Octavius Valentine Catto was truly a man for all seasons: scholar, activist, politician, baseball star. He could have been the inspiring black leader Reconstruction-era Philadelphia needed... if he hadn't been murdered.

https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/there-must-come-a-change

Key sources for this episode include Daniel Biddle and Murray Dubin's Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America; Joe William Trotter Jr and Eric Ledell Smith's African Americans in Pennsylvania: Shifting Historical Perspectives; Michael E. Lomax's Black Baseball Entrepreneurs: 1860-1901: Operating by Any Means Necessary; Ryan A. Swanson's When Baseball Went White: Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Dreams of a National Pastime; and Stephan Segal's "An Unbreakable Game: Baseball and Its Inability to Bring About Equality During Reconstruction"

The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to the idea that that which is least known is best to know. Each episode we share a strange story or amazing fact, and no topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll cover about it!

• Email: jackalope@order-of-the-jackalope.com
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/order-of-the-jackalope.com
• Discord: https://discord.gg/Mbap3UQyCB
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@orderjackalope
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• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@orderjackalope

The Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich died from an accidental self-inflicted knife wound in 1591... but that didn't stop him from popping up to try and reclaim his throne in 1604. And 1607. And 1611. And 1612. And...

https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/samozvantsy

Key sources for this episode include Chester S.L. Dunning's Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Romanov Dynasty; Maureen Perrie's Pretenders and Popular Monarchism in Early Modern Russia: The False Tsars of the Time of Troubles; Paul Avrich's Russian Rebels, 1600-1800; and Peter Julicher's Renegades, Rebels and Rogues Under the Tsars.

Special thanks to Kristen Harkness for her help with Russian transliteration and pronunciation. (Sorry, Kristen, I still beefed it!)

The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to the idea that that which is least known is best to know. Each episode we share a strange story or amazing fact, and no topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll cover about it!

• Email: jackalope@order-of-the-jackalope.com
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/order-of-the-jackalope.com
• Discord: https://discord.gg/Mbap3UQyCB
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@orderjackalope
• Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/orderjackalope
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@orderjackalope

War! The balance of power in the Cola Wars has been shifting for years. In a stunning move, Coke has swept into NASA and is about to send its signature beverage into orbit... but not if the underdogs at Pepsi have anything to say about it...

https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/the-choice-of-the-next-generation/

Key sources for this episode include Charles T. Bourland and Gregory L. Vogt's The Astronaut's Cookbook; David H. Harland's The Story of the Space Shuttle; Tony Reichart's Space Shuttle: The First 20 Years; numerous patent applications; and contemporary newspaper reports.

• You're Wrong About: The Cola Wars
• Coca-Cola Space Can at the Smithsonian
• Pepsi Space Can at the Smithsonian
• Pepsi MIR Ad

I'll be presenting at the Intelligent Speech conference on February 8, 2025! Register now at https://intelligentspeechonline.com/ and get 10% off with the promo code JACKALOPE!

The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to sharing strange stories and amazing facts. No topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll do an episode about it!

• Email: jackalope@order-of-the-jackalope.com
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/orderjackalope.bsky.social
• Discord: https://discord.gg/Mbap3UQyCB
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@orderjackalope
• Tumblr: https://orderjackalope.tumblr.com
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@orderjackalope