This week the unexpected meets the obscure as we uncover several stories of wartime and daredevil history. First, we meet Sergeant Bill, the heroic Canadian goat of WW1 who saved the lives of three soldiers during battle. He suffered from trench foot, shrapnel, shell shock, and was gassed with the allied soldiers fighting at Ypres. He survived four and a half years at war, returning to Canada a hero. Next, we head to Niagara Falls and meet Lagara the cat, the first creature to survive a barrel ride over Horseshoe Falls. Along the way we visit several famous daredevils, including Annie Edson Taylor, the first person over the falls. We meet Charles Blondin the famous French funambulist who braved the high wire over the Niagara River 300 times. We visit Charles Stevens, the demon barber of Bedminster, and Bobby Leech, famous English daredevil whose death was as strange as his life. Come meet some of history’s boldest animals and a group of wonderful weirdos who dared so much that we can’t stop talking about them a century and a half later.
The Real Scorpion King
The Disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde
Escape from the Amazon
A Victorian Murder Most Foul
Shackleton in 30 Minutes(ish)
Stealing the Mona Lisa
The Shark Attacks of 1916
Bessie Coleman: A Legend in Flight
Historical Oddities Part 2: The Incredible Afterlife of Outlaw Elmer McCurdy and the London Bridge of Arizona
Historical Oddities Part 1: Frank Hayes, the Unsinkable Violet Jessop, and Jack the Incredible Baboon
The History of Ghosts at Christmas
Stealing and Stealing Back the Stone of Destiny
Clever Hans: The Horse That Outsmarted Everyone
Once Dead, Twice Buried Part 2: A Short History on Being Buried Alive
Once Dead, Twice Buried Part 1: A History of Death Tests and Safety Coffins
A Strange Experiment: Dr. William Beaumont and the 'Guinea Pig' of Mackinac Island.
Leadbelly Part 5: Death of a Legend
Leadbelly Part 4: Angola, John Lomax, and a Song for the Governor
Leadbelly Part 3: Music and Murder
Leadbelly Part 2: Fugitive King of the 12 Sting Guitar
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