In this one, Ian tells Liv about a wildfire that began in a park in California. However, this wildfire was started inadvertently by a couple who set off a smoke bomb during a gender reveal party, and it continued burning for months.

Also, Liv offers more reasonable suggestions for gender reveals. Ian learns about family bloggers.

In this one, Ian tells Liv about a swarm of locusts that appeared in the Great Plains in 1874, but continued to devastate the new frontier for years later. Nothing was safe from the maniacal, flying insects--crop fields, linens, even the clothes on the farmers' backs were a target for the locusts. But why did they suddenly disappear without warning?

Also, Liv has strong feelings about cottage cheese.

In this one, Ian tells Liv about an outbreak of over 300 tornadoes that ravaged the southeast US, in just four days. Many storm records were set not only during this disaster, but throughout all of April 2011 and the rest of the year's storm season.

Also, Liv shares a bit Lowe's history, and Ian is utterly shocked.

Sources used:

Center, S. P. (2001, January 1). Storm prediction center storm reports page. Storm Prediction Center. https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/110425_rpts.html

Chiu, C. H., Schnall, A. H., Mertzlufft, C. E., Noe, R. S., Wolkin, A. F., Spears, J., Casey-Lockyer, M., & Vagi, S. J. (2013, August). Mortality from a tornado outbreak, Alabama, April 27, 2011. American journal of public health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4007884/

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, April 19). SuperOutbreak of 2011. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Super-Outbreak-of-2011

Fischetti, M. (2011, December 28). Tornadoes in 2011 set deadly records. Scientific American Blog Network. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/tornadoes-in-2011-set-deadly-records/

Morgan, L. (2018, April 27). April 27, 2011: Why did so many die that day?. al. https://www.al.com/news/2018/04/april_27_2011_why_did_so_many.html

Morgan, L. (2023, April 27). Remembering the April 27, 2011, Tornado Super outbreak. al. https://www.al.com/news/2023/04/remembering-the-april-27-2011-tornado-super-outbreak.html

[email protected]. (n.d.). Annual 2011 tornadoes report. Annual 2011 Tornadoes Report | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/tornadoes/201113#:~:text=There%20were%20six%20EF%2D5,EF)%20scale%20in%202007

The Weather Channel. (2023, May 12). April 2011 Tornado Super Outbreak: 17 things that shocked us most. The Weather Channel. https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/2016-04-23-april-2011-superoutbreak-tornadoes

In this episode, Ian tells Liv about a volcano that erupted in 1815, Mt. Tambora, in Indonesia. However, the devastation this volcano causes to the entire planet is unlike anything we've seen in over 200 years, and the world reacts accordingly.

Also, Liv fantasizes about Woody Harrelson. Ian expresses fears about Walmart.

Sources used:

A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 13). Indonesian volcano erupts, killing 80,000. History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/volcanic-eruption-kills-80000

Bush, A. (2020, April 7). The beehive. the official blog of the MHS. 1816: the Year Without a Summer | Beehive. https://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2016/11/1815-the-year-without-a-summer/

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, April 20). Mount Tambora. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Tambora

The eruption of Mount Tambora. Monticello. (n.d.). https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/eruption-mount-tambora/

Gao, C., Gao, Y., Zhang, Q., & Shi, C. (2017). Climatic aftermath of the 1815 Tambora eruption in China. http://html.rhhz.net/qxxb_en/html/20170104.htm

ScienceDaily. (2009, February 26). Year without summer: Effects of tambora volcanic eruption on Iberian Peninsula studied for first time. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225161422.htm

Townsend, C. (2016, October 26). Year without a summer. The Paris Review. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/10/25/year-without-summer/

U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Volcanic explosivity index. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/volcanoes/volcanic-explosivity-index.htm

University of Pittsburgh. (2013, Spring). The “romantic” Year without a summer. The “Romantic” Year Without a Summer | Forbes and Fifth | University of Pittsburgh. http://www.forbes5.pitt.edu/article/romantic-year-without-summer

The Year Without a summer: Mount Tambora volcanic eruption. Almanac.com. (2022, January 18). https://www.almanac.com/year-without-summer-mount-tambora-volcanic-eruption

Liv tells Ian about the time United Way of Cleveland held a fundraising event that released over a million balloons. Sadly, the fundraiser was a failure, resulting in the death of two men and an unprecedented amount of public destruction.

Ian has questions about Drew Carey. Liv wants ice cream.

Sources used:

1. Balloonfest: Encyclopedia of cleveland history: Case western reserve university. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. (2021, January 1). Retrieved May 4, 2023, from: https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/balloonfest#:~:text=%22BALLOONFEST%20'86%22%20was%20held,by%20a%20corps%20of%20volunteers

2. Kushins, J. (2014, April 22). Chat with the man who unleashed 1.5 million balloons on Cleveland. Gizmodo. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from: https://gizmodo.com/ask-the-project-manager-for-cleveland-s-crazy-balloonf-1566255102

3. McCormack, S. (2014, April 24). Releasing 1.5 million balloons into the air is a bad idea. HuffPost. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/millions-of-balloons-cleveland_n_5206936

In this one, Ian tells Liv about the time that two trains crashed head-on in 1896. But just because it was a crash doesn't mean it was an accident.

Liv and Ian both know trains still exist today.

Sources used:

Deeringer, M. (2011, August). The deadly crash at crush. Texas Co-op Power. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://texascooppower.com/the-deadly-crash-at-crush/

Franz, J. (2019, July 1). For 40 years, crashing trains was one of America's favorite pastimes. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/staged-train-wrecks

Ryan, T. J. (n.d.). Crash at crush. Waco History. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://wacohistory.org/items/show/70

Smithsonian Institution. (2017, July 28). A train company crashed two trains. you will believe what happened next. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/train-company-crashed-two-trains-you-will-believe-what-happened-next-180964237/

The year? 1919. The place? Boston. The disaster? A bit sticky. How did a giant tank of molasses claim the lives of innocent bystanders? How did prohibition play a role in this disaster? How did people survive for 15 years during prohibition? At least two of those questions will be answered in this episode.

Also, we learn that Ian is uncultured swine.

Sources used:

1. Tikkanen, A. (n.d.). Great Molasses Flood. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Great-Molasses-Flood

2. Cavanaugh, R. (2019, January 14). Great Molasses Flood at 100: How Boston Disaster Made Us Safer. Time. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://time.com/5500592/boston-great-molasses-flood-100/

3. Boston Legal history: The great molasses disaster. Chambers Associate. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.chambers-associate.com/where-to-start/commercial-awareness/regional-insights/boston-legal-history-the-great-molasses-disaster

4. The Ohio State University: College of Arts and Sciences. (n.d.). Why prohibition? Temperance & Prohibition. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://prohibition.osu.edu/why-prohibition

In 1844, a passenger steamboat explodes on the Ohio River while traveling from Louisville to New Orleans. But why did this happen, and is anyone to blame?

Avoid horses.

References:

Beam, A. (2013, May 15). New Albany bicentennial: Lucy Walker steamboat disaster. News and Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/floyd_county/new-albany-bicentennial-lucy-walker-steamboat-disaster/article_bb8390c9-5788-5d9e-8af0-90856cdaa7c1.html

Benton, B. (2021, October 10). Chatsworth's chief Vann House recognized by National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom: Chattanooga Times Free Press. Times Free Press. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2021/oct/10/chatsworths-chief-vann-house-recognized-natio/

Lira, C. (n.d.). Brief History of the Steam Engine. Steam Engine History. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/

Morris, B. (2011, October 19). The Ill-Fated Lucy Walker. Greensburg Daily News. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://www.greensburgdailynews.com/opinion/columns/the-ill-fated-lucy-walker/article_15badb55-235e-5b82-aa8b-b92024dc2cfa.html

The Southern Indiana Genealogical Quarterly Vol. XXIII. (2001, April). Lucy Walker steamboat disaster. Genealogy Trails History Group. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from http://genealogytrails.com/ind/floyd/news-steam-boat.html