Ridiculous Romance

Alexander Herrmann was already one of the world's greatest magicians in the late 19th century, but his best trick was making British acrobat Adelaide Scarcez's fiancé disappear! She married Herrmann the Great instead and soon became famous as The Queen of Magic herself. But the real magic was the love between them! (Ok the real magic was catching bullets, levitating, and making tigers appear out o...

As long as marriage has existed, people have been desperate to get out of it. One old German tradition had couples fight to the death for the right to divorce, swinging clubs and sacks of rocks at each other! In France, a divorce court had to monitor for proof of impotency by watching husband and wife try to have sex in front of a jury of priests and lawyers! Ending a marriage is never easy, but w...

From the legend of Baba Dochia trying to freeze out her daughter-in-law, to the Shinto creation myth of Izanami and Izanagi, to the tale of a Japanese vagina demon who broke its teeth on a steel dildo, sex myths have inspired love festivals across the globe. We'll cover two today: Dragobete, the Romanian Love Holiday, and Kanamara Matsuri, the Japanese Penis Festival. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore were two artists who fell in love at first sight, years before they became them stepsisters! They played with photography to create strange, surrealist works ahead of their time. But when the Nazis occupied their island of Jersey, they developed a resistance effort so creative, Germany thought an entire network of spies was operating right under their noses! Little di...

Artificial Intelligence is leveling up and once again rocked the worlds of sex and love this week! The new OpenAI powered chatbot from Bing had some shocking confessions of love for reporters, and made some not-so-veiled threats to one user's marriage. Meanwhile in a major, shocking change to our longtime subject Replika, their Chatbots have suddenly gone celibate - leaving users frustrated, rejec...

In medieval times, it was pretty common for a wife to be in charge of home defense when her husband was away. But maybe no wife ever took on that responsibility with quite as much pizzazz as Agnes of Dunbar. With only a few soldiers and fewer supplies, she managed to hold off the Earl of Salisbury for five months, all while humiliating him with sick burns and grade-A trolling. Eventually the Earl...

We've learned about John Wilmot's incredibly libertine life, but it's time to strap in and strap-on for some of his full, filthy, 17th century poems in this episode-length Poetry Corner ! First Wilmot spurts beautiful rhymes a bit early in his premature ejaculation poem, "The Imperfect Enjoyment." Then in "The Disabled Debauchee" an old man hopes the next generation will be even more lecherous and...

John Wilmot was a lusty lord who wrote some of the dirtiest poetry in the Restoration era about everything from dildos to public sex to premature ejaculation! He also abducted an heiress, pretended to be a gynecologist, trained one of the great tragic actresses of the day, and had affairs with men and women alike. All his drunken shenanigans constantly got him into trouble with King Charles II, bu...

Roy & Silo were two male penguins who paired up and raised a chick named Tango in 1999. Since then, biologists have discovered that same-sex activity is actually very common in nature! But both scientists and LGBTQ+ activists tend to discourage “gay” as a label for animals, because it’s not really a parallel to the human experience. Is that going to stop us from imagining Roy & Silo living...

After William Dorsey Swann was freed from slavery, he found joy in becoming a female impersonator & throwing underground parties he called "drag balls," where he was the "queen" - making him the very first Drag Queen. But that’s not all - his parties got busted up by the cops frequently, and Swann fought back both physically and politically, which also makes him the earliest documented LGBTQ+...

What’s in a name? When it comes to Aloha and Walter Wanderwell, their name said it all: they drove across four continents in the 1920s before many places even had roads! Aloha was known as “the Amelia Earhart of the open road,” while Walter was known as “a scam artist.” They survived war-torn territories, bandits, plane crashes, and even J. Edgar Hoover in their quest to see - and film - the world...

Maybe a lot of “how did y’all meet” stories are a great time for a nap, but not these three remarkable pairs. Their origin stories defy logic, reason, and even the entire Soviet Union! From the miraculous meetup on a New York train, to the artist who crafted his perfect partner into existence, to the Russian lovers who found each other after decades apart, these stories remind us that just because...

Ferdinand VII was a bad person, a lousy husband, and has been called the worst king of Spain ever. But the intense political turmoil of the time has been historically overshadowed by the legacy of his big, weirdly shaped, uncontrollable penis. His four wives (all named Maria) each had terrible experiences with his dastardly dong, because if the anatomy wasn’t challenging enough, the guy behind it...

