Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

A rerun of episode 20, about the controversial Sega Game "Night Trap".  Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

In the late 60's, during the tail end of construction on Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando Florida, the Disney Company entered into a partnership with the Florida Citrus Commission.  The commission would sponsor Disney's Tropical Serenade show, while disney would make a mascot for them to help sell orange juice.  This mascot was the Orange Bird, a cute little canary with an orange for a head....

Nowadays super hero movies are their own genre of film, but what was the first one?   Which film kickstarted the trend, which film was so iconic that it made permanent changes to the comic if was based on and which film was the first big hollywood blockbuster success?   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

On one side we have Nintendo, a video game company that has survived through two video game crashes and two world wars.  On the other side there's Pocket Pair's indie video game Palworld, which has been accused of infringing on two of the Pokemon company's patents.  Sure Nintendo has a history of being incredibly litigious, but is this story as cut and dry as it seems?  Is this really a case of a...

In this rerun of episode 37, (and oldie but a goodie) Host Austin talks about the complicated creation of Sonic the Hedgehog.   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

The hosts of SHONM are finally here to fulfill one of their promises from the max fun drive.  Austin and Brenda watch and review "The Flash" a troubled film with a convoluted plot, and too much Ezra Miller.   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

What started as a method to simulate realistic war quickly turned into the defining activity of a generation.  While laser tag might seem like a product of the 90's, it has its origin a decade sooner.   This is a story that involves Star Trek the Motion Picture, the Republican National Convention, Fleetwood Mac, and of course, lots and lots of lasers, as well as some Lazers, with a Z.  Help suppor...

The Friendship 500, a floating McDonalds also known as the McBarge,  was one of many attractions at Expo '86 in Vancouver Canada.  But what happens to these attractions when the festivities are over?  Will the McBarge ever find a new home?   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

In the early 2000's, Sega's Sonic Team was floundering to find a way to help their flagship game franchise survive a rapidly changing gaming landscape that didn't seem to include Sega at all.  The Saturn had failed.  The Dreamcast had flopped, and it was looking like the writing was on the wall for everyone's favorite blue blur.  That was until Sonic Adventure 2 released and introduced a new chara...

Where does baby come from?   How about Cabbage Patch Baby?  Located in Cleveland Georgia, Babyland General Hospital has been the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kid dolls since 1978.  Host Brenda went on location to learn all of Babyland's secrets and to also experience the miracle of life up close and personal by watching the Mother Cabbage give birth.  It's an adventure you won't soon forget!   Help...

Cozy Games have taken over the internet, gaining rapid popularity as gamers search for chill experiences to counterbalance the action and violence of mainstream video games.  But what was the first cozy game ever to incorporate farmlike elements?    Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

The Summer Olympics is an event that brings together athletes from all over the globe to compete against one another and share in camaraderie and sportsmanship.  It's also an opportunity for a committee to get together to create a marketable mascot, a character that embodies all of the qualities of the host country, and also something to slap on t-shirts and pins.  The history of these mascots dat...

In a time where owning physical media is more important than ever, we turn our attention to the origins of physical media on VHS, and ask ourselves, what WAS the first VHS?  Was it an explicit adult movie?  Was it old classics most people had moved on from?  Or was it an obscure South Korean Sports film?  Will we ever truly know?   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member a...

In the late 80's, a small animation studio reached out to Robin Williams to get him to voice a character in their upcoming film:  Ferngully the Last Rainforest.  Not long after, the Walt Disney company did the same, signing Williams on to voice the Genie in Aladdin. These events led to corporate espionage, Jeffrey Katzenberg yelling, a desperate real estate search, and an unwanted painting by Pabl...

In the 80's, business Tycoon and inspiration for Doug Dimmadome had an idea for using cartoons to educate children about the importance of environmentalism and saving the planet.  This idea would become "Captain Planet", and he's here to save the world.   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

In the year 2000, rollercoaster design and manufacturing company Intamin debuted their new Giga coaster for Cedar Point:  Millenium Force.  It was record breaking.  It drew the crowds.  It won awards.  It was everything Cedar Point was hoping for.  So they purchased more rides from Intamin, and more, and more.  Surely lightning could strike twice, right?    And then in comes the Top Thrill Dragste...

Anime Music Videos, or AMV's, have gone down in history as the national pastime of mid 2000's nerd-loving teens.  But how did the AMV get its start?  Who was the first person to think of combining anime footage with popular songs?  And what wild technical hurtles did this format face in the days before Windows Movie Maker?   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https...

Irish Hills Michigan is nowadays mostly known for its lush forests, plentiful outdoor activities, and an abundance of Irish Americans, however, in the 60's, it had a booming tourism industry with many colorful and exciting attractions that drew in visitors from all over Michigan. One of these attractions was Prehistoric Forest, a theme park mostly known for its dozens of dinosaur statues made of f...

What do "Delicious in Dungeon", "Final Fantasy", and "Dragon Quest" all have in common?  They all owe their inspiration to one american DDOS computer game from the 80's, "Wizardry". While Wizardry has fallen into obscurity in its home country of the USA, in Japan, Wizardry would go on to inspire decades of fantasy works.  But, how did this influential computer game even get made in a time before c...

The Kellogg's company shut down their cereal factory tours in the 1980's, replacing it with a new, high tech indoor theme park experience called Cereal City USA in 1998.  Located in Battle Creek, MI, Cereal City USA shared the story of Kellogg's and their cereal, but couldn't live up to lofty attendance projections, competition from other cereal based theme parks, and negative audience response to...

Brenda's on vacation this week, so we're here to present a slightly truncated version of one of our favorite episodes:  episode 87, Goosebumps!     This week your host Brenda takes you on a deep dive into the history of the second highest selling children’s book franchises in history:  Goosebumps, the brainchild of writer RL Stein.  This episode features haunted masks, childhood traumas, lost medi...

It's hard to imagine a time without the wild experimental shows on Cartoon Networks infamous nighttime block, Adult Swim, but in the early 2000's, a couple cartoon network employees would take a chunk of the channel's advertising budget and get to work (potentially in a closet) on creating a subversive, modern take on adult animation that would unknowingly change the genre forever.   Help support...

In 1997, Fox launched an advertising campaign for the Simpsons that involved giving away a real life recreation of the Simpsons house.  However, building a fictional house in real life isn't as easy as it might seem, and this would be just the beginning of the project's troubles.   Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmysteries

In the early 90's Marvel Comics, having just turned their luck around with the publishing of "X-Men #1" would collaborate with Pizza Hut to release one of the most hype fast food promos of all time.  This teamup would cement the X-Men's place in popular culture and make it the pop culture juggernaut it is today. Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun...

It's hard to imagine a world without Scooby Doo, but that was the reality that Hanna Barbera faced in the late 70's when Scooby Doo's network at the time, ABC, threatened to pull the plug unless something was done to bring new energy to the show.  Enter Scrappy Doo, Scooby's nephew and savior of the franchise.  Nowadays, he's the butt of the joke, a punchline, a villain, but in the 1980's he was j...