Things I Learned Last Night

Today we're constantly bombarded with news from the world's mega-corporations. More and more, it seems like the FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) will just keep getting bigger and bigger. However, according to some historians, these titans of tech are nothing compared to the financial reach and impact of one company that reigned throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centurie...

People worldwide watched the seconds tick by on December 21, 2012. Due to a 'prophecy' about the world's end, many expected to watch the apocalypse unfold that day. But nothing happened. Unfortunately for our ancient ancestors, they weren't as lucky. Nearly 3200 years ago, the world stopped spinning. At least, it stopped for the major superpowers of the day. As a result, one of the most technologi...

The great depression was one of the most challenging times in history. The financial uncertainty of the time led many to nefarious forms of income. Unfortunately for Mike Malloy, others looked to more extreme measures. Over a few months in early 1933, a group of five directed by Tony Marino repeatedly attempted to kill Malloy to claim a significant life insurance policy they had taken out on him....

Join Jaron and Tim for this special live edition of Things I Learned Last Night recorded live on the Podcast stage at Boulevardia 2022 in Kansas City, MO. In this episode, learn about the history of crafting with Secret Handshake Studios. For more info about Secret Handshake Studios: https://www.secrethandshakekc.com For more info about Boulevardia, visit: https://boulevardia.com Love TILLN? Becom...

In the world of UFO sightings, it can often be tough to delineate fact from fiction. Well, actually, sometimes it's pretty easy to see what is fiction. But, lately, there have been well-documented cases of UAP sightings by trained observers occupying the limelight. This is not a new thing. There have been well-documented sightings by professional observers for decades. One such case is the Rendles...

Join Jaron and Tim for this special live edition of Things I Learned Last Night recorded live on the podcast stage at Boulevardia 2022 in Kansas City, MO. In this episode, learn about the history, technique, and competition circuit for beatboxing with up-and-coming entertainer musicbyskippy.  For tickets, music, and more check out: https://www.musicbyskippy.com For info about Boulevardia, visit: h...

The ocean is one of the earth's most precious resources. However, like many of the resources on earth, capitalism has not treated them well. For that very reason, Russ George has devised a plan to revitalize the ocean. His controversial theory is called Ocean Pasteurization. To replenish the ecosystem of the world's oceans, George plans to dump iron into the seas to feed plankton and cause an arti...

Antarctica is one of the most mysterious places on the planet. Few people in the world have ever or will ever step foot on this massive slab of ice. Due to the lack of experience with this strange continent, many conspiracy theories have been born around the area. One of the first and most prolific, Antarctic explorers is US Navy Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Not only did Boyd take a few trips to...

In the 1980's Tacoma, Washington, faced a stark increase in gang activity. The hilltop neighborhood was a particularly active subset of the city and became a hub for the illegal drug trade in the town. However, when one Army Ranger bought a home in the neighborhood, he took matters into his own hands. Sergeant Bill Foulk installed security cameras and began confronting the gangsters during drug de...

The early days of the internet were truly the wild west. Anyone with the means to post to the world wide web could upload whatever they wanted and leave it out there to the world. That is precisely what inspired Julian Assange to create Wikileaks. The now infamous site was envisioned to be a place where whistleblowers could anonymously leak sensitive information into a platform that would verify a...

Since the first humans took their first breath, we have been trying to subvert the forces of death. But, to date, no one has successfully unlocked the keys to eternal life. At least, no one has publicly discovered the key to endless life. Legends of fantastic figures that found the secret have captivated people for longer than we've been writing. The Count of St Germain is one such mythic figure....

On a hot summer day in 1954, a man arrived at Tokyo Haneda Airport. Since the man came on an international flight, he was required to show his passport to be stamped. Upon viewing the man's passport, officials were shocked to find the country that issued the passport was called Taured, a country that does not exist. Furthermore, the man was shocked when he attempted to show his country's location...

