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What happens when ordinary words get stretched until they stop helping us understand anything?
In this episode of An Ounce, a blueberry muffin becomes problematic, violent, gaslighting, iconic, and maybe even an existential emergency. Which is funny… until you realize how often real conversations work the same way.
This is not about banning strong words. Some things really are crises. Some things really are dangerous, harmful, traumatic, or catastrophic.
The question is what happens when charged words stop carrying meaning and start carrying emotion.
So before reacting to the loudest word in the sentence, maybe ask: what job is that word doing?

Stories That Outsmart the Obvious.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Reclaiming Your Mind in the Age of Outrage, which looks more deeply at inflated definitions, emotional framing, and sophistry:
https://youtu.be/Ma7PDZ5PFhM

Chapters
00:00 — The sentence that may be the problem
00:52— A muffin walks into a bakery
03:02 — When charged words become verdicts
03:27 — The Word Inflation Bureau
04:02 — Attention rewards inflation
04:59 — Screwdrivers and stretched words
06:27 — Better questions
07:09 — The balloon labeled meaning
07:45— So here’s An Ounce
NOTE: Language changes over time—that’s normal. This episode is about what happens when emotionally charged words are stretched so broadly that they become less precise and less useful in everyday conversation.

References
Language, Meaning, and Clarity
George Orwell. Politics and the English Language (1946).
https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/
Language Change & Semantics
Semantic Change (overview)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change
Language Change (overview)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_change
Etymological Fallacy (why current meaning is not always original meaning)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymological_fallacy

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They survived war and prison camps. Then the boat taking them home became the next disaster. The Sultana explosion reveals how danger can look like progress when every choice carries risk.

They had survived the Civil War. They had survived prison camps. They were finally going home.

On April 27, 1865, the steamboat Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. More than a thousand people died, many of them recently released Union prisoners being transported home after the war.

But the Sultana disaster was not only a boiler explosion.

It was a disaster after the disaster — a recovery system under pressure. A damaged boiler. A rushed patch. A payment system that rewarded more passengers. A swollen river. Exhausted men with limited information and few good choices.

This episode looks beyond the obvious question of what failed inside the boiler and asks why so many risks stacked up without stopping the trip.

Sometimes the path that looks like hope can carry danger no one can see.

If this kind of story helps you see history a little differently, you’re welcome to subscribe and come along for the next one.

Chapters
00:00 — They Were Finally Going Home
00:32— The Sultana Disaster
01:31 — The Men Aboard
02:30 — Home as Safety
03:30 — Transit Thinking
04:44 — The Boat at Vicksburg
05:05 — Boiler Trouble
06:32 — Payment, Pressure, and Overcrowding
07:44 — The Swollen River
08:32 — The Impossible Choice
11:07 — Disaster After the Disaster
12:18 — The Explosion
14:03 — An Ounce

References
Library of Congress — Ill-fated Sultana, Helena, Arkansas, April 26, 1865
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013647457/
Library of Congress — Chronicling America: Sinking of the SS Sultana
https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-sinking-sultana
American Battlefield Trust — The Sultana Disaster
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/sultana-disaster
U.S. Coast Guard / MyCG — Sultana Fire: A maritime disaster that helped shape the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety mission
https://www.mycg.uscg.mil/News/Article/4166478/sultana-fire-a-maritime-disaster-that-helped-shape-the-coast-guards-marine-safe/
National Coast Guard Museum — “Written in Blood”: Maritime disasters that shaped the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Mission
https://nationalcoastguardmuseum.org/articles/written-in-blood/

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Communication, misunderstanding, context, and meaning are at the center of this An Ounce episode. We say “you know what I mean” all the time—but the message we send is not always the message that arrives.
Ordinary conversation can be funny, confusing, and surprisingly fragile. A child says “buy-doo.” A car window gets “rolled down.” Someone says “fine,” and suddenly the room becomes a historical mystery.
But misunderstanding is not always harmless.
In this episode, we look at how words carry less meaning than we think, and more assumption than we notice. From family conversations to workplace instructions, military phrases, locksmith work, and high-stakes communication, this story looks past the obvious to ask why meaning sometimes misses even when the words are completely on target.
An Ounce is about looking beyond the obvious to find the hidden structure underneath ordinary life, history, systems, and human behavior.
Sometimes the kindest, smartest, safest thing we can do is make sure the meaning actually arrived.

RECOMMENDED COMPANION EPISODE
The Tenerife disaster episode is a strong companion because it shows what can happen when communication, assumptions, timing, hierarchy, and incomplete shared understanding collide in a high-stakes environment.
Tenerife Airport Disaster episode - https://youtu.be/-nK6P5w8jC4

DRAFT TIMELINE / CHAPTERS
00:00 — Intro
00:13 — “You know what I mean”
00:54 — The words arrived, but the meaning did not
01:07 — The “buy-doo” problem
02:27 — When words carry history
03:35 — Would you get that?
04:37 — The mystery of “fine”
04:59 — When assumptions hide inside sentences
05:51 — Twelve feet of flight line
06:38 — Take a shot at it
07:49 — When the joke changes shape
07:58 — Context changes the meaning
08:17 — The private dictionary in your head
08:55 — When misunderstanding becomes high-stakes
10:33— Message sent, received, confirmed
11:25 — So here’s An Ounce

REFERENCES / SOURCE NOTES
This episode is primarily a reflective / pattern-based essay built from ordinary language, personal experience, and professional observation.
No external historical source is required for the main argument.
Source / context notes:
• Personal family communication examples
• Personal Air Force / workplace experience
• General professional principle: high-stakes communication often uses confirmation, repeat-back, or read-back practices to reduce misunderstanding
Suggested production note:
Because this is not a documentary episode, references may be listed as “source notes” rather than formal research citations.

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The Eastland Disaster remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in American history — yet most people have never heard of it. In 1915, the passenger ship SS Eastland rolled onto its side while tied to a dock in downtown Chicago. No storm. No collision. No iceberg. Just a routine day trip that suddenly became catastrophe.

But this story isn’t just about a shipwreck.

It’s about warning signs people slowly stop noticing… systems that appear safe because they continue functioning… and how ordinary routines can quietly hide dangerous instability.

In this Disaster File episode of An Ounce, we examine:
• The SS Eastland disaster
• The hidden impact of Titanic-era safety changes
• Why the ship may already have been unstable
• How “normal” conditions can disguise catastrophe
• And the unsettling psychology of systems that fail slowly

The Eastland Disaster killed more than 800 people in shallow water — within arm’s reach of rescue.

And almost nobody talks about it anymore.

If you enjoy thoughtful disaster history, hidden historical stories, maritime disasters, systems analysis, emergency management lessons, or stories that reveal deeper human patterns beneath major events, this episode is for you.

EastlandDisaster #Shipwreck #ChicagoHistory #DisasterFile #MaritimeHistory #Titanic #HistoricalDisasters #AnOunce

EastlandDisaster

#MaritimeHistory
#DisasterFile
#ChicagoHistory
#Shipwreck
#Titanic

CHAPTERS (Estimated)

00:00 — SS Eastland: Ship That Sank at the Dock
00:43 — The Things We Learn to Live With
01:50 — The SS Eastland: A Fun Day on the Water
03:02 — A Ship With a Reputation
04:02 — The Ghost of Titanic
05:46 — Permission to Trust
06:46 — The Morning of the Disaster
07:06 — The List

08:12— The Roll
09:10— Aftermath
09:37 — The Hidden Danger of “Normal”
10:34 — An Ounce

Recommended Companion Episode (for The Ship That Sank at the Dock — The Eastland Disaster)

The Warnings We Forgot — Even Though They Were Written in Stone

https://youtu.be/yxxa1_-nBSo

Why This Pairing Works

Both episodes explore disasters where warning signs existed long before the catastrophe arrived.

In The Eastland Disaster, people slowly adapted to instability because the ship kept functioning.

In The Warnings We Forgot, societies ignored physical reminders and historical knowledge because everyday life continued normally.

Both stories examine:

• normalized danger
• warning signs people stop emotionally reacting to
• hindsight clarity
• and how ordinary routines can quietly hide catastrophe

Neither disaster truly “came out of nowhere.”

Both were preceded by signals people slowly learned to live with.

REFERENCES

Eastland Historical Sources

Chicago History Museum — Eastland Disaster Collection
https://www.chicagohistory.org/

Encyclopedia of Chicago — Eastland Disaster
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/427.html

Eastland Disaster Historical Society
https://eastlanddisaster.org/

Library of Congress — Eastland Disaster Photographs and Records
https://www.loc.gov/

Britannica — SS Eastland
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastland

Systems Failure / Human Factors / Disaster Pattern References

Charles Perrow — Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies
https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691004129/normal-accidents

Diane Vaughan — The Challenger Launch Decision
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo22739523.html

NTSB / Human Factors Resources
https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/pages/default.aspx

FEMA — Emergency Management Institute (Human Factors / Disaster Response Concepts)
https://training.fema.gov/emi/

TAGS

Eastland Disaster, SS Eastland, Eastland shipwreck, Chicago disaster, Chicago history, maritime disaster, shipwreck history, forgotten disasters, disaster documentary, disaster file, maritime history, Titanic connection, Titanic safety changes, systems failure, human behavior, historical disaster, emergency management, hidden history, American disasters, ship sinking, 1915 disaster, Chicago River, shipwreck documentary, disaster analysis, operational drift, warning signs, human factors, catastrophe psychology, maritime catastrophe, disaster storytelling, An Ounce Podcast, disaster file series, history documentary, true disaster story, Eastland tragedy, normalized risk, risk management, safety systems, systems drift, industrial disasters, hidden structure history

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Human curiosity drives discovery, invention, and progress. But the same instinct that helps us learn can also put us in danger. Why do people keep looking when they should look away?
________________________________________
Curiosity built civilizations.
It helped create science, medicine, aviation, exploration, and countless discoveries that improved human life.
But curiosity has a shadow side.
In this episode of An Ounce, we explore how the same instinct that pushes us toward understanding can also lead us into danger. From childhood lessons and the Hindenburg disaster to real-world experiences as a first responder, this story examines why curiosity needs more than enthusiasm—it needs judgment.
Sometimes the desire to know becomes stronger than the desire to stay safe.
And sometimes "just one look" becomes a problem.
________________________________________
COMPANION EPISODE RECOMMENDATION
The Night We Counterattacked Venus — A True Story
https://youtu.be/n_xTQIBBaqM
Why:
Both episodes explore what happens when human beings act before they fully understand the larger system around them.
In The Dangerous Side of Curiosity, people pursue answers without always recognizing the risks.
In The Night We Counterattacked Venus, people attempted to solve a problem while operating with incomplete understanding of the consequences.
Both stories examine a familiar human pattern:
The desire to know, fix, or improve something before fully understanding what happens next.
________________________________________
If you enjoy stories about hidden consequences, human behavior, and looking beyond the obvious, consider subscribing.

Curiosity #HumanBehavior #Psychology #History #AnOuncePodcast

________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 Curiosity's Good Reputation
00:30 Curiosity’s Questions
01:09 Curiosity: Innocence and Temptation
02:09 The Hindenburg: Curiosity and Innovation make a misstep.
03:12 The Coin Has Two Sides
03:28 A First Responder's Lesson
03:36 The Accident After the Accident
04:01 Curiosity Versus Wisdom
04:44 An Ounce
________________________________________
REFERENCES
Hindenburg Disaster – Background and historical information
https://www.britannica.com/event/Hindenburg-disaster
National Air and Space Museum – Hindenburg history and aviation context
https://airandspace.si.edu
National Transportation Safety Board – Traffic safety and distracted driving information
https://www.ntsb.gov

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The deadliest disaster in aviation history was not caused by a mechanical failure… or even by the fog alone.

In 1977, two Boeing 747s collided on a runway at Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, killing 583 people. But the real story is far more unsettling. Visibility collapsed. Communication degraded. Assumptions survived. And piece by piece, an entire system drifted out of synchronization.

This episode examines how trained professionals, working inside a crowded and increasingly uncertain environment, slowly lost the same understanding of what was happening around them.

Not just a disaster story.
A lesson in how clarity quietly disappears.

If you enjoy thoughtful disaster analysis, hidden systems failures, aviation history, and stories that outsmart the obvious, subscribe and join us.

#Tenerife #AviationHistory #PlaneCrash #DisasterDocumentary #AnOunce

CHAPTERS / TIMELINE

00:00 — The Bomb That Started Everything
02:08 — Diversion to Tenerife
02:28 — An Airport Beyond Its Limits
04:31 — Fog and Fragmented Awareness
06:41 — Pressure Inside the Cockpit
08:16 — Assumptions Begin Taking Over
09:57 — Radio Confusion in the Fog
11:47 — “Is He Not Clear, Then?”
13:17 — Collision on the Runway
14:52 — The Lessons Written in Blood
16:47 — Not Just Fog
18:28 — An Ounce

COMPANION EPISODE RECOMMENDATION

The Attack That Wasn’t | When the System Was Wrong
https://youtu.be/tyhanM96jAY

Why:
Both episodes examine:

• systems degradation
• incomplete information
• dangerous assumptions
• professionals operating inside uncertainty
• catastrophic risk emerging from fragmented awareness

TAGS

Tenerife disaster, Tenerife airport disaster, deadliest aviation disaster, aviation history, plane crash documentary, KLM 4805, Pan Am 1736, Tenerife runway collision, aviation disaster analysis, aircraft collision, aviation documentary, disaster documentary, aviation safety, Crew Resource Management, CRM aviation, runway incursion, fog disaster, airport disaster, historical disasters, systems failure, communication failure, disaster analysis, airplane documentary, Boeing 747 disaster, Los Rodeos airport, An Ounce Podcast, aviation accidents, air traffic control, aviation mysteries, aviation tragedy

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He walked into court alive. The system said he was dead—and wouldn’t change its mind. Donald E. Miller Jr.’s real case reveals how systems can override reality. A chilling look at identity, records, and truth.
A man walks into court… alive.
But the system says he’s dead.
And the court agrees—with a catch.
This is the real story of Donald E. Miller Jr., a man who legally did not exist… even while standing in front of a judge.
A quiet look at how systems work, how errors spread, and what happens when reality and records no longer match.
________________________________________
If you enjoy stories that uncover the hidden logic behind everyday systems, you’re always welcome to subscribe.
________________________________________

AnOunce #TrueStory #History #LegalCase #SystemFailure

________________________________________
🕓 Chapters
00:00 — He Didn’t Exist
00:15 — Declared Dead
00:55 — Returns Alive
01:27 — The Proof Problem in Court
01:53 — The Loop
02:59 — Alive, But Not
03:39 — Legally Dead
04:16 — An Ounce
________________________________________
🔗 References
• Ohio case summary and reporting on Donald E. Miller Jr.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21858230
(Overview of the case and court ruling)
• Associated Press coverage of legal ruling
https://apnews.com/article/donald-miller-declared-dead-ohio
(Details on judge’s decision and timeline)
• Social Security / Death records system context
https://www.ssa.gov/dataexchange/request_dmf.html
(Background on death record systems)

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Millennium Bridge London wobble explained. Nothing broke. Nothing failed. And within hours… they shut it down. A real story about how normal behavior can create unexpected outcomes.

Nothing failed. No structural collapse. No design flaw.
And within hours… they shut it down.
The Millennium Bridge in London revealed something unexpected—not about engineering, but about people.
A quiet pattern. Unintentional. Unseen.
Until it wasn’t.
This episode explores how normal behavior—repeated and shared—can create outcomes no one planned.
And once you see it… you start noticing it everywhere.
👍 If you enjoy thoughtful, story-driven insights like this, you’re always welcome to subscribe.

History #Engineering #Psychology #humanbehaviorpsychology

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
________________________________________
00:00 Nothing Failed… So Why Shut It Down?
00:17 A Familiar Pattern?
00:55 The First Subtle Shift
00:48 Small Adjustments Begin
01:11 When It Starts to Spread
01:56 The Movement Becomes Shared
02:30 No One Was in Charge
02:39 They Had to Shut It Down
03:20 You’ve Seen This Before
03:34 An Ounce

References:
NORAD False Alarm Incident (1979 training tape incident)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NORAD_false_alarm_incident
U.S. Nuclear False Alarms Overview (Cold War incidents summary)
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2015-12-21/false-warnings-nuclear-war
Stanislav Petrov Incident (contrast case — human hesitation under uncertainty)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanislav-Petrov

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ICBM's incoming! Nuclear attack warning, military systems, was it a false alarm ... a near miss, or just Cold War tension—what happens when everything says “verified”… but it isn’t real?

For a few minutes, trained professionals were faced with what appeared to be a confirmed attack. The signals were clear. The data aligned. The situation demanded action.

But something didn’t feel right.

This episode explores a moment where hesitation mattered—and how even well-designed systems can lead us toward the wrong conclusion when certainty outpaces understanding.

If you enjoy stories that challenge assumptions and reveal hidden patterns, you’re always welcome here.

AnOunce #History #ColdWar #DecisionMaking #MilitaryHistory

________________________________________
Chapters
00:00 — A Signal That Couldn’t Be Ignored
00:23 — The Alert
00:48 — No Time to Be Wrong
01:26 — The Pause
01:59 — Two Possibilities
02:14 — Looking Again
02:25 — The Reveal
02:55 — An Ounce

References
NORAD False Alarm Incident (1979 training tape incident)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NORAD_false_alarm_incident
U.S. Nuclear False Alarms Overview (Cold War incidents summary)
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2015-12-21/false-warnings-nuclear-war
Stanislav Petrov Incident (contrast case — human hesitation under uncertainty)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanislav-Petrov

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A man lived in an airport for 18 years—not because he was trapped, but because the system lost him. Somehow, he did not exist; he fell off the grid, he disappeared. This true story reveals how documents, rules, and verification can erase a person in plain sight.
In 1988, Mehran Karimi Nasseri became stuck inside a Paris airport—not by force, but by paperwork. No arrest. No detention. Just a system that could no longer recognize him.
This episode explores what happens when identity depends on documentation—and what it means when that system fails.
If this made you think differently about the systems we rely on, you're always welcome to subscribe—or explore a few more stories like this.

________________________________________
⏱ CHAPTERS
00:00 — The man the system lost
00:32 — Feeling invisible — Identity erased
01:18 — No entry, no exit
01:50 — Life inside the terminal — Becoming part of the environment
02:49 — The system offers a way out — Why he stayed
03:20 — 18 years later
03:32 — The system didn’t fail—it continued
03:58 —An Ounce

________________________________________
🔗 REFERENCES (Plain URLs + Context)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehran_Karimi_Nasseri
→ Overview of Nasseri’s life and airport stay
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/05/world/europe/05airport.html
→ Coverage of his removal from the airport in 2006
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jul/06/france
→ Background on legal and bureaucratic situation
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63641360
→ Later-life updates and context

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He sold the Eiffel Tower—and got away with it. In 1925, a master con man convinced buyers it was being scrapped. This true story reveals how confidence scams work… and why no one reported it.
In one of history’s boldest cons, Victor Lustig didn’t just trick a man—he created a situation where the victim couldn’t afford to admit the truth. The result? A perfect confidence game that succeeded not just because of deception… but because of human nature.
This episode explores how trust is built, how opportunity can cloud judgment, and why sometimes the cost of admitting a mistake is greater than the loss itself.
If you enjoy thoughtful, true stories that reveal how we think—and how we get things wrong—consider subscribing and exploring more episodes from An Ounce.
If you value clear, honest storytelling about real events and the patterns behind them, you’re always welcome to subscribe… or stick around and watch another.

EiffelTower #TrueStory #History #Scam #ConMan #Psychology #anounce

________________________________________

⏱️ CHAPTERS + TIMING
00:00 The Eiffel Tower Was Sold
00:30 Why No One Spoke
00:44 Enter Victor Lustig
01:00 The Invitation
01:19 The Proposal & The Perfect Setup
02:27 The Bribe
02:45 The Sale & Lustig Disappears
03:10 Why it Worked & Why He Tried Again
04:02 An Ounce

________________________________________
REFERENCES (as you prefer — plain URLs + context)
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-sold-the-eiffel-tower-twice-180983970/
→ Overview of Victor Lustig and the scam
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Lustig
→ Background on Lustig
• https://www.history.com/news/con-man-sold-eiffel-tower
→ Summary of the scheme and context
________________________________________
Credits: Music – Lonely Man and Dance Number 24449 by Alex Hamlin via YouTube Music Library

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The 1904 Olympic marathon in St. Louis may be the strangest race in history—featuring cheating, poison, chaos, and a winner who could barely stand. And yet… it was official.
________________________________________
This wasn’t just a bizarre race—it was a breakdown of what “official” really means.
Runners collapsed in extreme heat. One took a car. Another was chased off the course by dogs. The eventual winner was given strychnine and brandy just to keep moving.
And yet… the result stood.
In this episode of An Ounce, we examine the 1904 Olympic marathon—not just for what happened, but for what it reveals about systems, rules, and the gap between what’s recorded… and what’s real.
If you value clear, honest storytelling about history, human behavior, and the limits of “official” truth—subscribe and follow along.
________________________________________
🔗 CHAPTERS (timestamps – estimated)
0:00 The 1904 Olympic Marathon Muddle
0:28 This Was the Olympics
0:46 Conditions of the Race
1:30 Things Start to Go Wrong
2:25 Enter Thomas Hicks
2:54 Poison as Strategy
3:33 The Finish
3:56 What Was Actually Measured?
5:30 An Ounce
________________________________________
📚 REFERENCES (plain URLs as requested)
• Olympic history overview (1904 marathon):
https://www.olympics.com/en/news/st-louis-1904-marathon-one-of-the-strangest-olympic-races
• Smithsonian Magazine summary of the race:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1904-olympic-marathon-was-one-of-the-strangest-ever-14910747/
• Detailed breakdown of Thomas Hicks and race conditions:
https://www.racingpast.ca/john_contents.php?id=147
• Britannica overview of early Olympic Games:
https://www.britannica.com/event/St-Louis-1904-Olympic-Games
________________________________________
Credits:
Music: Frame Dragging by The Grey Room/Density & Time via YouTube Music Library

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Spectral evidence, Salem witch trials, dream accusations, historical justice failure—this rather shocking but true story reveals how people were condemned based on experiences that couldn’t be proven, tested, or challenged.
In 1692, during the Salem witch trials, people weren’t just accused of crimes—they were accused of actions that supposedly took place in dreams. Courts accepted these claims as credible, and lives were lost as a result.
This episode of An Ounce explores how a system can function exactly as intended… and still arrive at the wrong outcome when it accepts the wrong kind of evidence.
If you value clear, thoughtful storytelling that challenges how we think about truth, certainty, and human behavior, consider subscribing and sharing this with someone who enjoys looking at history from a different angle.
________________________________________
🧭 CHAPTERS
00:00 – Your name is spoken
00:24 – The accusation
00:38 – No evidence, no defense
00:53 – What is spectral evidence?
01:34 – The shift in logic
02:08 – The system at work
02:51 – The spread of accusations
03:26 – The outcome
03:50 – So here’s an ounce
________________________________________
📚 REFERENCES (Plain URLs + Context)
• Salem Witch Trials overview (Britannica – trials, procedures, outcomes)
https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials
• National Endowment for the Humanities – trial records and context
https://www.neh.gov/article/records-salem-witch-trials
• University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive (primary sources)
https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/
________________________________________
Credits
Music: Owls by Lish Grooves via YouTube Music Library

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Titanic distress signals were seen from a nearby ship—but no rescue came. Why didn’t they act? This true story reveals how uncertainty, not distance, changed everything.
________________________________________

On April 14th, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and began to sink.
Less than twenty miles away, another ship—the SS Californian—was stopped in the ice.
Its crew saw the rockets.
They watched for hours.
And they did nothing.
In this episode of An Ounce, we explore one of the most unsettling aspects of the Titanic disaster—not what people missed, but what they saw… and didn’t understand.
This is not a story about negligence.
It’s a story about uncertainty.
Because sometimes, the difference between noticing something… and acting on it… isn’t distance or darkness.
It’s doubt.
________________________________________

If you value clear, honest storytelling about real events and the patterns behind them, consider subscribing—and share this with someone who appreciates history that makes you think.
________________________________________

👉 It Made Sense at the Time — Why Smart Decisions Fail
(Connects directly to interpretation, hindsight, and uncertainty)
________________________________________

Titanic #History #TrueStory #MaritimeHistory #DecisionMaking

________________________________________
🧭 CHAPTERS

00:00 They watched it happen
00:14 The Titanic didn’t sink alone
00:37 A different world at night
01:06 The ship in the distance
01:26 The rockets begin
01:42 Why no one acted
01:50 The signals without meaning
02:35 The ship disappears
02:50 What they never saw
03:16 An Ounce
________________________________________

🔗 REFERENCES

• Britannica – RMS Titanic: overview and sinking details
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic
• Britannica – SS Californian: role during Titanic disaster
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Californian
• U.S. Senate Inquiry into the Titanic Disaster (1912)
https://www.titanicinquiry.org
• UK Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry Report (1912)
https://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/botRep01.php
• NOAA / Maritime historical summaries on Titanic
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov

Credits
Music: Night Snow by Asher Fulero via YouTube Music Library

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Water, flash floods, desert storms, and human perspective—this story explores how the same event can bring life, loss, and everything in between. One flow. Different outcomes.
By late afternoon, the heat had driven most people indoors. In a dry desert valley, a storm forms in the mountains—unseen, unnoticed. What follows is not just a flood, but a pattern: the same water, experienced in completely different ways.
Some receive relief.
Some face tragedy.
Some never notice at all.
This episode of An Ounce explores how proximity, timing, and perspective shape what events mean—and why the same moment can carry entirely different consequences.
If you enjoy thoughtful storytelling about risk, perspective, and the hidden patterns behind everyday events, consider subscribing and sharing.
________________________________________
🎧 Watch another episode:
👉 The Killer Fog of London (how the same environment affected people very differently)
[Insert your actual episode URL here]
________________________________________
👍 If this made you think:
Like, subscribe, and share it with someone who sees the world a little differently.
________________________________________
🔖 Hashtags:

AnOunce #Storytelling #FlashFlood #HumanBehavior #Perspective #DesertLife #Risk #LifeLessons

________________________________________
⏱️ CHAPTERS (ESTIMATED)
00:00 The Same Water
00:25 A Storm Builds
01:10 Rain
02:04 The Flood Arrives
02:51 Relief
03:28 The Arroyo
07:30 Aftermath / The System
05:20 The Pattern
06:06 An Ounce
________________________________________
🔗 REFERENCES (PLAIN TEXT)
• General flash flood behavior and desert hydrology (USGS):
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/flash-floods
• National Weather Service – Flash Flood Safety and Formation:
https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-flash
• Desert climate and rainfall variability (NOAA):
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-deserts
(Note: This episode uses a plausible composite scenario based on real-world flash flood behavior rather than a single documented event.)

Credits
Music: Loves Aftermath and Heartbeat of the wind by Asher Fulero via YouTube music library

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The 1970 Yungay avalanche began high on Mount Huascarán in Peru and reached the city below in just minutes. Triggered by a massive earthquake, the collapse of ice, rock, and mud buried Yungay and killed thousands in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the Western Hemisphere.
In this episode of An Ounce, we look at the Yungay disaster, the 1970 Peru earthquake, the mountain warnings that came before it, and the brutal truth that some disasters feel sudden only because earlier warnings were ignored.
Sometimes catastrophe looks like a surprise.
But sometimes it’s a pattern no one wanted to see clearly.
If you enjoy thoughtful explorations of history, risk, disaster, and human behavior, subscribe and come along.
You may also enjoy this related episode:
The Warnings We Forgot — Even Though They Were Written in Stone
[insert URL]
________________________________________
CHAPTERS
00:00 An Entire City Disappeared
00:23 The Result
00:52 The Mountain Above
01:52 The Earthquake
02:24 Three Kilometers of Falling Mountain
03:40 The First Sign
04:30 When the Mountain Threw Stones
05:11 Cemetery Hill
06:11 A City Buried
07:22 Cut Off From the World
08:03 Relocation
08:58 The Warning We Forgot
10:12 An Ounce
________________________________________
REFERENCES
USGS – Geological Aspects of the May 31, 1970 Peru Earthquake
https://www.usgs.gov/publications/geological-aspects-may-31-1970-peru-earthquake
USGS – Catastrophic Landslides of the 20th Century
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/landslide-hazards/science/catastrophic-landslides-20th-century-worldwide
USGS – Earthquake History (May 31, 1970 Peru)
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?day=31&month=5
Encyclopaedia Britannica – Ancash Earthquake of 1970
https://www.britannica.com/event/Ancash-earthquake-of-1970
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information – 1970 Huascarán Avalanche
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.ngdc.mgg.photos%3A7
Wikipedia – Yungay flood of 1970
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluvi%C3%B3n_de_Yungay_de_1970
Colquioc District Municpality - On This Day in 1970 - Yungay, Ancash
https://www.gob.pe/institucion/municolquioc/noticias/500683-un-dia-como-hoy-en-1970-yungay-ancash

Credits – Music: Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallagher via YouTube Audio Library

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Why do people keep solving the wrong problem? In this episode of An Ounce, a real emergency response story at an international airport reveals a common pattern: the most obvious problem often isn’t the real one. What looks urgent can be a symptom, while the real cause hides underneath.
A man falls in an airport. Blood everywhere. It looks simple.
But something doesn’t fit.
What follows reveals a pattern that appears everywhere... in medicine, in workplaces, in politics, and in everyday life. Symptoms demand attention. They’re loud, dramatic, and urgent. But the deeper causes of problems are often quieter and harder to see.
Learning to recognize that difference may change the way you look at problems entirely.
If this story stayed with you, you might know someone else who would appreciate it.
Subscribe for more thoughtful stories exploring patterns hidden in history, science, and human behavior.

AnOunce #CriticalThinking #ProblemSolving

________________________________________
Chapters (Estimated)
0:00 The Most Obvious Problem/Airport Emergency Call
0:38 Something Didn’t Fit
0:50 The Real Problem Revealed
1:14 Symptoms vs Causes
1:35 How Problems Get Simplified
2:53 How to Recognize the Pattern
3:32 When Urgency Is Real
4:33 So Here’s An Ounce
________________________________________
References
Root Cause Analysis — Institute for Healthcare Improvement
https://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Tools/RootCauseAnalysis.aspx
The Five Whys Method — Lean Enterprise Institute
https://www.lean.org/lexicon/5-whys/
Systems Thinking Overview — MIT Sloan School of Management
https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/systems-thinking-explained
NTSB Investigation Process — National Transportation Safety Board
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process/Pages/default.aspx
Harvard Business Review — “What Problem Are You Trying to Solve?”
https://hbr.org/2017/01/what-problem-are-you-trying-to-solve
Stroke symptoms and FAST recognition — American Heart Association
https://www.heart.org/en/about-us/heart-attack-and-stroke-symptoms
Scalp lacerations and bleeding — CommonSpirit Health
https://www.commonspirit.org/conditions-treatments/cuts-on-the-scalp

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Clickbait psychology, dopamine loops, phantom phone vibrations, and the attention economy all trace back to one ancient survival instinct: the rustle in the grass.
The same evolutionary wiring that kept our ancestors alive now drives compulsive scrolling, notification checking, and variable reward behavior. Your brain treats uncertainty like unfinished business — and modern platforms know it.
Why do phantom vibrations feel real?
Why does anticipation hit harder than resolution?
Why does “just one more scroll” feel reasonable?
From evolutionary psychology to intermittent reinforcement, from yellow journalism to modern algorithms, this episode examines how curiosity built us — and how engineered uncertainty can quietly pull us.
Curiosity built us. Compulsion can undo us.
The difference is whether you’re exploring — or being pulled.
If you appreciate calm, unsensational explorations of psychology, human behavior, and the hidden patterns shaping modern life, you’re welcome to stay awhile.

Psychology #HumanBehavior #Clickbait #AttentionEconomy #Dopamine #ModernLife #evolution

CHAPTER / TIMESTAMP
00:00 — OPEN: The Rustle in the Grass
01:07 — The Modern Rustle (Clickbait & Notifications)
01:54 — What’s Actually Happening
03:14 — This Pattern Isn’t New
04:23 — When it Tilt’s
05:56 — The Scale Problem
06:27 — AN OUNCE

RECOMMENDED “YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE” EPISODES
1)The Warnings We Forgot — Even Though They Were Written in Stone
A quiet examination of tsunami warning stones in Japan — and what happens when memory fades and certainty replaces caution. https://youtu.be/yxxa1_-nBSo

2) It Made Sense at the Time — Why Smart Decisions Fail
If you were drawn to how ancient wiring shapes modern behavior, this episode explores how reasonable decisions quietly drift into failure — and why hindsight makes everything look obvious. https://youtu.be/UJZ214F3VAU

ADDITIONAL READING AND REFERENCE
1. Dopamine & Reward Prediction
Schultz, W. (1997) Dopamine neurons and reward prediction
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627397001801
Supports anticipation spikes and reward prediction error.
________________________________________
2. Phantom Vibration Syndrome
Rothberg et al. (2010) Phantom vibration syndrome
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2940970/
Supports phantom buzz reference in script.
________________________________________
3. Intermittent Reinforcement — Operant Conditioning
Overview of B.F. Skinner’s work
https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
Supports variable reward comparison.
________________________________________
4. Yellow Journalism — Historical Precedent
Library of Congress Overview
https://www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america/articles-and-essays/yellow-journalism/
Supports engineered outrage headlines.
________________________________________
5. Persuasive Technology & Behavior Design
B.J. Fogg Behavior Model
https://www.behaviormodel.org/
Supports engineered uncertainty loops.

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Lawn darts. Radium face cream. Cocaine in soda. Bloodletting. Leaded gasoline.
History is full of confident ideas that seemed safe — until consequences caught up.
Why do smart people, trusted experts, and entire generations embrace ideas that later look reckless?
This episode explores historical medical mistakes, dangerous consumer products, industrial-era optimism, radioactive beauty treatments, early pharmaceuticals like heroin and lithium soda, and cultural norms that once felt completely responsible.
They weren’t foolish.
They were informed — with the information they had.
Bloodletting was science.
Radium was modern.
Lead solved engine knock.
DDT worked brilliantly — at first.
Progress often succeeds before it reveals its price.
This isn’t about mocking the past.
It’s about recognizing a pattern.

👍 Like, subscribe, and tell us what past practice surprises you most.

History #MedicalHistory #UnintendedConsequences #IndustrialAge #HumanNature #anounce

CHAPTER / TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Introduction
00:52 — Seemed Like a Good Idea
01:23 — Medicine Knew Best
03:03 — The Atomic Glow Era
03:58 — Industrial Age Optimism
04:49 — The Pattern
05:11 — AN OUNCE

ADDITIONAL READING AND REFERENCES
(Radium Consumer Products – U.S. National Library of Medicine
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/radium/
Bloodletting in Medical History – National Institutes of Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1122608/
Heroin Introduced by Bayer (1898) – Smithsonian Magazine
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/heroin-marketed-as-nonaddictive-180963855/
Lithium in 7UP History – Snopes
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lithium-laced-7up/
Coca-Cola and Coca Extract – Coca-Cola Company Historical Archive
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/history
History of Leaded Gasoline – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
https://www.epa.gov/air-pollution-transportation/history-leaded-gasoline
DDT History – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status
Asbestos Overview – Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/

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Why 4 – 1 sometimes equals 6 sounds impossible—but research in economics, behavioral science, and social capital suggests generosity, trust, and reputation can influence financial outcomes in surprising ways.
Most of us assume prosperity follows a simple rule: save more, give less. Arithmetic says keeping money should always leave you with more.
But decades of economic research suggest something unexpected: A counterintuitive Life Lesson - households that give more often end up earning more later.
Is generosity secretly a financial strategy?
Or is something deeper happening in the systems we live in?
In this episode of An Ounce, we explore a strange equation—why giving away one dollar can sometimes lead to more than you started with. Not through magic or prosperity myths, but through the hidden mechanics of trust, reputation, networks, and opportunity.
Sometimes the equation isn’t wrong.
Sometimes the equation is just bigger than we thought.
If you enjoy exploring counterintuitive ideas, behavioral economics, and the hidden patterns behind everyday assumptions, you’ll feel right at home here.
This episode explores ideas connected to behavioral economics, social capital, generosity research, trust, reputation, and the ways human systems shape opportunity and prosperity over time.
________________________________________
👍 If you enjoy thoughtful history, surprising ideas, and intellectual puzzles like this one, consider subscribing.
Every episode of An Ounce explores a small idea that reveals a bigger truth.

________________________________________
CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Ordinary Rock Bottom
00:45 The Math Everyone Understands
00:55 Two Brothers, Two Strategies
01:36 Testing the Assumption
02:22 The Strange Equation: 4 – 1 = 6 / Why It’s Not a Guarantee
03:07 The Expanded Equation
04:40 Returning to the Brothers
05:28 An Ounce
________________________________________
RECOMMENDED EPISODE (cross-promotion)
Recommended viewing:
You’ve Been Lied To! The Truth Behind History’s Biggest Myths
Many of the ideas in this episode connect to the way confident beliefs spread—even when the underlying assumptions are wrong. https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ
________________________________________
REFERENCES
Arthur C. Brooks – research on generosity and prosperity
https://www.aei.org/profile/arthur-c-brooks/
American Enterprise Institute research archive
https://www.aei.org/
Study on charitable giving and household income patterns
https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/
Discussion of social capital and economic outcomes
https://www.brookings.edu/

4 minus 1 equals 6, generosity paradox, economics of generosity, social capital wealth, trust reputation opportunity economics, arthur brooks giving research, generosity and prosperity, human systems economics, why generosity matters, economics explanation generosity

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In 2014, a massive landslide struck Oso, Washington. This disaster killed 43 people and erasing an entire community along the Stillaguamish River Valley. This is a true account of an ancient risk that stopped waiting — and broke loose and in 60 seconds, took a town with it.

The Oso landslide was not a mystery... and not an accident in the usual sense. It unfolded over decades, shaped by geology, rainfall, and how humans understand risk over time.

This episode of An Ounce examines what happened, why it happened, and what this disaster reveals about the space between knowing danger exists and recognizing it as real within time.

If you value thoughtful, grounded disaster storytelling without sensationalism, consider subscribing.

👉 For another story about systemic risk, ignored warnings, and the cost of delayed recognition, see “The Big Burn: The Forgotten Firestorm That Changed America.” https://youtu.be/_7flOqnMXIU

📚 References

1. Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
   Geologic assessment, landslide history, and technical analysis of the Oso landslide
   https://www.dnr.wa.gov/programs-and-services/geology/geologic-hazards/landslides/oso-landslide
2. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
   Scientific overview of landslide mechanics, rainfall thresholds, and slope failure
   https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/science/oso-landslide
3. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
   Highway impact, SR-530 analysis, and infrastructure effects
   https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/HWY14MH009.aspx
4. Washington State Governor’s Independent Review Panel (2015)
   Comprehensive review of the Oso landslide, risk communication, and policy context
   https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/oso_report.pdf
5. Associated Press / Seattle Times reporting (2014–2015)
   Contemporaneous reporting on the event, response, and aftermath
   https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/oso-mudslide/

________________________________________
⏱ Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 — Orientation: Attention Elsewhere
O1:24 — The Pattern
02:31 — The Hill
03:54 — Normal Life in the Presence of Risk
04:31 — March 22, 2014
06:12 — Can We Learn?
06:45 — An Ounce

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Everyone remembers the dog who died early in space exploration. Almost no one remembers the Paris alley cat who came home. This is the true story of Félicette — the forgotten cat of the Space Race.
Everyone remembers Laika — the Soviet space dog who never came home.
Almost no one remembers Félicette — a Paris alley cat who rode a rocket launch into space, survived the mission, and quietly disappeared into history.
In 1963, at the height of the Cold War, a small, overlooked nation launched a different kind of spaceflight. No propaganda. No spectacle. Just disciplined space science and a stray cat chosen for her neurological precision.
This is the forgotten story of the Space Race’s most unlikely passenger — and what history chose to remember instead.
If this stayed with you, you probably know someone else who might appreciate it.
________________________________________
Chapters (Timestamps)
00:00 - Spaceflight Testing
01:28 - The Animals Who Went First
02:04 - A Different Animal
03:43 - A Necessary Ending
04:12 - An Ounce
________________________________________
“The Accidentally Invented World”
A companion episode about how progress often comes from unnoticed, uncelebrated moments — and why history remembers the wrong things. https://youtu.be/cx7qyVf5g3k

________________________________________
References (Plain-Text URLs + Context)
French Space Agency (CNES) — Official history of early spaceflight
https://cnes.fr
Astérix Satellite (1965) — France’s first orbital launch
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-096A
Félicette mission summary — Véronique AGI flight
https://www.space.com/15488-french-cat-space-felicette.html
Cold War animal space programs (US & USSR)
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-014-DFRC.html

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Everything is under control—or at least that’s what the broadcast says. In this special report, calm anchors deliver absurd news as reality quietly unravels behind them. A satirical look at certainty, reassurance, and collapse.
This episode presents a familiar format behaving exactly as expected… even when the world doesn’t. Potatoes organize. Time pools at airports. An asteroid approaches. AI quietly leaves. Sports continues.
If this stayed with you, you probably know someone else who might appreciate it.

Another great episode on Argument, Disagreement, and contempt. “Why Winning Arguments Can Cost You Everything”: https://youtu.be/qrU64J4jMcI

00:00 Everything Is Under Control
00:27 Local News: The Potatoes Are Organized
01:02 Transportation Alert: Time Is Pooling
01:50 Asteroid Impact: Experts Say “Wait”
02:31 Technology Update: AI Quietly Leaves
03:11 Sports: Civilization Ends, Playoffs Continue
03:46 An Ounce — Submitted for Your Consideration

📚 FURTHER READING & LISTENING — CUT & PASTE (TMI EDITION)
If this episode made you smile—and then pause—here are a few places the ideas brush up against other work. Not answers. Just adjacent thoughts.
Fear, Panic, and Calm Certainty
• The Gift of Fear — why fear exists and why ignoring it can be more dangerous than panic
• Thinking, Fast and Slow — how confidence often outruns understanding
• Daniel Gilbert — research on affective forecasting and why we misjudge future distress
Reassurance Culture & “Everything Will Work Out”
• Four Thousand Weeks — limits of control and the myth of eventual order
• Man's Search for Meaning — meaning without illusion or denial
• The Antidote — happiness via negative thinking
Media, Authority, and Performed Calm
• Amusing Ourselves to Death — how format shapes belief more than content
• The War of the Worlds — authority, format, and belief (not the panic myth)
• The Attention Merchants — certainty as a product
Cognitive Bias, Normalcy, and “This Is Fine”
• The Black Swan — rare events and misplaced confidence
• Normal Accidents — complex systems and inevitable failure
• Risk — why societies tolerate obvious dangers
Artificial Intelligence: Limits, Not Apocalypse
• You Look Like a Thing and I Love You — clear, funny demonstrations of AI failure modes
• Gary Marcus — why current AI lacks understanding and grounding
• Artificial Unintelligence — bias, overconfidence, and misplaced trust in AI
• Prediction Machines — what AI actually does well (and what it doesn’t)
Music, Irony, and Cheerful Collapse
• It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) — by R.E.M., a cheerful apocalypse as cultural reflex
• It's Alright — Mother Mother. reassurance layered over unease

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“It made sense at the time.” We use this phrase to explain bad decisions, failed plans, and historical disasters. But most of the time, it’s true — and that’s what makes failure so hard to see coming.
History is full of choices that look baffling in hindsight and perfectly reasonable in the moment. This episode explores why smart people make decisions that later seem impossible to understand — and how good ideas quietly age into bad outcomes.
By the way, if you’d like more stories like this, you’re always welcome to hang around and binge for a bit.

CHAPTER / TIMESTAMP
________________________________________
00:00 — OPEN:
01:00 — THE PHRASE THE ENDS DISCUSSION
02:18 — THE PATTERN: FIRE
03:10 — THE PATTERN: TITANIC
03:36 — THE PATTERN: Financial Bubbles
04:38 — THE PATTERN REPEATS
05:12 — HINDSIGHT
06:17 — AVOIDING FAILURE MODE
06:58 — TAKING IT PERSONAL
07:25 — AN OUNCE

Additional Reading and Reference
1) Hindsight Bias — Foundational
Fischhoff (1975)
Hindsight ≠ Foresight: The Effect of Outcome Knowledge on Judgment Under Uncertainty
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1738364
________________________________________
2) Decision-Making Under Uncertainty — Cognitive Mechanism
Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow
________________________________________
3) Disaster Psychology — Human Behavior Under Threat
Why People Don’t Heed Warnings
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7153921/
This directly supports:
• Titanic behavior
• evacuation hesitation
• normalcy bias
• risk calibration
________________________________________
4) System Failure — Why Collapse Happens
High Reliability Organizations (Weick & Sutcliffe)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1765804/
________________________________________
5) Psychological Pattern Support
Narrative Fallacy — Taleb
https://fs.blog/narrative-fallacy/
________________________________________
6) Risk Psychology Authority
Risk Perception — Paul Slovic
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226437543

DecisionMaking #Psychology #HumanBehavior #Failure #History #Disasters #Hindsight

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Most people don’t wake up wanting to despise someone — yet contempt keeps showing up anyway.

