Doomsday: History's Most Dangerous Podcast

• The Regent's Park Skating Disaster of 1867 | Episode 98

  Nothing says ‘fun afternoon’ quite like adding cutlery to your feet, bruising most of your body, and then going for a nice swim. And to clarify, when I say nothing, I mean because that’s not something that anyone has ever said before.On today’s episode: we’ll see how the former digs of axe murderers and corpse thieves and child labour body pits became one of the most beautiful green spaces in London; we’ll learn why early ice skates were only marginally more comfortable than being eaten by wolves; and we’ll learn why Victorian fashion doubled as de facto funeral attire with the addition of simple water.And because you are listening on Patreon… you’ll hear about how early animal captivity turned one man into a bloody Stretch Armstrong doll, complete with blood spray effects; you will learn how the Dutch invented a new high-speed form of knife-fighting and ice skates for horses; and you will hear how London had a unique form of Winter Fair that only closed up for the year once people started drowning.There’s no risk of drowning in feces or burning to death in today’s story, so in a way this is our nicest visit to Victorian England we’ve ever attempted – you’re welcome. But that said, we’re going to see how everything from your hobbies to your clothes wanted you dead. And I don’t want to spoil anything, but by the time we’re finishing up, you’re going to wonder just how often the same thing can happen again and again. I don’t want your takeaway to be fear, I want it to be hope and empowerment, acknowledging even the most frightening situations are not guaranteed death sentences. As one of my favourite listeners says, “you’re not dead till you’re warm and dead”. This is our last normal episode of the year. A year that will have brought you more than 934 minutes of content and laid 23,589 corpses at your feet. Not bad if I do say so myself. The next episode will be our Christmas disaster movies ode, and for you guys I’m turning it into a video! ––––– THANK YOU. Most shows survive at the whim of production companies and corporate sponsors, built from the top down. Doomsday doesn’t exist because some network exec believes in it – it exists because actual people do. It's built from the bottom up, and it’s been my privilege to bring you these stories. Just you, me, and a microphone. I don’t do this for you, so much as I do this because of you. If you'd like to support the show at Buy Me A Coffee, or join the club over at Patreon for AD-FREE EPISODES, LONGER EPISODES, EXTRA CONTENT, all that good stuff (I’m truly sorry about those ads, they're not in my control) All older episodes can be found on any of your favorite channels  Apple : https://tinyurl.com/5fnbumdw Spotify : https://tinyurl.com/73tb3uuw IHeartRadio : https://tinyurl.com/vwczpv5j Podchaser : https://tinyurl.com/263kda6w Stitcher : https://tinyurl.com/mcyxt6vw Google : https://tinyurl.com/3fjfxatt Spreaker : https://tinyurl.com/fm5y22su RadioPublic : https://tinyurl.com/w67b4kec PocketCasts. : https://pca.st/ef1165v3 CastBox : https://tinyurl.com/4xjpptdr Breaker. : https://tinyurl.com/4cbpfayt Deezer. : https://tinyurl.com/5nmexvwt Follow us on the socials for more Facebook : www.facebook.com/doomsdaypodcast Instagram : www.instagram.com/doomsdaypodcast Twitter : www.twitter.com/doomsdaypodcast TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@doomsday.the.podcastSafety google off. We'll talk soon. And thanks for listening. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/doomsday-history-s-most-dangerous-podcast--4866335/support.

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• The Edmund Fitzgerald Disaster of 1975 | Episode 96

  The average lake around the world is about the size of a large parking lot – the kind of thing you might try to skip a stone across. The current World Record for stone skipping is 88 skips. If you were to skip a stone across the lake we’re visiting today, it would have to beat that number by about 406, 912 and it would be bouncing across the water for about three hours.On today’s episode: You’ll learn about the most boat-hungry lakes anywhere in the world; you’ll see why you would rather be beaten half-to-death in the face with a bat than visit the site of today story; and you’ll find out how a cherished keepsake from our tale was recovered by a nightmarish bright orange, alien-shaped robot monster made out of airplane-grade aluminum.And because you are listening on Patreon… you will figure out if flat-earthers are just the dumbest people in the world or the dumbest people in history; you will get to walk through the deadliest things to ever happen on the Greatest Lake system in the world; and you will hear a sode inside a sode about a storm from 1913 so powerful than when they needed a name they settled on “Great”.We can only barely understand how frightening today’s story must have been for the men who were lost and the families they left behind. I feel a real responsibility to tell their stories with accuracy and respect knowing there are real people out there connected to the story and still wounded by it. That said, outside of calling the ship the Eddy Fitz one time, and then the way I give description to the indescribable physical hell you’d experience if you grabbed a snorkel and tried to visit the site of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I think maintained a definite air of respect during this episode. You’d be honestly surprised at how many people were so deeply touched and effected by the event. Sorry for sounding so gloomy at the end, but sometimes I get bummed out. Not as bummed as the families of those lost on Gitchi Goomie mind you. With all that said, there are only two more episodes in the year, but they are really something. We’ll be having our least nauseating visit to Victorian England in search of outdoor entertainment. And the last episode is our return to the Disaster Moviesode format by popular demand. The last time we did one, it was the 1998 Michael Bay schlocktacular “Armageddon” – a movie so bereft of sense or scientific consideration, they used it at NASA as a test to see how many things you could find wrong with it. Well, this time, we have a film so preposterous, it makes Armageddon look misunderstood. And it contains within it’s 2 hours and 15 minute running time almost every type of disaster, except ironically, asteroids. It's the 2003 Aaron Eckhart movie, “The Core”, and I know you’re going to like it. I saw it in the theatre, and I certainly didn’t.––––– THANK YOU. Most shows survive at the whim of production companies and corporate sponsors, built from the top down. Doomsday doesn’t exist because some network exec believes in it – it exists because actual people do. It's built from the bottom up, and it’s been my privilege to bring you these stories. Just you, me, and a microphone. I don’t do this for you, so much as I do this because of you. If you'd like to support the show at Buy Me A Coffee, or join the club over at Patreon for AD-FREE EPISODES, LONGER EPISODES, EXTRA CONTENT, all that good stuff (I’m truly sorry about those ads, they're not in my control) All older episodes can be found on any of your favorite channels  Apple : https://tinyurl.com/5fnbumdw Spotify : https://tinyurl.com/73tb3uuw IHeartRadio : https://tinyurl.com/vwczpv5j Podchaser : https://tinyurl.com/263kda6w Stitcher : https://tinyurl.com/mcyxt6vw Google : https://tinyurl.com/3fjfxatt Spreaker : https://tinyurl.com/fm5y22su RadioPublic : https://tinyurl.com/w67b4kec PocketCasts. : https://pca.st/ef1165v3 CastBox : https://tinyurl.com/4xjpptdr Breaker. : https://tinyurl.com/4cbpfayt Deezer. : https://tinyurl.com/5nmexvwt Follow us on the socials for more Facebook : www.facebook.com/doomsdaypodcast Instagram : www.instagram.com/doomsdaypodcast Twitter : www.twitter.com/doomsdaypodcast TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@doomsday.the.podcastSafety google off. We'll talk soon. And thanks for listening. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/doomsday-history-s-most-dangerous-podcast--4866335/support.

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• The Great Wanggongchang Armory Disaster of 1626 | Episode 95

