Podcasts about other strange

In this episode we will be looking at the history, folklore and mythology surrounding spinning and weaving. Hear about Valkyries weaving bloody tapestries, how the sun is linked to spinning , why it is advisable to rest sometimes and what terrible things may befall you if you don't.     Sources: Christopher Dyer, 'Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain 850-1520' (2002). D.L. Ashliman, 'Superstitions from Europe' https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/superstition.html Donald Haase, 'The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales: Q-Z' (2008). Freyalyn Close-Hainswoth, 'Spinning a Tale: Spinning and Weaving in myths and Legends' https://folklorethursday.com/folklife/spinning-a-tale/ Gunnvôr Silfrahárr, 'Women and Magic in the Sagas: Seidr and Spa' http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/seidhr.shtml Gunnvôr Silfrahárr, 'Valkyries, Wish Maidens and Swan Maidens' http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/seidhr.shtml Icy Sedgwick, 'Spinning in Folklore: Impossible Bets and Crafting with the Fates' https://www.icysedgwick.com/spinning-in-folklore/ John Martin Crawford, 'The Kalevala: Rune VIII Maiden of the Rainbow' https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune08.htm Lisa Schnaidau, ' Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland' (2018). Marianna Vertsman, 'Kikimora, Domovoi, Baccoo, and Other Strange and Spooky Creatures', https://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/10/30/scary-creatures-world-folklore Mark Norman, 'Telling the Bees and other Customs: The Folkloer of Rural Crafts' (2020). 'Njal's Saga', trans. Magnus Magnusson and Herman Pálsson (1960). Ronesa Aveela, 'A Study of Household Spirits of Eastern Europe' (2018).   Transcript:   Pohyola's fair and winsome daughter, Glory of the land and water, Sat upon the bow of heaven, On its highest arch resplendent, In a gown of richest fabric, In a gold and silver air-gown, Weaving webs of golden texture, Interlacing threads of silver; Weaving with a golden shuttle, With a weaving-comb of silver; Merrily flies the golden shuttle, From the maiden's nimble fingers, Briskly swings the lathe in weaving, Swiftly flies the comb of silver, From the sky-born maiden's fingers, Weaving webs of wondrous beauty. Hello, welcome to the History and Folklore podcast, where we look at different folk beliefs through history and how these beliefs shape people's perceptions of nature. Today we're looking at spinning and weaving, why these crafts were important to people in the past and how they are depicted in folklore and mythology. Spinning is one of the oldest crafts. Very early in human history, as far back as ten thousand years ago, people learned how to get fibre from plants and would twist it between their fingers to strengthen it, creating string that could be used  for tools and weapons. The first items that were used to facilitate this process were simple stones and sticks that were used to wind the twine. At some point these were combined together to make spindles, one of humanity's oldest tools and one that has been found in nearly every culture across the world. In the neolithic period, as people started developing settled communities, the methods of spinning and and working with fibre also developed. Looms could be used to weave large pieces of fabric that could be used for clothes, blankets and sails for boats. Sheep began to be kept domestically on farms, and their fleece was used to make wool. The fact that both of these skills became so widespread across the globe at such an early point indicates how integral these skills were to humanity. They enable us to make clothes to stay warm and protected from the elements, make nets and traps for hunting, rope and sails for ships, rope to pull heavy loads and string to fix blades and handles together to make weapons and tools. Despite its importance, spinning was considered to be a low-skilled activity and, with a distaff, the stick used for holding the unspun fibre, tucked into a belt or under the arm, a spinner could produce yarn while doing other tasks. It takes a lot of time to make enough yarn for your needs and there are medieval images of rich and poor women spinning while sat chatting together, while riding on horses, caring for children and feeding the chickens, among other activities. It is apparent that at some point in European history spinning came to be seen as a predominantly female activity, unlike weaving which was considered to be more skilled. Anthony Fitzherbert, in his book of husbandry, states that it was not really possible to make a living from spinning, but that ‘it stoppeth the gap.' Weaving, on the other hand, was a respected and established industry as shown by the existence of weavers guilds in larger towns by the twelfth century. The strong connection between women and the work of spinning is probably most well known through the term ‘spinster' to describe older, unmarried women. This term often has negative connotations and has historically been used as an insult. The association between women and spinning seems to have been strongly entrenched by the late 1300s, with the English Lollard priest John Ball stating in a sermin in 1381 ‘when Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?', alluding to gendered work after the loss of Eden, despite no mention of Eve spinning in the Bible. It has been argued that while spinning was predominantly done by women, it was probably not solely their domain, and it was likely men working in jobs such as travelling traders or shepherds would have been spinning to help meet the large demand for yarn. Unsurprisingly, as an important part of culture and society, many superstitions, taboos and celebrations developed around spinning and weaving. It was forbidden