History

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Strange Country Ep. 48: Spirit Photography

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Spiritualism meets photography in episode 48 of Strange Country. William Mumler found a way to connect people with their loved ones by staging live/dead photoshoots. Some skeptics cried fraud while others lined up for the spirit camera.

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Strange Country Ep. 44: Witch of Lime Street

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If there's something strange in your seance room. Who you gonna call? No, not ghostbusters. Harry Houdini. Houdini, the great escape artist, made it his mission to unmask fake mediums, and his abilities were put to the ultimate test in a WWE-style showdown with America's most famous medium. Have any idea who that might be? You probably figured out who won then. Strange Country Ep. 44 is all about the witch of lime street, and features a symphony of sound effects by DJ. Jazzy Kelly. Or is it a spirit ringing your bell box?!?

Cite your sources:

Conliffe, Ciaran. “Mina Crandon, Psychic Fraudster.” Headstuff, 6 Apr. 2015, www.headstuff.org/culture/history/mina-crandon-psychic-fraudster/.

“Houdini's Greatest Trick: Debunking Medium Mina Crandon.” Mental Floss, 1 Nov. 2013, mentalfloss.com/article/53424/houdinis-greatest-trick-debunking-medium-mina-crandon.

Jaher, David. The Witch of Lime Street: séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World. Broadway Books, 2016.

“Mina Crandon & Harry Houdini: The Medium and The Magician.” HistoryNet, 24 Jan. 2018, www.historynet.com/mina-crandon-harry-houdini-the-medium-and-the-magician.htm.

“Photographs from a Séance with Eva Carrière (1913).” The Public Domain Review, publicdomainreview.org/collections/photographs-from-a-seance-with-eva-carriere-1913/.

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Strange Country Ep. 43: Cult of the Great Eleven

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May Otis Blackburn and her daughter Ruth were going to write the book that would knock the world's socks off in the 1920s. The Angel Gabriel dictated it to them and in return, he would give them the lost measurements to gold, diamond and oil deposits. Did it matter that their book made no sense or that it never was a book, but more of a scam? Not to their followers who willingly signed over deeds and life savings to follow The Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven. Strange Country Episode 43 is culterrific and includes plans for our very own Strange Country cult. Send us your cash ASAP. 

Big shout-out to Samuel Fort for his book Cult of the Great Eleven that was used in this podcast.

Cite your sources:

Fort, Samuel. Cult of the Great Eleven. Nisirtu Publishing, 2015.

Rassmussen, Cecilia. “Divine Order's Tale Smacks of Cult Fiction.” Los Angeles Times, 23 May 1999, articles.latimes.com/1999/may/23/local/me-40217.

“Who Was King Solomon in the Bible?” What Christians Want To Know RSS, www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/who-was-king-solomon-in-the-bible/.

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Strange Country Ep. 42: Karl Tanzler

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Springtime is in full bloom and we feel it is time for a lov...a glove story. On this episode of Strange Country, join Kelly and Beth down a path of discovery on what truly is real love and what is just plain messed up. Count Carl von Cosol was a radiologist in Key West Florida in the 1930's when he met what he thought was his true love, a beautiful young married Cuban woman named Maria Elena Milagro del Hoyos. The only problem is that the love was not returned and sadly she died. This is where the story should end. But in Strange Country stories you know better Dash Hounds! It has only just begun. Listen in and see if we can get through the gory details.

Cite Your Sources:

Meek, Miki. Dr. Stranglove, This American Life. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/610/grand-gesture/act-one

Swicegood, Thomas. VonCosol. https://www.amazon.com/Von-Cosel-Tom-Swicegood/dp/0595656897

Harrison, Ben. Undying Love: The True Story of A Passion the Defied Death

http://www.flkeysnews.com/entertainment/article195067579.html

http://www.theatre-news.com/news/UK/55019/Wade-McCollum-to-star-in-world-premiere-of-It-Happened-in-Key-West

Machlaclan, Sarah. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

Nelson, Brad, Sarah Maclachlan Fumbling Towards Ecstatsy. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sarah-mclachlan-fumbling-towards-ecstasy/

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Strange Country Ep. 41: Shirley Mason

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Before the book Sybil, there were only a handful of cases of Multiple Personality Disorder. After the book, the number exploded. But was Sybil's story all it was said to be? Her mother's orgies in the woods with teenage girls, her mother defecating on the lawns of neighbors, giving Sybil ice-water enemas? Or was it all suggested by a therapist while the patient was hopped up on a variety of barbiturates and methamphetamine? In Strange Country Ep. 41, co-hosts Beth and Kelly look into the debunking the story of Sybil whose real name was Shirley Mason and the behavior of her beloved therapist Dr. Cornelia Wilbur.

