Outrageous History!

Alfred Wegener's life as a scientist in the early 1900s spanned numerous fields including astronomy and meteorology. But his theory of continental drift or displacement sparked a furor amongst geologists, many of whom branded him a scientific outsider, a reckless mischief maker ignorant of geological methods and given to wild speculations. As if that aspect of his life wasn't controversi...

The French Revolution is considered one of the most important events in the history of civilization. When it ended in the late 1700s, the feudal system, the French Catholic Church as it then existed and the French monarchy had been dismantled. For the French common people that was the upside. The downside: thousands of deaths by fighting and execution, betrayals and destruction. Much of that mayhe...

In American politics, you could say that there have been two Presidents elected with movie star quality - one of them is Ronald Reagan, who parlayed his movie and teleivsion career into the highest office in the land. The other is a man who never actually had any role in a film. His name: John F. Kennedy.  But, as author John Hellmann writes in his book The Kennedy Obsession: The American Myth of...

The womanizing, gambling and boozing George, Prince of Wales, had one thing in mind in April of 1795 when he agreed to marry his smelly, stout and somewhat coarse first cousin, Caroline, Princess of Brunswick - to pay off his £600,000 (US$74 million in today's dollars) royal debt. George's father, King George III, had agreed to pay down the debt if his insufferable heir would agree to ma...

Superstar architect Frank Lloyd Wright was as well known for his scandalous personal life as he was for his revolutionary architectural designs. Even Wright seemed to recognize he was a flawed man, but as biographer Paul Hendrickson argues, underneath Wright's arrogance existed a "fundamental soulfulness" that resulted in some of the world's most innovative structures. Hendrick...

We require a young, idealistic European royal couple to lead transition of Mexico from republic to monarchy. Experience living in Mexico not necessary. Some financing for military support is available. Please note, there is a high chance of violence during the transition as well as a substantial risk of death by firing squad. Please apply to Napoléon III, Emperor of France. For more information, l...

What were those strange lights zipping around Groom Lake at Area 51 through the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond? Millions have been mystified. Chances are most of them were produced by the most advanced aircraft in the world taking off from and landing at Groom Lake on experimental flights. And most of those aircraft were designed and developed by Kelly Johnson, a genius aeronautical engineer who...

Lee Miller is considered of the top photographers of her time, not to mention one of the first supermodels. But she was also one of the original and restless "free spirits," travelling the world, keeping company with celebrities and the avant garde, mixing and matching numerous lovers, even becoming an award winning chef. Yet it seemed as if she could not satisfy her restlessness. Was th...

The Romans were ruthless, right? That's how the Roman Empire became the dominant nation of its time. Its military forces stomped on other states, its leaders set the bar for weirdness and deviance while its citizens thrived on bloodthirsty entertainment. And yet, the Romans were responsible for astonishing technological and cultural achievements. Outrageous History! enlists the help of histor...

During the late 1800s, English big game hunter, William Baillie-Grohman concocted an outlandish scheme to dig a two kilometre long canal between the headwaters of the Mighty Columbia River and the Kootenay River at Canal Flats, British Columbia.  Or was it outlandish?  Journalist Ernest Granson and Tammy Hardwick, manager of the Creston & District Museum & Archives discuss Baillie-Grohman&...

John George Diefenbaker, or "the Dief", as his supporters called him, is known as one of Canada's most unforgettable and provocative Prime Ministers, serving as the country's 13th leader in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a volatile period of Canadian history. Diefenbaker's fiery campaign speeches and stinging political rebukes could strike fear in the hearts of opponents....

"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about," proclaimed Oscar Wilde. The writer and playwright died in 1900, but like other deceased celebrities, he's become his own enterprise. But, as a once living person, where does he stand? Is he an influential literary figure, an important gay icon? What about someone who became a pioneer...

Before he died at the young age of 38 years,  Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio turned the art world upside down using "chiaroscuro," a lighting technique that created dramatic contrasts of light and darkness in his paintings. But that wasn't all that captivated Italian church goers who ogled his religious works. As models, Caravaggio used peasants, prostitutes, the poor and other c...

Sidney Gottlieb, born in the Bronx, New York, was a trained chemist who spent his career as one of the most secretive employees of the CIA. During the Cold War years, Gottlieb almost singlehandedly created MK-ULTRA, a program intended to research and develop the secret to mind control. Join Ernest Granson as he interviews Stephen Kinzer, journalist and author of Poisoner in Chief , who reveals the...