to spin or weave during certain times of the year - the exact taboo days varied across Europe, but they tended to be on particularly certain holy or rest days, with the longest taboo on spinning being over the twelve days of Yule. In Iceland it was expected that all spinning, weaving and sewing chores were completed by the end of this year, an expectation reflected in the tales of the Yule cat, who would eat children who had not received a new piece of clothing for Christmas - a sign that these jobs had remained uncompleted. In England this period of rest over Christmas ended on the 7th January, known as distaff day, when women picked up their spindles to work again. Although according to a seventeenth century poem this day was probably only slightly productive, as the men and women would play pranks on each other to impede the work - the men setting fire to the flax and the women throwing water over the men in retribution, a sign that the return to work was not necessarily an enthusiastic one. In many areas spinning during these taboo times was assumed to invite the wrath of a deity. In Romania spinning and other domestic activities were forbidden on Tuesdays, a semi-holy day in honour of a deity named Martolea. Those who were caught spinning on this day may have their guts ripped out and spread around their home or their husbands and children killed or possessed by a demon-like entity. Assuming that these traditions were developed to enforce rest periods from a task that was important and ever present it says something about the importance of the task that meant they needed such strong disincentives to stop. Other superstitions upholding these taboos and times of work were less severe. Spinning on a Good Friday would cause your fingers to become inflamed. In Germany not putting your spinning away on a Saturday evening ready for the Sunday rest would cause it to tangle, while any spinning left undone by the end of Saturday would ruin any leftover flax, making it impossible to spin or bleach. In this case the superstition was to encourage good time management, hard work and good housekeeping. Similarly in Slavic countries it was said that a type of household spirit known as a kikimora would come and tangle any textile crafts left out overnight. While in these instances leaving spinning out overnight is punished in some way, there is another German superstition that says that if someone gets up from a spinning wheel without loosening the thread, an elf will sit and begin spinning on it. The elf will not be seen, but the spindle will be heard whirring by itself. Traditional accounts of spinning in fairy tales often reflect the real life attitudes and folklore surrounding the craft. Characters are often shown spinning to represent their industrious and domestic nature. For example, in the Grimms tale of Mother Holle, the sister who gets rewarded for her hard work finds Mother Holle's realm by spinning so much her fingers bleed, thereby dropping the spindle into the well that leads to her domain. Another Grimm tale spindle, shuttle and needle tells of an orphan girl who is left these three instruments by her grandmother after her death, using them to scrape by a living. When the King visits the village searching for a bride who was at once richest and poorest. He comes across the orphan spinning, but leaves when she shyly looks away. She remembers the rhyme taught by her grandmother "Spindle, my spindle, haste, haste thee away, and here to my house bring the wooer, I pray." her spindle magically flies out of her hand to follow the king, who follows it back to find her house beautifully decorated by the shuttle and needle. He declares her both poorest and richest through her skills and proposes marriage. Other tales recall assistance in the tasks of spinning and weaving by the fairy folk. One tale from the Isle of Man tells of a young woman who is given an impossible amount of spinning to do by her employer, but who manages to achieve it with the help of the fynoderee, the fairies native to the island. In the tale of Rumplestiltskin, a woman is imprisoned by a king after her father boasts she can turn straw into gold. This is not an entirely outlandish claim when looked at metaphorically, as a skilled spinner could turn straw-like plant fibre into fine yarn that could be used for weaving, and was worth far more than its original form. Taken literally, though, the task is impossible and Rumpelstiltskin agrees to help the lady in return for her first born child, a deal she gets out of after correctly guessing his name. A similar story is the Norwegian tale of the three sisters, in which a king hears other people's claims about a young womans spinning and agrees to marry her if she can prove that these claims are true. This is unfortunate for the young woman as she actually has no idea how to do either. She is spotted weeping by three old women, who agree to help her at her task if she recognises them as her aunts at her wedding. When the wedding day comes the three old women arrive and, acknowledging the widespread alarm at their ugly appearance and the disbelief that they could possibly be related to the beautiful bride, claim that it was their years of hard work spinning and weaving that hunched their backs, wrinkled their faces and shortened their sight. Upon learning this the king decreed that his wife should never spin or weave again, despite her obvious skill, to maintain her beauty - letting her off the high expectations that had been set for her. In other tales it is the act of spinning itself that holds the wonder and magic. In the tale of the six swans a young girl is only able to lift a spell that is placed upon her brothers, turning them to swans, by silently spinning and sewing them shirts made of nettles. It is also unsurprising that many deities were associated with