In this real-life Game of Thrones episode, Taylor talks about Princess Olga of Kiev. A widow, a mother, ruler of the Kievan Rus, and eventually a Saint. But the path... it was not laid with good deeds. After the murder of her husband Igor, Olga goes on a rampage of revenge and devastation against the Drevlians. There are Vikings, there is pillaging, there is town burning! It's fun, and even if it isn't true we've decided to believe it.
In this real-life Game of Thrones episode, Taylor talks about Princess Olga of Kiev. A widow, a mother, ruler of the Kievan Rus, and eventually a Saint. But the path... it was not laid with good deeds. After the murder of her husband Igor, Olga goes on a rampage of revenge and devastation against the Drevlians.
There are Vikings, there is pillaging, there is town burning! It's fun, and even if it isn't true we've decided to believe it.
Hi Friends! Our transcripts aren't perfect, but I wanted to make sure you had something - if you'd like an edited transcript, I'd be happy to prioritize one for you - please email doomedtofailpod@gmail.com - Thanks! - Taylor
Taylor is heading to Chicago for a few days for a convention
>> Taylor: In the matter of the people of the state of California versus Orenthal James Simpson, case number ba zero nine six.
>> Farz: And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you. And we are back. Taylor. Happy Wednesday.
>> Taylor: Happy Wednesday.
>> Farz: Halfway over weeks. Halfway done.
>> Taylor: I am m on my way to Chicago. If it's Wednesday, I'm going to Chicago for a few days.
>> Farz: Are you going to the convention?
>> Taylor: No. I believe maybe there before, just, like, for, like, a meeting, because other people will be there for the convention. I'll be there right before. But, yesterday we were at a pool party, and my husband was like, yeah, I travel for work. I just, like, don't really do anything cool. And I was like, I literally already know where I'm going to eat. Like, the second I land in Chicago.
>> Farz: I mean, yeah, if it's Chicago, I.
>> Taylor: Mean, yeah, I'm gonna get italian beef and walk to the water and eat it next to the water. I can do that for my hotel.
>> Farz: So beautiful. I love Chicago when the weather's good. Chicago's incredible.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Which is like three days of the year, but. Yes.
>> Farz: Right. I think you'll be there for that, though.
>> Taylor: I think so, too. We'll have it on my thing. I think it'll be a little hot, it'll be a little humid for my taste, but I live there for the first 13 years of my life. I can survive.
>> Farz: Yeah. Yeah. Fair enough.
>> Taylor: Sweet.
>> Farz: Wait, you gotta do our intro.
Welcome to Jupiter fail, everyone. We are a podcast that brings you history's notorious disasters
>> Taylor: Welcome to Jupiter fail, everyone. We are a podcast that brings you history's most notorious disasters and epic failures twice a week, every week. And I'm Taylor, joined by Farz.
>> Farz: I'm Fars, joined by Taylor. very cool.
>> Taylor: Today.
>> Farz: Today is Taylor's turn. She's going to, tell us a riveting story.
>> Taylor: I am, I'm kind of going to follow up on talking about saints, because you did Mother Teresa last week, and I was already researching how you become a saint, because I'm going to do a saint, today.
>> Farz: Perfect.
>> Taylor: And I know that one of your things last week was how much fun the catholic church lore is.
>> Farz: Oh, yeah.
>> Taylor: And, man, we watched the first omen last night. Is, like, the new movie. Is it good?
>> Farz: I saw the trailer.
>> Taylor: I loved it. I thought it was great. I was like, this is scary shit. I was scared a couple times, and, it's really fun myth building. It's before the first omen in seventies.
>> Farz: Can I tell you why I didn't watch it was because I watched the trailer, and I was like, okay, another creepy, scary child movie. Like, it's like, how many of those are there? But like, is it. It's worth.
