Hosted by Rob Bradley, Dark History explores the uncomfortable, often unsettling stories we like to believe are safely buried in the past—and then shows how they still shape the world we live in.

In this episode, Rob takes a deep dive into the history of snake oil: the miracle cures, the confident sales pitches, and the long tradition of selling certainty to people who are scared, sick, or searching for answers. What begins in the 19th century quickly becomes something much more familiar, as the same patterns of deception reappear in modern forms—polished, optimized, and online.

This is one of our favorite episodes Rob has done. Not just because of the history, but because of how clearly it reveals a hard truth: the scams didn’t disappear. They adapted.

Listen closely. The bottles may be gone, but the promises remain.

🔗 Listen to Dark History

🎙️ Dark History: Where the Darkness Sees the Light

👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s5-e4-snake-oil-never-died-it-just-went-online/id1603599807?i=1000751583276

☔ Rainy Day Rabbit Holes

🌧️ Explore more episodes and rabbit holes at:

👉 https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

☔ Umbrella Podcast Collective

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is proud to be part of the Umbrella Podcast Collective, a group of independent podcasts exploring strange history, dark stories, and the things that refuse to stay buried.

🌐 Learn more about the collective:

👉 https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/umbrella-collective

Presented by Caitlyn, the story follows art dealer and Vietnam veteran Forrest Fenn, who in 2010 announced that he had hidden a bronze treasure chest somewhere in the Rocky Mountains—worth millions—and released a cryptic poem meant to lead seekers to it. What began as a whimsical riddle quickly spiraled into a decade-long obsession involving online sleuths, wilderness expeditions, lawsuits, environmental damage, and tragic deaths.

Along the way, we unpack the poem’s clues, popular interpretations (including the infamous “home of Brown”), the massive online communities that formed around the hunt, and the ethical questions raised when adventure turns dangerous. The episode closes with a tarot reading that eerily mirrors the story’s ultimate lesson: knowing when to walk away.

Equal parts mystery, cautionary tale, and cultural phenomenon, this episode asks: when does the thrill of the chase stop being worth the cost?

Follow PNW Haunts and Homicides on all the platforms!

https://www.pnwhauntsandhomicides.com/

Shea reads a truly unbelievable—but very real—news story out of China, where a farmer attempted to transport a pig using a drone… and accidentally knocked out power to an entire village. The pig became tangled in high‑voltage power lines, leaving it suspended midair and thousands of residents without electricity for roughly 10 hours.

We break down how the incident happened, why drone use has become common in mountainous rural regions, and how a headline that sounds like a metaphor (“when pigs fly”) briefly became an infrastructure problem. It’s absurd, it’s oddly fascinating, and it’s a perfect reminder that technology doesn’t care how good your idea sounded at 5 a.m.

Short, strange, and straight from the “you can’t make this up” file.

Source Article

• Ashley Fike, “A Flying Pig Knocked Out Power to an Entire Village in China,” VICE, February 15, 2026
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-flying-pig-knocked-out-power-to-an-entire-village-in-china/ [vice.com]

Check out PNW Haunts and Homicides! https://www.pnwhauntsandhomicides.com/

Before Rosa Parks became a household name, a 15‑year‑old girl in Montgomery, Alabama, made a decision that helped crack the foundation of Jim Crow segregation.

In this episode, Jody dives into the story of Claudette Colvin, a courageous teenager who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in March of 1955—nine months before Rosa Parks’ more widely recognized protest. Colvin’s arrest, trial, and testimony became a crucial part of the legal battle that ultimately ended bus segregation in the United States.

We explore why Colvin’s story was sidelined for decades, how age, respectability politics, and racism shaped whose stories were told, and why her role in Browder v. Gayle was so vital to the Civil Rights Movement. This episode is about bravery, memory, and the uncomfortable truth that history doesn’t always spotlight the people who deserve it most.

In This Episode:

• Who Claudette Colvin was and why her protest mattered
• What happened on that Montgomery bus in 1955
• Why civil rights leaders chose not to center her story at the time
• How her testimony helped bring down segregation laws
• The long road to recognition—and justice—for Claudette Colvin

Support the Show

If you enjoy going down historical rabbit holes with us, consider supporting Rainy Day Rabbit Holes on Patreon. You’ll find bonus content, behind‑the‑scenes extras, and more ways to keep the show going.

👉 Visit www.rainydayrabbitholes.com to find our Patreon and explore the show.

A Special Thanks

Huge thanks to Letha Davis, who designed our website and helped bring Rainy Day Rabbit Holes to life online.

Check out her work at www.easybrzy.com.

As always, thank you for listening—and for remembering the stories history almost forgot.

Sometimes history refuses to stay in the past. And sometimes… it shows up in an emergency room.

This Five Minute Friday dives into a truly unbelievable modern news story involving a World War I artillery shell, one very bad decision, and a French hospital that suddenly had to take explosive history very seriously. It’s a reminder that just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s safe—and that curiosity without common sense is how you end up evacuating a building.

We ask the important questions:

• How does something like this even happen?
• Why are WWI explosives still turning up?
• And what life choices lead to this particular outcome?

Spoiler: History is wild, humans are weirder, and museums exist for a reason.

What We Talk About

• A real Vice news story involving a live WWI artillery shell and a hospital evacuation
• Why unexploded ordnance from World War I is still being discovered today
• The difference between “historical artifact” and “active explosive”
• How history occasionally re-enters the present in the most unhinged way possible

Read the Article

• Vice: A Man Turned Up at Hospital With a Live WWI Artillery Shell in His Butt
• https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-man-turned-up-at-hospital-with-a-live-wwi-artillery-shell-in-his-butt/ [vice.com]

About the Show

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes explores strange history, baffling decisions, forgotten stories, and the moments when the past collides violently—or hilariously—with the present.

New episodes and show info at:

👉www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

⚠️ Not Safe for Work / Adult Content Warning ⚠️

This episode discusses an explicit real‑world news story involving adult bodily injury, medical emergency, and crude subject matter. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Do not listen at work, around children, or polite society.

In this episode, we tell the true story of Sergeant Stubby, a Boston Terrier mix who became one of the most decorated heroes of World War I. From smuggling himself onto a troop ship, to warning soldiers of mustard gas attacks, locating wounded men in no man’s land, and even capturing an enemy spy, Stubby proved that bravery doesn’t require rank—or even thumbs.

Joining us for this emotional (and occasionally unhinged) journey is special guest Erin, Shea’s longtime friend and fellow history nerd, who helps us explore why Stubby’s story still resonates more than a century later.

Fair warning: this is a dog story, which means Shea cries. More than once. We apologize in advance—and also refuse to apologize at all.

🐾 In This Episode:

• How a stray dog became the unofficial mascot of the 102nd Infantry Regiment
• Sergeant Stubby’s role in 17 battles on the Western Front
• Mustard gas detection, artillery warnings, and battlefield rescues
• The night Stubby captured a German spy—and earned a promotion
• Stubby’s postwar celebrity life, medals, and legacy
• Why this small dog’s story still hits so hard today

🎖 Notable Figures:

• Sergeant Stubby – World War I war dog and certified good boy
• Corporal James Robert Conroy – Stubby’s human best friend and handler
• Erin – Special guest, history nerd, and longtime friend of Shea

You can find photos, sources, and more stories like this at

👉 https://rainydayrabbitholes.com

🛸 Join Us Live: Before Roswell – Tacoma’s Maury Island Incident

On June 3rd, 2026, Jody and Shea will be part of a McMenamins History Pub event in Tacoma, Washington, held at McMenamins Elks Temple in the historic Spanish Ballroom.

The program, Before Roswell: Tacoma’s Maury Island Incident, explores the strange, complicated, and often‑overlooked UFO case that put Tacoma at the center of flying saucers, mysterious men in black, and a federal investigation — weeks before Roswell captured the world’s attention.

This is a collaborative presentation featuring:

• Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Podcast — storytelling and narrative context
• Chris Staudinger of Pretty Gritty Tours — historical and cultural context rooted in Tacoma’s gritty reality
• Steve Edmiston, filmmaker and founder of the Men In Black Birthday Bash — an in‑depth examination of the case and its lasting legacy

📍 Where: McMenamins Elks Temple, Spanish Ballroom (Tacoma, WA)

📅 When: June 3rd, 2026

🔗 Event details & tickets:

https://www.mcmenamins.com/events/274794-history-pub

If you want to brush up beforehand, we’ve covered the Maury Island Incident extensively on the podcast. Head to:

👉 https://rainydayrabbitholes.com/podcast

Then type “maury” into the search bar to find our four episodes diving deep into the case.

