1883 United States | Bridges, Bandits, & B*tches

The year is 1883. Volcanoes are exploding, bridges are causing stampedes, and a stagecoach robber is leaving poetry like a Victorian theater kid on the loose. JoLynne and Amanda ruin one of the most chaotic years of the Gilded Age the only way we know how. With research, sarcasm, and at least one questionable opinion about what counts as progress.

This episode has it all.
• Krakatoa turning the sky into a global murder mystery
• A bridge that caused panic without collapsing once
• Time zones that finally told America what time it was
• A finishing school girl who wouldn’t survive one Tuesday today
• A railroad worker who deserved more than this country ever gave him
• Black Bart’s crime scene poetry (yes, really)

And if this wasn’t enough historical unhinged energy for you, our Patreon episode this week goes full holiday madness.

Yes. The Victorians invented the Christmas season as we know it. Yes. Their cards were insane. Frogs stabbing each other. Dead birds. Children in danger. Santa behaving like he needed supervision. It is festive, it is dark, and it proves that holiday chaos has always been in style.

Join our Patreon to hear the full episode and support the show:
patreon.com/cw/BarelyHistorical

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• Weekly bonus episodes
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• Uncut tangents and crimes against transitions
• A community of people who ruin history responsibly

00:00 Cold Open
03:40 Welcome to 1883
25:00 Presidents, corruption, and the Garfield medical nightmare
33:00 Brooklyn Bridge stampede
35:00 Krakatoa goes full villain
45:00 A Day in the Life
1:08:00 Crime, but make it poetry
1:35:00 The Gilded Age was just capitalism in a corset
1:46:00 “How’d I Go”
1:50:00 Wrap

Hosts: JoLynne & Amanda
Produced by Barely Historical
Contact: oops@barelyhistorical.com
Tagline: Let’s ruin history.

🎄 Patreon Bonus: Crazy Victorian Christmas Cards