Weird Island

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32 minutes 14 seconds
73. FOOD: The Newport Man Who Ate… Tomatoes?
Episode Description:
While today, tomatoes are one of the most commonly consumed vegetables in the United States, that wasn’t always the case. For much of history, tomatoes were not only ignored, but feared. So, what changed? And is it possible a Newport man played a role in introducing the tomato into the American diet?
Episode Source Material - Michel Felice Corne
Episode Source Material - Tomato History
27 April 2025, 12:31 pm
35 minutes 15 seconds
72. DAREDEVILS: Sam Patch
The first famous American daredevil got his start leaping from Pawtucket Falls.
Episode Source Material
22 February 2025, 11:57 am
30 minutes 29 seconds
71. HOUSES: Octagon Houses
In 1848, a man named Orson Squire Fowler ignited a homebuilding fad when he dreamed up a bold new home design, one that might be cheaper, more efficient and even make you happier.
Inventory of Octagonal Houses in RI - One’s I’ve found to still be there:
- Lemuel C Richmond Octagon House, 41 High Street, Bristol
- Cranston (Battey) Octagon House, 80 Phenix Avenue. The only surviving of 3 once in Cranston. Built around 1854. Today there are four apartments in the building
- East Providence Octagon House, 21 Sunnyside Avenue. Built around 1900 as a bandstand for the short-lived Boyden Heights Amusement Park, and converted to a private residence by 1916.
- Providence, 36 Crescent Street. Eliza H. Dix House, built 1855.
- Providence, 63 Elmwood Ave. Built 1857 for Silas M. Field, jeweler. Is now a 4 family residence.
- Providence, 669 Public Street. Now a 4 family residence.
- Providence, 76 Harrison Street. Modern house.
- Warwick, 25 South Fair Street, Pawtuxet Village. Built in the 1830s?
- Albert S. Potter House, 4 Carolina Main Street, Carolina.
- Riverside, 163 Halleck Avenue. Custom built in 1990.
- Smithfield, J. S. Sweet Octagon House. Built 1865. 108 Farnum Pike. Need to check this one.
- Olneyville Octagon House, built in 1988
Houses that appear to have been torn down:
- Bristol Octagon House, Wood Street. No longer there.
- Central Falls Octagon House, built around 1877 - don’t think it’s still there
- Cranston Ezra Read Octagon House, on Pontiac Avenue. Demolished in the 1970s.
- Cranston Octagon House on Wayland Avenue, on a 1882 map but gone by 1895
- Johnston Octagon House. Built before 1880, located at 745 Hartford Ave near Killingly St. Demolished in the 1960s.
- Pawtucket Octagon House, located at 42 Park Place. Built in 1856, demolished in the 1950s.
- Providence, Gano Street. 1906 newspaper article references it. Gone now. Possibly meant another one a street over on Ives.
- Providence, 343 Williams Street. No longer there. Built pre 1875. Check this one again.
- Providence, Stewart Street. No longer there.
- Providence, 241 Ives Street. Razed in the 1980s.
- Providence, Locust Street. No longer there.
- Providence, 307 Knight Street. Built 1855. Thought to be the earliest octagon house built in the city. Built by Benjamin Merril Hubbard. Went looking for it, but couldn’t find it. Likely gone.
- Woonsocket, Sabin Pond House. Built 1849. At 315 Grove Street. Gabled Octagon House, very interesting looking. Demolished in the mid 1980s.
- Woonsocket, 21 (?) Fountain Street. No longer there.
- South Kingstown, no longer there.
- Block Island?
- Prudence Island - Not sure of the address!
Episode Source Material
19 December 2024, 5:42 pm
39 minutes 1 second
70. IDA LEWIS: The Keeper of Lime Rock
This week, we’ll meet Ida Lewis, the fearless lighthouse keeper of Newport, Rhode Island, who became a national hero for her daring rescues at sea.
