Steve tests his ability to write convincing B.S. by putting Ben on the spot as he tries to guess the true origin of ten common American idioms. 

Sources:

Laliberte, Marissa, Alison Caporimo, Jacopo Delia Quercia. The Origins of 14 Commonly Used Phrases. Reader’s Digest. Last accessed on March 19, 2020. https://www.rd.com/culture/idiom-origins/

Okrent, Arika. The Curious Origins of 16 Common Phrases. Mental Floss. June 20, 2018. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/548109/origins-of-common-phrases

Not every battle during World War II was fought on foreign soil. Ancel Keys' experiment, which set out to study the effects of diet and hunger, would end up permanently changing the lives of its volunteers. This week, Ben discusses the Minnesota Experiment and its effects on its test subjects. 

Sources: 

Duty to Starve, A. American Radioworks. Last accessed March 17, 2020. http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/wwii/a1.html

Kalm, Leah M and Richard D Semba. They Stared so that Others Be Better Fed: Remembering Ancel Keys and the Minnesota Experiment. Oxford Academic. June 1, 2005. https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/135/6/1347/4663828

This week we delve into the world of psychology, and the interesting history of less-than-ethical testing methods with a look at Dr Muzafer Sharif's Robbers Cave Experiment who earns bonus points for using children as test subjects.

This week Ben serves up another round of legendary Japanese monsters and spirits. From probably the world's most annoying undead, to toilet stalkers and free haircuts; it's a culture that really seems to have all the paranormal bases covered. 

Source: 

Meyer, Matthew. Yokai.com. Last accessed on March 3, 2020. yokai.com/kamikiri/ — yokai.com/nuribotoke/ — yokai.com/noderabou/ — yokai.com/kanbarinyuudou/ — yokai.com/kasha/ — yokai.com/hinnagami/

In 1820, the Spanish rulers in Lima, Peru were on the brink of defeat. In preparation, they decided to box up and ship out the vast riches they'd stolen and amassed over the previous 200 years. And as we all know, the best way to not lose treasure is to put it on the ship of one probably trustworthy guy. This week, we explore the legendary Lost Loot of Lima. 

Sources:

August Gissler. Wikipedia. Last accessed on February 25, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Gissler

Fogg, Clark and Barbara Schroeder. The Countess, The Hunter, and the Scavenger Hunt. The Mob Museum. June 23, 2015. https://themobmuseum.org/blog/the-countess-the-gangster-and-the-treasure-hunt/

Harvey, Ian. 200 Million Dollar Treasure Hoard Found in National Park in Costa Rica. The Vintage News. April 25, 2015. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/04/25/200-million-dollar-treasure-hoard-found-in-national-park-in-costa-rica/

Pruitt, Sarah. Six Famous Missing Treasures. History. August 22, 2018. https://www.history.com/news/6-famous-missing-treasures

Treasure of Lima. Wikipedia. Last accessed on Februrary 25, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_of_Lima

This week, Ben delves into the strange and twisted life of arsonist, sex offender, and serial killer Peter Kurten, and the weird circumstances surrounding his capture and conviction. 

Sources:

Duncan, Joe. 10 Absolutely Strange Ways Brutal Murderers Got Caught. Listverse. June 14, 2019. https://listverse.com/2018/11/15/10-absolutely-strange-ways-brutal-murderers-got-caught/

Jenkins, John Philip. Peter Kurten. Encyclopedia Britannica. Last accessed on February 18, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Kurten

Serena, Katie. Peter Kurten—The Sadistic Crimes of the Vampire of Dusseldorf. All That's Interesting. December 7, 2017. https://allthatsinteresting.com/peter-kurten 

For many, travel in the 1800's was a difficult and often perilous task. But if one was lucky, they'd find a quaint provision shop and inn to stay at, like the one run by the Bender family. For many travelers, this would be a boon. For many others, it would be their final stop on their one-way trip to MURDERVILLE!

Source:

The Bloody Benders. Wikipedia. Last accessed on 2/10/2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Benders

This week's creepypasta tells the tale of a rain that is yellow, and the fever that is associated with rain of that particular hue. Oh, and some paranormal stuff too. Check out episode 76!

Source: Yellow Rain Fever

From the minute that he checked into his room at the Hotel President, it was (apparently) obvious that something was different about Roland T Owen. Unfortunately, before anyone could figure out what his deal was, the man was dead. This week we take a look at the nearly 100 year old unsolved murder.

Sources:

Gore, Leada. The Mystery of What Was in the Box: Man Found Dead 83 Years Ago. AL.com. September 2018. https://www.al.com/news/erry-2018/09/56ecbe55ac9479/the-mystery-of-what-was-in-the.html

Hewitt, Les. The Bizarre Murder of Roland T Owen in the Kansas City Hotel. Historic Mysteries. March 10, 2017. https://www.historicmysteries.com/roland-t-owen-murder-room-1046/

The Great Game may not have had any winners, but among the many, many losers, Charles Stoddart's story sure stands out. When he was chosen to serve as diplomat to a Khan known colloquially as 'The Butcher', he may not have been the best man for the job. Unfortunately, he was also the only man on the job.

Sources:

Szczepanski, Kallie. The Execution of Stoddart and Conolly in Bukhara. ThoughtCo. July 3, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/execution-of-stoddart-and-conolly-bukhara-195774

Szczepanski, Kallie. What Was the Great Game? ThoughtCo. July 31, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-was-the-great-game-195341

"The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison. Atlas Obscura. Last accessed on January 7, 2020. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zindon-prison