Ridiculous History
Episodes
That Time People Rioted Over a Hot Air Balloon
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
These days hot air balloons are often thought of as anachronistic novelties -- but in the early days of aeronautics, they were considered fascinating,...
An Alabama Town Built a Statue Honoring the Insect that Almost Destroyed It
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Enterprise, Alabama is home to a fascinating statue honoring the boll weevil, a tiny creature that once wreaked havoc across cotton country. So what i...
A Prince and His Poodle: The Supernatural Adventures of Rupert and Boy
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the Earl of Rundel learned his acquaintance Prince Rupert was languishing in an Austrian prison during the Thirty Years' War, he gifted the princ...
How One Guy Made Europe Fall In Love With Potatoes
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 an...
Weird Courtship Rituals, Part Two
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is Bhutanese "Night Hunting," and how does it work? How do some rural Cambodian communities navigate the tricky world of dating while liv...
Weird Courtship Rituals, Part One
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 childr...
A Brief History of Underwear
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Underwear! Whether we're talking boxers, briefs, loincloths, brassieres or even lingerie, undergarments have a storied history in cultures across the ...
One Guy Was Certain Telepathic Snails Would Replace Telegraphs
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Since before the dawn of recorded history, human beings have been obsessed with talking to each other. This primal impulse inspired French occultist J...
The Duke of Portland Hated People and Loved Tunnels
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 C...
Where do Lemonade Stands Come From?
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 busi...
Painless Parker and the Dental Circus
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Rise and Fall of Curative Plane Flights
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
That Time People Paid Rent With Eels
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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, l...
The Miracle of the Gulls: A Cricket War
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
A History of Pregnancy Cravings, Part 2: Stereotypes, Superstitions and Science
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In earlier centuries, when science and spirituality were considered one and the same, the world was full of advice and warnings surrounding pregnancy ...
A History of Pregnancy Cravings, Part 1: Pickles and Ice Cream
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pregnancy is amazing — and scary, and beautiful, and a thousand other things. The modern world has stereotypes and tropes aplenty about pregnancy, e...
The Carrington Event, Part II: Attack of the Sun!
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Less than 18 hours after Richard Carrington noticed something screwy on the sun’s surface, chaos erupted. Telegraph operators found their machines l...
The Carrington Event, Part I: The Sun is Acting Strange
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When amateur astronomer Richard Carrington gazed through his telescope on the morning of September 1st, 1859, he noticed something weird about the sur...
Loveday: Henry VI's Well-intentioned, Terrible Attempt at Making Peace
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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, wit...
Classic: Why do British lawyers wear wigs?
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 du...
That Time Al Capone Ran A Soup Kitchen
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 benef...
The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 sl...
Joseph Bonaparte, Cryptid Hunter
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon’s lesser-known, older brother Joseph was, at times, the polar opposite of his conqueror sibling. Yet by merely being related to Napoleon, J...
The Mystery of the Devonshire Colic
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Troubling, Hidden History of Turpentine
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
A Race Across the World: From New York to Paris in 1908
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 Age of the Crakow, Part 2: A Fashion Arms Race, But For Your Feet
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Age of the Crakow, Part 1: Medieval Europe Went Nuts For Pointy Shoes
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
How Pie in the Face Became a Comedy Classic, Part 2: The Fall (of the Pie)
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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How Pie in the Face Became a Comedy Classic, Part 1: Rise of the Pie
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 e...
The Great Panjandrum: A Hilariously Terrible Idea
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the British military brainstormed ways to break the German-built Atlantic Wall during World War II, desperation drove them to unorthodox ideas -- o...
Dr. T. W. Stallings: One Man's Corvid-Hating Quest to Make Oklahoma Literally Eat Crow
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Times were tough during the Great Depression. Economic unrest, massive migration and falling crops left many people struggling to survive -- even the ...
Pineapples In Europe, Part 2: People Literally Rented Pineapples to Impress their Friends
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the pineapple craze swept through Europe's upper class, aristocrats worked tirelessly to grow their own pineapples. This was no small feat, since p...