>> Taylor: No, because the child isn't. Doesn't even feel that old, or doesn't feel that young. But the woman who is, like the main character, like the nun, what is her name? Her name is. Whoa. Her name's dope. Her name is Nell Tiger free. That's a cool last name. she is in servant, which is a show that I devoted a lot of time to. And I'm mad about it. I think I talked about that. It's on Apple TV. but she plays this, like, in both roles. In both roles, she plays like a really ultra religious, really, really, like, creepy woman that you can't figure out. And she's so good at it.
>> Farz: Sweet. okay, well, then I'll go on the watch list.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So that was fun. I was like, oh, this is fun. Because then, a lot of the priests were like, cahoots with the devil and all the things and, you know.
>> Farz: That'S how it goes.
>> Taylor: Joy. It's joy. so I also was thinking last Christmas to maybe do some things about saints, like who was St. Nicholas and blah, blah, blah. So I might bring that back. Just some interesting stories, from the past. But one thing I did see in my, research for this is there is a young man who passed away recently. His name was Carlos Achatus. I know this. Do you know what I'm talking about?
>> Farz: Yep.
>> Taylor: so he was born on May 3, 1991, and he was very religious, made a lot of catholic websites, and he died of leukemia, which is super sad, but apparently he's performing miracles.
>> Farz: Yep. That's how you become a saint.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So actually, that's step by step of how you become a saint. You touched on it a little bit, but I have a little bit more. It's called canonization. Did you say that? That's like the process?
>> Farz: Yeah, well, I said, I said beatification, which is like the starting point.
>> Taylor: That's like in the. Yeah, exactly. That's in the middle. So there's like, you have to be a servant of God when you're alive. Then after you die, there's a posteo, which is a formal report, that needs to be completed by bishops and other people and then sent to the pope. And if the pope likes it, he will write a degree of heroic virtue, that will kind of get you on the list, on the short list. then you have to do the miracles. You're dead this whole time. So the first miracle makes, you a blessed person. So you can say, like, the blessed, blah, blah, blah, and, that's the beatification. And then the second miracle is the canonization. Then there's a ceremony, and it's just like, it sucks that you're dead when this happens, because I'm like, yeah, but.
>> Farz: If you're truly religious, then your soul is aware of what's going on.
>> Taylor: I guess you're watching it from heaven.
>> Farz: Yeah.
>> Taylor: you can be beatified if you're a martyr, but not canonized. Like, you can. You can, like, skip some steps if you're killed for your religion. also, the pope can waive some things if he feels like it, and it can take, like, centuries, you know? Yeah, kind of like, much later. the first person to be canonized by the pope through the formal process was St. Ulrich of Augsburg. he was canonized by Pope John XV in the year 993. So I feel like there's a bunch more that we can talk about that, like, have fun stories.
I'm going to talk about Princess Olga of Kiev
But I want to talk about another saint, a new saint that I just heard of. Not new, new to me. And she's also a princess and a viking warrior and pretty awesome.
>> Farz: I was moving on to say Saint Nick.
>> Taylor: no, I will do that eventually, I think, because I don't really know what his deal was. my friend at work, Isaac, he mentioned this one of these stories. There's, like, five amazing stories about this person. He mentioned one in passing, and I was like, holy shit, I definitely want to talk about that. thank you, Isaac, for bringing that up. And I'm sure you don't. I know you don't know who this is. You're not going to guess, but I'm going to talk about Princess Olga of Kiev. So this is also. This is like, I read a book about the ruse, which is like, I'll tell you about the people that she kind of came from. And I watched a couple of YouTube videos that I'll put in the notes. But important to note, everything that is old and also everything that has to do with saints is a smidge of, like, potentially not true.
>> Farz: Yeah, sure.
>> Taylor: You know? So this is a. Even if it isn't true, let's just believe it because it's fun.
>> Farz: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mentioned with the Mother Teresa one where he was like, my cancer was cured. The husband was like, you went through chemo for, like, eight years.
>> Taylor: Whatever. Don't go out hurting anyone again. Just believe it.
>> Farz: Like, it's fun.
>> Taylor: so actually, Olga's gonna hurt a shit ton of people, so. Well, but not in the name of Goddesse. We'll get to it.
