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On this week’s accidental Irish special, Harrison looks at Irish neutrality during the second world war. Ireland remained neutral, but as one politician put it, neutral on the Allied side. The new country of Ireland walked a dangerous line to stay neutral but not upset too many people along the way.

Chris, meanwhile, investigates the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels in 1907 and how an incredible list of missed opportunities in the run-up to the theft could potentially have stopped the thieves in their tracks. Everything isn’t as it seems however, as the jewels weren’t actually Crown Jewels like the British ones are, but listen in to find out the whole story.

Harrison’s Sources

Irish neutrality during World War II

Behind the Green Curtain: Ireland’s phoney neutrality during World War II

Ireland during the Second World War

The Emergency – A Brief Overview

Why didn't Ireland Fight in World War 2? (Short Animated Documentary)

Chris’ Sources

The Crown Jewels 

The Greatest Unsolved Heist in Irish History 

Dublin Metropolitan Police stolen poster 

On This Day: The Irish Crown Jewels disappear from Dublin Castle in 1907 

Wikipedia article on Arthur Vicars 

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On this week’s episode, Chris has learnt about the different ways that the CIA attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro, all 638 of them. Well, the most interesting of the 638 attempts anyway. From the very famous exploding cigar to the slightly bonkers poisoned diving suit to the less subtle hiring of the mafia, the CIA made many attempts to get rid of the communist leader. Either they weren’t very good, or his security was excellent because he lived a very long life.

Then Harrison has learnt about the most expensive party ever thrown. In 1971, the Shah of Iran wanted to prove to the world how rich and sophisticated his country was. The preparations took more than a year and involved the building of a 1,000km highway, a 160 acre “city of tents” and an enormous food order from Paris. The party may have been a hit, but the long term consequences of the party, especially for the Shah, were severe.

Follow Up

Episode 26 - The Queen’s speech and some unusual jobs

New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after two decades of service

Episode 2: Pablo Escobar’s hippos and the most camels in the world

A herd of ‘cocaine hippos’ from Pablo Escobar’s private zoo are being sterilized

Harrison’s Sources

2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire

Cyrus Cylinder

The most expensive party ever

Decadence and Downfall: The Shah of Iran’s Ultimate Party

The Biggest Party Ever

The $22 Million Party that Overthrew an Empire

Iranian Revolution [1978–1979]

Chris’ Sources

Wikipedia article on Fidel Castro 

Fidel Castro biography 

CIA Attempted to Assassinate Fidel Castro with an Exploding Cigar 

8 Bizarre Ways the CIA Tried to Kill Fidel Castro 

Killing Fidel Castro: Poisoned Cigars, Explosive Seashells 

Close but no cigar: how America failed to kill Fidel Castro 

JFK Files: The CIA Planned To Assassinate Cuba's Fidel Castro With Exploding Seashell 

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This week, Harrison tells the spooky tail of London’s Necropolis Railway, a rather unusual solution to London’s problem in the mid 1800’s of having simply too many dead people. A company was established that would provide a full service railway funeral, taking the body and mourners from Waterloo to their picturesque cemetery in Surrey. It’s creators confidently predicted that it would be able to bury all of London’s dead for hundreds of years and bury more than 50 million people in 100 years. Listen in to find out how they did (spoiler alert, not well).

Then Chris has learnt about War Plan Red, America’s plan to invade Canada that was drawn up in 1930. Imagine it, what if three allies - the United States, United Kingdom and Canada decided to go to war? Well, War Plan Red really focused on the US invading Canada in order to stop the British in their tracks. This episode also includes Canada’s plan to invade the US (they were all at it!) so clearly in between the world wars, the major western powers were very jittery around each other. Fortunately that is no longer the case today…

Harrison’s Sources

London Necropolis Railway

London Necropolis railway station

London Necropolis Railway - From Waterloo to eternity and back

The London Railway of the Dead - YouTube - Tom Scott

LONDON NECROPOLIS RAILWAY: TRAINS FOR THE DEAD

This abandoned railway was London's train for the dead

Chris’ Sources

That Time the U.S. Almost Went to War With Canada 

The secret Canadian plan to invade the US 

War Plan Red 

When, Why, and How did the United States enter WW2? The Date America Joins the Party

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Chris discovered the time that the Imperial Japanese Navy flooded Nagasaki when they launched the largest battleship - the Musashi - to ever sail the seas. Whilst the Japanese engineers managed to stop the ship just one metre past the point they thought it would roll off its dry-dock, they failed to account for the tidal wave it would create. Also in this episode, you’ll find out all about NATO’s floppy magnets. That’s right, at the height of the Cold War, just after the Cuban Missile Crisis, NATO decided they needed a simple and effective means of tracking Soviet submarines. Only, the idea that was dreamt up was a little too efficient…

Meanwhile Harrison has been looking in to the history of coffee. From the origin of the plants that give us the coffee beans to the culture that’s grown up around coffee and the influences it’s had throughout history. Learn why beans smuggled in a bouquet of flowers are today responsible for 39% of beans grown in 2020, how coffee houses were known as penny universities and how the punishment for being caught drinking a cup of coffee involved a cudgel, a sack and a river. Charming!

Chris’ Sources

4 military fails so awful they’re actually hilarious 

Japan's WW2 'Musashi battleship wreck found' 

Japanese battleship Musashi 

NATO Bombed Soviet Submarines With Tiny, Annoying Magnets 

Royal Navy plan to hunt Russian submarines with magnets was TOO successful 

Harrison’s Sources

Coffee - Wikipedia

The Coffee Bean Belt

Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever - YouTube

The History of Coffee - NCAUSA

History of Coffee - Brewing Controversy - YouTube

History of Coffee - Global Addiction - YouTube

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Harrison investigates the British Interplanetary Society which was found in 1933 and is the world’s longest established organisation devoted solely to supporting and promoting the exploration of space and astronautics. It seems likely that because of this incredible society, Britain could have been first to the moon after World War II, if the country hadn’t been completely broke and on its knees. Join us on a voyage of discovery!

Chris meanwhile learns about the blue people of Kentucky. Through incredibly bad luck, Martin Fugate, a Frenchman who emigrated to the United States in 1820 married a woman who had the same regressive gene that coloured his skin blue. Over 150 years, inbreeding and lack of understanding, the gene meant multiple generations of the Fugate’s and three other families in one small area of Kentucky suffered with blue skin, marking them out as different. Fortunately modern science came to the rescue…

BBC News - Charles and Diana's wedding cake slice sells for £1,850

Harrison’s Sources

Episode 5: Typhoid Mary and all about spacesuits

Episode 68 - Zambia’s astronauts and the Battle for Castle Itter

British Interplanetary Society - Wikipedia

The British Interplanetary Society

The BIS Lunar Spaceship

How a Nazi rocket could have put a Briton in space

Space Suit: 1949 - Wired

The BIS Lunar Spacesuit - National Space Centre

The Lunar Space Suit

The Long-Forgotten History of the British Moon Spacesuit

Chris’ Sources

What Scientists Found After Analyzing Cases of Inbreeding in the UK 

Wikipedia article on Methemoglobinemia 

The Fugate Family of Kentucky Had Blue Skin For Generations 

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It’s time for another mini facts special! The boys have both found 10 fun facts that weren’t quite enough to fill an entire episode, but are still very interesting. very funny or perhaps both at once!

Learn about a man who massively over paid for a curry, the reason we hear a count down before a rocket launch, the most rigged election in history and what makes British tanks unique in the world. All of this and more in this week’s episode.

Chris’ Sources

Old, Weird Tech: Parachuting Sheep Edition

The Hottest Inhabited Place On Earth Will Dazzle You With Its Bright Yellow-Green colours

How One Inventor Tried to Save America—With Roller Coasters

Queen Elizabeth's 'body double' has been kept a secret from public for 30 years

Why USA Started A $100000 Bill And What Happened To It?

NASA Stole the Rocket Countdown From a 1929 Fritz Lang Film

The Origin of the Eiffel Tower

Number of visitors to the Eiffel Tower in Paris from 2011 to 2019

BBC Countryfile visits the Royal Dairy at Windsor Castle

20 UK Tea Industry Statistics and Trends

Care for a spot of tea? British Tanks double as tea-making facilities

Did you know all British tanks have been equipped with tea making facilities since the end of World War II?

The Cat Telephone

William McKinley Gave Away His Good Luck Charm (And Died)

Harrison’s Sources

The 1927 Presidential Elections

1927 Liberian general election

Jean de Selys Longchamps

The crazy-but-true story of a WWII fighter pilot who said his artificial legs saved his life

Funny story of WW2 pilot Sir Douglas Bader resurfaces

Rasputin and the Empress

All persons fictitious disclaimer

North-east business owner’s shock after customer pays £1m for three-course meal

Woman Accidentally Enters Her PIN as a Tip on Restaurant Terminal, Is Now Out $7,732

50 Things About Europe You Never Knew

Why Winter Olympic Athletes Are Getting More Condoms Than Ever Before

Ex-long jump star Susen Tiedtke spills sex secrets of Olympic village with noisy romps keeping athletes up all night

ATHLETES GIVEN “ANTI-SEX” BEDS AT THE TOKYO OLYMPIC VILLAGE

Tokyo Olympics athletes warned not to use 160,000 free condoms

Man who never wanted to ride in fighter jet accidentally ejects himself

They're just loco - Britain's most bizarre train stations

Weird Football Facts

11 Unfortunate or Strange Football Facts

Chart of the day: You're probably not afraid of Australia's deadliest animals

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This week, Chris checks out the time that the United States Postal Service decided that delivering their mail by cruise missile should be a thing. We kid you not, they actually launched 3000 letters from a US Navy submarine for delivery to the US President amongst others. The boys aren’t sure it was a very viable plan as launching the missile in 1955 cost US$267,000. Still, it helped the US Navy flex in the face of the Soviets during the Cold War!