💛 A Behind‑the‑Scenes Update

We also wanted to share a little honesty about the show.

Each episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes involves researching, reading, outlining, writing, recording, editing, releasing, maintaining the website, and keeping up with social media. It’s a labor of love — but it can also be a lot.

Jody and Shea are both feeling a bit stretched thin right now. We love this podcast deeply and can’t imagine it not being part of our lives, but we never want it to become something we resent or phone in. Keeping the joy alive matters to us.

So, going forward:

• Full‑length episodes will be released every other week
• On the off weeks, we’ll still bring you 5 Minute Fridays, because those are fun and low‑lift
• We may also take a short summer break (a month or two) to fully recharge and come back refreshed

You may also hear some guest hosts from our Umbrella Podcast Collective, including:

• Laura & Stephen from Midday Movies
• Kevin from Tyrant in Training
• And Shea’s big brother, Jason

✉️ Want to Be Part of the Show?

We’d love to involve the community even more.

If you’re creative and interested in submitting a story, outline, or even a listener‑written episode that could be featured on the show, please reach out.

📧 Email: shea@rainydayrabbitholes.com

Thank you, truly, for your support, your love, and your patience. We’re so grateful for this community — and we’re excited about what’s ahead, at a pace that keeps Rainy Day Rabbit Holes joyful for everyone involved.

❤️

Jody & Shea

In honor of Podcastathon, a global event where podcasters shine a light on causes that matter, Shea and Jody are dedicating this special episode to PACK (People for Animal Care and Kindness)—a volunteer‑driven nonprofit right here in our community that helps pets and the people who love them stay together during hard times.

Instead of rabbit holes full of chaos (don’t worry, we’ll be back to that soon), we’re sharing true animal hero stories that highlight loyalty, bravery, and compassion:

• A house cat who body‑checks a dog to save a child
• Two guide dogs who led their blind owners out of the World Trade Center on 9/11
• A loyal rescue dog who refused to move until help followed her to her injured owner
• And Shea’s own deeply personal PACK story involving a foster dog named Ruff who became family

This episode is about the quiet, compassionate work that makes happy endings possible—late‑night texts, emergency vet care, temporary fosters, and people who show up when it matters most.

If this episode makes you smile, cry, or hug your pet a little tighter, we hope you’ll consider supporting PACK and the work they do every single day.

❤️ How You Can Help

• Learn more and donate: https://www.packgives.org/
• Support Podcastathon: https://podcasthon.org/

🌧️ More Rainy Day Rabbit Holes

• Website, photos & sources: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com
• Bonus episodes & ad‑free listening on Patreon (link on our site)

Thank you for listening, for caring, and for helping us support an organization that makes our community kinder—for animals and humans alike.

https://podcasthon.org/podcaster/rainy-day-rabbit-holes

This week… things escalate.

In this Five Minute Friday episode, Shea reads another cannibal-themed poem from the archives: “How Three Were Made One,” published in The White Pine News in 1891.

The poem features a love triangle, a violent rivalry, and a punchline that only Victorian newspaper readers could find amusing.

But it also reveals something interesting about the cultural moment that produced it. Nineteenth-century Americans and Europeans were fascinated with stories of “savages” and cannibals, and those ideas showed up everywhere—from adventure novels to newspaper jokes.

This episode explores how those stereotypes appeared in everyday entertainment and why historians sometimes pay attention to odd little artifacts like this one.

Because sometimes the strangest things in the archive tell us the most about the world people thought they lived in.

Alfred Packer should have been hanged.

The verdict was clear. The sentence was delivered with venom. The public was ready to watch justice swing from a rope. And then—everything fell apart.

In Part Two of the Colorado Cannibal story, the horror leaves the mountains and enters the courtroom, where legal loopholes, jurisdictional chaos, and a stunning legislative mistake derail what seemed like an open-and-shut case. As lawyers argue over maps, treaties, and vanished statutes, a convicted killer becomes something unthinkable: a celebrity.

What follows is a saga of failed executions, rewritten charges, and a second trial that exposes just how fragile justice can be when laws change faster than crimes can be prosecuted. Witnesses dismantle the starvation defense. Evidence resurfaces. Sentences stretch into record-breaking territory.

Then comes the twist no one expects—a fearless reporter, a newspaper war, gunfire in a newsroom, and a campaign that transforms a cannibal into a cause. By the time the dust settles, the question isn’t whether Alfred Packer was guilty. It’s how the system let him walk free.

This is the conclusion of one of the American West’s most disturbing true crime stories—where the law blinks, history shrugs, and the legacy somehow ends with a cafeteria bearing his name.

Yes, really.

In this Five—okay, probably Fifteen—Minute Friday, Shea reads a bizarre little poem from the San Antonio Daily Light (April 1, 1889) titled “Love and Theology.” It’s a Victorian-era love story involving a missionary, a cannibal maid, and a romantic misunderstanding that ends… poorly.

Along the way we talk about why nineteenth-century readers were so fascinated with cannibal stories, how these tales showed up everywhere from travel writing to adventure novels, and why the “cannibal” became such a popular stereotype in Western culture.

It’s weird.

It’s funny.

And it’s a fascinating little snapshot of the cultural imagination of the 1800s.

Next week we’ll share another cannibal poem from the archives—this one even stranger, and with a few more uncomfortable historical layers.

Victorian journalism was a wild place.

In the winter-shadowed mountains of 1870s Colorado, people disappeared with unsettling regularity. Most were claimed by weather, terrain, or bad luck. This story is different. Five men entered the high country chasing gold. Only one came back.

What followed was not a simple tale of survival. It was a cascade of contradictions, shifting confessions, scattered bones, and a discovery so disturbing it permanently renamed the land itself. Sketches published in a national magazine revealed a scene that suggested planning, patience, and something far darker than desperation.

As rumors spread and evidence surfaced, the line between hunger and intent began to blur. Supplies that shouldn’t have existed. Money that shouldn’t have been spent. Stories that changed just enough to stay ahead of the truth. And always, the same question lingering in the thin mountain air: what really happened out there?

This is Part One of a two-part descent into one of the most infamous true crime stories of the American West—an episode that inspired films, legends, and a name still spoken with unease. The gore fades. The mystery deepens. And the mountains, as always, keep their secrets just a little longer.

Can’t wait for the conclusion?

Part Two of this story is already waiting. The manhunt, the trial, the lies unraveling in public, and the legal chaos that followed are all available right now on our Patreon. Visit rainydayrabbitholes.com to unlock ad-free episodes, bonus content, and early access to stories that go places polite history refuses to tread.

You’ll also find photos, sources, and supplemental material connected to this episode on our website, beautifully designed by Letha Davis of easybrzy.com—because even dark history deserves a good-looking home.

In 2021, a small coastal town in Japan made international news after using COVID-19 relief funds to build a giant pink squid statue. Critics scoffed. The internet laughed. Headlines spread far beyond the town itself—including this BBC report that first caught our attention:

👉 BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56978075

But the Squid King didn’t appear out of nowhere.

After starting with that headline, we zoom out to explore the remote Noto Peninsula, a rugged corner of Japan shaped by fishing culture, isolation, and a long history of adapting to uncertainty. In places like this, visibility can mean survival—and sometimes that means embracing the absurd.

Then, on January 1, 2024, the ground itself shifted. A powerful earthquake struck the peninsula, damaging towns and reshaping coastlines, reminding everyone just how precarious life in this region can be.

In our 5 Minute Friday episodes, we share some of our favorite headlines and curious stories from around the world—short listens that spiral into much bigger ideas.

Find more episodes, bonus content, and all things Rainy Day Rabbit Holes at:

🌧️ https://rainydayrabbitholes.com

What unfolds is a parade of bad decisions—athletes collapsing, hallucinating, hitching car rides, consuming alarming “performance enhancers,” and redefining what the word marathon was even supposed to mean. Jody walks us through the madness with sharp humor and just enough historical grounding to make the whole thing even funnier. The result is a story that feels less like Olympic glory and more like a cautionary tale about hubris, pseudoscience, and the early 20th century’s extremely loose relationship with safety.

It’s history at its most absurd, and proof that sometimes the past doesn’t whisper lessons—it sprints toward you, covered in dust, doing something deeply inadvisable.

For more strange history, deep dives, and delightful nonsense, visit our website at Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Podcast:

👉 rainydayrabbitholes.com

Want bonus episodes, early access, and extra rabbit holes? You can support the show and unlock more chaos over on Patreon:

👉 patreon.com/rainydayrabbitholes

History is weird. We intend to keep it that way.

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we dive into one of the strangest and least-taught chapters in American history: The Business Plot, an alleged fascist coup attempt against FDR during the Great Depression.

