Ridiculous Romance

Lu Buwei was a merchant in Ancient China who managed to manipulate the system to wind up the prime minister of the Qin state. But to distance himself from a scandalous affair with the queen, he had to find her a nice, big, girthy distraction.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got together with Lianna and Siena, the hilarious hosts of Tossed Popcorn, to talk about the movie "50 First Dates" along with a few true stories of couples dealing with amnesia. Will we make lasting memories with our new friends? Or do these two make us laugh so hard that we forget what we were even talking about? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian painter, poet, and playwright who channeled his romantic experiences into his unconventional art. First an extremely NSFW "children's poem", then his riot-causing experimental play about gender warfare, and finally a nightmarish sex doll replica of his evil ex-girlfriend, Alma Mahler!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Vance Millar, a Canadian man with more dollars than sense, put in his will that 10 years after his death, the person who had birthed the most children would receive an outrageous fortune. Surprise! Somebody who had too much money played games with people who needed it. Ah well... On your marks, get set, PUSH! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Eugenia Kuyda created the A.I. Chatbot program Replika, she just wanted to give people a nice robot friend to confide in. But of course, so many users wanted to feel a different kind of algo- rhythm in their robot romances. Now people all over are putting 1's in their 0's and may be changing the future of dating, sex, and human connection! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1863, America's biggest celebrities were three dwarfs, locked in a love triangle that had America more captivated than Brangelina and Bennifer combined! But it was General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren's "Fairy Wedding" that brought a massive fortune to them and their super-producer, P.T. Barnum. So how did Commodore Nutt take it? Listen to find out! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

John Noyes thought he was God's chosen disciple on Earth and that it was his job to bring about Christ's Millennial Kingdom. And he knew there was only one way to do it: a two-decade free love orgy in upstate New York! Find out how it made its way to your plate in this kinda sexy, kinda scary episode.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roberta was barely interested in Ken's computer coding. But after playing the text-based game "Adventure" she started to wonder if there was more to these machines. Soon, the couple was running Sierra On-Line, and they brought us the dragon-slaying, wizard-dueling, skeleton-xylophoning adventure series that changed gaming forever: King's Quest! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The actress Harriet Smithson had no idea who Hector Berlioz was. That didn't stop him from moving in next door and writing an opera for her! After another failed marriage, an abandoned murder-suicide plan, and a French maid disguise, he finally caught her eye. But that wasn't the end of this composer's outrageous search for love! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avast ye scalliwags and be wary when ye travel at sea. For the notorious pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read may plunder yer ship and send ye to Davy Jones's locker! Captain Calico Jack was clever enough to bring these women aboard, and the three of them terrorized the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This total farce between William, his wife, their maid, and the tanner is full of stolen spoons and dumb decisions. Only a story this outrageous could have led to the birth of the notorious pirate Anne Bonny. Yes, pirates have parents too! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frederick Douglass is one of America's most admirable figures. In his fight for emancipation, he caught the attention of the nation... especially the ladies! His incredible wife Anna never got the credit she deserved, but it turns out many women were behind Frederick and his amazing work.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Victor Noir was an unassuming journalist whose newspaper challenged Napoleon III's imperial rule in France. His death made him an unlikely martyr for the French Republic. But the statue at his grave made him an unexpected (and literal) sex object to this day! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We couldn't leave a Bawdy Poem like this unread! This Fabliau by Guèrin in the 13th century tells the tale of a cowardly knight who can't recognize his wife when he sees her, face to...nethers. We'll also discuss the tale of the knight who could magically make your favorite orifices talk!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lot of people had exciting plans to tie the knot with a big huge party in 2020. But turns out it wasn't a great year for parties! Our friends Cherry and Jason join us to talk about how they watched all their wedding plans fall apart during Covid, and the creative ways they compensated. Then we talk about a couple trading pears for wedding rings in Animal Crossing, and a Harry Potter themed, NFT...

As if dating someone overseas during a global pandemic isn't tough enough on its own, these couples had to deal with some truly ridiculous bureaucracy in trying to make their weddings work. Some faced down divorce just so they could get married again, others were married over video and haven't ever met in person! Unprecedented times, indeed! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ridiculous History hosts Ben and Noel join us again for another long hard look at the history of pleasure objects. Where did sex dolls come from? What's the deal with chastity belts? Lock into this episode and throw away the key, cause we won't stop until you say safeword! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ridiculous History hosts Ben and Noel join us for a deeply penetrating episode about the history of dildos, special "performance rings", and things you'd insert in locations both obvious and unpredictable. Come join our fearless foursome and get educated and maybe a little stimulated? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pauli joined a law firm where she inspired a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg to change the country. But there she also met her "closest friend" Irene Barlow, widely accepted to be the love of her life. Continuing to kick down doors and fight for intersectional civil rights, Dr. Murray also added Poet and Reverend to her many titles! And her work continues to impact legislation even today. Learn more abo...

Pauli Murray nearly got laughed out of the classroom at Howard University in 1944 for betting that Plessy v. Ferguson would be overturned within 25 years. But who would get the last laugh when it actually happened only 10 years later - using arguments Pauli had written! Pauli fought hard for the rights of all citizens while privately struggling with gender identity and sexuality at a time when the...

This infamous Astronaut Love Triangle rocked the news in 2007! But of course headlines sensationalized dumb diaper discourse over the complicated truth beneath it all. So we blasted into orbit to get an astronomical view of this 900 mile story of love, heartbreak, and danger! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Lizzy Borden (not the axe murderer) met Rob Black when she worked for his porn production company. But after getting into professional wrestling, an alleged affair with wrestler The Messiah had violent repercussions. When the feds cracked down on their shocking and disturbing pornography, not even Larry Flynt wanted to back them up! CW: Explicit language (more than usual) and references to gross-o...

Christo and Jeanne-Claude got wrapped in each other and created some of the most recognizable art in the 21st century. Despite the monumental scale of their projects, their biggest challenge was getting Jeanne-Claude equal recognition as a woman in the art world.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Wyman was in The Rolling Stones, but unlike his bandmates Jagger and Richards, he was invisible to the tabloids. That is until he was 52 and married an 18 year old whom he'd been dating for 5 years! And we wish that was the most ridiculous part of this truly outrageous story. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

We ruined our search history forever to look into these four-legged love affairs! Some people married their pets for a laugh, others for symbolic tradition, and some did it for a political statement - but of course a few people were quite literally just chasing tail. We’ve got ‘em all right here! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener f...