History Obscura

Latest Episodes:

The Great Filth of Industrial Britain Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

When Great Britain industrialized, its population boomed--as did cases of disease and piles of garbage. Several commissions had to be arranged to assess the filth of the nation and figure out how to deal with it.

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Music by Fesliyan Studios

Suicide Note from the Heaven’s Gate Cult Apr 26, 2020

Show notes

The Heaven's Gate cult members referred to themselves as The Class, and believed that following their deaths, their souls would be transported to a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp comet in 1997. This is one of the public "Earth Exit Statements" published by a member of the Class just prior to the group's mass suicide.

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Zhang Liuquan, the 1,000-year-old Living Buddha Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

It all started with the fundamental Buddhist belief in minimalism and meditation. After 10 years of eating wood, Zhang Liuquan mummified himself in salt to become a rare Living Buddha.

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The Wedding of Marie Antoinette Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

As a child, this Austrian archduchess bore little resemblance to her elder self; it took a team of 2 French stylists and 1 persistent tutor to transform her into a princess "worthy" of the French court.

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Mysteries of the Arnolfini Portrait Apr 18, 2020

Show notes

Painted in 1434 by the famous Jan Van Eyke, the Arnolfini Portrait is both extremely strange and extremely cryptic. Just who were the people in the double portrait, and what was the biggest secret concealed in Van Eyke's brush strokes?

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Pythagoras & the Semicircle Cult Apr 12, 2020

Show notes

You've probably heard of his famous theorem, but did you know Pythagoras had his own vegetarian cult?

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Radio Recordings of the Lost Cosmonauts Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

Achille and Gian Battista Judica-Cordiglia built their own radio tower in Turin, Italy, intent on listening in on Soviet space missions. The recordings they produced seem to have been the horrifying last moments of many unnamed cosmonauts whose existence the Soviet Union strictly denied.

The first 2 audio clips (played before the episode intro) are allegedly the breathing and heartbeat of a dying Russian Cosmonaut. The recording at the very end of the episode is allegedly the final message of a female Russian cosmonaut as her craft goes out of control.

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Giordano Bruno: A Forgotten Martyr of the Scientific Revolution Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

In 16th-century Italy, being astoundingly intelligent could really take you places--like a hot bonfire, with you as the entertainment. Giordano Bruno is a man we should all know!

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A Scottish Tea Smuggler Who Changed the World Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

Today I'd like to share the story of Robert Fortune, a 19th-century Scottish botanist who has almost certainly affected your life. That is, unless you prefer coffee ;)

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Please support the podcast at www.Patreon.com/HistoryObscura or www.buymeacoffee.com/historyobscura -- thank you!