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  • The Cadaver Synod: the Pope Who Put a Corpse on Trial (897)

    The Cadaver Synod: the Pope Who Put a Corpse on Trial (897)
    2026/09/11
    In 897 Pope Stephen VI had his predecessor Formosus exhumed, dressed in papal vestments and propped on a throne to stand trial. A deacon answered for the corpse. The verdict was guilty, the blessing fingers were severed, and the body went into the Tiber — then the Lateran basilica collapsed and Rome turned on Stephen. The Cadaver Synod, the strangest trial in the history of the Catholic Church, and why the Vatican's official position on prosecuting the dead is still contradictory.

    This episode was produced with AI narration and scripting, with human editorial review.

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    4 分
  • The Pig War of 1859

    The Pig War of 1859
    2026/09/11
    In 1859, Britain and the United States sent warships, artillery and hundreds of soldiers to a small sheep island over the shooting of a single pig. The pig remains the only confirmed casualty. A vague treaty, two channels, a potato patch, and the British admiral who refused to start a war over a squabble about a pig.

    This episode was produced with AI narration and scripting, with human editorial review.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stranger-than-fact-absurd-true-history--7337201/support.
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    5 分
  • The Dancing Plague of 1518

    The Dancing Plague of 1518
    2026/09/11
    In July 1518, a woman began to dance in a Strasbourg street and did not stop for nearly a week. Within a month, hundreds had joined her, and some of them danced until they died. The city's physicians diagnosed overheated blood and prescribed more dancing — so the council cleared the grain market, built a stage, and hired musicians to keep everyone moving. It went exactly as badly as you would expect.

    This episode was produced with AI narration and scripting, with human editorial review.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stranger-than-fact-absurd-true-history--7337201/support.
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    5 分
  • The London Beer Flood of 1814

    The London Beer Flood of 1814
    2026/09/11
    In October 1814, a vat taller than the houses around it burst, and three hundred thousand gallons of porter went through a London neighbourhood at the speed of a running horse. Eight people died. The inquest jury blamed nobody, and the brewery got its tax back. The slipped iron hoop, the letter never finished, and the verdict of an act of God.

    This episode was produced with AI narration and scripting, with human editorial review.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stranger-than-fact-absurd-true-history--7337201/support.
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    5 分
  • The Great Emu War: Australia vs 20,000 Emus (1932)

    The Great Emu War: Australia vs 20,000 Emus (1932)
    2026/09/11
    In November 1932, Australia deployed machine guns against twenty thousand emus. The emus won. Scott tells the full story of the Great Emu War — the jammed Lewis gun, the truck the birds outran, and the parliamentary suggestion that any medals should go to the emus. Absurd history that actually happened, in six minutes.

    This episode was produced with AI narration and scripting, with human editorial review.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stranger-than-fact-absurd-true-history--7337201/support.
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    5 分