Anachronismo!

Nakahama Manjiro was a fisherman who became a samurai after being shipwrecked, rescued, adopted, hired onto a whaling crew, elected as first mate, finding gold, sailing a steamship, building a whaling boat, being imprisoned, and reuniting with his mother. And his story doesn’t end there! He taught English to Japanese nobles, translated systems of navigation, … Continue reading "Ep 32 – Nakahama Manjiro, Fanta Orgins"

This week we’re talking about the U.S. Camel Corps. Back before the Civil War, several US Senators thought it would be a great idea to bring in a bunch of camels as pack animals to help settle the west. Unlike so many of our stories of importing foreign animals, it turns out that camels were a … Continue reading "Ep 31 – US Camel Corps, Mrs Satan"

This episode we talk about two old-timey religions that you might not have heard of! First up we talk about James Strang and his Strangites. An offshoot of the Mormon church, the Strangites had some surprisingly progressive politics (for the time), and they were led by a man who seemed to have serious inferiority complex, … Continue reading "Ep 30 – Strangites and Shakers"

Do you know what cochineal is? Neither did most of Europe in the 1700s! But that didn’t keep them from using it to make the finest, most expensive red dyes in the world! But people needed to know, and one mand thought he knew the truth, What’s more, he figured he could win a bet … Continue reading "Ep 29 – Red Dye Bet, Animal Jobs"

We’re back! Have you ever looked at a match and been like “wow! I bet there’s a long road that this went down to be so useful!” OF COURSE YOU HAVE. Well now you can learn! From ancient Chinese fire sticks to matchgirl strikes over phossy jaw, we have it all! Plus, just so many … Continue reading "Ep 28 – Matches, Typhoid Mary"

This episode we talk about Charles Hatfield, the famous American rainmaker at large, known for climbing up a ladder to burn chemicals so as to ANGER THE SKY enough to make it rain. That’s my interpretation and I’m sticking to it. We find out about his life, his work, his policies and the times that … Continue reading "Ep 27 – Moisture Accelerator, Titanic Exploration"

It’s another Max and Kate mini-episode! Do you know the farthest north the Confederacy attacked? Go on, guess. Did you guess Vermont? Coming over the border from Canada? To rob banks? While drunk? You did? Dang, that’s a heck of a guess. Well, I guess there’s no point now in telling you about how they … Continue reading "25- Civil War Bank Robbery, Old Price Riots"

Guest host Chloe Zwaicher joins us to talk about the Dancing Plague of 1518. But first, we learn spooky secrets about the first subway, built by Alfred Eli Beech that had to be kept from the nefarious Boss Tweed. Finally, Noel tells us all about Charles Domery, the hungriest man in history. You might be … Continue reading "24 – Secret Subway, Dancing Plague, Hungriest Man in History with Chloe Zwaicher"

It’s our first live show! At the democracy center, live in front of 50 strangers, we talk about the weird, smelly origins of Lapsang Souchong and about how the North American European Starling were imported to the states and immediately got out of hand. A million thanks to Improv History and the Democracry Center for … Continue reading "LIVE! Tea Bandits and Imported Starlings"

This week Noel is on vacation so our friend Hsui joins us to talk about the Opium Wars, one of the many terrible things that Britain did to China. Also this episode, a 300-year scam on the possible descendents of Francis Drake, and a cool historical appliance that is also a dog! Francis Drake Scam … Continue reading "Ep 23 Francis Drake Scam, Opium Wars, Turnspit Dogs with Hsui Chang"