Whoops! All Quizster, Part Two: A Ridiculous History of HowStuffWorks

Summary

Ridiculous History
Episode: Whoops! All Quizster, Part Two: A Ridiculous History of HowStuffWorks
Release Date: December 19, 2024
Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts (Ben Bullen and Noel Brown)

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Introduction and Acknowledgments ([00:00] – [02:29])

The episode kicks off with Ben Bullen and Noel Brown warmly welcoming listeners back to Ridiculous History, expressing gratitude for the audience's continued support since the show's inception in 2017. They dedicate a heartfelt tribute to Max Williams, affectionately dubbed "the man, the myth, legend, super producer." Noel humorously describes Max's energy as "both kind and gently aggressive," highlighting his indispensable role in keeping the podcast running smoothly.

Notable Quote:
Ben Bullen (00:00): "Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the show, fellow ridiculous historians."

Podcast's Longevity and Unexpected Continuation ([02:29] – [03:09])

Ben and Noel reflect on their initial expectations, believing the podcast would last only a few weeks due to a specific advertisement deal. To their surprise, the show has flourished beyond their wildest expectations, extending well into 2024. They express both astonishment and happiness at the podcast's enduring success.

Notable Quote:
Noel Brown (02:29): "I'm as surprised as you are, Ben. And I'm happily surprised."

Reintroduction of Max Williams as a Nemesis ([03:09] – [07:16])

Ben introduces a playful twist by revealing their "nemesis," Max Williams, who has been a longstanding figure within the show's mythos. Max makes a humorous appearance with a faux advertisement for "Nada Yada Island," showcasing his role as the mischievous antagonist. This segment sets the stage for the ensuing "Quizzter" game, characterized by friendly rivalry and witty banter.

Notable Quote:
Noel Brown (03:39): "We couldn't do it without him. So I'd love to take this opportunity to thank the man, the myth, the legend, in his own mind and ours and the hearts of the public, Mr. Max Williams."

The 'Quizzter' Segment ([07:02] – [30:43])

Presentation of Scenarios ([07:02] – [19:30])

Max Williams unveils the core segment of the episode—the "Quizzter" game. He presents three historically inspired scenarios related to fires at the United States Patent Office, each occurring in different years and under varying circumstances. The challenge for Ben and Noel is to discern which of the three scenarios is fabricated.

Scenarios Presented:

1. Scenario 1 (1836):
   On December 15, 1836, the U.S. Patent Office, housed in the Blodgett Hotel in Washington, D.C., catches fire due to the accidental disposal of hot ashes near firewood. The blaze destroys approximately 10,000 patents and 7,000 models, with only 2,800 partially saved.

2. Scenario 2 (1864):
   Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early advance on Washington, D.C., aiming to divert Union troops from Richmond. During a fierce battle in the summer of 1864, an errant artillery round hits the Patent Office rooftop, sparking a fire that consumes about 1,000 patent models.

3. Scenario 3 (1877):
   Despite being in a supposedly fireproof building, the U.S. Patent Office experiences a fire on September 24, 1877. Tens of thousands of patent models and hundreds of thousands of copy drawings are destroyed, though the patents themselves survive. The cause remains speculative, ranging from spontaneous combustion of chemicals to accidental lens focusing sunlight onto flammable materials.

Max emphasizes that the true scenario involves elements of truth but ultimately contains fabricated details to test Ben and Noel's historical savvy.

Notable Quote:
Max Williams (07:12): "Patents are bonkers."

Discussion and Analysis ([19:30] – [25:02])

Ben and Noel engage in a lively discussion, dissecting each scenario's plausibility based on historical knowledge. They analyze the likelihood of Confederate actions impacting the Patent Office and consider the technical feasibility of spontaneous combustion in the context of 19th-century materials and storage practices.

Notable Quotes:
Noel Brown (26:13): "I do take issue with the notion of spontaneous combustion."
Max Williams (26:25): "Have you ever heard about fertilizer? Spontaneously Combusting should happen on this show all the time, considering all the crap YouTube."

Conclusion of the Game ([25:02] – [30:43])

After thorough deliberation, Ben and Noel cast their final votes, ultimately identifying Scenario 1 (1836) as the fabricated account. Max reveals the veracity of the other scenarios, confirming that only the first scenario is false. The segment highlights the hosts' camaraderie and playful competitiveness, reinforcing the show's engaging and educational nature.

Notable Quote:
Ben Bullen (30:43): "Jubal Early is a real guy."

Transition to Jonathan Strickland's Return ([30:43] – [48:05])

Following the "Quizzter" game, the hosts pivot to discuss significant changes within their podcasting team. Max Williams announces his decision to step back from hosting Tech Stuff, marking the end of his nearly 16-year tenure. This transition underscores the evolving dynamics of the podcast and sets the stage for introducing a new guest.

Ben and Noel express deep gratitude towards former and current colleagues who have contributed to the show's success. They segue into welcoming Jonathan Strickland, a cherished member of their podcasting family, back to the show. Jonathan shares insights into his departure from hosting Tech Stuff and his ongoing role within iHeartRadio, reminiscing about the technological advancements and cultural shifts since the show's early days.

Notable Quote:
Max Williams (33:34): "So listening to podcasts back then typically meant that you were probably using iTunes. You were physically connecting your iPod to your computer to synchronize."

Closing Remarks and Thanks ([48:05] – [56:18])

The episode culminates with heartfelt acknowledgments to various team members, collaborators, and loyal listeners. Ben, Noel, and Jonathan reminisce about memorable moments, inside jokes, and the collective effort that has sustained Ridiculous History over the years. They emphasize the importance of community and the support system that has enabled the podcast to thrive.

Notable Quote:
Noel Brown (54:55): "Yes. Of that. I think it's okay."

