Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

Some inventions are commercial failures (see episode 45), and some are failures of such moral and/or epic proportions that the repercussions reverberate throughout history. These are those failures. 

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In this episode:  

• Land Mines
• Smell-O-Vision
• Sony XCP
• Zepellins 
• Shutter Shades

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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Veering away from cinema, this week's discord-exclusive (and 100% free) bonus episode finds the boys scraping the bottom of the audio barrel to identify the 5 absolute worst pop songs of all time. What's in your top five? Tell us in the MFFI discord...

MFFI DISCORD

In the wake of Shane's recent nuptials, Duncan takes the reins to explore the unsettling history and traditions of weddings. What was the original, sinister purpose of the "Best Man"? How are evil spirits related to Bridesmaid's dresses? And in what way is a honeymoon similar to fleeing a crime scene? Listen to find out...

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In this episode:  

• Marriage/Ownership
• Best Men/Kidnappers
• Bridesmaids/Decoys
• Wedding Party/Accomplices
• Garters/Zombies
• White Weddings
• Cake Smushing
• Wedding Traditions Around the World

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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Who was the first explorer to reach the North Pole? How about the South? It turns out that at least one of those answers is complicated, and although the controversy may never be laid to rest, plenty of would-be arctic conquerors were themselves laid to rest during the golden age of polar exploration. Join MFFI for the fascinating, brutal, bloody, pony-packed tale of the race for polar glory. 

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In this episode:  

• The "Top" of the World
• Map Makers, Eurocentrism, and the West Wing
• Polar Facts
• 90 Degrees Latitude
• The Polar Day, the Tilt of the Earth, and Polar Seasons
• Alert, Canada
• Nautical Twilight
• Thomas Nast and Santa Claus
• Russia Claims the Pole
• The Northwest Passage
• Prices of Spices
• Robert McClure and the HMS Investigator 
• The Magnetic North Pole VS the True North Pole
• The Lost Franklin Expedition of 1845
• The Arsenic-Poisoning of Charles Francis Hall
• The Crushing of George W Delong
• The Crashing of Salomon August Andree
• The Race Between Robert Peary and Frederick A Cook
• The Contributions of Matthew Henson
• Polar Bear Liver
• The Race for the South Pole 
• Roald Amundsum
• Fridtjof Nansen and the Fram
• The Night of the Ponies
• Amundson Takes the Pole
• Amundson Takes Another Pole
• The Death of Amundson

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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Why do we wear costumes on Halloween? When did pumpkins and candy get involved? And how the heck do you pronounce "Samhain"?

Listen to find out...

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In this episode:  

• Celtic Festivals, Gaelic Origins
• Samhain and Beltane
• Fairies (The Aos Si)
• Bonfires, Livestock, Leaps
• Liminal Celebrations
• The Romans and Feralia
• Pomona
• Apple Bobbing? 
• Feast of All Martyrs
• Pope Boniface IV
• Pope Gregory III
• All Saints Day (All Hallows Day)
• Feast of All Souls
• All Hallows Day/Evening
• Allhallowe'en
• Souling and Allhallowtide
• Soul Cakes
• Souling Plays
• Guising
• Mischief Night
• Jack O'Lanterns 
• Stingy Jack
• Turnip Lanterns
• Trick or Treating
• Candy Corn
• Pet Costumes
• Calorie Counts

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Join the Midnight Masses!

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And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! 

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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

After a series of deep-dive episodes chock full of useful information, the boys are back to form with an entirely off-the-rails and nonsensical romp through the history of some of the world's most famous, celebrated lost treasures. Pointless, silly fun. Enjoy!

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In this episode:  

• The Scepter of Dagobert
• The Three Brothers
• Faberge Eggs

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Join the Midnight Masses!

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And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! 

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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Are personality tests accurate? How were they developed, how reliable is the science behind them, and which are most respected? Most importantly: which developers of personality tests were sexy MFers and which of them wrote erotic fiction about old men? Follow along to discover the strange history behind personality tests. 