Today flying is one of the safest forms of transit that exists. Out of the millions of flights every year, only about 30 of those result in an accident in the US, and very few result in any serious injury. However, this hasn't always been the case. In recent history, regulations on air travel were much laxer and allowed for a far greater rate of failure. On Christmas Eve 1971, Juliane Koepcke witn...

Since the start of the internet, forums have been a strange place. Something about allowing people anonymity brings out the worst in humanity. The effect was in full display for Reddit user Religion of Peace. Known for running one of the most nefarious and controversial subreddits in the platform's history, the user garnered an almost mythic status during his time on Reddit. Many users had encount...

In 1991, eight people walked in a large glass dome in the Arizona desert. Camera crews captured the group as they disappeared into the void. The structure was built by billionaire Ed Bass who hoped to use the facility for research into what it would take to build a colony on an alien world. The philanthropist enlisted a crew of four men and four women to spend two years locked inside the biosphere...

Imagine you woke up one morning to find the sky is full of circular, triangular, and cylindrical objects darting to and fro in an apparent struggle for aerial supremacy. You might immediately think that you were witnessing an alien invasion. Maybe you'd assume you were hallucinating. But, imagine this happened while you were living in the year 1561. That's exactly what happened to the people of Nu...

What are the names that come to mind when you think of bank robbers? For many, names like Bonnie & Clyde, John Dillinger, and maybe even certain GTA V characters fill the mind. However, these robbers don't even scratch the surface. While, technically, not a bank robber, John Ruffo conned a few dozen banks out of more than $350 million. His case is the most expensive bank fraud in American history....

Marathon runners are a rare breed of humans. Few hobbies involve wheezing for miles and shopping for shirts that won't rub your skin off. Every year a new challenger appears for these hobbyists to overcome. However, there has never been a more formidable foe for the marathon runner than the Barkley Marathons. This infamous race tests not just its runner's physical endurance but also their mental f...

Moving into a new home can be stressful. In the best-case scenario, the new neighbors are helpful or maybe distant, depending on how social of a person you are. But we've all been in that scenario where our neighbors aren't exactly the type of people we wanted to live near. However, noisy or rude neighbors are nothing to the neighbor that the Broaddus family endured after moving into their New Jer...

These days just about anyone can tell you a thing or two about Scientology. Most of the public exposure to the church of Scientology has come from Leah Remini's documentary series on Netflix. Even though the average person knows the church, few understand exactly what it does or from where it came. Scientology's members' secrecy and financial actions have led most to label it a cult. It is a label...

Thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the idea of other universes, timelines, and dimensions has become mainstream. We've all become well-versed in the possibility of other worlds out there. But how realistic is the idea? Some serious thinkers believe that the sort of universe in the MCU is possible. M Theory is a subset of string theory that seeks to explain all of the other possible dimension...

Imagine a theme park that surveyed the history of the United States while being shaped like the continental United States. How could that not excite you? In the '60s, the US of A was all the rage in the US, and C.V. Wood saw the hype as an opportunity to capitalize on patriotism. The disgraced Disney Park manager somehow landed a 13-million dollar investment from one of New York's most prolific re...

Point Pleasant. If you chose to stop for gas in Point Pleasant, you might be shocked to see a 12-foot-tall metallic statue of the mythological creature known as Moth Man. Both because it's shocking that a town would erect such a statue on their main crossroad and because it's an utterly terrifying statue. Nestled on the West Virginia and Ohio border, Point Pleasant boasts scenic views of the Ohio...

Few places have sparked as much public intrigue as Skinwalker Ranch. Dubbed as the most paranormally active place in America, the ranch has books and tv shows in its honor. We can learn much by looking at the ranch owners over the years. When did that haunting begin? What is the nature of the hauntings? Most importantly, what do UFOs have to do with it? The history goes back long before the United...

The life story of the man who helped found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is one that anyone would assume is full of intrigue. That is precisely the case with Jack Parsons, one of the lead members of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory which led to the founding of JPL. However, for Jack, his scientific exploits are some of the least exciting points of his life. Parsons dealing with the occult an...