Lunacy in Gotham: Pranking King John

If I could go back in time, I know exactly where and when I would want to Bill-and-Ted myself to: the village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, in the year 1200, to be present for one of the craziest days in history (and possibly the origin of April Fool's Day)!

"Ted, we are most definitely not in Sam Dimas anymore."

In 1200, King John was planning on making a trip to Nottingham, and planned to pass through the village of Gotham on the way. This would have made Gotham part of the king's highway, subjecting the villagers to new taxation. But the people of Gotham were not down.

"More taxes?!? Fuck you!"

Medieval peasants were far from ignorant of the law; in fact they were persecuted so often that they became minor legal experts in their own right. So when the king's messengers arrived in Gotham to assess its fitness for to the king's arrival, the entire village pretended to be crazy.

"Is anybody home? No? Okay, I'll try the landline."

Legend has it the villagers dressed like maniacs with pots on their heads and spoons in their belts, attempted to trap birds in roofless birdcages, tried to drown eels, painted green apples red, tried to fish the moon out of a pond with a rake, rolled cheeses downhill to make them round, etc etc. Madness at the time was believed to be contagious, so upon perceiving a town full of raving lunatics, the king's messengers swiftly found an alternate royal route to Nottingham.

Gothamites in full bonkers-swing.

Rotund ukulele playing crazy in a pink tunic with a cauldron on his head-- me in a past life (or me with hay stuffed in my shirt, having successfully travelled back in time!!!)

Can you imagine how much fun it must have been, essentially pranking the motherfucking king of England? And it worked!

"Rejoice, freaks!"

The lesson? I have no fucking idea. I only wish acting crazy still exempted you from paying taxes... One can dream.

-The Rad Historian

Welcome to Rad History!

     The great Wilhelm von Humboldt once wrote, "The historian's task is to present what actually happened." Don't mind if I do, Willie! Too often history is presented as a series of dry, "important," facts and events. But it doesn't have to be that way. History is fucking crazy. And the most interesting stuff is often what gets left out in the retelling. Perhaps these stories are not deemed serious enough to warrant being included in textbooks. But if they were, people would care a lot more about the past! When I learn about crazy shit that happened way back when, I have a much easier time remembering the more "dry" stuff. Often, the crazy shit enhances my understanding in such a way that the dry stuff isn't even dry anymore-- it's soaked in "What the Fuck!?" In essence, that's what I want to share with y'all. I want to help spice up the past. I want to show you how World War I was started by a sandwich. I want to tell you about giant Egyptian penis sculptures. I want to tell you how to get to 2nd base with your midwife. I want to soak history in WTF.

Here, an image of Don Quixote and his twin brother in witch hats, trading glow-in-the-dark bedsheets for a bucket of turds and a traditional giant flaming pre-sliced peach from some hipsters.

Rad History is going to be a strangely curated collection of factual historical tidbits. Prepare to be amazed, amused, and slightly uncomfortable. If you have anything you want to contribute, please email it to TheRadHistorian@gmail.com, and if it's weird enough I'll share it here!

-The Rad Historian