E135: Birthdays

Why America’s most famous hibachi restaurant is not actually hibachiSources:“About - Benihana Corporate Information - FAQs.” Benihana, https://www.benihana.com/about/. Hill, Caitlyn. “The Incredible History of Benihana.” Thrillist, 27 August 2020, https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/history-of-benihana-facts. Jarvis, Kenny. “18 Things You Should Know About Benihana.” Tasting Table, 18 Oct. 2025, https://www.tastingtable.com/1996401/facts-about-benihana/. “Our History.” Benihana Main, https://www.benihanainternational.com/our-history. 

Surridens aperi! Today we’re graduating from Little Debbie University.Sources:Corrao, Krista. “The Untold Truth of Little Debbie.” Mashed, 9 January 2025, https://www.mashed.com/70970/untold-truth-little-debbie/.“Fall Recipe Creations.” Little Debbie, https://www.littledebbie.com/fall-seasonal-recipe-creations.Gerrard, Gene. “Little Debbie: The Real Person Behind The Sweet Snack Mascot.” Tasting Table, 26 January 2025, https://www.tastingtable.com/1764450/little-debbie-snack-real-person/.Kazek, Kelly. “Who is Little Debbie and how did she become an iconic Southern brand?” It's a Southern Thing, 15 June 2025, https://www.southernthing.com/who-is-little-debbie-2657513691.html.Shop Little Debbie®: Authentic Little Debbie® Merchandise, https://shop.littledebbie.com/. “Who We Are.” Little Debbie, https://www.littledebbie.com/who-we-are.

We’re taking a peek behind the curtain, literally and figuratively.Sources:Conradt, Stacy. “8 Notorious Séances Involving Celebrities.” Mental Floss, http://mentalfloss.com/history/8-famous-seances.Debczak, Michele. “6 Classic Séance Tricks Explained.” Mental Floss, https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/6-classic-seance-tricks-explained. Jones, Jennifer. “The History of Séances: From the Fox Sisters to the White House.” The Dead History, https://thedeadhistory.com/a-history-of-seances/. Kommel, Alexandra. “Seances in the Red Room.” White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/seances-in-the-red-room. Little, Becky. “How a Hoax by Two Sisters Helped Spark the Spiritualism Craze.” History, https://www.history.com/articles/ghost-hoax-spiritualism-fox-sisters. O'Connor, Chris. “Understanding Spiritualism: From Seances to Modern Paranormal Investigation.” Eastern CT Paranormal Society, https://www.easternctparanormal.com/post/understanding-spiritualism-from-s%C3%A9ances-to-modern-paranormal-investigation.Selem, Rebecca. “Spiritualism: Our History with Otherworldly Communication.” DeKalb History Center, https://dekalbhistory.org/blog-posts/spiritualism-our-history-with-otherworldly-communication/. 

We dug deep for this one. Sorry. Had to do it.Sources:“About Us | The Historic Chinese American Cemetery.” Historic Chinese American Cemetery, https://www.chinesehistoriccemetery.org/about-us. “Chinese Cemetery.” Auburn Joss House, https://www.auburnjosshouse.org/chinese-cemetery. Custer, Jane. “History of Cemeteries in America.” Storymaps, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/044e810b748f44e495ae9309c5d0933a.D'Angona, Michael. “Death in the Old West – Old West Undertakers.” Athlon Outdoors, https://athlonoutdoors.com/article/death-in-the-old-west/. Greenfield, Rebecca. “Our First Public Parks: The Forgotten History of Cemeteries.” The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/03/our-first-public-parks-the-forgotten-history-of-cemeteries/71818/. “Native American Funeral Traditions.” Honor You, 28 February 2025, https://www.honoryou.com/native-american-funeral-traditions/?srsltid=AU7gw4UwxBNlflOF5al0_4gMyaTrLeEp0HEkrFgnycbEPfZTZHKkstON.Pinsky, Paul. “History in Jewish Cemeteries.” Moment Magazine, https://momentmag.com/jewish-geography-six-feet-under/. Sanders, Laurie. “The Potential of Our Decay: Cemeteries That Save the American Landscape.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/cemeteries-burials-american-landscape. “Seekers of Forgotten Burial Grounds: Rediscovering History.” Legacy Headstones, https://legacyheadstones.com/blogs/articles/seekers-of-forgotten-burial-grounds-rediscovering-history-and-family. Stoddard, JA. “History of National Cemeteries (U.S.” National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/national-cemeteries-history.htm.

