There is a war. It's been going on for hundreds of years. And there's only one victim: CHRISTMAS. Chris Plante dives deep into The War on Christmas. Where it started, why it started, and out frickin' ridiculous it is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Join us for another episode of The History of Fun! This week we're looking into the fascinating origins of the dreidel of Hannukah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A brief history of The Yule Lads and The Yule Cat of Iceland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A brief history of Black Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A brief history of Krampus, the anti-Santa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A brief history of the Presidential Turkey Pardon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A brief history of The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chris Plante dives deep into the fascinating origins of Trick or Treating. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A brief history of Mischief Night, the night before Halloween Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We're excited to announce that we're doing an extra special second season of The History of Fun, all about the origins of our favorite holiday traditions. Trick or treating! Krampus! The Icelandic Yule Cat! Season 2 of The History of Fun will kick off on Monday, October 29. See you then! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
While this episode is focused on both Brookstone and The Sharper Image, we all know which one sold full-sized replicas of The Predator, so we're just gonna go ahead and call this The Sharper Image episode. This also happens to be the very last episode of the first season of The History of Fun. But worry not! We'll be back in the Fall with a brand new season of fun stuff, probably involving surprisingly grim stories from Allegra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
This week on The History of Fun, Allegra regales us with the origins of Karaoke and the man that made it all happen. Pro-tip: Make sure you're really good if you ever try to sing "My Way." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alright, it's a Saturday night, it's 1995. What are you gonna do? Well, you're probably going to leave the lights on because you're watching ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? and other SNICK classics. This week, Chris Plante joins us to talk about Nickelodeon's classic programming rock block of All That, SpongeBob and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the water parks. Today Allegra Frank brings you the twisted history of waterparks and where they came from. She also decides to focus on some pretty grim stuff, so if you're a little squeamish about injury or death, you may want to, uh, come back next week? Anyway, FUN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week on The History of Fun, Allegra Frank fills us all in on the origins of MANGA and its biggest franchise: Shonen Jump. Yes, if you've always been perplexed about the world of manga, this is the episode for you. And if you're already a fan of manga, there's a fair chance that we mispronounce at least one thing in this episode. Not Allegra, though. She's a pro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week we welcome special guest Matt Patches to discuss the history of Mission Impossible, from its origins as a Cold War-era TV show to the every-4-years film franchise we've come to know and love. We thought we'd look back given that the sixth (and final? who knows!) movie, Mission Impossible: Fallout, comes out on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Whether it's Drug Wars or that weird penguin platforming game, the TI-83 calculator had something for everyone! On this episode we welcome special guest, Jon Bois of SBNation, to talk about the magic and wonder of gaming on a calculator, while also occasionally using it for schoolwork. Fair to say that Texas Instruments has a pretty good scheme going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With Chris Plante on vacation we welcome none other than Colin Campbell, resident soccer expert (so much so that he calls it football!), to talk about the origins and some of the wacky moments from the history of the FIFA World Cup. Let's all take a moment to celebrate a dog named Pickles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On this, the week of America's independence, we celebrate the ability for humans to consume low-grade meat at extremely fast rates. Chris Plante digs into the surprisingly-fraught history of the world famous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest, as well as its most famous (and controversial) competitor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week on The History of Fun, we're diving into the origins of the roller coaster. We're not talking about your grand pappy's roller coaster! Well, actually we kinda are. And maybe your great great grandpappy's. Suffice it to say, hella old roller coasters. Join Russ Frushtick as he LEAPS THOSE DIPS! Special thanks to Foo Obsessed for the great Reader Only Memories theme song! Soundcloud link here: https://soundcloud.com/foo_obsessed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/...
Quite possibly the world's most famous cat (take that Garfield), Sanrio's Hello Kitty is a juggernaut. But where did this strange cat without a mouth come from? And could it be possible that she's NOT A CAT BUT RATHER A HUMAN GIRL? Yeah, things get weird, thanks to Allegra Frank and the rest of your friends at The History of Fun! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's the most well-known gaming conference, but its humble origins may surprise you! This week we're diving into the history of E3, home to Sonic, Mario and all your friends. Chris Plante is on the case, covering the story of the show from start to finish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Even if you don't care about football and don't give a hoohah about Jonathan Madden and his bus-loving stylings, the story of the biggest sports game franchise ever is quite a yarn! Join Chris Plante as his spins this pigskin into a, I don't know, football or something! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week on The History of Fun we're diving into three major icons in the history of Sports Mascotting. Yes, it's important and stuff! Discover the early days of mascots, the most famous dog mascot and the most famous mascot with a baseball head! --- Vox's new Netflix show, Explained, digs into the most fascinating and misunderstood topics of the day, from cryptocurrency to the racial wealth gap. Watch on Netflix now! netflix.com/explained Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....
This week we're exploring a very specific part of the Pokemon phenomenon: Pokemon Cards! Where did they come from? Are they still around? What do they have to do with Magic: The Gathering? Allegra Frank tells all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week on The History of Fun we're inviting friend of the show and resident wrestling expert, Patrick Gill, to talk about an infamous moment in wrestling history, but don't don’t let this man distract you from the fact that in 1998, The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer’s table. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
There was once a time where countries would throw these raucous, baller parties just to show off how dope they are. They were called World's Fairs. And although they technically still exist, they really don't. Russ looks back and celebrates some of the greatest World's Fairs ever held. Long live the Tennessee Wigsphere! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The wackiest (and most disasterous) Nintendo console of all time goes under the microscope! Who's bright idea was it to create this silly helmet contraption in the first place? Will it make you go blind? And what's with all the red? Chris Plante uncovers the truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Neopets seem to be popping in the news lately, so we thought we'd shift this episode up a little bit in our schedule so y'all could learn the truth behind the craze that swept the internet. Allegra takes the wheel and fills us in on her penchant for pet theft, as well as the connections between Neopets and Scientology. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's fair to say that no toy in the history of the world has caused more carnage than the trampoline. Seems like a perfect fit for Allegra Frank, who clearly hates them but decided, yet again, to pick something she hates. Join her and us as we soar to the highest of highs and then break our bones upon landing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
