Dive into the wild and wacky world of beavers with Shea & Jody in this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes! 🪂

Ever thought about how a cute little rodent could change the course of history? Well, beavers did just that by influencing the Hudson Bay Company’s expansion into the Pacific Northwest, and they’re more than just furry critters; they’re essential eco-warriors! 🌲💧

Join us as we explore the unhinged tale of how Idaho’s beavers were parachuted into their new home in the 1940s! From the ingenious (and slightly bonkers) idea of air-dropping beavers to the clever contraptions designed to ensure their safe landing, this episode is packed with laughter and surprising facts about these furry engineers.

🐾 What does a beaver’s poop look like? Can you really see their impact from space? And how did one brave beaver named Geronimo become a parachuting legend? Find out all this and more in our beaver bonanza! 🎙️

• 00:00 - Welcome to rainy day rabbit holes where we take the history of the west off
• 00:15 - Beavers were basically most of the reason Hudson Bay company invaded Northwest
• 01:56 - O Weird involves beavers, parachutes and airplanes
• 02:39 - You could control this podcast by becoming a patron supporter at $10
• 04:47 - Beavers are considered ecosystem engineers and a keystone species
• 09:29 - Current events have got me a little bit roiled up
• 09:40 - After researching this story, I feel like beavers should be in every flag
• 13:45 - Department of Interior started reintroducing beavers to Idaho in 1936
• 15:51 - Elmo Heater came up with a brilliant plan to drop beavers
• 19:58 - NASA launched 76 beavers into Chamberlain Basin to help conserve natural habitat
• 22:53 - NASA uses satellites to monitor the impact of beavers on Earth
• 26:36 - Even if you don't support us financially, just sending us a nice message is helpful

💡 Want more unhinged history? Check out our episode on the Mossman of Idaho!

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🎉 Don’t forget to share your thoughts and stories with us at [email protected]! Your feedback keeps us going!

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🎧 Step into the flickering lantern light with Shea & Jody as they review the haunted Fort Steilacoom Lantern Tour! 🔦

From chilling ghost stories to fascinating history, this episode has it all! Shea & Jody dive into the eerie experience of walking through a historic military site by lantern light. Plus, Jody gives us a brief (and wild) history of Fort Steilacoom and its infamous neighbor, Western State Hospital.

💀 Did we see a ghost? Did we embarrass ourselves in front of the tour group? And how does this compare to other haunted tours? Find out now! 🎙️

Chapters & Timestamps:

• 00:01:00 - Why We Took the Tour
• 00:05:30 - Fort Steilacoom’s Military Roots
• 00:10:15 - When History Feels a Little Too Real
• 00:15:45 - Western State Hospital’s Infamous Past
• 00:22:00 - Our Favorite Tour Moments
• 00:27:30 - Final Thoughts & Should You Go?

💡 Want more haunted history? Listen to Episodes 45 & 46 for a deep dive into Western State Hospital’s eerie past!

👻 Special Thanks: Chris with Pretty Gritty Tours www.prettygrittytours.com

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🎙 Madame Mustache: The Wild West’s Most Badass Gambler

🎩 High-stakes games, a mustachioed legend, and one hell of a revenge story—this episode has it all! Eleanor Dumont, better known as Madame Mustache, was a sharp-witted gambler, a successful businesswoman, and a woman way ahead of her time. From outplaying men at their own game to tracking down her con artist husband and personally delivering justice, her story is as wild as the Wild West itself.

😲 Why did the world remember her mustache more than her empire?

🎲 How did she run the classiest gambling hall in the lawless West?

🔫 And what was her final, dramatic exit?

🔥 Get ready for gambling, crime, whiskey, and Wild West nonsense!

📌 Chapters & Timestamps:
0:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes
2:10 - Jody wears a mustache for the occasion
9:45 - Eleanor Dumont takes over the gambling scene
26:30 - The ultimate revenge: tracking down her husband
30:20 - Madame Mustache’s high-class brothel
36:45 - The final hand: how Eleanor’s story ends

🎧 Listen now & fall down the rabbit hole!

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👉 Visit our website for more unhinged history: rainydayrabbitholes.com

👉 Hear Shea’s story on Live, Laugh, Larceny! Listen here

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The Wild Afterlife of Elmer McCurdy: Train Robber, Mummy & Amusement Park Prop

Ever heard of a train robber so bad that he found more success as a corpse? Elmer McCurdy’s life was a series of spectacular failures—botched robberies, mistaken trains, and blown-up safes. But his real adventure started after he died. Preserved with arsenic, he was passed from carnival to wax museum to haunted house, even making a surprise appearance on The Six Million Dollar Man. 

💀 This is the story of the outlaw who found fame in death.

 Chapters & Timestamps

• 00:00 – Intro & Banter
• 04:20 – The Pike Amusement Zone & Long Beach History
• 14:55 – Elmer’s Pathetic Criminal Career
• 28:30 – The Embalming & Carnival Circuit
• 39:45 – The Shocking Discovery in 1976
• 51:00 – Elmer Finally Gets Buried (For Real This Time)

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🌐 Website & More Episodes: rainydayrabbitholes.com

Check out Audibly Haunted! https://open.spotify.com/show/4K4ZntXpDJAq9lAFVTDxJT

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🕯️ Exploring Tacoma's Hidden History: The Stadium High School Tour

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea and Jody embark on a delightful adventure through the iconic Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington, a building that looks more like a castle than a high school. Join us as we dive into the fascinating history of this architectural wonder, originally designed as a luxurious hotel for the Northern Pacific Railroad before being transformed into a public school in 1906.

Our hosts share their excitement about the Pretty Gritty Tours, the company behind this unique experience, and reveal what makes their tours stand out from the rest. With humor and storytelling that captivates, Chris Staudinger, the tour guide, brings the history of Stadium High to life, from its stunning views to its eerie legends. Shea even shares her experiences as a newly minted tour guide, showcasing the hidden gems of the school, including the underground pool and the mysterious attic.

Whether you're a history buff, a fan of the cult classic film "10 Things I Hate About You," or just curious about Tacoma's quirkiest spots, this episode is packed with laughs, insights, and a few ghost stories to boot!

🎓 Join us for this enchanting journey through Tacoma's past and discover why Stadium High School is a must-see destination! Go to www.prettygrittytours.com to sign up!

⏳ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes!
02:00 - Introduction to Pretty Gritty Tours
05:30 - The History of Stadium High School
10:00 - The Tour Experience: What to Expect
15:00 - Chris Stoder: The Storyteller Extraordinaire
20:00 - Hidden Gems: The Underground Pool and More
25:00 - Ghost Stories and Eerie Legends
30:00 - Final Thoughts and Recommendations

🎧 Love the show? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.

🔗 Discover more wild history at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

Show notes created by https://headliner.app

🍹 The Sour Toe Cocktail: A Toast to the Absurd in Dawson City

You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch the toe.

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we venture into the chilling and bizarre history of Dawson City's infamous Sour Toe Cocktail Club. Join Shea and Jody as they unravel the chilling tale of how a mummified toe became the key ingredient in a drink that has captivated the curious and the brave alike.

Set against the backdrop of the Yukon Territory in the 1920s, we meet bootlegging brothers whose ill-fated adventure leads to a gruesome DIY surgery that would ultimately preserve a toe for posterity. Fast forward to 1973, when Captain Dick Stevenson discovers this preserved digit, sparking the creation of the now-legendary cocktail that requires patrons to kiss the toe in order to join the exclusive Sour Toe Cocktail Club.

With stories of missing toes, drunken antics, and the bizarre lengths people go to for a night of fun, you'll be both horrified and amused by the lengths to which humans will go in the name of a good time. Can you believe over 100,000 people have dared to sip from this macabre concoction? Would you be brave enough to join them?

💀 Grab your drink and join us as we toast to the strange, the unhinged, and the downright absurd!