Olga ruled over the Rus people from 862 to 1242
So Olga was born some time between 890 and 925, which is a huge range. So sometime in that time, she was born, she was a Viking coming from the north, and she ruled over the kyivian Rus people. So the Rus people aren't necessarily Russians today. They're, like, people from Scandinavia, western Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Finland. That's sort of where, know where they ended up. But they were called the Rus people. And the capital was, Kiev, which is the one that is in Ukraine right now. They ruled there from 862 to 1242. So she's kind of in, like, the beginning, of it. This, is so Game of Thrones. It's, like, wild.
>> Farz: You're like, it makes me really sad that they didn't have film and camera. I know, because I just, I pulled up her husband. I was like, he looks like he was drawn by Gary Larson. It was like, I bet he looked cool. Shit.
>> Taylor: I know she has a lot better, like, iconography than he does because she's more famous. But, like, some of them of her, she looks real mean, and it's very fun.
>> Farz: She looks intense. She doesn't.
>> Taylor: Intense, obviously blonde. Yeah. So, my favorite, my favorite thing has been, like, in history when, like, Dan Carlin or other people that I've, like, listened to talk about, like, the viking people that came down and how, like, big they were, you know, and just, like, how scary it'd be to have, like, a bunch of, like, you'd never Vikings existed. And when did they show up? And you're like, it's because they're a foot taller than us. You know, they'll be freaky. So the dynasty when Olga is alive is a Rurik dynasty from the Varangian Rus. That's, like, the people. And king Rurik was the king. first he is, after Rurik dies, a man named Oleg becomes king. And, that is because Rurik's son, Igor, is too young. So Igor is not, the ruler just yet. Oleg is kind of in the middle. So Oleg, the myth behind him when he was the ruler of the Kyivian Rus, which is this group of people, is that he was told by a prophecy that his horse would kill him. So he was like, okay, well, I'm just gonna get rid of this horse. So he took the horse, sent it away to, like, literally to a farm. He didn't kill it. He sent it away. And then years later, someone said, hey, Oleg, that horse that was going to kill you, it died. And he was like, phew. I knew that guy wasn't going to kill me, but I want to see his body. So he goes to the farm where there's a dead horse on the ground, and he kicks the dead horse in the head to be like, you didn't get me. And a snake jumps out from underneath the head and bites him, and he dies.
>> Farz: Just leave it alone.
>> Taylor: He really poked, poked the dead horse with that one.
>> Farz: That's good.
>> Taylor: Oleg dies.
>> Farz: No, it's beating a dead horse.
>> Taylor: I know I said poked because he like, but you're right. Beating is also right, but also thinking, poking the bear, putting them together.
>> Farz: Got it.
>> Taylor: Either way, don't do it. so Rurik's son then becomes, the leader. His name is Igor, and he is Olga's husband. They get married when maybe she's about 15, but we don't really know the time. So she is now the princess of the kyivian ruse people. So in Igor is, you know, a pillager. He wants to go around and pillage, get taxes, get more stuff. And in 945, the year, Igor is like, I'm going to go out and get some more, taxes from this neighboring tribe called the Dravilians. So the Dravilians. D r e v l I a n s, which is an awesome name. He gets there, and they're like, okay, here's some taxes, money. He leaves, and he decides that, that's not enough. He wants more. So Igor goes back to the drillians. He's like, I need more taxes. And they say, no. And so they take two trees, pull them down to the ground, like, stick them to the ground, tie one leg to each tree, and then let the trees go. And his body gets ripped apart by the trees.
>> Farz: It's pretty metal.
>> Taylor: Pretty metal. So Igor is dead, and now Olga is in charge of their. I, you know, I don't know. It's not like an empire. It's sort of just like their land and their, like, kingdom. and so their son Svadislav is too young. He's only three. So she's, like, the first woman, to, rule over these people, over this area. And she is pissed, obviously, because her husband was just murdered, you know?
>> Farz: Right.
>> Taylor: So she's gonna get some real, real bloody revenge. So the prince of the Dravellians who killed her husband was named Prince mall m a l. And he was like, well, why don't you marry me? Now that you're single, you know that I, like, ripped your husband in half, right? so she goes, okay, like, come to, Kyiv. Come to. Come meet some people here. And so she says, quote, I don't know, loosely a quote, Your proposal is pleasing to me indeed. My husband cannot rise again from the dead, but I desire to honor you tomorrow in the presence of my people. Return now to your boat. When they get to Kiev and remain there with an aspect of arrogance. I shall send for you on the morrow, and you shall say, we will not ride on horses nor go on foot. Carry us in our boat, and you shall be carried in your boat. So they think they're going to get this, like, grand entrance into the city, so, like, outside the walls in their boats, and then they go, like, through a moat into the city, and they, like, pick up the boat on, like, the people of Kiev. Pick up the boat on, like, like, logs, you know, and carry it like a chariot. You know what I mean?
Olga sends a second note to them saying, send more guys
>> Farz: Right?
>> Taylor: Like, how you imagine, like, an egyptian pharaoh being carried through the streets. So they carry it like that. And then, you know, they say, carry us on our boat. So, like, they think that they're getting this, like, really great thing, and as soon as they get into the city, they had spent all night digging a ditch. They drop the boat into the ditch and start filling it and bury everybody alive. And they say that she looked over the pit and inquired whether they found the honor to their taste. Like, are you not honored? And she buried them all alive.
>> Farz: Jeez. Hardcore. She's not a nice person.
>> Taylor: No. So the javelins back home where they came from, didn't know this had happened yet. And Olga sends a second note to them, and that note says, hey, send more guys. Send your best men. We're, like, super happy here. We really want you to send your best of the best. Like, join the celebration. But they don't know that the first envoy was all killed, right? So she's like, send another group, group of people, send me your best. And they get there, and they're like, oh, we're super happy to be here. super excited. She goes, awesome. She goes, first. Why don't you guys take a bath? Like, relax. Go to the bathhouse. It'll be great.
>> Farz: So she poorly?
>> Taylor: Yep. She locks them in the bathhouse and burns it to the ground, and they all burn alive.
>> Farz: That was, that was a, braveheart too.
>> Taylor: Yes. Oh, that's terrible. Yeah. when they're all, like, hanging, yeah, that happens. In a lot of things. That's so bad. so the second envoy of people, she burns alive, then she sends them a note and she's like, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Like, everything's fine, but I really just feel like I haven't warned my husband enough. Like, I haven't, like, really gotten it off my chest yet. So can you meet me by the trees where you killed him? Bring all of your, bring up all your army and bring a bunch of booze. Like, bring up a ton of mead, you know, sweet honey wine, bring a ton of it. We're just going to have like a boozy funeral and we're going to like, you know, think about my husband that you killed. And then, then I'll, then I'll be over it, you know, so she, they all come, they all get wasted, and of course, when everybody is drunk, she has her army attack. They kill 5000 men. And anybody who's, like, running away, they kill them on their way out. They kill like, the entire army. And guess what this event is called in history?
>> Farz: The drunk fight?
>> Taylor: The red funeral.
>> Farz: No.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Isn't that fun? What?
>> Farz: It is Game of Thrones.
>> Taylor: I know, dude.
>> Farz: Even like, I'm reading about the, I'm seeing this thing about the Roerichs, about like, how founded by Vare, varangian friends.
>> Taylor: It's very, that's like, bring your varangian hordes. Isn't that in a movie?
>> Farz: Well, I don't know about that, but it sounds really close to Valerian.
>> Taylor: Yes, exactly. Bring your orangutan hordes. Maybe that's not true. I don't know, whatever. But infertile hordes, who knows? But yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so, it's so Game of Thrones. Like, all these words could, like, totally be in it. So then, this is like, this is her kind of last thing. They're like, okay, now we're at war officially. I'll stop pretending to, like, be nice to you guys. And then she goes to their, main, the Dravellians main home, which is in Korosten, now it's called Khorasan then it was called Ikorosten, it's in Ukraine. And I, wikipedia it and looks beautiful. It was like very snowy and lovely. so she goes there and she's kind of on the way there. She's kind of taking over towns on the way and they're like paying tribute to her, but she goes to their capital town and she's like, why do you persist in holding out all of your cities have surrendered to me and submit to tribute so that the inhabitants now cultivate their fields and their lands are in peace. But you had rather die of hunger without submitting to tribute. She's like, stop making me put this siege on your capital and just like, let me win. You know?
