For decades, American families gathered in their backyards to throw giant metal spikes through the air and called it wholesome fun. What could possibly go wrong?

In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela trace the astonishing history of lawn darts, better known by the popular brand name Jarts. Beginning with a 1957 patent for a projectile that combined an indoor dart with a javelin, lawn darts were marketed as cheerful outdoor entertainment for the entire family. Millions of sets were sold, even as the supposedly harmless backyard game caused devastating head injuries, permanent disabilities, and the deaths of children.

Along the way, they examine the classic Saturday Night Live “Bag O’ Glass” sketch, the cheerful vintage advertising that described Jarts as a “missile game,” early attempts by the FDA to regulate them, and the manufacturers who insisted that consumers simply needed to play more carefully. Then they tell the heartbreaking story of seven-year-old and her father whose tireless campaign finally pushed the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress to ban sharp-pointed lawn darts decades after they first landed on the market and began their reign of terror..

Were lawn darts a cursed object, or simply the inevitable result of reckless design, corporate self-interest, weak regulation, and an American marketplace willing to sell almost anything?

Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Definitely a terrible idea.

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii and Herculaneum beneath ash, pumice, and deadly pyroclastic flows, preserving the final moments of two ancient Roman cities in horrifying detail. But was that the end of Pompeii’s misfortune, or did something cursed remain beneath the ruins?

Fresh from visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum, Angela takes Daniel through the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the remarkably preserved streets and homes of Pompeii, and the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger. Along the way, they examine exploding skulls, plaster casts, ancient brothels, good-luck penises, and the surprisingly ordinary details of Roman life frozen in time.

Then they uncover the modern Curse of Pompeii, an urban legend claiming that tourists who steal rocks, tiles, mosaics, and other artifacts from the archaeological site are rewarded with illness, financial ruin, and relentless bad luck. More than 100 visitors have reportedly returned stolen souvenirs, often accompanied by letters begging Pompeii, and perhaps its dead, for forgiveness.

Is Pompeii truly cursed, or is the legend simply doing the useful work of frightening tourists into keeping their hands to themselves?

Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Definitely cursed...ish.

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful places in America, with towering granite cliffs, roaring waterfalls, Half Dome, El Capitan, and a valley so stunning it helped inspire the entire national park system. But tucked into that landscape is Tenaya Canyon, a dangerous stretch of wilderness sometimes called the “Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite,” where hikers, climbers, park employees, and even John Muir, America’s great wilderness evangelist and the man often called the father of the national parks himself, have been injured, stranded, or killed while exploring this infamous canyon.

In this episode of Cursed...ish, Daniel and Angela investigate the alleged Curse of Tenaya Canyon: the story of Chief Tenaya, the Ahwahneechee people, the Mariposa Battalion, and the violent removal of Indigenous people from Yosemite Valley during the California Gold Rush. From the killing of Chief Tenaya’s son to the renaming of Tenaya Lake, Tenaya Creek, and Tenaya Canyon, we look at how a history of displacement became attached to one of Yosemite’s most dangerous landscapes.

Along the way, we dig into deadly falls, flash floods, Half Dome lightning strikes, strange disappearances, rescue missions, and the unsettling question at the center of the legend: is Tenaya Canyon cursed, or is “the curse” a way of turning stolen land and human tragedy into spooky tourist folklore?

This is a story about Yosemite, wilderness danger, Indigenous history, settler violence, respect for nature, and the uncomfortable line between a supernatural warning and a history that refuses to stay buried.

https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/origin_of_word_yosemite.html

https://npshistory.com/nature_notes/yose/v20n7-1977.pdf

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/56042/56042-h/56042-h.htm#i_236

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/tenaya-canyon-in-yosemites-cursed-history-18121807.php

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/yosemite-hiking-accidents-kill-two-3136339.php

https://tahoequarterly.com/best-of-tahoe-2017/tempting-curse-chief-tenaya

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/yosemite-hiking-accidents-kill-two-3136339.php

https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/746/Yosemite_rock_fall_database_narratives_1857-2011.pdf

https://mymotherlode.com/news/local/106197/yosemite-officials-believe-body-may-be-that-of-missing-foreign-exchange-student.html

https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/stranded-hikers-rescued-from-tenaya-canyon.htm

https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/lost-and-unprepared-in-tenaya-canyon.htm

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.