This week we deep dive into activist Dan Kwong's efforts to restore a baseball field at a former California internment camp and about researchers who lived in subterranean caves for months at a time without access to clocks, calendars, or the sun. A listener email explains some sweet, sweet history.

Come see us at NEW YORK COMIC-CON!

Artist Alley, Table D-33

October 9-12, 2025

Episode Tabs:

The Moving Story of Bringing Baseball Back to Manzanar

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/moving-story-of-bringing-baseball-back-to-manzanar-where-thousands-of-japanese-americans-were-incarcerated-during-world-war-II-180986312/

Caveman: And Interview with Michel Siffre

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/30/foer_siffre.php

Listener Tabs:

Malm Whale

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/malm-whale

White Rabbit (Candy)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_%28candy%29

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into the absolutely disgusting history of medical researchers who experimented on themselves and the story of teenager Sybil Ludington, the unfortunately nicknamed "female Paul Revere," who rode 40 miles in the pouring rain to warn American revolutionaries of the encroaching British army. A listener email explains a werewolf baby phenomenon.

Kaveh's Panel at LA COMIC-CON:

Middle Eastern/ North African Representation in Media

SEPTEMBER 27, 2025

11:00am, ROOM 407

Episode Tabs:

20 Self-Experimenting Medical Researchers in History

https://historycollection.com/20-self-experimenting-medical-researchers-in-history/

Sybil Ludington

https://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhSybilLudington.php

Listener Tabs:

Babies develop 'werewolf syndrome’ after medicine mix-up in Spain

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/29/babies-develop-werewolf-syndrome-after-medicine-mix-up-in-spain

Dr. Pepper Museum Animatronic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQ1GJ17-6E

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we conclude the story of Sushi Row with how Koda Farms' development of their proprietary Kokuho Rose rice allowed Kawafuku to become the first Sushi bar in Los Angeles and how historical cure-alls ended up mostly being aggressive laxatives. A listener email explains the traditional Soviet astronaut movie of choice.

Episode Tabs:

L.A.’s sushi revolution was fueled by this secret ingredient from the Central Valley

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-05-03/la-sushi-revolution-fueled-by-secret-ingredient

Lewis and Clark marked their trail with laxatives

https://offbeatoregon.com/2501d1006d_biliousPills-686.077.html

Listener Tabs:

White Sun of the Desert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auj_u7wEyw8

Johnny Fiveaces: Original meme artwork sells for $5,100

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50817558

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into how Monochronic culture forced its will on the Polychronic world and how Ventura Blvd in Los Angeles earned the moniker of Sushi Row by housing the greatest concentration of Sushi restaurants outside of Japan. A listener email explains how the Monkey Puzzle Tree became an Oregon staple.

Episode Tabs:

Time and Culture

https://nobaproject.com/modules/time-and-culture

This Little Tokyo restaurant is long gone. But it changed L.A.’s food scene forever

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-05-03/la-sushi-history-began-at-little-tokyo-restaurant

Listener Tabs:

Monkey Puzzle Tree

https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/araucaria-araucana

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into how a newly founded America's insecurity about their status in the world led to their obsession with front lawns (and 9/11?) and the story of Portland's most polite train robber, Bill Miner. A listener email explains how Max Headroom briefly took over the Chicago airwaves in 1987.

ROSE CITY COMIC-CON: SEPTEMBER 5-7, 2025

ARTIST ALLEY: TABLE D-01

Episode Tabs:

The American Obsession with Lawns

https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/anthropology-in-practice/the-american-obsession-with-lawns/

Outlaw Bill Miner’s First Train Robbery was a Fiasco

https://offbeatoregon.com/1311b-bill-miner-train-robber-in-oregon.html

Listener Tabs:

30 Years Later, Notorious ‘Max Headroom Incident’ Remains a Mystery

https://news.wttw.com/2017/11/21/30-years-later-notorious-max-headroom-incident-remains-mystery

Simo Häyhä

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_Häyhä

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into how an obsessive Irish mechanic changed the world of tractors after a handshake deal with Henry Ford and how in the early 2000s, the Thai government embarked on a mission of gastrodiplomacy by helping Thai restaurants proliferate around the world. A listener voice memo tells the story of an old Serbo-Romanian woman who poisoned people in hundreds.

SUMMER 2025 T-Shirt Drop: Ken Allen has had Kenough (ENDS AUG 29th!!)

https://www.bonfire.com/500-open-tabs-ken-allen/

Episode Tabs:

The Life and Legacy of Harry Ferguson

https://www.ulstertransportmuseum.org/guest-blog/life-and-legacy-harry-ferguson

You Think You Understand Thai Culture Because You Eat at Thai Restaurants? Think Again

https://www.foodandwine.com/why-are-there-so-many-thai-restaurants-7104115

Listener Tabs:

Nettle Eaters Chomp in Revived World Championships

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6152l8z20o

Baba Anujka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Anujka

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we deep dive into the life of Orangutan Ken Allen, the San Diego Zoo's most infamous escape artist and how the drawings of young boy named Onfim gave art historians insight into what life was like for a child in medieval Russia. A listener voice memo explains the origins of Batman and Robin.

SUMMER 2025 T-Shirt Drop: Ken Allen has had Kenough!

https://www.bonfire.com/500-open-tabs-ken-allen/

I'm Me and It's This Game's Fault - Full SDCC Panel

https://youtu.be/MVjXA_NGnVU

Episode Tabs:

Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance

https://www.akpress.org/fear-of-the-animal-planet-e-book.html

Onfim Wuz Here: On the Unlikely Art of a Medieval Russian Boy

https://lithub.com/onfim-wuz-here-on-the-unlikely-art-of-a-medieval-russian-boy/

Listener Tabs:

Comic Books, Dr. Wertham, and the Villains of Forensic Psychiatry

https://jaapl.org/content/early/2020/10/06/JAAPL.200041-20

The trashiest enigma: Alex Jordan and the House on the Rock

https://thetangential.com/2014/11/30/the-trashiest-enigma-alex-jordan-and-the-house-on-the-rock/

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW by adding theTab For a Cause extension: tabforanimals.org/opentabs and help end suffering for animals trapped on factory farms today!

Get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we conclude the sagas of John Murray Spear, a 19th‑century activist‑turned‑spiritualist who claimed the ghost of Benjamin Franklin ordered him to build a “Mechanical Messiah” to usher in a new era of world peace and how Guns N’ Roses were able to finish their music video trilogy with Estranged despite the departure of their lead actress. A listener email tells the story of an ancient Greek dick plague.

Episode Tabs:

Revisiting John Murray Spear

https://iapsop.com/jbb/2021__buescher___revisiting_john_murray_spear.pdf

25 Years Ago, Guns N’ Roses Unveiled Their Batshit $4 Million Music Video

https://www.vice.com/en/article/guns-n-roses-estranged-video-25-years-later/

Listener Tabs:

Pompe and Proagon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysia#Pompe_and_Proagon

40 years after their final show, Chinatown's Pender Guy radio is reuniting

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/pender-guy-radio-reunion-1.6045491

Email your closed tab submissions to: 500opentabs@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/500OpenTabs

500 Open Roads (Google Maps episode guide): https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tg9g2HcUaFAzXGbw7

Continue the conversation by joining us on Discord! https://discord.gg/8px5RJHk7a

SUPPORT THE SHOW and get 40% off an annual subscription to Nebula by going to nebula.tv/500opentabs

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.