By the time they realized what they’d done, it was too late. Hastings Cutoff turned out to not be much of a cutoff at all. In fact, it was more time consuming and taxing than the regular California Trail. As a result, members of the Donner Party grew hungry. They grew thirsty. Their oxen, horses and dogs suffered. Some died. Some ran away. They ran low on time. People snapped at one another.

The group knew that they’d have to do something desperate to survive. So, they sent a few men ahead. They prayed the men would come back with help – before it was too late.

“The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride,” by Daniel James Brown

“The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny,” by Michael Wallis

The documentary, “The Donner Party”

“How the Donner Party was doomed by a disastrous shortcut,” by Erin Blakemore for History.com

“Lansford Hastings, the Donner Party, and the Civil War,” by Elizabeth Eisenstark for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine

“The deadly temptation of the Oregon Trail shortcut,” by Laura Kiniry for atlasobscura.com

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

The Donner Party was at a crossroads. They’d made good progress on their journey to California, but they were still about a week behind schedule. Lansford Hasting’s new shortcut appealed to the worried group. But an experienced explorer warned them against it. The man told them that the shortcut might kill them.

They didn’t listen.

“The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride,” by Daniel James Brown

“The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny,” by Michael Wallis

The documentary, “The Donner Party”

“How the Donner Party was doomed by a disastrous shortcut,” by Erin Blakemore for History.com

“Lansford Hastings, the Donner Party, and the Civil War,” by Elizabeth Eisenstark for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine

“The deadly temptation of the Oregon Trail shortcut,” by Laura Kiniry for atlasobscura.com

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

This episode kicks off our coverage of an infamous American tragedy – the Donner Party.

In the mid-1800’s, a group that would later be known as the Donner Party set out West in search of a better life. The California and Oregon Trails were notoriously tough. The journey was dangerous, unpredictable and long. So, when an irresponsible, self-serving douchebag named Lansford Hastings began touting a shortcut to California, members of the Donner Party were intrigued. Could there really be a faster way to California?

Tragically, Lansford was full of shit.

“The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride,” by Daniel James Brown

“The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny,” by Michael Wallis

The documentary, “The Donner Party”

“How the Donner Party was doomed by a disastrous shortcut,” by Erin Blakemore for History.com

“Lansford Hastings, the Donner Party, and the Civil War,” by Elizabeth Eisenstark for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine

“The deadly temptation of the Oregon Trail shortcut,” by Laura Kiniry for atlasobscura.com

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

To this day, the Bath School Disaster of 1927 remains the deadliest mass murder in a school in American history, yet it isn’t often discussed.

In this episode, Norm covers May 18, 1927, when school board member Andrew Kehoe set off a series of explosions that killed 38 children, 6 adults, and injured at least 58 others. That act of domestic terrorism forever changed the small community of Bath, Michigan.

Bath School Museum. “Bath School Museum.” https://bathschoolmuseum.org/.

Bernstein, Arnie. Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing. The University of Michigan Press, 2009.

“Merrian Josephine Cushman Vail (1913-2013) - Find...” Accessed July 17, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6056318/merrian_josephine-vail.

Parker, Grant. Mayday. Liberty Press, 1980.

Schechter, Harold. Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer. Little A, 2021.

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

It was unspeakable. Unthinkable. In 1927, a school board member set off a series of explosions that killed 38 children, 6 adults, and injured at least 58 others. That act of domestic terrorism became known as the Bath School disaster. It rocked the small farming community of Bath Township, Michigan, and left people wondering how a seemingly “normal” man like Andrew Kehoe could have done something so terrible.

Bath School Museum. Bath School Museum. https://bathschoolmuseum.org/.

Bernstein, A. Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing; The University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 2009.

Schechter, H. Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer; Little A: New York, 2021.

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

In the late 70s, disco was everywhere. Songs like “Disco Inferno,” “I Will Survive” and “Brick House” topped the charts. Disco had been created and embraced by Black people, Latino people, LGBT+ people, and women. It was fun and funky. It was freeing and empowering.

…but *some* folks didn’t like having disco balls shoved in their faces. So, when a 24-year-old Chicago shock jock began hosting “death to disco” rallies at local bars, he developed a loyal following of young, disgruntled dudes. The shock jock’s popularity soon caught the eye of the Chicago White Sox. They needed to sell tickets for an upcoming doubleheader. What if they ran a “Disco Demolition Night” promotion? It would be totally fun! Things definitely wouldn’t get out of hand!