Pineapples In Europe, Part 1: A Weird, Cartoonishly Expensive Flex
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Mysterious Dark Day That Terrified New England
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As New Englanders woke on the morning of May 19th, 1780, they realized something was... off. The sunrise looked oddly colored and dim. As the day wore...
The Windham Frog Fight of 1754
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the French and Indian War escalated, the residents of Windham, Connecticut lived in constant fear of possible attacks, crop-ruining weather, diseas...
Ancient Mesopotamian Societies Sacrificed Substitute Kings to Eclipses
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of years before the current day, ancient civilizations accurately predicted both lunar and solar eclipses. They often believed these events ...
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, Part 2
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the small town of Mattoon captured national attention during the reign of the Mad Gasser, the investigation took a turn. Authorities were baffled b...
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, Part 1
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As wartime fears peaked across the US during World War II, people throughout the nation were overwhelmed with fears of invading Nazis, secret biologic...
A Currency for Colonies: The Strange Story of "Leprosy Money"
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years people across the planet lived in fear of leprosy (now known as ‘Hansen's Disease). In many cases, people infected with the d...
Wyoming Tales, Part 2: Absaroka, the State That Almost Was
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the 1930s, the residents of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota felt the federal government— and the state legislatures— ignored them. They ...
Wyoming Tales, Part 1: Walking in the Shoes of Big Nose George
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
George Parrott was a career outlaw -- a known thief, murderer and would-be train robber. When justice finally caught up with him and his game, he was ...
The Rise and Fall of the Flea Circus, Part 2
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of this two-part episode, Ben, Noel and special guest Gabe Luzier drill down into the nuts and bolts of flea circuses -- how did th...
The Rise and Fall of the Flea Circus, Part 1
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fleas -- they're one of the only animals Ben actually doesn't like! Yet, once upon a time, these bloodsucking nuisances were star performers in novelt...
History's Most Ridiculous (and Deadly) Beauty Trends
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's a Ridiculous History takeover! In honor of International Women's Day, join the hosts of the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told You for this very specia...
Billy Cottrell, the Tyrant Mayor of Cedar Key, Florida
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The politically-connected, cartoonishly belligerent Billy Cottrell was a terrible Mayor, hated and feared by the locals of Cedar Key, Florida -- and n...
The US and the UK Almost Went to War over a Pig
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1859, a dispute between neighbors in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest led to the untimely death of a local (and very unlucky) pig. Wha...
The 1973 Michigan Pizza Funeral
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Illario 'Mario' Fabbrini was true American success story: An immigrant who built his own pizza empire just as this iconic food was becoming a normaliz...
Elagabalus The Raunchy, Racy High Priest Who Became a Roman Emperor
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Born Varius Avitus Bassianus, the emperor now known as Elagabalus scandalized ancient Rome with his constant displays of extravagance, his numerous se...
John Wilkins Started a 17th-century Astronaut Program, Part 2: Wilkins (Tries to) Start a Space Program
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As John Wilkins began to put more serious thought into the idea of sending people to the moon, he reached out to fellow intellectuals in hopes of expl...
John Wilkins Started a 17th-century Astronaut Program, Part 1: Why not aim for the Moon?
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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Turtle Soup, Part 2: Rise of the Mock Turtle
12 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of this series, the guys dive deeper into the story of turtle soup -- and how it soon gave rise to the more affordable, equally del...
Turtle Soup, Part 1: A Delicacy of Yesteryear
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today it's uncommon to see turtle soup on most restaurant menus-- but, not too long ago, this was considered a top-notch delicacy, praised for its fla...
Stab Yourself to Health and Happiness: The Bizarre Rise of the Lebensweker
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When a bug bit German inventor Carl Baunscheidt, he was struck with an epiphany of sorts -- could 'venting' the human body through the creation of art...
The Hatpin Peril
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays, hatpins are a somewhat archaic fashion accessory--but at the turn of the century, they were often used as weapons to deter ne'er-do-wells an...
It's a Cat's World, Part 2: The Rise of the Cat Show
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of this series, the guys explore the story of Harrison Weir, "The Father of the Cat Fancy." Learn how Weir led the charge to save t...
It's a Cat's World, Part 1: The Sacred and the Suspicious
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you love them or hate them, there's no denying that cats hold a unique position in human society. They're (in)famous for making their own way ...
