Eclectic Curiosities: Recent Episodes
Sarah
On December 6th, 1917, two ships in the Halifax Harbour collided and caused an explosion. This explosion remains one of the largest ever in human history. Nearly 2,000 people died, and a further 9,000 were injured within minutes.
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With the world now just emerging from a deadly pandemic, todays topic is very relevant to our discussions on public safety, quarantine and the greater good. Mary Mallon, later known as the infamous typhoid Mary, was the first recorded case of being an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid. Her subsequent arrest remains relevant even over 100 years later.
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The Irish Potato Famine was one of the greatest events of mass starvation in the Modern age. Not only did over 1 million people die as a result of starvation, but Irelands population was irrevocably changed with nearly 25% of the population dying, or emigrating to other countries. England showcased their colonial might, and refused to help the Irish, a people that they would have been happier without.
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Today I will be discussing five prevalent myths that occur in history. Were corsets horrific torture devices? Did the man who commissioned the building of the Taj Mahal really cut off the hands of the workers who made it? What about Marie Antoinette, did she really tell people to eat cake? You'll have to listen to learn.
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The year was 1932, and the Australian army was up against their toughest foes yet. The enemy was merciless, and had no weakness. No amount of preparation could be enough. Even a machine gun was no match for it. I’m talking of course, of the Great Emu War.
Our final part looking into the CIA project, MK ULTRA. We'll cover the end of the project, and just a bit of the aftermath that Sidney Gottlieb had to deal with.
This week we continue our exploration into MK Ultra. I'll cover just some of the horrific LSD experiments, the mysterious death of Frank Olsen, and a potential enemy to Sidney Gottlieb's experiments.
MK ULTRA was the code name give to the CIA's attempt to unlock the secrets to brain washing and mind control. Using LSD along with other drugs, they secretly carried out years of torture and experiments all around the world. Buckle up folks this is a long one. In part one I explain the founding of the CIA, the main actors in these experiments, and the numerous projects and operations that lead to the start of MK ULTRA.
In order to further medical science, men would creep through graveyards at night, and pry open the coffins of the recently deceased. They would rid the body of jewelry and clothing, and cart it away to a doctor to dissect, al in the cover of darkness. It sounds like the plot to a B-grade horror movie, but in history this was a common practice. This episode covers a brief history of body snatching in both the UK and the United States.
Canada has a long history of white settlers excluding anyone who wasn’t white, to an insane degree. In one such example we have the Chinese head tax, introduced in 1885, and the outright ban on Chinese immigration to Canada in 1923. Only decades later would this be overturned, and nearly 80 years would pass before any type of apology was given.
You may have seen posts circulating tumblr and twitter about it, the 1904 olympic marathon. At the time it was dubbed a "Man killing" event. And while no one died, it was a marathon to remember.
On March 26th, 1911 a devastating fire ripped through the Triangle Waist Factory, killing 146 people, and changed the life of workers in New York forever.
Huge thank you to Cornell University for their wonderful memorial site which I used for most of my information, and I highly encourage you check out.
https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/story/introduction.html
For almost all of human history we have used mostly natural pigments and dyes, some of which are still in use today. However, many of these natural pigments are poisonous or have dark histories attached to them. Our pursuit of the best colours have cost lives.
On May 23, 1914, the Komagata Maru reached Vancouver’s harbour carrying 376 prospective South Asian immigrants who hoped to settle in Canada. The passengers, however, would never make that dream come true and instead be forced back to India.
Tik Tok and Twitter went nuts in July of 2020 saying that Adolf Hitler invented sex dolls. That's certainly not the truth, so what is?