Shows / Ridiculous History
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
Episodes
- Ridiculous History
The Bloody Tale of the Sausage War
The Battle of Varolampi Pond has another, less formal name: the Sausage War. Don't let the funny moniker fool you -- the 1939 conflict between Finland and…
- Ridiculous History
Modern Thanksgiving, Part Two: Sarah Josepha Hale Finally Gets Her Wish
As the Civil War broke out, Sarah Josepha Hale found politicians were, understandably, more occupied with country-wide chaos than the creation of a national…
- Ridiculous History
Modern Thanksgiving, Part One: A Culture War
Today Thanksgiving is considered a largely innocuous holiday, centered on food and family. In the US, people across the country get together on the same…
- Ridiculous History
How Haunted Houses Became A Thing
Haunted houses are a big deal in the United States -- like Spirit stores, they seem to spring up every October -- but whence did they originate? When did…
- Ridiculous History
New England versus Vampires, Part Two: Desperation and Desecration
In part two of this two-part series, Ben is joined once again with guest host Alex Williams to explore the harrowing tale of the New England Vampire Panic…
- Ridiculous History
New England versus Vampires, Part One: The Brutal, Terrifying Life of Early Colonists
While historians continue to explore the details of the infamous Salem witch trials, another, earlier panic swept through New England -- something modern…
- Ridiculous History
Ada Lovelace, Part Two: The Analytical Engine
After marrying and having three children, Ada dove back into the world of poetical science, continuing her correspondence with Charles Babbage as he tried to…
- Ridiculous History
Ada Lovelace, Part One: How Lord Byron’s Daughter Became a Tech Visionary
Today Ada Lovelace is hailed as one of the most important figures in the early history of computing -- but, during her childhood, her mother was worried she…
- Ridiculous History
The King of Scotland Got Real Weird with Language Experiments
Scottish King James IV was, by all accounts, a learned man. As a polyglot, he was especially interested in the origin of language -- so much so, in fact, that…
- Ridiculous History
The Rum Riot of Portland, Maine
On June 2nd, 1855, the good people of Portland Maine had reached a breaking point. The Mayor, an infamous hardline teetotaler, had just been caught approving…
- Ridiculous History
The Love of Candy Almost Drove a Cactus Extinct
You might not associate cacti with candy -- on the surface, they seem to have very little in common, mainly because candy is sold in stores around the world…
- Ridiculous History
The Australian Prison Break of 1876, Part 2
In the second part of this two-part series, the guys return to the astonishing story of the Catalpa, exploring how the men prepared for and committed the…
- Ridiculous History
The Australian Prison Break of 1876 Part 1
It sounds like something straight out of a heist film: a motley crew bands together in an international conspiracy to rescue six Irishmen from a jail in…
- Ridiculous History
37 Days of Peril, with Alex Williams
Imagine you live in 1870, traipsing the wild frontier of North America with little more than an opera glass, a few friends and an arguably ill-informed sense…
- Ridiculous History
Robert Smalls Stole A Confederate Ship and Sailed to Freedom, Part Two: From Slavery to Congress
In the second part of this series, the guys continue the story of Robert Smalls, from his daring Confederate steamer heist to his later, life-long activism and…
- Ridiculous History
Robert Smalls Stole A Confederate Ship and Sailed to Freedom, Part One: Planning the Heist
Born into slavery, Robert Smalls dreamed of freedom for not just himself and his family, but all oppressed people. As the US became consumed in the Civil War…
- Ridiculous History
Sky Pilot: The Man Who Brought Religion to Lumberjacks
Life was tough for lumberjacks in the 1800s. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, often in brutal living conditions, the men of Minnesota's logging camps often had…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: Butter: Protestantism's Secret Ingredient?
