Muse Stories: The Unusual History of Every Thing

Most people believe in some sort of superstition, whether it's throwing salt over your shoulder to keep the devil away, or preventing bad luck by not walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror. It may seem silly, but these superstitions have been around for thousands of years and are passed down from generation to generation like grandma's keepsakes. Some believe superstitions are super silly, but there are logical origins behind each one. On this episode, we look at the origins of some evil eye superstitions and just how afraid we still are of bad luck and evil spirits. 

We all try to stay healthy and exercise, but the holidays tend to add a few extra pounds to our waistline. Throw in a pandemic or two and staying healthy is tops in our minds. Well, we're here to help. You see, throughout history, various cultures have had the same problems and came up with some unusual food combinations to become healthier. From drinking snail water to roasting sheep lungs and eating a dead body part or two, it's clear to us where modern bizarre health food kicks and medicines come from. On this episode, we help you with your New Year's resolution of staying healthy and avoiding COVID by offering up some tasty treats from history's strangest food remedies. 

The yule log, which wasn't a log at all, but instead an entire tree, is originally a Nordic tradition dating back to medieval times. The burning of the Yule log is one of the oldest pagan rituals, which was lit to entice the sun to return as part of the Yule festival in Scandinavia. On this episode, we explore the history of the yule log and why people refused to cut the tree into pieces before they burned it.

Santa Claus's gift bringing at Christmas time really began in northern and central Europe before spreading to other parts of the world. And some of the things that spread with him were his little helpers. We're not talking about the elves, although they did come along for the ride, no, we're talking about his darker little friends, the ones who handed out punishments. On this episode, we're hanging out in Germany with St. Nick's scary friend who smacks kids with his dirty bag of ashes if they're on the naughty list.

Mistletoe has long been a romantic, fun Christmas tradition, but it didn't start out that way. In fact, the plant is sort of gross when you think about it. On this episode, we look at how a plant that sucks nutrients from its host tree became the symbol for sucking face at Christmas. 

Every house has its quirks, its moans and groans, its creaks and cracks. Most people attribute these sounds to the house settling or the wind blowing against the windows and walls. However many people believe there's something just a tad more supernatural to blame it on. Some blame it on brownies, some point the finger at elves, but in Russia and the Ukraine, the Domovoy is the culprit. On this episode, we investigate one potential reason why so many houses creak, and what could be responsible for that missing left sock. 

As America celebrated Thanksgiving, millions of people prepared their tables with roasted turkey and pumpkin pie, they turned on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and some football, and gathered ‘round the table to sing the traditional Thanksgiving Day song – Jingle Bells. On this episode, we look at the history behind one of the holiday season's most iconic songs, and how it all started with Thanksgiving and made its way into space. 

When you think of dowsing or using divining rods, most people's minds automatically go to the two-pronged sticks used to find water. And that's true, that's what they are said to do. But what most people don't know is that divining rods have been used for thousands of years around the world to find metal, the depth of oil in the ground, hidden tunnels and even bodies buried beneath our feet. On this episode, we look at how diving rods are being used to find more than just water. 

Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages seem to be the parents of a whole host of superstitions many people practice today: carving crosses in Brussels sprouts, fear of the number 13, and this episode's topic: Sneezing out your soul.

Brussels sprouts aren't the favorite of many, and there could be a good reason for that. The often-overboiled side dish comes complete with a mushy texture, yellowed color and a rotten-egg smell that stays in your house and your hair for days. But, if you cook them right, it's a whole other story. And you better cook them right, because some say evil lurks between the leaves. 

The number 13 really does have some baggage attached to it, and not all of it is deserving! We as a society may like to think we aren't superstitious like people from ancient times or even the Middle Ages, but in fact we all still do a lot of things that stem from the superstitions of our ancestors. On this episode, we're going to show you how the number 13 got such a bad rap. 

Although the gargoyle as we know it today stems from medieval France, in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, an early form of the gargoyle took shape first. On this episode, as we gear up for Halloween, we thought we'd chip away at the stony exterior of gargoyles and see what historical goodies we can find. 

Hauntings, as we all know, usually take place in places that have tragic histories. Throw in some paranormal conductors, like water, limestone or fault lines, and you have the makings for the next great scary movie. On this episode, we enter at our own risk three hospitals that were the final resting places for epidemic victims – victims who are said to still call those places home. 

On this episode, we explore the ancient origins of a modern funeral tradition, as well as the strange history of eating someone's sins.  