Make Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case by Debbie Nathan your book club selection and then meet Beth at Cazenovia Bagels to talk about

As always, give credit where credit is due:

Inglis-Arkell, Esther. “What Truths Does ‘Truth Serum’ Sodium Pentothal Actually Reveal?” io9, io9.Gizmodo.com, 19 Apr. 2012, io9.gizmodo.com/5902559/what-truths-does-truth-serum-actually-reveal.

Nathan, Debbie. Sybil Exposed: the Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case. Free Press, 2012.

RetroReport. Sybil: A Brilliant Hysteric? The New York Times, 24 Nov. 2014, www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000003250377/sybil-a-brilliant-hysteric.html.

“Tapes Raise New Doubts About 'Sybil' Personalities.” The New York Times, 19 Aug. 1998, www.nytimes.com/1998/08/19/us/tapes-raise-new-doubts-about-sybil-personalities.html?action=click&contentCollection=Magazine&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article.

“Vitamin Deficiency Anemia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 Nov. 2016, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitamin-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355025.

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Strange Country Ep. 39: Cat Spies

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Project Acoustic Kitty is not the name of a 1990s band, but a CIA surveillance program involving cats as spies. . . until CIA researchers realized that they were working with cats and cats never do what humans want. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly talk about this failed experiment and wonder if hermit crabs would have been the better choice. And if you feel your pet is watching you...it is. For the C.I.A.

Cite your sources!

Bruel, Nick. Bad Kitty Takes the Test. Square Fish, an Imprint of Macmillian Publishing Group, LLC, 2018.

Eschner, Kat. “The CIA Experimented On Animals in the 1960s Too. Just Ask 'Acoustic Kitty'.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 8 Aug. 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cia-experimented-animals-1960s-too-just-ask-acoustic-kitty-180964313/.

King, Bart. The Big Book of Spy Stuff. G. Smith, 2011.

LaFrance, Adrienne. “That Time the CIA Bugged a Cat to Spy on the Soviets.” The Atlantic, 24 June 2015, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/06/acoustic-kitty-technological-history-of-american-espionage/396728/.

Scoccia, Tom. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier. . . Illusionist?” Boston Globe, 1 Nov. 2009, archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/11/01/when_the_cia_tried_its_hand_at_magic/.

Soniak, Matt. “The CIA Plan to Use Cats as Spies (and the Taxi That Ruined It).” Mental Floss, 21 May 2011, mentalfloss.com/article/27790/cia-plan-use-cats-spies-and-taxi-ruined-it.

Vanderbilt, Tom. “The CIA's Most Highly-Trained Spies Weren't Even Human.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Oct. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-cias-most-highly-trained-spies-werent-even-human-20149/.

Wallace, Robert, et al. Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, From Communism to Al-Qaeda. Bantam, 2010.

Waxman, Olivia B. “That Time the CIA Tried to Train Cats to Be Spies.” Time, 26 July 2017, time.com/4868642/cia-anniversary-national-security-act-cats/.

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Strange Country Ep. 38: Cardiff Giant

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Strange Country digs deep into the muck and mire and humbuggery that was the Cardiff Giant. Co-hosts Beth and Kelly discuss how people were hoodwinked by the 10-foot tall petrified naked dude and perhaps why people like to be fooled. And did we mention the statue was naked?

Cite Your Sources:

Andrews, Evan. The Cardiff Giant Fools the Nation 145 Years Ago. History.com, October 16, 2014.

Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit. Why We Lie. National Geographic, March 2017.

Gypsum- Wikipedia!!!

