Episodes
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YBOF's gonna take a break for a month or two.
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How hard was it to steal the Mona Lisa? What does the word "ponzi" actually mean?
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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(Chronic health problems sometime require an encore performance of a past episode.)
Hundreds dead, thousands homeless, entire communities wiped out, yet most of us have never heard of what happened in Rosewood 1923, Tulsa 1921, or Chicago 1919.
Music by Kevin MacLeod
Read the full script.
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What do limestone, leather, plastic and mulberry tree bark have in common? They've all been used to make money, plus lots of other materials besides! Join me for a quick jaunt around the world and through history and we look at a fraction of the history of currency.
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Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod, Steve Oxen
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Who was General Tsao of chicken fame? Where do Danish pastries come from? Is pad Thai actually Thai food? All that and more in this patron-voted episode!
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Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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How did rubber ducks go from lumps of rubber that didn't even float to a cheerful childhood staple? Let's look at where they came from, where they're going, and why they keep showing up at violent political protests.
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00:38 Bit of backstory
07:13 Bert's best buddy
10:25 Review, patrons, thanks!
12:00 Ducks for charity or science
17:58 Giant ducks, wild and domestic
20:16 Can You Hear The Duckies Sing?
22:45 THE Rubber Duck
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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Finally, I get to the subtopic that launched not one but two episodes, the Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet, as well as the most interesting boring thing I could find and why science didn't get a handle on scurvy until nearly WWII.
(Apologies in advance because I was red-lining my mic throughout and I have no idea why -- I'd been doing VO jobs all day with no such issue.)
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01:03 Ye scurvy dog
08:27 Gratitude et al
11:30 The doldrums
15:49 Livestream for the Cure
17:46 The Gentleman Pirate, Stede Bonnet
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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What started as a need to tell the real story of "Gentleman Pirate" Stede Bonnet has turned into a myth vs history two-parter! I love when that happens. Hear about pirate pensions, the makeup of the mariners, and civil unions on the seven seas. Special thanks to Charlie and Jesse over the in Brainiac Breakroom for help with the title.
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Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod, and Tabletop Audio
Calm History Podcast
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It's the return of our occasional series, We Can't Have Nice Things. This week, we look at radio contest and promotions that went badly wrong, often at the draft stage. Free nude wedding anyone?
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02:45 Radio Luxembourg's Ice Block Challenge
06:02 Bait & switch
10:12 Rules are rules
17:36 Review and news
20:40 No accounting for taste
22:15 Library of Chaos
27:27 Good, better, breast
30:08 Playing matchmaker
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod, Bobby Richards .
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Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear leather jackets with chains, long hair, and lots of eyeliner! Today we look at three times heavy metal musicians said "We're not gonna take it" and defended the freedom of speech, but were they "Breaking the Law" and just "Howl(ing) at the Moon"?
0:42 Twisted Sister vs Congress
17:07 Reviews and news
19:58 Ozzy Osbourne's Suicide Solution
26:20 Judas Priest, Better Than You
28:28 Subliminal back-masking
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Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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People used to say "If you believe that, I have some swampland in Florida to sell you," but they really should have said, "I have some lovely acres in the Republic of Poyais you can buy, but you have to act now!" Presenting one of my favorite con artists ever, the man who declared himself prince of a South American country that didn't exist, Gregor MacGregor (yes, that's really his name).
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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Remember back in episode 155, Hate to Burst your Bubble, we talked about, among other things, the Florida real estate boom and bust of the 1920s? It’s where we get the phrase, “if you believe that, I have some real estate in Florida to sell you.” 100 years before that, we could have been saying, “I have some acreage in Poyais to sell you.” Never been to Poyais? Trust me, it’s amazing. The weather is always perfect, sunny and warm. Located along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, the soil of Poyais is so fertile, you can get three harvests of corn a year. The trees are heavy with fruit and the forests teem with entrees in the form of game animals. If you look into the rivers, you’ll not only see water cleaner and more pure than you’ve ever seen in your life and more fish than you could hope to catch, but in the river bed, the sparkle of gold fills your eyes, not from flecks and dust, but nuggets as big as walnuts, just laying there, waiting for you to scoop them up. The only thing missing is settlers to develop and leverage its resources to the fullest. Wanna get your share? Better hurry; hundreds of people are investing all their savings in a piece of the perfect Poyais. All you have to do is [] to the Cazique or prince. Who is the prince of this equatorial new world paradise? A Scotsman named Gregor MacGregor.
