Ridiculous History

Who, exactly, were the Luddites?

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today you'll hear people described as 'Luddites' if they don't care for -- or don't understand -- some newer piece of technology, but where did this p...

Instant Noodles Changed The World, Part Two: Going Global

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As Momofuku Ando's instant noodles take Japan by storm, he sets his sights on the global horizon. In part two of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and M...

Instant Noodles Changed The World, Part One: An Origin Story

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, instant noodles are ubiquitous. You can find them in almost every grocery store, in any number of flavors sold by any number of brands -- but w...

The Accidental Invention of Holding Music

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've all been there -- you're calling a bank, a loan company, you name it, and boom: you're put on hold. But where does that music come from? In toda...

Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions: Flyin' or Dyin', Part Two

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How far would you go to fly? It's a question many inventors have asked themselves over the ages and, tragically, for every successful breakthrough it ...

Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions: Flyin' or Dyin', Part One

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Humans can swim, though not as well as a fish. Humans can run, though not as swift as a cheetah. From ancient civilization to the modern day, no human...

Wilhelm Reich and Orgone, Part 2: Willy vs. The Feds

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If Reich's concept of orgone was simple pseudoscience, why did the US government ban -- and burn -- his books? In part two of this two-part episode on...

Wilhelm Reich and Orgone, Part 1: Sexy Psychoanalysis

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Born in 1897, Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian doctor of medicine and a psychoanalyst, as well as -- for a time -- a follower of Sigmund Freud. Today, he...

The History of Pringles: Once You Pop...

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pretty much everyone recognizes Pringles -- these tasty, not-quite potato chips come in tons of at-times bizarre flavors, all neatly packed in a nifty...

Lincoln Loved Cats, and Other Presidential Pets

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are you a cat person, a dog person, or somewhere in between? It turns out that famous trash-talking wrestler -- and former President -- Abraham Lincol...

CLASSIC - Presidents Love Their Ridiculous Pets

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode, we venture into the podcast vault to talk about some snuggly friends, many of the ridiculous variety. It's no secret that, until v...

What Happened to Ronald McDonald? Part Two: Supersizing A Mystery

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a world where the iconic McDonald's arches became as recognizable as the Pope or Mickey Mouse, Ronald McDonald himself became synonymous with not j...

What Happened to Ronald McDonald? Part One: Everybody Loves A Clown

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, billions of people across the world recognize McDonald's — it's one of the planet's most well-known brands. Yet, in recent years, McDonald's ...

The 1904 St. Louis Marathon Was Absolutely Bonkers

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's no secret that the Olympics have evolved over time, and met with their fair share of controversy over the years -- but the 1904 Olympic marathon ...

Andrew Jackson Beat the Snot Out of His Would-be Assassin

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Known as Old Hickory to his fans, and King Andrew to his critics, Andrew Jackson was an outspoken, deeply divisive figure. When he was attacked by an ...

CLASSIC: When (and why) did the US start calling its citizens consumers?

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, the terms "citizen" and "consumer" are often used interchangeably by authors, journalists and politicians. To some experts, this shift has dist...

A Ridiculous History of Reality TV, Part Two: Reality Goes Global

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As reality TV continued to grow across networks and genres, it also spread across the planet. In the second part of this two-part series, special gues...

A Ridiculous History of Reality TV, Part One: An Origin Story

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

However you define it, reality TV is a giant in the world of entertainment. From soap operas to game shows and the hazards of dating, it seems almost ...

Surprising Former Careers of the Famous

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know Abraham Lincoln was an infamous, trash-talking wrestler? Ronald Reagan spent his younger years saving people from drowning (and throwing ...

A Humorous History of Genetics

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What makes you... well, you? It's a question humanity has wrestled with since the dawn of recorded history all the way to the modern day. In today's s...

Tsutomu Yamaguchi: The World's Only (Recognized) Double Atomic Bomb Victim

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On August 6th, 1945, Mitsubishi engineer Tsutomu Yamaguchi was finally heading home from a three month assignment in Hiroshima... until the United Sta...

Gods of Deception, Part II: Art, History, Fiction and War

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As Ben and Noel continue their conversation with novelist and art historian David Adams Cleveland, the group finds themselves going far beyond the wor...

Gods of Deception, Part I: Alger Hiss in the Halls of Power

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Alger Hiss was a mover and shaker in the political sphere. Highly educated and deeply connected, Hiss worked as a lawy...

Operation LAC: That Time Uncle Sam Sprayed Poison Across St. Louis

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the US government became increasingly concerned about the possibility of large-scale biological weapons, they decided something must be done: they ...

CLASSIC - Does the US Confederacy Still Exist in Americana, Brazil?

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys took a day off to celebrate the 4th of July -- and what better time to share a classic episode about another (very strange) form of patriotis...

