Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

Only a sucker would believe that P.T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute." In the latest episode of MFFI, the boys once again undermine their own faith in humanity by exposing the inventors, scientists, authors, and orators who deserve none of the credit they've been given. 

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In this episode: 

• Stigler's Law of Eponymy 
• Mark Twain and Helen Keller
• Halley's Comet
• The Pythagorean Theorum
• Hubble's Law (Edwin Hubble)
• Alexander Friedmann
• Georges Lemaitre and the Hubble Constant
• Hubble and the Nobel Prize
• Fermi Paradox Redux
• The Invention of the Automobile
• Henry Ford, William Klann, and the Assembly Line
• Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz
• Siegfried Marcus
• The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
• Carriages
• The Telephone
• Alexander Graham Bell vs. Elisha Gray
• Johan Philip Reis and the Singing Station
• Antonio Meucci and the Teletrophono
• Mark Twain Misattribution
• Albert Einstein Misattribution
• QAnon Misattribution (White Squall)
• Marie Antoinette Misattribution
• PT Barnum Misattribution
• Marilyn Monroe Misattribution 

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Join the Midnight Masses!

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Is it reasonable to believe that ghosts actually exist? From a scientific standpoint, are there any credible explanations for ghost sightings? In the latest MFFI host-swap episode, Duncan debunks his own sketchy theories and then regales Shane with some of the world's earliest ghost stories. 

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In this episode: 

• SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device)
• Franz Mesmer
• Animal Magnetism
• Electromagnetic Fields
• David Cohen and Heart Magnetism
• Ghost Tale from Ancient Egypt
• Ghost Tale from China (Mo-Tzu, Emperor Hsuan and Tu-Po)
• Ghost Tale from Pliny the Younger
• Ghost Tale from Plutarch (Damon and the Bath House)

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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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~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

The boys take a break from espionage to explore bitcoin, the blockchain, and all things cryptocurrency. What even IS a Bitcoin, and how does it work? Is cryptocurrency a solid investment? Is Bitcoin really anonymous? And who the heck is Satoshi Nakomoto? 

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In this episode: 

• History of Currency
• Commodity Currency
• Representative Currency
• Fiat Currency
• The Silver Standard
• The Gold Standard
• Fort Knox
• Inflation
• Satoshi Nakamoto
• The White Paper
• The Genesis Block
• Laszlo Hanyecz and the Pizza Catastrophe
• Bitcoin Mining and the Blockchain Explained
• 51% Attacks
• Proof of Work
• Dongles and Bitcoin Wallets
• 21 Million Max
• Transaction Fees
• Pseudonymity  
• The FDIC
• Mt. Gox
• Fungibility and NFTs
• The Electronic Elephant in the Room 

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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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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

In the second installment of MFFI's espionage series, the boys investigate spying technology, from cryptography to microdots to The Thing. 

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Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD

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In this episode: 

• Dead Drops
• Live Drops
• Traps
• Steganography
• Scalp Tattoos
• Mask Letters
• Invisible Ink (the Sympathetic Stain)
• Cryptography and Cryptology
• Substitution Cypher
• Frequency Distribution
• Scytales
• The Two Pillars of Classic Espionage: Cameras and Radio
• Subminiature Cameras and the Minox
• Microdots
• Pigeon Cams
• Heinrich Hertz and the Spark Gap Transmitter
• Lee De Forest and the Vacuum tube
• Amplitude Modulation (AM)
• Practical Frequency Modulation (FM)
• Bugs (Covert Listening Devices)
• The Thing (The Great American Seal Bug), and RFID
• Leon Theremin and Averell Harriman
• Numbers Stations Redux and One-Time Pads
• The Insectothopter
• Dog-poop Transmitter
• Lipstick Pistols
• Rectal Toolkit
• Shoe Phone (Heel-Transmitter)

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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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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

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Podcast Website

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

In the first installment of MFFI's espionage series, Shane gives Duncan an overview of the spy game, from its origins in postiquity through the Cold War and all the way to the modern intelligence industry. 