>> Farz: it sounds a lot like a spouse, being like, why did you make me hit you?
>> Taylor: Yeah, it's not good. It's very violent. Yes. And so then, they're like, are you sure? Because you've done a lot of avenging, and, like, we don't know if we believe you. And she was like, no, no, no, no. This is totally. I'm totally satisfied by the 5000 men that I killed at the red funeral. That big deal. I'm totally fine. And I'm, like, super happy. I just want you to pay me tribute.
She sent flaming birds to every single household in Constantinople
You know, give me some taxes and, like, I will, like, you know, let you eat.
>> Farz: She's lying. Through her teeth.
>> Taylor: She's lying. So she says, here's what I would love to have. I would love to have six birds from each house. Three pigeons and three sparrows. Everybody had birds. I don't know why. To eat them for the eggs, whatever. Everyone had birds in their house. She's like, all I want is just like, birds from every. Every household. And they're like, okay, we'll totally do that. So they gave her a bird, like, those six birds from every household. And then she had her soldiers tie cloth with sulfur on the end to every single fucking bird. And then when the night fell, she lit it on fire and all the birds went home. So the whole entire city burned down, like, immediately.
>> Farz: It's like spending way too much time thinking about this.
>> Taylor: She did like, my m zoom did thumbs up. She sent flaming birds to every single household in the city. a book called the Primary Chronicle says there's not a house that was not consumed and it was impossible to extinguish the flames because all the houses caught fire at once because every single bird went home. So every single house got fired at the same time. Everybody had tried to leave, was either killed or sent into slavery. And she got the nickname mother of sparrows.
>> Farz: Geez, she's. So why, is she a saint?
>> Taylor: I will tell you, but that is a great question, because there is a lot of blood on her hands.
>> Farz: Yeah, she's not a nice woman, so.
>> Taylor: She got her revenge. I think she felt pretty good after this. And now she's ruling over her kingdom, which has expanded because she did knock down all those dravellian towns. And of course, there is a dude who is like, but you're not married, so shouldn't you be married because you're a woman? And so he says, come and come to my city. come meet me, and we could be married. And that person is emperor Constantine. He says, come to Constantinople. So it's Constantine the 7th of Constantinople. And he's like, you should marry me. So she gets there. He's kind of like, it's like a diplomatic mission that she goes down there and he says, will you marry me? And she says, I totally would, but, like, I'm a pagan and you're a Christian, and I don't think it's going to work, you know, like, you can't marry me because I am like, a viking, pagan person. And he's like, well, what if I baptize you? And she's like, okay, cool. And so he baptizes her. And then in the baptism, he is also her godfather. So he, like, signs everything and, like, hangs out and, like is a part of it. And then after it's over, he's like, great, you're Christian now. Can get married. And she goes, but now you're like, my dad, so we can't get married. And he says, olga, you have outwitted me. And she doesn't have to marry him.
