Relative Disasters

To kick off our 2024 season, I thought we'd cover the insidious disaster that is Conspiratorial Thinking! We'll discuss how our brain can get short-circuited in the strangest ways, why it takes fear and lack of self-reflection skills to be a true believer... and why this stuff cannot be dismissed and how we can all do a better job of guarding ourselves against it. Fun. Sources: Due to bein...

Back in 1977, Star Wars was a phenomenon that changed the film industry. In 1978, some CBS executives tried to replicate the magic for TV and the results were... legendary? Just probably not in the way they intended.

Ella takes a dive into color theory and the bizarre history of Fuschia - the color and the man it was named for. And why it may not be a real color at all.

On this extended sidebar, Ella brings us the story of the Ourang Medan, a ghost ship found floating in the middle of the pacific with the entire crew dead. Or was it never found, its only survivor finding his way to a barely-inhabited atoll and living just long enough to relay how his whole crew had perished due to some unknown force? Or was it found in the straits of Indonesia, with the deceased...

In this extended sidebar we talk about a baseball player at the absolute top of his game, one of the hardest feats in the game of baseball, why he was able to pull it off under the influence of LSD - and more importantly, the incredible work he did once his baseball career was behind him.

Well, apparently all we're going to do are "stone-based historical scams" on these Extended Sidebar episodes... anyway, this hoax came up waaaaay back in our first season during the research for the Gregor MacGregor episodes. Join us as we talk about the Ica Stones, a hoax involving ancient Incans, Aliens, Dinosaurs, and the creative use of chickens. Enjoy!

Join us for our last episode of the season, wherein Ella and Greg discuss how a selfless act of heroism led to the ruination of a man's personal life. We'll discuss how to NOT be a good friend, the state of human rights in 1975, and how far society's come since then - and how far we still have to go. Also, Ella has an announcement. Correction: In the episode, Greg stated that Mr. Sippl...

Join Ella and Greg while they talk about one of the weirdest (and most obvious) scams in American archaeology - the Dare Stones!

In February 1910, the deadliest avalanche in the history of the United States occurred in the small town of Wellington, Washington. On this episode, we're talking rotary plows, wild weather, and railroad history. Sources for this episode include: "White Cascade", G. Krist, 2007 https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wellington-avalanche-site https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn860...

We head down to the Florida Everglades for one of the most disheartening plane crashes of all time - though with a higher survival rate than would be expected. We'll talk about alligators, frogs, autopilot controls, and a huckster attempting to cash in on tragedy. Sources: The 401 Crash and Survivors Some Survive as Jet Smashes Into Swamp (AP) - The Eugene Register-Guard, December 30, 1972 NTS...

A few notes; one, this is an extremely nerdy episode. Two, our recording circumstances were a little tricky (with a very persistent cricket intent on co-hosting), so the audio quality is a little less than I'd like with background noise. With Ella on a well-deserved break, Greg and his friend Carson talk about something near and dear to their nerdy hearts - the time the card game Magic: The Ga...

Content Warning: In this episode we discuss the deaths of two children; if you'd rather not hear about that, please skip this episode. We're going back to the 1960s and 1970s, where kids ran around and played in the street and hooked weird toys up to their garden hoses during the summer. One of those toys was the Water Wiggle, a toy that turned your hose into a chaotic missile of spraying...

In April 1865, the deadliest shipwreck in American history occurred when a steamship exploded in the middle of the Mississippi River. On this episode, we're discussing the Civil War, cast-iron fire-tube boilers, and how a steamship with the legal capacity for 460 people ended up carrying just over 2,100. Love the show? Support us on Patreon ! Sources for this episode include: "The Explosi...

China had a dynastic system of government for four thousand years; it ended when its last emperor was six years old. His life would be filled with the dissolution and reconstruction of China, brutal foreign occupations and incursions, and his own self-sabotaging need to be an Emperor again. Join us as we talk about what a horrific time the early/mid 1900s was in China, the lengths people in power...

In CE 68, the Roman Emperor Nero died, bringing an end to a dynasty - and relief from his 14-year-long rule, a time of greed, excess, abuse, murder, and (possibly) arson. On this episode, we're discussing the life of the worst of the Julio-Claudian rulers, as well as the Great Fire of Rome, a rat's nest of a family tree, and some of the worst theater ever performed. Sources for this episod...

Liu Bang was a man who had a good life and then had a really bad day. How he handled that bad day led to the creation of one of China's most important dynasties and reshaped China's history - join us as we talk about executions, how legal systems based on fear are not sustainable, and lacquer. Lots of lacquer. Also, Greg's fighting a cold this week, so expect a few background sniffles....

Born in 12 CE, Gaius Cesar Augustus Germanicus - nicknamed 'Caligula' - survived a horrific adolescence to become the third Roman Emperor at just 24 years old. The four years that followed were expensive, scandalous, and full of increasingly violent behavior - but was he really as 'mad' as his earliest biography would have us believe? On this episode, we're discussing dynasties...

In 1999, Scott Adams used his beloved-at-the-time character Dilbert to market... a line of microwaveable burritos. Join us as we take a look at bizarre marketing, the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals, and cooking with gelatin, plus an insight into weird foods that Ella and Greg enjoy.

In 1950 Chicago, a rush-hour streetcar missed an emergency switch and slammed into a gas truck carrying 8,000 gallons of gasoline. The resulting explosion and fire burned down five apartment buildings and killed 34 people. On this episode, we're discussing streetcar safety, emergency exits, and one of the worst traffic accidents we've ever come across. Sources for this episode include: &qu...

In 1925, a tornado of incredible size and power swept through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana; by the time it was finished, it had killed over seven hundred people, injured at least two thousand, and destroyed entire towns. Join us as we talk about tornado systems, how this particular tornado formed, the clairvoyancy of early 20th-century farmers, and the sheer tragedy of destruction at this speed...

In April 1933, the US Navy's airship Akron flew directly into a thunderstorm off the coast of New Jersey. The crash that followed claimed the lives of 75 people, making it the deadliest accident in airship history. On this episode, we're discussing the American airship program, spy cars, cigarette smoking, aircraft carriers, and the big difference between hydrogen and helium in airship des...

We're headed to Portugal this week, with an earthquake so large it shook fundamental human belief systems. The 1755 earthquake hit the capital of Lisbon (and elsewhere), with its physical effects being felt as far away as Brazil; its effects on society at the beginnings of the Enlightenment were just as profound. Join us as we discuss earthquakes, tsunamis, firestorms, and why the question of...

In 1910 America, residents of the southeastern states were facing down two major problems: a shortage of meat, and an invasive plant that was threatening fishing, shipping, and recreation. Luckily, a Louisiana official and two 'experts' had just the solution: hippo ranching. On this episode, we're talking water hyacinths and hippopotamuses, as well as cocaine, meatpacking, lake-cow bac...

Well, we're back with 1970's baseball again. This time, the hapless baseball team from Cleveland decided to offer a 10-Cent Beer promotional event... but they neglected a key restriction that would result in a riot that left both teams injured, the stadium getting torn up, and a massive force of Cleveland police coming to put an end to it. In this episode we'll talk about the city of C...

In July of 1916, five swimmers at the Jersey Shore were attacked by a shark. Four suffered fatal wounds and the fifth required two months in the hospital to recover. The "New Jersey Man-Eater" was front-page news across the country, and the attacks are still a subject of debate, scrutiny, and speculation. On this episode, Ella talks about the five attacks, the sharks who may (or may not)...