All Episodes
Ridiculous History — 1000 episodes
CLASSIC: Fort Blunder: The US Fort Mistakenly Built in Canada
Mastodons and 'Murica, with Lauren Vogelbaum, Part Two: A Grudge Match with the French
Mastodons and 'Murica, with Lauren Vogelbaum, Part One: American Degeneracy
CLASSIC: The Duke of Edinburgh is Literally a God in Vanuatu
Oof! A Lot of Baby Gear was Absolutely Ridiculous
A Ridiculous History of 'Soft Serve'
CLASSIC: The Honorary Citizens of the United States
Who was the real John Henry?
From Slaves to Superpower: The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Janissaries
CLASSIC: The Nature of Ephemera, with Alex Williams
Badass of the Week Returns, Part Two: Chesapeake Capes
Badass of the Week Returns, Part One: George Rogers Clark
CLASSIC: That Time Ohio and Michigan Almost Went To War
The Ridiculously Inspiring Story of Free Public Restrooms, Part Two: The Rise of CEPTIA
The Ridiculously Inspiring Story of Free Public Restrooms, Part One: Everyone Has To Poop
CLASSIC: The Rise and Fall of Local Scrip: Alternative Currencies of the Great Depression
The Kingdom of Callaway: That Time One Missouri County (Sort Of, Maybe) Became An Independent Nation
The Ridiculous History of Saturday Morning Cartoons, Part Two: The Fall of a Grift
CLASSIC: The Attack of the Japanese Balloon Bombs
The Ridiculous History of Saturday Morning Cartoons, Part One: A Golden Age
People Used to Do Very Weird Drugs, Part One: Broomsticks, Sailors and Vikings
CLASSIC: Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Hoax
Berserkers: Violent Viking Villains, Unverified
Did Knights Really Wear Suits of Armor?
CLASSIC: Nosy Boraha: The Pirate's Paradise (And Cemetery)
The Outlaw Origins of NASCAR: From Moonshine to Racing
The Real Johnny Appleseed was SUPER WEIRD (and Pretty Cool)
CLASSIC: How the Black Death Came To Norway On A Ghost Ship
Germans, Sausages and Dachshunds: Oh, My!
The Ridiculous History of Atlanta's Street Names
CLASSIC: Susanna Caroline Matilda: The Colonial Grifter Princess
A Samurai Walks Into The White House
What is SantaCon -- and Why Do So Many People Hate it?
CLASSIC: History's Weirdest Flexes, Part Two
CLASSIC: History's Weirdest Flexes, Part One
The Bizarre Parable of New Coke, Chapter Two: A Rise. A Fall. A Conspiracy?
CLASSIC: How Robert "The Fastest Knife In The West End" Liston Conducted A Surgery With A 300% Mortality Rate
The Bizarre Parable of New Coke, Chapter One: Sweeter, Stranger, Strange
"Resting Bicycle Face": Bikes and Women's Rights
CLASSIC: How Oliver Cromwell Got Executed Several Years After His Death
The Bizarre Life of Elvis, Part Two: Public Fame, Private Chaos
The Bizarre Life of Elvis, Part One: From Poverty to Pop Stardom
CLASSIC:Hong Xiuquan: The Younger Brother of Jesus Christ Who Led a Bloody Rebellion in China
The Bizarre Saga of the Red Solo Cup
The Day a Dalí Escaped From Prison
CLASSIC: How Big Bill Speakman Fought Off North Korea With Beer Bottles
A Ridiculous History of Potatoes, Part One: the Origin Story
When Did We All Start Saying "Bulls*t"?
ECLASSIC: New Providence: That Time Pirates Had A Government
The Ridiculous Truth About Pirates, Chapter Two: History's Most Successful Pirate Was A Woman
The Ridiculous Truth About Pirates, Chapter One: The Caribbean
CLASSIC: Teddy Roosevelt May Just Have Saved Modern (American) Football
Eurovision, Chapter Two: Pop Music as Problematic Diplomacy
Eurovision, Chapter One: A Ridiculous Origin Story -- and A Smash Success
CLASSIC: Prohibition, Prescriptions and the Rise of 'Medicinal' Booze
Fort Sauerkraut: North Dakota’s Strange, Ill-Planned Origin Story
The Bizarre Tale of the 1909 Catnip Riot
CLASSIC: Did Robert E. Lee hate Confederate Memorials?
IQ Tests are (Kind of) Dumb
Did Lead Lead to the Fall of the Roman Empire?
CLASSIC: California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War
Don’t Be a Schmo Yo, Try a Yoyo!
The Ridiculous Secret of "Supreme" Pizza
CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid
Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor
Knitting as Espionage, Part One: Secrets in the Stitch
CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II
Inventors Who Died Due To Their Own Inventions: The Irrational Death of Hippasus
The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part Two: Con Artists, Skeptics, and Ghosts
CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part I: What's in a word?
The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part One: A Prank Goes Viral
History's Weirdest National Anthems
CLASSIC: The Statue of Liberty Almost Lived in Egypt
Vacuum Cleaners are Ridiculous!
The Ridiculously Adorable, Feminist History of Kewpie Dolls
CLASSIC: Agent Garbo: The Strange Tale of the Man Who Saved D-Day
The Most-hated Condiment? A Ridiculous History of Mayonnaise
The Gang Goes To Waffle House
CLASSIC: The War of the Stray Dog: How Far Would You Go For Your Pet?
Ancient Wonders of the Modern World: the Lighthouse of Alexandria
People Knew the Earth Was Round Way Earlier Than You Think
CLASSIC: The Tragic Origin Story of Morse Code
The Secret World Of Roald Dahl, with Aaron Tracy, Part Two: the Man Behind the Author
The Secret World Of Roald Dahl, Part One: A "Noisy" Life
CLASSIC: Operation Gunnerside: How a Crew of Military Skiers Ruined the Nazi Bomb
The Thai Restaurant Conspiracy
The Ridiculous History of Ping Pong
CLASSIC: How far did Isaac Newton go to hunt down forgers?
A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part Two: a Rise, a Fall, and a Legacy
A Ridiculous Love Letter to Atari, Part One: From Pings to Pongs
CLASSIC: How Admiral Horatio Nelson Ended Up Dead in a Barrel of Brandy
What makes a word a 'word'?
The Rise (and Crash) of the Concorde Jet
CLASSIC: English Men Used to Sell Their Wives
A Ridiculous History of "Fad Diets," Part Two: Beverly Hills, Scarsdale and More
CLASSIC: How Louisiana Almost Became a Hippo Ranching Hub
CLASSIC: Who was the highest paid athlete in history?
Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu, with Tom Freston
CLASSIC: The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 2
CLASSIC: The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 1
Folks, We're Doing A Clip Show: Leftovers, 2025
Was 536 Really the Worst Year in History?
CLASSIC: Clara, The World's Most Famous Rhinoceros
Christmas Traditions Are So Incredibly Weird!
The Grim Christmas Folklore of Johnny Ace, with Jake Brennan
CLASSIC: How the Monopoly Board Game Became a World War II Escape Kit
The Deliciously Ridiculous History of Fruitcakes
That Time the US Government Brainwashed America into DIY Bomb Shelters
CLASSIC: Idiomatic For The People, Part I
Spontaneous Human Combustion: A Bizarre Controversy
IP, Part Three: A Copyright for Everyone!
CLASSIC: Was there a real-life Rapunzel?
Ridiculous Maps: That Time Everyone Thought California Was An Island
The Chicago Tylenol Murders
CLASSIC: Benjamin Franklin's Advice On "Finding A Mistress"
Wait! Can a tree really own itself?
Doc Holliday Was, In Fact, A Deadly Dentist
CLASSIC: What does "Idaho" actually mean?
The Ridiculous History of Dog Food
Bir Tawil: The Ridiculous Tale of "Earth's Worst Real Estate"
CLASSIC: Uncle Sam Tried to End World War II With Bat Bombs
The Ridiculous History of the "Ice Cream Sundae"
Zombies, Part Two: The Movies!
CLASSIC: The American Soldiers Who Defected to North Korea and Became Movie Stars
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Temple of Artemis
That Time Everyone Loved Radium: What Could Go Wrong?
CLASSIC: How a Broken Toilet Foiled a German Sub
CLASSIC: Creature Feature: The Dark Tetrad
CLASSIC: Gustaf Broman Tried to Cross the Atlantic in a Canoe . . . Or Did He?
CLASSIC: The Weird, Surprisingly Recent Origin of the Tooth Fairy
CLASSIC: When Vikings Loot The Wrong Town
CLASSIC: Were Tulips Really The Bitcoin of the 1600s?
CLASSIC: (Some of) History's Dumbest Military Prototypes
The Dumbest Mobster Ever Tried To Steal Ruby Slippers
The Ridiculously Disturbing History of North Korea
CLASSIC: The Forty Elephants: London’s All-Female Jewel Thieves
Disco Balls are Ridiculous, and We Love Them
The Truth About "Zombies"
CLASSIC: The Malleus Maleficarum: A Real-life Witch Hunter's Bible
How the Kentucky Derby Became a Thing
The Ridiculous History of the 90s and Low Culture, with Ross Benes
CLASSIC: The Great London Beer Flood of 1814
The True Story of Pac Man -- and a Ton of Weird Theories
The Ridiculous Origin of the the Word "Ridiculous"
CLASSIC: Dr. Seuss Wrote His Most Famous Book On A Bet
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part Two: The Rise of the Chamber Divers
The Terrifying Science of Tiny Subs and D-Day, Part One: The Return of Dr. Rachel "Big Spinach" Lance
CLASSIC: Feral Children and the True Story Behind The Jungle Book
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Colossus of Rhodes
Unlucky Numbers Across The Globe -- And Why They Are Ridiculous
CLASSIC: The Ridiculously Laxative-laden Journey of Lewis and Clark
Moon Rock Heists, Part Two: The Romantic Misadventures of Thad Roberts
Moon Rock Heists, Part One: Lunatic Heists and Space Law
CLASSIC: The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting Story of the Great Kentucky Meat Shower
The Ridiculously Energetic History of Energy Drinks!
Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single Cartoon
CLASSIC: The Bizarre Origin of the Oxford English Dictionary
Hoax! With Dana Schwartz and Lizzie Logan
Fabergé Eggs Are Ridiculous (And Fascinating)
The World of Non-Gregorian Calendars: What Day Is It, Really?
The Ridiculous Origin of the Modern Calendar
CLASSIC: George Carlin Gets Quoted in the Supreme Court: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
EThe Ridiculous History of Fantasy Sports, Part Two
The Ridiculous History of Fantasy Sports, Part One
CLASSIC: The People vs. Lenny Bruce: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part Two, Part Two: Some Folks Didn't Want The Job
First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part Two, Part One: James "The Bachelor" Buchanan
CLASSIC: The Life and Times of Ol' Knife Hand
Batman, or Bat-Man? A Ridiculously Comical Feud For The Ages
Three Ridiculous Histories of "Bloody Mary"
CLASSIC: The Ridiculous Story of the World’s First (Documented) Serial Killer
A Ridiculous History of "Fad Diets"
A Titanic Disaster: That Time An Entire Production Crew Tripped Off Bad Chowder
CLASSIC: Back When the Rich Ate Corpses
A Ridiculous History of Sex, with Ross Benes
CLASSIC: The Mummies of Guanajuato
A Ridiculous History of Brain Science, with Jorge Cham
Jorge Cham Teaches Us The Universe: Big Bangs and Quantum Hangs
CLASSIC: The Curious Rise of SPAM
The Ridiclulous Hsitory of Typos
Come For the Palooka, Stay For the Farts!
CLASSIC: The Origins Of, and Backlash Against, Father's Day
Father's Day, Around the World
The History of Morning Routines, Part Two: All Hail The Toothbrush! And Deodorant!
CLASSIC: The Smooth-talking Takeover of Tabor Bridge: "Yes And-ing" Your Way To Victory
CLASSIC: History's Coolest (Non-Human) Political Candidates, Part I
The History of Morning Routines, Part One: Thank Goodness People Learned to Wash Themselves
CLASSIC: Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War
The Ridiculous -- and Surprisingly Dangerous -- History of Hair Dye
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: That Super Humble Statue of Zeus
CLASSIC: Who are the Hartlepudlian Monkey Hangers?
HP Lovecraft Was A Super Weird Dude, Part Two: The Horror Stories That Changed The World
HP Lovecraft Was A Super Weird Dude, Part One: Childhood Tragedy
CLASSIC: William Walker: Filibuster and (Fantastically Bad) President
Accidental Inventions of the 20th Century, Part Two: The Slinky and the Post-it Note
Accidental Inventions of the 20th Century, Part One: Penicillin, X-Rays and the Microwave Oven
CLASSIC: Lawsonomy: How the Father of the Modern Airline Started His Own Religion
Did Pirates Really Ruin the US Dream of the Metric System?
Yet More Ridiculous Historical Honorifics: Ethelred Just Ain't Ready
CLASSIC: A Dead Pope Goes To Court
History's Most Ridiculous Clothing, with AJ Jacobs: Part Two
History's Most Ridiculous Clothing, with AJ Jacobs: Part One
CLASSIC: War and Candy: The Infamous Tootsie Roll Air Drop
A Ridiculous History of Tupperware
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
CLASSIC: The Man Who Assassinated Abe Lincoln's Assassin
Paul Is Dead, Part Two: Welcome to the Walrus
Paul Is Dead, Part One: The Beatles versus MI5
CLASSIC: The Cock Lane Ghost: Haunting, Hoax, Hysteria… or Hilarious?
CLASSIC: Roland the Farter and the Weird World of Professional Flatulence
CLASSIC: Gregor MacGregor Invented a Country and Convinced People to Invest in It
CLASSIC: Angry Feds and Deadly Booze: The Story of the Chemists' War
We're Late for the April Fools' Episode
The Ridiculous History of Vending Machines
CLASSIC: Fanny and Stella: The Cross-Dressing Scandal of Victorian England
Badass of the Week, with Ben Thompson - Part 2: the Battle of Karánsebes
Badass of the Week, with Ben Thompson - Part 1: History's Most Ridiculous Friendly-fire Incident
CLASSIC: That Time Kansas Imprisoned Women For Having STDs
A Ridiculous History of Processed Cheese
The Darién Gap, or: the Real Reason Scotland Lost Its Independence
CLASSIC: Oregon Was a White Supremacist Paradise
Apple Versus Apple: The Beatles' Decades-long IP War
Ancient Wonders of the Modern World: The (Alleged) Hanging Gardens of Babylon
CLASSIC: Project A119: The Cold War Plan to Nuke the Moon!
The US Camel Corps, Part Two: The Legend of the Red Ghost
The US Camel Corps, Part One: Several People With A Really Weird Dream
CLASSIC: Adidas Versus Puma: A Tale of Two Brothers
CLASSIC: The WWII Naval Battle Won Using Potatoes
CLASSIC: The Korean Soldier Who Fought for 3 Armies During WWII
CLASSIC: Philadelphia's Transylvanian Doomsday Cult: The Cave of Kelpius
CLASSIC: Weird Wars Fought For Dumb Reasons
CLASSIC: The FBI's Quest to Understand "Louie, Louie"
CLASSIC: The Time a Soviet Premier Was Banned From Disneyland
That Time Japan Absolutely Rinsed Russia, Part Two: The Togo Turn
That Time Japan Absolutely Rinsed Russia, Part One: The Race For Manchuria
CLASSIC: Kidnapping, Binge Drinking and Costumes: Voter Fraud in the 1800s
Victorians Got Super Weird With Flirting, Part Two: Courtship and Calling Cards
Victorians Got Super Weird With Flirting, Part One: "Fan Fiction"
Why did people hate the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge?
