The Internet Says it’s True

The Challenger Disaster and Big Bird

One of America's favorite children's characters and Sesame Street resident, Big Bird, was almost on board the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle during its disastrous mission in 1986. In this episode, we tell three stories: one about Big Bird, one about the Challenger, and one about how the two almost came together. Then Jim Henson fan Eric Dittelman joins us for the quick quiz!

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Carol Spinney portraying Big Bird

Henson's original sketch of Big Bird

The Crew of STS-51-L Challenger Space Shuttle Mission. McAuliffe is pictured standing second from left.

Origin of the Blaster: Han Solo's Weapon in Star Wars

Did you know Han Solo's iconic blaster, the "DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol" in Star Wars was actually based on a handgun used by the Nazis? In this episode, we talk about the Mauser C96 Pistol, the origin of a few interesting Star Wars props and I quiz Comedian, Writer and Producer, Jay Black who is a much larger Star Wars nerd than I ever knew. This is a good one!

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The Blastech DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol


The Mauser C96 "Broom Handle" 9mm with attached case as shoulder stock

Stupid Contagion: The Limping Ladies of London

Upper-class ladies in Victorian Era England put on a fake limp as a fashion statement. It was just one of many ways they emulated the beautiful Alexandra of Denmark, Princess of Wales who went on to become Queen of England, wife of King Edward VII. In this episode, we talk about the "Alexandra Limp," some other stupid fashion contagions and then we quiz Dan R Morris from the "Tracing the Path" podcast. 

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Visit Dan R Morris's Podcast "Tracing the Path" at http://tracingthepath.com

In France, King Louis the Fourteenth reigned from 1643 until his death in 1715. He was known as “The Sun King” or “Louis the Great.” And the guy had butt problems. Specifically an anal fistula. Listen - don’t google that. Just understand, it’s a butt problem. And at this point in history, physicians didn’t perform surgeries where they cut into people. But barbers had blades they used to cut hair, so a barber named Charles Francois Felix created a special blade-like tool that he called “The Royal Probe” and used it to perform a surgery on the Sun King to cure him of his anal fistula. It was a huge success, Louis was fistula-free and the result is that his courtiers and subjects who wanted to appear king-like tried to get the surgery too - whether they had the ailment or not! Even people who didn’t get the surgery wrapped their butts in swaddles to appear as if they’d gotten the surgery. 

That’s maybe the grossest example of a monarch becoming a trend-setter. Cleopatra had all of the upper-class women in Rome wearing their hair in a bun at the back of their neck, and wearing eyeliner. If you know the rule about men’s three-button suit coats? You know, Sometimes, always never? Meaning you never button the bottom button on a suit coat? That goes back to King Edward the seventh when he was Prince of Wales and he was too fat to button the bottom button. It started a trend that exists today. 

So I guess it’s not surprising that a trend started by a monarch had women walking irregularly. 

Let’s go back to the guy who couldn’t button the button. England’s King Edward the Seventh. His wife was Alexandra of Denmark, so she became Princess of Wales, then Queen of England. She was a beautiful woman, she was known to be very charming and joyful person. When her 3rd child was born, she was stricken with rheumatic fever and almost died. After the birth, she had to use walking sticks to get around, and after a year, had began to walk again without the crutches and - for the rest of her life - had a permanent limp.

Alexandra of Denmark had already become a trend-setter as Princess of Wales. She was a huge fashion influencer and the women in England would copy everything she wore. She had a small scar on her neck from a childhood surgical procedure and she often wore choker collars and jewelry high on her neck to cover the scar. English women started wearing similar style chokers. And -just as they had been influenced and tried to mimic royalty before, they did so with her. Even going so far as to imitate her permanent limp. 

Here’s a quote from an 1869 Edition of the North British Mail newspaper: "Taking my customary walk the other day, observant of men, women and things, I met three ladies. They were all three young, all three good-looking, and all three lame! At least, such was my impression, seeing as they all carried handsome sticks and limped; but, on looking back, as everyone else did, I could discover no reason why they should do so.”

It was the “Alexandra Limp” and it caught on like wildfire. A faked limp that was put on by women in the upper-class areas of London in order to appear more like Alexandra of Denmark. Women would walk with a pronounced limp and go so far as to use a cane that they didn’t need. They didn’t have any ailment. They faked it. And in order to do so, they started wearing shoes of two different types - one high heel, one low. 

The writer in the North British Mail continued, “"A monstrosity has made itself visible among the female promenaders in Princes Street. It is as painful as it is idiotic and ludicrous.”

But for shoemakers, they saw an opportunity. They began selling pairs of women’s shoes with mismatched heels, so that walking in them would make the wearer hobble. 

There is a happy ending to this story. Fads, by definition, fade away and get replaced with something else and that’s the story with the Alexandra Limp. Women of London could soon walk normal again. That is, until the next fad. As the Limp went out of style for ladies of London, a popular fashion journal reported the following: “The Alexandra Limp is to be discontinued forthwith. The skirt of the season, we are informed, is to cling closely round the feet, in consequence whereof ladies will be obliged to walk as if their feet….were tied together.

A Cannonball to the Stomach: The Story of Frank Richards

Frank “Cannonball Richards” became famous for an incredible act where he would stand in front of a cannon and have a 100 lb. cannonball shot into his stomach. In this episode, we talk about the development of this talent and then quiz Comedian and Improvisor Joel Savage!

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In 1887, Frank Anson Richards was born in a Kansas town called Minneapolis to Richard and Ellen Richards. 

