CLASSIC: Gregor MacGregor Invented a Country and Convinced People to Invest in It

CLASSIC: Gregor MacGregor Invented a Country and Convinced People to Invest in It

When His Serene Highness Gregor the First, Sovereign Prince of the State of Poyais and its Dependencies, and Cacique of the Poyer nation visited London, he made a huge impression. Hundreds of people jumped at the chance to buy land in his remote, Central American paradise. There was only one problem -- the Cacique, whose real name was Gregor Macgregor, made the entire nation up out of thin air in one of history's largest, most audacious (and most ridiculous) scams. This is the Classic episode so ridiculous we made a t-shirt out of it.

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Episoder(1002)

The Ridiculous Secret of "Supreme" Pizza

The Ridiculous Secret of "Supreme" Pizza

The results are in: pretty much everyone loves pizza... but what doth a pizza make varies from place to place. Obsessed with a game-changing message from a former pizzaiolo on the inside, Ben, Noel an...

24 Mar 48min

CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid

CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid

In this week's Classic episode: Were it not for the coal mine, the town of Vulcan, West Virginia may well have never existed. As a rural and geographically isolated community, Vulcan relied on a singl...

21 Mar 29min

Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor

Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor

Espionage takes many forms. As Ben, Noel and Max learned in the first part of this two-part series, one of those forms was knitting. In today's episode, the guys explore the stories of phenomenal spie...

19 Mar 33min

Knitting as Espionage, Part One: Secrets in the Stitch

Knitting as Espionage, Part One: Secrets in the Stitch

For a lot of folks in the modern day, knitting is more a relaxing hobby than a household necessity. However, not too long ago, this needlecraft was a genuine -- and effective! -- tool for spies. In th...

17 Mar 32min

CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II

CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II

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 understandi...

14 Mar 38min

Inventors Who Died Due To Their Own Inventions: The Irrational Death of Hippasus

Inventors Who Died Due To Their Own Inventions: The Irrational Death of Hippasus

We all know pi, right? It's one of the most famous 'irrational numbers' in history, and mathematicians are still trying to figure it out in the modern day. While this may seem arcane to some of us non...

12 Mar 34min

The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part Two: Con Artists, Skeptics, and Ghosts

The Spiritualism Movement Was Utterly Ridiculous, Part Two: Con Artists, Skeptics, and Ghosts

As the Fox sisters became global superstars for their purported ability to speak with the dead, the Spiritualism movement became both a social phenomena and a booming business. Yet along with the rise...

10 Mar 52min

CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part I: What's in a word?

CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part I: What's in a word?

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 understandi...

7 Mar 49min

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