On this episode, we take a step back in time to when museums were considered collections of objects and not institutions, and Cabinets of Curiosities were prized possessions. 

Blood is the life force of humans and animals alike. And so for thousands of years it was believed that blood would in turn give the gods life, which would make the gods want to do nice things for the people. These blood rituals weren't just animal and human sacrifices, they also included small amounts of blood used in ritualistic ways. On this episode, we examine some archaeological finds that point to a time when blood rituals allowed people to communicate with the gods and seek glory in the afterlife. 

While researching our previous podcast on feminine products, we came across two words that made us stop and think for a minute. On this episode, we take a look at the bloody history of the words “period” and “mittelschmerz.”

One of the most known and treasured fairy tales in history, as it is today, is Cinderella. Almost everyone knows the tale about a young girl who is forced to live as a servant and becomes a princess who lives happily ever after when good triumphs over evil. However, where this story originated, the original meaning, and the full impact of this fairy tale on American society is not as well known. 

There are many incredible, strong, talented women in the world – dead and alive. And in this episode, we want to focus on a small handful who ruled for an unusual length of time, did some odd things along the way, and kicked their enemies' butts up and down their lands.  

Washing your hands seems like common sense, especially if they're dirty. But forget about what we know now about germs, viruses and bacteria. Forget how gross the feeling of gritty dirt is in your mouth because your hands were in the mud when you picked up that apple to take a bite. Forget about changing a baby's diaper and then rubbing your eyes and getting pink eye. Instead, let's focus on how society in general went from cleanliness to dying from infections, back to cleanliness. On this episode, we take a look at the uncommon history behind one of the most common things we know – washing our hands and bodies. 

When you think about mummification, I'm sure Ancient Egypt is the first thing that springs to mind. Although that culture's mummies are absolutely some of the coolest, they're not the only ones who mummified their dead. In fact, mummification is still going on today thanks in part to Mother Nature and some odd things live people do to themselves. On this episode, we unwrap the layers of mystery around mummification and get to the heart of how various cultures preserve their dead. 

On this episode, we're going to suck you into the unusual history of the Suction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal – the Straw. In order to fully grasp the unusual history of the straw, we need to go back in time before Friedman's patented “Drinking Tube,” a.k.a., the bendy straw; before a man named Marvin Stone discovered how to make straws not disintegrate in his mint juleps. We have to go all the way back to 3000 BC. Underground, as a matter of fact. Into the tomb of Pu-Abi, a Sumerian queen of Ur.

Vampires in Venice. It sounds like the title of an Anne Rice novel, a dark supernatural romance. But alas, this podcast episode isn't a dark romance, rather it's the true story of how humans take what they do not understand and create legends that endure through the centuries – and make great Halloween costumes. On this episode, we're going to take a bite out of vampire history and dig deep into some vampire burial grounds around the world. 

On this episode, we're going to talk about the month that San Diego officials hired a moisture accelerator – and almost drowned the city.

Whenever you think of good luck charms you automatically think of bugs, right? Afterall, who wouldn't want tiny critters flying around you, crawling all over you or even being consumed by you as long as good fortune followed? Humans are always concocting new and interesting ways of using the things around them for random things, and we're going to tell you about a few creepy crawlies that do their jobs well. Itchy yet?

On this episode, we talk about the evolution of the wedding cake from being filled with unusual ingredients to being smashed on the bride's head. 

Warding off evil has been a thing forever. People don't want it around them, and part of the evil that lurks about is called bad luck. Who wants that? No one, especially brides, grooms and people attending weddings. And since it's wedding season, we thought we'd start our journey into things people have historically thrown at weddings by looking underneath the wedding dress first. You probably don't think there's much of anything to throw under there, but you'd be wrong!

On this episode, we take a look at how courting someone used to be, strange dating rituals that led to marriage, and how stinky sweat-infused apple slices and the severed heads of your enemies used to be tokens of love.

Three-hundred feet inside Gorham's cave just east of the Strait of Gibraltar, a team of European researchers uncovered strange markings on a bedrock ledge that jutted out from the wall a few feet above the cave floor. The really strange part: The markings were very similar to our modern-day hashtag. But that's just “scratching the surface.” On this episode, we do some digging into the mystery of the Neanderthal hashtag found carved in a cave near the Strait of Gibraltar. 

On this week's episode, we're going to explore how tuberculosis transformed the world of Victorian-era fashion. TB has a long track record of death and devastation throughout human history, but only one era romanticized it and created a fashion trend because of it: consumptive chic. 