Millerism, Part II: The Great Disappointment (and the Aftermath)

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the alleged End of the World drew ever closer, William Miller and the Millerism movement became a pop culture phenomenon. Thousands of people quit ...

CLASSIC - Did a Real-Life Rainmaker Almost Drown San Diego?

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode we are revisiting a classic. Charles Mallory Hatfield considered himself a real-life rainmaker (or, as he preferred to describe him...

Millerism: America’s First End Times Gospel

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You might not have heard of William Miller, but in his time he was a pretty big deal. In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max div...

Ben Franklin Faked a Rival's Death to Promote His Almanac

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Benjamin Franklin was many things: an inventor, a Founding Father, a publisher... and, it turns out, a massive troll. In today's episode, Ben, Noel an...

Why was Phrenology a Thing? Part II: A Pseudoscience (Sort of) Informs the Modern Day

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While the credibility of phrenology inevitably deteriorated over time, it was neither a completely original concept, nor, in some respects, a complete...

Why was Phrenology a Thing? Part I: The Rise of Dr. Finger

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Once upon a time, a young man named Franz Joseph Gall thought "That's weird... all my school chums with big eyes are good at memorizing things." Years...

Nancy Wake, the White Mouse of the French Resistance

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Although Nancy Wake began her career as a journalist, her first-hand experience with Nazis compelled her to a new calling: the French Resistance. In t...

The US Boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and Puerto Rican Boxers Went Anyway

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US, along with more than 60 other countries, boycotted the Olympics. Yet three Puerto Rican b...

Disco Demolition Night: How Disco Died at a White Sox Game

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cast your memory back to 1979. Tensions across the US are high, on multiple levels. Disco dominates the music scene, and, oh boy, rock fans are mad ab...

Bolivia Fought -- And Lost -- A War For Bird Poop

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most people associate think of bird poop as an annoyance -- it can gunk up sidewalks and windshields, and, occasionally, even splat on an unlucky pers...

Why You Can't Say "MacBeth" in a Theater

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As one of history's most well-known, highly-regarded writers, it's no secret that Shakespeare's life and work is full of strange stories -- but did yo...

Operation Mincemeat: Britain's Ghoulish Plan to Fool the Nazis

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As World War II raged on in 1943, both Allied and Axis forces knew they were riddled with spies. In a dizzying cavalcade of undercover, double, and ev...

Who the heck was Joseph Warren?

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When it's time to study the American Revolution in grade school, US kids tend to learn the same few names -- Betsy Ross, George Washington, Benjamin B...

Chocolate Syrup: From Medicine to Dessert

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most people nowadays associate chocolate syrup with ice cream -- but back in the day, it was considered a legitimate medicine. In today's episode, Ben...

Historical Hypocrisy: The Confederacy's Weird Stance on "Individual Rights"

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While the Confederacy often portrayed itself as a champion of certain individual rights-- not applied to enslaved people, of course-- it didn't always...

Juana Maria: The Real-life Story Behind "Island of the Blue Dolphins"

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

No one knew the real name of the woman living alone on San Nicolas Island, but when she returned to civilization after decades in solitude, she was a ...

Curling: The Most Ridiculous Sport?

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The time has come! In this special episode, the one and only Super Producer Max Williams takes point on the research into one of his long-standing fas...

Nobuo Fujita Bombed Brookings, Oregon -- and Then Became a Town Hero

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

War is a brutal business, and it often leaves scars that last for generations. Two decades after he bombed Brookings, Oregon during World War II, form...

A Teetotaling Preacher Basically Invented Modern Tourism

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When's the last time you had a vacation, just for fun? Regardless of where you went, you probably want to tip your hat to Thomas Cook. As a traveling ...

Ira Aldridge: Actor, Activist and Record-breaker

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As an African-American actor in the 1800s, Ira Aldridge had the odds stacked against him. Yet despite systemic racism, as well as negative attitudes a...

Lithuanian Book Smugglers Vs. The Russian Empire

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When people think of rebellion, they often think of guerilla warfare, rousing speeches and protests. But what about books? When the Russian Empire sou...

The Yule Lads Terrified Children Across Iceland

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many countries have their own, distinct Christmas traditions, but Iceland's Yule Lads are especially disturbing. Born of a monsterous giantess, these ...

The Infamous Aurora UFO Incident of 1897

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In April of 1897, something crashed from the sky, destroying a local windmill. As rumors and speculation grew, strange reports emerged -- could there ...

How The Evil May Day of 1517 Became the Perfect Propaganda Opportunity

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

London of the 1500s was a bustling center of commerce, finance and industry -- and it attracted a fair number of foreign-born professionals, who sough...

