The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous jewels in the world, but is it also one of the most cursed?

In this episode of Cursed...ish, we follow the allegedly-cursed Hope Diamond from its origins as the Tavernier Blue to the French royal court, through revolution, scandal, suspiciously dramatic deaths, and eventually into its current home at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Along the way, we dig into the science behind the diamond’s impossible blue color, the legend that it was stolen from a Hindu idol, the French Blue’s connection to Louis XIV, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the chaos of the French Revolution, plus the tragic story of a Washington socialite who owned the diamond before it became a museum icon.

We also ask the important questions. Did the Hope Diamond really leave ruin in its wake? Was Pierre Cartier helped by one of the greatest curse-marketing campaigns of all time? Did they tempt fate by mailing the diamond to the Smithsonian for $2.44 in postage? And most importantly, was this blue little menace actually cursed, or did centuries of wealth, power, colonial plunder, tabloid storytelling, and human disaster just happen to sparkle in the same direction?

From royal necks to a Great Dane named Mike, from Versailles to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, this is the story of the Hope Diamond curse: part history, part folklore, part luxury-object crime scene.

Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Definitely dramatic.

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

A warning for delicate ears: this episode contains explicit language. We hope you’ll pardon us; when the topic is cursed words, some of those words do insist on showing up and being heard.

On the 13th episode of Cursed…ish, Daniel and Angela investigate curses of a more etymological persuasion: curse words. Why do certain sounds become dangerous, filthy, or forbidden? Why did ancient speakers stop saying the original word for the beast they feared the most out of a suspicion that uttering its name might summon one forth? How did damn go from a terrifying sentence of eternal condemnation to one of our mildest swear words? And where did the word fuck actually come from, and why has it become the undisputed king of English profanity?

Along the way, we unpack the strange history of taboo language, from Bronze Age euphemisms and divine damnation to medieval court records featuring the curious case of Roger Fuck-By-The-Navel. Because curse words are more than just dirty language. They reveal what people fear, what they revere, what they repress, and why sometimes only a well-placed “fuck” will do.

https://www.medievalists.net/2023/08/earliest-use-f-word/

https://sslh.org.uk/2023/06/07/i-dont-know-where-he-gets-his-fucking-language-from/

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.

Why do theater people refuse to say Macbeth inside a theater? This week on Cursed...ish, we step into the blood-soaked, witchy world of Shakespeare’s most allegedly-cursed play: Macbeth, also known by the superstitious as “The Scottish Play.”

Angela takes Daniel through the strange history behind the curse of Macbeth, from one king's weird, misplaced obsession with witchcraft and Shakespeare’s suspiciously well-researched trio of iconic witches, to the chilling discovery that real incantations may have been written into the very play itself. Did Shakespeare accidentally, or maybe not so accidentally, put actual magic onstage?

Then we follow the supposed victims of the Macbeth curse across centuries of theatrical disaster: an actor allegedly dying before opening night, the Great Storm of 1703, the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849, falling stage weights, accidentally-sharp prop swords, mysterious production deaths, stage injuries, kerosene-soaked costumes, and one extremely unfortunate bike accident.

But is Macbeth truly cursed? Or is one of the most-performed plays in the English language simply old enough, popular enough, and chaotic enough to collect a long list of theatrical disasters?

This episode has witches, Shakespearean ass-kissing, toxic theater fandom, dead sheep carcasses, cursed stage traditions, and the eternal question: is it cursed, or just cursed...ish?

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

*Terms and conditions may be upheld by unknown forces.