CLASSIC: The Mummies of Guanajuato

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

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Summary

When the city of Guanajuato instituted a grave tax, they included some harsh penalties for those who couldn't pay -- if you went more than three years without paying the tax on your loved one's resting place, the body would be disinterred and taken from its grave. As gravediggers began removing corpses, they discovered something bizarre: Many of the bodies had somehow naturally mummified. Word of the Mummies of Guanajuato quickly spread, and the gravediggers starting charging locals to take a quick peek at the remains. This was only the beginning. Join Ben and Noel as they explore the strange tale of the Mummies of Guanajuato.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, we're doing some cool stuff with our classic episode this week, Noel.
0:05.3	We're exploring mummies.
0:07.7	Mm-hmm.
0:08.4	We are indeed, not mummies and daddies.
0:11.5	No, mummies, the embalmed kind.
0:14.1	The kind that potentially rise from the dead and spook people out on Halloween.
0:19.1	It's also a fun fun lo-fi costume.
0:21.5	It just involves some toilet paper, right?
0:23.3	Yeah, this is the story of a city called Guanyato.
0:26.6	And back in the day, they instituted a grave tax,
0:30.9	which just feels terrible.
0:33.2	Like, that's so petty and penny pinching.
0:36.3	You're going to tax people on the way out as well uh if you
0:40.2	couldn't pay the grave tax you would run into some harsh penalties three if you fall three years
0:46.7	behind on your loved ones resting place they will dig the body up and they will take it out of
0:53.3	the grave yeah and these bodies were not just from not ancient Egypt.
0:57.4	They weren't like wrapped in linens and mummified in that classic fashion.
1:02.4	They were somehow found to have been naturally mummified and word spread.
1:07.5	And it became something of a sideshow attraction, which is pretty gross.
1:12.8	Gravediggers are trying to make a quick buck charging folks to take a peek at these naturally
1:18.2	mummified remains. So why don't we jump into the story and hear all about the mummies of Guana Yato?
1:25.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
	...

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