Ridiculous History

As the Fox sisters became global superstars for their purported ability to speak with the dead, the Spiritualism movement became both a social phenomena and a booming business. Yet along with the rise...

Language is beautiful and, in many cases, continually evolving. As a result, we end up with hundreds of strange idioms and figures of speech that we use on a daily basis, with little to no understandi...

It's a pickle for the ages: What happens when you die? The Spiritualism movement may seem obscure today -- but back in the mid-19th century, this religious and social phenomenon absolutely rocked the ...

Let's be honest: national anthems are cool... but definitely propaganda, and often objectively weird. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore some of history's strangest national anthems. Some a...

Today the Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous landmarks in the United States -- but it almost didn't make it to Ellis Island. Join the Ben and Noel as they explore the strange story of Frédéri...

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 ...

When 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, ...

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 s...

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 t...

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 res...