The Presidential Assassin's Gunshot That Backfires Bigtime
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
Release Date: 11/10/2024
The Superman of Inventors: Common Sense is His Kryptonite
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? An inventor since his teen years, he's Superman when it comes to conjuring up revolutionary innovations: the safety pin, the sewing machine, the fountain pen and the repeating rifle, among others. But he’s kryptonite when it comes to business. Listen and learn how this man's revolutionary innovations made millions for others, yet left him to die penniless. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is in production and on its way to you. Watch for it wherever you get your podcasts. And remember to...
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Mad Hatters Introduce the Hippest in Urine-Soaked, Mercury-Infused, Camel-Hair Headwear
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? In the race to create fashion-forward, Euro-hip menswear, nineteenth-century hatmakers aren’t using their heads. Selecting the finest Turkish camel hair with which to produce hat felt, they discover that soaking the fibers in camel urine greatly enhances quality and manufacturing efficiency. One problem: Yet just as mercury makes for beautiful hats, it does ugly things to the human body and mind. Listen and learn how the term "mad hatter" went from an "Alice in Wonderland" fantasy to a grim 19th century reality. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The...
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Father's Day Special: 100 Worst Ideas on the Air -- Author Interview with WNFL radio in Green Bay
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? Well, the producers at talk radio station WNFL were thinking that putting "100 of the Worst Ideas in History" on their airwaves might be a good idea -- and they were right. The infotaining repartee ensues as author Michael Smith shares his insights on the ill-fated XFL football league, the fat-free food additive that caused embarassing digestive issues, the most dangerous kids' game ever invented and much more. Listen, laugh and learn more in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is...
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The "Space Western" That Dozens of Movie Studios Hated -- and Millions of Moviegoers Have Loved Ever Since
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? In the sparkling-water-swilling, $3,000-suit- wearing, have-your-masseuse-call-my-masseuse world of Hollywood film production, saying yes to a film concept is fraught with peril. If the movie bombs, you could lose your job (not to mention your masseuse). Saying no, on the other hand, is easy -- except when the movie you and every other major studio pooh-poohs goes on to become the original summer blockbuster -- and the springboard for one of the most successful movie franchises in history. Listen, laugh and learn all about it in this episode. More Blundering...
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The Cocaine-Laced Dental Care Product That Might Rot Your Teeth
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? John Pemberton is an Atlanta pharmacist. What he's not is a savvy product marketer -- or a particularly smart businessman. So his kooky blend of a dark, sticky, sugary syrup spiced with a pinch of cocaine, specially formulated to help patients with everything from migraines to upset stomachs to toothaches to impotence, alas, goes nowhere. So he sells his rather unique syrup recipe to a fellow pharmacist across town. What happens next leaves both pharmacists astounded -- and leaves worldthristy for more. Listen and learn all about it in this episode. More Blundering...
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Memorial Day Special: The Double Agent Double Cross That Fooled Hitler and Beat the Nazis
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? German military intelligence learns that an Allied invasion of Europe is imminent. What they don’t know is where or when they will attack. So Nazi leader Adolf Hitler turns to his most trusted intelligence advisor, Juan Pujol García. But there’s one measly little problem with good old Juan: Unbeknownst to Hitler, García is actually a double agent working for the British, code-named “Garbo.” What follows is a double-cross that changes the course of WWII -- and of world history. Listen and learn all about it in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to...
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The Pubic Hairpiece: The Strangest Coverup in Fashion History (parental advisory)
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? Seventeenth-century hookers have a pubic problem that’s gone public. Doing the nasty with numerous lice-ridden sailors, farmers, vagrants, and sundry dirty scoundrels has left parasites o’plenty in the working girls’ privates. And that’s proving to be bad for business. Yet this old-world invention is still in use today. Listen and learn all about it in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is in production and on its way to you. Watch for it wherever you get your podcasts. And...
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The Federal Investigation of the Hit Song That Advocates Deviant Teen Sex -- But Does It?
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? This hit song produced for a mere $36 by a bunch of drunken hipsters is the traget of a multimillion-dollar FBI investigation. Does it encorage American teens to have perverse sexual relations? Religious groups say: Yes! Parents say: "Gosh-darn-it, we hope not." The Feds say: "We'll, ah, get back to you on that." Listen, laugh and learn all about this tough-to-discern fight for artitistic freedom in today's episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is in production and on its way to you. Watch...
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Is Balloon Boy Trapped Inside an Inflatable 7,000 ft. Aloft -- Or is This Story Full of Hot Air?
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What was He Thinking? National Guard choppers race to the scene in breakneck aerial pursuit. Local Fort Collins, Colorado, police give frenzied chase on the ground below. Denver airport is hurriedly closed. All while the eyes of a nation are riveted to the strange, saucer-shaped object floating aimlessly overhead. Is a six-year-old Colorado boy precariously trapped inside, as his distraught father claims? And, if so, what will be the kid's fate when the craft inevitably deflates and hurtles toward earth? Listen and learn the truth -- and the fiction -- behind the media-dubbed "Balloon...
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Superhero Breaks into a Home for a Drug-Induced Kiddie-Bed Sleepover
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? He's the superhero actor who does comething super-strange: Under the influence of heroin and cocaine, he speeds down Sunset Boulevard naked while packing a .357 magnum. He’s soon arrested—all the while claiming to officers that his car is filled with rats. Not long after, wearing nothing more than a pair of briefs and a smile, stumbles drunkenly into an unoccupied Malibu home, falls asleep on a child’s bed and is arrested again. Who is this Oscar-nominated thespian? Listen and learn all about it in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode...
info_outlineWhat Was He Thinking?
You might say that this hunky stage actor, critically acclaimed as “the handsomest man in America,” is the Brad Pitt of his day.
Yet below his chiseled cheekbones, a dark rage lurks -- a post-war rage he focuses on the commander in chief of the United States. Yet while he succeeds by the barrel of a gun, he fails in his ultimate goal, instead becoming an American villian of historic proportions.
More Blundering Brainstorms to Come
The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is in production and on its way to you. Watch for it wherever you get your podcasts. And remember to subscribe, like and comment.
For 99 other examples of historical, hysterical stinkin’ thinkin’ from the past, get your copy of popular book "100 of the Worst Ideas in History," available at Amazon.com and better retailers everywhere. Audiobook now available at Audible.com and other platforms.