The ballpoint pen may not have ushered in a technological revolution as so many other inventions in this series did, but it nonetheless played a significant role in making everyday writing simple, cheap, and relatively smudge-free.

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of Robert Curthose, who managed to cause all sorts of headaches for his two kingly brothers, despite being older than both of them.

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In this week's episode, apropos of nothing, meet three historical younger-born princes who nothing but a royal pain in the arse for their older brothers.

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Penicillin was a miraculous, marvellous discovery that revolutionised modern medicine and saved millions upon millions of lives, ushering in the age of antibiotics, where a little scratch doesn't result in amputation or death. 

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of the Venus de Milo, the most famous ancient statue in the world, and perhaps second-most famous artwork in the Louvre. 

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In this week's episode, learn about the Louvre's most infamous heist: the time that the Mona Lisa itself was stolen by an Italian carpenter named Vincenzo Peruggia. 

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Plastic is everywhere - these days, it's impossible to live a completely plastic-free life; but that's not necessarily entirely a bad thing, as even with all its environmental ills, plastic has nonetheless ushered in an age of material abundance. 

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Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Lake Nyos Disaster, when over 1,700 people living around Lake Nyos mysteriously perished one night in 1986. 

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In this week's episode, get stuck into the mystery of the Tichborne Claimant, when a butcher from Wagga Wagga claimed to be the long-lost heir to a British noble family's fortune.

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The aeroplane completely transformed human civilisation across the 20th century, bringing immense change to travel, transport, logistics, and military affairs.

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