Anachronismo!

This week we take a trip back to the 1800s for a tale of the escape of former slave Lewis Williams with what I would call “scooby-doo techniques.” Then it’s into the history and practice of building triumphal arcs out of bread in a small Italian town. Finally, we check out the Hunter-Dunbar expedition through … Continue reading "Ep 22 – Escape Switcheroo, Arcs of Bread, Dunbar-Hunter Expedition"

This week: We learn about the aquatic escapades of some of America’s presidents, tell the tale of Mary Anning, self-taught seashore fossil hunter, and find out about how you can make violins from the floorboards of old buildings with Sam Stochek, violin-maker extraordinaire! Sorry for the delay, tea and computers do not mix.

This week, we talk about Simeon Stylites, the 5th century monk who lived on top of a pillar, about the United States’ weird forays into entomological warfare with hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes and fleas dropped via airplane, and about Carrie A Nation, the infamous prohibitionist who would smash up bars with a hatchet. Talking … Continue reading "Ep 20 – Pillar Saint, Bug Warfare, Carrie Nation"

We talk about Bo Nash, the fashionable “king” of the city of Bath in the 1800s, and his terrible gambling problems. Then, we get into the Inlands Customs Line of India and the 1200+ mile long hedge that was grown to protect it. Finally, we get into the Surrender of Guam, and how the comedy … Continue reading "Ep 19 – King of Bath, Great Hedge of India, Surrender of Guam"

In this episode, we talk about the apocryphal sausage duel of Otto Von Bismark, the incredibly violent precursor to soccer known as the Florentine Kick-Game, and about the Flying Santas that brought Christmas to children who live in lighthouses. This week’s what if they met: Santa Blood Sport Sausage Duel at 2:07 Florentine Kick-Game – … Continue reading "Ep 18 – Sausage Duel, Florentine Kick-Game, Flying Santas"

Happy new year! For our first episode of 2018 we’re covering Medieval Spice Diets – how they balanced humors by spicing food in certain ways, and then it’s onto Operation Mincemeat – a British operation from WWII that fed false info to the Germans in a decidedly unscrupulous way.

This week, we talk about how the US Government poisoned alcohol during prohibition to discourage drinking, about how a unit of actors and set designers called the Ghost Army pulled the wool over the Nazis eyes in WWII, and about how the Golden Horde of the Mongols used plague-ridden corpses to beseige the city of … Continue reading "Ep 16- Prohibition Poison, WWII Ghost Army"

Welcome back! This is part 2 of episode 15, featuring special Guest Matthew Lewis of the Heretical Historians talking about the crazier parts of the Bolshevik Revolution and Max talking about the incredibly sad Children’s Crusades.

We had to split this week’s episode into two parts to get it up. This is part one, where we introduce ourselves and talk about Lady Ching Shih, one of history’s most successful pirates. Joining us this week is Matt Lewis from Heretical Historians, who will be talking about the Bolshevik Revolution after the break.

In this episode, we talk about the practice of putting animals on trial in the Middle Ages, how Holland came to need dikes and sluices to keep from flooding, and how chewing gum came to the United States (hint: our old pal Santa Ana is involved). Plus, we debut a new segment on historical clothing! … Continue reading "ep 14 – Animal Trials, Sinking Holland, Chewing Gum"