3SchemeQueens

The Lore Surrounding the Olympic Games

**Discussion begins at 7:00** The Olympic Games originated in 776 BC in Greece.  Back then, religious and athletic festivals were held every 4 years in Olympia at the sanctuary of Zeus.  It took place almost exclusively in late August/early September, because the midpoint always took place during the second full moon after the summer solstice (after the annual harvest but before the picking of the olives).  The first 13 games included only a foot race, and were only open to “legitimate sons of free-born Greek parents”.  After Rome took over Greece, the games evolved to feature any man who spoke Greek, and included events like foot races, wrestling, boxing, and chariot racing.  Still, participants trained for years, and the champions received a wreath made from the sacred olive tree in the precinct of Zeus.  That’s it… nothing else except personal pride.  The Games were held every four years for nearly 1,200 years, shaping Greek culture and politics and reaching the height of success around the 5th or 6th centuries BC.  The games were eventually banned  sometime between 393 AD when the Roman emperor Theodosius I banned Pagan rituals, and 426 AD when his successor Theodosius the II mandated the destruction of all Greek temples.   The idea of the Olympics lay dormant until the 19th century, when interest in classical Greece and international sport revived the concept.  Several “Olympic-style” competitions appeared across Europe, but the true rebirth came through French educator Pierre de Coubertin, who believed sport could promote peace, education, and international cooperation.  His efforts led to the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894 and the staging of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. Though small and imperfect, these Games established the core structure of the Olympics: international participation, multiple sports, and recurring competition. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the Olympics grew into one of the world’s largest global events, reflecting both athletic excellence and international tension.  The Games expanded to include women, professional athletes, and a wide range of new sports, while also giving rise to the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.  Since the first modern Olympics in 1896, the competition has gone from 241 male athletes from 14 countries, to over 10,000 male and female athletes from over 200 countries.  They have gone from 43 events in 9 sports, to over 300 events from 30+ sports.  Today we are discussing the interesting Olympic lore, including some bizarre and strange tales.     Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2265385/open_sms] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/3schemequeens] Theme song by INDA

Did John Wilkes Booth Escape and Assume a False Identity?

**Discussion begins at 5:50** On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.  Over the next 12 days he traveled 73 miles through the forests and swamps heading toward Virginia.  On April 26, the government said Booth was dead after being shot in a burning barn by a Union soldier and buried without much fanfare. Case closed… right?  Not so fast.  This week, we’re diving into the conspiracy theories that claim America’s most infamous assassin didn’t die in 1865 at all.  From questionable body identifications and missing diary pages to secret government cover-ups and alleged sightings years later, Booth’s death has been debated for over a century.  Did Booth really perish at Garrett’s Farm, or did he pull off the original true-crime vanishing act?  We’re breaking down the facts, the rumors, and the wild theories.  Get ready foil-heads, because history may be lying to us again. Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2265385/open_sms] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/3schemequeens] Theme song by INDA

Is Finland Fake?

**Discussion of Finland coffee facts begins at 6:27** **Discussion of conspiracy theory begins at 10:00** What if I told you one of the world’s happiest, most peaceful countries… doesn’t actually exist?  I’m talking about the happiest country on earth, Finland.  Land of saunas, coffee, Nokia phones, and endless lakes and forests.   But what if this so-called nation was nothing more than a convenient illusion created to fuel Japan’s love of Sushi and avoid any regulatory oversight?  Today, we’re diving into one of the internet’s strangest conspiracy theories, the claim that Finland… isn’t real.  The land mass we see on maps?  Not even real, that’s just open Baltic ocean. And the people who claim to be Finnish?  They’re just residents of eastern Sweden or Norther Estonia led to believe they reside in Finland.  We’ll trace how this theory started, who supposedly benefits from it, and why thousands of people online actually believe it.  Join us on another deep dive as we try to find out if Finland really exists. Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2265385/open_sms] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/3schemequeens] Theme song by INDA

The Black Dahlia Murder: What Happened to Elizabeth Short?

**Discussion begins at 6:30** Today we’re discussing one of the most infamous unsolved murders in American history.  In 1947, a young mother and her child out for a walk, stumbled upon the mutilated body of a young female.  She was quickly identified as 22 year old Elizabeth Short, nicknamed the Black Dahlia by regulars at a drug store she frequented - a reference to her dark hair and clothing and the Noir film the Blue Dahlia. The brutality of the crime, as well as the frenzied media coverage has led to a persistent fascination eve now, nearly 80 years later.  We’ll talk about Elizabeth’s life leading up to that January morning, the discovery that shocked the city, the chaotic LAPD investigation that followed, and some of the most well-known theories.  Brace yourself, there is some breaking news on this case pointing to one of the original suspects!  So join us as we dive down the rabbit hole, and discuss the mysterious case of the murder of Elizabeth Short.    *Note: Graphic discussion of autopsy occurs at 26:30 -  30:00* Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2265385/open_sms] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/3schemequeens] Theme song by INDA

Selene Delgado Lopez and Joanna Lopez: Real Missing Women or Non-Existent?

**Discussion begins at 7:30** In the late 1990s, Mexican Channel 5 would cut into cartoons and late night shows,  with a solemn voice and grainy black and white photos of missing people who had vanished without a trace.  One of these missing women was Selene Delgado, Lopez.  But decades later, nobody can agree on whether she ever existed.  Was Selene a real 18 year old who disappeared in Mexico City and whose case slipped through the cracks?  Or was she a media fabrication?  After all these years there are no official records, not family testimony, and no confirmed sightings.  And she's not the only one... In the 1980s, Chicago residents remember seeing a grainy black and white photo of another missing woman named Joanna Lopez that would air after the nightly news had wrapped.  But when the internet tried to solve the mystery decades later, things only got stranger. Records were scarce. Police files were practically nonexistent. Was Joanna ever truly reported missing? Was she part of a PSA campaign gone wrong? A broadcasting error? Or something else entirely?  This wee we are diving deep into these cases and attempting to get to the bottom of the truth about these two women.   Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2265385/open_sms] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/3schemequeens] Theme song by INDA