In this episode of An Ounce, a small allegorical story reveals how contempt quietly grows, why it feels bigger than it is, and how it loses power when we stop feeding it.

This isn’t a lecture.

It’s a pattern worth noticing.

If you’ve ever wondered how disagreement turns into dismissal — and how easily it can be reversed — this one’s for you.

If it resonates, feel free to share it with someone else who might appreciate it.

Another episode you'll also enjoy How to Disagree: https://youtu.be/qrU64J4jMcI

Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
00:19 – The Unsettling Conclusion
00:54 – Introducing the Monster
01:48 – Inflated/Deflated
02:32 – They Preferred the Monster
02:56 – Ridiculous?
04:03 – Facing the Annoying Human
05:20 – An Ounce

Further Reading & References
For those interested in the psychology behind contempt, disagreement, and how certainty can quietly overpower understanding:
• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work — John Gottman
Groundbreaking research identifying contempt as the strongest predictor of relational breakdown.
• The Righteous Mind — Jonathan Haidt
Explains why people talk past each other — and how moral certainty often outruns understanding.
• Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) — Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson
Why people double down instead of reassessing — and how rehearsal hardens belief.
• Meditations — Marcus Aurelius
A timeless exploration of withholding judgment, resisting contempt, and recognizing shared human frailty.

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Some of the most indispensable things in our world were discovered not because of a plan, but because someone noticed what kept appearing—and didn’t throw it away. From food preservation to materials to writing itself, this episode explores how outcomes often arrive before explanations, and how attention quietly shapes progress.

Is it invention? Discovery? Happy Accident? Ingenuity? Dumb Luck?

Long before theories, systems, or understanding, people noticed what worked. They kept it. Only later did explanations catch up—if they ever did. This is a calm look at how the world advances not through brilliance alone, but through patience with what doesn’t yet make sense.

If this stayed with you, you probably know someone else who might appreciate it.
A great episode to watch next about what we learn from the legendary John Henry: https://youtu.be/i7Mv_XmjTJM
________________________________________
Suggested Chapters / Timestamps

00:00 — What Wasn’t Planned
01:26 —Noticed -not- understood
02:44 — Remembering
04:56 — A Pattern
06:46 — An Ounce
________________________________________
References & Further Reading
Food Preservation & Fermentation
• Cooked — Michael Pollan
How early food practices reshaped humans long before scientific explanation.
• On Food and Cooking — Harold McGee
Modern science catching up to ancient food practices.
Glass & Materials
• Stuff Matters — Mark Miodownik
How materials behave first—and only later gain meaning and use.
• The Substance of Civilization — Stephen L. Sass
How unintended material properties quietly shaped civilization.
Writing & Symbol Systems
• How Writing Came About — Denise Schmandt-Besserat
Writing as a workaround for memory and accounting—not artistic invention.
How New Ideas & Technologies Actually Emerge
• The Evolution of Technology — George Basalla
Technology evolves through variation and selection, not planning.
• The Nature of Technology — W. Brian Arthur
Why technology grows organically from what already exists.

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Change feels different every time—but it never is. From John Henry to today, this episode explores the recurring moment when the world moves on… and where people still fit.
Every generation feels it—the sense that this time, change is different.
Faster. Bigger. Final.
But history tells another story.
From the legend of John Henry to the modern moment, this episode explores the recurring human experience that appears whenever progress accelerates: the quiet question of where people fit when the world moves on.
This isn’t a story about winning, resisting, or keeping up.
It’s about the moment that keeps returning—and the small space where choice still exists.
If this perspective resonated, consider liking, subscribing, or sharing.
And thanks for spending the time here.
________________________________________
🕰️ CHAPTERS (Estimated – refine after edit)
00:00 – When the Ground Shifts
00:52 – At The Edge of Change
01:50 – John Henry
02:54 – The Pattern
03:56 – The Game Changes
04:54 – Perspective
05:35 – An Ounce

📚 References & Further Reading
John Henry (Folklore & Context)
Library of Congress – John Henry: A Folklore Hero
https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197495/
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture – Who Was John Henry?
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/who-was-john-henry
Encyclopedia Britannica – John Henry
https://www.britannica.com/topic/John-Henry-folk-hero
________________________________________
Change, Technology, and Human Displacement (Historical Pattern)
Encyclopedia Britannica – Industrial Revolution
https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Philosophy of Technology
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/technology/
________________________________________
Human Agency, Meaning, and Choice Under Constraint
Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Book overview – Holocaust survival & agency)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning
APA Dictionary of Psychology – Agency
https://dictionary.apa.org/agency
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Free Will
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/
________________________________________
Cultural Memory & Repeating Human Patterns
Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Overview)
https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens/

________________________________________
Credits:
Music -Via YouTube Music Library, Lord of the Dawn by Jesse Gallagher
Images – B-roll via iStock and Getty, Backgrounds are AI generated.

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The British military once opened fire on a bright object in the night sky—confident it was an enemy Zeppelin airship. It wasn’t. It was Venus. This true World War I story explores how reasonable certainty can still be wrong, and why that lesson still matters.
During the First World War, soldiers did exactly what they were trained to do when the sky itself became dangerous. The result was a perfectly logical mistake—and a quiet reminder about how confidence can arrive before understanding.
If this story stayed with you, you probably know someone else who might appreciate it.
________________________________________
🧭 CHAPTERS (timestamps approximate — adjust after final edit)
00:00 The Sky Had Learned How to Kill
01:06 Reasonable
02:16 Seemed Right at the Time…
03:22 Until it Isn’t…
04:06 An Ounce
________________________________________
🔗 REFERENCES (plain-text URLs, per your preference)
British Home Defense and airship sightings during World War I
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-airship-menace-over-britain
Early anti-aircraft fire and misidentification of celestial objects
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/first-world-war-air-raids/
Venus misidentified as an airship (historical accounts and press references)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/air_raids_01.shtml
Psychology of pattern recognition and certainty under stress
https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov01/recognition
________________________________________
Credits:
Music – Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner
Images and video: Getty iStock by subscription

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There's a powerful story behind a stone marker in Japan, offering a stark tsunami warning. This marker, a silent sentinel, speaks volumes about the enduring risk of the ocean. For generations, its message was heeded, but eventually, the warning was forgotten. When the next earthquake and tsunami struck, the stone stood firm, a poignant reminder of nature's power. Like, subscribe, and tell us your thoughts on this incredible piece of world history.

Long before modern data storage, humans carved their most important warnings into stone.
In coastal Japan, centuries-old markers warned communities not to build below a certain line. For generations, people listened. Then memory faded, confidence grew, and the boundaries moved—until the water returned.
This episode explores how warnings work, why they’re ignored once they succeed, and what happens when we forget why a line was drawn in the first place.
👉 If this made you think differently about rules, margins, or safety lines—like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might need the reminder.

You’ve Been Lied To! The Truth Behind History’s Biggest Myths
Why comforting stories outlive uncomfortable truths—and how forgetting the real lesson changes behavior. https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

________________________________________

🧭 Chapters (Timestamps – adjust after final edit)
00:30 — A Line on the Hillside
01:44 — When the Warning Was Tested
02:34 — When Memory Outruns Experience
04:48 — Not All Stones Say the Same Thing
05:37 — Stone Was the Original Cloud
06:39 — The Warnings We Haven’t Identified Yet
07:04 — An Ounce

________________________________________
1. Tsunami stones and Japanese generational memory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami_stone Wikipedia
2. Collective memory fades over decades (~90 years): https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/coronavirus-covid-19-stay-prepared-with-collective-memory/ USC Dornsife
3. Flood memory fades within two generations: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09102-3 Nature
4. Remembering and forgetting disasters (Springer): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13753-020-00277-8 Springer
5. Flashbulb memory and traumatic events: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashbulb_memory Wikipedia
6. Memory bias & selective omission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_omission Wikipedia
7. (Optional) A philosophical look at forgetting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Forgetting Wikipedia

Credits
Music: TORSION by Density and Time
Images: Wikimedia - Multiple CC images as noted, Picryl, iStock and Getty by subscription

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In 1910, people bought “Anti-Comet Pills” to survive Halley’s Comet. This weird history episode exposes why mass hysteria and fear still spreads faster than truth—and why we keep falling for the same panic-driven traps today.

In 1910, a misunderstood scientific discovery triggered global panic, misinformation, and a wave of bizarre “comet cures.” Sound familiar? This episode connects a century-old frenzy to the modern panic cycles we still struggle to escape.

You’ll learn how fear, misinformation, and confidence-in-the-wrong-places shape public behavior—and how to stay curious instead of getting swept up by the next viral scare.

Tap subscribe so you don’t miss the next twist in history.

Related Episodes / Playlists:
The New Snake Oil: Outrage and Validation in the Digital World - https://youtu.be/Kd1KMd1GFPQ

Reclaiming Your Mind in the Age of Outrage - https://youtu.be/Ma7PDZ5PFhM

An Ounce Podcast Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtrh6QOIZpApuBCHIfaZQmmP
📚 References:
Halley’s Comet Overview – https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/halleys-comet/
1910 Cyanogen Gas Panic – https://www.history.com/news/halleys-comet-1910-panic
Contemporary Newspaper Archive Examples – https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
ʻOumuamua Scientific Summary – https://www.eso.org/public/usa/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/
Psychology of Mass Panic – https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/07/panic-misinformation
Credits:
Images: Public domain / NASA / Wikimedia Commons. Some images and Video are generated by AI, including background images.
Hashtags:

History #AnOuncePodcast #HalleyComet #MassPanic #ScienceHistory

________________________________________
🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
(You will refine once video is edited.)
00:00 – People Bought Pills for a Comet
00:41 – A Strange Visitor in the Sky
01:58– Logic Takes a Lunch Break
03:19 – The Cyanogen “Poison Cloud”
03:30 – The Comet Merch Table
04:20 – Comet Day Arrives
05:24 – The Real Story
06:51 – An Ounce

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The 1910 Big Burn wasn’t a wildfire — it was a firestorm that outran horses, erased towns in minutes, and nearly destroyed the entire U.S. Forest Service.

In August 1910, a perfect storm of drought, wind, bad policy, and impossible conditions triggered one of the most devastating disasters in American history. This is the real story of the Big Burn—and why its lessons still matter.

You’ll learn how disaster conditions align, why suppression shaped modern megafires, and how Ranger Ed Pulaski saved his men against impossible odds.

Tap subscribe so you don’t miss the next twist in history.
________________________________________
Related Episodes / Playlists
The Big Burn’s most relevant companion episodes:
• Piper Alpha Disaster – https://youtu.be/eBoFtdwMr6E
• Disaster Files Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtos3CO6X-8E05p-gX1riBPz
________________________________________
📚 References
U.S. Forest Service Big Burn Overview – https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r1/learning/history-culture/?cid=stelprdb5279646
Pulaski Tunnel Trail Information – https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ipnf/recarea/?recid=6765
National Interagency Fire Center Historical Fires – https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/historical
Smithsonian Magazine – The Big Burn of 1910 – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-big-burn-180952126/
Library of Congress Wildfire Archive – https://www.loc.gov/collections/wildfires/
Speed & Spread Documentation (re: “outrunning horses”)
Forest History Society – The 1910 Fires – https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/famous-fires/the-1910-fires/
Historical summary describing hurricane-force winds, rapid spread, and escape attempts outrun by the firestorm.
InterMountainHistories.org – “The Big Burn” – https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/623
Contains firsthand-style testimony: “Firefighters … reported that it was near impossible to outrun the heat because the inferno moved at the speed of a charging horse.”

________________________________________
Credits
Music: YouTube Audio Library
Images/Footage: iStock and Getty, backdrops are generated by AI.
________________________________________
Hashtags

BigBurn #WildfireHistory #DisasterFiles #AnOuncePodcast

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🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
(Estimated based on final narrative pacing)
00:00 – Fire Outran Horses
00:20 – The Big Burn of 1910
01:37 – The Conditions for Disaster
03:08 – Crown Fire
05:05 – The 48-Hour Firestorm
06:00 – Inside the Pulaski Tunnel
07:57 – Aftermath & What Was Lost
09:50 – An Ounce
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How much of what you see online is real—and how much is the algorithm’s illusion? Learn how to take back your attention, retrain your brain, and escape the digital funhouse.

Your social-media feed isn’t random. It’s a reflection—warped by code, polished by profit, and powered by your own attention.

In this An Ounce Special Edition, Jim Fugate steps into the Algorithm’s Funhouse to reveal how emotion drives engagement, why outrage sells, and how both the machine and the mind can be retrained.
You’ll discover the real cost of doom-scrolling, how evil intent hides in plain sight, and practical ways to break the feedback loop. It’s a thoughtful, hopeful look at technology, humanity, and the quiet power of awareness.

👍 Remember: verify before you amplify — and reclaim your power to choose what wins.

Watch next: The New Snake Oil: Outrage and Validation in the Digital World https://youtu.be/Kd1KMd1GFPQ

AnOunce #Algorithm #SocialMedia #DigitalWellness #CriticalThinking #AttentionEconomy #JimFugate #Mindfulness #OutrageCulture #TechnologyAndHumanity

________________________________________
📚 References
• Pew Research Center (2020): Automated accounts and link sharing.
• Carnegie Mellon University (2020): Bot activity during major events.
• American Psychological Association (2023): Attention span and doom-scrolling research.
• Harvard Business Review (2022): The Economics of Outrage.
________________________________________
🕒 Chapters / Timestamps (estimated)
00:00 Hook – The Invisible Hand on Your Feed
00:25 Meet the Machine
01:35 The Emotional Economy
02:05 The Feedback Loop
02:56 The Psychological Toll
03:37 Starve the Beast & Retrain the Machine
04:27 The Empowered User
05:48 An Ounce

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Social Media, So-called News, Bots, Algorithms, and digital snake-oil salesmen—this episode of An Ounce exposes how misinformation spreads, why outrage sells, and how your clicks keep it alive.

Bots aren’t the villains—they’re the tools. The real players are the agenda-drivers who profit when we stop thinking. In this episode, Jim Fugate pulls back the curtain on the modern confidence game: how a single bot whisper becomes a viral foghorn of fake urgency.
You’ll learn how emotional bait hooks us, how algorithms reward fear and anger, and how to spot digital “bull snot” before you share it. It’s witty, a little dark, and all too true.
So grab a dose of skepticism—and a laugh—because the cure starts with awareness.
👍 Remember: verify before you amplify.
Subscribe for weekly stories that prove truth can be stranger (and funnier) than fiction.
Watch next:
Historical Facts? Myth vs Truth https://youtu.be/GDqhQF3nHgc
Discovering The Truth Behind Famous Historical Myths https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

AnOunce #Misinformation #SocialMedia #Bots #CriticalThinking #DigitalAge

________________________________________
📚 References
• Facebook Transparency Reports (2024) – estimated 3–5 % fake accounts.
• Pew Research Center (2020) – two-thirds of shared links from automated accounts.
• Carnegie Mellon University (2020) – bot activity analysis during major events.
• Independent analyses of Twitter/X bot prevalence (2017–2023).
________________________________________
🕒 Chapters / Timestamps (estimated for YouTube)
00:00 Hook – The Digital Con
00:40 Meet the New Con Men
01:18 The Psychology of the Hook
02:11 The Recycling Plant of Lies
02:58 The Agenda Factory
04:33 The Scale of the Scam
06:20 How They Recruit the “Useful Idiot”
06:54 The Real-World Damage
08:38 Quick-Spotting Guide to Bull Snot
09:45 The Laughable Cure & Closing Reflection
10:22 An Ounce

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Credits:
Visual: An Ounce Studio, iStock, Getty
Audio: Music This is Not IDM and This is not a Ballad by True Cukoo via YouTube

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Queen had two geniuses — and one helped NASA map Pluto.
Everyone knows Freddie Mercury lit up the stage. Few know Brian May earned a PhD in astrophysics, built his own guitar from a fireplace mantle, and helped create NASA’s first 3-D images of Pluto.
This episode of An Ounce tells how curiosity, music, and math collided to show us a whole new dimension of genius.
👍 Like, share, and subscribe to keep your curiosity in tune — there’s always another encore waiting out there.
Related Episodes / Playlists
🎬 Bat-Men on the Moon – Another cosmic twist where science meets imagination https://youtu.be/noVFLIh9Q84
🎬 Stories That Outsmart the Obvious Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtrh6QOIZpApuBCHIfaZQmmP
📚 References
NASA – New Horizons Mission Overview https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/
Brian May Official – New Horizons Stereo Announcement https://brianmay.com/
Minor Planet Center – (52665) Brianmay https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=52665
Hashtags: #BrianMay #Queen #Pluto #NASA #AnOuncePodcast #Music #Science #History
________________________________________
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Two geniuses, one band
00:35 – The Rocker with a Telescope
01:31 – The Unfinished Thesis
02:30 – Return to the Stars
03:37 – The Silent World That Rocked Back
04:39 – The Reflection
05:20 – The Ounce & CTA
________________________________________

Images - As noted in video
Music - Spirit of Fire by Jesse Gallagher via YouTube music

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From sewer science to smart pills — how mocked “crazy” scientists changed the world when their absurd ideas turned out right.

Some of history’s most ridiculous notions — handwashing, ulcers, even talking to machines — were once scientific punchlines.
Discover how five people endured ridicule and rewrote reality.
You’ll see how pride delays truth — and why curiosity always wins.

Tap subscribe so you don’t miss the next twist in history.
Related Episodes / Playlists
The Eloquence Illusion – Why We Fall for Beautiful Nonsense https://youtu.be/pc43xdF1DDk
Playlist – Hidden Genius & Missed Opportunities https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtoRfoCHh3ZqVEXIJ1zBpwLW
📚 References
• Harvard Health – “Gut Bacteria and Fecal Transplants in Modern Medicine” – https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-future-of-fecal-transplants
• National Library of Medicine – “Ignaz Semmelweis and the Birth of Handwashing” – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28612231/
• USGS – “Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift” – https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/continental-drift-wegener
• Nobel Prize Archives – “Barry Marshall and Robin Warren – H. pylori Discovery” – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/summary/
• Nobel Prize Archives – “Stanley Prusiner and the Discovery of Prions” – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1997/summary/
Credits
Music: This is Not a Ballad by True Cuckoo, via YouTube Audio Library
Images: Public Domain / Creative Commons (CC-BY) sources as cited
Hashtags: #ScienceHistory #CrazyIdeas #AnOuncePodcast
________________________________________
🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
00:00 – Hook – The Sewer Plant Prophecy
01:06 – Setup – When Brilliance Wore a Clown Nose
02:05 – Ignaz Semmelweis – The Soap Heretic
02:51 – Alfred Wegener – The Man Who Moved the Earth
03:29 – Barry Marshall & Robin Warren – The Bacteria Betrayal
04:15 – John Yudkin – The Sugar Pariah
04:55 – Stan Prusiner – The Mad Protein Theory
05:48 – The Modern Echo – Microbes and Machines
07:26 – An Ounce

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🎯 Tags
Base Tags:
an ounce podcast, history podcast, forgotten history, weird history, untold history

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Why do we trust people who sound smart—even when they’re not? Discover the psychology behind smooth talk and confident nonsense.

This episode of An Ounce unpacks The Eloquence Illusion—how polished words and perfect delivery can disguise empty thinking. From corporate spin to “quantum detox,” we explore why we fall for what sounds right instead of what is right.

Learn how to recognize verbal sleight-of-hand and keep your brain one step ahead of the charm.

Like, subscribe, and share if this story surprised you.

Related Episodes / Playlists:
The Distasteful History of Toothpaste – how bad breath built a billion-dollar industry https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI

Why People Stopped Smiling in Photos – culture, cameras, and changing faces https://youtu.be/l3xddLnkqME

📚 References:
• Reber, R. et al. (1998). Processing Fluency and Aesthetic Pleasure: Is Beauty in the Perceiver’s Processing Experience?
• Historical Advertising Archives: Camel & Lysol print ads (public domain).
• Mayo Clinic & NIH resources on Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT).
• Common English language paradoxes — “cargo/driveway” examples from folk linguistics.

Credits:
Music: Licensed via YouTube Audio Library
Images: Wikimedia Commons, Picryl, Public Domain & Open Government sources
Hashtags:

EloquenceIllusion #CriticalThinking #AnOuncePodcast

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🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
00:00 – The Beautiful Sound of Nonsense
01:19 – Why Smooth Equals Smart
02:39 – The Museum of Beautiful Nonsense
04:39 – When Absurdity Becomes Truth
05:35 – An Ounce

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The Piper Alpha oil platform explosion killed 167 men and changed offshore safety forever. This is how a chain of ignored warnings turned the North Sea into a firestorm. And how another disaster, Deep Water Horizon, was foreshadowed by Piper.
On July 6th, 1988, the North Sea lit up like a second sun. The Piper Alpha disaster wasn’t just an accident—it was engineered by complacency, cost-cutting, and a system built to fail.
This An Ounce episode dives into the chain of decisions that made disaster inevitable: missing paperwork, disabled safety systems, and production pressure that drowned out caution.
From the first spark to the last survivor, this is the story of a night that reshaped offshore drilling worldwide.

If you’ve ever wondered how safety rules are written in blood, this is it.
👉 Watch more Disaster Files on An Ounce, where we uncover how small oversights become historic catastrophes.
📺 Related episode: “The Ghost Train That Destroyed a Town” — the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster that echoes the same lessons of system failure. https://youtu.be/8r4543HXmms

Like, subscribe, and share to support stories that outsmart the obvious.

PiperAlpha #DisasterFiles #AnOuncePodcast #NorthSeaOil #deepwaterhorizon #SafetyLessons #IndustrialDisasters #FireInvestigation #EnergyHistory

________________________________________
⏱️ 3. Chapters
00:00 — The Night the North Sea Burned
00:50 — The Chain of Failure
03:35 — Event Progression and Response
05:22 — Outcomes and Recovery
06:20 — Comparison, Context, and Lessons
07:59 — An Ounce

________________________________________
🌐 4. References (Plain-Text URLs)
• Cullen Inquiry Final Report (1990): https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20090805144911/http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/iacs/osd/piperalpha.pdf
• UK HSE – Piper Alpha Inquiry Site (Open Government License v3.0): https://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/piperalpha.htm
• BBC Archive – Piper Alpha Disaster Overview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-44749392
• Energy Institute – Lessons from Piper Alpha: https://publishing.energyinst.org/topics/major-accident-prevention/piper-alpha
• Survivor Steve Rae Interview (Energy Voice): https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/243942/steve-rae-piper-alpha-survivor
________________________________________
🏷️ 5. Tags (Comma-Separated)
Piper Alpha, Piper Alpha Disaster, North Sea Explosion, North Sea Oil, Offshore Disaster, Oil Rig Explosion, Occidental Petroleum, Cullen Inquiry, Offshore Safety, Disaster Files, An Ounce Podcast, Jim Fugate, Industrial Safety, Fire Investigation, Deepwater Horizon Comparison, 1988 Explosion, Energy History, Safety Culture, Preventable Disasters, Piper Alpha Documentary, Piper Alpha Explained, Piper Alpha Investigation.

Credits:
Image and Video: By subscription through Getty and iStock, and:
Sources & Licenses
Images and reference materials from the Piper Alpha Disaster Inquiry (1988 – 1990) are reproduced with permission under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL).
© Crown copyright, UK Health and Safety Executive.
Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 – https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Some images have been cropped, color-graded, or composited for clarity. No endorsement by the HSE or the UK Government is implied.
For the full Inquiry and reports, visit:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/piper-alpha-disaster-public-inquiry.htm
Music: Ebb by Density and Time via YouTube Audio Library

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There are zombies walking among us — but not the kind you’ve seen in horror films. These monsters don’t eat brains. They drain confidence, independence, and joy. This Halloween episode of An Ounce exposes the terrifying truth: how the “zombie pathogen” infects abusers, how they hunt, what they feed on, and—most importantly—how their prey can break free.
In this episode:
• The hidden origin of these zombies.
• How they stalk and select their prey.
• The slow harvest of confidence and joy.
• Why they lash out when threatened.
• The cure that starves the monster.
👻 A Halloween allegory with a real message: you’re not infected, you’re being harvested. And you can walk away.
👉 Tap subscribe so you don’t miss the next twist in history.
Related Episodes/Playlists:
• The Ghost Train That Destroyed a Town – [insert link]
• The Forgotten War That Shaped America – [insert link]
• Playlist: Dark & Strange Stories – [insert link]
📚 References:
(Allegorical episode – no direct sources. Optional: drop in hotline/resource links here.)
“If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, there is help and hope. These resources are free, confidential, and available 24/7:”
📚 References / Resources for Help
• U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline – https://www.thehotline.org | Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text “START” to 88788
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) – https://www.rainn.org | Call 1-800-656-4673
• SAMHSA Helpline (substance abuse & mental health, for related crises) – https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline | Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
🌍 International:
• UN Women Global Directory of Domestic Violence Hotlines – https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/global-resources
• UK – National Domestic Abuse Helpline – https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk | Call 0808 2000 247
• Canada – ShelterSafe (connects to nearest women’s shelter) – https://sheltersafe.ca

Credits:
Music: [list if used]
Images: [list if used]

AnOuncePodcast #Halloween #ZombieStory

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🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
00:00 – Intro: A real monster story
01:02 – Origin Story
02:17 – The Monster Speaks
05:00 – The Capture
07:15 – Hope: breaking free of the harvest
08:51 – A Word of Warning
09:22 – An Ounce
09:50 – Finding Help
________________________________________
Credits:
Music: Radar, Deified, and Stats by The Gray Room, Density & Time via YouTube Audio Library

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What if the very struggles you avoid—the pain, the awkwardness, the breakdown—were the only path to strength and freedom? In this episode of An Ounce, we explore the lessons of the chick in the egg and the caterpillar in the cocoon. Both teach us a universal truth: without struggle, there is no growth. Without hardship, there is no flight.
If you’ve ever been in your own “caterpillar soup” moment, this is for you.
👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this story surprised you.
💬 Share your own “breaking free” story in the comments—I’d love to hear it.
👉 You might also enjoy this related An Ounce episode: Ruby Crane and the Blind Soldiers: Kindness in the Dark - https://youtu.be/O8O6Hb6-veQ

Inspiration #Motivation #AnOuncePodcast #Growth

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🎯 Chapters
00:00 – Struggle is Necessary
01:04 – Baby Birds, Tougher than Bikers
02:02 – Caterpillars and Horror-Movie Goo
03:13 – Formation, not Failure
04:01 – Pulling it Together
04:50 – Anecdote
06:08 – An Ounce
(Adjust after editing/recording.)
________________________________________
📚 References
Toastmasters Speech: The Blessing of Hard Things (Jim Fugate, 2025).
Biology basics: bird hatching, butterfly metamorphosis (public domain).
Fire service personal anecdote.
________________________________________
Credits:
Images: iStock, Getty, by subscription.
Music: Sata Yuga by Jesse Gallagher via YouTube Music

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In 1944, the Hartford Circus Fire turned the “Greatest Show on Earth” into one of America’s deadliest disasters. Flames consumed the Big Top in less than 10 minutes.

This episode of An Ounce takes you inside the Hartford Circus Fire — the spark, the panic, and the aftermath. Why was the tent waterproofed with gasoline and paraffin? Why were families trapped under burning canvas? And what lessons from earlier fires like Triangle Shirt waist and Coconut Grove went ignored until it was too late?

If this story struck you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone else who should hear it. 👉 For another fire that reshaped history, watch London Ablaze: Tragedy, Blame, and Rebirth in 1666. https://youtu.be/zB4575siib0 #DisasterHistory #HartfordCircusFire #AnOunce ________________________________________
🕒 CHAPTERS
00:00 – Hook: The Day the Clowns Cried
00:50 – The Before the Spark
01:38 – The Spark: Wallendas & the First Flames
02:33 – Escalation & Exits
04:15 – Response
04:49 – Outcomes
06:15 – Lessons, Changes, What was Missed
07:43 – An Ounce
________________________________________ 📚
REFERENCES
• NFPA Quarterly (July 1944) – Hartford Circus Holocaust
• Volunteer Firemen magazine (Aug 1944) – eyewitness accounts
• Hartford Courant archives: https://www.courant.com/hartford-circus-fire/
• Connecticut State Library: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hcf
• NFPA retrospective: https://www.nfpa.org/news-archive/2014/nfpa-remembers-hartford-circus-fire
________________________________________
Credits
Images: Images and videos from iStock and Getty by subscription. Additional Images through the Library of Congress, Archive.org, and Wikimedia. Some image a representative only and not from the 1944 event, and some images are AI generated art inspired by contemporary sources.
Music: Maestro Tlakaelel by Jesse Galagher via YouTube audio archive.

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What if Joseph Merrick, the so-called “Elephant Man,” had been born beautiful? This episode explores his life, his genius, and what society still struggles to see: elusive humanity.

They called him a monster. History remembers him as the Elephant Man. But Joseph Merrick was far more than his face. This episode explores his real story — his suffering, his dignity, and the haunting “what if” of how different life might have been if he had looked “normal.”

After watching, you’ll see how cultural awkwardness and silence still shape how we treat difference today — and why Merrick’s story still matters.
Call to Action (rotation):
• Like, subscribe, and share if this story surprised you.
• Tap subscribe so you don’t miss the next twist in history.
Episode/Playlist Links:
• The Distasteful History of Toothpaste – Why smiles once meant something very different. https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI
• The Smile That Changed Culture – Why people didn’t smile in old photos. https://youtu.be/l3xddLnkqME
• Playlist: An Ounce Podcast – Historical Lives & Legends https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtoRfoCHh3ZqVEXIJ1zBpwLW

JosephMerrick #HistoryWhatIf #AnOuncePodcast

________________________________________
🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
00:00 – The Monster or the Man?
01:03 – Life
01:45 – The Freak Show Years
02:33 – A Doctor Sees the Person
03:28 – What If He Were Beautiful?
04:26 – Elusive Humanity
05:14 – An Ounce
________________________________________

📚 References
(Spelled-out URLs for source material; add before upload. Example entries below)
• BBC History: Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man – https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/merrick_joseph.shtml
• Science Museum UK: Who Was the Elephant Man? – https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/joseph-merrick-elephant-man
• Biography.com: Joseph Merrick – https://www.biography.com/person/joseph-merrick
• Royal London Hospital Archives – https://archives.history.qmul.ac.uk

_____

Images: iStock and Getty, Wikimedia, and Picryl Public Domain images annotated in video. Also images generates by A.I.
Music: Images of Tomorrow by Unicorn Heads Via YouTube Music Library.

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Think you know history? From Marie Antoinette’s fake cake quote to a pope putting a corpse on trial, we debunk 10 myths and reveal the weird truths behind them.
You know the story — or so you thought.
This episode of An Ounce dives into 10 famous “facts” that never happened, plus a few true events so strange you’ll swear we made them up. From Columbus’s wrong math to political window-tossing in Prague, we’re swapping history class clichés for the real — and often ridiculous — truth.
It’s fast-paced, insightful, and packed with twists that outsmart the obvious.
What surprised you the most? Drop a comment below.
If you could rewrite one moment in history, what would you change?
👉 Like, subscribe, and share for more smart, surprising storytelling.

🎥 Related episode: The Corpse on Trial: Pope Formosus and the Cadaver Synod – https://youtu.be/sd81dgO6Wpw
🎥 Related episode: Operation ‘Paul Bunyan’ in the Korean DMZ - https://youtu.be/lAYCcG8Xuqo

HistoricalMyths #WeirdHistory #AnOuncePodcast #OutsmartTheObvious

________________________________________
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Intro: What You “Know” Is Wrong
00:45 – Marie Antoinette’s Cake Problem
01:44 – The Pope Who Put a Corpse on Trial
02:35 – Medieval People and the Shape of the Earth
03:42 – Defenestrations of Prague
04:23 – Franklin’s Kite and the Real Experiment
05:12 – Operation Paul Bunyan: The Tree War
06:14 – Nero and the Nonexistent Fiddle
06:48 – Jeremy Bentham Attends Meetings (While Dead)
07:33 – Great Wall of China from Space? Nope.
08:02 – Medieval Toilets and the Groom of the Stool
09:17 – Big Picture: History’s Bad Habits

________________________________________
📚 References (Fully Written Out URLs):
• Marie Antoinette quote – Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Antoinette-queen-of-France
• Cadaver Synod – Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/cadaver-synod-medieval-trial-dead-pope-180971919/
• Columbus & Earth’s Shape – History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/columbus
• Defenestrations of Prague – Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/event/Defenestration-of-Prague
• Franklin’s Kite Experiment – Franklin Institute: https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/kite-key-experiment
• Operation Paul Bunyan – U.S. Army: https://www.army.mil/article/112622
• Nero & Rome Fire – National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/nero
• Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon – University College London: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bentham-project/who-was-jeremy-bentham
• Great Wall visibility – NASA: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2012/05/11/the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/
• Medieval Toilets – Historic England: https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/medieval-toilets
________________________________________
Credits:
Images and Video: Via iStock and Getty, Picryl, Wikimedia, and A.I. generated as noted in the video.
Music: Via the YouTube Audio Library: Clouds Lifting, Country Funk, For our Friends, Merry Go Round, and Tomorrow’s Light by Telecasted.

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In 1835, a New York newspaper convinced the public that intelligent bat-men lived on the moon—and millions believed it. This is the true story of the first viral media hoax in history.

🌓 They Fell for This?! Bat-Men on the Moon and the First Fake News Frenzy
In August of 1835, The New York Sun published a story claiming that a new telescope had revealed intelligent life on the moon—complete with beaver-bat creatures, sapphire cities, and lunar philosophers. It was bizarre, bold... and completely fake. Yet millions believed it.

This episode of An Ounce explores how the Great Moon Hoax fooled the public, what it says about our need to believe, and how the echoes of that story still ripple through the internet age.
🔍 Featuring original engravings from the hoax and eerie parallels to today's fake news.
📌 If you enjoy true stories with strange twists, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and comment!
💬 QUESTION: What modern hoax do you think future generations will laugh at? Let us know below.

FakeNews #BatmenOnTheMoon #MoonHoax #GreatMoonHoax #HistoryPodcast #AnOuncePodcast #MediaHoaxes #19thCenturyNews #TrueHistory #YouTubeHistory

________________________________________
Chapters
00:00 – They Discovered Bat-Men on the Moon?!
00:37 – The Headline That Fooled the Nation
02:06 – The Public Goes Lunar-Loco
03:27 – The Big Reveal: It Was All Made Up
04:39 – Why We Wanted It to Be True
05:43 – From 1835 to Today: We Still Fall For It
07:01 – An Ounce of Wisdom

________________________________________
References:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moon_Hoax
General overview of the 1835 Great Moon Hoax, including publication details and public reaction.
• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-moon-hoax
Brief summary article from History.com marking the publication of the hoax in The New York Sun.
• https://www.britannica.com/story/the-great-moon-hoax-of-1835-was-sci-fi-passed-off-as-news
Encyclopedia Britannica article analyzing how the hoax resembled early science fiction and fooled the public.
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Moon_Hoax_Bat_Man.jpg
Public domain engraving of a “moon bat-man” used in the original hoax illustrations—ideal for visual reference.
________________________________________
Credits:
Visual: Images via iStock, Getty, and Picryl. Additional representative images generated with AI.
Music: The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/darkglow/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

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These famous names weren’t born famous. From Bob Dylan to David Bowie, discover how six stars reinvented themselves—starting with a name change.
What do Bob Dylan, Katy Perry, and David Bowie have in common? None of those were their original names. In this final episode of You Won’t Believe Who These Names Belong To, we explore how six celebrities—and two curveball bonus entries—changed their public identity by changing their names.
This isn’t just trivia. It’s transformation.
You’ll meet artists who dodged confusion, dropped Roman numerals, or launched candy-coated personas to take control of their legacy.
⭐ Who will surprise you the most?
⭐ Which name feels like a total mismatch?
⭐ And what does your name say about you?
🧠 Watch the whole series and see how a name—just a name—can change everything.
👉 Like, subscribe, and share this with someone who thinks Engelbert Humperdinck was a Muppet.
📺 Catch more surprising stories on An Ounce: real history, weird twists, and small things that changed everything.
🎧 You might also like:
Watch How Four Marines Created a Rock Legend—By Accident — The bizarre fight that changed Peter Cetera’s voice, and music history.
https://youtu.be/CYsCINKQJaA

NameChanges #CelebrityOrigins #AnOuncePodcast #TrueStories #popculturehistory

________________________________________
🟨Chapters
00:00 - Intro: The Power of a Name
00:45 - Robert Zimmerman → Bob Dylan
01:40 - Thomas Mapother IV → Tom Cruise
02:41 - Katheryn Hudson → Katy Perry
03:45 - Faith Perry → Faith Hill
04:35 - Ruth Elizabeth Davis → Bette Davis
05:41 - David Robert Jones → David Bowie
07:00 - Bonus: Engelbert Humperdinck (Real!)
07:40 - Bonus: Reese Witherspoon (Also Real!)
08:29 - Final Thoughts: The Reinvention Game
________________________________________
🟩 References
• Bob Dylan – Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Dylan
• Tom Cruise – Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tom-Cruise
• Katy Perry – Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katy-Perry
• Faith Hill – Wikipedia (no Britannica entry):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Hill
• Bette Davis – Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bette-Davis
• David Bowie – Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Bowie
• Engelbert Humperdinck – Wikipedia (biographical focus):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Humperdinck_(singer)
• Reese Witherspoon – Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Reese-Witherspoon

Credits: Images via iStock and Getty, additional images through Wikimedia (as noted in video)
Music: A New Orleans Crawfish Bowl by Unicorn Heads via YouTube Music
________________________________________

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You know the name—or so you think. From Whitey Bulger to Adolf Eichmann, discover six real-life fugitives, impostors, and legends who used fake names to vanish—or to become unforgettable. True stories stranger than fiction.

This episode of An Ounce reveals the hidden lives behind six infamous name changes—mobsters hiding by the beach, war criminals living next door, con men becoming anyone they wanted, and outlaws rewriting history.
It’s fast-paced, riveting, and packed with twists that prove the truth really can be stranger than fiction.

Which name shocked you most? Drop a comment below.

If you could rewrite your name—or your past—what would you choose?
👉 Like, subscribe, and share for more smart, surprising storytelling.

🎥 Related episode: You Won’t Believe Who These Names Belong To – Episode 2: The Power of Reinvention – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[INSERT]

HiddenHistory #TrueCrimeStories #AnOuncePodcast #NameChanges #MastersOfDisguise #OutsmartTheObvious

You Won’t Believe Who These Names Belong To!
The “Name Change Series” from An Ounce Released on or about:
(1) July 31, 2025:The Real Identities of Famous Icons
(2) August 14, 2025:They Changed Their Names -Then Changed Pop Culture
(3) August 28, 2025:Masters of Disguise - When Changing Your Name Was the Only Way to Escape
(4) September 4, 2025:The Reinvention Game
________________________________________
⏱️ Chapters (Timestamps)
0:00 – Intro: Names that hide more than they reveal
0:34 – Charles Gasko → James “Whitey” Bulger
1:32 – Ricardo Klement → Adolf Eichmann
2:24 – Wolfgang Gerhard → Joseph Mengele
3:20 – Literally Everyone → Frank Abagnale Jr.
4:19 – Robert Leroy Parker → Butch Cassidy
5:09 – Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr. → The Great Impostor
6:25 – An Ounce
________________________________________
📚 References
• Whitey Bulger – FBI: https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/james-whitey-bulger
• Adolf Eichmann – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/adolf-eichmann
• Joseph Mengele – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/josef-mengele
• Frank Abagnale Jr. – Biography.com: https://www.biography.com/crime/frank-abagnale
• Butch Cassidy – History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/butch-cassidy
• Ferdinand Waldo Demara – Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-impostor-125679967/
________________________________________

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In 2013, a runaway train with no crew, no lights, and 72 tank cars of crude oil tore into Lac Mégantic, Quebec — triggering Canada’s deadliest modern rail disaster.
At 1:14 a.m. on July 6th, 2013, a silent, unmanned train derailed on a curve in Lac Mégantic. The resulting firestorm — fueled by six million liters of volatile Bakken crude — leveled the downtown, claimed 47 lives, and left a permanent scar on the town and rail safety history.
In this An Ounce disaster case study, we break down the chain of mechanical failures, human decisions, and systemic weaknesses that led to the catastrophe — and the lessons still unlearned.
If you think the systems we rely on are fail safe, this story might change your mind.
Watch more stories like this on An Ounce:
[Insert URL to related episode — recommend Halifax Explosion once both are in the same playlist]

If you value clear, honest storytelling about real disasters and the lessons they leave behind, like this video, subscribe to the channel, and share it with someone who thinks “it can’t happen here.”

AnOunce #LacMegantic #TrainDisaster #DisasterCaseStudy #RailSafety #CanadaHistory

________________________________________
Chapters (Timestamps)
00:00 – The Ghost Train
00:51 – Set-Up
02:01 – The Spark
03:56 – The Ghost Train Rolls in
05:39 – The Response
06:40 – Outcomes: The Cost
07:16 – Outcomes: Lessons Learned
08:02 – What We Missed?
09:10 – An Ounce
09:40 – Firefighting Chaos

________________________________________
Authoritative References with URLs
1. Transportation Safety Board of Canada – Full Official Report
Primary investigation report with findings, causes, and timeline.
🔗 https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2013/r13d0054/r13d0054.html
________________________________________
2. CBC News Interactive Coverage (Includes survivor quotes, images, and maps)
Excellent resource for human stories, political context, maps, and aftermath.
🔗 https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/lac-megantic/
________________________________________
3. Wikipedia Summary with Many Cited Sources
Includes citations from TSB, Reuters, Globe and Mail, and CBC.
🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-Mégantic_rail_disaster
________________________________________
4. YouTube: Aerial Footage and Aftermath Clips (Public Footage)
Aerial shots and survivor videos. May contain content usable with credit or editing.
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khpEAfYzTnc
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U46ikEotb8
________________________________________
5. Google Image Search for Public Photos
Use filters like “labeled for reuse” for royalty-free visuals.
🔗 https://www.google.com/search?q=Lac-M%C3%A9gantic+rail+disaster+2013&tbm=isch&tbs=il:cl
________________________________________
6. TSB Canada Infographics and Diagrams
Often embedded in their reports or retrievable through archive tools.
🔗 https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2013/r13d0054/r13d0054.html#appendix
________________________________________
Sources and Credits:
Music: Torsion by Density & Time via YouTube music library
Certain images, tables, and excerpts used in this documentary are provided by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
Original report: Railway Investigation Report R13D0054
Available at: https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2013/r13d0054/r13d0054.html#photo-13
© Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Used under the Government of Canada’s Open Government License. Content has been reproduced for educational and documentary purposes with attribution. The TSB does not endorse this video or its interpretations.
Additional images via iStock and Getty

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A cargo ship fire triggered the largest explosion before the atomic bomb. 2,000 dead. Halifax destroyed. This true story reshaped disaster response—and it all started with a spark on the water.—and you’ve probably never heard of it.
On December 6, 1917, the SS Mont-Blanc collided with another ship in Halifax Harbor. Twenty minutes later, it exploded—flattening neighborhoods, killing 2,000, and rewriting the rules of disaster response. Here's how a small accident changed the world forever.

🎧 Like, comment, and subscribe for more short-but-mind-blowing history episodes every week.

🔁 Related episode: “London Ablaze: Tragedy, Blame, and Rebirth in 1666” – https://youtu.be/zB4575siib0

🎙️ From An Ounce, your dose of surprising true stories.

