29 Aug / 2017

It was the solar eclipse!

Hello Squeamers!

Your next regularly scheduled and eagerly anticipated podcast episode from Horrific History was almost ready for publishing when we suddenly had some very unexpected technical difficulties. Since our last episode was about Harbingers of Doom: Celestial Events and Superstitions and two of our volunteer staff went to see the event in its totality…. we’re just going to go with the superstitions of old and say the eclipse somehow fried our hard drive. We’re in the process of trying to do data recovery so we can get you your episode as quickly as possible, but our best guess at the moment is that the Chinese dragon or dog that “ate the sun” also ate our latest episode.

So send us some positive vibes, tell us your favorite technological superstitions and give us your best recommendations for inexpensive data recovery programs online (when the computers won’t even recognize the bricked external drive) and we’ll get you your next episode as soon as we can. Or, if you’re feeling really generous, you can go to our Support Us page, click the donate button, and help us raise the funds to pay professionals to fix our equipment since we don’t have a computer guru on staff!

Keep squeaming! We’ll be back in your podcatcher just as soon as we can!

Slideshow photo credit: Ömer Ünlü Old Wehicle via photopin (license)

Blog post photo credit: Horrific History Podcast

22 Aug / 2017

Help Us Grow!

Eric with his tektite!

We have so many ideas for what we want to be able to give our listeners: weekly (free) episodes, fun bonus visual content for our social media and website (like the original photos we were able to include with this post), swag and merchandise (including, eventually, gag gifts like Tzi-Clips-I-Pro Supplements), fun bonus audio content, and even some personalized items like ringtones and opportunities to communicate directly with Eric and Curtis! Unfortunately, we just don’t have the capability to expand to those areas quite yet.

Horrific History Podcast is still a passion project, brought to you by […]

8 Aug / 2017

Dinner with a Cannibal?

It seems like the advice, “If ever you are invited to dinner with a cannibal, first ensure you are not on the menu,” would be foregone conclusion; in fact, unless you are particularly adventurous in your culinary tastes, you might be wise to also simply claim to be a vegetarian. However, social and dining etiquette isn’t exactly what we have for your squeamish fix today. Instead we want to share with you something we found in the NPR archives; we discovered a really great interview of author Carole Travis-Henikoff about her book Dinner with a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind’s Oldest Taboo. You can find it linked here.

If you liked our Have a Friend for Lunch: Winter Cannibalism or Mementos of You: Human Trophies episodes we think you’ll love this!

Now, if fiction is more to your tastes, you might find Dinner With the Cannibal Sisters more to your liking.

Until next week, no squeam allowed!

Slideshow photo credit: Another Pint Please… Strip Steak on Weber Summit via photopin (license)

3 Aug / 2017

Patrons Get Perks!

We’re on Patreon!

At long last, Horrific History Podcast is now on Patreon! While our main squeam-filled episodes will always remain free, if we can raise enough financial support from our listeners each month we’ll have the means to develop more merchandise, expand to weekly free episodes, as well as create bonus episodes and content rewards available only to our Patreon supporters!

Depending upon the level of support pledged, a Patron (or Squeamer) can look forward to awesome stuff like: […]

27 Jul / 2017

What is Patreon?

If you’ve been listening to Horrific History Podcast episodes, you’ve probably been hearing advertisements for our Patreon. But, what exactly is it? The short answer is: it’s a way for you to support our program financially while receiving access to special patron-only perks! But, more specifically, it’s a way for you to get behind the scenes access while helping us to grow and offer you more fun content…

Become a Patron!

If you’re not quite sure what this “Patreon thing” is all about or how it works, this video is for you!

Slideshow photo credit: Gamma Man The Black Salve Experiment. Tumors two and three. via photopin (license)

11 Jul / 2017

Heads, You Lose!

Were Aztecs ahead of their time when recruiting heads to make their skull tower? Contrary to researchers’ initial assumptions, they didn’t seem to discriminate on which skulls to use based on gender or age! There’s no consensus yet on how this structure fits into the practice of taking human trophies, but at the very least building materials is a novel way to preserve a memento of you.

Learn more about this exciting archeological find here, just remember…. # nosqueamallowed!

Photo credit for slideshow image and blog post: REUTERS/Henry Romero

27 Jun / 2017

Ghost of the Manhattan Project

Fukushima isn’t the only nuclear site in the news lately! The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, only a couple of hours away from Horrific History Podcast’s headquarters in Washington State, has its own set of problems! A collapsed railway tunnel and radiation leak are just the start of the problems anticipated for the future, as the crumbling infrastructure at Hanford meets steep budget cuts in the cleanup of the toxic site. You can learn more in the linked article. Hanford was pivotal in the development of the first atomic bombs, and part of the Manhattan Project covered in For a Healthy Glow: Radiation Poisoning. #NoSqueamAllowed

Slideshow Photo Credit: Great Beyond Day 210/365 – The Fine Print is 10 feet tall via photopin (license)

Blog Post Photo Credit: Andras, Fulop Radiation Area 9606_814 via photopin (license)

30 May / 2017

Radium Girls

The Horrible Case of the Shining Women

You may remember hearing about the Radium Girls in our For a Healthy Glow: Radiation Poisoning episode, and we’ve added a great resource to our Store for those of you who want to learn more about their important part in history! There’s a physical book, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women, for those bibliophiles who need something to hold onto.

But for you audiophiles who prefer to absorb knowledge through listening to audio books or podcasts, we found […]

16 May / 2017

A High Price for Passage

What is a rite of passage for your young one worth when you’ll be paying it off for years to come? A timely follow up to our recent episode Black Broth and Broken Vines, the linked article is an exercise in contrasts. #NoSqueamAllowed!

Photo credits: The copyright for all photos in this post belong to the photographer, Delphine Blast.

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2 May / 2017

Mercury in uncomfortable places

It should come as no surprise to listeners of One Night With Venus Part 1 and Part 2 that a syringe full of mercury injected into a vagina was considered top-of-the-line medical treatment in the 16th Century. How often do you get to own such an, um, penetrating insight into the subject? Remember: No squeam allowed!

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Slideshow photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

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