All Episodes
Previous Next
Plain Text
Nov. 5, 2019 - Skeptoid
07:18
Skeptoid #700: A Whale of a Tale

In which we celebrate 700 episodes of great storytelling... sea shanty style. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
|

Time Text
Celebrating 700 Episodes with a Whale Tale 00:04:43
Longtime Skeptoid listeners have come to learn that every 50 or 100 episodes, I like to amuse myself by putting out a lavish musical, often featuring big-name composers and musicians behind the scenes.
This time, however, I regret to inform you that the performance comes from myself, who should not ever be allowed near a microphone or a musical instrument, and a ragged bunch of drunken sailors I shanghide in their sleep.
A whale of a tale is coming right at you right now on Skeptoid.
Hi, I'm Alex Goldman.
You may know me as the host of Reply All, but I'm done with that.
I'm doing something else now.
I've started a new podcast called Hyperfixed.
On every episode of Hyperfixed, listeners write in with their problems and I try to solve them.
Some massive and life-altering, and some so minuscule it'll boggle your mind.
No matter the problem, no matter the size, I'm here for you.
That's Hyperfixed, the new podcast from Radiotopia.
Find it wherever you listen to podcasts or at hyperfixedpod.com.
You're listening to Skeptoid.
I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
Episode number 700, A Whale of a Tale.
We tell a lot of stories on Skeptoid, and with this being the 700th episode, it's a good time to reflect on the best.
Some of our stories are true, some are merely legends, but all have managed to attract legions of true believers.
If they hadn't, they wouldn't have been Skeptoid episodes.
In this very special show, we're going to focus on a few of the classics.
Sharing stories is inherently a social activity.
So today, we're going to go aboard ship with some friends and swap the most skeptoidiest of yarns, sea shanty style.
And it goes a little like this.
Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends, a whale of a tale or two, about the groaning ghost and the little green men.
In stories you've heard again and again.
A whale of a tale to chill your bones from me to your headphones.
There was Bigfoot Berry.
Found him hiding in some canyons, huge and scary.
I surely wished I'd had companions.
Then he saw me and came charging through the oaks.
Blow me down and pick me up.
I hope he's just a hoax.
Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends.
A whale of a tale or two.
About the groaning ghost and the little green men.
In stories you've heard again and again.
A whale of a tale to chill your bones.
From me to your headphones.
There was Poltergeist Peter.
He made a lot of knocks and bumping.
Checked my ghostometer.
It showed he wasn't there or nothing.
Still, I saw him and I had not had a dram.
Blow me down and pick me up.
He was a hologram.
Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends.
A whale of a tale or two.
About the groaning ghost and the little green men.
In stories you've heard again and again.
A whale of a tale to chill your bones.
From me to your headphones.
There was some strange saucer floated down to a nearby field.
I feared some monster might come out as the door unsealed.
Then a fearsome figure stood like a mannequin.
But then he took his helmet off.
It was Von Danikin.
Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends.
A whale of a tale or two about the grown-in ghost and the little green men.
And stories you've heard again and again.
A whale of a tale to chill your bones.
From me to your head.
Well, that's enough shantying for now.
Join Premium to Share Your Story 00:02:31
700 weekly episodes down and many more to come.
Perhaps we'll get out the concertina and the steel drum again in another 700 weeks, as there are certainly more than enough great tales, both old and new.
So stay tuned and keep listening, and I'll keep compiling the biggest whale-sized tales out there.
And a whale of a shout-out to Skeptoid Premium members, Steve Williams from New South Wales, Australia, Joe Almanza, Enrique Morales, Craig from Brisbane, Australia, and Sean Marshall from Ontario, Canada.
Remember, Premium members, you can get your own shout-out in the members portal on skeptoid.com.
And you can also tell us your story, which we'll include as an intro to the sponsor-supported version of the show that goes out to free listeners.
Your story helps convert them, and each new premium member brings the show to an average of 100 new listeners.
And having more Skeptoid listeners is good for everyone.
That's all found inside the members portal at skeptoid.com.
You're listening to Skeptoid, a listener-supported program.
I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
Hello, everyone.
This is Adrian Hill from Skookum Studios in Calgary, Canada, the land of maple syrup and moose.
And I'm here to ask you to consider becoming a premium member of Skeptoid for as little as $5 per month.
And that's only the cost of a couple of Tim Horton's double-doubles.
And that's Canadian for coffee with double cream and sugar.
Why support Skeptoid?
If you are like me and don't like ads, but like extended versions of each episode, Premium is for you.
If you want to support a worthwhile nonprofit that combats pseudoscience, promotes critical thinking, and provides free access to teachers to use the podcast in the classroom via the Teacher's Toolkit, then sign up today.
Remember that skepticism is the best medicine.
Next to giggling, of course.
Until next time, this is Adrienne Hill.
From PRX.
Export Selection