Stuff You Should Know

In this classic episode, we finish revisiting our 2017 tour of the best sights of the ancient world when we get deep into the history of a lighthouse that stood for 1200 years, an unsettling statue of Zeus, the world’s first mausoleum, and Chuck’s favorite, the Colossus of Rhodes! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women inventors have always had a tough time, for obvious reasons. So we're here today to pay tribute to those who persevered in the face of the laws and customs that prevented progress.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While it sounds like something out of a movie, some POWs in WWII really held an Olympics. And it happened more than once.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dopamine is perhaps the most talked-about, most misunderstood biochemical in our bodies. It’s linked to not only addiction and depravity, but also focus, motivation, and living a productive life. How can one molecule be so many things to so many people? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you know the feeling that occurs when the health inspector pays a visit. While nerve wracking, it's the best insurance patrons have that their food will be prepared and served in a proper environment. Learn all about how these inspections work, from their past history to current incarnation, in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

When paperboys stopped delivering a couple of very big newspapers in 1899 it was a big deal. Big enough that the two biggest publishers in the world got pretty scared. But did it actually accomplish anything?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of what happened to the car that James Dean crashed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whistling is pretty cool when you think about it because it can mean many things, from simple happy tunes to legit communication. Learn all about this ubiquitous skill today.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before slide rulers and pocket protectors, civilizations across the world used their noggins to build some impressive structures. Almost all have crumbled to ruins over the millennium, but thanks to the earliest tourists, we admire them still today. Explore some of them with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wikipedia changed the world. Before it came along, you had to go to the library to get the answers you sought. And you and your friends had to just agree to disagree on facts. And as the internet grew and commercialized, Wikipedia remains free and open. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Those armrests in the middle of benches aren’t just for your comfort, they’re intended to keep the homeless from laying on them. Cities are filled with these mean-spirited inconveniences. But who’s to say how a person should use a bench? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In almost every part of the world, in some form or fashion, widows have things harder than they did when their spouses were alive. In some places it means they pay higher taxes, in others it means they’re ostracized to live on the margins of society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About 5,300 years ago a Copper Age shepherd was murdered. He just happened to die in a place where his body was so well preserved that gave researchers an actual shot at determining the course of his final day on Earth. Josh and Chuck take you through their reconstruction in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we take to the friendly skies to detail the fascinating history of air travel. From planes with piano bars and lounges to the current no frills varieties.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The peace sign is one of the most globally recognized symbols around today, but it’s only a few decades old. And it wasn’t the hippies who created it, it was a group of Brits dedicated to nuclear disarmament in the 50s. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think of an abused spouse we tend to think of horrific physical or emotional violence. But over the last decade or so, it’s become clear that’s only a symptom – that domestic abuse is in fact an all-consuming form of interpersonal terrorism.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's pretty obvious something's gone wrong when you get a sunburn, but did you know a tan means you've damaged your DNA? Dive into the three Ss of summer and learn all about how to protect yourself from the sun. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the last decade American schools became enrapt by a new psychological concept centered on persevering. Things went south when they started attaching funding to it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn all about the saddest phone notification in today's episode.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've probably been to a symphony performance and wondered, what in the heck are conductors doing up there anyway? Well we're here to explain that as best we can. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Think tanks? More like stink tanks! We're kidding. Think tanks do valuable work, when they operate in a non-partisan way of course. Learn all about the history of these heady institutions in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you grew up in the 70s and 80s in America, you probably have the image of your tattered Guinness Book of Records. The book was ubiquitous then, but is still thriving today in despite the internet.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mudlarking is a uniquely British hobby, though you can dig through river mud anywhere there's a river. But the Thames has the good stuff.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unit 731 was a secret group within the Japanese Army in WWII that committed unspeakable atrocities against humans in the name of scientific research. Listen with caution.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one - no one - likes to vomit, but there are some people who would prefer to die rather than vomit, people who spend their days worrying they will vomit at any moment and become so obsessed they curtail their lives to prevent it from happening. Learn all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.