In 1952, an explosion destroyed the bottom floor of a house, and along with it, one of the

world's top explosives and rocket fuel experts.

He was Jack Parsons, better known as a co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but also known

for an unusual personal lifestyle that meant his death was certain to be cloaked in conspiracy

theories.

That's coming up right now on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com, the mystical death of Jack Parsons.

He was a friend and working colleague of Wernerphone Brown and Robert Goddard, the most famous

names in rocketry.

He co-founded JPL, the best known space research center, and yet you might not even know his

name.

The reason for that is not so much that he didn't do enough to earn notoriety.

It's the other things he did that cost him notoriety.

Jack Parsons was certainly one of the most colorful characters in the history of the space

and rocketry industry.

And so it was almost a given that when he died in 1952, in strange circumstances, his true

story would become lost under layers and layers of alternate claims and bizarre explanations.

There's one little disclaimer I want to put right here at the top of the show.

I have a rule about not doing episodes that exploit tragedies, particularly deaths of

individuals.

Every other podcast does that, and I hate that they do.

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