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 story of one of World War II’s most successful double agents.

When Juan Pujol first volunteered to spy for the British during World War II, they didn&rsquo;t take him seriously. That all changed when he got a gig spying for the German government. Listen to learn the story of one of World War II&rsquo;s most successful double agents.

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.

Ridiculous History

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts. 

Listen to this collection of top episodes from iHeartRadio and iHeartPodcasts.&nbsp;

Podcasts from iHeartRadio

CLASSIC: Agent Garbo: The Strange Tale of the Man Who Saved D-Day

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/30cc2ef5-7d7f-4f50-a032-b3f600fe25e7/transcript

Have you ever taken an IQ test? Originally envisioned as a way to determine which French children should be locked in asylums, Alfred Binet's attempt to quantify human intelligence took the modern world by storm. Yet, as Ben, Noel and Max ask in this follow-up to lead exposure: How accurate are the IQ tests? Are they genuinely accurate, or, ironically enough... their own sort of dumb?

Have you ever taken an IQ test? Originally envisioned as a way to determine which French children should be locked in asylums, Alfred Binet's attempt to quantify human intelligence took the modern world by storm. Yet, as Ben, Noel and Max ask in this follow-up to lead exposure: How accurate are the IQ tests? Are they genuinely accurate, or, ironically enough... their own sort of dumb?

IQ Tests are (Kind of) Dumb

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/dd1a1207-db85-4721-b495-b42000de9897/transcript

Don't do lead, kids! Nowadays everyone knows the dangers this substance poses to humans -- especially children in their formative years -- but back in the day, lead was everywhere. Ancient Rome was riddled with the stuff, using lead in everything from pipes, to smelting, to cutlery, pottery and wine. It's tough to know just how much lead the average person encountered, but breathing the lead-filled air alone may have dropped children's IQs by up to three points. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover a fascinating, controversial theory: that Rome didn't fall due to war and economic troubles... but instead, the empire toppled because everyone slowly became dumber and dumber.

Don't do lead, kids! Nowadays everyone knows the dangers this substance poses to humans -- especially children in their formative years -- but back in the day, lead was everywhere. Ancient Rome was riddled with the stuff, using lead in everything from pipes, to smelting, to cutlery, pottery and wine. It's tough to know just how much lead the average person encountered, but breathing the lead-filled air alone may have dropped children's IQs by up to three points. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover a fascinating, controversial theory: that Rome didn't fall due to war and economic troubles... but instead, the empire toppled because everyone slowly became dumber and dumber.

Did Lead Lead to the Fall of the Roman Empire?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f90268dc-38da-42ff-9372-b41d01437af7/transcript

In this week's Classic episode: In 1918, as the planet was consumed by World War I, the government of California found itself combating an unexpected and catastrophic enemy: Ground squirrels. The rodents were wreaking havoc across the countryside, consuming crops left and right. State horticulture commissioner George H. Hecke proposed an unorthodox solution -- enlist schoolchildren in a statewide massacre of all ground squirrels. Oddly enough, it worked.

In this week's Classic episode: In 1918, as the planet was consumed by World War I, the government of California found itself combating an unexpected and catastrophic enemy: Ground squirrels. The rodents were wreaking havoc across the countryside, consuming crops left and right. State horticulture commissioner George H. Hecke proposed an unorthodox solution -- enlist schoolchildren in a statewide massacre of all ground squirrels. Oddly enough, it worked.

CLASSIC: California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6cb3b5a6-f9fd-4890-8fc9-b41a0124410a/transcript

CLASSIC: Agent Garbo: The Strange Tale of the Man Who Saved D-Day

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