spinning and weaving, considering their importance. The Finnish Kalevala, compiled in the nineteenth century from oral folklore, contains a number of references to spinning and weaving, such as in the poem Rune 8 quoted at the start of this episode. In northern Europe sun and moon deities seemed to have a link to these crafts. The Sami goddess Beiwe, whose name derives from the regional word for the sun, was closely associated with spinning and flax and spinning wheels are left as offerings to her during major festivals. Similarly, in Baltc countries the sun goddess Saul is said to spin sunbeams and is represented by a spinning wheel. In this region spindles made from amber, known locally as sun stones, have been found in graves, further suggesting a link between the two, while in Finland the moon Goddess Kuutar spins and weaves golden yarn. Further south, in Ancient Greece, Ariadne, the granddaughter of the sun God Helios, was said to have spun the thread used by Theseus in the Minotaur's labyrinth, while Athena was so proud of her weaving she turned Arachne into a spider for challenging her skill.  Interestingly, I was not able to find any European gods of spinning or weaving, reinforcing the feminine link with these crafts. Spinning and weaving were so integral to society that they were both used as a metaphor or lens through which to understand the world. In Plato's republic he likens the axis of the universe as a spindle with the starry heavens as a whorl that spins round the centre. Telling stories, the means through which people communicate and explore ideas to understand the world, are also often referred to as ‘spinning yarns' possibly because women would tell each other tales when they got together to spin, a theme found in the fifteenth century collection of stories named the spinners tales, framed through the motif of ladies telling each other the stories as they spin, in a similar manner to the Canterbury Tales and the Decamaron. Stories, and lives are also sometimes seen as a tapestry, with the individual strands of a single life woven tightly together, influencing the pattern of the whole. In some mythologies the deities responsible for the fates of gods and humans are spinners and weavers. In Ancient Greece the three fates worked the fibre that shaped a person's life. Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured its length and, in some versions spun it into a tapestry, and their sister Atropos cut the thread to mark the end of life. In Norse mythology, the three Norns cared for and lived at the base of the world tree Yggdrasil, that connected the nine realms. Together they spun the threads of fate, determining who's life thread was cut short. In The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane, found in the Poetic Edda, the Norns visit Helgi Hundingsbane at his birth and wove the golden threads of the web of fate to determine the shape of his life. The Valkyries were also known for their weaving abilities. While these entities are often seen as warrior women due to their association with battles and their role of carrying the slaughtered to Folkvangr or Valhalla but this is not either primary role in early literature. Often they were portrayed as having a role not dissimilar to that of the Norns, watching over the battle, weaving the fates of those fighting. The epic Beowulf tells of the valkyires crafting the weavings of victory. The Skaldic poem Darraðarljóð, found in the eleventh century Njal's saga describes twelve valkyries weaving the fate of warriors in battle. This poem goes into quite gruesome detail saying. ‘Blood rains from the cloudy web, Of the broad loom of slaughter. The web of man, grey as armour, Is now being woven; the Valkries Will cross it with a crimson weft. The warp is made of human entrails, Human heads are used as heddle wights, The heddle rods are blood-wet spears, The shafts are iron bound and arrows are the shuttles, With swords we will weave this web of battle.' I find the conflicting attitudes to these skills, but particularly spinning, to be absolutely fascinating. Both were obviously important skills to ensure people remained clothed, and also as a means of gaining a source of income. Vast quantities of yarn and cloth were needed to meet the needs of society, yet rest days were enforced with such conviction that horrors were threatened to those who ignored them. Those who span and wove were considered to be industrious, virtuous and ideal wife material, yet the skill of spinning in particular was not particularly valued outside of this. Spinning was in some ways such a low status activity that the word spinster was used as a pejorative insult towards women who had passed the expected age of marriage without a husband, and yet was the primary skill held by the very deities that maintain life on earth and controlled the lives and fates of men. Thank you for listening to this episode of the History and Folklore podcast. I hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting. An extra thank you goes to my patreons Robin, DD Storyteller, the Fairy Folk Podcast, Louise, Ben, John and David. Patrons help pay towards the cost of running the podcast and are greatly appreciated. If you would like to support the History and Folklore Podcast tiers range from £1-£3 a month in exchange for benefits including early access to podcast episodes, a monthly zine with more in-depth information about the topic of that month's episode and a chance to vote on the next month's episode theme. You can also follow the podcast on Instagram at history and folklore, twitter at HistoryFolklore and Facebook at the History and Folklore podcast where I post hopefully interesting history and folklore facts pretty much daily and answer any questions or feedback. Thank you so much for listening, and I look forward to seeing you next time.