Day Drinkers (Sort of) Helped Stop Cholera in London

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Jon Snow -- no relation to the guy from A Song of Ice and Fire -- was in a pickle. Cholera was ravaging London, particularly in the Soho area, and...

The Much-Maligned Reign of Swedish Queen Maria Eleonora

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We often assume wealth can solve everything, but unfortunately that's not the case -- and there are few better examples of this than the life of Maria...

Weird Ways People Used to Communicate, Part II: Smoke Signals and Bottled Messages

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People these days are, for better or worse, increasingly accustomed to living in an area of constant communication. But how did people communicate ove...

Weird Ways People Used to Communicate, Part I: Only a Pigeon Away

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People these days are, for better or worse, increasingly accustomed to living in an area of constant communication. But how did people communicate ove...

That Time A Dead Guy Won an Olympic Medal

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In his heyday, the story goes, Arrhichion of Phigalia was a renowned pankration champion, a brutal sport of the ancient Olympics. But he was getting o...

Julia Barnett Rice Waged an Elitist War on Noise

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you, like the majority of humans alive today, live in a city, you're more than familiar with noise -- sirens, construction, traffic and more. In to...

Ridiculous History Presents: A History of "Adult" Toys, Part 2

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While it's a taboo subject in the modern day, it turns out people have been improvising ways to pleasure themselves since, well, the dawn of history. ...

Ridiculous History Presents: A History of "Adult" Toys, Part 1

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While it's a taboo subject in the modern day, it turns out people have been improvising ways to pleasure themselves since, well, the dawn of history. ...

The Cobra Effect, Part 2: Four Pests and a Disastrous Success

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Cobra Effect - a particularly extreme form of unintended consequences - isn't limited to India and Vietnam. In China, the technically successful F...

The Cobra Effect, Part 1: Snakes, Rats, and Unintended Consequences

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Back in the days of the British Raj, colonial leaders had a problem: Delhi was overrun with snakes. And not just any snakes -- cobras. These dangerous...

British Suffragettes Knew Jūjitsu

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As activists in the UK fought for the right to vote (and divorce, and inherit land), they ran into increasingly brutal actions on the part of police -...

A Tale of Two Hansons: Busting Myths About the 'First' US President

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's no secret that people in the US often tend to mythologize the Founding Fathers -- so it shouldn't come as a surprise that people also, often, cla...

Did Soldiers in World War I Really Team Up to Fight Wolves?

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

World War I was a bloody, terrifying conflict for everyone involved -- and not just humans. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max accidentally run int...

Slum Tourists: When Wealthy People Toured Chinatown ‘For Fun’

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s true — back in the day, wealthy residents of cities from London to Chicago would pay for tours of disadvantaged communities, the same way tha...

That Time Victorians Treated Seaweed like Pokemon

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Europe's Victorian Era was, in many ways, a study in contradiction. While society in general championed independent scientific research, institutions ...

Valentine's Day Is So Much Weirder Than We Thought

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Valentine's Day is a pretty normal holiday in the US and several other countries, and other parts of the world have similar holidays, focused on appre...

Weirdest Celebrity Busts, Part II: Mr. David Lee Roth and a Drunken John Wayne

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What can Mr. David Lee Roth's run-ins with the law teach us about wholesomeness? Why did John Wayne have public, drunken beef with Harvard? In part tw...

Weirdest Celebrity Busts, Part I: Nixon Smuggled Weed, Arbuckle Was Innocent

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did Richard Nixon smuggle weed? What can the Fatty Arbuckle scandal tell us about American society? In this week's special two-part series, guests Zar...

CLASSIC: X-Rays, Songs and Soviets: The Stilyagi Story

03 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Caught between the conflicting ideologies of the Cold War, Soviet teens were banned from collecting Western music -- smuggled records could be both ra...

Tossed Popcorn, Part 2: Chaplin was a Jerk, Brando was Insane

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Don’t let the charming slapstick fool you — Charlie Chaplin was a monster to his lovers, coworkers and family. His former collaborator, Marlon Bra...

Tossed Popcorn, Part 1: The Wizard of Oz and the Titanic

28 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's no secret that Hollywood has been home to numerous lurid, disturbing -- and, sometimes, ridiculous -- tales over the decades. In the first part o...

Peter Freuchen: Explorer, Raconteur, Movie Star and War Hero

25 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You may not have heard of Peter Freuchen, but in his day he was one of the world's most well-known polar explorers. He also wrote prolifically about h...

Did Honduras and El Salvador Really Go to War over Soccer?

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you read the international headlines in 1969, you'd think the Central American countries of Honduras and El Salvador loved football (soccer, for th...

The US Literally Had Nazi Summer Camps

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For many adults, the idea of 'summer camp' conjures up fond, nostalgic memories of childhood. And most folks see these outfits as great opportunities ...

