Conjuring Curiosities

In our second episode of Brief Bewitchments, Sabrina explains the difference between a pentacle and pentagram, and how no matter which you use, you won’t summon a demon by accident. Phew!

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In this episode, we dive deep into the life of the legendary escape artist, Harry Houdini, and his surprising and eventually strained friendship with the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Houdini dazzled the world with his death-defying stunts and escapes, but as much as he wanted to believe in spiritualism, he couldn’t escape the doubts he had about its validity. In contrast, his friend Sir Arthur was so enamoured with the idea of the afterlife, Houdini couldn’t even convince him that he himself did not have true magic powers. Sp grab your handcuffs, hold your breath, and take a journey with us through magic and mediums!

CORRECTION: The world record for longest time spent awake is actually 18 days!

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SOURCES:

Britannica - Harry Houdini

PBS - Timeline of Houdini's Life

Biography - Harry Houdini

Wild About Houdini - The life of Harry Houdini

The New Yorker - Harry Houdini and the Art of Escape

Wikipedia - Harry Houdini

Villa Finale - The Spiritualist Versus the Illusionist: The Battle Between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini PART 1 PART 2

Splice Today - Harry Houdini’s Spiritual Feud With Arthur Conan Doyle

American Magazine - When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (maybe) spoke with the dead

Murder & Mayhem - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Enduring Obsession With the World of Spiritualism

NPR - Lessons from sleeplessness: The 60th anniversary of Randy Gardner's world record

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Welcome to our new bite sized bi-weekly episodes, Brief Bewitchments! In our first magical mini episode, the turns are tabled as Sabrina tells Clara about Victorian divination! From her specialty, tarot, to tea leaves and palmistry, Sabrina shares her expertise on some of the mediums used by mediums.

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Grab your magnifying glass and your deerstalker hat, because this week we’re discussing the author behind the most famous fictional detective ever! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may have created Sherlock Holmes, the character who revolutionized detective fiction, but he was less than fond of his own creation. Most likely because he wanted to be remembered for something else, his obsession with Spiritualism! As much as he loved logic and deduction, he was equally passionate about contacting the afterlife, which is where things get really strange.This episode is a wild ride through crime-solving, supernatural belief, and the life of a man who was just as extraordinary as his fictional detective.

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SOURCES:

Wikipedia - Arthur Conan Doyle

Wikipedia - George Edalji

Wikipedia - Oscar Slater

Mental Floss - When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Tried Solving a Real Mystery

Conan Doyle Info - Arthur Conan Doyle and Spiritualism

Murder & Mayhem - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Enduring Obsession With the World of Spiritualism

Victorian Web - Arthur Conan Doyle's Interest in Spiritualism

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This week, Clara teaches Sabrina how to mind her manners and show her good breeding with a little help from Florence Hartley’s “The Ladies Book of Etiquette”. While good old Flo’s advice can be just as ridiculous as you’d expect, it’s a fascinating look at all the ways that women both supported and critisized eachother.  So grab your kid gloves and your male escort (and DON’T suck on your parasol, have you not breakfasted!?) And learn all about the trials and tribulations that came with being a proper Victorian lady!

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SOURCE:

Project Gutenburg EBook - The Ladies Book of Ettiquette by Florence Hartley

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Get ready for a true crime story that’s equal parts shocking and sinister! In this episode, we dive deep into the gruesome case of Kate Webster, the maid who made headlines in 1800’s London for her brutal crime. Kate Webster wasn’t your ordinary household help - she was a woman with a dark past and a dangerous temper. When she landed a job as a maid for the wealthy widow Julia Martha Thomas, things quickly took a deadly turn. So get your laundry pot boiling, sharpen your axe, and join us to learn about a tale of deceit, brutality, and cold-blooded murder!

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SOURCES:

Murderpedia - Catherine WEBSTER

History Answers - Kate Webster: The Victorian maid who boiled her mistress

Wikipedia - Murder of Julia Martha Thomas

Cambridge University - Trial, sentence & execution of Kate Webster for the murder of Mrs Thomas, at Richmond

The History Blog - The Victorian murder victim’s skull in David Attenborough’s garden 

CIA.gov - USE OF PSYCHICS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT 

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This week, Clara and Sabrina explore the dazzling and sometimes disturbing history of the World’s Fairs! In this episode, we celebrate the groundbreaking inventions and innovations unveiled at these grand exhibitions, while also shedding light on the darker aspects of human exploitation. Zip up your boots and turn on your dishwasher before you join us on a journey through Victorian World’s Fairs!

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SOURCES:

The Forgotten Files - The Human Zoo of 1904

Lapham’s Quarterly - The Largest Human Zoo in World History

Business Insider - 15 inventions and landmarks that you had no idea debuted at World's Fairs

Intelligencer - 10 Innovations From the 1964–65 World’s Fair That Didn’t Work Out (and 5 That Did)

Snapshot Of The Past - The Chicago World's Fair Invented The Best And The Worst

Alarabiya News - Eiffel Tower, ketchup, live TV: Top 10 world fair inventions ahead of Dubai Expo 2020

History.com - 6 Everyday Inventions That Debuted at World’s Fairs

History.com - How Early World Fairs Put Industrial Revolution Progress on Display

Listverse - Top 10 Captivating Stories From World’s Fairs

Cracked - 7 World's Fairs That Became Utter Nightmares

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Get ready for a juicy tale of status, luxury, and fruity frenzy, as we travel back to the days when pineapples were the rarest and most coveted fruit in the world! When pineapples made their way to European shores, they set off a frenzy among the elite, and quickly became the ultimate symbol of wealth and power. Join us as we walk the promenade with a rented pineapple under one arm and discuss how people only want things when they’re hard to get!

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SOURCES:

BBC - The rise, fall, and rise of the status pineapple

Fruitnet - Why the pineapple was once a symbol of wealth

WIkipedia - Pineapple mania

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Step right up, step right up! Join us on a jaw-dropping journey into the real life of P.T. Barnum, the man behind the grift. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on P.T. Barnum’s life, stripping away the idealised version of Barnum by Hollywood to reveal a tale of cunning, controversy, and good old-fashioned showbiz trickery. Forget the charming, song-and-dance Hugh Jackman version; the real Barnum was a master of deception and hype, who built his empire on the backs of exploited performers and sensational hoaxes. Get ready to see beyond the glittering facade and uncover the true story of the greatest showman on earth.

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SOURCES:

Vanity Fair - The Greatest Showman: The True Story of P.T. Barnum and Jenny Lind

All That’s Interesting - The Story Of Annie Jones, P.T. Barnum’s Bearded Lady

Thought Co. - Biography of General Tom Thumb, Sideshow Performer

Wikipedia - P.T. Barnum

Wikipedia - The Herald Of Freedom

Verywell Health - The Most Common Types of Dwarfism

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We’re getting hysterical this episode! Clara cheers Sabrina up with some crazy facts about the Victorian diagnosis of “hysteria”; a condition that doctors diagnosed women with based on just about any reason you can imagine, from too much gas to epilepsy. In this episode, we’ll unravel the tangled mess of pseudo-science and outright sexism that defined hysteria for centuries. From ancient Greek physicians blaming wandering wombs to Victorian doctors prescribing, ahem, very personal treatments (or did they?), the story of hysteria is as ridiculous as it is infuriating. So grab your massagers and a bucket of cold water and join us as we expose the madness behind the so-called “madness.”

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SOURCES:

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill

BBC - The vibrator: from medical tool to revolutionary sex toy

McGill - The History of Hysteria

NCBI - Gender bias in research: how does it affect evidence based medicine?

Time - Declared Insane for Speaking Up: The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry

NCBI - Women And Hysteria In The History Of Mental Health

CNN - In car crashes, women are more likely to die than men. This new crash test dummy could help save lives

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