First Ladies Who Weren't Wives, Part One: The Niece Will Have To Do
Some of History's Funniest Honorifics, Part One: The Babymaker, the Debauchee, and More
IP, Part Two: The Baffling World of Trademarks
A Ton of Inventors Died Due To Their Own Inventions, Chapter Two: Li Si and the Five Pains
CLASSIC: The 1904 Racist Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis
The Ridiculously Ambitious History of the World's Fair, Part Two: Things Don't Always Work Out
The Ridiculously Ambitious History of the World's Fair, Part One: A Crazy Plan, and Crazy Success
CLASSIC: Why British Soccer Players Saluted the Nazis
How Dogs Went Domestic, Part Two: Yes, Dogs Know What You're Thinking
How Dogs Went Domestic, Part One: Classic Rom-Com
CLASSIC: Why don't Americans use bidets?
CLASSIC: The Earliest Recorded Mooning Killed Thousands
The Story of Claudette Colvin, with Nimene Wureh
CLASSIC: How did Fido become the default name for dogs?
Whatever Happened to Mac Tonight?
The First Recorded Christmas Was The Latest Birthday Party Ever
CLASSIC: Dock Ellis and the Legend of the LSD No-hitter
Whoops! All Quizster, Part Two: A Ridiculous History of HowStuffWorks
Whoops! All Quizster, Part One: The Gang Reunites
CLASSIC: Maryland’s State Song was a Diss Track
How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thing, Part Two: Each Letter Has A Story
Big Parma
How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thing, Part One: Writing Stuff Down Is A Bonkers Idea
CLASSIC: The Story of Max, South Africa's Famous, Crime-fighting Gorilla
History's Famous Mistranslations, Part Two: Life on Mars, the Cold War, and FARTFULL
Neckties are Utterly Ridiculous
CLASSIC: How Santa Anna Lost His Leg Twice, and Held a Funeral for It
The History of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Part Two: A World-Class Show
The History of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Part One: From Marching Bands to Celebrities
CLASSIC: That Time Chewbacca Needed Bodyguards
How Emergency Call Lines Became A Thing
Are the Vikings to Blame for Cats?
CLASSIC: Napoleon Bonaparte Was Attacked by Bunnies -- And Lost
The Most Ridiculous Weather of Baseball
Bhutan Grades Itself On Happiness
CLASSIC: California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen
The World's Weirdest Sports, Part Two: Literal Murderball
The World's Weirdest Sports, Part One: Buzkashī is Where You Fight Over A Dead Goat
CLASSIC: Ancient Mayan Ritual Alcohol Enemas
One Guy Was So Good At Violin That People Thought He Worshipped Satan
Credit Scores are Absolutely Ridiculous
CLASSIC: That Time Vermont Was an Independent Republic
Spontaneous Generation, Part Two: "Broth Science"
Spontaneous Generation, Part One: Mice and Grain
CLASSIC: The Capture of Guam Was Bloodless and Quick, All Due to a Misunderstanding
Ridiculous Royal Deaths, Part 5: A Blind and Bloody Finale (For Now)
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart was Darn Near Unkillable
CLASSIC: Are All US Presidents Actually Related?
Post-Presidential Careers, Part Two: Adams, Taft, And More
Post-Presidential Careers, Part One: Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
CLASSIC: What's the deal with two-dollar bills?
Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part Two: Typesetters, Steam Pulleys and Tesla
Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part One: The Legend of "Josh"
CLASSIC: How James Bond Created a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Tradition
What is Karaoke? Part Two: Going Global; Careful What You Sing
What is Karaoke? Part One: An Origin Story
CLASSIC: Did Richard Nixon Unwittingly Smuggle Drugs for Louis Armstrong?
The Nebraska Episode
Occupy Alcatraz!
CLASSIC: 3 Times Society Refused to Accept New Books on Science
The Ridiculous, Murky Origins of Pasta, Part Two: From Myth to the Modern Day
The Ridiculous, Murky Origins of Pasta, Part One: Basic Ingredients, Delicious Results
CLASSIC: That Time We Erased a (HUGE) Waterfall
Patents Are Absolutely Bonkers: An Origin Story
That Time a Swedish Queen Became So Enlightened, She Quit Being the Queen
CLASSIC: The Poetic Justice of Death by Molten Gold
You Auto-go to the Drive-in, Part Two: Driving In and Out of History
You Auto-go to the Drive-in, Part One: Cars Meet Cinema
CLASSIC: Japan, Baseball and the Curse of the Colonel
The Disturbing History of Last Meals, Part Two: Famous Final Snacks
The Disturbing History of Last Meals, Part One: A Creepy Origin Story
CLASSIC: That Time the US Built a Flying Aircraft Carrier
CLASSIC: Yes, Those are Corpses in the Diorama
CLASSIC: Weird People Who Built Weird Things
CLASSIC: What was the West Point Eggnog Riot?
The Noble -- and Kind of Ridiculous -- History of Butlers
CLASSIC: Lyndon Johnson Chatted on the Phone More than a Teenager
The Founding of the Smithsonian, Part Two: James Gives America a Fortune -- and a Mission
The Founding of the Smithsonian, Part One: The Remains of the James
CLASSIC: Arsenic: The Assassin's Dream Weapon
The Orphan Train: That Time the US Auctioned Children Via Rail
20 Questions: A Ridiculous Crossover, Part Two
CLASSIC: The Killer Marketing Campaign Behind Guy Fawkes
CLASSIC: When Ancient India Beat Machiavelli to the Punch
The Preposterous History of Artificial Flavors, Part Two: Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
CLASSIC: The Rise of Harvey Wiley's Poison Squad
The Preposterous History of Artificial Flavors, Part One: The Vanilla Problem
"Right on," Said the Pope: How the Swiss Guard became the Elite Protectors of the Vatican
CLASSIC: Step Aside, James Bond: The Strange Stories of Espionage Animals
Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridiculous, Part Two: A Real-life Game of Thrones
Ottoman Harems Were Disturbing and Ridiculous, Part One: Busting Myths
CLASSIC: How Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Influenced Star Trek
Popeye Changed America, Part Two: Popeye Ain't Perfect
Popeye Changed America, Part One: A Breakout Star
CLASSIC: What was the 'Great Stink' of London?
The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part Two: The Game of Amendments
The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part One: A Troubled, Ambitious Origin Story
CLASSIC: How Farmers Built A Barbed Wire Phone Network
Ridiculous Video Game Tie-ins, Part Two: The Olympics and the Great Game of Chex Quest
Ridiculous Video Game Tie-ins, Part One: The Rise of Cool Spot -- and Fall of the Noid
CLASSIC: The Strange Story of Canadian Margarine Bootleggers
Malta: Tiny and Amazing, Just Like The Dog
The Ridiculous History of Credit Cards
CLASSIC: San Francisco's Egg War
Introducing: Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)
Skyscrapers, Part Two: An Arms Race to the Sky
Skyscrapers, Part One: A Guy and a Birdcage
CLASSIC: The Wild West Was Actually Pretty Chill
On Theme, Part Two: The Cyclical Evolution of Music
On Theme, Part One: Ernest Hogan's Success and Regret
CLASSIC: How A Grudge Match Launched the Ford GT40
The QWERTY Keyboard is Purposely Bad
Auction Houses: It's Not *All* Money Laundering
CLASSIC: "Vitamin Donuts" Were A Real Thing
Thomas Nast, Part Two: A Cartoonist Conquers Corruption (and Moves to Ecuador)
Thomas Nast, Part One: The Cartoonist Who Shaped America
CLASSIC: The Rotten, Sausagey Secret Origin of Botox
Books You Can't Read -- By Design!
La Maupin: The Swordfighting Opera Singer of France
CLASSIC: The Weird World of Meat Jell-O (A Gelatin Origin Story)
A History of Roller Coasters, Part Two: Higher, Faster, More Expensive
A History of Roller Coasters, Part One: Early Ups and Downs
CLASSIC: London Made a Train for the Dead
The Page-turning Evolution of the Encyclopædia Britannica
A Ridiculous History of Worcestershire Sauce
CLASSIC: Roald Dahl: Children's Author and Secret Agent
Micronations: How Liechtenstein Became A Country
Why Are There So Many Captain Marvels?
CLASSIC: When did ALL-CAPS type become YELLING?
Look at Us, Late to the Ridiculous History of Easter
Royal Deaths, Part Four: The Unfortunate Lives of Scottish Kings
The Delaware Wedge, Part Two: The Wedge and The Horn
The Delaware Wedge, Part One: A Tiny State with Massive History
Back to the Choo-ture: the Enduring Nostalgia of Model Trains
PEZ: Candy or Anti-smoking Aid?
Mobituaries with Mo Rocca, Part Two: What's Past is Prologue
Mobituaries with Mo Rocca, Part One: Mo Eulogizes The Pager
Awful Candy, Part Two: Peeps, Licorice, Wax Lips and More
Awful Candy, Part One: Tootsie Rolls Saved the War -- and Divided the World
It Is Literally Time For The Leap Year Episode
The Ridiculous History of Hot Sauce
CLASSIC: Why does the Guinness Beer Company Track World Records?
20 Questions: A Ridiculous Crossover, Part One
Tecumseh's Curse, Part Two: Boy, It's Tough to be President
Tecumseh's Curse, Part One: Rise of The Prophet
History Is Absolutely Riddled With Famous Mistranslations
Stuff That Got Left Over, Part Two: Hot Tubs, The Last Shantyman, President Taft Had Pet Cows
The Puzzler Returns, Part Two: A Field Trip to the CIA
The Puzzler Returns, Part One: Puzzles and Spies
A Boeing Wonderland, Part Two: A Fake Rooftop City For All!
A Boeing Wonderland, Part One: A Magician Tries to Camouflage Entire Airfields
Calvin Coolidge Was Super Weird...and Surprisingly Cool
The Ridiculous History of Baseball Caps: How One Hat Traveled the World
Breeching: A Weird Historical Obsession with Children's Pants
The Salton Sea: How A Little Whoopsie Turned into Ecological Disaster
CLASSIC: Digging Up James K Polk (For the Third Time)
CLASSIC: The Atomic Whoops: When the US Air Force Bombed South Carolina
The History of Soda Pop is So Weird, Part Two: Nostalgia is a Heck of a Drug
The History of Soda Pop is So Weird, Part One: The Saga of Spicy Water
The Puzzler, Part Two: Waldo, Rubik, and More
The Puzzler, Part One: The Crossword Moral Panic
Christmas Has A Dark Side: The Krampus Episode
A House Divided: Various Times Congress Tried to Beat the Snot Out of Each Other
Scientists Who Were Horrifically Persecuted, Part Two: Alan Turing
Serious Diseases with Seriously Funny Names, Part Two: Rickets, Brain Fever, and Maple Syrup
Serious Diseases with Seriously Funny Names, Part One: Dropsy
Oh Man, James Joyce was a Dirty Dude!
EWhat's the Deal with Turkey on Thanksgiving?
Tammany Hall: America's Early Puppet Masters
The Hoover Dam is Ridiculous, Part Two: The Audacity!
The Hoover Dam is Ridiculous, Part One: Man Versus Nature
CLASSIC: Waging War With Hallucinogenic Honey
CLASSIC: Ben Franklin Tried To Reinvent the Alphabet
CLASSIC: When the Puritans Canceled Christmas
How Did Trick-Or-Treating Become a Thing?
The Tangled History of Topiary, Part Two: That Shrub Is Looking at Me Funny
The Tangled History of Topiary, Part One: The Ancient Art of Fancy Plants
Scientists Who Were Horrifically Persecuted, Part One
The Crappy, Commodious History of Toilets
Aaron Burr, Part Two: The Fall of a Guy Nobody Liked
Aaron Burr, Part One: The Rise of a Guy Nobody Liked
Introducing: McCartney A Life in Lyrics
Royals Who Died on the Toilet: Our Classiest Episode Yet
That Time Indiana Tried to Change Pi
Why Don't People Wear White After Labor Day?
Michigan Has Its Own Bermuda Triangle
The Road to Modern Basketball, Part Two: How Dribbling Became A Thing
The Road to Modern Basketball, Part One: Naismith and "The Incorrigibles"
The 10th President's Grandson is Alive Today
Stuff That Got Left Over: Nukes
Ralph Nader Versus Big Auto
CLASSIC: Baguettes and Vacation: France versus Bakers
Everyone Was Covered in Poop: A Grimy History of Soap
Behind the Logo: The Story of the Nike Swoosh
The Architecture of Spite, Part Three: The Pie House and a Scorned Argentine
The Architecture of Spite, Part Two: Macy's and The Skinny House
The Ridiculous History of Intellectual Property, Part 2: When Things Get Weird
The Ridiculous History of Intellectual Property, Part 1: The Ancient Past
World War II's Alaskan Front: The Aleutian Island Campaign
Micronations: The Amazing Story of Vatican City
The FBI versus Hip-Hop
The Inventor of the Saxophone Had Some of the World's Worst Luck
Animals On Trial, Part 2: Legal Personhood "Goes Wild"
Animals On Trial, Part 1: Tons of Animals Went to Kangaroo Courts
Broken Arrows, Part 2: In Which Actions Have Consequence
Broken Arrows, Part 1: Whoops, Where's Our Nuke?
New Providence: That Time Pirates Had A Government
Tons of People Married Their First Cousins
Lost Media, Part 2: The Magnificent Ambersons
The Ridiculous History of "Snake Oil"
Badass of the Week, Part 2: Rise of the Kung Fu Werewolf
Badass of the Week, Part 1: An Origin Story
That Time Abe Lincoln Trolled His Way Into a Real-life Duel
The Creation of (and Backlash Against) Father's Day
Colorado's Ridiculous, Disturbingly Corrupt 1904 Election, Part Two: Everyone Resigns
Colorado's Ridiculous, Disturbingly Corrupt 1904 Election, Part One: Let's Jump Off The Train
How Horrible Chocolate Helped Win World War II
Micronations: How a Guy Got Ran Out of Town and Created San Marino
The Library of Congress is Full of Super Weird Stuff
That Time A Guy Literally Bought The London Bridge
We Got Super Into Toy Cars, Part Two: Rivalry and Nostalgia
We Got Super Into Toy Cars, Part One: Matchbox versus Hot Wheels
Why The Creator of Mother's Day Got So Mad About Mothers' Day
Micronations: Monaco is More than a Casino!
Fonts They Love to Hate, Part Two: Papyrus, Times New Roman and Beyond
Fonts They Love to Hate, Part One: Origins of Comic Sans
Even More Ridiculous Royal Deaths
A (Completely Different) History of Sampling: Free Stuff
A History of Sampling, Part Two: Creativity in Court
A History of Sampling, Part One: An Origin Story
How Did Monster Trucks Become a Thing?
The Ridiculous, Scrumptious Desserts of Mardi Gras
The Amazing History of Japanese Toys, Part Two: The World Takeover
The Amazing History of Japanese Toys, Part One: A Serious Business
The Weird Journey of the $2 Bill
The Fascinating History of Ice Cream Trucks
The Strange Tale of Charles Entertainment Cheese, Part Two: Betrayal and Nostalgia
The Strange Tale of Charles Entertainment Cheese, Part One: Atari and Pizza
CLASSIC: What's the Deal with Smashing Cake at Weddings?
THE LAST SOVIET - EP 5: Three Hot Days in August
CLASSIC: Conquest via Bird Poop: One Island at a Time
The Architecture of Spite, Part One: Lovers, Loiterers and Murderers
Turn, Turn, Turn: A History of Turn Signals
A Legally Haunted House
The Oddly Dark History of Crash Test Dummies (Not The Band)
The Deeply Weird Stories of Patron Saints
Svetlana! Svetlana! The Strange Life of Josef Stalin's Daughter, with Dan Kitrosser
Let's Start a Coup! Ep 1 – A Basket Full of Fascists
Weird Epidemics, Part One: From Sweating to Pokemon
CLASSIC: When Scientists Hid Under Beds To Spy On Kids
Surprising Former Careers, Part III: Goldberg, Trudeau and Buscemi
Introducing: The Last Soviet
It Turns Out Blue Laws Aren't Entirely Terrible
The Origin of Moby Dick, Part Two: Horrors At Sea
The Origin of Moby Dick, Part One: Mocha Dick
The (Weirdly Crooked) History of the Food Pyramid
That Time Europeans Went Nuts For Dancing
Star Trek Almost Never Happened, Part Two: In Which We Boldly Go
Star Trek Almost Never Happened, Part One: Pilots and Peril
“It’s Edible!” The Origin of Breakfast Cereal, Part Two
“It’s Edible!” The Origin of Breakfast Cereal, Part One
Would-be Presidents, Part One: If At First You Don't Succeed...
The Leaf Blower Episode
The US Navy Teamed Up With Mobsters, Part Two: The Mob Goes to War
The US Navy Teamed Up With Mobsters, Part One: Luciano Gets Lucky
CLASSIC: When People Thought They Were Made of Glass
CLASSIC: Nazis, Churchill and Chocolate
Ridiculous Royal Deaths, Part Two: Don't Drink Mercury
Ridiculous Royal Deaths, Part One: Revenge of the Buck-Toothed
CLASSIC: When Dentist Sold Dentures Made with Corpse Teeth
From Mesopotamia to Hot Dogs: A History of Mustard
Coca-Cola, Dr. King, and the Civil Rights
William Mitchell Was Basically a Real-life Willy Wonka
The Olympics Used to Have an... Extraordinarily Weird Art Competition
A Circus, or a Cult? The Strange Story of Shen Yun
How A Massive Turkey Screw-up Created TV Dinners
J. Paul Getty, Part Two: A Kidnapping Discount
J. Paul Getty, Part One: Money Doesn't Make You Happy
Have you heard of Andorra?
How Smart Was Alex the Grey Parrot?
Surprising Former Careers, Part 2: Truman Can't Sell Hats
The Ancient -- and Surprisingly Divisive! -- Story of Ketchup
The Bizarrely Xenophobic Origins of Scotch Tape
Lost Media, Part Two: We Didn't Start The Fire
Lost Media, Part One: What Happened to All Those Silent Films?
A Ridiculous History of Hot Tubs
Eugene V Debs, Part Two: A Prisoner Runs For President
Eugene V Debs, Part One: Railroad Workers Fight The Power
The Michelin Man was an Unhinged Lunatic
The Yukio Mishima Story, Part Two: Mishima's End
The Yukio Mishima Story, Part One: Confessions of a Mask
Wait, How Do I Know It's Funny? A Rollicking History of Laugh Tracks
Who, exactly, were the Luddites?
Instant Noodles Changed The World, Part Two: Going Global
Instant Noodles Changed The World, Part One: An Origin Story
The Accidental Invention of Holding Music
Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions: Flyin' or Dyin', Part Two
Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions: Flyin' or Dyin', Part One
Wilhelm Reich and Orgone, Part 2: Willy vs. The Feds
Wilhelm Reich and Orgone, Part 1: Sexy Psychoanalysis
The History of Pringles: Once You Pop...
Lincoln Loved Cats, and Other Presidential Pets
CLASSIC - Presidents Love Their Ridiculous Pets
What Happened to Ronald McDonald? Part Two: Supersizing A Mystery
What Happened to Ronald McDonald? Part One: Everybody Loves A Clown
The 1904 St. Louis Marathon Was Absolutely Bonkers
Andrew Jackson Beat the Snot Out of His Would-be Assassin
CLASSIC: When (and why) did the US start calling its citizens consumers?
A Ridiculous History of Reality TV, Part Two: Reality Goes Global
A Ridiculous History of Reality TV, Part One: An Origin Story
Surprising Former Careers of the Famous
A Humorous History of Genetics
Tsutomu Yamaguchi: The World's Only (Recognized) Double Atomic Bomb Victim
Gods of Deception, Part II: Art, History, Fiction and War
Gods of Deception, Part I: Alger Hiss in the Halls of Power
Operation LAC: That Time Uncle Sam Sprayed Poison Across St. Louis
CLASSIC - Does the US Confederacy Still Exist in Americana, Brazil?
Millerism, Part II: The Great Disappointment (and the Aftermath)
CLASSIC - Did a Real-Life Rainmaker Almost Drown San Diego?
Millerism: America’s First End Times Gospel
Ben Franklin Faked a Rival's Death to Promote His Almanac
Why was Phrenology a Thing? Part II: A Pseudoscience (Sort of) Informs the Modern Day
Why was Phrenology a Thing? Part I: The Rise of Dr. Finger
Nancy Wake, the White Mouse of the French Resistance
The US Boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and Puerto Rican Boxers Went Anyway
Disco Demolition Night: How Disco Died at a White Sox Game
Bolivia Fought -- And Lost -- A War For Bird Poop
Why You Can't Say "MacBeth" in a Theater
Operation Mincemeat: Britain's Ghoulish Plan to Fool the Nazis
Who the heck was Joseph Warren?
Chocolate Syrup: From Medicine to Dessert
Historical Hypocrisy: The Confederacy's Weird Stance on "Individual Rights"
Juana Maria: The Real-life Story Behind "Island of the Blue Dolphins"
Curling: The Most Ridiculous Sport?
Nobuo Fujita Bombed Brookings, Oregon -- and Then Became a Town Hero
A Teetotaling Preacher Basically Invented Modern Tourism
Ira Aldridge: Actor, Activist and Record-breaker
Lithuanian Book Smugglers Vs. The Russian Empire
The Yule Lads Terrified Children Across Iceland
The Infamous Aurora UFO Incident of 1897
How The Evil May Day of 1517 Became the Perfect Propaganda Opportunity
Day Drinkers (Sort of) Helped Stop Cholera in London
The Much-Maligned Reign of Swedish Queen Maria Eleonora
Weird Ways People Used to Communicate, Part II: Smoke Signals and Bottled Messages
Weird Ways People Used to Communicate, Part I: Only a Pigeon Away
That Time A Dead Guy Won an Olympic Medal
Julia Barnett Rice Waged an Elitist War on Noise
Ridiculous History Presents: A History of "Adult" Toys, Part 2
ERidiculous History Presents: A History of "Adult" Toys, Part 1
EThe Cobra Effect, Part 2: Four Pests and a Disastrous Success
The Cobra Effect, Part 1: Snakes, Rats, and Unintended Consequences
British Suffragettes Knew Jūjitsu
A Tale of Two Hansons: Busting Myths About the 'First' US President
Did Soldiers in World War I Really Team Up to Fight Wolves?
Slum Tourists: When Wealthy People Toured Chinatown ‘For Fun’
That Time Victorians Treated Seaweed like Pokemon
Valentine's Day Is So Much Weirder Than We Thought
Weirdest Celebrity Busts, Part II: Mr. David Lee Roth and a Drunken John Wayne
Weirdest Celebrity Busts, Part I: Nixon Smuggled Weed, Arbuckle Was Innocent
CLASSIC: X-Rays, Songs and Soviets: The Stilyagi Story
Tossed Popcorn, Part 2: Chaplin was a Jerk, Brando was Insane
Tossed Popcorn, Part 1: The Wizard of Oz and the Titanic
Peter Freuchen: Explorer, Raconteur, Movie Star and War Hero
Did Honduras and El Salvador Really Go to War over Soccer?
The US Literally Had Nazi Summer Camps
The Emperor of the United States
The Trans-Saharan Ostrich Expedition of 1911
That Time Everyone Tried To Outlaw War
CLASSIC: Who Solves Murders in Antarctica?
