Episodes
443
Oct. 8, 2025
Broadcast signal intrusion
A broadcast signal intrusion is the hijacking of broadcast signals of radio, television stations, cable television broadcast feeds or satellite signals without permission or licence. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.
442
Oct. 1, 2025
"Rube" Waddell
George Edward "Rube" Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American in (MLB). A , he played for 13 years, with the , , and in the , as well as the and in the . Born in , and raised in Prospect, Pennsylvania, Waddell was elected to...
441
Sept. 24, 2025
History's Most Expensive Party
The 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire, officially known as the 2,500-year celebration of the Empire of Iran (: جشنهای ۲۵۰۰ ساله شاهنشاهی ایران, : Jašn-hây-e 2500 sale’ šâhanšâhi Irân), was hosted...
440
Sept. 17, 2025
ChatGPT convinced a guy that he's a superhero
Over 21 days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced that he was a real-life superhero. We analyzed the conversation. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/technology/ai-chatbots-delusions-chatgpt.html
439
Sept. 10, 2025
Victorian Mummy Mania and Sundry Weirdness
Mummia, mumia, or originally mummy referred to several different preparations in the , from "mineral " to "powdered human ". It originated from mūmiyā "a type of resinous found in and used curatively" in , which was translated as pissasphaltus...
438
Sept. 3, 2025
The Vasa
Vasa (previously Wasa) (Swedish pronunciation: ) is a Swedish built between 1626 and 1628. The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 m (1,400 yd) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. She fell into...
437
Aug. 27, 2025
Exxon Valdez
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a major that occurred in 's on March 24, 1989. The spill occurred when , an oil owned by , bound for , California, struck 's , 6 mi (9.7 km) west of at 12:04 a.m. The tanker more than 10 million...
436
Aug. 20, 2025
How I Survived a Wedding in a Jungle That Tried to Eat Me Alive
https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/jungle-wedding/
435
Aug. 13, 2025
Olestra / Olean
Olestra (also known by its brand name Olean) is a that adds no metabolizable calories to products. It has been used in the preparation of otherwise high-fat foods, thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content. The (FDA) approved olestra for...
434
Aug. 6, 2025
Pluto
Pluto (: 134340 Pluto) is a in the , a ring of . It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the . It is the largest known by volume by a small margin, but is less massive than . Like other Kuiper belt objects,...
July 31, 2025
Patreon Bonus Episode Teaser - July Bonus - My Immortal Fan Fiction
This is a teaser episode of our Patreon Bonus Episode. This is the first few minutes of that particular episode to let non-patrons sample that content. You can become a patron here: http://patreon.com/citationpod
433
July 30, 2025
Defenestration
Defenestration (from de fenestrā) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a . The term was coined around the time of an in in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the . This was done in "good Bohemian style", referring to...
432
July 23, 2025
Moving Day
Moving Day was a tradition in dating back to times and lasting until after . On February 1, sometimes known as "Rent Day", landlords would give notice to their tenants what the new rent would be after the end of the...
431
July 16, 2025
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced",[1] with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature".[2] Twain's novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884),[3] with the latter often called the "Great American Novel". He also wrote A Connecticut Ya...
430
July 9, 2025
The Juniper Tree
"The Juniper Tree" (also "The Almond Tree"; : Von dem Machandelboom) is a German published in by the in in 1812 (KHM 47). The story contains themes of , , and and is...
July 2, 2025
Optograms and Wife Salves
Optography is the process of viewing or retrieving an optogram, an image on the retina of the eye. A belief that the eye "recorded" the last image seen before death was widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was a frequent plot device in fiction of the time, to the extent that police photographed the victims' eyes in several real-life murder investigations, in case the theory was true. The concept has been repeatedly debunked as a forensic method.
428
June 25, 2025
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a military action undertaken by British against Russian forces during the in the , resulting in many casualties to the cavalry. On 25 October 1854, the Light Brigade, led...
427
June 18, 2025
The Barkley Marathons - The Immortal Horizon - Part 2
The Barkley Marathons is an held each year in in , United States. Described as "The Race That Eats Its Young", it is known for its extreme difficulty, purposefully difficult application process, and many...
426
June 11, 2025
The Barkley Marathons - The Immortal Horizon
The Barkley Marathons is an held each year in in , United States. Described as "The Race That Eats Its Young", it is known for its extreme difficulty, purposefully difficult application process, and...
425
June 4, 2025
Operation Channel Fireball & Operation Fantasia
Psychological warfare ( PSYWAR ), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations ( PsyOp ), has been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations ( MISO ), Psy Ops, political warfare , "Hearts and Minds", and propaganda . [1] [2] The term is used "to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people". [3]
May 28, 2025
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong is a series and created by the Japanese game designer for . It follows the adventures of , a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the of apes. include the original trilogy by ; the Donkey Kong Country series by and ; and...
423
May 26, 2025
Fax Machines - RERELEASE
We had errors with our podcast service provider and they released another show on our feed. We are still fielding questions regarding people not having access to last weeks show so we are rereleasing it. If you missed last week's show becuase the podcast on that feed was wrong, here it is again. If you heard our podcast last week - this is nothing new. Sorry for the snafu. Fax (short for facsimile ), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile ), is the telephon...
423
May 21, 2025
Fax Machines
Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile), is the transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The...
422
May 14, 2025
Ruby Ridge
The Ruby Ridge standoff was the siege of a cabin occupied by the Weaver family in , in August 1992. On August 21, deputies of the (USMS) came to arrest under a for his failure to appear on federal firearms charges after he was given the wrong court...