The Emperor of the United States

13 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When San Franciscan businessman Joshua Norton lost his fortune in a Peruvian rice deal gone sour, he temporarily disappeared from the public eye. Not ...

The Trans-Saharan Ostrich Expedition of 1911

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most people haven't met an ostrich in person, but everyone knows what they are: the large, flightless birds have been around since before the rise of ...

That Time Everyone Tried To Outlaw War

07 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

War is ugly, horrific and, according to some, a necessary part of human civilization. Yet in the 1920s, world powers recovering from World War I sough...

CLASSIC: Who Solves Murders in Antarctica?

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Antarctica is home to one of the most brutal climates on the planet, and the few humans living on this continent face profound isolation and cramped q...

The Lil Ice Age Was Way Less Cute Than It Sounds

30 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You've probably heard of the Ice Ages -- long periods of reduction in Earth's temperature, triggering massive expansion of glaciers and so on -- but y...

Nub City: Florida's Infamous Amputation Scam

28 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As towns go, Vernon, Florida is pretty tiny -- it has a small population, has struggled with economic depression, and doesn't get a ton of tourists. B...

London's Tiger King, Part Two: Charles Jamrach Becomes a Problematic Hero

23 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By 1857, London's exotic animal trade was in full swing. Animals arrived at the city from across the world (often not surviving the journey), and Char...

London's Tiger King, Part One: When Exotic Animal's Were The Hottest Flex

21 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Walking through London today, you'll doubtlessly hear cacophonous traffic, sirens, construction, countless languages -- all the noises familiar to big...

The Atlantropa Project, Part Two: What Happened to the Supercontinent?

16 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While the idea of draining (most of) the Mediterranean sounds... ambitious, to say the least, Herman Sörgel's vision met with a surprising amount of ...

The Atlantropa Project, Part One: Saving Europe via Supercontinent

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Like everyone in post-World War I Europe, Herman Sörgel was horrified by the devastation of a continent-wide conflict. He saw raging poverty, crippli...

People Used Bed Bugs as Medicine for Thousands of Years

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When you think of bed bugs, you probably think of dirty mattresses, irritating rashes and bites, and the dubious joy of calling an exterminator. Howev...

The US Literally Threw Pianos From Planes During World War II

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As musical instruments go, pianos are pretty amazing -- they're also not particularly easy to move. Clunkiness aside, pianos provide endless hours of ...

The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part Two: Drink Your Ovaltine

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Once the Little Orphan Annie comic strip was adapted to a radio program, it wasn't just a hit show -- it was a marketing coup for the good folks at Ov...

The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part One: Parents Were Terrified

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

These days, most folks think of Little Orphan Annie as a folksy, wholesome slice of nostalgia -- but during its heyday as a radio program, parents acr...

CLASSIC: How White America Tried To Destroy Chinese Restaurants

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today Chinese restaurants serve some of the most popular cuisine in the United States, with more than 41,000 restaurants scattered around the country....

Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 2: Weird, Brutal Flexes

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As rulers go, Anna of Russia was considered pretty bad news. In the second part of this two-part series, the guys explore how Anna (aka Anna the Terri...

Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 1: The Tsar is a Jerk

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Despite being born into royalty, Anna Ioannovna didn’t have the easiest life. Her uncle publicly ridiculed her marriage, and the cruelty she expe...

That Time a Baboon Worked for the Railroad

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When a horrific accident left railroad signalman James Wide without the use of his legs, he was desperate to maintain his livelihood -- an effort that...

Austin and the Texas Archives War

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After its formation in 1836, the new Republic of Texas had some problems -- multiple people wanted the capital in different places. The Republic's arc...

King for a Week: The Strange Story of Otto I

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For most people, the old saying "it's good to be king" is just a cool phrase -- but for magician and noted spinner of tall tales Otto Witte, this soun...

The Bloody Tale of the Sausage War

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Modern Thanksgiving, Part Two: Sarah Josepha Hale Finally Gets Her Wish

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the Civil War broke out, Sarah Josepha Hale found politicians were, understandably, more occupied with country-wide chaos than the creation of a na...

Modern Thanksgiving, Part One: A Culture War

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today Thanksgiving is considered a largely innocuous holiday, centered on food and family. In the US, people across the country get together on the sa...

How Haunted Houses Became A Thing

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

New England versus Vampires, Part Two: Desperation and Desecration

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 P...

New England versus Vampires, Part One: The Brutal, Terrifying Life of Early Colonists

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While historians continue to explore the details of the infamous Salem witch trials, another, earlier panic swept through New England -- something mod...

Ada Lovelace, Part Two: The Analytical Engine

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After marrying and having three children, Ada dove back into the world of poetical science, continuing her correspondence with Charles Babbage as he t...