>> Farz: She's like, really way ahead of everyone.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So it does sound, though, like she liked being Christian, at least, is what the sources are saying, and maybe it's what they want them to say. But she went back and tried to get Stanislav, her son, to get baptized, and he said, no, he didn't want to do it. But, she built some churches anyway, and she was sort of like the first person to, in this record, bring Christianity to that northern european, russian ukrainian land. so her son never converted to Christianity. eventually he did obviously become the ruler because he became of age and he started ruling. he also enjoyed pillaging, you know. And at one point he says, I want to, go to another city. I don't want to live in Kiev anymore. I want to go somewhere else where I have more gold. I have, like, you know, piles of gold, whatever. And, Olga was like, I'm really old. She was, like, potentially in her seventies. And she was like, I want to just stay here. Can you just stay here until I die? and she died soon after, in the year 969. so she got a christian burial, even though her son kind of didn't want to do that. He wanted to do a viking burial, which, as we know, sounds cooler. I'm pretty sure you get to be on that boat. and her tomb was robbed by the batu khan. So the khan's coming in from Asia in 1240. but her body had been moved to the church of the tiles, which is in Ukraine, but I don't think exists anymore, in her grandson, Vladimir. He adopted Christianity in 988, so, you know, 20 so years, after she died. And then he would start to bring it, to people in the land as well. And now we know that, like, there's a lot of Orthodox Christianity in Russia and in the area is very popular. in 1547, the russian orthodox church, canonized her due to her efforts to promote Christianity. And she was often referred to as equal to the apostles. So, because she did significant contributions to the spread of Christianity, even though she didn't do it, her efforts to spread Christianity failed. But she did build some churches and did sort of, like, was the very first person in that area to be a Christian and talk about it.
>> Farz: But that's not why she's insane.
>> Taylor: That is why she's insane.
>> Farz: I, thought she had to perform a miracle.
>> Taylor: Oh, sure. I'm sure she performed a miracle. Yeah. But she was, like, considered in the first place because of her bringing Christianity to those people. And it's in Russia, it's a russian orthodox church, so maybe it's a little bit different than the catholic church.
Taylor writes about revenge stories in a new book about Mother Teresa
>> Farz: Man, some people's lives are so much cooler than ours.
>> Taylor: I mean, what a fucking, what a tale of revenge.
>> Farz: How fun. There's nothing I love more than justified indignant rage. You know, it's like the most satisfying feeling I think a human can have when, like, you can never fill the thirst you have.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: Of anger.
>> Farz: And, man, she really, really committed to it.
>> Taylor: She really did. She really did.
>> Farz: Yeah. All these guys, all you guys had to have read about her. Like the. The, Game of Thrones guy. Like, oh, yeah, this all had to play. Didn't pluck it out of thin air.
>> Taylor: Yeah, no, totally. I feel like there's, the more I read about some of these stories, you're like, oh, that. I definitely saw that in Game of Thrones, or I definitely saw that in Lord of the Rings. That idea of this kind of ruler and this kind of relationship with their daughter or whatever. Yeah, it's all ancient. History is, as we said, storytelling as well. But this is fun.
>> Farz: It also reminds me of just how, just tiny and new America is the United States. It reminds me, when I was in. When I was in Ireland, and I was, like, in that one, I was at Trinity University and, like, yeah, so this church, not the church. They're like, yeah, this, library, it was, the first brick was laid in 1482, and it was completed in 1500. I was like, what are you even talking about?
>> Taylor: Did you see the book of kells while you were there?
>> Farz: Yes.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So pretty.
>> Farz: Yeah, it was really cool.
>> Taylor: Illuminated manuscripts. Yeah. Oh, Trinity College is so beautiful.
>> Farz: It is.
>> Taylor: yeah. Also, just one more thing, if you are so inclined. Olga of Kiev's feast day is July 11, which is the anniversary of her death. So I guess you just, I don't know, put some. Put some birds on fire.
>> Farz: I mean, we just missed it.
>> Taylor: Your enemies.
>> Farz: It's a month from today. Or it was a month from today.
>> Taylor: Yeah. So, yeah, super fun story. I'm glad I learned about it.
>> Farz: are you gonna do. Is this gonna be a series? You're gonna cover a saint?
>> Taylor: I don't know if it's gonna be an officially a series. I feel like I might, like, grab one every once in a while when I, like, find one. There's so many, you know? and some of them, like, it's so interesting that, like, be trying to get, like, six people to be christian in kievan ruse is enough to make you a saint, even though you killed, like, thousands of people.
>> Farz: I know. Meanwhile, in revenge, Mother Teresa is living in, like, basically a prison cell phone, making washing lepers feet that are falling off in her hands.
>> Taylor: I know. Even though she has the cure, doesn't care.
