134: Rat Kings

This week we're joined by special guest Faran Moradi as he carefully walks us through each time Roy Sullivan, an American park ranger, was struck by lightning. A listener email explains how TB epidemic hyper charged the Victorian obsession with looking dead. Episode Tabs:Incredible story of man who survived being struck by lightning SEVEN timeshttps://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/1/incredible-story-of-man-who-survived-being-struck-by-lightning-seven-times-733932Listener Tabs:How Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-tuberculosis-shaped-victorian-fashion-180959029/Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn how in 1816, the catastrophic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia shifted the world's temperature and atmosphere, causing crop failures and major food shortages. A listener email describes how male anglerfish are from Mars and female anglerfish are from Venus .Episode Tabs:MOUNT TAMBORA IN 1815: A VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN INDONESIA AND ITS AFTERMATHhttps://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Boers_Mount_Tambora_in_1815.pdfListener Tabs:Anglerfishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish#ReproductionEmail your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this very special Halloween episode, we learn how nepo baby Carl Laemmle Jr. gave birth to the Universal Monster Universe and how themes of sexuality and political persecution have kept these characters beloved for more than a century. A listener email describes a horrific phenomenon in Brazil involving cockroaches.Episode Tabs:How the Classic Monsters Saved Universal Studioshttps://www.antoniacarlotta.com/home/how-the-monsters-saved-universalListener Tabs:Cockroach clouds scare residents in Viamãohttps://www.instagram.com/p/DTIQV62Df07/Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we are joined by no guest at all, just the normal, regular co-host named Kaveh who adds his medical expertise to Hannah’s tab about the Black Angels, the 300 black nurses who made history by helping administer the cure to Tuberculosis at Staten Island’s Sea View Hospital.Episode Tabs:Taking Care: The Black Angels of Sea View Hospitalhttps://www.statenislandmuseum.org/exhibitions/takingcare/Listener Tabs:Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories: "Jesus Understood"http://www.smothergoose.com/2011/01/uncle-arthurs-bedtime-stories-jesus.html?m=1Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn dedicate the entire episode to all the emails that listeners have sent in including a live reading of a pig butchering text exchange, bile cow liver antibiotics, and an extended discussion about which animals have actual bones in their boners.Listener Tabs:Stellar’s Sea Cow:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_sea_cowHatchet Grannyhttps://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/09/carry-nation-biography-reasons-for-activism.htmlThe Miyawaki Method for Creating Forestshttps://www.creatingtomorrowsforests.co.uk/blog/the-miyawaki-method-for-creating-forestsSearching for Hobey Bakerhttps://30for30podcasts.com/episodes/the-natural/ Sun Sets on the British Empirehttps://oikofuge.com/sun-sets-on-british-empire/Billikens in Alaskahttps://www.adn.com/alaska-life/2025/06/15/billikens-the-grinning-pot-bellied-good-luck-charm-that-dominated-midcentury-alaska/A 1,000-Year-Old Antimicrobial Remedy with Antistaphylococcal Activity - PubMedhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26265721/Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn how a corpse fluids seeping into NYC drinking water led to the creation of one of America’s first rural cemeteries. A listener email explains how the euthanizing of a squirrel became a MAGA wedge issue against the Democrats.Episode Tabs:Green-Wood Cemetery: A Victorian-Era Iconhttps://www.history.com/articles/green-wood-cemetery-a-victorian-era-icon-turns-175Listener Tabs:Peanut the Squirrelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_(squirrel)Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn how a brawl between a Canadian firefighting fraternal organization connected to the Orange Order and visiting American circus clowns led to the complete restructuring of the entire Toronto police force. A listener email explains how a gothic fortress was constructed in the Czech Republic to protect locals from a bottomless pit.Episode Tabs:How a Fight With Clowns Led to the Birth of Modern Policing in Torontohttps://torontoist.com/2013/09/how-a-fight-with-clowns-led-to-the-birth-of-modern-policing-in-toronto/Listener Tabs:Houska Castlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houska_CastleEmail your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn how Shi Yang formed the Red Flag Fleet by uniting thousands of pirates and wreaked havoc over the South China Sea. A listener voice memo describes the most insane KFC comic of all time. Episode Tabs:How Chinese pirate queen Ching Shih ruled the South China Sea, then sailed into the sunsethttps://amp.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3360971/how-chinese-pirate-queen-ching-shih-ruled-south-china-sea-then-sailed-sunsetListener Tabs:How DC’s Wild KFC Crossover Changed Promotional Comics Foreverhttps://screenrant.com/dc-comics-kfc-colonel-sanders/Promo Palace: https://promopalace.org/Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn about ancient salt deposits at the bottom of the ocean lead to the insane phenomenon of what scientists refer to as "Hot Tubs of Despair." A listener email explains how the Church used to try their best to prove the existence of dragons. Episode Tabs:Explore the ‘Hot Tub of Despair,’ an underwater lake that kills almost everything insidehttps://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-jacuzzi-death-brine-20161102-story.htmlListener Tabs:Crocodile at the Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime Immacolatehttps://www.atlasobscura.com/places/crocodile-at-the-santuario-madonna-delle-lacrime-immacolateEmail your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we learn about the horrific once mythical cryptid of dozens of rats with their tales tied together that turned out to actually be real. A listener email explains how Soviet era bootleggers called the Roentgenizdat used discarded x-rays to share music. Episode Tabs:What Are Rat Kings, The ‘Super-Rodents’ Made Of Tangled Tails?https://allthatsinteresting.com/rat-kingListener Tabs:Roentgenizdat (USSR)https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Roentgenizdat_%28USSR%29Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs500 Open Tabs Wiki: https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7aGet 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.