The hosts conclude by teasing future episodes, promising more intriguing and bizarre historical tales, and expressing eager anticipation for continued adventures together.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ben Bullen (00:00): "Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the show, fellow ridiculous historians."

• Noel Brown (01:19): "We are respectfully welcoming back one of the long-running characters in this show that we never thought would last till 2024 and beyond."

• Max Williams (07:09): "Welcome to Nada Yada Island. We're back on the Nada Yada Island Confessions Show."

• Max Williams (08:21): "Quizzter here. Happy to see you. It's a mythology so deep that we sold a T-shirt."

• Ben Bullen (25:16): "Yes, Bolin."

• Ben Bullen (30:43): "Jubal Early is a real guy."

• Max Williams (33:34): "So listening to podcasts back then typically meant that you were probably using iTunes."

• Noel Brown (54:55): "Yes. Of that. I think it's okay."

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Conclusion

In this episode of Ridiculous History, Ben Bullen and Noel Brown deliver a blend of humor, historical intrigue, and heartfelt acknowledgments. The "Quizzter" segment engages listeners with its challenging scenarios, fostering both entertainment and education. Amidst discussions of team changes and personal reflections, the hosts reaffirm their commitment to uncovering and sharing the most bizarre and fascinating tales from history. As they welcome Jonathan Strickland back, the episode underscores the collaborative spirit and enduring appeal of Ridiculous History.

Transcript

[Ben Bullen]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the show, fellow ridiculous historians. Thank you as always so much for tuning in. In. Let's hear it at the end of the year for the man, the myth legend, super producer, Mr. Max Williams.

[Noel Brown]

Woo hoo.

[Max Williams]

A kind aggressive reminder.

[Noel Brown]

I was going to make a negative comment, but then I realized you weren't introducing our guest yet.

[Ben Bullen]

Not yet. Not yet. And spoilers, that's Noel Brown. I am often called Ben Bullen. Max, before we roll into this sure, surely well thought out escapade that will, I'm convinced, will go very well and stay on the rails, could you tell us a little bit about what Noel just alluded to, your subtitle on this recording? A kind aggressive reminder.

[Max Williams]

I have no idea. I just wrote it.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay. Because. All right. You know, that's a weird energy though.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, well, to be fair, that is sort of Max's energy. It is. He is both kind and gently aggressive because the man gets things done, y'all, and we couldn't do it without him. So I'd love to take this opportunity to thank the man, the myth, the legend, in his own mind and ours and the hearts of the public, Mr. Max Williams.

[Max Williams]

I've always said Max. Max is Mr. Rogers if he'd mess you up.

[Ben Bullen]

There we go. And fellow ridiculous historians, we also want to thank you personally for hanging out with us not just through 2024, but through all the previous years. You guys, we started the show back in 2017 and Noel, you and I tell this story pretty often in terms internally, but we thought it was going to be just like six weeks in and out, in and out.

[Noel Brown]

Internally, as in within ourselves. Yes, it's true. No, yeah, it was. It was a whole thing that was based on a particular advertisement deal. And we just, you know, said yes because that's what we did in those days. Yes. And here we are all the low these many years later. I'm as surprised as you are, Ben. And I'm happily surprised.

[Ben Bullen]

Yes. And speaking of the opposite of happily surprised, we have a chip on our collective shoulders. We have a proverbial podcastery bone to pick. We are reluctantly welcoming back one of the long running characters in this show that we never thought would go till 2024 and beyond. We started building this mythos out early in the game. Right. And one of the crazy things that happened on the way to the PODC podcast studio, Noel, is we got ourselves a genuine nemesis.

[Max Williams]

Welcome to Nada Yada Island. We're back on the Nada Yada Island Confessions Show. Benny is about to tell us how.

[Ben Bullen]

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[Noel Brown]

Wow, that is harsh. But fair. I mean, Jonathan Strickland, hello.

[Max Williams]

Hello. Quinster here. Happy to see you. It's a mythology so deep that we sold a T shirt.

[Ben Bullen]

We sold one T shirt.

[Noel Brown]

We did sell one T shirt and.

[Max Williams]

Technically we sold five because I bought that many.

[Noel Brown]

It's sort of an on again, off again kind of frenemy situation, right?

[Max Williams]

Yeah, yeah, we've been off for so, so long. I alluded to this in our previous episode. If you've not heard it, you should, because the boys came up against one of my incredibly nefarious quizzes. I won't ruin how it turned out, but I think you'll be able to tell from their demeanor, so I would suggest listening to that one first. But I did allude to the fact that while I was on my journey of self discovery, where I was becoming a kinder, gentler soul, someone who could allow such a podcast as this to continue unmolested. I happened to listen.

[Noel Brown]

That was good of you.

[Ben Bullen]

They also don't molest us.

[Max Williams]

I happened to listen to an episode that molested my sense of humor.

[Ben Bullen]

Wow. Okay.

[Max Williams]

And having been touched in the bad place of my sense of humor, I then returned so that I might wreak my revenge. And that episode was about Patents are bonkers.

[Ben Bullen]

Ah. Part of a continuing series. So prepare to get angrier and angrier.

[Noel Brown]

They are though, right?

[Max Williams]

They are.

[Noel Brown]

You take issue with this assessment?

[Max Williams]

This is what I take issue with. It is the deepest of wounds, the deepest of cuts you could have dealt to me. You had an episode about the history of patents and how insane it is, and you did not title it Patently Absurd.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, oh, Swinging a miss. Yeah, no, that's on me. Max is our research associate for that. For that one. And I want to defend Max here, because Patently absurd was right there. And you're absolutely correct, Quester. I missed it. I was looking at the wrong spot.

[Max Williams]

Ben, Ben, you have no need to defend me. You want to.