>> Farz: Yes. Yes. very cool. Thanks for sharing, Taylor. Yeah, that's fun. That's. Man, the catholic stuff is so fun. I love walking into, like, an old catholic church is really fun. Not in the US, like, in Europe.
>> Taylor: When you're in Europe, it's like they're so. They're so dramatic, you know, all of these, like. Oh, because all also in. Okay, I don't know if this is true, and this is not a spoiler for the first omen, but in it, I forgot that when you are a nun, you're married to God, so you have to have a wedding and wear a wedding ring.
>> Farz: Really?
>> Taylor: It's just very, very dramatic.
>> Farz: Yeah, I didn't know that.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
>> Farz: Okay. There's apparently a saint who was known for his orgies, so we got to cover that guy.
>> Taylor: Yeah, I mean, I don't know. It seems like the bars all over the place and they don't really know exactly where it is.
>> Farz: You really. You really were. If you were gonna shoot for anything, you would shoot for being an early saint, because it sounds like you kind of got to do whatever you wanted to. But also, the church was still building, so they were like, all right, well, maybe you gave them a lot of money and that's all it took to be a saint. I don't know. Maybe it was all a scam.
>> Taylor: Maybe. I also. There's also, like, saints, where they have, like, their finger somewhere.
>> Farz: Yeah. Yeah.
Saint Catherine's head and finger are in Tuscany
>> Taylor: You know, relic, like relics. Saints also have relics. I think we should talk about that sometime. Oh, the head and finger of Saint Catherine are in Tuscany. Like, what?
>> Taylor: That is so wild.
>> Farz: It was. It was. Is it urban? Urbain grandier, is he a saint now? Do you remember his story?
>> Taylor: No. Oh, my God. The head of St. Catherine in Siena is real fucking scary. It's a dead head. I love it.
>> Farz: I guess. Wait, was urbain grandier ever saint? Was urbain grandier ever a saint? No, it was never. He was never sainted. But they do have parts of his body. So he was the one that last, last podcast. Did the devils of Ludon remember that episode?
>> Taylor: Oh, yeah.
>> Farz: Where they thought that he was, like, the women were, like, having dreams about him, and so they thought he was like, a devil or whatever, and so they, like, tortured the shit out of him before they killed him. And, And they have his body parts, like, in the church. Yeah. Anyways, very fun. Very, very fun.
>> Taylor: Yeah. cool.
Taylor: I have one listener mail regarding Christopher hitchens
Well, thank you for listening. I have one listener mail to share, from our friend Nadine, who wrote a. Wrote to me, regarding Christopher, hitchens, that you mentioned in your last episode. She said, omfg. Taylor, I can't believe you don't know Christopher hitchens, because you would totally agree with everything he ever said. Biggest antitheist ever, I think. I hope you've done a deep dive since recording the Mother Teresa episode and loved it.
>> Farz: I mean, thank you for that. But also, I think I mentioned on that episode literally every world theory I have that, has shaped my life comes from watching or listening to him. Well, I should. I should read about it. I should read his work, but I never did.
>> Taylor: But you don't read.
>> Farz: I don't read.
>> Taylor: But you know how to, but, like, you don't do it.
>> Farz: I know how to hit the record button. I know what the record button looks like.
>> Taylor: No.
>> Farz: M watches YouTube clips. His YouTube clips are just incredible. Like, there's hours and hours of content out there. So cool. thanks for writing in. And also, yeah, if you have any thoughts you want to write in, please do it. Ah. Doonflpodmail.com.
>> Taylor: Yeah.
Any weird saints that you know about? There's so many weird saints
Any weird. Any weird saints that you know about? There's so many, you know, like, who's the one that, like, I feel like there's something in Sweden. I'll look it up. But, like, we're like, the saints eyes are taken, out of our head. So you, like, close your eyes, but you have candles on your head or something. Like, the whole thing.
>> Farz: Again, who thinks of this stuff only it's so fun.
>> Taylor: And I'm turning. I'm turning the page on it. Like, yes, the catholic church does terrible things, like the molestation, for example, but.
