Stuff You Should Know

If you play video games you probably have an easy answer to worst game of all time: ET. But it turns out there are no easy answers, especially when you’re talking about a game so terrible it’s blamed for bringing the entire video game industry with it. Find out more in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Diners may just be the most American establishment there is. They were born in the USA, thanks to European immigrants, and they only exist in the USA, unless it's a kitschy homage. So break open that 12-page menu and order up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of the Liberty Bell is far more confusing than we imagined.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natalie Wood was Hollywood royalty who tragically drowned after a long night of partying with her husband, Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken. Over the last 40 plus years, stories have changed and the investigation has moved from closed to open. Listen in to learn this tragic story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh and Chuck dive into history in this classic episode to tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a good, old fashioned how it works episode where we break down all of the nuts and bolts and threats to safety that make scuba diving such a unique and thrilling hobby. Dive in feet first with Josh and Chuck on the undersea adventure of a lifetime!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Petrified wood isn't just hard wood. Listen in today to learn all about this unique process. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s easy to think of people in the distant past as kinda dumb for believing things like that mice could spontaneously generate from old grain. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll find there was a sensibility to the odd beliefs that came before science.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are laws that are meant to protect the sanctity of the polling place in reality designed to make it harder for groups that traditionally vote Democrat to cast their ballots? Find out in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Harlem Globetrotters are an American entertainment institution. Their story may not be quite what you think either. Hint, they didn't originate in Harlem. Tune in now to learn their fun, fascinating story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you grew up from the 70s to the 90s you know white dog poop. It’s the old, crusty – yes, white – phase that dog poop goes through as it ages on a lawn. Or it used to. Where has all the white poop gone?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As per tradition, today Josh and Chuck perform a spooky Halloween story reading to delight, amuse and FRIGHTEN YOU TO YOUR CORE. Will Meagle show up? Tune in to find out! Thanks to guest producer Ben Hackett for all the great sound effects.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mummy is a human being whose soft tissue has been preserved after death, and there are mummies around the world -- including natural mummies, as well as corpses that have been intentionally embalmed. Listen to this classic episode with Chuck and Josh to learn more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naked mole rats are funny looking to be sure, but neither moles nor rats. So what are they? You'll have to tune in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The simple bed sheet has provided countless kids and adults with an easy go-to Halloween costume. But why do we associate white sheets with ghosts anyway?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three years before the riots at Stonewall, the LGBTQ community of San Francisco's Tenderloin rose up. And the story was almost lost to time. Learn how and why today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We aren’t exactly sure who invented trick-or-treating – kids who realized they could extort adults for candy, or adults who bought off kids in exchange for laying off pranks? The bigger question is: Will trick-or-treating survive the 21st century? Learn more in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the tradition of our episodes on forgiveness and revenge, comes the third installment in the Emotional Roller Coaster trilogy. Kindness, it turns out, really does make the world go round.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it vile? Is it delicious? It seems to be both! Hear all about the history of candy corn, how it’s made, and who likes it in this pre-Halloween episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eugene Francois Vidocq is without a doubt one of the most interesting figures in modern history. He’s a former criminal turned undercover informant who went on to found the French national police force and the world’s first private detective agency. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pain is subjective; it is whatever the person experiencing it says it is. But to effectively treat pain, it helps to quantify it, which is why medicine came up with pain scales. Learn all about them in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Intellectual property sounds as dry as can be, but it’s actually very interesting. It’s at the heart of the global economy and the center of a dispute over what should belong to the people who create things, from poetry to pharmaceuticals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s better than discovering a mysterious cavern? Discovering five!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parasocial relationships are fascinating and it turns out Chuck knows what it's like from both sides. Listen in today to your old friends. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motion sickness is the worst and hits about 25 to 40 percent of humans when they ride in cars, boats, or simply watch the wrong 3-D movie. Join us as we break down the science behind this nausea-inducing affliction in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know Andy Warhol from his quip on being famous for 15 minutes and paintings of soup cans, but even as far as artists go he was an eccentric and misunderstood person. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rhodium is one of the most valuable precious metals on Earth, though it has dropped in value by about 80% in the last year. Learn why by clicking play.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grizzly bears had never killed a person in Glacier National Park until the night of August 12, 1967. That's when everything changed for National Parks moving forward.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know that up until July 2011 an ambitious hacker with a good software program could deduce your social security number based on your date and place of birth? In this classic episode, the boys examine some of the lesser-known details of the Social Security system in the U.S.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Someone cuts you off in traffic or makes fun of your friend and all you can think of is how to get back at them and then some. But wait! Research has found that taking revenge actually makes you feel worse in the long run. Learn about what to do instead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dakota is one of New York City's great buildings. And its backstory is pretty great to boot. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christine Granville was about as James Bond as it gets. Stories of her life as a spy during World War II are legendary. Today we'll tell her story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is Cockney Rhyming Slang? It's complicated and its origins are unclear. Learn everything we know about it today in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kombucha is pretty popular right now. But what is it exactly and where did it come from? The answers await you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever stopped mid-pencil mark and realized to your astonishment where the plus sign came from? Then this one’s for you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s easy (and kind of fun) to laugh at the misfortune of CEOs and other high up business types when they bring it on themselves – so let’s do that now. Herein lies some of the worst business decisions ever made, hindsight being 20/20, of course.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Floods happen when more water is introduced to an area than can be quickly removed. That's about it, but there's more to floods, what causes them and the havoc they can wreak. Join Josh and Chuck in this super-saturated classic episode of Stuff You Should Know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1981 America suffered the worst accidental structural collapse in its history. Listen in today to the tragic story of the fast-tracked building disaster that stills haunts Kansas City. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Face it, when you spill salt your life goes totally off the rails, maybe even forever. Fortunately, we humans stumbled upon the one reliable way to counteract that bad luck by tossing some over our left shoulder.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a listener request! Axolotls are one of the more amazing animals roaming the planet right now – they can regenerate parts of their brains, can fight off tumors, are found in the wild only in one single lake? And did we mention they smile all the time?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems like we largely take it for granted these days, but the fact that we have humans living in space is the realization of a scientific dream a century old. Visit the space stations orbiting Earth past, present and future in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we dive into the history and current state of Native American reservations. This serves as a nice follow-up to the Trail of Tears double-ep from 2017. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is OK the best word? It's certainly one of the most versatile. Check the interesting history of this weird contraction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In WWII, Italy went through its own Jewish Holocaust, terrible at first then horrific as the Nazis took over the country. In Rome, a group of doctors hid Jewish refugees in plain sight in their hospital by giving them a highly contagious, highly fictitious disease. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck and Josh end up making reduxes of past episodes on things like sweating and deodorant in this all-new episode on the science beneath what makes people smell. Learn all about your odor in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laurens Hammond invented the Hammond organ and in the process changed music history. But he was much more than that. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've seen the evil eye. Many Middle Eastern cultures have a long history with it. Learn how to thwart this curse today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Henry Ford tried to build a Midwestern American town in the Amazon rainforest in the 1920s. It's true. And yes, Chuck will say this should be a movie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's every kid's dream - a job playing with toys that pays in toys. It's a real thing and has been around for a long time. Then there's the other side of the testing process, companies who ensure that toys are safe. It takes both of these testing techniques to successfully bring a toy to market these days. Dive into the ball pit with us today and learn all about toy testing in this classic episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate change is having sweeping effects on our climate and this is changing the world, not just for humans and other animals, but plants too. Will the Earth’s flora manage to find safe refuge in time? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.