Bad Ideas Podcast
128 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 19 ratingsA podcast about the worst ideas in history. Albert Berg and Tony Southcotte take on some of the biggest historical flops, mistakes, and blunders. From Cop Rock to the Yugo.
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Episodes
Mary Toft Giving Birth to Rabbits - She stuffed a rabbit WHERE? - Bad Ideas
May 29, 2020 17:56 - 21 minutes - 20 MBMary Toft was a British woman with the magical ability to give birth to rabbits. Or rather rabbit parts. And cat parts. And chunks of other animals. It really was disgusting and you should fear for the people involved. We cover this grand conspiracy that fooled the medical world for a short while. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/H...
Payday Loans - Predatory Loans Meant to Create a Cycle of Debt with 1000% interest - Bad Ideas
May 15, 2020 17:55 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBPayday loans are a loan you can get when you leverage your next paycheck for cash today. Usually there is a small fee but they can quicky turn into 400 to 1900 percent loans. It's a predatory industry that needs to be heavily reformed or abolished. On Bad Ideas we take a look at this toxic industry and show why it is indeed a bad idea. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gam...
The Great Salad Oil Swindle - Bad Ideas
May 08, 2020 12:32 - 38 minutes - 34.2 MBSoy Bean oil doesn't SEEM like the kind of thing that could crash the entire American Economy, but in 1963 that's almost what happened. Tino De Angelis was the biggest holder of salad oil in the world; at least on paper. And the paper that SAID it came from American Express, so it COULDN'T be wrong, could it? Despite the fact that Tino had a number of shady business deals in his past banks were more than willing to continue to lend him money as long as American Express said he had oil to bac...
The Fistula Fad - King Louis the XIV's Fistula Fashion - Bad Ideas Podcast
May 01, 2020 15:56 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBKing Louis the 14th found himself in dire need of surgery to fix a fistula. A fistula is an alternative canal from the rectal cavity usually into the butt cheek. Charles-François Félix, a barber, was chosen to do the surgery. He took six months to practice, repairing and also causing holes in 75 prisoners and dissenters. After that he would repair King Louis's fistula and retire in wealth. After the surgery the people of France wanted to show their support. Some wore bandages, but others had...
Ouya: What Happened to the Kickstarter Console?
April 24, 2020 15:40 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBThe Ouya was one of the biggest Kickstarter success stories, so what happened? This one actually shipped and everything! Julie Urhman Ouya's CEO pitched the return of indie games to the television in an era when it looked like maybe all the indie developers were shifting focus to the mobile market. Unfortunately for Ms. Urhman mobile turned into a horror world of ads and paid upgrades and the Playstation 4 embraced the indie developers like never before leaving no real place for the little O...
The Story Behind The Charge of the Light Brigade - Bad Ideas
April 17, 2020 13:01 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBThere's a store behind the poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, a story you may not have heard before. The charge itself was a very small part of the Crimean War, which was an attempt by England and France to keep Russia from expanding into Turkey in the 1850's. The early Crimean War effort was headed up by Lord Raglan, who, from everything I've been able to discern was not a terribly good leader. In the Battle of Balaclava, shortly after landing near Sevastopol, Lord Raglan ordered his ca...
Martensville Satanic Panic - When Satan Comes to Town - Bad Ideas
April 10, 2020 20:20 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBMartensville is a small Canadian town with a huge problem. The Satanic Panic of the 90s is hitting them in full force and making everyone completely paranoid. When satan comes to town will you believe the kids? Or is it the cops who are lying? What happened to cause the satanic panic? Why are there so many accusations without evidence? Was the satanic panic real? || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com...
Spanish Flu and Morale Laws - How to Hide a Deadly Pandemic - Spanish Flu vs Coronavirus
April 03, 2020 23:05 - 35 minutes - 33.5 MBWhile we are currently dealing with Coronavirus, we take a deep look into the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Most specifically we look at how morale laws made it so that the news couldn't report on this extremely deadly flu, leading to the deaths of up to 100 million people. We also look at why it is mistakenly called Spanish Flu, how it started in America, and how it affected World War 1. We also compare it with what is happening right now with Covid-19. || More Human Echoes stuff: http:/...
Aqua Dots: The Toy that was Recalled for Containing a Date Rape Drug - Bad Ideas Minisode
March 27, 2020 13:25 - 7 minutes - 2.68 MBAqua Dots (also known as Bindeez) was a toy bead that was accidentally coated with a chemical that synthesizes into something called GHB, a sedative commonly used as a date rape drug. The Chinese factory that manufactured the beads for the Australia-based Moose Enterprise toy company swapped out the safe chemical 1,5 pentanediol for the less expensive but far more dangerous 1,4 butanediol. Naturally some kids put the beads in their mouths, and several became dangerously ill.
