Haunted House Designer John Denley has spent the last 30 years creating some of the world’s scariest Haunted Houses. He says there’s one thing that makes a Haunted House truly terrifying, vulnerability.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we explore the business of Haunted Houses. We talk what makes a Haunted House scary, the world’s scariest Haunted Houses and the one thing people fear most.

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John Denley Website

Introducing John Denley: 00:00

What Makes a Haunted House Scary: 01:31

The Business of Haunted Houses: 04:59

The Scariest Haunted Houses: 07:43

Crowd Reactions: 11:03

The Future of Haunted Houses: 16:21

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Sometimes it’s inside information, sometimes it’s changing perceptions with huge amounts of cash, sometimes it’s holding a hair dryer to a weather gage.

Prediction Market Researcher Dr. Joshua Mitts says these are just some of the ways Prediction Markets are being manipulated.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we explore how people are making millions manipulating Prediction Markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

We talk the different ways Prediction Markets are being manipulated, why some market categories are easier to manipulate than others and why only a very small number of people are actually making money on Prediction Markets.

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Dr. Joshua Mitts

00:00 Introducing Dr. Joshua Mitts

01:21 How Prediction Markets are Manipulated

07:28 The Cost of Prediction Market Manipulation

10:21 Where Prediction Market Manipulation Happens

13:46 Listener Submitted Questions

16:10 Protecting Yourself from Market Manipulation

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Right now Prediction Markets are exploding in popularity and controversy. Going from a niche hobby to a market with billions of dollars in trades.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we explore the future of Prediction Markets with Prediction Market Researcher Dr. Koleman Strumpf.

We talk how prediction markets really work, the crazy/brilliant strategies some people are using to make millions and why Prediction Markets could become the Wild West.

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Dr. Koleman Strumpf Website

Dr. Koleman Strumpf Social

00:00 Introducing Dr. Koleman Strumpf

01:20 What are Prediction Markets

04:37 Why Prediction Markets are Becoming More Popular

05:49 Regulating Prediction Markets

08:55 Manipulating Prediction Markets

12:52 The Dangers of Prediction Markets

14:51 Prediction Market Strategies

18:58 The Future of Prediction Markets

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In Hollywood casting is everything. Movie Producers and Casting Agents have to find just the right person to make movies and TV shows come to life. Even if that person, isn't a person.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we explore how Hollywood casts animals with Hollywood Animal Agent Joel Norton.

We talk what movie producers are looking for in an onscreen animals, why some dog breeds never get case in movies and the most famous movie animals of all time.

00:00 Introducing Hollywood Animal Agent Joel Norton

01:24 How Animals Get Cast in Movies

02:05: What Casting Directors are Looking For

03:51 Hollywood Animal Training

07:46 How Much Animals Get Paid

11:28 The Most and Least Popular Hollywood Dogs

12:24 The Most Famous Hollywood Pet

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In every language there are words you just don’t say. They can be about sex, religion, food or even your mother-in-law.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we explore the fascinating history and controversial present of language taboos with Professor Randall Eggert.

We talk the biggest current language taboos, historical language taboos and language taboos that are forming today.

00:00 Introducing Professor Randall Eggert

01:28 Language Taboos

06:03 The Biggest Language Taboos

08:33 Language Taboos that Have Faded Away

11:53 Historical Language Taboo

13:58 The Next Language Taboo

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Professor Randall Eggert YouTube

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We all know what the big swear words are, but where did they come from, what do they really mean and what do they say about the things we hold sacred.

Linguist Randall Eggert studies swear words. In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we look at the history and hidden meaning of swear words. We talk where swear words come from, normal words that used to be swear words and the worst swear words of all time.

00:00 Introducing Professor Randall Eggert

01:11 How Words Become Swear Words

3:00 What All Swear Words Have in Common

07:00 The Worst Swear Words

11:18 The Best Swear Word

15:41 Historical Swear Words

17:16 When Swear Words Become Normal Words

19:57 New Swear Words

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Professor Randall Eggert YouTube

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Why do we cuss? And what happens when we do. Psychologist and Curse Word Researcher Dr. Richard Stephens has spent decades trying to answer those two questions.

Dr. Stephens says that while there are many reason why we cuss, such as anger and trying to fit in, when we curse, our body and mind go through significant changes. Changes that can dull pain and even make us stronger.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we talk the unique psychology behind cussing, the power of different curse words and why our brains treat curse words differently than other words.

00:00 Introducing Dr. Richard Stephens

01:11 Why We Cuss

02:30 What Happens When We Cuss

03:57 Cussing and Pain Management

05:31 Cussing Makes Us Stronger

08:09 The Strongest Cuss Words

09:45 Why Some People Cuss More

12:19 Cussing and Honesty

16:39 The Best Cuss Word

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Dr. Richard Stephens

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Every word and every language has an origin story. What originally started out as a way to describe a specific type of tree, is now what we call a book.

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we explore how languages change with Research Linguist Dr. Daniel Hieber.

We talk how new languages are created, why the meaning of words changes and the chaos unleashed by the Great Vowell Shift.

00:00 Introducing Dr. Daniel Hieber

01:07 How We Learn Language

05:51 The Very First Language

08:44 Words that Don't Change

12:11 How Long it Takes for Languages to Change

14:57 The Great Vowel Shift

19:18 The Hardest and Easiest Languages to Learn

20:43 The Most Unique Language

23:41 The Best Curse Word

26: 29 Language Misconceptions

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Dr. Daniel Hieber Website

Dr. Daniel Hieber Instagram

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Treasure Hunter Brent Brisben has found over $4.5 million dollars worth of buried treasure, now he's on the hunt for more. But what does it take to be one of the world's best treasure hunters?

In this episode of Profoundly Pointless we go inside the search for buried treasure. We talk finding sunken ship wrecks, black market treasure dealers and the secret to finding buried treasure.

Then, in the Pointless part of the show, we countdown the Top 5 Meats.

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Brent Brisben Website

1715 Treasure Fleet

00:00 Introducing Brent Brisben

01:09 How Treasure Hunters Search for Buried Treasure

03:09 The Most I Ever Found

04:35 Can You Keep Buried Treasure

06:37 The Treasure Hunting Industry

08:13 Black Market Treasure Hunting

12:57 The Cost of Treasure Hunting

15:17 The Biggest Treasure Ever Found

19:14 Pointless

39:11 Candle of the Month

47:47 Top 5 Meats

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Designing and piloting a drone show is no easy task. It takes hundreds of hours of preparation to control thousands of drones that all need to move in pattern so precise, it comes down to the centimeter.

Drone Show Designer Grant Reichardt has worked on some of the world’s biggest drone shows. We talk how drone shows are designed, spending million of dollars on drones and what it takes to create a hologram in the sky.

Then, in the Pointless part of the show, it’s Sparklers and Black Cats vs. Bottle Rockets and Roman Candles as we countdown the Top 5 Types of Fireworks.

00:00 Introducing Drone Show Designer Grant Reichardt

01:04 Designing a Drone Show

02:56 A Very Special Type of Drone

06:56 When Something Goes Wrong

10:49 The Future of Drone Shows

15:15 Pointless

39:12 The Top 5 Types of Fireworks

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Aerial Illuminations Website

Aerial Illuminations YouTube

Aerial Illuminations Instagram

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