The myth of Atlantis has captivated the hearts and minds of many for over 2000 years. People work endlessly to discover the long-lost city, making guesses as to where it could have sunk and how. Could it be near the Straits of Gibraltar, in the Mediterranean Sea, or off the coast of Everglade City? Could an earthquake or volcano sink an entire civilization? Some venture to say that the Atlanteans were aliens and have long gone home to their planet. Still others believe this civilization became what we today call mermaids. On this week's episode, we travel to the depths of the ocean and try to figure out where the fabled Atlantis now rests.

Welcome to Season 6 of The Unusual History of Every Thing, where we will be revamping a few of the episodes you heard all those years ago in Season 1, and sprinkling them in with new ones. On this week's episode, we're taking you back to Season 1, Episode 1: where we'll show you how gnomes went from dwarves to elves to gardens. 

Covid isn't the first pandemic that we as a species have had to endure, and it won't be the last. What we know for sure is that each one started out as either a virus or bacteria. Figuring out how to treat and/or cure them is the tricky part, and the frightening part is that viruses and bacteria were here before us, and they'll probably still be here long after we're gone. And our demise might just be a zombie virus – since that's basically what viruses are: zombies.

On this mini-sode, we're talking a bit about gum and how it has gone from a saliva stimulator to being used as a rather strange artistic medium.

If you're as passionate about chocolate as we are about history, you know the difference between cacao percentages and why they do that in the first place. And you probably know all about where chocolate comes from. But did you know that chocolate bars in WWII were called Hitler's Secret Weapon, or that you could actually die from too much chocolate? And why do Cadbury Eggs in America taste so different than the ones in the UK? On this mini-sode, we're going to give you a taste of why chocolate has changed over the years, and fill you in on exactly what's inside a Cadbury Egg.

On this mini-sode, we hop right over to Easter and the giant bunny god that comes with ancient eggs. We all know Easter for its Biblical connotations and the story of Jesus, but the Easter bunny and his eggs won't be found in the Good Book. They are found, however, in a few historic sources, but not mentioned together until more modern times. Today, we're going to help answer that very important question: What came first, the bunny or the eggs?

Manioc beer is a very old and still very common South American drink native to the Amazon. It may not be green beer, but it does have the potential to turn you green when you find out the key ingredient, for those of us not used to its manufacture. Some communities may even think it sexist, as this baffling brew has the distinct honor of being made mostly by women, usually only drank by men. And its main ingredient: human spit.  

The shamrock is a huge part of St. Patrick's Day celebrations, but what exactly constitutes a shamrock has had botanists debating for years. One thing they all agree on: It has 3 leaves. So what is it called if it has 4? A mutant. On this week's mini-sode we take a look at the unusual history that lurks within the mutant shamrock.

On this St. Patrick's Day mini-sode, we uncover the history and mystery surrounding the leprechaun, and how they became protected as an endangered species. But before we get into all that, we need to understand exactly what a leprechaun is and where they came from. After hours of research into how the leprechaun became the mascot for St. Patrick's Day, we're still confused. They have somehow become synonymous with the “Luck of the Irish,” pots of gold at the end of a rainbow, and people dressing just like them every March 17th. But originally, the leprechaun didn't wear green, and wasn't really nice – but he was from Ireland, which is more than we can say about St. Patrick.

On this mini-sode, we look at lipstick's colorful past and its connection to confessions, magic spells and the devil. Putting on the right lipstick can give a woman a sense of power and confidence that she may not have felt before, making her feel like a new-and-improved version of herself. You could say... it's magic. Unfortunately, it was precisely that confidence and special something that women would feel that caused men in power to believe that there really was some magic in those little colored sticks. Why else would mild-mannered women behave in such an extravagant way once lipstick is applied? And who fiddles around with magic? Witches! And where does magic come from? The Devil! 

In honor of Women's History Month, we're going to talk about some of our favorite historical women and what made them great. We've only been celebrating Women's History Month in the United States since 1987, but women have been making history for thousands of years. These daring dames were breaking all kinds of barriers from ancient times to today, and despite their differences, they all have one thing in common: They weren't going to let anyone dictate what it was to be a woman. 

  On this mini-sode, we take a look at how smells – both good and bad – have affected and still do affect the dating world. How many times have you heard someone say they're looking for someone they have chemistry with? That indescribable feeling two people get when they come face to face. Well, “chemistry” may be the perfect word to describe it. From armpit apples to dirty shirts, our sense of smell plays a large role in the mates we choose. Welcome to Smell Dating. 

