While the legendary Japanese raccoon dog -- or tanuki -- may look like a raccoon, it's a very different beast. However, these days Japan is home to actual raccoons: they're considered an invasive species, wreaking havoc across the country as they destroy temples, consume crops, and threaten indigenous wildlife. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover how these dastardly raccoons made it all the way over the Pacific to become an absolute menace to Japan. Spoiler: it all started with a cartoon about a boy and his furry sidekick, Rascal. Tune in to learn how a single show inspired thousands of Japanese families to acquire a raccoon of their own... only to meet with some serioulsy ridiculous consequences.

<p>While the legendary Japanese raccoon dog -- or tanuki -- may look like a raccoon, it's a very different beast. However, these days Japan is home to actual raccoons: they're considered an invasive species, wreaking havoc across the country as they destroy temples, consume crops, and threaten indigenous wildlife. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max discover how these dastardly raccoons made it all the way over the Pacific to become an absolute menace to Japan. Spoiler: it all started with a cartoon about a boy and his furry sidekick, Rascal. Tune in to learn how a single show inspired thousands of Japanese families to acquire a raccoon of their own... only to meet with some serioulsy ridiculous consequences.</p>

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

Japan is Overrun By Raccoons Entirely Due to a Single Cartoon

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e7b2b77d-fffb-425b-9c0f-b33e00d83da6/transcript

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