Luther, Roger. Treasures in the Tier, Giants in the Industry. http://nyslandmarks.com/treasures/12jul.htm, accessed April 2018.

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Strange Country Ep. 36: Morgellons disease

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Is Morgellons disease real or is it one of those women diseases caused by our wandering uteri? Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly look into this alleged condition and the many ways women are dismissed by the medical community.

Cite Your Sources:

“Borrelia Burgdorferi.” Bay Area Lyme Foundation, www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/what-causes-lyme-disease/borrelia-burgdorferi/.

Brown, Frederick M. “The Bizarre Backstory of Joni Mitchell's Chronic Illness.” The Cut, 3 Apr. 2015, www.thecut.com/2015/04/joni-mitchells-bizarre-medical-mystery.html.

Cara, Ed. “Morgellons Skin Disease Isn't Real Doctors Say, But Its Sufferers Haven't Gone Away.” Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2016, www.newsweek.com/2016/08/12/morgellons-skin-disease-485638.html.

Dusenbery, Maya. Doing Harm: the Truth about How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick. HarperOne, 2018.

Engelhardt, Katie. NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/leftfield/video/does-lyme-disease-cause-morgellons-1097342531585.

Harlan, Chico. “Mom Fights for Answers on What's Wrong with Her Son.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23 July 2006, www.post-gazette.com/local/2006/07/23/Mom-fights-for-answers-on-what-s-wrong-with-her-son/stories/200607230221.

“History of Lyme Disease.” Bay Area Lyme Foundation, www.bayarealyme.org/about-lyme/history-lyme-disease/.

Levy, Sara Gaynes. “Another Reason We Need More Female Doctors: Their Patients Live Longer.” Glamour, 20 Dec. 2016, www.glamour.com/story/study-finds-patients-with-female-doctors-live-longer.

McFadden, Cynthia. “Nightline.” Morgellons' Mystery, ABC, 16 Jan. 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOjgOJ6csPU.

“Morgellons Disease: Managing a Mysterious Skin Condition.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 1 Apr. 2015, www.mayoclinic.org/morgellons-disease/art-20044996.

“The Morgellons Mystery.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 9 June 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200703/the-morgellons-mystery.

Nedelman, Michael. “For Decades, Women Had Heart Attacks in Silence.” CNN, 14 Feb. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/02/10/health/women-heart-attack-research/index.html.

Nelson, Jeff. “Joni Mitchell Says Battle with Rare Morgellons Disease Makes Her Feel Like She's Being 'Eaten Alive'.” People, 12 Oct. 2017, people.com/music/joni-mitchell-morgellons-syndrome-mysterious-disease-eaten-alive/.

Schopen, Fay. “ The Healthcare Gender Bias: Do Men Get Better Medical Treatment?” The Guardian, 20 Nov. 2017, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/20/healthcare-gender-bias-women-pain.

Storr, Will. “Morgellons: A Hidden Epidemic or Mass Hysteria?” The Guardian, 6 May 2011, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/may/07/morgellons-mysterious-illness.

Thorpe, JR. “Women Who Defied Gender Roles Were Once Imprisoned In Asylums.” Bustle, Bustle, 20 Mar. 2018, www.bustle.com/p/women-who-defied-gender-roles-were-once-imprisoned-in-asylums-55320

What Is Morgellons? | The CEHF, www.thecehf.org/what-is-morgellons.html.

Women's Health Research: Problems, Pitfalls, and Promise. Institute Of Medicine, 2010, www.nap.edu/resource/12908/Womens-Health-Research-2010-Report-Brief.pdf.

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Strange Country Ep. 35: Ghost Stories from Wells College

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Breakout your switchblades and grab a fire extinguisher, it's time for ghost stories from Wells College. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly share some creepy tales from the once all-women's college in picturesque Aurora, NY, compiled by Wells College librarians no less!

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Strange Country Ep. 33: Victoria Woodhull

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Victoria Woodhull is probably best known as the first woman to run for president, but her life encompassed so much more at a time when ladies were told to do less. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly explore this unusual life as well as their shoddy memory, tonsil gas-lighting, and the swinger lifestyle.