WeWork Collapse - How Andy Neumann Destroyed WeWork - Bad Ideas
March 20, 2020 15:12 - 32 minutes - 44.4 MBWhy did WeWork collapse? Well Andy Neumann's company would end up crashing and giving him the biggest golden parachute of all time. WeWork built itself into a massive hole of liability and debt while paying huge amounts of cash to purchase unrelated companies. When their S1 filing showed how much they were losing, the company went into freefall. Thousands are being laid off. It is only a matter of time before the complete collapse happens. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.co...
"Mad" Mike Hughes: The Life and Death of the Flat Earth Rocket Man
March 13, 2020 13:41 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MB"Mad" Mike Hughes was a stunt man who built a rocket out of scraps and tried to launch himself as high and fast as possible. Was he really trying to prove the earth was flat, as he claimed, or was he simply trying to make a name for himself by doing something spectacular and dangerous? We may never know the answer for sure, but this is the story we do know.
Xu Xiaodong Exposes Fake Martial Arts and Loses Everything - Bad Ideas
February 28, 2020 17:53 - 26 minutes - 36.5 MBXu Xiaodong is a Chinese Mixed Martial Artist who has made it his goal in life to expose fake martial arts and kung fu practitioners. Especially those that use qi, death touches, or other mystical forces in their supposed martial arts. After defeating 17 such people, Xu has been ostracized, broken down, and bullied by the Chinese government and the martial arts community. Instead of admitting that they are using flawed combat systems, they are doubling down. He is banned from using public tr...
Understanding the Sand Creek Massacre | Bad Ideas
February 21, 2020 11:50 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBThe Sand Creek Massacre was an atrocity, an attack on Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who had surrendered to the United States military in a desperate bid for peace. John Chivington (whose name still graces the road near where the massacre took place) with full knowledge of the situation led a band of untrained men to the area and set them loose on the camp, where they indiscriminately killed men women and children alike. Silas Soule stood against the assault by refusing to take part in the mas...
The AAirpass - American Airlines Offered a Lifetime of First Class Tickets and it Backfired
February 14, 2020 18:21 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MBThe AAirpass was a lifetime pass that allowed its members to fly free for the rest of their lives. While this was amazing for them, it would end up costing American Airlines millions. People like Steven Rothstein would go on an average of more than one flight per day. Eventually the airline would strip people of their passes in sad and awkward ways. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes ...
Thomas Midgely Jr. and the Deadly Invention of Leaded Gas - Bad Ideas
February 10, 2020 13:27 - 37 minutes - 51.9 MBLeaded Gasoline was developed by GM to solve the problem of engine knock in the early 20th century. There were other ways to solve engine knock, but they all involved selling LESS OIL (gasp). Also GM couldn't patent them. If only we could have known at the time that lead was a deadly poison. Oh, wait, we did.
Albania's Ponzi Rebellion and Civil War - When Ponzi Schemes Destroy an Economy
January 31, 2020 19:06 - 25 minutes - 35.5 MBTony takes a deeper look at the 1997 Albanian Civil War that started because a huge swath of their entire GDP was caught up in ponzi schemes. With offers of 100 percent per month interest, who could say no? Well, when the entire economy collapsed the people rebelled against the new regime. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/HumanEcho...
How Hype Ruined the Segway - Bad Ideas
January 24, 2020 14:35 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBThe Segway was a revolutionary invention, and on top of that it was fun to ride. So why did it become the punchline of every joke about mall cops? At least part of the answer can be found in the over-hyping of this machine in the early 2000's. With tiny pieces of information "Steve Jobs says it'll be bigger than the PC!" the internet fabricated all kinds of theories, obsessing over what would turn out to be a fancy scooter. This is the story of how hype helped kill the Segway's chances of ch...
Fordlandia - Ford's Failed Company Town in Brazil - Bad Ideas Podcast
January 17, 2020 09:00 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBFordlandia was an experiment from Henry Ford to take away the British monopoly on rubber. He decided to set up an entire city in the depths of the amazon, leading to death, vice, riots, and not a whole lot of rubber. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/HumanEchoesGaming Bad Ideas Podcast on iTunes: http://apple.co/2yrDfyx ...
William Walker's One Man Invasion of Nicaragua | Bad Ideas
January 10, 2020 20:00 - 29 minutes - 40.6 MBIn his time William Walker was known as the Grey Eyed Man of Destiny, probably because the Grey Eyed Man of SUPER Racism wasn't as catchy. He was the most successful of the "filibusters" men who tried to conquer territory in other countries to add to the number of slave states in the United States. His first attempt was an invasion of Mexico which didn't go so well, but it made him popular enough to convince some Nicaraguans to invite him to come and try to invade THEIR country.
The Vasa - Sweden's Massive Gunboat, and Even Bigger Mistake
December 27, 2019 16:50 - 25 minutes - 35.4 MBThe Vasa was a massive 64 gun 200 foot long ship in the 1600s. The massively expensive project was supposed to propel Sweden into the future of their military might, but instead it found the bottom of the sea on its maiden voyage. For 333 years it rested until it was salvaged and set up in a museum. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com...
Burning the Gavle Goat: Sweden's Giant Straw Yule Goat Keeps Getting Destroyed - Bad Ideas
December 20, 2019 11:34 - 20 minutes - 27.8 MBIt is NOT acceptable to set the Gavle Goat on fire. It is against the law. It makes many children sad at a time of year that is very dark and cold in Sweden where the Gavle Goat lives. It destroys hundreds of man-hours of labor. But people keep doing it anyway. For fifty years Swedes in the small town of Gavle have been putting up their giant straw goat around Christmas time, and despite their best efforts to protect it people keep burning it down. This is the story of the Gavle Goat.
New Coke - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
December 13, 2019 17:08 - 27 minutes - 37.9 MBOnce upon a time Coke thought their classic drink needed a new flavor. We all know it went very wrong. This is the story of how they made that mistake.
The Poyais Scheme - Gregor MacGregor's Fake Country
December 06, 2019 19:20 - 28 minutes - 38.9 MBGregor MacGregor was nearly a household name in London for his antics in Central America and the army. When he tried to create a colony in modern day Honduras this notoriety would help him promote and sell huge swaths of land and securities. The only problem was, his country didn't really exist. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/Hum...
John Law and the Mississippi Bubble | Bad Ideas
November 29, 2019 18:59 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MBJohn Law invented modern monetary policy when he saw the Dutch trading money on paper rather than with physical coins. He took his big ideas to France in 1720 convinced the Duke of Orleans to put him in charge of basically the entire French economy. He printed paper money, started a company, and set his sights on profiting from an unexplored area in the New World. Everything was great right up until everything was terrible.
D.B. Cooper's Copycats - Incompetent Hijackings Gone Wrong
November 22, 2019 16:11 - 20 minutes - 28.3 MBD.B. Cooper might be a legendary criminal who may or may not have survived his skyjacking, but the men we detail here are truly not Cooper. We cover stories about the more than dozen people who tried to pull the same heist as Cooper, but failed miserably. Most notably, Glenn Tripp who got drugged and changed his demands to several cheeseburgers. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.co...
Microsoft Bob - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
November 15, 2019 21:09 - 18 minutes - 24.9 MBMicrosoft Bob was the software suite for people who don't know what a software suite is. Unfortunately when you don't know what a software suite is, you're unlikely to buy a software suite, especially when it won't run on your dinky computer. Also, something something Clippy something Comic Sans.
Heaven's Gate - Marhsall Applewhite's Suicide Cult
November 08, 2019 16:02 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBThis week on Bad Ideas we dive into the Heaven's Gate Cult, a millenarian group led by Marshall Applewhite. The group believed that they would ride a ship hidden behind the Hale-Bopp Comet into a new life of ascendance. Unfortunately the only way to do this was castration and eventual suicide. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https:...
Apple III: The Computer with a 100% Failure Rate | Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
November 04, 2019 13:21 - 22 minutes - 31.4 MBApple computers had a good thing going with the Apple II, but they had a problem. It was being bought by BUSINESSES! The Apple II was meant for hobbyists, nerds who wanted to play around with computer stuff, but now BUSINESSES were using it for SPREADSHEETS. Imagine the horror. Something had to be done to rescue those poor businesses from the terrible terrible clutches of the Apple II, and the thing Apple decided to do was to release a computer that didn't work. Like AT ALL. Because that's w...
China’s Social Media System – Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
October 25, 2019 18:36 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBChina’s new social media system is a tyrannical monstrosity that aims to control the lives of its billions of citizens. We give you the details on just a few of the things you can lose by not being a complete model citizen. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRKd5q0ZCV_NX85LePyPAA Bad Ideas ...
