Half-Arsed History

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the tale of Elmer McCurdy, whose brief career as an unsuccessful criminal was overshadowed by a much longer posthumour career as a sideshow attraction.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, get across a few more of the funniest art heists in history - including, unusually, an update on something featured in a previous episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The telescope is a device that, for the last four hundred years, has helped us unlock the mysteries and secrets of our solar system, galaxy, and indeed universe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Egon Kisch Affair, when the Australian government went to ludicrous and ultimately unsuccessful lengths to block an anti-Nazi campaigner from entering the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, learn all about the Knights Templar - who they were, why they were founded, what they did, and what led to their ultimate downfall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The flushing toilet not only represents a very important development in the history of human sanitation and health, but is also a lot of fun to talk about on a tinpot history podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the mysterious tale of the Mary Celeste - an abandoned, derelict ship that was discovered floating in the middle of the Atlantic, with no sign of what had happened to its crew. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, hear about some of the longest wars that were never actually fought - four different conflicts where war was declared before being ignored or just plain forgotten about, in some cases for several centuries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The printing press is one of or perhaps the most important invention in human history, inspiring revolutions across science, religion, society, culture, and politics by making information more accessible than ever before.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Cadaver Synod, the time a dead pope was dug up out of the ground and put on trial as a corpse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, hear about five of the most ridiculous stories to emerge from the history of papal conclaves - from foul-mouthed brawling, to papier-mache crowns, to the time there were four popes in a single year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clocks are everywhere - we are more or less always surrounded by timekeeping devices of all different kinds, but it was the mechanical clock, specifically, that ushered in an era of accurate, reliable horology.Marshall Sutcliffe from Wristwatch Revival working on the watches I wear:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJFNcfT-7HQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5ziU2-9yOohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eQp4VAjZ00 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the Defenestrations of Prague, an account of the multiple time that angry Bohemian Protestants have hurled Catholics out of windows as acts of political protest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, learn all about the papal conclave: what preceded it, its origins, its centuries of history, and all that we know about how it elects popes today, in the 21st century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eyeglasses, as a very important invention, have evolved from an expensive and somewhat unreliable piece of specialist equipment to something that half the world's population makes daily use of.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the (somewhat unverified) tale of Timothy Dexter, who amassed a vast fortune by making some of the most ludicrous business decisions you'll ever hear.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, learn all about Australian elections - how they originated, how they've changed, how they work today, and how their results lead to parliamentary governments being formed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The compass has been used as a navigational tool for a thousand years, guiding ships and aeroplanes around the world - but for a thousand years before that, it served a different (and slightly less useful) role. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History present: the tale of the 14th-century noblewoman Jeanne de Clisson, who, after the execution of her husband at the hands of the French king, turned to a life of piracy and terrorised French shipping in the English Channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, get stuck into another tragic chapter in Scottish history with the stories of the Jacobite Risings and the famous Battle of Culloden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gunpowder revolutionised human warfare, ushering in a new chapter in the history of our species as we left behind swords and shields to fire guns and cannons instead.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the tale of the event that triggered the First World War - the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, complete with all the ludicrous misadventure that came with it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, meet Captain William Kidd, the only pirate in history known to have actually buried treasure - something that gave rise to one of the most common and popular pirate-themed tropes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The toothbrush is yet another simple but very important invention that has been a part of everyday life for people for over a thousand years, helping in keeping our choppers clean and in good health.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: another telling of the War of the Oaken Bucket, one of the shortest episode topics ever covered by this tinpot history podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, learn the origins of five sayings that all have a nautical origin: logbook, not enough room to swing a cat, grog, three sheets to the wind, and average.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toilet paper is something we have been wiping our bums with it for almost 1,500 years - an old invention with quite a few interesting details in its story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: a retelling of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, when a French con woman scammed a rich cardinal in a truly scandalous manner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, learn all about the origin and history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and the uncertain future it faces in the current global political landscape.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The stirrup is an invention that transformed warfare by making mounted cavalry more effective than ever before - which may have had profound social, not just military, consequences across the centuries.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: D.B. Cooper, a man who hijacked a plane, extracted a US$200,000 ransom, and skydived away, never to be seen again.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, get to know the real Saint Patrick, whose true life story is often overshadowed by the myths and legends associated with him.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wheelbarrow has played a huge role across the last two thousands years in making humans work more efficiently, quickly, and safely, boosting our productivity immensely.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: a retelling of the story of Olga of Kyiv, first featured in episode four (get across it) - a tale that involves plenty of blood, guts, and 'orrible murder for all to enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, meet the Prussian king Frederick the Great for the second time in this podcast's history, with a "remastered" version of the first episode ever released. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paper has spent the last two thousand years becoming more and more popular and important to us as a civilisation - and the "paperless" world they say we're heading into is, in fact, anything but.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the podcast's first-ever Ask Me Anything episode, featuring answers to questions sent in by alert listeners about everything from how the podcast is produced to embarrassing anecdotes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, meet Niccolo Machiavelli, the father of political science, and learn how his writing helped to shape today's global political landscape.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Arch was a crucially important architectural innovation that unlocked all new buildings and forms, allowing buildings to be built larger and taller than ever before.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of Victor Lustig, a conman who managed to scam someone into buying the Eiffel Tower - potentially more than once. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, get across a crisis that posed a potentially existential threat to official international cricket in the 1970s, when media mogul Kerry Packer established a private, unofficial cricketing competition known as World Series Cricket. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coinage has supported local, regional, and global economies for millennia, ever since we figured out that having a convenient way to store and transfer value was actually a pretty good idea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief (and woefully inadequate) overview of humanity's maritime history - from prehistoric wooden canoes to mighty oceangoing container ships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, get to know Xerxes I of the Achaemenid Empire, and think about why his historical legacy is perceived in the way that it is today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Concrete is, unbelivably, the second-most-used substance in the world - second only to water - and has a truly fascinating history, its secrets lost to time for a millennia or so before re-emerging in the modern era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: the story of how humanity mastered fire, and the many ways in which this changed us as a species - technologically, culturally, and even biologically. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, meet Harriet Tubman, the US activist and abolitionist who aided countless enslaved people in securing their freedom before she went on to take part in the American Civil War.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rubber has a history that is a lot longer than you might expect - it dates back over 3,500 years, to ancient Mesopotamia, and has had a long and interesting journey to become the commonplace material it is today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quarter-Arsed History presents: a brief history of stone tools, one of if not the oldest pieces of technology in history - so old, in fact, they predate humanity itself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, become familiar with 4,500 years of Greenlandic history, from the settlement of pre-Inuit, Norse, and Inuit peoples, through to the current importance it has in global affairs.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.