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Strange Country Ep. 32: The ABCs of Ladydom

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Do you ever wish you could find the perfect rule book to guide your behavior as a young lady that happened to be in perfect alphabetical order? Well look no further than Charles Varle exceedingly long titled book mentioned in the podcast because it's way too long to type here. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly go through this list although many of the rules involve not talking so get ready for some awkward silences and weird stuff about holes.

Sources cited:

Boydston, Jeanne. “Cult of True Womanhood.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/resources/index.html?body=culthood.html. Accessed 28 Aug. 2017.

“Charles Varlé plan of Philadelphia (1796) - Rare & Antique Maps.” Boston Rare Maps, bostonraremaps.com/inventory/charles-varle-philadelphia-1796/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2017.

“Philadelphia, Varle, Charles P. 1802.” Philadelphia. / Varle, Charles P. / 1802, www.davidrumsey.com/maps5482.html. Accessed 19 Aug. 2017.

Varle, Charles. Moral Encyclopaedia Or Varle's Self Instructor No. 3. New York, NY, M'Elrath & Bangs, 1831, books.google.com/books?id=-fMTAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP10&lpg=PP10&dq=charles varle&source=bl&ots=EiqOxeJ80F&sig=5DAE9eXOPCc4sfz4YMifEuq6zDA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjavOHA6ePVAhVq4YMKHXV5AFs4ChDoAQg_MAc#v=onepage&q=charles%20varle&f=false. Accessed 25 Aug. 2017.

Weeks, Linton. “18 Rules Of Behavior For Young Ladies In 1831.” NPR, NPR, 20 Nov. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/11/20/456224571/18-rules-of-behavior-for-young-ladies-in-1831. Accessed 28 Aug. 2017.

Artwork
GUID 01bf5491198af6cc06ecc75f58181949 Created Monday, Mar 12, 2018 6:35 PM Last Updated Monday, Mar 12, 2018 6:35 PM

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Strange Country Ep. 31: Boston Corbett

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You likely can easily name the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, but what about the guy who killed John Wilkes Booth? Strange Country Ep. 31 focuses on the strange, mercury-filled life of Boston Corbett, the hatter, who fired that fatal shot. Much credit to Scott Martelle's fascinating book, Madman and the Assassin.

Cite your sources:

“Boston Corbett Hopelessly Insane.” The New York Times, 6 Oct. 1887, www.nytimes.com/1887/10/06/archives/boston-corbett-hopelessly-insane.html.

“Boston Corbett – The Mad Hatter who Killed John Wilkes Booth.” New England Historical Society, 2 Sept. 2016, www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/boston-corbett-mad-hatter-killed-john-wilkes-booth/.

Corbett, Boston. “The Manner of Booth's Death Letter from Boston Corbett.” The New York Times, 15 May 1865, www.nytimes.com/1865/05/15/archives/the-manner-of-booths-death-letter-from-boston-corbett.html.

Furgurson, Ernest B. “The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot Lincoln.” The American Scholar, 30 Jan. 2018, theamericanscholar.org/the-man-who-shot-the-man-who-shot-lincoln/#.WonLExPwZAZ.\

Greenspan, Jesse. “The Other Targets of Booth's Murder Conspiracy.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 15 Apr. 2015, www.history.com/news/the-other-targets-of-booths-murder-conspiracy.

Halvorsen, Richard. Dr Richard Halvorsen, www.drhalvorsen.co.uk/mad_hatter_mercury.html.

“He Killed Lincoln's Killer, Then Lived In A Hole, Concordia, Kansas.” RoadsideAmerica.com, www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16178.

History.com Staff. “Abraham Lincoln's Assassination.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/abraham-lincoln-assassination.

History.com Staff. “Andersonville.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/andersonville.

Jensen, Bill. “The Insane Story of the Guy Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln.” Washingtonian, 21 Oct. 2016, www.washingtonian.com/2015/04/12/the-man-who-killed-john-wilkes-booth/.

Kang, Lydia, and Nate Pedersen. Quackery: a brief history of the worst ways to cure everything. Workman Publishing, 2017.

Mae, Janice Rachael Dr. “Mad Hatter Disease.” HealthGuidance.org, www.healthguidance.org/entry/17695/1/Mad-Hatter-Disease.html.

Martelle, Scott. Madman and the assassin: the strange life of boston corbett, the man who killed john wilkes ... booth. Chicago Review, 2017.

Swanson, James L. “The Final Hours of John Wilkes Booth.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 8 Apr. 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/final-hours-john-wilkes-booth-180954853/.

Wadja, Shirley. “Ending the Danbury Shakes: A Story of Workers Rights and Corporate Responsibility.” ConnecticutHistoryorg, connecticuthistory.org/ending-the-danbury-shakes-a-story-of-workers-rights-and-corporate-responsibility/.

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Strange Country Ep. 30: Centralia

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Strange Country Ep. 29: Maria Halpin

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Grover Cleveland was one of those nondescript walrus-mustached presidents that everyone forgets about, but he made an impact on the life of Maria Halpin. Strange Country co-hosts explore Cleveland's shady past and shed light on a woman's story more people should know.

Sources used:

“Cleveland signs devastating Dawes Act into law.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cleveland-signs-devastating-dawes-act-into-law.

Dotinga, Randy. “A Presidential Sex Scandal, 1884-Style.” The Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2011, www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/0729/A-presidential-sex-scandal-1884-style.

History.com Staff. “Grover Cleveland.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/grover-cleveland.

Keiles, Jamie Lauren. “Grover Cleveland, a Rapist President.” Broadly, 26 Aug. 2015, broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/wjeeyx/grover-cleveland-a-rapist-president.

Lachman, Charles. “Grover Cleveland's Sex Scandal: The Most Despicable in American Political History.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 23 May 2011, www.thedailybeast.com/grover-clevelands-sex-scandal-the-most-despicable-in-american-political-history.

Lachman, Charles. Secret life: The lies and scandals of president Grover Cleveland. Skyhorse Publishing, 2012.

Schupman, Edwin. “Boarding Schools: Struggling with Cultural Repression.” Native Words Native Warriors, National Museum of the American Indian, www.nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter3.html.

Schlossberg, Tatiana. “Love Christmas Lights? Thank the 22nd President.” The New York Times, 16 Dec. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/us/the-history-of-christmas-lights.html.

Serratore, Angela. “President Cleveland's Problem Child.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 26 Sept. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/president-clevelands-problem-child-100800/.

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Strange Country Ep. 28: Mike the Chicken

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Maybe listening to this podcast makes you feel like a chicken with its head cut off. But that means you're likely in line to make some serious cash unlike the cohosts of Strange Country. Listen to them discuss the infamous headless Mike and maybe finally give an answer to the infernal question: what came first the headless chicken or the deformed egg?

Cite your source for the love of chicken:

“Common Chicken Sayings Idioms Other Funny Things We Say.” BackYard Chickens, www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-chicken-sayings-idioms-other-funny-things-we-say.47662/.

Frauenfelder, Mark. The World's Worst: A Guide to the Most Disgusting, Hideous, Inept, and Dangerous People, Places, and Things on Earth , May 5, 2005.

“Making Money From a Headless Chicken. Plucking Oppoertunity in the US” Sept. 12, 2015. The Island. http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=131629. Accessed Feb. 2018.

Silverman , Steve. “Einsteins refrigerator : And other stories|EINSTEINS REFRIGERATOR - KYMQFPDWWLI VQ.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/kymqfpdwwlivq/einsteins-refrigerator-and-other-stories-einsteins-refrigerator.

“The Chicken that Lived Without a Head for 18 Months.” September 2015. The BBC

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Strange Country Ep. 27: The Hills

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Do you believe in UFOs? Alien abductions? In the 1960s, there were a slew of these reports, the most famous being Betty and Barney Hill who claimed they were abducted and experimented on by aliens. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly explore this phenomena and uncover deep truths about themselves, mainly that Beth has no idea how to say dachshund

Sources and more sources:

Blumenthal, Ralph. “On the Trail of a Secret Pentagon U.F.O. Program.” New York Times, 18 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/insider/secret-pentagon-ufo-program.html.

Carey, Benedict. “Explaining Those Vivid Memories of Martian Kidnappers.” New York Times, 9 Aug. 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/health/explaining-those-vivid-memories-of-martian-kidnappers.html.

