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This is an iHeart podcast.
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Guaranteed Human when it comes to your yard reliability matters. Shop with confidence at the Home depot and get 4th of July savings on Ryobi, the number one cordless outdoor power brand. It's time to choose your power. Both the Ryobi 18 volt and 40 volt self propelled mower kits are on special buy for an even lower price of $429. Each was $479. Ryobi's battery platform delivers the power, runtime and dependability you need to tackle yard work with ease. Shop 4th of July Savings on Ryobi Outdoor Power only at the Home Depot while supplies last pricing Val 25 through July 8 use only. See store online for details.
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Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Coach Bible studied the crowd as his players emerged from the locker room. A sea of students in maroon and white erupted into wild applause. Their cheers could easily be heard across the field. He chewed his lip and wiped at his forehead with a damp towel. It wasn't the Texas sun or even the bright stadium lights that were making him sweat. No, it was the Center College players. More specifically, their offensive line. The 1922 Dixie classic, what would become known as the Cotton bowl college football game was one for the books. Kentucky's Center College was undefeated. Texas A and M. Bible's team? Eh, not so much. But what the team lacked in athletic prowess, they more than made up for in enthusiasm. Coach Bible held his breath while his players lined up on the field for the kickoff. A referee blew the starting whistle and two dozen athletes rushed towards one another with all their might. At first, things seemed to be going byble's way. A and M received and returned the kickoff for 45 yards, which brought the team an early advantage that they weren't keen to lose. On the next play, A and M's running back and team captain Heine Weir silently communicated his plan as an aside in reference to his name. I feel like Heine should've been a tight end rather than a running back. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Anyway, when the next whistle sounded, Heinie weir dashed the 30 yard line. Every eye in the crowd watched A and M's quarterback throw the ball in a perfect arc that headed straight for Weir's waiting arms and slip through his fingers. Weir had been brutally tackled to the ground and by the look of him, he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon. From there, things fell apart fast. By halftime, they were a sorry looking bunch. A and M's team was down four defensive players, a punter and their captain. It would be enough to discourage any coach, and unfortunately for Bible, it was also enough to force a forfeit. You see, the rules of college football at that time dictated that a team have a certain amount of reserve players on the bench to substitute in case of an injury. Most of Bybel's reserve players were already on the field and the injured athletes wouldn't be playing anytime soon. It was the most important game of their season and A and M was staring down the threat of disqualification. Luckily, Coach Bible was a man who believed desperate times called for desperate measures. And so he turned to the stands. In the press box, a student named E. King Gill was helping reporters identify players from the field when he saw Coach Bible waving him down. Gil, a sophomore basketball player who was studying medicine, was very confused. He and the coach were by no means close. In fact, Gil had tried out for the team and been assigned to the bench for a few weeks. And then he moved on to basketball a few weeks later, a sport that he was much better suited for. So why, in the middle of the biggest game of their season, was Coach Bible asking for him? We're in a bad spot, Gil, Bible explained. We have no one left. I need another player. Gil looked toward the center, college players terrifying in strength and already smiling victoriously. He didn't like where this was going. Coach Bible went on to explain that the team was all out of extra uniforms. As if that weren't enough, the locker rooms were closed until the end of the game. Instead, Captain Weir was waiting under the stadium bleachers to give Gil his sweaty, blood soaked uniform and take Gil's civilian clothes until the end of the game. Coach Bible put a hand on Gil's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. This is still your team, and right now your team needs you. Pride flared in Gil's chest and he agreed. He emerged moments later to wild cheers from the student section and a very appreciative football team. Gill never did get called onto the field that day, though. Instead he stood on the sideline, ready to step in at a moment's notice to play, to bleed and maybe even lose. For a team that he'd walked away from weeks before. He was the last line of defense against center college and against forfeit. Today, Texas A and M celebrates Gill's legacy in their own special way. Nearly Everyone in the student section bears the number 12 on their person in some form, be it a necklace, a temporary tattoo, a a baseball cap or the more traditional jersey. And during football season, the entire student section stands for the duration of every game. The act sends a clear message. At Texas A and M, the bench doesn't end at the sidelines. It starts in the front row.
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They were best friends from the moment they met. And for 20 years nothing could come between them. Until one shocking secret changes everything. One of them is an international assassin and the other had no idea. Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham star in Prime Video's hilarious, clever, action packed and irresistibly fun new series Ride or Die. When Debbie's Octavia Spencer world implodes thanks to her husband's corrupt dealings, she's thrust into a deadly game of survival and forced on the run. Her only hope, Judith Hannah Waddingham, her ride or Die bestie who just happens to be a fierce and lethal assassin. What follows is a wild race across Europe filled with explosive action, unexpected twists, dangerous enemies and plenty of laugh out loud moments as the two friends chase the truth. A danger is never far behind and staying alive may be their toughest challenge. It's an action comedy, espionage thriller and buddy adventure that proves some friendships are are literally bulletproof. Don't miss the new series Ride or die, starting July 15, only on Prime Video. Hi, I'm Steph and I work at UnitedHealthcare. When I think about UnitedHealthcare's members, I think of my own family. My niece was diagnosed with an ultra rare genetic disorder. I know how hard it is for families at UnitedHealthcare. We can make it easier.
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I'm Brian. I care because I know what it's like to not speak the language. It's not not easy. Health insurance is complicated. I would say our job is to make everything easy for our UXC members. I work for United Healthcare. I'm committed to care.
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Some events in history seem predetermined. One small event leads to another, snowballing until major fallout occurs. It would take a genius to spot all the small things that led to the big ones and change the course of history before it happens. Tsar Nicholas the Second of Russia must have felt this acutely. His entire reign was a series of unfortunate events that led to his demise. And it began on his coronation day with a free giveaway gone horribly wrong. In 1896, Nicholas inherited a Russia on the brink of class warfare. For centuries, the country had failed to modernize. Along with the rest of Europe, 38% of the country still lived as serfs, indentured workers with no more rights than an enslaved person. While Nicholas worked to abolish serfdom, it was often seen as too little, too late. The impoverished serfs flocked to the cities where the Industrial Revolution awaited them. They met with terrible conditions, operating dangerous machinery that often maimed or killed them. So that's one historical movement that was already working against the Tsar. He attempted to show the serfs a sign of goodwill by presenting them with gifts at the festivities on his coronation day. Tents were set up with small crates filled with pretzels, beer, bread, sausage, gingerbread, nuts and sweets. These gift packages also included an enameled cup with the crown and coat of arms detailed on it. The tents were set up in a field that was typically used for training exercises by the military. It was filled with holes and ditches from these exercises. Furthermore, when people started to line up for their gifts, it soon became clear that there were far more people than expected. They had expected about 200,000 people. Instead, there were half a million. Rumors rippled across the crowd that the gifts had been poorly planned. There couldn't possibly be enough for everyone in the crowd. People began to push their way to the front, trying to make sure that they got their gift. On top of that, there were only 1800 guards to try and corral half a million people. This wasn't going to end well. There's actually a science to how crowd crushes work. When that many people begin pushing on one another, the force effectively combines them into one large muscle that becomes impossible for anyone to resist. The force of the crush sent thousands toppling into the holes and ditches in the field. They fell on top of one another, suffocating. Eventually, though, the crush dissipated and most people were able to flee to safety. But somewhere between 1300 and 2000 people were killed. The onlooking French ambassador felt that poor planning and a lack of medical facilities were to blame for the deaths. Nicholas arrived on the scene well after the bodies had been cleared away, and to him it didn't seem like such a big deal. Meanwhile, France and Russia had recently joined in a new alliance, and Nicholas had to ensure that the French knew that it was genuine. The French had planned a massive ball for that evening to celebrate his coronation. His brother in law and even a visiting Chinese ambassador all commented that it was not a good idea to attend after the tragedy. But Nicholas felt that he had no choice unless he wanted to risk the alliance. So that's a second historical movement that was working against him. The sight of the Tsar at the ball that night, smiling and dancing with all his rich friends, infuriated the public. The newspapers called him Bloody Nicholas. Author Leo Tolstoy, maybe the most renowned figure in Russian history, wrote a short story about the horrors of the tragedy. Nicholas visited the surviving victims in the hospital and donated money and further gifts to each of the families of the victims. But further disorganization meant that it took weeks to sort through all of the bodies and return them to their loved ones, to the serfs. It was all very emblematic of how little the nobles actually cared about them. By 1903, the country's labor Party grew into the Bolshevik faction that would eventually rebel in 1917, a third and final movement that spelled doom for the Tsar. A year later, the Bolsheviks killed Nicholas and his entire family. They say that hindsight is 20 20. Looking back, Nicholas might have wished that he had planned that giveaway a little better, or perhaps not gone to the party after the tragedy, or maybe done more to stop serfdom itself and curb the exploitation of the Industrial Revolution. It's a curious thing to imagine, but he might have been doomed either way. Losing his alliance with the French or angering the rest of the nobility by completely abolishing serfdom might also have gotten him killed. Ultimately, he'll be remembered as the indifferent monarch who barely noticed when thousands of peasants died at his own party. The cups that were meant as gifts became known as the Cups of Sorrows. Curiously, many of those cups are still around today, and you can buy one online for about a thousand dollars. Funds that might buy you a lot of beer and pretzels. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by me, Erin Manke, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched and written by the Grim and Mild team and produced by Jesse Fung. Learn more about the show and the people who make it over@grimandmild.com curiosities. You'll also find a link to the official Cabinet of Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an ad free option, consider joining our Patreon it's all the same stories but without the interruption from a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign up over@patreon.com grimandmild and until next time, stay curious.
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This is Miles Gray from Ain't It Footy. You never know what can happen when your favorite players take the pitch during the FIFA World Cup 2026. That's what makes it great. An easy win. You can depend on the active cash Visa credit card from Wells Fargo scores unlimited 2% cash rewards on your fanfare purchases. Talk about a win worth celebrating. Terms apply. Visit Wells Fargo. Com ActiveCash Visa Worldwide Partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026This is an iHeart podcast.
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Guaranteed human.