It's a staple of every mid 2000's school lock-in. It's Host Brenda's favorite form of exercise. It's Dance Dance Revolution, the rhythm game that changed arcades forever!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

These days, the michigan dogman is treated just like any other cryptid, however, its origins are more recent than you might think!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Google's AI would have you believe that "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" was the first halloween special on television, but it actually goes back further than that, back to the very dawn of television!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Host Brenda is back to share more hair raising stories of haunted theme parks. From Alfred Hitchcock's offices, to Dogpatch USA, which was a real themepark at one point, ghosts and ghouls are lurking everywhere.โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

It's the Disney Storeโดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

We've talked about Night Trap. We've talked about Mortal Kombat. But what were some of the other games that led up to the creation of the ESRB? If you wish to skip the segment on custer's revenge, skip from 22:25 to 35:05โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Yes, you read the title right. Host Brenda is doing an episode on the history of a Japanese racehorse. Is this nerd history? Surprisingly yes. Haru Urara was a racehorse at the Kochi track in Japan who lost 113 out of 113 races she ever participated in. And yet she was beloved by the entire country for her indomitable spirit. Why are we talking abo…

For a long time, Ong's Hat, an abandoned ghost town in New Jersey, has been the subject of many urban legends and local folk tales, but it was also the location and subject for the Internet's first ARG (Alternate Reality Game). However, what happens when Paranormal investigators start treating the very fictional game as real?…

For several decades, the launch coaster Dononpa was Japan's most iconic rollercoaster, drawing people in from all over the world to see. However, in 2020 something strange started happening. Dodonpa began breaking people's bones.โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

It's the end of summer, which means thousands of nerds are descending upon fairgrounds around the country dressed in their finest medieval garb. But how did these festivals come to be? Who founded these events? And what does it have to do with the Red Scare?โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheThiefArchiveโดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

In 1964 award winning animator Richard Williams set out with a simple goal: to make an animated feature film that showed off everything the medium of animation was capable of. However, between rights disputes, the failure of a Raggedy Ann and Andy movie, and Richard William's severe mismanagement of time and money, The Thief and the Cobbler would b…

Today in this special episode of Secret Histories, Host Austin welcomes Brea Grant and Mallory O'Meara from the hit podcasts Reading Glasses and Reading Smut. The topic for today? Why do books release on Tuesdays? https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/reading-glasses/โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

In 1976, disgraced wallstreet investor Eugene Mullvihill opened the infamous Action Park in Vernon New Jersey. It would turn out to be a lawless place full of drunken poorly trained teens, a deadly wave pool, and the world's first, and last, looping waterslide.โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

If you're reading this, chances are, you know what a podcast is. But, do you know how podcasting got started? What is considered the first podcast? Where did the name come from? And how does Maximum Fun play into all this?โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Before a lot of our modern tech was mainstream, homes of the future walkthroughs were there to show us a glimpse into a supposedly better and brighter future. But did these homes of the future, now several decades old, manage to predict how houses are built now? Is there anything practical about building houses out of foam and balloons?…

In the 90's, summer family comedy Life with Mikey released in theaters...and was a terrible flop. Despite having a star studded cast like Michael J. Fox, Cyndi Lauper, and Nathan Lane, the movie was panned by movie-goers and critics alike. But why? What lead up to this disaster, and does it really deserve to be forgotten?…

Despite being one of the leading chains of theme parks in the united states, Six Flags has sure made some awful business decisions over the years. From running a wax museum, to opening an entertainment venue inside an old power plant (with no rides), it's a wonder that there's still any Six Flags parks left at all.…

Studio Ghibli films had a rough start to being distributed in the west, with early dubs that made a lot of changes, the inclusion of pop songs, and cats that aren't supposed to talk, However, in the mid 90's, Disney stepped in, hoping that supporting Ghibli would give them a stronger foothold in Japan. They also hoped that Japanese animation legend…

Note: The decision to rerun this episode was made several days before the unfortunate passing of actor Johnathan Joss. It’s Austin’s week to pick a topic, and they’ve chosen “King of the Hill”, their all-time favorite show. This episode has it all. Bonus: Brand new audio from Austin about the King of the Hill Revival!…

What's better than getting food at a nice restaurant? How about getting food inside the rainforest? Or in the stands of a medieval arena? Or how about...a prison?โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Dating sims are a often forgotten genre of video game in the west, predominantly because of its lewd origins. However some of the most hard hitting people in the video game industry have worked on dating sims, and it's a genre that deserves more respect!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Host Brenda is back at it again with more spooky scary ghost stories from your favorite amusement parks. What ghosts lurk in America's oldest theme park, and did a little girl really fall to her death from the Simpsons ride at Universal Studios Hollywood? And what famous ghost has been forced to watch Shrek 4D for all eternity?…

While Saturday morning cartoons have been around for decades, the concept of the kid's programming block is a fairly recent invention of the 90's. Starting with the Disney Afternoon, channels began carefully curating children's programming into themed blocks, not only to satisfy new government regulations requiring certain hours of educational prog…

Blind boxes are the sensation that has taken over the world. This episode touches on the potential origins of these tiny little collectables, as well as the history of several popular brands; Kid Robot's Dunnys, Sonny Angels, Smiskis, and Labubus!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

As Millennials reached teenhood in the early 2000's, it became apparent that there was a serious hole in the market when it came to creating educational content for them. Enter the Children's Workshop and the team behind Nickelodeon, who made a home for teens looking for more serious content on a programming block called "The N" (which just so happ…