South African born author, Shubnum Khan chats to us about her latests book,  How I Accidentally Became a Global Stock Photo and Other Strange and Wonderful Stories.This memoir takes the reader on a journey around the world. Whether it is teaching children in a remote village in the Himalayas, attending a writers' residency where the movie The Blair Witch Project was shot, getting pulled out of the ocean in Turkey or becoming a bride on a rooftop in Shanghai, Khan is quirky, moving and vulnerable in what she shares.Khan offers an introspective reflection on what it means to be a woman, particularly a single Muslim woman in SA, trying to find herself in a modern world. The stories are drawn from her life journey, which has been full of unexpected twists and turns, and are interspersed with reflections on culture and religion as well as musings on family, relationships and love.This is a book about holding onto hope and a reminder that once “you step off the edge, anything can happen”. 

This bonus episode of Judaism Unbound is presented in partnership with Theatre Dybbuk. Once a month, their podcast -- called The Dybbukast -- releases a new episode, and we are proud to feature episode four of their podcast as a bonus episode here on Judaism Unbound's channel. In each episode, they bring poems, plays, and other creative texts from throughout history to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today. Subscribe to The Dybbukast in Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else that podcasts are found.Episode four, presented in collaboration with The Contemporary Jewish Museum, explores two murder pamphlets, "The Murdered Jewess Sara Alexander: Life, Trial and Conviction of Rubenstein the Polish Jew" and "Rubenstein, or The Murdered Jewess: Being a Full and Reliable History of This Terrible Mystery of Blood.” Published in 1876, both pamphlets tell the tale of Pesach Rubenstein, a Jewish immigrant who was convicted of killing his cousin Sara Alexander and disposing of her body in a cornfield. The case was a sensation in the press and took hold of the popular imagination.Dr. Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and author of Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press (Stanford University Press 2017), discusses the story behind the pamphlets as the first significant intersection of Jews, the local and national press, and the American judicial system.

Episode four, presented in collaboration with The Contemporary Jewish Museum, explores two murder pamphlets, "The Murdered Jewess Sara Alexander: Life, Trial and Conviction of Rubenstein the Polish Jew" and "Rubenstein, or The Murdered Jewess: Being a Full and Reliable History of This Terrible Mystery of Blood.” Published in 1876, both pamphlets tell the tale of Pesach Rubenstein, a Jewish immigrant who was convicted of killing his cousin, Sara Alexander, and disposing of her body in a cornfield. The case was a sensation in the press and took hold of the popular imagination.Dr. Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and author of Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press (Stanford University Press 2017), discusses the story behind the pamphlets as the first significant intersection of Jews, the local and national press, and the American judicial system.

In this episode of the Buffalo Happy Hour, Derek and Mike discuss a Banana being sold for an insane amount, Other STRANGE news this past week, their weekend shenanigans, and Buffalo Bills taking on the Baltimore Ravens, Also In this clip, they are drinking Black Buttons Bourbon Cream, just in time for the Holidays!. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube Channel so you do not miss Mike and Derek rate all of their products. Leave a like, comment, and subscribe. New videos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Dr. Eddy Portnoy, academic adviser for the Max Weinreich Center and exhibition curator at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (www.yivo.org/) presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture The "The Bizarre Tales of Yiddishland: What the Yiddish Press Reveals about the Jews" before an audience at Congregation Or Tzion (www.congregationortzion.org) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: An underground history of downwardly mobile Jews, Eddy Portnoy’s new book Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One part Isaac Bashevis Singer, one part Jerry Springer, this irreverent, unvarnished, and frequently hilarious compendium of stories provides a window into an unknown Yiddish world that was. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/37FxnAp For more info, please visit:
 www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/
 
twitter.com/VBMTorah
 www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

In "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" Eddy Portnoy mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34806]

In "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" Eddy Portnoy mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34806]

