Ridiculous History

If you're from the United States, you'll instantly recognize the iconic red Solo cup. It's ubquitous at picnics, parties, sports events -- and often seen in TV shows and movies, so much so that the rest of the world covets these cups as "American souvenirs". So how on Earth did this humble cup rise from a public health product to an international symbol of all things American? In today's episode, Ben, Noel, and Max find out.
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For decades, the infamous Rikers Island prison was home to a surprising artifact -- a drawing by none other than the world-renowned surrealist artist Salvado Dalí. At least, that is, until 2003... when a band of guards conspired to heist the drawing. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the bizarre story of crime, corruption, and fine art gone astray.
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In this week's Classic episode: Bill Speakman, better known as the “Beer Bottle VC”, single-handedly took on a brigade of Chinese People’s Army Infantry in four hours of close-quarters combat. As he ran out of actual weapons, he began throwing beer bottles -- and, somehow, survived. Tune in to learn more about Big Bill Speakman, the Beer Bottle VC (and learn why he came to hate this nickname).
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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.
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Heads-up, fellow Ridiculous Historians: this is an explicit episode, and maynot be appropriate for all audiences. It's no secret that Ben, Noel and Max are huge fans of etymology -- and there's one word that's mystified them for years. When did the English world fall in love with the term "bullsh*t"? In today's episode, the guys discover this particular curse word has a suprisingly bizarre, murky backstory, and a lot of the proposed origins of bullsh*t are, themselves ... bullsh*t.
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