Ridiculous History

While tipping is widely accepted (and expected) in the United States today, this wasn't always the case. In the second part of this special two-part series, Ben, Noel, and Max learn how scheming corporations used tipping as a way to exploit newly-freed employees... and how the anti-tipping movement became prevalent enough to end up as part of Presidential campaigns.

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What's the best meal you've ever had at a restaurant? If it was in the United States, odds are you paid your tab -- and then added an extra fee on top of that. While tipping didn't originate in the USA, the States have the world's most prevalent (and infamous) tipping culture. And ever since the Civil War, it's been a hot-button issue: Should you tip? If so, whom, and how much? In the first part of this severely biased two-part series, Ben, Noel, and Max dive into the debate... and learn the disturbing origin of American tipping along the way.

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Nowadays it's no secret that some Papal administrations from centuries past were a bit more scandalous than others, but when master engraver Marcantonio Raimondi created prints of explicit art located within the papal palace, the church was scandalized. Learn more about the bizarre tale of "The Sixteen Pleasures".

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Even if you're not an architecture enthusiast, odds are you've heard of Frank Lloyd Wright. This massively famous architect fundamentally changed the discipline of architecture as we know it. Yet as Ben, Noel and Max learn in the second part of this special two-part series, Frank made a lot of enemies on his way to success. Tune in to learn how one of his employees committed mass murder -- and why J. Edgar Hoover's FBI spent years trying to prove he was a spy or a cult leader.

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Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the world's most well-known, storied (ha) architects. Several of his works are official UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and he has undeniably influenced countless architects in the modern day. However, as Ben, Noel, and Max learn in the first part of this special two-part series, Frank's massive professional success came with a dark side: accusations of cult activity, scandalous affairs, and even mass murder.

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Has anyone ever told you you resemble a celebrity? Have you ever thought of making this resemblance your job? In today’s Classic episode, Ben, Noel and Casey explore real-life stories of body doubles, from World War II to surprisingly recent events.

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Back in seventeenth century England, William Lilly was a big deal. As the preeminent astrologer of his day, pretty much everyone followed his research, predictions, and writing. Yet as Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, Lilly was also an occasional detective -- and when he learned a precious shipment of fish and Portugese onions had been stolen, he used the wisdom of the heavens to nail the culprit.

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Love it or hate it, every American recognizes the Star-Spangled Banner. The lyrics come from a poem written by a lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, based on his experience watching an attack of Baltimore's Fort McHenry. The story itself is pretty inspiring -- but as Ben, Noel and Max learn in today's episode... Francis Scott Key was actually kind of a jerk.

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After the War of 1812, the US decided to shore up security at Lake Champlain by constructing a fort on Island Point. However, due to a surveying error, the US ended up building this fort in Canada, rather than the states. Listen in to learn more about the ridiculous story of Fort Montgomery, and why some people prefer to call it Fort Blunder.

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Thomas Jefferson wasn't just obsessed with mastodons for no reason. Instead, he was in an intense dispute with a French naturalist named Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. Leclerc argued that the American continent was 'degenerate', and all animals and life forms in the joint were weaker, smaller, and less-developed than those in Europe. In the second part of this special two-part series, returning guest Lauren Vogelbaum regales the gang with the final chapter of Jefferson's strange beef with Leclerc... and how this conflict eventually led to the concept of biological extinction.

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