In "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" Eddy Portnoy mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34806]

In "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" Eddy Portnoy mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34806]

In "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" Eddy Portnoy mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34806]

In "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" Eddy Portnoy mines century-old Yiddish newspapers to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34806]

Eddy Portnoy, senior researcher and director of exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, talks about his newly published compendium of stories, "Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press." He introduces us to stories of thieves, wrestlers, poets, and beauty queens whose misadventures were immortalized in Yiddish newspapers from the 1880s to the 1930s. Episode 0157 September 15,2017 Yiddish Book Center Amherst, Massachusetts

We begin a series of reports this week on the unbelievable, unusual and strange aspects of our US National Parks. Author Mike Oswald kicks the series off by revealing the one park that is many things - below sea level, the hottest, driest AND largest, and is the only place where one can go to see rocks that move by themselves! Chad Lewis returns to talk about one of the wackiest of all summer festivals, the UFO Festival in New Mexico. It’s one of this road warrior’s favorites. Other Strange, Weird and Unbelievable Stories we captured for the April 22 episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! include: Ralf “with an F” reports on a thief in Michigan who returned money he stole, plus interest – 30 years later; Mark Stevens of Topps Sports and Entertainment talks about the unveiling of the world’s largest baseball card in Florida; the Ghoul School’s Barry Anderson recalls the day he was nearly arrested for transporting what appeared to be a decapitated body; Actor J Larose explains the sometimes painful process of having prosthetics applied in makeup prior to a horror film shoot; and The Reason provides our musical egress this week with Drive Me Home.

Artist Steve Casino has chosen an unusual medium for his art – peanut shells – on which he paints the famous and the infamous. He tells us how he does it and why he began this strange endeavor and what his friends really think of it (and him). Sideshow historian James Taylor relates the triumphant but somewhat tragic story of the sexiest and most talented con-joined twins of all times – the Hilton Sisters. From their mother selling them upon their birth to their nanny to their financially successful life on the vaudeville stages to their retirement jobs as dual cashiers at a Florida grocery store, James weaves their engrossing story. Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the April 15 Episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, include: Teen Ivan Barber has surgery for appendicitis only 10 hours before he takes the stage and wins a battle of the bands contest; T. Thorn Coyle explains how we can all easily “make magic” in our everyday lives; Ghoul School professor Barry Anderson joins us again and explains how his grandmother predicted an airplane event that nearly took the life of his father; and horror film actor J Larose returns and tells us how cool it was to be a part of career day at his kid’s elementary school along with all the doctors and lawyers and insurance salesmen parents of the other kids.

Actor J. Larose, star of several popular horror films, joins us this week to talk about the genre and why it is so appealing to the public and world-renown FX artist Barry Anderson describes his new adventure – Ghoul School where he teaches the precise and often macabre art of horror makeup. Other Strange and […] The post Ripley Radio – Why We Love Horror Flicks & a Chat with a Blind Movie Critic appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Actor J. Larose, star of several popular horror films, joins us this week to talk about the genre and why it is so appealing to the public and world-renown FX artist Barry Anderson describes his new adventure – Ghoul School where he teaches the precise and often macabre art of horror makeup. Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the April 8 Episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, include: Tommy Edison, known as the Blind Movie Critic tells Ralf why he doesn’t have to have vision to judge a film; James Lowe explains how the US Post Office is going to help reduce its huge deficit – by selling apparel and accessories; We hear how a mayor of a small town was chosen by pulling his name out of a hat; In the Jackpottin’ With James Taylor segment, we learn how the world’s top expert on sideshows started in the business; and Eddie Vedder and his ukulele provide this week’s musical egress with Longing to Belong.

This week on Ripley Radio, we present two unbelievable mysteries. What makes a person hiccup for seven years and is there really such a thing as spontaneous human combustion? Is there a cure and what is it like to live with continuous hiccups, and is there such a thing as spontaneous human combustion and if there isn’t, why do some people burn into a little pile of ash while nothing else around them is disturbed? Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories we captured for the April 1 episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! include: Jim Morris, the baseball player on which the movie, The Rookie was based, talks with Ralf about his amazing adventure and answers the question, “what ever happened to” Jim Morris?; Tim talks about his book, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Baseball Oddities and reads a few unbelievable factoids from its pages; The Defeat of Jess James Days, a festival in Minnesota, is Chad Lewis’s contribution to weird fairs and festivals this week; and British rocker Nick Lowe goes mellow and offers us Hope for Us All, this week’s musical egress.

One of the oldest cartoon characters in the world is Popeye the Sailor Man and this week we learn from Chad Lewis that Chester, Ill. lays claim as the hometown of the character and each year holds an off-beat picnic in his honor. Getting into the big leagues is tough for any player, but especially hard if you are half-blind. We hear the tale of one half-blind baseball pitcher who has a good shot at it this year – Believe It or Not! Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the March 25 Episode include: a homeless man talks with us this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, and explains how a very expensive diamond ring ended up in his possession and why he returned it, even while the devil on his shoulder was telling him to keep it; Jodi Pliszka reports on a weird medical malady known as Fregoli, a condition that causes you to see the same person, no matter who you look at; Edward Meyer, Ripley’s archivist tells us about his newest purchase, a man-eating Bengal Tiger who killed more than 40 people during its life. Not only did Ripley’s get the taxidermied tiger, but also the human jewelry found inside its stomach when it was shot during the last century; and the cast of the Broadway show, American Idiot provides us with our musical egress this week with the Green Day song, Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

Variety entertainer extraordinaire Todd Robbins drops by this week and tells us that he has eaten more than 5,000 light bulbs during his career as part of his act. It’s a learned skill and one has to be very careful, he notes. Frank DeCaro, a celebrity in his own right, shares a few favorite items from his Dead Celebrity Cookbook, including Michael Jackson’s favorite treat. The Grim Reaper Gourmet, as he calls himself, appears in the March 18 episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio broadcast partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the March 18 Episode include: In her weird medical maladies segment, Jodi Pliszka tells us about periodic paralysis, a symptom that comes on quickly and goes away just as quickly; Joe Tombari and nine of his friends have been playing tag for 23 years and the game goes on! He relates a few of the more outrageous “tags” that have occurred over the years; we learn about the world’s record for the most people wearing frog masks; Ripley archivist Edward Meyer reports that one of his latest acquisitions is a 2,500 year old chunk of redwood tree; and Nashville-based Here Come the Mummies provide us with our musical egress with Aeroplane.

Lucky is the topic this week as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2013 on Ripley Radio, the official broadcast station of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Stacy Lee Goforth tells us that if you believe strongly enough, you can create your own luck and that virtually anything can be a lucky charm. Chad Lewis examines the “Luck of the Irish” and everything that goes along with it. Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the March 11 Episode include: A last wish of an 88-year old man was that his funeral procession drive through Burger King on the way to the cemetery for one last Whopper Junior; a high school graduation class of 1948 has plans to hold its 65th reunion – in a funeral home; was there a real St. Patrick and did he truly drive the snakes out of Ireland? We hear one theory; and the Irish rock group, The Saw Doctors, present D’ya Wanna Hear My Guitar? as this week’s musical egress.

While most of us can’t imagine doing a one-armed pushup of any kind, Darryl Learie holds a world record doing them - with all of his weight balanced on a single egg! He stops by this week and explains how he does it without making omelets. Juan Panesso tells us this week on Ripley Radio, the official broadcast program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, how he acquired and then sold a 19-foot long cigar – for $185,000. Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the March 4 Episode include: Jodi Pliszka tells the tale of a weird medical malady of a young woman whose eyes close and she can’t open them for three days at a time; we hear of some real crazy items available for purchase on the Internet, including the ability to walk on water- sort of; Joe Kasinski of the Orlando Believe It or Not! Odditorium joins us in the studio and tells us what’s new at his busy attraction; and Maroon 5 provides our musical egress this week with Daylight.

Detroit’s Deborah Ford retired from the US Post Office in February having never missed a day of work in her 44 years. She visits this week and tells us how she did it. Also this week on Ripley Radio, the official broadcast program of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, we hear from Brian Jackson, who holds several world records – for blowing up hot water bottles. He once lifted a car with his lungs – sort of. Other Strange and Wonderfully Weird Stories We Captured for the February 25 Episode include: Chad Lewis reports on the wild men who at one time probably lived in the woods and hills around your house; Jim Kidrick of the San Diego Air and Space Museum tells us about the new Ripley exhibit that will be featured at his facility through 2013; Ripley archivist Edward Meyer calls in from the floor of that unique exhibit in San Diego; Joe Kasinski from the Orlando Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium updates us on his new exhibits and reports on the success of World Sword Swallower’s Day last week; and the group Swedish House Mafia sings their hit, Don’t Worry Child as this week’s musical egress.