app_store_button

google_play_button

DK - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

iHeartPodcasts

Ridiculous History

Did you know reindeer love tripping? Or that, once upon a time, otherwise responsible parents would dose their children with high-test opioids? In the second chapter of their ongoing series, Ben, Noel, and Max welcome returning guest Zaron Burnett, co-creator of Ridiculous Crime, to learn more about bizarre drugs of yesteryear.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting High with Ridiculous Crime: Reindeer Trips and Soothing Syrup

Have you ever gone full red-mouth off betel nut? Did you ever buy cigarettes to cure your asthma? When Ben, Noel, and Max first began exploring bizarre drugs of yesteryear, they had no idea that they'd stumbled across a continuing series. Luckily, the guys aren't returning to this Ridiculous History alone -- they're joined by special returning guest Zaron Burnett, co-creator of Ridiculous Crime, to learn even more about history's strangest drugs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting High with Ridiculous Crime: Betel Nut and 'Asthma Cigarettes'

The 588th Night Bomber Regiment didn't have the best equipment, and they didn't have the best planes. What this all-female bomber regiment did have, however, was unstoppable ambition, brilliant strategies and dozens of fearless pilots. Listen in to learn more about the rise of the terrifying force the German soldiers called die Nachthexen -- the Night Witches.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLASSIC: The Night Witches: How an All-female Soviet Bomb Squad Terrorized Nazi Germany

By any measure, Margaretha Zelle led a fascinating life. As a Dutch dancer, socialite and courtesan called Mata Hari, her globe-trotting lifestyle caught the attention of both German and French intelligence agencies. And she happily took money from both sides. Yet, as Ben, Noel, and Max discover in today's episode, historians are still divided on the facts: Was Mata Hari really a master double agent... or a glamorous government scapegoat?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mata Hari: Courtesan Turned WWI Double Agent?

Nowadays, pretty much everyone knows that nuclear weapons are incredibly dangerous -- but, not too long ago, military leaders saw these things as shiny new toys. Sure, they spent a lot of time trying to make bombs bigger. But they also spent a lot of time trying to make bombs smaller. They wanted something small enough for troops to physically carry into the battlefield, evading enemy lines and creating targeted explosions. In today's episode, Ben, Noel, and Max dive into the ridiculous history of 'backpack bombs' and learn how, along with their obvious drawbacks, these devices also had a terrifying habit of going missing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That Time We Made Backpack Nukes

Let's be honest: Bugs aren't everyone's cup of tea, but they're fascinating, crucial parts of the ecosystem. They're also, according to a few eggheads, the perfect weapons of war. Join the guys as they explore the bizarre experiments governments conducted in the field of entomological warfare.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLASSIC: Bug Wars: When We Tried to Turn Insects into Soldiers

Japanese Daimyo Oda Nobunaga was fascinated by the mysterious, towering slave of a visiting Jesuit missionary, and soon this man, Yasuke, joined Nobunaga's court, eventually becoming a full-on samurai. Join the guys as they explore the strange life of the African-born samurai, Yasuke.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLASSIC: Yasuke, the African Samurai

Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm was fascinated by all things military, but the crown jewel of his army was a group known as the Potsdam Giants -- men recruited on the basis of their height alone. If these tall boys, teens and men didn't want to sign up for the Giants, the King had no problem kidnapping them. Listen in to learn more about the strange story of the Potsdam Giants.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLASSIC: The Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I Tried To Make An Army of Super Tall Soldiers

In this episode, Wayne Federman joins the guys to explore the rise of legendary comedian Dick Gregory, who began life as a boundary-breaking stand-up comic. Tune in as the gang explore's Gregory's evolution, his association with Hugh Hefner, and his later calling as a full-time civil rights activist.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CLASSIC: Playboy, Progressive Politics and Stand-up: The Dick Gregory Story, with Wayne Federman

While tipping is widely accepted (and expected) in the United States today, this wasn't always the case. In the second part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel, and Max learn how scheming corporations used tipping as a way to exploit newly-freed employees... and how the anti-tipping movement became prevalent enough to end up as part of Presidential campaigns.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ridiculous Racist Origin of Tipping, Part Two: The Great Debate and Anti-tipping Crusades

Potatoes are amazing. While these sturdy little tubers may not seem immediately impressive, they're one of agricultural's biggest success stories. So, how did they grow from a domestic crop in South America to an absolute global phenomenon? In the first part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max discover the origin of the potato -- and how a single French pharmacist launched a massive PR campaign to popularize spuds in Europe.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Ridiculous History of Potatoes, Part One: the Origin Story

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

Other podcasts you might like ...