Ridiculous History

Jonathan Strickland, longtime podcaster and creator known as The Quizster, joins to trace spiritualism’s strange rise. Short scenes cover mesmerism, prophetic trances, and the prank by the Fox sisters that ignited a national craze. The conversation highlights mediums’ techniques, touring parlor shows, and why Victorian society embraced eerie evidence.

A playful dive into the oddities of national anthems and how they function as propaganda. Exploration of ancient origins like the Dutch Wilhelmus and songs lifted from folk tunes and hymns. A look at split anthems and creative solutions, plus how multilingual and instrumental anthems tell national stories without uniform words.

A wild near-miss where Bartholdi tried to place his torch-bearing monument in Egypt instead of America. The story traces inspiration from the Colossus of Rhodes and a rejected Suez Canal proposal. Engineering drama with Eiffel's internal framework and the statue built in France then reassembled in New York. Fundraising tours, immigrant labor on the build, and the dramatic 1886 unveiling round out the tale.

A playful tour of the vacuum cleaner’s strange history, from bellows-driven contraptions to horse-drawn street machines. They trace early sweepers, the rise of portable designs, and midcentury showy models. The story touches on disposable bags, the bagless revolution, retail and repair culture, and surprising ownership statistics.

A playful dive into how a cherubic cartoon became a global collectible and merchandising phenomenon. The story traces the creator's rise, lavish lifestyle, and later financial fall. Listeners hear how the little dolls were used as persuasive imagery in the suffrage movement and linked to broader equality causes. The episode also connects Kewpie fandom to modern toy crazes and tattoo culture.

A bizarre spy tale about a man who fabricated an entire intelligence network to deceive the Nazis. Stories about fake agents, staged reports, and clever forgeries abound. Learn how a single telegram helped redirect German forces around D-Day. The narrative follows daring deception, double-dealing, and a life spent hiding in plain sight.

A deep dive into why mayonnaise inspires fierce love and loathing. Tales of origin stories from Port Mahon to French culinary fame. The surprise history of commercial mayo and brand rivalries. How emulsions work and why aioli is often confused with mayo. Global spins like Kewpie and midcentury mayo fads and modern hybrids like fry sauce and mayochup.

A romp through the 1950s origin of a 24/7 restaurant and how two men turned a simple idea into a Southern institution. They trace waffles from ancient Greece to electric irons and reveal the chain's quirky lore like the Waffle House Index. Learn about franchising growth, jukebox culture, and the secret code for ordering hash browns. Fun, fast, and full of odd food history.

A bizarre 1925 border clash begins when a soldier chases his stray dog across a contested frontier. Small-scale banditry, autonomous border towns, and shaky post-Ottoman borders fuel a rapid military escalation. International diplomacy and the League of Nations step in to arbitrate. The episode traces how a lost pet touched off looting, ultimatums, and political downfall.

A playful dive into why Alexandria needed a monumental lighthouse and how Ptolemaic pride drove its construction. They explore the Pharos' three-tiered design, towering size estimates, and the mystery of how its light may have worked. The conversation covers seismic decay, the site's archaeological echoes, and the lighthouse's lasting influence on later navigational architecture.