Hashtag History

We have a Leah Takeover Episode!

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the mystery of DB Cooper. On November 24, 1971, a then-unidentified man hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, traveling from Portland to Seattle. During the flight, the hijacker informed the crew that he had a bomb and demanded $200,000 in ransom, plus four parachutes upon landing in Seattle. After landing in Seattle, the passengers were released, the money and parachutes were handed over, the plane was refueled, and the crew and the hijacker took off with a destination of Mexico City (and a plan to stop in Reno to refuel again). 

However, the hijacker never made it to Mexico City, as about thirty minutes into the flight, he opened the door and parachuted into the night over southwestern Washington State forests. The hijacker was never seen or heard from again. He was dubbed "DB Cooper" by the media, but his true identity has not been discovered to this day…or has it?

The FBI has recently reopened this case, due to some newly surfaced evidence, and the case may finally be solved. We will get into all of this and more in today's episode.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the 1986 Challenger Explosion. This was an absolutely tragic incident in American history in which the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after lift-off, killing all seven of its crew members. This incident was exceptionally devastating because one of the passengers onboard wasn’t a NASA astronaut. Rather, a thirty-seven year old school teacher named Christa McAuliffe was onboard that day as part of NASA’s Teacher in Space Project; an effort to get the American people interested in the NASA Program once again. But of course, the most devastating and most disturbing part of this whole disaster is the fact that NASA knew of a historic problem with the O-ring seals on the solid rocket booster and had received correspondence from the manufacturer that they anticipated that the launch would end in catastrophe. NASA had the ability to halt the launch, and yet, they refused, sending seven people to their deaths in front of millions of people (many of which were children who were tuning in as part of their school day on account of McAuliffe being a member of the crew).

A special THANK YOU to our Hashtag History listeners -- Jeff, Christa, and Mike -- who so graciously shared with us their first-hand experiences of watching the Challenger explosion in live time. We cannot tell you what it means to us that you shared these stories with us and with our audience. Thank you so much!

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Music track: Falling by Aylex

Source: https://freetouse.com/music

Copyright Free Music (Free Download)

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the Newport Sex Scandal. This scandal was revealed when the United States Navy conducted an investigation in 1919 in which they were looking into the gross and deceptive tactics ordered upon a group of Navy personnel to impersonate gay men in order to catch gay men…being gay men, something that was illegal at this time in history. Fifteen members of the Navy would end up being arrested in Newport, Rhode Island, as a result of their “scandalous conduct”. Of particular importance is the fact that the Assistant Secretary of the Navy during this scandal, who would resign during the course of this investigation so that he could – oh, I don’t know, accept the nomination for Vice President of the United States – was none other than Franklin D. Roosevelt. In fact, Roosevelt’s personal conduct in this matter was said by the committee to be deplorable, disgraceful, and reprehensible.

This is definitely some little known history but a very important piece of history to discuss.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the first French Revolution, a period in time that lasted from 1789 to 1799, in which the French people revolted against the monarchy and feudal system, amongst other things. To keep it brief, the primary reasons were the total social and economic inequality that existed – and had existed for a long time – in France. While the people were struggling to make ends meet, the monarchy was living in mansions and eating cake.

And while, of course, a revolution is not necessarily a novel concept (particularly at this time in history when the United States had only just recently ended its own revolution), the French Revolution stands out for…what some might call…its depravity. Because when I say the French revolted, I do mean that they revolted. At the end of this bloody conflict that – at one point would earn the name The Reign of Terror – both King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette would not only be removed from power, but also, would have their heads removed via guillotine. 

While I don’t advocate for that – nor do I advocate a revolution (please! I have lived through enough historical events in my lifetime; I do not need any more) – I do think we can find something inspiring from the French Revolution and that is that this was a revolution started by the people and for the people that really created massive change in the modern political structure of France that we see even today.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

WE ARE BACK FOR SEASON FIFTEEN!

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the Collyer Brothers. Homer and Langley Collyer were two brothers, living a rather interesting life in Harlem, New York City, in the early-1900s. You see, they were the OG HOARDERS. And when I tell you they were hoarders, I do mean that they were HOARDERS. Not only were they hoarders but they also set up traps throughout their house to crush any potential intruders.