We're trying something new this week by bringing you a selection of updates to previous episodes. Have you been dying to know what happened to the floating McDonalds? Or what is the real reason Sonic Sat AM never got a third season? These updates, along with updates about Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka are all here for you enjoyment.…

According to Hasbro's website, the board game "Monopoly" was created in 1934 by board game designer Charles Darrow. But what if that information is completely false? What if Monopoly dates back thirty years earlier, and has a secret history that Hasbro and Monopoly's previous rights owner, Parker Brothers, has tried so desperately to erase?…

Back when the internet used to be fun, a little virtual pet website started the trend of doing yearly April Fools Day pranks. From introducing new pets to unleashing an incurable disease upon its citizens, Host Brenda tells Austin all about the best pranks throughout Neopian History.โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Ten years ago, the Steven Universe episode Jailbreak aired on Cartoon Network revealing that the character of Garnet was actually two lesbians in a trenchcoat (but it's actually more complicated than that). Host Austin shares the story of the making of this monumental episode along with audio clips from an exclusive interview with show creator Rebe…

It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!! Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dimitry Pompée, Tom Lum, Ellen Weatherford, Alex Schmidt, Brenda Snell, Drea…

It's no secret that the video game industry is a notoriously male dominated field, but women have been a part of the industry since its very inception. Today we highlight two women: Mabel Addis, the writer and historical expert behind the first educational game used in classrooms, and Carol Shaw, the first woman employed at Atari, and the programme…

In the early 90's, the Walt Disney company was searching for a way to add some thrills into their theme parks, and somehow, they managed to settle on building a drop tower themed after the 1950's horror anthology show, the Twilight Zone. But there's more to this attraction than meets the eye!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

A new Smurf's movie is coming out featuring an entire album and musical score by Rhianna! So, just who are these little blue fellas and how have they managed to stay in the public consciousness all this time?โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

The Superman radio show premiered in 1940, introducing the masses to many new aspects of Superman's Canon, but in the middle of its historic run, the people behind the show decided that they wanted to use Superman's influence to enact positive social change. Enter, Operation Intolerance, and more importantly, the sixteen part series "The Clan of th…

Before Nintendo Online, before the PSN, before Xbox Game Pass, there was Sega Channel, a revolutionary way to play new games on your Sega genesis through your cable provider.โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

It's time for a classic Halloween in February celebration. Learn the tale of the world's (supposedly) only haunted carousel horse, located at Cedar Point, and marvel in some of the more well-known Disneyland urban legends and hauntings. Why does Tomorrowland have so many ghosts? Honestly it's a mystery.…

Before Coraline, before Nightmare Before Christmas, before Wallace and Gromit, George Pal was making his "Puppet Toons" starting in the 1930's! Using upwards of 9,000 individually carved wooden puppets, Pal's work has almost been completely forgotten by pop culture. And yes, some of it was a bit racist. It was the 30's! Of course it was!…

In 1993, two cartoons starring Sonic the Hedgehog premiered within two weeks of each other; one airing weekdays on syndication, and the other on Saturday mornings. Despite being drastically different from modern day Sonic, these shows helped to establish who Sonic was as a character and fleshed out a world that had previously been confined to pixel…

Since the dawn of time, games have been for the fellas, but in Japan, in 1994, a collective of women designers got together to make a genre defining game. What if there was one princess, who had to choose between a collection of handsome and beautiful men on her quest to save the world?โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Rollercoasters don't typically have sequels, and one of the reasons that might be is because of Son of Beast, formerly the world's tallest, fastest wooden rollercoaster, whose entire existence was mired in an endless string of incidents and repairs. From sections of the track collapsing, to getting hit by lightning, to having its best element, a re…

Before Rudolph, and the Grinch, and a Charlie Brown Christmas and all of the classic animated Christmas Specials that you all know and love, there was a little old man with poor eyesight who was brought to life by one of the scrappiest animated studios there ever was. This week is about the first (that we know of) animated Christmas Special, Mr. Ma…

This story is about a lot of things. It's somehow about tigers, Sea World Ohio, the world's tallest drop tower, Fabio getting hit in the face by a goose, and so much more, but above all, it's about Kingda Ka, formerly the world's tallest and fastest rollercoaster, and sister coaster to Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster. For decades, Kingda Ka stood…

Years before the release of Toy Story, when computer animation was still in its infancy, several guys from the UK, riding high on the success of their animated Dire Straits music video, got a wild idea: What if they made a computer animated cartoon...in the late 80's? Reboot Rewind Documentary - https://youtu.be/OuAfWhsI-F8?si=ORdxQEAZJgX4NB-D…

In 2004, when Kellogg's cereal released a contest to determine what new flavor of cereal they would release in South Korea, they had no idea that they were about to kickstart a sixteen year fight for justice. The contest was between Chocolate and Green Onion Chex, and when the results of the voting weren't what Kellogg's wanted, they had to resort …

An episode all about everyone's favorite programming block Toonami!โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

Nowadays, comic conventions happen all over the United States, and the world, in many major cities, with the most well known being San Diego Comic Con, in San Diego California. Many people assume that San Diego was the first, but that isn't true! Comic Conventions got their stars years earlier, in the midwest, headed by several teenage boys armed o…

A rerun of episode 20, about the controversial Sega Game "Night Trap".โดย Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries

In the late 60's, during the tail end of construction on Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando Florida, the Disney Company entered into a partnership with the Florida Citrus Commission. The commission would sponsor Disney's Tropical Serenade show, while disney would make a mascot for them to help sell orange juice. This mascot was the Orange Bird,…