Harrison meanwhile discovers the completely bonkers sequel to the 101 Dalmatians called ‘The Starlight Barking‘. You might think it would involve 102 dalmatians, but how wrong you would be. When the world’s people are put to sleep by a super dog, every dog on the planet has super powers! They don’t need to drink or eat, can communicate with each other telepathically and have assumed the roles their owners had in the British government. Suffice to say, Disney have never actually made this story into a movie, but come with us on a magical journey of discovery to find out if Dodie Smith was on LSD when she wrote it.

Chris’ Sources

Enduring Stockpile 

Bombs Dropped On Vietnam Compared To WW2 

Here Is What Each Of The Pentagon's Air-Launched Missiles And Bombs Actually Cost 

Congreve rocket 

Stephen Smith (aerospace engineer) 

Mail Delivered by Regulus Missile 

Regulus I 

Astronautix.com Regulus I 

That Time the U.S. Postal Service Tried Delivering Mail By Missile 

Harrison’s Sources

The Hundred and One Dalmatians

The Starlight Barking

Weirdest sequel ever? The Starlight Barking, Dodie Smith

So, most people are unaware that One Hundred and One Dalmatians, the novel, has a bonkers sequel called The Starlight Barking…

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This week’s episode is a corker. Harrison delves into the post-colonial world of the Zambian Afronauts. That’s right, whilst the Cold War was raging and both the Americans and Soviets were throwing everything, including the kitchen sink at getting a man on the moon, the possibly most unlikely nation on earth decided to throw its hat into the ring. Well, more specifically, Edward Mukuka Nkoloso wanted to put Zambians on the moon and Mars! It’s a crazy story that involves the budding afronauts being pushed down hills in oil barrels and swung from trees in tyres to simulate the lack of gravity on the celestial bodies. You have to listen to believe it.

Chris meanwhile relays the story of the only documented time that the Americans fought side-by-side with the Germans during World War II to defend a number of high-profile French VIPs from certain death at the hands of the SS. If the story of the Battle for Castle Itter wasn’t true, it could easily have been thought up by a budding Hollywood screenwriter, it’s so strange. In the dying days of World War II, a German Wehrmacht unit of roughly 20 men and just seven Americans battled through the night to save the VIPs. A possibly stranger tale doesn’t exist from World War II!

Harrison’s Sources

Zambia

The Time When Zambia Tried To Go To Mars

Afronauts – Zambia’s Space Program

The Zambian “Afronaut” Who Wanted to Join the Space Race

Meet ‘The Afronauts’: An Introduction to Zambia’s Forgotten 1960s Space Program

Image of the News Article

Chris’ Sources

Wikipedia article on Battle of Castle Itter 

The Battle for Castle Itter 

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Following on from last week’s episode, Chris stays in Martinique, the beautiful Caribbean island, but turns to a dark tale when 30,000 people died on the French island in minutes. The year was 1902 and Mt. Pelee erupted at 7:52am on 8 May. There were just three known survivors - a little girl who was found floating out at sea some time after the eruption, someone the authorities labelled a “madman” and promptly armed with a gun and a hardened criminal who survived a flash temperature rise to 1000 degrees centigrade inside his prison cell. This story has it all!

Harrison meanwhile focused on the incredible story of the African American civil rights leader, Megdar Evers, who was assassinated on 12 June 1963, aged just 37 years old. He is perhaps not as well known as other leaders who gave their life, but we think he should be. Medgar worked to desegregate schools and to bring attention to cases of inequality. For this he was shot in the back outside his home, and his killer was thrown a parade after being let off twice.

Chris’ Sources

Lonely Planet article on Martinique 

Lonely Planet article on St-Pierre 

The Prison Cell of Ludger Sylbaris 

Saint-Pierre and the Prison Cell of Ludger Sylbaris 

Wikipedia article on Ludger Sylbaris 

Mt. Pelee Eruption (1902) 

Léon Compère-Léandre 

Wikipedia article on Mount Pelée 

Harrison’s Sources

The Assassination of Medgar Evers - A Hero Silenced - Extra History

MEDGAR EVERS - NAACP

Medgar Evers - Wikipedia

Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is assassinated

Medgar Evers - FBI History

NAACP

Myrlie Evers-Williams

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