Colavito, Jason. “Alien Abduction at the Outer Limits.” Jason Colavito, www.jasoncolavito.com/alien-abduction-at-the-outer-limits.html.

“Exeter UFO Festival.” Exeter UFO Festival, www.exeterufofestival.org/.

Fox, Margalit. “Betty Hill, 85, Figure in Alien Abduction Case, Dies.” New York Times, 23 Oct. 2004, www.nytimes.com/2004/10/23/us/betty-hill-85-figure-in-alien-abduction-case-dies.html.

Friedman, Stanton T., and Kathleen Marden. Captured!: the Betty and Barney Hill UFO experience. New Page Books, 2007.

Fuller, John G. The Interrupted Journey. Dial Press, First eBook edition 2015, books.google.com/books?id=i-xWDQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Harris, Paul. “Cold War Hysteria Sparked UFO Obsession, Study Finds.” The Guardian, 5 May 2002, www.theguardian.com/science/2002/may/05/spaceexploration.research.

History.com Staff. “History of UFOs.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/history-of-ufos.

McGaha, James, and Joe Nickel. “'Exeter Incident' Solved! A Classic UFO Case, Forty-Five Years 'Cold'.” CSI, 2011, www.csicop.org/si/show/exeter_incident_solved_a_classic_ufo_case_forty-five_years_cold.

Radford, Benjamin. “Alien Abduction: Looking Back at America's First Case.” LiveScience, Purch, 17 Apr. 2009, www.livescience.com/3530-alien-abduction-america-case.html.

Watson, Nigel. “The Hill Abduction.” SkepticReport, www.skepticreport.com/sr/?p=156.

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Strange Country Ep. 26: Warren G. Harding

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Warren G. Harding is usually the first on the list of worst presidents....until now. But what is really strange is his death. Or is it? Co-hosts Beth and Kelly explore the death of Harding and dispel the myth that his wife had anything to do with although Kelly wouldn't blame her if she did. The bigger mystery is who is Jerry???

Cite your sources:

Beck, Julie. "Americanitis: The Disease of Living Too Fast." The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/the-history-of-neurasthenia-or-americanitis-health-happiness-and-culture/473253/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.

Bomboy, Scott. "Generations Later, President Warren Harding's Sudden Death Recalled.” Constitution Daily, 1 Aug. 2017, constitutioncenter.org/blog/after-90-years-president-warren-hardings-death-still-unsettled.

Eschner, Kate. "Florence Harding, Not Eleanor Roosevelt, May Have Created the Modern First Lady.” Smithsonian.Com, 15 Aug. 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/florence-harding-roosevelt-modern-first-lady-180964486/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.

Ferrell, Robert H. The strange deaths of President Harding. University of Missouri Press, 1996.

"First Lady Biography: Florence Harding." National First Ladies' Library, www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=30. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.

Greenspan, Jesse. "The Unexpected Death of President Harding, 90 Years Ago." History.com, 2 Aug. 2013, www.history.com/news/the-unexpected-death-of-president-harding-90-years-ago. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.

Smith, Jordan Michael. “The Letters that Warren G. Harding's Family Didn't Want You to See.” The New York Times Magazine, 7 July 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/magazine/letters-warren-g-harding.html?_r=0.

Kang, Lydia, and Nate Pedersen. Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. New York, Workman Publishing, 2017.

Markel, Howard. "The 'Strange' Death of Warren G. Harding." PBS News Hour, 2 Aug. 2015, www.pbs.org/newshour/health/strange-death-warren-harding.

Nawsaw, David. "Worst Lady? The Wife of Warren Harding May Have Been the First Lady of Deceit.” The New York Times, 2 Aug. 1998, Books sec. The New York Times On The Web, www.nytimes.com/ books/98/08/02/reviews/980802.02nasawt.html. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.

Tolson, Jay. "Worst Presidents: Warren Harding (1921-1923)." U.S. News & World Report, 16 Feb. 2007, www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/the-worst-presidents/articles/2014/12/17/ worst-presidents-warren-harding-1921-1923. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.