The documentary, “The Saint of Second Chances”

The documentary, “The War on Disco”

“When ‘Disco Sucks!’ echoed around the world,” by Tony Scalafani for Today.com

“Disco demolition: Bell-bottoms be gone!” by Andy Behrens for ESPNChicago.com

“We rock ‘n’ rollers will resist – and we will triumph!” by Kirstin Butler for PBS.org

“Forty years later, disagreement about disco demolition night,” by Gary Waleik for WBUR.org

“Baseball’s showman,” by Nick Acocella for ESPN.com

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

In 1981, American Airlines offered an incredible deal. For just $250k, people could purchase a lifetime pass that entitled them to unlimited first class travel, anywhere the airline flew, for the rest of their lives. People could also purchase a companion pass that would allow anyone to fly with them.

They called it the AAirpass. It didn’t take long for the airline to discover that they’d priced the AAirpass too low. Way too low.

“The frequent fliers who flew too much,” by Ken Bensinger for the Los Angeles Times

“My father had a lifelong ticket to fly anywhere. Then they took it away,” by Caroline Rothstein for Narratively

“The rise and demise of the AAirpass, American Airlines’ $250k lifetime ticket,” by Zachary Crockett for thehustle.co

“‘Free’quent flier has wings clipped after American Airlines takes away his unlimited pass,” by Kate Briquelet, for the New York Post

“Extreme frequent fliers sue American Airlines over loss of unlimited lifetime ticket,” by Erin McLaughlin for ABC News

Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Here’s a true story: In 1848, an iron rod shot through a man’s head. It smashed up under his cheekbone and came out the top of his skull.

Ready for the wild part? Despite the fact that the iron rod destroyed much of his brain’s left frontal lobe, he survived. Phineas Gage’s story baffled the medical community. His injury became one of the most talked-about medical events of the 19th century.

Caulfield, Margo. “Cavendish Historical Society News: Phineas Gage Walking Tour.” Cavendish Historical Society News (blog), May 16, 2013. https://cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com/2013/05/phineas-gage-walking-tour.html.

MacMillan, Malcom. An Odd Kind of Fame: Stories of Phineas Gage. MIT Press, 2002. “

The Case of Phineas Gage (1823 - 1860) · Beyond the Bone Box,” n.d. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/exhibits/show/beyond-the-bone-box/the-case-of-phineas-gage.

The University of Akron, Ohio. “Anniversary at Cavendish,” n.d. https://www.uakron.edu/gage/anniversary.dot.

Twomey, Steve. “Phineas Gage: Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient.” Smithsonian Magazine, n.d. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/.

Back in their day, the seven Sutherland sisters were a household name. They were celebrated for their outrageously long, thick hair. For years, audiences gathered ‘round to watch the sisters undo their updos. Audiences gasped as the sisters’ hair tumbled, in unison, to the floor. Soon, money poured in. The sisters spent every cent of it.

Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from:

“How 7 sisters made a fortune off their Rapunzel-like hair,” by Maria Ricapito for Atlas Obscura

“Untangling the tale of the seven Sutherland sisters and their 37 feet of hair,” by Lisa Hix for Collectors Weekly

“Introducing the amazing seven Sutherland sisters,” by Brandon Stickney for sideshowworld.com

“Tressed for success,” by Dianne L. Sammarco and Kathleen L. Rounds for The Buffalo News

“The Seven Sutherland Sisters,” by Dianne L. Sammarco and Kathleen L. Rounds for newengland.com

“Hocus Pocus – Untangling the Sutherland Sisters,” by Linda Secca Spina for lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com

“Showplace of the countryside was the seven sisters’ mansion,” by Arch Merrill for The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

“The amazing seven Sutherland sisters,” by Ferdinand Meyer V for peachridgeglass.com

“Show and Tell: Seven Sutherland sisters’ hair grower,” by Stassa Edwards for Mental Floss

Alan Abel was driving down a Texas highway when traffic came to a sudden stop. As it turned out, a herd of cattle was crossing the road. How annoying! Then – shock of all shocks – a cow and a bull started mating, right there, in the middle of the road, IN FRONT OF GOD AND EVERYBODY.

Some motorists giggled. Some averted their eyes. Some were shocked. 

Alan couldn’t believe what was happening. Didn’t those animals have any decency? Didn’t they have any common sense? Someone needed to create some rules! The way Alan saw it, the world would be a much better place if we started putting clothing on animals.

“Society for indecency to naked animals,” NPR.org

“Alan Abel, history’s greatest hoaxer,” by Jake Rossen for Mental Floss

“The fine art of hoaxing,” by Dave Von Drehle for The Arizona Republic

The documentary, “Abel Raises Cain”

“College may ban animal nudity,” by Andrew T. Weil for The Harvard Crimson

“The campaign to make ‘indecent’ animals wear clothing,” by Zachary Crockett for Priceonomics.com

“Underwear for Horses? A hoax, cemented in print,” The New York Times

The album, “Inside SINA”

“10 questions for the best prankster ever,” by Nicole Tourtelot for Esquire

“The more you weigh, the more you pay,” by Joshua Foer for Esquire