Episode Sources:
6 November 2024, 10:36 am
37 minutes 51 seconds
69. GYMS: The Providence Ladies’ Sanitary Gymnasium
Episode Description:
Weird Island is back! In the first episode in over a year and a half, we’ll uncover the story of a gym for women in 1880s Providence, begun by feminist philosopher, lecturer and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Episode Sources:
5 October 2024, 1:45 pm
36 minutes 32 seconds
68. ANIMALS: Oscar, the Cat Who Could Predict Death
Oscar seemed like an ordinary kitten when he was adopted by Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Providence, RI. But the staff and residents at Steere House quickly suspected Oscar had a unique ability. He seemed to be able to predict when someone was going to die.
Heads up, this episode is more speculative than usual. And it includes a lot of talk of death. Keep that in mind while listening.
Episode Source Material - Oscar
General on Cats
Death and Diseases, further info
Predicting Death
- Development of multivariable prediction models for institutionalization and mortality in the full spectrum of Alzheimer’s disease
- Predicting Death: An Empirical Evaluation of Predictive Tools for Mortality | Medical Journals and Publishing | JAMA Internal Medicine
Studies on Scents
Bio-Detection Dogs
Therapy Animals / Our Relationship with Animals
Other Animal Abilities
28 February 2023, 11:32 am
3 minutes 19 seconds
WEIRD ISLAND CHECK IN: Taking a (Little) Pause
Hey all! I’m taking a tiny pause on new episodes for a little while to work on some other things that inspire me. I’ll be back before you know it! And, in the meantime, I still have a couple of episodes to drop. So, I hope you’ll stick around.
If you’re looking for something new to listen to while I’m taking a breather, I wanted to share some of the podcasts that I've been loving recently. Some local (see list 1!) and some that are just incredible podcasts I think will be up your alley. I have 100% forgotten some (Spotify history needs to go back farther!), so I’ll keep adding!
Local Stories:
- Crimetown (If you haven’t already listened to this one, this is a MUST)
- Mosaic (amazing)
- The Memory Palace (One of my ALL TIME favorite writers. Not every episode is local, but you’ll stumble across many that are)
- New England Legends
- The Bowery Boys (New York, but lots of crossover)
Not local, but I think you love them:
- Heavyweight (This is my favorite podcast of all time.)
- Sidedoor
- Unexplainable
- Not Past It
- Nice Try (highly recommend the episode on bidets)
- HISTORY This Week
- Ologies
- Lore
- Meet your Heroes
24 January 2023, 12:09 pm
23 minutes 46 seconds
67. MILLS: From Cotton Cloth to Space Age Textiles
While researching RI mills, I came across this one little snippet about the Ashton Mill in Cumberland, and had to know more: “Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company bought the mill... They operated in the mill until 1983. They made tire cord, drapery, and beta cloth for spacesuits for the Apollo Moon missions.”
Episode Source Material:
If you want to know more about: Playtex and Space Suits
The Apollo 1 & the Space Race:
Ashton Mill
3 January 2023, 10:00 am
26 minutes 38 seconds
66. MEET ME AT THE BILTMORE: Dutee Wilcox Flint
This week, I’m joined by Amanda Quay Blount, who just released her new book Meet Me at the Biltmore this October. She brought me a story I’d never heard before about this Rhode Island based Ford dealer. His name was Dutee Wilcox Flint, and he was one of the earliest and most successful Ford dealers in the world before he lost his empire, moved into the Biltmore, and largely vanished from memory.
Find Amanda's book, Meet Met at the Biltmore HERE! Meet Me At The Biltmore | Amanda Quay Blount
Episode Source Material
6 December 2022, 10:33 am
25 minutes 53 seconds
65. THANKSGIVING: Revisiting the Origin Story
This week, as many get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to revisit the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving that many of us learned as kids. Because, I found out as an adult that I didn’t really learn the full story–I learned a mythologized version of it. And I learned that while I heard a lot about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth, I didn’t know as much about the Wampanoag people who were already in New England, many of whom were living in what is part of Rhode Island today.
Episode Source Material
22 November 2022, 2:38 pm
25 minutes 59 seconds
64. MURDER: Amasa Sprague and the Trial of John Gordon
On December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague was found murdered near his home in Cranston, RI. An Irish immigrant named John Gordon was tried and convicted of the crime, but even at the time, many believed he may have been innocent.
Episode Source Material:
8 November 2022, 10:00 am
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