History Unhinged: Rainy Day Rabbit Holes

Latest Episodes:

Unhinged History Tours: Tacoma's Own Hogwarts, Stadium High School Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

🕯️ Exploring Tacoma's Hidden History: The Stadium High School Tour
In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea and Jody embark on a delightful adventure through the iconic Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington, a building that looks more like a castle than a high school. Join us as we dive into the fascinating history of this architectural wonder, originally designed as a luxurious hotel for the Northern Pacific Railroad before being transformed into a public school in 1906.
Our hosts share their excitement about the Pretty Gritty Tours, the company behind this unique experience, and reveal what makes their tours stand out from the rest. With humor and storytelling that captivates, Chris Staudinger, the tour guide, brings the history of Stadium High to life, from its stunning views to its eerie legends. Shea even shares her experiences as a newly minted tour guide, showcasing the hidden gems of the school, including the underground pool and the mysterious attic.
Whether you're a history buff, a fan of the cult classic film "10 Things I Hate About You," or just curious about Tacoma's quirkiest spots, this episode is packed with laughs, insights, and a few ghost stories to boot!
🎓 Join us for this enchanting journey through Tacoma's past and discover why Stadium High School is a must-see destination! Go to www.prettygrittytours.com to sign up!
⏳ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes!
02:00 - Introduction to Pretty Gritty Tours
05:30 - The History of Stadium High School
10:00 - The Tour Experience: What to Expect
15:00 - Chris Stoder: The Storyteller Extraordinaire
20:00 - Hidden Gems: The Underground Pool and More
25:00 - Ghost Stories and Eerie Legends
30:00 - Final Thoughts and Recommendations
🎧 Love the show? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.
🔗 Discover 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.
Show notes created by https://headliner.app

Sourtoe Cocktail Club Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

🍹 The Sour Toe Cocktail: A Toast to the Absurd in Dawson City
You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch the toe.
In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we venture into the chilling and bizarre history of Dawson City's infamous Sour Toe Cocktail Club. Join Shea and Jody as they unravel the chilling tale of how a mummified toe became the key ingredient in a drink that has captivated the curious and the brave alike.
Set against the backdrop of the Yukon Territory in the 1920s, we meet bootlegging brothers whose ill-fated adventure leads to a gruesome DIY surgery that would ultimately preserve a toe for posterity. Fast forward to 1973, when Captain Dick Stevenson discovers this preserved digit, sparking the creation of the now-legendary cocktail that requires patrons to kiss the toe in order to join the exclusive Sour Toe Cocktail Club.
With stories of missing toes, drunken antics, and the bizarre lengths people go to for a night of fun, you'll be both horrified and amused by the lengths to which humans will go in the name of a good time. Can you believe over 100,000 people have dared to sip from this macabre concoction? Would you be brave enough to join them?
💀 Grab your drink and join us as we toast to the strange, the unhinged, and the downright absurd!
⏳ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes!
02:00 - Dawson City: A Brief Overview
05:15 - Meet the Bootlegging Brothers
09:30 - The Toe Amputation and Its Aftermath
14:00 - Captain Dick Stevenson and the Birth of the Sour Toe Cocktail
18:45 - The Ritual of the Sour Toe Cocktail
23:00 - Tales of Missing Toes and Wild Antics
28:30 - The Legacy of the Sour Toe Cocktail Club
🎧 Love the show? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.
🔗 Discover 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.
Show notes created by https://headliner.app

The Clown Who Built Seattle Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

🎪 JP Patches: Seattle's Beloved Clown in a Garbage Wonderland
In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we dive into the chaotic and hilarious world of JP Patches, the iconic clown who ruled Seattle's airwaves from 1958 to 1981. Known for his questionable hygiene and absurd antics, JP Patches was anything but your typical children's show host. Join Shea and Jody as they explore the life of Chris Weeds, the man behind the clown, and how he became a beloved figure for generations of Pacific Northwest kids.
From his humble beginnings in Minneapolis to becoming the "mayor of the city dump," JP's off-the-cuff performances and improvisational style made him a staple of live television. We'll reminisce about the wild characters that populated his show, including the unforgettable Gertrude, and how JP's genuine kindness left a lasting impact on the community. Did he really have the ability to see kids through the TV? And what was the deal with all those bizarre props?
💖 Join us as we celebrate the legacy of a man who brought joy to countless children, proving that sometimes a little chaos and absurdity are exactly what we need.
⏳ Chapters & Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes!
02:00 - Who was JP Patches?
05:30 - The Birth of a Clown Legend
09:15 - The Wild World of Live Television
12:45 - Meet Gertrude and Other Zany Characters
16:00 - JP Patches and the Kids of Seattle
20:30 - The Legacy of JP: A Lasting Impact
🎧 Love the show? Get ad-free episodes and bonus content by joining our Patreon or Spreaker Supporters Club! Support us at rainydayrabbitholes.com/support.
🔗 Explore more unhinged history at rainydayrabbitholes.com.
https://jppatches.com/
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

