Ridiculous History

4.2 (4.3K)
HISTORY
UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

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.

2 HR. AGO

CLASSIC: Dock Ellis and the Legend of the LSD No-hitter

Almost 48 years ago, Pirates pitcher and notorious party animal Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD. How did this man accomplish one of the rarest feats in baseball history while, by his own admission, tripping balls? Join the Ben and Noel as they dive into the story of that legendary afternoon -- along with the parts of Dock's legacy that are too often forgotten in the modern day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

37 min
2 DAYS AGO

Whoops! All Quizster, Part Two: A Ridiculous History of HowStuffWorks

Still reeling from a tragic loss in the greatest of games, Ben, Noel and Max square off with Jonathan Strickland AKA The Quizster in one last battle of wits before wiping the slate clean in 2025. Jonathan shares several important announcements, and the guys provide reminisce about the Ridiculous History of their (surprisingly long) careers in podcasting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

43 min
3 DAYS AGO

Whoops! All Quizster, Part One: The Gang Reunites

After going off the grid for the better part of a year, Jonathan Strickland AKA The Quizster returns at the end of 2024, with several bones to pick. As he regales -- and/or tortures -- Ben, Noel and Max with a new quiz and an (apparently) in-depth exploration of vikings, the guys do their best to solve his devious puzzles. Spoiler: this one ends on a cliffhanger. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40 min
DEC 14

CLASSIC: Maryland’s State Song was a Diss Track

On the first listen, Maryland's old state song sounds pretty innocuous. There's the usual lauding of the state, a refrain based on "O Tannenbaum" and so on. Yet the lyrics of this song refer to "Northern scum" and call for out and out war with various oppressors. So what gives? Join Ben and Noel as they dive into the strange origin story of "Maryland, My Maryland" in this week's Classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40 min
DEC 12

How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thing, Part Two: Each Letter Has A Story

How did the English alphabet -- a strange agglomeration of curved and straight-lined symbols -- become a thing? In the second part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the messy evolution of modern English, with a special shoutout to each letter of the current alphabet and a more than a little speculation about the future of written communication. ProTip: this is going to be hilarious a century or so from when we record it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

48 min
DEC 10

How The (English) Alphabet Became A Thing, Part One: Writing Stuff Down Is A Bonkers Idea

Let's be honest: the concept of writing stuff down is both brilliant and insane. Right now, all around the world, countless people are scrawling or typing messages that may last long after the writer has passed from this mortal plane - in a way, reading your favorite dead authors can be like communication from beyond the grave! Add to this, language itself is pretty ridiculous. In the first part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max crack each other up with an exploration of how writing became a thing, tracing its prehistoric origins through the rise of English, all the way up to what we call "modern English" today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

33 min
DEC 7

CLASSIC: The Story of Max, South Africa's Famous, Crime-fighting Gorilla

When confronted with a home invasion, Max the gorilla brought international fame to the Johannesburg Zoo and briefly became the city's most famous crime fighter. He received numerous endorsements, and a statue was erected in his honor. But what brought Max to this level of celebrity? In this week's Classic episode, Ben and Super Producer Max -- not the ape -- explore the story of a crime-fighting gorilla that became a symbol of justice in an intensely troubled South Africa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

52 min
DEC 5

History's Famous Mistranslations, Part Two: Life on Mars, the Cold War, and FARTFULL

Did a mistranslation lead to theories of life on Mars? What exactly was Khrsuschev trying to say at that big U.N. meeting? Language is amazing -- and it's also pretty complicated. As a result, translation is often more an art than an exact science, and over the course of human history mistranslations have led to some astonishing, at-times dangerous, and often ridiculous results. In the second episode of this continuing series, Ben, Noel and Max dive into more bizarre historical mistranslations, from unfortunate car names to that time IKEA accused children of constantly farting, and so much more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

36 min

See All (809)

4.2

out of 5

4,261 Ratings

Molten Gold torture.

Sep 17

Immersed in why

I think an episode on race through history on mindset of people that led to diabolical inventions. Why make it so gruesome for so many centuries? How did they (the church) justify those tortures on a helpless person in light of Christ teaching you have heard of old Eye for eye but I say to you turn the other cheek (referring to long tradition of slapping a man on one cheek as challenge to defend your reputation with sword, duel) but turn the other cheek and pray for those who persecute you. What was it like for executioners to have to skin a person or pull out their intestines in public setting. Why pull out entrails as they called it? Who cleaned up mess? How did they not go mad over time? How much of this barbarism came from enslaving people? What was brainwashing that would have to be done to survive as a torturer or executioner. How did they live in society—reviled or paid well and anonymous? Take your pick. Lots of rabbit holes here that examine the human psyche. We haven’t lost the barbarism still or have we? The use of rape as weapon of war is so common and horrific. All of it crazy. I won’t get started on injustice in our law enforcement and legal system to women who have been raped but only have injuries that could be said is rough sex. Unless they are barely coherent, sign of beating, strangling or torture a woman might as well not bother to report the violence. No blood test to find use of date rape drug or blood alcohol level. Only difference now is be nice to the victim and stall until she gives up or charge her with false report.
the ads

Dec 7

Just another mol Eliza

the ads are so out of control these days
Nonsense

Dec 6

AtotheJ1310

So much nonsense talk, too many ads…. Ridiculous.
I heart radio ruins everything

Dec 4

Geoff Bee

I like the content but the over advertising and repetitive ads completely ruins it. I get it, you need to make money but at least vary the ads. Just a word to i heart radio, Ill never listen to your pods or stations snd the stupid ads makes me NOT want to consume any of the products

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.

Channel

iHeartPodcasts
Creator

iHeartPodcasts
Years Active

2017 - 2024
Episodes

809
Rating

Clean
Copyright

2024 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
Show Website

Ridiculous History
Provider

iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc