It’s Weird Fix time! In today’s mini episode, Chyaz discusses the new Witch Trials Museum that’s opened up in Scotland, looks into a fascinating comic strip coincidence from the 1950s and explains why the new pandas at a zoo in China aren’t quite what they seem…
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The Strange But True stories featured on this podcast contain details some people may find on settling. Listener discretion is advised. I'm Chaya Samuel and things are about to get weird. Hello you lovely lot, thank you for joining me today for edition 19 of Weird Fix. These are the mini episodes where I cover several shorter Strange But True stories. From the odd but amusing to the downright bizarre and everything in between. If you follow our Instagram page you might have spotted my recent post where I mentioned the idea of incorporating the odd interview into this mini episode series. Just to mix up the format every now and again. I would love to know your thoughts on this so do feel free to leave me a comment in the app if you're listening on Spotify or get in touch via social media if you prefer. Anyway without further ado it's time to get into the first of today's weird fix segments. Which is all about a new attraction that's opened just in time for spooky season. Now if you're ever lucky enough to find yourself in the historic Scottish region of Fife there's a brand new museum in the area that sounds so intriguing that I'm hoping to head up there myself to check it out. Leonard Lowe, a local historian and curator from the town of Leaven, has opened up the first museum dedicated to the dark history of the Scottish witch trials. Lawful in the country under the Witchcraft Act, which was in place from 1563 until 1736. And it sounds like Leonard was the perfect person to have done so. Having written seven different books about the persecution faced by those accused of witchcraft during this time period and having spent years building up his collection of items related to the Scottish witch trials. These objects involve not only historical instruments, some of which are quite disturbing, but numerous manuscripts too, which helped to paint an eerie picture of this chapter in Scotland's history. It's thought that at least 4000 people, mostly women at around 84%, were put on trial for witchcraft largely during the 16th and 17th centuries in the country, with many facing execution at the end of the chaotic and deeply unjust proceedings. Speaking to STV News, Leonard explained quote, "This is a collective of 173 years of witch hunting in Scotland. We have documentation and articles directly from trials. There were witches right along the coast in every little fishing village. It's brutal. This is a lasting testimony. My records I have are full of these poor people who were killed for being associated with a witch. You could say, I am going to accuse you of witchcraft because I had a dream you were a witch. This is what they were up against. People coming here are bemused by what they have seen." He added, "The poor people associated with a witch were killed. Whether they were cohabiting, assisting or rebetting a witch. They were going for the person renting her property, selling her food, clothes and milk. So when I've got one witch, I've got six. They were blamed for any kind of calamity. Crop failures, death at sea, infant mortality, midwives and medicine goers were chased down. This was the policy of finding your witch." Brutal indeed. If you've listened to episode 43 of the podcast, which is all about the Pendle Witch Trials, you'll know how terribly dire things were for those accused of witchcraft and for those connected with the accused. And although there is a plaque in Edinburgh, known as The Witch as well, which is dedicated to the memory of those burned at the stake in the city, there has been a lack of other formal locations that serve the purpose of remembering the witch trials in Scotland in general until now. In his interview with STV News, Leonard spoke about how many official records of the time have been lost or burned, and the hidden history of it all. And in my view, this makes the collection he's managed to put together even more impressive. One such piece of paperwork on display is a letter that was sent to the parents of Catherine Campbell. A young girl burned at the stake as a witch in 1697, in which those who prosecuted her demanded that her parents pay for the expenses incurred by her execution. Can you believe that? It's just awful. There are also torture devices that were used against accused witches on display at the museum too, which of course sounds gruesome but is important from a historical standpoint. But overall, I think it's fantastic that Leonard has dedicated so much time and effort to ensuring that the Scottish witch trials are properly memorialised. Next up, as you all know, I love a good coincidence. And this story I have for you is the kind of thing that might just get you a point on a pub quiz someday, as it's all to do with an iconic comic strip character. Or more accurately, two different comic characters who have something quite significant in common. For this tale, we must head back to the 12th of March 1951, a day when comic enthusiasts in both the UK and US would have been heading out to buy their favourite publications, in the hope of being entertained by the characters they knew and loved. On that day, those on both sides of the Atlantic would be treated to a brand new cartoon figure