Ridiculous History

If you're from the United States, you'll instantly recognize the iconic red Solo cup. It's ubquitous at picnics, parties, sports events -- and often seen in TV shows and movies, so much so that the rest of the world covets these cups as "American souvenirs". So how on Earth did t ...  Show more

If you're from the United States, you'll instantly recognize the iconic red Solo cup. It's ubquitous at picnics, parties, sports events -- and often seen in TV shows and movies, so much so that the rest of the world covets these cups as "American souvenirs". So how on Earth did t ...  Show more

For decades, the infamous Rikers Island prison was home to a surprising artifact -- a drawing by none other than the world-renowned surrealist artist Salvado Dalí. At least, that is, until 2003... when a band of guards conspired to heist the drawing. In today's episode, Ben, Noel ...  Show more

In this week's Classic episode: Bill Speakman, better known as the “Beer Bottle VC”, single-handedly took on a brigade of Chinese People’s Army Infantry in four hours of close-quarters combat. As he ran out of actual weapons, he began throwing beer bottles -- and, somehow, surviv ...  Show more

Potatoes are amazing. While these sturdy little tubers may not seem immediately impressive, they're one of agricultural's biggest success stories. So, how did they grow from a domestic crop in South America to an absolute global phenomenon? In the first part of this special two-p ...  Show more

Heads-up, fellow Ridiculous Historians: this is an explicit episode, and maynot be appropriate for all audiences. It's no secret that Ben, Noel and Max are huge fans of etymology -- and there's one word that's mystified them for years. When did the English world fall in love with ...  Show more