The "Foolkiller": getting it wrong

October 7, 2022 9:13 PM

Previously on MetaFilter in 2020, Mark Chrisler of The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong podcast spent five episodes to solve the origin of the "Foolkiller", an unexplained sunken submarine found in the Chicago River in 1915. More than two years later, in episode 7, he discovers he was all wrong. (episode 6 is mostly a summary of episodes 1-5)
posted by ShooBoo (10 comments total)

I listened to this today. He does a great job telling a story, even if the original drama he went looking for turns out to not be there. I discovered his podcast through this story and have listened to every one. I don’t mind that the story has a new ending.
posted by meinvt at 9:22 PM on October 7, 2022

I'm still listening to #6, which includes a history of the invention of submarines. I'm so used to living in a world that includes submarines that it's something to hear about the amount of eccentricity, failure, and death it took for them to be invented.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 5:41 AM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

You mean I have to listen to 2+ hours of wittering to find out that some guy has spent many hours being wrong?
posted by scruss at 6:53 AM on October 8, 2022 [5 favorites]

You mean I have to listen to 2+ hours of wittering to find out that some guy has spent many hours being wrong

Art imitates life.
posted by Literaryhero at 7:41 AM on October 8, 2022 [6 favorites]

I'm listening to it now. It's long, but it's not just about being wrong. I'm currently hearing a pretty interesting history of lifeboats The very idea had to be invented, and then people had to figure out how to make lifeboats that worked.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:41 AM on October 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

Mod note: One deleted. It's a podcast. Not every podcast has a transcript. After complaining once, please don't derail the entire thread to continue to complain about that.
posted by taz (staff) at 9:57 PM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

Sounds like an anti-meme
posted by beesbees at 10:48 PM on October 8, 2022

That was a really fascinating podcast. The recap episode was, well, fun. A potted history of submarine invention in the US, with plenty of kooky characters, paired with a small essay on the dangers of overconfidence.

The episode about Robert A. Brown is incredible, it’s like a short novel, with vivid characters, real human tragedy, and leavened with humor and a kind of angry joy at the absurdity of the world.

I hope Mark Chrisler, Matthew Ricchezza, and whoever else, find out more about this story, because I find this incredibly fascinating.
posted by Kattullus at 2:36 AM on October 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

This twitter thread appears to be a summary.
posted by kickingtheground at 10:49 PM on October 9, 2022 [4 favorites]

This was an excellent series - thank you for the recommendation!

If you've listened all the way through, there are spoiler-ish further developments on the podcast website (see the comments at the bottom)...
posted by offog at 2:12 PM on October 13, 2022