100 of the Worst Ideas in History

Humanity's Thundering Brainstorms Turned Blundering Brain Farts

De: Michael N. Smith, Eric Kasum

Narrado por: The Authors and Others

They are priceless, multifaceted jewels of misjudgment. Masterworks of the moronic. Steroid-juiced stupidity wearing a size 9XX dunce cap embroidered with one simple word: “Duh”.

They are the colossally, often laughably bad notions that have leapt from the short-circuiting synapses of some of the world’s brightest (and dimmest) brains, then faithfully chronicled here in 100 of the Worst Ideas in History.

On this rollicking romp through the bungles and stumbles of the distant and recent past, we’ll meet the US President who starts each day skinny-dipping in the Potomac. Drink in the dental hygiene product that actually rots your teeth. Get an earful of the hit singing group that can’t really sing. Meet the confused chauffeur who helped start a world war. Munch on the tasty new snack food that might just give you diarrhea. Review a dozen of the worst movies ever committed to celluloid. Plus so much more (of so much less).

Prescribing a double shot of Clorox to kill a viral infection? That’s a run-of-the-mill noggin-scratcher compared to these stupendously stinky ideas - ones that have started wars, sunk countries, wrecked companies, scuttled careers, lost millions, endangered the Earth and left the bad idea’s mommy or daddy as red-faced as, well, your mom or dad will be when they learn that you like to dress your pit bull as one of the Backstreet Boys.

It's all here for your listening pleasure: The magical, musical, audiobook 100 of the Worst Ideas in History. (Void if inhibited. Batteries not included. Action figures sold separately. Your mileage may vary. If excitement last more than four hours, please consult your psychiatrist).

©2014 Michael N. Smith and Eric Kasum (P)2021 Michael N. Smith and Eric Kasum

A performance from the first word to the last

I recently listened to a very funny, entertaining and educational audio book that was exactly the kind of stories I needed for this time in our world. It was called 100 of the Worst Ideas in History: Humanity's Thundering Brainstorms Turned Blundering Brain Farts by Michael Smith and Eric Kasum. It seems as though the authors have basically goes through ancient history, modern history, and current events and handpicked a hundred of the worst ideas, and turned each ome into a short little story, infused it with dripping sarcasm, undeniable humor and wit, created a format for each story to follow and voila…the perfect funny, educational, broad spectrum, book, that reminds us all just how human we all are.

It is by far the best audio book I have ever listened to. It is truly a performance from the first word to the last. There is a loud bellowing voice like a circus master or a game show announcer, and sound effects, guest voices, it is truly so much more than someone just reading a book to you.

Each story followed the exact same format: the Bad Idea, The Genius Behind it, The Brainstorm Struck, Bring on the Blunder, From Bad to Worse, Dumb luck, and After thoughts. Which I think was really smart and told the stories in a really brilliant way. Some examples of stories and their diversity include historical events, battles in Rome, early American history, battlefield errors, recent pop culture events, president Clinton and Monica Lewinski, the balloon boy, fashion faux pas, and any and everything in between. I actually found myself liking the stories that were a little less current events. The pop stars and entertainment industry and octomom really were not my favorites.

I really think this story has something for everything and because of the sarcasm and wit you may not even realize you are learning. I highly recommend for everyone.

An Audiobook That You Definitely Want to Listen to

Do you remember my review of Tiny Blunders, Big Disasters back in November of 2020? Well, I just listened to an audiobook with a similar theme. It's called (get ready for a long one) 100 of the Worst Ideas in History: Humanity's Thundering Brainstorms Turned Blundering Brain Farts, by Michael N. Smith and Eric Kasum. This is entertaining because of how they put the audiobook together. Each one starts with "The bad idea," followed by "The genius behind it," The brainstorm struck," "Bring on the blunder," "From bad to worse," "Dumb luck," and "Afterthoughts." On top of that there are voiceovers, sound effects, and sarcastic remarks all thrown in. It definitely made it more interesting than it would have been in print, IMHO.

