The Unusual History of Every Thing is a podcast for lovers of the weird history of common things in our world. Join cultural object preservationists Melanie Dellas and Karen Lacy as they uncover the unusual histories of every thing around us.
Typically, people nowadays don’t go into Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods and ask for earthworm oil, but from the 16th to 19th centuries, earthworm oil was used to treat various problems – kind of like how we use tea tree or coconut oils today. On this episode, we’ll show you how to use earthworm oil to treat many things, even gunshot wounds, because…well, why not?
11/28/23 • 13:40
Who doesn’t love to come home from a long day of work, heat up some yummy food, turn on the TV and plop down on the couch to eat? Although many people still do enjoy a sit-down meal with the family that often doesn’t include a television, back in the 1950s when having a TV in the home was a new concept, people found themselves wanting to eat in front of it. On this episode, we thank Thanksgiving and an overabundance of turkeys back in 1953 for giving us the TV dinner.
11/21/23 • 07:09
Happy World Toilet Day! In case you didn’t know, the World Toilet Organization (yes, there is one) declared November 19th to be World Toilet Day back in 2001. Why, you may ask? Well it all had to do with drawing attention to the fact that even today not every country has great sanitation, which of course spreads diseases like cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. On this episode, we flush out what humans did when poop became a problem and how it all led to a universal holiday.
11/19/23 • 26:49
One of the things people in Europe and in America used to do to thwart a witch’s spells was to bake a witch cake. It sounds sort of good, being a cake and all, but you know that having the word “witch” in its name means something has to be wrong with it. And there was something wrong with it. Despite the fact that this supernatural dessert was meant to be used against witches, its ingredients left something to be desired: rye meal, ashes and the victim’s urine. On this episode, we’ll show you how a little urine in your cake can either curse you or cleanse you.
11/7/23 • 08:29
When we in the west think of Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, carving pumpkins is one of the first things that comes to mind. It’s a tradition parents share with kids, and even as adults we enjoy it. In fact, we spend a lot of time researching cool designs to carve and choosing the best pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. And let’s not forget gutting it and roasting the seeds! But why do we do all of this? How did turning pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns become a Halloween tradition? On this episode, we look at why we love to carve out pumpkins, eat their guts and use them to light up the darkness.
10/31/23 • 10:33
They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so using food to find a husband doesn't seem like such a bad idea. From the late 1600s to the mid-1900s, unmarried women in North America and the United Kingdom practiced a baking ritual on Halloween that was said to reveal who they would marry. They called the products of this ritual “dumb cakes.” The cakes themselves were simple: water, flour, sugar, salt. It was HOW you made them that was a bit more complicated. But finding a future husband is never easy! On this episode, we show unmarried women everywhere how to find a future spouse using nothing but cake and well-timed silence.
10/24/23 • 10:26
On this episode, we show you how ancient Chinese medicine became the inspiration for medicine shows and rattlesnake wranglers. If you’ve ever heard of the term “snake oil salesman,” then you’re probably well aware of its negative connotations. If you haven't, you're about to get all the details...
6/27/23 • 14:34
On this episode, we try to unravel the tale of the European phenomenon of rat kings. As the story goes, long ago a wise old rat who wanted to be the king of all the rats made the lesser rats form a mountain. He climbed up to the top, and sat there, demanding respect and adoration from the other rats. Unfortunately for those other rats, they had been using their tails to hold onto each other and became tangled up together. In the 1500s, this tale gave rise to the term “rat king.” But where did this story come from?
6/20/23 • 08:31
On this episode, we talk about how artists used dead people to make their paintings come alive. We’ve done a podcast or two on corpse medicine and how people of long ago used mummies as cures. And the dark liquid the body oozes out during the putrefaction process, which ranges from dark purple to brown, made people in the Middle Ages take notice.
6/13/23 • 12:27
On this episode, we uncover the secrets contained within demon bowls, and try to figure out why anyone in their right mind would turn one over. But before we get into that, welcome to Season 8, which is going to be fun and, as always, a little weird and gross, depending on who you ask. And in the case of this episode, perhaps a little terrifying!
6/6/23 • 17:08
All over the world, the coming of the new year is ushered in with fireworks, champagne, a kiss, and, for the last 114 years, people have been celebrating New Year’s Eve by watching the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square. But it’s not the only thing that is dropped on New Year’s Eve in America. Cities around the country really get creative, and maybe a little weird, and we’re here for it.
12/27/22 • 15:09
We all know the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but what is less commonly known is where that story comes from – and the fact that some reindeer DO have red noses. On this episode, we explain why Rudolph, the beloved Christmas reindeer, has a red nose – and it’s not because of alcohol.
12/20/22 • 07:23
Everyone knows Santa Claus is a man, but in 1941, during World War 2, the women needed to stand in. It wasn’t unusual. Because the war took most of the men in America from their homes and jobs, the women left behind stepped in to do the work. They became riveters, crane operators, cab drivers, baseball players -- and even Santas.
12/13/22 • 11:43
Every country has a traditional holiday drink served to friends and family at gatherings and celebrations, and Americans and Canadians love their eggnog. Eggnog is an acquired taste, and not one that you would think would cause riots. But in 1876, that’s exactly what it did.
12/6/22 • 13:55
On this episode, in honor of Thanksgiving, we thought we’d tell you how pumpkin pie became a Thanksgiving staple, and how "Mary Had A Little Lamb" was connected to it.
