The Unusual History of Every Thing

Nereids, mer-people, water folk, mermaids, whatever you want to call them, all cultures around the world have within their histories some version of half-human half-fish creatures. From the German Lorelei, the Icelandic Marmenill, the Matsyanaris in India to the Babylonian fish god, the Polynesian god Vatea, or the African Yemaya, the oceans and rivers of our planet are swimming with mysterious cr...

This week's podcast takes you back in time to Season 3's episode on ancient drinks! Let us take you on a quick tour of ancient drinks complete with some odd history and bits of floating lamb fat! Melanie Dellas and Karen Lacy of Muse Curatorial Consulting Group also made an accompanying video where they taste test 6 ancient recipes. Don't miss it, it's kinda gross! Watch on YouTube and let us know...

Love is a many splendid thing, but what do you do when the one you love doesn't love you back? Flowers? Poetry? Obsessive social media stalking? Maybe. Or you could look at what lovers throughout history have done to win the hearts of their intended: Make a love potion. Sure most love potions are made from some strange stuff like mashed-up worms or cakes made from human sweat, but hey, what wouldn...

Give me a word, any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word is Greek. The Greeks get credit for the origins of the word "cosmetics," which comes from the Greek word "kosmos" and evolved into "kosmetikos," which basically means the art of beautifying the body. So, there you go. For thousands of years, men and women have been coming up with ways to beautify the body. And in order to look y...

For most of human history, childbirth has been one of the most dangerous things a woman could do. Because of this, most ancient civilizations developed ways to try and protect the mother and child. From rituals, spells and odd superstitions, they used everything they saw and could think of to induce labor, treat pains, and stop death. Fortunately we still have some of these medical manuals and can...

Because we are in the midst of tax season, and many of us are stressed out about that and many other things, we thought we'd try to put a smile on your face. Taxes have been around for thousands of years in almost every culture, and there have been some really strange and unusual ones. So we are here today to show you how it truly could be worse because despite how taxing tax time can be, a quick...

We're a little early for National Ice Cream Day, which is July 15, but let's face it, any day is a good day for ice cream! But have you ever stopped to think about the device that delivers those perfect round scoops into our cones? Without it, we would still be using our hands to peel the ice cream off the ladles and spoons. And a man named Alfred L. Cralle is who we have to thank for it.

The world loves and needs good inventions, I mean the wheel and the Internet are two of the best! But let's face it, we like the strange and unusual, so we're not going to focus on the stuff most people already know about. After hearing our list, I think we will all agree that robots feeding us tomatoes as we run and cars that shovel people out of our way are inventions that should probably be giv...

Shoes date back to around 8000 BC, and have been made in every shape, style and color, and with every material imaginable. They have always been an obvious form of foot protection, and have become a fashion statement, leaving cultural footprints in every society. And best of all, shoes have gathered a world of weird beliefs and strange superstitions that have transformed the way we move through ou...

Mirrors have long played a part in human history and fascination. They hold a mystical presence, connecting some with gods and others with the dead. They show us our true selves and sometimes bring out narcissism. They decorate our homes and have born witness to happiness, sadness, fear and death. From Snow White, Through the Looking Glass, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Harry Potter, mirrors hav...

To chew or not to chew? Believe it or not, that has been the question when it comes to chewing gum for centuries. Although gum has been around in one form or another for thousands of years, it didn't begin to take on its sticky, flavorful fun until the 20th century. And while some of us love how it tastes now, long ago it was a mixture of latex, dirt and bark -– a delicacy at those secret gum chew...

Most of us know about Santa Claus and his cranky counterpart, Krampus, but did you know that Santa has several other "companions" that lurk around during the Christmas season? Many European cultures welcome good ole' St. Nick, but they also fear the spirits who follow to punish the bad. From zombie horses to mean yule cats, some of us may have more to worry about than just Krampus!

While Christmas is typically associated with Christianity and the birth of Jesus, the Christmas tree, which tends to be the focal point of our holiday décor within the home, did not have a place in early Christianity. The symbolism of evergreen trees can be traced to the worship of the Sun God Mithras around 600 BC, and became an important aspect of the winter solstice in northern Europe. From bei...

The ancient origins of Thanksgiving stem from the tradition of harvest festivals stretching back long before early European colonists reached the New World. In a time when hunger was a constant threat and societies felt at the mercy of the gods, harvest celebrations and rituals were a necessary part of life. In America, we have our own family Thanksgiving traditions ranging from watching the big g...

For as long as there have been people, there have been periods. Not periods of time, no, I'm talking about a woman's monthly visitor, Aunt Flow, the big red dot. And for almost as long, people have been trying to figure out ways to deal with it. From ancient rituals to using some rather odd things to plug up the situation, ancient people have been thinking about this for thousands of years -- Alth...

In the spirit of Halloween month, this week's podcast is dedicated to the cultural and spiritual care of objects. Whether it's a ritual object, a doll or something that seems as simple as a chair, the care and even disposal is an important aspect of that object's life...and yours.

In honor of Halloween month, this week's spooky podcast is a brief overview of Karen's presentation on witches, which she presented to the San Diego County Archaeological Society and the Santee Historical Association. If you thought you knew the history of witches, think again!

San Diego's Balboa Park welcomes the new Comic-Con Museum! Join Karen Lacy as she goes "in the field" for a behind-the-scenes glance at what they will offer the public when they open in 2020!

You may think you know everything about wedding dresses: They're white and pretty, there are TV shows about choosing them, etc., but you'd be wrong! You may be surprised to know that wedding dresses have an unusual history that includes evil colors, bad fairies, bridesmaid bodyguards and keeping away trolls! That's right, trolls.

Welcome to another In the Field episode! Today Karen is interviewing one of our private clients. He came to us with his grandfather's Japanese flag from World War II. The flag needed some tender loving care, and while working on it, we discovered its unusual history.

In the last episode we talked a lot about the happier side of DNA, how our DNA is processed through various companies, and we found out what Karen was made up of! Now we are delving into the darker side: crime scenes, forensics, the Golden State Killer and even Jack the Ripper! So sit back and enjoy, but be careful: Everything you touch, everywhere you go, you leave a little piece of yourself behi...

In the last episode we gave you a little teaser into the world of DNA and what we could possibly find out about Karen's. Today we pull back the veil and tell you all the odd things we uncovered about Karen's ancestry! Could she be related to Queens? Serial killers? Find out now! You'll also get to hear all about these DNA tests, what they're all about, and what they do with our samples.

There are so many people who think they are half this and 25% that or even on that rare occasion, 100% of something. In today's world we have the ability to send our spit in the mail and 2 weeks later get the results to the age old question: Who are you? So that is exactly what we had Karen do! In this week's episode we take you step by step through the process of getting Karen's DNA into that lit...

Karen takes you In the Field at the Texas Archaeology Society field school she attends every year! This year they partnered with Texas State Parks & Wildlife in Palo Duro Canyon State Park to look for new sites and check on previously discovered ones. Karen and her father worked on excavating a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. The CCC was a voluntary public work relief program that operated...

Welcome to our special In the Field episode of our podcast, Muse Stories: The Unusual History of Every Thing. Every so often when Karen and I are out at a special location, we will upload a shorter In the Field podcast, usually accompanied by one or more short videos. This week you are in luck because I have 3 short videos! You can watch them all on YouTube by searching Muse Stories, or go directl...