Dan Sickles, American Scoundrel, Part 2: The Civil War
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After literally getting away with murder, Dan Sickles joined the military, later leveraging the dubious events of his military career to reinvent hims...
Dan Sickles, American Scoundrel, Part 1: How to Get Away with Murder
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Sickles was a real pill. For a time, the wealthy New Yorker was famous for his philandering -- and then he became famous for not only murdering...
That Time New York Banned Spitting
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As tuberculosis spread throughout the US, New York City banned spitting. Learn how the Ladies’ Health Protective Association saved the Big Apple fro...
Admiral Byrd and the Polar Dairy
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1933, on his second expedition to Antarctica, Richard E. Byrd took the unusual, highly-publicized step of bringing some non-human crew along: Klond...
Weird 21st Century Predictions from Ages Past, Part 2: Your Personal Plane, A World Without Disaster and Retiring on the Moon
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Weird 21st Century Predictions from Ages Past, Part 1: Tesla, Square Tomatoes and Pseudosteak
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's the first Ridiculous History episode of the New Year! Ben, Noel and Casey are ringing it in with some predictions--not their own predictions, min...
The Old Rituals of New Years, Part 2: Neuroscience, Resolutions and the Rick Steves Fan Club
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What a year, right? If you're listening to today's episode, you have (almost) officially survived. I'm ringing in 2021 with Noel, Casey and the rest o...
Holiday Classic: When the Puritans Canceled Christmas
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays Christmas is a globally-recognized holiday celebrated by millions of people, but in the past this wasn't the case. In fact, some groups of Ch...
Holiday Classic: The Strange History of Antarctic Fruitcake
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays fruitcake is considered a stereotypical, often comical holiday punchline, but even in the modern day people across the planet can agree on at...
Goodyear and the Mystery of the Ghost Blimp
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1942, a U.S. Navy airship flew out over the Pacific to search for Japanese submarines. It lost radio contact and, hours later, slowly crashed in th...
Benito Mussolini was Super into Wearable Milk
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today Benito Mussolini is probably best known as the founder of Italy's National Fascist Party, but he was also very, very into milk. So much so, in f...
Snowmen as Protest: The Miracle of 1511
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
During the brutal winter of 1511, residents of Brussels built more than one hundred snowmen... and these sculptures weren't the type of snow sculpture...
Why are Chimney Sweeps good luck at weddings?
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It seems odd, at first - the idea that a random chimney cleaner might pass by a wedding, then be brought into the party, shake sooty hands with the co...
People Have Been Convinced Robots Will Take Their Jobs For Centuries
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays automation is affecting almost every industry on the planet, and numerous experts are raising alarms: AI, robotics and automation, they say, ...
That Time the US was Terrified of Tomatoes
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays the tomato is an ubiquitous foodstuff in households across the planet - but in the US, this humble staple was once considered downright poiso...
How the Pandemic Helped (and Hurt) the Struggle for Women's Rights
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 1918 epidemic played a massive, sometimes unacknowledged role in the struggle for women's rights. Tune in and learn more in today's episode. Lear...
How a German Prince Built his own Artificial Volcano
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like many nobles of his day, Leopold III Friedrich Franz traveled widely in his youth, taking in the ancient wonders of Europe. A stunning experience ...
The Weird Origin of Pink Lemonade, Part 2: The Rise of Clown Pants
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As historians dove into the evolution of pink lemonade, one theory about its origin seemed particularly compelling (if gross): Pink lemonade, they arg...
The Weird Origin of Pink Lemonade, Part 1: A Humble Citrus
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays, lemonade is a pretty popular drink -- and its counterpart, pink lemonade, occupies a space all its own. But where did this drink come from? ...
An Elephant in the Vatican, Part 2: An Elephant in the Reformation
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Pope Leo X's favorite pal, Hanno enjoyed a unique position in the Vatican -- he was the star of multiple gatherings and celebrations (which didn't ...
An Elephant in the Vatican, Part 1: The Discovery of Hanno
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In February of 1962, HVAC workers discovered the remains of an elephant beneath the Cortile del Belvedere -- and a mystery was ahoof. The story begins...