The Moss Man of Idaho Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

🔥 How does a man end up naked in a hot spring for 28 days?
In 1984, a man Outside Magazine dubbed “Slim Becker” took an ill-advised winter soak in Idaho’s Frenchman’s Bend Hot Springs. His clothes froze solid, leaving him stuck, exposed, and slowly transforming into Moss Man.
From hallucinations of wolves to a bizarre town festival in his honor, this story is as absurd as it is unbelievable.
😱 Did he survive? Did he learn his lesson? And why did a guy on a snowmobile give him a beer instead of helping him out?!
⏳ Chapters & Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes – New Format Announcement!
02:00 - How NOT to enjoy Idaho’s hot springs
04:10 - The moment Slim realizes he messed up
06:00 - 28 Days Later: The Moss Man Transformation
09:12 - A town celebrates his terrible decisions
12:00 - Final thoughts: Would you do this?
🎧 Get ad-free episodes & bonus content! Join Patreon or Spreaker Supporter’s Club → rainydayrabbitholes.com/support
🔗 More weird history: rainydayrabbitholes.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

Sex on the Lewis & Clark Expedition Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

Lewis & Clark: Mapping the West, Bedding the Best
How the Corps of Discovery paddled their way up Coochie Creek.
Episode Summary: Think Lewis & Clark were just noble explorers charting the wilderness? Think again. While the Corps of Discovery mapped new lands, they also explored forested ravines (wink wink), spreading their “big medicine” across the continent. From spiritual sex ceremonies to questionable medicine (hello, penis syringes!), this episode uncovers the raunchy reality behind one of America’s greatest expeditions.
Mentioned in This Episode:

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.

The Pig Wars: Rainy Day Rewind Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

Hogging The Headlines: The Pig Wars
🐷💥 The dumbest war in Pacific Northwest history started with… a pig? That’s right! The infamous Pig War of the 1800s all began when an American settler shot a British pig on San Juan Island, leading to an international standoff between the U.S. and Britain.
Spoiler alert: No humans were harmed, but the drama was deliciously absurd.
Originally recorded as our third episode of the day (when we were well on our way to Tipsy Town), this episode was an instant fan favorite. In this Rainy Day Rewind, we’ve polished it up—shorter, free of swearing, and with 95% fewer drunk mouth noises. But don’t worry, Shea still hilariously mispronounces half the words, and the tangents are just as ridiculous.
Join us as we relive the outrageous series of events that nearly brought two nations to war over a farm animal. Because, honestly, how much more PNW can you get?
Join our supporter's club for bonus episodes, ad-free episodes and more! Check out your options at www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/support
💬 Tell us: What’s the dumbest historical conflict you’ve ever heard of?
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

Mayor Stubbs: Alaska's Fuzziest Politician Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

Join Shea and Jody for a wild ride through Talkeetna, Alaska, where Mayor Stubbs, an orange tabby, ruled with his furry charm for two decades. Learn how this small town’s unconventional politics captured hearts worldwide. Then, laugh along as the duo unpacks the Moose Drop Festival—a quirky event featuring painted moose turds, charity, and a helicopter. From feline mayors to PETA’s hilarious misunderstandings, this episode is packed with whiskered wisdom and Alaskan hijinks.
Chapters:

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.

The Copper Kings Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

What happens when greed, power, and ego collide? Meet Montana’s Copper Kings: the men who turned a mining boom into a chaotic feud that shaped the state forever.
This episode takes you to the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, where Montana's vast copper reserves became a battleground for four larger-than-life figures. From Clark’s blatant bribery to Hines’ legal loopholes and Daily’s relentless grit, discover the petty feuds and cutthroat tactics that defined the era. Learn how their greed built empires, destroyed lives, and left an environmental mess that persists today. Plus, find out why Anaconda almost became Montana’s capital!
Chapters:

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.

Did Free Love Fuel the Suffrage Movement? Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

Free Love & Feminism in 1860s PNW-The Extraordinary Life of Eliza Woodard Hurd DeWolfe
Uncover the wild story of free love advocate Eliza DeWolfe in 1800s Pacific Northwest. Scandal, feminism, and boldness await! Listen now!
Ever wondered how free love, feminism, and scandal shaped the 1800s Pacific Northwest? Join Shea and guest Caitlyn from PNW Haunts and Homicides as they dive into the life of Eliza Woodard Hurd DeWolfe. This episode unravels tales of unconventional relationships, daring dress reform, and the enduring fight for women’s suffrage. Packed with humor, history, and heartfelt moments, it’s a wild ride into the past.Discover the roots of the free love movement and its surprising ties to early feminism.

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.

56. Was Seattle Built on Sex and Scams? Jan 08, 2025

Show notes

If you want ad-free episodes, bonus content, free merch, and eternal happiness—because our podcast is a guaranteed mood booster (probably)—please consider subscribing to us either on Patreon or via the Spreaker Supporters Club. Head to rainydayrabbitholes.com/support for more information.
Discover the outrageous life of Henry Yesler, one of Seattle’s founding fathers! From his free-love lifestyle to wild business schemes, Yesler's story is packed with scandal and surprises. Join Shea and guest Bryon Kershaw (Spirits & Monsters of Old Seattle podcast) for a hilarious and jaw-dropping dive into Seattle history.
What You’ll Learn:

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.

Timestamps: 0:36 – Who was Henry Yesler? 5:35 – Seattle’s real seasons—a hilarious breakdown. 22:57 – Yesler’s lottery scheme—and its messy aftermath. 42:14 – Yesler’s eyebrow-raising marriage scandal.
Don’t miss this deep dive into Seattle’s wild history! Like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments.
https://www.spiritsandmonsters.com/
Sources include Sons of the Profits by Bill Speidel and History Link.org, as always! Big thanks to the historians at historylink.org
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-unhinged-rainy-day-rabbit-holes--6271663/support.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

History Unhinged: Rainy Day Rabbit Holes

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected