Ridiculous History

Years after their initial conversation with the world's foremost expert on underwater explosions, Ben still sings the praises of Dr. Rachel "Big Spinach" Lance. In the first part of this special two-p...

Now, let's be honest. Rudyard Kipling was a cartoonishly problematic guy. Yet his work made a permanent impression on global literature -- and, to a surprising degree, he based a lot of his writing on...

Imagine you're an ancient traveler, visiting Rhodes for the first time in 280 BCE. As you approach the famed city, a singular object dominates the horizon: a huge statue of the Greek sun god Helios, p...

Do you have a number you love, or a number you hate? As Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, people have always assigned symbolic meaning to the everpresent existence of math -- and created ...

In today's Classic episode, Ben and Noel reluctantly sing the praises of poop research. You see, folks, before Lewis and Clark set out to explore the western side of the continent, they tried to prepa...

Let's say you're a love-struck NASA intern -- your professional career holds a lot of promise, but your family life back home is in shambles... and you fall in love with a fellow intern. How can you i...

Is it legal to own a moon rock? Well... that depends. If it's a piece of the moon that made it to Earth naturally, then all good. If, however, it's a sample retrieved on purpose by NASA's Apollo progr...

On March 3rd, 1876, residents of Bath County, Kentucky were startled to see what appeared to be chunks and flakes of meat falling from the clear, cloudless sky. The rain, which only lasted a few minut...

This episode is brought to you by our favorite cohost: coffee. These days, if you stroll into any convenience store across the planet, you're going to run into a selection of energy drinks -- whether ...

While the legendary Japanese raccoon dog -- or tanuki -- may look like a raccoon, it's a very different beast. However, these days Japan is home to actual raccoons: they're considered an invasive spec...