us.  In this episode: Unbreakable bones Tetrachromacy Mr/Mrs Fantastic? The Loci technique Aquapeople ...and more.  ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supporting the show on PATREON and unlock excl...

Were pirates really the peg-legged, eye-patched, parrot-toting, swashbuckling sea vagabonds depicted in Hollywood? Dive into the weird, filthy history of piracy, from the Sea Peoples to the Vikings to Blackbeard to modern Somali piracy. This one is a wild ride...   In this episode: What the heck even IS a pirate?  The first pirates: the Sea Peoples  How did modern pirate stereotypes develop?  What...

Join Shane and Duncan for an extraterrestrial (maybe?) exploration of all things flying and unidentified. Find out the real name of Area 51, learn about Project Grudge, get a crash course in plasma, and what the heck is a Foo Fighter?    In this episode: Roswell Project Sign, Project Grudge, and Project Blue Book Area 51 Foo Fighters  Saint Elmo's (Ermo's?) Fire Crop Circles ...and more.  ~ Become...

True story: back in the 1800s you could buy a gram of cocaine at a local drug store for 25 cents, and corn flakes were waging a war against masturbation. Ah, the good old days, when your best hope for surviving sickness was avoiding a doctor at all costs...  In this episode:  Lobotomies Leeches/Bloodletting Coca Wine Lysol Douches ...and more ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supp...

What's the spiciest part of a hot pepper? (Hint: it's not the seeds.) How long does a Twinkie actually last? Which types of food do mice crave way more than cheese?  Our last "misconceptions" episode was so much fun, we brought the subject back for an encore.    In this episode: The MSG myth Dog years Blind bats?  Painted statues Immaculate Conceptions Microwaves Forbidden grapes Poisoned Pixie St...

Cults...still the worst. In part 2: Find out which suicide-cult Shane thinks is "kind of charming”; plus door-to-door monkey sales, Flavor Aid isn't Kool Aid, and what's with all the castration?    In this episode: Unification Church (Moonies) People's Temple (Jonestown) Heaven's Gate ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supporting the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus conte...

Do white elephants exist? (Spoiler: yes.) Was there actually a "Riot Act" and did anyone read it? (There was, and they did).  Join Shane and Duncan for a fascinating exploration of colloquialisms, jargon, and vernacular.    In this episode: White Elephants The Riot Act Rule of Thumb Crocodile Tears For Pete's Sake Bite the Bullet Cats in Bags Hair of the Dog Loose Cannon High and Dry Baker's Dozen...

Another batch of epic mistakes that led to death, destruction, and mayhem. Also, cannibalism. Plus: Shane sucks at accents, Duncan disses NASA, and cats are let out of bags.    In this episode: The Donner Party Fat French Trains NASA Tapes Over the Moon Landing The Austrian Army Attacks Itself...Maybe? Penicillin is Discovered Via Absentmindedness Decca Disses the Beatles ~ Become an Insomniac! Jo...

Everyone makes mistakes, but only a select few are capable of making mistakes so massive that they change the course of history. From a drunken oil-tanker fiasco to a basic math error that torpedoed a mission to Mars, explore the screwups that shaped the world.    In this episode: The Mars Explorer that Didn't The Exxon Valdez The Wrong Turn Heard 'Round the World ...and more. ~ Join the Midnight...

Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? From the Black Death to Ebola, from SARS to Zika, Shane and Duncan explore the worst pandemics in history, and the most terrifying modern diseases. (Much more fun than it sounds.) In this episode: Ebola Smallpox The Bubonic Plague   HIV The Spanish Flu H1N1 Coronaviruses (Covid-19 and SARS) And more... ~ Join the Midnight Masses! Support the show by beco...

Cults. They're the worst. In part one: Duncan can't pronounce "Ayn," Shane can't pronounce "Raniere," and everyone hates MLMs. Plus perverts abound, mullets are flaunted, and corpses are (not) resurrected.    In this episode: NXIVM Branch Davidians and the Waco Debacle  DISCORD ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supporting the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content. ~ J...

What color is the sun? How many spiders do you swallow in your sleep every year? (Spoilers: not yellow, and none.)  In this episode Shane and Duncan dispel common misconceptions, pick a fight with Disney, and explore the origins of viral misinformation.  ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supporting the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content. ~ Join the community, chat...

How many Americans go missing every year, and how many of those disappearances remain unsolved? Which states have the highest numbers of missing people per year? What actually happened to the most famous missing people in history?  Shane and Duncan explore the world of unsolved disappearances, and go deep with a few famous cases.  In this episode: Natalee Holloway Jimmy Hoffa Amelia Earhart Disapp...

Bombing on stage as a comedian is embarrassing, but bombing in theaters with a multi-million dollar budget is waaay worse. In the latest episode, Shane and Duncan excavate the biggest, dumbest, most expensive Hollywood misfires in history, and revisit the worst theatrical bombs of 2019.  In this episode: Waterworld  John Carter  Cutthroat Island Howard the Duck Battlefield Earth  Heaven’s Gate Plu...

Shane and Duncan deep-dive into the paranoid rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. From flat-earthers to the Berenstain Bears, explore the genesis of some of the most ridiculous and fascinating conspiracy theories in history...along with a few that turned out to be true.    In this episode: Manufactured viruses Flat earth The Berenstain Bears Chemtrails The Protocols of the Elders of Zion And more.....

Shane and Duncan explore hoaxes, swindles, and cons, and Shane reveals the most damaging hoax ever.     In this episode: Nessie The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 Clever Hans Piltdown Man Satanic Panic Balloon Boy ...and the most damaging hoax of all time ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supporting the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content. ~ Join the community, chat with f...

Shane schools Duncan on the wild world of heists, and reveals the most expensive heist ever perpetrated.    In this episode: D.B. Cooper The Antwerp Diamond Heist The Lufthansa Heist The Pink Panthers Plus, the most expensive heist ever...  ~ Become an Insomniac! Join the Midnight Masses by supporting the show on PATREON and unlock exclusive bonus content. ~ Join the community, chat with fellow in...

What do deja vu, the "Wow" signal, and a mushroom in Texas all have in common? As you might have guessed by the title, they're all examples of unexplained phenomena. In this episode, Shane and Duncan explore mysteries that have confounded the scientific community for millennia.   In this episode: The Wow Signal The Voynich Manuscript What the Heck is a Yawn Deja Vu  Numbers Stations A Drunken Fore...