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Before Bigfoot and Nessie: Earth's Forgotten Monsters
19 Jan 2026
Show notes
💬 Before we had myths like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, our ancestors believed all sorts of strange creatures roamed the Earth. The difference is, they believed these strange species of half-humans and monsters were real.
⚡In this episode we explore the ancient legends of four different cryptids that were once said to roam the distant corners of the unmapped world. Including the Blemmyes, the Cynocephali, the Aspidochelone and the Catoblepas. Discover the origin of each of these strange creatures and why our ancestors thought them to be real.
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🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:
➡ Why the “Headless” Blemmyes featured on Medieval maps
➡ Why the Blemmyes were thought to be a tribe of peoples, rather than monsters
➡ How the Cynocephali - “dog-headed people” - spoke in a language of barks
➡ How the Aspidochelone would trick the unprepared in the open ocean
➡ Why the Catoblepas is said to have been able to kill just by looking at you
➡ And the likely cautionary tales that sparked the origin stories of these creatures
📕 Chapters:
Intro
The Blemmyes
The Cynocephali
The Aspidochelone
The Catoblepas
Conclusion
About the podcast:
What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.
About your host:
Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.
Connect with Ollie:
Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou
Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk