We Love The Internet

Harrison brings us part 2 of his Operation Mincemeat story that he began in the last episode (listen now if you haven’t already). Operation Mincemeat was a plot thought up by the British secret services during World War II with the goal of mis-directing the Germans as to where the Allies would invade Europe. The plan involved a dead body, pocket litter and hoping that the “neutral” Spanish authorities would let the Germans find out the secret British plans. It’s a wild ride, that’s for sure!

Chris meanwhile learnt about two solar storms that caused havoc here on Earth. The first happened in 1859 and is often called the “Carrington Event” when telegraph communications were disrupted for days, with platinum contacts said to have melted! The second solar storm almost caused World War III to break out during May 1967. It was a close thing and we have the US Air Force’s Air Weather Service to thank for not letting things get out of hand.

Chris learns about a fire that has been burning for the past 59 years and is predicted to burn for between another 100-250 years. The mad thing is, it could have been completely avoided if a certain city council didn’t dump rubbish down a mine shaft and then purposely set fire to it… In real terms, it means a city in Pennsylvania has been all-but abandoned, whilst graffiti artists have covered the local highway in, well, graffiti!

Meanwhile, Harrison found out about an audacious World War II plan dreamt up by the British secret service called ‘Operation Mincemeat’. This wartime mission was so insane, Harrison has decided to split his part of the podcast across two episodes!

In this episode, Harrison learns about a Geoffrey Pyke, also know as Churchill’s Snowman. Pyke was British and can somewhat charitably be called eccentric, but he had many ideas that whilst at first view might seem completely insane - such as building a 2km long aircraft carrier out of ice that could let WWII bombers take off and land - he was clearly a clever guy. It’s a real shame the British don’t take strange ideas more seriously.

Chris meanwhile discovered the time that a bunch of Russian “Cossacks” who weren’t Cossacks at all invaded and tried to colonise a part of Africa, which at the time was colonised by the French. After about a month, the French lost their patience and sent in a flotilla of gunboats. Best of all the rag-tag army of Cossacks was led by a 23 year old Russian who until his African adventure had the ear of Czar Alexander III. The late 19th century was a strange time.

This week, Chris has learnt about the truly horrific winter of 1948/1949, that saw the American government send thousands of people to clear snow and ice and rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed by three months of snow. Chris tells us a few stories involving cows, dynamite and an unusual trip to a hospital.

Then Harrison has been learning about crime in Japan, specifically bank robberies. Japan has the lowest murder rate in the world and some of the lowest crime rates, but that only means that when such things as bank robberies happen, they are quite remarkable. Learn how 3 robberies occurred, one with a note, one with a gun and some bandages and one with some pills and an armband.

Harrison builds on Chris’ British royal family focus by finding out which royals have actual jobs. Take for example, young Prince Nikolai of Denmark - he’s seventh in line to the throne so doesn’t get access to the royal purse. What’s the solution? Go and be a model. Chris wasn’t impressed…

Chris meanwhile learns about the creepy practice (to modern ears at least) of creating death masks. These masks were created generally within hours of a person’s death and then used to display around the home, or create statues based on their likeness. Perhaps unsurprisingly Madame Tussaud got her start by making death masks, though she perhaps didn’t really want to do so.

This week, Chris has been looking in to the procedures and processes that will happen when the Queen dies. This includes a period of national mourning when no comedy will be played on the BBC and mournful music only will be heard on the radio. It may surprise you to hear that he has some Thoughts on this!

Then Harrison tells the story of what is considered to be the worst corporate giveaway in history. One so bad it took a company that had entered the lexicon in the UK, and brought it to its knees. It was an offer too good to be true, in so many ways.

This week, to celebrate the podcast reaching 50 episodes, Harrison and Chris have each put together a list of 10 mini facts they’ve discovered whilst researching topics from the last year.

These are all things that are not quite enough for an entire episode on their own, but were just too funny or interesting to leave out! Learn about the president who liked to hide from his secret service agents, the festival that involves jumping over children, a Chinese general who defeated an army with only a lute and the story of the pink lake pictured above.

Thank you so much for your support for the last 50 episodes of We Love The Internet, here’s to 50 more!

In this episode Chris explores Ida Wood’s life (pictured above). Ida was one of New York’s socialites from around 1857 through to 1907 when she suddenly disappeared and subsequently lived life as a hermit with her sister and daughter in the Herald Square Hotel. That was until 24 years later when Ida’s sister became sick and she sought help. What became clear was Ida was an extremely wealthy women, but essentially lived in squalor. It’s a fascinating tale of one woman doing what she thought was best to hang onto her wealth.

Harrison meanwhile investigates Ernest Hemingway’s crazy life, from fighting with the French Resistance during WWII behind enemy lines to living through two plane crashes in two days (and escaping of the planes by smashing his head against the jammed door!). Unfortunately for the accomplished writer, depression, or his “Black Dog” as he called it, stalked him and eventually caused him to commit suicide. A terribly sad end for such an incredible force of nature.

How long do you think the shortest war in history was? You’ll probably be surprised to learn that it came in between 38 and 45 minutes! In this episode, Harrison finds out about the time the British went to war with the Zanzibar in 1896, against a group of unprepared locals, making it history’s shortest war.

Chris meanwhile discovered the time that German saboteurs bombed New York, resulting in the loss of five lives. What was extraordinary was the explosions didn’t kill more people and although the Americans later joined World War I in support of the Allies, it wasn’t because of this terrorist incident.

Chris learns about ‘Death by GPS’ with some quite incredible stories of people who have followed their GPS past any reasonable point. Whilst fortunately not all the people involved in the stories have died because of their actions, it’s a timely reminder to keep your eyes on the road and remember that when you’re driving you need to use your brain too!

Harrison meanwhile found out about the world’s most dangerous world record. Whilst for the majority of the time the record might have been contested by professional teams of speed freaks, this world record was last broken in 1978 by an Aussie who built a boat in his back yard. Can you guess what we’re talking about yet?