HalifaxExplosion #History #Disaster #WWI #AnOuncePodcast #CargoShipBlast #ForgottenHistory

⏱️ Timestamps
0:00 – A Quiet Morning in Halifax
1:08 – Two Ships, One Dangerous Secret
3:24 – Miscommunication and the Collision
5:02 – The Fire Everyone Watched
6:37 – The Explosion That Flattened a City
9:20 – Relief, Response, and a Boston Christmas Tree
11:22 – The Takeaway: Small Sparks, Big Consequences
________________________________________
🔗 References
• CBC Archive Overview: https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/the-halifax-explosion
• Canadian War Museum: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/the-halifax-explosion
• Britannica Entry: https://www.britannica.com/event/Halifax-explosion
• Anchor Distance Map: https://www.novascotiahistory.ca/halifax-explosion-artifacts-map
________________________________________
Media Credits: Images and video via Wikimedia and Picryl as noted in video, images also obtained through iStock and Getty. And representative AI generated scenes as noted. Music via YouTube Music Library (Yacoby, Wind-Up Mountains, and Never Don’t Stop by Schwartzy)

👉Watch the weekly podcast, 'An Ounce', at - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtrh6QOIZpApuBCHIfaZQmmP

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Lady Gaga. Drake. Snoop Dogg. Vin Diesel. You know the names—but not the ones they were born with.
In this second episode of You Won’t Believe Who These Names Belong To, we uncover the real names behind the fame and the surprising stories of how some of pop culture’s biggest legends rewrote their identities—and sometimes, their destinies.
🎭 What does it take to go from Peter Hernandez to Bruno Mars? From Mark Sinclair to Vin Diesel?
Join us as we dig into the childhoods, turning points, and bold decisions that shaped their public personas.
From hilarious nicknames to strategic reinventions, these transformations are anything but accidental.
🧠 How many did you guess right? What names shocked you most?
Got a weird name-change story of your own—or know someone who once legally became Optimus Prime?
Drop it in the comments and share the game.
📌 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with a friend who thinks “Caryn Johnson” sounds familiar…
👉 You might also like:
Check out Did Einstein Steal Her Genius?—another story that rewrites everything you thought you knew:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQmG7VpR6Ek

LadyGaga #Drake #SnoopDogg #VinDiesel #StageNames #NameChange #CelebrityOrigins #PopCultureHistory #AnOuncePodcast

Other episodes in the series:
You Won’t Believe Who These Names Belong To!
The “Name Change Series” from An Ounce Released on or about:
(1) July 31, 2025:The Real Identities of Famous Icons
(2) August 14, 2025:They Changed Their Names -Then Changed Pop Culture
(3) August 28, 2025:Masters of Disguise - When Changing Your Name Was the Only Way to Escape
(4) September 4, 2025:The Reinvention Game
________________________________________
Chapters
00:00 – Intro: Do You Know Their Real Names?
00:39 – Stefani Germanotta → Lady Gaga
01:56 – Peter Hernandez → Bruno Mars
03:06 – Mark Sinclair → Vin Diesel
04:06 – Caryn Johnson → Whoopi Goldberg
04:53 – Aubrey Graham → Drake
05:46 – Calvin Broadus Jr. → Snoop Dogg
06:26 – Final Reflection & Closing Thoughts
06:45 – An Ounce
________________________________________
References
• Bruno Mars name origin – The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/aug/24/bruno-mars-facts
• Whoopi Goldberg name history – Biography
https://www.biography.com/actors/whoopi-goldberg
• Vin Diesel real name and background – IMDb Bio
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004874/bio
• Drake on Degrassi – NPR
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/drake-degrassi-career
• Lady Gaga early life and name – Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lady-Gaga
• Snoop Dogg biography – Rolling Stone
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/snoop-dogg-biography-career-2022-1284649/

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Pluto was a planet—until scientists held a vote and kicked it out. What else have we been hilariously wrong about? From medicine to space, here’s why certainty is overrated…

Pluto used to be our ninth planet—until it wasn’t.

In 2006, a group of scientists demoted it to “dwarf planet” status, and suddenly, everything we knew about the solar system got a little weirder.

But Pluto’s not the only thing we’ve misunderstood. We once thought smoking was healthy, that babies didn’t feel pain, and that doctors didn’t need to wash their hands. Oops.

This episode of An Ounce is a hilarious reminder that some of our “facts” might not be facts forever.
So the next time you hear someone say, “It’s settled science,”—you might want to smile politely… and leave the door open.

👉 If this made you laugh—or made you think—hit subscribe. Maybe Pluto will forgive us.
🪐 Drop a comment and share what you think humanity’s gotten hilariously wrong.
🎧 You might also like: The Distasteful History of Toothpaste – How brushing your teeth used to involve lizard guts, radioactive paste, and crushed bones.
👉https://youtu.be/tLr0idEsopY 👉 https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI

Media Credits: Music – Seagull, and Spoon by Telecasted via YouTube Library, images and video from iStock and Getty.

🔹 Pluto's Discovery and Demotion:
• NASA on Pluto's planet status:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/pluto/overview/
• History of Pluto's discovery by Clyde Tombaugh (via Lowell Observatory):
https://lowell.edu/history-of-pluto/
• Why Pluto was demoted by the IAU in 2006:
https://www.space.com/why-pluto-is-not-a-planet.html
________________________________________
🔹 Outdated Scientific Beliefs:
• Handwashing and Ignaz Semmelweis:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164365/
• Tongue map myth:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-tongue-map/
• Babies and pain perception:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440629/
• Smoking and historical advertising:
https://www.history.com/news/smoking-health-ads-doctors-cigarettes

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What do Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, and Martin Luther King Jr. have in common? None of them were born with those names. Discover the real stories behind seven iconic identities.
You know their stage names—but what about the names they left behind?
From Muhammad Ali to Marilyn Monroe and Martin Luther King Jr., this episode of An Ounce uncovers the hidden identities behind seven legendary figures.
It’s a fast-paced guessing game filled with name changes, reinventions, and the unexpected reasons behind them.
Which reveal surprised you the most? Did you guess any right? Let us know in the comments.

other episodes in the series:
You Won’t Believe Who
These Names Belong To!

The “Name Change Series” from An Ounce
Released on or about:
(1) July 31, 2025:The Real Identities of
Famous Icons

(2) August 14, 2025:They Changed Their Names
-Then Changed Pop Culture

(3) August 28, 2025:Masters of Disguise - When
Changing Your Name Was
the Only Way to Escape

(4) September 4, 2025:The Reinvention Game

If you could change your name… what would you choose?
👉 Like, subscribe, and share for more stories that outsmart the obvious.
🎥 Related episode: [You’ve Been Lied To! The Truth Behind History’s Biggest Myths]

FamousNames #AnOuncePodcast #NameOrigins #CelebrityRealNames #HistoryRevealed

________________________________________
⏱️ Chapters (Timestamps):
00:00 – Intro
00:48 – Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (Muhammad Ali)
01:48 – Norma Mortenson (Marilyn Monroe)
03:01 – Reginald Dwight (Elton John)
04:18 – Marion Morrison (John Wayne)
05:14 – Archibald Leach (Cary Grant)
06:05 – Ferdinand Alcindor, Jr. (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
06:58 – Michael King, Jr. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
07:54 – An Ounce
________________________________________

📚 References:
• Muhammad Ali – Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-boxer
• Marilyn Monroe – Biography.com: https://www.biography.com/actor/marilyn-monroe
• Elton John – Official Website: https://www.eltonjohn.com/
• John Wayne – IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000078/
• Cary Grant – TCM: https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/76170|27646/Cary-Grant#biography
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – NBA: https://www.nba.com/stats/player/76003/career
• Martin Luther King Jr. – Nobel Prize: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/
________________________________________
Additional Media Credits: Images though Wikimedia, iStock, and Getty. Music via YouTube Music Library (Posted by Joel Cummings)

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Before Superman soared, there was another Man of Steel—Joe Magarac.
A towering figure born in the steel mills of Pittsburgh, Joe could lift trains, drink molten metal, and work without rest. But was he stronger than Superman—or even real at all?

This episode uncovers the legend of Joe Magarac: part folk hero, part labor myth, and maybe part corporate propaganda. We’ll explore how an imaginary steelworker became a symbol of working-class endurance and how his legacy challenges everything we think we know about strength, sacrifice, and storytelling.

📣 Share this with the strongest person you know.
💬 And tell us in the comments: Who would you back—Joe or Superman?

🎧 Related episode you might enjoy:
An Ounce – The Legend of Paul Bunyan: Big Lies and Tall Truths
https://youtu.be/zCQZST8n2Xw

JoeMagarac #Superman #Folklore #LaborHistory #AmericanLegends #AnOuncePodcast

________________________________________

🕒 Chapters (Timestamps – estimate and adjust after edit)
00:00 – Intro: The Steel Man vs. Superman
00:58 – Chapter 1: Born from Fire
02:16 – Chapter 2: The Original Man of Steel
03:48 – Chapter 3: Too Strong to Be True?
04:09 – Chapter 4: Superman vs. Magarac
06:06 – An Ounce
________________________________________
🔗 References (Plain URLs with context)
• Collier’s Weekly (1931 article by Owen Francis): Origin of Joe Magarac
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4147162&view=1up&seq=11
• “Joe Magarac” entry, American Folklore.net
https://www.americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/joe_magarac.html
• Superman debut issue (Action Comics #1, June 1938)
https://www.comics.org/issue/586/

Images : Representative images generates by AI as indicated in video(multiple Sources), Wikimedia, and Picryl; as well as iStock and Getty
Music: Via YouTube Music – Spoons by Telecasted, Boomin by Dan (lebo) Lebowitz and Tone, Seekers, Comom Vamos by Casa Rosa, and Down with your Getup by Mini Vandals
________________________________________

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Four Marines. One shattered jaw. And a sound that would define a generation.
In 1969, Peter Cetera—future frontman of Chicago—got beaten up at a baseball game. That fight didn’t just break his face… it transformed his voice. From clenched teeth and reconstructive surgery came a vocal style that shaped hits like 25 or 6 to 4, Hard to Say I’m Sorry, and You’re the Inspiration.
🎙️ Discover the wild true story behind Chicago’s rise—and the injury that made it all possible.
👍 Like the story? Hit subscribe, share it with a music history buff, and explore more unexpected twists on An Ounce.
You might also like:
🎧 If It Feels Good… – A true story about radiation, ignorance, and how comfort can be deadly.
👉 https://youtu.be/Z39Qf8z0gB4

PeterCetera #ChicagoBand #MusicHistory #RockLegends #AnOunce #StorytellingPodcast #VocalTransformation

________________________________________
⏱️ Chapters (Timestamps – Estimate Only)
0:00 – Ordinary Guy
1:11 – Something Strange Came From the Damage
1:38 – The Facts
3:14 – Now You Know The Name
3:52 – An Ounce

________________________________________
🔗 Online References
1. Peter Cetera interview about the jaw injury (Goldmine Magazine):
https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/peter-cetera-recalls-beating-that-rewired-his-voice
2. James Guercio quote about 25 or 6 to 4 session (Classic Rock History):
https://www.classicrockhistory.com/the-story-behind-25-or-6-to-4-by-chicago/
3. Chicago's early band history (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame):
https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/chicago
4. Fan analysis of Cetera’s vocal change post-injury (Chicago fan forums archive):
https://forums.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/136923-peter-ceteras-voice-change/
5. Cetera explains the origin of “25 or 6 to 4” title (Ultimate Classic Rock):
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/25-or-6-to-4-title-explained/

Images: Credited in video and/or sourced through Getty and iStock by subscription through Power Director 365.
Music: Ducky Funk by Quincas Moreira via YouTube music library

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A deadly fog. A city caught off guard. Over 12,000 lives lost—and barely a whisper.

In December 1952, London was smothered by a yellow fog so thick it stopped traffic, filled hospitals, and choked the breath from thousands. No alarms. No evacuation. Just cold air, coal smoke, and silence.

This episode of An Ounce follows fictional lives inside a real catastrophe: the Great Smog of London. Discover how a slow-moving, invisible predator crept into homes, settled into lungs, and changed public health policy forever.

👉 Like stories that reveal forgotten truths?
Tap like, subscribe, and share An Ounce with someone who thinks disasters only come with a bang.
🎧 You Might Also Like
London Ablaze: Tragedy, Blame, and Rebirth in 1666 — The gripping story of another deadly chapter in London’s past.
https://youtu.be/zB4575siib0

GreatSmog #LondonHistory #AnOuncePodcast #DisasterHistory #ForgottenCatastrophes

________________________________________
📍 CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (ESTIMATED)
00:00 – Intro: A Fog That Shouldn't Have hurt anyone
00:46 – Day One: December 5th, 1952
02:43 – Day Two: Silence and Shadows
04:02 – Day Three: The Coughing City
05:24 – Day Four: No Way Out
06:40 – Day Five: The Fog Lifts
07:45 – It’s Just Fog
09:10 – An Ounce

________________________________________
📚 REFERENCES (Spelled Out URLs)
• UK Government Archives – The Great Smog of 1952
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/great-smog-1952/
• BBC News – What Was the Great Smog of London?
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-50818441
• The Guardian – A Killer Smog: How Londoners Died Slowly
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/05/the-great-smog-of-london-1952
• Scientific American – The Fog That Killed 12,000 People
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-fog-that-killed-12000-people/
• UK Parliament – Clean Air Act 1956 Historical Overview
https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/towncountry/towns/urbanplanning/overview/clean-air/
________________________________________
Images: Accessed through, iStock and Getty by subscription; accessed from Pexels and Pixbay, Public Domain images from Wikimedia, and AI images from Powerdirector and Meta.
Music: Via Youtube Music library, recorded by The Mini Vandals: City of the Wolf, Portcullis, Whirlpool, Nomads, and Cater Lake

👉Watch the weekly podcast, 'An Ounce', at - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtrh6QOIZpApuBCHIfaZQmmP

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Take a brief glimpse into how ordinary items can become a real treasure! This short video shows how things like old toys and collectible memorabilia can be worth a lot of money today. Find out what's special about finding priceless antiques! #historytoday #shortswhatsappstatusvideos

What if the junk you tossed in the trash could’ve paid for your next vacation?

In this episode of An Ounce, we explore the unexpected value of things you probably let slip through your fingers. It’s not just about stuff… it’s about memory, meaning, and what we choose to keep.

________________________________________
Chapters
00:00 - Intro: You Threw That Away?
00:51 - The Penny That Costs Too Much
02:00 - Tax Tokens and Forgotten Currencies
02:55 - Cards, Cards, and More Cards
04:16 - Toys You Shouldn’t Have Tossed
05:17 - Why We Pay So Much for Yesterday
07:05 - Close: What’s Really Worth Keeping
08:02 - Here’s An Ounce
________________________________________
Reference URLs
• U.S. Mint coin production costs:
https://www.usmint.gov/news/inside-the-mint/2025-coin-cost-update
• 1909-S VDB Penny details:
https://www.pcgs.com/news/1909-s-vdb-lincoln-cent
• 1943 Steel Penny background:
https://www.coinstudy.com/1943-penny-value.html
• State-issued tax tokens:
https://www.tokenandmedal.org/tax-tokens
• $12M Mickey Mantle card auction:
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/28/mickey-mantle-baseball-card-record
• $500,000 Beanie Baby:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/most-expensive-beanie-baby/
________________________________________
(d) Suggested Episodes (Cross-Promote)
Based on your current catalog, include these 3 suggested companion videos:
1. Did Einstein Steal Her Genius?
→ The hidden mind behind a world-changing formula. https://youtu.be/Aia5JovCydo
2. The Distasteful History of Toothpaste
→ When cleanliness met questionable chemistry. https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI
3. If it Feels Good... A Soothing but Deadly Power of Uranium
→ From glowing clocks to dangerous charm. https://youtu.be/Z39Qf8z0gB4

Images/Video: Obtained through iStock and Getty. Public Domain images sourced through Wikimedia and Picryl.
Music: YouTube Audio Library

👉Watch the weekly podcast, 'An Ounce', at - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtrh6QOIZpApuBCHIfaZQmmP

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What if 11 days just disappeared?
It happened in 1752. This video explains the lost days, the daylight savings time connection, and why we still struggle with time today.

Discover how a calendar change shook the world—missing wages, confused farmers, shifted birthdays, and even George Washington’s “new” birthday.
From mobs yelling “Give us back our 11 days!” to parallels with Y2K panic and today’s daylight savings chaos, this isn’t just a strange moment in history—it’s a warning about how fragile our relationship with time really is.

📌 Chapters (Adjust timestamps after upload)

00:00 – Intro: Time… Lost?
01:14 – The Calendar Catastrophe
03:14 – History Forgets..
04:02 – Modern Parallel: Y2K Panic
04:55 – What Mislaying 11 Days Can Do!
06:00 – So… What’s the Deal
06:45 – An Ounce

🧠 Key Topics & Keywords

Gregorian calendar, Julian calendar, 11 days missing, 1752 calendar change, daylight savings time, history of timekeeping, calendar reform, lost time in history, time confusion, Y2K, time anxiety

📺 You Might Also Like (From An Ounce)

• The Mandela Effect: Did We All Misremember Reality?
  Uncover why large groups remember things “wrong”—and how fragile our grip on time and memory might be. https://youtu.be/IDfeiYgdD5Q
• When the Pope Was Put on Trial (After He Died)
  History’s weirdest courtroom moment, where time stood still and common sense took a break. https://youtu.be/sd81dgO6Wpw
• The Forgotten War That Shaped America: King Philip’s War
  Centuries before the calendar skipped ahead, a war exploded that reshaped the colonies—and was nearly erased from memory. https://youtu.be/NEQkkM7Ohac

Operation Paul Bunyan: When the U.S. Flexed with Chainsaws
A Cold War standoff that proves time isn’t the only thing that can disappear fast—like trees in the DMZ https://youtu.be/lAYCcG8Xuqo

Referenced or Inspired By

• Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 – UK Parliamentary Archives
  https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/houseofcommons/reformacts/overview/calendaract/
• William Hogarth’s “An Election Entertainment”
  https://collections.soane.org/object-p253
• Oxford University Press Blog: “The Lost Days of 1752”
  https://blog.oup.com/2012/09/britain-skipped-11-days-september-1752/
• National Archives – George Washington’s Birthday and Calendar Change
  https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington
• The Church and the Calendar – Journal of Ecclesiastical History (Cambridge)
  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-ecclesiastical-history/article/abs/change-of-calendar-in-1752/6FAABF5D04334F678989B728DBF9A196

Images: Video and image files also sourced through iStock and Getty, and some AI generated images as noted.

Music: Bored Shortz and The Cat’s Meow by Everet Almond, Muffin Man by Cooper Cannell

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Orrin Porter Rockwell, bodyguard to Joseph Smith and feared legend of the American West. He is ‘Mormon’ (LDS) folk hero; is a historical legend, and was said to be invincible—as long as he never cut his hair. But in 1855, he picked up a pair of scissors. Why? This episode reveals a stunning moment of tenderness from a man known more for bullets than kindness. A story of faith, myth, and one sacred gesture you won’t forget.

Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
00:56 – A Man Called Rockwell
02:40 – The Prophecy & the Hair
04:03 – The Widow & the Wig
05:38 – Fallout & Faith
06:49 – Legend & Legacy
07:58 – An Ounce

References:
LDS Church History: Rockwell Prophecy & Loyalty
Details Joseph Smith’s prophecy and Rockwell’s unwavering loyalty.
Source: The Church Historian’s blog.
URL: https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/ask-us-top-five-reference-questions-about-orrin-porter-rockwell?lang=eng

Fact vs. Folklore – Rockwell’s Reputation & Haircut for Agnes
Explores verified and legendary accounts, including the wig story and behavior after cutting his hair.
Source: LDS Living article featuring input from Church History Library.
URL: https://www.ldsliving.com/the-most-famous-porter-rockwell-stories-fact-or-fiction-church-history-library-explains/s/94474

General Biography of Porter Rockwell (Wikipedia)
Overview of his early life, Danite association, lawman role, and mythic status.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_Rockwell

Rockwell's Hair Donation to Agnes Coolbrith Smith
References common questions about the life of Rockwell. Item 2 of the article addresses the hair donation.
Https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/ask-us-top-five-reference-questions-about-orrin-porter-rockwell?lang=eng

Danites Context and Origins
Historical context and analysis of the Danite organization and its role in early LDS history.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danite

Rockwell’s Legendary Status (Badass of the Week)
Stylized but surprisingly well-sourced summary of Rockwell’s lawman years and rugged survival.
URL: https://www.badassoftheweek.com/rockwell

Credits: Several images and video were sourced from iStock and Getty, additional sources include Wikimedia, Picryl, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Music: from the YouTube Audio Library – Frog Kiss the Peat by Dan Lebowitz, Dance of the Mammoths by The Whole Other, Cats Searching for the Truth by Nat Keefe & Hot Buttered Rum

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Was Albert Einstein’s brilliance a solo act… or was someone quietly working beside him—only to be forgotten by history?

In this episode of An Ounce, we uncover the story of Mileva Marić: Einstein’s first wife, a brilliant physicist, and possibly the uncredited partner behind one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time.

From love letters filled with equations to the mystery of a missing diploma and a vanished child, this story raises one bold question:
Who really wrote E=mc²?
________________________________________
📌 Chapter Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro – Was Einstein alone?
01:07 - Meet Mileva Marić
02:21 - Love, Letters, and “Our Work”
03:56 - Missing Daughter, Missing Diploma
05:04 - Falling Apart, Divorce & the Nobel
06:11 - Mileva Alone
07:19 - What If Genius Isn’t a Solo Act
08:13 - An Ounce
________________________________________
🎧 Watch now to explore the mystery, weigh the evidence, and decide for yourself.
🔔 Subscribe for more overlooked stories, hidden history, and genius that doesn’t always get the spotlight.
💬 Leave a comment below—was Mileva Marić a contributor, a muse, or something even more important?
________________________________________

🧠 Like Mileva Marić, Annie Oakley stood at the edge of a moment that could’ve changed history—but didn’t. Find out why. https://youtu.be/OY4x7Q3-LWw

💡 If you didn’t learn about Mileva Marić, chances are you didn’t learn about King Philip’s War either. Here's what really happened. https://youtu.be/NEQkkM7Ohac

🎭 Think Mileva’s story changed the way you see Einstein? Wait till you find out how many of history’s greatest “facts” aren’t facts at all. https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

Credits/Acknowledgements:
Images: Public Domain images from Wikimedia, images and backroad vids from iStock and Getty thru PowerDirector 365.
Music: Assorted piano backgrounds thru PowerDirector 365

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Was James Bond based on a real person? Meet the spies, heroes, and eccentrics who helped inspire Ian Fleming's iconic 007-then find out why none of them quite fit the tux.
________________________________________
Full Description:
What if James Bond wasn't just fiction? In this episode of An Ounce, we dive into the real lives of the men believed to have inspired 007-from the Serbian double agent who gambled with Nazis, to the Canadian mastermind who ran a spy ring out of Manhattan.
Meet Duško Popov, Patrick Dalzel-Job, William Stephenson, Sidney Reilly… and yes, even Ian Fleming himself. Each brought something to the Bond mythos-but not one of them is Bond. Discover how this famous spy was stitched together like a bespoke Frankenstein in a tux, with just the right mix of danger, elegance, and legend.
________________________________________

🔍 Featured Sources:
• Duško Popov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%C5%A1ko_Popov
• Patrick Dalzel-Job: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dalzel-Job
• William Stephenson: https://intrepid-society.org/james-bond-007-vs-william-stephenson
• Sidney Reilly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly
• Ian Fleming biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Fleming
• Origins of the name James Bond: https://as.com/meristation/cine/el-primer-james-bond-es-un-ornitologo-de-filadelfia-ian-fleming-uso-su-nombre-para-crear-a-007-y-envio-esta-carta-a-su-mujer-n/

________________________________________
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
01:04 – Dusko Popov
02:42 – Patrick Dalzel-Job
04:04 – William Stephenson
05:08 – Sidney Reilly
06:10 – Ian Fleming
07:11 – So, Who Is James Bond?
07:59 – An Ounce

________________________________________
🎥 You Might Also Like:
• Find out The Truth Behind History's Biggest Myths! https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ
• The Most Dangerous Tree in the World – How a DMZ Border Dispute Turned Deadly https://youtu.be/lAYCcG8Xuqo
• You've Been Lied To! The Real Story of the Mandela Effect https://youtu.be/IDfeiYgdD5Q
________________________________________
🎯 Subscribe to An Ounce for smart, short, surprising stories from history.
https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast
________________________________________
Music: High Noon by Track Tribe, Stick the Landing by Everet Almond, Final Boss by Evening Telecast, Shady Guy by Surf Ninja 3 via YouTube Audio Library

Images: Via subscription through iStock & Getty, and other Public Domain images via Wikimedia Commons; and AI as indicated in video.

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Two U.S. officers were brutally murdered with axes in the Korean DMZ. The U.S. response? Not missiles—but chainsaws, commandos, and fighter jets. This is the true story of Operation Paul Bunyan—how the might of the U.S. military was unleashed to cut down a single tree… and avoid World War III.
In this episode of An Ounce, we explore how a seemingly small act of violence nearly sparked global conflict, the cultural concept of “saving face,” and one of the most bizarre military operations in Cold War history.
📌 Featuring dramatic tension, dark humor, and true history that’s stranger than fiction.
🔔 Like, subscribe, and don’t miss your next ounce of unbelievable-but-true history.

________________________________________
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:54 - Tree With a View
02:51 - The Axe Murders
04:55 - The Flex Heard 'Round the World - Operation Paul Bunyan
07:10 - North Korea Blinks
07:59 - What Was This Really About?
09:08 - An Ounce
________________________________________
🎥 Watch More Great Videos:
1. 👉 “Annie Oakley and Another Perfect Shot: How She Missed a Chance to Change the World”
➤ https://youtu.be/OY4x7Q3-LWw
2. “Staff Sergeant Reckless: The Unlikely Hero of the Korean War”
➤ https://youtu.be/F-vnNIWu8Kg
3. “The Real story of Paul Bunyan”
➤ https://youtu.be/zCQZST8n2Xw
4. “Dumb Sheep: The Strange True Story of a Flock That Walked Off a Cliff”
➤ https://youtu.be/FKRmzMS-PfA
________________________________________
📚 References & Resources:
1. U.S. Army Center of Military History – Operation Paul Bunyan Summary
➤ https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/korea/paul-bunyan.html
Official U.S. Army source recounting the timeline and strategic decisions during Operation Paul Bunyan.
2. CIA Declassified Report on the Axe Murder Incident (August 1976)
➤ https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp79t00975a030500010041-2
Declassified analysis of the incident and its potential for escalation during Cold War tensions.
3. Military Times – Retrospective: The Tree That Nearly Started World War III
➤ https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2018/08/18/the-tree-that-almost-started-world-war-iii/
Accessible summary with emotional impact and human perspective on Bonifas and Barrett.
4. The National Interest – “The Most Dangerous Tree in History”
➤ https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/most-dangerous-tree-history-60362
In-depth discussion of the incident, North Korea’s response, and its symbolic meaning.
5. War History Online – The Axe Murder Incident: A Tree Almost Led to Nuclear War
➤ https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/axe-murder-incident.html
A well-written summary that captures the tension, absurdity, and danger of the event.
________________________________________
🛒 Check Out My Book:
Firehouse Philosophy – Real stories and lessons for an exceptional life
📘 On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS
________________________________________
📬 Contact / Collaboration Inquiries:
jim@anounce.org
________________________________________
🎵 Credits:
Music: Light Expanse by Unicorn Heads via YouTube Music
Illustrative and Background Visuals: iStock, Getty, Wikimedia, and as noted in video
________________________________________
📢 Subscribe for Short History, Big Ideas
An Ounce Podcast delivers daily Shorts and weekly episodes that are surprising, thoughtful, and just a little bit profound.

historypodcast #shortformhistory #lifelessons #storytellingpodcast #humorandhistory #educationalentertainment #realstories

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Let's stop the cycle of contempt and learn to disagree better! In this video, we discuss how to fix our broken conversations and bridge the divide in our nation.

Are we really more divided than ever—or just worse at disagreeing?

In this episode of An Ounce, we explore how contempt has crept into every corner of modern life—from relationships and work meetings to dinner tables and online comment sections—and why it's killing our ability to communicate. You'll hear insights from Stoic philosophers, historical figures like Lincoln and Mandela, and even modern research on what actually ends relationships (hint: it’s not yelling).

________________________________________
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Intro
01:16 – Conversation That Broke Down
02:41 – The Real Enemy
03:49 – In the Living Room – Relationships
04:40 – The Family Table – Political Polarization at Home
05:31 – At Work
06:27 – Online: Public Contempt Preformed for Audience
07:33 – The Temptation of Contempt
08:33 – Why Civility Isn’t Enough
09:16 – The Better Way
10:43 – How Grace Stops Contempt
11:25 – Challenge
12:32 – An Ounce

________________________________________
🎥 Watch More Great Videos:
👉 You’ve Been Lied To: The Truth Behind History’s Biggest Myths – What else have we been so sure about… and so wrong?
https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

➡️ The Nicholas Effect – A true story about choosing grace over contempt—and changing lives.
https://youtu.be/Affw-qmLQog

➡️ If It Feels Good – How something soothing (like contempt) can be more dangerous than it seems. https://youtu.be/Z39Qf8z0gB4
________________________________________
📚 References & Resources:
1. Pew Research (2021):
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/11/09/americans-politics-and-politicians/
2. John Gottman on contempt and divorce:
https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-the-antidotes/
3. Nelson Mandela’s inaugural address & reconciliation:
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/inaugural-address-president-nelson-mandela-1994
4. RBG and Scalia friendship (NPR):
https://www.npr.org/2016/02/14/466620117/the-odd-couple-antonin-scalia-and-ruth-bader-ginsburg
5. Socrates and questioning truth (Plato’s Apology summary):
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/
6. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison (Blight, 2018):
https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/david-w-blight
7. Additional Reading: More Love, Less Contempt, Arthur C. Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute, April 25, 2019. Found at- https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/arthur-c-brooks/more-love-less-contempt/
________________________________________
🛒 Check Out My Book:
Firehouse Philosophy – Real stories and lessons from an exceptional life
📘 On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS
________________________________________
📬 Contact / Collaboration Inquiries:
jim@anounce.org
________________________________________
🎵 Credits:
Music: VENTATESANANDA by Jesse Gallagher from YouTube Library
Illustrative and Background Visuals: iStock, Getty, Wikimedia, and AI-generated
________________________________________
📢 Subscribe for Short History, Big Ideas
An Ounce Podcast delivers daily Shorts and weekly episodes that are surprising, thoughtful, and just a little bit profound.

historypodcast #shortformhistory #lifelessons #storytellingpodcast #humorandhistory #educationalentertainment #realstories

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Witness the incredible true story of Joseph F. Smith, a Mormon teenager who showed incredible courage when faced with a gang of armed men in the Wild West. This story of bravery and calm in the face of death will inspire you.
Joseph F. Smith, LDS history, and teenage bravery come together in this true story of quiet courage. At 19, while crossing Southern California during a time of anti-Mormon violence, Joseph faced a gang of armed men. While others ran, he didn’t flinch. “Yes, siree. Dyed in the wool. True blue, through and through.” That one line said it all. But this moment was just the tip of a life forged by hardship—an orphan at 13, a missionary at 15, tested in the Sandwich Islands, and transformed by grit and faith.

🧠 Quick Takeaway:
This An Ounce episode is about the kind of strength that doesn’t shout, but stands calmly.
________________________________________

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro
01:17 – QUIET RESOLVE
02:32 – THE CRUCIBLE
04:17 – THE MOMENT OF COURAGE
06:50 – WHAT BECAME OF HIM
07:40 – An Ounce

________________________________________
🎥 Watch More Stories from History:
👉 Think Fake News is New? Wild West Journalists Did it First – With Style!
https://youtu.be/pIrCZ5L8DJc
➡️ Teddy Roosevelt: Takes an Assassin’s Bullet – Then Finishes His Speech
https://youtu.be/oxiCHrs3V08
➡️ Why Didn’t They Smile in Old Photos?
https://youtu.be/l3xddLnkqME
________________________________________
📚 References & Resources:
• Charles W. Nibley’s account of Joseph F. Smith's confrontation with armed men
Published in Improvement Era, January 1919, later referenced in multiple biographical retellings.
📍 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1972/08/joseph-f-smith-true-blue-through-and-through
________________________________________
• Joseph F. Smith’s early letters and mission experience
Compilation of letters to his sister Martha Ann; insights into language struggles, personal conviction, and self-education.
📍 https://rsc.byu.edu/joseph-f-smith-reflections-man-his-times/personal-glimpses-joseph-f-smith-adolescent-prophet
________________________________________
• Biographical overview from Doctrine and Covenants Central
Includes background on his orphaned youth, mission call, and leadership years.
📍 https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/people-of-the-dc/joseph-f-smith
________________________________________
🛒 Check Out My Book:
Firehouse Philosophy – Real stories and lessons from an exceptional life
📘 On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS
________________________________________
📬 Contact / Collaboration Inquiries:
jim@anounce.org
________________________________________
🎵 Credits:
Music: Ukulele Beach by Doug Maxwell; Frog Kiss the peat and Come Along by Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz; In The Wild by National Sweetheart
Illustrative and Background Visuals: iStock, Getty, and AI-generated via Meta
________________________________________
📢 Subscribe for Short History, Big Ideas
An Ounce Podcast delivers daily Shorts and weekly episodes that are surprising, thoughtful, and just a little bit profound.

historypodcast #shortformhistory #lifelessons #storytellingpodcast #humorandhistory #educationalentertainment #realstories

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Learn how to stop letting fear control your life with lessons from sheep. Discover how courage and character can lead to personal growth and transformation. This true story will inspire you to face your fears and create positive change in your life.

What can a 7-year-old chasing sheep teach us about managing fear? A humorous childhood memory opens the door to deeper truths about fear, courage, and growth. With stories from Apollo 13, Florence Nightingale, and quotes from Roosevelt, Churchill, and Plato. Explore how fear holds us back—and how to face it with purpose.

00:00 Intro
00:12 The Boy and the Sheep
01:25 The Nature of Fear
02:59 Florence Nightingale
03:57 Everyday Fear
04:31 Fear Meets Focus – Apollo 13
05:32 Elenore Rosevelt and Winston Churchill
06:10 What Do We Do About Fear
07:26 An Ounce

👉 WATCH NOW: Theodore Roosevelt gets shot and gives his speech anyway! - https://youtu.be/oxiCHrs3V08

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
➡️The Great Fire of London? - https://youtu.be/zB4575siib0
➡️True courage and pluck from a little tiny girl! - https://youtu.be/O8O6Hb6-veQ

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References:
1. Fear response in prey animals – https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/livestock-biosecurity/livestock-stress-and-capture-myopathy
2. Neuroscience of fear – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573739/
3. Florence Nightingale bio – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Florence-Nightingale
4. NASA Apollo 13 account – https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo13.html
5. APA article on fear psychology – https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/fear
6. Eleanor Roosevelt quote – https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/652-you-gain-strength-courage-and-confidence-by-every-experience-in
7. Churchill quote source – https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/quotes-falsely-attributed-to-churchill/
8. Bible verse (John 14:27) – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A27&version=KJV
9. Plato quote attribution notes – https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/10/03/dark-light/

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlinks Power Director 365
Images and Video from iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Ancient Egypt, Pepi II, longest reigning pharaoh, weird history, crumbling pyramids
This is the story of the 6-year-old king who ruled for 94 years… and maybe forgot to do anything. Sticky servants? Check. Bizarre letters? Absolutely. Pepi II’s absurdly long reign might’ve helped bring down the Old Kingdom—one slow, sandy crumble at a time. Hit play and get a taste of history that’s weird, real, and unforgettable.

👉 WATCH NOW: So, what about that curse on Tut’s Tomb? Is it for real? - https://youtu.be/OL2-xHNCNh8

➡️ VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Just how much history do we really have? And how much have we lost? - https://youtu.be/Lpo8qTPBhg4

You might wish you didn’t know this about the origins of toothpaste! - https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

📜 1. Pepi II’s Long Reign & Historical Timeline
Source: The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt via Ancient.eu (World History Encyclopedia)
Covers: Pepi II's reign duration, accession at a young age, and the start of the First Intermediate Period.
URL:
https://www.worldhistory.org/Pepi_II/
________________________________________
🏺 2. The Letter to Harkhuf (The Dancing Pygmy Story)
Source: The British Museum / Ancient Egypt: The Harkhuf Autobiography
Covers: Translation and context of Pepi II’s letter to his governor, requesting the safe return of the pygmy.
URL:
https://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/harkhuf.htm
________________________________________
🐝 3. The Honey-and-Flies Story (Anecdotal Reference)
Source: The Smithsonian Magazine – “Bizarre Ancient Facts”
Covers: While not confirmed by ancient sources, this modern article mentions the fly anecdote and how it’s been passed down.
URL:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ten-bizarre-facts-from-ancient-egypt-2318783/
________________________________________
🏗️ 4. Pepi II’s Pyramid at Saqqara
Source: Digital Egypt for Universities – University College London
Covers: Dimensions, condition, and materials used in Pepi II’s pyramid.
URL:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt//saqqara/pyr_pepi2.html
________________________________________
📉 5. Collapse of Central Authority and First Intermediate Period
Source: Khan Academy – Ancient Egyptian History: First Intermediate Period
Covers: How Pepi II’s long reign contributed to political decline and decentralization.
URL:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-egypt/a/the-first-intermediate-period

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlinks Power Director 365 Ai music generator.
Images and Video from iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

0:00 Intro to Pepi the 2nd
1:03 Pepi Takes The Throne
1:44 Flies
2:36 Dancing Pigmy
3:16 Pepi’s Pyramid
4:22 Going No Where… Slow
5:10 Perspectives
5:49 An Ounce

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Ever wondered why Van Gogh sliced off his ear? Prepare to uncover bizarre theories, humorous insights, and poignant reflections on mental health, and the mystery of what happened to that ear. Join us on a captivating journey that’s equal parts tragic, funny, and profoundly human.

🔥 LIKE, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE for more unbelievable history!

👉 Watch Now: You’ve been lied to. Check out these examples of some of histories biggest myths - https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
A war in Americas past you should know about – King Phillips War - https://youtu.be/NEQkkM7Ohac

You might wish you didn’t know this about the history of toothpaste? - https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI

➡️ You’ve been lied to. Check out these examples of some of histories biggest myths - https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

• Van Gogh Museum - Ear Incident Explanation
URL: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincent-van-gogh-faq/why-did-vincent-van-gogh-cut-off-his-ear
(Provides a reliable overview and accepted historical narrative of Van Gogh's ear incident.)
• Van Gogh Letters - Letter from Van Gogh & Dr. Félix Rey
URL: https://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let728/letter.html
(Original source documenting Van Gogh’s condition post-incident, referencing his mental anguish and hospitalization.)
• Acta Oto-Laryngologica – Ménière's Disease Study
URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1843176/
(Research suggesting Van Gogh’s symptoms matched Ménière’s disease, providing a medical explanation for his actions.)
• Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) – Tinnitus & Ménière's Disease Analysis
URL: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/384960
(Medical analysis speculating Van Gogh's ear mutilation may have been related to severe tinnitus and Ménière’s disease.)
• Guardian - Recipient of Van Gogh's Ear
URL: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/20/woman-who-received-van-goghs-ear-named-130-years-after-artist-cut-it-off
(Explains historical research identifying Gabrielle Berlatier, rather than Rachel, as the likely recipient of the ear.)
• Van Gogh Gallery Blog – Theories on Gauguin’s Role
URL: https://blog.vangoghgallery.com/index.php/en/2015/03/04/the-theories-of-vincent-van-goghs-ear/
(Offers insights into the theory suggesting Gauguin might have accidentally sliced off Van Gogh’s ear with a sword.)

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from YouTube Music Library
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, Picryl, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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History’s Craziest Failed Predictions: Why the Experts Got It Hilariously Wrong

Think you can predict the future? Think again! In this episode of An Ounce, we dive into history's biggest and funniest prediction fails. Discover why experts confidently declared airplanes impossible, dismissed the telephone, called personal computers pointless, and even predicted rock ‘n’ roll's quick demise.

History has never been so amusingly wrong!

🔥 LIKE, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE for more unbelievable history!

👉 Watch Now: You’ve been lied to. Check out these examples of some of histories biggest myths - https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Was there flight before the wrights? Find out here - https://youtu.be/ujQF1QzqwKs

How come nobody smiled in those old timey photo’s? - https://youtu.be/l3xddLnkqME

➡️ You’ve been lied to. Check out these examples of some of histories biggest myths - https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References & Sources:
• Simon Newcomb & Flight Prediction:
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – "Simon Newcomb & Early Flight Predictions"
URL: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/simon-newcomb-astronomer-skeptic
• Western Union & the Telephone (1876):
History Channel – "Alexander Graham Bell & the Telephone"
URL: https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/alexander-graham-bell
• Darryl Zanuck & Television Prediction (1946):
Britannica – "Television History & Impact"
URL: https://www.britannica.com/technology/television-technology
• Ken Olsen's Home Computer Prediction (1977):
CNN – "Ken Olsen's Famous Misquote about Home Computers"
URL: https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/07/tech/innovation/computer-home-olsen-obit/index.html
• Michael Dell & Apple Prediction (1997):
CNBC – "Apple’s Rise after Dell’s Advice"
URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/23/apple-ceo-tim-cook-michael-dell-advice.html
• Clifford Stoll & Internet Prediction (1995):
Newsweek – "Clifford Stoll's Infamous 1995 Internet Prediction"
URL: https://www.newsweek.com/clifford-stoll-why-internet-will-fail-1995-329295
• Variety Magazine & Rock 'n' Roll (1955):
Rolling Stone – "Why Rock 'n' Roll Was Predicted to Fail"
URL: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/rock-n-roll-wont-last-infamous-predictions-1234608907/

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlink’s, Power Director 365 music library.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, Picryl, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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The Mandela Effect strikes again! Find out what's changing this time and test yourself on famous examples like Star Wars, KitKat, and Tinker Bell. Explore the theories of parallel universes and false memories in this mind-bending video!

NOTE: The images displayed in this video are the property of their respective copyright and trademark owners. They are used here under the doctrine of 'fair use' for purposes such as commentary, criticism, education, or research. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

🔥 LIKE, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE for more unbelievable history!

👉 Watch Now:
10 creepy coincidences: Was it really all just by chance? - https://youtu.be/E5OPHlFVHQw

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this riveting true tale about a trail-blazer in a petticoat… https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

How come nobody smiled in those old timey photo’s? - https://youtu.be/l3xddLnkqME

➡️ 10 creepy coincidences: Was it really all just by chance? - https://youtu.be/E5OPHlFVHQw

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

🔍 Sources for the Mandela Effect Examples in This Episode
1. The Berenstain Bears – “Berenstein” vs. “Berenstain”
Many remember it as “Berenstein,” but it’s always been “Berenstain.”
📎 https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g28438966/mandela-effect-examples/
2. The Monopoly Man’s Missing Monocle
He’s never had a monocle—despite what your memory says.
📎 https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/585887/mandela-effect-examples
3. Darth Vader’s Line – “Luke, I am your father”
The real quote? “No, I am your father.”
📎 https://abc7.com/mandela-effect-false-memory-yougov-polling/12198338/
4. Disney Castle Intro – Was Tinkerbell There?
Nope! She never flew over the castle in the official intro.
📎 https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/mandela-effect-examples
5. Fruit of the Loom Logo – Cornucopia or Not?
There was never a cornucopia in the logo—just the fruit.
📎 https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/585887/mandela-effect-examples
________________________________________
🧠 Debunking the Mandela Effect (Alternate Reality Theory)
Psychologists explain the Mandela Effect as a product of false memory—not parallel universes.
📎 https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2023/11/24/the-mandela-effect-a-psychologist-explains-collective-false-memories/

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlink’s, Power Director 365 music library.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, Picryl, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Artificial Intelligence (Ai) is hiring, firing, and making millions—but also failing spectacularly. Will #robots replace you, or will plumbers outlast us all? Find out in this hilarious deep dive into #ai jobs!👇 Find out the shocking truth about AI automation, weird new jobs, and the #future of work!

🔥 LIKE, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE for more unbelievable history!

👉 Watch Now:
Check out these “Absurd (?) Inventions: It Didn’t Go Quite Like They Imagined” - https://youtu.be/HqX4m6S2BSs

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this riveting true tale examining, “Who Really Flew First: Was there Flight before the Wrights?” https://youtu.be/ujQF1QzqwKs

These snacks have changed over the years. “Medicines You Never Knew Were Your Favorite Snacks!” - https://youtu.be/N_5-2CW4TPs

➡️ Check out these “Absurd (?) Inventions: It Didn’t Go Quite Like They Imagined” - https://youtu.be/HqX4m6S2BSs

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:
References:
1. Business Insider - McDonald's AI Drive-Thru Failures: https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-ai-drive-thru-glitches-2023-8
2. ABA Journal - ChatGPT Passing the Bar Exam: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/chatgpt-4-aces-the-bar-exam-what-does-that-mean-for-lawyers
3. The Verge - AI Influencers: https://www.theverge.com/2023/ai-influencers-brand-deals
4. TechCrunch - AI’s Failure to Replace Comedians: https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/01/ai-writers-arent-funny/
5. CNN - Why AI Can’t Replace Plumbers (Yet!): https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/12/business/ai-jobs-plumbing-electricians/index.html
6. Bloomberg - AI Prompt Engineers Making Big Money: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-18/ai-prompt-engineers-are-making-six-figures-heres-why

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlink’s, Power Director 365 music library.
Images and video from iStock & Getty via Cyberlink.

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They said WHAT?! These bizarre last words from history will leave you laughing, cringing, and questioning everything. Dying words can be profound… or just plain weird. From ironic to hilarious, here are history’s strangest final moments—Spaghetti-O’s included.🔍 . From shocking to hilarious, these are the last words of history’s most famous people. Some are wise, some are tragic, and some are just ridiculous!

🔥 LIKE, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE for more unbelievable history!

👉 Watch Now:
10 creepy coincidences: Was it really all just by chance? - https://youtu.be/E5OPHlFVHQw

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
**Watch this riveting true tale about a trail-blazer in a petticoat… https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

**How come nobody smiled in those old timey photo’s? - https://youtu.be/l3xddLnkqME

➡️ 10 creepy coincidences: Was it really all just by chance? - https://youtu.be/E5OPHlFVHQw

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Sitting still a person generates 100 watts of heat. What if you could use that (energy) to charge your cell phone? ~ Lonnie Johnson
You cannot look back and think what if. ~ John McGinn

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:
1. General John Sedgwick: Reportedly said, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance," before being struck by enemy fire during the Civil War.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sedgwick#Death

1. Karl Marx: When asked for his last words, he reportedly replied, "Last words are for those who haven't said enough."
   URL: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Marx

2. Oscar Wilde: Known for saying, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go," reflecting his wit even in his final moments.
   URL: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

3. Voltaire: When urged by a priest to renounce Satan, he allegedly responded, "Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies."
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire#Death_and_burial

4. Dominique Bouhours: A grammarian who reportedly said, "I am about to—or I am going to—die: either expression is correct."
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique_Bouhours

5. Humphrey Bogart: His last words are often quoted as, "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_Bogart#Illness_and_death

6. Dylan Thomas: Known for saying, "I've had 18 straight whiskies… I think that's the record!" before his death.
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas#Death

7. Joan Crawford: Upon hearing her housekeeper praying, she reportedly said, "Damn it! Don't you dare ask God to help me!"
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Crawford#Death

8. Vladimir Nabokov: His last words were, "A certain butterfly is already on the way," reflecting his passion for lepidopterology.
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov#Death

9. Victor Hugo: Reportedly said, "I see black light," during his final moments.
   URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo#Death

10. Thomas J. Grasso: Before his execution, he complained, "I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this."
    URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Grasso

11. Anton Chekhov: His last words were, "I am dying. I haven't drunk champagne for a long time," after requ

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Uncover the truth behind history's biggest myths - and truths you were never told before. Facts from Napoleon's height to the dancing plague. Prepare to be surprised! You've been lied to - find out the real stories here! There are truths that aren't true - and truths that have been hidden from you.

👉 Watch Now:
Unbelievable music composed by someone who never heard it ; but you have! - https://youtu.be/XtPTcZuNKK0

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this riveting true tale about a trailblazer in a petticoat… https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

You’ve probably never heard of this huge heist – the biggest in Canada's history. - https://youtu.be/SoIoHyOuCNI

➡️ Unbelievable music composed by someone who never heard it ; but you have! - https://youtu.be/XtPTcZuNKK0

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:
1. Napoleon's Height:
• "Was Napoleon Really Short for His Era?" - E-Verse Radio
o https://www.e-VerseRadio.com/was-napoleon-really-short-for-his-era-did-vikings-really-have-those-ridiculous-horns-on-their-helmets-lets-look-at-some-historical-misconceptions/
2. Viking Helmets:
• "Dispelling Some Myths: Viking Horned Helmets" - Tastes Of History
o https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/dispelling-some-myths-viking-horned-helmets
3. Einstein's Academic Performance:
• "3 Myths Debunked at the Same Time!" - YouTube
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=traW2XbubTg
4. Salem Witch Trials:
• "Myths and Misconceptions: Uncovering the Truth about Napoleon's Height, Lemmings, the Space Pen, the Salem Witch Trials, and Other Things You Thought You Knew" - Odyssey Bookstore
o https://www.odysseybks.com/book/9781631584084
5. Best Man's Origin:
• "Bizarre origins of wedding traditions" - CNNedition.cnn.com
o https://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/06/27/wedding.traditions/index.htmledition.cnn.com
6. The Dancing Plague of 1518:
• "Dancing Plague of 1518" - Wikipedia
o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_plague_of_1518
• "What Was the Dancing Plague of 1518?" - HISTORY
o https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-dancing-plague-of-1518
• "Dancing Plague of 1518 | Facts & Theories" - Britannica
o https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518
7. The Year Without a Summer (1816):
• "The 5 Craziest Events in World History" - Medium
o https://medium.com/history-hub/the-5-craziest-events-in-world-history-bfc1f9fd37ee
8. The Great Molasses Flood (1919):
• "Great Molasses Flood" - Wikipedia
o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood
• "106 Years Ago Today, the Great Molasses Flood Sent Sticky Waves of Syrup Crashing Through Boston" - Food & Wine
https://www.foodandwine.com/great-molasses-flood-boston-8773840

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlink’s, Power Director 365 music library.
Images and video obtained from Wikimedia Commons, Picryl, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest at close range while campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But instead of collapsing, he told the crowd not to harm the shooter, checked for blood, and delivered a 90-minute speech—while still bleeding.

👉 Watch Now:

Shocking proof that Lincoln’s assassination could have been stopped - https://youtu.be/r9KGC8lPwEo

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:

Watch this riveting true tale about a trail-blazer in a petticoat… https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

Where did we get started with this whole FAKE NEWS thing? Find out now! - https://youtu.be/pIrCZ5L8DJc

➡️ Shocking proof that Lincoln’s assassination have been stopped - https://youtu.be/r9KGC8lPwEo

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

Sitting still a person generates 100 watts of heat. What if you could use that (energy) to charge your cell phone? ~ Lonnie Johnson

You cannot look back and think what if. ~ John McGinn

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:

1. Attempted Assassination of Theodore Roosevelt - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Theodore_Roosevelt

1. Bullet Speech - Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Events/The-Bullet-Speech.aspx

1. The Pocket Items That Saved the Life of Theodore Roosevelt - Library of Congress

https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/07/the-pocket-items-that-saved-the-life-of-theodore-roosevelt/

1. John Schrank - Theodore Roosevelt Center

https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Law-and-Justice/John-Flammang-Schrank.aspx

1. Theodore Roosevelt - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlink’s, Power Director 365 music library.

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Join us on the incredible journey of two sisters who dared to ride 5500 miles across America on their Indian Power Plus motorcycles in 1916. Follow their tough, adventurous journey as they prove a point and travel on their own terms!

You've probably never heard of them. But you should have. .

👉 Watch Now:
First mayor in the United States, who was also a mom, before she had the right to vote - https://youtu.be/_BuVI_I-wBU

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this riveting true tale about a trail-blazer in a petticoat… https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

A hero from 911 you probably haven’t heard about, but should have - https://youtu.be/forVjJdO-8A

➡️ First mayor in the United States, who was also a mom, before she had the right to vote - https://youtu.be/_BuVI_I-wBU

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:
Van Buren Sisters Official Website: https://www.vanburensisters.com/
American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame: https://hof.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=285
Women in Exploration Timeline: https://womeninexploration.org/timeline/augusta-adeline-van-buren
Expedition Portal Article:
https://expeditionportal.com/pioneers-of-moto-history-the-van-buren-sisters-1916-ride-across-america/
American Motorcyclist Association Spotlight: https://americanmotorcyclist.com/ama-hof-spotlight-augusta-and-adeline-van-buren/

Attributions and Credits:

Music: All music sourced from Cyberlink’s, Power Director 365 music library.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Discover the truth behind the Bermuda Triangle with real survivor stories and the origins of this mysterious phenomenon. Find out if it's fact or fiction!
Whether you believe it or not, the stories just keep coming. And today, we’re diving into some of the strangest firsthand accounts from people who lived to tell the tale—plus, where this whole Bermuda Triangle legend even came from.
Because believe it or not, it wasn’t always a thing.

👉 Watch Now: Ever heard of the UFOs sighted in the 1890’s? Check it out! - https://youtu.be/QePqq2LRRfc

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
The Fake news phenomenon. It’s be around for quite a while.- https://youtu.be/pIrCZ5L8DJc
Conspiracy theory, or real fact base event? Find out now - https://youtu.be/forVjJdO-8A

➡️ Ever heard of the UFOs sighted in the 1890’s? Check it out! - https://youtu.be/QePqq2LRRfc
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“Three things cannot be long hidden: The Sun, The Moon, and The Truth..” ~ Budha

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:
Here's a selection of online references for each of the original events and stories related to the Bermuda Triangle & and a few bonus references:
1. Christopher Columbus's 1492 Voyage:• Event: During his 1492 voyage, Columbus reported strange compass readings and sightings of mysterious lights in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle.• Reference: The Bermuda Triangle - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle
2. E.V.W. Jones's 1950 Article:• Event: In 1950, Associated Press reporter E.V.W. Jones wrote about unusual disappearances of ships and planes between Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico, bringing attention to the area.• Reference: The Bermuda Triangle - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle
3. George X. Sand's 1952 Article:• Event: In 1952, George X. Sand published an article in Fate Magazine describing a "watery triangle" where vessels disappeared mysteriously.• Reference: The Bermuda Triangle - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle
4. Vincent Gaddis's 1964 Argosy Article:• Event: In 1964, Vincent Gaddis coined the term "Bermuda Triangle" in his Argosy magazine article, linking various disappearances in the region.• Reference: The Bermuda Triangle - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle
5. M.K. Jessup's UFO Theories:• Event: M.K. Jessup proposed that UFOs were responsible for some disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, suggesting extraterrestrial involvement.• Reference: The Bermuda Triangle - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Trianglehttps://skepticalinquirer.org/2021/08/solving-a-ufological-murder-the-case-of-morris-k-jessup/
6. Bruce Gernon's 1970 Experience:• Event: In 1970, pilot Bruce Gernon reported flying through a tunnel-shaped cloud in the Bermuda Triangle, experiencing a phenomenon he described as a "time warp."• Reference: Bruce Gernon and the Time Vortex - Bermuda Triangle Central http://www.bermuda-triangle.org/html/bruce_gernon.html
7. Cary Gordon Trantham's 1995 Experience:• Event: In 1995, pilot Cary Gordon Trantham encountered unexplained phenomena while flying over the Bermuda Triangle at night, including instrument malfunctions and a sense of being watched.• Reference: The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Delusion: Looking Back after Forty Years - Skeptical Inquirer https://skepticalinquirer.org/2015/11/the-bermuda-triangle-mystery-delusion/
OTHER WELL KNOWN BERMUDA TRIANGLE EVENTS:
8. Flight 19 Disappearance (1945): Event: In December 1945,

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Prepare to be spooked with these 10 creepy coincidences that will leave you in disbelief. From eerie connections in history to bizarre occurrences, this countdown will have you questioning the universe.

👉 Watch Next: That time they dug up a dead pope and put him on trial - https://youtu.be/sd81dgO6Wpw

VIDEOS TO WATCH:
The Fake news phenomenon. It’s been around for quite a while.- https://youtu.be/pIrCZ5L8DJc
Conspiracy theory, or real fact base event? Find out now - https://youtu.be/forVjJdO-8A

➡️ That time they dug up a dead pope and put him on trial - https://youtu.be/sd81dgO6Wpw
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

More on Titan/Titanic: Audio Only Podcast, Iceberg https://anounce.buzzsprout.com/692557/episodes/11717860-iceberg
More on Tsutomu Yosjioka: Audio Only Podcast, A Unique Survivor - https://anounce.buzzsprout.com/692557/episodes/8763286-s03-e29-a-unique-survivor
More on Andrew Jackson: Audio Only Podcast, Insanity and Derringers https://anounce.buzzsprout.com/692557/episodes/11954725-insanity-and-derringers

“Three things cannot be long hidden: The Sun, The Moon, and The Truth..” ~ Budha
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” ~ Winston Churchill

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
1. Lincoln–Kennedy Coincidences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%E2%80%93Kennedy_coincidences_urban_legend
2. The Titanic and the Wreck of the Titan https://www.history.com/news/titanic-similarities-morgan-robertson-futility
3. Edgar Allan Poe's Eerie Richard Parker Coincidence https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30093/edgar-allan-poes-eerie-richard-parker-coincidence
4. The Curse of Tamerlane’s Tomb https://www.history.com/news/tamerlane-tomb-curse-wwii
5. Tsutomu Yamaguchi: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11379138
6. Andrew Jackson's Narrow Escape https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/andrew-jackson-survived-assassination-attempt-180971725/
7. The First and Last British Soldiers of WWI https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-25424909
8. Mark Twain and Halley’s Comet https://www.space.com/12896-halley-comet-mark-twain.html
9. The Strange Coincidence of Hoover Dam’s First and Last Deaths https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/history/essays/workforce.html
10. The Coin That Saved a Life at the Battle of Gallipoli https://www.history.com/news/world-war-i-lucky-charms-coins
11. Wilmer McLean and the Civil War An article recounting how the Civil War began and ended on Wilmer McLean's properties, highlighting the remarkable coincidence.URL: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/wilmer-mclean.htm

Attributions and Credits:Music:
All music sourced from YouTube Audio Library - Grease Gun by Matt Harris, Sharpe Senses by Ugonna Onyekwe, Sea of Doom by Doug Maxwell-Media Right Productions, Tumbleweed Texas by Chris Haugen, Meteor by Hovatoff, Waltz to Death by Sir Cubworth, Cypher by Wayne Jones, End of Time by Ugonna Onyekwe
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Uncover the shocking secrets of classic works of art by da Vinci, Holbein, van Eyck, and others! Hidden symbols and surprises are revealed in famous artworks that will amaze you.

👉 Watch Next: The silent maestro. A musical genius who didn’t hear most of his own music. - https://youtu.be/XtPTcZuNKK0

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch Now to learn about a superhero in a petticoat. The try story of Nellie Bly. - https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8
How did we ever survive this long? Crazy stuff we did to ourselves in the past - https://youtu.be/tAh068swDfc

➡️ Watch Next: The silent maestro. A musical genius who never heard much of his own music. - https://youtu.be/XtPTcZuNKK0
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” ~ Edward Hopper
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Jackson Pollock

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
1. Mona Lisa:
o Theories about Mona Lisa's identity:
https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/the-mona-lisa
o Lisa Gherardini and Renaissance symbolism:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/mona-lisa-who-is-she-179990101/
o Speculation about da Vinci’s self-portrait theory:
https://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-mona-lisa
2. George Washington by Gilbert Stuart:
o Details about the unfinished portrait:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gwst/hd_gwst.htm
o Stuart’s financial struggles and motivations:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/gilbert-stuart-the-man-behind-the-portrait-180955524/
3. Velázquez’s Las Meninas:
o Interpretations of Velázquez’s inclusion:
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/las-meninas/d3afda62-44d3-4e9d-9bfe-97e44e647115
o Analysis of the painting’s symbolism:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/baroque-art1/spain/a/velzquez-las-meninas
4. Henry VIII by Hans Holbein:
o Holbein’s artistry and Henry VIII’s portrayal:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hans-Holbein-the-Younger
o Historical context of Henry VIII’s health:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/henry-viii-health-sickness-illness-disease-theory/
5. Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck:
o Symbolism and interpretations:
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-van-eyck-the-arnolfini-portrait
o Speculative legal document theory:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/aug/08/the-arnolfini-portrait-national-gallery-jan-van-eyck

Attributions and Credits:
This video includes multiple AI generated images and composite images that use an AI source. These images are labeled in the video
Music: Stellar Wind by Unicorn Heads from the YouTube Audio library
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Uncover the shocking truth about conspiracy theories they didn't teach you. Dive deep into some of the most controversial conspiracies in history in this eye-opening video. Uncover one that went from theory to fact, and explore mind-blowing ideas that could actually be true!

👉 Watch Next: Was Ben Franklin a serial killer? Take a look at the evidence yourself - https://youtu.be/SHt95mTLMBI

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
֎ Learn now how incompetence killed Abraham Lincoln - https://youtu.be/r9KGC8lPwEo
֎ Watch now to learn how we lost our history - https://youtu.be/Lpo8qTPBhg4

➡️ Watch Next: Was Ben Franklin a serial killer? Take a look at the evidence yourself - https://youtu.be/SHt95mTLMBI
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. I’m just a cold-blooded investigator” ~ Kevin Gates

"You know, I'm not big on conspiracy theory. It does really kind of get my blood going when I find out there really are conspiracies that actually happened." ~James Van Der Beek

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
• Lost Cosmonauts: https://thedebrief.org/the-lost-cosmonauts-a-story-of-soviet-secrets-and-space-hackers/ and recording by the Judica-Cordiglia brothers and placed at the end of this video for your review.
• Titanic Switch Theory: https://www.history.com/news/titanic-sinking-conspiracy-myths-jp-morgan-olympic
• The Business Plot: https://allthatsinteresting.com/the-business-plot
• Operation Northwoods: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/operation-northwoods/

General Disclaimer
This video explores historical conspiracy theories for educational and entertainment purposes. While some of the theories discussed are supported by historical evidence or declassified documents, others remain speculative. Viewers are encouraged to approach these stories critically and conduct their own research.

Attributions and Credits:
Music: Taken from YouTube Audio: Nemesis In Franklin Park - DJ Williams, Sneaky Business - Biz Baz Studio, and Spy Funk - Quincas Moreira.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and other sources as noted in video.

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You know the Great Wall of China, but what-if ‘Catherine the Great’ dreamed of her own ‘Great Wall’ in Crimea?

👉 Watch Next: The unknown truth about the hoax of Bat-Men on the moon. https://youtu.be/DrLywrAr82U

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Find out about a forgotten war in American history - https://youtu.be/NEQkkM7Ohac
Was the tale of Jekyll & Hyde about a real person? Find out now - https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4

What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet.~ Woody Allen
Fearless means trusting your instincts and clarity of thought. Once you have made up your mind, don't be scared of what if. ~ Ravi Shastri

**Disclaimer:
The concept of Catherine the Great’s "Great Wall" in Crimea is a speculative exploration based on historical rumors. The references provided focus on well-documented aspects of Catherine’s reign and her actions in Crimea, offering a foundation for imagining how history might have unfolded differently.

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
1. "When Catherine the Great Invaded the Crimea and Put the Rest of the World on Edge"
This article explores Catherine’s annexation of Crimea and its impact on European geopolitics.
URL: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-catherine-great-invaded-crimea-and-put-rest-world-edge-180949969/
2. "Greek Plan" (Wikipedia)
An overview of Catherine’s "Greek Plan," highlighting her ambitions to expand Russian influence in the Black Sea region.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Plan
3. "1783: The Founding of Sevastopol"
Details Catherine’s establishment of a strategic naval base in Crimea, reflecting her focus on fortifying the region.
URL: https://scalar.fas.harvard.edu/imperiia/1783-the-founding-of-sevastopol
4. "The First Annexation of Crimea 1784"
Discusses the Treaty of Constantinople and Catherine’s efforts to integrate Crimea into the Russian Empire.
URL: https://www.crimeahistory.org/the-first-annexation-of-crimea-1784/
5. "Claiming Crimea: A History of Catherine the Great's Southern Empire" (Harvard University Press)
A scholarly analysis of Catherine’s policies in Crimea and their historical significance.
URL: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/history_winter_reading_list/news/oneill-kelly-claiming-crimea-history-catherine-greats-southern
6. "Catherine the Great's Expansion: Russian Imperial Ambitions"
Outlines Catherine’s territorial expansions and the long-term implications of her imperial policies.
URL: https://www.worldatlas.com/early-modern-era/catherine-the-great-s-expansion-russian-imperial-ambitions.html
7. "Catherine II Manifesto on Accession of Crimea Peninsula, Taman Island..."
A historical document detailing Catherine’s annexation of Crimea and the creation of the Taurida region.
URL: https://www.prlib.ru/en/history/619179
8. "Crimean Journey of Catherine the Great" (Wikipedia)
Describes Catherine’s inspection trip to Crimea in 1787, showcasing her commitment to the newly acquired territory.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_journey_of_Catherine_the_Great

Attributions and Credits:
This video includes multiple AI generated images and composite images that use an AI source. These images are labeled in the video
Music: Produced with AI in Cyberlink.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Discover the shocking historical trial of the Cadaver Synod, where a dead pope was put on trial. This bizarre event will leave you speechless! One of the strangest true stories I ever heard!

👉 Watch Next: Yet another story of strangeness from the past - https://youtu.be/4GRu6b9NRss

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch Now to learn how civilization was almost wiped out because a pope didn’t like cats - https://youtu.be/-38DAmnGkcE
Watch now to learn how we lost our history - https://youtu.be/Lpo8qTPBhg4

➡️ Watch Next: Yet another story of strangeness from the past - https://youtu.be/4GRu6b9NRss
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

(A definition of history) “An account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools.” ~ Ambrose Bierce
“History is more or less bunk.” ~ Henry Ford

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
Wikipedia: Cadaver Synod
A comprehensive overview of the event, including its background, proceedings, and aftermath. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadaver_Synod
JSTOR Daily: The Cadaver Synod: Putting a Dead Pope on Trial
An article that explores the bizarre trial and its implications within the context of church history. https://daily.jstor.org/the-cadaver-synod-putting-a-dead-pope-on-trial/
Catholic Answers: The Strange Case of Pope Formosus
A detailed examination of the circumstances leading up to and following the Cadaver Synod, with insights into the ecclesiastical and political climate of the time. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-strange-case-of-pope-formosus
Britannica: Cadaver Synod
A concise summary of the event, highlighting key aspects and its significance in papal history. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Formosus
HowStuffWorks: The Cadaver Synod: When a Dead Pope Was Put on Trial
An accessible account that delves into the peculiarities of the trial and its historical context. https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/dead-pope-put-on-trial.htm#:~:text=The%20Posthumous%20Trial,-Two%20popes%20later&text=It%20wasn't%20enough%20to,bishoprics%20at%20the%20same%20time.

Attributions and Credits:
This video includes multiple AI generated images and composite images that use an AI source. These images are labeled in the video
Music: Produced with AI in Cyberlink.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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The human ability to innovate ways to kill each other is remarkable.

👉 Watch Next: The Trinity Nuclear Explosion/Collateral Damage - https://youtu.be/6v1rARL5jEI

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch Now to learn who really flew first- https://youtu.be/ujQF1QzqwKs
Watch no to learn how fake news is not new - https://youtu.be/pIrCZ5L8DJc

➡️ Watch Next: The Trinity Nuclear Explosion/Collateral Damage - https://youtu.be/6v1rARL5jEI
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“Disasters have a way of clearing space for something new and better.” ~ Jim Fugate

“The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-top-secret-world-war-ii-mission-that-killed-joseph-pkennedy-heir-apparent-political-dynasty-180984857/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.vice.com/en/article/marilyn-monroe-and-drones/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.history.com/news/japans-killer-wwii-balloons
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/198095/kettering-aerial-torpedo-bug/
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196292/radioplane-oq-2a/
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-v1-flying-bomb-hitlers-vengeance-weapon
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/mittlerer-ladungstrager-sd-kfz-304-springer/
https://tankmuseum.org/
https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/exploration-and-innovation/navy-torpedoes.html#
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1962/january/kaitenjapans-human-torpedoes
https://factschology.com/factschology-articles-podcast/russian-anti-tank-dogs-world-war-ii

Attributions and Credits:
This video includes multiple AI generated images and composite images that use an AI source. These images are labeled in the video
Music: Produced with AI in Cyberlink.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Discover the untold story of the innocent fall-guy blamed for an historical disaster he didn't cause.

👉 Watch Next: What else have we lost in history - https://youtu.be/Lpo8qTPBhg4

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch Now to learn how historians almost decided Ben Franklin was a serial killer! - https://youtu.be/SHt95mTLMBI
Watch no to learn how fake news is not new - https://youtu.be/pIrCZ5L8DJc

➡️ Watch Now: Watch Now: What else have we lost in history - https://youtu.be/Lpo8qTPBhg4
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“Disasters have a way of clearing space for something new and better.” ~ Jim Fugate

“The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/museum/history-and-stories/the-great-fire-of-london/
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Great-Fire-of-London/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Jq4ZMK77LF2Lxng1zPYZY0/eight-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-great-fire-of-london
https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-the-great-fire-of-london/

Attributions and Credits:
This video includes multiple AI generated images and composite images that use an AI source. These images are labeled in the video
Music: 4 Orchestral selections Produced with AI in Cyberlink.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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Serious faces, wild guesses, and fascinating facts—why old photos were grin-free zones.

👉 Video: The Distasteful History of Toothpaste - https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch Now to learn how to start your own revolution - https://youtu.be/GwAigCZ2ppM
What are the chances? Watch now to find out - https://youtu.be/PX2zJddK980

➡️ Watch Now: Watch Now: The Distasteful History of Toothpaste - https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“If you only have one smile in you, give it to the people you love.” ~ Maya Angelou

“A simple smile. That’s the start of opening your heart and being compassionate to others.” ~ Dalai Lama

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
https://www.upworthy.com/why-didn-t-people-smile-in-old-photographs-it-wasn-t-just-about-the-long-exposure-times

https://time.com/4568032/smile-serious-old-photos/

https://fstoppers.com/originals/heres-why-people-hardly-ever-smiled-old-time-photographs-408526

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/01/researchers-have-discovered-a-surprising-reason-we-smile-in-photos/

https://medium.com/@samwooddoowmas/smile-6fb3c2c9fb3c

https://aeon.co/essays/a-history-of-the-smile-through-art-culture-and-etiquette

Attributions and Credits:
This video includes multiple AI generated images and composite images that use an AI source
Music: Future King of Heaven, Leaning On the Everlasting Arms, and In The Sweet By and By- by Zachariah Hickman. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCxXuycyfYH17CZ_1NtwX1g
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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A little girl, an innocent heart, and a group of soldiers searching for purpose—this is the story of Ruby Crane. A true story about how hero’s can appear.

👉 Watch Now: A war that was forgotten - King Phillip's War? - https://youtu.be/NEQkkM7Ohac

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
54 men and a baby entombed in the USS Utah at Pearl Harbor - https://youtu.be/FV6Bl4emn0M

Staff Sergeant Reckless. A Korean War hero you haven’t heard of - https://youtu.be/F-vnNIWu8Kg

➡️ Watch Now: Watch Now: A war that was forgotten - King Phillips War? - https://youtu.be/NEQkkM7Ohac
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” ~ Khalil Gibran

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online References:
https://snapshotsofhistory.quora.com/From-the-age-of-3-years-old-Ruby-Crane-walked-blinded-soldiers-around-a-rehabilitation-centre-called-St-Dunstans-at-Brig

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheWayWeWere/comments/14v1j13/ruby_crane_c_1915/?rdt=43322

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/256653779/ruby_alice-crane

https://repository.essex.ac.uk/26602/5/Little%20Rubys%20Hand%20agreed%20version%204-9-19.pdf

https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/st-dunstans-hostel-blind-soldiers-sailors/

Attributions and Credits:
Music and Sound FX from PowerDirector 365 and freesound.com.
Images and video from Wikimedia Commons, iStock, Getty, and generated with AI as noted in video.

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 24, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 23, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 22, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 21, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 20, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 19, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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What do Coke, Graham Crackers, and Fig Newtons have in common? Medicine! Sort of...

👉 Watch Now: Did you know you’ve been eating bugs for a long time now? - https://youtu.be/MRkVmygq0Wo

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this to learn about the awesome innovation tool, “The Test Pancake” - https://youtu.be/ym_9HgtOCDE

Check out how the Legend of Paul Bunyan might be a bigger deal than you ever thought https://youtu.be/zCQZST8n2Xw

View now and learn about the largest living thing on earth - https://youtu.be/xy3HxIX3HVE

➡️ Watch Now: Did you know you’ve been eating bugs for a long time now? - https://youtu.be/MRkVmygq0Wo

➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.” ~ Will Rogers

‘Tradition: Just because, “that's the way you've always done it”, does not mean it's not incredibly stupid'. ~Anonymous

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References and Credits for this episode:
Online References:
https://theweek.com/articles/469087/10-snack-foods-originally-sold-medicines
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/24691/10-snack-foods-originally-sold-medicines
https://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/article/a-history-of-american-snack-foods-from-waffle-cones-to-doritos?srsltid=AfmBOoog3N_9nQv4ptKecgz7UySZqISQZub-j6dPwLl4Sm4yzB0IhCf9
https://brightside.me/articles/9-common-foods-we-didnt-know-had-medical-origins-644760/

B-roll, images and additional video by subscription with Getty and iStock.
Music: M Fischer, Sweet Math, Lift Up, and Faszo by Mini Vandals. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTdSDPjB1kle7puRKAuHP_g via YouTube Audio.

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 18, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 17, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 16, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 15, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 14, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 13, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 12, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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Think today’s news is wild? The Old West’s untamed headlines—persistent satire blurred the lines between truth and tall tale!

👉 Watch this crazy account of Bat-men on the moon as reported in the 1890’s - https://youtu.be/DrLywrAr82U

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this true tale about ET buried in Alamogordo, NM - https://youtu.be/a3Sp7idaq_0
Was Dr Jykle and Mr. Hyde a true story? https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4?si=6R-5asMkJuoadMfM
You may have heard the name of this unique rebel, here’s the truth! - https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

➡️ Watch this crazy account Bat-men on the moon as reported in the 1890’s - https://youtu.be/DrLywrAr82U
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

‘A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.’ ~ Winston Churchill
‘Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.’ ~ Elvis Presley

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
Online Information
https://nickernews.net/the-return-of-wild-west-journalism/ https://bocojo.com/opinion/cowboy-perfected-presidential-satire/ https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/yellow-journalism-the-fake-news-of-the-19th-century/ - show me some ideas- http://checkplease.humorfeed.com/issues/0101/2004JuneTwain.php https://renonr.com/2023/06/16/nothing-new-about-fake-news-mark-twain-and-others-penned-phony-newspaper-stories-in-virginia-city/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain_at_the_Territorial_Enterprise

Music: The Twister, Twilight Train, Run one Down, Glen Canyon, Catch Up and Michigan Greens by Dan Lebowitz. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOg3zLw7St5V4N7O8HSoQRA

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 11, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 10, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 9, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 8, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 7, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 6, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 5, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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What if the fork you eat with was once feared as a tool of the devil?

👉 Watch Now: Apparently the history of oral hygiene is just as surprising as the history of the fork! - https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this to learn how a lack of sleep can be disastrous - https://youtu.be/HUNml7gIqGw
Check out how the Legend of Paul Bunyan might be a bigger deal than you ever thought https://youtu.be/zCQZST8n2Xw
View now and learn about the largest living thing on earth - https://youtu.be/xy3HxIX3HVE

➡️ Watch Now: Apparently the history of oral hygiene is as strange as the history of the fork! - https://youtu.be/wq_H-8_pKKI
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.” ~ Will Rogers
"Tradition: Just because, “that's the way you've always done it”, does not mean it's not incredibly stupid. ~Anonymous

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References and credits for this episode:

Online References:
https://www.hhhistory.com/2021/01/the-fork-controversy.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/90481445/a-tool-of-the-devil-the-dark-history-of-the-humble-fork https://www.southeastiowaunion.com/se-iowa-union-winfield-beacon/evil-forks/
https://thecutleryreview.com/2019/03/22/dinner-forks-were-considered-to-be-a-tool-of-the-devil-banned-by-the-catholic-church/ -ideas?

Music: Win the Battle Win the War, Everybody Get Up, Red Whine, and Jay Walking by Everet Almond. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJZExOuNp1IVYrrsGsKpBQ

See credits for images and video on screen in the video

Multiple images and video through Getty and iStock by subscription (not annotated)

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 4, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 3, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 2, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about December 1, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 30, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 29, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 28, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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Still Can't Trust the press - Astonishing account of Fake News from the past.

👉 Watch this can’t miss account of UFO/UAP Incidents in the 1890’s - https://youtu.be/QePqq2LRRfc

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch this true tale about ET buried in Alamogordo, NM - https://youtu.be/a3Sp7idaq_0
Was Dr Jykle and Mr. Hyde a true story? https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4?si=6R-5asMkJuoadMfM
You may have heard the name of this unique rebel, here’s the truth! - https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

➡️ 👉 Watch this can’t miss account of UFO/UAP Incidents in the 1890’s - https://youtu.be/QePqq2LRRfc
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at”. ~ Jesse Owens
“Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold”. ~ Bob Marley

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
The Great Moon Hoax: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moon_Hoax
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-moon-hoax
https://www.britannica.com/story/the-great-moon-hoax-of-1835-was-sci-fi-passed-off-as-news
Also see the feature in the 1835 New York Sun

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 27, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 26, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 25, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 24, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 23, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 22, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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How thieves stole $18M in maple syrup and nearly got away with Canada’s sweetest heist ever.

👉 Click now to check out these 7 stupid criminals https://youtu.be/pbf1PDfi9yU

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
A Lawrence of Arabia you’ve never heard of - https://youtu.be/tjy3s1VkZRs
Was Dr Jykle and Mr. Hyde a true story? https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4?si=6R-5asMkJuoadMfM
You may have heard the name of this unique rebel, here’s the truth! - https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8

➡️ Click now to check out these 7 stupid criminals https://youtu.be/pbf1PDfi9yU
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at”. ~ Jesse Owens
“Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold”. ~ Bob Marley

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

View Details

In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 21, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 20, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 19, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 18, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 17, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 16, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 15, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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Most have never heard about this tragic & forgotten war that changed America forever.

👉 How to defeat an army of overwhelming force with cornstalks and a little bit of deception. https://youtu.be/GeAuNDfDNq8

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Watch how getting lost can bring you home. A sweet story of hope: https://youtu.be/en3neRMnSaY
Watch this true story about resistance to change during the civil war: https://youtu.be/nbKgxAl3EbE
See this story of a prospector who found a way to ease the pain, but got himself killed: https://youtu.be/Z39Qf8z0gB4

➡️ Watch this story about defeating an overwhelming force with cornstalks and a little bit of deception: https://youtu.be/GeAuNDfDNq8
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

'The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.' ~ George Orwell

'A generation which ignores history has no past—and no future.' ~ Robert A. Heinlein

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Credits:
Clip Art: Frame, Image by VictorianLady https://pixabay.com/illustrations/frame-framework-picture-frame-1455499/
Video: Last of the Mohicans, silent film, Maurice Tourneur, Circa 1920. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Music: URL Melt by Unicorn Heads. YouTube Music Library
Additional stock images and videos through iStock and Getty by subscription. Also included are multiple public domain images as noted in video.

References for this episode:
https://connecticuthistory.org/americas-most-devastating-conflict-king-philips-war/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Philip%27s_War
https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/king-philips-war
https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/native-america/2020/july/the-story-of-king-philips-war/

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 14, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 13, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 12, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 11, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 10, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 9, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 8, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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The Untold Story of Martha Raye’s War Adventures with Special Forces and the USMC

👉 The unbelievable story of a truly incredible equine hero https://youtu.be/F-vnNIWu8Kg

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
That time we almost fell into world war 3 – gives new meaning to the idea of the Russian Bear https://youtu.be/L5n_DXTKeeg
Annie Oakley might have stopped World War 2, but her aim was true, and we went to war https://youtu.be/OY4x7Q3-LWw
Who was first in flight? Was it the Wrights? https://youtu.be/ujQF1QzqwKs?si=dxH2aYDh-AKv2Q5K

➡️ Watch the unbelievable story of a truly incredible equine hero https://youtu.be/F-vnNIWu8Kg
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

"Don't give up the search for happiness because you're afraid of getting hurt. ~ Martha Raye

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
http://www.war-veterans.org/Maggie.htm
https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=171667
https://www.508pir.org/archival/misc/raye_01.htm
https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/raye-martha-1916-1994

Music Credit: Music: Outlaws Farewell (part 2), and Moonrise, by Reed Mathis. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2lHxFyHL96NPhdU9XyXnPQ

10 second pre-roll promo for An Ounce Podcast on YouTube

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 7, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 6, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 5, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 4, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 3, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 2, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short video, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about November 1, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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How did one incompetent bodyguard leave Abraham Lincoln vulnerable to assassination?

👉 Watch this shocking video on how Ben Franklin might have been a serial killer https://youtu.be/SHt95mTLMBI

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Get the incredible truth on the first woman elected to office in the United States https://youtu.be/_BuVI_I-wBU
You need to see the true story of Nellie Bly https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8
Was Dr Jekyl and Mr. Hyde a true story? https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4?si=6R-5asMkJuoadMfM

➡️ Watch this shocking video on how Ben Franklin might have been a serial killer https://youtu.be/SHt95mTLMBI
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated."
- Maya Angelou
"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

Online References for this episode:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frederick_Parker https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/ https://www.rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln61.html
https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/articles/police-history-was-officer-john-parker-at-fault-for-abraham-lincolns-death-xdxJ9NUjwd0Ua87J/

Credits for this video:
Music: I Need to Start Writing Things Down by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/darkglow/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Video: Multiple clips of the 1930 D.W. Griffiths black and white motion picture, Abraham Lincoln, are included in this video. The copyright status of this motion picture is public domain.

Illustrations: Video includes multiple AI generated images of Officer John Frederick Parker. These images/Illustrations are representative only and are not based on the officer’s actual appearance.

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Oct 31, 2024: Just An Ounce of History #historytoday

In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 31, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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Oct 30, 2024: Just An Ounce of History #historytoday

In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 30, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 29, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 28, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 27, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 26, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 25, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

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"One boy’s tragedy sparked a movement that saved lives. Discover the power of organ donation and hope."

👉 Watch this amazing video to get the story of the little girl interred with the sailors in the wreck of the USS Utah https://youtu.be/FV6Bl4emn0M

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
Get some humor from “The Curse of the Goat Head” https://youtu.be/NK6ysESGjow
Was Dr Jykle and Mr. Hyde a true story? https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4?si=6R-5asMkJuoadMfM
Who was first in flight? Was it the Wrights? https://youtu.be/ujQF1QzqwKs?si=dxH2aYDh-AKv2Q5K

➡️ Watch this amazing video to get the story of the little girl interred with the sailors in the wreck of the USS Utah https://youtu.be/FV6Bl4emn0M
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated."
- Maya Angelou
"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode:
https://nicholaseffect.org/
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-39422660
https://donatelife.net/news/donate-life-america-presents-nicholas-green-award-lifetime-giving-howard-m-nathan/

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 24, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 23, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 22, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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In this #short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 21, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #historytoday #shorts #facts

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Oct 20, 2024: Just An Ounce of History #historytoday

In this daily short episode, find out what's special about today, and learn a fun fact or two about October 20, 2024! Just An Ounce of History to brighten your day. #facts #historytoday

Watch the weekly podcast at and the short daily episodes at - https://www.youtube.com/@AnOuncePodcast

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Is there more to the legendary giant Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, than meets the eye?

👉 Watch this amazing video about Nellie Bly https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8?si=epqtA_IgvCgtFjB_

VIDEOS TO WATCH NEXT:
More Secrets about Moby Dick https://youtu.be/HxoUu2JLFTw?si=Ft7gJgAUBXhCBt9S
Was Dr Jykle and Mr. Hyde a true story? https://youtu.be/xz7pvn5yrO4?si=6R-5asMkJuoadMfM
Who was first in flight? Was it the Wrights? https://youtu.be/ujQF1QzqwKs?si=dxH2aYDh-AKv2Q5K

➡️ Watch this video about Nellie Bly https://youtu.be/I9HFsK5YPs8?si=epqtA_IgvCgtFjB_
➡️ Purchase my book, Firehouse Philosophy, on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Firehouse-Philosophy-Embers-Insight-Exceptional/dp/B0BJ58Q1FS

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go." — Dr. Seuss

Inquiries: jim@anounce.org

References for this episode: https://www.history.com/news/was-paul-bunyan-a-real-person https://paulbunyanscenicbyway.org/tall-tales/true-story-paul-bunyan-legend https://www.britannica.com/topic/Paul-Bunyan https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/paul-bunyan-am

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Imagine navigating one of the most terrifying events in modern history without the ability to see the chaos unfolding around you. This was the reality for Michael Hingson, a blind man working in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. But he wasn't alone. By his side was Roselle, his faithful guide dog, who not only led him down 78 flights of stairs to safety but also inspired countless others with her bravery and unwavering calm in the face of disaster. This is more than just a story of survival—it's a powerful testament to the incredible bond between a man and his guide dog, and the extraordinary acts of heroism that can emerge in the darkest of times.

In this video, we'll delve into the harrowing moments of that fateful day, recounting how Roselle's keen instincts and unshakable loyalty helped save not only Michael's life but the lives of many others. Get ready to be inspired by a tale that proves courage comes in all forms, sometimes with four legs and a wagging tail.

Stay tuned as we unravel the story of Roselle, the guide dog who became a hero, and the man whose life she saved against all odds.

NOTE: Images in the video are stock images and are not of the actual characters Michael Hingson or Roselle.

References:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/guide-dog-helped-blind-partner-escape-wtc/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/michael-hingson
https://www.news9live.com/knowledge/roselle-the-story-of-a-guide-dog-who-saved-her-blind-owner-and-others-during-911-terror-attack-2397937
https://allthatsinteresting.com/michael-hingson

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In the vast tapestry of history, there are a few minds so extraordinary, so relentless in their pursuit of greatness, that they manage to leave an indelible mark on the world. But what happens when life, with all its cruelty, throws every conceivable obstacle in their path?

Imagine a genius whose very essence was entwined with sound—only to have that gift mercilessly stripped away. This is the story of one such individual, a prodigious talent whose life was a symphony of struggles, yet whose legacy continues to resonate through the centuries. Join us as we unravel the untold tale of a man who, against all odds, composed some of the most beautiful music the world has ever known... in complete and utter silence.

This episode is a rewrite from an episode of An Ounce, originally released in 2019, titled Lewis and His Unfair Life.

Credits and Attributions
• Production, narration, writing, and final editing by Jim Fugate
• Music: World's Sunrise, Fruits of Life by Jimena Contreras, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr-lbj7q0jsY9gsGHoTTkmg
• Music: Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven
• Photo: Stephen Hawking on 2 March 2012. elhombredenegro, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Albert Einstein, 1947. Photograph by Orren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. Modified with Photoshop by PM_Poon and later by Dantadd., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Nikola Tesla color. pulsepowernow.com, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Marie Curie. Public Domain, but first time in color in 2020., CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Isaac Newton. Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Ludwig van Beethoven. Older. Joseph Karl Stieler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Photo: Ludwig van Beethoven. Young. Joseph Willibrord Mahler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Video: Drill Instructor Gives Speech – United States Marine Corps Recruit Training. Sgt John C. Lamb, USMC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image: Moses Strikes the Rock, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), at the Jewish Museum, New York. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
• Additional images and videos through iStock and Getty by subscription, as well as images and visuals created by Jim Fugate.

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Full Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QePqq2LRRfc

Imagine a time before airplanes, before the Wright Brothers made history, and before Roswell became synonymous with UFOs. Now, picture the skies of 1897, where mysterious lights and eerie, cigar-shaped airships haunted the night, captivating the imaginations of thousands. Across America, from California to Chicago, reports flooded in of strange, seemingly impossible flying machines, stirring fear, wonder, and the inevitable question: what on earth—or beyond—were they? In this episode, we unravel the truth behind the bizarre wave of UFO sightings that gripped the nation decades before the world had even heard of flying saucers. Could this be America’s earliest brush with extraterrestrial visitors, or was something else at play? Buckle up, because this is a tale of mystery, imagination, and the power of belief that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about the history of UFOs.

References:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_airship#The_airship_wave_of_1896-1897
https://daily.jstor.org/phantom-flying-machines/
https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/doc_publications_NH1979UFOs.pdf
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1990/01/22165233/p71.pdf

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Imagine the most fearsome predator in the ocean—no, not a shark, but a legendary white whale with a temper to match its size. Now, picture a tale so harrowing it could only be inspired by a real-life leviathan. In this video, we’ll dive deep into the story behind Moby-Dick, the classic novel that wasn’t just spun from Melville’s imagination but from the true encounters with a very real and very angry whale named Mocha Dick. Stick around as we uncover how fact bled into fiction, creating one of the most enduring myths in literary history. By the end, you might just see Moby-Dick in a whole new light—or at least think twice before sailing the high seas!

Reference:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-life-horror-that-inspired-moby-dick-17576/
https://www.americanoceans.org/blog/was-moby-dick-a-real-whale/
https://www.history.com/news/was-there-a-real-moby-dick
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mobydick.html#:~:text=Moby-Dick%3B%20or%2C%20The%20Whale%2C%20the%20allegorical%20novel%20about,great%20white%20whale%2C%20was%20based%20on%20real-life%20events.

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Ever wondered what brushing your teeth was like centuries ago? Spoiler alert: it wasn't minty fresh! In this video, we take you on a bizarre journey through the history of toothpaste, from the gritty concoctions of Ancient Egypt to the spicy mixtures of medieval Europe. Discover the shocking ingredients that our ancestors used to keep their smiles (sort of) clean, including everything from crushed bones and oyster shells to burnt toast and even—brace yourself—urine. If you think modern toothpaste is weird, wait until you hear what people used to brush with in the past. You’ll never look at your toothbrush the same way again!

