The Icelander
a tale of public art, politics, and racism
Why, exactly, was there a statue of a Viking explorer in Philadelphia? And why isn't it there now?
Categories: Arts & Culture, Daring & Epic Journeys, Series 5
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"Presented by #13"
Our intrepid #13 is one of the most dedicated explorers of forgotten knowledge and is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being you’ll ever know in your life. (He is also responsible for updating the website so take anything you read here with a grain of salt.)
“I’m the Naughty Boy.”
you love science — but probably not nearly as much as Bayard Peakes did
On July 14, 1952 a mysterious man walked into the office of the American Physical Society and murdered secretary Eileen Fahey for no apparent reason.
Categories: Science & Nature, Series 5
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Errata #1
in which we own up to some mistakes
Errata for Cold Hard Cash; Hold Fast What Thou Hast; Spirit Princess; Milking It for All It's Worth; Pleadings from Asbury Park and The Centers of All Things.
Categories: Bonus Episodes, Errata
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We Live Inside
greetings from the inside of the Hollow Earth
Dr. Cyrus Reed Teed may have been a madman, or the Messiah, but only he was bold enough to tell the truth: that we live on the inside of a hollow Earth.
Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, Most Popular, People & Places, Series 4
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He Whooped to See Them Burn
Simon Girty (1741-1818) -- renegade and traitor, or man of principle?
Was "white savage" Simon Girty (1741-1818) a renegade and traitor, or a man of principle? We reexamine his history and try to figure out what made him tick.
Categories: Biography, History, Most Popular, Series 4
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The Die of Tomorrow, Today
a love poem to the greatest die you'll ever own (and never use)
In 1982 a Baltimore hobby store gave the world a bold new innovation in dice... One that hardly anyone would use. Let's sing the praises of the mighty d30!
Categories: Man's Amazing Inventions, Series 4, Sports & Leisure
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French Leave
a baseball superstar, an irate owner, and a clever workaround
In 1902 baseball player Nap Lajoie was prohibited by law from entering the state of Pennsylvania. How did this weird state of affairs come to pass?
Categories: Series 4, Sports & Leisure
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Pleadings from Asbury Park
a fake marriage, a dead baby, and 21 absinthe frappes
The amazing story of Laura Biggar, the Anna Nicole Smith of 1901, and her crazy plot to steal an inheritance that may or may not have been rightfully hers.
Categories: Biography, History, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Least Popular, Series 4
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The Hot House
refining radium in the home, for fun and profit
Lots of people have dabbled with strange home businesses -- but only one of them set up a radium refining facility in the basement of his suburban duplex.
Categories: Man's Amazing Inventions, Most Popular, Science & Nature, Series 3
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A Menace to the West
David Grundman goes shooting at a stationary target -- and breaks off more than he can handle
When a man fights a cactus, you should bet on the cactus.
Categories: Series 3, Wild Card, Wonders of the Natural World
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Spirit Princess
one woman, thirty aliases, forty years and too many crimes to count
The greatest and most notorious Spiritualist swindler of all time was a woman from Kentucky who looked a bit like Lola Montez (if you squinted).
Categories: Biography, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Series 3
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Death from Above by Chocolate
sometimes a story seems too good to be true because it is
In 1923, a plane flew over downtown Pittsburgh, dropped Baby Ruth candy bars on the crowd below, and caused widespread panic... or did it?
Categories: Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Series 3, Wild Card
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