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In this episode: 

• Sun Tzu and the Art of War
• Francis Walsingham and Mary Queen of Scots
• Alberto Ridolfi
• Louis XIV and the Cabinet Noir
• George Washington, America’s First Spy Master
• The Culper Ring
• Nathan Hale
• James Armistead and Lafayette 
• Benedict Arnold
• The Great Game
• Embassies and Diplomats
• The Evidenzbureau
• British Topographical & Statistic Department
• The Military Information Division
• The Secret Service Bureau
• Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 5 (MI5)
• Military Intelligence Section 6 (MI6)
• Office of Strategic Services
• The CIA
• SIGINT
• The NSA
• Cipher Bureau 
• The Black Chamber
• KGB
• The Cold War 
• Life as a Spy

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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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Instagram

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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

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Podcast Website

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

One traveler’s dream vacation is another’s nightmare. This week, Shane shares his personal picks for some of the least appealing tourist destinations on earth, and a couple that are just plain bizarre.

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In this episode: 

• Bubblegum Alley (San Luis Obispo)
• Ark Encounter (Kentucky)
• Aokigahara ("Suicide Forest,” Japan)
• Isla De Las Munecas (Island of the Dolls, Mexico)
• Juju Love Island (South Korea)
• Carhenge (Car Art Reserve, Nebraska)

~

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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Instagram

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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

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Podcast Website

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

In the second MFFI host-swap episode, Duncan teaches Shane  about a bevvy of baffling and little-known cryptids from around the globe. 

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Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD

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In this episode: 

• Indrid Cold (the Smiling Man)
• The Fresno Alien
• Popobawa
• Tikbalang
• Melon Heads 
• Skunk Ape
• The Green Children of Woolpit
• Kelpie (Water Horse)
• The Bunny Man
• The Pope Lick Monster

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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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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

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Podcast Website

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

In the latest "what the hell were they thinking" edition of MFFI, the boys trace the history of advertising and then call out the worst marketing blunders of all time. 

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Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD

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In this episode: 

• Early advertisements
• The evolution of logos
• Sign boards, trademarks, and town criers
• The rise of the printing press
• Trade cards, print ads, newspapers, and trade publications
• The origin of false advertising
• The father of modern advertising, Thomas J Barratt
• Pears Soap
• Brand curation and positive associations
• N.W. Ayer and Son, the first American advertising agency
• Diamond rings are vile
• Sex sells
• Helen Lansdowne and the Woodbury Soap Company
• "A skin you love to touch"
• Richard Nixon and the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1970
• The FTC and advertising regulations
• Kendall Jenner's Pepsi debacle
• Dove (doh) soap
• Bloomingdales spikes the eggnog
• Sprite sucks
• H&M & WTF
• Peloton cycles into infamy
• Hyundai commits public-relations sepukku 

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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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Instagram

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Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

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Podcast Website

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Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

BEGONE, FOUL DEMON!!
NO LONGER SHALL YOU BEDEVIL THE INSOMNIACS OF THE MIDNIGHT MASSES

(Apologies for the caps lock, but Satan doesn't respect lowercase.)

What's the difference between a demonic vexation, an infestation, and an oppression? How many demons do you have to host to become Legion? And is the Pope really on Twitter? Join the boys for a deep-dive into hellfire and brimstone in this examination of the disturbing history of exorcism and demonic possession.  

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Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD

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In this episode: 

• Ancient exorcisms in Babylon
• Demonic possession in the Bible
• Relevant Biblical passages
• Jesus, demons, and exorcisms
• Judas
• Mark 5: My name is Legion
• The Pope on Twitter
• Official Exorcist of Indiana, Father Vincent Lambert
• Demonic entry points and doorways
• Sexual abuse and demonic possession
• The International Association of Exorcists
• Infestations, Vexations, Obssessions, and Subjections
• The Exorcist, the movie
• Peter Blatty, Linda Blair, Roland Doe/Robbie Mannheim
• Cultural impact of the film
• Discernment
• Qualifications to receive an exorcism
• The ritual itself
• Notable cases of possession
• Jason Dalton and the Uber Demon
• The Tanacu exorcism

~

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

 ~

Leave an Audio Message!

~ 

Instagram

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

~

Podcast Website

~

Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~

Despite what the American Supreme Court would have you believe, corporations aren't actually people, but it turns out that companies be just as stupid and irrational as any individual human. And when large corporations make mistakes, the consequences can range from hilarious to horrifying. 

From colorful beads that roofied kids to airbags that went boomsplode, these are the most notorious product recalls in history.

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Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via DISCORD

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In this episode: 

• Bindeez (Aqua Dots)
• Tylenol
• Takata Airbags
• Easy-Bake Oven
• Anti-Drug Pencils
• Vitamin Water

~

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

 ~

Leave an Audio Message!

~ 

Instagram

~

Shane's Comedy Schedule and Info

~

Podcast Website

~

Episode Transcript

~ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, AND SLEEP IS OVERRATED ~