Popular History

From the depths of the ocean to the farthest corners of the cosmos, "Incredible But True" traverses a vast array of topics, uncovering the most surprising and lesser-known truths of our universe. Listeners will be enthralled by quirky animal behaviors, bewildering scientific phenomena, and historical oddities that defy belief.

One afternoon in the late 1970s, deep in the labyrinthine interior of a massive Gothic tower in New Haven, an unsuspecting employee of Yale University opened a long-locked room in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium and stumbled upon something shocking and disturbing. Shocking, because what he found was an enormous cache of nude photographs, thousands and thousands of photographs of young men in front, side, and rear poses. Disturbing, because the photos looked like the record of a bizarre body-piercing ritual.

In the early 18th century, 80 years prior to revolution, France went wild for stocks and bonds. Mechanics dropped their tools and tradesmen closed their shops. There was but one profession, one employment, one occupation for persons of all ranks, from peasant to prince. And that profession was speculating in stocks. This is the story of John Law, the adventurous Scotsman played chance against an entire nation.