References:
1. Medievalists.net - Five Medieval Toothpaste Recipes
2. Little Smiles of Delaware - The History of Toothpaste
3. A Tooth - How Toothpaste Has Evolved
4. Local Food Connect - Making Your Own Charcoal Toothpaste

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🎉 Ever wondered what makes Winnie the Pooh and his friends so relatable? 🎉 In this eye-opening video, we dive deep into the Hundred Acre Wood to uncover the hidden personality types behind your favorite characters. 🐻🐰🐷 Whether you're a lifelong fan or just curious about what makes these beloved characters tick, you'll discover surprising connections between their charming quirks and real-life personality traits. From Pooh's laid-back nature to Eeyore's lovable pessimism, we explore how these characters represent different aspects of the human experience. 🌟

👉 Join us on this nostalgic journey and see Winnie the Pooh like never before! Whether you're a fan of psychology, literature, or just love a good story, this video will give you a fresh perspective on these timeless tales. Don’t miss out – hit play and uncover the secret personalities of the Hundred Acre Wood! 🌳✨

Reference and addition info:
https://www.supersummary.com/winnie-the-pooh/major-character-analysis/
https://www.countdowntomagic.com/winnie-the-pooh-characters-mental-disorders/

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Was the Curse of King Tut’s Tomb real, or just a tale to thrill the masses? In this video, we unravel the mysteries surrounding the legendary discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and the so-called ‘mummy’s curse’ that followed. Explore the chilling stories, historical context, and scientific theories behind one of history’s most fascinating enigmas. Whether you’re a history buff, a fan of ancient Egypt, or just curious about the truth behind the legend, this video will take you deep into the sands of time. Dare to discover the truth—if you’re brave enough!"

https://daily.jstor.org/was-it-really-a-mummys-curse/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/curse-of-the-mummy#:~:text=%22My%20research%20has%20not%20only,Montserrat%20stressed%20to%20the%20Independent.

https://www.livescience.com/ancient-egyptian-mummy-curse.html

https://egymonuments.gov.eg/monuments/tomb-of-tutankhamun/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Carter

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-curse-of-pharaoh-tutankhamun/eAJyYyD6emhtIw

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Rejecting the Narrative and Unveiling Buffoons

In 1887, a prank led to an astonishing turn of political events in Argonia, Kansas. When Susanna M. Salter's name appeared on the mayoral ballot as a joke, she had no idea she was a candidate—until Election Day! What started as an attempt to embarrass turned into a historic victory. Watch how this unexpected nominee won over the town, garnered support from major political groups, and became the first woman elected mayor in the United States, all without spending a cent on her campaign.

Explore how this groundbreaking election not only challenged societal norms but also set the stage for future progress in women’s rights. Don’t miss this remarkable story of perseverance and triumph against the odds. Hit ‘play’ to witness how a prank turned into a powerful statement about leadership and equality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_M._Salter

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/06/28/susanna-m-salter/

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The Tularosa basin in New Mexico has a rather unusual history. The stories and legends are prolific in the histories of the peoples who have passed through it over the centuries.

There are colorful tales of rich deposits of minerals, cowboy’s, Indian’s, and outlaws. And, more legends of UFO’s and aliens from other worlds than you shake a stick at. And it is possible that some of these stories might even be true.

Some claimed this never happened, but the rumors were out there. Somebody told somebody, and a few years later somebody told somebody else, and then the treasure hunt began - for the worst ever video game ever. This particular urban legend, which is supposed to have happened in the early 1980s, was finally proven true.

In 2014, the exhumation began in that landfill in Alamogordo, and a portion of those lost E.T. game cartridges were found. Finally – at the bottom of the hole, they hit pay dirt. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1300 games were recovered. Around 900 or so were the coveted E.T.

A horrible video game, becomes rare because everyone throws it away. 30 years later, it's a rare classic cult favorite for the retro crowd.

https://bestlifeonline.com/true-urban-legends/ #29
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/those-old-e-t-atari-games-dug-desert-sold-108-n418971
https://money.cnn.com/2015/09/01/technology/atari-et/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/30/a-golden-shining-moment-the-true-story-behind-et-the-worst-video-game-ever

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Something as simple and commonplace as the lack of good sleep and rest can be - and has been - catastrophic. It's shocking how the mundane, every day, and simple things can be such a big deal!

Check it out - There are few things that everyone appreciates.

One of these things: A good night's sleep is wonderful. Though a subjective statement, it will always be true.

No one enjoys fatigue, a slow brain, or trouble focusing.

Everyone appreciates being clear-headed, rested, and ready.

Yep. Across the board, everyone will be better off in some way - reinvigorated and alert - after a good night’s sleep, or solid nap.
And, unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, and for a large percentage of people, there are few things that have become more unattainable than adequate sleep.

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Was this character a Narcissist or a Psychopath - or Both? I'm not making the diagnosis here, just examining the story and it's origins.

Robert Lewis Stevenson was the creator of the classic, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A classic horror novel that has captured the imagination of many and has been made into a motion picture several times.

It seems, along with nightmares and scientific journals, a man named Deacon Brody, was one of the inspirations for the characters Jekyll and Hyde. Brody was a distinguished and trusted gentleman of status who chose, or somehow was compelled by the demons in his own mind, to live a rather duplicitous life.

Deacon Brodie was a respected businessman, a city councilor, a cabinetmaker, and a locksmith. Who was always dressed in his finest, and who was always present at the best social events. On the surface he lived a respectable life with a wife and children – but he also lived a secret life filled with gambling, drunkenness, cockfighting, two mistresses, and 5 illegitimate children.

Narcissist, psychopath, schizophrenic, or multiple personalities - what do you think?

Reference:
https://www.auldreekietours.com/2020/08/deacon-brodie-the-real-life-inspiration-for-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-31018496
https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2019/10/25/bogeyman-and-gentleman-the-real-life-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/

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It will probably help our conversation if we make clear we are not talking about the disagreement you might be thinking of right now. Did we get there on July 30, 1969? We'll leave that to others to argue.

There is another unanswered question: Was it, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind", or "That's one small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind"?

On July 20, 1969, one of the most monumental events in the history of humans took place. That day, the first astronaut set foot on the surface of the moon. Yep - Neil Armstrong exited the moon lander and put the very first boot print ever in the dust of the lunar surface. However, there are some differing opinions on what really happened… a little controversy concerning the event. Interested amateurs, experts, professionals, and scholars have reviewed the audio and video recordings of this remarkable achievement. And they don’t all agree on what really happened.

Let's take a look at the argument...

References:

https://bestlifeonline.com/true-urban-legends/
https://www.space.com/17307-neil-armstrong-one-small-step-quote.html
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/07/13/armstrongs-famous-one-small-step-quote-explained/
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/one-small-step-man-or-man
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-okay#:~:text=John%20%22Shorty%22%20Powers%20popularized%20it,States'%20first%20crewed%20space%20flight.

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A little examination of Lady Bugs, Elephants, Dinosaurs, Whales, Redwood Tress, and the Humungous Fungus (Armillaria Ostoyea) in Malheur National Forest.

Pretty crazy that something, so incomprehensibly big, can sometimes go so completely unnoticed. And with other things they can appear so enormous that we can’t see anything else… but in fact are of little real consequence.

It seems that -big and small - really are qualities that are defined by perspective. So, when you find yourself overwhelmed by what seems to be a really big deal – well, It’s not always easy - but perhaps you can find hope, strength, peace, and even solutions by working to find a different perspective.

Reference:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_033146.pdf
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/07/29/fact-check-claim-worlds-largest-fungus-uses-altered-images/8059686002/
https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-mammal
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/sea-life/10-blue-whale-facts/
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibitions/maximo-titanosaur

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Link to Eugene Lazowskis writing:

https://dokumen.pub/private-war-memoirs-of-a-doctor-solder-1933-1944.html

One of the big killers in war throughout history and pre-1940’s was not what you might expect. It was not the ever-increasing genius and lethality of the weapons of the enemy. It was disease.

1939 Dr Eugene Lazowski, a polish physician, had just finished medical school, and was a Lieutenant in his country’s military. The Germans had just conquered Poland with their Blitzkrieg invasion, and he was captured and placed in a POW camp. From which he promptly escaped.

Simultaneously, Typhus was taking the lives of 750 people every day in Poland. The red cross was doing everything they could to help the victims and refugees of war. Dr Lazowski, now 26 years old, was hiding in plain sight working with the red cross in Rozwadow. Having escaped there with his little family, they were doing their best to help others and to survive themselves.

The Jewish ghettos were well established, and though the need was great, the Nazi’s would not allow the Jews to receive medical care from outside the ghetto’s. Typhus was a common killer – along with many other diseases.

If there was a breakout of typhus amongst Jews, the Nazis would shoot them on the spot, leave them lay, and then the home and belongings were burned. Conversely, there was no quick execution for the non-Jewish Poles. They were quarantined – until the disease ran its course, and they either survived or they didn’t.

Noticing this difference in the Nazi’s treatment of victims of Typhus, Dr Lazowski and a college from school, Dr. Matulewicz, realized they might have an opportunity. And, maybe, they might save some lives.

Lazowski and Matulewicz had learned a little secret. One that was not well known in the medical community as a whole. They had found that by injecting individuals with a dead strain of typhus, they would then test positive for the disease. Though quite risky to attempt, they chose to use this knowledge to their advantage.

Suddenly, 12 villages in the area were taken by the scourge of typhus (wink, wink), and one household or another had to be quarantined.

https://www.lowellmilkencenter.org/programs/projects/view/the-weapon-of-intelligence/hero

https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-a-faked-typhus-outbreak-spared-8000-poles-from-the-nazis/

NOTE: Eugene Lazowski story has been portrayed and promoted as a one about saving 8,000 Jews during the second world war. An article by Barbara Necek disputes this. Her research found that the story is true in that about 8000 people were saved, but there is no direct evidence that any of these were Jewish.

https://k-larevue.com/en/investigation-on-a-fake-polish-just/

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During the American revolution, the lives of many were in chaos.
It was a world of chaos for those who were present.
Many were called upon – many responded, and some gave their all.
That revolution – and those people - made a difference.

Being present in this world means that you will “Make a difference”. You will have an impact – one way or another – you will contribute or not. You cannot avoid it.

But, it is your choice – What difference will you make?

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Ever heard of Shawmut, or Pigs Eye Parrat? There are - or were - real places. But, with the march of time, it seems everything is changing. Robots are replacing doctors. Mail has been usurped by email… and text… and tweet. The 5 and Dime, became Kmart, and then Walmart – then who knows what’s next?

Heck… it seems in some ways that the gladiators of the past have been replaced by Professional Wrestling, which has further morphed into Politics, with its showmanship and to-the-death enemies. Even the ever-trusted paper map has been replaced by GPS, and the encyclopedia has been booted into obscurity by Google.

And where are you from?

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Ever heard of Shawmut, or Pigs Eye Parrat? There are - or were - real places. But, with the march of time, it seems everything is changing. Robots are replacing doctors. Mail has been usurped by email… and text… and tweet. The 5 and Dime, became Kmart, and then Walmart – then who knows what’s next?

Heck… it seems in some ways that the gladiators of the past have been replaced by Professional Wrestling, which has further morphed into Politics, with its showmanship and to-the-death enemies. Even the ever-trusted paper map has been replaced by GPS, and the encyclopedia has been booted into obscurity by Google.

And where are you from?

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Have you ever had one of those days when everything goes wrong?
You know, the kind of day when your toast is burnt; and on top of that you are out of butter and somebody finished off the OJ. So, you toss the toast, head for work, and stop for a breakfast sandwich - and your credit card won’t work – and you used the last of the free-floating change in the car yesterday to get a soda.

What are the odds?

It does happen, but it’s not going to end you. It might make you a little warry –but, you probably won’t be taking any ‘death defying’ chances today, as the odds are obviously not in your favor.

However, for many of those things we fear, have nightmares about, and might worry might take us out, the actual likelihood is actually quite low.

References:
https://www.ksl.com/article/26336838/florida-man-bitten-by-shark-punched-by-monkey-twice-struck-by-lightning-bitten-by-snake
https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/death-cheater-us-man-survives-lightning-strike-snake-and-shark-bites-113080700416_1.html
https://www.npr.org/2013/08/10/210759508/man-survives-attack-by-shark-snake-lightning
Different Man - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43858481 (Snake, Bear, Shark)
Another Man Roy Sullivan - https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/history/2016/08/07/park-ranger-struck-lightning-7-8-times-history/88377364/ (8 times with lightning)
Statistics: https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20causes%20of%20death%20globally%20%E2%80%94%20shown%20in%20blue,and%20aren't%20infectious%20themselves.
https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates

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Some things are easily observable in the desert. The unobstructed vistas can stretch out for tens and even hundreds of miles. It can be very tough to guess just how far away – or how close – things can be.

And, whenever there is something going on, dust gets thrown up into the air – you can see it for miles. And the dust cloud is carried downwind. The column of a little dust devil can be visible for miles. The dust from a pick-up driving along a dirt road, a construction site, and even a dirt bike zipping along on a trail miles away – can be seen. You may be so far from the source you have no idea what is kicking stuff up.

Looking out to the rest of the world, it is true that activity kicks up dust, that drifts about until somewhere downwind it again falls to the ground. This happens literally and figuratively. But you can’t always see it.
Everything that happens has an impact on whatever is downwind – downwind in geography, and in time.

A large portion of the New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah deserts were subject to the nuclear fallout that drifted downwind of the ongoing tests. Tests that continued for decades.

Back then, people were assured if they stayed out of the fallout, and brushed it or washed it away, it was perfectly safe. However, specific cancers became much more common throughout those regions in the years that passed after that first, and the subsequent years of testing of nuclear weapons.

Today we know, through formerly classified documents, that the United States Government knew the situation was not at all benign. And that hundreds of thousands of lives of downwinders (Down Winders) had been, and yet will be, impacted.

https://www.nti.org/atomic-pulse/downwind-of-trinity-remembering-the-first-victims-of-the-atomic-bomb/
https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-07/collateral-damage-american-civilian-survivors-of-the-1945-trinity-test/
https://www.history.com/news/atomic-bomb-test-victims-new-mexico-downwinders

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Have you ever seen some new gadget and thought to yourself. “I should have thought of that! Somebodies gonna make a fortune on that!”
But great ideas – everybody has them. Those bright flashes in our brains that illuminate some fantastic new concept in a new way. You know, the better mousetrap. “We’ll be selling them like hot-cakes! Man, I need to get a patent on this.”
Well, some newfangled mousetraps are better than others.
Novel ideas can be hard to judge at the moment. Some things seem like a good idea at the time – and then time passes.
Some folks have call them Vampire Ideas. They seem totally genius – until the light of a new day rises, and they melt – like a vampire in the sun.
Here are 7 examples of stellar inventions, that, upon further review – didn’t work out as one might have thought – or maybe they did.

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This is one of those episodes that might freak you out a bit. If you don’t like to hear about some of the lesser known, but kind’a yucky realities of life. You might want to skip this one.

Some really smart biologist stated that humans are massively outnumbered and out gunned by a presence right here on our own planet, right now.
In fact, they out number us 1.4 billion to one.

It is a presence we’ve already been at war with, on and off, for eon’s. Sometimes we’ve been seriously decimated by the enemy. They’ve attacked with disease, chemical warfare, and wiped-out crops, and destroyed homes.
But, it’s not like humans haven’t gotten in some licks of their own. We have employed everything from close quarters combat to chemical warfare, and even genetic engineering.

The Enemy – insects: Like fleas, mosquitos, ants, bees, aphids, termites, and so many others. They have been eating our crops, spreading disease, stinging and biting us – even drinking our blood. And they won’t be stopping anytime soon. Ewe –

But a new day has come. And, well, some, understandably, are not completely comfortable with it – including me.

Here’s the latest - Now they are talking about adding even more bugs; and doing it on purpose. In fact, they have already been doing it for quite a while. Want to know more? Check out the video.

Also See:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-bugs-of-the-world-could-squish-us-all/
https://www.boredpanda.com/people-freak-out-about-processed-foods-include-bug-ingredients-after-app-goes-viral/
https://www.miragenews.com/foods-you-didnt-know-are-of-insects-1005795/#google_vignette
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43786055
https://academic.oup.com/af/article/13/4/16/7242408

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Your life, our world, is filled with analogous examples of ‘test pancakes’.

You can learn a lot from a test pancake. It is an unavoidable and irreplaceable part of breakfast – and most of life.
What can you learn from a Pancake? Stick with me and check it out.
Have you ever made pancakes? For breakfast… or any other meal? They are a most definitely a delectable staple of our culinary repertoire in the United States. A true and hearty breakfast is not complete without a hot cake or two.

However, properly made, a simple pancake is fully capable of standing on its own. Hot off the griddle, there is a comfort to their texture and guileless flavor that is both pleasant, peaceful, and re-assuring. A certain familiarity that is a like a never changing foundation of flavors.

All of us will get the opportunity for numerous ‘test pancake’ events in our lives. They happen all the time. They can also be referred to as “firsts”. And, they might be hard or sweet experiences; and at the same time immediate revelations. Each one will generate experience; experience provides learning, perspective, and understanding; and hopefully wisdom.

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Have you ever noticed that most folks (including ourselves) like to pretend we will beat the odds of a bad outcome when making a foolish choice. Most every time anyone who chooses a bad path figured they’d be the exception too. That they had a plan, an angle, an advantage, that would give them the edge.

Just like everyone else, most criminals are also to trying to game the system and beat the odds. Seems most who have chosen that path has found their expectations of glamour and excitement go unfulfilled. And they just end up exposed and humiliated.

Have you ever considered a life of crime? You will want to reconsider after hearing about these 7.

And, if you’ve never wanted to attempt crime as a career choice, here are 7 perfect examples of why you should feel good about your choice.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-29-mn-100-story.html
https://www.newson6.com/story/5e3616132f69d76f6203e137/sneeze-helps-osage-nation-police-find-suspect
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6431303/Dumb-American-criminals-attempt-robbery-with-permanent-marker-pen-disguises.html
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/oddities/stupid-criminal-of-the-day-pay-stub-bank-robber/1851933/
https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/bank-robber-left-behind-photo-id-police-say/
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/03/21/accused-hiking-boot-thief-pleas-non-compos-footsis/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2602238/Burglar-left-hanging-upside-down-after-trapping-shoelace.html

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An inventor by the name of Gustave Whitehead claims to have achieved flight in August 1901. This claim predates the generally acknowledged first-in-flight achievement of Orville and Wilbur Wright in December 1903, by 2 years.

Since then - Historians have worked very hard to try to prove or discredit the claims that Gustave Whitehead was truly ‘first-in-flight’. Are Gustaves claims legitimate?

But, is it true? Did an immigrant and inventor, and a great storyteller, who arrived in the United States in 1894 from Leutershausen, Bavaria, really fly first? It seems two points of view can seem to completely contradict each other. Meaning, if one is true, the other must be false... Right?

Also See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Whitehead
https://web.archive.org/web/20010217000744/http://airsports.fai.org/jun98/jun9805.html
https://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/Who_Was_First/Gustav_Whitehead/Gustav_Whitehead.htm
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-debunks-claim-gustave-whitehead-was-first-in-flight/
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/flight-claims-gustave-whitehead

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(Just a quick note: If you are a little paranoid, this little commentary will only make it worse. You have been warned.)
Have you ever had a brief conversation about something you're interested in, in the privacy of your own home? Then, a few moments later while you are wasting time on Facebook, an add pops up advertising just what you were talking about?
I recently mentioned to my wife that it was time to replace the furnace air filter. That evening, several Google Ads started showing deals on air purifiers and filters for my HVAC system.
Most of us are already suspicious of our smartphones, smart speakers, and smart TVS. “Ya, I already know about that stuff. And if they want to snoop, they are going to get really board”, you might say. I get that, my lifestyle is pretty boring too.
However, as they say on the late-night infomercials, “But Wait – There's More”
It is not just the obvious suspects snitching on you. Oh, No!! There is more!

https://listverse.com/2019/04/29/10-things-you-wont-believe-can-spy-on-you-but-do/
https://www.wired.com/story/strava-heat-map-military-bases-fitness-trackers-privacy/
https://www.cpp.edu/cyberfair/poster-information/documents/vacuum-robot-abstract.pdf
https://www.fastcompany.com/90291265/reminder-all-those-smart-devices-are-a-growing-security-threat
https://securityaffairs.com/74592/hacking/hacking-smart-vacuums.html

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The human creature, in spite of its enormous brain power, can often glitch just a bit. For Example: looking for your car keys and realizing they are in your hand. Or, the moment you walk into a grocery store, you forget what you were planning to get.
Some street hustlers and politicians use this tendency we have to hyper focus on one thing to cause us to miss something else. Like a pickpocket team – while one bumps into the mark from the front, the one in the back lifts the wallet – the mark doesn’t have a clue that soon they will be canceling all their credit cards.
Or sometimes there is the one who is in - head over heels – in so much that they can’t see that the other is just not that into them. Everyone else can see it – how did they miss it?
There are times when distraction grabs us, and then we miss something critical. It can be a genuine problem.
This little parable comes from personal experience as a firefighter. The time I found myself standing in a tornado of fire - and not having a clue.

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In the late 1980s, a shocking discovery was made. What was found was north of Kansas City, about 45-to 50 feet below a corn field. A mule. A mule in its harness and still tied to a rail. Due to the depth of the find, and the lack of oxygen, the deceased mule was quite well-preserved.
Along with this mule was found about 200 tons of various supplies. Food items of all types, clothing, simple farm equipment, and even fine and intact China.
Was this poor mule responsible for transporting 200 tons of cargo? Nope – that would be ridiculous.
The Mule was a passenger n the Steam Boat Arabia when she sunk in the Missouri River in 1856. The steamboat, the mule, and the supplies were lost for over 130 years. But how did they all end up 1/2 mile from the river and 45 feet under a corn field?

Also See:
https://www.1856.com/arabia-story
https://www.messynessychic.com/2015/12/01/what-was-found-and-still-edible-inside-a-150-year-old-sunken-steamboat/
https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/travel/2010/02/23/treasures-of-steamboat-arabia-which-sank-in-1856-displayed-at-kansas-city-museum/

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There are many things in our natural world that should be feared – or at least respected. But then, there are those things which are feared – and probably don’t need to be.
And then, there is the stuff that looks harmless, but you find out it is lying to you.
The one you really need to look out for. The true torturer of man and beast. It is the ‘Southern European Puncture Vine’. This nasty little bit of fauna is a cute, low-lying, green, succulent looking, and kinda leafy little sucker, with small bright yellow flowers. Looks kind, nice, sweet, inviting even – but do not be deceived. This is no harmless little plant, it is noxious, poisonous, and mean. And it’s packing a concealed weapon. And its entire purpose for existence is to puncture your skin, inflame the entry would with a little caustic poison, and hold on as long as possible.
Out here in the desert southwest, we’ve given it a dis-affectionate nickname: Goat head.

The Goat Head also carries several other names, including:
Southern European Puncture Vine
Devils Thorn
Tribulus Terrestris

Also see:
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/puncturevine.html
https://nazinvasiveplants.org/goathead
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=57203

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In the 14th century, as soon as someone complained of a headache, they became suspect. This might be accompanied by fever and chills. Then the tongue might begin to swell, and turn a white-ish color. The lymph nodes would swell. Finally, black and purple spots began to appear on the skin. And when they did, the outcome was all but certain – death would follow in a week or less.

This was a very real and agonizing reality for those who contracted the Black Death, and those who lost loved ones to it.

The reason, according to scholars at the university of Paris at the time, was because of what happened in the sky on March 20th, 1945. That was the night that Saturn, Jupiter and Mars came together in an alignment. This triple conjunction within the 40th degree of Aquarius was the event that created a horrible plague.

But perhaps… that planets in alignment thing might not have had a thing to with it.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/black-death-is-created-allegedly

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/causes/treatise.php#:~:text=The%20celestial%20cause%20was%20the,and%20Jupiter%20would%20bring%20disaster.

https://astrosociety.org/news-publications/mercury-online/mercury-online.html/article/2020/09/03/the-black-death-scapegoat-conjunction-of-1345

https://www.cloverleaflocal.org/Downloads/Plaguebooklet.pdf

https://www.learningleaders.com/insights/correlation-vs-causation

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It is impressive the volumes of information we have on history. The history of our Nation, our civilization, and our world. Incredible that we can look back hundreds of years and identify, with genealogical records, a single precious but unremarkable person. But sadly, even in our contemporary world, there are those who have lived and died – and there is no record…no one knows they ever existed.

Recording the now, and holding on to it for reference – looking back on the documentation of the past… well, accuracy in the record is a precarious thing. And when it comes to things like history, stuff gets a little fuzzy (kinda like new math).

There are those who have declared that 97% of history is lost. It seems a large but believable number, and is probably just an arbitrary guess.

What do you think?

https://www.infinityexplorers.com/the-lost-human-history-97-of-human-history-is-lost/

https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/lost-human-history/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-lost-25-billion-years-worth-evolutionary-history-just-130000-years-180970558/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdzzb/a-billion-years-of-time-are-mysteriously-missing-scientists-think-they-know-why

https://www.archivesfoundation.org/newsletter/missing-history/

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Inspired by the 1873 Jules Vern fiction novel, Around the World in 80 Days, Bly decided to make a quick trip around the world herself – with the goal of besting that 80 day benchmark.

In 1889 Bly set out from Hoboken, New Jersey. She traveled light. Her only luggage was a small bag – and no change of clothing. Throughout the journey she used the transportation modes of the day as they were available; including trains, ships, horses, the rickshaw, sampan, and even a burro.
Finally, she arrived where she began, In Hoboken – and set a world record. Snatching the glory from the fictional Phileas Fogg - who had held for 16 years the ‘fictional’ record of 80 days. Nellie Bly completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds.

Also See:
https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/nellie-bly
https://wams.nyhistory.org/modernizing-america/modern-womanhood/nellie-bly/
https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-nellie-bly

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You are supposed to forget Tank Man. It’s A true story that many have never heard – but everyone should have. A story that stirs up disagreement, controversy, and conspiracy theories. A story where much of the truth has been lost. Because that’s the way they want it.

You’ve heard of Batman, Superman, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and several other mythical superheroes who have appeared in popular culture for almost a century now. They began their lives as comic book hero’s, and went on to great acclaim at Hollywood box office. Each in their own way are principled folks who fight for truth, justice, … and the American way.

But, none of them are real.

Tank man on the other hand… he’s for real, but nobody knows who the heck he is. We don’t even know if he is still alive. And strangely, tank man, if he is still alive, probably has no idea what an impact his example has had around the world.

Additional references on Tank Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSbx352cn8A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-HgONOn0F8

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tank-Man

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Two of the greatest challenges in war are (1) getting your weapon to hit what you are aiming at, and (2) destroying what you hit.

Over time, great improvements have been made in the boom part. Well tested and proven explosives, fuses, and triggers have made assuring the ‘bang’ part of a weapon is quite predictable. Thus, if you could put the bomb somewhere close, there was a good chance the target was destroyed.

Refining the accuracy part – hitting what you are aiming at - has been an interesting, and in some ways, a more challenging progression.

So, some brilliant folks had a few ideas to more precisely put the explosives where they needed to be. There were competing ideas. One was to employ advancing technology like radar, and later-on GPS and lasers. A competing concept was using tested and proven biological technology trained to zero in on the target. That is to say, installing, or integrating, a ‘lab rat’ (or something like it) into the weapon that was trained to ‘fly’ the payload directly into the target - or in this case a pigeon.

https://cyberneticzoo.com/bionics/1940-project-pigeon-1948-project-orcon-b-f-skinner-american/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon
https://www.military-history.org/feature/pigeon-guided-missiles.htm
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_690069
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/bf-skinners-pigeon-guided-rocket-53443995/

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In 1943, the Nazi’s had taken brutal control of Rome, Italy – as a result of the fall of Mussolini earlier in the summer. And the Nazi’s were systematically emptying the Jewish ghetto’s, and shipping the former residents in railroad box cars to concentration camps and their deaths.

Somehow, a few slipped away, and took refuge in Fatebenefratelli Hospital, on a tiny island in the middle of Romes Tiber river – situated just across from one of the Jewish Ghettos. And at the hospital, these refugees were fortunate to find a few allies. Allies with courage – advocates that at the risk of their own lives, and the lives of their own families - were willing to help.

But, how could all these people, moving through the hospital over about a year, be kept from the prying eyes, and probing questions of the Nazi’s?

Well, an ingeniously whacky plan was quickly hatched. The physicians uncovered– or invented - a rare, malignant, contagious, disfiguring, painful, and torturous malady. A new one. One that wasn’t yet in the medical books. It was called Syndrome K.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/to-save-jews-and-keep-nazis-away-these-doctors-invented-a-fake-infectious-disease/

https://qz.com/724169/an-italian-doctor-explains-syndrome-k-the-fake-disease-he-invented-to-save-jews-from-the-nazis

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Things Change -
The past is full of Surprises -
And the future will be too...

For Example: In the past, the barber shop was the place where there was always someone with some high quality and sharp instruments and good, steady hands. (Still is)
But not so long ago at the barber shop, you could be a spectator to a tooth extraction –
Minor surgeries –
And if you were really lucky, maybe even an amputation!
There wasn’t much else going on, so yes – this kind of stuff drew a crowd of onlookers.
No kidding – if things had gone just a bit differently it would be your barber doing your appendectomy, removing your tonsils, heck maybe some open heart or a little cosmetic surgery!

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A uniuqe story of a character you ought to know, but you probably don't. THere is a twist to this story that will suprize you.

Khutulun, a remarkable Mongolian warrior, horseman, and undefeated wrestler, was a great-grandchild of Genghis Khan. Born to Kaidu Khan, a descendant of the third son of Genghis

Khutulun, born sometime around 1260 AD. And raised with 14 brothers. When they were young, they spent their time riding, perfecting their skills with the bow, fighting, and learning the art of battle. And as a part of that, Khutulun became a highly proficient wrestler in the traditional Mongol style.

Also See

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khutulun

https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/wrestling/article/3100842/forget-mulan-meet-khutulun-mongolias-undefeated

https://historynavigator.org/2017/12/01/the-undefeated-khutulun/

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Did you know that every British tank, from WW2 on, has a tea kettle in it?

The British and their tea have a powerful relationship. It is part of a well-known and celebrated cultural institution. The Brits discovered tea hundreds of years ago, during the early 1600s, in China. And – over the centuries - for many, it has become a defining element of being British. And this tradition is one they have shared worldwide.

Afternoon tea was customarily accompanied by polite and positive conversation. It happened regardless of the circumstances or the people you were with. Conflict, worry, and insult were simply not proper. One might be in battle or at home in the lap of luxury. With friends and family, strangers, or even enemies. When it is time for tea, you take time - and brew some tea.

A requisite part of British identity and tradition around it is empire was Tea - even a part of its armed conflicts. So much so, that British tanks are designed and fitted with a kettle in the crew compartment.

Well, they do. And there is a reason – so let’s explore a little –

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In 1998 a discovery of over 1200 bones and fragments in a 3-foot by 3-foot basement room. The bones were discovered during a renovation of the home by a workman – who noticed a thighbone sticking up out of the ground. Their location: 36 Craven Street, London. A home in which Benjamin Franklin boarded for several years prior to the American Revolution. At that time the home belonged to Margaret Stevenson and her daughter Polly.

The police became involved as a matter of policy. And the authorities dated this rather large cache of remains to be a bit over two hundred years old - from the time Franklin was living in the home.

It was determined that the bone pile found in Ben Franklin’s residence belonged to at least 28 individuals, 6 of whom were children, and 43 various animals. Could it be that Ben Franklin - this American founding father – was a serial killer? …. If he was, he worked at a scale that would have made Jack the ripper envious.

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Cats have a strong presence in human society and in our history. The Cat held a sacred place with the Pharaohs in Egyptian history. The pagans also looked upon the cat with great respect.

But there was a time in history when that balance between humans and felines was destabilized – and it didn’t go well for the humans.
In one interpretation of events, beginning in the early 1200s, the cat found itself on the wrong side of Pope Gregory the 9th. He had a real problem with felines. Most especially black ones. The Pope published an edict declaring that cats were bad. So bad that they carried with them the spirit of the Devil with them – and they could not be trusted.

Many of the folks got pretty committed to the ‘kill the evil cat’ cause.
Problem is, in the real world, when you kill the predator, the natural result is that the prey explodes in population. In this case the prey whose life expectancy and numbers dramatically increased were mice, and rats … who carry fleas, that also carry the plague.

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What happened? How did Brailsford turn things around for the British Cycling Team such that a very marginal group of blokes on bikes progressed to true and legitimate competitors. And then to the topping of the cycling throne? In a word – he didn’t do much.

https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-1-performance-improvements-led-to-olympic-gold

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/oct/20/marginal-gains-tarnished-bradley-wiggins-dave-brailsford

https://www.limelight.consulting/hub/articles/principle-of-marginal-gains-coach-improves-everything-by-one-percent

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/how-to-be-mentally-tough-use-the-1percent-marginal-gains-rule-says-performance-expert.html

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It was Sunday night, October 30th, 1938, when we first learned that aliens had invaded at Grover's Mill in New Jersey. This report came over the radio airwaves on the CBS Mercury Radio Theater on the Air.

According to the news dispatches aired, local law enforcement was informed, and curious folks had come to look. The local radio station arrived with a reporter who was able to report live from the scene to describe everything. The first alien spacecraft crashed into the surface of the earth, and for a time it sat quiet.

It was just a curiosity, until the aliens emerged to wreak havoc on the peaceful citizens. In their advance the aliens left nothing alive, and nothing but a barren smoldering wasteland in their wake.

Then 60 minutes after it began, the radio play, The War of the Worlds ended, as the invading Martians were rapidly killed off by a simple virus, they had no defense for – and the earth was safe again.

The next morning, the Newspapers were filled with reports of mass panic and nationwide hysteria by those who caught the radio program the night before.

But did it?

Also See:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/madisonmcgee/people-are-sharing-the-wildest-historical-events-that-are - item 7

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/

https://youtu.be/Xs0K4ApWl4g?si=YgGS1lG85YgBt-LB

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2013/threatened-by-radio-newspapers-exaggerated-war-of-the-worlds-panic/

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What do you think? If you put a five-foot nothin’, less than 100 lb. woman armed with only her bare hands, up against a full-grown, 700 pound hungry polar bear, who would win the fight?

If one were to match any human up against a polar bear, the human would have little to no chance of surviving. Unless the human has a high-powered rifle, a sufficient amount of ammo, and can hit what they are aiming at.

It did not turn out as expected when one polar bear made a bad choice and skulked into a little village in the northernmost region of North America. It was looking for a snack, maybe? Then, It began sizing up a 7-year-old boy. But when the 7-year-old's mom noticed the bear - and it was on.

https://www.espn.com/outdoors/general/news/story?id=2338668

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mother-fights-off-polar-bear-to-save-children-1.625164

https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/polar_bear_no_match_for_fearsome_mother_in_ivujivik1/

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Have you ever noticed someone who just looks very different? Maybe it’s a noticeable scar, or strange hair color, or that they are just really out of place, or odd.

Worse yet, have you paid attention to the proclamation of some ‘authoritative expert’ that a particular physical attribute is a true sign of beauty? … Then looked in the mirror to see if you possess it? Or worse, done the mirror check to look for what someone else told you was unattractive.

Our society has moved to a point where folks are constantly comparing themselves to the standard that they are convinced represents real beauty and attractiveness - and finding themselves unable to measure up to that ideal. So, needlessly, they opt for surgery, or spend huge amounts of time and money trying to get that look.

Today, this unreasonable concern that we might be unattractive is causing serious issues for our mental wellbeing, by convincing people they are ugly – or that everyone thinks they are ugly, not worthy, or alone because of that.

It is so bad that some see no other way out but to take their own lives.

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At 3:15 PM on January 26th, 1972, fight 367, a DC-9, took off from Copenhagen. About 45 minutes later, everything changed for the 28 passengers and crew.

Vesna Vulovik ( Vez-nah Vah-low-vek) was in a place she wasn’t intended to be. But her employer got her mixed up with a different Vesna on the roster. She could have declined the assignment from JAT Airways, the Yugoslavian State airline, where she worked as a flight attendant. But, Vesna Vulovik decided to take the mistaken assignment, as she was excited to travel to Denmark.

At the time, Eastern Europe was not all the safest place to be. Croatian terrorists had been active, and causing trouble for Yugoslavia, since the early 60s. Commercial airliners had been one of the Croatians targets for bombings and hijackings – especially the State Airline, JAT.

Like most of us, at just 23, Vesna Vulovik was immortal. Who worries about things like that when you are young. She was a determined young lady wanting to live a great life. And being a flight attendant was going to help her get what she was after.

Other Sources:

https://www.deseret.com/23890083/longest-fall-survived-vesna-vulovic

https://www.damninteresting.com/vesnas-fall/

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/vesna-vulovic/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87

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There are a few songs that have lyrics that nobody seems to be able to decipher. And, you might be surprised to find out just how ridiculously far efforts to find their meanings went.

We’re not necessarily talking those songs that have a word or two, here or there, that you can’t quite figure out.

Because, there are those where you can understand every word – but the message is an enigma. Even when super fans can tell you they know what the words Truly mean. Perhaps the meaning is known only to the composer – or maybe there is any logic to them– the words just sound good together.

And then – there are those where the artist mushes up the words and phrases so much, you can’t be sure they are speaking words.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/madisonmcgee/people-are-sharing-the-wildest-historical-events-that-are Item 11

https://vault.fbi.gov/louie-louie-the-song/louie-louie-the-song/view

Additional Reference:

Richard Berry, speaking in an interview, revealed the lyrics he wrote were meant to be the lamentations of a love sick sailor, from the Caribbean, talking to a bartender named Louie as follows:
“Louie Louie, me gotta go.
A fine little girl, she wait for me. Me catch the ship across the sea. I sailed the ship all alone. I never think I’ll make it home.
Louie Louie, me gotta go.
Three nights and days we sailed the sea. Me think of girl constantly. On the ship, I dream she there. I smell the rose in her hair.
Louie Louie, me gotta go.
Me, see Jamaican moon above. It won’t be long me see me love. Me take her in my arms, and then I tell her I never leave again.
Louie Louie, me gotta go.”

(By Richard Berry. Copyright 1957-1963 by Limax Music Inc.)

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There are occasions when the stars align and bring a little light to even a difficult circumstance. Sometimes it hard for us to see. We get lost in the problem at hand. We focus on righting the wrong. Or, we might just walk away trying to forget the whole thing. But, if and when, we turn and take it in – as it is – there is often a sparkle of brilliance to be found.

This is just such a story. At the end of this episode, you’ll hear one of the lesser known, and more poignant aspects, of what came to pass on a day never to be forgotten.

https://www.ussutah1941.org/baby-nancy.html
https://stationhypo.com/2022/12/14/a-baby-girl-is-entombed-on-the-uss-utah-at-pearl-harbor/
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2022/07/21/baby-pearl-harbor/

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There are times when people are faced with very difficult problems. And the way they choose to deal with their challenges provide lessons for us to learn from.

And as this story concludes, you’ll learn a laudable lesson from our history from a lesser-known moment during the War of 1812.

The people of the Town of (lou-uhs), spelled Lewes, Delaware, found themselves in quite a pickle. It was April 6th, 1813. A sizeable British flotilla arrived off the coast. They dropped anchor and fired 2 shots over the town – Just to get everyone’s attention.

Shortly after their demonstration of firepower, one of the ships launched a skiff. And, under a white flag, several British officers came ashore – to - talk. They had a message from Commodore James Beresford, the commanding officer of the flotilla. His pronouncement was pretty simple and succinct. “We will blast your town to pieces and kill everyone in it, unless you provide us with supplies”.

Find out how the hardy New Englanders responded to the threat!

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On occasion, you have to make a choice – and the options are all bad. Sometimes this is because you have gotten yourself into a mess – other times the mess finds you. And there are situations when it doesn’t really matter – all heck just breaks loose.

What do you-do when the only choices left are bad ones?

It was early in the afternoon of October 3rd, 1967, and a B-52 bomber had risen from a runway in the deserts of California. This was not your average B-52. It was still that enormous jet aircraft with a huge wingspan. The one capable of carrying an enormous and devastating load of explosives to pretty much anywhere on the planet. This one, however, wasn’t carrying any bombs.

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Have you ever experienced one of those tender moments that hit you right in the “feels” - as they say? A time when great love, compassion, care, or concern just grabs your heart. On occasion, that feeling tickles your eyes, and tears escape. You might even notice a glow, or a sense of stepping out of time for a moment.

There is an expression that describes it well – and there is a reality of the human anatomy that ties the emotional and the physical together. Stick around for a few minutes and I will let you in on it.

But, be warned, we are talking about things that some don’t want to discuss, or even acknowledge. But, the insights here will justify some, and help others accept and not fear.

If you are human, you have felt it. Even the gruffest and toughest feel it. And so do the logical, overly practical, and even clinical ones.

Don’t worry, secret is safe with me –

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Every once in a while, a critical event occurs. Something happens, and the possible outcomes are thrown into the air to decide how history will be written.

For example, It’s a snowy night. And a man was driving home. The streets were wet and slick. The air cold. Between the wet and the car's dim headlights, his ability to see in front of him was poor.

He saw a dark figure just ahead of him and hit the brakes then, almost simultaneously, a thump. Not one of those thumps where a chuck of ice flips up into the undercarriage. But instead, a solid, velocity changing whack, and decelerating vibration, that let him know he really hit something.

Ok now, Same Story – Different perspective:

A British gentleman was traveling by cab to an old friend’s apartment in New York, having been invited for a late visit. It was about 10:30 at night. Knowing he was close, but not being familiar with the area, he decided to exit the cab. He figured it would be quicker to navigate the final bit on foot, reading the address numbers.

He found the address. He bolted to cross the street. Halfway across, he saw headlights approaching from the right. Thinking like a Brit, he instinctively believed he was in the clear, and continued across. Expecting the car to pass behind him.

Being a visitor from London, he was accustomed to navigating a big city with its traffic. But in the darkness, he miscalculated, or has a potentially fatal brain vapor. Perhaps, for a moment, he forgot he wasn’t in London, where cars travel on the opposite side of the road.

Without a second thought, he stepped forward directly into the path of an oncoming car. He recalled there was a sudden, violent jarring impact across his thighs and forehead.

And then found himself on the ground.

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Have you ever been in one of those situations? You know… You are trying to get somewhere, or accomplish a task, or find an answer … and you just feel lost, or blind. So, you stop and look for help. You try to comprehend where you are, and how to get where you need to be. But all you learn is that you can not remain where you are. So, you just keep pressing forward (or pressing in the direction that seems like forward) with no idea if you’ll find what you are looking for.

This analogous story explores that situation. It is set in the mid 1800s. A simple farmer was trying to get home on a January evening. Dark seemed to come on earlier than normal. The sky was dim and hazy, and there was a cold bite in the air. Gratefully he was dressed for the cold, but he worried that his family might be getting low on wood for the old cook stove they used to heat their 2-room house.

The snow began to fall, gently, like cotton. Big wet puffs drifting down and covering the mud that colored the snow and ice that had fallen a week before. It had been nice to have a day or two with temperatures above freezing – but the wet shallow mud was bothersome – and left dark stains and puddles along the track he was following to get back home.

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In 1955 a beautiful fire truck was manufactured in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This Mack model B-85 was a ladder truck and was of course the classic red.

Like any classy red vehicle from the 1950s – it was, of course, a convertible! And to offset its bright red color, the truck had silver chrome bumpers, shiny silver chrome sirens, an old-fashioned signal bell mounted at the left front, and red lights all around. It is the kind of rig you could easily imagine dashing to the rescue with a Dalmatian in the center seat, lights flashing, sirens blaring, with firefighters hanging off the back.

This awesome open-top fire truck was placed into service with the volunteer fire department in the little town of Woodsboro, Maryland – not too far from Baltimore and Washington, DC – where it became known as Truck 16.

As the nation collectively experienced the nightmare of September 11, 2001, a call came to the Volunteer fire station in Woodsboro, Maryland.

It was later in the day on the 11th, the towers had collapsed, the pentagon was burning, and one passenger jet had flown into the ground in an open field, just up the road in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

“We need truck 16 now, at the pentagon, it’s the only truck that can do the job – get here – now!” the caller said. ....

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On occasion, society celebrates the Anti-Hero. You know, the one who catches the imagination as a romantic rebel, or the scam artist that takes advantage of the ‘evil’ rich. Characters like the noble Robin Hood or the affable scoundrel who sold the Eiffel Tower (twice).

This is not one of those stories.

The story begins with a novelty item, the Golf Ball Finder, called the “Gopher”. The item has a plastic pistol grip with a telescoping metal antenna sticking out in front of it, which swiveled to-and-fro… it even had a small battery powered electronics board inside.

It was claimed to work like a dowsing rod – only better. Their ad states, “It is tuned to home into the elements found in all golf balls”. The pitch jokingly continues, “Please don’t ask us for the theory of its operation. That’s the main reason we have not applied for patents which would expose this technology. It’s also a great novelty item that you should have fun with, especially for the golfer who has everything.”

Unfortunately, from the 1990s to as late as 2018, including recent Middle East conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, somebody thought, “I bet they are going to need a way to detect bombs! Let sell them this useless novelty item – the Gopher Golf Ball Finder – we can repackage it as the ADE-651, or Magic Wand as the terrorist began to call it, we’ll pretend it will detect bombs!

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5 Decades ago a man-made object was propelled through the atmosphere, to who knows where, faster than any other article – ever.

This thing was traveling so rapidly, nobody even saw it go, and nobody knows wear it is now. Might be somewhere here on earth, might be in orbit, might even be on its merry way though the cosmos like the voyager space probes. But it’s not communicating to anyone where it’s going, or if it will ever come back.

What is this thing? You might ask.

A muscle car.

A dragster.

A fighter jet.

A missal.

A bullet.

Nope – Nope – Nope, Nope, & Nope.

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There is a remarkable icon in the collective consciousness of America.

The all-American soldier who was brave, patriotic, strong, and relentless against all odds. It is the outstanding Character G.I. Joe.

G.I. Joe – what a man. What an action figure to fuel the imaginations of little kids.

Here is the unlikely story of hero G.I. Joe the true hero whose courage and daring on the battlefield, during the battles of World War 2, is truly worthy of the legendary reputation.

G.I. Joe became a highly decorated member of the U.S. Army for service during the Italian campaign.

Here is what happened. In October 1943 during the fighting around the Village of Calvi Vechia British infantry were fighting to dislodge German forces from the village. Allied Air forces were requested to bomb the town to assist the British, and liberate the town.

Everything was going to plan – sort of – as the Brit’s 56th (London) Infantry Division took Calvi Vechia well ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, they liberated the town just before the US had launched a planned bombing campaign, to clear the way for them. Which meant American bombs were going to rain down on British soldiers and the residents of Calvi Vechia

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You’ve heard the idiom, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. There is wisdom in this idea, of never giving up. But, on occasion, the value of such dedication is in what you learn from the effort in trying to succeed – though success may not be achievable.

Here is an Example.

In the late 1950s, Cuba, an island nation just a few miles south of Florida, in the United States, was in the throes of a revolution led by a man named Fidel Castro. Up until that time, Cuba had been quite the playground for the American elite – and a big moneymaker for US organized crime syndicates.

By the early 1960s the Communist hero, Castro, became the supreme dictator. Well, things don’t work the same in a communist system (cause the government owns everything) and the fun was over. The mob lost their huge money-making operations, the well-off lost a favorite tropical destination, and the US had a new neighbor. A new neighbor that was not at all appreciated.

No worries, the intelligence services would take care of in due time. NOT

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James Harrison had been doing it for over 60 years. In that time, he has done it over eleven hundred times. And on the 11th of May 2018, at age 81, he did it for the last time.

What did he do? It was no big deal, he just quietly saved over 2.4 million lives. And then he stopped. Hang on to the end to find out why he stopped executing his live saving sideline.

This is the story of how it started - and ended.

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Ever had one of those mornings when you just didn’t want to get out of bed? 

Ever felt like you’d like to just lie down and sleep for a few days? 

Ever had to face a tough situation and wished you could just go take a nice nap and not wake up until the issue has passed? 

I would have to say yes to all three – Sleep is one of the best ways I know to end a busy day. And it can be such a wonderful escape. Not only that, sleep is necessary for humans. Good sleep promotes healing and recovery for the body. Often it can give us a place to retreat from stress, and it allows our brain to reset. Good and regular sleep helps reduce of depression and lowers the risk of suicide. And how often have you gone to bed with a puzzling problem on your mind, and awakened in the morning with a fresh perspective, and a solution. 

But there was an unusual event that began on a very cold day in Sweden, in 1876. It was the evening of February 22, A young lady fell asleep – ok falling asleep is not that remarkable – but this girl stayed asleep for 32 years! She started her epic nap when she was 14 years old. It ended 32 years later, when a startled and confused 46-year-old woman woke up. 

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To help direct his boys' attention during church services, his dad gave him some paper, and a few crayons, and encouraged him to create a picture. 

The boy did his best. But still, he wiggled and squirmed and just kept talking – as quietly as he could - to the characters he was placing on the paper - and his dad, who watched patently over him. Apparently whispering was not something the boy was familiar with. 

When the picture was finished, he excitedly showed it to his father, and pointed out the characters and other things he had made with the crayons. Then he began to note the colors he had used. It was surprising how well he spoke considering his age. 

But then, he paused a little, and then said, “... and this is yeh-woah. I know that’s not how you say it, I’m trying, but it’s as good I can do it." 

This is when the lesson starts.

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You’ve heard of the ‘Butterfly Effect'. That suggestion that proposes that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Colorado in just the right way, at just the right moment, it sets off a potential set of subtle events – a chain reaction if you will, that causes a hurricane to blow ashore in Georgia a month later. 

Annie Oakley experienced one of those butterfly effect incidents. It happened in a fraction of a second, she made a perfect rick shot that everyone walk safely away from. But if she had missed her target, there are 2 world wars that might not have happened.

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Seems nostalgic for some, outright joyful for others, but for a few – it is a time of overwhelming stress and foreboding. Not for everyone, mind you, but for some, the fear is real – but not for the reason you might think. 

The fear – it comes from having to engage in… Dare I say it? … Calculus. 

That’s right, I said it, Calculus. 

So some of you will be dealing with the logic of ill-logical-ness (did I just make up a word there?) That’s right – you're going to be grappling with Binomial Theorem, and Cavalieri’s principle – in 3 dimensions! So get your polynomials lined up, because no simple imaginary number will suffice – unless it is the solution. 

But did you know that a simple monk almost destroyed calculus before it had a chance to sprain your brains? 

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It was October 1962 and the world was on edge. The US military was on high alert, everyone thought nuclear annihilation could happen at any moment. Schools were teaching children to ‘Duck and Cover’ under their desks in the event of an atomic blast. People were digging holes, and pouring concrete in their backyards. Not to build pools, but instead to build a personal fallout shelters - and then quickly filling them with survival supplies. 

It was the Height of the ‘Cuban Missal Crisis’. US President John F. Kennedy and Russian Premier Nakita Khruschev were at odds over the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba – just a few miles off the coast of Florida. 

There is in Wisconsin an Air National Guard Base, Volk Field, with a 9,000-foot-long runway. What does this have to do with the Cuban Missal Crisis? Listen and find out!

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We live in an amazing time of electric cars, space travel for tourists, telephones in everyone pocket with which we instantaneously speak to some on the other side of the world, satellite navigation that can brings us within inches of any point on the globe, instant access to a volume of information even the Great Library of Alexandria would be envious of. 

Notice I said information – didn’t identify that information as factual or true. And, yes, we are talking about the internet, the World Wide Web, the miraculous digital information superhighway. 

According to a reference I found on the internet, Mark Twain once wrote, “In the vast realm of information on the World Wide Web, fact and fiction doth dance together, much like a pair of mischievous pickpockets.”

And though he never said this – he is right. How can you know if something is factual? What is true? What is good?

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The Career of Staff Sergeant Reckless with the United States Marines Corps began in 1952. This soldiers' heritage went back to an unlikely origin – Mongolia. 

A bit smaller than most but smart, tough, and fast. Sgt Reckless was proven in battle during the Korean War. 

Reckless was assigned to a Recoilless Rifle Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, in the fifth Marine Regiment, and took on responsibilities in what we now call “logistics”. The Sgt moved supplies and ammunition to the front and evacuated casualties. 

In March 1953, Sgt Reckless preformed outstandingly well during the battle for outpost Vegas and was promoted to Corporal. 

During that battle, Reckless Made 50 trips to the front carrying critically needed supplies in, and wounded men out.  During the battle for outpost Vegas, fighting was so fierce that only two men made it out alive and without wounds. Reckless was wounded twice – but kept going. 

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I had the privilege of listening to a few of the experiences and insights of an extraordinary man. A man whom most are probably not very familiar with. His Name is Raja Dhaliwal. 

10 years or so ago, Raj was a taxi driver. He was working long hours in a one of the larger cities in Canada, hauling folk to and from the airport. Raj is generally quiet, very respectful, and kind. 

Raj was not born in Canada – he emigrated there to find a better life. 

Raj has olive skin, a long full beard, and he also wears a turban. And, he is most concerned with how he feels in his heart than how he looks to you. 

I heard him speak a year or so ago to a packed house – Tens of thousands of people. His English was not perfect – but he was very conversant and clear. But, communicating with people is something he does quite well – in at least 4 languages. 

What did this simple cab driver have to say that was so appreciated by those tens of thousands who were there to listen to them? 

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Ever heard of the element Iruim? 

Sounds kind of dangerous, right? Like uranium, plutonium, and other radioactive stuff. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that Irium is most definitely a thing, or at least it was when it was introduced about 100 years ago – but - not a real thing. 

Back in the early part of the ‘Atomic Age’ folks were impressed by the thought of a gently glowing substance filled with an innate energy all its own. Radioactive materials began finding their way into all kinds of things – from pills, to pain reliving pads, tonics, and skin treatments and cosmetics. Folks didn’t know any better – and many of the powers that be insisted radiation was not at all dangerous. 

Well - until somebody jaw fell off – but that’s a whole 'nother story 

The belief in radioactivity as a miracle cure-all gave rise to the super-ingredient Irium. This seemingly magic element apparently had the power to make your teeth clean and white, and it could fight tooth decay too - like nothing else ever discovered. And, it was found in, and only in, Pepsodent toothpaste. 

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This episode includes three very short stories.  One about a fish, a second about a screwdriver, and a third about coins and penny candy. 

These subjects may seem random, and unrelated. However, each of these tiny tales have a few notions we could learn from. And together, they can teach a single highly valuable principle. 

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An Interview with Anne Jensen, the mother of 3, who has some great insights on teaching children with a short attention span important lessons about life.

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Ever been bothered by the emerging problems in society. You know, that latest stupid fad, the ridiculous clothes some choose to wear - or the way they wear them, or the behavior that was once considered rude that is now commonplace – or the once polite gesture now considered rude. Or, sometimes it’s just keeping things around town cleaned up a little. 

You might think to yourself, ‘somebody needs to do something - there ought to be a law against that’. 

Sure – who hasn’t thought that? 

In the bigger towns and cities in the US back in the mid to late 1800’s, folks noticed things were getting out of hand. Places were starting to get rough, trashy, uninviting - and dangerous. It was sometimes difficult walking about town without someone accosting you for change, or a donation; or sometimes, there were people you had to step over to get where you were going. 

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Over two and a half centuries ago, when the early settlers had just begun building their lives in the wilds of Windham, Connecticut, a highly discordant event took place. It all started on a summer's night, in June 1754. 

Most of the 250 or so residents of the little hamlet had retired for the night. The worries of raising crops, keeping food on the table, and staying safe from the Indians were ever present. But life in the colonies was not for the slacker or the faint of heart. So, sweet slumber had overtaken most. And then it began. 

At first, it was a low, deep rumble. Some thought it was an earthquake. But the sound just continued, and increased in intensity. Folks were moving from curiosity to fear. Some said they could feel their bed frames shuddering. Some heard drums, or the sound of trumpets. Others were sure it was the great day of judgment. 

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George Spencer Millet was a young man with promise.  This blond-haired boy with ruddy cheeks turned the girls heads, even at the tender age of 15. 

George was a bright boy, a little quiet, but active and ambitious. George was involved with his church. He had even secured employment as an office boy at the Metropolitan Life building, and was “adopted” by the young ladies in the stenography pool, who just love his smile and affable quiet demeanor. 

Unfortunately for young George, even with a seemingly limitless future, the poor kid didn’t make it past 15. 

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There are a lot of reasonable things one might get angry about, even a little riled up – but, rioting over a straw hat? 

Sounds like this something that took place at a county fair someplace? Somewhere they imbibe in a bit of moon-shine perhaps? 

Nope – 

This happened in a place where they take fashion seriously. It happened in September 1922 – In one of the great centers of civilization - New York City. 

Yep – 

Ok of all the things that might cause a ruckus, ok – more than a ruckus, a full-blown multi-day riot - how could a straw hat possibly have anything at all to do with it. 

Apparently, the refined folks of New York City have always taken the statutes of style very seriously – and back in the 1920s the wearing of a straw hat – known as a ‘boating’ hat after September 15th was a faux pas of the highest order. 

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Have you ever watched one of those old Sci-Fi Movies? Like the one where the ants become gigantic because of nuclear radiation, or the one where aliens’ invade. Or how ‘bout this one – The Blob, with Steve McQueen, where a green gelatinous blob from outer space arrives and grows bigger as it devours everything – and then everything changes and the crisis passes – and life goes on in spite of the losses. 

What if something like that really happened. 

Well, believe it or not – it has. 

At first, it was just a glistening but shapeless cloud in the sky. It looked kinda’ like a huge advancing snow storm, or maybe smoke. It was so massive it blocked out the sun. 

And then, the cloud descended out of the sky. 

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Have you ever heard the name Joseph Figlock? There is an amazing story to tell here, as he was a babe magnet like no other. 

Not even Giacomo Casanova can rival the remarkable story of Joseph Figlock. 

Mr. Figlock live in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1930s. He did not seem to be especially remarkable. At the time he came to this man was noticed he was a Middle-aged man, who wore glasses, whose hairline was beginning to recede. He wasn’t famous, rich, or powerful. He was not remarkable smart, or even a beguiling conversationalist. 

He was an employee of the public works department for the city of Detroit. His job – street sweeper. Yet the man proved to be a real babe magnet – but not perhaps in the way you might think. 

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Sometimes there are things that occur in our world that just leave you – well – kind of flabbergasted. One of those happenings was the Great Kentucky Meat Shower of 1876. 

According to reports in the press at the time, this is what happened. The 3rd of March 1876 was a perfectly clear, sun filled day. Just before noon, Mrs. Crouch was outside her home, cooking up a stink. She was involved in a necessarily odoriferous enterprise. She was boiling down a big batch of lard and lye soap. This was typically accomplished with a large cast iron pot, over an open fire. 

And then - she got the shock of her life. Without warning - there were chucks of red meat cascading down all around - out of cloudless blue sky. Mrs. Crouch said, the meat, which looked like beef. “Fell like large snowflakes”. 

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Coincidence – Two or more random incidents happening in a manner that bring about a seemingly coordinated, or synchronized and connected result. 

Some folks say there are no coincidences. Nothing really ever happens by accident. They believe everything overseen by the divine, and that there is purpose and coordination to the whole. 

What do you think? 

As odd coincidences go, 1908 was an interesting year. 

In 1908, Nicola Tesla conducting experiments at his Wardenclyffe facility, in Shoreham, Long Island, New York. Tesla was working on the transmission of energy from one point to another without wires. 

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What would you want to find in a new job? The perfect job? 

Great benefits? 

Flexible hours? 

Doing something that matters? 

A chance for growth and advancement? 

A positive and supportive corporate environment? 

The ability to work from home – or the office – or where ever you choose? 

Bonuses - Perks – A company car? 

Well, here’s a job announcement you might absolutely love. Allow me to read it to you: 

Wanted. Young, Skinny, Wiry Fellows, not over 18. Must be expert riders, and willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages - $25 per week. 

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On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the civil war were fired as confederate forces opened up on Fort Sumter, South Carolina. 

It was a battle without casualties. At least, at the moment that the Union Surrendered to Confederate General Beauregard, no one had died. 

As the Stars and Stripes were lowered, a one-hundred-gun salute was given by the northern forces. That’s when it happened. A canon on the union side experienced an accidental discharge, and Private Danial Hough was killed – by accidental friendly fire. 

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Have you ever heard a determined person say, “I’m gonna’ do it, or die trying”. 

I have. And I might have even said it a time or to. Gratefully, death didn’t actually need to be a part of the equation. 

There was a man by the name of Frank Hayes who might have uttered this same phrase a few times. Frank was a jockey. He rode in Steeple Chase. 

Frank was well known around the track. He started as a stable hand, and until finally got his shot as a jockey. Most folks found Frank an affable guy with an easy smile. He was quick with a joke, and easy to be around. 

This is the story of his first winning race. 

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When I was about 7 or 8 years old my family used to have some fun traditions. One of which occurred with regularity on Thursday evenings. 

Mom would make homemade French fries from fresh cut potatoes. And, there were hamburgers with all the fixings, and if we were lucky maybe even some root beer. 

As I remember it - The whole family, Dad, mom, my sisters and brother, would watch Star Trek (The original Series), o a black and white TV, while enjoying dinner from paper plates. Dad was a bit of  Sci-Fi fan, and I suppose his liking for that genera rubbed off on me too. 

Star Trek made real, a future with space travel, powerful handheld electronics, transporters, phasers, communicators, talking computers, and unbelievable space aliens. 

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He was kind of an unusual guy. From his youth, folks noticed he was not the typical inner-city Jersey Boy. He was spontaneous and quirky, but at the same time thoughtful and kind. 

Two days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, on Dec 9, 1941, he joined the marine corps. His country meant something to him – it deserved to be defended. He would have signed up sooner, but he had to convince his mom to sign the papers allowing him to enlist at age 17. 

The war years passed, and during battles in the pacific, he had seen much more than ever really wanted to. 

And now, as the transport shipped was pulled up to the pier - he was really home – the war was over – he survived. And now he had something he had not allowed himself to count on having - he had a future. 

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This is a rather strange tale from history, and the military industrial complex. A story that illustrates that when there is a will, there is a way, and sometimes that creates some rather odd results. 

The story begins in 1959 when, then Vice President Nixon, and Soviet Premier Nikita – pound the shoe on the table while saying “we will crush you” – Khrushchev, met in Moscow, about two years after the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile had been successfully tested by the United States. The venue – The American National Exhibition in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park. 

The pair, both with strong convictions and personalities, began to discuss the virtues of communism and capitalism. It was clear the two were not like-minded, and the conversation was quickly heating up. 

Before the quickly escalating exchange came to a head, the President of Pepsi International, Donald Kendall, offered both a nice cool drink of Pepsi – and a Soviet National Love affair began. 

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During the opening days of British involvement in World War 2 there was a great threat in the seas. This threat was embodied by the German battleship – the Bismarck. The enormous and powerful 41,700-ton Nazi battle wagon was lurking around the shipping lanes and had the potential to easily cut off shipping to the English isles, starving it of needed supplies. 

In May 1941 the British Navy launch a ‘must win’ operation to locate and sink this largest ever battleship ever built. 

The Royal Navy finally found the Bismarck. Over a matter of weeks playing hide and seek through the clouds, the Brits bombarded the Bismarck from the sea and air. The British took every opportunity presented to hit the gigantic war machine, But so shielded was the great juggernaut that bombs and shells seemed to bounce off the sides like rocks. However, they kept at it, and the Bismarck was finally sunk. 

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The World’s Olympic Games. An amazing showcase of athletic ability and sportsmanship. People can train for years to perform and compete for a few moments. Every event showcases the best of the best for all over the world. But, sometimes, things just don’t go ... well … as well as expected. 

For example, in 1904, in St. Louis. The Olympic Games were paired with the world’s fair. And for the first time in modern history, the games took place in the western hemisphere. 

It was August in St. Louis. It was hot. It was humid. The runners had a rather challenging 24.85-mile course (yes, it’s supposed to be 26.2). It was hilly, largely unpaved, and dusty. And then, the race started

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Back in the days before sanitary conditions and anesthesia were a thing, priorities in preforming surgery were valued a bit differently than they are today. One of the greatest priorities to improve patent survival was speed. 

The longer a patient was on the table, the more blood they would lose, the more pain they would feel, the more likely there were to have some kind of infection, or die of shock. In other words – the quicker it happened - the better the chance the patient might live. 

Surgery was an absolutely frightening prospect. And there were in fact a few issues with getting the patent to cooperate when their life was at stake. 

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Here is a twisted tale of how pirates raiding a ship in the Caribbean in Sea caused hundreds of years of ongoing disorder in world trade. 

In the 1793 a man named Joseph Dombey was crossing the Atlantic with a rather small set of objects. These were carefully packed and protected within a sturdy 3-inch by 3-inch copper cylinder, with a little copper carrying handle on top. This man, and his little copper case, were intended to be presented to none other than Thomas Jefferson, a founding father, the then Secretary of State, and future President, of the United States of America. 

Unfortunately, during the crossing of the Atlantic, a fierce storm blew the ship, sailing under a French flag, well off course and deep into the  Caribbean. 

The ship, it’s cargo, and its French emissary to the United States with his little copper canister fell into some trouble, and were boarded by English Privateers – also known as pirates.

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Recorded live on February 14, 2023, during the Virtual Linguists, Toastmasters International, online meeting.

Ever wondered, “Have I been Jinxed”? 

Have you had things pile up on you, events occur, trouble seem to follow you? I guess it might be possible to be cursed, vexed, or jinxed. Though we may have our suspicions, in the long view of things we may well find that it’s just not so. That dark cloud that shows up and ruins everything won't follow us forever and ruin everything. 

Most importantly, we all have the power to fight that paranoia head on. It has to do with where we focus our attention. Expect the worst and that’s what you will find. But, look for the good, seek the positive, and you’ll find that too. 

The question is, what are you looking for? 

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An interview with Brent Averett, with a story about how quality matters.

Brent talks about how a principle of quality applies to a good knife, and to life. Yes, it may mean you have to pay more, work harder, and do better to enjoy the benefits of quality. But the return is worth the sacrifice.

You can find Brent online at www.mrknifeguy.com, or:

Mr. KnifeGuy® is located at:
1127 W Sunset Blvd
St, George, UT 84770

Call or Text us at:
435-565-6433 or “HELLO-KNIFE”

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With everything we know about our planet, with satellite imagery, GPS systems, and so much more, there isn’t much of our planet that hasn’t been seen. But there are still some incredibly remote places on earth. The kinds of places people don’t get to very often. 

On the list of those remote locations are places where people aren’t very comfortable. Places where extremes in the environment make it tough to want to be there for too long. Remote deserts, rugged wilderness, and Arctic regions are among these. 

Spurred on by the need for accurate weather forecasting during the second world war, the military forces on both sides did some pretty unusual things. They would secretly place observers here and there, or monitor weather reports on commercial radio stations, or in local newspapers, in order to get an edge in predicting future weather conditions and how they would impact military operations. 

The Germans went so far as to sneak compact, self-contained, automatic weather stations into enemy territory. 

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When I was about 6 or 7 years old, a friend of the family dropped in to visit. I don’t remember his name, but I do remember, he brought a dog with him. 

The dog was less than a year old, and very well-trained. He was a black medium poodle, with a great disposition, who loved to play. 

I am not sure what the negotiations were like. All I know is when the friend of the family left later that day, Jocko stayed. 

I was so excited I walked to every home in the neighborhood with Jocko on a leash, knocked on the door, and introduced him. 

“This is my new dog – just wanted you to get to know him ‘cause he’ll be around the neighborhood.” And then off I went to the next house. 

Jocko, in spite of his awkward master, was very well accepted in the neighborhood, and by my brother and sisters. 

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There was wisdom in the destruction. 

At the time, there was a real possibility that if the Japanese attacked Hawaii again, they could defeat the US military there and occupy the Islands. 

And, if they did, they would likely do the same thing they had done before in other locations. Confiscate all the money, and use the cash to bankroll their military. 

Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea – let’s get rid of all the cash before they get here! 

They could gather it up, and send by ship back to the mainland – but no – what if the Japanese captured the ship? That was just too risky. 

But if they just burned it all – yes – that would work! 

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It was January 1835, and King Richard was in Washington, DC. As he approached his target, his hand slipped inside his coat, and he drew out a pistol… and shot it at Andrew Jackson, the Sitting President of the United States. The pistol misfired, so he dropped it and withdrew a second, and pulled the trigger, but the second pistol misfired as well. The determined king had failed to kill the President. 

To his credit, the fiery Andrew Jackson, was upon the murderous king immediately, beating him to the ground with his walking stick. 

The incident ended as King Richard the third was fully subdued by Davy Crockett and Navy Lieutenant Thomas Gedney - 

OK – if you’ve actually be listening, you have noticed this little story sounds just a bit, well, crazy. 

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Did your parents or grandparents ever tell you one of ‘those’ stories. You know the ones – “Back in my day we used to walk 7 miles to school. It was uphill both ways. It was always raining, the snow was at least chest deep, and you were lucky if you didn’t get heat stroke.”

IT’s kinda’ fun to hear them tell their stories, but O. k. old timer – we get it – things were harder ‘back in the day’.

Speaking of ‘back in the day’ I’ve got a great experience to share.

It was the early 90s, and I was working a Dulles International Airport fire department, in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. It was about 7 in the morning and my 24-hour shift was over, so I was headed home. Home was a 70+mile drive – and it usually took a little over an hour. And, with a commute like that I didn’t want to be running miles up on a new car, so I would keep my eye’s open for what I hoped would be a reliable jalopy – wore out a few of them during that decade's long career.

I hoped into my late 70's Subaru station wagon and headed home. This little Subaru hoopdy was really ugly. It was painted mostly a silverish and rather rock chipped blue - Except for the driver’s door – which was an awful brown color. This little rattle trap had a very reliable (boxer style) 4-cylinder engine, good tires, and was about the size of today's 4 door RAZOR ATV. Fun to drive, though it was a bit embarrassing to be seen in.

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Did you know that the driest desert on this earth has not received any precipitation for as long as 2 million years? 

You’d think it must be hot, and dry, and oppressive. 

And, well dry – yes. Oppressive – maybe. Hot – not even. The driest deserts on earth are found in Antarctica. Ice and Snow cover about 98% of the continent,  leaving 1-2% permanently ice free. These ice free spots are dry valleys, or Antarctic Oasis. Not necessarily the picture I’d think of when imagining a desert... but there you go. 

If you don’t like reptiles, Antarctica is the place for you. 

But there’s a lot of strangeness there. Though it’s a part of our planet, it seems like a completely different world. 

But, think about it. We may be completely comfortable and familiar with where we are – but the places we are used to, have plenty of unique and strange qualities. Slow down and look around a bit, you’ll notice all kinds of stuff. 

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Everybody love’s bunnies. Rabbits are ubiquitous. Soft, Cuddly, Cute. 

But is it possible to have too much of a good thing? 

Rabbits are found in multiple environments – from desert to mountain… or as a stuffed plush, may be snuggled up tight to a sleeping child. 

On another - they can be great sport to hunt, and can be prepared to be downright tasty. Just ask Elmer Fudd (and if you don’t know who that is ask a grandparent). 

These adorable little hoppers found in everything from literature to cartoons. 

You’ve got the easter bunny, bugs bunny, peter rabbit, the energizer bunny, (Bambi’s little friend) thumper, Watership Down and the white rabbit found in Alice in Wonderland, or co-staring with Jimmy Stewart in the 1950s classic, “Harvey”. 

However, one environment they were not found in – until the 1800’s – was Australia. 

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I have observed as many of us participate in one of the biggest, and most well know, consumer events in the United States. That magical Friday after Thanksgiving when folks line up in the early morning hours outside their favorite stores to get a shot at amazing deals on the newest hot toy, electronics, and other items with prices cut to the bone. 

Retailers in brick-and-mortar stores, and online businesses, brace for the Black Friday weekend deals that constitute the biggest rush of retail activity of the year. This is the time when Santa, and those helping him, make more purchases than at any other time of the year. 

For some retailers it is the make-or-break event that launches their balance sheets into the black, or on a bad weekend, condemns them to finish out the year in the red – and maybe ends their business for good. 

But is it true that the Black Friday weekend is the most active time for holiday shopping? 

Well now – maybe not. 

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The heart of a human can – and sometimes does – just stop. It can be a chronic condition that worsens over time; or an acute event that suddenly, catastrophically, just happens. 

Its potential causes are legion. Some we can take precautions against – some strike out of the blue. 

When heart failure happens, it is possible to recover. But recovery is certainly not guaranteed, and it is not easy; nor is there any certainty recovery can be complete. 

At this point, most are probably thinking about taking care of the muscle in our chest. The one that starts beating before we are born, and when it stops for good, we move on from this life. And, yes, everything shared thus far applies to that. 

But there is another kind of heart failure. And the hard numbers are frightening. As this type of heart failure is becoming more prevalent in our world. It is clear, even without consulting research, any casual observer can see it. 

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The date of the release of this episode is Friday, December 2, 2022. In 5 days, December 7th, it will be 81 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor. This surprise attack was the impetus that pulled the America into World War 2. When considering the history of The United States of America, December 7th, 1941, like September 11, 2001, is a day that can never be forgotten. Within the conflict of World War 2 there are thousands of events – some recorded -some forgotten. Stories of smaller battles, and lesser-known poignant occurrences, from which we have the opportunity to learn.

This is a story of a smaller, ancillary event, which occurred on December 7, 1941. One that many may have never been heard, as it was eclipsed by the enormous catastrophe occurred later that same day, and the worldwide conflict that ensued.

The Ward, was a ship that had been rapidly constructed and commissioned for battle in 1918, during World War 1. It was a 1247 ton ‘Wickes’ class destroyer. The keel of the vessel was laid down on May 15th, and 17 and ½ days later, on June 1st, the USS Ward was launched at Mare Island, California. A few weeks after that she was outfitted, equipped, and commissioned.

Then about 5 months later, on November 11th, 1918 – The first war to end all wars – was over. By 1921, the USS ward as decommissioned.

This old and obsolete vessel, was recommissioned for service as the probability of the US going to war was increasing. The military needed to be built up dramatically to be ready – so many available retired assets, including the Ward, were pulled back into service.

On January 7th, 1941, the ward was recommissioned and sent to Pearl Harbor, to perform routine patrols around the islands.

Flash forward about 11 months. It was early in the morning of December 7th, 1941.

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I’ve got a familiar story for you. Yes – familiar, but not the one you might be thinking of as you hear the tale. 

Back when the rich took time to ‘dress’ for dinner, when no female would ever consider wearing pants, and long before air travel was practical. Back in the glory days of trans-Atlantic travel - there was a ship. A ship built bigger and grander than any other. It was an engineering marvel for it’s time. It could cut through the ocean waters at speeds of up to 30 knots. The ship was over 800 feet long – larger than any other vessel. An absolute miracle of modern know-how and ambition. 

This astonishing ship’s maiden voyage was the hot ticket. First class passage was sure to be where the rich and famous would be – traveling in style like never before, on the British luxury liner, from Europe to the United States. With elegant dinning at every meal – and shuffleboard on the upper deck. 

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Ever heard the old saying lighting never strikes twice. A phrase, that I suppose, was meant to covey that extraordinary things only happen once. That rare circumstances and happenings just don’t repeat. 

And, if you ask the odds makers, they’d likely agree. There are plenty of things that, if they ever do happen, will probably only happen once. In fact, I suspect there are many who would tell you that some things are just never going to happen – not even once. Like Charley Brown will never get to kick that football if Lucy is teeing it up for him. 

But, what about lightning? Does it never strike the same thing twice? 

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A story told by Maria Jackson, about a family trip to the Redwoods, of California, USA. 
Maria briefly recounts the trip, the sights, and the three lessons - or ounces - she and her family took from the experience.

This episode was recorded through Zoom, and some of the audio quality is not up to par. My Apologies - But, the story is worth a listen!

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This is a bonus episode, practical Bit 3, an interview with Wil Becker.

The interview introduces a resource that I think this audience will appreciate. 

Wil Becker is promotes books and other media from which we can learn lessons and gain wisdom. In the interview, Wil shares some of his favorite books, and explains why they had an impact on him. He also recounts an experience where he used the kid's animated film, Kung Fu Panda, as a lesson on leadership.

Check Wil out at turningleafs.com .

You can listen to his podcasts, find him on social media, and take advantage of his list of recommended books for self-improvement, positive attitude, and growth. Will provides his unvarnished, straight forward, and useful reviews of books that you might find helpful and interesting to you as well.

I do recommend you connect with Wil's stuff at Turningleafs.com.

Whether you enjoy this podcast or not, I'm sure you will enjoy my new book, “firehouse philosophy: embers of insight for an exceptional life“. Get your copy now!  Search “firehouse philosophy” on Amazon. 

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Life in the United States is amazing. I know that in this day and age, there are many who might disagree for one reason or another. And, it is true that this society falls short of perfection. 

There were times in the past when things were different. When the culture was different that what we know now. When things happened in the past, that we might look by today's norm’s with amazement or disapproval. It is important to view them cautiously – and without the lens, values, and expected norm’s, of today’s society – otherwise we miss the gems we can learn from in the critical judgement of a culture the past had never conceived of. 

And at the risk of sounding like your grandpa telling you how good you’ve got it, compared to how it was in his day, I’m going to share a story with you. A true story of something that happened in the United States, that might be considered shocking. 

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Not every detail matters. 

The subtle difference between the fire brick red, and chili red, isn’t much. 

The difference between lukewarm, and tepid, probably not perceivable. 

And the difference between 20 and 21 miles an hour – hardly worth noting – unless you are doing 21 in a school zone. 

Yes, there are instances where very small things make all the difference. What we might perceive as a tiny detail, may have a powerful impact. 

The difference is in the context of the tiny thing – 

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Like most humans, I am a creature of comfort. I love to be in an environment that is familiar and secure. My backyard. On the couch watching a good show with my wife snuggled in at my side. Laughing at my grandkids as they run around willy-nilly laughing at each other and playing. I take great comfort and joy in good, savory snacks, and sweet deserts.

I’m guessing almost everyone can relate to this. We all have those places in our lives that we prefer, and things we have peace in.

Why would anyone go out looking for trouble?

Like those nutty folks who like to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, and then hang by a few strings as they float to the ground. Or the weirdos who enjoy dangling from sheer rock cliffs. Or the ones who choose to run an Iron Man race – 2 ½-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run – that’s not comfortable. And there are some who willing choose to stand in front of large groups of people and speak – some would, quite literally, rather die, than do that. Or how about devoting hour upon hour – days and even weeks – solving a math problem. Are you kidding me?

The truth of life is that all of us will face hard things in life – they will be foisted upon us without choice.

Whether you enjoy this podcast or not, I'm sure you will enjoy my new book, “firehouse philosophy: embers of insight for an exceptional life“. Get your copy now! Search “firehouse philosophy” on Amazon.

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A part of the human condition is that there will always be something with which we will struggle. It is common to all, rich and poor, those with privilege and those without. Even in the lives of those who seem to have the perfect life – there will be struggle of some sort. Internal, or external and visible to all. Things that seem, in our perspective of another life, as small. Or challenges that appear to be absolutely overwhelming – and we ask – how could we survive? 

Here is a tale that will illuminate the struggles we have in our own lives differently. 

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While living in a rural section of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, my family occasionally had the chance to see the beauty of an ice storm. The way the sunlight would stream in and bend color around the trees, fences, and every other surface was breathtaking. 

However, it wasn’t all beauty. Ice storms were commonly accompanied by power outages and a large number of auto accidents. During and after an ice storm, the roads became a like an ice rink. Those who felt compelled to travel frequently spun off of the road and remained trapped, unable to venture out on the ice, until help could safely arrive. 

During and after the more serious ice storms, my family and I took part in a rather macabre spectator sport. I don’t wish to minimize the property damage, or the personal trauma that people went through, but there was nothing we could do to intervene. We were fortunate that all the action was going in a direction away from our home. So, from the second-floor bay window, we watched. 

And, there we learned about choices and consequences.

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A shocking tale about 2 rather outstanding characters who lived during the 1800s. One hailed from New England – The other all the way across the continent in the west. 

This Two Tale’ed legend begins with the romance of gunslingers, outlaws, and lawmen in the untamed west. Among characters like Butch Cassidy, Jesse James, and Wyatt Earp, there was one known as One Eyed Charley – Some preferred to call him Cockeyed Charley. 

The second part of our 2 tale’ed legend begins somewhere in New Hampshire. Mortality rates were pretty high among some of the settlers trying to eke out a living between the rocks and trees in that area. Often leaving being an orphan or two. Among them was a sweet, but rather determined, dark haired little girl. Left to an orphanage at a young age.

Hold-on, you might be thinking – what in tarnation does a dark-haired little orphan in New Hampshire have to do with a hard driving whip and stage driver in California. Hold yer oatmeal, and let me tell you how the tale of these two characters, becomes one. 

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Have you ever considered how the things we do, the choices we make, and the experiences we have tended to follow us through our whole life. 

Experience informs the perspectives we have, and the choices we make. 

And in most cases, the path we’ve taken illuminates our presence. When we meet folk’s, there is always a first impression of who they are. Sometimes we’re wrong, and we have to allow our understanding of that person evolves and sharpens. But, most of the time – it’s pretty much right. 

Have you ever wondered what people see when they first look at you? 

There are those things we are proud of that we put out there with confidence – and those things that we would rather hide a little that show just as clearly. 

The path we’ve walked follows behind us all the time – some of the tracks we’ve left are absolutely clear – others are subtle – but still there. 

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In an interview with Susan Meehan a discussion about the deeper meanings which are found in a few profound words. Short phrases from literature, conversation, and in this case scripture.

Those potential 'deeper meanings' are discussed and considered in the episode with an eye to listening more completely, looking past just words, to what those words might imply. 

It's a fun, but imperfect exercise. And, it is worth exploring in your own life. 

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Susan Meghan shares an amusing family story. It is about something that happened when here kids were a bit younger. A story they often re-tell when they get together and always laugh at. The ones that begin with, "Remember that time...."

Every family has a few stories about improbable events. Some that were funny from the start, and some that might have been a rough at the time. But, either way, the stories bring laughter, memories, and fun.

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Have you looked around you lately? Our world is a mess! 

I don’t know how anyone can watch the news anymore. In the picture painted there, it seems like the world is on a path of self-destruction. We are exploding with religious, political, and cultural differences. There are riots. Churches and Court houses being set on fire. 

There is another vision available. A perspective that is powerful and positive. Something better. Something that is – dare I say it without being mocked – Hopeful. 

I am not naive. I have witness first-hand the insanity and brutal callousness of our world. 

I propose to you - that as bad as it is – it is not as bad as it seems. 

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NO! If you want to get a Boo-boo face from a young child, that’s the word you use – NO. 

To the child it means they are not getting what they want, they’ve done something wrong, and they might even be in trouble. 

NO – whether we like it or not, we are conditioned from infancy to feel that the word NO like it’s a club smacking us over the head. Nobody ever wants to hear the word NO, nyet, uhn ah, nope, or anything like it. 

We associate it with mistakes, failure, anger, lost hopes, and crushed dreams. 

Even more than curse words and other colorful language, NO is the worst word in the world. And the only thing worse than one no, is hearing a string of no’s – Like – No, No, No, No, NO. 

This is the kind of thing we might hear, or say, when the world is coming to a literal end. 

However, I have recently begun to have a bit of an attitude change when it comes to no. 

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You know, those moments in life. The one’s where you can just stop, be in the now, and soak in the joy. No troubles, no pain, no loss, no worries. They don’t seem to last more than a moment or two. And then, in a twinkle, we are back in the real world. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just stay there, in that instant, where everything seems right. If we could just make it last. If we could just have a life that was set in a perfect utopia where everything is easy. Where there is no scarcity, no illness, no fear, or pain. 

Yeah! That would be awesome! -or would it? 

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There are times when what we see right there in front of us tells a simple and clear story. The evidence in front of us is so certain, so obvious, it is easy to understand.

But, it’s always a good idea to look a little further. It might be the things you haven’t seen – that are very much a part of the story – that will complete the picture, and give you real understanding.  

Sometimes the hidden things, the ones you don’t see, make all the difference.

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Things change as we grow. 

The perspective and innocence of a child progresses to the all-knowing confidence of a teenager. And from there, the confusion of the 20 something trying to find a purpose, a career, a family, and a direction. In middle age, we seek that deeper peace and a meaning for life, as we look over our shoulders at what came before. Finally, we get to a point where - either everything begins to make more sense – or we are OK with the fact that it doesn’t – or both. 

Sometimes the transition from one part of life into another is a tad bumpy. 

You have the choice to try to fight the progression and change that comes with the passing of time – or acknowledge it, and work with it. 

But things will always change.

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Two similar events occurred, separated by over half a century. Both were devastating.

In one case, folks were just trying to go home. They didn’t want to hurt anyone. 

In the other, there was evil intent.

This story will leave you questioning the old adage which states, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'.

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Commitment is an interesting thing. One can be “kinda” committed to a cause, and might even show up to be involved sometimes – if it’s convenient. But such is not real commitment. 

However, real and complete commitment is a dedication that just keeps trying. It never stops, it gives everything it has, there are no excuses. Being totally committed to something is powerful. 

Until you dedicate yourself to something, important, good, and bigger than you – you will never become the person you could have been. You will never feel the joy you were meant to, and you may never come to know who you really are. 

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I had a conversation the other day with someone. We spoke of our concern over the rising generations, and their inability to socialize. Everything for them now is online. It's virtual. In fact, in today’s world, if you’re not virtual, you’re not real. 

Well as a benefit to the socially handicapped, and a reminder to everyone else, we (my wife Tish and I) thought we’d share a few ideas on how to get a conversation going with a stranger – Yeah – scary right? 

But it can be amazingly fun 

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We used to sardonically say, it’s all fun and games until somebody pokes an eye out. 

I suppose it was an unintentional nod to the fact that fun is often associated with the thrill of taking a chance, and facing danger, while protected from the real consequences. Otherwise, why do some of us love haunted houses, roller coasters, skydiving, and so many other sports and diversions that involve a perceived- and real- risk of injury and even death. 

I am not an expert.  Merely an observer of human behavior, so I’m not trying to psychoanalyze anyone. Just making an observation. 

Looking at history, even recent history, it is amazing that, in the toys we let our little ones play with, there may be rather serious hazards. Allow me to share some remarkable examples. 

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In observing the situation, it was clear that the passenger was unhappy, but certainly not a threat. After all, how much fight could there possibly be in this little lass? The fact that she had already proven to be fiery was no longer evident. However, it quickly became clear that she knew how to take care of herself in a brawl. As all of a sudden what had appeared to be nothing more than a simple ‘Band-Aid’ call became very interesting. 

This pint-sized passenger began manhandling the two police officers sent to ‘calm’ the situation. She had to be forcefully subdued, cuffed, and taken to jail. [1] In this instance what William Shakespeare penned was accurate, “Though she be but tiny, she is fierce!” [2] 

[1] This event occurred in the mid-1990s during the career of the author with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The occurrence of similar events, in the terminals and on the aircraft, has become much more common over time.
[2] A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scene II. Another part of the wood. William Shakespeare.

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Maine Native, and Ship's Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory was a man’s man.  

As a very young man, he worked as a cabin boy, and in time became a well-respected Captain of his own ship. He sailed routes all around the world, from New England to California during the gold rush. And even around the infamous Cape Horn and the southern tip of Africa. 

Captain Gregory was notable as a hero for saving 7 Spanish sailors from a watery grave after their ship sank on the open sea. For this, he was recognized and earned honors from Queen Isabella the 2nd of Spain. 

But his notable seafaring career is not why he is remembered. 

His greatest distinction is because of something else. His renown is based on another set of skills not often associated with those who make their living on the seas. And, one for which there is nary a soul who has not been uplifted. 

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Being misunderstood is pretty easy in this world. Even when we are clear and speak the same language. 

I don’t know, but if you are a politician, you might be doing this on purpose, and counting on having people hear a clear message you didn’t actually give. 

No matter what you say, or how ‘accurately’ you think you say it, even using mathematical precision. Someone will miss the point – hear something else – or just won’t ‘get it’. 

What is one to do? 

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What is paradise to you? 

White sands and a blue ocean – Mountain peaks, pine trees, and smore’s – A quiet library surrounded by great books. 
Life can, and does, turn from one to the other – and contains both at the same time.  So, what are we to do? 

The only thing we can – as a society and as individuals - Doggedly focus on the good that is, the possibilities of greatness that can be, and get a grasp on hope for the better part. 

Then, start where we are, work with what we have, and do what we can. 

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At the end of the battle of Shiloh, a legend was born. A folk tale. Some might call it a miracle. The battle was fought on April 6th and 7th, 1862, when the confederate army launched an attack on the Union army. The confederates attacked from out of the woods, near the Shiloh church in Tennessee. And they just kept coming. 

The carnage continued for 2 days. Over 20,000 were killed or wounded. And many of the casualties were left piled up on the battlefield for days afterward, as those who were sorting the dead from the wounded, and treating the horrible injuries of war, were completely overwhelmed by the number. 

As litter bearers worked beyond exhaustion, as doctors pressed on frantically without sleep to and save just one more, and the wound soldiers themselves - they all saw the glow. 

This was no reflection, no artifact of frenzied and fatigued minds, it was an actual, perceivable, light illuminating the darkness and those horrible wounds. 

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We go through life trying so hard to get things right. 

For example, you’d never want to confuse salt for sugar in your chocolate chip recipe.  And, forgetting to tighten up the lug nuts after changing a tire could be catastrophic as well. Or hitting the send button on that caustic email you composed out of frustration – it wouldn’t be the first time someone regretted that move. 

But, not all mistakes are bad – if fact, some are downright splendid. 

This fact is proven by Erwin Perzey (with a little help from Thomas Edison)!

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As a passenger on the rapidly speeding, express train of life, are we aware of the sacrifices that were made to benefit our lives?

By soldiers, pioneers, and countless other committed souls who came before us, and choose to commit their honor and their lives to do what needed to be done.

There will always be ample reason for gratitude.

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Ever heard of Shavarsh Katapetyan? 

You might have. Shavarsh is a champion swimmer from the 1970s. His sport? As an athlete, he started as a gymnast then transitioned to Fin Swimming. 

Fin Swimming – I know – there are several sports we’ve perhaps never heard of that are quite popular elsewhere in the world. (Such as the rather ancient, but recently rediscovered sport of curling) 

In 1976 Katapetyan, age 23, went for a 12-mile run – with 44 pounds of sand in his backpack. He had his coach and his brother running along with him. As they neared Lake Yerevan, they heard a loud pop – like an explosion, and then they watched as a trolley bus #15 rolled backwards into the lake – and sunk – with 92 people trapped inside. 

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None of us is going to escape facing things that will mightily try us.

But, if continue to breathe through them, anger, disappointment, broken hearts, frustration, and overwhelming disappointment, can all be overcome – in time. 

How do we go on when disappointment, despair, and anguish of so many kinds can - and do - find us? 

Along with whatever else you do may I suggest these four steps:

Step one is always the same – Breathe

Step two –greave if you need to. 

