Episode 91

It’s President’s Week here at Ripley Radio – An On-Demand Oddcast, as we present two amazing and unusual stories you won’t find anywhere else.
We hear that President Andrew Jackson may be the biggest party animal the White House has ever seen! Author and presidential historian Jacopo della Quercia visits and explains what Jackson’s big and boisterous Cheese Party was all about!

We learn from Ian Randall Strock that the fertility of the US Commander in Chief tells us a great deal about how we should judge the success of a president. His research is expansive and he tells us everything you ever wanted to know about fertility, kids, grandkids and siblings in the White House. Check out Ian’s latest presidential book project!

 

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Additional Amazing, Unusual and Totally Baffling Items Discussed This Week:

  • The biggest hit so far this year on YouTube is a video of the up-to-now-unknown band, Walk off the Earth. Ralf talks with them about the video on which all five of them play “Somebody I Used to Know,” on the SAME guitar at the SAME time. Not to be outdone, the five members of the Ripley Ensemble gather around one guitar and play “Tequila,” a totally unmemorable and somewhat embarrassing moment in the history of Ripley Radio.

  • Angela shares a few of the unusual customs associated with the 15 day celebration surrounding the Chinese New Year, including such rules that one should not gift a pair of shoes or a green hat to someone during that period.

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  • Believe It or Not! a student can now enroll in a class at Rutgers University dedicated to the study of singer Beyonce! If time allows, other divas, including Lady Gaga will also be covered.

  • Sideshow historian James Taylor shares a piece of the past with us as he describes a most unusual type of carnival midway attraction – genuine medical exhibitions.

  • Intern Abby helps those still wondering what they should do when they grow up with a few hints on which occupations NOT to pursue, including newspaper reporter, toll collector and chemist. Some of these will totally surprise you!

  • Ripley’s official cartoonist John Graziano returns with a few fun and totally offbeat items created in the 1930s at the height of the Ripleyana craze in America.

  • Author and fast talker Fran Capo tells the tale of the mysterious Leatherman, which she features in her new book, Myths and Mysteries of New York.