History Dispatches

In World War II, the allies struggled to fend off U-boat attacks on shipping in the North Atlantic. A major issue was a lack of air support. Planes didn’t have the range to provide protection to the merchant fleets in the icy north. And then, someone had an idea. What if you converted an iceberg into an airbase? And even better - what if you could build an entire aircraft carrier out of ice. This is the story of Project Habakkuk. Sources https://albertaaviationmuseum.com/operation-habbakuk-the-iceberg-aircraft-carrier/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk https://www.thealbertan.com/hot-summer-guide/the-iceberg-aircraft-carrier-that-almost-was-albertas-forgotten-wartime-wonder-10781370 https://www.albertaunderwatercouncil.com/single-post/2016/10/10/diving-jaspers-habbakuk-wreck Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antarctic_Sound-2016-Iceberg_02.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lancaster_Mk_I_gun_positions.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Turin, Italy, there is a cloth that is one of the most recognized holy relics in Christianity. It is a linen cloth that bears a faint image of a man who appears to have undergone crucifixion. Could this have been the burial robe of Jesus? This is the story of the Shroud of Turin. Sources https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jesus-burial-cloth-or-medieval-forgery-dna-evidence-further-complicates-the-debate-over-the-shroud-of-turin-180988514/ https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/5/1/8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin https://www.shroud.com/ Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Secundo_Pia_Turinske_platno_1898.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the highest office in the United States came with a deadly curse? For more than a century, Americans noticed an eerie pattern: presidents elected in years ending in zero seemed doomed to die in office. From William Henry Harrison to John F. Kennedy, the so-called Curse of Tippecanoe - or Tecumseh's Curse - has become one of the most enduring legends in American history. But was this a supernatural act of vengeance tied to the legendary Shawnee chief Tecumseh, or simply a remarkable series of coincidences? In this episode, we explore the origins of the curse, the presidents caught in its shadow, and the strange events that continue to fuel one of America's most chilling presidential mysteries. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_Tippecanoe https://periodicpresidents.com/2013/06/11/what-is-tecumsehs-curse/ Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tecumseh02.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Gallatin_Hoit_-_William_Henry_Harrison_-_Google_Art_Project_(cropped).jpg" Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Mallon was a simple cook - no one special. At least until she was identified as the very first asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. In her life she unknowingly infected hundreds of people. As a result, she was quarantined against her will for decades. This is the story of Typhoid Mary. Sources https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3959940/ https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/micrograph/index.cfm/posts/2020/typhoid_mary_mary_mallon_salmonella Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon#/media/File:Mallon-Mary_01.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The film industry loves a good war movie. It’s usually a way to put action and heroics on the big screen. As we observe Memorial Day in the United States - which is to honor those who died in the military - we share with you some of our favorite war movies. Sources Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wings_poster.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hygiene is a critical component to one's health. But our understanding of hygiene goes back only to the mid-19th century, where a Bavarian chemist, Max von Pettenkofer, turned hygiene principals from a series of old wives tales to a hard science. This is the story of Max von Pettenkofer, the father of modern hygiene. Sources https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2723483/pdf/12199_2008_Article_BF02898030.pdf https://www.mvp.uni-muenchen.de/en/institute/geschichte/ Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Joseph_von_Pettenkofer#/media/File:Max_von_Pettenkofer2.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early morning hours of April 29, 1903, an enormous landslide in the mining town of Frank, Alberta, swept down the mountainside, killing dozens of people, and leaving half of the town buried. The worst part, if the town had listened to local lore, it could have been preventable. Sources https://www.geoinstitute.org/news/case-study-frank-slide https://ags.aer.ca/our-science/turtle-mountain/frank-slide Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide#/media/File:News03a.jpg Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Military units often have mascots, but not many are as impactful as Sgt. Gander, a massive Newfoundland dog donated to the Royal Rifles of Canada. Sgt. Gander was the quintessential military dog - and his actions during World War II saved many lives during the Battle of Hong Kong. Sources https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canada/sergeant-gander-and-his-handler-memorial https://www.hkvca.ca/cforcedata/indivreport/indivdetailed.php?regtno=X200#gsc.tab=0 Image: Canada. Dept. of National Defense / Library and Archives Canada - https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/fra/accueil/notice?idnumber=3241498&app=FonAndCol&resource=folderlist&ecopy=a116791-v6 Sponsor Go to factormeals.com/dispatchespod50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box. New subscribers only. While supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details). History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices