One fateful day in 1943, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann pulled out an old ergot compound he'd been ignoring for a decade, and accidentally got a drop of it on his hand. He soon experienced humanity's first ever Acid Trip.

Over the next 20 years, scientists, governments and militaries experimented to learn just what Lysergic Acid Diethylamide could be used for. The results? Astoundingly positive for therapeutic results, from decreasing anxiety to helping addicts go sober.

Then came Timothy Leary, hippies, and the political upheaval of the 1960's.

Today on Get Shocked: The history of LSD.

RESOURCES

US Military Video of Soldiers on LSD – MK Ultra

Full Dragnet Episode: The Big Prophet

1957 Broadcast interviewing a housewife who takes LSD on camera.

Recording of John Lilly (high on LSD) spending time with Peter the Dolphin (high on LSD) to test the drug’s impact on communication.

The world's wealthiest man.

Bill Gates? Jeff Bezos? Elon Musk? No, no, and No.

Mansa Musa, "King Moses," leader of the Malian Empire in the 14th Century.

Net Worth: approx. $400billion in 2025 dollars.

Under the watch of Mansa Musa, Timbuktu became the center of islamic learning and science. West Africa grew into an international trading force (supplying European nobles and elite with gold). Through all of this, Musa led the empire with a shockingly un-empereor-like hand.

Today, find out...

• What nation's economy did Mansa Musa destroy during a short visit en route to Mecca?
• What fashion trend - which had a resurrection as a 1990's fad - did Musa popularize?
• What truly wild personal problems has insane wealth solved for the more contemporary filthy rich?

Today: Mansa Musa, King of Mali, History's wealthiest man. Get Shocked!

Vampires suck. And thank goodness they do.

Complicated creatures full of flaws: no mirrors means bad hair days. Fangs make dentist visits tough. And they can’t eat stake.

But today's vampires have plenty to love: immortality, shape shifting, badassery and power. More often than not, they’re totally sexy.

Think snake-necklaced Salma Hayek. Long-locked, pastel-suited Gary Oldman. Kate Beckinsale cling-wrapped for your pleather.

But talk about a glow-up! Before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, stories and folktales showed vampires as stinking, filthy, peasants (no class judgment here – vampires just had these qualities). They came from the smallest villages, in the most rural communities.

How, in 500 years, did vampires transition from The Stinking Vampyr of Pentsch, to sparkle-chested Edward “I only eat woodland creatures” Cullen?

Well, immortality leaves plenty of time for a glow up.

Today: The real history of vampires. Or, the history of Real Vampires.

Let’s Get Shocked.

RESOURCES

• Vampires in the Sefer Hasidim: https://www.torahmusings.com/2011/10/vampires-and-witches-in-sefer-hasidim/
• Estries in the Sefer Hasidim: https://templeofmiriam.com/blog/sefer-hasidim-alukah-and-estries?srsltid=AfmBOoqUuIm990DKfyPMeleYKIhD-zsrkB_FX9akdWHyZlxnx5L6eq2A

Johannes Cuntius

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/sk53s8NGr6znMccN8xpSNM/nine-fangtastic-facts-about-european-vampire-literature
• https://occult-world.com/cuntius-johannes-pentsch-vampire/

JIANGSHI (Chinese Hopping Vampire) CLIPS

Encounters of the Spooky Kind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTD9cVr2naM

Mr. Vampire II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt8nC4rRc0U

Mr. Vampire IV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ASFhUsFOio

Henry More: An Antidote Against Atheism

• https://archive.org/details/antidoteagainsta00more/mode/2up