00:00 This episode is about Mardi Gras and the hosts apologize in advance for any mistakes they may make about the topic.

04:20 Mardi Gras is the culmination of a couple of weeks of partying and parading, and is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.

08:39 Mardi Gras has pagan roots and originally involved using up food before it spoiled, and evidence suggests that Mardi Gras celebrations may have started as early as the 18th century, with the first organized parade taking place in Mobile, Alabama.

13:13 A krewe is a group of people who come together to form a nonprofit organization and organize Mardi Gras parades and balls, with some krewes having famous celebrities and bands perform, and they also nominate a King or Queen each year.

17:44 Mardi Gras in New Orleans brings in about half a billion dollars in revenue each year, and while there can be corporate sponsorship, it is mostly organized by various crews and neighborhoods operating autonomously.

22:29 The Super Dome in New Orleans hosts a huge concert during Mardi Gras, featuring bands like Sticks and Train, and some of the larger crews, like Endamon, have enough cash for big sponsorships and extravagant parades with millions of throws.

26:45 Doubloons are aluminum coins with cruise insignias on one side and themes on the other that are thrown from floats during Mardi Gras, and are considered collectible items.

31:26 Mardi Gras parades typically start 12 days before Mardi Gras and are concentrated in the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany, with some preseason parades leading up to the official start of carnival season on January 6th.

36:27 Super crews are well-funded, large parades that occur in the last few days before and including Mardi Gras, and they often have celebrity guests and corporate sponsorship, with the crew of Bacchus being the first to break from the tradition of having outsiders as the king of the parade.

41:09 Costumes and masks are a big part of Mardi Gras, with some parades requiring members to keep their masks on or risk losing their membership, and moon pies have become a popular throw at Mardi Gras parades as a safer alternative to cracker jacks.

45:42 The podcast ends with a listener mail about fire safety, specifically the importance of closing bedroom doors at night to slow down the advance of a fire and give firefighters more time to conduct search and rescue.