History Fix

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In the early morning hours of January 30, 1889 Crown Prince Rudolf, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, murdered his 17 year old mistress and then took his own life at his hunting lodge in Mayerling, Austria. The details of this apparent murder suicide were pretty straightforward. But, in the confusion that followed, much was done to cover up the details of what actually happened. Evidence was covered up, misinformation was spread, and medical records were falsified. In the end, a seemingly cut and dry murder suicide was twisted into a complete mystery. That is, until 2015 when a hand written letter was discovered inside of a brown leather folder in a safety deposit box in Vienna. Let’s fix that. 
Sources: 
The History Blog “Mary Vetsera’s Suicide Notes Found in Vienna Bank”
Wikipedia “Mayerling Incident”
Czech Center Houston Museum “The Mayerling Incident”
Encyclopedia Britannica “Archduke Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria”
Wikimedia Commons “Mayerling Final Letter”
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This week we're delving into the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914. This death was especially significant because it's often cited as the catalyst that started World War I. But that's never really made sense to me. Why would the death of this one man compel over 100 countries to involve themselves in the most horrific war the world had ever known, the Great War? Let's fix that. 
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Sources: 
History.com "The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand"
Norwich University "Six Causes of World War I"
The National WWI Museum and Memorial "June 28, 1914"

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Listen to this full mini fix episode on Patreon! 
I have to talk about sweating sickness. For some reason it has always completely fascinated me. What was this mysterious and highly deadly illness that plagued mostly just the upper class in England during the Tudor dynasty? Why such a specific and unlikely target victim? Why did it go away just as suddenly as it appeared? Join me to examine the evidence and the theories and let me know in the comments... what do you think sweating sickness was?
Sources:
https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/opinion/just-what-was-english-sweating-sickness
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3917436/ 
https://www.healthdisgroup.us/articles/GJIDCR-11-163.php 
https://www.britannica.com/science/sweating-sickness
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Absinthe, a pale green drink consisting of mostly alcohol and small amounts of wormwood oil, has only recently been legalized in much of the western world after a nearly century long ban. Everyone knows the myths about absinthe - that it causes hallucinations, that it'll make you go crazy. They banned it for a reason after all right? It's powerful, dangerous stuff which, in many ways, makes it all the more alluring to the masses. But what if I told you that thujone, the psychoactive chemical found in wormwood, doesn't cause hallucinations at all? That the degeneration and "poisoning of the population" blamed entirely on absinthe at the turn of the 20th century was much likely to have been caused by the near 70% alcohol it contained? So why was absinthe really banned? Who turned the "green fairy" into the "green demon?" Let's fix that. 
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Sources: 
Distillations Magazine "The Devil in a Little Green Bottle: A History of Absinthe"
Healthline "Does Absinthe Really Make You Hallucinate?"
Alandia "Absinthe History: From invention to ban and re-legalization"
Food52 "The Folklore-Filled History of Absinthe"
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For this mini fix, I asked you guys on Instagram to choose between 3 Queen Elizabeth I related topics and the majority of you picked the mysterious death of Amy Dudley! The results were:
What the heck was sweating sickness - 24%
The mysterious death of Amy Dudley - 44%
The execution of Sir Walter Raleigh 32%
Make sure you follow me on Instagram (@historyfixpodcast) to cast your vote next time I do something like this! 
This not so mini fix was so dang interesting it stretched past the 30 minute mark, making it my longest mini fix ever. To listen to the full thing, you can subscribe to the Patreon for $5 a month or just pay $3 to listen to this one episode. Totally worth it! 
Support the show! 
Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)
Buy some merch
Buy Me a Coffee
Venmo @Shea-LaFountaine
Sources: 
UK National Archives “Coroner’s Report”
History Hit “Amy Dudley: Accident, Suicide, or Murder?”
Wikipedia “Amy Robsart”
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