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
CLASSIC: Dr. Seuss Wrote His Most Famous Book On A Bet
What are your favorite children's books? In this Classic episode, Ben and the gang acknowledge Dr. Seuss is one of the most well-known writers on the planet…
- Ridiculous History
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part Two: The Rise of the Chamber Divers
As Axis powers swarm across Europe in the lead-up to D-Day, a small group of scientists refuse to leave their lab, throwing a fair amount of modern ethics out…
- Ridiculous History
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part One: The Return of Dr. Rachel "Big Spinach" Lance
Years after their initial conversation with the world's foremost expert on underwater explosions, Ben still sings the praises of Dr. Rachel "Big Spinach"…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: Feral Children and the True Story Behind The Jungle Book
Now, let's be honest. Rudyard Kipling was a cartoonishly problematic guy. Yet his work made a permanent impression on global literature -- and, to a surprising…
- Ridiculous History
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Colossus of Rhodes
Imagine you're an ancient traveler, visiting Rhodes for the first time in 280 BCE. As you approach the famed city, a singular object dominates the horizon: a…
- Ridiculous History
Unlucky Numbers Across The Globe -- And Why They Are Ridiculous
Do you have a number you love, or a number you hate? As Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, people have always assigned symbolic meaning to the…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Ridiculously Laxative-laden Journey of Lewis and Clark
In today's Classic episode, Ben and Noel reluctantly sing the praises of poop research. You see, folks, before Lewis and Clark set out to explore the western…
- Ridiculous History
Moon Rock Heists, Part Two: The Romantic Misadventures of Thad Roberts
Let's say you're a love-struck NASA intern -- your professional career holds a lot of promise, but your family life back home is in shambles... and you fall in…
- Ridiculous History
Moon Rock Heists, Part One: Lunatic Heists and Space Law
Is it legal to own a moon rock? Well... that depends. If it's a piece of the moon that made it to Earth naturally, then all good. If, however, it's a sample…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting Story of the Great Kentucky Meat Shower
On March 3rd, 1876, residents of Bath County, Kentucky were startled to see what appeared to be chunks and flakes of meat falling from the clear, cloudless…
- Ridiculous History
The Ridiculously Energetic History of Energy Drinks!
This episode is brought to you by our favorite cohost: coffee. These days, if you stroll into any convenience store across the planet, you're going to run into…
- Ridiculous History
Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single Cartoon
While the legendary Japanese raccoon dog -- or tanuki -- may look like a raccoon, it's a very different beast. However, these days Japan is home to actual…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Bizarre Origin of the Oxford English Dictionary
With 600,000 words and 3 million quotations, the Oxford English Dictionary is a massive tome. Work began on the dictionary in 1857, but the first edition…
- Ridiculous History
Hoax! With Dana Schwartz and Lizzie Logan
Did you know England's first newspaper was fake? Or that King Arthur is more or less completely made up? The deeper we look into human history, the more we see…
- Ridiculous History
Fabergé Eggs Are Ridiculous (And Fascinating)
Imagine you are beyond wealthy. You no longer dream of the average "rich people" flexes -- you've got all the diamonds, all the mansions, all the ordinary…
- Ridiculous History
The World of Non-Gregorian Calendars: What Day Is It, Really?