In 1934, decorated Marine Corps Major General Smedley Darlington Butler—a two-time Medal of Honor recipient and one of the most respected military figures in the country—testified before Congress that powerful businessmen approached him with a shocking proposal. They wanted him to lead 500,000 veterans in a march on Washington, intimidate President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and install a new authoritarian-style government.

Yes. In the United States. During the 1930s.

The alleged conspirators were connected to major financial and industrial interests, including Wall Street power players and members of the American Liberty League. Butler claimed the plan involved replacing democratic authority with a “Secretary of General Affairs”—a role that functioned suspiciously like a dictator. The proposed justification? That FDR was too weak and too radical to govern.

The House McCormack–Dickstein Committee investigated. They confirmed that discussions of such a plot had taken place. And yet—no one was prosecuted. Major newspapers dismissed the story as a hoax. The headlines faded. The plot slipped into obscurity.

Why isn’t this taught in most history classes?

Who benefited from burying it?

And what does this moment reveal about the tension between corporate power and democracy in America?

We explore:

• The economic chaos of the Great Depression
• The rise of fascist movements globally in the 1930s
• Butler’s explosive testimony
• The media response
• And why this story still echoes today

History is messy. Sometimes it’s buried on purpose.

For photos, sources, and more unhinged deep dives into politics, culture, and the strange corners of American history, visit https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

Our beautiful website was created by Letha Davis of https://www.easybrzy.com. If you love how our site looks and functions, Letha can build one for you too.

Join us, stay curious, and let’s keep digging.

Today, Shea brings you the history of the Nakasendo trail, a 400 year old road that stretches from Kyoto to Tokyo. Sections of this trail, and the towns that were built up along it to provide services to the feudal lords and samurai who used it, are perfectly preserved. Hiking through Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku is like time travel. In this episode, walk along with Shea as she and her brother hike over 13 miles through bamboo forests along the iconic Nakasendo trail.

If you want to hear how it ends, head on over to rainydayrabbitholes.com to check out our Patreon! For just $5 per month you get bonus content, ad-free and early episodes, and so much more!

At the center of the chaos is Parker Dam, a massive federal project straddling the Arizona–California border, and a decades-long fight over who gets to control the river that keeps the Southwest alive. When Arizona decided California had gone too far, the governor responded with troops, martial law, and commandeered ferry boats. Yes—ferry boats. Thus, the Arizona Navy was born.

Newspapers mocked it. California scoffed. Arizona doubled down. For 48 unforgettable hours, a landlocked state patrolled the river with armed guards and a newly appointed admiral, proving once and for all that when it comes to water, Arizona does not play nice. The outcome was short-lived, deeply ironic, and somehow still echoing into modern water politics.

This episode is a perfect snapshot of unhinged history: equal parts political drama, regional rivalry, and “wait…that really happened?” If you like stories where reality outdoes satire, you’re in the right rabbit hole.

For more episodes, photos, and sources, visit www.rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Want ad-free listening and bonus content? Support the show on Patreon at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.

Huge thanks to Letha Davis for building our beautiful website. If you love how Rainy Day Rabbit Holes looks online, you can have your own site built by Letha at www.easybrzy.com.

Before Glass ever met the grizzly that made him famous, he’d already survived pirate raids, shark‑infested waters, and a ceremonial execution that claimed the life of his companion. But nothing compares to what happened next: a brutal bear attack, a desperate betrayal, and a crawl across hundreds of miles of unforgiving wilderness with nothing but a bear hide and sheer spite to keep him alive.

We explore the messy historical record, the tall tales Glass told about himself, and the parts of his story that are so extreme they feel like folklore. If you think you know the Hugh Glass story because you’ve seen the movie — think again. This is the unfiltered, unhinged version.

Perfect for fans of frontier history, survival epics, pirate lore, and the kind of stories that make you say, “There’s no way that actually happened”… except it did.

Check out our website at rainydayrabbitholes.com for episode guides, sources, and more. Want more Unhinged History? Join us on Patreon for ad‑free and early episodes, plus bonus content you won’t hear anywhere else. Big thanks to Letha Davis at easybrzy.com for our beautiful website. Proud member of MSW Media.

Chapters

00:00 The Grizzly Bear Encounter

02:13 Hugh Glass: The Man Behind the Legend

12:52 Survival Skills and the Pawnee Tribe

24:04 The Bear Attack: A Fight for Life

35:12 The Quest for Revenge

41:23 The Real Story vs. Hollywood's Adaptation

Today, enjoy this bonus sample from our most recent Patreon bonus episode about the Erfurt Latrine Disaster-a high‑stakes medieval gathering goes disastrously wrong in one of the most infamous mishaps you’ve probably never heard of. This bonus episode unpacks the political tensions, the crowded venue, and the chain of decisions that set the stage for a catastrophe so bizarre it’s echoed through history.

If you are dying to hear the rest of the episode, head on over to our website at rainydayrabbitholes.com and join our Patreon! For just $5 per month you get bonus episodes, ad-free and early episodes, and more!

Last week, we revisited one of our biggest episodes ever: How the West Was Stolen — The Oregon Land Fraud King, our 2024 deep dive into the Oregon Land Frauds featuring Allison Gill (The Daily Beans) and Shea’s brother Jason. If you want the full “how the scheme worked” breakdown — the dummy entrymen, the timber grabs, the scale of the theft — go listen to that episode first. It’s the foundation. But you can still enjoy this week's episode even if you missed last week.

Because this week… we’re zooming in on the slipperiest character orbiting the whole mess: U.S. Senator John H. Mitchell.

John H. Mitchell was the kind of politician who didn’t just survive scandal — he collected it. Name changes, personal controversy, corruption accusations, railroad money, political sabotage, courtroom drama… and through it all, he kept finding his way back into power. Not once. Not twice. Four terms.

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea takes you through Mitchell’s entire chaotic arc — from early reinvention and reputation-building, to the legal landmark case Pennoyer v. Neff, to the factional warfare of Oregon politics, all the way to the moment the federal government finally stopped looking the other way.

And as we join the MSW Media Network, this story feels like a perfect kickoff for the next era of the show — because if you’ve ever looked at modern political headlines and thought, “Wait… how is this allowed?” — you’re going to feel extremely at home here.

🎧 In this episode:

• John H. Mitchell’s rise from reinvention to influence
• The Pennoyer v. Neff case and what it reveals about his methods
• The 1866 “bolting caucus” and Oregon’s political chaos
• Bribery accusations and the shadow of railroad power
• Deadlocked legislatures, backroom deals, and a Senate seat held hostage
• The Oregon Land Fraud fallout… and the scandal that finally stuck

If last week was the crime, this week is the politician who kept skating past it — until he couldn’t.

🎙️ Rainy Day Rabbit Holes — unhinged history, corruption, and the uncomfortable reminder that some things never change… especially in politics.

Listen + links: rainydayrabbitholes.com

Bonus + ad-free: Patreon (links at website)

Watch on YouTube + follow on socials: @RainyDayRabbitHoles

This week, Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is going full “wild west,” with a scandal that spans four decades, features millionaire tycoons, U.S. senators, railroad barons, and—because history is never normal—a belly dancer called “Little Egypt.”

Shea takes us deep into the late-1800s timber boom, where public land laws like the Homestead Act and the Timber & Stone Act were exploited so thoroughly that the “American Dream” basically became: “steal from the government, call it business.”

Joining Shea and Jody for this chaos is special guest Allison Gill—host of The Daily Beans and the head of MSW Media—who brings her trademark sharp political insight (plus swearing, jokes, and the occasional Eddie Izzard reference) to a scandal where everyone involved is conveniently already dead.

And big news: Rainy Day Rabbit Holes has officially joined Allison’s network, MSW Media! We’re beyond excited to be part of the MSW Media family and can’t wait to share even more weird, messy, unhinged history with an even bigger community of listeners.

If you’ve ever wondered how people pulled off land fraud before the internet (or indoor plumbing), buckle up: this episode has bribes, fake homesteads, corrupt officials, and indictments by the thousand.

Check out the rest of our episodes and our bonus content available on Patreon! Head on over to www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

What if someone promised to make it rain—and you believed them?

In the early 1900s, Charles Hatfield went from selling sewing machines door to door to pitching American cities on an impossible idea: that he could manufacture rainfall using a secret chemical process. Farmers hired him. Towns paid him. And rain seemed to follow wherever he went.

Then San Diego made a deal.

Facing an extreme drought and mounting pressure as it prepared for a major world exposition, city leaders took a gamble on Hatfield’s “no rain, no pay” promise. What followed was not relief—but chaos. Rain fell. Then more rain. Then flooding, collapsing infrastructure, and a disaster that would permanently change the city.

