Thunderclappers and Trail Maps: Lewis & Clark’s Mercury Poop

This episode dives into an unexpected thread of American exploration: the latrine pits of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Between the jokes and offbeat banter, the hosts explain Dr. Benjamin Rush’s infamous “bilious pills” (nicknamed Thunderclappers), their mercury ingredient, and how repeated use left a chemical breadcrumb trail archaeologists now use to map the Corps of Discovery’s route. Along the way they riff on historical oddities, camp diets that caused digestive havoc, and how mundane bodily functions can become invaluable clues for historians reconstructing the past.