[Ben Bullen]

Why?

[Max Williams]

Because I have found the most ridiculous thing when it comes to titling things is to give it the most literal title possible. Jonathan. The number. I mean quizzed or apologies, the number of briefs that I start as. Like this patterns. They are a thing that is about 95 of them start that way. It's like Monaco. It's a country.

[Noel Brown]

It's a. It's a process is what it is.

[Max Williams]

Yes, that is ridiculous at its core. It just. It just. I respect it. It struck me at the very heart of me and all that work I had done toward enlightenment was. Was cast aside and I had to washed away, baby, to challenge you to another series of quizzes.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, boy.

[Max Williams]

If series. We mean to listen. If the Atlanta Braves can call two wins a streak, I can call two quizzes a series.

[Noel Brown]

I think two makes a series. I mean, one that comes after the other. They are in series.

[Max Williams]

That's true. They're not in parallel.

[Noel Brown]

No, I mean, I guess you could.

[Max Williams]

Listen to one with one earbud playing episode previous and then the other earbud playing this episode.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, that'd be trippy. Okay.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, yeah, I've been there. You get in situations. Also, the smallest number of distinct items that can qualify as a list is three. So.

[Max Williams]

So.

[Ben Bullen]

And we know that from our brain stuff and what the stuff days.

[Max Williams]

Oh, yeah, we're going to be talking about stuff later, I think.

[Ben Bullen]

I think we. I think we are correct. But first, sir. Yes.

[Max Williams]

Your.

[Ben Bullen]

Your ignominy, your attitude, your disrespect shall not stand. Picture us, uh, with a linen glove, or perhaps a leather glove, just gently slapping you on the face. It's time for a duel of the wits, eh?

[Noel Brown]

Once on each cheek.

[Max Williams]

Usually I have to pay for this. All right, so wait, which cheek?

[Noel Brown]

Both of the ones on your face.

[Ben Bullen]

And then potentially he was going for the Australia.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know, man. I'm flexible.

[Max Williams]

Good old Slap Down Under. All right, let's. Let's get into the cringiest segment in all of podcasting. Some of our friends out there know how this works. If you do not, and this is the first episode you've ever listened to of this podcast. Holy cats.

[Ben Bullen]

We apologize. We apologize.

[Noel Brown]

I still don't know how it works.

[Max Williams]

Most of you. This is true. No, forgotten the last one. All right, so. So this is how it works. I'm going to present three scenarios to the boys. Max, you are. You are not allowed.

[Ben Bullen]

Boys not allowed.

[Max Williams]

Participate. Three scenarios. Ah, yes, scenarios. It is your job to tell me which of the three I made up. So even just with the law of chance, you have a one out of three to get the right one. But I think I have faith in you. I think you will know, not guess. You will know which of these three I made up.

[Noel Brown]

Can I just interject really quickly that on the first episode when you said made up, I interjected really quickly and quietly, skis. Because you used to always say made up skis. And then it turns out that the scenario that we guessed incorrectly related to skis. Yes, do. Do with that connection what you will.

[Max Williams]

It is true.

[Noel Brown]

You devil.

[Max Williams]

Sometimes I call them make them ups. Sometimes I just call them fun times.

[Ben Bullen]

But yes, also, real quick, just so everybody knows how the game works, you're gonna give us these scenarios. We will have three minutes because we paid way too much for this grandfather clock.

[Max Williams]

We gotta get the most out of it.

[Ben Bullen]

And during those three minutes, we can ask you questions as we determine the answ. You have a pretty arbitrary phrase qualification.

[Max Williams]

Yes, I've just decided because of the deep wound I have suffered, you will have to say that is patently absurd.

[Noel Brown]

Ah, yes.

[Max Williams]

And then follow it with whatever question. All right, here we go. Scenario number one. The year was 1836. All right, chuckleheads, listen up as we sit here. We are currently coming up on the 188th anniversary of. Hold on a minute. When does this episode come out?

[Ben Bullen]

This will be publishing on the 19th.

[Max Williams]

All right, so the 188th episode or anniversary rather just passed. So we just missed it as we talk here in the past. It hasn't happened yet. That's how time works. Anyway, on December 15, 1836, the United States Patent Office dun caught fire and burnt down. At the time, the office inhabited the Blodgett Hotel in Washington, District of Columbia. And down in the bowels of the hotel, there was a not inconsiderable amount of firewood used to help keep the place warm in winter. But that firewood was also next to the convenient spot where US Government Patent Office employees would dump hot ashes taken from the furnaces. And who would have guessed that some of the hot ashes ended up making the stuff what was meant to go on fire, go on fire, but. But then earlier than it was supposed to, and the whole place went up. The fire destroyed around 10,000 patents and around 7,000 models. Because back in those days, to file a patent, you often had to submit a physical model of your invention to show how it worked in miniature, as one of the prerequisites for a patent is that an invention should, you know, do whatever it is that it's meant to do. But those models took up a lot of space, and some of them were very, very flammable. In fact, some were so flammable they were inflammable. Of the 10,000 patents burned, around 2,800 were partially saved. Scenario 2. The year was 1864. Confederate forces, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal early, advanced on Washington, District of Columbia. The idea was that this would force Ulysses S. Grant to pull troops away from his task of advancing upon Richmond, Virginia, which is where the Confederate capital was. And this would be in order to defend the U.S. capitol. The Confederate troops won an early skirmish around July 9, 1864, and then they continued to advance on Washington, D.C. this culminated in a battle in a very, very, very hot, very dry summer of 1864. Very dry. And early could have continued to advance and possibly would have won the city of Washington, D.C. for the Confederacy. But ultimately he determined that it would include very heavy losses on his side. And ultimately he chose to withdraw, but not before an artillery round went wild and struck the rooftop of, you guessed it, the U.S. patent Office. The damage from the initial impact was pretty bad, but what was worse was that some sparks caused the room holding the patent model to catch on fire. Fortunately, it was a relatively small fire with an estimated loss of only, and I put that in air quotes, 1000 patent models before office workers were able to get the flames under control. Scenario 3. The year was 1877. By this time, the United States Patent Office was housed in a building in Washington, District of Columbia, which was intended to be fireproof. So imagine everyone's surprised when it burnt down on September 24, 1877. Well, it didn't actually burn down, but tens of thousands of patent models and hundreds of thousands of copy drawings were destroyed. The patents themselves, which were stored in another part of the building, survived. The fire seemed to start in a room that housed, guess what? Patent models. And the exact cause of the start of the fire is a matter of speculation. Some believe that chemicals used in the construction of one or more models spontaneously combusted in the room, perhaps as a consequence of decay. Others think that a lens from a patent model focused incoming sunlight from a window on some inflammable part of another model, thus causing it to burst into flames. Still others think some patent office workers were chilly, as it was unseasonably cold in late September that year, and they lit a fire, and some sparks ended up catching the roof on fire, which then spread to the patent model room. And while the roof was inflammable, the rest of the building proved to be un inflammable and survived. In fact, the patent office was open the very next day. Here's a fun bonus fact. This is not part of any of the scenarios, but the Patent office technically stopped requiring inventors to submit models around 1870, but they kept asking for them anyway until 1880. The reason they stopped, largely was one, as we've learned, fire hazard, and two, it was just hard to store them because you had these physical things that were 12 inches by 12 inches by 12 inches. And you get enough of those, and where the heck do you put them? So it was decided that let's stop requiring people to send us models, which also will open up the opportunity for people to submit patents for inventions that wouldn't actually work. All right, I'm done. Begin.

[Ben Bullen]

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Uncover tomorrow's market moves with today's real time data. Visit jointsignals.com today. Okay, well, that was a. That was an abrupt ending. All right. No, we know the game. I'm going to run for the clock.

[Noel Brown]

Get it, boy.

[Ben Bullen]

All right. On it. And three, two, one. Wait. Go, go, go. So. Okay.

[Noel Brown]

All right.

[Max Williams]

All right.

[Ben Bullen]

First off. First off, that is patently absurd.

[Max Williams]

Yes, Bolin.

[Ben Bullen]

So we've got one. Just correct us here. We've got one. Event. Scenario one occurs in winter. December 15, 1836. Yes, 1836. Scenario two occurs in summer. 1864. And scenario three also occurs in winterish time. Right.

[Max Williams]

Well, September, it was. It was fall. But unseasonably cold. Fall of 1877.

[Ben Bullen]

All right. I know. I do, Noel. I do know that Jubal early, despite sounding like a made up name, is a real historical figure. I know that.

[Noel Brown]

I recognize the name. But I'm not quite putting the pieces together as to what that person.

[Ben Bullen]

He was definitely a Confederate general.

[Noel Brown]

Okay.

[Ben Bullen]

At some point, point not currently, he is dead.

[Max Williams]

Yeah. 1864, absolutely. 2024, not so much.

[Noel Brown]

Okay. I do take issue with the notion of spontaneous combustion.

[Max Williams]

It does happen though. Have you ever heard about fertilizer? Spontaneously Combusting should happen on this show all the time, considering all the crap YouTube. Wow.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay, wow. You had that one.

[Noel Brown]

You'll pay. You'll pay for that one. No, that's true. I guess unstable. You know, like. Like nitroglycerin or.

[Max Williams]

I'm really proud of that. That was. That was off the cuff. I didn't write down.

[Noel Brown]

It was very good. I guess I. I think of that part in Lost where they're trying to transport the dynamite from the black rock.

[Max Williams]

Well, nitroglycerin is particularly unstable, but no touching.

[Noel Brown]

Indeed.

[Ben Bullen]

It's touchy. Okay, well, Noel, I. I'm with you there because that would be.

[Noel Brown]

That was just a possibility.

[Max Williams]

That was just one of scenario.

[Ben Bullen]

Right. Is.

[Noel Brown]

That was the second one, I believe.

[Ben Bullen]

Second one.

[Noel Brown]

One.

[Max Williams]

I think it was the third one. It was the third.

[Noel Brown]

It was.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Because the second one is where.

[Max Williams]

Second one is confederates. The first. The first one is some. Some people decided that dumping hot ash next to a pile of firewood was a good idea.

[Ben Bullen]

Just straight up fire. Okay, So I feel like number two is definitely true, you guys. So now it's between.

[Noel Brown]

That's that. Well, that. That's not to though put it past the. The diabolical Quizzter to include real historical figures in his charades.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, that's a great point. Okay, that is patently absurd.

[Max Williams]

Yes, Mr. Bodie.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay. Okay. We're running short on time. Quizzter. Is it possible that these things. And I've accused you of this before. Is it possible that the untrue scenario is mostly true with one fact changed?

[Max Williams]

No, no, no. Well, let me put it to you this way. Is it possible that the untrue scenario has elements of truth in it in the fact that maybe there's some things like the Blodgett Hotel could. The Blodgett Hotel. Hey, did you mean to say the Ritz Carlton instead of the Blodgett Hotel in Washington, District of Columbia? No, I wouldn't do that to you, but I might incorporate some things that are factual. For example, did you know there really is a Washington, District of Columbia.

[Ben Bullen]

Tangentially aware. Also, our timer is up.

[Max Williams]

I mean, I could have said like in the world of elves and dwarves, the patents, but I think that would make it pretty easy.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay. Okay.

[Noel Brown]

I love the world of dwarf patents.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Fascinating.

