Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast How Curious

Every year, the Asthma and Allergies Foundation of America puts out an Allergy Capital report which ranks the top 100 large US cities if you suffer from pollen-based seasonal allergies. Oklahoma City and Tulsa regularly make the top ten. In this episode, Rachel Hopkin looks into what makes the Sooner State so challenging for the seasonal allergy afflicted.

Nestled in the heart of Bricktown is a remarkable tribute to some of the most innovative and influential figures -- and instruments -- in music history. Join How Curious host and producer Rachel Hopkin in her exploration of the world-class American Banjo Museum.

This month's How Curious explores how the work of two African American property developers and entrepreneurs proved ground-breaking both within Oklahoma City and beyond on both a literal and metaphorical level.

A few months after How Curious host/producer Rachel Hopkin moved to Oklahoma, she was given a barite rose rock by two of her dear neighbors. It came in a box with a short text attached which stated that to hold it was “literally like holding a quarter billion years of history in the palm of your hand.” That gift provided the impetus for this episode, in which Rachel finds out more about this geological bloom and why it's unique to just one part of the Sooner state.

It's almost impossible to imagine life without the shopping cart today. However, it was invented less than a hundred years ago. Rachel Hopkin explores how it came about, its pervasive impact, and the role that the Oklahoma inventor/entrepreneur/philanthropist Sylvan Goldman played in its success.

How Curious host/producer Rachel Hopkin the world's largest institution that’s solely dedicated to revealing and exploring the form and function of the skeletal system and which is based right here in OKC.

Seventy years ago, a landmark psychological study that has been described as a real life Lord of the Flies took place in an Oklahoma state park. But although the Robbers Cave Experiment, like the novel, focused on a bunch of schoolboys, it offered a very different perspective on human nature.

Which Oklahoman Got a Hippopotamus for Christmas? Today’s story features a local girl with a belter of a voice, several hippopotamuses, some zoo history, and a hit song.

Which of Oklahoma's cities was designated "America's Model City" in 1951? And how did the diminutive Shetland pony help that city to grow?

Many settlers in Oklahoma are of German descent but had ancestors who lived as Germans in Russia for a century or more. Who are these “other Germans?”

Did you know that the Tulsa Oktoberfest played an important role in fueling the craze for the Chicken Dance? Find out how in this episode of How Curious.

Does a massive man-hunting octopus inhabit Oklahoma’s lakes? Rachel Hopkin looks into one of the Sooner State’s unique legendary monsters, the Oklahoma Octopus.

In 1913 a young Oklahoma came to be known as “The Richest Black Girl in America” after oil was found on her land. How Curious explores Sarah Rector’s extraordinary life.

For decades, stories have circulated about a violent Chicago gangster living in rural Norman, Okla. In this How Curious episode, Rachel Hopkin, digs for the truth behind the rumors.

The Texas Longhorn is typically associated with, er, Texas. But KGOU heard a rumor that when the breed was on the verge of extinction a century ago, it was a group of Oklahomans that saved the bovine.

How Curious explores a momentous scientific breakthrough which took place in Oklahoma in the early 1920s and which continues to have worldwide consequences today

This episode features an Oklahoma-based musical mega-impresario, some of country music’s biggest stars, and a tour of the former USSR.

Exploring the fascinating history and lore of pigeons, plus the incredible variety of breeds

While there used to be several hundred lesbian bars across the US just a few decades back, only 24 remain. New York and Oklahoma tie for the lead with three lesbian bars each, but those two states are very different places, so why do they have this in common?

In the late 1920s, a young Oklahoman composer named Albert E. Brumley created a song that would go on to become one most popular pieces of gospel music of all time.

The small town of Shattuck lies close to Oklahoma’s border with Texas, and at its center stands the Shattuck Windmill Museum. We learn about the vital role that windmills played across the high plains region, as well as about the role this Museum plays in Shattuck life.

The Morgan Horse is the earliest surviving breed of American horse. But it's from Vermont. So why is it so important to Oklahoma?

For years, CB radio users heard a male voice incessantly repeating these words: "I got my nightgown on, I got my pretty red panties on, and I’m ready to go to bed." Who was behind the message and why?

Kendall’s Restaurant in downtown Noble, Okla., is famous for chicken-fried steaks, cinnamon rolls, and GHOSTS. Rachel Hopkin explores some strange goings-on under its roof.

