CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid

Summary

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Ridiculous History – CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid

Podcast: Ridiculous History (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: Ben Bowlin & Noel Brown
Episode Date: March 21, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this classic episode, Ben and Noel recount the almost unbelievable but true tale of Vulcan, West Virginia—a tiny, isolated Appalachian town that resorted to an unprecedented move at the height of the Cold War: writing to the Soviet Union for help after being ignored by their own government. The hosts explore themes of rural isolation, the limits of American infrastructure, Cold War-era propaganda, and the lengths communities will go to when left to fend for themselves.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: Appalachia & Vulcan, WV

(03:39 – 08:01)

• The episode opens with Ben and Noel discussing the rural isolation of Appalachia, particularly the obscure town of Vulcan, West Virginia.
• Ben introduces Vulcan, located on the western edge of West Virginia along the Tug Fork of the Tug River—"one of the US's most storied waterways."
• The town is named after the Roman god of fire, a nod possibly to its mining history and also briefly referenced in pop culture through Neil Gaiman's “American Gods”.

“One of the most interesting things about exploring this area of the world is that you’ll get into places where time seems to have slowed down or things go at their own relatively isolated pace.” — Ben (05:44)

2. The Bridge—Vulcan’s Lifeline and Achilles Heel

(08:01 – 14:54)

• Vulcan’s geography made access difficult; a single footbridge (later modified for cars by the townspeople themselves) was the only way in or out.
• Give vivid anecdotes: Schoolchildren had to risk crawling under stationary railway cars to catch the school bus, with incidents of injury.
• The mining company originally built a narrow wooden footbridge to help miners cross the river, which residents eventually expanded just wide enough for a car.
• The New York Times described the bridge as having "no more than a, quote, thumb length margin for error on either side" (12:13).
• The bridge’s dangerous state recalled harrowing personal driving stories from both hosts.

“To cross that bridge, a swinging footbridge on a car...Good Lord. That sounds like the most terrifying experience ever of all time.” — Noel (11:52)

3. Collapse and Desperation

(14:54 – 21:29)

• In July 1975, the bridge collapsed, leaving residents effectively stranded in an “automobile based society.”
• Example: a 74-year-old woman, Ms. Holly, was denied delivery of furniture—the truck driver refusing to brave the treacherous, unofficial access road which belonged to the railway (16:10).
• Residents, already in economic decline after the coal bust, now faced total isolation.

“One person in the town described it as living at the tail end of nothing.” — Ben (15:19)

4. John Robinette: The Reluctant Mayor & Unorthodox Diplomat

(21:29 – 24:26)

• Enter John Robinette: longtime resident, mechanic, notary, carnival barker, and ultimately self-appointed mayor.
• Motivated by Ms. Holly’s plight, Robinette spearheaded the campaign for a new bridge by appealing to local and state authorities—and was rebuffed at every turn.
• The absurdity and frustration are highlighted by the hosts’ tongue-in-cheek tone.

“He says, so I up and appointed myself mayor and set out to get us a bridge...” — Ben (22:12)

5. Begging the USSR: A Stunt That Worked

(24:26 – 31:03)

• 1976: Out of options, Robinette writes to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., asking for aid to build a new bridge, arguing “Uncle Sam cares not one whit about us.”
• The USSR bites: journalist Iona Andronov visits Vulcan, eager to broadcast the story for Soviet propaganda.
• The American press assembles, reporting the unprecedented plea as both embarrassing and comical during the Cold War.

“Soviet officials were amused today by reports that the small town of Vulcan, West Virginia, has appealed to the Kremlin for foreign aid...” — Quoting Spokane Daily Chronicle (27:21)

6. The Bridge That the Russians Almost Built

(31:03 – 39:55)

• The mere threat of Soviet assistance finally shakes the American system into action.
• The West Virginia government swiftly announces funds for a new bridge—ostensibly a coincidence, but suspiciously timed with the Soviet journalist’s visit.
• Two narratives emerge: The state claims the funding was already in process; locals and much of the press suspect it was direct result of the USSR ordeal.
• After years of waiting, the new bridge finally opens on July 4, 1980, costing over $1 million, split between West Virginia and Kentucky.

“The residents of Vulcan celebrated the opening of what they called the bridge the Russians almost built, with an American flag waving in the breeze and a cartoonishly large amount of illegally imported vodka.” — Ben (36:16)

7. Reflections and Other Examples of Foreign Aid

(39:55 – 41:29)

• The hosts reflect on whether such tactics—weaponized PR and international embarrassment—could work elsewhere.
• Not all foreign aid is propaganda: Ben recounts the Maasai of Kenya donating 14 cows to the U.S. after 9/11 as an example of genuine charity (38:28).

“Not every foreign act of charity is a propaganda move. The Russian one was though, for the record.” — Ben (39:30)

8. Legacy and Listener Engagement

(41:29 – end)

• The bridge remains; “the bridge the Russians almost built” is now a local landmark.
• The hosts encourage listeners to share their own stories of isolated towns, bridges, and unorthodox community survival.

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Notable Quotes

• “To cross that bridge, a swinging footbridge on a car...Good Lord. That sounds like the most terrifying experience ever of all time.” — Noel (11:52)
• “One person in the town described it as living at the tail end of nothing.” — Ben (15:19)
• “So I up and appointed myself mayor and set out to get us a bridge...” — John Robinette, via Ben (22:12)
• “Our town is gonna die if we don’t get this bridge. The state is not gonna fund us. And in my opinion, dear Russians, I don’t think Uncle Sam cares one whit about us.” — Ben, reading Robinette’s letter (24:26)
• “The residents of Vulcan celebrated the opening of what they called the bridge the Russians almost built, with an American flag waving in the breeze and a cartoonishly large amount of illegally imported vodka.” — Ben (36:16)
• “Not every foreign act of charity is a propaganda move. The Russian one was though, for the record.” — Ben (39:30)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:39 – Introduction to Appalachia and Vulcan, WV
• 08:24 – Explanation of Vulcan’s geographic isolation
• 10:31 – History of the original bridge and daily challenges
• 14:54 – Collapse of the bridge in 1975
• 21:29 – Introduction of John Robinette
• 24:26 – Robinette’s plea to the USSR (and media involvement)
• 27:21 – Newspaper coverage and Cold War context
• 36:16 – Completion and celebration of the new bridge
• 38:28 – Kenyan Maasai’s 9/11 gift to the U.S.
• 41:29 – Listener outreach and closing thoughts

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Tone & Style

Ben and Noel use humor, camaraderie, and regional detail to turn this odd slice of American history into an engaging, insightful tale about small-town resilience and the power of public embarrassment to shake loose government action—even during the world’s tensest geopolitical standoff.

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For anyone who hasn't listened, this episode is a quirky, poignant, and sharply observed recounting of how a town at the end of its rope used international grandstanding to get a new lease on life. It’s history as only Ridiculous History can tell it.

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Transcript

[Ben]

Fellow ridiculous historians, have you ever been in a situation where you say, hey, I've got to ask an unfamiliar person for a favor?

[Noel]

Hmm, you know, I have and it's awkward, but when you're desperate, you do what's gotta be done.

[Ben]

Yes, this classic episode is about our friends in West Virginia who once upon a time begged the USSR for foreign aid at the height of the Cold War.

[Noel]

Yeah, let's go ahead and roll the tape.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Ben]

Lenovo. Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio foreign. Hello. Hi, how are you? Thank you for tuning in to Ridiculous History. Several of us listening today will be familiar with an area of the world known as Appalachia. The Appalachians. Appalachian Mountains, right? I've got some past there. And the thing that's interesting about it is even if you live in the us Odds are that you have not been there because it's quite a rural area. But it's where today's story takes place. My name's Ben.

[Noel]

My name is Noel. Ben, did you know that if you hike certain parts of the Appalachian Trail, you get little rings on your walking stick or there's some kind of merit badge you're supposed to get where you can show unequivocally that you have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail? I have exactly zero of those.

[Ben]

I also while I've hiked parts of the trail, I have not hiked the entire thing. It's a heck of a commitment, but it's a noble thing to do. Almost as noble as being the producer on shows like Ridiculous History. Which reminds me, we should shout out our super producer, Casey Pegram. So, Noel, you have never hiked the trail, but you've been to the Appalachians.