We’re not just talking about these brothers today because they lived an interesting – and disgusting – lifestyle…though that is certainly a highlight of the story. No, the primary reason we are talking about them is because, in March of 1947, they would both go missing under exceptionally mysterious – and confusing – circumstances. On March 21, 1947, an anonymous caller would reach out to the local police, complaining that they smelled what they believed to be decomposition of a body coming from the Collyer home. When the police arrived, they struggled for FIVE HOURS to get inside the building and find the source of the smell, but once they did, they would realize that it was coming from the body of the older brother, Homer. Based on the condition of his body, it looked as though he had been dead for less than a day at this point.

His brother Langley, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. And it was quickly assumed that Langley was actually the killer.

This is the story we will be diving into this week and I can guarantee that the answer is not the one you are likely expecting.

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

Hey, everyone! Rachel and Leah are back!

We are so excited to begin a BRAND NEW season of the podcast this upcoming week! But, before we could do that, we wanted to provide you with A MAJOR UPDATE to the podcast.

After nearly five years of releasing new episodes every single week, we have decided to make a small change to the format of the podcast and release our episodes on a biweekly basis. Same great quality content; but now, it will be dropped every other week.

We're both new moms that both still work full-time on top of podcasting and other life responsibilities. In order to provide you with the best quality content and keep doing something that we love so much, this change was necessary.

We are so excited to see all we are able to do with this new format and new chapter of the podcast! It is only bigger and better things from here!

Thanks for sticking with us on this ride and see you next week for the release of the first episode of Season Fifteen!

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast or check out our website at www.HashtagHistory-pod.com.

You can sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandize, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

In this week's BONUS Hasty History episode, we will be discussing the Torreon Massacre. This was a massacre that took place in May of 1911 in the Mexican city of Torreon, Coahuila, in which roughly three hundred Chinese immigrants were murdered by members of the Mexican Revolution. This was nearly HALF of the Chinese population in Torreon! Following their murders, their bodies were mutilated and robbed and their homes and businesses were destroyed.

A later investigation found that this massacre was the result of…you guessed it: racism. Mexico would not issue an official apology for the massacre until 2021; one hundred and ten years after the tragedy! This incident in History has been kept hidden with no statues or monuments marking the disaster. In fact, when a statue was erected to memorialize the victims, it was vandalized and removed. The victims of this massacre were thrown in unmarked graves that have now been covered by roads and playgrounds.

All the more reason for us to talk about this horrific incident and to shed light on something that History would rather we forget.

In this week's BONUS Hasty History episode, we will be discussing the tragic deaths of adult actor Vic Morrow and two children Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (as well as the injuries of six others). This tragedy occurred as a result of an accident that happened in 1982 on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie. You see, on July 23rd of that year, director John Landis told the operator of a helicopter that was being used on set to hover dangerously low over the ground in order to capture a particular scene. This, amongst other violations, caused the helicopter to get caught in the pyrotechnic explosions, leading to the horrific deaths of Morrow, Le, and Chen. What’s possibly worse is that, of those on set that night watching the horrendous tragedy occur, were the parents of both of the children.

This awful incident would lead to Landis becoming the first ever film director to be charged with a death on the set of a feature film. For nearly a decade after the incident, a slew of civil and criminal actions against those involved would take place…which would eventually lead to a very unsatisfying and disappointing end.

In this week's BONUS Hasty History episode, we will be discussing the Kentucky Meat Shower. This was an incident that occurred on March 3, 1876 near Olympia Springs, Kentucky, in which pieces of what was believed to be red meat quite literally fell from the sky. What?!

We have to dive right into this one because you all need to hear the wild, confusing, disgusting, and mysterious details ASAP!

In this week's BONUS Hasty History episode, we will be discussing the Saskatoon Freezing deaths, a series of deaths of indigenous people in the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan area between the late 1970s and into the early-2000s. It was discovered that the Saskatoon Police Service were taking indigenous people on what became known as “Starlight Tours” in which they would pick up an indigenous person (sometimes because they were drunk, sometimes due to disorderly behavior, and sometimes for no reason at all), drive them outside the city limits, and leave them stranded in subzero temperatures with no alternate fate but a horrendous death.

This was all brought to light when, in January of 2000, a man named Darrell Night survived one of those horrendous tours and filed a complaint against the Saskatoon officers involved.

This is an awful and shocking story that many have attempted to erase from History.

So let’s just get right into it.