Step three - Wrestle your focus from the loss - and focus on what is good. Memories, experiences, friends and family, and other positive things can be lost from your sight for a little while – sometimes you may have to go and find them again – but they are there. 

Step 4 – Repeat as needed

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As babies, many of us had the privilege of being completely unaware of the efforts of others to keep us alive. Our understanding of dangers, political intrigue, war, and natural disasters, betrayal, was absolutely non-existent.

It took us years to mature and grow to the point of understanding the currency of the world – the currency of love was hopefully all we knew – and it was more than enough.

Yep – wouldn’t you love to go back to that blissful ignorance and complete lack of awareness that money was such a big part of life – even if we don’t want it to be.

The cost of financial ignorance is staggering.

The benefits of financial literacy are comforting – and incredibly empowering. You just need a chance to learn how money really works.

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This is a reformatted version of a story used in Season 2, Episode 13, I Don’t Know.I was sweating profusely. I couldn’t see a thing. My hands could feel the difference between rough or smooth, hot or cold. My heart was racing, breathing was hard – like sucking air through a straw.

My ears were full of so much noise I couldn’t hear what was being said – let alone say anything anyone could understand.

I was... confused, becoming frustrated. Panic was setting in, and my situation seemed hopeless.

Suddenly, no matter how hard I tried, breathing became impossible. 

And then, right there at that moment - I died.  Well – kind of. Either that or I had a rather miraculous recovery, as I am still alive.

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Something that seems to pervade almost every culture - and personality on this earth - is how much we hate to make mistakes. Reactions to ‘getting it wrong’ can go from completely ‘losing face’ to simple embarrassment or ridicule, loss of credibility, or standing with piers.

Sometimes, I fear it may be unfortunate we treat mistakes this way – as folks tend to have a hard time owning up to them. These responses to blunders often compound the damage or loss. Denying a misstep has occurred, or an error made, will make at best correction more difficult, and at worst may cost life or limb.

Here is a true story about a mother and father who made an error as they traveled across the country on an airplane with two kids – and what they did when they discovered their mistake.

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If you can believe it - there are a whole lot of folks in this world who’ve never tried baseball. Even in a place like the US where we’ve been playing for years.

Really.

Hitting a baseball is pretty simple. All you have to do is swing a baseball bat in a manner that places the bat at the precise location, and at the precise moment to cause the bat and the ball (which is moving very rapidly through the air) to collide.

Yah – simple.

But, definitely not easy. 

However, not being fantastic, or world-class, at something is not a reason -not to do it.

And, not trying – or being willing to try new things - grantee’s you’ll find few new joys.

There are plenty of things we can involve ourselves in that we might be really bad at – but the fun of doing it makes it a great experience.

Something can be more fun when you do them badly – like karaoke

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Humans and animals have always had a relationship of some kind. Domesticated animals are trained to work and be companions, or as pets, and they fill many other roles as well. 

And baboons have a documented history as far back as the ancient civilizations of Egypt of being adopted by humans, and then trained to be ox cart drivers and herdsmen. And in this case, as a railroad laborer.

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Dale lived a very uncomplicated life. He never married and didn’t have any children.

He grew up poor.

Dale worked for 67 years for the same company. He was a carpenter.

Dale was a regular churchgoer.

And, Dale Schroder was a very frugal man, a blue-collar guy, with very simple needs.

He was not highly educated.

He was not all that sophisticated.

And, he was certainly not famous.

Most humans will arrive and then leave the earth without much notice, like Dale Schroder.

But, unnoticed or not, we can make a great difference.

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Here in the desert southwest, around the end of February and early March, as the sun lasts a little longer in the sky, the lizards begin to spend more time in my backyard.

I’ve got a story to tell you that may well have happened right there, as I soaked in some warmth on the back porch swing.

We have a block wall fence the lizards seem to enjoy crawling up on top of to take in the warmth. I watched one of them, only a few inches long, skittering about, up and down the wall, back and forth on the top of the wall.

Life is pretty simple for a lizard. Wake up when it’s warm and go out to find lunch. 

But this little guy was apparently not sure what to have for lunch. Should he go to the top of the wall to pick off a gnat, or down to the bottom and ambush an aphid? He hurried back and forth up and down the wall – don’t know that ever found anything to eat.

His inability to make a decision and stick with it became a bit of a problem. - Check it out!

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I have an experience to share. One for which words will be a poor substitute for reality. Yet, it was so amazing we’re going to give it a shot.

Back around 2010, I had the chance to travel to Peru for about 10 days. The trip was with my brother and a group that provides training for pre-hospital and hospital professionals and volunteers.

While there, our little group had a chance to make a trip to one of the New Wonders of The World. Machu Picchu.

I imagine the builders of this place must have been showmen. Having partnered with nature in creating this extraordinary space where a curtain of fog could be slowly raised to reveal such a view. One which has the effect on most humans of stealing a breath and making the heart skip a beat.

Mother Nature was obviously showing off.

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Because we all have different experiences, genetics, predispositions, history, fears, values, and objectives – you and I, we all will at some point act in a way that others will see as a bit nuts.

And, they may be right, So remember the next time you see somebody do something stupid – They probably had a completely rational and reasonable reason for doing it.

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Life today seems to be ever-changing. Things constantly shifting. Society changes constantly. Values, ethics, and even interpretations of history. Heroes are portrayed as villains. Scoundrels are represented as virtuous. In some cases, even the truly evil is twisted to embody good. Big cities shrink, small ones grow. Technology, so-called “settled” science transforms.

I’ve got a little story that gives a precious perspective on this seemingly unstable world we live in. Let’s consider this tale from the perspective of our protagonist, a single drop of water.

Ice, vapor, liquid – it’s all water.

Mixed in a solution or by itself – water is still water.

Part of a deadly flood, or used to clean a wound – water is still water.

No matter how we find it, how we describe it, the value we give it, or the truth - or the lies we say about it – water is still water.

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Our world today is filled with so much information. Broadcast media, the internet, and books are everywhere. There is more information at our fingertips today than ever before.

But, it might be a mistake to mistake a plethora of information for facts or truth –

“Not everything you find on the internet is true” – I believe that’s a quote from Napoleon Bonaparte that I found on the internet. I’m sure you remember Napoleon – that short French guy who liked to pose with his right hand stuffed into his tunic (I always wondered if that was a persistent itch or an upset stomach). He even has a mental affliction named after him – The Napoleon Complex – the popular belief that short guys tend to overcompensate for being small by being domineering and aggressive. 

Well – Napoleon stood at about 5’ 7”. Just below the current average height for men in today’s world, in his time was considered above the average height of 5’ 4” to 5’ 6”. 

That's just one Truth That's Myth. Listen and find out a few more.

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William decided he needed to be tough enough to take care of himself in a fight. As a teenager, he became involved in golden gloves boxing. And he excelled in this effort. His record on the circuit was 22 and 1. On his 24th match, he got his nose broken, and decided it was time to find something else to do. His passion lay elsewhere.

Though he was plenty bright and his teachers described him as a ‘strong student’, he didn’t graduate from High School. With his father gone, William got a job to help support his family. He was often required to work quite late, causing him to often sleep in missing classes at school. Unfortunately, on one of these mornings, he missed a required final exam in English and ended up a bit short of the credits needed to graduate.

Rather than take summer classes, William just kept working. He loved his job and the thought of being cooped up in a classroom all summer was not at all appealing to him.

Who is he? Listen and take a guess!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel

https://www.biography.com/musician/billy-joel

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/billy-joel-3442.php 

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The dreaded ‘Love Triangle’. Absolutely no one ever wants to be caught in a Love Triangle. Wisdom and time have proven that the Love Triangle always ends badly. 

According to recent surveys, it is a situation considered even worse by 9 out of 10 hopeless romantics than finding out there are murder hornets in the neighborhood. And 98.7% of all relationship counselors contend a Love Triangle should be avoided more vigorously than the next killer COVID variant (the remaining 1.3% shouldn't be trusted). 

Everyone knows that the Love Triangle always leads to disaster. The very best outcome that can be expected is that at least one heart will be broken.

But, on this Valentine’s Day, we do not want to dwell on the negative. We will not speak of broken hearts.

Nobody gets their heart broken today!

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Have you ever watched the actions or behavior of someone and thought to yourself, “that’s is so wrong”? 

It’s likely that you don’t really understand where their perspective, or perhaps the context of the act. It may be what you saw is perfectly justified by what you didn’t see – and didn’t know.

I can say with confidence that making assumptive judgments based on uninformed guesses can get you into trouble. I’d bet that some of us have even made a snap judgment of someone or something, and then or mouth by-passed our brains, and said it out loud.

These tactless outbursts might have even been overheard, and the person respond.  “Don’t You Judge Me”! But, Do those words mean what you think they mean?

____
Mathew (KJV) 7:1-3

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again.
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in they brethren’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Definitions:

Perspicacity - Noun: 1. Keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration. 2. Archaic. Keen Vision.

Krino: (Greek) Condemn, avenge, sentence, or levy punishment. See also additional forms of Krino such as Krinete, Krinethe, etc…

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It is one of those events in history that at first might cause a little grin. It was such an outrageous and unexpected event. But, upon discovering more about it, the grin fades, and the horror of the grisly reality can cause a gasp.

What happened – and how? That question has been the subject of many a study and investigation – and most details have been figured out.

What was this mayhem of molasses? 

In the early in the afternoon of January 15th, 1919.  It was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit – not at all unusual for the Northeastern United States. 

Then, without warning, a 60-foot-tall storage tank burst open unloading 2.3-million-gallons of wet sticky molasses all at once. 

Sources:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/molasses-floods-boston-streets

https://www.history.com/news/great-molasses-flood-science

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/great-boston-molasses-disaster-1919/

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About 1/2 mile from our home was a little marsh. And, along with the flowering dogwood trees, one of the ways we knew that spring was upon us, was that 100s of little frogs down in the marsh would start to sing. 

The backyard was a perfect place to sit in the evening, watching the fireflies dance in our little grove of trees, viewing the brilliant colors in the sky change as the sun set, and listening to the shrill song of the little frogs. 

Frogs are an interesting bunch. They are not necessarily that bright as a general rule, but there are things we can learn from them.

I recall a little story I heard years ago, not sure when. But as I recall it was a mostly true story that may have happened down in that little marsh in the Shenandoah Valley near our home. It was truly a calamity.

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Be wise enough to recognize that focus, courage, grit, and commitment can be found in places you might not expect. Anyone who chose’s to be courageous can accomplish more than you might think – and true courage may be found in those you might least suspect– including yourself. 

Have you ever heard of Sgt Otybrskaya?

A pretty amazing soldier in the Russian army during World War 2 on the eastern front against the Nazis. The Sgt was posthumously awarded “Hero of the Soviet Union” for performing as a tank driver in battles around Vitebsk.

Sgt Otybrskaya has a story that will surprise you. Check it out….

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Does the world really need more platypode - or platypuses - or whatever?

To answer my own rhetorical question. Maybe. But not without a second thought and some consideration.

Think before you speak. Consider before you do.  "Is this really a good idea"?

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Setting goals is a great way to improve and grow. The beginning of a new year is a traditional time to evaluate our lives - to see where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. 

The new year's resolution is a common example of this. It’s a great time to think about what we want to accomplish, what we want to change, and who we want to become. 

Goals can give us the power and perspective to move forward in incredible ways, and help us to achieve amazing success.

And, unfortunately, we can also give them the power to crush us with our perceived failure.

But have we failed? Let's not be so hasty?

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This episode is the final one for the third season, and for 2021. 

I get the privilege of sharing an interview with an extraordinary person, Kelli Charlton. She explores with us the concept of the 3 C’s. The 3 C's are an excellent prism to view life through. And, a great set of perspectives to view life through as we move forward into the new adventure of 2022!

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Christmas is full of tradition, symbolism, and mythology. There are rituals handed down over generations, and new customs begin with family and friends.

One of the more ancient traditions is the, sometimes lauded and often dreaded, Christmas Fruit Cake. (And no – I’m not referring to crazy aunt Mable) 

Believe it or not, fruitcake has an interesting history covering over 2 millennia. And, even today there a some who still propagate the fruit cake tradition during the holidays.

If you receive one – do so graciously (even if you will never eat it). 

If you are among those who are anti fruitcake – no worries – just give it to someone else. 

Either way, rest assured the fruitcake will be around for a long time to come because the sincere sentiment of some traditions will never go out of style.

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I’ve got a story for you about the life of one of the most well-known characters in entertainment history. This story will highlight some of the lesser-known facts about him. See if you can guess who it is before I tell you.

This character is probably one of the most famous 'Mama’s Boys' ever.

Though he never wrote his own music, he had an ingenious way of making the music uniquely his. 

His music was unfamiliar, new, different - it was unprecedented.

But in spite of initial trepidation and fear, he blazed forward clearing a trail in the music industry for many to follow.

And, a lot of folks didn’t like it – no not one bit.

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Idioms – defined as a phrase or group of words the represent a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase -or- an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but must be understood as a whole.

American English idioms can be a nightmare for those learning to speak English. And, also cause a lot of confusion for those who just haven’t heard the expression before. But they are fun and add color to the conversation.

Some examples of common idioms include “Give Up” meaning – surrender – or – the ball is in your court, meaning it’s now your responsibility. Or, a more current idiom, ‘google it’ which means looking it up on the internet using the google search engine.

Idioms can come and go quickly – and sometimes hang around confusingly past their ‘sell by’ date.

Idioms and other expressions that are absolutely clear to us can be absolutely unclear to others.

Even in plain English – or even worse, in legal terms – people misunderstand and may even end up in court.

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As the wind blew, the bright-colored kite sailed aloft. A lone patch of color dancing in contrast to a gray fall ocean sky.

A child in a warm coat and cap, with bright red cheeks, smiled has looked skyward and held the string that tethered the kite. 

The kite however was not at all happy. But, no one would have known. Its frustration was not visible in the beautiful and vibrant colors. Its anger could not be seen as it floated 100 feet or more over the earth and waves below.

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Pride – Arrogance – Conceit.

We can pretty quickly see these things in others. And, most of the time it’s annoying as heck. We often however can be completed clueless that we are just like those we disdain for their self-importance.

Pride is funny that way.

Those of us who know it all are often annoyed by those who think they do.

You are almost never as cool, as tough, or as important as you think you are.

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Who really wants to have to deal with challenges? They can so uncomfortable as to be painful, they may be so difficult that they seem impossible to bear, so definite that dreams can be crushed and hopes lost.

There is an interesting quality in hardships and challenges that is often overlooked by myself and others. And, as we attempt to push through, we see only the challenge, the struggle, the pain, and the hardship. It’s only natural – It’s really tough to see past things like that.

But, often we are in the hands of a greater power, a fate, a refining process, that in the end seems to miraculously put us right where we need to be.

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The human tendency to see want we want to see is an innate condition. One that perhaps keeps us happy, by blinding us from what we don’t want to know – or just simplifying life by ignoring what we decide doesn’t matter. 

Maybe it’s an outgrowth of “Confirmation Bias” that tends to open our eyes to see what we expect – or believe. 

It could be the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon where - what one focuses on, thinks about, and put energy towards - becomes more noticeable because of the familiar neural pathways we’ve created in our brains.

Regardless of the reason – it happens. And, it can be very useful to us.

However, it may also blind us – those things we don’t expect, that we don’t want to know, or that we haven’t noticed much before – they remain hidden from our conscious mind. Like our keys laying on the side table under the key rack.

This can be a problem. 

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Every home has the potential to have some extra uninvited guests. I am speaking of pests, bugs, or critters, and the like. But there are some things you can do about it. This episode is all about how and why you should. 

In this episode, I have the privilege of an interview with Ryan Burke who works with a locally owned company called bug blasters. Ryan is a straight-shooting guy who is happy to answer questions and share ideas on why and how to manage the pest who are undoubtedly sharing your home with you.

Questions-Business and Contact information for Bug Blasters can be found here: https://bugblasterspestcontrol.com/

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There have been some amazing things done in the name of science. Some, that today, seem absolutely ridiculous. Some seemed like a great idea - at the time. Some that actually proven to be great ideas.

A few that could make your head explode with disbelief or amazement. Check it out….

There are a lot of ‘Sciences’. Some are more legit than others. But let's focus on one of the most important to us personally. Medicine.

Medical science is one of those that has had some amazing ideas. Incredible advances, and seemingly miraculous cures – and a few that have proven to be – well just stupid. 
No doubt – most have made some kind of perfect, scientifically proven, and logical sense – at the time.

But arts and sciences – even the sum of human knowledge – has and will continue to change.

Covid, climate change, flat earth, is our reality a computer simulation, is there a God?

The best one can do is try to seek truth (yes it’s out there) and make an informed judgment – and then go with what you’ve got.

But, all need to be cautious of being too cock-sure of what they think they know. We need to be grateful that even our scientifically proven facts can sometimes turn around and slap us in the back of the head – and teach us more. 

There – that’ll fix ya!

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Got a story about 2 sisters who aren’t that well known, but probably ought to be. 

Let’s take a moment to set the stage…

It was not until the mid to later part of the 20th century that most folks were able to travel from coast to coast in the US without a lot of preparation, plenty of fortitude, and a hefty bankroll. 

In 1916 the United States was on the verge of entering WW1 and the Van Buren Sisters - Augusta (24), and Adeline (22), were known affectionately as Gussie and Addie. This pair was quite non-traditional for their time. The impressive and talented women were active in the suffrage movement, and they wanted to help in the war that everyone was coming. 

They were ‘Outdoorsy ‘and adventurous they knew how to fly, box, race horses, and - - they loved to ride motorcycles. The sisters knew they’d never be allowed on the front during wartime. But, they could be very useful if they would be allowed to serve as motorcycle dispatch riders, carrying messages for the commanders – the soldiers used for this duty could be freed up to fight.

But they knew they’d have to prove it would work – that girls could ride as good as boys - because with the way things were in 1916 it was never going to happen. At least not without a big push. Women just didn’t do things like that back then.

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The secret life of a spy. Anonymously watching an enemy, quietly passing information, dodging detection, living heroically, stoically, and quietly - and staying under the radar.

Well, most spies are probably like that. In fact, most spies might describe their lives as discreet and somewhat boring – unless they get caught. 

But, that’s the point right – avoid detection, don’t attract too much attention.  

Would you be surprised to learn that there are a few spies in our history who were not at all the ‘unknown hero’s” that no one ever knows? Let’s take a brief look at a few of our countries most useful intelligence assets (spies) that you didn’t know you knew.

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Here is a story that shows how completely different people are in the way they interpret what they witness – In how they comprehend what they see.

Every person experience’s life differently. There are a lot of things that shape our perspective. We have different histories. We have divergent interests. We do not value things the same way. One has a passion for this – and the other for that. One has a fear of something, and someone else loves it. Attitudes, education, awareness, religious and political philosophies. The overall perspective for every person is just not the same.

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Have you ever meet someone who thinks they know it all? I have, and I can tell you those people really annoy people like me who really do know it all…. OK

Everybody knows something – and if you speak with the most learned you’ll find – if they are honest with you – they will admit there is much more than they know they don’t know than there was before they began their studies. They find that the more they learn the more they know they don’t yet know.

In fact, most of us are Cocky enough to think we know better, and profoundly unaware of our ignorance.

A story I heard when I was young that brings it all back into perspective.

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Rod Allen shares the story of miracles in his life. How, along with the support and love of neighbors, he and his wife were able to face the potential loss of the 18-month-old son.

Rod talks about the feeling of helplessness, have to watch his son through the glass as his condition deteriorated. Being brought to a point of humility where he and his wife had to accept whatever the Lord was going to bring about for them – even if they did like it, or felt it might be too much to bear.

This story is told from a profoundly Christian perspective. However, anyone will be able to relate to the story and the lessons and insight the story provides us.

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You may not have heard of Violet Jessop – But, you should have. She is one of the luckiest – (or, depending on how you look at it perhaps unluckiest) – people who have ever lived. Her life was hit, up-close and head-on, in 3 well-known disasters at sea.

-The Olympic

-The Titanic

-The HMHS (The Brittanic)

She continued working at sea for another 35 years after the sinking of the Britannic and retired in 1950 to Suffolk, England. A total of 42 years on the sea.

In 1971, at the age of 84, Violet passed away

She Survived, and thrived, in an amazing life.

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This episode begins with a story about a dreaded monster named contempt. And, how in spite of a wise wizard's message that the monster is a liar, the people reject the wizard and choose to keep the monster.

Contempt is defined by Webster as ‘the act of despising:the state of mind of one who despises”. “Lack of respect or reverence for something” or someone. There are a lot of other words that might describe the weapon of contempt – Scorn, Disdain, Fear, or Hate to mention a few. 

Most people are generally good.

Please allow yourself the chance to believe this in spite of what the broadcast, print, and social media; and the politicians tell you. They make their money by keeping your attention and motivating you with contempt - you can bet the message is skewed – even your favorite talking heads are telling you their opinion mixed in with a few carefully selected facts. Doesn’t necessarily make them bad or wrong – but they should be taken with clear eyes and a healthy dose of skepticism.

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Vizzini (as played Wallace Shawn), a character from the classic film “The Princess Bride” famously said …

“Haha! You Fool, you fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is, ‘never get involved in a land war in Asia,’ but only slightly less well-known is this: ‘Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!’”

There is another classic blunder that Vizzini failed to mention. Perhaps because he died shortly after declaring the first two. An additional ‘classic blunder is surely “never involve yourself in a love triangle”.

Triangles - When it comes to analogies and the revealing and explanation of wise ideas and practical concepts, triangles are very common.

You have your fire triangle - Fuel, Oxygen, Heat.

The education triangle – Student, Teacher, and Parent.

And, so many others.

I have another triangle I’d like to share with you. A three-sided analogism that helps us understand a very critical, but often complex part, of human existence - Love and Relationships.

Yes, that’s right – a love triangle!

But, not like the one that everyone knows as a ‘classic blunder’.

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How do you feel about your mistakes? Do they make you angry, embarrass you, make you feel like a failure, or cause you to want to give up?

Do you blame them on someone else?

Do you try to ignore them? 

Do you repeat them again and again?

Have you ever tried to take hold of those mistakes, and own them, and let them make you better?

I had a fun conversation with Charlotte, a 14-year-old cousin of mine. And, she’s already got it figured out. You'll enjoy what she has to say!

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Here we are at the close of another summer. Kids are back to school, the nights are cooling off, and if you haven’t yet, you’ll probably be watching a football game. Be it community league, College, Highschool, heck – you might be one of those who still watch the pro’s play in spite of the politics and the egomaniac personalities. 

I get it.

Back in 1978-79, before the internet – and shortly after the end of the renaissance, I was in my senior year in high school. Football always began 2 or 3 weeks before classes started. The coaches figured players needed to get in shape and show their stuff as they vied for a place on the varsity team. It was two-a-day practice's. A physical and metal trial that began as the sun came up – and when the coach figured you were exhausted enough you got a break, you could go home, sleep, eat, and be back at the field by 3 PM for the second practice of the day. 

And it was an extraordinary year – we had a perfect season. That’s right, an un-marred and flawless achievement set to go down in the annals of Emery High School History - But probably not in the way one might expect...

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Well, I’ve never been one to shy away from a good story, even when the historians and other ‘experts’ can’t agree on the details. And, this story… It’s a good one - about the deadliest Sniper ever in the Russian military.

The problem – the facts seemed to be in doubt. Some claim it’s all about propaganda. That the record of this Hero of the Soviet Union was padded. In orderder to make the story better, more powerful.

Ok, maybe it was, and there is an equal chance it wasn’t. As this sniper had a way of ruffling the feathers of superior officers – who were known to do their best to sully the reputations of those who crossed them.

On the whole, the sniper's life shows a one that was not only unconventional for the time but also one of integrity and principles.

Not an easy thing when your ideals bump up against the status quo. But then, having true integrity, though always right, is seldom easy.

For more information consider these and other sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Pavlichenko

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/eleanor-roosevelt-and-the-soviet-sniper-23585278/

https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-09/life-and-myths-lyudmila-pavlichenko-soviet-russias-deadliest-sniper

https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=296

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Corkie Mann shares a story about overcoming the negative labels and tags placed on us. She shares a sweet story as an advocate for one of her children. And, with encouragement, how he overcame challenges and accomplished more than he believed he could. 

Corkie talks about never giving up, showing up, and expecting to win.

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Like many folks, my wife and I are closet preppers. We try to keep a supply of emergency food and supplies stashed away, just in case. It came in pretty handy during the recent ‘pandemic inspired’ economic shutdown.

One of the items we had stashed away was about a decade old, and according to the directions it was within a few years of passing its ‘best if used by’ date. It was a #10 can. That is a can that is about 7 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter. It was filled with dehydrated, sliced, bananas. And, yes that is a lot of bananas.

What we found inside, however, was a bit of an unwelcome surprise.

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One of the great joys in life, especially during the late summer, is the crunchy, sweet, and buttery satisfaction of good sweet corn on the cob. 

In one particular small farming community there lived a brilliant farmer who raised the best sweet corn ever. It seemed every year at the county fair this farmer won the prize for the best corn. He was an institution. There was just no one who could coax a little yellow seed up into a 7-foot stalk of corn with ‘scrumptious kernels of golden joy on a cob’ like he could.  

His secret of ongoing success. Well, it was a little surprising - it was kinda' like giving away the secret family recipe. But, everyone was better for it.

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Have you ever played with one of those little brain teaser puzzles made from two pieces of metal? They are usually intertwined in some way that makes them seem impossible to separate them, but there is a way. It takes finding the right perspective and innovative thinking to figure it out – sometimes the solution appears to be counterintuitive. Once solved the solution seems so simple. 

Ever had one of those puzzles? In this case, I’m talking about a problem or challenge in life that seems to have no solution. The kind of thing that just plagues you, makes you scratch your head, and seems impossible to overcome – so, often, you just live with it. 

There is a story that might help us take a step back and see the power of thinking differently.

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August 7, 1945, began as such a pleasant day, in spite of the state of the world at that time. Tutsumo Yamaguachi remembers the sound of a single aircraft circling above the city. This was a common occurrence, so he gave it little notice.

Then, just a few seconds after 8:15 AM he was knocked off his feet. There was a blinding flash of intense light, followed by a sound so earsplittingly violent it felt as if the world was falling apart.

He said, “I didn’t know what had happened. I think I fainted for a while. When I opened my eyes, everything was dark, and I couldn’t see much.” 

The first nuclear bomb had just been dropped by a B29 called the Enola Gay. The detitanation occurred 580 meters above the ground, and the city of Hiroshima was left completely devastated. 

Unfortunately for him, this was going to be a nightmare that repeated itself one more time, in less than 3 days.

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It’s kind of interesting how one can get so much more than the words out of a song. It seems to be a more comprehensive way to communicate. Even when the lyrics are nonsense, there is something there – and sometimes even more so when there are no words.

My point – communicating is about so much more than words strung together in an attempt to convey meaning.

In fact, my experience tells me, that using just words might be one of the most faulted ways to be clearly understood.

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One of those things in US history that is well known - and beyond debate - is the identity of our iconic first President, General George Washington.

The one who chopped down the cherry tree and could not tell a lie to get himself out of trouble.

The guy who held out during the brutal winter in Valley Forge. 

The one who with his troops, crossed the Delaware River and kick the brits butts.

The General who lead our new nation to victory.

However, a little deeper dive into American history brings up a bit of a challenge to that fact. 

Listen in as I argue both sides of history - and let you decide for yourself.

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Have you ever met someone that has that great attitude? You know. That person who – when life throws them a curveball or an unexpected outcome, they smile, laugh, and somehow find a way to have fun with it. The one who; when they are facing some challenge and you go to visit them and lift their spirits, and they lift you instead. Everyone has met someone like this, they must be born with it. That amazing ability to stay realistically positive. 

What would you say If I told you - you don’t have to be born with it? You can be that person. The one who is a blessing to everyone around you. 

I got to interview Beth Mac Afee, and she’s got a secret to share on how you can do this. It’s simple. Not necessarily easy. But, simple & worth the effort. Committing to it will make life better for you, and everyone you meet. 

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In the mid-1980’s I had the privilege of serving in the United States Air Force. My job was Firefighter, and the one and only assignment I had was at McChord Air Force Base, in Washington. It was a beautiful place to serve. 

On one late afternoon in what I believe was the fall, I was given an interesting assignment. A safety standby for a green engine run on an F-4 Phantom.

There I was - standing next to one of the most powerful and feared Jet Fighters in the world. Bolted to the concrete was the F-4 Phantom, with 2 engines producing 17,900 lbs. of thrust each. And, capable of traveling speeds pushing 1500 miles per hour.

There are no words to explain the physical, auditory, visual sensation – or the rush of adrenaline. I suppose if you’ve done this before, or been on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier you might comprehend it. If not – well – you’ve kind of missed out. It was singularly indescribable - but, I'll give it a shot.

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Got an intriguing story about a woman born into an economic and social advantage. For now, we’ll call her ‘the statistician’. Think you can you guess who she is before her name is revealed?

You’ve probably heard of her before. The name chosen for her by her parents was that of a rather well-known European city. A naming trend that many parents followed – picking a name from the beautiful and exotic places in the world for a child.

She was intelligent and precocious as a little one. And this didn’t change much as she grew. The Statistician was given great opportunities to learn and to mix in high society. She was very bright, and a great learner, she was especially good with numbers – something most people don’t know about her. But this girl with a mind of her own frequently butted heads with her parents. 

Her father was a very wealthy man who held a few highly valuable properties. He was indulgent of her, and usually, let her have her way on most things.

Can you guess who she is?

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From The Podcasters Wife:
This ounce comes from a sweet conversation I had with my Late Father-in-law - Chad Fugate -it was about 25 years ago. He and his wife Marilyn visited our family in the fall when we lived on the east coast. Chad and I went for a walk and we were talking about the beauty of the colorful leaves. Chad said to me, “– hey, you know, those are the true colors of a tree. I never knew that and I never forgot it. It was recently I shared this experience with Jim – and he created this Ounce for you. Thanks, Chad.

Living in the desert southwest I kind of miss the lush green leaves of the many trees that grow in the easternmost united states.

The Maple, Oak, Sycamore, Elm, and many others.

I shake myself and remember how much humidity it takes to create such a green environment – and I stop pinning for the green.

I am happy with dry heat.

Here in the southwest, we have color – we’ve got the red rocks, the color of pine and sage, the bright blossoms of cactus, and in some rare instances a few nice green lawns. But, things are not always as they seem, the best lawns are often artificial. And, instead of being cool and comfy on the bare feet, they can get so hot in the summer sun they will burn your bare feet.

Things in nature are not always a simple and straightforward as they seem at first glance.

The green of the leaves on those trees I loved – well, the green comes from a constant infusion of chlorophyll from the tree. The chlorophyll keeps the process of photosynthesis going. It keeps those trees happy, alive, and growing. As long as the water lasts, and the sun shines through the full summer days, the trees stay nice and green.

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Mirrors! We love them and hate them. They however they are neutral. They don’t care. They don’t hate. They don’t love. They are completely dispassionate. They show us everything we like and everything we don’t about the way we look on the outside.

There is a classic cult movie - The Never-Ending Story – a fantasy loved by the young, and the young at heart worldwide. Our hero, while hiding away from his troubles and reading a book, is transported into the plot of the book. And, into a realm where he must save the world from “The Nothing”. To do so he must perform tasks and overcome challenges. One of these is passing through 3 gates. Each gate has a unique trial that must be faced and surmounted before passage is granted.

The second of 3 gates is the mirror gate which shows the viewer the true nature of themselves – not just how they look on the outside, but also inside. Everything.

What would that be like? Wonderful, inspiring, shameful, embarrassing, frightening? Probably all of these.

Looking at the mirrors around us, and looking inward can be a challenge at any time. But, even more so when you are struggling with depression or conditions that distort your perception of who you are. If you, or someone close to you, need help and support contact N. A. M. I. - National Alliance on Mental Illness – or NAMI for short. . For help and information, connect with the NAMI HelpLine for web chat at www.nami.org/help or telephone 800-950-6264, M-F from 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, ET. In a crisis, text “NAMI” to 741-741 or call 1-800-273-TALK, available 24/7.

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I’ve found a well-loved character that is worthy of a deep dive. A deep dive into who he is and where he came from. A truly unique character filled with his own kind of wisdom, and a somewhat surprising perspective on life. Can you guess who it is before his identity is revealed?

OTG came to us in 1969, and his personality immediately showed through. OTG was going to be like no one else. 

To most folks, OTG has an abrasive and brash presence. But, he does have a few true friends, and a few great lessons to impart.

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This bonus episode is being released in addition to the regular weekly episode. It is a brief interview with Podcasters Taylor Greenhalgh and Joseph Winkle. Their podcast is focused on Parenting, from a father's perspective. Their podcast includes great stories and experiences - and ideas - on how to be a better parent. 

This interview is an opportunity to get to know them a little and understand why they are doing a podcast. And, to give listeners an opportunity to become a part of their community by listening, submitting questions, and ideas that might help others.

Fatherhood: Perspectives on Righteous International Parenting can be found at 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fatherhood-perspectives-on-righteous-intentional-parenting/id1567782210

https://open.spotify.com/show/1I2XG8ysQDxLQ422pFOwCO

Their podcast can also be found a most of the other great podcast sites.

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A thought-provoking narrative - shared in purposeful contrast  - to the episode released last week (The Wedge).

This is a fairly well-known poem from the past, that brilliantly illustrates the concept of what something is really worth. It’s real value -compared to what we often naively suppose.

The Poem was penned by Myra Brooks Welch, and Titled ‘The Old Violin’ but is also known by some as the ‘Touch of the Master's Hand’. Welch wrote this Christ-centered prose in 1921.

Thought-provoking - and containing several biblical references, it compares the value of a simple and overlooked soul to that of an old violin. It illustrates how – when the temporal is stripped away – there is eternal value there. As revealed by the touch of the Master’s hand.

The work was adapted to music in 1974 and has shown up on more than one gospel album since then.

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I’ve got another thought-provoking story to tell you. It’s an adaption based on Chapter 7 of Earl Nightingales' book, ‘On Success’, a classic book from the early self-improvement collection. The adaption is meant to make the story more relatable to our circumstances today.

The setting for the yarn is one of those high-class auction houses where they sell multimillion-dollar paintings, rare and expensive sports memorabilia, and artifacts from the golden age of Hollywood.

This auction was really special.

You see, Satan – Beelzebub – the Devil – or whatever you want to call him - was retiring. After so much success in this world over the years, it was getting to the point where humans were absolutely capable of creating hate, discontent, and all the other deadly sins all on their own.

So, he was selling off his collections, his tools and bobbles of destruction, and retiring to a private island, to watch as the world burned.

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Our world is becoming more litigious by the day. And, there have been some consequences of that tendency that we all see, every day, and more and more than ever. It’s getting to the point where we nearly ignore them. And, that’s probably not good because they really are helpful – sometimes.

What am I talking about?

Those bright yellow, orange, or red images known as warning labels. caution signs, hazard signs, and idiot stickers.

You see them on the street, mixed in with billboards, location signs, business signs, speed limit signs, and parking signs.

You see them on products from paint to detergent, 4 wheelers to pickleball paddles, and even food. 

Folks are in a position where they have to add warnings to everything to try and avoid lawsuits. But, there is just not enough space on most stuff to place a warning sticker for every potential hazard on everything.

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Got a question for you. What does it take to be a star and a great performer?

Typical answers might be - A great voice, the ability to be a bit edgy and get people’s attention, A great smile, well-spoken, a cutting-edge wardrobe, be absolutely relatable to what’s happening now, sexy, and educated, with extraordinarily good looks, and a willingness to push societal boundaries.

A lot of the really popular performers of today also include a big ego, some self-importance, and an unhealthy amount of arrogance. I mean, heck - what good are you if you don’t show everybody you know your worth.

Well, Ok. 

But I’d like to tell you a story about a performer from the past who was anything but what you’d think a great and loved star and performer should be. He was atypical.

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This episode is the true story of a part of the Jewish holocaust in which a bright light of goodness and courage can be found.

During world war II, and after the Germans had invaded Poland, they began to move forward with their 'Final Solution'. The extermination of all Jews. 

Part of this plan in Poland displacing and moving Jews from their homes into a single segregated 16 block neighborhood in Warsaw. The Warsaw Ghetto was increasingly sealed off from the rest of the city - and the entry and exit points were controlled by the Nazis. 

All of this was prior to transporting them in cattle cars to prison camps where they would be used as slave labor (or worse, where they might become lab rats in medical experimentation) until they were slaughtered and buried in mass unmarked graves. 

But, under the noses of the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto - there was an angel - that was able to rescue 2500 children.

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There is an ancient Chinese fable you may have heard before – or maybe not – that tells the story of a simple but wise farmer and his view on Luck - and his consideration of what was bad and what was good over time. 

A great story from eons past that has very good application to our lives right now.

Bad luck is seldom as bad as it seems, and it sure does make you appreciate the good times. And, good luck – well enjoy the moment, it’s all you really have – and there’s another moment full of possibility on the way, so don’t be stuck within the moment you are in.

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In my family, there is a story told about my great grandfather Jens Christian Jensen. A very unique and ingenious man for his time.

Great Grandpa was a jack of all trades, raising a family on the alkali and prickly pear cactus flatlands of Emery County, Utah in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

These were an industrious lot who found ways to irrigate arid lands scrape out a living in a place most folks would happily walk away from. But, Mormons, Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were pretty unpopular at the time. Just a few decades before they had been forcibly driven out of Towns they had built like Kirtland Ohio and Nauvoo Illinois to name a few, and they were happy to be in a place where there was no one trying to kill them and take their lands – probably because no one wanted the remote, arid, and barren place they choose to settle in.

For Grandpa Chris there was another way - other than farming – along with a few others he was a prospector who found a very pure vein of uranium near Temple Mountain.

The uranium helped provide a good living for the family but was quite likely the thing that ultimately took his life.

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"Hi! My name is Tish."

" My Husband does a podcast, it’s called ‘An Ounce’. 

People are always asking what he does, what kind of podcast is it? Where does he gets the ideas? So,  this little episode is kind of an origin story – a quick description of what he does, and what the Podcast is.

But, we didn’t want it to be boring.

So, since I’m always asking him questions, and he jokingly say’s “stop interrogating me!” I got an idea – I really am going to interrogate him for you. C’mon along with me. Just let me grab my dark glasses and the battery cables (Hehehe).

This is gonna’ be fun ; ) !

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In this episode, we will talk about the life and background of a famous, or infamous character you’ve probably heard of. His unlikely story is rather remarkable. 

Can you guess who it is before I tell you?

Tim was born centuries ago into a society of violence and scarcity. Frankly, he had about as rough a start as one can. The tribes in the region were constantly battling with each other, and stealing each other resources.

Who was he?

We might know his name, but who really knows story?

Hearing such a legend will make one pause a little when betting against the underdog.

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The carpenter grew older, and tired, and decided it was time for him to retire. The hammer was beginning to grow heavy, the saw less sharp, and the markings on the boards were a little harder to see. The quality of his work continued at the highest level, but he did not want to stop after his work was not as fine – before his reputation was diminished. 

He would be missed. But it was time, now he could rest and enjoy his grandchildren.

A few days passed and the contractor showed up at the modest home of the carpenter. The contractor plead for the carpenter to come back and build just one more home. A home for a valued friend of his. A home of lasting beauty and quality. The carpenter politely declined. The Contractor pressed a little – and the carpenter agreed. He would build one more home.

The day came that the home was complete. It looked grand. A home anyone would love to inhabit. And, as he was ready to return home, His good friend, the Contractor smiled. Shook his hand, and gave him the key to the home the carpenter had just built.

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All the things that new technology brings us – isn’t it fun?

In the past several years there has been some concern over Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs. Folks are concerned that the modifications made in plants will affect nutritional content, the human bodies allergic response, toxicity, organ damage, or even the transfer of genes into the body with an unanticipated response 

I remember back in the day we just planted the seeds took care of their growing and enjoyed the fruits of our labors without fear.

But, hold on just a second. Did you know engineering GMO foods is not the first time that humans have messed around with plants? 

IT’s not. 

Humans have been playing with the genetic makeup of plants for eons. Hybrids, cross-breeding, and all kinds of other fooling around with nature to increase yield and nutrition have been going on pretty much forever in one way or another.

Here is an example you’ll be hard-pressed to believe really happened.

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While necessity has been deemed the mother of Invention, Curiosity is surely the father. And curiosity continues to be a prolific sire to things like discovery and learning. Curiosity manifests itself in our lives in many ways – in short - it is a desire the expose truth – excitement and anticipation to see something new.

Curiosity is a shared feature of the human condition. To one extent or another we all want to know what makes things ‘Tic’, what’s behind the curtain, how the magician made the ‘Magic’.

It is a natural and very powerful drive that has taken us, quite literally to the moon, and beyond. Curiosity has inspired us to look into our world, and ourselves, and we have grown because of it.

But, as powerful as it is – curiosity can ignorantly show us things, though true, we might wish we didn’t know. 

Guest: Alan Peacock

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In 1870 William Canby presented the story of his Grandmother, Betsy Ross to the historical society of Pennsylvania. His presentation was strong on personal remembrance, family stories, and anecdotes. Canby even bolstered his presentation with signed and notarized affidavits from family recounting the stories they had been told. But, the presentation, though powerful and persuasive, was void of anything that could be considered evidence or firsthand accounts. Just the remembrances of stories told within the family about their remarkable matriarch Betsy Ross.

This fabled account of Betsy Ross became the ‘version of events’ that became accepted and celebrated by the public, but the truth – well most of it cannot be proven, and historians tend to discount much of what you think you know about the Patriot Flag Maker as unsubstantiated romanticized stories.

Does this mean it was all a lie?

Listen and find out!

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Here is a story about an aging King with no Heir - and how chose a successor to his throne.

It is a tale I heard when I was very young. I don’t know its origins or who the author is – if you do let me know.

The great Domain of the respected king was at peace and thriving. But, the King had no heir. And, he was beginning to consider how his kingdom would fair when he was gone. He loved his people, and, he wanted them to continue in peace and plenty after he passed. But, with no child, there was no one to teach, train, and prepare to lead.

The people also began to wonder and question the future. The king’s counselors began to carefully make suggestions. The rich and the powerful, the movers and the shakers imagined themselves taking his place and attempted to gain favor with the king. 

The wise king declared an event would take place. Those who traveled from the capital city to the King's public gardens the best would be declared his heir.

However, no one knew how those who would make this little excursion would be judged – And, The King wasn’t talking.

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It was late August in the summer of 1978 in the desert southwest. 

Late August was when the alfalfa was coming in for its last cuttings before the growing season ended. And, hauling and stacking that hay for the winter was a great opportunity for a young person to make a few bucks – the hard way

The hay would be cut, raked into lines in the fields, and dried by the sun for a few days. Then dried vegetation was compressed into bales, as feed for the farm animals. The dimensions varied, but generally, a bale was rectangular - about 3 ½ feet long, 12 inches tall, and about 18 inches wide – and held tightly together by wire or thin twine rope. 

Their wight – well that varied too. Every farmer had his own idea – Unfortunately most of the time I hired myself out who like to pack them tight and heavy - 100 to 120 lbs. each – efficiency – compacted more to take up less space in the barnyard. And, when your talking thousands of bails – space mattered more than weight.

During one of my stints hauling hay, I was privileged to be able to perform Tractor Ballet. I was lucky I lived through it. Allow me to share the story with you.

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I’m Jim Fugate and it is my privilege to share An Ounce with you.

We’ve got a great story about a true American hero  - but we're going to leave you guessing as to who it is – or maybe you can figure out who it is before I tell you.

Nate was a great guy. He was a loyal, hardworking, and principled man with courage and integrity.

He was born into a well-pedigreed family in Coventry, Connecticut, 1775 to his mother Elizabeth and his father, Richard - a deacon in the church.

At the tender age of 14, Nate was sent by his 16-year-old brother Enoch, to Yale University.

But, this brilliant and principled young man got himself in too he wasn't prepared for, and it cost him his life. 

When you are looking to get a job done, you’re not always going to be looking for the best person – you may need to be looking for the right person.

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There are a few different versions of this story, but as best we can reconstruct the events, it went something like this.

It was the summer of 1937 when 17-year-old, High School Student, Bette Cooper left her Hackett’s Town New Jersey home to have a day of fun with friends at Bertrand Island Amusement Park.

Amongst all of the activity and other attractions, Bette and her friends were amused to see a beauty contest advertised, happening that day, and the organizers were still recruiting participants. 

Bette, looking for something to do with the day decided, ‘why not – should be fun’. And, on a whim, she entered the contest.

Though completely unfamiliar with the beauty pageant scene Bette surprised everyone, including herself, by winning the competition. 

Well, the whole thing was ‘just for laughs’, and she hadn’t taken the competition seriously. Bette had no idea what she had gotten herself into. 

To her shock, beyond bragging rights (and the challenge of having to confess to her parents what she’d been up to because it was going to be in the newspapers), she had also committed herself to move up to the next level of competition. In Atlantic City. At the Miss America contest.

What happens next is a little hard to believe.

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Albert Einstein was reported to have said, “It’s important to make things a simple as possible, but never simpler”.

