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How Bertha Heyman Conned Her Way Into Show Business
Bertha Heyman was a notorious con artist with a robust rap sheet and a penchant for bilking well-to-do, otherwise shrewd men. Listen in to learn how …
6 years, 4 months ago
That Time Germany Got Obsessed With Polar Bear Photos
When French photo collector Jean-Marie Donat stumbled upon his first vintage picture of a German dressed as a polar bear, he initially thought it was…
6 years, 4 months ago
Rose Mackenberg: Houdini's Ghostbuster
While the papers of the time relegated Rose Mackenberg to a sidekick role as the "girl detective" working with famed skeptic and escape artist Harry …
6 years, 5 months ago
Science and Spiritualism: Why were ghost stories so popular in the 1800s?
Nowadays western historians tend to regard the scientific progress of the 19th century as a linear, indelible line from one breakthrough to the next.…
6 years, 5 months ago
John of Bohemia, the Blind King Who Charged Into Battle
We recount the epic tale of John of Bohemia, a 14th-century king who charged into the Battle of Crécy at age 50 - despite having been blind for the p…
6 years, 5 months ago
Kakigōri: The Story of Japan's Famous Shaved Ice
While this Japanese delicacy isn't the world's only icy dessert, it's certainly one of the most unique -- that iconic, delicate texture sets it apart…
6 years, 5 months ago
John Edmonstone: The Man Who Trained Darwin
Born into slavery in the 1700s, John Edmonstone gained his freedom in 1817 and moved to Edinburgh, where he stuffed birds for the Natural Museum and …
6 years, 5 months ago
The Death of Luxury Air Travel
Flying in an airplane is an enormous privilege, but nowadays it's often seen as an inconvenience more than anything else -- the crowding, the lines, …
6 years, 5 months ago
The Bizarre Capitulation of Stettin
When French General Antoine Lasalle first arrived at the Prussian-held city of Stettin in 1806, his odds of successfully capturing the community seem…
6 years, 5 months ago
John Wilkes Booth's Brother Saved Abraham Lincoln's Son
Sometime in 1864 or 1865, Robert Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, had a close call with death in a subway station when he was saved at the …
6 years, 5 months ago