How about a few examples to whet your curiosity?

1. Did you know that President William Henry Harrison didn't wear a coat on a very cold Inauguration Day because he wanted to show how strong and in great shape he was? Did you also know that he got an infection and died 31 days later?
2. Did you know that Nick Nolte turned down the lead role of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Did you also know that those 4 movies, with Harrison Ford, made $1.9B at the box office?
3. We all know that the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. But did you know the owner of the Red Sox needed the money to produce Broadway plays? I sure didn't.
4. Did you know that a soda jerk in 1886 accidentally added carbonated water to John Stith Pemberton's syrup, thereby creating Coke? Did you also know that Pemberton sold the rights to Asa Griggs Candler for very little up-front money and got no residuals?
5. Did you know that Mars said no to M&M's for the movie ET? Voila Reese's Pieces.
6. Do you want to know the 5 reasons the Titanic sank? They are...I will let you listen on your own. It's a real eye-opener.

I am a huge fan of print over ebooks and audiobooks. But I have to say that 100 should definitely be listened to. Kudos to the team who decided that the already-in-print book should be given an audio spin.

Informative, Humor and History!

The audiobook version of this book was great. I enjoyed listening to this book on a long road trip. It was the perfect book to listen to on my 4-hour drive back home from college. This was an entertaining and intriguing way to learn about history and some of the world's biggest blunders. There's a wide range of topics discussed from the past and to present day, so it is always changing it up. Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed!

100 of the Worst Ideas in History

100 of the Worst Ideas in History Audiobook By: Michael N. Smith, Eric Kasum and Narrated by: The Authors and Others has wonderful charm to it, I do have to confess I have a soft spot for old radio shows that this hearkens to with its voice actors and sound effects. Some of the impersonations are a little off but only if you really listen closely and are familiar with the original event but most are dead on. Many times throughout listening I did have to ask myself if this was an actor or a recording.
As for the content I will say this really scratched a “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” itch I was having but in a historical way. While many of the events are laid out in a wonderfully clear and concise manner I will say usually there was more to the historical event, most of these I was familiar with however I did have a few I was not familiar with nor as indepthly knowledgeable of. As I said earlier there usually were more to the event than is listed in the format here but I will say it is a great jumping off point to study the event/learn a lesson from and I cannot see it being a better introduction to introducing children to the study of history. Perhaps not elementary but certainly early teens as there will certainly be questions about death, war, brutality, and I did consider language specifically in case about the song Louie Louie by the The Kingsmen but it was handled in a clinical way and was certainly not crass in the explanation but a certain level of maturity is needed always when studying history. Overall I have to say that 100 of the Worst Ideas in History Audiobook was incredibly entertaining.

Upbeat and Entertaining

Easy and entertaining read, or in this case, listen.  100 of the worst ideas in history spans a variety of topics from political debacles to scientific ones and everything in between. Thankfully that means there is something for everyone in this book.  From stories I know well like the Pres Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Balloon Boy fiasco, or Octomom some of the tales are from the current time and will be known and reminisced by all but the youngest listeners.  Meanwhile other stories are more for my parents or grandparents generation and some go back to the early days of the US or even to ancient Rome for tales of interest that will be new to all but the biggest of history buffs.  This is not a boring audio book that drones on in a monotone voice by any means. It is read by multiple readers in an upbeat, fast paced style.  Accents and voice impressions are used throughout.  I really liked the Bill Clinton impression, it sounded just like him.  There was frequent music of varying styles throughout and other sound effects which were relevant to the story at hand.  All told that really helped keep it entertaining and energetic compared to other audiobooks to which I have listened.  I also liked that all the individual stories were short and easy to follow.  If I zoned out for a few seconds to pay more attention to my driving, I could either continue to follow along or it was just a quick rewind to catch back up.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys humor, history, or popular interest stories.