47 - William McKenna the "Human Ostrich"

For as long as so-called civilised societies have existed, equally uncivilised clubs and groups have sprung up within them, allowing their members to revel in all sorts of weird and wonderful excesses. In previous episodes we have heard about secret food clubs with a goal of eating every type of animal on earth. Todays story may not be so different, although this clubs members were’nt so picky about reaching any particular goal other that just eating every type of food they could get their hands on.-------------------Thank you to our 2 brand-new supporters:Frank Morales Philipp SurkovPlease support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://www.insidehook.com/culture/revisiting-fat-mens-clubshttps://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/07/469571114/the-forgotten-history-of-fat-men-s-clubshttps://www.sunjournal.com/2020/01/19/when-fat-mens-clubs-were-big/https://www.antikeychop.com/fatmensclubhttps://husheduphistory.com/post/141904668068/girth-and-mirth-the-rise-of-the-fat-mens-clubhttps://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/unusual-clubs-in-historyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

Turn on the tv or radio, or scroll any news site online and you’ll no doubt be inundated with stories about crazy weather anomalies happening all around the globe. Volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, earthquakes, tornadoes and so much more. But none of us, thankfully, have ever lived through one of the strangest events in history when something a lot more dense than rain began falling from the skies onto some unsuspecting farmers in the small town of Olympia Springs, Kentucky. -------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/What-Was-the-Kentucky-Meat-Showerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_meat_showerhttps://www.vice.com/en/article/kzkmgw/the-mystery-of-the-kentucky-meat-showerhttps://www.popsci.com/story/science/weirdest-thing-meat-shower-kodak-cow-sword-swallower/https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/running-ponies/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-mystery-unwound-by-projectile-vulture-vomit/https://www.wate.com/news/kentucky/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-147-years-passed-since-the-kentucky-shower-of-flesh/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lluvia_de_peceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_of_animalsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

In our modern age we have lived through natural disasters and floods in various parts of the world, and no matter what, they are always tragic. But tragic floods are not always a cause of nature.In episode 7, we discussed the great molasses flood that occurred in Boston and the ensuing devastation of that event. Well today, we’ll be taking a look at a similar, albeit less gloopy tidal wave of destruction that occurred 100 years before that.And, as much as any of us may love a beer every now and then and dream of swimming in a pool of the bubbly liquid, this tragic event was unfortunately no laughing matter.-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Floodhttps://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-London-Beer-Flood-of-1814/https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/great-beer-flood-1814-what-happened/https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/the-london-beer-flood/https://www.history.com/news/london-beer-floodhttps://explorethearchive.com/london-beer-floodhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1814-beer-flood-killed-eight-people-180964256/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

This episode is a look at how in the early to mid 1900’s the abolitionist laws banning the production and consumption of alcohol played a majorly significant role in the creation of what, today, is a veritable institution of the American South, NASCAR.-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://winstoncupmuseum.com/nascar-and-prohibition/#:~:text=Across%20the%20country%2C%20bootleggers%20had,cases%20of%20liquor%20as%20possiblehttps://www.history.com/news/how-prohibition-gave-birth-to-nascarhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-moonshine-bootlegging-gave-rise-nascar-180962014/https://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/history/nascar-bootleggers.htmhttps://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nascar-moonshinehttps://www.ranker.com/list/ways-people-hid-alcohol-during-prohibition/kellen-perry?utm_source=newsletters&utm_medium=weirdhistory&utm_campaign=wh_active&utm_content=%7Bdate%28%27yyyyMMdd%27%29%7Dhttps://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-early-american-booze-consumption/rachel-souerbry?utm_source=newsletters&utm_medium=weirdhistory&utm_campaign=wh_active&utm_content=%7Bdate%28%27yyyyMMdd%27%29%7Dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MayflowerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

There are many stories throughout history of individuals with freakish appetites, who seem to be able to consume quantities of food well past what a human stomach should be capable of handling.Today, we’ll be diving into the story of Charles Domery, a Polish-born soldier who tried to eat the whole world.-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://historianandrew.medium.com/the-man-who-couldnt-stop-eating-including-cats-rats-grass-and-his-friend-s-leg-c7ec7e1fce01https://www.weirdhistorian.com/domery-the-man-who-ate-anything-and-a-whole-lot-of-it/https://allthatsinteresting.com/charles-domeryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_DomeryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