Outlaws like Bill Doolin, Bert Casey and Richard “Little Dick” West have gone down in Oklahoma history as accomplished outlaws. But who is the worst outlaw that became famous in Oklahoma?

Why is there a Putnam City school district in Oklahoma but no Putnam City?

KGOU listener John Potts noticed every auto dealership in the state is closed on Sunday, so he asked How Curious for an explanation. It turns out that Oklahoma is one of several states that forbids motor vehicle sales on Sundays.

Aviator Wiley Post gained global fame in the 1930s. He was known for smashing around-the-world flight records, but did he also spend time in an Oklahoma prison for a felony?

On a special stretch of road near Springer, Oklahoma, it feels like gravity doesn’t quite work-- when you shift a car into neutral gear, you feel like the car is rolling backwards up the hill. KGOU listener Vicki Weiss asked How Curious: Does this spot really defy gravity?

KGOU listener Gabe Denton remembers seeing horny toads all the time when he was growing up in Choctaw, but he hasn’t seen one in decades. Denton asked How Curious: What happened?

Listener Daniel Humphrey heard Oklahoma City’s drag performances used to be famous nationwide and that celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Johnny Carson visited the city to see shows. So he asked How Curious: Was Oklahoma home to one of the country’s most renowned drag scenes?

KGOU listener Adam Cotton heard the famous “talking” horse’s final resting place is in the Sooner State. He asked How Curious: Is that true?

George Bogaski is trying to walk the entire perimeter of Oklahoma, about 1,450 miles. Bogaski estimates he’s hiked about 25 percent of the total distance, and he has a tradition of smoking a cigar at each of the state’s corners. He’s lit up at all of the others--but could not find the state’s southwest corner. He asked How Curious: Where is the corner? Is there a marker?

Western author Louis L’Amour is said to have lived in Choctaw, Oklahoma during the 1930s and 1940s. One listener wanted to know if the rumor is true, and, if so, where exactly was his home?

The Green Book was a guide for African Americans traveling during segregation. It listed businesses that did not discriminate on the basis of race. KGOU listener Luciana Simmons asked How Curious: Where were Oklahoma’s Green Book entries? Do they still exist?

KGOU listener Nick Jungman heard a rumor that an old agreement between business owners is keeping the Oklahoma-based QuikTrip out of the state’s capital city. He asked How Curious: Is this story true?

Oklahoma has more than 500 school districts--up to three times more than some states with similar student populations. KGOU listener Beverly Funderburk emailed How Curious and asked: “How did Oklahoma end up with so many districts?”

Byron’s Liquor Warehouse in Oklahoma City has been around since the state legalized alcohol in 1959. Listener Adam Hicks heard the store had a machine gun turret on its roof in its early days. Hicks asked How Curious: Is this true? And if so, why did the business need a gun?

When John Hiller moved to Oklahoma City, he noticed a lot of businesses near May Avenue and 63rd Street have “lakeside” or “lakeview” in their names. His friend told him it was because developers thought Lake Hefner’s shore would be closer to that area. Hiller asked How Curious: Is Lake Hefner in the wrong place?

One night when Caleb Germany was in high school, he and some friends drove from Oklahoma City to Guthrie to see an abandoned building they had heard was a haunted orphanage. Germany asked How Curious: What’s the history of the building? Is it haunted?

For years, people have seen a mysterious light appear and disappear on a road in far northeastern Oklahoma. KGOU listener Lora Nall asked How Curious: What is this light? And where's it coming from?

A Kansas reporter wrote in 1893 he had discovered an all-female town in Oklahoma. But when he tried to go back to the village one week later, it was gone.

Frank Baker grew up hearing his family members use a specific expression. If something was messed up or shady, they would say it was "worse than a Wewoka switch."

In our last episode, listener Greg Elwell asked How Curious if it was really illegal in Oklahoma to take a bite of someone else’s hamburger. This week, we have an update.

Many lists of unusual state statutes say it's against the law in Oklahoma to take a bite of someone else's hamburger.

A tiny "Russian Dream House" appears in an Oklahoma City neighborhood in 1963. And then it disappears.

The City of Nichols Hills takes up approximately two square miles within the Oklahoma City city limits. It's home to about 3,700 people.

A catfish the size of a bus lurking in the deep waters of Lake Texoma, with eyes as big as a Volkswagen Beetle’s headlights.

For decades, Oklahoma residents have circulated rumors about a vast network of tunnels under downtown Oklahoma city where hundreds of Chinese immigrants lived at the turn of the century.