History Goon

Back to San Francisco this week to meet one of the most eccentric, interesting and entertaining people in the history of California. Joshua Norton was born in England, moved to South Africa then to San Fran when his dad died. He hit the west coast with $40,000 in his pocket and started making some business moves. Then, he lost everything… He vanished for a couple years and came back super odd. Let’s find out just how he became the Emperor of the United States AND the Protector of Mexico. This was a ton of fun!

This time we meet a man that may or may not have been real. His story may or may not be partly embellished or it could be totally true. Either way it's a wild story or revenge and vengeance and he was the inspiration for both Zorro and Batman so there’s that… What we do know for sure is that this time of violence and hardship for Mexicans in America, even though they didn’t want to be American. And then there’s all the Gold Rush stuff with it and the insane laws that came out of California that targeted Mexicans in the area.

Welcome to Spooky Season! I LOVE Halloween, and I wanted to share some history of the holiday with everyone. We'll talk about the Celtic origins of the celebration itself, some of the traditions and superstitions that are associated with it and how it's changed over the literal millennia that it's survived!

Let's get weird!

Welcome back people! This episode doesn't count for the season numbers but it means A LOT to me. I got a rare chance to sit down and hangout with my brother and talk about the history of the Pittsford Haunted House. This place has lived a few different lives and is enjoying it's twilight years as THE BEST HAUNT ATTRACTION IN THE STATE. It started off as a Preventorium for TB and then transitioned into a children's hospital. We had a lot of fun with this one, telling stories of things that we've witnessed and experienced and a few tales of the fun we have had over the years.

What happens when a group of 156 men are surrounded and assaulted by around 5,000 heavily armed men, led by one of the most skilled and experienced soldiers on the planet at the time? They live. They fought nonstop with dwindling supplies and very little water for nearly 120 hours straight. They turned back wave after wave of attacks killing a few hundred soldiers that were sent to kill them but they lived. You’d think this is the kind of military action that would result in stories and legends being formed but, you’d be very, very wrong. 

Getting weird this week on the show… We’re headed back to the 1940s to look into the time the US Navy turned on some experimental tech on the USS Eldridge and poof… It vanished from the Philadelphia Naval and reappeared in Virginia. Then once people noticed it there, poof… Back to Philly. That’s only half the story, they we get into the involvement of Carlos Allende (not his real name BTW) and Morris Jessup, if there’s one person in here to feel bad for it’s Jessup. Then there’s a whole secret government experiments thing… This is a fun one. 

This week, I'm sharing an episode from my Patreon because there was some issues with my recording. This is a taste of what you can kind of expect from the Patreon. Uncensored. Unrelated. Goofy shit. Enjoy!

This is a VERY SERIOUS episode. Full of VERY SERIOUS topics. First off, I'm not sure the British know the difference between apes and people. Well, the difference between apes and the French. Long story short, a monkey may or may not have been executed for crimes that he may or may not have committed. Either way, this first tale of chimpanzee criminality comes to a very strange end with a mascot mayoral race built on the back of free bananas and a wishing well.

For the finale of our episode we get into a real hairy situation. Enter Ken Allen. This is one of the most intense stories of a prisoner (orangutan born in captivity) trying to escape from his jailors (zoo staff that hand raised him) to return to where he belonged (walking around with zoo visitors seeing other animals). Full disclosure, this may be the most fun I've had with an episode in a very long time. And I didn't even cover Travis the Chimp. These stories are way more fun and less sad. I really hope everyone enjoys this one as much as I did!

A young Irish family moved to the US in the late 1800’s. A tale as old as time. But This one is different, they had a tragic future ahead of them. Especially little Vincent. By the time he was 12 basically his entire family was dead except a sister and brother. He didn’t let that stop him from becoming one of the most violent gangsters in New York City though. If you have a passing interest in prohibition era gangsters this episode is gonna be full of name drops you’ll recognize because, Vincent Coll pissed EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM off. What will really blow your mind is finding out how much he did and how long his story of playing gangster actually lasts…

Ready for some Pirate stuff? Even if it’s horrific, brutal and gross at times? Cool!

Ned Low was born into poverty to a dirt poor British family, he didn’t have a great childhood to say the least. He took to the sea at an early age and found himself as a young man in Boston and, what do you do when you find yourself in Boston as a young man? He fell in love with a girl. They married, they had a couple kids, things are great. Until his wife died. Anything good in Ned Low died that same day. He left his remaining child with someone and returned to the sea. At first as a legitimate sailor but that didn’t last long before he became the reason that people were scared to death of pirates… 

Gotz Von Berlichingen - Iron Man

This time we head back to the 1500’s Holy Roman Empire for one of the most interesting knights that’s even been a knight. The story itself wouldn’t be that uncommon, a knight from a smaller noble family, he had to pick a side early on because hey, that’s what knights did. What makes it remarkable is the fact that this did went completely bananas and fought for like 40+ years… with an iron hand. Not a metaphorical iron hand, an ACTUAL IRON HAND. How did that happen you ask? Listen and find out!