CLASSIC: Napoleon Bonaparte Was Attacked by Bunnies -- And Lost

Born in Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte rose from obscurity during the French Revolution, crowning himself Emperor of France in 1804. This brilliant, ruthless tactician changed the course of French history. Despite his meteoric rise and bloodied fall, Bonaparte still needed to grab lunch once in a whil…

The Most Ridiculous Weather of Baseball

We've been going through a bit of a sports phase here on Ridiculous History, and of course we can't talk sports without talking baseball. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into some of the strangest weather events to ever grace -- or curse -- an otherwise ordinary game of ball. Note - we d…

Bhutan Grades Itself On Happiness

Most people never get the chance to travel to Bhutan. Nestled high in the Himalayan mountains, this ancient kingdom is unique on multiple levels. It's the only Vajrayana Buddhist nation on the planet -- and it's also the only nation that measures its success in terms of happiness rather than money.…

CLASSIC: California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen

California was admitted to the United States as the 31st state in 1850, but it acquired its unique name much, much earlier. Join Ben and Noel as they trace the strange story behind California's name, from the fiction that inspired it to the loss and rediscovery of the story and, of course, adventur…

The World's Weirdest Sports, Part Two: Literal Murderball

OK, imagine this: you've been captured by a neighboring civilization, hauled off to an unfamiliar city, and your captors tell you: "Hold up, we're not going to kill you yet. In fact, if you can win this game in front of our audience, we will let you live." In part two of our continuing series the w…

The World's Weirdest Sports, Part One: Buzkashī is Where You Fight Over A Dead Goat

Regardless of everyone's differences in this wide, wide world, it's safe to say every culture loves some kind of sport. Often these sports can seem strange to outsiders -- but before we cast proverbial stones, let's remember almost every sport looks bizarre to people who don't know the rules! In th…

CLASSIC: Ancient Mayan Ritual Alcohol Enemas

Like many ancient cultures, the civilizations of Mesoamerica had a vast and rich history of unique cultural practices, spiritual beliefs and ceremonies, some of which may seem bizarre to people in the modern day. In this episode, the guys examine a common practice from ancient Mayan culture: the ri…

One Guy Was So Good At Violin That People Thought He Worshipped Satan

There's no denying Niccolò Paganini was a virtuoso -- in his heyday, this violinist was an international rock star, wowing crowds across Europe with his rollicking, frenetic performances. He was, in fact, so good that people were at a loss to explain exactly how he got so talented. As the years wen…

Credit Scores are Absolutely Ridiculous

In theory, the concept of credit scores is simple, and makes a lot of sense: lenders need to know they can trust someone to pay back their debts, and debtors need a way to prove they're trustworthy. In practice, however, credit scores are intensely confusing, often ridiculous, and a heck of a pain …

CLASSIC: That Time Vermont Was an Independent Republic

Today Vermont is known for its progressive politics, beautiful forestry, Bernie Sanders and Ben and Jerry's. It's not a state you'll hear much about outside of the US and, for many Vermont natives, that's just fine. But once upon a time, Vermont was a very different place -- in fact, for a number o…