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There are four Sundays a month, but more than a dozen days we call "Black Sunday." Here are three -- two forces of nature and one parade of schadenfreude.
02:42 Black Blizzard
12:45 Bondi Beach
24:42 Disneyland
Quote reader: Vlado from It's Not Rocket Surgery
Promo: Remnant Stew
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Dan Lebowitz, Kevin MacLeod,
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Who you gonna believe -- me or your lying eyes? Today we look at court cases where people try to avoid taxes by arguing that things aren't the things that they clearly are.
00:50 Tomato
08:18 Jaffa Cakes
17:48 Hydrox vs Oreo
37:40 X-Men
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs.
Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Become a patron of the podcast arts! Patreon or Ko-Fi. Or buy the book and a shirt.
Music: Kevin MacLeod,
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Our Patrons have a nose for good topics, so today we
07:04 Smells and space
14:40 Ham-sniffer
21:17 It's the pits
30:48 Aromatherapy
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
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Music: Kevin MacLeod, and The Mini Vandals.
Sources:
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/premium-iberian-ham-sniffers-are-tired-from-sniffing-so-much-ham
https://www.rd.com/article/outer-space-smell/
https://www.gentside.co.uk/food/spains-ham-sniffers-prepare-for-a-hectic-season-sniffing-800-hams-daily_art8817.html
https://www.rd.com/article/outer-space-smell/
https://www.rd.com/list/foods-banned-space/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBdhpSh7_I&ab_channel=Mashable
https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/emergency/chemical_terrorism/cyanide_tech.htm
https://science.howstuffworks.com/nasas-sniffer-job.htm
https://theconversation.com/six-curious-facts-about-smell-128533
https://www.verywellmind.com/why-do-we-associate-memories-so-strongly-with-specific-smells-5203963
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/smell-disorders
https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/why-does-food-taste-bad-on-airplanes.html
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/sfa/aac/silver-snoopy-award
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/smell-disorders#2
https://theplaidzebra.com/odour-tester-chocolate-taster-strange-careers-diverge-traditional-9-5/
https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/coverstories/this-job-stinks-from-one-who-knows/article_66ce8eb0-7066-51be-8081-be9bcc24c8be.html
https://www.statista.com/topics/5174/essential-oils/
https://www.verywellmind.com/why-do-we-associate-memories-so-strongly-with-specific-smells-5203963
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-smelling-test-the-genetics-of-olfaction-2192370.html
https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/blog/essential-oils-cats/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/aromatherapy/faq-20058566
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Why did no one tell me about Moms Mabley?!! Hear about her and other 'living loud and proud' ladies (Dorothy Parker, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead) on this International Women's Day.
01:00 Tallulah Bankhead
13:00 Mae West
23:00 Moms Mabley
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs.
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Become a patron of the podcast arts! Patreon or Ko-Fi. Or buy the book and a shirt.
Music: Kevin MacLeod, David Fesilyan, Dan Henig. and/or Chris Haugen.
Sources:
https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/204532%7C103917/Mae-West/#biography
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mae-West
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52283/13-things-you-might-not-know-about-mae-west
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/04/this-day-in-history-mae-west-is-sentenced-to-10-days-in-prison-for-writing-directing-and-performing-in-the-broadway-play-sex/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tallulah-Bankhead
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/05/real-cruella-de-vil-tallulah-bankhead
https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/09/theater/theater-the-pain-behind-the-laughter-of-moms-mabley.html
https://dorothyparker.com/gallery/biography
https://bookshop.org/books/your-brain-on-facts-things-you-didn-t-know-things-you-thought-you-knew-and-things-you-never-knew-you-never-knew-trivia-quizzes-fun-fa/9781642502534?aid=14459&listref=books-based-on-podcasts
https://www.mamamia.com.au/tallulah-bankhead-cruella/
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Voted on by our Patreon, we dive into the deadly side of sculpture, painting, ballet and more!
01:36 Blucifer
04:00 Get the lead out
10:00 Ballet blazes
20:45 Death by a thousand face
26:43 The Conqueror and the conquered
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs.
Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Become a patron of the podcast arts! Patreon or Ko-Fi. Or buy the book and a shirt.
Music: Kevin MacLeod, David Fesilyan, Dan Henig. and/or Chris Haugen.
Sources:
https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/the-ballet-girls-who-burned-to-death/71244/
https://www.racked.com/2017/12/19/16710276/burning-dresses-history
https://www.oddee.com/item_99203.aspx
https://bookshop.org/books/your-brain-on-facts-things-you-didn-t-know-things-you-thought-you-knew-and-things-you-never-knew-you-never-knew-trivia-quizzes-fun-fa/9781642502534
https://www.armco.org.uk/asbestos-survey-news/asbestos-was-used-as-fake-snow-in-many-old-hollywood-movies/
https://www.grunge.com/267772/the-amazing-life-and-tragic-death-of-lon-chaney/
https://www.dogfordstudios.com/killer-art-art-that-has-actually-killed-people/
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/7-deadly-art-materials-to-watch-out-for-1081526
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/how-important-is-lead-poisoning-to-becoming-a-legendary-artist/281734/
https://noahchemicals.com/blog/the-toxic-histories-of-five-famous-pigments/
https://www.dogfordstudios.com/killer-art-art-that-has-actually-killed-people/
https://owlcation.com/stem/Cinnabar-A-Beautiful-But-Toxic-Mineral-Ore-and-Pigment
https://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/newsroom/blogs/its-snowing-asbestos-the-haunting-truth-about-the-white-christmas-killer-set-and-continued-imports-and-use/
https://www.cpr.org/2019/11/04/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-blucifer-the-demon-horse-of-dia
https://www.burlington-record.com/2021/06/11/blucifer-just-turned-13-but-the-family-of-the-artist-who-died-creating-it-would-prefer-you-dont-call-it-that/
https://www.livescience.com/64224-sculptor-unknowingly-poisons-herself-with-her-own-art.html
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Necessity is the mother of invention and these inventions had real mothers! Hear about Black female inventors, the tribulations of research, and a story I didn't expect to find and couldn't pass up.
01:00 L'histoire
06:36 Martha Jones's corn husker
07:55 Mary Jones de Leon's cooking apparatus
08:56 Judy Reed's dough kneader-roller
10:30 Sarah Goode's folding bed-desk
11:40 Sarah Boon's ironing board
17:15 Lyda Newman's hairbrush
19:33 Madam CJ Walker's Wonderful Hair-grower
22:03 Biddy Mason
Links to all the research resources are on the website.
Hang out with your fellow Brainiacs.
Reach out and touch Moxie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Become a patron of the podcast arts! Patreon or Ko-Fi. Or buy the book and a shirt.
Music: Kevin MacLeod, David Fesilyan, Dan Henig. and/or Chris Haugen.
Sources:
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mason-bridget-biddy-1818-1891/
https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/1/14756308/biddy-mason-california-black-history
https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/biddy-mason-memorial-park
https://alliesforracialjustice.org/shark-tank-in-the-1800s-black-women-reigned-in-household-inventions/
https://interestingengineering.com/black-inventors-the-complete-list-of-genius-black-american-african-american-inventors-scientists-and-engineers-with-their-revolutionary-inventions-that-changed-the-world-and-impacted-history-part-two
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2021/02/08/revolutionizing-cooking-mary-jones-de-leon/id=129701/
https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/lyda-newman
https://interestingengineering.com/black-inventors-the-complete-list-of-genius-black-american-african-american-inventors-scientists-and-engineers-with-their-revolutionary-inventions-that-changed-the-world-and-impacted-history-part-two
https://laist.com/news/la-history/biddy-mason-free-forever-the-contentious-hearing-that-made-her-a-legend-los-angeles-black-history
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