Shows / Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Two friends, Austin and Brenda, delve into the rich history of secret nerd mysteries near and dear to their hearts in their own loose, light-hearted way. If you've ever wondered "Why Saturday morning for cartoons?" or "How come Chuck E. Cheese cares so much about other people's birthdays?", this is the show for you!
Episodes
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Episode updates #1
We're trying something new this week by bringing you a selection of updates to previous episodes. Have you been dying to know what happened to the floating…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The True Story of Monopoly
According to Hasbro's website, the board game "Monopoly" was created in 1934 by board game designer Charles Darrow. But what if that information is completely…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Neopets April Fools Day Pranks
Back when the internet used to be fun, a little virtual pet website started the trend of doing yearly April Fools Day pranks. From introducing new pets to…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Steven Universe: Jailbreak (feat. Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey)
Ten years ago, the Steven Universe episode Jailbreak aired on Cartoon Network revealing that the character of Garnet was actually two lesbians in a trenchcoat…
Secret Histories of Nerd MysteriesAustin and Brenda join MFD Spring Break
It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Early Women in Gaming
It's no secret that the video game industry is a notoriously male dominated field, but women have been a part of the industry since its very inception. Today…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
In the early 90's, the Walt Disney company was searching for a way to add some thrills into their theme parks, and somehow, they managed to settle on building…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Smurfs
A new Smurf's movie is coming out featuring an entire album and musical score by Rhianna! So, just who are these little blue fellas and how have they managed…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Superman Radio Show vs the KKK
The Superman radio show premiered in 1940, introducing the masses to many new aspects of Superman's Canon, but in the middle of its historic run, the people…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Sega Channel
Before Nintendo Online, before the PSN, before Xbox Game Pass, there was Sega Channel, a revolutionary way to play new games on your Sega genesis through your…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Amusement Park Ghosts
It's time for a classic Halloween in February celebration. Learn the tale of the world's (supposedly) only haunted carousel horse, located at Cedar Point, and…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
George Pal's Puppet Toons
Before Coraline, before Nightmare Before Christmas, before Wallace and Gromit, George Pal was making his "Puppet Toons" starting in the 1930's! Using upwards…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Sonic the Hedgehog Cartoons - The DIC years
In 1993, two cartoons starring Sonic the Hedgehog premiered within two weeks of each other; one airing weekdays on syndication, and the other on Saturday…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Otome Games and Neo Romance
Since the dawn of time, games have been for the fellas, but in Japan, in 1994, a collective of women designers got together to make a genre defining game. What…
Secret Histories of Nerd MysteriesSon of Beast
Rollercoasters don't typically have sequels, and one of the reasons that might be is because of Son of Beast, formerly the world's tallest, fastest wooden…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Mr. Magoo and the Christmas Carol that Changed Christmas
Before Rudolph, and the Grinch, and a Charlie Brown Christmas and all of the classic animated Christmas Specials that you all know and love, there was a little…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Kingda Ka (Roller Coaster War is Over)
This story is about a lot of things. It's somehow about tigers, Sea World Ohio, the world's tallest drop tower, Fabio getting hit in the face by a goose, and…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Reboot - The First CGI Cartoon
Years before the release of Toy Story, when computer animation was still in its infancy, several guys from the UK, riding high on the success of their animated…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Green Onion Chex - A sixteen year long battle for justice
In 2004, when Kellogg's cereal released a contest to determine what new flavor of cereal they would release in South Korea, they had no idea that they were…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Rerun: Toonami
An episode all about everyone's favorite programming block Toonami! Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Origin of the Comic Convention
Nowadays, comic conventions happen all over the United States, and the world, in many major cities, with the most well known being San Diego Comic Con, in San…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Rerun: Night Trap
A rerun of episode 20, about the controversial Sega Game "Night Trap". Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Orange Bird, Anita Bryant, and a Pie to the Face
In the late 60's, during the tail end of construction on Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando Florida, the Disney Company entered into a partnership with the…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Early Superhero Movies
Nowadays super hero movies are their own genre of film, but what was the first one? Which film kickstarted the trend, which film was so iconic that it made…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Palworld Vs. Nintendo
On one side we have Nintendo, a video game company that has survived through two video game crashes and two world wars. On the other side there's Pocket Pair's…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Rerun - Sonic the Hedgehog the Game
In this rerun of episode 37, (and oldie but a goodie) Host Austin talks about the complicated creation of Sonic the Hedgehog. Help support this show and unlock…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
SHONM Goes to the Movies: The Flash
The hosts of SHONM are finally here to fulfill one of their promises from the max fun drive. Austin and Brenda watch and review "The Flash" a troubled film…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Militant History of Laser Tag
What started as a method to simulate realistic war quickly turned into the defining activity of a generation. While laser tag might seem like a product of the…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Tragic Fate of the McBarge
The Friendship 500, a floating McDonalds also known as the McBarge, was one of many attractions at Expo '86 in Vancouver Canada. But what happens to these…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Shadow the Hedgehog (the Ultimate Lifeform)
In the early 2000's, Sega's Sonic Team was floundering to find a way to help their flagship game franchise survive a rapidly changing gaming landscape that…
Secret Histories of Nerd MysteriesBabyland General Hospital: Birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids
Where does baby come from? How about Cabbage Patch Baby? Located in Cleveland Georgia, Babyland General Hospital has been the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kid…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Farm Sims
Cozy Games have taken over the internet, gaining rapid popularity as gamers search for chill experiences to counterbalance the action and violence of…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Olympic Mascots - the Good, the Bad, and the Gay Beaver
The Summer Olympics is an event that brings together athletes from all over the globe to compete against one another and share in camaraderie and…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Hunt for the First VHS Tape
In a time where owning physical media is more important than ever, we turn our attention to the origins of physical media on VHS, and ask ourselves, what WAS…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Ferngully vs. Disney: The Fight for Robin Williams
In the late 80's, a small animation studio reached out to Robin Williams to get him to voice a character in their upcoming film: Ferngully the Last Rainforest…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Captain Planet
In the 80's, business Tycoon and inspiration for Doug Dimmadome had an idea for using cartoons to educate children about the importance of environmentalism and…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Cedar point, Intamin, and the Top Thrill Dragster
In the year 2000, rollercoaster design and manufacturing company Intamin debuted their new Giga coaster for Cedar Point: Millenium Force. It was record…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The History of Anime Music Videos
Anime Music Videos, or AMV's, have gone down in history as the national pastime of mid 2000's nerd-loving teens. But how did the AMV get its start? Who was the…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Michigan's Abandoned Jurassic Park: Prehistoric Forest
Irish Hills Michigan is nowadays mostly known for its lush forests, plentiful outdoor activities, and an abundance of Irish Americans, however, in the 60's, it…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Lasting Legacy of "Wizardry"
What do "Delicious in Dungeon", "Final Fantasy", and "Dragon Quest" all have in common? They all owe their inspiration to one american DDOS computer game from…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Folly of Cereal City USA
The Kellogg's company shut down their cereal factory tours in the 1980's, replacing it with a new, high tech indoor theme park experience called Cereal City…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Rerun - Goosebumps
Brenda's on vacation this week, so we're here to present a slightly truncated version of one of our favorite episodes: episode 87, Goosebumps! This week your…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Early Days of Adult Swim
It's hard to imagine a time without the wild experimental shows on Cartoon Networks infamous nighttime block, Adult Swim, but in the early 2000's, a couple…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The Tragic Fate of the Real Life Simpson's House
In 1997, Fox launched an advertising campaign for the Simpsons that involved giving away a real life recreation of the Simpsons house. However, building a…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
No One Out Pizzas the X-Men: The X-Men Pizza Hut Promotion
In the early 90's Marvel Comics, having just turned their luck around with the publishing of "X-Men #1" would collaborate with Pizza Hut to release one of the…
Secret Histories of Nerd MysteriesHow Scrappy Doo Saved Scooby
It's hard to imagine a world without Scooby Doo, but that was the reality that Hanna Barbera faced in the late 70's when Scooby Doo's network at the time, ABC…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
How Darkwing Duck got Greenlit
In the late 80's, the television animation branch of the Walt Disney company needed new shows for their popular weekday lineup "The Disney Afternoon". But with…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The First Virtual Pets
Nowadays when people think about virtual pets they think about tamagotchi, or neopets or webkinz, or nintendogs, but the genre goes back much further than…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Bullet Time and the History of Slow Motion in Film
1999 movie, "The Matrix" popularized the use of "bullet time" or the method of using slow motion in film to create a time bending effect. But it wasn't the…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Grand Theft Animatronic: What happened to Buzzy?
In 2018, an urban explorer at Walt Disney World would make a startling discovery: Buzzy, the animatronic star of the defunct EPCOT show "Cranium Command" was…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Why did "Cool World" fail?
Ralph Bakshi's animation/live action hybrid film, "Cool World" is infamous for being an incredibly disastrous flop, but, who's to blame for this colossal…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Defunct Las Vegas Attractions and the Big Apple Coaster
In the 90's, the city of Las Vegas made an attempt of incorporating more kid friendly attractions, in order to entice families to vacation there. Now, almost…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Janice Burgess and the Revival of the Winx Club
Italian coming of age magical girl series "Winx Club" was the most popular animated series in Europe, but it struggled to find its footing in the United…
Secret Histories of Nerd MysteriesGo Fact Yourself #MaxFunDrive Kick-off Spectacular featuring Austin Taylor, Brenda Snell, Manolo Moreno, and Andrew Reich
This special network wide event is a celebration of The MaxFunDrive! If you’d like to support podcasts you love for just $5 a month and get bonus gifts in the…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Rocket Rods and the Tomorrow that Never Was
In the late 90's, Disneyland was suffering from severe budget cuts as a result of the failure of Euro Disney. In the midst of this, they debuted a new ride…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Getting Kids To Read: Reading Rainbow and what Came Before
Starting in the mid 60's teachers began to notice a concerning phenomenon where kids were losing reading skills at a rapid pace over the summer break. In order…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
American Characters that are Popular Abroad
Sometimes, characters that are created don't get popular in their home countries, but are instead embraced abroad. This episode tells the stories of several…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
The First Interactive Children's Show
When Nickelodeon released "Blues Clues" in 1996, it was heralded as a new kind of children's show, one that was interactive, and spoke directly to its young…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
Gunpei Yokoi: The Father of Handheld Gaming
When people mention famous figures from Nintendo, they often bring up Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, or even Masahiro Sakurai. However, without Gunpei Yokoi…
- Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries
What Makes Disney Fireworks Special?
The Walt Disney theme parks are well-known for their dazzling nightly fireworks extravaganzas, but what most people don't know is that this company, who…