Did medieval plague doctors wear those bird masks? Did medieval people never wash? And did tomatoes really poison rich Europeans through their pewter plates? Three myths, two minutes.

Sources
Plague doctor masks: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/plague-doctors-beaked-masks-coronavirus and https://www.medievalists.net/2023/09/20-myths-middle-ages/
Medieval washing: https://www.getty.edu/news/did-medieval-people-take-baths/ and https://www.medievalists.net/2023/09/20-myths-middle-ages/
Tomatoes: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-misrepresentation-of-tomatoes-as-stinking-poison-apples-that-provoked-vomiting-made-people-afraid-of-them-for-more-than-200-years-863735/ and https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/europe-terrified-tomatoes-witchcraft

The Old Mess is voiced with AI and produced by Fola at Echoes Within Media.

Everyone knows Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament. But he wasn't running the plot. Chris, Jessica and Gerald meet the man who was, read the letter nobody signed, argue about whether the gunpowder would even have gone off, find out why "you guys" started on a bonfire, and visit the cellar search Parliament still does with lanterns.

0:00 Cold open: who tried to blow up Parliament?
0:42 Part 1: England, 1605
1:11 Part 2: the boss nobody remembers
2:15 Part 3: the letter nobody signed
3:04 Part 4: midnight in the cellar
3:54 Part 5: what happened next
4:43 Part 6: would it even have gone off?
5:54 Part 7: bonfires, and where "you guys" comes from
7:03 Bonus mess: what is Big Ben?
7:43 Rapid-fire mess
8:30 The Mess Report
9:01 Strange but Logical: the lantern search

Sources
Catesby led the plot, Fawkes the explosives man: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/5-things-the-real-story-of-bonfire-night/ and https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-the-gunpowder-plot/
The thirteen plotters: https://www.history.co.uk/articles/lesser-known-gunpowder-conspirators and https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Robert-Catesby/
The Monteagle letter and the cellar search: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/stories/the-monteagle-letter/ and https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2006/02/09/the-plot-that-failed/
"John Johnson" and the plan for Princess Elizabeth: https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/an-anonymous-letter-saved-king-and-parliament and https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2006/02/09/the-plot-that-failed/
Fawkes's signatures: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/state-secrets/traitors-and-spies/sp-14216/
His death: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-guy-fawkes
Would it have exploded?: https://chemistryworld.com/features/gunpowder-treason-and-plot/3004619.article and https://arcane.org/2003/11/05/happy-guy-fawkes-day/
The thanksgiving law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observance_of_5th_November_Act_1605 and https://cambridge.org/core/blog/2020/11/04/why-remember-the-fifth-of-november
"Guy" to "you guys": https://www.etymonline.com/word/guy and https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/guy-fawkes-may-be-root-word-guys-180953250/
Big Ben is the bell: https://www.history.com/articles/how-did-big-ben-get-its-name and https://willpearson.co.uk/big-ben
Neuschwanstein: https://en.schwangau.de/sightseeing/neuschwanstein-castle and https://www.medievalists.net/2023/09/20-myths-middle-ages/
Medieval beer and water: https://www.medievalists.net/2023/09/20-myths-middle-ages/ and https://content.www.wellcomecollection.org/stories/the-vilest-of-all-beverages
Dying at thirty: https://www.medievalists.net/2023/09/20-myths-middle-ages/ and https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2025/07/what-age-was-actually-considered-old-in-medieval-europe/
The lantern search: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Yeomen-Of-The-Guard and https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/parliament-pageantry/3/

The Old Mess is voiced with AI and produced by Fola at Echoes Within Media.

Did Cleopatra win Rome with her looks? Did gladiators always fight to the death? And did Romans have a special room for throwing up? Three myths, two minutes.

Sources
Cleopatra: https://lexundria.com/plut_ant/27/prr (Plutarch, Life of Antony 27) and https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1491/was-cleopatra-beautiful/
Gladiators: https://www.history.com/news/did-gladiators-always-fight-to-the-death and https://www.badancient.com/claims/gladiator-deaths/
The vomitorium: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/purging-the-myth-of-the-vomitorium/ and https://www.history.com/articles/vomitoriums-fact-or-fiction

The Old Mess is voiced with AI and produced by Fola at Echoes Within Media.