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In this episode:  

• WW1 and Shell Shock (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
• The Robert Sessions Woodworth Personal Data Sheet (WPDS)
• Carl Jung's Psychological Types
• Katherine Cook Briggs
• Isabel Briggs Meyers
• The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• The 8 Functions
• The 16 Types
• The Forer (Barnum) Effect
• CPP (Formerly Consulting Psychologists Press)
• ENTJ, The CEO Type
• Objective vs Projective Tests
• Hermann Rorschach, Sexy Badass
• Psychodiagnostik
• Pareidolia
• The Rorschach Test
• Ink Blot Interpretation (Klecksography)
• Gobolinks
• The Five Factor Model (FFM, or the Big 5)
• Enneagram
• Type A and Type B 
• The DISC Model

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Join the Midnight Masses!

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And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! 

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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Ross Ulbricht created the most notorious website in history when he launched the The Silk Road in 2011. An online marketplace for drugs, guns, poisons, and explosives, the Silk Road would become synonymous with the Internet's lawless new frontier: the so-called "Dark Web."

But what really IS the Dark Web? And how did a middle-class suburban kid become the notorious criminal kingpin known as the "Dread Pirate Roberts"?

Fire up your TOR browser and cover your digital tracks as you follow Shane and Duncan into the darkest depths of the web for a fascinating true story of drugs, contract killings, and betrayal.  

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In this episode:  

• Deep Vs Dark
• Ross Ulbricht, Libertarian
• TOR (The Onion Router) 
• The Bitcoin Connection
• 'Shrooms
• Altoid
• Dread Pirate Roberts
• Variety Jones
• The Kingpin Statute
• Gawker and Chuck Schumer
• Julia and Erica
• Ross's Rules and the "Nonaggression Principle"
• DEA, FBI, and IRS
• Agent Carl Force, aka Nob
• Curtis Green, aka ChronicPain
• Agent Shaun Bridges, Thief 
• Assassinations
• IRS Agent Gary Alford
• Caught
• Trial and Sentencing 
• Carla Sophia, the "French Maid"

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Join the Midnight Masses!

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Ten episodes away from the big 1-0-0, the boys are hunting for the true origin story of the elusive video-game Easter egg. (Hint: Ready Player One got it wrong.) Follow along as Shane guides Duncan through some of the most famous, interesting, or pathetically failed examples of hidden content from movies and games. 

PS: is there an Easter Egg in episode 90? Guess you'll have to keep listening to find out...

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In this episode:  

• Debunking Spielberg's Version of the First Easter Egg
• Adventure, by Warren Robinett
• Adam Clayton, Snitch
• Not Fixed by Brad Stewart
• Steve Wright and the Origin of the Term "Easter Egg"
• Video Whizball and the First Name Drop
• The True Origin: Moonlander, by Jack Burness
• The DEC G40
• Red Faction: Armageddon and Mr. Toots 
• Stormtrooper Blooper and the Battlefront Homage
• Resident Evil and the Jill Sandwich
• Castlevania CD Remix
• Doom II and John Romero's Head
• Diablo's Nonexistent Cow-Level
• Diablo II's Actual Hidden Cow-Level
• Batman: Arkham Asylum and the Product-Placement Easter Egg
• Konami, Solid Snake, Psycho Mantis, and the Creepiest of Easter eggs
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Literal Easter eggs
• Back to the Future and the Case of the Disappearing Pine
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Samuel L Jackson, Pulp Fiction, and Nick Fury's Tombstone
• Ezekial 25:17, Murder Monologue
• Big Kahuna Burger and the Tarantino/Rodriguez connection 
• From Dusk Till Dawn, Reservoir Dogs, Four Rooms, Death Proof
• Indiana Jones and Droid Hieroglyphs  (C-3PO and R2D2)
• The Phantom Menace (Galactic Senate E.T.s)
• Ready Player One and the Death of Easter Eggs

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Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas. 

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! 

Midnight Merch

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Do bears really hibernate? What does the color green look like to a cat? And most importantly, is ice cream flavored with beaver butts? Find the answers to these and other essential animal-related questions in this week's episode of MFFI. 

In this episode:  

• Do Bears Hibernate?
• Are Bats Blind?
• Can Dogs and Cats See Color?
• Can Owls Spin Their Heads Around?
• Are Penguins Monogamous?
• Is Ice Cream Flavored With Beaver Butts?
• Do Cats Love Milk?
• Have Primates (Like Koko) Actually Learned Sign Language?

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Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD

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Join the Midnight Masses!

Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas. 

And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! 

Midnight Merch

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Leave an Audio Message!

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Podcast Website

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~