In this episode, Jody walks Shea through:

• How Hatfield built his reputation as The Rainmaker
• Why early 20th-century America was primed to believe him
• The thin line between innovation, coincidence, and catastrophe
• And the legal and moral fallout that lasted more than 20 years

Did Hatfield actually make it rain?

Or was he simply very good at predicting when nature was already about to unleash itself?

The answer isn’t as simple—or as comforting—as you might think.

Also, if you haven't heard about it yet, we cover the story of the Columbia outdoor wear company offering its assets to anyone who can provide a photo of the edge of the earth. #expeditionimpossible

https://youtu.be/JxJOAsTMC6w

Go check out our website at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com, and check out the other great podcasts at MSW Media! www.mswmedia.com

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is a history podcast about unhinged stories that make you stop and ask, wait… is this real life?

From crazy disasters and tasty scandals to enlightening and surprisingly heartwarming tales, the show explores moments where people behaved badly—and sometimes beautifully. Expect naughty politicians, cultural chaos, and a deep love for the Pacific Northwest… including Bigfoot.

It’s thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining.

Go listen now and fall down the rabbit hole.

Find Rainy Day Rabbit Holes at rainydayrabbitholes.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Set against the storm-soaked docks and taverns of the 19th-century Salish Sea, this tale follows a seasoned ship’s captain whose final voyage brings him face-to-face with Cadborosaurus—the legendary sea serpent said to haunt the waters of Cadboro Bay. What begins as a routine herring run turns into an encounter with something ancient, terrifying, beautiful… and irresistible.

Blending historical texture, Pacific Northwest folklore, and unapologetic romantic weirdness, this episode is a love letter to:

• Old sailors with haunted eyes
• Sea monsters who may not be monsters at all
• The pull of the ocean—and what happens when you answer it

This story is inspired by Episode 26, “Release the Kraken: Sea Monsters of the Salish Sea,” and created as a thank-you to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Patreon supporters. It is fan fiction, folklore, and birthday present all rolled into one slightly damp, fish-scented package.

🎂 Happy (belated) 70th birthday, Captain Dan.

⚓ Some sailors retire. Others sail on forever.

If fog rolls in and you hear singing from the harbor… maybe don’t follow it. Or do.

Chris Staudinger, sorry we killed you off.

If you want your very own piece of bespoke fan fiction, consider signing up for our Patreon! Not only will you get ad-free episodes early, you get bonus content and so much more! Check out our website at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

We’re not bringing you a new historical story in this episode. Instead, we invite you to curl up with us as we look back, laugh, and reflect on the last 100 episodes of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes.

If you’re in the mood for something story-driven instead, no worries at all—feel free to hop over to our latest fan fiction episode, which is ready and waiting for you. 🐇

🎙️ 100 episodes. Somehow.

In this milestone episode, Shea and Jody celebrate over two years of podcasting chaos, curiosity, friendship, and forgotten history. What started as a half-formed idea in the Pacific Northwest turned into 100 full episodes, countless rabbit holes, a growing community, and friendships we never expected.

This episode is part celebration, part reflection, and part love letter—to listeners, collaborators, historians, and each other.

🐇 What We Talk About:

• Why reaching 100 episodes is such a rare podcast milestone
• Early audio struggles, evolving formats, and champagne-fueled recording days
• The episodes that still stick with us (and why)
• Listener-favorite stories like:
• Madam Mustache
• The Salish Sea Human Foot Discoveries
• The Traveling Corpse of Elmer McCurdy
• Ishi: The Last Wild Indian
• Sea Monsters of the Salish Sea
• How podcasting changed the way we see history—and historians
• Why preserving uncomfortable history matters
• Messages and reflections from listeners, friends, and fellow podcasters
• The friendships and creative communities that grew out of this show

💖 Gratitude & Community:

We take time to thank the people who made the last 100 episodes possible—from collaborators and historians to fellow podcasters, Radio Tacoma, behind-the-scenes helpers, and the listeners who stuck with us while we figured things out.

🔮 What’s Next:

We also share news about an upcoming project, State of Disgrace, where we’ll explore moments in history that echo loudly into the present—starting with McCarthyism, fear politics, and how societies find their way back from the brink.

This new show will be more focused and seasonal, but rooted in the same curiosity that drives Rainy Day Rabbit Holes.

🥂 Final Thoughts:

This episode isn’t about numbers or algorithms. It’s about showing up, staying curious, and building something together.

Whether you’ve been here since episode one or just fell down the rabbit hole—thank you for being part of this journey.

🕳️ Here’s to 100 more. See you down the rabbit hole.

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea takes us deep into the mountains of Nagano Prefecture to explore Togakushi Shrine, one of Japan’s most sacred—and least touristy—Shinto sites. Along the way, we unravel the myth of Amaterasu, the sun goddess who plunged the world into darkness after her brother Susanoo’s chaos drove her into hiding inside a cave.

As Shea hikes the same forest paths once walked by gods—beneath towering 800-year-old cedar trees—Japanese legend comes vividly to life. We explore the five shrines of Togakushi, the divine doorway sealed shut to save the world, dancing gods, nine-headed dragons, spiritual power spots, and what it really means to experience Japan beyond the “Golden Route” of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

This episode blends Japanese mythology, spiritual travel, off-the-beaten-path adventure, and real-life mishaps, including sprinting down mountain roads, surviving a hair-raising taxi ride, and realizing—too late—that the bus was actually running behind schedule.

If you’re fascinated by Shinto legends, sacred hikes, authentic travel experiences, or Japan beyond the tourist crowds, this episode is your invitation to step into the forest, slow down, and walk where the gods once did.

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea and Jody wander straight into the delightfully unhinged heart of Japanese folklore, where the landscapes are beautiful, the temples are ancient, and the raccoon dogs have… opinions. And tricks. And extremely versatile anatomy.

Fresh off Shea's travels through Nagano, the conversation opens with reflections on Japan’s quiet magic — misty mountains, timeless streets, and the spiritual gravity of places like Zenkoji Temple, where centuries of belief hang in the air like incense smoke. From there, things take a turn. A tanuki-shaped turn.

Enter the Tanuki: real animal, legendary menace, folkloric chaos goblin. Known in English as the Japanese raccoon dog, the tanuki occupies a strange and wonderful space where biology collides with myth. Shea and Jody dig into how this very real creature became one of Japan’s most beloved tricksters — a shapeshifter, a prankster, and a master of illusion who delights in confusing humans, impersonating monks, and generally causing low-stakes supernatural nonsense.

And then there’s the scrotum.

Yes, that scrotum. In tanuki folklore, it’s not just anatomy — it’s a multipurpose magical object capable of stretching, transforming, disguising, and occasionally funding a night out. Shea and Jody unpack how this bizarre detail isn’t just crude humor for humor’s sake, but ties back to real historical practices, particularly Kanazawa’s gold-leaf industry, where tanuki legends became symbols of wealth, flexibility, and good fortune. Folklore, it turns out, is nothing if not practical.

Along the way, the episode explores why tanuki statues are everywhere in Japan — outside restaurants, shops, temples, and bars — grinning, wide-eyed, eternally mid-prank. These statues aren’t just cute roadside oddities; they’re cultural shorthand for prosperity, humor, and a reminder not to take life too seriously. Or at least to keep an eye on your wallet when magical animals are nearby.

The discussion weaves together travel stories, religious history, art, pop culture, and the enduring appeal of a creature that refuses to behave. From ancient tales to modern anime, the tanuki continues to evolve, shape-shift, and bounce gleefully through Japanese storytelling, dragging its legends — and its lucky bag — right along with it.

It’s an episode about Japan’s ability to hold beauty and absurdity in the same breath. About sacred spaces and silly stories. About how folklore survives because it entertains as much as it teaches. And about a mischievous raccoon dog whose legacy proves that sometimes, the weirdest stories are the ones that stick the longest.

Visit our website for pictures from Shea's trip to Japan plus links to social media and more! www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

Looking for a gorgeous SEO optimized website? We owe ours to www.easybrzy.com 

Today, not only does Shea share some insights into driving in Japan, Japanese bathing culture, castles as adult museums, and toilets, she brings the tale of one of Japan's most terrifying Yokai and urban legends, Kuchisake-onna or the Slit-Mouthed Woman.

Visit our website for pictures from Shea's trip and more! www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

Make sure to check out our YouTube, subscribe, like our videos, leave a comment!

You can follow us on instagram for more photos!

All links at our website!

