Ridiculous History

• The Deliciously Ridiculous History of Fruitcakes

  Let's be honest. If you live in the United States, you probably think fruitcake is ridiculous. It's like the MRE of Christmas, passed around from one family to the next. But what makes it so resilient? How, out of all the cakes in the world,did fruitcake become a thing -- and why does it remain with us today?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• That Time the US Government Brainwashed America into DIY Bomb Shelters

  Picture this: it's just after World War II -- the world knows nuclear weapons can end civilization. So, how can a government help the public feel safe? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the ridiculous history of that time Uncle Sam tried to make the public build cartoonishly bad fallout shelters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• CLASSIC: Idiomatic For The People, Part I

  Language is beautiful and, in many cases, continually evolving. As a result, we end up with hundreds of strange idioms and figures of speech that we use on a daily basis, with little to no understanding of what they originally meant. Join the guys and special guest, Rowan Newbie, the creator of the Pitches podcast, as they explore the bizarre origins of your favorite turns of phrase. (Ben here, with a bonus question: I went through and noted multiple turns of phrase we all used unintentionally - how many can you catch?)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Spontaneous Human Combustion: A Bizarre Controversy

  Can people really just, for no discernable reason, catch on fire? In today's episode, Ben, Noel and Max explore the centuries old folklore and investigations of a phenomenon known as "spontaneous human combustion" -- and discover the debate continues, even in the modern day.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• IP, Part Three: A Copyright for Everyone!

  As Ben, Noel and Max close out another year of Ridiculous History, they return to the patently baffling world of intellectual property. In part three of this series, the guys finally tackle one of the weirdest concepts out there -- a thoroughly confusing thing called a 'copyright'. What is it? Where did this idea come from, how does it work... and what exactly does it protect? Tune in to learn more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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