1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,040 Speaker 1: And we are back with this week's classic episode. Guys. Recently, 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: I went with our pale Ramsey Yun from earlier to 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: watch a Hawks game nice here in Atlanta. Yeah, it's 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: we were at Phillips. So it's just it's a great time, 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: you know what I mean? 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 2: Oh I I I love I love calling it the 7 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: old the old name against somebody. 8 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: I still think of it. 9 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 2: I still I still call it Phillips myself. 10 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: I did this just the other day. Well. The thing is, 11 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: you know, we're we're fans of live sporting events, even 12 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: if you don't know much about sports or you're not 13 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: into you know, watching it on the television. Uh, it's 14 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: a good. 15 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 2: Hang, it's it's it's good people watching even if you're 16 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: not into you know, the sports watching part of it. 17 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: Yet Snacks, you got all kinds of great acts in 18 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: between the game as well. 19 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 2: I love a parade, you know. Oh yeah yeah, margin 20 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 2: Breton Circuses. It is fun to participate in that continuum 21 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 2: of history. Ah. God, who could forget about Creed? 22 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: I keep trying, I keep trying. They right, let you 23 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: friget it up next. We won't forget about Creed. Uh, 24 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: and we won't forget about this classic episode where we 25 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: asked ourselves who was the highest paid athlete in history? 26 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: And I gotta tell you, guys, there are a lot 27 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: of athletes who are pros who don't make a ton 28 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: of money. So let's true. 29 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's true. Uh. And of course we are 30 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 2: talking about a at the time in ancient Rome, an 31 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 2: absolute rock star of an athlete, a chariot tear by 32 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 2: the name of Gaius Apulius Diocles, who this is like, 33 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 2: this is the reason the inflation calculator of this made 34 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 2: a heap of coin, being quite the showboat. 35 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: So join us as we embark on a classic episode. 36 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: It's a special one for none other than our super 37 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: producer Max, who knows way more about sports than we 38 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: ever will. Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. In confession, 39 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: I believe that I may have the perfect socks for 40 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: today's episode. There's some socks that a friend of mine 41 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: got me from his travels in Japan, and they have 42 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: separations in the fabric for the toes. I feel much 43 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: more agile than I would be wearing just normal socks. 44 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 2: Ben, So they're like Ninja socks. 45 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's the way to put up. Yeah, it's 46 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: like the division for the Sandals picture every Western film 47 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: you've seen in the nineties, or something that featured ninjas. 48 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 2: Right. 49 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, so I've got the I've got these. Uh, it's weird. 50 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: I took my shoes off and showed, uh, showed you 51 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: and our super producer, Casey Pegram these socks before we 52 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: hit the air. I feel somewhat more athletic in these. 53 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 2: Well, Ben, we are in a tiny shipping container type box. 54 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 2: Did you put your shoes back on? 55 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, you can tell Nol, you can tell that 56 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: I put my shoes back on. I think I think 57 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: being in a small area with your shoes off like 58 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: that in a work environment, it would be kind of rude. 59 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 2: No, it's poor. It's poor podcast etiquette, to be sure. 60 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, like loudly eating or something. 61 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 2: My gosh, Ben, are you being passive aggressive to me 62 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 2: about I loud on Mike eating. 63 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: No, you're not eating something. 64 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 2: I'm not right now. But you know, I've been known 65 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 2: to have a snack occasionally, but I try to do 66 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 2: it off Mike. 67 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: You usually do it when we're not on air. 68 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 2: That's true. That's a good point. Although I got to 69 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 2: say sometimes I find it charming when when a podcaster 70 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 2: has a little snack on the air. I think it's 71 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 2: about personal choice, personal preference. 72 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: So back to this idea. I am not a professional athlete, 73 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: and you and I know each other pretty well, you 74 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: are currently not a professional athlete. 75 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 2: No, I'm barely a professional anything. 76 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: We're barely professional podcasters, right. 