60: An Iron Rod Through the Head (Patreon Bonus)

America’s first Olympic games were bad. But just how bad were they??? The 1904 St. Louis Olympics were part of a World’s Fair that featured human zoos, a display of premature babies, a racist athlet...

9 Loka 20242h 2min

Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin was embarrassed. He had just revived the Ancient Olympic Games on a global scale. But the 1900 Games in his hometown of Paris, France were a disaster. They were a sidesho...

2 Loka 20241h 37min

Wolfgang von Kempelen was unimpressed. Empress Maria Theresa had invited him to attend a magic show, hoping he’d tell her how the tricks worked. Instead, he told her – and everyone else in her court –...

25 Syys 20241h 33min

Picture it! 1932. Western Australia. Emus were taking over. They were gobbling up and trampling farmers’ wheat, and in turn, destroying their livelihoods. Something had to be done. So, the Australian ...

18 Syys 20241h 23min

Lonnie Johnson was a smart guy — a very smart guy. As a NASA engineer, he spent his days coming up with solutions to complex problems. But when he went home, Lonnie’s brain kept whirring. So, he inven...

11 Syys 20241h 38min

In the finale of our Mount Rushmore series, Mount Rushmore National Memorial gets finished. But the final product isn’t quite what Gutzon Borglum envisioned. The presidents aren’t sculpted down to the...

4 Syys 20241h 45min

There are so many reasons why Mount Rushmore National Monument *shouldn’t* exist. Right from the start, there was opposition. Environmentalists called the proposed monument a desecration. Native Ameri...

28 Elo 20241h 55min

Before he set his sights on Mount Rushmore, sculptor Gutzon Borglum had a vision for a massive monument to the Confederacy. He figured that Stone Mountain, located just outside of Atlanta, would be th...

21 Elo 20241h 41min