On this episode, in honor of Valentine's Day and lovers everywhere, we take a look at some of the more unique ways of expressing one's love – and of getting rid of it. Before chocolates, texts and selfies became the norm for showing someone that you love them, people had different ideas about how to express their passions. I mean, what better way to keep you in your lover's thoughts than to give them a part of yourself – literally. From sweat to hair, or some token of affection – or revulsion – history does a good job of proving that love really does make people do some strange things. 

Sasquatch, yeti, zoobie, the wild man of Warner Springs, the Proctor Valley Monster, you name it, and the creature commonly known as Bigfoot has probably been called it. But where did this larger-than-life, ape-like man come from, and why are California, Washington and Oregon his favorite states? The belief in Bigfoot is older than most people think, and its origins might surprise you. Like most mythical creatures, it all began with a cultural belief in monsters. Click on the link below to check out our advertiser on today's show! Bigfoot Paw Animal Paw Slippers: https://amzn.to/3q8v8Og Music in this episode by: Surreal Forest by Meydän; Happy Clappy by John Bartmann Sounds FX: Monster screams by gpag1; Spooky Wind Howl by kangaroovindaloo; CWclicking by ok1has; Sci Fi Music Cue by bone666138; my alien sample by kathol

San Diego is home to many unique, historical buildings and houses, but none that compare to the magical enchantment of Villa Montezuma. The Victorian mansion was built to be a palace of the arts in the late 1800s, and has a reputation for being haunted, although those rumors don't appear to be true. What is true is that this house is a breathtaking example of architectural magnificence that gives us a glimpse into the eccentric man who designed every element, from the wood that serves as its base to the gargoyles that protect its roof. Welcome to Villa Montezuma. Click on the two links below to check out our advertisers on today's show! Blink Mini: https://amzn.to/3kbX803 Piercing the Veil Book: https://amzn.to/3ldRyvF

For many people in the world, the belief in paranormal activity is a very normal thing. From hauntings to possessions and everything in between, it seems as though death isn’t always the end. No matter where you live, you can find a house, building, park or something that has a ghost story attached to it. From haunted homes to spooky ships, there are a plethora of locations where many of the deceased call home – even if they didn’t die there. But why? Let’s look at the theories behind the ghostly activity that makes some locations a playground for the paranormal.

Welcome to Season 5, which will be dedicated to the strange histories of San Diego's people, places and things! In this episode, we look at one of the most iconic buildings in San Diego’s Gaslamp District with the most sordid history: the Louis Bank of Commerce. Located on the 800 block of 5th Avenue, the beautiful building with two towers is touted as the jewel of the Gaslamp by locals and historians of the area. Built in 1888, the bottom floor served as a bank, then later a restaurant that Wyatt Earp frequented; and the upper floors, consisting of 33 rooms, were rented out by Madam Cora, a fortune teller who must have foreseen a higher profit margin in a house of ill repute. Thus, the Golden Poppy Hotel was born, as well as the site of our story, The Madam and the Marbles.

For thousands of years, humans have been playing some type of sport that incorporates balls, whether it be for entertainment, religious ceremony or military training. It’s not only interesting to look at how these sports were created, but how the balls themselves were designed and improved upon over thousands of years. People were basically using whatever was available around them, so some of the histories can be rather gruesome. From animal bladders to human heads and the skulls of your enemies, balls back then were a little different than they are today.

Nereids, mer-people, water folk, mermaids, whatever you want to call them, all cultures around the world have within their histories some version of half-human half-fish creatures. From the German Lorelei, the Icelandic Marmenill, the Matsyanaris in India to the Babylonian fish god, the Polynesian god Vatea, or the African Yemaya, the oceans and rivers of our planet are swimming with mysterious creatures. So the next time you’re swimming in the ocean, take care! You never know who – or what – you’ll meet.

This week's podcast takes you back in time to Season 3's episode on ancient drinks! Let us take you on a quick tour of ancient drinks complete with some odd history and bits of floating lamb fat! Melanie Dellas and Karen Lacy of Muse Curatorial Consulting Group also made an accompanying video where they taste test 6 ancient recipes. Don't miss it, it's kinda gross! Watch on YouTube and let us know what you think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxryFVhJme0

Love is a many splendid thing, but what do you do when the one you love doesn’t love you back? Flowers? Poetry? Obsessive social media stalking? Maybe. Or you could look at what lovers throughout history have done to win the hearts of their intended: Make a love potion. Sure most love potions are made from some strange stuff like mashed-up worms or cakes made from human sweat, but hey, what wouldn’t you do for love?