[Max Williams]

They're very short.

[Ben Bullen]

They're the new bitcoin. Yeah.

[Max Williams]

Stop it.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay. Okay. No. Where. Where are we at? I am. I. I am unfortunately disappointing all of us because I do not know for certain.

[Noel Brown]

And the Quizzer and his infinite loathsomeness did tease that we would be able to know it.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah, that was a trap. He scratched us up. Max, you got anything?

[Max Williams]

He can't. He cannot. He cannot. Yeah, not Jonathan. The Quizzter and I were talking beforehand. I. I don't know for certain, but I have a really good idea. Hence why I turned my camera off. Yeah, when he was reading the scenarios. Because I. I have been known to tell people what I'm thinking with my face.

[Noel Brown]

We can't. We can't phone a friend, Jonathan.

[Max Williams]

Okay, if only you had one.

[Ben Bullen]

No. Oh, buddy. All right, so. All right, it's between one and three. No. You want a rock, paper, scissors for one or three? I'll be three. Ub one.

[Noel Brown]

No, but I'll ro. Chambo.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay, that's the same thing. All right. Three, two.

[Max Williams]

What?

[Noel Brown]

Oh, wait, was that shoot? No, I thought it was three. Two, one, shoot.

[Max Williams]

Oh, I just did.

[Ben Bullen]

One, two, three.

[Max Williams]

That was a meeting of the mines.

[Ben Bullen]

All right, all right, all right. Ready? One, two, three, shoot. Okay, so we're going with one. Lock it in.

[Noel Brown]

One being false. Yes, of course. Sorry, sorry. Reminding my guests. Okay, lock it in. Lock it in.

[Max Williams]

The 1836 fire that destroyed 10,000 paths and 7,000 patent models is false. Well, my friends, remember how I said I knew one? That's the one I knew was real. Yeah.

[Ben Bullen]

Even then I was thinking it. All right, well done.

[Max Williams]

Do you want to know? What was it?

[Noel Brown]

The spontaneous combustion one?

[Ben Bullen]

It was three.

[Max Williams]

It was two. It was the one. It was the one. You were sure was right.

[Ben Bullen]

Jubel early is a real guy.

[Max Williams]

He really did. He really did. Lay Siege to Washington D.C. but no shell hit. Hit the U.S. patent Office, but.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay, point of order. This is what I asked you about. Dude, you all right? You got us again. You're. You're wily.

[Max Williams]

Yeah, I have to make something up. That sounds realistic. The. The point is that the whole Jubal early thing, like you didn't even remember that he had the whole Battle of Fort Stevens over in D.C. you didn't know any of that?

[Noel Brown]

We never claimed to be experts.

[Ben Bullen]

It's just part of the show when we hang out, bro.

[Max Williams]

Well, next time, you'll to give you your title a pun, and then I won't be so mad about it anymore.

[Ben Bullen]

All right, fair enough. And well played.

[Max Williams]

Can Quister maybe go away for a bit and Jonathan come on the show for a little. Oh, wow.

[Ben Bullen]

Let's do that. So let's do it this way. First off, I propose that we, if all parties are agree. We say that the quiz won 2024 and has to return 2025. We got to even the score for now. We're going to bid a very resentful adieu to the Quizzter. Just absolute villain, that guy. And we're going to welcome our dear friend and brother in podcasting, Jonathan Strickland, onto the show to tell us a little bit about his adventures in the. In the. Over the past year, man.

[Noel Brown]

Jonathan, welcome and thank. Thank God for you.

[Max Williams]

Thank you guys.

[Ben Bullen]

Hated that other guy.

[Max Williams]

Yeah, no, he sounds like a real piece of crap.

[Ben Bullen]

So what's been up, man? What's going on? Inquiring minds want to know. We have a lot of fans of ridiculous history who also only learned about our show because of your original creation. Tech stuff.

[Max Williams]

Yeah. So for those who have been listening to tech stuff, they already know this, but for a couple of years, I had been thinking about stepping back from hosting tech stuff. The show will continue just under new hosts, which I haven't actually announced yet, but the. Like, I haven't announced who the new hosts are, but I'll be stepping back. My final show will, I think, be January 8th, and then that Friday the 10th, will be the new show under new management. Kind of like the Teehee Room was for a while over at Magic Kingdom and Disney World. Yeah, they went back to the original management. I don't expect that to happen. This. I don't think I'm coming back to it. So I've been doing it for what, like 20 years? Since 2008. Since 2008. So 16 and a half years by the time I step back. So my first episode ever was June 8, 2008, which, by the way, if you want some interesting history, June 8, 2008. That was a month before Apple announced the App Store. There was no App Store, buddy. Wow.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah.

[Max Williams]

So listening to podcasts back then typically meant that you were probably using itunes. You were physically connecting your ipod to your computer to synchronize.

[Noel Brown]

I remember those days.

[Max Williams]

Yeah, like, that's back. Like another fun fact. When we launched tech stuff, MySpace was still more popular than Facebook at that point. That only changed the following year.

[Noel Brown]

I do like this kind of looking backwards moment we're having right here because it's like all of these things I participated in, but I hadn't really thought.