[Noel]

Yeah, I have, and I've been on parts of the trail. That's where I found out about the medallion system, where it's these little kind of curved metal pieces that indicate which parts of the trail you've successfully completed. And if you're like a real baller, a real Appalachian trailhead, you have a stick that's just like, you know, covered in these things.

[Ben]

Right, right. Just lousy with them. One of the most interesting things about exploring this area of the world is that you'll into places where time seems to have slowed down or things go at their own relatively isolated pace. And in today's episode, we're going to explore a tiny community that is, in its own way, very isolated. It's called Vulcan in the western edge of West Virginia.

[Noel]

That's about as west as it gets, my friend. Right, okay, that's actually not entirely true, but it's as west as it gets in West Virginia.

[Ben]

Right. It's Virginia wise. This is is the westest Vulcan. West Virginia is an interesting case. It's located along the Tug Fork, which is part of the Tug River. And this is often called one of the US's most storied waterways. Vulcan is named after, you know, spoiler alert. The God of fire in Roman mythology. Vulcan. And this is something we had talked about off air. Vulcan makes an appearance in a fantastic novel and set of TV adaptations called American Gods by Neil Gaiman. You saw that, right?

[Noel]

I did a season two out yet. I've been seeing promos for it everywhere.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Noel]

All right.

[Ben]

Or it's about to come out. Yeah, I'm excited. That's one of those shows where I don't know about everybody else, but I made the decision a while back that if I really enjoy a show, I want to wait until the entire season is out before watching it because Netflix ruined. I just. I can't watch something and wait for a week and hope it shows up next week. It just, it triggers all kinds of, you know, abandonment issues and patience.

[Noel]

You know, I'll tell you, I actually kind of. I like it in a different way. I like being able to binge, but I also like the old school cliffhanger, having to wait a week mentality of traditional television release.

[Ben]

Hmm. I'll do that with maybe Game of Thrones.

[Noel]

Game of Thrones did it with True Detective. You know, the ones that are real edgier Cedars.

[Ben]

I halfway did it with True Detective Season 3. Watched the first four episodes and I said, I'll wait.

[Noel]

Then you Took a couple weeks off and then you had some little bingeable episodes for you.

[Ben]

Yep. In the case of Vulcan, West Virginia, we find a town that is very much isolated by geography, more so than, say, culture. Right. Could we talk a little bit about where Vulcan is? We said it's in this very south of West Virginia. But what's it around?

[Noel]

Well, I mean, it's kind of its own weird little island in some ways, in that there's no connection to the surrounding areas except through a little footbridge. The Norfolk and Western Railway runs through the middle of the town, and that separates the two sides of the town from one being located on the riverbank. And then there are ones that are up more inland on a hill that is very near to a cemetery called Vulcan Hill. And here's the thing. I mean, even to get out of the city, out of this little hamlet, you would have to sometimes cross underneath parked railway cars. Kids, school kids had to catch the bus on the Kentucky side in order to get there. They had to go to some pretty perilous ends to catch the bus. And some kids have even been injured. And I believe there was a case of a child losing a leg in such a situation.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah, it's absolutely true. So we're looking at mountains, rivers, terrain that is very difficult to traverse. So much so that had coal not been discovered in the general vicinity here, you could make a fairly strong argument that no one would be living there at all. Maybe some guy, decades and decades ago would have hit a moonshine still out there, but even that would be pretty arduous. It'd still be a lot of work to get there. However, when coal was discovered in this area, the very beginning of the 20th century, a mining camp was constructed, and this would later grow into what we recognize as Vulcan, West Virginia. But. But the thing is, when the mining camp was first constructed, when coal was first discovered there, the miners who lived in the area had to row across the river every day just to go to work.

[Noel]

That's right. And it wasn't until that mining company created this very narrow wooden footbridge that folks could actually get in and out of town without having to get wet. So the thing I was talking about with the kids and the railway cars. That was a little bit later.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah, that was a little bit later. But it's an excellent example of the importance of this bridge and the problems with this bridge. Picture this. If we're going to do a Rod Serling intro, picture this town. There's one way in, there's one Way out. And that's when the bridge is working. It drives straight into the Vulcan zone. I'm freestyling here, so. And over the years, the people who lived in this community, realizing the key nature of this bridge, they took great care to maintain it. And when automobiles arrived, when they became a thing in this part of the world, the people of Vulcan took upon themselves to expand this bridge so that they could drive these vehicles across. However, to your point, Noel, when we say expanding, we mean that they just barely made it big enough for one car to drive across.