Make sure to visit Audibly Haunted on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen, and engage with us on social media to share your thoughts or your own ghost stories.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/audibly-haunted/id1705358960

https://www.instagram.com/audiblyhaunted/

What really happened out there shaped world history, rewrote entire landscapes in the Pacific Northwest.

In this episode, Shea and Jody explore the haunting history of the Hanford nuclear site in Eastern Washington with Ellicia Elliott, a theater professional and historian. They delve into the origins of the Manhattan Project, the impact of the nuclear industry on local communities, and the ongoing cleanup efforts. The conversation highlights the complexities of pride and legacy associated with the site, as well as the environmental and health consequences faced by the surrounding populations.

Follow Ellicia Elliott

https://www.elliciaelliott.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ellicia_elliott/?hl=en

https://www.threads.com/@elliciaelliott

The conversation explores the story of a wild man who emerges from the wilderness, highlighting themes of cultural identity and the challenges of communication across different languages and backgrounds. The narrative illustrates the complexities of understanding and interpreting the experiences of those who are marginalized or misunderstood.

Madame Mustache: The Wild West’s Most Badass Gambler

This conversation explores the historical relationship between Doc Maynard and Chief Sealth, two pivotal figures in the shaping of Seattle. Set against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest in the 1850s, the discussion delves into their unlikely friendship, the cultural clashes of the time, and the enduring legacy of their partnership. The hosts highlight how Maynard's vision for Seattle included collaboration with Native Americans, contrasting with the more conservative views of other settlers. The episode concludes by reflecting on the lasting impact of their alliance on modern Seattle and its identity.

This week, we are thanking Doug Holbrook and his lovely wife Marsha. In this tale, Doug uses his economics background to start a lucrative coffee kiosk business, with a spicy twist. 

If you want your own piece of bespoke fan fiction, consider joining our Patreon! You get ad-free episodes, bonus content, plus more! Head on over to www.rainydayrabbitholes.com for more!

You’ve heard of East Coast vs. West Coast — but forget all that. This week, we’re settling the real rivalry: the Midwest vs. the Pacific Northwest.

Shea and Jody of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, the podcast that uncovers the wild, weird, and wonderful hidden stories of the Pacific Northwest and beyond, join Trevin and Amanda for a four-round battle of regional pride, petty chaos, and pointless competition.

Before the main event, our hosts bring their dreadful dilemmas, ranging from awkward public encounters with subtly racist strangers, being too busy for dog playdates, and making retirement plans far too early — plus, Amanda spots our modern-day muse, Chappell Roan, out in the wilds of Kansas City.

Then, it’s time for the Great Debate — a showdown across four over-the-top rounds:
 Round One: The Great Debate – Each team makes an absurdly passionate case for their homeland, backed by one bizarre local legend. From the Midwest’s failed utopia of Fordlandia to Oregon’s infamous exploding whale, chaos is the only constant.
 Round Two: Cryptid Showdown – Batsquatch, the Missouri Monster, and the Frogman of Loveland go head-to-head in a mythical melee.
 Round Three: Ridiculous Laws – From a tax for being single to the price of killing Bigfoot, we discover which region is the most unhinged legislatively.
 Round Four: Absurd Headlines – Viral zebras, weird weather, and headlines that make you question the human condition — both sides bring their best regional ridiculousness.

Along the way, we tackle Midwest pride, Pacific Northwest rain superiority, Starbucks and T-Mobile empires, and even the truth about why singing the ABCs won’t save you from Midwest politeness.

So grab your casseroles and coffee cups — because this isn’t just a debate.
This is a geographically inconvenient grudge match for the ages.

Check out the Live Laugh Larceny Podcast! https://www.livelaughlarceny.com/

With special guests Laura & Stephen from the Midday Movies Podcast! Make sure to check them out! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/midday-movies/id1715523597

This episode of the Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Podcast delves into the life of Frances Farmer, a Hollywood starlet known for her rebellious spirit and tragic struggles with mental illness. From her early years in Seattle to her rise in Hollywood, Frances's story is one of defiance against societal norms and the pressures of fame. The conversation explores her controversial trip to the Soviet Union, her institutionalization and the brutal treatments she endured, and her lasting legacy, including a connection to Kurt Cobain. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding mental health and the societal expectations placed on women.

This conversation delves into the chilling events surrounding the Tylenol murders of 1982 and the subsequent Excedrin poisonings in 1986. It explores the tragic deaths caused by cyanide-laced capsules, the investigations that followed, and the impact these events had on product safety regulations in the United States. The discussion highlights the key figures involved, including Stella Nickell, who was ultimately convicted for product tampering, and the broader implications for consumer safety.

Check out the article! https://www.southsoundmag.com/features/tacoma-elephant-house-history/article_01883564-0abe-4ce3-a95a-308b7c9d2473.html

This episode explores the life of Ray Gamble, Tacoma's millionaire magician, through the insights of historian Michael Sullivan. The conversation delves into Gamble's early life, his entrepreneurial ventures, his passion for collecting elephants, and his contributions to the local magic scene. The discussion also touches on the importance of historical preservation in Tacoma, the impact of Gamble's legacy, and the cultural significance of his story in the context of the city's history.

This episode delves into the haunting story of the Watts family murder case, exploring the chilling events surrounding the disappearance of Shannan Watts and her two daughters, Bella and Celeste. The narrative unfolds with a focus on the true crime aspect, revealing the sinister actions of Chris Watts, who ultimately confessed to the murders. The conversation then shifts to the paranormal elements that emerged following the tragedy, including eerie occurrences in the Watts home and Chris's haunting experiences in prison. The episode concludes with reflections on the lasting impact of this horrific crime and the emotional echoes it leaves behind.

Today, the site is known as the Iron Goat Trail, a scenic hiking path shadowed by eerie tales of ghost lights, disembodied voices, and icy cold spots where the dead once lay. Shea and Jody take listeners on a chilling journey through tragedy and folklore—laughing, theorizing, and debating whether these stories are history, hauntings, or both.

From spectral lanterns to phantom whistles, they explore why the spirits of Wellington refuse to rest—and why hikers still say they’re not alone on the mountain.

🎧 Dive into this haunting tale and explore more at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com.
Support the show, unlock ad-free episodes, and get bonus content at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.

Special thanks to our Mistress of Marketing and Wizard of Websites, Letha Davis. If you love our site, imagine what she can build for you. Visit lethadavis.com to start your own magical website journey.

In this episode, Shea and Jody take you inside two infamous houses of ill repute:

• The Birdcage Theater, Tombstone, Arizona – 26 deaths, bullet holes in the walls, and a love triangle that turned into a ghost story still whispered today.
• The Red Onion Saloon, Skagway, Alaska – where miners, madams, and a lingering ghost named Lydia turned a gold rush brothel into one of the most haunted stops in Alaska.

Along the way, the hosts debate where they’d haunt if stuck for eternity, spill some spicy legends, and prove once again that history is never as tidy as it looks on paper.

Grab your whiskey, dim the lights, and follow us down the rabbit hole… if you dare.

👉 For ad-free episodes, bonus content, and even bespoke fan fiction, visit: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

Will you hear laughter, smell perfume, or feel a ghostly touch when you step inside? Listen now to find out…

In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea and Jody are joined by Tacoma historian and tour guide Chris Staudinger of Pretty Gritty Tours to unravel the chilling mystery of Tacoma’s “ghost ship.” From tales of curses and unlucky sailors to divers who met their doom, the Andelana’s story is one of tragedy, unanswered questions, and eerie persistence.

But the ship’s curse doesn’t stop with its sinking. The legend ties into eerie paranormal accounts — including the infamous tale of an eyeless ghost girl said to wander Tacoma’s historic streets. Along the way, we explore the city’s haunted history, connections to human trafficking, and the way folklore preserves Tacoma’s darker past.

If you love ghost stories, maritime mysteries, and local legends that linger in the shadows, this is one you won’t want to miss.

🎧 Listen now and join us on this haunting journey through Tacoma’s waterfront.

We've made our bonus episode with Chris available to everybody for FREE on Patreon!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/ghosts-of-high-139977306?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

👉 For bonus content, ad-free episodes, and ways to support the show, visit: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

Strap in. This rabbit hole goes from darkly funny to downright terrifying.