The Zimmerman Telegram - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
October 18, 2019 16:07 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBIn 1917 the Germans needed to stop America from getting into World War I. So they asked Mexico to attack. Without considering whether Mexico had the means or will to do so. And without realizing that the British had their telegraph lines bugged. It did not go well for them.
Curtis Howe Springer and The King of Quacks: The Fraud of Zzyzx
October 11, 2019 16:08 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBCurtis Howe Springer was one of the last medicine men and a quack who operated for decades in the deserts of California. He lied about having several degrees and became a radio minister to hock his own vitamins and panaceas that didn't work. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRKd5q0ZCV_NX85LePyPAA ...
The Affairs of Warren G. Harding - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
October 04, 2019 15:16 - 26 minutes - 36 MBWarren G. Harding is frequently ranked by historians as the worst U.S President of ALL TIME. But even before he even became president, he was trouble for the Republican Party. WHY? Because the woman he had been cheating on his wife with, brought his many MANY letters to the blackmail the ENTIRE PARTY into sending her on vacation to Japan, because SHE found out he was cheating on her with ANOTHER woman. Yeah.
The Devils of Loudun - Urbain Grandier and the Possessed Nuns of Loudun
September 27, 2019 02:00 - 42 minutes - 39.4 MBUrbain Grandier was a priest in France during the 1600s who was burned at the stake for being a witch. Unfortunately for him it was more a political murder in which 17 nuns were coerced into pretending to be possessed and under his control. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRKd5q0ZCV_NX85LePyPAA ...
The Battle of Cannae: Underestimating Hannibal and Ignoring Fabius - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
September 20, 2019 14:03 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBHannibal of Carthage was one of the most brilliant military strategists the world has ever seen, but when he crossed the Alps into Italy, Rome thought they could take him. But one man tried to warn them not to go head to head with Hannibal; Fabius Maximus knew Hannibal would destroy the Roman army if attacked head on. He tried to stop Rome from directly confronting Hannibal, but it's really hard to get people excited about your strategy of hanging around annoying Hannibal until he gets bored...
Star Citizen - The Most Expensive Crowdfunded Vaporware of All Time
September 13, 2019 17:58 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBStar Citizen is a three game 300 million dollar effort without an end in site that has players spending as much as 3000 dollars per ship for a game that will probably never be released. With a target launch date of 2014, we're already 5 years past promised dates and every few weeks the goal posts get moved a little further. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes ...
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia - Special Guest Alex Tuna from the Unranked Podcast
September 06, 2019 21:05 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBThis week dive deep into Napoleon's invasion of Russia and how you waste 600,000 soldiers over a badly made embargo. Alex "Tuna" from the Unranked Podcast joins us to talk about it. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRKd5q0ZCV_NX85LePyPAA Bad Ideas Podcast on iTunes: http://apple.co/2yrDfyx...
The Edsel: the Fascinating History of Ford's Famous Failure - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
August 30, 2019 19:54 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBWhen Ford created the Edsel they were finally recovering from the disaster of World War II, and the mismanagement of the elder Henry Ford who had become paranoid and unreliable in his later years. A group of men known as the Whiz Kids had helped turn the company into a lean, efficient company, and now it was time to turn the page and write new brighter history with a car that would look to the future. That car, they thought, was the Edsel. You probably know how that turned out. But this is t...
The Salem Witch Trials - Mass Hysteria in Massachusetts
August 23, 2019 18:12 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBThe Salem Witch Trials were a bit of hysteria in Salem Town and Salem Village during 1692. 20 people were hung, crushed, or died in prisons. Hundreds more were accused. We dig deep and talk about ergot poisoning, hysteria, and how teenagers might be causing hangings out of boredom. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.yo...
Rabbits in Australia - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
August 16, 2019 16:24 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBThe history of rabbits in Australia goes back as far as the first attempts to colonize the continent. It's understandable why the settlers would have brought the animals along; they multiply quickly and they're pretty good eating. Unfortunately the downside is that they multiply quickly and they're pretty good AT eating. Australia has been battling the rabbit scourge for nearly 150 years. This is the story of that battle.
Belle Delphine's Bathwater - Buying a Twitch Star's Bathwater - Bad Ideas
August 09, 2019 18:16 - 20 minutes - 27.7 MBThis week we talk about the strange phenomenon of people buying Twitch and YouTuber Belle Delphine's bathwater. It might be a good idea financially for her, but the people drinking it are not quite so smart. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRKd5q0ZCV_NX85LePyPAA Bad Ideas Podcast on iTunes: h...