I suppose it may have been important to share this advice with Napoleon during the planning for his retreat from Leipzig on October 19, 1813.

While Napoleonian was battling with Russia his army ran into some issues while trying to advance beyond the town of Leipzig. Well, I guess more accurately stated -the battle in Leipzig had been going on for 4 days and Napoleon and his allies were having trouble moving forward. They were in fact taking serious losses, and it appeared to be an untenable situation. 

So, a brilliant plan to pull back out of Leipzig and preserve his army was devised.

The plan was discussed, detailed assignments were given, and everyone went to do their part. Unfortunately, not everyone knew what their part was - exactly - and it went downhill from there.

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Ice Cream is one of those treats that is nearly irresistible. It comes in a huge variety of flavors, one of which is probably yours. But even the smooth, creamy satisfying nature of simple vanilla ice cream has been the perfect companion to a birthday cake for a century or more. Ice cream has the power to brighten an already sunny day and has been effective when liberally used as an antidepressant on the dark ones.

Did you know that the ‘cool smooth power’ of Ice Cream is so mighty that without even trying it became one of the greatest influences in the ending of the cold war?

Never underestimate the power of a pudding pop. 

Ice cream has the power to calm a troubled heart, minimize the pain of a scraped knee, and open eyes and minds to new ways of thinking.

Ice cream is not the only pocket-sized thing that can have such power. Sometimes power can be wielded in just a little respect, a smile, a kindness, a small detail that changes everything. 

Time and again it really is the ‘little’ things that have proven to make the ‘big’ difference.

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Let’s start with this question - Does anything really ever disappear?

That which we cast away, or try to hold onto, is never really hidden. In one way or another, it impacts everything around us, and it trails behind us as we move through life.

But, gratefully, what remains is not always a bad thing. And, we have the power to decide if much of what we cast off is positive or negative.

Our relationships, the things we communicate, or just put out there to anyone who is listening. 

Our Ideas, our smiles, our anger, our love, our hate - It all remains. 

But, it often changes into something else 

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This episode is a bit of a nod to those who have had to work a night shift. Those who have performed some vital task attended to some critical detail, that could not wait for the dawning of the sun.

Stan was born on September 7, 1939, near Vladivostok, Russia. His mother was a nurse during world war II and his father a fighter pilot. Surviving in Vladivostok during world war II is quite an achievement, even for an adult, let alone for a young child. So, Stan grew up hard. And, you've probably never heard of him.

Early in the morning of September 26th, 1983., Stan saved the whole world (this is not an understatement).

He was praised for his wise – and correct – decision, but within the week he was reprimanded for not recording the incident in the logbook. 

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The New Year is a great time to start anew. To add fresh and positive things to your life. The get a new start on acquiring something or achieving something you really want for yourself.

Well, I hate to throw a cold bucket on the moment, but Forbes magazine did a study on New Years Resolutions recently. They found that only 25% of people were still working on their resolution after 30 days. And, only 8% of people are able to achieve their resolution.

Why is that?

How come we can have such good and positive intentions to start, and in less than a month there’s a better than 1 in 10 chance we’ll fail. And, probably end up feeling pretty rotten about it.

But, maybe instead of focusing on adding something new – ‘Resolving’ to grow, do, and be more – we need to ‘dissolve’ something to make way for improvement and growth.

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About 2 centuries ago a baby was born in Bethlehem, of Judea. At the time Bethlehem was an isolated society that had fallen from an unparalleled greatness hundreds of years before, to a completely conquered backwater.

His name is Jesus Christ. And, there is so much that can be said of him. But His message and gift are the most powerful of all, and only effectively given -or accepted - quietly, humbly, and peacefully – never by force.

He caused great upheaval by encouraging people to be kind and loving. By inviting them to change their ways, to be humble, forgiving, and good.

This message was incredibly threatening to the existing power structure.  And, as everything else failed, they charged him with false crimes, paid one of his closest associates to betray him, and then condemned him to death.

He and His message remain.

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Christmas Greetings. The way folks seem a bit nicer, and happier at Christmas time. Reaching out to friends and family has seldom been more important than it is today.

Christmas greetings used to be sent to distant contacts in the form of a Christmas card. It was pretty much the only way. Travel was more difficult, a phone call was expensive, so the Christmas Card was a common and standard way to share a smile with others.

The first commercially made Christmas card was put together in 1843.  Even today around 1.5 billion old-fashioned Christmas cards are sent each year. 

Unfortunately, It’s a little late to send a card now, Unless you hand-deliver it – with some cookies! That’d be great! Heck, you don’t even need to include the card...

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In the words of the entertainer and Storyteller Burl Ives, ‘Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, it’s the best time of the year’ – well it is, except that as a result of live Christmas trees drying out and catching fire there are 10 deaths and just over 15 million dollars in damages every year. SO – Remember to water the tree!

Oh, and just for good measure you should also barware the decorating thing. 

And More....

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Why is it that as soon as Halloween is over the Christmas displays show up at the stores? And as soon as Thanksgiving in full swing Christmas music invades the radio stations. 

It’s not that I’m against these trends, Though it occasionally brings out the humbug in me a bit - I just wonder why all the hype and craziness. 

Christmas seems to have such a big personality it takes over everything around it.  Because of that Christmas is more than a day – it’s a season.

So, Christmas has become a season I will define for myself. And, I in doing so I have been set at liberty. And, am so much more able to enjoy – or – ignore what the rest of the world is doing.

For me – it is about family, friends, and love. It is about generosity, time, and gratitude. And, whether you are a believer in Christ or not, it is a great season to chose and share joy and kindness.

So, go on, especially you grinches! 

Chill, stop stressing, opt out of some of the craziness.

Go enjoy the holiday season! 

Do it your way!

Have some fun – celebrate, love, watch football, eat too much!

And, allow others the right to enjoy it their way too.

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The Santa we have become familiar with in the US gets around with a very unique, and perhaps archaic, mode of transportation. 

Santa Clause cruises in an open sleigh pulled by reindeer.

At first glance, this seeming plodding and obsolete mode of transportation may seem impractical. But, it appears there is something very high-tech or even magical about it that we don’t fully understand.

An early mention of this fantastic mode of transport and delivery was made in 1812 by Washington Irving. While writing a revised version of the ‘Complete History of New York’, Mr. Irving, under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, writes that Sanit Nick rides over the tops of the tress – but he makes no mention of how.

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There is s recent tradition that started in the south-eastern United States in the 1900s. I really can’t pin it down any more accurately than that, but I have witnessed it. Allow me to tell you the story.

The Bible account of the Birth of Christ includes visits to the Babe from several folks. The shepherds for one, and then the wise men.  'Wise men come from afar'.  But, there's a little different interpretation of one of the words in that phrase that is injecting a little fun into the nativity. 

Listen for yourself and see what I mean.

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She was born way back in 1940. This adorable little black girl was born prematurely. She weighed in at 4 ½ pounds and was the 20th of 22 siblings. Born in the segregated south her future would not be predicted as stellar even if she did survive.

But, survive she did.

She grew from poverty and obscurity - to greatness. Described as gracious and soft-spoken, Skeeter blazed a trail in athletics and in society that cannot be forgotten. 

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At the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem, of Judea, the meridian of time, the event was heralded in many ways. Among them, signs in the heavens such as angelic hosts, and by a New Star.  Well, Something like it is happening again!

Even now those two planets are getting closer together, and remain close through Christmas. Best time to see it. About 45 minutes after sunset in the western sky on December 21st

Use of a smartphone app (many of which are free), especially one that can pinpoint where You are on the surface of the earth, will help you where to look to see the Christmas star.

If nothing else, such an amazingly rare phenomenon can help make this a great Christmas, and a great year. There is no one else alive today who can say they have seen this spectacular Christmas miracle with their own eyes. 

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The satellite Santa Tracker we enjoy now was made possible as the result of a misprint in a newspaper in 1955.

The once dominating American retailor Sears decided to publish a phone number, in a Christmas ad, for little children to call Santa. The kids could call, with their parents listening in, to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. A much more modern version of the whole writing a letter 2 months ahead so it could get to the North Pole in time.

Well, as murphy law says, if anything can go wrong it will. And it did. Somehow the phone numbers published in the ad were not the number to call Santa. It was the wrong number. Instead of Santa, the kids had a chance to talk to the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD.

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The legend of the Stockings. And, by the way, if you find this one a little misogynistic it not my fault, you’ll have to take it up with the folks who perpetuated the story.

Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, a very poor man was left to himself providing for 3 daughters. Unfortunately, they lived in poverty and had no money for doweries for the girls, which was apparently a very important thing at the time. Could get them ‘married-off’ without a dowry.

Generous old St. Nick was aware of this tough situation the poor and aging father of 3 daughters was in, and late one night provided a very generous solution.

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Santa Clause – Saint Nick - Has morphed quite a bit over the centuries.

The fourth-century Christian bishop, Saint Nicholas, gave away his abundant inheritance to help the needy, and rescue women from servitude. OK -Generous maybe -but probably he was a pretty sober guy – not what you’d call jolly. 

His name, in Dutch, was Sinter Klaus, which later morphed into Santa Claus, and over time soften into the well-loved character we know in the US. 

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Did you know Chewing tobacco and Christmas trees have something in common? Stay with me now - His name was Prince Albert, who married Queen Victoria – Well known and popular royal power couple in the 1840s.  A strong precursor to the Kardashian phenomenon, the name of Prince Albert was everywhere.

But, What did he have to do with the Christmas Tree? Listen and find out!

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In the lyrics of the song Merry Xmas/War is over, John Lennon penned the words, “ And, so this is Christmas” – But, is it? Traditionally in our time, we celebrate it on December 25th of each year. The purpose of the celebration? To commemorate the Christ child born in a manger in Bethlehem, of Judea, in the meridian of time. An event now celebrated by Christens and non-Christians alike, as a time of family, gift-giving, generosity, and celebration.

However, Christmas was not always on December 25th. In fact, it is believed by most scholars and historians that Christ was born in the spring of the year.

SO….How did we end up celebrating Christmas in the dead of winter?

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Got a great story about a real character who almost everyone has heard of. But, We’re going to explore his childhood and some of the other attitudes and behavior he exhibited later in life.

Al was born on March 14th, 1879. As a newborn, he was described as having a ‘swollen and mishappen head’ and a grossly overweight body.

When Al’s grandmother saw him the first time she was reported to have screamed, “Much too fat! Much too fat!”.

As a young child, he was famous for his temper tantrums. He would yell, and holler, and throw things. Lots of things – toys, books, or whatever he could get his hands on.

He was an unquantified genius whose vivid mind has impacted so many meaningful advances in technology. He loved and took time for kids, and was an accomplished musician.

But, he was at times, also quite a selfish and insensitive jerk.

Like most human beings he was a mix of good and bad, Brilliance and stupidity, Light and Dark.

Not that different from most humans.

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I’ve got a really fun little story about a boy and his dog. You’ll find it a bit different than other ‘boy-and-his-dog’ stories. Because, this dog was supposed to be a hunting retriever, meant to swim out in the cold waters of a pond and retrieve ducks. But, at this task, he became pretty much useless  - Or at least that what a neighbor thought when he saw what the dog could do.

So many times, something new and seemingly miraculous has been introduced to the world, and many just haven’t got the eyes to understand what they see. When the neighbor saw the dog pointed had out a ‘perceived flaw’, without seeming to comprehend the miracle he had just seen with his own eyes. 

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Have you ever heard of the fabled lemming?

A Lemming is a small rodent, a bit like a small mouse but more of a vole, with a short tail. 

Every five to seven years, they are said to instinctively recognize they have overpopulated, and a large group of them will head off in a furry little heard, and commence to stampede headlong off a cliff and into the sea, committing mass suicide for the benefit of the colony. 

Lemmings are cute little mammals who seem to love life in a beautiful environment. They are not melancholy balls of fluff that sit around contemplating the existential questions, who get depressed and angry about their existence,  then get all wound up and stampede into the ocean.

That is a myth.

How the heck did we ever come to believe this?

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I have a question for you. How do you get from where you are to where you want to be?

That’s a question not only of geography, but also one vision, self-identity, and personal worth.

Well – I believe the first thing you have to do is figure out where ‘there’ – the place you want to go or the destination – is.

Then you have to ‘want’ to get there. You will have to start with ‘wanting’ to go ‘there’. You need to have a vision of what you want to reach. An ideal, goal, or destination.

Then, you go, you do, you act.

Arthur Ashe said, “start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.”

NO one’s road to achieving what they desire is the same. Some may begin with advantages or challenges along their path of desire, some may be on that road much longer than others, but all begin with the same basic tools. 

But before you make any purposeful trip through time, space, or self – you have to ‘want’.

Or, in other words, there must be ‘Desire’. 

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In the mid-1950s, in Bangkok Thailand, a well-loved and centuries-old statue of Buddha was being moved from its tin-roofed pagoda to a more permanent location. This statue of the Buddha, covered in a concrete stucco and inlaid with colorful glass was 10-feet-tall. 

It was incredibly heavy even considering its large size, and very difficult to move.

During the move, and in a final attempt to lift the incredibly heavy statue, some of the riggings shifted and the statue smashed into the ground, seriously cracking the stucco and concrete at the base.

That's where the Story gets really interesting!

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So why do they call it a hummingbird?

Because it remembers the melody, but it can't remember the words.

OK sorry – but how about this. A flock of hummingbirds can be referred to in many ways. Grouped together they can be called a Boquete, a glittering, a hover, a shimmer, or ….. a tune (without words of course).

And, the name Hummingbird – comes from the sound of their rapidly beating wings. 

With their bright colors and in your face personalities they are a bit of a fixture in our back yard during the summer. They are fun to watch. 

But, What if they were bigger – 

Imagine they were Humming along with those bright colors at about the size of a pigeon or crow.

Buzzing you every time you got to close.

Problems can be like hummingbirds.

The threat a problem seems to pose in direct proportion to it’s perceived size.

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Lynne Cooper was born on October 4, 1916, in St. Louis Missouri. 

But, Who was she?

In her early years, she worked as a school teacher. 

And, Lynn was a graduate of Washington University in her hometown of St. Louis and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa sorority.

IN 1939, during a tour with her sorority sisters at Radio station KXOK, Lynn met Paul Aurandt (or-NOT) who was employed at the station. Paul took a shine to her immediately and precociously asked her out to dinner that evening – and Lynne accepted. 

In 1940 they married.

But Paul’s Angel, Lynne, continued as his greatest fan, and valued creative and business partner. 

It was in 1944 that the Aurandt’s (or-NOT) settled in Chicago. Paul found a position and took on his now-legendary nom de plume. 

I expect you’ve heard of Paul, but without the genius and collaboration of His Angel, it is likely he would have never risen from obscurity.

Lynne was Paul’s greatest asset.

If you know Paul - it is because of Lynne.

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This little bean has been around delighting the tastebuds of humans for thousands of years. 

What Little Bean you ask? Well, we’ll get to that.

Around 4000 thousand years ago the Olmec’s of Central America began to pick from the trees, pods, each pod containing about 40 beans. 

Cortez said though he was in search of gold, the Aztec emperor gift him with a cup of the drink made from this highly prized bean.

And, the drink became popular among the rich and ruling class, the Spanish version was mixed with Honey and sugar to sweeten the naturally bitter taste.

A century or so later the cat was out of the bag when the French King Louis the 13th married Anne, the daughter of Spanish King Phillip the 3rd.

Then this marvelous drink made its way to Britain, and then the rest of Europe. Still, it was enjoyed only by the Noble Class for its health benefits and decadence. Plantations were established along the equator by many of these colonizing nations to produce this valuable little bean.

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You know what they say – The early bird gets the worm. And, he who hesitates is lost. But, Good things come to those who wait.

And, it’s better safe than sorry. But, nothing Ventured Nothing Gained.

Life is seemingly full of contradiction:

• Analog vs Digital
• Democrat vs Republican
• Progress vs Tradition
• Old vs New

It goes on and on.

There is a need to reject the perspective of ongoing contradiction, contention, winning the argument, being right at all costs.

It is divisive and destructive – and it does not have to be. 

To our eyes and our minds, what at first might seem a complete contradiction, can exist in seamless harmony. We just need to learn to see how.

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This episode is about an 'alarming' character. Why do I describe this person as alarming? Perhaps it is because he blazed his own path, cutting through many societal expectations and norms. He worked tirelessly to better himself, and to provide opportunities for others to do the same.

He was born in 1706 to a Boston family of modest means. His father was a soap and candle maker, who married twice. One of 17 children.  

Ben was a self-made man of great ingenuity. 

A man whose hopes should have been held within the modest circumstances of his birth. 

But, instead, he did not settle for how things were supposed to be and charted a course against the current of the existing norms and expectations of society.

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It is Fire Prevention week! But the information in this Practical Bits episode is good all the time.

Seasons are changing and it’s time to take a few important actions to prevent fires and reduce the loss that fire can cause.

Listen for some practical tips, and a fun game you can play with the kids

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Names – everybody’s got one.

The use of names – that’s how we know who or what we are talking about, reading about, learning about.

They are a vital and useful part of our society, culture, and personal identity.

“What’s in a name,” asked Juliet of her beloved Romeo?

“A rose by any other name is still a rose”.

As an introduction, it has the meaning bestowed in the mind of the stranger to whom it is presented.

In time, it carries the character of the one to whom it belongs.

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Theodor was born in Springfield Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. He was born to a German family who was considered prosperous, but as world War 1 broke out their German heritage brought them under suspicion, as it did every German in the United States. It was a time when the German Frankfurter became the ‘hot dog’, and sauerkraut became ‘liberty cabbage’.

Regardless of the attitudes of others, the family continued to thrive. Though an occasional target of anti-German bullies. Theodor was not big, or strong, or a skilled fighter. But, he did possessed and ingenious and creative mind. And, he loved to participate in the boy scouts, Troop 13.

In 1918, at the age of 14, Theodor’s enterprising nature led him to be one of the top 10 salesmen of war bonds in his Springfield MA boy scout’s organization. And, as a result, had the opportunity to meet a famous and patriotic President of the United States, with whom he shared a first name - President Theodor Roosevelt.

On the appointed day Theodor, along with 9 of his peers were lined up onstage at the Springfield Municipal Auditorium. Where he waited his turn to have his namesake - Theodor Roosevelt the great hero and president - pin a medal on his chest proving him to be a Great American. After all he and his family had endured from the anti-German sentiment of neighbors in Springfield, he was to be exonerated, and his devotion to his country proven.

There was a little mix-up, however.

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In our lives of all kinds, things and events happen. Events and things like rain, entertainment, laughter, relationships, coincidences, and surprises.

Some we don’t even notice, like the smile of a store clerk as we buy that morning pastry.

Some might catch our attention, like the report of a natural disaster in a faraway place. But, though it may be sad or shocking, it has very little direct impact on us.

Or, we may learn of a life-threatening diagnosis for ourselves or a loved one. Which will undoubtedly change our lives.

Events occur every day, in the life of every individual. 

So What?

In being prepared for life we must begin with the one thing we can control, and that is ‘the person we are’. It Is A choice.

Viktor Frankl said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”.

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Young Tom was born the seventh, and youngest child, of Samuel and Nancy on February 11, 1847, in Milan Ohio. Samuel, an exiled political Activist from Canada and Nancy an accomplished school teacher.  

It became apparent the young Tom was not going to be like other children. 

Though suffering from rather profound hearing loss due to scarlet fever, he was vigorous, bright, and engaged in life. By the age of 12, he was selling newspapers along the Grand Trunk Railroad line. 

There are many lessons we could learn from Tom. It’s complicated, He was complicated. In him, there was both good and bad - and so it is most anyone else who has ever lived.

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As a (now retired) firefighter/EMT It has always been odd to me the random things that I would notice during an emergency. Allow me to share an example.

It was a few days before Christmas and I can recall that this first man was very well-dressed with a dark suit, dark overcoat, and some very expensive shoes. He was tall and distinguished though his appearance was greatly diminished by the fact that he was laying in a crumpled heap on the concrete, in front of the Main Terminal at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC. 

I meet the second man many years later after I had retired, I found retirement didn’t suit me. So, I got busy and became a Locksmith. The name of the company I worked for was Zippy Locks - a that Little factoid only matters because I recall answering the phone at work one day, And A deep male voice began singing, “zippidy do dah, zippidy aye, my oh my, what a wonderful day!” 

These two men were not necessarily teaching anything on purpose, I learned great life lessons from them both.

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Have you heard of some of those crazy ‘challenges’ going around on social media? 

In the past few years there been a few such as the “Ice Bucket Challenge” where a person has a full bucket of cold ice water poured over their head. The “Cinnamon Challenge” where the participant snorts cinnamon up their nose - Ouch. And, the ever ridiculous “Tide Pod Challenge” some numb-skull pops a tide laundry detergent pod in their mouth and eats it – really?

You gotta’ be kidding me. Only today's youth would be stupid enough to do stuff like this.

But, hold on there a minute, this is not the only time in history when people did stupid stuff.

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So – If you’re going to become a famous popular music singer you’re going to need to be Good Looking, Have an edgy attitude, have great moves, a really good manager, and be able to sing your butt off. Well, maybe not that last one.

Maybe, you don’t need to sing at all!

Allow me to tell you about it.

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A man was lost in the desert. He’s was dying for lack of water. His brain was cooking inside his skull. The wind felt like a standing in front of a dozen hair dryers blasting away on their highest setting. 

HE needed water – soon.

He looked around him a there was nothing but dirt, sage, and cactus.

In the distance, he saw the shimmering of what appeared to be water – lots of it – but he knew better. It’s just a cruel trick of the sunlight and the heat.

He stumbled on.

He found a note at a deserted shack. It began:
Dear Friend,

Don’t know how the ‘heck’ you ended out up out here in the middle of nowhere. But, if you are reading this note you should consider yourself ‘Dang’ lucky. 

First, because you're still alive. 

Second, because I kin' help you … and anyone who comes after you ….  if you will carefully follow the instructions in this note. ...

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Today's episode is on a subject that might be of some value as we look around at what is happening in our world today. 

Everything seems to be so loud, conflicting messages blasting at a fevered pitch - demanding attention, our obedience, and our agreement. 

Disease, Riots, political upheaval, natural disasters, and pundits who are trying to convince us that life as we know it is over unless we see things their way.

Lions; and Tigers; and Bears -- oh My!

In our lives, we will all face times when we are overwhelmed. When the world becomes so chaotic and loud, so hard to understand, that we need to just step back and let the dust settle. Pickup what is left, and move on. 

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You may remember John Paul Jones, the American Revolutionary War hero, and his famous words, "I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight"!

Well, did you know he also lead the invasion of Britain in 1778?

This is a great story about a badly bumbled raid on Whitehaven in the UK, and how failure became a success in the end.

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Our world is filled with things, gadgets, and ideas that are ingenious. Ingenious in the seemingly miraculous things they can do, in their complexity, or sometimes in their simplicity.

Have you ever pondered, “what is the best invention ever?”

Or seen some new gadget and thought, “That’s brilliant, I should have thought of that!”

I have…

SO, in this episode, I contacted friends and family and asked them, “What the best invention ever”? 

You'll enjoy their answers!

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Seems everyone has heard of Rosa Parks, and rightly so, a young lady of color who refused to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus in Montgomery Alabama. IN the 1950s Her actions helped inspire real changes to the segregation laws that existed in the United States.

BUT, there is another…..

About a century earlier…..

The year was 1854, the American Civil war was still 7 years away. And, though Slavery had been abolished a quarter of a century earlier in New York, society was still heavily segregated.

Her name was Elizabeth Jennings. A plucky young school teacher in New Your City.

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The Hindenburg disaster is one of the most well-known events of the early 20th century. Many have seen the old newsreels and the radio broadcast recorded as the Hindenburg burst into flames as it was attempting to land in New Jersey. We’ll explore that event and another event that happened previously. 

The beginnings of the age of the airships had great promise. But it was all new. Nobody really knew what to expect. There will always be failures and accidents that hadn’t been planned for. That is the nature of being a pioneer and experimenting, of doing things nobody else has 

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He was that rare mix of tough and smart. He knew how to work hard, was occasionally restless, and one of those people who learned fast. 

He was born the son of a ‘gas driller’ and grew up turning wrenches. He was a very competent mechanic at a very young age. 

A few months after graduating from high school he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

Learn what you might not have known about this legend and how he won a free Steak Dinner.

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Every child probably has a favorite toy. For each child, this may be different based on their circumstances and the culture they live in.

What’s your favorite toy?

When I was young, one of my favorites was Billy Blast-off.

Billy Blast-off was an amazing toy set. The central piece was Billy. He stood about 4 inches tall, had arms that articulated at the shoulder and legs that articulated at the hips. 

Billy wore a spacesuit with 2 big blue air tanks on his back, which in reality contained 2 small batteries and a small electric motor.

Billy could be placed in a sitting position on 2 or 3 different vehicles. And, with his power button switched on he would lightly bounce across the floor on a moonwalker, lift and stack blocks with a small crane, or speed quickly across a smooth floor in a six-wheeled lunar racer.

I had hours of fun playing with Billy. But, As I grew, I forgot about him. And moved on to other distractions.

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There was once a solitary man who purchased a farm. It was many years ago, and his new land was remote – far away from everyone. But he was happy with this. He had a good mule, a wagon, a rifle, and enough simple hardware and supplies until the seeds he planted were ready for harvest. 

The solitary man was very capable. He knew how to plant and tend crops. He knew how to hunt for game. He looked forward to building his life.

Seemingly insurmountable challenges came. He gathered himself set forward on a plan to abandon his land, his crops, his shack, and his good mule. And, with great effort, he would try to start over. But, life had something to teach the solitary man.

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Jim and his twin brother Charlie were born on May 28th, 1888, in what is now Oklahoma. Just like everyone else his life was touched by joys, successes, defeats, and disappointments. 

But, this young boy grew to greatness. 

Jim spent much of his youth hunting and fishing with his dad and brother. He lived outdoors, observing, and learning to appreciate nature. He worked hard with his father, Hiram, who was a horse breeder and trainer – and bootlegger. It was said that by the time he was 6 years old he could shoot, ride, and trap. 

Jim set an example of being true to himself. He was who he was. A Native American who blessed with physical genius, a love of sports, the outdoors, and horses. 

He engaged in doing the things he loved in spite of the critics and haters and became an Olympic champion.

To those who were threatened by him, who disagreed with him, he was gracious. He allowed them to be who they were, and to think what they chose to. 

He understood that the faults youpoint out in others, and the arguments and conflicts you chose to have, expose not so much the faults you think you see, but instead, they lay bare your character.

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A surprising story including horrific challenges and an unexpected twist.

This story begins in Dutch town during world war 2 not long after the Germans invaded 

Corrie ten Boom had become a well-respected watchmaker living a very quiet life. A self-described spinster in her 50’s lived in a 2-story home with her sister and elderly father. Life was good. It was simple, uneventful, and happy. 

Find out what happens as they decide to become involved int the Dutch Underground and end up grateful for fleas.

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You never know how people are going to react in times that are dramatic or shocking. Media and Movies show us expectations that seem legitimate, however, reality can be a bit different. When dramatic things happen, people don’t react the way you might think. At the moment or after they have a chance to process what happened. It's OK. And, it is important to let someone (including yourself) deal with things in a way that makes sense to them at that moment. I share a personal experience, an aircraft crash, from many years ago to illustrate the point.

New reports from the event:

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/07/21/Report-CIA-owned-plane-that-crashed-at-Dulles-Airport/6210585460800/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/07/21/pilot-killed-in-takeoff-at-dulles/9e7f4b26-00bc-4378-842c-23f6a6d820ce/

https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1988/19880720-0_DHC6_N7267.pdf

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This 'Bonus Episode' is a telling of a personal experience. Kirtley Freckleton relates her own story about how she created a vision for herself with a half-sized posterboard and a picture of a princess standing next to a regal horse.

Well, anyone who knows Kirtley will probably already know she loves horses, so having a picture of a girl and a horse seems like a no brainer - 'of course, she would put a picture like that!' What happens next is the amazing part.

Listen in, and enjoy going on her adventure with her, to see that very scene reproduced in real life. An experience that illustrates the real power of having a vision and a direction chosen as you step out on your own life's journey.

See the photo at:

https://anounce.org/kirtley-freckleton-power-in-direction-and-vision

More info or contact Kirtley Freckleton at:

https://www.facebook.com/kirtley.sorensen

https://www.kirtleyfreckleton.com/?fbclid=IwAR0eIbxL7lnO3phB_hB63D8GABFB7OldFfVI1rPOT3EapeMMUj2p_Y12M8I

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This famous story is incomplete...

'Listen, my children, and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five…

...Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch

Of the North Church Tower as a signal light, -

One, if by land, and two, if by sea;…

A fun story to hear written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of the heroic adventure of the Famous Revolutionary Paul Revere. 

But, this prose has a few important omissions. 

Listen and learn of additional hero's who were arguably more successful and heroic than Paul Revere!

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Jim was a tall lanky young man, well-liked by everyone who knew him. Ever since he could remember he wanted to fly. In his younger years, he spent endless hours in the basement of the family home working on model airplanes, mechanical drawings, and chemistry. All with the aim of someday, becoming, a flyer.

With his father's encouragement, he began to let go of his dreams of flying and applied to Princeton University. He was accepted and began his studies in 1928. 

An intelligent man, and aware of world affairs, Jim could see a war coming. He loved his country, he wanted to contribute. And, in November of 1940, he decided to enlist. He was rejected. He was too skinny. 

He gave it another try in February of 1941, and having a friend manning the scales, he met the weight requirement. Despite great protest from his contracted employer, Jim entered military service in March 1941, as a private in the United States Army air corps. 

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We live in a restless world. Everyone moving so fast, working, carting the kids around, keeping appointments, earning, building, growing. Finding a way to move ahead, and get maybe get rich.

Here’s a simple little story that will help us change our perspective a little. What is it to be 'rich'?

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There is no doubt that showing off and having fun can be a thrill. And, sometimes there no reason not to. 

But, Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. 

Listen to a fun story about a couple of pilots and a vintage car enthusiast.

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When he was born his mom and dad could immediately see he was different. Life for their son would be harder than it was for other boys. They may have mourned for him a little, and wondered what kinds of challenges they would have to see him face. They may have been concerned about how he would deal with being different. 

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Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. He led the nation through the perilous civil war and was re-elected to a second term. 

Today, he is one of the most admired and popular presidents we’ve had. But, following the civil war about half the nation didn’t feel that way. The feelings of those in the south were still very raw, and some of them were not at all ready to accept the outcome of the Un-civil conflict in which they had been defeated.

On the 14th of April, 1865, the President and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, decided to take in a play, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC. It was there that the President was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. And, hours later, on the morning of April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died.

How did this happen?

Isn’t there tight security around a president everywhere he goes?

How did the assassin get so close that he was able to hold a gun up inches from the back of the President’s head, and take his life?

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Here’s the story of one seriously surprised mayor of Argonia,  Kansas. Elected mayor and the candidate didn’t even know their name was on the ballot.

In 1887, the rules for elections did not require that the names of those on the ballot were made public until Election Day. The inclusion of this surprised candidate's name was done a prank, a joke, if you will, by political rivals trying to make a point that the consideration of such a candidate was foolish.

The name placed on the ballot as a prank, as a ploy to humiliate, backfired - big time. 

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On October 8th, 1871 the Great Chicago fire took place. The blaze started sometime that evening on the cities southwest side. The area of origin was in or near a barn owned by Patrick and Catherin O’Leary. Legend says the fire was started when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over an oil lamp. This was denied by Mrs. O’Leary. The true cause of the fire has never been determined.

Yes, October 8th was a big day. Maybe bigger than most people know as The Great Chicago Fire was not the only disaster that occurred that day.

Have you ever heard of the Peshtigo fire? The Holland and Manistee Michigan fire? The Port Huron Fire? 

All 4 happened the same day.

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COVID-19 Got you stuck in the house?

Looking for something to do?

Looking for something yummy to eat?

You need to try this (truly) simple recipe for some super good 'sink-your-teeth-into-it -crusty-yummy-bread'.

You probably have the ingredients in your pantry right now!

You'll get a lovely and delicious round artisan loaf of bread that goes good with spreads, soups, salads, meats, or even sandwiches.

More info on the Blog at https://anounce.org/bread/

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Back in the early 1980s, I began training as a firefighter. A training session on searching buildings taught me a great life lesson. The scenario put two firefighters together to search a home and find the victim. My partner in this experience was a big Texan with even bigger feet.
This exercise was meant to be as authentic as it was strenuous – and it succeeded on both counts. And, it is one of the most humbling and illuminating life experiences I’ve ever had. Illuminating because of what I was able to learn.

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This world has been blessed with some amazing talents. People who have had an incredible genius for science, leadership, and the arts – who have changed the trajectory of our world. Names like Einstein, Hawking, Churchill, The Beatles, Rembrandt, Shakespeare, and others.

The hidden lives they lead, and the sometimes impossible challenges they face, are often something we never have in full view as we enjoy the fruits of their labor.

In this episode, we’ve got the story of one of those world-changing geniuses. And, it’s not the story you might have expected. 

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You think you know people, and then, you learn stuff about them that changes everything. Be careful about what you choose to believe. That character you might label a cad might be a hero. That hero you thought you knew might be a real jerk – or might be both. 
For example, I was rummaging around the internet and found a set of fun and amazing historical insights into the lives of former Presidents of the United States. FYI, I found most of these at BESTLIFE.COM and I can’t vouch for their veracity, but they do get your attention. 

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In 1937 Napoleon Hill published “Think and Grow Rich”, which includes the story we’ll cover in this episode. Napoleon Hill’s book, and his thesis, were groundbreaking at the time – and became a foundational document for the Self-improvement movement we are familiar with today.

There are several lesson’s to learn from Mr. Hill’s little vignette about R. U. Darby beyond the obvious and powerful principle of – Persistence – that we’ll briefly cover after I share with you the story Three Feet From Gold

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The purpose of this quick podcast is to separate fact from fiction and to give some useful prevention technics to avoid infection.

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Our story this time is a surprising one about a man who in some ways a very unlikely hero. Wiley had a dream. He wanted to fly. in 1930, when Wiley was about 32 years old he finally owned his first plane. Most men might have felt they had finally arrived with wonderful little family, famous friends, and the ability to enjoy his dream of flying in his own plane.  Not Wiley. The indifferent student, with a felony criminal record and a missing eye, was just getting started. Now, if you’ve ever ordered a package online, taken a trip on an airliner, or thought to enjoy the liberty afforded US Citizen afforded by the U.S. Military you have the advances made by Wiley Post to thank.

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This episode covers how to deal with and prevent emergencies related to locking yourself out of your car or home. Jeremy, the owner of Zippy Locks, is interviewed about relatively inexpensive preventative actions you can take to prevent emergencies that can be very costly and dangerous. He discusses why you should call a locksmith when you are locked out, why you should get to know a locksmith before you need one, the value of a spare key, and many other helpful tips, hacks, and hints.

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This time we’ve got an amazing story about a repeat competitor in the Boston marathon with an almost 40-year uninterrupted streak of participation. His name is Rick. But this man is unique because of more than his longevity on the running circuit. Along with his loving father, Eugene, who never wanted to be a runner. But, this father could see how much his son loved the experience. And, he was motivated to continue – to repeat the experience, and strengthen the bond he had with Rick. So they have run, for over 40 years now, and developed one of the most amazing partnerships in sport. 

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Agnes was her parent's choice of name for her when she was born to a Kosovar Albanian family in the summer of 1910. Little Agnes, who became Mother Teresa, worked tirelessly in the slums of Calcutta serving and loving those who were considered the worst and lowest of society. Her efforts inspired thousands. This woman so committed to peace, and to loving and serving the poor, was once asked to participate in an anti-war demonstration. Somewhat surprisingly she refused the invitation and replied, “I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.” What can we learn from the reason for this refusal?

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Who is smart, capable, wise, and loyal; and what works and what doesn't - based on past experience and generalization, you might guess. Our brains use generalization and stereotypes for a reason. These can be very helpful in guiding us through our lives. Our brains recognize patterns and help us make snap decisions and judgments constantly, sometimes without even realizing it. Best be careful not to allow quick assumptions to keep you from seeing what is really there – right in front of you. Assumptions and stereotypes are often tragically wrong. So, keep your eyes open or you'll miss the awesome truth right in front of you.
A YouTube version of this episode is found at https://youtu.be/AjftmFMeT_0

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Remember Pluto? That celestial mass on the distant outskirts of our solar system with 5 moons.The one named after the shadowy Roman God of the underworld. The one we used to call the 9th planet. Turns out it was too small and lumpy to be called a planet. So, the truth we thought we knew has changed. But, that's nothing new, somebody is always coming up with some new bit of truth the challenges our dearly held ideas of the 'facts'.

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The heavy price of pride and intolerance of new ideas is examined in this case history from the Civil War. James Wolfe Ripley was cantankerous and just didn't like new things. As a Union Army supply officer he refused to issue a newer, proven, and much better weapon to the troops because he hated change.
A Youtube version of this podcast can be found at https://youtu.be/GBlVM5wkU1c

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This first Bonus Episode of 2020 is in 3 parts or segments. This is the first recorded segment. Great interview with Michael Faith, of Faith Firearms and Preparedness Training. We discuss actions you can take to increase personal security and preparedness from simple actions around your home and business, to purchasing and training yourself to carry a firearm. Mike has expert insights on the considerations which should be made when contemplating a firearm purchase to the costs, liabilities, and commitments you’ll make when you decide to move ahead with it. (Part 1. Before choosing a firearm there are other actions you can take to improve safety and preparedness. - Part 2. The types of things you should be aware of when considering a firearm purchase including your individual experience with firearms, legal issues, and licensing – Part 3. If you’ve decided to purchase a firearm, how do you select the right one for you, and how you become and remain competent with its use.Contact Mike of Faith Firearms and Preparedness Training at mike@firearmtraining.net and check out his website at http://firearmtraining.net/

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This first Bonus Episode of 2020 is in 3 parts or segments. This is the Second recorded segment. Great interview with Michael Faith, of Faith Firearms and Preparedness Training. We discuss actions you can take to increase personal security and preparedness from simple actions around your home and business, to purchasing and training yourself to carry a firearm. Mike has expert insights on the considerations which should be made when contemplating a firearm purchase to the costs, liabilities, and commitments you’ll make when you decide to move ahead with it. (Part 1. Before choosing a firearm there are other actions you can take to improve safety and preparedness. - Part 2. The types of things you should be aware of when considering a firearm purchase including your individual experience with firearms, legal issues, and licensing – Part 3. If you’ve decided to purchase a firearm, how do you select the right one for you, and how you become and remain competent with its use.Contact Mike of Faith Firearms and Preparedness Training at mike@firearmtraining.net and check out his website at http://firearmtraining.net/

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This first Bonus Episode of 2020 is in 3 parts or segments. This is the first recorded segment. Great interview with Michael Faith, of Faith Firearms and Preparedness Training. We discuss actions you can take to increase personal security and preparedness from simple actions around your home and business, to purchasing and training yourself to carry a firearm. Mike has expert insights on the considerations which should be made when contemplating a firearm purchase to the costs, liabilities, and commitments you’ll make when you decide to move ahead with it. (Part 1. Before choosing a firearm there are other actions you can take to improve safety and preparedness. - Part 2. The types of things you should be aware of when considering a firearm purchase including your individual experience with firearms, legal issues, and licensing – Part 3. If you’ve decided to purchase a firearm, how do you select the right one for you, and how you become and remain competent with its use. Contact Mike of Faith Firearms and Preparedness Training at mike@firearmtraining.net and check out his website at http://firearmtraining.net/

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Comparison is a, sometimes useful, and always compelling, tool our brains use to help us perceive the differences in things.  Our brains will rapidly discern differences, most especially when we choose the criteria to look for, and even when we don’t. The problem is that we often don’t see, can’t see, or can’t understand what useful criteria are. And, when that happens the information our brain gives us can be useless, irrelevant, or just plain wrong. The problem is even more poignant now because of the distortions of real-life presented by popular culture and social media.

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Small and Simple, not much bigger than a house key, but so versatile. And, An Ounce is Giving Away one of each of them! Just listen to the episode to find out how to be eligible to win one for yourself.

The key chain multi-tool can be a quick solution to many of today’s common tasks. Everything from cutting the tape on the amazon box and trimming a developing hangnail, to tightening a screw and giving you a little extra leverage on a small task.

Key chain multi-tools are useful for many things. If you are re-building a Chevy small block, you will quite obviously need soothing more, but these tools can be useful time savers and are excellent aggravation prevention.

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Leonardo da Vinci said, “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqECLqBOkXM&feature=youtu.be )

What does that have to do with igniting a fire with no matches? Keep listening and we’ll see if we can make the connection.

What do you need to create a fire?

In answer to that question perhaps you with are thinking what your Jr High School Science Teacher said 

“Fire is an elemental self-sustaining interaction between 3 required ingredients; Heat, Fuel, and Oxygen. These three are required in sufficient amounts for a fire to burn. Remove any one of these 3 and the fire goes out”.

That is one correct answer. I would propose however that you might need something else, something even more vital, to ensure you can start a fire. 

Experience.

There is a difference between knowing how something is done, and doing it. 

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The principle is well illustrated in a parable about three sisters. One is always sad, one is forever mad, and the third is constantly glad. The analysis of these sisters and the impact of their attitudes are brilliantly illuminated for us to examine and understand.

This Message might seem a little disconnected from the kinds of preparation you might normally think of when you consider ‘preparedness’. It is, in my opinion, the most import part of preparedness. If you can ‘get it’ – and internalize it – you are going to be light years ahead of those who don’t ‘get it’. 

The original source of this parable is Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorff (an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) as it was delivered in 2017. My delivery will quote him, but I use the parable to illustrate a different (but related) principle.

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Suppose things have gone a bit up-side-down because of a disaster in your life, and you’re trying to get by after the water has been shut off, the power is out, and you don’t know when it’s coming back on. What can you do?

There are a few resources you should know about in your home that might make such a situation a bit better. They are there, even if you don’t know it. 

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Is Looking Out for Number 1 Selfish? Maybe not? Many bemoan the apparent ongoing cultural trend of people who are only interested in themselves. This approach to life can easily be condemned as thoughtless, self-absorbed, foolish, un-kind, and all kinds of much-less-than-wise, thoughtful, or good. But is there something else there? Is it always bad to put yourself first? Is there a chance that there might even be wisdom in it?

Listen to a fun story about a sweet lady who can teach us that take care of yourself is a vital part of helping others.

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This cautionary tale is told with my wife’s permission. Back in 1983, when we first got together, she was going to surprise me with our first really nice meal ... oven-baked pork chops and the trimmings – yum! Things didn't go so well - but we laugh about it now.

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Sometimes you’ll be the beetle struggling with life – and sometimes you can be the bird who provides hope, kindness, and a new perspective.

When facing disasters and challenges in our lives it is important to remember that light will follow the darkness. It is the eternal nature of things, the sun always rises. One of the great lies that we are often tempted to believe when we are in crisis is that the crisis, with its darkness, will never end. But, the darkness always flees – all we have to do is wait for it (and yes it is easy to say, and seldom easy to do).

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My sweet wife has always loved shoes. For whatever reason shoes make her very happy. Being the guy I am I have never really understood it. I can appreciate of good pair of boots, a nice looking pair of dress shoes, or a comfortable and durable pair of athletic shoes. For her, it goes to another level. Maybe it’s a genetic thing. Who knows?

Why does this matter? I guess it doesn’t really ... Except for the subject of a radio talk show interview that I listened to several months ago.

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This is a bonus episode. It differs from our other episodes in that we step outside the weekly schedule, and the regular format of the podcast, and drill down on things like interviews with experts and product reviews

This bonus episode is all about blades. 

So whether you need a great set of kitchen knives, a good tool for camping and hunting, or you’re a prepper and looking for a great survival knife, we’ll get some information in this episode that will help you recognize how to make the best choice, and get the best tool for your money.

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The older generation can be very precious to us because of the wisdom they can provide if we are willing to listen. Today, we’ll learn lessons from a couple of sweet ladies in their 80's. Unfortunately, it’s a lesson they would probably be happy to have not learned for themselves about having an emergency kit placed in your vehicle. 

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What can the observations of sheep by a seven-year-old boy help us to learn about ourselves? The words of my Grandfather to my seven-year-old self can teach us a lot about how we choose to respond to a challenge.

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Sometimes the simplest actions can have powerful consequences. Learn some of the simple actions you can take to prevent a home invasion. It is easier than you might realize to prevent a thief from choosing your home as a target. Hear my simple story and learn from my mistakes so you don't have to learn from your own.

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"What Do You Do When Godzilla Steps On The Fire Truck?" When I was working as a firefighter this was idiom/question used around the firehouse. Interpreted it means, "sometimes the unexpected happens, so what are you gonna' do when all heck breaks loose, and your plans fail?" This episode explores some of the answers to this question.

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Fun and kinda' scary story about a trip on a dark and stormy night, and the lessons that can be learned from the experience. In a fun and light-hearted way, this story illustrates the importance of taking responsibility to prepare for the unexpected events that will happen in everyone's life.
Youtube version found at https://youtu.be/HVCYx99eQvY