[Noel]

Yeah. And this was DIY ingenuity at its finest, because they didn't have somebody swooping in to help them with infrastructure. It was literally an effort of the townspeople to solve a problem they needed solved. And to cross that bridge, a swinging footbridge on a car. Good Lord. That sounds like the most terrifying experience ever of all time. No, no. Thank you, sir or madam.

[Ben]

The way that the New York Times described this bridge in an article on December 16, 1978, by an author named Gregory Jaynes was that there was no more than a, quote, thumb length margin for error on either side. Have you ever driven around in the mountains, Noel?

[Noel]

Yeah. With the crazy switchbacks and, like, where you're right off the edge of the cliff. Like, you were so close, especially when you can't see what's in front of you, and you were just trusting that around that turn, you're not just gonna pl.

[Ben]

Oh. And you know what? This makes me remember when we did an epic road rally car trip. Casey, you were there, and Noel, you were there, and I was there, as well as my good friend Scott Benjamin. We had to drive through parts of West Virginia that were exactly like this, switchbacks and all.

[Noel]

Yeah. That's where my main memories of it come from, is that very sketchy leg of that trip. And Scott. I don't know if you know this about Scott, folks, but he is a bit of a speed deer demon.

[Ben]

He's got a lead foot.

[Noel]

Yeah. He was not. He was taking those curbs like Steve McQueen and leaving us kind of clutch, at least me personally clutching my pearls.

[Ben]

That's why I pressured him to switch the wheel and ride shotgun for a while and let me drive. But if you've ever been. Not just in the Appalachian area, but if you've ever been in a mountainous area in general in the car, you know what we're talking about. These very narrow roads and lanes that hug the side of the incline with maybe. Maybe some wooden railing, maybe nothing. And it can be very disconcerting if you're a person who doesn't drive there every day, because people who drive there every day, this is a normal experience to them. So they'll think that you are driving like an elderly person. Right. Whereas we'll think they're driving like lunatics. This is one of those bridges, but it's not just in a mountainous area. It's over water. There's not much margin for error. And then throughout the decades, right. They're taking care of this bridge. It's a key artery of the town. But as we know, as recent history has shown, coal mining doesn't last forever. Toward the 1960s or so, the coal resources begin to dry up and the town feels like it's entering an economic decline. It feels like there's trouble. But they still have the bridge, at least that is until July of 1975.

[Noel]

Yeah, that's when, you know, despite their best efforts to keep it up, I mean, they're not professional bridge caretakers. And, you know, understandably, they've got work to do down in those other dangerous part of town being the mines. So the bridge collapses, it crumbles, and it leaves them pretty much for all intents and purposes, in an automobile based society at this point, cut off from the outside world and in desperate need of some assistance.

[Ben]

So even though things had never been particularly opulent in the town of Vulcan, West Virginia, now things seemed increasingly desperate. One person in the town described it as living at the tail end of nothing. They knew that this situation was unsustainable. The town depended upon this bridge. Around the time of the bridge collapse, a woman named Nellie Holley had ordered a living room suite upstate, further up in West Virginia. And the truck arrived with the furniture. But the driver refused to bring the goods to the Hawley household because the driver learned that the only road in Divulcin was this. How is it described? A ribbon of gravel. And it wasn't even public property, right?

[Noel]

No, it belonged to the railways. It was more or less an access road, not intended for this kind of use. And kind of in a similar situation we were talking about in that it was very narrow, very dangerous, and you'd be putting yourself at risk. And especially since it would technically be trespassing on private property.

[Ben]

Mm.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

We're lost. It feels like we're going round in circles. I'm gonna ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the state fairgrounds, where.

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[Noel]

Nah, I'm just kidding. Let me get my phone out.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

How is their signal out here?

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And there's a five year price guarantee too.

