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People Used Bed Bugs as Medicine for Thousands of Years
When you think of bed bugs, you probably think of dirty mattresses, irritating rashes and bites, and the dubious joy of calling an exterminator. However, in millennia past, people were convinced bed …
Published on 4 years ago
The US Literally Threw Pianos From Planes During World War II
As musical instruments go, pianos are pretty amazing -- they're also not particularly easy to move. Clunkiness aside, pianos provide endless hours of entertainment, lightening the mood in even the da…
Published on 4 years ago
The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part Two: Drink Your Ovaltine
Once the Little Orphan Annie comic strip was adapted to a radio program, it wasn't just a hit show -- it was a marketing coup for the good folks at Ovaltine. The company underwrote the program, riddl…
Published on 4 years ago
The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part One: Parents Were Terrified
These days, most folks think of Little Orphan Annie as a folksy, wholesome slice of nostalgia -- but during its heyday as a radio program, parents across the US became increasingly concerned. The sho…
Published on 4 years ago
CLASSIC: How White America Tried To Destroy Chinese Restaurants
Today Chinese restaurants serve some of the most popular cuisine in the United States, with more than 41,000 restaurants scattered around the country. Yet in the 1900s these restaurants were so contr…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 2: Weird, Brutal Flexes
As rulers go, Anna of Russia was considered pretty bad news. In the second part of this two-part series, the guys explore how Anna (aka Anna the Terrible)'s traumatic life experience may have contrib…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 1: The Tsar is a Jerk
“Despite being born into royalty, Anna Ioannovna didn’t have the easiest life. Her uncle publicly ridiculed her marriage, and the cruelty she experienced growing up may have had lasting emotional dam…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
That Time a Baboon Worked for the Railroad
When a horrific accident left railroad signalman James Wide without the use of his legs, he was desperate to maintain his livelihood -- an effort that may well have been futile were it not for a chan…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
Austin and the Texas Archives War
After its formation in 1836, the new Republic of Texas had some problems -- multiple people wanted the capital in different places. The Republic's archives were seen as a stamp of legitimacy to any c…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago
King for a Week: The Strange Story of Otto I
For most people, the old saying "it's good to be king" is just a cool phrase -- but for magician and noted spinner of tall tales Otto Witte, this sounded like an idea to take literally. In today's ep…
Published on 4 years, 1 month ago