Damnatio Memoriae

Damnatio Memoriae

Transcript The ancient Romans had a practice called Damnatio Memoriae, which was to banish someone’s memory from public life. It was also sometimes known as oblivion. It called for the complete deletion of the person’s name or image from all statues, inscriptions, coins, and texts.  While the practice neither began nor ended with the Romans, …

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The Washington Generals

The Washington Generals

Transcript Sports history is littered with really bad teams. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t win a single game and wound up losing 26 in a row. The 2012 Charlotte Bobcats went 7-59 for a .106 winning percentage. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders set a record for futility in baseball winning only 20 games out of …

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Kayfabe

Kayfabe

Transcript One of my dirty secrets is that I’m a fan of pro wrestling. Whenever I tell people this the first thing I inevitably hear is, “you know it’s fake right?” This idea that people think professional wrestling is real comes from the concept that wrestling insiders call kayfabe. Learn about the history of kayfabe …

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Drug Lord Hippopotamuses

Drug Lord Hippos

Transcript Pablo Escobar was the biggest drug lord the world has ever known. At his height, he had a monopoly on cocaine trade in the 1980s in the United States. He had a peak net worth of $60 billion in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars. He was personally responsible for thousands of murders and dozens of acts …

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Grandmother of Europe

Grandmother of Europe

Transcript Traditionally, the royal families of Europe would arrange marriages amongst their children to establish alliances and bonds between their houses.  While this really isn’t done that much anymore, it also wasn’t that long ago that it was done. One monarch, in particular, Queen Victoria, was really good and marrying off her children. So good …

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Boxing’s Alphabet Soup

Boxing's Alphabet Soup

Transcript Boxing used to be one of the most popular sports in the world. A world championship bout would draw millions of people to their radios or televisions and could pack the largest stadiums.  Since then, it has waned in popularity in no small part due to the confusing array of titles and organizations which …

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Lunar Orbit Rendezvous

Lunar Orbit Rendezvous

Transcript Have you ever been told to follow the chain of command or else? In most organizations with a hierarchy or with a bureaucracy, there is a set way in which things have to be done. If you have a suggestion or a complaint, you have to go to your immediate superior, and not jump …

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The Original Dow Jones Companies

The Original Dow Jones Companies

transcript For many people, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the measure of the health of the overall stock market. In reality, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is really just the performance of a collection of 30 blue-chip stocks. The index was created in 1896 and back then there were only 12 stocks in the …

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Lloyd Burke: American Badass

Lloyd Burke: American Badass

Transcript The highest and most prestigious award in the United States military is the Medal of Honor. It is awarded for only acts of extreme valor and bravery. Established during the Civil War in 1863, it has been awarded 3,506 times.  If you read through the list of Medal of Honor recipients, you will read …

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