One of the world’s greatest TV hosts, Alex Trebek, is known for his composure, diction, and knowledge. But it turns out behind that prestigious facade is a foul mouth prankster who married a Playboy Bunny! Don’t worry, he’s still got a heart of gold, and through his second wife and soulmate Jean, we learn that he’s truly the loving, kind, intelligent guy we all hoped he was. Plus, we’ll learn abou...

Television History for $500, please! The answer is: This couple revitalized a broken format by developing one of the most popular quiz shows of all time: Jeopardy! Though one man is credited with the show’s creation, its famous answer/question format was actually an idea from his wife! Unfortunately, the fame and fortune rocked the foundation of this couple’s marriage. If you said “Julann and Merv...

Tura Satana was used to being kicked down by life: as a kid, she was held in a Japanese internment camp, then was brutally gang-raped when she got out, before being married off at only 13. But Tura turned the tables and started kicking life’s ass right back: she mastered karate, made thousands with her burlesque act, and even informed on the Mafia! When Hollywood came calling, she created one of t...

Revered poet Robert Burns wrote the soul of Scotland into his verses and songs in the 18th century, including the New Years banger Auld Lang Syne. But even more fascinating was his incredibly tolerant wife, Jean Armour - who defied her beloved dad to be with him. She inspired his poetry, preserved his legacy, and even happily raised the children from Robert's frequent affairs! See omnystudio.com/l...

Dr. James Barry was the first European doctor to perform a successful c-section, but his attitude made him a lot of enemies, including Florence Nightingale! When he and his friend Lord Charles Somerset were accused of a homosexual relationship, the scandal threatened to upend both their careers. But it wasn't until after his death that the biggest question rocked his legacy: was James Barry actual...

As we looked back at the year, we found some ridiculous updates to some romances that just won't quit. Turns out Meirivone and her Rag Doll husband are having fidelity issues, and the magic is gone between Erica Eiffel and her towering Parisian lover! Plus, people are taking their Replikas a little TOO seriously. But don't worry, Amenhotep and Tiye are still making headlines, Oscar Wilde along wit...

In our third and final chapter on Hans Christian Andersen, we learn it wasn't all ugly ducklings and awkward sex notes. His buddies Balzac, Dumas, and even Victor Hugo all tried to get him laid, and when that didn't work at least he got an eruption when he climbed an active Mt. Vesuvius! But late in life, he decided to tempt himself with a few trips to Parisian Brothels... See omnystudio.com/liste...

If Charles Dickens thought a visit from 3 ghosts could ruin a man's night, imagine how he felt with Hans Christian Andersen crashed his place for 5 weeks! Andersen had Great Expectations for their new friendship, but Dickens was sure this was the most annoying man on the planet. Then a scandalous Victorian divorce put a big Twist in their tale! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beloved children's writer Hans Christian Andersen was a lifelong virgin and chronic masturbator. This Ugly Duckling never grew into a beautiful swan, and the men and women he obsessed over just weren't interested in him. But that's lucky for us, because in his heartbreak he wrote timeless classics like The Little Mermaid , which was surprisingly autobiographical! See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Stephen J. Townsend is a retired General from the US Army whose face and name have been used countless times by scammers to swindle old widows out of their pensions. The schemes may seem obvious, but they're run by efficient and competent groups of well-trained con artists. We'll look at how these scams work, who falls for them, and the ridiculous amount of money made from these heartbreaking lies...

Victor Hugo was a tiny man with a big head who slept with nearly every young woman in Paris. But between the parties and orgies and writing two of the greatest novels of all time, he did find true love! The question is: with whom? His wife and life partner? The actress who risked her life for him? Or the arctic adventurer who did jail time for their affair? And how is it all these ladies got along...

Famed French author Victor Hugo had a life full of sex and chaos, but he came by it honestly. His father Leopold was an outrageous French revolutionary, while his mother was a soft spoken beauty from a town full of royalists. But these two crazy kids somehow got married, conceived Victor on a mountaintop, cheated on each other, and had their divorce postponed by Napoleon's own brother!  See omnyst...