Human civilization is far from perfect. Still, it's pretty cool humanity overall agreed on how to measure time (for now). In today's follow-up to an earlier…
- Ridiculous History
The Ridiculous Origin of the Modern Calendar
The calendar is... ridiculous. Since the earliest days of civilization, humanity has tried to measure the passage of time on Earth through any number of…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: George Carlin Gets Quoted in the Supreme Court: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
In the second part of this two-part series, special guest Wayne Federman explores the strange, curse-word-riddled stand-up bit that resulted in George Carlin…
- Ridiculous History
The Ridiculous History of Fantasy Sports, Part Two
As local fantasy sports initiatives grew into larger, more organized pursuits, technology improved as well. Access to online statistics made it much easier for…
- Ridiculous History
The Ridiculous History of Fantasy Sports, Part One
To outsiders, fantasy sports and fantasy leagues may sound like a bizarre proposition: you get together with a bunch of friends and leverage statistics to…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The People vs. Lenny Bruce: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
Lenny Bruce is a legend in the history of stand-up comedy, and while his use of explicit language thrilled audience members, it didn't win him any friends in…
- Ridiculous History
First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part Two, Part Two: Some Folks Didn't Want The Job
Imagine one of your family members attains the highest political position in American history -- your uncle or sibling becomes the President of the United…
- Ridiculous History
First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part Two, Part One: James "The Bachelor" Buchanan
Ben here. I know, I know: it's confusing that we split our First Ladies sequel episode into two separate episodes. The title is literally ridiculous. However…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Life and Times of Ol' Knife Hand
A necropolis in what is now Northern Italy holds a strange and, at first glance, terrifying corpse. A Lombard man, aged somewhere between 40 and 50 years old…
- Ridiculous History
Batman, or Bat-Man? A Ridiculously Comical Feud For The Ages
The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The terror of all criminals and ne'er-do-wells in Gotham... that's right, folks: today's episode is all about Batman. As…
- Ridiculous History
Three Ridiculous Histories of "Bloody Mary"
A frightening children's game. An intensely divisive, boozy drink. A real-life Royal. As Ben and Noel discover in today's episode, "Bloody Mary" alludes to…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Ridiculous Story of the World’s First (Documented) Serial Killer
Locusta of Gaul, also known as Locusta The Poisoner, was one of the most infamous criminals of ancient times. Alternately sponsored and betrayed by the noble…
- Ridiculous History
A Ridiculous History of "Fad Diets"
Everyone in the developed world knows someone who's tried a 'fad diet' -- these are the so-called miracle practices that promise to help people lose weight and…
- Ridiculous History
A Titanic Disaster: That Time An Entire Production Crew Tripped Off Bad Chowder
James Cameron's Titanic was, by all accounts, a blockbuster success. And, like so many other masterpieces, the story of its creation is a tale all its own. In…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: Back When the Rich Ate Corpses
Nowadays it's safe to say that cannibalism isn't a widely-accepted practice, but not so long ago it was considered the bleeding edge (get it?) in medicine…
- Ridiculous History
A Ridiculous History of Sex, with Ross Benes
Heads-up, folks: this is a PG-13 episode. Ben and the legendary guest producer, also Ben, welcome author and journalist Ross Benes for a wide-ranging…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Mummies of Guanajuato
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…
- Ridiculous History
A Ridiculous History of Brain Science, with Jorge Cham
Today, we all generally understand that the brain is responsible for what we call personality and thought -- yet this wasn't always the case. Once humans…
- Ridiculous History
Jorge Cham Teaches Us The Universe: Big Bangs and Quantum Hangs
What is the universe? Where did it come from, and what happens to it in the future? Humanity has wrestled with these questions since the dawn of civilization…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Curious Rise of SPAM
Nowadays the iconic 'SPAM' logo is recognized around the world -- whether you're traveling in the US state of Minnesota or Busan, Korea, you'll more often than…
- Ridiculous History
The Ridiclulous Hsitory of Typos
Ah, the bane of authors, students and copywriters the world round: the infamous typo! Something as small as a single misplaced letter can call the entire…
- Ridiculous History
Come For the Palooka, Stay For the Farts!
What on Earth is a "palooka"? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max embark on a bizarre journey -- inspired by a single, fascinating word, they discover one of…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Origins Of, and Backlash Against, Father's Day
With another Father's Day in the books, Ben, Noel and Max hit the new studio for the first time, exploring the history of this paternal partner to the…
- Ridiculous History
Father's Day, Around the World
In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover stunning commonalities between Father's Day celebrations across culture, community, and time. We wrote that…
- Ridiculous History
The History of Morning Routines, Part Two: All Hail The Toothbrush! And Deodorant!
