Six Wildly Popular History Stories, Shelved for Lack of Evidence
No matter how compelling the story—a nobleman with a second face, a doll that walks, an army of fifty thousand swallowed by sandstorm—if the chain of evidence stops at hearsay, footnotes, or fiction, this history podcast rejects it.
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The stories listeners most want are the ones without verifiable evidence
Two hosts received hundreds of listener requests, a small fraction of which came up repeatedly—but those were precisely the ones that couldn't be made into complete episodes. The reasons vary: some have too little source material, some information exists but is scattered too widely to digest in the podcast's twice-weekly pace, some sources are not in English, some are too far removed from original sources to be reliable. Some listeners even suggested, "My friend is writing a master's thesis on this subject, so sources must exist"—but the podcast can't conduct master's-level research for a ten-minute segment. So they bundled six such topics into one episode as an explanation.
— TracyA documentary about Stagecoach Mary was made, then vanished from the internet
Born in 1832 in a Tennessee enslaved family, Mary Fields later traveled with her adoptive family's daughter to Montana to care for nuns. She became America's first Black female stagecoach driver, known for her fighting prowess and refusal to back down—hence the name "Stagecoach Mary." Her story had a chance to become a full episode: a documentary about her was at one point in crowdfunding. Two years later, when the hosts went to look for it, all traces had vanished from the internet. The documentary disappeared, and this history could only survive as scattered anecdotes.
A brewery killed eight people in a flood and faced no liability
On October 17, 1814, a three-story-tall fermenting vat ruptured, sending a 15-foot wave of porter cascading down the street. The surge burst taps on other vats, triggering a chain reaction. The street had no drainage; beer flooded directly into homes, killing eight people—including a mother and daughter having tea together, and a family of five in mourning after their two-year-old's funeral. A hearing ruled it an "act of God." The brewery faced no liability, and the authorities even refunded the brewery's previous beer tax.
Every detail in Edward Mordake's story is precisely unverifiable
Edward Mordake's story comes almost entirely from a single 1896 medical curiosity book's hearsay: a nobleman's son had a second face on the back of his head that would sneer while he wept, whisper evil things at night, and eventually drove him to poison himself. The story says he demanded the face be destroyed before burial and his grave left unmarked. The hosts note that every detail is precisely crafted to be unfalsifiable—no headstone means no grave to find, and the "doctor" exists only in this secondhand account. It's a textbook case of rumors that cannot withstand scrutiny.
The haunted doll's entire reputation rests on anecdotes, not evidence
In 1904, four-year-old Eugene Otto received a 40-inch doll he named Robert after himself. He blamed the doll for his pranks; neighbors began spreading rumors of seeing it walk by itself in the attic and laugh. Robert is now displayed at the East Martello Museum in Key West, and staff report that nearby electronics frequently malfunction without reason. Visitors who photograph him without permission write apology letters saying they have been cursed. But these are ultimately only rumors and hearsay—insufficient for the claim of "the world's most haunted doll."
Discoveries of the lost army emerge, but consistently bypass academic channels
Herodotus records that Cambyses II sent fifty thousand soldiers to destroy the Oracle of Ammon at Siwa Oasis, but they vanished en route. The Siwan account is that a fierce south wind stirred up a sandstorm that buried them completely. This is virtually all that survives in historical records of this army. Since then, "found it" headlines surface periodically—but most discoveries amount to pottery shards and bones, often from unsanctioned searches, released as documentary clips rather than through academic peer review. They have never followed proper scholarly channels.
La Maupin exists as a historical figure only in footnotes and fiction
Julie d'Aubigny, stage name La Maupin, is now portrayed in blogs as a woman who cross-dressed, fought duels with swords, and had romantic exploits rivaling Casanova. But even contemporary records from her lifetime (roughly 1670–1707) read more like gossip than history. Most surviving sources are pieced together from footnotes, introductions, and asides in other books. There is a novel about her, but the podcast cannot use fiction as a historical source—not unless the episode is about the novelist themselves.
In their own words · checked verbatim
We cannot do a master's thesis level of work for a podcast that comes out twice a week.
Tracy2:06
which made her the first African-American woman to work delivering U.S. mail.
A three-story tall beer vat of fermenting beer broke at a brewery and it unleashed a 15-foot high wave of porter.
His figure was remarkable for its grace, and his face, that is to say, his natural face, was that of an antinous. But upon the back of his head was another face, that of a beautiful girl, lovely as a dream, hideous as a devil.
Robert is a one-of-a-kind handmade doll created around the turn of the 20th century. Standing 40 inches tall and stuffed with wood wool known as excelsior, he is dressed in a sailor suit and once bore painted features... not unlike those of a jester.
while they were breakfasting, a great and violent south wind arose which buried them in the masses of sand which it bore, and so they disappeared from sight
a stage heroine, fortified by public favor and presuming on the magic of a melodious voice, defied the laws and institutions of a country by which she was supported, and committed, with impunity, crimes which would have doomed a common, unaccomplished desperado, an ignominious death
But I can't really build a podcast episode on a blog post that is sourcing footnotes of other books that I can't go and read for myself for various reasons.
Figures
| London beer flood deaths | 8 | 7:17 |
| Beer wave height | 15 feet | 6:15 |
| Cambyses' expedition force | 50,000 | 19:37 |
| Robert doll height | 40 inches | 16:33 |
| Stagecoach Mary's age at death | 82 | 4:10 |
Glossary
- Oracle of Ammon
- An ancient Egyptian shrine to the god Ammon at Siwa Oasis; also visited by Alexander the Great
- Excelsior
- Finely shredded wood fiber used as stuffing in old dolls and packing materials
- La Maupin
- The stage name used by opera singer Julie d'Aubigny
How to listen
People who enjoy curious history stories but want to understand why they cannot be verified; those producing history or nonfiction work can learn how to evaluate evidence.
The opening minute or so, which tallies listener requests, has limited information value; skip directly to Stagecoach Mary's story.