Podcasts about short stuff

A legend in Tennessee tells of the real-life Bell family, who were haunted back in 1817 by a ghost witch - arguably the worst kind of either of those things.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's seven years' bad luck for you if you break a mirror, buddy, sorry. But have you ever wondered why? People have come up with all sorts of great reasons since time immemorial.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you died away from home but wanted to be buried there, don’t worry – Taoist priests had you covered. They’d just have your animated corpse walk itself back home.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that the "the call is coming from inside the house" urban legend may be based on a very grisly murder case from the 1950s?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we kick off the scariest month with the legend of La Lechuza - The Witch Owl.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The death cap mushroom lives up to its name. It’s a mushroom cap that causes death. Find out why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you try to kill someone who was already dead is that a bad thing? Yeah? How bad?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the last uncontacted people in the world live in the Bay of Bengal and they have made it clear they don’t want you to visit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why does water seem to freeze faster when it starts out warmer?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An amazing case of an early modern mass sighting of UFOs came in Nuremberg, Germany in 1561. Except it wasn’t that at all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why aren't there lemurs in Africa? That question created a whole theory about a lost continent. Turns out it's not true.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Metal fans have many ways to express themselves, but none are as metal as throwing the devil horns. But who did it first?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marianne Bachmeier committed a shocking act of violence in court in Germany in 1981 to avenge the murder of her young daughter. Many people understood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The food we eat – especially the junk food – is a highly engineered technical marvel that’s designed to make you want nothing other than more! more! more! Learn about how food scientists make that possible by hijacking our brains.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bengal cats are gorgeous animals, but they are bought and sold on the designer pet market, so booo. Learn about these hybrid kitties today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 tracks were during vinyl, but preceded cassettes. Why? So people could listen to their music on the go. Check out this antiquated medium today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a time – a glorious time – when you could turn the dial in any city in the US and hear popular songs rearranged to be the most pleasant version of themselves. This was the Beautiful Music format and we are spiritually poorer for having lost it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Oedipus complex is probably Sigmund Freud’s most famous theory – that every little boy or girl goes through a phase where they want to kill one parent and, well, do things with the other. Good thing Freud just made it up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How long was the shortest war in human history? Under an hour. Hard to believe? Not when you hear the story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wild stories about a crazy party after Andrew Jackson's inauguration have been around since the weeks after it went down. But how wild was it really?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it legal to live without a name? Is it even possible? Find out today in this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All sorts of exotic and often terrible stuff runs through our heads when we think of genetic mutations, but the vast majority of them are caught before they happen thanks to the crack teams replicating our DNA in our cells.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William A. Mitchell invented some iconic snack foods and candies. Learn all about him today!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today Chuck and Josh look at the interesting relationship between figs and wasps.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia is home to all sorts of things that can kill you, but perhaps the deadliest is the drop bear, a vicious cousin of the koala.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rocks that grow baby rocks – wut?!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we highlight and celebrate a couple of alternative libraries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does this metaphorical clock even indicate?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all heard of white noise, that static sound the TV makes when poltergeists arrive. There are other colored noise too that mimic natural sounds like rainfall and ocean waves. What they do for us is just now being studied.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world experienced its first economic bubble when the Dutch went bonkers for tulips in the 1630s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poutine is just one of those comforting dishes that's a must have when visiting the great nation of Canada. Is it good for you? Nope. But who cares right?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah wrote a new pill song, and she sings it to us. Plus she gives support to a caller whose husband stands up to wipe his ass, and to a woman starting chemo. She also hears from a caller who explains that sitting down while peeing is actually quite German and explains why Gisele Pelicot should be on a coin. You can leave a voice memo for Sarah at speakpipe.com/TheSarahSilvermanPodcast. You can get tickets for Sarah’s Post Mortem tour here. Listen to the full episode of Short Stuff on Sitzpinklers here. Follow Sarah Silverman @sarahkatesilverman on Instagram and @sarahksilverman on TikTok. And stay up to date with us @LemonadaMedia on X, Facebook, and Instagram. For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone knows brown eggs are more natural than white eggs right? Except that's not true. In reality there is zero difference because it's just a genetic variation. Listen in to learn more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pete Rose said she was “bigger than any one player” in baseball during the 70s and 80s. Morganna the Kissing Bandit became a legend in sports for running onto baseball fields and kissing players during games. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A request by our producer Dave C, we explore how totally on your own you were in Medieval England when the court declared you an outlaw. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fanta has its roots in Germany during WWII, so the Nazi association is something that's tough to deny. Dive in and hear all about how this beloved soda got its start as a non-orange, bad-tasting fizzy drink.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 24/7 short order restaurant Waffle House is known for staying open during natural disasters, so much so that federal agencies gauge where to start helping in areas where they’re closed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you lived in ancient Persia, you could do a lot worse in trying to cool things down than by building a yakhchāl. Today we break down how the early fridges worked.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the lesser-known cases of American true crime is also a very sad one. Meet Charles Morgan, a man who got in over his head with organized crime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guiness beer is famous for its smooth and creamy texture, thanks in part to nitrogen, and also a simplistically brilliant little device called the Guinness widget.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bread is about 30,000 years old. Sliced bread is less than 100. What gives? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bourgeoisie is more than a word. It means something different depending on when and where it's being used.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us today to learn the story of The Mad Trapper of Rat River, Canada's largest and most intense manhunt.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Night has been observed on New Year's Eve by African-American Methodists in the US since 1862, to mark the passage of the Emancipation Act. But this religious holiday goes back even farther in history, with even more layers of meaning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Herman Scheunemann wasn't the only captain carrying Christmas trees across Lake Michigan to Chicago at the turn of the last century, but he was the most beloved. Which makes this episode even sadder.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know that old adage that you should feed a cold but starve a fever? It's an ancient idea and what's surprising is that it's kind of correct. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These invasive spiders are everywhere these days. But how did they get to the USA and are they harmful?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the world's unsung heroes – at least outside of Italy – is a brave woman who stood up to an insidious and longstanding custom and made her country a better place for it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A terrible thing happened in Germany in the summer of 1184.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.