Oddball History

A biweekly weird-history podcast based in Dallas, TX WILD & TRUE stories 🤯 OCCASIONAL guests 🤝 Starring comedians Jimmy Nelson & Scott Crisp

90: Oddball History Holiday Classic - Part 2 12/29/2025

90: Oddball History Holiday Classic - Part 2 Come on in, the water's warm. Part 2 of the Oddball History Holiday Classic Chapters: (00:00) Intro (00:57) The Last Castrato (09:20) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (15:31) Scott Goes Ghost Hunting (23:19) Margaret Howe Does Hand Stuff with Dolphins (31:12) Tusko: The Elephant That Took Too Much Acid (41:24) Robert Cornish - Boy Genius (50:40) Gladiator Blood and Encino Man (54:35) John C. Woods - The Worst (Best?) Executioner (01:03:20) Cadaver Synod - A Pope Skeleton is put on trial /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/39522905

89: Oddball History Holiday Classic - Part 1 12/15/2025

89: Oddball History Holiday Classic - Part 1 Check out our favorite segments from the past 2 years. Happy Holidays to you and yours. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (01:58) Jacques Ferron and the RIghteous Donkey (08:46) Ken Allen the escAPE artist...get it? escAPE? (17:13) The First Ever Diss Track - Sumerian Dog Poem (21:41) Scott Gets Mad at Us - Texas Rangers (28:25) Gary Suitor gets cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers (34:47) A Night out with Rube Waddell (39:32) Georgia Tech Devastates a non-football team (42:31) Roy Sullivan gets struck by lightning a lot (47:46) Akitu - Sumerian New Years - All Hail Marduk! /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/39378915

88: Insane Early 2000s Reality TV, Revisited 12/01/2025

88: Insane Early 2000s Reality TV, Revisited The early 2000s were a different time. A better time? Depends who you ask. We'll be covering Boy Meets Boy, Kid Nation, and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:20) Top Comments (08:32) Boy Meets Boy (Bravo 2003) (16:06) Kid Nation (CBS 2007) (28:42) My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance (Fox 2004) (35:35) Podcastin' /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/39202840

87: The HMS Wager: Boats, Betrayal, B...urvival 11/17/2025

87: The HMS Wager: Boats, Betrayal, B...urvival The HMS Wager did everything wrong. Here is the story of the shipwreck, mutiny, and return home to merry old England. Chapters (00:00) Intro (08:40) Top Comments (21:55) The HMS Wager (45:49) Podcastin' /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/39038005

86: Con-Mania: History's Best Conmen 11/03/2025

86: Con-Mania: History's Best Conmen We'll cover Gregor MacGregor, George C. Parker, and Natwarlal. Also butts and stuff. Chapters (00:00) Intro (02:58) Top Comments (20:37) Gregor MacGregor Makes Up a Country (28:15) George C. Parker has a bridge to sell you (33:53) Natwarlal, India's legendary conman (39:34) Honorable Mention: Alan Conway and Stanley Kubrick (42:45) Stand Up Shows and Dumb Thoughts /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/38862810

85: Victor Lustig: King of the Con 10/20/2025

85: Victor Lustig: King of the Con The conman so nice, he sold the Eiffel Tower twice! And more such stories. Enjoy. Chapters (00:00) Intro (02:14) Top Comments (22:24) Victor Lustig: King of the Con (55:42) Show Dates and Chit Chat /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/38625200

84: 222-0: Football's Biggest Blowout 10/06/2025

84: 222-0: Football's Biggest Blowout Georgia Tech and Cumberland faced off in 1916. The Yellow Jackets won 222-0. This is that story. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (05:05) Top Comments + Some Meandering (26:06) 1916 Georgia Tech vs. Cumberland Beatdown (45:58) Idle chit chat and stand up comedy dates /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/38457255

83: American Folklore: Fact vs. Folktion 09/22/2025

83: American Folklore: Fact vs. Folktion Two comedians/poorly researched historians dive into American folk heroes and the very real people behind the tall tales. Chapters (00:00) Intro (03:05) Top Comments (18:55) Johnny Appleseed/John Chapman (27:31) Paul Bunyan/Fabian "Joe" Fournier (38:43) John Henry/Much smaller John Henry (45:07) Comedy shows and chit chat /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/38290605

82: History's Got Talent 09/08/2025

82: History's Got Talent We check out some of history's strangest performers. Enjoy! Chapters: (00:00) Intro (03:25) Top Comments (21:54) Le Petomane - the French Farter (31:02) Alessandro Moreschi - The Last Castrato (38:44) Matthias Buchinger - No hands, lotta magic (44:11) Hadji Ali - The Greatest Regurgitator (49:44) Charles Lauri Jr - The First Furry (55:15) Hot Goss and Comedy Shows /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/38106085

81: Riots, Riots & More Riots 08/25/2025

81: Riots, Riots & More Riots This week, we take you down memory lane of some of the strangest riots on recent history Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:58) Top Comments (18:08) The Straw Hat Riot of 1922 (24:30) Astor Place Shakespeare Riot of 1849 (32:43) Toronto Clown vs Firefighter Riot (42:02) Honorable Mention: English Bread Riots (43:40) Hot pod! Get your hot pod! /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/37931700

80: Bernarr MacFadden: America's First Fitness Freak 08/11/2025

80: Bernarr MacFadden: America's First Fitness Freak The title really does a good job at saying what this one is about. Chapters (00:00) Intro (04:34) Top Comments (13:43) Bernarr MacFadden (47:25) Straight Up Podcast Chat - Also come see us live. /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/37726715

79: Smedley Butler, Anti-War Hero 07/28/2025

79: Smedley Butler, Anti-War Hero Smedley Butler - author of "War is a Racket" - did a whole lot of war himself. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (06:05) Top Comments (12:15) Smedley Butler, the history part of the podcast (49:29) Podcastin' /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/37551965

78: John R. Brinkley The Goat Gland "Doctor" 07/14/2025

78: John R. Brinkley The Goat Gland "Doctor" John R. Brinkley was an all-time quack doctor, famous for transplanting goat testicles into humans to cure pretty much anything...he also was a pioneer in country music, it's a long story. Chapters (00:00) Intro (05:31) Top Comments (17:00) John R. Brinkley (49:40) Chittin' and Chattin' /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/37377385

77: A Salute to Whales (Well Mostly Orcas) 06/30/2025

77: A Salute to Whales (Well Mostly Orcas) This one is about whales. The title really says what you need to know. Chapters (00:00) Intro (02:30) Top Comments (15:08) Whales! Whales! Whales! (17:30) Porphyrios - An Old Fashioned Sea Monster (22:30) Old Tom the Helpful Orca (28:15) The Original Shamu (31:05) Orca Serial Killers, Port and Starboard (36:02) The Exploding Whale of Oregon (48:00) Chittin' and Chattin' /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/37154605

76: Baseball's Craziest Crazy Man, Rube Waddell 06/16/2025

76: Baseball's Craziest Crazy Man, Rube Waddell Rube Waddell, one of the craziest figures in baseball history. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (05:41) Top Comments (18:43) Rube Waddell (01:03:23) Comedy Shows and Idle Chit Chat /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/36962950

75: Street Gangs of Yesteryear 06/02/2025

75: Street Gangs of Yesteryear This week we dive into the streetgangs of yesteryear. There's goofy french fighting, the real gangs of new york, and everyone has a silly name. Enjoy. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:04 Top Comments 12:55 Streetgangs of Yesteryear 14:09 Les Apaches: French street subculture 24:52 The Dead Rabbits Riot of 1857: The Real Gangs of New York 34:42 The Gopher Gang and other such silly names 39:56 40 Elephants: The Original Girl Bosses 46:33 Chit chat and stand up dates /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/36800375

74: Adventures in Grave Robbing 05/19/2025

74: Adventures in Grave Robbing The gang goes grave robbing. Enjoy. Chapters (00:00) Intro (04:28) Top Comments (14:32) Stealing Lincoln's Corpse (22:51) King Richard II...not I (27:16) Galileo Gives God the Bird (31:12) Charlie Chaplin's Wife not Impressed (35:57) Elvis Grave Conspiracy (39:50) Black Market Composer Skulls (47:24) Doctor Riots (55:23) Idle Chit Chat /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/36604895

73: The Oddball Guide to Staying Healthy Through History 05/05/2025

73: The Oddball Guide to Staying Healthy Through History On this episode of Oddball History we go through popular medical remedies through history. The ancient greeks, romans, egyptians, random British people - you know, history. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (04:45) Top Comments (24:21) Ok, we're starting the topic (24:24) Ancient Egypt: The Ebers Papyrus (31:10) Ancient Greece: The Wandering Womb (34:39) Ancient Rome: Gladiator Blood (41:00) Dung-related Medicine (44:52) Milk Transfusions (49:56) Dead Whae Hotel (54:38) Chit Chat/Comedy Stuff /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/36414865

72: Capital FUNishment 04/21/2025

72: Capital FUNishment Capital FUNishment: The Lighter Side of capital punishment. Join us this week as we go through some of the more colorful executioners in history. Chapters (00:00) Intro (05:04) Top Comments (17:42) Capital FUNishment (18:18) Lady Betty: Irish Hanglady (24:54) William Marwood: Teaching an old dog new tricks...murder tricks (28:59) John C. Woods: American Hero/Liar (37:23) Jack Ketch: The Babe Ruth of Unskilled Executioners (42:43) John Thrift: The Tower of London Crier (50:11) Strangulation Fun Facts (55:02) Chit chat, stand up, fire stories /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/36234540

71: Historic Hell Gigs 04/07/2025

71: Historic Hell Gigs This week we dive into historic hell gigs. As comedians, we've all died on stage, but this group did it literally. Chapters (00:00) Intro (05:49) Top Comments (17:47) French Shakespeare Moliere (26:56) Lions eat a band (29:20) Lions also eat a Reverend (40:38) World's smallest harmonica (43:18) Nick Parkyakarkus aka Harry Einstein (53:53) Honorable Mention: Siegfried and Roy (55:21) Honorable Mention: Sam Patch the Yankee Leaper (59:33) Chit chat and show dates /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/36022040

70: A Salute to Dogs 03/24/2025

70: A Salute to Dogs Today's Oddball History. We give a salute to the dogs of history. Chapters (00:00) Intro (06:29) Top Comments (20:40) Bummer and Lazarus (39:54) Spuds Mackenzie and Remember the Titans (45:02) Ancient Dog Epitaphs (52:48) Balto's Stolen Valor (01:08:11) Sgt. Stubby (01:15:30) Chit chat /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/35821785

69: Mascot Mania 03/10/2025

69: Mascot Mania This week we cover the many mascots that have brought joy to our lives. They also seem to get sued a lot and do crime! Chapters: (00:00) Intro (03:47) Top Comments (15:25) Phillie Phanatic gets sued a lot (27:45) San Diego Chicken: A story of humility (37:26) New Jersey Devils Mascot gets handsy (39:44) Chicago Cubs' Fat Boy (43:52) Jumbo the Elephant (47:18) Peruna didn't attack that ram (52:57) Comedy and Stuff /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/35583790

68: A Series of Unfortunate Historical Figures 02/24/2025

68: A Series of Unfortunate Historical Figures The gang goes deep on some of the unluckiest people in history. The Japanese guy in both atomic bombs, a lady on many famous sinking ships, and who knew Abraham Lincoln's son was a harbinger of doom for 3 U.S. Presidents. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (05:06) Top Comments (11:42) Tsutomu Yamaguchi - Double A-Bomb Guy (18:35) Violet Jessop Sinks Ships (25:04) Robert Todd Lincoln - Harbinger of Doom (30:00) Roy Sullivan Gets Struck by Lighting...a lot (35:02) Honorable Mentions (43:00) Comedy Shows and Dumb Thoughts /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/35371245

67: Charles in Charge (of France) 02/10/2025

67: Charles in Charge (of France) Charles VI, King of France, went from "the Beloved" to "the Mad" in a very short time frame. Here is that story. We also discuss Luka, gay-aliens, and there's 4 or 5 Stone Cold Steve Austin impersonations. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (01:38) Top Comments (11:42) Charles VI Starts (15:21) First brush with crazy (22:23) The Ball des Ardents (Ball of the burning men) (31:54) Full Blown Crazy Time (45:43) Traitors, Book Reviews, Comedy, Luka... /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/35196990

66: The Bone Wars 01/27/2025

66: The Bone Wars Edward Cope and OC Marsh were late 19th century paleontologists that were married to the game...until it quit loving them back. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (03:54) Top Comments (14:41) Meet the Characters (23:58) The Bone Wars Start (34:28) The Bone Wars get real (49:20) Comedy and Stuff /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/34986245

65: Animal Researchers Gone Wild! 01/13/2025

65: Animal Researchers Gone Wild! This week on Oddball History: The strange stories of animal researchers gone wild. Dolphins get satisfied, earth worms have bassoons blown on them, and a Russian guy tries to make an Ape-Man chimera. We got it all. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:58) Top Comments (12:09) Cool Rats Like Jazz (18:03) Elephants on Acid (27:09) When a Woman Loves a Dolphin (35:35) Men and Women are Different (41:26) Russian Ape-Man Chimeras (44:55) Charles Darwin Bonus! (46:36) Comedy + Fire Talk /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/34793425

64: New Years Through History 12/30/2024

64: New Years Through History We look into New Years traditions throughout history. Per usual, Gilmore Girls and other stuff comes up. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:56) Top Comments (09:37) Akitu, Ancient New Years (18:16) Romanian Dancing Bears (24:23) Touching Peacocks (29:30) Bible Dipping (31:38) NYC Ball Drop (34:20) Black Eyed Peas (37:02) The Moment of Truth, TV Show (42:15) The Plugging of Dates (43:38) The Beach Boys (46:38) Gilmore Girls & Simpsons (51:26) Cow Commercials & Christmas Gifts /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/34638840

63: Strange Saints & Mischievous Martyrs 12/16/2024

63: Strange Saints & Mischievous Martyrs This week on Oddball History, we break down some of the strangest saints and martyrs the Catholics have to offer. We also go through last shows top comments, fire department physicals and break down the secret Rock of Love/Below Deck murder connection. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:11) Top Comments (11:36) Drogo: Saint of Ugly People (13:32) Barbara: Saint of Explosions (14:40) Fiacre: Saint of Hemorrhoids (17:03) Simeon the Stylite: Saint of Puppeteers (18:32) Bibiana: Saint of Hangovers (19:54) Lawrence: Saint of Comedians (21:01) Gummarus: Saint of Difficult Marriages (25:03) Saint Denis: Saint of Headaches (28:22) Erasmus: Saint of Tummy Aches (30:44) Agatha: Saint of Breast Ailments (31:44) Giles: Saint of Breastfeeding (34:31) Smithin: Saint of Eggs (36:11) Rita: Saint of Impossible Causes (38:43) Nicholas: You know the one (41:09) Fire Department Physicals (45:55) Old Timey Radio Shows (49:00) Family Game Night (52:35) Taco Bell Inflation (53:51) Rock of Love and Live Dates /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/34440325

62: Painless Parker Dentistry 12/02/2024

62: Painless Parker Dentistry Episode 62: "Painless" Parker, the story of a dentist. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (07:27) Painless Parker (11:54) The Parker Dental Circus (17:11) Painless Parker = Legal Scholar (20:26) Remembering Painless Parker (25:33) Thanksgiving (27:56) A Wedding (29:12) Nick Lachey Makes A Joke (30:37) Fire Station Pranks and Comedy (38:56) Comedy + Fights /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/34217085

61: Mario Tonelli + Erwin Rommel = A Podcast 11/18/2024

61: Mario Tonelli + Erwin Rommel = A Podcast Episode 61 of Oddball History Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:11) Top Comments (07:11) Mario Tonelli (22:06) Rommel, the Nicest Nazi (26:28) Would you rather? (31:31) Scott finds Jesus (33:19) Questionable Reddit discovery (37:55) Cowboys Update (40:49) Stand Up Comedy /episode/index/show/f60b9180-7f20-4dc6-a813-e12313c99270/id/33957142

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