👉 Full story, blog posts, and more episodes at: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com
🙏 Special thanks to Letha Davis for marketing and website design: www.lethadavis.com

⏱ Episode Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes
04:15 – Stepping into a Titan II missile silo
09:40 – The Cold War and Mutually Assured Destruction
15:50 – America’s 103-foot “doomsday stick”
21:30 – Accidents in Kansas and Arkansas silos
28:00 – The Damascus Incident begins
36:20 – A socket wrench drops… and disaster unfolds
45:10 – Explosion in the silo
54:00 – The end of the Titan II program
01:00:15 – Women’s peace movements take a stand
01:08:30 – Why remembering this near-apocalypse matters today
01:15:00 – Closing thoughts (and a little levity)

🔗 Related Links

• Titan II Missile Museum – Official Site

• PBS American Experience: “Command and Control” (Documentary)

• “Command and Control” by Eric Schlosser (book on the Damascus accident)

• Cold War Nuclear History Blog

• U.S. National Archives – Cold War Nuclear Strategy

• YouTube: Footage of Titan II Missile Test Launches

Grab your pickaxe (or Pulaski tool), because we’re heading down a rabbit hole where mining strikes, infernos, and bordellos collide in the Silver Valley.

Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome to Wallace, Idaho
04:22 – Colonel Wallace and the shady land deal
09:51 – Silver mines and strikes that shook the valley
15:35 – Fires that burned Wallace down twice
21:44 – The legend of Ed Pulaski and the Big Burn
33:10 – Brothels, nightlife, and the Oasis Bordello Museum
40:55 – How Wallace beat the federal government and I-90
50:30 – Declaring Wallace the Center of the Universe
57:00 – Why Wallace is worth your road trip stop

Support the show and get exclusive bonus stories (and even fan fiction about you) by joining our Patreon: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

Want a killer website or digital marketing that works? Our website magic is thanks to Letha Davis. Check her out at lethadavis.com

Listen now at: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

Visit Wallace, Idaho!

https://wallace.id.gov/

From Hoovervilles to hydroelectric power, boomtown brothels to Woody Guthrie ballads, and even the secret connection between the dam and the atomic bomb, this is history at its most epic and unsettling. We’ll explore the triumphs, tragedies, and the question that lingers today: who really paid the price for progress?

✨ And don’t miss the end of the episode—we’ve got a brand new piece of Patreon fan fiction, starring one of our amazing supporters!

💡 If you like your history wild, weird, and a little unhinged, you’re in the right place.

👉 Listen, review, and support us at:
🌐 rainydayrabbitholes.com
💖 rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

Special thanks to Leetha, our Mistress of Marketing, and to our amazing Patreon supporters for keeping us powered up and rabbit-hole ready.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Blocking a river is the boldest act of man
00:35 – The Great Depression & Washington’s economic collapse
04:30 – The New Deal & the Columbia Basin Project
08:15 – The pumpers vs. the ditchers: epic dam debates
16:30 – Breaking ground & boomtown chaos on B Street
20:15 – Sex work, taxi dancers, and wild nights at the work camps
24:30 – Engineering feats: freezing dirt, cooling concrete, and sheer scale
28:47 – Powering wartime industry and postwar agriculture
31:22 – The dark side: lost salmon, flooded villages, and broken treaties
39:00 – From Grand Coulee to Hanford: fueling the atomic bomb
40:50 – The monument scandal and a stolen statue
43:30 – Reflections: who pays for progress?
44:10 – Patreon fan fiction: Matt Pearson and ghostly encounters

In this gripping episode of The Dark History Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most chilling and overlooked forms of human trafficking in history: shanghaiing. From the mid-1800s to the early 20th century, thousands of men were abducted from port cities like Portland, San Francisco, and Liverpool—drugged, beaten, or tricked into signing forged contracts, only to wake up trapped aboard ships bound for Asia.

This wasn’t just the work of shady criminals in back alleys. It was a full-blown industry. Crimps, saloon keepers, hotel owners, and even police officers played their part, all for a quick payout. Some victims were lured by the promise of work or a warm bed. Others were dropped through trapdoors into underground tunnels and chained in holding cells until a ship was ready. Few escaped. Most were never seen again.

You’ll hear the real names behind the crimes, like the notorious “Bunko” Kelly, who once claimed to have sold a ship a crew of corpses. We'll uncover how this brutal system thrived in plain sight for decades, and how changing laws, technology, and public outrage eventually brought it down.

This isn’t the maritime adventure story you’ve been told. It’s about organised trafficking, greed, and the silent suffering of thousands who were stolen from familiar streets and forced into a life at sea. The legacy of shanghaiing lives on in the sealed trapdoors and forgotten tunnels beneath modern cities.

If you're fascinated by the dark undercurrents of history—the parts that rarely make it into textbooks—this episode is a must-listen.

Support the show

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Chapters:

• 0:00 – Welcome to Rainy day rabbit holes where we take the history of the west off the rails
  00:20 – Today we are covering a meteorological event. Precipitation. Don't you wish we could time travel
  01:17 – Carrie Thompson: I've never made soap. Have you
  05:08 – There are several theories about what caused meat to rain in 1800s
  09:16 – After 150 years, no one has figured out definitively what this is
  10:57 – Did anyone ever get sick from the 1876 Kentucky meat shower
  13:50 – We appreciate the support of our patrons more than you could know
  15:31 – All of our Apple reviews, subscribers and statistics got lost recently

Calls to Action:
👉 Love weird history? Support us on Patreon and get your own bespoke fan fiction story written by us! www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support
👉 Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts—we lost all our reviews and subscribers due to a glitch, so hitting “Follow” again helps us out tremendously.
👉 Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes fun and bonus content!

In this delightfully absurd Silly Summer Season episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Jody takes us down the rabbit hole of one of the strangest Cold War experiments you’ve never heard of—Project Acoustic Kitty.

In the 1960s, the CIA actually spent millions of taxpayer dollars trying to turn a real, living cat into a stealthy spy. The plan? Surgically implant a microphone, radio transmitter, and antenna into an adorable feline operative to eavesdrop on Soviet conversations.

From top-secret surgery to a very short-lived field mission, this story has everything—government overconfidence, questionable ethics, and one very confused kitty. Shea and Jody can barely keep it together as they imagine what could possibly go wrong with strapping espionage gear to a cat.

Grab a cool drink, settle in, and enjoy one of the most ridiculous espionage stories in history. This is Cold War absurdity at its finest.

A huge thank you to our amazing Patreons—you’re the reason we get to keep chasing these ridiculous and fascinating stories.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen—it really helps other curious minds find us.

Want more rabbit holes? Join our Patreon for bonus content, behind-the-scenes extras, and even bespoke fan fiction starring you at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.

Visit us at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com for episode blogs, links, and more.

Special thanks to Letha Davis, our Magician of Marketing, at lethadavis.com for making our show shine.

You'll discover:
- How the Cold War turned into a cosmic pissing contest
- The role of young Carl Sagan in calculating the visibility of a lunar explosion
- The environmental and geopolitical repercussions of detonating a nuke on the moon
- Why this plan was ultimately scrapped and buried deeper than your most embarrassing secrets
Expect a mix of laughter and disbelief as we delve into this ridiculous chapter of history that almost turned our celestial neighbor into a glowing crater. After all, what's a little lunar devastation when national pride is at stake?
🌕 CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro and Welcome
02:30 – The Hypothetical Cold War Dilemma: Blow It Up!
08:15 – Introducing Project A119: The Moon Nuke
15:45 – The Science Behind the Madness: Carl Sagan’s Involvement
24:00 – The Risks of Nuke-ing the Moon: Tides and Climate
32:20 – Why the Project Was Shelved: A Cosmic Cautionary Tale
40:00 – Wrapping Up and Reflections on Human Folly

🔗 LINKS
🌐 Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Website: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com
💌 Support Us on Patreon: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

Show notes created by https://headliner.app

Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is thrilled to welcome Devon from the Ouija Broads, one of the most beloved podcasts about Pacific Northwest paranormal history, ghosts, and cryptids. With a relaunch underway and a new book on cryptids in progress, Devon joins Shea and Jody for a hilarious and heartwarming episode about everything from mosquito bites and neighbor drama to her favorite haunted stories, paranormal research, and crafting workshops.

Plus, after the break, Devon faces her biggest challenge yet: a Who Am I? Cryptid Edition trivia game where she flexes her cryptozoology knowledge and tells us what really qualifies as a cryptid vs. a myth.

🔮 Expect weird neighbor stories, beavers falling from the sky, Bigfoot posters with grills, and a whole lot of laughter.

✨ Featured Guest:

Devon from the Ouija Broads

🧭 CHAPTERS

00:00 – Intro and Welcome

02:40 – What’s Chapping Our Ass: Mosquitoes, Trashy Neighbors, and Home Depot Rage

14:10 – Meeting Devon and the Origins of Ouija Broads

20:30 – Soul Sisters of Weird History and Podcast Chemistry

27:00 – Creative Lives, Art Farm Dreams, and Teaching Classes at MostGhost.com

33:30 – Devon’s Upcoming Cryptid Book (What Is a Cryptid, Really?)