For most of history, the Dutch have been an almost all-powerful force to be reckoned with. They were the forerunners for a lot of the world's exploration, and for a long time dominated the seas and trade routes through the stranglehold of the Dutch East India Company.In the preceding century, they were still under Spanish rule, with 2 of their kings, Charles the Fifth and his Son Phillip II, simultaneously ruling as the kings of Spain and the so-called Low Countries of The Netherlands.But the Dutch weren’t having any of this for long and at the first sign of mismanagement, made their feelings known.-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://www.historydefined.net/when-the-dutch-murdered-and-ate-their-own-prime-minister/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_de_Witthttps://dutchreview.com/culture/dutch-history-crowds-ate-prime-minister/https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/is-it-true-that-an-angry-mob-of-dutchmen-killed-and-ate-their-own-prime-minister-in-1672/https://allthatsinteresting.com/johan-de-wittBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

For today's story we will be diving into the life of a truly extraordinary man named William V McKenna, and while he fits the category of “people who eat random things”, those things that he ate can’t really be classified as food.So let's see just how this man, William McKenna first discovered his talented digestive system.-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month : patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://www.picuki.com/tag/humanostrichhttps://www.weirdhistorian.com/appetite-for-intestinal-destruction-the-man-who-ate-glass-nails-tacks-and-frogs/https://historianandrew.medium.com/william-mckenna-the-human-ostrich-who-made-a-living-eating-nails-glass-and-live-frogs-dd1697a3c7d5Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

WW2 was raging onwards, with men fighting and dying each and every day. It was so delicately poised that there seemed to be no end to the fighting in sight.Weeks and months dragged on into years, and with them came more and more plots of how to win the war. Some were impractical, some were impossible, and some were downright insane.But every now and again, one of these plots would be just insane enough to work.And so, out of this think tank came possibly one of military history’s greatest-ever schemes.What if we turned Adolf Hitler into a woman? -------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month : https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypod-------------------Sources for this episode's research:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-15/allies-planned-to-make-hitler-a-woman/2839874https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hitler-estrogen-hormone-plot_n_927281https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/book-claims-allies-tried-to-turn-the-fuhrer-into-a-female-464589https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2025975/Hitler-hormone-plot-Bizarre-plan-British-spies-make-Fuhrer-fraulein.htmlhttps://theweek.com/articles/482449/bizarre-plan-turn-hitler-into-womanhttps://medium.com/the-collector/the-bizzare-plot-to-turn-hitler-into-a-woman-185bc837eba5https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8701024/Revealed-sex-hormone-plan-to-feminise-Hitler.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Has_Only_Got_One_Ballhttps://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/hitlers-psychological-profile-shows-feminine-side/72P2CQ6HYWXN6NHH57GO57FMRU/?c_id=2&objectid=10118222Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

There is a spice we use so commonly today that it's hard to believe that at one time, wars were fought, people were killed and entire civilizations almost wiped out, simply so that the strongest force could get their hands on this prized spice.-------------------Thank you to Four Sigmatic for being a sponsor for this episode.To make it easy, Four Sigmatic is offering you 30% off anything in their range when you use promo code: FOODHISTORY at checkout.Check out their range here: https://us.foursigmatic.com/ -------------------Thank you also to Chemists In The Kitchen by LabX and the National Academy of Sciences.In each episode, real scientists walk you through things like making your own pickles, the chemistry behind ceviche, the formula for perfect homemade pretzels, and much, much more!Watch their YouTube Channel Here: https://bit.ly/3CVKz5E-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month : https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypodBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.

If ever you’ve doubted food's integral place in history, today’s stories are sure to remind us all, that no matter what life and history in general, wouldn’t and in fact, couldn’t be the same without the daily rituals that food brings.-------------------Thank you to Athletic Greens for being a sponsor for this episode.To make it easy, Athletic Greens will give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit www.athleticgreens.com/EMERGING to take ownership of your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance! -------------------Thank you also to Chemists In The Kitchen by LabX and the National Academy of Sciences.In each episode, real scientists walk you through things like making your own pickles, the chemistry behind ceviche, the formula for perfect homemade pretzels, and much, much more! Watch their YouTube Channel Here: https://bit.ly/3CVKz5E-------------------Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month : https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypodBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fantastic-history-of-food--3591729/support.