Month: August 2022

Michael Bay, if you’re listening, we made this episode for you. To the rest of our listeners, we agree movie explosions can be great, but in this episode, we’re discussing the real-life science behind why some chemicals go boom and the dangers associated with them when they do. We go into detail about two terrifying, recent explosions, one in a Texas Tech laboratory and the other at the port of Beirut. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, or iHeartRadio.

To see pictures of damage from the Texas Tech explosion, visit this link: https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2012-07-09-texastechlaboratoryexplosion.pdf?sfvrsn=e9ae1ef8_6

For pictures of the damage associated with the Port of Beirut incident, visit this link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493

Here is the full list of our sources:

1. https://www.csb.gov/texas-tech-university-chemistry-lab-explosion/
2. https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2012-07-09-texastechlaboratoryexplosion.pdf?sfvrsn=e9ae1ef8_6
3. https://www.chem.fsu.edu/chemlab/chm1020c/Lecture%207/03.php
4. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-security-blast-explosive-fact/what-is-ammonium-nitrate-and-why-is-it-dangerous-idUSKCN25126F
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/nichols1107.htm
6. https://inchemistry.acs.org/atomic-news/the-boom-in-fireworks.html
7. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.657996/full
8. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493
9. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/world/europe/1921-deadly-chemical-works-explosion-in-germany.html
10. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2020/08/06/379330/chemical-in-beirut-explosion-was-also-behind-two-texas-disasters/
11. https://www.science.org/content/article/absolutely-horrendous-scientists-discuss-beirut-s-blast-and-how-they-are-coping-its
12. https://www.llnl.gov/news/just-how-big-was-2020-beirut-explosion
13. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/09/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion.html
14. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-ammonium-nitrate-the-chemical-that-exploded-in-beirut/
15. https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/chemistry-behind-Beirut-explosion/98/web/2020/08
16. https://www.cas.org/resource/blog/ammonium-nitrate
17. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02361-x

Surprise! We’re talking all things spooky caves in this bonus episode we recorded last fall with the incomparable Sara Head of the Archaeological Fantasies podcast. Listen to hear us discuss the use and mythology about caves from prehistory to current-day TikTok conspiracies. This episode is a bit less polished than our regular ones, but we hope you enjoy this deep dive into the creepy world of caves! Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, or iHeartRadio.

You can find Sara on Twitter @ArchyFantasies, or on these podcasts: Archaeological Fantasies, Paranormal Archaeology, and Digging to the Other Side.

View the Missing 411 maps here: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/missing-persons-cave-maps/

Photos of the Crystal Maiden skeleton in the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-crystal-maiden-of-the-actun-tunichil-muknal-cave-belize

Here are our sources:

1. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26208873
2. https://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/04/28/cave.deaths/index.html
3. https://www.archaeology.org/issues/96-1307/trenches/962-greece-portals-underworld-neolithic
4. https://magazine.mayaluxe.com/articles//cenotes-of-yucatan-sacred-portals-to-the-maya-paradise
5. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/11-hidden-spots-to-enter-the-underworld
6. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2014-5-september-october/green-life/spelunkers-beware-these-are-5-spookiest-caves-america
7. https://www.ladbible.com/community/weird-conspiracy-theorist-says-people-are-going-missing-in-cannibal-caves-20210525
8. https://www.thesmokies.com/dennis-martin-feral-humans/
9. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/getting-lost-cave-labyrinth-brain/582865/
10. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journey-oldest-cave-paintings-world-180957685/
11. https://www.science101.com/why-the-catacombs-in-paris-are-dubbed-the-gate-to-hell/
12. https://drivinvibin.com/2021/05/04/national-parks-home-to-feral-people/
13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-018-0599-5
14. https://nypost.com/2018/02/20/theres-a-good-reason-why-people-suddenly-died-near-roman-portal-to-hell/
15. https://www.cometoparis.com/paris-guide/paris-monuments/the-catacombs-of-paris-s955
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris
17. https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/ts/2018/02/02/paris-from-quarry-to-catacombs/

In our fourth Spooky True Crime episode, we’re taking you back to Pennsylvania Dutch country in 1928 for the story of the Hex Hollow murder. Listen to hear about the traditional medicine and folk magic traditions of Brauche or Powwow, and what happens when we succumb to fear and suspicion to try to remedy a string of bad luck.

Link with pictures from a tour of the Hex Hollow House: https://housecrazysarah.life/the-house-at-hex-hollow/

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, or iHeartRadio.

Here are our sources:

1. Supernatural with Ashley Flowers, Episode 62
2. Lore podcast, Episode 62: Desperate Measures
3. Morbid podcast, Episode 153
4. https://the-line-up.com/hex-hollow-nelson-rehmeyer
5. https://www.ydr.com/story/news/history/blogs/york-town-square/2017/10/14/murder-and-witchcraft-incredible-story-york-countys-hex-murder/764018001/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehmeyer%27s_Hollow
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_tripping
8. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rehmeyers-hollow
9. https://occult-world.com/blymire-john/
10. https://www.glencairnmuseum.org/newsletter/2017/3/2/powwowing-in-pennsylvania
11. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-metro-justice-story-rehmeyer-20181121-story.html
12. https://www.ydr.com/story/news/history/blogs/york-town-square/2009/12/06/hex-murder-rehmayer/31681709/
13. https://www.wgal.com/article/tales-of-witchcraft-spells-murder-surround-rehmeyer-s-hollow/6239526