sperm whale

Welcome to The Oddity Shop, Where the Bizarre is Always on Sale!  This week in the shop, Zach brings to you a Valentines Day Special filled with love potions and aphrodisiacs. 

Ever wondered about the strange concoctions people have turned to for a hit of love or lust? Zach and Kara here, taking you on a whimsical exploration of love potions and aphrodisiacs that have tempted and tormented throughout history. We'll whisk you away to a world where the deadly Dutura flower and notorious Spanish Fly reveal the dark side of desire. 

Hold onto your hearts as we venture further into the past, present, and downright peculiar. In this episode, we're slicing into the king of fruits, the durian, whose aroma is as divisive as it is aphrodisiac. Cross the globe with us to Pakistan, where leather workers and pigs engage in rituals of romance you'd hardly believe. And if that's not odd enough, let us introduce you to ambergris, the regurgitated treasure of sperm whales, coveted by perfumers and lovers alike. 

So cozy up, keep it weird, and remember: when it comes to love and the oddities of attraction, we're your go-to guides for the bizarre and the beloved. From all of us at the oddity shop, Happy Valentine's Day, and may your romances be as rich and strange as the tales we've shared.

References:

• https://blockhead.store/blogs/news/ridiculous-aphrodisiacs-love-desire-and-digestion
• https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/bizarre-aphrodisiacs-around-world-0/
• https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/love-potions-aphrodisiacs-facts-spanish-fly/
• https://katdevitt.com/2022/01/31/10-insane-love-potion-recipes-from-across-history/
• https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/sex-aphrodisiac-foods
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_potion
• https://colleenpatrickgoudreau.com/aphrodisiac-foods-and-love-potions/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Sade
• https://www.usccb.org/eucharist
• https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2162150/vietnams-famous-alcohol-aphrodisiac-can-boost-your-sex
• https://daily.jstor.org/whats-in-a-love-potion/
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/644299?mag=whats

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Each Week at the Oddity Shop, Your Curators Kara and Zach will bring you stories from Cryptids to Conspiracies, Cults to Curiosities, Myths to Mysteries, and so much more!

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Part Two of our series on the whaleship Essex brings us from Nantucket all the way around Cape Horn to the Pacific whaling grounds, and the climactic showdown with 'the largest and most terrible of all created animals.' 

Sources:

Dolin, Eric Jay. Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America. W.W Norton & Company, 2008.

Ellis, Richard. The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean's Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature. University Press of Kansas, 2011.

Heffernan, Thomas Farel. Stove By a Whale: Owen Chase and the Essex. Wesleyan University Press, 1990.

Pappas, Stephanie. "Why Has a Group of Orcas Suddenly Started Attacking Boats?" Scientific American, 24 May 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-has-a-group-of-orcas-suddenly-started-attacking-boats/

Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea. Penguin Books, 2000.

Philbrick, Nathaniel. "'Every Wave Is a Fortune': Nantucket Island and the Making of an American Icon." The New England Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 3, Sep 1993, pp. 434 - 447.

The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex: The True Story that Inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Warbler Classics, 2022.

Shoemaker, Nancy. "Oil, Spermaceti, Ambergris, and Teeth." RCC Perspectives, no. 5 (New Histories of Pacific Whaling), 2019, pp. 17 - 22. 

This week begins our multi-part episode on the whaleship Essex, famously 'stove by a whale' in 1820, leading to an epic tale of survival, determination, and just a bit of cannibalism.

Part I focuses on the history of whaling industry in (first) Britain's American colonies and (then) the young United States, with special attention to the island of Nantucket. 

Sources:

Bouk, Dan and D. Graham Burnett. "Knowledge of Leviathan: Charles W. Morgan Anatomizes His Whale." Journal of the Early Republic, Fall 2008, pp. 433 - 466.

Dolin, Eric Jay. Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America. W.W Norton & Company, 2008.

Ellis, Richard. The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean's Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature. University Press of Kansas, 2011.

Jacob, Karl. "Nantucket's Bid for Survival During the War of 1812." Nantucket Historical Association, 2023, https://nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/nantuckets-bid-for-survival-during-the-war-of-1812/

Lu, Donna. "Nearly 200 stranded pilot whales die on Tasmanian beach but dozens saved and returned to sea." The Guardian, 22 Sep 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/22/nearly-200-stranded-pilot-whales-die-on-tasmanian-beach

Michaels, Debra. "Lucretia Mott (1793 - 1880)". National Women's History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/lucretia-mott

Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea. Penguin Books, 2000.

Philbrick, Nathaniel. "'Every Wave Is a Fortune': Nantucket Island and the Making of an American Icon." The New England Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 3, Sep 1993, pp. 434 - 447.

Shoemaker, Nancy. "Oil, Spermaceti, Ambergris, and Teeth." RCC Perspectives, no. 5 (New Histories of Pacific Whaling), 2019, pp. 17 - 22. 