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Strange Country Ep. 25: The Loomis Gang

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Hang onto your muffs! Or at least hide it on your leg so Cordelia Loomis can't get to it. Strange Country Episode 25 is all about the Loomis Gang, a family of horse thieves who stole horses and a bunch of other stuff in the mid-1800s near Cazenovia NY. Hey isn't that where Cazenovia Bagels is?

Cite Your Sources Man…

Thompson, W. Harold. Body, Boots & Britches. Dover Publications, New York. 1962

Loomis family- horse thieves, used the Erie canal to Albany and sell the horses to the Army. PA to Canada- their network. The Civil War was very profitable for the gang.

http://www.oneidadispatch.com/article/OD/20060515/NEWS/305159997

https://beekman1802.com/the-loomis-gang/

https://www.watervillepl.org/wp-content/uploads//2013/05/LoomisFamilyHistory.pdf

https://www.theoutbound.com/new-york/kayaking/paddle-the-nine-mile-swamp

http://www.cnyhomepage.com/news/hidden-history-wash-loomis-part-1/847890340

https://cnyartifactrecovery.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/loomis-gang/

http://reprints.longform.org/loomis-gang

The Loomis Gang Brian Peter Falk documentary.

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Strange Country Ep. 24: New England Vampires

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When you feel a slight cold coming on, do you have the desire to dig up a dead family member and burn his heart for your cure? If so, then this episode is for you. Strange Country explores the anti-vampire rituals in 18th- and 19th-century New England that were used to ward off consumption. While it may suck, this episode sure doesn't.

Sources used:

Bard, Megan . “In 1854, Vampire Panic Struck Connecticut Town.” The Register Citizen, 8 Nov. 2008, www.registercitizen.com/news/article/In-1854-vampire-panic-struck-Connecticut-town-12156066.php.

Bell, Michael E. Food for the dead: on the trail of New Englands vampires. Wesleyan University Press, 2011.

Bendici, Ray. “The Jewett City Vampires, Griswold.” Damned Connecticut, www.damnedct.com/the-jewett-city-vampires-griswold.

Johnson, Kirk. “28 Graves Giving Up Secrets of the 1700's.” The New York Times, 10 Sept. 1992, www.nytimes.com/1992/09/10/nyregion/28-graves-giving-up-secrets-of-the-1700-s.html.

Little, Becky. “The Bloody Truth About Vampires.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 27 Oct. 2016, news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/vampires-europe-new-england-halloween-history/.

Mandal, MD Dr Ananya. “History of Tuberculosis.” News-Medical.net, 30 Oct. 2017, www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-Tuberculosis.aspx.

Odone, Jamison. “Poor Nancy Young, the Suspected Teen Vampire of Rhode Island.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 10 Jan. 2017, www.atlasobscura.com/articles/poor-nancy-young-the-suspected-teen-vampire-of-rhode-island.

Pringle, Heather. “Archaeologists Suspect Vampire Burial; An Undead Primer.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 15 July 2013, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130715-vampire-archaeology-burial-exorcism-anthropology-grave/.

Thomson, Samuel. New guide to health: or, Botanic family physician. Containing a complete system of practice, upon a plan entirely new: with a description of the vegetables made use of, and directions for preparing and administering them to cure disease. To which is added a description of several cases of disease attended by the author, with the mode of treatment and cure. Vt., 1851, archive.org/details/cihm_01684.

Tucker, Abigail. “The Great New England Vampire Panic.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Oct. 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/.

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Strange Country Ep. 23: Patricia Hearst

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Nothing…not too much wine or Hermione the cat laying on the computer keyboard and pausing the show mid word can stop co-hosts Beth and Kelly from diving into the deep, dark depths of the Patricia Hearst kidnapping. On Feb. 4, 1974, three members to the Symbionese Liberation Army, crashed into Hearst’s apartment, threw the newspaper heiress into the trunk and continued their failed revolution. Beth and Kelly also learn much about themselves—mainly that Beth refuses to be defined by driving a minivan.

Sources used:

The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst. Smithsonian Channel, www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/the-lost-tapes/patty-hearst/1004513/3437440.

Toobin, Jeffrey. American heiress: the kidnapping, crimes and trial of Patty Hearst. Profile Books, 2017.