InfoCast 5000

Why does everything exist? Interesting facts about familiar pieces of everyday life! Beren & Sam take you on a journey through the history of items you use every day, but may not know the story behind..

Dirty Bits: Hamburgers

The burger madness doesn't stop. More facts and stories between 2 podcasty buns to fill your appetite.

06-07
45:33

Ep. 57 Hamburgers: Round, Ground, Browned and Downed

Get a number 4 off the menu with us, open those choppers and earholes and listen the story of how this American staple got from the mongols to our mouths.

05-31
57:58

Dirty Bits: Rockets

Can't get enough rocket stories? We have explosion content for you this week, guest starring: Pigeons! Not sure what that means? We can't spoil the secrets for you all in the description! More tid bits behind rocket history coming at you! Russian revolutionaries! Failed Russian moon landing attempts! V-2 escapades! Dirty Bits!

05-24
01:06:30

Ep. 56 Rockets: The Final Frontier

Special guest: BJ from Medicine for the Dead podcast! Lighting things on fire has always been fun, but its also how we got broke free of gravity's shackles and got ourselves to the moon. From the humble beginnings of bamboo and gunpowder to Nazi war secrets to cold wars, come with us as we travel across history to see how rockets got made! 

05-17
01:01:45

Dirty Bits: Wigs

Looking for more wig on head action? You've come to the right place! This episode is chocked full of the wiggiest tales you could ever shake a a ball of fake hair at! From asian culture to the weaves of today, explore the bits and pieces we weren't able to fit into our normal script! Dirty Bits!

05-10
58:09

Ep. 55 Wigs: Get Wiggy With It

Fake hair don't care. You're getting a jam-packed historical trip on the life and times of our favorite fashion accessory: ze wig. Wacky social rules and over-powdered gentries clogging up battlefields and so much more!

05-03
52:50

Dirty Bits: Laxatives

Heartfelt stories about poop that will touch your soul. You will laugh, you will cry, you will poop. This is dirty bits.

04-26
52:49

Ep. 54 Laxatives: Poison is our Friend

There was a time in human history when constipation was the number 1 scourge of society. This week we are taking a look at all the weird substances we used to ingest to get the old pipes churnin' and burnin'!

04-19
01:01:43

Taxidermy: Dirty Bits

Scintillating stories of stuffed animals that will keep you sizzling about still-life for another week! Horses! Both alive and dead! Ghost dogs! Cat mummy powder! Welcome once again to the madness that is all the stories we couldn't find into our normal script! Welcome to dirty bits!

04-12
59:54

Ep. 53 Taxidermy pt. 3: Akeley's Heel

We are crossing the final sawdust-filled on our journey through taxidermy. We are discussing one of the most famous taxidermists ever to wrap skin and going into the artistic and realism movements of these modern times.

04-05
41:59

Ep. 52 Taxidermy pt. 2: A Case of the Whimseys

We are covering how taxidermy grew from a novelty to a point where we may have wiped out a couple bird species. We didn't stop there though, the Victorians had a morbidly entertaining view on the subject, and we don't mean dancin' Ragu, the Victorian kitty.

03-29
38:42

Ep. 51 Taxidermy pt. 1: Arsenic is Forever

Worried about dry skin? Don't worry, the Infocast boys are here to provide you with one of the best youth-preserving techniques out there today! That's right, we are giving you the historical rundown of how you can keep looking your best after you expire. The ancient Egyptians may have been the first but what came after that? Listen and find out! 

03-22
47:46

Dirty Bits: Refrigerators + The Blood Story

We'll spin you tales of refrigerator past, the rise and fall of icemakers, the return of the ice king, the harrowing tale of a mysterious pool of blood. Join us for our relaxed fit bits that didn't quite make it into the actual script, the dirty bits! 

03-15
39:16

Ep. 50 Refrigerators: Cold Chain Logistics

Pop open that door for a midnight snack of historical factoids on how we got from harvesting dirty snow to the compressors and evaporators that keep our leftover pizza cold. Ruthless ice pirates, ruthlesser scientists, the world of refrigeration is full of players. Join us while we try to figure out why refrigerators exist! 

03-08
44:12

Dirty Bits: Dice

We've taught you all we know about dice but now we are gonna share more about dice than what we had before! Surprise! 3 harrowing tales about the bones that are sure to confound, mesmerize, incite wonder!

03-01
34:22

Ep. 49 Dice: Dice, Baby

The outcome of the a dice roll has set the foundation of human civilization since we ever decided to throw bones. Come on with us on a journey through ancient traditions on a quest to figure out why dice exist!

02-22
37:12

Dirty Bits: Monster Trucks

Pleased be advised that the beginning of this episode deals with a story involving the death of a child. Skip to 11:40 in the podcast if you would rather not hear about that.  The proverbial dirty bits are down in the bog this time around! We've got a Gravedigger origin story, we look at how ESPN took off and some monster truck show calamities. Join us as we cross the finish line on our monster truck series.

02-15
34:18

Ep. 47 Monster Trucks: Mud, Sweat and Tears

What's that coming down the track? Is it an egg? No! It's a gigantic truck screaming through the dirt about to do a half-gainer backflip 30 feet in the air. We are starting at the origins of one of the most ridiculous and meticulously-engineered specimens of American culture this week: the monster truck!  It's a new year and we are back with a new season! 

02-01
29:43

Ep. 48 Monster Trucks pt. 2: Two Boys in a Bog

Climb up and strap in for our continuance on monster truck history! A new challenger has appeared! Mud will fly, exhaust will fume, trucks will truck! 

02-08
32:15

Dirty Bits: Werewolves

Jump into the werewolf trials with us and discover the real monsters lurking in the 17th century. Our study of werewolf origins may end here, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about an infamous dog man from Michigan. These are the pages of research we couldn't fit into our normal narrative, these are dirty bits!

10-26
44:06

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