[Max Williams]

About those days in a minute. Yeah, I made a list because, like, my plan is for my final episode, actually, I should try and pull that up because I didn't even think to do that. But I Made a list for my final episode about things that have changed since, you know, tech stuff started. And in the tech world, really, I mean, I didn't. Not just things in general, but, like, there's so much that happened over the course of the. The last 16 and a half years, like the fact that social, like social network apps grew to such incredible heights to the point where, like, that affected how we did our work. Right. I don't know if you remember this, Ben, but there was a time probably around 2008, 2009, when I got a shout out at our House Stuff Works office because I had started a Twitter account and I was promoting tech stuff on my Twitter account, and people were like, this is brilliant. And then everyone shot daggers with me with their eyes.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay, yeah, I'll admit it. I threw a couple sidelong glances because I knew that you were established, establishing a precedent, which did often. In our early days, folks, it was kind of wild. As podcasts became a thing and as we were collectively under a very different series of corporate iterations, as we were boldly going into this realm, we didn't know what would work and what would not work. And the way I describe it, Noel, you've heard this too, is for a little while, working at our office at How Stuff Works was a lot more like being on a TV show about an office job than it was like having an actual office job.

[Max Williams]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, man, such a cast of punchy characters.

[Max Williams]

You could end up going into the break room, which was the converted office space of our former head honcho, Jeff Arnold. And they had made it out into this almost like. Like dormitory.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. There was a PlayStation area and there.

[Max Williams]

Was a foosball table.

[Noel Brown]

Now, that's right.

[Max Williams]

Whenever I went in there, no editor or writer or anyone from the video department ever was playing that thing. It was always.

[Ben Bullen]

I thought it was a trap.

[Max Williams]

It was always the folks from sales and marketing. Yeah, we all. We all treated that space like, if you're found there, someone's going to call you out for not doing your work. Whereas most of us were just like. We were all blissfully unaware of the future, of what the future would hold for us, because we lived in a world where we actually had cubicles. And then. And then we weren't. We weren't part of the open floor plan design that would follow.

[Noel Brown]

Wasn't there an area called the fishbowl? I seem to. Was that a discovery reference or was it just the fact that it looked.

[Max Williams]

Like a fishbowl House Stuff Worked.

[Ben Bullen]

It was because it was the old CFO's office. I think we can say it now. It was the old CFO's office. So the video department, which was a little less than a dozen people, they were all crammed into that office. We were all crammed in that office. Windows on three sides, essentially, which is why we called it. It wasn't our most creative work, but it had a lot of heart to it. This office of fun Atlanta History fact was formerly the location of laface records. And I'll always remember right off of the dormitory that Noel and Jonathan are describing here. Ralph that common area there was a very strange bathroom with a old school telephone set right next to the commode.

[Max Williams]

And a full length mirror opposite the commode so you can watch yourself make the call as you poop.

[Ben Bullen]

As you poop.

[Noel Brown]

It's funny, that actually came up on an episode we did about who was it who called his little Australia Big Johnson.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, it was Jumbo and it was Lyndon Johnson. Who?

[Noel Brown]

Lyndon Johnson. Sorry. Lyndon Johnson was also fond of taking phone calls while on the commode. Oh, yeah. So I think this story came up in that episode. So you can check that one out if you want.

[Ben Bullen]

This episode of ridiculous history is brought to you by ebay. Motors.

[Noel Brown]

Picture this. You're in the garage, your favorite room in the house, and you're tuning up your engine with parts you found on ebay. Every piece is just locking perfectly into place.

[Ben Bullen]

You step back to admire your work, hands covered in grease. And because you're committed to driving that thing further than the odometer can even handle, you start thinking to yourself, you know what?

[Noel Brown]

I could probably also use some new brakes, some shocks and struts. This baby deserves a new air filter.

[Ben Bullen]

So you head right back to ebay.

[Noel Brown]

You can find any part you need there. It is unreal. From wipers and headlights to cold air intakes, exhaust systems, and even that turbo you had on your mind.

[Ben Bullen]

Ebay is the stocked garage of your dreams. And you've got ebay guaranteed fit.

[Noel Brown]

Because eBay knows DIY fixes can be major and mods are always intense. So you need to know those parts are guaranteed to fit every time before you dive in. Wrench first.

[Ben Bullen]

And in the off chance you order a part and it doesn't fit, send it back. Simple as that.

[Noel Brown]

You know what you love more than your car itself is driving it. You're serious when it comes to engine maintenance and locked in when you're headed into a build.

[Ben Bullen]

And that's exactly why you start with ebay. Minor fix or complete overhaul. You want to get your ride back on the road and you've got ebay Guaranteed fit.

[Noel Brown]

So ebay created my garage where all you have to do is add your ride's info to get the exact parts that fit. When you see that green check, you're a click away from that part. Start clicking perfectly into place.

[Ben Bullen]

So now that you know all that.

[Noel Brown]

Imagine standing at that open garage door looking at that car you love more than anything, knowing that anything is possible, whether it's keeping it on the road forever or turning it into something that's never been on the road before.

[Ben Bullen]

Because with ebay, your garage just got a whole lot bigger.

[Noel Brown]

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[Max Williams]

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[Max Williams]

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[Max Williams]

So much crazy stuff has happened over the years. I mean, what I think is interesting, Ben, is you think of the inhabitants of that fishbowl. Quite a few of them are still with our group, like under iHeart.

[Ben Bullen]

Like there's Tyler and Frederick Tyler Klang Jerry, our pal Casey Pegram, by the way, who sends his regards. Folks, the original super producer of our show, which I forgot the name of for a second. Ridiculous history. I totally like.

[Max Williams]

What show am I hosting right now?

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, geez. But we had, we have had so many adventures and the only way that we've been able to do this is another fun fact, folks. Our pal Noel Brown used to produce every single podcast in the beginning when.

[Max Williams]

He, he produced tech stuff for a while.

[Ben Bullen]

I did, I did. Well again, every show. And thank you for that. I want to argue the only reason we've been able to continue this stuff is not just because of our amazing supporters and our friends, our audience members who tune in every week, but also because of the people we work with. And it can be very. We're in such a halcyon bubble sometimes and we don't recognize, I think, as often as we should that you get by with a little help from your friends. Oh yeah. I think that's how we were able to do this very weird career for so long.

