i am not making this up podcast – Tracy S. Morris

In this episode, we delve into William Buckland, a pioneer in Paleontology who was more than a little obsessed with Poop.

There are some family history stories that you just know you should take with a grain of salt. Like the one about how your ancestor was bffs forevah with George Washington. Or the one where you are omg we totes swear a descendant of a queen. Or at least an Indian princess.

Depending on who you ask, Thomas Jefferson is either much loved, or the founding father you love to hate. Not only did he write the Declaration of Independence, but he also presided over the Louisana Purchase and pushed for the Lewis and Clark expedition. On the other hand, he sat out most of the revolution […]

100 years ago was a simpler time. A time when you could pin postage on your four year old’s coat and send them on a mail train to Grandma. Back then people would laugh about it and go “Oh, You!” Now trying something similar would probably lead to a phone call and a visit from […]

In 1964, one of the hottest selling items around Thanksgiving was the aluminum Christmas tree. The Aluminum Specialty Company manufactured an estimated 150,000 trees that year. Then in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired. By 1970 the Aluminum Specialty Company had shut down all production of aluminum Christmas Trees. In this episode, I discuss how and […]

Susan B. Antony and Nine Friends managed to vote for Ulysses S. Grant. For her trouble, Anthony was arrested, sent to court and fined. She swore she would never pay the fine, and she didn’t. Today’s podcast is about all the people who drew a line, so that tomorrow we can stand in one to […]

It’s the season of ghosts, ghouls and goblins. So let’s tell a story. This is the story of Julie, or possibly Julia Brown, or possibly Black, or maybe even White. A Voodoo practitioner said to have taken a whole town with her when she died. Or maybe that was just coincidence. You know how these […]

Rightly or wrongly (and these days, everyone considers it wrongly) Columbus is known as “The Man Who Discovered America.” For many of us, that is how history is taught: Columbus set out to prove that the Earth wasn’t flat, landed in the Caribbean and said “whoooo hoooo! New world!” The truth is a little (okay […]

A well-worn Hollywood plot is one where the President’s daughter is kidnapped, so a hero has to rescue her. In real life, this never would have happened to Alice Roosevelt. Not just because her father, Teddy Roosevelt was a badass who could have rescued her himself. But also because the apple didn’t fall far from […]

On September 2, a fire destroyed the National Museum of Brazil, taking with it 90 percent of the museum’s collection. This included recordings of dead languages and zoological and botanical specimens. When we think about large, destructive loss of accumulated knowledge, we think of the burning of the Library of Alexandria. But the burning of […]

When Thomas Jefferson envisioned westward expansion, he wanted the new states to be neat and orderly, unlike the 13 colonies. Jefferson wanted each state boundary to lay along latitude and longitude markers. As anyone who has ever seen a map of the United States knows, that’s not what happened. So why do the 50 US […]

The attacks came in the night. Monsters came into the very tents, undaunted by campfire and torchlight. The monsters dragged fully grown men from their beds, taking them away in the night to satisfy their bloodlust. It sounds like the plot of a horror film, but this really happened. The monsters weren’t eldritch beasts straight […]

The archaeopterx is considered the link between dinosaurs and modern birds. A Chickenosarus might resemble one of these extinct creatures. After working as a consultant on Jurassic Park, a paleontologist wants to bring back the dinosaurs. Clearly, he didn’t pay enough attention to the movie.

Inspired by the holiday, and by my Arkansas Razorbacks Baseball Team going to the college world series (where, despite my wishes in the podcast, they did not win) I focused on the history of Baseball for this episode. Or what we think we know. Because once again, while I am not making this up, someone […]

For something that could be considered the poster child for processed food, hot dogs have a very organic origin.

There is a story (definitely not true) that Martha Washington invented ice cream. Regardless of the story’s truth or fiction, George Washington loved ice cream. So much that he and Martha served it to guests both at Mt. Vernon, and when they were at the president’s home in New York City. While these days ice […]

You would think that Comicon attendees invented cosplay, but Queen Marie Antoinette would tell you au contraire. When she was Queen of France, rocked the milkmaid look while visiting her personal village on the grounds of Versailles.

When something is easy, we say that it’s like taking candy from a baby. Maybe we should say that it’s like stealing the French Crown Jewels. Because stealing the French Crown Jewels was just that easy. Allegedly. I wouldn’t know personally.

One of the most infamous outlaws of the Old West may not have existed, but may have been invented by real murderers to cover up the lynching of an innocent rancher and her husband. This is the story of who Cattle Kate was, and who she was not.

Ever hear of the cobra effect? Sadly, it’s not an episode of GI Joe. But if you listen to this episode, you’ll know what it is. And knowing is half the battle.