The Lil Ice Age Was Way Less Cute Than It Sounds
Nub City: Florida's Infamous Amputation Scam
London's Tiger King, Part Two: Charles Jamrach Becomes a Problematic Hero
London's Tiger King, Part One: When Exotic Animal's Were The Hottest Flex
The Atlantropa Project, Part Two: What Happened to the Supercontinent?
The Atlantropa Project, Part One: Saving Europe via Supercontinent
People Used Bed Bugs as Medicine for Thousands of Years
The US Literally Threw Pianos From Planes During World War II
The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part Two: Drink Your Ovaltine
The Sinister Side of Little Orphan Annie, Part One: Parents Were Terrified
CLASSIC: How White America Tried To Destroy Chinese Restaurants
Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 2: Weird, Brutal Flexes
Russia’s Real-life Ice Queen, Part 1: The Tsar is a Jerk
That Time a Baboon Worked for the Railroad
Austin and the Texas Archives War
King for a Week: The Strange Story of Otto I
The Bloody Tale of the Sausage War
Modern Thanksgiving, Part Two: Sarah Josepha Hale Finally Gets Her Wish
Modern Thanksgiving, Part One: A Culture War
How Haunted Houses Became A Thing
New England versus Vampires, Part Two: Desperation and Desecration
New England versus Vampires, Part One: The Brutal, Terrifying Life of Early Colonists
Ada Lovelace, Part Two: The Analytical Engine
Ada Lovelace, Part One: How Lord Byron’s Daughter Became a Tech Visionary
The King of Scotland Got Real Weird with Language Experiments
The Rum Riot of Portland, Maine
The Love of Candy Almost Drove a Cactus Extinct
The Australian Prison Break of 1876, Part 2
The Australian Prison Break of 1876 Part 1
37 Days of Peril, with Alex Williams
Robert Smalls Stole A Confederate Ship and Sailed to Freedom, Part Two: From Slavery to Congress
Robert Smalls Stole A Confederate Ship and Sailed to Freedom, Part One: Planning the Heist
Sky Pilot: The Man Who Brought Religion to Lumberjacks
CLASSIC: Butter: Protestantism's Secret Ingredient?
Ridiculous Live: The Humor and the Heavy
Flu Julia: The Con Artist Nurse That Made Bank Off Of Misery
History's Dumbest Criminals, Part 2
EHistory's Dumbest Criminals, Part 1
EThat Time People Were Terrified of Libraries
Ostracism: How Ancient Greeks Handled Uncool Politicians
Military Cats, Part 2: Simon Saves the British
Military Cats, Part 1: Spies and Mascots
That Time People Rioted Over a Hot Air Balloon
An Alabama Town Built a Statue Honoring the Insect that Almost Destroyed It
A Prince and His Poodle: The Supernatural Adventures of Rupert and Boy
How One Guy Made Europe Fall In Love With Potatoes
Weird Courtship Rituals, Part Two
Weird Courtship Rituals, Part One
A Brief History of Underwear
One Guy Was Certain Telepathic Snails Would Replace Telegraphs
The Duke of Portland Hated People and Loved Tunnels
Where do Lemonade Stands Come From?
Painless Parker and the Dental Circus
The Rise and Fall of Curative Plane Flights
That Time People Paid Rent With Eels
The Miracle of the Gulls: A Cricket War
A History of Pregnancy Cravings, Part 2: Stereotypes, Superstitions and Science
A History of Pregnancy Cravings, Part 1: Pickles and Ice Cream
The Carrington Event, Part II: Attack of the Sun!
The Carrington Event, Part I: The Sun is Acting Strange
Loveday: Henry VI's Well-intentioned, Terrible Attempt at Making Peace
Classic: Why do British lawyers wear wigs?
That Time Al Capone Ran A Soup Kitchen
The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula
Joseph Bonaparte, Cryptid Hunter
The Mystery of the Devonshire Colic
The Troubling, Hidden History of Turpentine
A Race Across the World: From New York to Paris in 1908
The Age of the Crakow, Part 2: A Fashion Arms Race, But For Your Feet
The Age of the Crakow, Part 1: Medieval Europe Went Nuts For Pointy Shoes
How Pie in the Face Became a Comedy Classic, Part 2: The Fall (of the Pie)
How Pie in the Face Became a Comedy Classic, Part 1: Rise of the Pie
The Great Panjandrum: A Hilariously Terrible Idea
Dr. T. W. Stallings: One Man's Corvid-Hating Quest to Make Oklahoma Literally Eat Crow
Pineapples In Europe, Part 2: People Literally Rented Pineapples to Impress their Friends
Pineapples In Europe, Part 1: A Weird, Cartoonishly Expensive Flex
The Mysterious Dark Day That Terrified New England
The Windham Frog Fight of 1754
Ancient Mesopotamian Societies Sacrificed Substitute Kings to Eclipses
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, Part 2
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, Part 1
A Currency for Colonies: The Strange Story of "Leprosy Money"
Wyoming Tales, Part 2: Absaroka, the State That Almost Was
Wyoming Tales, Part 1: Walking in the Shoes of Big Nose George
The Rise and Fall of the Flea Circus, Part 2
The Rise and Fall of the Flea Circus, Part 1
History's Most Ridiculous (and Deadly) Beauty Trends
Billy Cottrell, the Tyrant Mayor of Cedar Key, Florida
The US and the UK Almost Went to War over a Pig
The 1973 Michigan Pizza Funeral
Elagabalus The Raunchy, Racy High Priest Who Became a Roman Emperor
John Wilkins Started a 17th-century Astronaut Program, Part 2: Wilkins (Tries to) Start a Space Program
John Wilkins Started a 17th-century Astronaut Program, Part 1: Why not aim for the Moon?
Turtle Soup, Part 2: Rise of the Mock Turtle
Turtle Soup, Part 1: A Delicacy of Yesteryear
Stab Yourself to Health and Happiness: The Bizarre Rise of the Lebensweker
The Hatpin Peril
It's a Cat's World, Part 2: The Rise of the Cat Show
It's a Cat's World, Part 1: The Sacred and the Suspicious
Dan Sickles, American Scoundrel, Part 2: The Civil War
Dan Sickles, American Scoundrel, Part 1: How to Get Away with Murder
That Time New York Banned Spitting
Admiral Byrd and the Polar Dairy
Weird 21st Century Predictions from Ages Past, Part 2: Your Personal Plane, A World Without Disaster and Retiring on the Moon
Weird 21st Century Predictions from Ages Past, Part 1: Tesla, Square Tomatoes and Pseudosteak
The Old Rituals of New Years, Part 2: Neuroscience, Resolutions and the Rick Steves Fan Club
Holiday Classic: When the Puritans Canceled Christmas
Holiday Classic: The Strange History of Antarctic Fruitcake
Goodyear and the Mystery of the Ghost Blimp
Benito Mussolini was Super into Wearable Milk
Snowmen as Protest: The Miracle of 1511
Why are Chimney Sweeps good luck at weddings?
People Have Been Convinced Robots Will Take Their Jobs For Centuries
That Time the US was Terrified of Tomatoes
How the Pandemic Helped (and Hurt) the Struggle for Women's Rights
How a German Prince Built his own Artificial Volcano
The Weird Origin of Pink Lemonade, Part 2: The Rise of Clown Pants
The Weird Origin of Pink Lemonade, Part 1: A Humble Citrus
An Elephant in the Vatican, Part 2: An Elephant in the Reformation
An Elephant in the Vatican, Part 1: The Discovery of Hanno
S T O V E G O B L I N
The US Didn't Always Have Secret Ballots
The Case of the Greenbrier Ghost, Part 2: The Court
Ridiculous History Presents: Criminalia
The Case of the Greenbrier Ghost, Part 1: An 'Everlasting Faint'
The Hand of Glory, Part 2: Recipes, Necropants and Toes
The Hand of Glory, Part 1: A Thief's Theme
Brooms and Witchcraft, Part 2: Inquisitions and Iniquity
Brooms and Witchcraft, Part 1: A Killer in the Rye?