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[Ben]

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[Noel]

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[Ben]

and so now we introduce you to a fascinating character, one John Robinette, who had lived in the area for his entire life. He had worked as a notary public, a car mechanic, a carnival barker. That's something that happens in A lot of small towns there will be people who have multiple different types of occupation depending upon the service needed at any given day. You know, so the person who runs the grocery store might also be the person who hosts the annual harvest festival or something. Right. The person who's the dentist might also be the youth pastor.

[Noel]

Yeah. Sort of the way that football coaches would often teach history in high school.

[Ben]

Right. Oddly enough. Or social studies, also.

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[Ben]

That's the other one. So this guy, John Robinette, he is so sad that Ms. Holly is not getting her living room suite. It moves him on an emotional level. And he says, so I up and appointed myself mayor and set out to get us a bridge because the bridge had obviously collapsed. Ms. Holly was 74 years old. She had to hire herself a boy to go fetch a few sticks of furniture and haul it on back against the law, on railroad property, private property. And so he made it his mission as self appointed mayor to prosecute for the construction of this new bridge and talk to regional politicians, area politicians. He eventually gets as far as speaking to the office of former governor Arch Moore. However, it's a close but no cigar situation. A close but no bridge situation.

[Noel]

And just for a little bit of context, this article from the New York Times that you can find online is from 1978. So this is a very contemporary account of this problem. So what happens is Phyllis Blankenship, who ran the 16 post office box post office in Vulcan, recounts the story like this. He, the person who appointed himself mayor, Mr. Robinett got on the phone, got on the horn with the governor and demanded a bridge be built. Demanded satisfaction and close, but no cigar. So you know, what's the obvious next step? He's been turned down by the government of his own city. Abandoned, left in the cold, you know, this town based around this very dangerous occupation, contributing to the economy of the state. And the governor says, no, thank you. You are forgotten. You are marooned and forgotten. So Mr. Robinette comes up with what I would say is one of the most brilliant uses of like PR, blackmail almost.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah. So it's 1976. They've just been stonewalled. Every time, every time they ask for a little bit of help. Again, the bridge that collapsed was the only legal way in and out of the town. People were having to drive illegally on this flimsy ribbon of gravel that the train company owned. Every time they asked, they were told there was no money, there's no money available to spend on the bridge, according to reports from the West Virginia Gazette. So this is What Robinette does, Mayor Robinette writes to. Not the local paper, he's already done that. Not the New York Times, any paper of note. Instead, he writes directly to the ussr, the Soviet Union. And he says, hi, I'm the mayor of Vulcan, West Virginia, a small town here in the United States. And our town is gonna die if we don't get this bridge. The state is not gonna fund us. And in my opinion, dear Russians, I don't think Uncle Sam cares one whit about us. He sends this letter to the Soviet Embassy in Washington D.C. and at first, you know, at first it's like, well, is this a joke? Is this just a prank, a little bit of trolling? And the Soviet government doesn't immediately answer until that is. Robinette is contacted directly by a journalist named Iona Andronov, a Soviet reporter who wants to hear this story in person.

[Noel]

So In December of 1977, this reporter Andronov touches down in Vulcan and starts making the rounds, getting the scoop, pounding the pavement or the gravel I guess, and asking questions of the residents and broadcasting it to the rest of the world.

[Ben]

Right, Right. So Endurov works for a publication in Moscow called Literate Nava Gazeta. And. And this is solid gold, platinum level ammunition for the propaganda war that's going on between the USSR and the us. The problem is from Uncle Sam's side that US papers also know a good headline when they see it and the US based publications pick it up as well. So in a way they are disseminating Russian propaganda for the USSR. The Spokane Daily Chronicle writes about this in 77 with the following quote. Soviet officials were amused today by reports that the small town of Vulcan, West Virginia has appealed to the Kremlin for four and aid. The town with a population of 200, asked the Soviet government for financial help to build a bridge after the town was turned down by the US and West Virginia governments.

[Noel]

It's crazy that newsmen still talked like that in the late 70s, especially since

[Ben]

it was a printed paper and not a radio announcement.

[Noel]

Well, you know, sometimes they have to dictate, you know.

[Ben]

So this is because this is also during the. Not the height of the Red Scare Communist panic. But this is still a time and place where people would accuse you of being a communist as an insult or ask you if you were a card carrying communist. Someone did ask Andonov and he said yes, actually.

[Noel]

Yeah, that's sort of our thing. Yeah, it got so far as to. For there being rumors circulating in the community that there would be bomb attacks on any bridge that was built with communist cash. So, you know, it really created a hubbub. And those headlines really were disseminated because this is quite a juicy story. So, of course, all of a sudden, the good old US of A. As we don't like to be made fun of, we don't like to be made to seem cheap, even though we kind of are a lot of the time acquiesced and was like, okay, okay, we can do this. We can muster the money that we need. Now that you've put our nose to the fire, we'll give you 1.3 million, and we'll get you your little bridge. Because here's the thing, though, it was really not. The families that stayed behind after the coal industry crumbled were kind of these holdouts. They didn't have anywhere else to go. They couldn't afford to move, perhaps. And this was their home. And it was only in the dozens of families that lived in this very small area.

[Ben]

Right? It was less than 100 families, maybe 50 families. But this is okay. This is where the story divides. This is where there are two different versions of the story, two different narratives that persist in the modern day. So, yes, the West Virginian government does agree to build this bridge, or at least provide the funds to build a bridge, but they do it, like, within hours after Andronov actually gets into Vulcan. They do it so quickly. So let's kick through two different versions of this story. As the New York Times puts it, whether by coincidence or design, the state of West Virginia announced on the same day of Andrenov's visit that Vulcan would get this bridge, like, the same day he was there, he announced.

[Noel]

Wonder if that was because of some intelligence gathering, maybe.

[Ben]

Yeah. So the papers have been. The US Papers and the Moscow papers were aware of this, too. And that means certainly the intelligence apparatus was also cognizant. But from the official US Government perspective, the explanation of this was. West Virginia's explanation is that they were just in the approval process for months and months. It just takes a long time to approve that much money in the West Virginian government. But to the people of Vulcan, and if we're being honest, to most of the people reading this story, from the outside, it seemed like they only reacted this way because it was an international embarrassment, because Mayor John Robinette had just brought a Russian person, and he said. Also Robinette, for his part, said he doesn't care where the money comes from. No, he just wants the bridge built.

[Noel]

That's right.

[Ben]

He just wants Ms. Holly to get her living room suite with some dignity.

[Noel]

It really tied the room together. It was really important for her to have that living room suite.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

We're lost. It feels like we're going round in circles. I'm gonna ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the state fairgrounds.

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[Noel]

Nah, I'm just kidding. Let me get my phone out.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

How is there signal out here?

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[Noel]

And there's a five year price guarantee too.

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Okay, here's the turn.

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Actually, can you, can you pull up the way to a T Mobile store?

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[Ben]

Ridiculous History is brought to you by Pesti Noel. You and I have been on the road a lot.

[Noel]

It's true, Ben. And in one of these aforementioned road trips, I returned to find some creepy crawlies invading my kitchen. Space. And I didn't like that nun too well. Ben. So super happy that I also had waiting on me an incredible package from our pals at Pesti.

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[Jacob Goldstein]

is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on the features you need. Check out [e-mail] that's o d o o dot com.

[Noel]

But here's the thing. I mean, just goes to show how sometimes a little weaponized PR move is exactly what it takes to get those in power to act. It's never doing the right thing, or often not. It's much more about holding their feet in the fire and making them fear the potential of looking foolish.

[Ben]

Right? And in this case, it worked. Two years later, two years after this hubbub and brouhaha, on July 4, 1980, the bridge opened. It cost a little over $1 million, and the price was ultimately split between the governments of West Virginia and Kentucky. The residents of Vulcan celebrated the opening of what they called the bridge the Russians almost built, with an American flag waving in the breeze and a cartoonishly large amount of illegally imported vodka.

[Noel]

Now, here's the postscript of the story, or at least the fictionalized postscript. The part where the US government, in a blatant act of revenge, poisons all the remaining inhabitants, you know, in their sleep. Because you don't mess with, you know, you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Maybe not. I don't know. That's not true. But I would be pissed. Wouldn't you be pissed if you were Uncle Sam?

