The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong

In December of 1909, the vice president of a Worcester Massachusetts steamfitting company decided he wanted to fly. This is his story. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant". Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeodGilbert VinterThe President's Own Marine Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's a change of pace: what about stuff we got wrong for the better? On this episode we've got 13 short stories of mistakes that went right. From jazz to physics to chemistry to frozen dessert, we've got it all. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey! I think we invented a new kind of podcast this week! It's a crime story, but it's also true. We're calling it "True Crime". I think there might be a market for this!Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In almost seventy episodes chronicling bad ideas and loopy frauds through the ages one name has come up again and again. From phrenology to mesmerism to a strange ghostly bowl of molasses, he's the Forrest Gump of 19th century pseudo-science. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeodWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FgqBQamzus) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here we are. We've examined arctic explorers, secret armies, zany daredevils, Wisconsin whiz kids and so many more only to come up empty. This is the end of the rope. Can we solve the mystery of The Foolkiller, the submarine discovered in the Chicago River in 1915, or is this one just meant to be a mystery forever. Stick around and find out. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Finally, there's www.industrialartifacts.net (https://www.industrialartifacts.net/) where you can enter coupon code "theconstant" for 15% off your first order.Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).For more information, photos and video related to this episode, go to constantpodcast.com (https://www.constantpodcast.com/)Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeodAnimeistrash Voice talent from:Chad The Bird of Chad The Podcast (http://www.chadthebird.com/chadthepodcast)Sebastian Major of Our Fake History (https://ourfakehistory.com/)Bilal Dardai of Unwell: A Midwest Gothic Mystery (https://www.unwellpodcast.com/)Jake Barton of Historium (https://www.orbitaljigsaw.com/podcasts/historium/)Chelsey Weber-Smith of American Hysteria (https://www.patreon.com/americanhysteria)Zachary Davis of Ministry of Ideas (https://www.ministryofideas.org/)Tamar Avishai of The Lonely Palette (http://www.thelonelypalette.com/)Wade Roush of Soonish (https://www.soonishpodcast.org/)Charles Gustine of Iconography (https://iconographypodcast.squarespace.com/)Kavita Pillay of Subtitle (https://subtitlepod.com/)Phil Ridarelli of The Neo-Futurists (https://neofuturists.org/)And Heather Chrisler (http://www.heatherchrisler.com/) of Virtually (https://www.writerstheatre.org/the-last-match?gclid=CjwKCAiAzJLzBRAZEiwAmZb0akRD3Qy2l3rI9P6YZ1e-UMKSaNHIe3qYEIB445KJ2ppNCFc8UXI8HBoCyfYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) Everything Oh God She's Cool (https://firstfolio.org/?production=louisa-may-alcotts-little-women) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're onto the long shots now: An Irish-American secret society bent on war with Canada, a kid genius out of Oshkosh and an Indiana shoe factory owner. With so few options left, one of them--surely--must be the creator of The Foolkiller. Right? Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant)Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Finally, there's www.industrialartifacts.net (https://www.industrialartifacts.net/) where you can enter coupon code "theconstant" for 15% off your first order.Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant).For more information, photos and video of the various Foolkillers, go to constantpodcast.com (https://www.constantpodcast.com/)Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid all the confusing and contradictory reporting that accompanied the discovery of The Foolkiller submarine in 1915 Chicago, there are a handful of mentions of an "Eastern man". On this episode, we look through the annals of submarine history in search of this mysterious figure. Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant".Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant). Finally, there's www.industrialartifacts.net (https://www.industrialartifacts.net/) where you can enter coupon code "theconstant" for 15% off your first order. For more information, photos and video of the various Foolkillers, go to constantpodcast.com (https://www.constantpodcast.com/)Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A proper story has three acts, but the story of The Foolkiller submarine is missing two of them. Today, we're looking at act 2: the brief window of time during which we know where this giant steel craft was. We're also examining the three initial theories that people at the time held about where the thing came from, and who built it. To do that, we're going from The North Pole to The Center of The Earth and even all the way to the deep jungle depths of Ottawa Illinois. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant) Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting: http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant". Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant). For more information, photos and video of the various Foolkillers, go to constantpodcast.com (https://www.constantpodcast.com/) Music by: Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1915, a submarine was found at the bottom of The Chicago River. It had been there for at least ten years, was 40 feet long, and contained the remains of a man and his dog. To this day, no one knows who built it, where it came from, or who was inside. This is the first in a five part series looking into the mystery of The Foolkiller. With luck, we might even be able to solve it. But before we get into the meat of the question, we need to learn the context. We need to learn about the darkest day in Chicago history, the day of The Eastland Disaster. Get a free trial of The Great Courses Plus and three months of unlimited access for just $30 dollars by going to https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant (https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/theconstant) Get 10% off your first month of online counseling by visiting:http://betterhelp.com/theconstant (http://betterhelp.com/theconstant) and entering discount code "theconstant". Visit our Patreon here (https://patreon.com/theconstant). For more information and photos of The Foolkiller and The Eastland, go to www.constantpodcast.com (http://www.constantpodcast.com) Music by:Blue Dot Sessions (https://www.sessions.blue/)Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/)Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our last episode of 2019 and season 6, we're revisiting last year's Christmas episode. Stick around through the end to hear a tease for next season's big multi-part opening story, and check out these other podcasts from the top of the show: Iconography (https://iconographypodcast.com/episodes) Mark's appearance on Chad The Podcast (http://www.chadthebird.com/chadthepodcast/2019/12/14/me-mark-chrisler-and-the-irishman) and That Was Genius (https://www.thatwasgeniuspodcast.com/) See you in 2020, for The Fool Killer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices