Now Playing at an Ocean Near You: "Attack of the Frankenfish Monster"
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
Release Date: 09/15/2025
Reschedule Thanksgiving? This President's Turkey of an Idea Gets Plucked and Cooked
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? As the Great Depression lingers on, the President and his advisors have a shiny new concept for boosting the lackluster U.S. economy: Reschedule Thanksgiving. That way, they reason, Christmas shoppers will have one more week to buy presents, thereby invigorating moribund retail sales. Instead, an irate populace immediately places this bird-brained concept on the chopping block. Listen, laugh and learn the who, what and why of it all in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is in...
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Jurassic Dork: Meet the Bonehead Actor Who Bought a Dinosaur Skull Instead of Paying His Taxes
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? He’s bought a jet. Two yachts. Three castles. Two Bahamian islands. A gaggle of mansions. Fifty cars (including a $495,000 Lamborghini). And a comic book collection worth $1.6 million. But it's this actor's quarter-million-dollar purchase of dinosaur bones (instead of paying his income taxes) that has brought the ire of the IRS -- and brought his finaces to the brink of extinction. Learn more about this uber-spendthrift thespian's lack-of-thought process in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the...
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Grammy Announcement Special: The Hit Song So "Secretly Obscene" the FBI Vowed to Ban It
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? It's the early '60s. Irate parents, religious groups and moral leaders are demanding government action. No, they’re not railing against the nation’s escalating incursion into Vietnam. Or its inertia on the issue of civil rights. They’ve got more important matters on their minds—like having the FBI find out once and for all if a hit song's "hidden dirty lyrics" are encouraging our young people to get freaky with each other. What did the Feds find? You won't believe your ears. Hear more in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode...
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Monsanto: The Dudes Who Made This Weed Deal Must Have Been High
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking Say you're a farmer. You get all excited in your overalls that there's now a new genetically-altered soy plant destined to eliminate the enormous cost of weeding your fields. As long as you spray your crop with a certain herbicide, you’ll never have to weed again. So goes the pitch to the world’s soy farmers, conveniently leaving out one key point: It’s all a load of manure. Learn all about the devasting impact of this disreputable GMO on worldwide food production in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst...
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He Was Dying to Become President -- and 30 Days Later, He Died
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? He's the tough-as-nails Indian fighter who eagerly rises to become the nation's ninth President. At the time the oldest man to be elected to the office, the sixty-seven-year-old decides to demonstrate his robust health by attending inaugural festivities—held outdoors on a cold, wet March day—without wearing an overcoat or hat. With in weeks, the grim reaper becomes his chief of staff. Learn who, how and why 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...
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The Dumbest Bet on a Horse Race in American History
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Were They Thinking? Sure there's speedy electronic messaging via the telegraph. And yes, the nearly-complete transcontinental railroad will transport millions of bags of mail in the coming months. But in 1860 America, a trio of wealthy businessmen believe that the future of rapid communication will be carried on the back of good old-fashioned horsepower – and that's depite the fact that racing a single message to its destination will cost as much as $197 in today's money. You might say this is an idea that lacks horsesense. Listen and learn all about it in this episode. More...
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Ted Danson's Black-Faced Minstrel Cramp
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? With the nation still reeling—and Los Angeles still smoldering—from the 1992 L.A. riots in minority communities, race is a red-hot issue in early 1990s America. Yet former Cheers jokester Ted Danson decides to fete his then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg at a Friars Club Roast with an N-word-laden monologue staged in the decidedly racist greasepaint makeup known as “blackface.” The reaction, as you might have guessed, is less than "cheery." Learn all about Ted's monumental misstep in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of...
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First Came "The Love Boat." Then Came the "Poop Cruise." Now Climb Aboard the "Holy 'Shit-tino' Death Boat"
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? Inebriated Carnival cruise-ship Capt. Francesco Schettino (later to be known as "Capt. Frank Shit-tino"), steers off course toward a rocky Italian shore, just so that the ship's headwaiter can wave to his homies standing on the beach. But amid all the frivolity, disaster, denials, indictments and death follows -- as Shit-tino abondons the longheld maritime directive that the captain must go down with the ship. 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...
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The Strange Reason Keith Richards Became Known as "Snuff Daddy"
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was He Thinking? Stones (and often "stoned") rocker Keith Richards, by his own admission, has inhaled an elephant’s trunk full of illicit substances over the past five decades. But his confession to a British magazine takes getting high to a new low. Find out the crazy concoction the fright-mask-faced guitarist has inhaled 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 remember to subscribe, like and comment. For 99...
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She Has Six Kids and Just Had Eight More – All at Once: Meet the Modern-Day Baby Machine Called "Octomom"
100 of the Worst Ideas in History
What Was She Thinking? She's an unemployed single mother of six with an idea: To undergo risky fertility treatments in order to birth octuplets -- and does so, becoming only the second American on record to birth eight babies at the same time. Welcome to the oddball, kid-crazy, headline-grabbing, reality-show-creating, wellfare-frauding, "I can't afford to house and feed my gaggle of offspring so I guess I'll try porn" world of the Octomom. Meet her in this episode. More Blundering Brainstorms to Come The next episode of "100 of the Worst Ideas in History, the Podcast" is in production...
info_outlineWhat Were They Thinking?
In their aquatic laboratory lair, Canadian scientists are playing god: Genetically alterring the genes of a typical 20-pound salmon in the hopes of creating a super salmon -- a 550-pound finned behemoth dubbed "Frankenfish." It's a creature designed to grow faster. Swim faster. Mate prodigiously. And redefine the all-you-can-eat dinner special at Frank's Fish House.
Will their creation live to roam the deep blue sea? Find out 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 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.