It's Thanksgiving week so we're showing our thanks to our tens of listeners by dedicating an entire episode to their tabs! Join us as we learn about Existentialism, criminals who are bad at stealing ruby slippers, and a prophet's foreskin.

Listener Tabs:

Philosophize This

https://www.philosophizethis.org/

Austin Dam 1911

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DmZCpgl1FDY

Catherine of Siena

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Siena

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This week we're joined by very special guest, comic artist Harris Fishman AKA BeetleMoses as we discuss Roald Dahl's relationship to Tim Burton's 2005 adaptation of his book, how Wooly Mammoths helped propagate pumpkins in the Americas, and how the world's tallest man helped save some dolphins. A listener mail tells us about the GOAT of goats, the Christmas Gävle in Sweden.

Episode Tabs:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Factory_(film)

Study reveals ancient link between mammoth dung and pumpkin pie

https://insider.si.edu/2015/11/dull-mastadon-taste-buds-once-helped-pumpkins-wild-ancestor-thrive/

World's tallest man saves dolphins

https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2006/dec/14/anotherdolphin

Listener Tabs:

Gävle goat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gävle_goat#

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

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This week we deep dive into how a political cartoon of William Howard Taft inspired Billy Possum who once tried to take control of the plush market from the Teddy Bear and how a listening device within a seemingly innocent gift from the Soviets during the Yalta Conference inspired the modern day RFID. A listener email shows us a TV portal to the past.

500 Open Tabs Wiki

https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki

Episode Tabs:

Politics and Possum Feasts: Presidents Who Ate Opossums

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/09/politics-and-possum-feasts-presidents-who-ate-opossums/

Leon Theremin Changed Spying FOREVER with this 1940s invention!

https://youtu.be/GyryQltyDwA?si=5xtxJGadvhtLxyH3

Listener Tabs:

My Retro TVs

https://80s.myretrotvs.com

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki

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Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into the true story of ten strangers who were picked to live on a "sex raft" to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start banging, and the hilarious origins of Bat Boy, the Weekly World News's flagship creation. A listener email informs us about the PT Barnum of Baseball.

Kaveh's KPop Demon Hunters / Calvin and Hobbes mashup shirt (also available in kids' sizes )

https://www.blacksmithfilms.com/store/rumi-and-derpy-t-shirt

500 Open Tabs Wiki

https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki

Episode Tabs:

Mutiny on the Sex Raft

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/14/mutiny-on-the-sex-raft-70s-experiment-santiago-genoves

BAT BOY’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY!

https://weeklyworldnews.com/mutants/183465/bat-boy-30th-anniversary

Listener Tabs:

BILL VEECK, THE P. T. BARNUM OF BASEBALL

https://www.historynet.com/bill-veeck-the-barnum-of-baseball/

A Brief History of "The Firelands"

https://www.hcc-ogs.org/firelands-history.html

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki

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Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's finally Halloween! This week we're joined by very spooky guest Alyssa Cooper as we learn about Gef, a talking Mongoose who haunted a rural home on the Isle of Man, how haunted houses share a history with Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and how unfounded rumors about razor blades in apples continue to ruin trick or treating for everyone. A listener mail tells us about an aspiring lawyer who took a bite out of crime.

Episode Tabs:

The strange and deeply unlikely tale of Gef the talking mongoose

https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2024/03/the-strange-and-deeply-unlikely-tale-of-gef-the-talking-mongoose/

The Great Depression Origins of Halloween Haunted Houses

https://www.history.com/articles/halloween-haunted-house-great-depression

Halloween Sadism

https://www.joelbest.net/halloween-sadism

Listener Tabs:

Fabric of a Nation – American Quilt Stories at Boston MFA

https://cottoncandyfabrics.blog/2022/01/03/fabric-of-a-nation-american-quilt-stories-at-boston-mfa/

Summer Associate’s Naughty Toddler Impression Gets Her Bounced From Biglaw

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/07/summer-associates-naughty-toddler-impression-gets-her-bounced-from-biglaw/

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we're together in New York as we discuss the grand finale of the Astor Place riot which unfolded like a Looney Tunes style fight and Barry Bremen, the great sports impostor who posed as players for the MLB, the NBA, and a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. A listener email informs us of the official rubbing mud of Major League Baseball.

