The Legend of D.B. Cooper

The Legend of D.B. Cooper

Transcript On November 24, 1971, a man who identified himself as Dan Cooper purchased a $20 ticket for a short 30-minute flight from Portland to Seattle.  He had with him a briefcase filled with dynamite and wanted $200,000.  After getting his money, the plane took off again, Dan Cooper took the money, jumped out of …

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A History of Antarctica

A History of Antarctica

Transcript Antarctica has been an object of fascination since it was first discovered by explorers in the early 19th century.  Despite never having had a permanent human population, or as far as we know even a temporary population, Antarctica does have a history. Perhaps not as long and rich a history as Africa or Asia, …

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Potemkin Villages

Potemkin Villages

Transcript In 1787, Russian Empress Catherine the Great took a six-month trip to visit her newly acquired territories in the Crimean which had been taken from the Ottoman Empire. Along the way, she sailed down the Dnieper River and saw many of the shiny villages in the new Russian Crimean. However, there was a problem. …

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Understanding Randomness

Understanding Randomness

Transcript Randomness is all around us. Many of you probably think that this podcast is pretty random given that you have no clue what each day’s episode is going to be about.  However, true randomness is a very different thing than something being seemingly random. While randomness is actually all around us, harnessing it for …

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All About EGOT

All About EGOT

Transcript In the United States, there are awards given in many fields of entertainment. For Broadway productions, they have the Tony Awards. Television has the Emmy Awards. Music has the Grammy Awards, and Movies have the Oscars.  To win one award is a lifetime accomplishment for most.  However, a rare few have won one of …

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Alcohol in Early America

Alcohol in Early America

Transcript In the very days of the United States, the country was mostly made up of farmers.  They primarily ate the food which they grew, and maybe hunted to supplement their diet.  They also drank. Alcohol. A lot of alcohol. In fact, the amount of alcohol consumed by early Americans on average might have been …

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David Rice Atchison: President For A Day?

David Rice Atchison: President For A Day?

Transcript At 12 noon on March 4, 1849, the presidential administration of James Polk ended.  24 hours later, at noon on March 5, President Zachary Taylor took the oath of office to become president.  During those 24 hours in-between, who was the president? According to some, it was a member of the United States Senate. …

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The 2013 America’s Cup: The Greatest Comeback in Sport’s History

The 2013 America's Cup: The Greatest Comeback in Sport's History

Transcript Comeback stories are some of the best stories in sports. Whether it is coming back from a huge deficit, or being on the brink of elimination in a series, these are often some of the most dramatic moments in sports history. They don’t happen that often because once you are down by a large …

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All About the Latin Language

All About the Latin Language

Transcript “E Pluribus Unum”, “Habeus Corpus”, “Carpe Diem”, “Caveat Emptor”. All of these phrases are known by most people, yet they come from a language that has been dead for 1500 years: Latin. Latin is on our money, serves as mottos for universities, and is the foundation for our entire naming system in biology. Many …

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