Skeptoid - Skeptoid #700: A Whale of a Tale
Aired: 2019-11-05
Duration: 07:18


=== Celebrating 700 Episodes with a Whale Tale (04:43) ===

[00:00:03]  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.
[00:00:16]  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.
[00:00:30]  A whale of a tale is coming right at you right now on Skeptoid.
[00:00:38]  Hi, I'm Alex Goldman.
[00:00:40]  You may know me as the host of Reply All, but I'm done with that.
[00:00:44]  I'm doing something else now.
[00:00:46]  I've started a new podcast called Hyperfixed.
[00:00:48]  On every episode of Hyperfixed, listeners write in with their problems and I try to solve them.
[00:00:53]  Some massive and life-altering, and some so minuscule it'll boggle your mind.
[00:00:57]  No matter the problem, no matter the size, I'm here for you.
[00:01:01]  That's Hyperfixed, the new podcast from Radiotopia.
[00:01:04]  Find it wherever you listen to podcasts or at hyperfixedpod.com.
[00:01:14]  You're listening to Skeptoid.
[00:01:15]  I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
[00:01:19]  Episode number 700, A Whale of a Tale.
[00:01:24]  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.
[00:01:32]  Some of our stories are true, some are merely legends, but all have managed to attract legions of true believers.
[00:01:38]  If they hadn't, they wouldn't have been Skeptoid episodes.
[00:01:41]  In this very special show, we're going to focus on a few of the classics.
[00:01:48]  Sharing stories is inherently a social activity.
[00:01:52]  So today, we're going to go aboard ship with some friends and swap the most skeptoidiest of yarns, sea shanty style.
[00:02:01]  And it goes a little like this.
[00:02:06]  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.
[00:02:15]  In stories you've heard again and again.
[00:02:17]  A whale of a tale to chill your bones from me to your headphones.
[00:02:25]  There was Bigfoot Berry.
[00:02:29]  Found him hiding in some canyons, huge and scary.
[00:02:34]  I surely wished I'd had companions.
[00:02:37]  Then he saw me and came charging through the oaks.
[00:02:43]  Blow me down and pick me up.
[00:02:46]  I hope he's just a hoax.
[00:02:48]  Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends.
[00:02:51]  A whale of a tale or two.
[00:02:54]  About the groaning ghost and the little green men.
[00:02:57]  In stories you've heard again and again.
[00:03:00]  A whale of a tale to chill your bones.
[00:03:03]  From me to your headphones.
[00:03:08]  There was Poltergeist Peter.
[00:03:11]  He made a lot of knocks and bumping.
[00:03:14]  Checked my ghostometer.
[00:03:17]  It showed he wasn't there or nothing.
[00:03:20]  Still, I saw him and I had not had a dram.
[00:03:25]  Blow me down and pick me up.
[00:03:28]  He was a hologram.
[00:03:31]  Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends.
[00:03:34]  A whale of a tale or two.
[00:03:36]  About the groaning ghost and the little green men.
[00:03:39]  In stories you've heard again and again.
[00:03:42]  A whale of a tale to chill your bones.
[00:03:45]  From me to your headphones.
[00:03:50]  There was some strange saucer floated down to a nearby field.
[00:03:56]  I feared some monster might come out as the door unsealed.
[00:04:02]  Then a fearsome figure stood like a mannequin.
[00:04:07]  But then he took his helmet off.
[00:04:10]  It was Von Danikin.
[00:04:13]  Got a whale of a tale to tell your friends.
[00:04:16]  A whale of a tale or two about the grown-in ghost and the little green men.
[00:04:22]  And stories you've heard again and again.
[00:04:24]  A whale of a tale to chill your bones.
[00:04:29]  From me to your head.
[00:04:44]  Well, that's enough shantying for now.

=== Join Premium to Share Your Story (02:31) ===

[00:04:47]  700 weekly episodes down and many more to come.
[00:04:50]  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.
[00:05:01]  So stay tuned and keep listening, and I'll keep compiling the biggest whale-sized tales out there.
[00:05:13]  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.
[00:05:28]  Remember, Premium members, you can get your own shout-out in the members portal on skeptoid.com.
[00:05:34]  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.
[00:05:42]  Your story helps convert them, and each new premium member brings the show to an average of 100 new listeners.
[00:05:49]  And having more Skeptoid listeners is good for everyone.
[00:05:53]  That's all found inside the members portal at skeptoid.com.
[00:05:59]  You're listening to Skeptoid, a listener-supported program.
[00:06:02]  I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.
[00:06:12]  Hello, everyone.
[00:06:13]  This is Adrian Hill from Skookum Studios in Calgary, Canada, the land of maple syrup and moose.
[00:06:21]  And I'm here to ask you to consider becoming a premium member of Skeptoid for as little as $5 per month.
[00:06:30]  And that's only the cost of a couple of Tim Horton's double-doubles.
[00:06:34]  And that's Canadian for coffee with double cream and sugar.
[00:06:38]  Why support Skeptoid?
[00:06:40]  If you are like me and don't like ads, but like extended versions of each episode, Premium is for you.
[00:06:47]  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.
[00:07:00]  Remember that skepticism is the best medicine.
[00:07:05]  Next to giggling, of course.
[00:07:07]  Until next time, this is Adrienne Hill.
[00:07:17]  From PRX.