As a young man, he fought in World War I and at some point, realized he had the ability to take tremendous amounts of force to his abdomen. How much? Apparently he figured out that he could take a punch at full force to the stomach and not be affected. 

He thought he was on to something, so after the war, he entered the Vaudeville Circuit with his iron-clad gut. He would allow people to pay their entry fee to punch him in the stomach. Even world-famous boxing heroes like Heavyweight Champion Boxers Jack Dempsey and Jess Willard punched Richard in the stomach at full force.

His Vaudeville act was success. And if you aren’t familiar with Vaudeville, it was a series of performers who would all perform separate acts together on the same bill and often would travel around doing shows in the late 1800s and early 1900s. You could pay one fee and see all these acts. And Frank Richard’s contribution to the show was to show off the strength of his amazing iron stomach. He would ask people to punch him with all their might and it wouldn’t phase him. The act evolved into more elaborate stunts. Frank would lie on the ground and have people line up in front of his body. One by one, they’d get their turn to jump on his abdomen. He’d stand while someone ran a battering ram into him. Then, he’d get struck with a 2x4. As a finale, he’d find the biggest man in the room and allow that man to swing an eighteen pound sledgehammer into his stomach.

Many people have seen the famous act of a person being fired from a cannon. It’s a feat that’s been performed in circuses and festivals all over the world. Well in the 1920s Frank Richards had an act with a cannon that was a little different. Rather than being fired from one, Frank Richards had a cannon fired at him. Like into his stomach. And I’ve looked around everywhere. This type of act had never been done before and - believe it or not - has never been done since. It was so popular and unique, he soon became known as “Cannonball Richards.”

Here’s how it went. The cannon would be set up and loaded with a one-hundred pound cannon ball and Richards would stand in front of it, wearing eye goggles and a wrap around his belly - only 10 feet away. The fuse was lit, sparks would fly, and the cannon would fire with a big plume of smoke and Richards would take the hit directly to the belly. It became so famous, newsreels of the stunt were spread far and wide as moving pictures became a popular medium. He would tell the newspapers he could only do the stunt for two shows a day. More than that was too painful. 

 

But here’s the thing that stuck with me when I read about this. I’ve seen photos of this famous piece of armor from the Battle of Waterloo. It’s in the Army Museum in Paris, France and it’s a Napoleonic Breastplate from a French Cavalry soldier. There’s a clear hole through the front and the back of the breast plate where a British cannonball fired through. It belonged to either François-Antoine or his brother - history really isn’t sure - but whoever was wearing it died on June 18, 1815 and it’s pretty clear evidence that you can’t survive a cannonball hit to the chest.

That led me to do further research and learn that the cannonball stunt by Frank Richards was just that - a stunt. The ball was real. It was actually 100 pounds. But the cannon was spring-loaded to propel the ball and release a cloud of smoke, but it wasn’t really being fired by gun-powder. The cannonball would receive just enough velocity to hit him in the stomach - and that it did. Any normal person would be knocked over and injured doing the stunt. But it’s important to note nonetheless - it wasn’t a real cannon.

 

It didn’t matter. The stunt was so wildly popular, the newsreel footage has lived on. It’s been featured all over popular culture. The slow-motion clip of him getting hit but that cannonball and the skin rippling black away from the impact is a popular stock footage clip used in everything. He was featured on the cartoon “Freakazoid!” And “The Fairly Oddparents” and was even referenced in Seinfeld. A whole episode of the Simpson’s had a bit about it where Homer performs the stunt. If you’re a Van Halen fan and have the album Van Halen three, you’ve seen it. That’s Frank Richards on the cover. Although he died in 1969 at the age of 81, Frank Cannonball Richards developed an act so original and unique, that 100 years later, we still recognize his image.

Evel Knievel: The Naming of a Legend

The story of how legendary daredevil Evel Knievel got his name is one of those tales you hear and don't believe because it's just too good. In this episode, we talk about Knievel, how he got his name and quiz Celtic Magician Daniel GreenWolf.

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Harry Kellar: The Real Wizard of Oz

Legend has it that Harry Kellar, a man who was once the most well-known magician in the world, was the inspiration behind the Wizard of Oz character in the popular L. Frank Baum children's books. In this episode, we learn a little bit about Harry Kellar, a little bit about the Wizard of Oz and a little bit about my wife, Alison!

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The Invention of WiFi and Hedy Lamarr

Was film star Hedy Lamarr responsible for the invention of wireless internet? In this episode, we find out about her amazing (and somewhat tragic) life and find out if the internet says it's true! Then we play a quiz game with Cameron Zvara!

 

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Mac and Cheese: Thomas Jefferson's Fault?

Apparently there's a legend that Founding Father and 3rd United States President, Thomas Jefferson introduced Macaroni and Cheese to America. Since I had never heard this before, I take to the Internet in this episode to see if it's true. Then I invite The Albino Rhino, Matt Gwinn, on the show to play a quick quiz!

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Who was John Doe? A History of the Generic Name

We're all familiar with the use of "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" as a placeholder name or when an identity is unknown. But where did the name come from? This week, we do a deep dive into the history of John Doe and find out who he really was - then do a quick quiz with podcaster Wize Otero! 

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Overthrowing the Government: The Insurrection in Wilmington

There has been one successful coup d'état in American History - a successful violent overthrowing of a city government in 1898. Sadly, it's a story of violence, politics and white supremacy.  In this episode, we explore an unpleasant chapter of America's history that not many people know and then lighten the mood with a quiz at the end.

Bonus content is available at patreon.com/michaelkent