At 5:16 pm on Tuesday, the 9th of November, the lights went out in large parts of the north-eastern United States, and in the Canadian province of Ontario. A protective relay in the system that covered those areas was set too low, and when there was a surge in current demand, that relay tripped and…
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One of the losers in the 2016 presidential election has been careful historical analysis. Easy and quick comparisons and conclusions drawn by media commentators have trampled on the subtleties and complications of previous presidential election results, especially the relatively recent ones. Donald Trump has said (in various ways) that the 2016 election is already rigged…
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Professor Perry Blatz joins us to explain why democracy didn’t work well enough in the US election of 1860, and why it led to the Civil War. The Democratic party split over the issue of slavery, the Republicans were fraught over the issue, and a whole new party, the Constitutional Union party for formed. The…
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Oh, Buzzkillers, the ways that history myths start and spread are numerous and strange. This week we look at the story that men dressed as women to get into lifeboats escaping the sinking Titanic, which struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage to New York close to midnight on 14 April 1912. That famous ship…
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Super Buzzkiller Professor Philip Nash joins us to dispel myths about Hitler during World War II. We talk about strategic and operational blunders (especially Operation Barbarossa), harsh occupation policies, declaration of war against the US, and imperial overstretch. We also examine the Holocaust and Holocaust deniers, Hitler’s micromanagement, his declining health, the plots to kill…
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We love myths about Churchill. Legends about him are so numerous that they are, more or less, job security for the researchers here at the Buzzkill Institute. Good old Winston seems to attract myths and misquotes like a magnet. Spend any time in Oxfordshire in England and you’re bound to be told to visit Blenheim…
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Marco Polo was a Venetian Merchant who left Europe in 1271 at age 17, traveled all around the Mongol Empire in the time of Genghis’ grandson Kublai Khan, and then came back to Europe in 1295, age 41. But did he really go on this trip, or are the stories that he made it all…
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Laura Trevelyan from the BBC joins us to discuss to her new book, Winchester: the Rifle that Built an American Dynasty. She busts myths about the famous rifle and family, and explains its importance in American history. Recorded live in Georgetown, Washingtong DC! The first Buzzkiller who emails us – info@professorbuzzkill.com – gets a signed…
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Almost every presidential election of my buzzkilling lifetime has included a debate between the main candidates. And practically every time the debates roll around, the question of style over substance rears its overly made-up face. Do the debates inform voters about the candidates’ stand on the issues of the day, or are they just political…
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One of the more obvious and visible effects of the War of 1812 was the damage caused during the British attack on Washington on 24 August 1814, two years into the war. After defeating American forces at the Battle of Bladensburg, the British marched on defenseless Washington DC, and sacked and burned it. The Capitol…
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