78: The Carrington Event and The First Renaissance Faire

This week we deep dive into the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history that happened in 1959 and how the Red Scare of the 1950s directly led to the founding of the now iconic Renaissance Pleasure Faire. A listener email informs us of how Nixon's airborne toilet is memorialized in Seattle. San Diego Comic Con Panels: I'm Me and It's This Game's Fault! Friday July 25, 2025 8:00pm - 9:00pm Room 29AB Middle Eastern/North African Representation in Media Saturday July 26, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Episode Tabs: Eyewitness Reports of the Great Auroral Storm of 1859 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20050210157/downloads/20050210157.pdf The Surprisingly Radical Roots of the Renaissance Fair https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-surprisingly-radical-roots-of-the-renaissance-fair-180982918/ Listener Tabs: The Bay Area's most hazardous playground has to be seen to be believed https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/berkeley-adventure-playground-19462017.php Email your closed tab submissions to: [email protected] 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.