Ridiculous History

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 three bridges, actually) to reach Vienna. However, Austrian forces held the bridges and were prepared to destroy them before allowing the French to cross. With a brilliant talent for improvisation and more than a healthy dose of confidence, the Marshalls proceeded to con their ...

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 other hand, some morning routines are elaborate affairs requiring an hour or more of careful grooming, mousiturizing, meditation, and more. So where do these rituals come from? In the first part of this two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max journey to the past to learn that, f...

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 cases these are dismissed as spooky stories for children or ancient myths, but when the CIA needed to oust a group of Communist rebels in the Philippines, they decided to make the myth of the Aswang a reality. Join Ben and Noel for a bizarre adventure in this week's Classic episo...

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, forms of hair dye have been used since antiquity to help people maintain a youthful appearance... even when the ingredients caused tremendous physical harm. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the fascinating (and surprisingly dangerous) history of hair dye.

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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 in particular became a wonder of the ancient world. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the story of Zeus. (Ben here: I need everyone to know we are not talking about the origins of Zeus as a G-d; just this crazy, huge IKEA-level statue.)

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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 become one of the most influential authors in all of horror history? In the first part of this special two-part episode, Ben and Max welcome returning guest Jonathan Strickland for an exploration of Lovecraft's tragic childhood and long record of bizarre childhood behavior -- and ...

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 heyday, lauded as an American hero for his repeated failed invasions of areas of Mexico and Nicaragua. But what led this man on a fanatical mission to invade these regions? Perhaps more importantly, why did so many folks in the US support his various strange escapades?

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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: Aviation, he believed, was the future of more than just transit -- it would become one of the most important advances in the history of the human race. Lawson, brimming with confidence and charisma, led the charge to popularize aviation, publishing magazines and even designing ...

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 polymath named Joseph Dombey sailed to Thomas Jefferson with two crucial artifacts: a rod measuring exactly one meter, and a copper cylinder weighing one kilogram, set to bring the new nation a system of rational measurement. As the story goes, British privateers waylaid Domb...

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 variety tales of adultery and financial corruption to shame. Listen in to learn what drove Pope Stephen VI (also sometimes called Pope Steven VII) to dig up one of his predecessors and put the corpse of another Pope on trial.

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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 seen as cringeworthy in later years. But how ridiculous does clothing of yesteryear get? In part one of this week's special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max welcome their returning guest, the legendary author and podcaster AJ "Bahamas" Jacobs as he breaks down some of history...

During the battle of the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, the First Marine Division seemed doomed. Surrounded, outnumbered, outgunned and running dangerously low on ammunition, the Marines called for an airdrop of ammo only to receive... pallets of tootsie rolls. Over the next two bloody, violent weeks these tiny candies turned out be much more useful than anyone could have predicted -- tune in to learn why some Marines cred...