The Piltdown Man was a paleoanthropological fraud in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human . Although there were doubts about its authenticity virtually from the beginning, the remains were still broadly accepted for many years, and the falsity of the hoax was only definitively demonstrated in 1953. An extensive scientific review in 2016 established that amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson was responsible for the fraudulent evidence. O...
Aug 24, 2022•34 min
Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa , and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell in Rhodesia . He helped inspire the founding of the international Scouting Movement . Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Pat...
Aug 17, 2022•53 min
The United Federated Forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was an American far-left organization active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a vanguard army. The SLA was considered by the FBI and American law enforcement as the first terrorist organization to rise from the American left. Most fugitives of the group were apprehended in 1975 and prosecuted.
Aug 10, 2022•50 min
Among Ancient Romans , bestiarii (singular bestiarius ) were those who went into combat with beasts, or were exposed to them. It is conventional [1] to distinguish two categories of bestiarii : the first were those condemned to death via the beasts (see damnatio ad bestias ) and the second were those who faced them voluntarily, for pay or glory (see venatio ). [2] The latter are sometimes erroneously called gladiators ; to their contemporaries, however, the term gladiator referred specifically t...
Aug 03, 2022•37 min
William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below ), [1] and widely known as " Boss " Tweed , was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall , the Democratic Party 's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and state . At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railroad , a...
Jul 27, 2022•32 min
This episode is about forbidden places, like Ilha da Queimada Grande , also known as Snake Island , an island off the coast of Brazil in the Atlantic Ocean . It is administered as part of the municipality of Itanhaém in the State of São Paulo . The island is small in size, only 43 hectares (106 acres), and has a temperate climate. The island's terrain varies considerably, ranging from bare rock to rainforest. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the ...
Jul 20, 2022•41 min
Vincenzo Pipino (born 22 July 1943), also known as Encio , is an Italian thief from Venice whose exploits earned him the nickname "the gentleman thief". He is the first person to successfully steal from the Doge's Palace , and has been responsible for some of the most sensational art thefts in the city. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to check our website for more deta...
Jul 13, 2022•41 min
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin ( /ˈpuːtɪn/ ; Russian: Владимир Владимирович Путин; [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn] ( listen ); born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who is the president of Russia , a position he has filled since 2012, and previously from 2000 until 2008. [7] [c] He was also the prime minister from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. He is also a diabolical monster bent on world domination....
Jul 06, 2022•40 min
A common misconception is a viewpoint or factoid that is often accepted as true in current times. They often arise from conventional wisdom (such as old wives' tales ), stereotypes , a misunderstanding of science, or popularisation of pseudoscience . Some common misconceptions are also considered to be urban legends , and they are often involved in moral panics . Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our P...
Jun 29, 2022•36 min
Jeffrey Stephen Wigand ( /ˈwaɪɡænd/ ; born December 17, 1942) is an American biochemist and whistleblower . He is a former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky , who worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes and in 1996 blew the whistle on tobacco tampering at the company. This was adapted for 1999 film The Insider , with Russell Crowe portraying Wigand. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to s...
Jun 22, 2022•45 min
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing burnable material, typically tobacco , that is rolled into thin paper for smoking . The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. Manufacturers have described the cigarette as "a drug administration system for the delivery of nicotine in acceptable and attractive form". [1] [2] [3] [4] The term cigarette , as com...
Jun 15, 2022•38 min
Frank William Dux ( /ˈdjuːks/ ; born April 6, 1956) is a Canadian-American martial artist and fight choreographer . According to Dux, a ninjutsu expert named Senzo Tanaka trained him as a ninja when he was a teenager. He established his own school of ninjutsu called Dux Ryu Ninjutsu, and has said he won a secret martial arts tournament called the Kumite in 1975. He was all the way lying about this, but his alleged victory at the Kumite served as the inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starr...
Jun 08, 2022•38 min
On October 14, 2004, Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 ( ICAO : FLG3701, IATA : 9E3701, or Flagship 3701) crashed near Jefferson City , Missouri , United States, while flying from Little Rock National Airport in Little Rock , Arkansas , United States, to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in Minnesota , United States. Flight 3701 was a repositioning flight with no passengers aboard; both pilots were killed. Federal investigators determined the crash was due to the pilots' unprofessional be...
Jun 01, 2022•36 min
Pankration ( /pænˈkreɪtiɒn, -ˈkreɪʃən/ ; Greek : παγκράτιον) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC, which was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques, but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint-locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern mixed martial arts . [1] The term comes from the Greek παγκράτιον [paŋkrátion] , meaning 'all of power', from πᾶν ( pan ) 'all' and κράτος ( kratos ) '...
May 25, 2022•36 min
The Bone Wars , also known as the Great Dinosaur Rush , [1] was a period of intense and ruthlessly competitive fossil hunting and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope (of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ) and Othniel Charles Marsh (of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale ). Each of the two paleontologists used underhanded methods to try to outdo the other in the field, resorting to bribery, theft, and...
May 18, 2022•34 min
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (German: [ˈmanfreːt fɔn ˈʁɪçthoːfn̩] ; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron , was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I . He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to...
May 11, 2022•39 min
Pornhub is a Canadian-owned internet pornography website. It is one of several pornographic video-streaming websites owned by Mindgeek . [4] [5] As of June 2020, Pornhub is the 10th most trafficked website in the world and the third most-trafficked adult website after XVideos and XNXX . Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to check our website for more details....
May 04, 2022•39 min
Animal sexual behaviour takes many different forms, including within the same species . Common mating or reproductively motivated systems include monogamy , polygyny , polyandry , polygamy and promiscuity . Other sexual behaviour may be reproductively motivated (e.g. sex apparently due to duress or coercion and situational sexual behaviour ) or non-reproductively motivated (e.g. interspecific sexuality , sexual arousal from objects or places, sex with dead animals , homosexual sexual behaviour ,...
Apr 27, 2022•44 min
Ruth Brown Snyder (March 27, 1895 – January 12, 1928) was an American murderer . Her execution in the electric chair at New York 's Sing Sing Prison in 1928 for the murder of her husband, Albert Snyder, was recorded in a well-publicized photograph....
Apr 20, 2022•34 min
A number of television shows have been judged the worst by both critics and audiences alike. This week, we'll discuss several of them. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to check our website for more details.
Apr 13, 2022•44 min
Sometimes Popes suck. Pretty much all the time, actually. But some Popes suck more, and that's what we're talking about this week. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to check our website for more details.
Apr 06, 2022•39 min
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed / suspension bridge in New York City , spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn . Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water . The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the Eas...
Mar 30, 2022•41 min
John "Mad Jack" Mytton (30 September 1796 – 29 March 1834) was a British eccentric and rake of the Regency period who was briefly a Tory Member of Parliament.
Mar 23, 2022•43 min
Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and prominent socialite. She was the eldest child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and the only child he had with his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee . Longworth led an unconventional and controversial life. Her marriage to Representative Nicholas Longworth III , a Republican Party leader and 38th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives , was shaky, and her only child, Paulina, was from her affai...
Mar 16, 2022•31 min
Since 1850, more than 5,000 people have gone over Niagara Falls , either intentionally (as stunts or suicide attempts ) or accidentally. The first recorded person to survive going over the falls was school teacher Annie Edson Taylor , who in 1901 successfully completed the stunt inside an oak barrel. In the following 121 years, thousands of people have been swept over the falls but only sixteen people have reportedly survived the feat. All instances of people having survived the trip over the fa...
Mar 09, 2022•39 min
Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (January 17, 1706 [ O.S. January 6, 1706] [Note 1] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher. [1] Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States , a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence , and the first United States postmaster general . As a scientist , he was ...
Mar 02, 2022•35 min
The New England vampire panic was the reaction to an outbreak of tuberculosis in the 19th century throughout Rhode Island , eastern Connecticut , southern Massachusetts , Vermont , and other areas of the New England states. [1] Consumption ( tuberculosis ) was thought to be caused by the deceased consuming the life of their surviving relatives. [2] Bodies were exhumed and internal organs ritually burned to stop the "vampire" from attacking the local population and to prevent the spread of the di...
Feb 23, 2022•36 min
Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company . [3] [4] It became a highly successful toy company in the 1980s, known for its mass-produced version of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles , the Coleco Telstar dedicated consoles and ColecoVision . [5] [6] [7] While the company disappeared in 1988 as a result of bankruptcy, the Coleco brand was revived in 2005, and remains active to this day. Our theme song w...
Feb 16, 2022•36 min
This list contains names of people who were found guilty of capital crimes and placed on death row , and were later found to be wrongly convicted . Some people were exonerated posthumously. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to check our website for more details....
Feb 09, 2022•40 min
Insane Beauty Treatments are a thing that doesn't have a Wikipedia page. Sorry. Normally we just do a quick and easy copy/paste for this, but that only works when we stay inside the format of the show. So ... how are things with you? We never talk about you. Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find our Patreon page here . Be sure to check our website for more details....
Feb 02, 2022•34 min
