Our Fake History
A podcast about myths we think are history and history that might be hidden in myths! Awesome stories that really (maybe) happened!
Episode #215 - Edgar Allan Poe: Hoax Master?
Edgar Allan Poe has been remembered as one of America's greatest authors and poets. However, many are less familiar with is career as a hoaxer. In the 1830's and 1840's Poe made a name for himself orchestrating elaborate newspaper hoaxes, and debunking hoaxes attempted by others. Poe specialized in deceptions that dealt with the frontiers of science. Some of these scientific hoaxes flopped, while others drummed up real excitement among astonished readers. What was the secret sauce that made a newspaper hoax go large? Tune-in and find out how moon-gnomes, chess playing automatons, and bipedal space beavers all play a role in the story.
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Podcast Episodes
Episode #190- Who Was The Real Zorro? (Part I)
The co-creator of Batman has admitted that there would be no caped crusader had it not been for the inspiration of masked-avenger Zorro. In turn, the character of Zorro could not have existed without the inspiration of r…
Episode #189- What Bewitched Salem? (Part III)
The Salem witch panic of 1692 can sometimes feel more like a natural disaster than a human event. When the crisis reached its peak in the late summer of 1692 it had become as chaotic and destructive as any extreme storm.…
Episode #188- What Bewitched Salem? (Part II)
Can a psychological illness become contagious? Many experts believe that in rare cases a phenomenon known as a "mass psychogenic illness" can break out in a population. Can this strange quirk of group psychology help us…
Episode #187- What Bewitched Salem? (Part I)
In 1692 in the town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two young girls started acting very strangely. The girls suffered from uncontrollable fits, bouts of incoherence, and odd outbursts including barking and choking sound…
Episode #186- Who Was Germany's Greatest Imposter?
In 1906 an ex-convict named Wilhelm Voigt living pulled off one of the most audacious heists in European history. After cobbling together a realistic looking Captain's uniform, he convinced ten German soldiers to follow…
OFH Throwback- Episode #43- What is Phantom Time?
In the world of pseudo-historical theories there are few more radical than the Phantom Time Hypothesis and the New Chronology. These theories propose that hundreds of years of human history never actually occurred. Our c…
OFH Throwback- Episode #113- Who is Kyiv's Most Vengeful Saint?
There are few tales of revenge as epic as that of Olga of Kyiv. In 945 AD Olga set out on a campaign of vengeance that would make a lasting mark on the history of Eastern Europe. However, there is good reason to believe…
Episode #185- Was Wrestling Ever Real? ft. RJ City (Part III)
Most professional wrestling fans have accepted the scripted nature of wrestling for decades, but are we truly living in a post-kayfabe world? This week's guest, RJ City, thinks that maybe kayfabe never died. RJ City is a…
Episode #184- Was Wrestling Ever Real? (Part II)
Professional Wrestling had a long history of manipulated matches, but it took time to evolve into the pure theatre we know today. Along the road Professional Wrestling passed through a strange intermediary period, where…
