The Refreshing New Taste of Bloody McKenzie

"Cristina gives us a very long history lesson ending in a poltergeist and Chelsea reminds us that you can't trust corporations ever."

Presented by: Cristina
Category: Ghost

George Mackenzie was a Scottish lawyer who participated in the trials against the Presbyterians for King Charles II as well as an active participant in the witch trials. Though he was skeptical of the number of witches tried, he earned his nickname "Bloody Mackenzie" for his treatment of the Presbyterians. When he died in 1688, he was buried in Greyfriar's Kirkyard, near the prison he kept them in for months before trial.

A short 311 years later, a homeless man broke into his mausoleum and tried to break into his casket as well, possibly on the belief that he had been buried with valuables. The man fell into a pit of bones of plague victims and fled.

Since theme visitors to the cemetery and the mausoleum have reported attacks including scratches, bites and burns. It is believed that the hapless homeless man had awakened and angered the spirt of Mackenzie.

That same year, Father Collin Grant attempted to exorcise the mausoleum. He reported feeling the presence of hundreds of malevolent spirts trying to return to the realm of the living. He left the exorcism afraid that the experience would kill him. He died a week later.

Takeaway: Don't have the plague in Edinburgh. If the king says a religion is outlawed, practice it on the down low.

Presented by: Chelsea
Category: Conspiracy

New Coke was a new formula of Coca-Cola that was introduced in 1985. It was wildly unpopular and, while it persisted into the new millennium, the original formula (with the exception of switching genuine sugar with high fructose corn syrup) a mere three months later.

New Coke is the center of two conspiracies, which are not mutually exclusive, both relying on knowing that New Coke would be hated. The first is that Coca-Cola pulled the switch as a cover for the ingredient change so people wouldn't notice the difference. The second is that it was a ploy to make Coca-Cola popular again, which had been on a 40 year downturn. Whether it was deliberate or not, the return to Coca-Cola classic doubled their profit.

The New Coke ploy has been suggested for other things such as The first post-Clarkson series of Top Gear and even Pope Benedict XVI.

Takeaway: Don't trust corporations. If something is bad, maybe it's on purpose.

Trivia

 * Cristina suggested a spin off podcast where they read and review paranormal romance novels. This would become Parlor of the Paranormal.