  To begin today’s tale, allow me to share a translation of an ancient Chinese joke: Three men were looking at the clouds. One points to a cloud and says, that cloud is shaped like a horse. Another points to a cloud and says, that one is shaped like a whale. The third man points to a mushroom-shaped cloud, and everyone dies. On today’s episode: you’ll find out just how badly ancient China wanted nothing to do with you; you’ll learn about an explosion so large, people miles away had to clear limbs and genitals from their rooves; and you would hear about how at the time, ancient disasters were believed to be Heaven’s way of saying your Government sucked.And if you were listening on Patreon… you would hear about how people were killed in the early development of explosives, including those for whom there wasn’t enough left to put a thermometer in; you would hear about the time San Francisco tried to use dynamite to fight fires, and how that didn’t go as well as you’d think; and you would hear as I climb upon my pulpit and deliver unto you a sermon on blasphemy and the special place in hell reserved for insurance adjusters.As one supporter who already heard this on Patreon said – "everybody Wanggongchang tonight!"Jesus himself will make a quick cameo in this story, and he will explain how all sins are forgivable – except for the blasphemous use of his Dad’s name by insurance adjusters, and how there’s a toasty level of hell that awaits them all. Apologies in advance if you work in insurance, but it’s better to find out now. The last time we visited China, we watched a sideways rocket launch that performed an incomplete orbit over the countryside before landing nose first onto its own launch centre 22 seconds later. Those were the good old days compared to today’s story, which is much older, and much more aggressive. It won’t be as gory of course, but the body count will be much more egregious. In trying to figure out this story’s rightful place in history, I had to start comparing it to meteors and super volcanoes and atomic bombs. Not to spoil anything, but this is one of the more profound disasters we’ve ever covered, and the cause was I believe, something so innocuous and dumb, I’ve done it to my cat by accident before. ––––– THANK YOU. Most shows survive at the whim of production companies and corporate sponsors, built from the top down. Doomsday doesn’t exist because some network exec believes in it – it exists because actual people do. It's built from the bottom up, and it’s been my privilege to bring you these stories. Just you, me, and a microphone. I don’t do this for you, so much as I do this because of you. If you'd like to support the show at Buy Me A Coffee, or join the club over at Patreon for AD-FREE EPISODES, LONGER EPISODES, EXTRA CONTENT, all that good stuff (I’m truly sorry about those ads, they're not in my control) All older episodes can be found on any of your favorite channels  Apple : https://tinyurl.com/5fnbumdw Spotify : https://tinyurl.com/73tb3uuw IHeartRadio : https://tinyurl.com/vwczpv5j Podchaser : https://tinyurl.com/263kda6w Stitcher : https://tinyurl.com/mcyxt6vw Google : https://tinyurl.com/3fjfxatt Spreaker : https://tinyurl.com/fm5y22su RadioPublic : https://tinyurl.com/w67b4kec PocketCasts. : https://pca.st/ef1165v3 CastBox : https://tinyurl.com/4xjpptdr Breaker. : https://tinyurl.com/4cbpfayt Deezer. : https://tinyurl.com/5nmexvwt Follow us on the socials for more Facebook : www.facebook.com/doomsdaypodcast Instagram : www.instagram.com/doomsdaypodcast Twitter : www.twitter.com/doomsdaypodcast TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@doomsday.the.podcastSafety google off. We'll talk soon. And thanks for listening. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/doomsday-history-s-most-dangerous-podcast--4866335/support.

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• The Air Africa Congo Halloween Crashtacular of 1996 | Episode 94

  Take the most frightening death you can imagine, now double it. Then double it again. And then add fire. This is our Halloween episode, and by the time we’re done, your favourite horror movie will have all the impact of a baby food commercial. I’m not saying you’ll never sleep again, but I’m not not saying it. I am apologizing in advance, and I remind you that a Doomsday barf bag is only an email away. Back when we did the Sknyliv Airshow Disaster episode, I had grave concerns about her aggressively violent and gory it was because. If you’ll remember, during the air show, a Ukrainian fighter jet the size of a medium sized store impacted the ground, skidding through a run of barbed wire, which then hooked on the fuselage and was dragged and raked across a crowd. In retrospect, that was quaint compared to the totality of horror visited upon the people of today’s story. I remind you, the point of this show is not simply to disgust and horrify people. It’s to educate and make them safer. It just happens that the best way to do so is to occasionally horrify, and this episode covers that in spades. This was one of the first stories I wrote, but I shelved it because I thought it would drive people away with how gratuitously awful it was. Well, we’re all here toady and filtering it through the lens of a Halloween episode, you’ll finally hear it today.––––– THANK YOU. Most shows survive at the whim of production companies and corporate sponsors, built from the top down. Doomsday doesn’t exist because some network exec believes in it – it exists because actual people do. It's built from the bottom up, and it’s been my privilege to bring you these stories. Just you, me, and a microphone. I don’t do this for you, so much as I do this because of you. If you'd like to support the show at Buy Me A Coffee, or join the club over at Patreon for AD-FREE EPISODES, LONGER EPISODES, EXTRA CONTENT, all that good stuff (I’m truly sorry about those ads, they're not in my control) All older episodes can be found on any of your favorite channels  Apple : https://tinyurl.com/5fnbumdw Spotify : https://tinyurl.com/73tb3uuw IHeartRadio : https://tinyurl.com/vwczpv5j Podchaser : https://tinyurl.com/263kda6w Stitcher : https://tinyurl.com/mcyxt6vw Google : https://tinyurl.com/3fjfxatt Spreaker : https://tinyurl.com/fm5y22su RadioPublic : https://tinyurl.com/w67b4kec PocketCasts. : https://pca.st/ef1165v3 CastBox : https://tinyurl.com/4xjpptdr Breaker. : https://tinyurl.com/4cbpfayt Deezer. : https://tinyurl.com/5nmexvwt Follow us on the socials for more Facebook : www.facebook.com/doomsdaypodcast Instagram : www.instagram.com/doomsdaypodcast Twitter : www.twitter.com/doomsdaypodcast TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@doomsday.the.podcastSafety google off. We'll talk soon. And thanks for listening. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/doomsday-history-s-most-dangerous-podcast--4866335/support.

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• The Cave Creek Platform Disaster of 1995 | Episode 93

  The most unusual thing about today’s story is that almost everyone is going to bruise their lungs. For your sake, I hope it’s from laughing. Not everyone will be so lucky.On today’s episode: you’ll hear about the one part of your body I want you to consider more worthy of fiddling with than your genitals; if you’re a stickler for building codes, we’re going to take you on a beautiful, potentially one-way hike to see some shoddy-ass worksmanship; and we’ll see what makes helicopter rescues as frightening as whatever you did to earn one in the first place. And if you were listening on Patreon… I would use tales of sharks and octopuses and meth and sex toys to try and make today’s location more appealing; you would meet the surviving inductees to the No-Parachute Hall of Fame; and you would find out how the greatest construction disaster in US history inspired my idea for an OSHA Violation Ouija Board Game.In this episode, so you know, I was going to start by saying we have a story you’re going to fall head over heels for, but that felt like the most unintentionally disrespectful thing I’ve ever said. I’m also going to teach you the reassuring paleontological roots of why you laugh at this show. It is my unique pleasure to be able to take us all back to Oceana on today’s episode. I make a point about how little attention is paid to this part of the world outside of South East Asia. Actually, I make a few points about it, as I’ve done in the past as well. This is, sadly, one of those episodes were young people will die terribly, and frighteningly, but it’s also one of those stories that offers two things. First, a silver lining and legacy of change and safety, sure – but second, a chance to really get your torches and knives out for a government that dropped a ball and then walked behind it kicking it the whole way. I know a lot of listeners get a kind of malicious satisfaction or bureaucraschadenfreude when people in positions of responsibility for our stories get their heads removed. You’ll just have to wait and see. And because we’re now into October and the Halloween Season, I will be creating a masterpiece of horror and gore for our next episode. This is one I originally started writing all the way back in 2016 (yes, it took four years to get this show rolling). I shelved it though. Too violent. Too many limbs. Well, five years in, you’ve all proven how hard it is to scare you off, so from the annals of history comes our most frightening episode ever. Maybe. It’s relative I suppose. ––––– THANK YOU. Most shows survive at the whim of production companies and corporate sponsors, built from the top down. Doomsday doesn’t exist because some network exec believes in it – it exists because actual people do. It's built from the bottom up, and it’s been my privilege to bring you these stories. Just you, me, and a microphone. I don’t do this for you, so much as I do this because of you. If you'd like to support the show at Buy Me A Coffee, or join the club over at Patreon for AD-FREE EPISODES, LONGER EPISODES, EXTRA CONTENT, all that good stuff (I’m truly sorry about those ads, they're not in my control) All older episodes can be found on any of your favorite channels  Apple : https://tinyurl.com/5fnbumdw Spotify : https://tinyurl.com/73tb3uuw IHeartRadio : https://tinyurl.com/vwczpv5j Podchaser : https://tinyurl.com/263kda6w Stitcher : https://tinyurl.com/mcyxt6vw Google : https://tinyurl.com/3fjfxatt Spreaker : https://tinyurl.com/fm5y22su RadioPublic : https://tinyurl.com/w67b4kec PocketCasts. : https://pca.st/ef1165v3 CastBox : https://tinyurl.com/4xjpptdr Breaker. : https://tinyurl.com/4cbpfayt Deezer. : https://tinyurl.com/5nmexvwt Follow us on the socials for more Facebook : www.facebook.com/doomsdaypodcast Instagram : www.instagram.com/doomsdaypodcast Twitter : www.twitter.com/doomsdaypodcast TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@doomsday.the.podcastSafety google off. We'll talk soon. And thanks for listening. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/doomsday-history-s-most-dangerous-podcast--4866335/support.

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