The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong

In September of 1822, a ship carrying 70 immigrants left London bound for St. Joseph, a bustling city on The Mosquito Coast in the small Central American nation of Poyais. They were followed by hundreds more pilgrims, all looking for a better life. They were about to be severely disappointed. Visit andstillivote.org (https://publish.blubrry.com/content/andstillivote.org) to join the fight for voti...

How do you thread the needle between political and apolitical, frivolous and serious, fun and relevant, on this extremely stressful election day? I don't know, but here's an episode about presidential bathtubs. Visit andstillivote.org (https://publish.blubrry.com/content/andstillivote.org) to join the fight for voting rights today. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http...

It's almost Halloween, so how's about a spooky bonfire tale. The spookiest story from the spookiest place we can think of. The story of Gef, The Talking Mongoose. Visit andstillivote.org (andstillivote.org) to join the fight for voting rights today. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) Visit our Patreon...

This is the story of the worst American presidential election (so far). Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus by going to​ https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com...

In 1899 a plan was hatched. To start a war? To sell newspapers? Or to tear down The Great Wall of China? Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus by going to​ https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) Visit our...

You know what you haven't heard enough about recently? How disease spreads. On this episode we finally circle back to the oft mentioned miasma theory, AKA Bad Air Make You Sick. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus by going to​ https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://...

There was no Olympics this year, but it's almost the anniversary of the single worst event in the history of the games: The 1904 Olympic Marathon. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus by going to​ https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (htt...

Some days it feels like we're living at the end of the world. And by "some days" I mean "literally every day ever". Take a ride with us through some of the best apocalypses to never happen! Check out Heather's Youtube series, Art Infusions here! (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjI3jzV0xGqwJKN60Y4T8Kg) Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus by going to​ https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the...

Here is a story about the city I love, Chicago. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus by going to:​ https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Music by:...

The Earth is Flat! That is the conclusion that many ancient societies once drew. Then, in the 19th century, belief in the flat earth started to return, and in the last decade this easily disprovable fallacy has celebrated a remarkable resurgence. And that's all thanks, in large part, to an 1887 science experiment. This week, for the start of season 8, we're looking at the shaggy dog story of how t...

Sharks have been known to eat a lot of weird stuff. Fur coats, license plates, cannonballs, chicken coups, even a suit of armor. But the strangest thing ever found within the belly of a shark was... a bundle of papers. Trust me: it's more unbelievable than it sounds. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant)...

Two men, two islands, two claims for The North Pole. In part two of The Cold, Hard, Truth we're looking at the expedition formed in the wake of Peary and Cook's battle for The Pole. An expedition formed with the goal of finding Crocker Land, a lost arctic continent, and the truth. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com...

On September 7th, 1909, The New York Times announced that Robert Peary was the first person to ever reach The North Pole. But a week earlier, The New York Herald had said the same thing about Frederick Cook. Only one of them could be right, but which one? And how could you tell for certain? Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting: http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://bet...

In December of 1909, the vice president of a Worcester Massachusetts steamfitting company decided he wanted to fly. This is his story. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant". Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https:...

Here's a change of pace: what about stuff we got wrong for the better? On this episode we've got 13 short stories of mistakes that went right. From jazz to physics to chemistry to frozen dessert, we've got it all. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Visit our Pat...

Hey! I think we invented a new kind of podcast this week! It's a crime story, but it's also true. We're calling it "True Crime". I think there might be a market for this! Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your fi...

In almost seventy episodes chronicling bad ideas and loopy frauds through the ages one name has come up again and again. From phrenology to mesmerism to a strange ghostly bowl of molasses, he's the Forrest Gump of 19th century pseudo-science. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconst...

Here we are. We've examined arctic explorers, secret armies, zany daredevils, Wisconsin whiz kids and so many more only to come up empty. This is the end of the rope. Can we solve the mystery of The Foolkiller, the submarine discovered in the Chicago River in 1915, or is this one just meant to be a mystery forever. Stick around and find out. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three mon...

We're onto the long shots now: An Irish-American secret society bent on war with Canada, a kid genius out of Oshkosh and an Indiana shoe factory owner. With so few options left, one of them--surely--must be the creator of The Foolkiller. Right? Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/thecon...

Amid all the confusing and contradictory reporting that accompanied the discovery of The Foolkiller submarine in 1915 Chicago, there are a handful of mentions of an "Eastern man". On this episode, we look through the annals of submarine history in search of this mysterious figure. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com...

A proper story has three acts, but the story of The Foolkiller submarine is missing two of them. Today, we're looking at act 2: the brief window of time during which we know where this giant steel craft was. We're also examining the three initial theories that people at the time held about where the thing came from, and who built it. To do that, we're going from The North Pole to The Center of The...

In November of 1915, a submarine was found at the bottom of The Chicago River. It had been there for at least ten years, was 40 feet long, and contained the remains of a man and his dog. To this day, no one knows who built it, where it came from, or who was inside. This is the first in a five part series looking into the mystery of The Foolkiller. With luck, we might even be able to solve it. But...

For our last episode of 2019 and season 6, we're revisiting last year's Christmas episode. Stick around through the end to hear a tease for next season's big multi-part opening story, and check out these other podcasts from the top of the show: Iconography (https://iconographypodcast.com/episodes) Mark's appearance on Chad The Podcast (http://www.chadthebird.com/chadthepodcast/2019/12/14/me-mark-c...

Throw on another yule log and gather round the fire For a new Constant episode is about to transpire It's a holiday one, though it contains little joy About a con named Christmas and his terrible ploy Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and enteri...

Happy Second Birthday to The Constant! To celebrate, we're tackling the story that everyone advised Mark not to tell, that Mark himself failed over and over again to write: The Brownian Ratchet. And along the way, we're dropping into a select few of the many, many perpetual motion machines people have claimed to invented over the centuries. Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant)....