By Weird Rhode Island
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The podcast currently has 71 episodes available.
Weird Island is back! In the first episode in over a year and a half, we’ll uncover the story of a gym for women in 1880s Providence, begun by feminist philosopher, lecturer and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Episode Sources:Oscar seemed like an ordinary kitten when he was adopted by Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Providence, RI. But the staff and residents at Steere House quickly suspected Oscar had a unique ability. He seemed to be able to predict when someone was going to die.
Heads up, this episode is more speculative than usual. And it includes a lot of talk of death. Keep that in mind while listening.
Episode Source Material - Oscar
General on Cats
Death and Diseases, further info
Predicting Death
Studies on Scents
Bio-Detection Dogs
Therapy Animals / Our Relationship with Animals
Other Animal Abilities
Hey all! I’m taking a tiny pause on new episodes for a little while to work on some other things that inspire me. I’ll be back before you know it! And, in the meantime, I still have a couple of episodes to drop. So, I hope you’ll stick around.
If you’re looking for something new to listen to while I’m taking a breather, I wanted to share some of the podcasts that I've been loving recently. Some local (see list 1!) and some that are just incredible podcasts I think will be up your alley. I have 100% forgotten some (Spotify history needs to go back farther!), so I’ll keep adding!
Local Stories:
Not local, but I think you love them:
While researching RI mills, I came across this one little snippet about the Ashton Mill in Cumberland, and had to know more: “Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company bought the mill... They operated in the mill until 1983. They made tire cord, drapery, and beta cloth for spacesuits for the Apollo Moon missions.”
Episode Source Material:
If you want to know more about: Playtex and Space Suits
The Apollo 1 & the Space Race:
Ashton Mill
This week, I’m joined by Amanda Quay Blount, who just released her new book Meet Me at the Biltmore this October. She brought me a story I’d never heard before about this Rhode Island based Ford dealer. His name was Dutee Wilcox Flint, and he was one of the earliest and most successful Ford dealers in the world before he lost his empire, moved into the Biltmore, and largely vanished from memory.
Find Amanda's book, Meet Met at the Biltmore HERE! Meet Me At The Biltmore | Amanda Quay Blount
Episode Source Material
This week, as many get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to revisit the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving that many of us learned as kids. Because, I found out as an adult that I didn’t really learn the full story–I learned a mythologized version of it. And I learned that while I heard a lot about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth, I didn’t know as much about the Wampanoag people who were already in New England, many of whom were living in what is part of Rhode Island today.
Episode Source Material
On December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague was found murdered near his home in Cranston, RI. An Irish immigrant named John Gordon was tried and convicted of the crime, but even at the time, many believed he may have been innocent.
Episode Source Material:
Have you seen The Conjuring, the 2013 Hollywood film so successful it spawned a franchise of supernatural horror films? Did you know it’s loosely based on the haunting of a Rhode Island family? The old colonial farmhouse in Burrillville, where they lived and experienced paranormal phenomena in the 1970s, has been described by some as one of the most active paranormal locations in the world.
Episode Source Material
Ann & Hope… were two women. Then the words became the name of a ship, followed by a mill, and later a store. This week, I’ll bring you along as I learn the story of the Ann & Hope Mill and the discount department store that shared its name. And along the way, we’ll even uncover a bit of a mystery.
Episode Source Material
Have you ever been to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett and noticed that beautiful stone ruin just beyond the sand? Well, it turns out it’s the remnants of an old carriage house that once stood beside this mansion overlooking the water. The mansion was called Windswept, but locally it was known as the house built with Painkiller money, and it was built by a family who made their fortune selling this over-the-counter medicine called “Perry Davis’s Vegetable Pain-Killer,” remembered today as the first-ever nationally advertised remedy for chronic pain.
Want to know more? Check out these other podcasts:
About Perry Davis’ Pain-Killer:
Perry Davis’ Vegetable Pain-Killer - Ads and Marketing Materials
Patent Medicines / Medicine History:
Edmund Davis’s Death - If you want to learn more about that!
The podcast currently has 71 episodes available.
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