The Beast of Gévaudan, Part 2: The Birth of a Grisly Legend
The Beast of Gévaudan, Part 1: Murders In France
The BBC Convinced People Spaghetti Grows on Trees
The US Waged War on Pinball for Decades
The Misadventures of Wade Boggs, Part 2
The Misadventures of Wade Boggs, Part 1
The Tragic Tale of the 'Turnspit Dog'
Knocker-Uppers: The Human Alarm Clocks of the Industrial Age
That Time New York City Rioted Over Shakespeare
Babies in Incubators were Once a Sideshow Attraction
The Rise of the US Camel Corps
The United Kingdom Has A Weird Thing With Swans
The Nazi Super Horse Program, Part 2: A Horse-filled Heist
The Nazi Super Horse Program, Part 1: Equine Eugenics
Railroad Tycoons Decided What Time It Is Now
Why do people 'christen' ships with champagne?
The Hidden History of Jewish Pirates, Part 2: Famous Privateers
The Hidden History of Jewish Pirates, Part 1: Escaping Europe
Ridiculous "Remedies" of the Spanish Flu: The Rise of the Lemon
That Time Rebellious Freemasons Starting Kissing Porcelain Pug Butts
Clever Hans, Part 2: The Rise and Fall of Hans
Clever Hans, Part 1: The Equine Mathematician
Henry VIII and That English Sweat, Part 2: A Disease and a King
Henry VIII and That English Sweat, Part 1: A Pandemic
The Hobo King: Leon Ray Livingston, Chapter Two
The Hobo King: Leon Ray Livingston, Chapter One
The Vikings Made a Fortune in the 'Unicorn' Trade
Did People Really Throw Tar And Feathers On Each Other?
Kate Warne, the Pinkerton Detective Who Saved Abe Lincoln, Part 2: To Rescue A President
Kate Warne, the Pinkerton Detective Who Saved Abe Lincoln, Part 1: The Origin Story
What is Fudge, Part 2: The Rebellion
What is Fudge, Part 1: The Science, The Curious Name
The North Pole, Part 2: The Chase To The North
The North Pole, Part 1: Maps and Legends
The Mysterious Origin of (and Disturbing Problems with) the "Wolf Whistle"
World War I and the Rise of the Peat Moss Bandage
Flashback: Unforeseen Consequences Throughout History: Part 2
Flashback: Unforeseen Consequences Throughout History: Part 1
Louis Wain, the Godfather of Cat Memes: Part 2
Louis Wain, the Godfather of Cat Memes: Part 1
Feedsack Fashion: How Thrifty Inventiveness Transformed America
Emperor Tiberius Was Debauched, Deranged and Probably Not Fun At Parties
The Return of Historical Flexes, Part 2: Flexcessiveness
The Return of Historical Flexes, Part 1: 2 Flex 2 Furious
The Authors Of Curious George Were On The Run From Nazis
People Used To Straight Up Drink Gold
New Zealand's Tragic (And Pretty Hilarious) Exploding Pants Epidemic
That Time Trainwrecks Became a Spectator Sport
Miguel de Cervantes and the Case of the Fake Don Quixote
The CIA Paid War Spies with Stuff From the Sears Catalog
The Bottle Jumping Hoax (And Riot)
The Bizarrely Disturbing History of People Jumping Out of Cake
HL Hunley: The Mysterious Demise of a Civil War Submarine, with Rachel Lance
Dromomania: The Wanderlust Disease
Key West, Florida Declared a One-Minute War on the United States
That Time the US Literally Banned Sliced Bread
Two Green Children Mystified Woolpit, England
Pepsi Briefly Became the Sixth Largest Navy in the World
The Ponzi Scheme with Chelsea Ursin
The History of MREs with Jacqueline Raposo
Donald Crowhurst Faked a Race Around the World
Calvin Coolidge Skipped Town and Went Fishing for Three Months (While He was President)
The Presidential Dinner That Scandalized America
Was the Lone Ranger Inspired by a Black U.S. Marshall?
Night Soil Men Were the Unsung Heroes of Urban Sanitation
The Tiny Spanish Town That Went To War With France For 100 Years
The Great Diamond Hoax - Part 2
The Great Diamond Hoax - Part 1
'Mad' Jack Churchill: The Bagpipe Playing Soldier Who Hunted Nazis with a Longbow - Part 2
'Mad' Jack Churchill: The Bagpipe Playing Soldier Who Hunted Nazis with a Longbow - Part 1
Erasto Mpemba: The High School Student Who Disproved Thermodynamics
The Straw Hat Riots of 1922
The Legend of Tarrare, the Insatiable Glutton Who Ate a Quarter of a Cow Daily
Why Genghis Khan's Great-Great Granddaughter Was Just as Badass
That Time Ernest Hemingway's Younger Brother Started His Own Country
The Ersatz Wild West Shootouts of Palisade, Nevada
The Great Goldfish Gulping Craze That (For Some Reason) Swept America
Pneumatic Tubes: The 'Futuristic' Transport System That's Over 150-Years-Old
Violet Jessop, the Unsinkable Stewardess Who Survived Three Famous Shipwrecks
Abandoned Ship: What Really Happened Aboard the "Mary Celeste"?
That Time America Fell In Love With Competitive Walking
The Weird Stories Behind Your Favorite Christmas Carols
The Time Salvador Dali Partnered with Walt Disney - Part 2
The Time Salvador Dali Partnered with Walt Disney - Part 1
Colonel Blood and the Theft of the Crown Jewels
The Starving Time: When Jamestown Colonists Turned Cannibal, Part 2
The Starving Time: When Jamestown Colonists Turned Cannibal, Part 1
The Strange Tradition that Forced Everyone in New York to Move House on the Same Day
French Waiters Once Had to Strike for Their Right to Wear Mustaches
The Honey Trap: Sex in Espionage Throughout History
The Weird, Weird History of Shipping: Part 2
The Weird, Weird History of Shipping: Part 1
Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Who Called Out the Hypocrisy of Slavery, Part 2
Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Who Called Out the Hypocrisy of Slavery, Part 1
How Bertha Heyman Conned Her Way Into Show Business
That Time Germany Got Obsessed With Polar Bear Photos
Rose Mackenberg: Houdini's Ghostbuster
Science and Spiritualism: Why were ghost stories so popular in the 1800s?
John of Bohemia, the Blind King Who Charged Into Battle
Kakigōri: The Story of Japan's Famous Shaved Ice
John Edmonstone: The Man Who Trained Darwin
The Death of Luxury Air Travel
The Bizarre Capitulation of Stettin
John Wilkes Booth's Brother Saved Abraham Lincoln's Son
John Clem: The 12-year Old Civil War Hero
Christopher Columbus Was Such A Jerk That Even Spain Turned Against Him
The Kaiser’s Plan to Invade the United States
How Uncle Tom's Cabin Became One of the Most Popular Books in China
Tom Watson Gordy: How One Uncle’s Adventures Inspired Jimmy Carter to Join the Navy
Teddy Bears, Rhinos, Safari and Everywhere Else: A Conversation with Daniel Scheffler
The Gaspee Affair: Rhode Island’s Revolutionary “Tea Party”
Otto Rahn, The Nazi Occultist Who Hated Nazis and Inspired Indiana Jones
4 Times Women in the US Were Actually Arrested for Wearing Pants
Sir Francis Drake and the Great Iowa Swindle
Around the World in a Model T: The Story of Aloha Wanderwell
Why George Washington is Huge in Barbados
John Willis Menard: The First African American Elected To US Congress
The Bloody Revenge of Saint Olga of Kiev
The Super Fight: When Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano Had A Fight That Never Happened
Shame and Fish: The Embarrassing and Tragic Story of François Vatel
Creature Feature: Go Home Nature, You're Drunk
EHunting Fireflies for Fun (and Profit)
The Listener Mail Extravaganza
That Time Ancient Monks Waged War Over A Copyright
Ye Xian: The Story of China's Cinderella
The Portuguese Bank Note Crisis: How One Lucky Forger Almost Destroyed A Nation's Economy
Cow Shoe Camouflage: How Prohibition-era Moonshiners Outsmarted the Feds
Castle Itter: When Germans and Americans Joined Forces in World War II
A Grave Mistake: The Story of Patton's "Abandoned Rear"
Did the US Mafia actually start in New Orleans?
