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Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Selects: Geodesic Domes: The Wave of the Future That Wasn't

Stuff You Should Know

  • 140 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 58:05

Sometimes a good idea doesn’t pan out in real life. Take Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome: It requires less energy to heat and cool, it’s cheap, and it’s durable enough to withstand a hurricane – but it’s also godawful ugly and that was its undoing. Learn more with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like, here's the episode on "like"

Stuff You Should Know

  • 150 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 45:12

Like is a very divisive word. Purists think it's like, a filler word born in the 80s that's like, destroying the English language. Turns out none of these are like, true. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: The Original Snake Oil Salesman

Stuff You Should Know

  • 190 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 13:01

There’s a great origin story behind snake oil salesmen, and it has to do with just one guy who singlehandedly gave it a bad name.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What Americans Ate When There Were No Food Laws

Stuff You Should Know

  • 190 views
  • about 1 month ago
  • 56:06

There was a brief period in America’s history – after people left the farm to work in the city and before the government started regulating it – when there was a total, lawless free-for-all in the food industry. Things were bad. Really, really bad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Selects: The Unabomber: Misguided to say the least

Stuff You Should Know

  • 140 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 53:33

The Unabomber was one of the most notorious and longest lasting cases in the history of the FBI. Just because the manifesto reads like he was a fortune teller doesn't make his actions any less deplorable. Learn all about this fascinating case in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's the Pygmalion Effect?

Stuff You Should Know

  • 210 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 54:03

Do teachers and managers give special treatment to those who they're told have great academic or professional promise? Does this create a self-fulfilling prophecy, regardless of the truth? That's just part of the fascinating Pygmalion Effect.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: School Bus Yellow

Stuff You Should Know

  • 160 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 14:58

Why are all school buses the same color? Because one man made it so. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clue(do): Third Best Board Game Ever

Stuff You Should Know

  • 150 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 56:43

Whether you know it as Clue or Cluedo, the whodunnit mystery board game is one of the best of all time. Learn all about the history behind the game’s development, and strategies on how to crush your fellow players as soundly as Chuck’s wife crushes him.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Selects: How Disgust Works

Stuff You Should Know

  • 210 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 01:02:56

Disgust is an odd thing. It makes sense that we would feel a sense of revulsion at the thought of putting rotten meat in our mouths – that’s pure evolution. But why would we feel the same emotion at the thought of weird sex or from hearing a racist rant? Find out more in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The History of Las Vegas

Stuff You Should Know

  • 190 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 57:31

How did the sleepy Nevada town of Las Vegas become LAS VEGAS? Well, we'll let you know over the course of about 45 minutes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: Wainscoting: When Half a Wall is Enough

Stuff You Should Know

  • 170 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 14:16

Wainscoting is a beloved and time-tested decorative way to spruce up your walls. But what is it anyway? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Harrowing Story of the North Hollywood Shootout

Stuff You Should Know

  • 190 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 01:00:47

Tune in today to listen to the story of when North Hollywood became a war zone after a brazen bank robbery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Selects: A List Of Games You Would Surely Lose to a Computer

Stuff You Should Know

  • 160 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 01:04:43

We live in a time where computers can beat the best humans in the world at chess, checkers, poker and video games. But these games are really just demonstrations of how intelligent our machines are growing. They’re growing more intelligent by the hour. This classic episode features a special guest, Tech Stuff's Jonathan Strickland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Esperanto: Tre Mojosa

Stuff You Should Know

  • 140 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 57:00

One thing you could do is create your own language. Some people do and for lots of different reasons. LL Zamenhof created Esperanto to try to bring about world peace. It worked, but on a less-than-global scale.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: Hot Cold Plunge

Stuff You Should Know

  • 180 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 16:41

Jumping into a cold pool after a long sauna or hot tub can be pretty great. Saunas have proven health benefits like lowering blood pressure; cold plunges are shown to reduce inflammation. Why not combine them? A bunch of safety reasons, bucko, that’s why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Strange Unsolved Murder of Ken McElroy

Stuff You Should Know

  • 160 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 54:52

The murder of Ken McElroy comes off like a story from a cheap paperback book you’d get to read on a plane. But this is a true crime story, set in Missouri in the early 80s. And boy does it pack a punch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Selects: Is yogurt a miracle food?

Stuff You Should Know

  • 160 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 53:55

Yogurt has been touted as a health food, but is it? Maybe. If you eat it every day. We get into the rich and creamy history of this supposed miracle food in today's episode. Get an earful of the stuff in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Selects: Dr. Seuss: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Stuff You Should Know

  • 250 views
  • 3 months ago
  • 01:01:18

The Seuss is loose in this episode about legendary children's book author Ted Geisel. The funny thing is, he didn't ever want children of his own, and his past work was a bit problematic. Explore his entire legacy in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2000 Presidential Election: A Real Cluster

Stuff You Should Know

  • 260 views
  • 3 months ago
  • 01:01:13

When George W Bush and Al Gore ran against one another, most pundits predicted a tight race. Absolutely zero of them predicted the election would come down to a few hundred votes. Today, we still don’t know who won.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short Stuff: Blueprints

Stuff You Should Know

  • 250 views
  • 3 months ago
  • 14:38

The story of why blueprints were blue is more involved than you think. It involves a chemical process and the Prussian Army. Yeah you heard me right.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.