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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.
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Did you know over 90% of US households own a vacuum cleaner? These handy-dandy descendents of the carpet sweeper revolutionized the cleaning game... but where did they come from? As Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, your humble vacuum is the result of centuries' worth of wild ideas -- and more than a few crazily ambitious inventors, as well.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1When illustrator and novelist Rose O'Neill first debuted the Kewpie cartoons in 1909, these loveable little characters took the world by storm. Yet O'Neill didn't stop there. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max learn the surprisingly inspiring and feminist story of the Kewpie doll as a crucial aspect of women's rights in the United States.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Juan Pujol first volunteered to spy for the British during World War II, they didn’t take him seriously. That all changed when he got a gig spying for the German government. Listen to learn the story of one of World War II’s most successful double agents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Often called "the thick, creamy bastard child of oil and eggs" (well, called that at least once by Ben), mayonnaise remains one of the world's most divisive condiment. But where did it come from? In today's continuing Ridiculous History of condiments, Ben, Noel and Max get to the bottom of the case. Or jar. You get it!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In a small suburb of Atlanta back in the 1950s, two men hatched an amazing concept: a restaurant that never closes. In today's episode, the guys explore the origin story of Georgia's most mythical restaurant: Waffle House.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, it didn't take the newly-independent nations of Greece and Bulgaria long to begin bickering over their borders. Throughout the early 1920s, small bands of peasants from both countries routinely crossed the border to steal livestock, damage property and harass locals. This untenable situation reached a breaking point in 1925, when a Greek border guard was fatally shot while crossing into Bulgaria to retrieve his dog (who had strayed away on dog business). This single incident sparked a cavalcade of chaos that eventually caught the attention of the League of Nations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ptolemy II was known for a lot of things, none of which involved being humble. In the newest installment of this continuing series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the ridiculous story of the Lighthouse of Alexandria.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
So many people grew up hearing the myth that Columbus proved the Earth was round. It's a great story— but it's also utter bunk! In today's episode, Ben and Max get to the bottom of this ridiculous tale, and learn how most of civilization knew the Earth was round way earlier than those old school textbooks would have you believe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The telegraph and the communication system known as Morse code revolutionized the way we transmit information, but how did it get here? Join the guys as they explore the tragic life and time of Samuel Morse in this week's Classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A beloved children's author. A spy. An ace fighter pilot, a notorious lady's man, and a strident antisemite: Roald Dahl was all these things and more. In the second part of this special two-part interview, the guys welcome back Aaron Tracy, the award-winning creator of The Secret World of Roald Dahl, to learn more about the man behind the author -- and get a few tips about writing along the way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nowadays, most everyone knows a classic Roald Dahl story — yet who knows the man himself? In the first part of this special two-part interview, the guys welcome Aaron Tracy, the award-winning creator of The Secret World of Roald Dahl, as he blasts beyond the bluster of headlines and hedgerows of civility— exposing, for better or worse, the true life of one of the world's most beloved authors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's the weirdest wartime heist you've ever heard of? In today's Classic episode, Ben, Noel and Max return to one of their favorites: On February 27, 1942, nine saboteurs set out in the middle of the night to blow up a Nazi-controlled heavy water plant in Norway. This operation was as crucial as it was complicated -- if the plant continued to function, the Nazis very well may have been able to construct an atomic bomb. Tune in to learn exactly how the commandos glided in and, eventually, skied away.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Despite being a relatively small country, the South East Asian nation of Thailand is famous across the planet for its unique, delectable cuisine. Heck, nowadays in the United States almost everyone is just a stone's throw away from a Thai restaurant -- so, how did we get here? Why are Thai restaurants suddenly everywhere? As Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode: this massive success is the result of a genuine (and delicious) conspiracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Whether you call it table tennis, whiff-whaff or ping pong, there's no denying this fun sport of "tennis for the home" has become a global phenomenon. But where did it come from? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today, Isaac Newton is best known for his scientific pursuits -- but he also served as Warden and, later, Master of the Royal Mint. And this wasn't some sort of honorary position, either: Newton took his job of hunting down forgers seriously, and may have even bent (or broken) the law in his quest to arrest and hang his archnemesis, the counterfeiting kingpin William Chaloner.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oof! Atari! As our producer Max likes to say, 'it was a thing.' In the second part of this two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max explore the pioneering rise of Atari, corporate overtake, and the final words of its founder.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nowadays most people either play video games, or know someone who does -- yet this wasn't always the case. As civilization skyrockets toward gaming experiences that feel increasingly immersive (and, in some cases, inseperable from reality), Ben, Noel and Max pay homage to the crew that started it all: a scrappy, legendary outfit called "Atari".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Naval legend Admiral Nelson died on October 21st, 1805 shortly after being shot by a French sniper while standing on the deck his ship, Victory. Following the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, the survivors of the conflict were left with a dilemma -- how could they preserve Nelson's body long enough for the corpse to receive an appropriate burial back home?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Words are everywhere -- and we're grateful, because we can't do this show without them. But all words were, at some point, just made up. So how does society decide what counts as a "real" word? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the history of language, and the oddly specific systems dictionaries put in place to decide whether a given word or phase is legitimate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What if you could hop from France to New York in less than four hours? Traveling twice the speed of sound, with caviar, lobster, champagne and cigars? This was the pitch of the Concorde jet -- a revolutionary, utterly ridiculous and brilliant craft that promised to fundamentally change air travel. Spoiler: it's not around anymore. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max figure out why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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they get their "facts" from google ai overview
man this spanish ad is drivin me crazy, someone tellme that this will not continue this way...
did he just refer to the crucifixion of Jesus as a fairy tale.?
wrong episode title
they sold them to be housekeepers, farm help and most of them lived in awful condition and abused! most of them were put on trains because they had no one to take care of them parents dead or no money to take care of them they left home to "take care of themselves"! It is crazy but interesting!!
Portland was never the capitol of Oregon.
we are most cussed in the south. drawl and all. y'a ll.
Well, we're all stuck with dogman now. 😒 🤔
Put garlic around your neck. HA.
my first weird movie. Werewolves. horrific.
I live in Alabama, and some of the family names yall said are still here, and I know a few of them.
If you do a shoes episode you could do an entire episode on, Imelda Marcos' now ruined shoe collection.
way too many ads, I unsubscribed I hope the ad money keeps coming as you lose listeners because you're drowning them with more ads than content, pity I liked the podcast but I'm not supporting something that's worse than TV and radio combined with pure stupid ads
The news guy actually pronounced it better. In Russian, his name is Хрущёв. That X is kh, kind of like an Arabic h. The р is the Russian r, у is pronounced oo, ш is pronounced sh, and щ is like a softer version ё is princes yo в is the Russian v So his name is accurately pronounced khroosh’ov. In English his name is Khrushchev, but it’s more accurate to be pronounced Khrushchov. Notice the o noise is made by ё, but it’s not pronounced yo in this word, rather o.
Love cats!
Very effective on the ground floor patio sliding door.
in Canada we call this maneuver the "compressed moon ".
Seniors like me? That means you buy life insurance from high schoolers
Massive?