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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Stuff You Should Know

If you’ve ever wanted to know why peacocks have such amazing feathers, why they’re not all called peacocks, and plenty of other neat stuff about peacocks, then perhaps this episode on peacocks is for you. 

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Ba-Gawk! How Peacocks Work

These invasive spiders are everywhere these days. But how did they get to the USA and are they harmful?

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Short Stuff: Joro Spiders

Tugboats are amazing because they do the dirty work without much recognition. Well that's changing today - ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY TUG!

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Tugboats: Pushing Their Way Around Since 1803

In 1947 the port town of Texas City, Texas became the site of the largest industrial disaster in American history. An enormous explosion blew ships out of the water, created a tidal wave that flooded the town, and killed hundreds of people instantly. Find out all about it in this classic episode.

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Selects: The Texas City Disaster of 1947

If you’ve ever lost your job thanks to a management consultant coming through your company or been timed for how fast you work, you can thank Frederick Winslow Taylor, the father of scientific management. If that field sounds made up that’s because it is.

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Taylorism: Work Faster!

You know that old adage that you should feed a cold but starve a fever? It’s an ancient idea and what’s surprising is that it’s kind of correct. 

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Short Stuff: Feed A Cold, Starve a Fever

For our annual pre-Holiday-Special-holiday-episode-about-a-holiday-toy we are jumping into one of the greatest games of all time, Trivial Pursuit (and we’re not just saying that because there’s an SYSK edition). 

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The Trivial Pursuit Trivia Edition

Frances Perkins was an incredibly influential American yet is virtually unknown. What did she do? A lot! For instance, Social Security was her brainchild. And that's just the tip of the old iceberg. Explore her legacy with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.

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Selects: Frances Perkins: Influential and Unknown

Welcome to the end of 2024 and our annual Christmas Extravaganza episode, brought to you ad-free for you listening pleasure. Please pour a hot toddy and enjoy around the fir tree of your choosing.

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The 2024 SYSK Christmas Extravaganza!

Herman Scheunemann wasn’t the only captain carrying Christmas trees across Lake Michigan to Chicago at the turn of the last century, but he was the most beloved. Which makes this episode even sadder.

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Short Stuff: Captain Santa

In a tribute to the late founder of HowStuffWorks Marshall Brain, we chose one of his great articles. Learn all about how your phone knows how to get you around without bumping into stuff or running people over in this episode. Thank you, Marshall.

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How GPS Works

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