[Max Williams]

So from like 2008 till 2013, I had a co host who was also my editor when I was writing articles for How Stuff Works. Chris Paulette. Fantastic guy. Can't say enough good things about him. Still a fantastic guy. He's just not in the podcast world anymore. Then after that, Lauren Vogelbaum, who does brain stuff and savor and other things. She was my co host for about a year, a little more than almost two years. Like through 2013 and through most of 2014. And then after that there was a brief period where I would scramble to find someone to be a guest co host. Ben and Noel both have been guest co hosts on Text Office. And so those were really important. Like, I was not ready to go just entirely solo at that point. And so without these amazing coworkers, I don't know what would have happened to the show. It probably would have just stopped. Right? Like, it would just gone into perpetual reruns. So I think one thing that we're all really fortunate is that we have co workers who are willing and able to leap in and help at a moment's notice. And everyone shares a sense of curiosity and a desire to share what they've learned. That made it pretty easy to do. Right. Even if I came up to Ben and I was like, hey, buddy, I'm doing a three part series on the Manhattan Project, do you think he could sit in and Ben would be like, okay, on top of everything else he does.

[Noel Brown]

I'm so grateful too, because, I mean, like you mentioned, there was a time where I was just editing all of these shows as a producer. And during that time, I kind of took so much information in just from producing shows like tech stuff and car stuff when Ben was on car stuff. And then, of course, in the early days of stuff they don't want you to know. And then I was kind of able to take what I had sort of, you know, retained through osmosis and step into the same role that you guys have been doing for so long. So I'm really, really, really grateful for that. And you were no small part of that, Jonathan, just from, you know, you being so generous in having me on the show in the early days and also just from, you know, being so knowledgeable and just paying attention to what you were talking about. So.

[Max Williams]

Yeah, also, people should know that Noel, on more than one occasion, would take errant mouth sounds from the various episodes he edited and would make song tracks out of them.

[Noel Brown]

You always say song tracks, but, you know, I made some beats. And then of course, Alex Williams, our dear friend and brother of Max, carried on that tradition, took it to the kind of nth degree. So I appreciate you calling that out, but Alex definitely took that and ran with it.

[Max Williams]

I just remember the. I remember the origins is all. So, of course, I also shouldn't bury the lead here in that I'm not leaving I heart.

[Ben Bullen]

Right, right. I'm glad we got to that because folks need to know this is not some kind of swan song. If anything, we're going to hopefully I'm knocking on wood. We're going to hopefully see more of the Quizter in 2025 because our big bro might have a little more time on air with us.

[Max Williams]

Yeah, that's my hope, is that I'm going to be focusing more producer side of things. But that means without having to identify, research, write, and then record three episodes a week solo. Solo, yeah. Because I never had a writer, I'll tell this story that might end up getting cut. So if you're hearing this, it's because no one cared enough to cut it.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, come on. All right, do the bit.

[Max Williams]

Once upon a time, a few years back, this actually might have even been before the pandemic. No, it had to be after. I think it was when they had decided that I was gonna do five episodes a week. And I was just by myself, and I kept pushing back. I was like, even if I do a rerun, four episodes a week is still a lot. Cause that's for every. I'd say for every hour of audio you hear on a show, like tech stuff, there are about eight hours of research and writing that go into to it on average. Some are easier than others, some are harder. And so I was pushing back. And one of the things that was mentioned to me was the possibility of getting a researcher and writer to do one episode a week for me. And I would just voice it. I wouldn't have to write it. And I said, well, as long as it was written in my style, so that it didn't sound totally different from everything else I do, I. I'm not opposed to it. So the powers that be went and talked to someone who was potentially going to become the researcher and writer for one episode a week. This person was put into touch with me. I talked to the person about my process and how long it took and everything. They got back to the powers that be with a quote. And the powers that be came to me and said, yeah, it turns out it'd be way too expensive for us to be able to hire someone to write.

[Noel Brown]

Imagine that.

[Max Williams]

And so my response was, you realize what you're telling me is that you're not paying me enough. That's what you're telling me. Because I do that four times a week.

[Ben Bullen]

And this is. These are. You know, I've been thinking back, maybe it's the end of the year. That draws nostalgia and a little bit of bittersweet melancholy to all of us. But I've been thinking more and more often as the years went on about doing a limited series of just these kind of war. These kinds of war stories. I remember to the point about. To the point about people jumping in to help each other at a moment's notice. I've said it Internally, but I guess I should say it on air. One of the things that I have personally always been grateful for you doing and tremendous help for us in the video department. When I was head writer of the video department and we had to put out a high cadence of different videos explaining stuff, particularly for brain stuff. One of the things that I always knew, and I was careful not to pull the card too often, but I always knew your work schedule in the office. So if I had beat me here, Max, if I had something up, I could go grab you right at your dead time and I knew when it was and just steal you to do a video. And I want to thank you again for that because I know I probably did it too often, but I would literally walk up to this guy and only when I knew that he was probably quietly researching for maybe 30 minutes or an hour, and I would be like, hey, man, man, do you ever think about zippers? It's funny that we're having this conversation.

[Max Williams]

Have you ever wondered why people talk so funny in old timey movies and radio?

[Ben Bullen]

Our Translantic episode, that was the one that went viral. Yeah.

[Max Williams]

Yeah. Well, see, I always love doing that because ultimately I love to communicate and potentially entertain and educate people. It's something that I've always loved doing. And the bright side of being pulled for like a moment's notice to do a video was that as long as I was dressed in a way that wasn't embarrassing. And we had some stuff at the office, so I could always change out if I had to, I didn't mind doing it because nine times out of 10, we had a script on teleprompter and that was so much easier than all the other stuff I do. Reading off a teleprompter is way easier than all the other stuff I had to do. Also, we had some really fun. Truly, if you want to dive into ancient history of how stuff works and the animosity, the fake animosity between me and Ben. You need to find our evil twin video.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, wow. Oh, my gosh.

