At its best, architecture is a kind of poetry made tangible, frozen in time for generations to come. But, as it turns out, architecture can also be a tremendous avenue for all sorts of less cool emotions: pettiness, spite, vengeance -- you name it.

At its best, architecture is a kind of poetry made tangible, frozen in time for generations to come. But, as it turns out, architecture can also be a tremendous avenue for all sorts of less cool emotions: pettiness, spite, vengeance -- you name it.

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

The Architecture of Spite, Part Two: Macy's and The Skinny House

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/266a592a-3569-46f4-96f6-b0650169f038/transcript

Nowadays Popeye the Sailor Man is a world-famous icon, represented in almost any form of media you can imagine. Yet this wasn't always the case. In part one of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max delve into the story of how Popeye started. Tune in to learn a ridiculous, one-off joke character in a comic strip called Thimble Theatre quickly became the most popular draw of the series, launching a media empire that outlived its creator and continues in the modern day.

Nowadays Popeye the Sailor Man is a world-famous icon, represented in almost any form of media you can imagine. Yet this wasn't always the case. In part one of this special two-part episode, Ben, Noel and Max delve into the story of how Popeye started. Tune in to learn a ridiculous, one-off joke character in a comic strip called Thimble Theatre quickly became the most popular draw of the series, launching a media empire that outlived its creator and continues in the modern day.

Popeye Changed America, Part One: A Breakout Star

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f60dd8fe-bf36-46d5-9c5d-b19a00c99901/transcript

Every city has its drawbacks -- parking, for example, or crime, or the price of a decent pizza slice -- but in the 1800s London faced a particularly unusual and disgusting problem: the city literally stank. And this wasn't an occasional whiff of urine or hot garbage from an alleyway, oh no. Instead, a pervasive stench permeated the area, an odor so strong that it disrupted Parliament, forcing the government to take action (and eventually rewriting our understanding of disease in the process).

Every city has its drawbacks -- parking, for example, or crime, or the price of a decent pizza slice -- but in the 1800s London faced a particularly unusual and disgusting problem: the city literally stank. And this wasn't an occasional whiff of urine or hot garbage from an alleyway, oh no. Instead, a pervasive stench permeated the area, an odor so strong that it disrupted Parliament, forcing the government to take action (and eventually rewriting our understanding of disease in the process).

CLASSIC: What was the 'Great Stink' of London?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/91e716dd-e76b-4730-b9bf-b19501697e9c/transcript

The founders of the United States knew the Constitution wasn't perfect, and so they baked in a process for revising their original document. Today, the first few amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights -- but, as returning guest AJ Jacobs, author of "The Year of Living Constitutionally" reveals, there have been tons of other proposed amendments that didn't make the cut. Tune in to learn more in the second part of this special two-part episode.

The founders of the United States knew the Constitution wasn't perfect, and so they baked in a process for revising their original document. Today, the first few amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights -- but, as returning guest AJ Jacobs, author of "The Year of Living Constitutionally" reveals, there have been tons of other proposed amendments that didn't make the cut. Tune in to learn more in the second part of this special two-part episode.

The Constitution is Amazing (and Ridiculous), Part Two: The Game of Amendments

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1e58c720-2c95-4a33-a21a-b1950106c3f7/transcript

The Architecture of Spite, Part Two: Macy's and The Skinny House

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