Stuff You Should Know

Back in the early 1900s, a new pandemic happened out of nowhere with odd symptoms, that was never solved or cured. It just went away. Which means it's right up our alley. 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.

It seems ridiculously irresponsible with the benefit of hindsight, but the concept of giving Hitler everything he wanted was the policy among the UK and France as a way to keep the world from sliding into a second world war. Turns out it didn’t work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The secret military base Area 51 is inextricably linked to every secret, shady project the US government is rumored to be involved in – from reverse-engineering alien technology to coordinating a one-world government. The truth is much more mundane. Listen to this classic episode as Josh and Chuck break it down.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1922, a little farm in the woods of Bavaria became the site of what would become Germany’s most famous unsolved murder, when six people were brutally killed with a pick axe. What led up to it and followed is nothing short of bizarre.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Josh and Chuck live from Seattle as they (sky)dive into one of the most brazen robberies in the annals of crime and the only unsolved airline hijacking in American history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a small town in Iowa in 1912 eight people were murdered in the grisliest of ways while they slept. Local reputations were ruined when accusations flew, but could a drifting serial killer working across the Midwest have been behind it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On one terrible day in Chicago in 1982, seven people died suddenly and mysteriously. In just a matter of hours, it becomes clear, someone has poisoned bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol, one of the most trusted and widely-used products in America.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest ever kidnapping case in the United States went down in the small town of Chowchilla, CA. Learn all about it today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The panic that began in Chicago spreads and begins to change the world. The investigation into the murders turns up leads and suspects, but still no one has ever been charged with the murders. It remains unsolved to this day. Find out the extent of what we know in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before we knew what serial killers were, a family in remote Kansas was disposing of victims at their family farm. Listen in to the Tale of the Bloody Benders if you dare!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In August of 1980 a bomb containing 1,000 pounds of dynamite was quietly delivered to Harvey’s, a casino and resort at Lake Tahoe. This kicked off a whirlwind caper that lasted 30 hours and ended up nearly demolishing the 11-story resort.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The murder of Ken McElroy comes off like a story from a cheap paperback book you’d get to read on a plane. But this is a true crime story, set in Missouri in the early 80s. And boy does it pack a punch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tune in today to listen to the story of when North Hollywood became a war zone after a brazen bank robbery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In July 1966, three women out for a day at the beach waded into the water of Lake Michigan, got onto a boat and were never heard from again. To this day, not a trace of them has ever turned up and theories of what became of them abound.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1963, 15 men got together in England to pull off one of the most daring heists in history. The Great Train Robbery was the crime of the century, capturing the public's attention and leaving them torn on who to root for - the cops or the robbers. Learn all about England's greatest heist in today's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Far Side is one of the greatest cartoons in history. Today we go to great lengths to convince you of that.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.

Sound effects are one of the unsung parts of any movie or TV show – they’re best when you don’t even notice them making what you see on screen even more real, and when they’re off you notice immediately. Learn how hard this amazing craft is in this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve ever wandered past what looked like a pile of dog barf on a log during a hike in the woods, you’d just seen slime mold - one of the most perplexing organisms on Earth. Listen to this classic episode and get as amazed as Josh and Chuck were when they recorded it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of our shameful history series, today we dive into the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments of the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and into the 70s.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.

Say one thing about Mao's communist China, they could kill some sparrows. Learn why and how in today's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subpoenas are all the rage. But what do they even mean if someone can just ignore it? Learn this and a lot more in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s an understated miracle that humans can get across ideas to one another by saying things out loud. We’re strangely good at not constantly talking over each other, interrupting one another, and correcting misunderstandings. All just by conversing! 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.

Aussie James Harrison gave blood close to 1,200 times over a 60 year period and saved 2.5 million babies in the process. That makes him a hero. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve ever found your blood pressure rising because some guy down the street doesn’t know how to keep the trigger on a leaf blower pulled all the way, then you’ve experienced noise pollution. Not only is it annoying, it turns out it’s deadly too! Learn all about it in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1960s, America took stock of itself when scores of low-income cities broke out in riots. It found that racism was at the root of many social problems. Instead of addressing the underlying issues, the country decided instead to militarize the police.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.

E-e-e-eek! E-e-e-eek, we say! Adding to the tradition of our wonderful animal episodes we contribute this amazing installment on one of the all-time great sea creatures, the dolphin! Attach a sponge to your rostrum and dive in with Josh and Chuck!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pair of old timey fossil hunters had a rootin’ tootin’ rivalry that spilled from academic journals into the American Wild West - where fossils were dynamited and employees turned double agent. Learn about the two-fisted origins of American paleontology in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blue zones are areas where people supposedly have more 100+ year-olds than average. But is it all based on faulty records?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.

Crooked teeth have always been a thing, but it took us a long time to do something about it. Learn about the twisted history of orthodontics today!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In December 1900 three lighthouse keepers vanished without a trace from a deserted island in Scotland. To this day no one knows exactly what happened to them. Find out all about this strange situation in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private equity is a business operation where companies are bought and run at their leanest to maximize returns for a handful of investors. It can be a lifeline for a flailing company or run it into the ground. Either way, PE firms make out like bandits.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.

In 1922, a pastor and his mistress were murdered in New Jersey. Nobody was ever convicted of the crime even though it seems clear who did it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rape kits are simple forensic evidence collection kits used when someone is sexually assaulted. But the story is deeper than this. Learn all about rape kits, the sad backlog problem, and what you can do to help, in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In part two of Heavy Metal Week Josh and Chuck break down how specialized heavy metal music has become, talk about some of the great album covers, look at how metal hits the brain, and explain the sad death of guitar great Randy Rhoads.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.

Some of the most talented musicians in the world play heavy metal, some of the hardest-hitting music ever made. In this episode Chuck and Josh wade into the history of the genre, and try to get to the bottom of where the name came from.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the absence of an official explanation of why flight MH 370 disappeared in 2014, conjecture and conspiracy theories have filled the vacuum. Find out the current state of things in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2014, a Boeing 777 airliner disappeared. Despite two full years of searching an area of ocean covering more than 120,000 square kilometers, it has never been found. It is the only unexplained missing vessel in modern aviation history. Listen to this classic episode and find out more about what exactly happened.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if we could take all the trash and waste we generate every year – gigatons worth – and used it again as raw materials. What we would have is a closed circle, one where we have everything we need without taking anything else from nature. 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 VW Beetle is the best selling car of all time. The story behind its creation is a bit complicated though. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Child prodigies are unique in that they achieve adult levels of achievement, but do not typically excel in adulthood. Why? Who knows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.