[Ben]

It depends on the different levels. On a federal level, I probably would be more irritated with the state government were I president at the time. I wouldn't be irritated with the residents of Vulcan. I wouldn't even be that irritated with the Soviets. I'd be irritated with the governor of West Virginia.

[Noel]

That's a good point.

[Ben]

You know what I mean?

[Noel]

Maybe he got it.

[Ben]

Talking to it rolls downhill, my friend.

[Noel]

It really does.

[Ben]

So this is fascinating. And this stunt was successful. We have to wonder whether something like this could be replicated somewhere else in the world. And when we were working with our research associate, Christopher Haciotes, one thing we found was that there are plenty of other examples of foreign aid being given to the US or other countries attempting to give foreign aid to the US like, famously, the Maasai in Kenya. After the tragedy of 911 On September 11, 2001, the attack on the World Trade center, the Maasai donated cattle to the U.S. do you remember this story?

[Noel]

I do not.

[Ben]

Yeah, it's heartwarming. So the Maasai live in a relatively rural area of Kenya, but when they learned what happened in New York on September 11, they were so horrified and sad, they felt like they needed to do something. So they blessed 14 cows in a pretty solemn ceremony and then gave these cows to the deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Nairobi, a guy named William Brankic. And they said, here, please bring these to the people of New York and let them know that they are in our thoughts. And I thought that was heartwarming because that's not propaganda at all. That's just being very human, you know what I mean? So I'm bringing that example up because I do want to point out that not every foreign act of charity is a propaganda move. The Russian one was though, for the record. That was one.

[Noel]

Yeah. And now you can, I think, still visit this area through that very bridge that was constructed, the bridge that the Russians almost built, which is now a single small two lane road bridge over the tug, which is just a single lane tunneled bridge that is covered in graffiti, which I love that image. It's almost like its own little mini Berlin Wall.

[Ben]

And this is where our story ends today. However, never fear, it's not the end of our show. We will be back with more strange, dare we say ridiculous tales of people, places and events throughout this, the weird experiment that we call human civilization. In the meantime, we want to hear from you folks. Do you have any stories from. I in particular will be personally fascinated by any stories of the Appalachian Mountains. But regardless of where you live in the world, do you have any stories like this, any very isolated towns that had to use unorthodox means to for survival?

[Noel]

Yeah. Any bridge related stories? And hey, if you're a New Yorker, are you a bridge or a tunnel person? What do you prefer? Let us know. It really is. Cab drivers will often ask me that and I'm like, I don't know, whichever one's best.

[Ben]

I think part of it is, you know, the cab drivers will present it in terms of what's better given traffic patterns. But a lot of people do have crippling fears of either going on bridges, like my mother hates bridges, or they have a fear of going into the ground, you know, so it's really is a polite way to ask which terrifies you least.

[Noel]

That's a really interesting way of looking at it and I never thought. So let us know which terrifies you most or least you can write to [e-mail] you can check out our social media presences at Facebook where you can join our group called the Ridiculous Historians, which we find to be a lot of fun.

[Ben]

And you can follow us both personally. We have our very own Instagrams. Noel, you've got one.

[Noel]

Yeah, it's Bryonic Insider and I'm Benbol.

[Ben]

And thanks as always to our super producer Casey Pegram. Thanks to our research associate friend of the show Christopher Haciotes, who we're overdue to have a guest appearance.

[Noel]

We really are. He's always the best. In fact, sometimes on the one thing you have to do to join the ridiculous histories on Facebook is say who name one of us as the host. And occasionally someone will name Christopher, which I appreciate because he appears so infrequently. His appearances must really make an impact.

[Ben]

I love all the guests that we have on our show and you know, it's gets weird, but always weird in a good way. Thanks also to Alex Williams who composed our track, to our research associate Gabe and Noel. Thanks to the people of West Virginia.

[Noel]

Really. They're resilient people and they know how to get stuff done.

[Public Investing Advertiser]

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[Noel]

For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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[Jacob Goldstein]

Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on the features you need. Check out [e-mail] that's o d o o.com this is an iHeart podcast.

[Ben]

Guaranteed Human.