One steamy summer night in August 1955, 11 terrified people suddenly flooded into the police station in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They immediately began blabbering frantically about something that had happened on their farm in the nearby town of Kelly. "We need help,” one man cried to the alarmed yet confused policemen who were working the night shift. “We’ve been fighting them for nearly four hours.”

And when the man said "them," he meant aliens — little men who had allegedly landed on their farmhouse in the dead of night, terrifying the group with their glowing eyes, silvery skin, and utter indifference to the bullets that the group began firing at them. And though the police who soon descended on the farm found no evidence of aliens, they did find plenty of shell casings and bullet holes, confirming that the people at the Kelly farmhouse had been convinced that something was lurking in the darkness nearby.

Ever since that night, the so-called Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter has held a crucial place in UFO lore, both because the purported alien invasion was witnessed by so many people — people who told eerily similar stories and steadfastly stood by them — and because it helped establish the very idea of "little green men." Steven Spielberg has even cited the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter as an inspiration for both Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/kelly-hopkinsville-encounter

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It’s the end of July 2023 and we’ve handpicked a few of our favorite history stories from this month. Today, we’ll be talking about…

A vase purchased at a thrift store for just $3.30 that turned out to be from Meiji-era artist Namikawa Yasuyuki…

An 18,000-year-old shelter that could be the oldest human settlement in North America…

The remains of a U.S. soldier from World War II that were finally identified after 80 years…

A Norwegian family who found Bronze Age rock paintings while out on a hike…

And another Norwegian family who uncovered an ancient Viking burial site in their own backyard, as well as a number of historical anniversaries including the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Boise Bombing Raid, and the tenth anniversary of the Marriage Act in the United Kingdom.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/namikawa-yasuyuki-vase

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

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On November 9, 1970, the carcass of an eight-ton, 45-foot-long sperm whale washed up on the beach near the small town of Florence, Oregon. For the next several days, the whale sat undisturbed on the shore while its rotting flesh sent a putrid cloud into the air. As local KATU news anchor Paul Linnman said at the time, the Oregon State Highway Department “not only had a whale of a problem on its hands — it had a stinking whale of a problem.”

In all, 20 cases of dynamite were used to blow up the whale. Those in attendance watched in awe as the explosion went off and the whale erupted in a blubbery blast – then, the crowd’s fascination immediately turned to horror as massive chunks of flesh started raining down upon them.

In the words of newscaster Paul Linnman, “The blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds.”

https://allthatsinteresting.com/exploding-whale

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Marathons today follow a simple formula. There's a starting line and a finish line, a crowd of excited and apprehensive racers, and a clear course to follow. But the 1904 Olympic Marathon took some unexpected turns, in more ways than one. 

From the moment the starting gun went off a few minutes after three pm on August 30, the race got even wilder. Preceded by horses meant to clear the road, and followed by cars to monitor the race, the runners were instantly choked by swirling, dry dust. This, the heat of the Missouri day, and the lack of water stations along the route made the run a hellish challenge for the 32 runners, just 14 of whom would end up finishing the race.

In the end, the course of the 1904 Olympic Marathon would be dubbed, by an observer, “the most difficult a human being was ever asked to run over.” In the days that followed, there was even some serious talk of striking the marathon from the Olympic games for good, as it was referred to as a "man-killing" event.

This is the story of perhaps the strangest sporting event in modern history.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/1904-olympic-marathon

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History Uncovered is part of the Airwave Media network: www.airwavemedia.com

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Please be advised that this episode contains discussion of sexual abuse of children

David Reimer’s parents just wanted to do the right thing for him.

What was supposed to be a routine circumcision in 1965 turned into a life-altering nightmare for the Reimer family when the doctor performing his surgery accidentally singed the infant’s penis.

The damage was irreparable. Concerned that their son’s injury might cause him mental anguish as an adult, Reimer’s parents consulted with famed sexologist Dr. John Money after seeing him on television.