Meet Albert Cashier, the Trans Man Who Fought for the Union in the Civil War
Operation Northwoods: How the US Planned to Attack Itself and Start a War with Cuba
That Time Irish Separatists Invaded Canada
The Night Witches: How an All-female Soviet Bomb Squad Terrorized Nazi Germany
Bug Wars: When We Tried to Turn Insects into Soldiers
Yasuke, the African Samurai
The Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I Tried To Make An Army of Super Tall Soldiers
Playboy, Progressive Politics and Stand-up: The Dick Gregory Story with Wayne Federman
EI Modi: The Scandalous Erotic Blockbuster Banned By The Vatican
Patriots, Prisoners and Plants: The World of Political Body Doubles
Fort Blunder: The US Fort Mistakenly Built in Canada
The Duke of Edinburgh is Literally a God in Vanuatu
The Honorary Citizens of the United States
The Nature of Ephemera, with Alex Williams
The Return of Listener Mail
That Time Ohio and Michigan Almost Went To War
The Rise and Fall of Local Scrip: Alternative Currencies of the Great Depression
The Attack of the Japanese Balloon Bombs
Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Hoax
Nosy Boraha: The Pirate's Paradise (And Cemetery)
How the Black Death Came To Norway On A Ghost Ship
Susanna Caroline Matilda: The Colonial Grifter Princess
History's Weirdest Flexes, Part 2
History's Weirdest Flexes, Part 1
How Robert 'The Fastest Knife in the West End' Liston Conducted a Surgery With a 300% Mortality Rate
How Oliver Cromwell Got Executed Several Years After His Death
Hong Xiuquan: The Younger Brother of Jesus Christ Who Led a Bloody Rebellion in China
How Big Bill Speakman Fought Off North Korea With Beer Bottles
Teddy Roosevelt May Just Have Saved Modern (American) Football
Prohibition, Prescriptions and the Rise of 'Medicinal' Booze
Did Robert E. Lee hate Confederate Memorials?
California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War
When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid
Idiomatic for the People II, Part 2
Idiomatic for the People II, Part 1
The Statue of Liberty Almost Lived in Egypt
Agent Garbo: The Strange Tale of the Man Who Saved D-Day
The War of the Stray Dog: How Far Would You Go For Your Pet?
The Tragic Origin Story of Morse Code
Operation Gunnerside: How a Crew of Military Skiers Ruined the Nazi Bomb
How far did Isaac Newton go to hunt down forgers?
How Admiral Horatio Nelson Ended Up Dead in a Barrel of Brandy
English Men Used to Sell Their Wives
How Louisiana Almost Became a Hippo Ranching Hub
The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 2
The Weird Life of George Washington, Part 1
Who was the highest paid athlete in history?
Clara, The World's Most Famous Rhinoceros
How the Monopoly Board Game Became a World War II Escape Kit
Idiomatic For The People, Part 1
Was there a real-life Rapunzel?
Benjamin Franklin's Advice on 'Finding a Mistress'
What does 'Idaho' actually mean?
Uncle Sam Tried to End World War II With Bat Bombs
The American Soldiers Who Defected to North Korea and Became Movie Stars
How a Broken Toilet Foiled a German Sub
Creature Feature: The Dark Tetrad
Gustaf Broman Tried to Cross the Atlantic in a Canoe . . . Or Did He?
The Weird, Surprisingly Recent Origin of the Tooth Fairy
When Vikings Loot The Wrong Town
Were Tulips Really The Bitcoin of the 1600s?
(Some of) History's Dumbest Military Prototypes
The Forty Elephants: London’s All-Female Jewel Thieves
The Malleus Maleficarum: A Real-life Witch Hunter's Bible
The Great London Beer Flood of 1814
Dr. Seuss Wrote His Most Famous Book On A Bet
Feral Children and the True Story Behind The Jungle Book
When Dentist Sold Dentures Made with Corpse Teeth
The Laxative-laden Journey of Lewis and Clark
The Strange and Spectacularly Disgusting Story of the Great Kentucky Meat Shower
The Bizarre Origin of the Oxford English Dictionary
How Conman Victor Lustig Sold The Eiffel Tower (Twice)
George Carlin Gets Quoted in the Supreme Court: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
EThe People vs. Lenny Bruce: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
EThe Life and Times of Ol' Knife Hand
The Ridiculous Story of the World’s First (Documented) Serial Killer
Back When the Rich Ate Corpses
The Mummies of Guanajuato
The Curious Rise of SPAM
The Smooth-talking Takeover of Tabor Bridge
History's Coolest (Non-Human) Political Candidates, Part I
Attack of the Aswang: How the CIA Used Vampires as Weapons of War
A Dead Pope Goes To Court
Who are the Hartlepudlian Monkey Hangers?
William Walker: Filibuster and (Fantastically Bad) President
Lawsonomy: How the Father of the Modern Airline Started His Own Religion
War and Candy: The Infamous Tootsie Roll Air Drop
The Man Who Assassinated Abe Lincoln's Assassin
The Cock Lane Ghost: Haunting, Hoax, Hysteria… or Hilarious?
Roland the Farter and the Weird World of Professional Flatulence
Gregor MacGregor Invented a Country and Convinced People to Invest in It
Angry Feds and Deadly Booze: The Story of the Chemists' War
Project A119: The Cold War Plan to Nuke the Moon!
Adidas Versus Puma: A Tale of Two Brothers
Fanny and Stella: The Cross-Dressing Scandal of Victorian England
Kansas Imprisoned Women For Having STDs
The WWII Naval Battle Won Using Potatoes
The Korean Soldier Who Fought for 3 Armies During WWII
Oregon Was a White Supremacist Paradise
Why did people hate the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge?
The 1904 Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis Hosted a Racist 'Special Olympics'
When Heineken Made Bottles That Could Be Used as Bricks
Why British Soccer Players Saluted the Nazis
The United States That Never Were
Philadelphia's Transylvanian Doomsday Cult: The Cave of Kelpius
Enough About Us: What About You?
Weird Wars Fought For Dumb Reasons
The FBI's Quest to Understand 'Louie, Louie'
The Time a Soviet Premier Was Banned From Disneyland
Kidnapping, Binge Drinking and Costumes: Voter Fraud in the 1800s
Why don't Americans use bidets?
The Earliest Recorded Mooning Killed Thousands
The Presidential Reason Fido Became the Default Name for a Generic Dog
Dock Ellis and the Legend of the LSD No-hitter
Maryland’s State Song was a Diss Track
The Story of Max, South Africa's Famous, Crime-fighting Gorilla
How Santa Anna Lost His Leg Twice, and Held a Funeral for It
That Time Chewbacca Needed Bodyguards
Napoleon Bonaparte Was Attacked by Bunnies -- And Lost
California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen
Ancient Mayan Ritual Alcohol Enemas
Vermont Was an Independent Republic
The Capture of Guam Was Bloodless and Quick, All Due to a Misunderstanding
Are all US Presidents actually related?
What's the deal with two-dollar bills?
How James Bond Created a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Tradition
Did Richard Nixon Unwittingly Smuggle Drugs for Louis Armstrong?
3 Times Society Refused to Accept New Books on Science
That Time We Erased a (HUGE) Waterfall
The Poetic Justice of Death by Molten Gold
Japan, Baseball and the Curse of the Colonel
That Time the US Built a Flying Aircraft Carrier
Yes, Those Are Corpses in the Diorama