Ridiculous History

James Cameron's Titanic was, by all accounts, a blockbuster success. And, like so many other masterpieces, the story of its creation is a tale all its own. In today's episode, Ben and Noel dive deep into a little-known disaster that struck the already-tense production: someone laced the chowder with PCP, sending a small army of crew and cast alike on a terrifying journey into temporary madness. 

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Nowadays it's safe to say that cannibalism isn't a widely-accepted practice, but not so long ago it was considered the bleeding edge (get it?) in medicine throughout Western Europe. Join Ben and Noel as they explore the odd practice of consuming human body parts in hopes of curring all one's ills, through everything such as the King's drops to bandages soaked in human fat, along with related stories of the legendary Mellified Man and the current, tragic phenomenon of Tanzanian criminals hunting down those suffering from albinism to use their body parts in magic rituals.

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Heads-up, folks: this is a PG-13 episode. Ben and the legendary guest producer, also Ben, welcome author and journalist Ross Benes for a wide-ranging discussion on the ridiculous ways in which sex has altered the course of human civilization. We're talking about the origin story of the vibrator, the way the US military accidentally made San Francisco a 'gay mecca,' the fanatical drives of the Puritans, sex scandals and so much more.

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When the city of Guanajuato instituted a grave tax, they included some harsh penalties for those who couldn't pay -- if you went more than three years without paying the tax on your loved one's resting place, the body would be disinterred and taken from its grave. As gravediggers began removing corpses, they discovered something bizarre: Many of the bodies had somehow naturally mummified. Word of the Mummies of Guanajuato quickly spread, and the gravediggers starting charging locals to take a quick peek at the remains. This was only the beginning. Join Ben and Noel as they explore the strange tale of the Mummies of Guanajuato.

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Today, we all generally understand that the brain is responsible for what we call personality and thought -- yet this wasn't always the case. Once humans figured out the brain was more than a weird lump in the skull, it took centuries of trial and error, along with quack science, to really understand how it works. In today's episode, the guys welcome back special guest Jorge Cham, the creator of ScienceStuff, to lear more about the ridiculous history of brain science.

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What is the universe? Where did it come from, and what happens to it in the future? Humanity has wrestled with these questions since the dawn of civilization -- and though we've made a lot of progress, there's still much more to learn. In today's episode, the guys join special guest Jorge Cham, the polymath, engineer, author, cartoonist, and creator of the hit new show ScienceStuff as he explains the vast (and often ridiculous) history of humans attempting to understand the universe.

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Nowadays the iconic 'SPAM' logo is recognized around the world -- whether you're traveling in the US state of Minnesota or Busan, Korea, you'll more often than not run into a couple of Spam cans in the local grocery store. But what made this particular processed meat so popular? Join Ben, Noel and special guest, Savor cohost Anney Reese as they explore the strange circumstances that paved the way for the rise of Spam in this week's Classic episode.

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Ah, the bane of authors, students and copywriters the world round: the infamous typo! Something as small as a single misplaced letter can call the entire credibility of a book, text, or essay into question. Usually readers can still "get the gist," but every so often an innocent typo sows chaos, hilarity, scandal and disaster. In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore some of history's weirdest, funniest -- and most expensive -- typos.

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What on Earth is a "palooka"? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max embark on a bizarre journey -- inspired by a single, fascinating word, they discover one of the weirdest, life-long beefs between two cartoonist legends of yesteryear. We don't want to spoil it, so please tune in! Also, the guys once again crack on James Joyce.

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With another Father's Day in the books, Ben, Noel and Max hit the new studio for the first time, exploring the history of this paternal partner to the slightly-more famous Mother's Day. Featuring a cameo from the one and only Matt in this week's Classic episode.

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