We will attempt to answer the big question: Is it real?Sources:Conradt, Stacy. “7 Cases of Alleged Spontaneous Human Combustion.” Mental Floss, 11 April 2025, https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/quick-7-seven-cases-spontaneous-human-combustion. History Staff. “Is Spontaneous Human Combustion Real?” History, 27 May 2025, https://www.history.com/articles/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real. “Is Spontaneous Human Combustion Real?” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/story/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real.

Why we used these products and which ones survive in antique stores todaySources:Buchholz, MA, and M. Cervera. “Radium Historical Items Catalog - Final Report.” Nuclear Regulatory Commission, August 2008, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml1008/ml100840118.pdf. Daugherty, Greg. “Radium: The Deadly Health Fad of the Early 1900s | HISTORY.” History.com, 29 October 2025, https://www.history.com/articles/radium-cures-health-fad-early-20th-century. “The History of Radiation | Mirion.” Mirion Technologies, https://www.mirion.com/discover/knowledge-hub/articles/education/the-history-of-radiation. “Radioactivity in Antiques | US EPA.” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactivity-antiques.

It may have started in the 1960s, but did it actually end?Sources:“The British Invasion: 60 Years Of Influence.” Ed Sullivan Show, 18 November 2024, https://www.edsullivan.com/the-british-invasion-60-years-of-influence/. Paese, Meagan. “British Invasion.” The History of Rock and Roll, https://thehistoryofrockandroll.net/british-invasion/. Partridge, Kenneth. “21 Fab Facts About The Beatles.” Mental Floss, https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/11-fun-facts-about-beatles. Wright, Kristina. “5 Fab Facts About Music's British Invasion.” History Facts, https://historyfacts.com/arts-culture/article/facts-about-the-british-invasion/.

Find out where they got their name and which world leader had his own custom POGs.Sources:Erbland, Kate. “The Weird History of Pogs.” Mental Floss, 3 January 2014, https://www.mentalfloss.com/fun/toys/weird-history-pogs.Kincaid, Christy. “The History of POGs: A Fun Childhood Game.” Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 1 September 2025, https://kalamazoomuseum.org/blog/the-history-of-pogs-a-fun-childhood-game.“Remembering POGs.” Public, https://public.com/learn/pogs.“The Strange History of POGS — Makawao History Museum.” Makawao History Museum, 19 November 2025, https://www.makawaomuseum.org/blog/the-strange-history-of-pogs.

American birthday parties are not as old as you may think.Sources:“After all, when did celebrating birthdays became a thing?” The Oakland Post, 15 February 2023, https://oaklandpostonline.com/45230/features/after-all-when-did-celebrating-birthdays-became-a-thing/.Cieslik, Emma. “The festive history of American birthdays | National Museum of American History.” National Museum of American History, 28 May 2026, https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/festive-history-american-birthdays. “Hallmark Proudly Celebrates 100 Years in Gift Wrap.” Hallmark, https://corporate.hallmark.com/hallmark-news/100-years-in-gift-wrap/. Pinsker, Joe. “The Strange History of Birthday Celebrations.” The Atlantic, 2 November 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/11/history-birthday-celebrations/620585/. Spencer, Laura. “The History Of Gift Wrap.” NPR, https://www.npr.org/2017/12/23/573217009/the-history-of-gift-wrap.

We’ll tell all of you non-Kentuckians what this is and where it got its name.Sources:“Family Secret.” Ale-8, https://ale8one.com/heritage/family-secret/. “Fun Facts..” Ale-8, https://ale8one.com/heritage/fun-facts/. “G. Lee Wainscott: The Ale-8 Man (Part One).” Win City Voices, 22 October 2024, https://www.wincityvoices.org/g-lee-wainscott-the-ale-8-man-part-one/. “G. Lee Wainscott: The Ale-8 Man (Part Two).” Win City Voices, 29 October 2024, https://www.wincityvoices.org/g-lee-wainscott-the-ale-8-man-part-two/. Hunt, Ruth. “Explore | Ale-8-One Bottling Plant.” Kentucky Tourism, https://www.kentuckytourism.com/explore/ale-8-one-bottling-plant-5847.Juett, James. “Kentucky soda for a century: Ale-8-One marks 100 years.” The Daily Independent [Ashland, KY], 1-2 August 2026, p. C1.“Oral History: Ale-8-One Bottling Company.” Southern Foodways Alliance, https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/ale-8-one-bottling-company/.Walsh, Karla. “Ale-8-One Soda's History.” Southern Living, 23 August 2025, https://www.southernliving.com/ale-8-one-soda-history-11761535.