120: Colonel Sanders pt 1

About this episode

The episode explores the tumultuous early life of KFC founder Harland Sanders and a bizarre historical event in Kentucky.

This week we learn about the insane life of KFC founder Harland Sanders as he is put in charge of his younger siblings from the age of 5 and later worked the railroads where he developed a reputation for constantly getting into fistfights. A listener email tells of about that time in 1876 when chunks of red meat rained from the sky in Kentucky. Episode Tabs: Colonels of Truth https://www.damninteresting.com/colonels-of-truth/ Listener Tabs: Kentucky Meat Shower 150th anniversary draws hundreds to Bath County https://www.weku.org/kentucky-arts-culture/2026-03-06/kentucky-meat-shower-150th-anniversary-draws-hundreds-to-bath-county Email your closed tab submissions to:  500opentabs@gmail.com Support us on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs 500 Open Tabs Wiki:  https://500-open-tabs.fandom.com/wiki/500_Open_Tabs_Wiki 500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide):  https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7 Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord!  https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to  nebula.tv/500opentabs See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kaveh Taherian, Hannah Hillam

Topics covered

• KFC
• Colonel Sanders
• Kentucky history
• fistfights
• listener stories

Keywords

• KFC
• Harland Sanders
• Kentucky Meat Shower
• history
• fistfights

Sponsors

Nebula

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kentucky

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