Did you know England's first newspaper was fake? Or that King Arthur is more or less completely made up? The deeper we look into human history, the more we see that civilization is utterly riddled with bizarre hoaxes -- some of which are laughable, and some of which are downright dangerous. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max welcome the legendary Dana Schwartz and Lizzie Logan to learn more about some of history's greatest hoaxes, which they explore in-depth in their newest podcast, Hoax!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Fabergé Eggs Are Ridiculous (And Fascinating)
Imagine you are beyond wealthy. You no longer dream of the average "rich people" flexes -- you've got all the diamonds, all the mansions, all the ordinary baubles of the elite. How can you distinguish yourself? What can you buy when you can buy literally anything? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the astonishing, ridiculous origin story of Czarist Russia's peak luxury item; an egg you can't eat, nor wear -- a toy and a flex to end all flexes: the Fabergé Egg.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The World of Non-Gregorian Calendars: What Day Is It, Really?
Human civilization is far from perfect. Still, it's pretty cool humanity overall agreed on how to measure time (for now). In today's follow-up to an earlier exploration of the Gregorian calendar, Ben, Noel and Max admire the many alternative, non-Gregorian calendars with their own ancient provenance, all of which exist in the modern day. Or modern night? Spoiler, a ton of these are based on the passage of the moon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Ridiculous Origin of the Modern Calendar
The calendar is... ridiculous. Since the earliest days of civilization, humanity has tried to measure the passage of time on Earth through any number of systems. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover how millennia of trial and error led to the modern Gregorian calendar, which we all still just pretend is a normal thing in the modern day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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CLASSIC: George Carlin Gets Quoted in the Supreme Court: Ridiculous Stand-up Stories with Wayne Federman
In the second part of this two-part series, special guest Wayne Federman explores the strange, curse-word-riddled stand-up bit that resulted in George Carlin setting a legal precedent with the Supreme Court. Listen in to learn how curse words changed the world and sparked a debate that continues today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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.