The Disappointments of the Space Shuttle - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
August 02, 2019 15:56 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBThe Space Shuttle is an iconic part of American space flight history. Unfortunately it was a victim of compromise, cost-cutting, and politics from the very beginning.
Franz Reichelt and his Parachute Suit - Bad Ideas
July 26, 2019 16:54 - 20 minutes - 19.2 MBToday we talk about Franz Reichelt. a man who tried his hardest to make a parachute suit for aviators in 1912. To prove the value of his invention, he dove from the Eiffel Tower and crashed into the frozen dirt below. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Gaming Content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRKd5q0ZCV_NX85LePyPAA Bad Ideas Podcas...
McDonald's vs Supermac's: How McDonald's Lost the BIG MAC Trademark
July 19, 2019 13:20 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBSupermac's and McDonald's battle started when McDonald's filed an objection to Supermac's planned expansion in the EU. That much, like it or not, was business as usual. But the battle turned into a war when McDonald's tried to take the trademark for one of Supermac's signature dishes, the Snack Box. Supermac's next move was, quite frankly, unbelievable. They filed a claim with the courts that McDonald's was not using the BIG MAC trademark. But what was even more unbelievable was that McDonal...
Tanacon - Tana Mongeau's Failed Revenge on Vidcon
July 12, 2019 15:57 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBTana Mongeau is a youtuber who was spurned by Vidcon one too many times. After being justifiably angry, she decided to run her own convention to compete directly with Vidcon. Tanacon would be less than two miles from the venue. Unfortunately she did this in under a month and with the very definition of failed event manager Michael Weist. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/H...
CED: When Video Went Vinyl - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
July 05, 2019 17:56 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBRCA released the CED (aka Selectevision) in 1981 at the height of the format wars, but the "video on a record" format had been in development for decades by that point. When RCA started researching the technology it made sense to try to tap the home video market with new technology, but by the time the product was actually released the market was already pretty well tied up by better and more advanced products. CED's only redeeming quality was price, and being the cheapest wasn't enough to s...
The Fall of the Khwarezmian Empire - Don't Kill Genghis Khan's Messenger - Bad Ideas With Al and Tony
June 28, 2019 17:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBSometimes you pick a fight with the wrong person. The Khwarezmian Shah, Muhammad the 2nd, decided that instead of accepting a trade deal he would behead the messengers of Genghis Khan. Little did he know that this would lead to the destruction of his entire empire and set off a chain of events that would change the middle east forever. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEch...
Bat Bombs: Weird Failed Weapons of World War II - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
June 07, 2019 12:47 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MBDespite sounding like something Batman would use, bat bombs were a very real thing that the army (and later navy) experimented with during World War II. They were the brainchild of Dr. Lytle S. Adams who was in Carlsbad Caverns when the war broke out, looked around him and said, "Well these tiny flying things look like they might be able to win the war." They weren't. But it's an interesting story anyway. Some sources we consulted: https://web.archive.org/web/20080531082803/http://www.afa....
The Unabomber - Ted Kaczynski's Terror Campaign to End Technology
May 31, 2019 04:01 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBTheodore J. Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was the sole perpetrator of a string of attacks lasting decades. He would mail bombs to people involved in technology hoping to incite a revolution to return to humanity's wild roots, as well as to exact his revenge on society. Obviously, this is a very bad idea. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Watch our Ga...
Chernobyl - Bad Ideas with Al and Tony
May 24, 2019 12:39 - 34 minutes - 32 MBChernobyl is one of the more important man made disasters of the 20th century. It was the culmination of all our nuclear fears, and arguably the blow that started the final breakdown of the Soviet Union. This is an examination of what caused that disaster, both the technical failures and the human mistakes that contributed to the meltdown.
The SS Bessemer - A Victorian Age Cure for Sea Sickness - Bad Ideas
May 17, 2019 17:33 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBThe SS Bessemer is a paddle steam ship from the 1870s that noted inventor Sir Henry Bessemer. Bessemer was tired of getting sea sick on his voyages so he made a room inside of a ship that was on gimbals and hydraulics. It was a great idea until it made the ship unable to steer and it crashed into the pier of Calais. Twice. || More Human Echoes stuff: http://humanechoes.com || Become a member for BONUS PODCASTS: http://bit.ly/1NkSWnQ || Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HumanEchoes Wat...