S T O V E G O B L I N
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's setting: Zaragoza, Spain. The time: September of 1934. The problem? A stove goblin. At least, that's what the hapless Palazón thought as they...
The US Didn't Always Have Secret Ballots
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays, voters in the US consider secret ballots a fundamental part of any election. Yet -- perhaps surprisingly -- this wasn't always the case. The...
The Case of the Greenbrier Ghost, Part 2: The Court
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the defense called Mary Jane Heaster to the stand, they likely meant to discredit her. However, she maintained that her daughter, Elva, had visit...
Ridiculous History Presents: Criminalia
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you like Ridiculous History, check out this iHeartRadio & Shondaland Audio podcast – Criminalia. On Criminalia, hosts Holly Frey and Maria T...
The Case of the Greenbrier Ghost, Part 1: An 'Everlasting Faint'
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Elva Zona Heaster passed away, the town doctor attributed the death to a heart attack. Elva's mother disagreed. Convinced that her daughter visit...
The Hand of Glory, Part 2: Recipes, Necropants and Toes
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like any recipe, instructions for creating a Hand of Glory often varied - which one was considered legitimate? Also, the guys explore the odd, morbid ...
The Hand of Glory, Part 1: A Thief's Theme
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you were an enterprising thief in the days of yore, there were few legendary tools as valuable as the grisly Hand of Glory -- the severed hand of a...
Brooms and Witchcraft, Part 2: Inquisitions and Iniquity
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Could the stereotype of witches on broomsticks actually be a drug reference? Join Ben, Noel and Casey as they continue digging through the history and...
Brooms and Witchcraft, Part 1: A Killer in the Rye?
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most people are familiar with the stereotypical image of a witch: a haggard, often older individual with a peaked hat, black robes, a demonic familiar...
The Beast of Gévaudan, Part 2: The Birth of a Grisly Legend
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the investigation into the Beast became a national obsession, the French monarchy stepped in, offering rewards (and threats) in their attempt to ca...
The Beast of Gévaudan, Part 1: Murders In France
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For three years, a monster terrified the backwater region of Gévaudan. From 1764 - 1767, people found the mutilated corpses, one by one, across the c...
The BBC Convinced People Spaghetti Grows on Trees
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the first of April in 1957, cameraman Charles de Jaeger's childhood dream came true: Panorama, Britain's most popular news program, aired a segment...
The US Waged War on Pinball for Decades
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today, pinball is seen as a sort of retro novelty -- it's enjoyable, kitschy and wholesome. Yet for decades, political officials in cities across the ...
The Misadventures of Wade Boggs, Part 2
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wade Boggs is a legendary, larger-than-life figure in the world of sports -- but one of his strangest achievements has nothing to do with baseball. Jo...
The Misadventures of Wade Boggs, Part 1
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wade Boggs has always been regarded as a legend, both on and off the ballfield. However, some of his strangest experiences have very little to do with...
The Tragic Tale of the 'Turnspit Dog'
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Before the rise of household automation, British elites struggled to find the perfect method for cooking meat. They preferred it roasted, slowly, turn...
Knocker-Uppers: The Human Alarm Clocks of the Industrial Age
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When adapting to life as factory employees, members of the British and Irish public confronted a new, unexpected obstacle -- how do you make sure you ...
That Time New York City Rioted Over Shakespeare
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Don't let reality television and wrestling fool you -- celebrity rivalries are a tale as old as entertainment itself. In 1849, the rivalry between two...
Babies in Incubators were Once a Sideshow Attraction
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nowadays, incubators are a common sight in hospitals across the US -- but, once upon a time, this life-saving technology was treated like a sideshow a...
The Rise of the US Camel Corps
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the years leading to the US Civil War, Uncle Sam searched for some way to safely traverse the desert. Horses, mules and humans alike often died of ...
The United Kingdom Has A Weird Thing With Swans
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the days before London found itself riddled with Rolodexes and Lamborghinis, the Crown controlled a now-obscure status symbol: the swan. Every sing...
The Nazi Super Horse Program, Part 2: A Horse-filled Heist
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the tide of war turns toward the inevitable defeat of the Nazis, the staff of the secret horse farm fear the oncoming, starving Russian forces will...