38:45 – 🎧 AD BREAK & Patreon Shout-Out (BREAK POINT)

41:10 – 👣 Who Am I? Cryptid Edition – Devon Plays the Game

01:12:30 – Wrapping Up and Where to Find More Ouija Broads & Most Ghost

🔗 LINKS

🌐 Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Website: https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

👻 Ouija Broads Website: https://ouijabroads.com

🎨 Devon’s Classes & Art: https://www.mostghost.com

In this jaw-dropping episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, hosts Shea and Jody unearth one of the most bizarre trials in history—the Cadaver Synod of 897 CE, when the Catholic Church literally put a dead pope on trial.

You'll learn:

• Why Pope Formosus was exhumed, dressed in papal robes, and propped up in court
• How medieval church power struggles spiraled into corpse mutilation and chaos
• What role Charlemagne’s crumbling empire played in this grotesque drama
• How public backlash, earthquakes, and papal revenge shaped the aftermath

Part of our “Silly Summer Season,” this episode trades the misty PNW for medieval Rome, where ecclesiastical drama meets dark comedy. It’s Mean Girls meets The Exorcist, and somehow, it’s all real.

Visit www.rainydayrabbitholes.com for more!

Support us by joining our Patreon! You get access to our unhinged bonus episodes plus more! www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

🔍 Keywords: Cadaver Synod, Pope Formosus, Stephen VI, weird Catholic history, medieval trials, corpse on trial, Vatican scandals, exhumed pope, bizarre history podcast, funny history stories

They dive into the statue's Cold War origins, the eccentric American who brought it to the U.S., and the ongoing debate: Is it art, satire, or an accidental shrine to tyranny? Expect laughter, social commentary, wild hypotheticals, and a heartfelt nod to Fremont’s fading weirdness.

📍 Chapters

00:00 – Welcome to Summer Silly Season

02:15 – Listener Request from Brian of Spirits and Monsters of Old Seattle

03:20 – Who Sculpted Lenin (and Why It Took 10 Years)

06:05 – From Poprad to the Scrapyard: Lenin's Fall

09:25 – Enter Lou Carpenter: The English Teacher Who Bought Lenin

13:55 – Issaquah Says “Nope”

15:10 – A Tragic Car Crash and a Statue with No Home

18:40 – Fremont to the Rescue

21:10 – Yes, It’s Still For Sale (for $300,000!)

23:30 – Dressing Lenin: From Jack-o’-Lanterns to Drag

26:45 – Art or Offense? Slavic Americans Weigh In

29:15 – When the Mayor Got Involved

32:40 – Can You Mock History Without Glorifying It?

35:00 – Final Thoughts: Quirky Art, Political Satire, or Both?

37:00 – Patreon Shoutouts, Sexy Bigfoot, and Thank Yous

🔗 Links

🌐 Website: www.rainydayarabbitholes.com

💰 Support the show: www.rainydayarabbitholes.com/support

🎧 Bonus Content & Merch: Patreon

In 1968, Irishman Mick Meaney decided to let himself be buried alive for 61 days in a Guinness record stunt that captured international attention…and caused his pregnant wife to find out via the radio. In this bonus episode, Shea welcomes special guest Kevin Ryan, host of Tyrant in Training Podcast and a fellow member of our Umbrella Podcast Collective, to explore:

• The surprisingly popular 1960s fad of human burial endurance contests
• The bizarre safety coffins that people invented to avoid being buried alive by accident
• Edgar Allan Poe’s stories—and real-life fears—of premature burial
• The transatlantic rivalry with Texan “Living Corpse” Bill White
• And how Mick Meaney’s stunt became a moment of Irish legend

🎧 This is the kind of fascinating, darkly funny story our Patreon supporters get access to every month. If you enjoy it, we’d love to have you join the community!

💸 Special Offer:

Get 20% off your first month on Patreon through the end of July with promo code SUMMERFUN20.

Unlock more bonus episodes, early access, and exclusive content:

👉 rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

🎙️ About Our Guest:

Kevin Ryan is the host of Tyrant in Training Podcast, where he dives into the strange and the sinister side of history.

🌐 Learn more at tyrantpod.com

In this episode, we travel back to 1807, when Napoleon Bonaparte, the conqueror of Europe and master tactician, faced the most humiliating defeat of his career — at the paws of a swarm of ravenous rabbits. We explore how a grand hunting party meant to celebrate his triumph turned into slapstick chaos, why the bunnies charged, and whether this story was an elaborate piece of historical trolling.

Topics Covered:

• The aftermath of the Treaty of Tilsit
• Napoleon’s love of grand gestures
• Alexandre Berthier’s ill-fated event planning
• The possibly hangry domesticated rabbits
• Paul Thiebault’s rivalry and the murky origins of the story
• What it all means for the myth of invincibility

Resources & Further Reading:

• Ripley’s Believe It or Not
• Mental Floss
• Just History Posts
• History Facts

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMinnville_UFO_photographs
• https://ufofest.com
• https://www.ipaco.fr/ReportMcMinnville.pdf
• https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2015/05/past_tense_oregon_ufo_photos_t.html
• https://www.scottbakal.com/mcminnvilleufo
• https://blog.mcmenamins.com/the-history-of-the-1950-trent-ufo-sighting-in-mcminnville-oregon/
• https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/oregons-extraterrestrial-history-the-1950-trent-ufo-sighting/amp/
• https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2017/10/famous_mcminnville_ufo_photos.html

We cover:

👽 The wild origin story of the bash

🐶 The heroic tale of Sparky the Dog and the upcoming disc dog tournament

👑 Drag queens, trivia, and SNL-worthy cosplay

🎟️ All the details you need to show up and how to win FREE tickets and exclusive swag!

This episode is part party preview, part UFO-lore love letter, and part official field guide for all things MIBBBFest. If you’re into aliens, oddities, or just need an excuse to dress in all black and scream-laugh at a trivia night — this one’s for you.

🎁 GIVEAWAY INFO:

We’re giving away:

• 2 pairs of tickets to the Maury Island Incident screening + Drag Queen Trivia on June 20
• 2 pairs of tickets to the MIBBB Main Event on June 21
• 2 MIBBB swag bags full of exclusive alien-approved goodies

🕛 Deadline: Midnight, June 13!

➡️ Enter all three at rainydayrabbitholes.com 🎧 Listen now!

🔗 Full event info: https://mibbbfest.squarespace.com/

• 00:00 Welcome Back & Bash Teasers
• 10:30 FBI Takes Over UFO Investigation
• 22:15 Agent Jack Wilcox: The First Mulder
• 35:45 Crisman: Sociopath or Storyteller?
• 52:00 Military Secrets vs. UFOs
• 1:05:20 Industrial Waste Theories
• 1:18:00 Future Film & Series Ideas
• 1:25:00 The (Very Real) Struggles of Podcasting

• 00:00 – Intro: We’re in the desert, baby
• 03:50 – The First Sighting: Ghost or monster?
• 09:12 – Panic Spreads: Red Ghost hysteria
• 14:03 – Stranger Details Emerge
• 21:45 – Government Shenanigans
• 28:00 – What Was It, Really?
• 34:12 – Outro & Rabbit Hole Reflections

• 0:00 Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes
• 1:00 Mogollon Monster Mispronunciation Mayhem
• 7:30 The Hairy Enigma of Arizona’s Mogollon Rim
• 15:00 Cryptid Traits: Screams, Scents, and Stones
• 28:00 The Goatman’s Curse and Drunken Love Story
• 42:00 Goat Genitalia Science 101 (You’re Welcome)
• 55:00 Solving Arizona’s Cryptid Genealogy
• 1:00:00 The Goatman Festival and Final Theories

• • Arizona Republican (1903)
  • Don Davis, Cryptozoologist
  • Zeke Cartwright’s Legendary Journal

• 00:00 - Welcome: From History Haters to Nerds
• 04:30 - Why We Took the Lakeview Cemetery Tour
• 10:00 - Atmospheric River Madness
• 15:40 - $3.85 Murder: The Charles Nordstrom Story
• 22:00 - Seattle’s Wild Cemetery Figures
• 30:00 - Dreaming of Giant Gravestones
• 40:00 - Shea’s One-Star Review Vendetta
• 45:00 - How You Can Support the Show

• Book a tour with Seattle History Tours / Civil War Seattle

• Rainy Day Rabbit Holes → Website
• PNW Haunts & Homicides → Website

• 00:00 - Welcome to rainy day rabbit holes where we take the history of the west off
• 00:15 - Beavers were basically most of the reason Hudson Bay company invaded Northwest
• 01:56 - O Weird involves beavers, parachutes and airplanes
• 02:39 - You could control this podcast by becoming a patron supporter at $10
• 04:47 - Beavers are considered ecosystem engineers and a keystone species
• 09:29 - Current events have got me a little bit roiled up
• 09:40 - After researching this story, I feel like beavers should be in every flag
• 13:45 - Department of Interior started reintroducing beavers to Idaho in 1936
• 15:51 - Elmo Heater came up with a brilliant plan to drop beavers
• 19:58 - NASA launched 76 beavers into Chamberlain Basin to help conserve natural habitat
• 22:53 - NASA uses satellites to monitor the impact of beavers on Earth
• 26:36 - Even if you don't support us financially, just sending us a nice message is helpful

💡 Want more unhinged history? Check out our episode on the Mossman of Idaho!