For most of us -- hopefully! -- dental care is a fundamental piece of the morning routine. There are few things quite as refreshing as starting the day with a…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: The Smooth-talking Takeover of Tabor Bridge: "Yes And-ing" Your Way To Victory
In 1805, two French Marshals found themselves in quite a pickle -- Jean Lannes and Joachim Murat needed to cross the Danube at the Tabor bridge (a series of…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: History's Coolest (Non-Human) Political Candidates, Part I
It's no secret that politics can be a minefield of quirky events, and strange things happen in the lead up to elections. But just how strange can it get? Join…
- Ridiculous History
The History of Morning Routines, Part One: Thank Goodness People Learned to Wash Themselves
Regardless of culture or country, most people have some sort of morning routine. This could be a simple as a shower, a shave and brushing one's teeth -- on the…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War
Horror fans can tell you there's more than one type of vampire -- in fact, there are hundreds of vampire-like fiends in cultures around the world. In most…
- Ridiculous History
The Ridiculous -- and Surprisingly Dangerous -- History of Hair Dye
Whether we're talking jet black, stunning platinum or fire engine red, there's just something fascinating about hair as a fashion statement. And, of course…
- Ridiculous History
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: That Super Humble Statue of Zeus
Statues are sort of a big deal. Even today, most folks you meet don't have a statue of themselves. So it comes as no surprise that back in the day, one statue…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: Who are the Hartlepudlian Monkey Hangers?
Years ago, if you wanted to start a fight in Hartlepool in north eastern England, all you'd have to do is start calling people 'monkey hangers'. But why? Join…
- Ridiculous History
HP Lovecraft Was A Super Weird Dude, Part Two: The Horror Stories That Changed The World
Newly inspired by his recent associations in amateur magazine circles, HP Lovecraft returns to fiction. In the second part of this series, Ben, Max and special…
- Ridiculous History
HP Lovecraft Was A Super Weird Dude, Part One: Childhood Tragedy
Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Howard Phillips Lovecraft fundamentally altered the course of horror and speculative fiction. So how did he…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: William Walker: Filibuster and (Fantastically Bad) President
In today's Classic episode, Ben, Noel, Casey In Spirit and Max explore a bizarrely American story. The adventurer and filibuster William Walker was, in his…
- Ridiculous History
Accidental Inventions of the 20th Century, Part Two: The Slinky and the Post-it Note
While things like the Slinky and the Post-it Note may seem pretty ubiquitous, simple ideas today, they each have their own bizarre accidental origin story. In…
- Ridiculous History
Accidental Inventions of the 20th Century, Part One: Penicillin, X-Rays and the Microwave Oven
Humans have always been compelled by curiosity -- sometimes, this leads to misfortune, but other times... curiosity and accident can also lead to…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: Lawsonomy: How the Father of the Modern Airline Started His Own Religion
When middling baseball player Alfred Lawson first learned of the Wright Brothers, he experienced a revelation that would guide the greater part of his life…
- Ridiculous History
Did Pirates Really Ruin the US Dream of the Metric System?
Why is the United States so culturally opposed to the metric system? According to a popular legend, this conundrum dates back to the late 1700s, when a French…
- Ridiculous History
Yet More Ridiculous Historical Honorifics: Ethelred Just Ain't Ready
Have you been blessed -- or, perhaps, cursed -- with a nickname that just won't go away? Some of most terrifying, inspiring and ridiculous figures in human…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: A Dead Pope Goes To Court
The Catholic Church is no stranger to scandal and controversy, but in January of 897 the institution was home to a new and unique scandal that put the garden…
- Ridiculous History
History's Most Ridiculous Clothing, with AJ Jacobs: Part Two
What's the weirdest pair of shoes you've ever seen? If you were King, would you force everyone else to be shorter than you? In the second part of this week's…
- Ridiculous History
History's Most Ridiculous Clothing, with AJ Jacobs: Part One
It's no secret that history is filled with relatively arbitrary fashion rules, fads and faux pas -- and what may be hot stuff in one era often ends up being…
- Ridiculous History
CLASSIC: War and Candy: The Infamous Tootsie Roll Air Drop
During the battle of the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, the First Marine Division seemed doomed. Surrounded, outnumbered, outgunned and running…
- Ridiculous History
A Ridiculous History of Tupperware
Burrrrp! The sound is familiar to any fan of Tupperware -- it's that little whoosh of air when you push down the lid and remove excess air. But what exactly is…