The 25 Strangest days of Christmas Day 6 - “Toxic Tinsel: The Victorian Christmas Tree That Tried to Kill You”

Victorians adored decorating their Christmas trees — but many ornaments were crafted from arsenic-rich green paint, mercury-coated glass, and lead-based glitter. Amy explores how a little holiday sparkle occasionally led to dizziness, nausea, or sudden fainting — and why newspapers still called it “the height of elegance.” Forget festive — Victorian trees were basically weaponized foliage.

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This episode of The Strange History Podcast was lovingly crafted with the help of ElevenLabs.io — the magical technology that gives Amy her time to sleep, eat, work and spend time with her dog Jack. While some might say she sounds too good to be true, we assure you, Amy is absolutely a real person… who just happens to have access to studio-grade AI vocal cords and an unnatural ability to pronounce “necromancy” without flinching. Any resemblance to an AI is purely coincidental — and mildly flattering. Dan the announcers name is really Bill and Patrick, the fake ad guy who thinks he is funny? well he is questionable at best. So yes, AI was used but the people are real and the shinanigans are.... well.... shinanigans.