Horde of Rabbits

The true, strange, whimsical, overlooked stories from across all of human history — the bits that didn't make the textbooks. Join the rabbits as they discover those nuggets of history that you didn't learn about at school. New episodes drop twice a week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Horde of Rabbits is a history podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 39 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Horde of Rabbits, a history show with 39 episodes published.

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  Episode #39

  Wrong Resistor

  Sep 21, 202612 minS1

  In 1956, engineer Wilson Greatbatch was building an oscillator to record heart sounds at the University of Buffalo. He accidentally grabbed the wrong resistor from his parts box. Instead of recording heartbeats, the circuit produced electrical pulses that mimicked the heart's rhythm. Greatbatch immediately recognized the potential: a small, implantable device that could regulate irregular heartbeats. He spent two years perfecting the design in his barn workshop, and on June 6, 1960, the first successful implantable pacemaker was installed in a patient. The device worked for 18 months. Today, over 3 million people worldwide depend on pacemakers, with more than a million implanted each year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #38

  Tooth Demon

  Sep 17, 202613 minS1

  The tooth worm myth is one of humanity's most persistent medical beliefs. From ancient Sumeria to 18th-century Europe, every civilization independently concluded that toothaches were caused by tiny worms eating through teeth from the inside. Elaborate treatments were developed: smoke fumigation to drive them out, heated probes to kill them, even exorcisms. Dentists claimed to extract them and show them to patients (usually small fibers or debris). The myth only died when microscopy revealed bacteria and the chemistry of tooth decay was understood—but it took until the late 1800s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #37

  The Giraffe That Fooled an Emperor

  Sep 14, 202612 minS1

  In 1414, Admiral Zheng He's treasure fleet — the largest wooden ships ever built, dwarfing anything Europe could produce — encountered envoys from the East African city-state of Malindi (in modern Kenya) while anchored in Bengal. The Malindi ambassadors had brought a gift: a giraffe. Zheng He's diplomats persuaded them to present it to Emperor Yongle. A second giraffe followed. When the animals arrived at the imperial court in Beijing in 1415, they caused a sensation. Chinese scholars consulted their texts and concluded that the giraffe was a qilin — a mythical unicorn-like creature whose appearance, according to Confucian tradition, signified the presence of a sage of utmost wisdom and benevolence. In other words: the giraffe proved that Emperor Yongle was a great and virtuous ruler. The emperor himself, to his credit, was sceptical — he issued a statement playing down the qilin interpretation, saying good government mattered more than supernatural signs. But he didn't stamp out the rumour entirely. The giraffes were painted by court artists and became the most celebrated animals in Chinese history. The episode captures a moment when the world's greatest maritime power was trading with East Africa, centuries before Europeans arrived — and when a confused taxonomy turned a large spotted animal into political propaganda. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #36

  Revolutionary Stamp

  Sep 10, 202612 minS1

  In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, requiring colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used—newspapers, legal documents, playing cards, even dice. The tax was tiny, but the fury was enormous. Britain needed money after the expensive Seven Years' War, and thought the colonies should help pay. The colonists disagreed violently. 'No taxation without representation!' became the rallying cry. Protests erupted, tax collectors were threatened, and stamps were burned in the streets. Within a year, Britain repealed the act—but the damage was done. The colonists had tasted resistance, and eleven years later, they declared independence. A small stamp tax became the spark that lit a revolution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #35

  Pirate Admiral

  Sep 7, 202612 minS1

  Born around 1775 in Guangdong Province, possibly working on a floating brothel (花船, 'flower boat'), she married powerful pirate Zheng Yi in 1801. When he died in 1807, she took command of his massive pirate confederation—the largest in history. She commanded a fleet of approximately 400 junks with an estimated 40,000–80,000 pirates (a contemporary East India Company officer estimated 80,000 in 1809), far larger than most national navies. She created a strict code of laws for her fleet, including rules about treatment of captives and division of plunder. The Chinese government sent fleets against her but failed repeatedly—after one defeat in 1808, the Chinese admiral committed suicide. In 1810, after Portuguese naval pressure combined with Chinese amnesty offers, she negotiated brilliantly: keeping her loot, securing government and military positions for her officers, and marrying Zhang Bao (Cheung Po Tsai), the pirate commander of the Red Flag Fleet who subsequently became a Qing naval officer. She lived peacefully for another 34 years, running a gambling house in Canton, and died around 1844. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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