Episode 518: Crazy About A Mercury episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 9, 2026 · 31 MIN

Episode 518: Crazy About A Mercury

from What the HELL Were You Thinking? · host Dave Bledsoe

Show Notes Episode 518: Crazy About A Mercury This week Host Dave Bledsoe attempted to join a small group of elite performers dedicated to pushing the boundaries of human endurance in pursuit of knowledge. (He was in a drinking contest. He Lost) On the show this time we head back to the heady days of Steely Eyed Missile Men reaching out to the face of God. (And the boobs of every Cape Cookie on the coast) as we cover the Space Race and the Mercury Program! Along the way we discovered that Dave was never going to make it into space. Then we dive right into the people that made NASA (Nazi Scientists.)  Then join the Space Race already in progress as the Soviet Union launches Sputnik and America launches a public relations campaign.  We meet the Mercury Seven, the heroes who launched the program in the United States, and their long suffering wives.  (Astronauts: not good husbands) Finally we examine what the space program really gave us. (A massive flying homage to Jeff Bezos’ dong!) Our Sponsor this week is Paperclip Consultants, focusing on the job, not the problematic people doing it!  We open the show with NASA lying to us and close with Keith, who is crazy about Mercury! Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music:https://youtu.be/05HZb6-i7zE?si=q_WhScXqzfypjRTK Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: Wikipedia: Operation Paperclip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip Wikipedia: Mercury Seven https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Seven Rendezvous with Destiny https://web.archive.org/web/20070618053311/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864563,00.html Respected Astronauts Who Were Awful People https://www.grunge.com/127628/respected-astronauts-who-were-awful-people/ Being a Celebrity Astronaut Is Tougher Than It Sounds https://gizmodo.com/being-a-celebrity-astronaut-is-tougher-than-it-sounds-1548988589 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Episode 518: Crazy About A Mercury

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