Latest Strangehistory Podcast Episodes
Earthworm Oil: From the Dirt to the Doctor?
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 28, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsTypically, people nowadays don’t go into Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods and ask for earthworm oil, but from the 16th to 19th centuries, earthworm oil was used to treat various problems – kind of like how we use tea tree or coconut oils today. On this episode, we’ll show you how to use earthworm oil...
The Unusual History of TV Dinners: Giving Thanks to Thanksgiving
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 21, 2023 08:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsWho doesn’t love to come home from a long day of work, heat up some yummy food, turn on the TV and plop down on the couch to eat? Although many people still do enjoy a sit-down meal with the family that often doesn’t include a television, back in the 1950s when having a TV in the home was a new ...
Crap, Crapper, and the History of the Toilet
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 19, 2023 08:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsHappy World Toilet Day! In case you didn’t know, the World Toilet Organization (yes, there is one) declared November 19th to be World Toilet Day back in 2001. Why, you may ask? Well it all had to do with drawing attention to the fact that even today not every country has great sanitation, which ...
Witch Cakes: How Urine in a Cake Led to the Salem Witch Trials
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 07, 2023 18:39 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOne of the things people in Europe and in America used to do to thwart a witch’s spells was to bake a witch cake. It sounds sort of good, being a cake and all, but you know that having the word “witch” in its name means something has to be wrong with it. And there was something wrong with it. De...
Stingy Jack & the Devil: This Unusual History of Jack-O-Lanterns
The Unusual History of Every Thing - October 31, 2023 07:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsWhen we in the west think of Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, carving pumpkins is one of the first things that comes to mind. It’s a tradition parents share with kids, and even as adults we enjoy it. In fact, we spend a lot of time researching cool designs to carve and choosing the best pumpkins a...
Dumb Cakes: How to Find A Husband on Halloween
The Unusual History of Every Thing - October 24, 2023 07:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsThey say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so using food to find a husband doesn't seem like such a bad idea. From the late 1600s to the mid-1900s, unmarried women in North America and the United Kingdom practiced a baking ritual on Halloween that was said to reveal who they would...
Magic Elixirs: How Snake Oil Salesmen Conned the Masses
The Unusual History of Every Thing - June 27, 2023 23:07 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOn this episode, we show you how ancient Chinese medicine became the inspiration for medicine shows and rattlesnake wranglers. If you’ve ever heard of the term “snake oil salesman,” then you’re probably well aware of its negative connotations. If you haven't, you're about to get all the detail...
A Twisted Tale: The Unusual History of Rat Kings
The Unusual History of Every Thing - June 20, 2023 07:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOn this episode, we try to unravel the tale of the European phenomenon of rat kings. As the story goes, long ago a wise old rat who wanted to be the king of all the rats made the lesser rats form a mountain. He climbed up to the top, and sat there, demanding respect and adoration from the othe...
The Life & Death of Mummy Paint
The Unusual History of Every Thing - June 13, 2023 07:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOn this episode, we talk about how artists used dead people to make their paintings come alive. We’ve done a podcast or two on corpse medicine and how people of long ago used mummies as cures. And the dark liquid the body oozes out during the putrefaction process, which ranges from dark purpl...
Don’t Flip Them Over! The Unusual History of Demon Bowls
The Unusual History of Every Thing - June 06, 2023 07:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOn this episode, we uncover the secrets contained within demon bowls, and try to figure out why anyone in their right mind would turn one over. But before we get into that, welcome to Season 8, which is going to be fun and, as always, a little weird and gross, depending on who you ask. And in ...
Weird Things Cities Drop on New Year’s Eve
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 27, 2022 08:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsAll over the world, the coming of the new year is ushered in with fireworks, champagne, a kiss, and, for the last 114 years, people have been celebrating New Year’s Eve by watching the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square. But it’s not the only thing that is dropped on New Year’s Eve in Ame...
How Rudolph Got His Red Nose
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 20, 2022 08:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsWe all know the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but what is less commonly known is where that story comes from – and the fact that some reindeer DO have red noses. On this episode, we explain why Rudolph, the beloved Christmas reindeer, has a red nose – and it’s not because of alcohol...
WW2’s Female Santas & the History of Mrs. Claus
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 13, 2022 08:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsEveryone knows Santa Claus is a man, but in 1941, during World War 2, the women needed to stand in. It wasn’t unusual. Because the war took most of the men in America from their homes and jobs, the women left behind stepped in to do the work. They became riveters, crane operators, cab drivers, b...
The Eggnog Riot of 1876
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 06, 2022 08:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsEvery country has a traditional holiday drink served to friends and family at gatherings and celebrations, and Americans and Canadians love their eggnog. Eggnog is an acquired taste, and not one that you would think would cause riots. But in 1876, that’s exactly what it did.
How Pumpkin Pie and ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ Became Part of Thanksgiving History
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 22, 2022 08:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOn this episode, in honor of Thanksgiving, we thought we’d tell you how pumpkin pie became a Thanksgiving staple, and how "Mary Had A Little Lamb" was connected to it.
The Unusual History of Nursery Rhymes & Lullabies: Rock-A-Bye Baby
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 15, 2022 08:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsFor many parents in the western world, saying nursery rhymes and singing lullabies to their children are normal. But do people ever really stop and think about the words they’re saying to their innocent babies? Probably not, and that’s why we’re here: To show you the dark history of normal, ev...
The Unusual History of Trees and the Oldest Family Tree Ever Found
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 08, 2022 08:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsBeing interested in where your ancestors come from is not a new thing. People all over the world have a long and varied history of trying to find their roots to understand who they are. On this episode, we dig up the roots of the oldest family tree discovered so far and get a glimpse into the ...
Radiocarbon Dating Our History: How & Why Things Need to Change
The Unusual History of Every Thing - November 01, 2022 20:20 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsOn this episode, we look at the history of and the science behind radiocarbon dating artifacts, and what changes will be necessary in the future.
Ghosts: A Judgy Journey to Get to the Afterlife
The Unusual History of Every Thing - October 25, 2022 07:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsEvery culture around the world believes in some sort of ghost, spirit or soul that leaves the body at death to go to some sort of afterlife. On this episode, we get into the Halloween spirit by looking at the ghosts of various cultures, examine how we’re still judged even in the afterlife, and t...
The Malleus Maleficarum and the History of Witches
The Unusual History of Every Thing - October 18, 2022 07:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsFrom the 9th century to the 13th century, witchcraft was looked down upon by the Christian churches as pagan superstition. But in the late 1400s, the heresy of witchcraft as a superstition turned into the heresy of consorting with the Devil. On this episode, to add to the Halloween spirit, we ...
Grave Robbing & Corpse Medicine: You'll Need A "Stiff Drink" After This One
The Unusual History of Every Thing - October 11, 2022 07:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsGrave robbing may seem like something people did long ago, but it actually still occurs unfortunately. For example, in Egypt, archaeologists often have to have security round the clock to prevent people from stealing from the tombs. Most of that is for the gold and expensive tomb-related items, ...
Mesoamerica’s Batman, Echolocation & Bat Folklore
The Unusual History of Every Thing - October 04, 2022 07:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsBats are one of the coolest animals we have. Some think they’re cute and cuddly, and they’re the only animal that doesn’t walk on four legs and instead, flies. Despite their small size, they’ve also been depicted in folklore as one of the scariest animals we have. On this episode, we swoop in ...
Wishes, Healing Waters and Tossing Coins into Them
The Unusual History of Every Thing - September 27, 2022 07:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsTossing a coin into a fountain or well and making a wish has been a tradition since ancient times. People long ago gave the coin as a gift or tribute to a god, usually to keep them happy, make them happy or as a form of payment for whatever it was they were asking for. On this episode, we div...
Magnets and the Monte Alto
The Unusual History of Every Thing - September 13, 2022 07:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsMagnets are cool, and everyone has at least one. They hang our pictures on refrigerators, they hold things together, they’re used in various machinery, even the center of Earth has a type of one. Put simply, a magnet is a rock or piece of metal, called ferromagnetic metals, that have the abili...
Nikola Tesla, Shark Intestines & Wastewater Filtration Systems
The Unusual History of Every Thing - September 06, 2022 07:00 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsWe're back! Welcome to our new season! On this episode, we take a look at how Nikola Tesla and shark intestines became the inspiration for filtering water today.
Giving the Evils: The Meaning & Origins of Evil Eye Superstitions
The Unusual History of Every Thing - January 11, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsMost people believe in some sort of superstition, whether it’s throwing salt over your shoulder to keep the devil away, or preventing bad luck by not walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror. It may seem silly, but these superstitions have been around for thousands of years and are passed do...
From Snail Water to Sheep Lungs: History’s Strange Way of Staying Healthy
The Unusual History of Every Thing - January 04, 2022 08:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsWe all try to stay healthy and exercise, but the holidays tend to add a few extra pounds to our waistline. Throw in a pandemic or two and staying healthy is tops in our minds. Well, we’re here to help. You see, throughout history, various cultures have had the same problems and came up with some...
The Un-Yule-sual History of the Christmas Yule Log
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 28, 2021 08:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsThe yule log, which wasn’t a log at all, but instead an entire tree, is originally a Nordic tradition dating back to medieval times. The burning of the Yule log is one of the oldest pagan rituals, which was lit to entice the sun to return as part of the Yule festival in Scandinavia. On this epi...
Knecht Ruprecht: Santa’s Sinister Sidekick
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 21, 2021 18:02 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsSanta Claus's gift bringing at Christmas time really began in northern and central Europe before spreading to other parts of the world. And some of the things that spread with him were his little helpers. We're not talking about the elves, although they did come along for the ride, no, we're tal...
The Unusual KISS-tory of Mistletoe
The Unusual History of Every Thing - December 14, 2021 08:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsMistletoe has long been a romantic, fun Christmas tradition, but it didn’t start out that way. In fact, the plant is sort of gross when you think about it. On this episode, we look at how a plant that sucks nutrients from its host tree became the symbol for sucking face at Christmas.
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