Episode Tabs:

The Astor Place Riot: Blood On The Cobblestones

https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/astorplaceriot-commemorationpart2-zy4la-cerc4-ezwep-hsfs3s-rnyg3-tm6kl-anff2-8hdc3-el4s7-lryac

The Counterfeit Athlete: Barry Bremen, the Man Who Pretended to Be an MLB, NBA, and NFL All-Star

https://www.mentalfloss.com/sports/barry-bremen-the-great-imposter

Listener Tabs:

Baseball Rubbing Mud

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Rubbing_Mud

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

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Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week the story of the Astor Place riot continues with the Bowery Boys gang further fueling the divide between English and American theatre styles and the fearsome Mongolian Warrior Khutulun, who refused to marry a man who couldn’t beat her in wrestling. A listener mail tells us all about rejection sensitivity dysphoria.

Episode Tabs:

THE MOST FASCINATING RIOT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

https://theoutline.com/post/8659/the-astor-place-opera-house-riot-of-1849-was-lit

The Mongolian Princess Who Challenged Her Suitors to a Wrestling Match—and Always Won

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/560956/mongolian-princess-who-challenged-her-suitors-wrestling-match-and-always-won

Listener Tabs:

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria - RSD

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24099-rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-rsd

The Theory of The Four Humors by Hippocrates

https://psychologyfor.com/the-theory-of-the-four-humors-by-hippocrates/

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

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500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we're in NYC as we deep dive into how a satirical 1800s magazine helped coin the city's nickname and the origins of a bitter rivalry between the American stage actor Edwin Forrest and English actor William Charles Macready that led to a full scale riot in 1849. A listener email explains Action Bronson's connection to November Rain.

Come see us at NEW YORK COMIC-CON!

Artist Alley, Table D-33

October 9-12, 2025

Episode Tabs:

Why is New York City Called Gotham?

https://www.untappedcities.com/why-is-new-york-city-called-gotham-a-nickname-with-a-millennium-of-history/

THE MOST FASCINATING RIOT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

https://theoutline.com/post/8659/the-astor-place-opera-house-riot-of-1849-was-lit

Listener Tabs:

How did the Starling get to America?

https://www.birdful.org/how-did-the-starling-get-to-america/

Action Bronson - "Easy Rider" (Official Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58RSC7HO9aU

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

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500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into activist Dan Kwong's efforts to restore a baseball field at a former California internment camp and about researchers who lived in subterranean caves for months at a time without access to clocks, calendars, or the sun. A listener email explains some sweet, sweet history.

Come see us at NEW YORK COMIC-CON!

Artist Alley, Table D-33

October 9-12, 2025

Episode Tabs:

The Moving Story of Bringing Baseball Back to Manzanar

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/moving-story-of-bringing-baseball-back-to-manzanar-where-thousands-of-japanese-americans-were-incarcerated-during-world-war-II-180986312/

Caveman: And Interview with Michel Siffre

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/30/foer_siffre.php

Listener Tabs:

Malm Whale

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/malm-whale

White Rabbit (Candy)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_%28candy%29

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into the absolutely disgusting history of medical researchers who experimented on themselves and the story of teenager Sybil Ludington, the unfortunately nicknamed "female Paul Revere," who rode 40 miles in the pouring rain to warn American revolutionaries of the encroaching British army. A listener email explains a werewolf baby phenomenon.

Kaveh's Panel at LA COMIC-CON:

Middle Eastern/ North African Representation in Media

SEPTEMBER 27, 2025

11:00am, ROOM 407

Episode Tabs:

20 Self-Experimenting Medical Researchers in History

https://historycollection.com/20-self-experimenting-medical-researchers-in-history/

Sybil Ludington

https://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php

Listener Tabs:

Babies develop 'werewolf syndrome’ after medicine mix-up in Spain

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/29/babies-develop-werewolf-syndrome-after-medicine-mix-up-in-spain

Dr. Pepper Museum Animatronic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQ1GJ17-6E

Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected]

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

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SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

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