The Internet Says it’s True

There is a lightbulb in California that has been glowing since 1901, and it is still on today. In this episode, we explore the true story of the Centennial Light, how it survived a century of technological change, and why its endurance has less to do with lost engineering secrets and more to do with the tradeoffs we choose. Then we chat with Comedian Jay Black!

Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: ht...

At some point, presidential food stopped being private and started becoming a message. In Part Two of this two-part series, we follow the shift from quiet meals to cultural flashpoints, from jelly beans and broccoli to fast food and ice cream, and explore how what presidents eat becomes shorthand for personality, politics, and power. It sounds like trivia, but it tells you exactly how America learned to watch itself eat. Then we ch...

Before presidential meals became photo ops, they were shaped by survival, region, and habit. In Part One of this two-part series, we trace the favorite foods of America’s earliest presidents and discover how corn, salt fish, macaroni, and cherries reveal a young country still figuring out how to feed itself. These aren’t cute trivia facts. They’re clues to how power looked before anyone was watching. Then we chat with Speaker and A...

This week we explore the bizarre true story of an invisible barrier inside a 3M manufacturing plant that workers could feel as they walked through a doorway. It sounds like science fiction, but it was actually caused by massive static electricity fields generated during high speed film production. We dig into the physics, the engineers who investigated it and the other strange static related stories that make this one of the most s...

In this episode we explore how Jean-Baptiste Lully, the towering figure of French Baroque music, met an unexpectedly grim fate: while fiercely conducting his own Te Deum, he stabbed his foot with his staff, refused surgery and died of gangrene. Along the way we follow his rise from Italian miller’s son to court composer of Louis XIV, survey the evolving tools of conducting, and reflect on how a moment of hubris and misstep changed ...

In this week's Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about the etymology of the word "Sheriff."

Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent

For special discounts and links to our sponsors, visit http://theinternetsaysits...

Originally released February 6, 2023.

In sideshow exhibits around the world, George and Willie Muse were known as "Eko and Iko, the Ambassadors from Mars." The truth was they were African American Albino brothers who were essentially tricked into slavery until their incredible brave mother found and rescued them. In this episode, we tell the amazing tale of George and Willie Muse and then chat with Comedian Lisa Berry!

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In this week's Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about how there's a basketball court in the Supreme Court Building.

Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent

For special discounts and links to our sponsors, visit ...

In this episode we explore a truly unexpected heritage-risk story: the Poison Book Project, where conservators discovered that beautiful emerald-green book cloths from the 19th century were hiding arsenic-based pigments. We trace how a routine conservation observation at Winterthur led to global cataloguing, how the chemistry works, how libraries are responding—and what this means for the next time you pick up a vintage book. If yo...

In this week's Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about how wearing headphones for just one hour can increase the bacteria in your ears by 700%. Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent

For special discounts and li...

Originally released March 7, 2022. The Marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics was SUPER WEIRD. One man was chased off course by wild dogs. One man was intentionally poisoned. Another ate bad fruit and fell asleep. Several were severely dehydrated. The apparent winner was disqualified. And all of this happened because Russia started a war. In this episode, we talk about the 1904 Saint Louis Summer Olympics and then play the quick quiz...

In this week's Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about how you can't burp in space without throwing up. Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent

For special discounts and links to our sponsors, visit http://theint...

Originally released July 7, 2024. A little known battle during WWII didn't occur between the Axis and Allies; rather it occurred between Black and White members of the U.S. Army. In this episode, we tell the story of what happened in the small village of Bamber Bridge in England during a time of extreme racial tension. 

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus epis...

In this week's Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about how high penguins can jump. Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent

For special discounts and links to our sponsors, visit http://theinternetsaysitstrue.com/...

Long before YouTube, before Twitch, before livestreams were everywhere, the first webcam pointed at something we'd consider boring by today's standards: a coffee pot. In this episode, Michael tells the story of how a small convenience in a Cambridge lab changed the internet forever. Then we chat with Comedian Dan Wilbur! Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcas...

In this week's Mid-Week Mini Episode, we talk about how the Earth's moon has moonquakes. Did you know The Internet Says It's True is now a book? Get it here: https://amzn.to/4miqLNy

Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589

Bonus episodes and content available at http://Patreon.com/MichaelKent

For special discounts and links to our sponsors, visit http://theinternetsaysits...