>> Farz: They give us so much worse. Exorcist omen, movie. Like. Come on.
>> Taylor: Like, I think popular culture has done good. Well, the storytelling is good in some cases. Like, I don't know. That's weird.
>> Farz: No, I'm a fan.
>> Taylor: Not always, but I did. Yeah. I do love it. I kind of want to watch the original omen tonight. I remember watching it when I was a child and being so fucking scared when they open up that coffin and there's a jackal inside. I'm with my mom. My mom let me watch that when I was, like, seven.
>> Farz: That's not a movie you watch when you're seven. I couldn't handle it when I was.
>> Taylor: Part of my problem. I know. yeah, but, yeah. Cool. Thanks for listening. Jun, on all socials, we have found footage on YouTube that I found in my home, and it is up to relaxing jazz music. It's kind of fun to watch. Some people that we don't know from the 1960s living their lives, if, you know them, let me know.
>> Farz: Literally just, like, have it running on a monitor, like, while you're working. It's so chill.
>> Taylor: Yeah. Thank you. I'm glad that I have it up there. I've been meeting, too, for a while.
>> Farz: So thank you for sharing.
Taylor wants to find out who his Viking ancestors are
You know, one other thing I was thinking before we hop off, I was actually wondering, like, I was looking at this family line, Olga's family line, and it is deep.
>> Taylor: Yeah. I really want to do Ivan the terrible. Like, yeah. you know, like, they're so. You know, we love Russia, so there's so many, like, russian things, too in there.
>> Farz: A lot of russian things. And then it may be, like, I started googling, like, are, any of these ancestors, like, alive now? And if they are, what are they doing? And I can't really get to a bottom of it. I'm going to keep googling, though. But it's,
>> Taylor: You keep going. I have a cool thing to share.
>> Farz: No, that's it. I just want to figure out, like, where are they now? Because they look like a crazy dynastic family. Because I went. I went several under issue on, LinkedIn or, Wikipedia. If you click through several generations, you'll eventually get queen of Denmark or whatever. They ended up in very, very steep royal lines, apparently.
>> Taylor: Yeah, totally. Which is good for her. So I have my 23 andme. and I like the health reports. I paid a lot of money to get the health report to find out that I don't have the gene for Alzheimer's, which I was very worried about because my grandma had it. So I don't have that. And it was a big relief. I don't know if that doesn't mean it's never going to happen, but I don't have that direct gene. That was good. But I paid more money recently to see who my historical, ancestors are. And it's super fun. So I have some historical matches. I have ten historical matches. and all of them are Vikings. Like a viking age individual found in Denmark, a viking age individual found in Estonia, in Sweden, in the UK. That's super fun.
>> Farz: Do you know who?
>> Taylor: No, it just says that. So if I click on any of them, it says, viking age individual, blah, blah, blah, found in Denmark. so it says this person was found in a simple, unmarked pit grave near the present day region of Bakkendrup in the western part of Zealand. In Denmark. it was excavated in 1979 and from the National Museum of Denmark. Based on the style of burial, they believe that they died in the 9th century. By analyzing DNA from her tooth, they discovered that she was female and that were related. That cool.
>> Farz: That's cool. Hey, you should do, ancestry.com because I think they can narrow it down to actual individuals.
>> Taylor: I don't think there are any actual individuals. Got it. I'm from a poor people. I'm from. My dad's always like, do you know what our family was doing this day in history? And I'm like, what? And he's like, they were at a bar. Like, he's like, there's a really good chance that's true. And I'm like, you're totally right. We were, like, making things. But I do. I should do that, too. But, But I think that. I think Olga is close to my people. Even though I'm not tall and blonde, I know some tall and blonde people I'm related to.
>> Farz: I believe it. sweet. Well, thank you for sharing. and, yeah, as I said, if you have anything you want to write in, comment about, please do. Demonafellpodmail.com. anything else, Taylor?
>> Taylor: That's it. Thank you.
>> Farz: Sweet. And we're gonna cut.