The Protestant Reformation remains one of the most significant cultural events in the Western world. Martin Luther's 95 Theses addressed numerous concerns with…
- Ridiculous History
Ridiculous Live: The Humor and the Heavy
Recently, Ben and Noel traveled to Podcast Movement to explore a fascinating, at-times difficult subject: How do you explore a heavy story in an approachable…
- Ridiculous History
Flu Julia: The Con Artist Nurse That Made Bank Off Of Misery
During the flu pandemic of 1918, Julia Lyons saw opportunity amid chaos. Posing a visiting nurse in Chicago, she successfully swindled numerous desperate…
- Ridiculous History
History's Dumbest Criminals, Part 2
In the second part of this series, the guys are joined once again by Pod Yourself A Gun's Vince Mancini and Matt Lieb to explore the startling story behind the…
- Ridiculous History
History's Dumbest Criminals, Part 1
Mobsters are often romanticized in film and fiction -- but that doesn't mean they're always geniuses. In the first part of this series, Ben and Noel are joined…
- Ridiculous History
That Time People Were Terrified of Libraries
Today, libraries across the US and the rest of the world are seen as centers of free learning, presenting enormous opportunities for children and adults alike…
- Ridiculous History
Ostracism: How Ancient Greeks Handled Uncool Politicians
What if you could put troublesome citizens into time out for a decade? That's what ancient Athenians did through the practice of ostracism. This vote, which…
- Ridiculous History
Military Cats, Part 2: Simon Saves the British
When 17-year old British seaman George Hickenbottom saw an undernourished, ailing stray wandering the dockyards of Hong Kong, his heart melted. He smuggled the…
- Ridiculous History
Military Cats, Part 1: Spies and Mascots
When you think of military animals, you might imagine horses, dogs and elephants — but what about cats? As it turns out, humanity’s feline friends have walked…
- Ridiculous History
That Time People Rioted Over a Hot Air Balloon
These days hot air balloons are often thought of as anachronistic novelties -- but in the early days of aeronautics, they were considered fascinating…
- Ridiculous History
An Alabama Town Built a Statue Honoring the Insect that Almost Destroyed It
Enterprise, Alabama is home to a fascinating statue honoring the boll weevil, a tiny creature that once wreaked havoc across cotton country. So what inspired…
- Ridiculous History
A Prince and His Poodle: The Supernatural Adventures of Rupert and Boy
When the Earl of Rundel learned his acquaintance Prince Rupert was languishing in an Austrian prison during the Thirty Years' War, he gifted the prince a rare…
- Ridiculous History
How One Guy Made Europe Fall In Love With Potatoes
Today, the humble potato can be found in restaurants and dinner tables across the world -- but this wasn't always the case. In today's episode, Ben and Noel…
- Ridiculous History
Weird Courtship Rituals, Part Two
What exactly is Bhutanese "Night Hunting," and how does it work? How do some rural Cambodian communities navigate the tricky world of dating while living in…
- Ridiculous History
Weird Courtship Rituals, Part One
Would you whisper sweet nothings to your sweeheart through a six-foot tube with your Puritan grandmother in the room? Would you force feed your children to…
- Ridiculous History
A Brief History of Underwear
Underwear! Whether we're talking boxers, briefs, loincloths, brassieres or even lingerie, undergarments have a storied history in cultures across the planet…
- Ridiculous History
One Guy Was Certain Telepathic Snails Would Replace Telegraphs
Since before the dawn of recorded history, human beings have been obsessed with talking to each other. This primal impulse inspired French occultist…
- Ridiculous History
The Duke of Portland Hated People and Loved Tunnels
We've all had those days where we just need a little solitude, a quiet place away from the clamor and chatter of other people. However, William John…
- Ridiculous History
Where do Lemonade Stands Come From?
Today, most Americans think of lemonade stands with nostalgia. In decades past, this could be an enterprising kid's first brush with the world of business as…
- Ridiculous History
Painless Parker and the Dental Circus
Edgar Parker, later better known as "Painless Parker," wasn't your ordinary dentist. When his first practice was struggling in 1892, he began to think outside…
- Ridiculous History
The Rise and Fall of Curative Plane Flights
In the early 1920s, the still-new technology of powered aircraft amazed folks across the planet. People weren't quite sure what this technology could do, so…
- Ridiculous History
That Time People Paid Rent With Eels
Nowadays, most people pay rent with the currency of their given nation — but for a time in England, your rent might have been paid with eels (yes, literal…
- Ridiculous History
The Miracle of the Gulls: A Cricket War
In 1848, times were dire for the Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake Valley. Massive swarms of crickets laid waste to everything in their path, destroying crops and…
- Ridiculous History
A History of Pregnancy Cravings, Part 2: Stereotypes, Superstitions and Science
In earlier centuries, when science and spirituality were considered one and the same, the world was full of advice and warnings surrounding pregnancy cravings…
- Ridiculous History
A History of Pregnancy Cravings, Part 1: Pickles and Ice Cream
Pregnancy is amazing — and scary, and beautiful, and a thousand other things. The modern world has stereotypes and tropes aplenty about pregnancy, especially…
- Ridiculous History
The Carrington Event, Part II: Attack of the Sun!
Less than 18 hours after Richard Carrington noticed something screwy on the sun’s surface, chaos erupted. Telegraph operators found their machines literally…
- Ridiculous History
The Carrington Event, Part I: The Sun is Acting Strange
When amateur astronomer Richard Carrington gazed through his telescope on the morning of September 1st, 1859, he noticed something weird about the surface of…
- Ridiculous History
Loveday: Henry VI's Well-intentioned, Terrible Attempt at Making Peace
In an effort to prevent further conflicts in what would become known as the Wars of the Roses, King Henry VI called the warring parties to London, with a weird…
- Ridiculous History
Classic: Why do British lawyers wear wigs?
In today’s Classic episode, the guys travel back to their early days. For centuries some lawyers and judges in the U.K. have worn distinctive wigs during court…
- Ridiculous History
That Time Al Capone Ran A Soup Kitchen
Al Capone is rightly remembered as of the most notorious gangsters in US history -- but for a time residents of Chicago also thought of him as a benefactor. As…
- Ridiculous History
The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula
For a brief period in 1942, the town of Pascagoula, Mississippi was terrorized by a strange criminal -- he would sneak into people's houses as they slept and…
- Ridiculous History
Joseph Bonaparte, Cryptid Hunter
Napoleon’s lesser-known, older brother Joseph was, at times, the polar opposite of his conqueror sibling. Yet by merely being related to Napoleon, Joseph often…
- Ridiculous History
The Mystery of the Devonshire Colic
For centuries, people around the world were baffled by a bizarre serious of symptoms that seemed to wax and wane in certain regions over time. Various…
- Ridiculous History
The Troubling, Hidden History of Turpentine
Today turpentine is a substance with any number of industrial uses -- but most people don't know much about it, and even fewer people know its history in the…
- Ridiculous History
A Race Across the World: From New York to Paris in 1908
In February of 1908, racing teams from multiple nations assembled for an unusual and ambitious race -- they planned to drive from Times Square across the…
- Ridiculous History
The Age of the Crakow, Part 2: A Fashion Arms Race, But For Your Feet
In the second part of this episode, Ben and special guest Matt Frederick continue exploring the bizarre heyday of the poulaine. Tune in to learn more about the…
- Ridiculous History
The Age of the Crakow, Part 1: Medieval Europe Went Nuts For Pointy Shoes
It appears many eras in history have their own version of sneakerheads. In 15th-century Europe, nobles and commoners alike went absolutely nuts for a type of…
- Ridiculous History
How Pie in the Face Became a Comedy Classic, Part 2: The Fall (of the Pie)
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- Ridiculous History
How Pie in the Face Became a Comedy Classic, Part 1: Rise of the Pie
Today the old pie-in-the-face gag is a well-worn comedy trope — but how did it become so famous? In part one of this two-part series, Ben and Noel explore the…
- Ridiculous History
The Great Panjandrum: A Hilariously Terrible Idea
As the British military brainstormed ways to break the German-built Atlantic Wall during World War II, desperation drove them to unorthodox ideas -- one of…
- Ridiculous History
Dr. T. W. Stallings: One Man's Corvid-Hating Quest to Make Oklahoma Literally Eat Crow
Times were tough during the Great Depression. Economic unrest, massive migration and falling crops left many people struggling to survive -- even the simple…
- Ridiculous History
Pineapples In Europe, Part 2: People Literally Rented Pineapples to Impress their Friends
As the pineapple craze swept through Europe's upper class, aristocrats worked tirelessly to grow their own pineapples. This was no small feat, since pineapples…
- Ridiculous History
Pineapples In Europe, Part 1: A Weird, Cartoonishly Expensive Flex
Today, pineapples are a common (and delicious) produce item found in grocery stores and markets across the world -- but not too many centuries ago, a single…