🌐 For bonus content and ad-free episodes, visit: rainydayrabbitholes.com/support

🎉 Don’t forget to share your thoughts and stories with us at shea@rainydayrabbitholes.com! Your feedback keeps us going!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

• 00:01:00 - Why We Took the Tour
• 00:05:30 - Fort Steilacoom’s Military Roots
• 00:10:15 - When History Feels a Little Too Real
• 00:15:45 - Western State Hospital’s Infamous Past
• 00:22:00 - Our Favorite Tour Moments
• 00:27:30 - Final Thoughts & Should You Go?

• 00:00 – Intro & Banter
• 04:20 – The Pike Amusement Zone & Long Beach History
• 14:55 – Elmer’s Pathetic Criminal Career
• 28:30 – The Embalming & Carnival Circuit
• 39:45 – The Shocking Discovery in 1976
• 51:00 – Elmer Finally Gets Buried (For Real This Time)

• Lewis & Clark’s original journals
• Accounts from the Nez Perce and Mandan tribes
• The history of syphilis treatments (spoiler: they were horrifying)

Love the Show? Support Us! 🎧 Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and exclusive gifts by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.

🌎 Explore more wild history at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

• 00:00 – Intro: Meet Mayor Lynx Monsoon and Rainy Day Rabbit Holes Newsroom.
• 05:00 – Patron Shout-Out: Celebrating Scott, our Hot Dummy of the Week!
• 10:00 – Mayor Stubbs: The rise of Talkeetna’s honorary feline mayor.
• 20:00 – Talkeetna Trivia: Exploring the town’s history and charm.
• 25:00 – Moose Drop Festival: Painted poop and PETA’s uproar.
• 28:00 – Alaska’s Weirdness: The Florida Man of the Northwest.

Love the episode? Get ad-free listening, bonus content, and more by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporter’s Club at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support. Explore more episodes and blogs at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

• 00:00-02:00 - Welcome Back and Montana Origins
• 02:01-08:19 - Copper Fever: Why Montana Mattered
• 08:20-19:50 - The Rise of William A. Clark and Marcus Daly
• 19:51-28:30 - Hines, Legal Loopholes, and Explosions
• 28:31-39:30 - The Legacy of the Copper Kings

Enjoyed the episode? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support. Explore more stories like this at rainydayrabbitholes.com.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

• Follow the bold actions of Eliza DeWolfe as she challenges 19th-century social norms.
• Learn how dress reform became a symbol of freedom and suffrage in the Pacific Northwest.

Chapters & Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Introduction: Meet Shea from Rainy Day Rabbit Holes and Caitlyn from PNW Haunts and Homicides.
• 00:10 - Free Love Origins: The surprising history of free love, starting in the 2nd century.
• 00:33 - Eliza’s Defiance: Riding in bloomers and the "conjugal alliance" scandal.
• 00:43 - Dress Reform & Suffrage: Eliza’s lasting impact on women’s rights.
• 00:58 - Final Thoughts & Takeaways: Celebrating Eliza’s legacy.

For bonus content, ad-free episodes, and other perks, support us on Patreon or Spreaker at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support. Don’t forget to visit our website at rainydayrabbitholes.com! Special thanks to Caitlyn from PNW Haunts and Homicides for joining us and to Bethany Kay Matthews for her invaluable research. Visit pnwhauntsandhomicides.com 

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

• The origins of "Skid Row" and how Yesler reshaped Seattle’s landscape.
• Yesler’s scandalous lottery and other audacious business ventures.
• The shocking details of Yesler’s personal life, including his marriage to his cousin.

• Insider tidbits about J.Z. Knight’s luxurious habits.
• The logistics of handling high-value packages at UPS.
• The hilarity of a Bart Simpson-level prank that brought some levity to Jason’s workplace.
• A little more about Shea and Jason’s sibling dynamic as they reminisce and laugh together.

• HistoryLink: Prohibition in Washington State
• UW: Prohibition in Seattle

• The surprising (and sometimes uncomfortable) truths about the first Thanksgiving.
• Shea & Jody’s favorite Thanksgiving dinner disaster stories. From kitchen fires to oops, the turkey's still frozen, these stories will have you thankful for your own holiday chaos.
• A friendly debate over the best ways to cook a turkey. Are you Team Roast, Team Spatchcock, or Team Why-Are-We-Eating-Turkey-Anyway?
• Tips for how to use your newfound historical knowledge to become the ultimate insufferable know-it-all at your family dinner.

• Why Mothman sightings keep popping up and what makes him a fan favorite 🦋
• The surprising stories behind Sasquatch and why he’s more than a PNW mystery 🦶
• Just what is a Batsquatch, and how did this legendary cryptid come to be? 🦇
• And, of course, plenty of laughs and geeky fun along the way!

• Visit rainydayrabbitholes.com/umbrella to explore all the podcasts in the Umbrella Podcast Collective.
• Follow Rev’s Geek Out and Rainy Day Rabbit Holes for more episodes like this!
• For ad free episodes plus bonus content join our Patreon!

• Tacoma wins the Northern Pacific Railroad western terminus battle.
• Stadium High School’s castle-like beauty.
• How Dune author Frank Herbert found inspiration in Tacoma’s landscapes.
• The Tacoma Narrows Bridge and its place in history.
• Meet the world’s largest octopuses, right off the shores of Tacoma.

• The rise and fall of Frances Farmer: from Hollywood starlet to Western State Hospital
• The truth behind the rumors and the real-life horrors she faced
• How her life and legacy inspired Kurt Cobain and Nirvana's music
• The shocking history of mental health treatment in the mid-20th century
• Insights from our special guests Laura and Stephen from Midday Musings

Listen to Midday Musings:
Spotify | Apple PodcastsGet More Content:
For ad-free episodes and bonus content, become a Patreon member! Visit www.rainydayrabbitholes.com to find the link and explore exclusive perks.Subscribe:
Don't forget to subscribe to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

• Brad Holden's Website: www.bradholden.org
• Tacoma Beer Week: www.tacomabeerweek.com

• www.rainydayrabbitholes.com
• https://www.facebook.com/RainyDayRabbitHolesPodcast/

**Special Guests:**

**Allison Gill:** We're excited to have Allison Gill, the host of the amazing Daily Beans Podcast, joining us! Allison brings her sharp wit and insightful commentary to our discussion, making this episode an absolute must-listen. Don't forget to check out her podcast at https://www.dailybeanspod.com/

**Jason:** We also have a special appearance by Shea's big brother, Jason, who brings his unique perspective to the episode.

**In This Episode, We Cover:** - The wild west and the American Dream of stealing from the government. - The key players involved in the Oregon Land Fraud, including millionaire capitalists and corrupt senators. - The dramatic and salacious details that make this story unforgettable. - How this massive fraud scheme was eventually brought to light.

**Why You Should Listen:** This episode offers a deep dive into a lesser-known yet incredibly fascinating chapter of American history. With Allison Gill's engaging presence, Jason's captivating insights, and our thorough research, we bring this story to life in a way that's both informative and entertaining.

**Join Us:** Join us on this journey back to the wild west and discover how the American Dream was manipulated by those who knew how to play the game. Don’t miss out on this intriguing episode that promises to keep you on the edge of your seat!

**Listen now and fall down the rabbit hole with us!**

Visit our website for more episodes and updates: [Rainy Day Rabbit Holes](https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/)

[Daily Beans Podcast](https://www.dailybeanspod.com/) It's news-with swearing!

• The road trip that launched the podcast
• Ghost stories from Astoria’s Flavel House
• The haunting of the Heceta Head Lighthouse and its legendary Gray Lady
• Shea & Jody’s passion for exploring quirky history, local legends, and paranormal tales

• Instagram: @RainyDayRabbitHoles
• Twitter: @RainyDayPod
• Website: rainydayrabbitholes.com