WRITERS' BLOCK Author Daniel Kraus joins Meg Walker and Ron Block for a fascinating conversation about his highly anticipated new book, Whalefall, hailed by Gillian Flynn as “Astoundingly great...quite simply, a beautiful novel—a must-read story of the sea, the nature of awe, and the briny relationships between fathers and sons.” Kraus shares how the book idea came to life, his deep research and how family relationships are woven into this terrifying tale of a young man who is swallowed by a 60 ton sperm whale during a grief fueled dive following his estranged father's suicide. Their rocky relationship is examined in flashbacks as young Jay struggles to find a way out. A compelling episode that perfectly matches a compelling and hugely satisfying read. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded with the best equipment possible, live at Ye Olde STD.  

Hello and Happy Birthday to you, Alan Jennings listening in New River Gorge, West Virginia!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey.

I don’t “...know where music goes when it’s not playing.” [Clarice Lispector]

I don’t know if “ ... the sky dreams of dragons when it dreams.”

This much I do know: I live in a land where music is sung under the sea. Listening to the music of orca whales and humpback whales transports me to a place without words, only feeling. Mother Nature is so very beautiful if we only take a moment to recognize her for what she is - not what she is supposed to provide us.

Click HERE to access (OrcaSound Listen Live) hydrophones where you might get lucky and hear the orca whales singing.

Scroll down that page to reach Yukusam the sperm whale Echolocating

Finally, (look to the right under Recent Posts) take a listen to a Haro humpback whale howling at the Halloween moon.

Is Nature magically musical or what?

Question: where is Nature beautiful where you live?

60 Seconds is your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, including Android, and join us next time! You’re invited to stop by the website and subscribe to stay current with Diane, her journeys, her guests, as well as creativity, imagination, walking, stories, camaraderie, and so much more: Quarter Moon Story Arts

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

All content and image © 2019 to Present: for credit & attribution Quarter Moon Story Arts

We sometimes think sharks are the top predator in the sea, but 15 million years ago, a whale might have been one of the top hunters in the ocean. Brygmophyseter was an amazing predator with teeth like a Tyrannosaurus. In this podcast Dinosaur George will teach you about this amazing "Biting Whale". 

We discuss Ambergris, an oily stone like substance that washes up on beaches and is worth an insane amount of money.  We discuss it's rather disgusting source and the world wide market that exists for this rare commodity.

Top 10 Incredible Smells That Will Blow Your Mind

What do drugs smell like? How about the Titanic or mysterious Ancient Egypt?  Listen to this podcast to hear the answers and more! Prepare to have your mind blown.

Narrator, Author & Script Writer: Jamie Frater, http://bit.ly/jfrater

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[ Credits ]

Script Source: https://listverse.com/2019/11/23/incr...

— Music —

10. The Titanic Nearer My God To Thee (Bethany edition) - Lowell Mason 
9. The Holocaust Gymnopedie No. 3 by Erik Satie - Wahneta Meixsell, https://youtu.be/6RevYn8Mhkw 
7. The Smell Of Death Adagio in G minor by Tomaso Albinoni 
4. Animals of Perfumery Swan Lake, Act I Finale by Tchaikovsky 
2. Versailles Anthem of the French Monarchy: “Vive Henri IV”

— Photography —

7. The Smell of Death Title Image: Claudio Sieber 
1. The Odor Of Sanctity Archival footage of stigmatist St Pio of Pietrelcina’s last Mass

In this episode:

- We talk about Halloween back in the day
- We remember things just as good as Peter Kay does
- Sophie quotes other people's jokes
- Daniel doesn't spoil any movies
- Sophie is a fussy eater
- Daniel explains the sperm whale
- Loki aggressively licks his balls
- We are drunk

Thanks for listening! Please like, subscribe and review. You can now find us on Patreon by searching AHYDDpod

Another illegal wolf hunt in Oregon, bonobos are “nice” to their neighbours, bacteria-carrying mosquitos could help stop the Zika virus, an ancient cave lion cub discovered, and a bizarre frilled shark spotted in Portugal. Get these stories and more in your two-minute recap of wildlife news!

THIRD WOLF DEAD
HELPFUL MOZZIES
HELPING HAND
ANCIENT DIGITS
CAVE CUB
VAQUITA DEATH
DEEP BLUE DINNER
FRILLED SHARK
FUNGUS AMONG US
LEOPARD LANDS A CROC

Another illegal wolf hunt in Oregon, bonobos are “nice” to their neighbours, bacteria-carrying mosquitos could help stop the Zika virus, an ancient cave lion cub discovered, and a bizarre frilled shark spotted in Portugal. Get these stories and more in your two-minute recap of wildlife news!

THIRD WOLF DEAD
HELPFUL MOZZIES
HELPING HAND
ANCIENT DIGITS
CAVE CUB
VAQUITA DEATH
DEEP BLUE DINNER
FRILLED SHARK
FUNGUS AMONG US
LEOPARD LANDS A CROC