Money consequently suggested that Reimer undergo sex reassignment surgery and instead be raised female. Desperate, Reimer’s parents took his advice and changed their son’s name from “Bruce” to “Brenda.”

David Reimer had never felt comfortable as Brenda, and even after he learned the truth and embraced who he truly was, the damage was done, and the story unfortunately ended in tragedy.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/david-reimer

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

History Uncovered is part of the Airwave Media network: www.airwavemedia.com

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It’s the end of June 2023 and we’ve handpicked a few of our favorite history stories from this month. Today, we’ll be talking about…

Traces of a ritualistic drink containing human blood discovered inside a 2,000-year-old Egyptian vase…

 …The discovery of a Bronze Age sword in Germany so well-preserved it still gleams…

…How one mayor became the most "hated man in France" for authorizing the removal of stones which were, perhaps, 7,000 years old…

…The discovery of a "vampire graveyard" with 450 bodies in Poland…

…and why researchers in Germany believe they found the long-lost city of Rungholt, known as the "Atlantis of the North Sea"...

…as well as a number of historical anniversaries, including the coronation of Anne Boleyn, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and the death of Anthony Bourdain

https://allthatsinteresting.com/bronze-age-german-sword

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

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Just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, there lies a vast labyrinth of underground tunnels that have been sealed shut for almost 15 years. Once a popular attraction for cave explorers and other thrill-seekers, Nutty Putty Cave is, today, only a tomb, the grave of a doomed explorer named John Edward Jones who got trapped inside and died in 2009. 

https://allthatsinteresting.com/nutty-putty-cave

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

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History Uncovered is part of the Airwave Media network: www.airwavemedia.com

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On May 10, 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. And life for Corrie ten Boom, a 48-year-old watchmaker in the Dutch city of Haarlem, would never be the same. 

With the help of the Dutch resistance, Corrie and her family constructed a tiny, secret room in Corrie's bedroom, a room they used to offer shelter to neighbors, customers, and anyone else who asked, eventually saving some 800 people from the Nazis. Not only did the ten Boom family offer a "hiding place" and hope of escape, but they also fostered an atmosphere of love, music, and fellowship, providing refugees a sanctuary from the horrors of the war. 

https://allthatsinteresting.com/corrie-ten-boom

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

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As one of the most prolific snipers of the Vietnam War, Chuck Mawhinney was a lethal sharpshooter who racked up the most confirmed kills in the history of the United States Marine Corps and the second-most confirmed kills of any American soldier in the country’s history. In one incident alone, Mawhinney had 16 confirmed kills in a mere 30 seconds — all of them headshots.

But when the war ended, Chuck Mawhinney simply retired from the Marine Corps and spent his days working in the U.S. Forest Service, telling no one — not even his wife — about his career in Vietnam. This is the amazing true story of Chuck Mawhinney, the legendary sniper who was as deadly as he was humble.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/chuck-mawhinney

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

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History Uncovered is part of the Airwave Media network: www.airwavemedia.com

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It’s the end of May 2023 and we’ve handpicked a few of our favorite history stories from this month. Today, we’ll be talking about…

The 98-year-old Frenchmen who revealed the secret massacre of German POWs during WWII…

…the 7,000-year-old tomb discovered by archaeologists in Oman…

…how an Italian historian claims to have identified a bridge in the Mona Lisa…

…the stone age dagger discovered by an eight-year-old in Norway…

…why severed hands may have been seen as spoils of war in ancient Egypt…

…as well as a number of historical anniversaries, including the first reported Loch Ness Monster sighting, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the first men to scale Mount Everest

https://allthatsinteresting.com/tell-el-daba-severed-hands

credits: https://allthatsinteresting.com/podcast-credits

Thanks HelloFresh! Go to HelloFresh.com/uncovered16 and use code uncovered16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping

History Uncovered is part of the Airwave Media network: www.airwavemedia.com

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