[Max Williams]

Where we. We. We wore eye patches as the evil twins. And we did. I did a quizter voice for that. Like, that was the bad guy. That was. The bad guy voice was Squister. So we.

[Ben Bullen]

I don't know. I don't know if people need to see that.

[Max Williams]

No, it's not good. But it was fun to do. We went to. I remember we walked to Toys R Us to try and find cheap plastic pirate eye patches so that we could wear them on camera. And they Even had, I think, the little white, like, skull and crossbones on.

[Ben Bullen]

Them and everything they did, which is technically hilarious.

[Max Williams]

Yeah, don't eat those eyeballs. They're poison.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, gosh. Yeah, we had a lot of weird stuff there. And we are, again, we're so grateful for everybody who's joined us on the way. Let us know if you ever want to hear a ridiculous history of how stuff works and stuff podcast or whether that's a limited series. We are going to. To continue our odd collective endeavor together. We're just gonna keep getting weirder with it. I am so grateful to you, Jonathan. To you, Noel. To you, Max. To everybody who's tuning in. When we say thank you to folks on air, we genuinely mean it. Unless you hear, like, when Noel and I are being sarcastic, you can hear the italics. I'm pretty proud of that.

[Noel Brown]

Yes. Of that. I think it's okay.

[Ben Bullen]

Yeah. Yeah. So with that, with that, Jonathan, we can't wait for you to return and bedevil us some more. Noel, we're. We're two down and it's not even 2025 yet, but we got a game.

[Max Williams]

Clean slate. Clean slate 2025.

[Ben Bullen]

Okay, so we're overall appreciate that. That's nice, man. We didn't get you anything, but we appreciate it.

[Noel Brown]

There's still time. There's still time.

[Ben Bullen]

I'm not doing anything. So big, big thanks, of course, to our one and only, the super producer, Mr. Max Williams. Big thanks to Alex Williams, who composed this slap and bop that you hear in the back.

[Noel Brown]

Indeed, Christopher Haciotis and Eve's Jeff Coats here in Christmas spirit. AJ Bahamas Jacobs, the Puzzler, Jonathan Strickland.

[Ben Bullen]

The Quizzler, Rachel Big Spinach, Lance the Rude dudes over at Ridiculous Crime. Every single colleague that we have mentioned previously. Just some quick thank yous as well to our pals, Holly Fry, Tracy Wilson, Stuff youf Missed in History Class. Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant. You can call him Chuck if you're cool with him. That's the stuff you should know. And, and of course, Matt, Frederick and Lauren. Did I say Lauren Vocelbaum yet?

[Noel Brown]

I don't think you did.

[Ben Bullen]

Oh, did earlier.

[Noel Brown]

But not, not, not.

[Ben Bullen]

Saver from brain stuff from a million shows. You can catch stuff as well. Tech stuff, forward thinking. Look, Noel, it would end up being a whole episode of thank yous. But I'll say one of the most important ones for the purposes of this show. Thank you.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, and you as well, Ben. And we'll see you next time, folks, for more podcasts from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show.

[Max Williams]

We're back on the Nadia Yada Island Confessions Show. Benny is about to tell us how.

[Ben Bullen]

He found two loves.

[Max Williams]

Go ahead. Yeah, thanks to Metro, I found iPhone 12 and Apple Watch SE at Metro. Get the perfect match of both iPhone 12 with 5G and Apple Watch SE for only $99.99.

[Noel Brown]

You heard that right.

[Ben Bullen]

Both for just $99.99.

[Max Williams]

Holidays with nada, yada yada.

[Ben Bullen]

Only at Metro by T Mobile. Bring your number, an id, sign up.

[Max Williams]

For Metroplex plus and add a watch line. Not available if you're with T Mobile or pay with Metro in the best 180 days limit, two per account. This is Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford from Therapy for Black Girls. Reading books gives you feelings. I mean, that's what they do. And with millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling for everyone. Like there's an awestruck whoa feeling you get when you read about a dragon flying across the sky. But that's different from the surprised. What whoa. You get when you read that the best friend did it. And that's totally different than the hubba hubba whoa when the stable boy becomes a stable man and Amazon's got all the woes. Amazon Books that reading feeling awaits.

[Noel Brown]

At Amica Insurance, we know it's more.

[Max Williams]

Than just a car. It's the two door coupe that was there for your first drive, the hatchback that took you cross country and back, and the minivan that tackles the weekly.

[Ben Bullen]

Carpool for the cars you couldn't live without.

[Max Williams]

Trust Ameca Auto Insurance. Ameca Empathy is our best policy. Gifting is hard, but here's a hint. Give the gift of connection from US Cellular. Not sure what that means.

[Ben Bullen]

Here's a slightly more specific hint.

[Max Williams]

You can choose four free phones and get four lines for $90 a month from US Cellular. Your family wants new phones.

[Ben Bullen]

How do we know? They told us.

[Max Williams]

The good news is that compared to wrapping presents, you're great at getting hints.

[Ben Bullen]

So take the hint and get them.

[Max Williams]

Four free phones and four lines for $90 a month US Cellular built for us. The holidays are here and so is the Ikea Winter sale. Now's your chance to make the holidays a little more magical and less less expensive.

[Ben Bullen]

Save up to 50% off on select.

[Max Williams]

Items in store and online now through January 7th. Plus IKEA loyalty members get an extra 10% off on sale items offer valid in the US through 17 mall supplies. Last selection may vary by store and online. See store@ikea USA.com Wintersale for complete terms. Restrictions apply.