⏳ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes!
02:00 - Dawson City: A Brief Overview
05:15 - Meet the Bootlegging Brothers
09:30 - The Toe Amputation and Its Aftermath
14:00 - Captain Dick Stevenson and the Birth of the Sour Toe Cocktail
18:45 - The Ritual of the Sour Toe Cocktail
23:00 - Tales of Missing Toes and Wild Antics
28:30 - The Legacy of the Sour Toe Cocktail Club

🎧 Love the show? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.
🔗 Discover more wild history at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

Show notes created by https://headliner.app

🎪 JP Patches: Seattle's Beloved Clown in a Garbage Wonderland

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we dive into the chaotic and hilarious world of JP Patches, the iconic clown who ruled Seattle's airwaves from 1958 to 1981. Known for his questionable hygiene and absurd antics, JP Patches was anything but your typical children's show host. Join Shea and Jody as they explore the life of Chris Weeds, the man behind the clown, and how he became a beloved figure for generations of Pacific Northwest kids.

From his humble beginnings in Minneapolis to becoming the "mayor of the city dump," JP's off-the-cuff performances and improvisational style made him a staple of live television. We'll reminisce about the wild characters that populated his show, including the unforgettable Gertrude, and how JP's genuine kindness left a lasting impact on the community. Did he really have the ability to see kids through the TV? And what was the deal with all those bizarre props?

💖 Join us as we celebrate the legacy of a man who brought joy to countless children, proving that sometimes a little chaos and absurdity are exactly what we need.

⏳ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes!
02:00 - Who was JP Patches?
05:30 - The Birth of a Clown Legend
09:15 - The Wild World of Live Television
12:45 - Meet Gertrude and Other Zany Characters
16:00 - JP Patches and the Kids of Seattle
20:30 - The Legacy of JP: A Lasting Impact

🎧 Love the show? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.
🔗 Explore more unhinged history at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

https://jppatches.com/

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🔥 How does a man end up naked in a hot spring for 28 days?

 In 1984, a man Outside Magazine dubbed “Slim Becker” took an ill-advised winter soak in Idaho’s Frenchman’s Bend Hot Springs. His clothes froze solid, leaving him stuck, exposed, and slowly transforming into Moss Man.

From hallucinations of wolves to a bizarre town festival in his honor, this story is as absurd as it is unbelievable. 

😱 Did he survive? Did he learn his lesson? And why did a guy on a snowmobile give him a beer instead of helping him out?!

⏳ Chapters & Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes – New Format Announcement!
02:00 - How NOT to enjoy Idaho’s hot springs
04:10 - The moment Slim realizes he messed up
06:00 - 28 Days Later: The Moss Man Transformation
09:12 - A town celebrates his terrible decisions
12:00 - Final thoughts: Would you do this?

🎧 Get ad-free episodes & bonus content! Join Patreon or Spreaker Supporter’s Club → rainydayrabbitholes.com/support
🔗 More weird history: rainydayrabbitholes.com

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Lewis & Clark: Mapping the West, Bedding the Best

How the Corps of Discovery paddled their way up Coochie Creek.

Episode Summary: Think Lewis & Clark were just noble explorers charting the wilderness? Think again. While the Corps of Discovery mapped new lands, they also explored forested ravines (wink wink), spreading their “big medicine” across the continent. From spiritual sex ceremonies to questionable medicine (hello, penis syringes!), this episode uncovers the raunchy reality behind one of America’s greatest expeditions.


Mentioned in This Episode:

• Lewis & Clark’s original journals
• Accounts from the Nez Perce and Mandan tribes
• The history of syphilis treatments (spoiler: they were horrifying)

Love the Show? Support Us! 🎧 Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and exclusive gifts by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.

🌎 Explore more wild history at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

Hogging The Headlines: The Pig Wars


🐷💥 The dumbest war in Pacific Northwest history started with… a pig? That’s right! The infamous Pig War of the 1800s all began when an American settler shot a British pig on San Juan Island, leading to an international standoff between the U.S. and Britain.
Spoiler alert: No humans were harmed, but the drama was deliciously absurd.

Originally recorded as our third episode of the day (when we were well on our way to Tipsy Town), this episode was an instant fan favorite. In this Rainy Day Rewind, we’ve polished it up—shorter, free of swearing, and with 95% fewer drunk mouth noises. But don’t worry, Shea still hilariously mispronounces half the words, and the tangents are just as ridiculous.

Join us as we relive the outrageous series of events that nearly brought two nations to war over a farm animal. Because, honestly, how much more PNW can you get?

Join our supporter's club for bonus episodes, ad-free episodes and more! Check out your options at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

💬 Tell us: What’s the dumbest historical conflict you’ve ever heard of?

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