11/22/22 • 08:57
For many parents in the western world, saying nursery rhymes and singing lullabies to their children are normal. But do people ever really stop and think about the words they’re saying to their innocent babies? Probably not, and that’s why we’re here: To show you the dark history of normal, everyday things people rarely pay attention to. On this episode, we uncover the darker side of lullabies and begin to question some people’s parenting skills.
11/15/22 • 14:57
Being interested in where your ancestors come from is not a new thing. People all over the world have a long and varied history of trying to find their roots to understand who they are. On this episode, we dig up the roots of the oldest family tree discovered so far and get a glimpse into the family structure of neolithic people.
11/8/22 • 12:30
On this episode, we look at the history of and the science behind radiocarbon dating artifacts, and what changes will be necessary in the future.
11/1/22 • 10:07
Every culture around the world believes in some sort of ghost, spirit or soul that leaves the body at death to go to some sort of afterlife. On this episode, we get into the Halloween spirit by looking at the ghosts of various cultures, examine how we’re still judged even in the afterlife, and the important role dogs play even in death.
10/25/22 • 13:50
From the 9th century to the 13th century, witchcraft was looked down upon by the Christian churches as pagan superstition. But in the late 1400s, the heresy of witchcraft as a superstition turned into the heresy of consorting with the Devil. On this episode, to add to the Halloween spirit, we thought we’d try to understand how one book could be responsible for centuries of witch hunts.
10/18/22 • 10:40
Grave robbing may seem like something people did long ago, but it actually still occurs unfortunately. For example, in Egypt, archaeologists often have to have security round the clock to prevent people from stealing from the tombs. Most of that is for the gold and expensive tomb-related items, however sometimes the black market calls for more obscure things like mummy dust. But in the beginning, grave robbing had more to do with stealing the corpses themselves than it did what was buried with them. On this episode, we dig into the whys, what-fors and oh-nos of grave robbing and what people did with various body parts.
10/11/22 • 16:42
Bats are one of the coolest animals we have. Some think they’re cute and cuddly, and they’re the only animal that doesn’t walk on four legs and instead, flies. Despite their small size, they’ve also been depicted in folklore as one of the scariest animals we have. On this episode, we swoop in to tell you all about the history of bat folklore and who the first Batman really was.
10/4/22 • 17:46
Tossing a coin into a fountain or well and making a wish has been a tradition since ancient times. People long ago gave the coin as a gift or tribute to a god, usually to keep them happy, make them happy or as a form of payment for whatever it was they were asking for. On this episode, we dive into the history of making wishes and why we like to toss coins into water.
9/27/22 • 10:55
In creature mythology, pixies, fairies and sprites are sometimes used interchangeably, and although there are some similarities, there are also many differences. On this episode, we take a look at what these magical creatures, butterfly wings and biodegradable materials all have in common.
9/20/22 • 11:09
Magnets are cool, and everyone has at least one. They hang our pictures on refrigerators, they hold things together, they’re used in various machinery, even the center of Earth has a type of one. Put simply, a magnet is a rock or piece of metal, called ferromagnetic metals, that have the ability to pull metals to – or repel metals away – from itself with a force called magnetism. On this episode, we examine the attraction between magnets and why certain parts of the body have more pull.
9/13/22 • 11:26
We're back! Welcome to our new season! On this episode, we take a look at how Nikola Tesla and shark intestines became the inspiration for filtering water today.
9/6/22 • 12:18
Most people believe in some sort of superstition, whether it’s throwing salt over your shoulder to keep the devil away, or preventing bad luck by not walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror. It may seem silly, but these superstitions have been around for thousands of years and are passed down from generation to generation like grandma’s keepsakes. Some believe superstitions are super silly, but there are logical origins behind each one. On this episode, we look at the origins of some evil eye superstitions and just how afraid we still are of bad luck and evil spirits.
1/11/22 • 19:58
We all try to stay healthy and exercise, but the holidays tend to add a few extra pounds to our waistline. Throw in a pandemic or two and staying healthy is tops in our minds. Well, we’re here to help. You see, throughout history, various cultures have had the same problems and came up with some unusual food combinations to become healthier. From drinking snail water to roasting sheep lungs and eating a dead body part or two, it's clear to us where modern bizarre health food kicks and medicines come from. On this episode, we help you with your New Year’s resolution of staying healthy and avoiding COVID by offering up some tasty treats from history’s strangest food remedies.
1/4/22 • 16:27
The yule log, which wasn’t a log at all, but instead an entire tree, is originally a Nordic tradition dating back to medieval times. The burning of the Yule log is one of the oldest pagan rituals, which was lit to entice the sun to return as part of the Yule festival in Scandinavia. On this episode, we explore the history of the yule log and why people refused to cut the tree into pieces before they burned it.
12/28/21 • 09:12
Santa Claus's gift bringing at Christmas time really began in northern and central Europe before spreading to other parts of the world. And some of the things that spread with him were his little helpers. We're not talking about the elves, although they did come along for the ride, no, we're talking about his darker little friends, the ones who handed out punishments. On this episode, we’re hanging out in Germany with St. Nick’s scary friend who smacks kids with his dirty bag of ashes if they’re on the naughty list.
12/21/21 • 13:25
