Honourable Mentions: Hilarious History
Join two brothers for some casual chat as they unearth the untold stories of history’s most obscure figures. It’s the hidden history your teachers forgot to mention, all served up with a healthy side of sibling rivalry and a big dollop of banter and laughs.
Episodes
22 episodes
Eben Byers: The Millionaire Dissolved in Liquid Sunshine
In 1932, a headline in the Wall Street Journal shocked the world: "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off." This is the gruesome and tragic true story of Eben Byers, a wealthy industrialist, socialite, and golf champion who became ...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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30:47
Stagecoach Mary: The Black Pioneer Who Outfought the Wild West
Step into the dusty streets of Cascade, Montana, to meet a true Wild West legend: Stagecoach Mary Fields, an icon of black history. Born into slavery, she found a life of independence that few women of her time could imagine. Standing six feet ...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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35:46
The History of Hawaiian Pizza: How Sam Panopoulos Created the World's Most Polarizing Dish
In 1962, a Greek immigrant named Sam Panopoulos decided to crack open a can of pineapple at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario. He wasn't trying to start a global food war; he was just bored.In this episode, we dive into t...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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42:32
Who Invented the Rugby Ball? The Deadly History of Richard Lindon
Discover how Richard Lindon revolutionised Rugby Union, American Football, and Soccer by inventing the first rubber ball bladder and the brass hand pump.Before Richard’s invention, inflating a ball could be fatal.We’re tackling th...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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34:24
The Man Who Outgrew Himself: The Improbable Life of Adam Rainer
The true story of Adam Rainer, the only man in history recorded as both a dwarf and a giant, is as remarkable as it's improbable. We explore the rare medical condition (Acromegaly or Pituitary Adenoma) at the centre of his adult growth spurt fr...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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34:50
Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji: The Indian Prince Who Saved 1,000 Orphans
In the heat of World War II, when the world turned its back on Polish refugees fleeing the horrors of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, one Indian Prince opened his doors—and his heart.In this episode, we explore the extraordinary lif...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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43:46
The Polish-American Who Wouldn't Let Hitler Get Him Down
For fifteen-year-old Walter, the world was a small plot of land and the four walls of the family home in Poland. But in 1939, Nazi boots kicked in the front door and that world shattered in a heartbeat.Walter, and his siblings, were forc...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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42:40
How An Australian Machine Gunner Ended The Red Baron’s Reign
Manfred von Richthofen’s red triplane skimmed the Somme, and a living legend closed in for another kill. But, down below, Sergeant Cedric Bassett Popkin on a Vickers machine gun is waiting for his moment. Once friendly aircraft had cleare...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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42:01
Edward Thomas and the Shot That Broke Europe's Silence
August 22nd, 1914, on a road near Casteau in Belgium, one member of the 4th Irish Royal Dragoon Guards raised his rifle, steadied his breath and changed history forever. Drummer and Cavalryman, Ernest Edward Thomas had just fired Eu...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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38:38
Roy Sullivan: The Man, The Myth, The Lightning Rod
For our 13th Episode, we are taking a look at perhaps the unluckiest man there ever was, in the true story of Roy Sullivan, the Spark Ranger or Human Lightning Rod. Between 1942 and 1977, Roy was struck by lightning seven times, and...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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36:13
Sweet Caroline: The Last Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy is the last surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Often described as the most famous woman you know the least about, Caroline's life is a story of resilience, diplomacy, and the...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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39:38
Henrietta Lacks: The Unwitting Mother of Modern Medicine
Henrietta Lacks was a young mother whose premature death by cancer changed the world forever. We explore the complex legacy of the woman who left behind immortal cells that fueled decades of scientific break...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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37:20
The Bus That Flew: Albert Gunter's London Bus Leap
Imagine you’re driving a 7.5-ton double-decker bus across London’s most iconic bridge. The lights are green, the air is thick with 1952 smog, and twenty passengers are chatting behind you. Suddenly, the road in front of you doesn't just end—it ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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36:52
Silent Night: The True Story of Gruber and Mohr
Merry Christmas and welcome to a special episode of Honourable Mentions where, to celebrate the season, we are looking into the lives of Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr, whose 1818 collaboration in the parish church of Oberndorf, Austria, gave the...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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41:23
Fred Kroll: The Man Who Ate Up The 1970's Toy Market
Discover the incredible true story of Fred Kroll, the visionary behind some of the most iconic board games in history. In this episode of Honourable Mentions, we dive deep into the 1970s toy market to explore how Kroll an...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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47:50
Duško Popov: The Man Who Would Be James Bond.
Duško Popov was a good looking, exquisitely dressed, multi-lingual international playboy and, as codename Ivan, the top spy for the German Military Intelligence (Abwehr) in the Second World War, but, under the codename Tricycle, he was also lea...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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45:08
The Dynamite Train: How Jesus Garcia Corona Saved a Town
Jesus Garcia, the man known as the "Héroe de Nacozari"— was a humble railroad worker who gave his own life to save thousands.In the early 20th century, the town of Nacozari, Sonora, was a bustling hub for the Polaris Mine, fueling the w...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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50:55
Democracy Manifest: The Succulent Life of Jack Karlson
"Gentlemen, this is Democracy Manifest!"In 1991, a man named Jack Karlson was apprehended by police outside the China Sea Restaurant in Brisbane, delivering what would become the most iconic monologue in internet history. But what is t...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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39:50
Ghost of the Atlantic: The Benjamin Briggs Story
1872. New York: A handsome, young Master Mariner named Benjamin Briggs, his wife Sarah, and small daughter Sophia Briggs are about to set sail to Genoa, Italy, with a cargo of alcohol. What could possibly go wrong?Join us and learn abou...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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44:18
Agent Kate Warne: The Woman Who Saved History
Discover the story of Kate Warne, the first female detective. Employed by Allan Pinkerton, she went undercover to foil the Baltimore Plot and saved the life of the most revered President in US history - Abraham Lincoln. A true crim...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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49:01
Queen Elizabeth and the Mad Messiah
In 1591, a former maltster with a history of drunkeness and brawling walked into Cheapside, in the heart of London, and declared himself the second coming. But William Hacket wasn't just any old madman— he became the spark that nearly set the E...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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42:07
Gamaliel Ratsey: The Theefe of England
In the flickering torchlight of Elizabethan England, one name struck a unique chord of terror and amusement: Gamaliel Ratsey. While others simply robbed, Ratsey performed. Dressed in a grotesque mask and fueled by a wicked wit, he turned...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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53:02