that would go on to become a mainstay in the comic world. In the UK, readers of The Bino would pick up issue 452 and meet a mischievous little boy named Dennis the Menace, with his affinity for striped clothing and mass of messy black hair. And just a few hours afterwards, readers in the US would open their favourite newspapers in search of the day's syndicated comic strip to find another new character. Also, a little boy with striped clothing and a mass of blonde hair, who was called Dennis the Menace. And if you're thinking that this must have been a serious case of plagiarism, with one artist feeling the other's idea from across the pond, you would be mistaken, because in actual fact, this might be one of the strangest genuine coincidences in publishing history. The UK Dennis was created by David Law, and the US version by an artist called Hank Ketchum. The two didn't know each other, they weren't in touch, and there was really no way that one could have seen the other's work. And even if they had, what would have been gained by plagiarising the character? If they were both aiming to publish their work around the same time, why would they want the confusion and potentially the legal trouble that would come along with such a move? Besides, although there were some strange similarities between the two boys, like their items of stripy clothing and the fact they both had a dog, plus of course their name, their personalities were totally different. Whereas the UK Dennis is a proper troublemaker, the US Dennis is a normal kid who seems to get into mischief almost by accident. It seems that both of the artists, Hank and David, were suitably certain that there had been no dodgy, copycat antics going on, as neither filed a lawsuit against the other, and both characters are still around to this day. There have been certain times when it's been necessary to make small tweaks to the character's presence in the other's market to avoid confusion. For example, in 1993, when the live action at Dennis the Menace film was released featuring the US character, its title was shortened to just Dennis in the UK. I think this might be one of my new favourite coincidences. The chances of this happening are minuscule, especially when you add in the same release date too, but it's good to see that the two artists decided to live and let live. All I keep thinking is that, whether here or stateside, March of 1951 must have been an interesting time to be a kid named Dennis, and I'm sure that more than just a few found themselves with a new nickname that day. Finally today, I wanted to end with a strange little news item I read earlier this week, all about the shenanigans at a zoo in China, when an unnamed attraction in the city of Guangyuan opened the doors to one of its enclosures. Visitors began to suspect that something was a miss, though some initially believed they were looking at several small pandas. The creatures began to display behaviour that indicated all wasn't quite as it seemed. Most notably, barking. Though the fluffy animals had all of the signature markings of the beloved giant panda, the black and white panels on their fur, and of course the black rings around their eyes, it soon became clear to all that they were in fact, dogs, chow chows to be exact, which had been groomed and died to resemble pandas, although from the photos I would be amazed if anyone was convinced of this. They look incredibly cute, I must say. As a huge fan of both pandas and chows, I can't deny that the crossover is visually charming, but obviously it's all very wrong for multiple reasons. The zoo themselves have claimed that they technically didn't mislead visitors, as they officially described the inhabitants of the enclosure in question as "panda dogs", and whilst I'm sure that some knew what they were in for before their visit, I also understand why some believe they were trying to pull a fast one, which is ironic, given that pandas are famously and adorably quite slow. Thank you so much for being here today for Weird Fix, I really hope you enjoyed this eclectic mix of stories. Just a few quick saw shout outs for you today. We had that STV news piece about the Scottish Witch Trials Museum, that was by Vanessa Kennedy from this month, September of 2024, as well as the website WitchesOfScotland.com, which had some great additional information. There was an article from plagiarismtoday.com about the Dennis the Menace Coincidence, that one was by Jonathan Bailey from back in October of 2010, plus a piece from Screen Rant about the same story by Kevin Bieland from May 2021. Finally, there was an article from The Metro by Lucia Botfield, also from this month, September of 2024, all about the panda dogs. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on all of today's stories, so here's how you can get in touch. We are @thingsgetweirdpodcast on Instagram and threads. On Facebook, you can find our page and private discussion group by searching for things are about to get weird, and our email address is @thingsgetweirdpodcast@gmail.com. Finally, on TikTok, you can find us by searching for things are about to get weird. I really appreciate you tuning in for Weird Fix today. There actually won't be a new episode of the podcast next week, as I'm taking a few days off, but rest assured that I will be back very soon with plenty more strange but true tales for you all. So, until next time, take care of yourself and others and keep it weird, but the good kind of weird. [MUSIC]
