Pope Death Murder Party, Over Niagara in a Barrel

Anachronismo!

John Serpico joins us to talk about the insane history of the papal interregnum. Now we know that talking about the period between the death of one pope and the election of the next sounds boring, but it was hog wild. When the old pope died, all the prisoners in vatican city were released, and the government was non-existent until a new pope was elected, which could take months or even years. So Rome turned into an all you can kill murderfest as prisoners sought revenge and people hired mercenaries to keep themselves safe. Incredible.

Then, Jackie tells us all about Annie Edison Taylor, the first person to go over Niagara Falls on purpose and live. Annie was a dance teacher who had fallen on hard times, over and over and over. After an attempt on her life when she was moving up north, she decided that her best way to swell the ranks of her dance school was to raise some publicity by going over the falls in a barrel of her own design.

Along the way we find out about Max's secret swordfighting past, the real way they elected popes, and the nature of waterfall whales.