Episode Notes Musicians are notorious for including insane riders in their contracts when it comes to live shows. Kanye demands a barber chair in his dressing room, for example. But rock gods Van Halen had a particularly odd demand that there be no brown M&Ms in their dressing room. Was this just classic diva behavior, or a brilliant strategic test? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net...
Jul 02, 2020•4 min
Episode Notes An industrial accident in Boston caused a massive tidal wave of molasses to descend upon an unsuspecting neighborhood, killing 21 people and injuring 150 more. This actually happened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net...
Jun 30, 2020•5 min
Episode Notes The absolutely bonkers story of Tarrare, a deranged Frenchman who could not stop eating anything and everything he could get his hands on. Garbage, cats, people, more garbage. This remorseless eating machine could not be stopped. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net...
Jun 25, 2020•7 min
Episode Notes Thanks to some beneficial corporate tax laws in the state, one forgettably single story building in Delaware is the legal home to nearly ever large US company you've ever heard of....in fact, over 285,000 businesses call this little shabby office home. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_Trust_Center_(CT_Corporation) Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net...
Jun 23, 2020•6 min
Episode Notes There Is one unidentified whale who has been singing a song and trying to communicate for 31 years In a frequency that only he/she can understand. This Is the story of the Loneliest Whale In the World. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52-hertz_whale Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net...
Jun 18, 2020•4 min
Episode Notes In the 1960s, FDA scientist Dr. Frances Kelsey refused to approve the sleep-aid medicine Thalidomide, because clinical trials had not proved to her that it was safe for pregnant women to take. Soon, the world would see that thousand of babies were born missing limbs because of this dangerous drug. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Oldham_Kelsey Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net...
Jun 16, 2020•9 min
Episode Notes United States Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Douglas Hegdahl is captured by the Vietnamese, but pretends to be an absolute idiot and ends up outsmarting his captors, all the while memorizing hundreds of POWs information to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Hegdahl Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
Jun 11, 2020•5 min
Episode Notes Tech giants like Google and Apple have taken advantage of an offshore corporate tax loophole that passes money from the USA to Bermuda to Ireland to the Netherlands and back to the Bermuda. The Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
Jun 09, 2020•6 min
Episode Notes The Tulsa race massacre of 1921 took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The attacks ranged from shootings to lynchings to beatings and even to dropping incendiary bombs from biplanes. It has been called "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://...
Jun 04, 2020•9 min
Episode Notes The super annoying test you have to take when creating a new account, where you have to spell out the crazy letters or numbers In order to prove you're a human, has a fascinating history In not only thwarting spammers, but helping digitize all written language, all the while feeding the machine hivemind endless information. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: http...
Jun 02, 2020•8 min
Episode Notes A thin metal wire, called an "eruv", is strung up and run around nearly the entirety of the island of Manhattan as a loophole to Jewish law to allow its robust Orthodox population to work on the Sabbath. Its been there for nearly 100 years and I bet you had no idea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Twitter http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 28, 2020•7 min
Episode Notes The most environmentally destructive organism to ever grace the face of our fragile planet, was a Pennsylvanian chemist named Tom. The crazy and horrifying tale of unintended consequences concerning the career of Thomas Midgley, Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas \_Midgley\_Jr. www.instragram.com/wikiwalkspodcast http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 26, 2020•8 min
Episode Notes The longest commercial flights ever recorded were nightmarish 32 hour journeys from Australia to Sri Lanka via a hollowed out sea plane flown through two different sunrises to avoid the Japanese navy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The \_Double\_Sunrise http://wikiwalks.net https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 21, 2020•8 min
Episode Notes In 1965, a hefty young Scottish lad, in his quest to lose some pounds, decided to just be done with food. Like, completely. He didn't put another bite in his mouth for 382 days, and lived to see his goal weight. The incredible fast of Angus Barbieri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus \_Barbieri%27s\_fast www.instragram.com/wikiwalkspodcast http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 19, 2020•5 min
Episode Notes Fritz Haber was a brilliant mind who is considered "the father chemical warfare," but also made discoveries in agriculture that are believed to have prevented the starvation of over a billion people. The poisoner's paradox is a road littered with tragedy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Haber www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 14, 2020•8 min
Episode Notes In 1896, a marketing stunt from the braintrust at the Katy Railroad pits two 35-ton locomotives against each other in a 50mph head-on collision in the pop-up town of Crush, Texas. And of course, this giant crash went horribly awry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,_Texas www.instragram.com/wikiwalkspodcast http://wikiwalks.net Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 11, 2020•6 min
Episode Notes Have you ever wondered why there are so many foreign auto makers on the road when it comes to sports cars, sedans, coupes, etc...but when it comes to pickup trucks, its mostly American produced vehicles? Well, there's a reason. And its because the only thing we do better than trucks is: frozen chicken https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 08, 2020•7 min
Episode Notes "Mad" Jack Churchill was a British hero and legend during the second World War who would storm the beaches playing the bagpipes while swinging his sword above his head, and recorded the only kill of the war with a longbow. Why haven't 200 movies been made about this guy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 07, 2020•8 min
Episode Notes Two stories of honorable men meeting very different ends. The tragic tale of Dirk Willems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Willems https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks
May 04, 2020•4 min
Episode Notes One Canadian lawyer's death lead to the birth of hundreds of babies in Depression-ravaged Toronto. This attorney had both a rock solid will and a twisted sense of humor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great \_Stork\_Derby https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 04, 2020•5 min
Episode Notes Louis the XIV's swollen backside changed how surgery is performed, made diapers cool in public, and gave us the British national anthem. This story is not geared towards younger listeners, so you might want to skip this if you've got youngins with you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis \_XIV\_of\_France https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 03, 2020•7 min
Episode Notes President John Tyler...born in 1790...has two living GRANDSONS. In 2020. A quick walk through the insane progeny of one of our earliest presidents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tyler https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks...
May 02, 2020•4 min
Episode Notes Here's a quick walk through America's only remaining metric highway! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_19 https://www.instagram.com/wikiwalkspodcast Support Wiki Walks by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/wikiwalks
May 01, 2020•3 min