77 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 2: I actually updated my Instagram bio to be a semi 78 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 2: pro podcast geek, so that's what I consider my safe 79 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 2: semi pro. 80 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: There you go. We do know that the world of 81 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: professional athleticism is obviously an enormous, enormous deal. It's a 82 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: huge industry. Billions and billions of dollars are spent every year, 83 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: and billions of dollars are generated every year through various 84 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: athletic endeavors around the world. And for Peak behind the 85 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: Curtain is the three of us record today's episode of 86 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History. We are on the verge of two very 87 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: big and unusual things for our fair metropolis of Atlanta. 88 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: The first is a death, that's the super Bowl, and 89 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: the second is a possible storm, a snowstorm. 90 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 2: So we're looking for the snow apocalypse super Bowl traffic 91 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 2: jam coming our way pretty soon. 92 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: Right, which became a Facebook event that a lot of 93 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: people in town checked in on, right, did you do that? 94 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: Not yet? So we started thinking about the world of 95 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: professional athletes, and we kicked around the idea of maybe 96 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: doing the history of Super Bowls, which could be a 97 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: cool notion for a future episode. But we also asked 98 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: ourselves a surprisingly fascinating question, who was the highest paid 99 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: athlete not just this year, but in history. 100 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's true. And it turns out that somebody else, 101 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 2: someone with a little bit more of a historical pedigree 102 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 2: than we have, a guy by the name of doctor 103 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 2: Peter Struck, who's a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. 104 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 2: In an article he wrote for Lapham's Quarterly, Struck went 105 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 2: into great detail about his discovery that turns out, the 106 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 2: highest paid athlete of all time was not like a 107 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 2: footballer or a basketballer. Wasn't you know some some football player. 108 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 1: Wasn't Michael Jordan, wasn't Joe Montana. 109 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 2: Joe Montana. 110 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: That's a football player, that's true. 111 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 2: I remember him from from video games mainly. 112 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: I like he he had. He was known for his 113 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: effective but just very ugly throws. 114 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 2: But he had a big old arm. Right, he was 115 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 2: like an arm guy. 116 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: Most of them do. There are very few. 117 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:34,839 Speaker 2: Peyton manning. 118 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: He's a he's a good he's worth a lot of money, 119 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: tinys and then the refrigerator. 120 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 2: But no, none of those guys. Turns out it was 121 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 2: a I'm gonna say, charioteer. 122 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: Mm hmm, yeah, a charioteer named Gaus Appolius Diocles. Well done, well, 123 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,679 Speaker 1: we'll probably shift around in that in that pronunciation. Times. Uh. 124 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:02,279 Speaker 1: This is a very very interesting guy. He was from 125 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: an area of what is now modern day Spain and Portugal. 126 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: He was most likely illiterate, but man, his chariot game 127 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: was on fire. So there's an inscription set up in 128 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: the city of Rome that was originally created in one 129 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: forty six CE or AD, however you prefer, and it 130 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:29,679 Speaker 1: tells us exactly how much this charioteer from the province 131 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: of Lusitania earned during his oh what was it in 132 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: old twenty four years as an athlete as a charioteer. 133 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 2: Yes, And let's not sweep under the rug the fact 134 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 2: that that is an awful long time to survive in 135 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 2: such an intense and brutal and strenuous and dangerous for 136 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 2: even spectators, let alone the people right in the thick 137 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 2: of it, profession I mean, we're talking like these chariots 138 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 2: being drawn by up to ten horses. He had like 139 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 2: the reins tied around his way, you know, and I 140 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 2: can imagine a mishap, you know, tearing him limb from limb. 141 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 2: But no, he was able to maintain this career twenty 142 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 2: four years, which is, oh gosh, at least four times 143 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 2: the length I would say of an average you know, 144 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 2: football or basketball player's career. 145 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:21,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, even in these our modern days, ongoing studies show 146 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: us that being an athlete can be tremendously damaging to 147 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: the body and punishing to the mind, especially when you 148 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: get in the world of boxing in US football, which 149 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,079 Speaker 1: you know, leave the door wide open to concussions. 150 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:38,599 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, and I just kind of pulled that 151 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 2: out of my ear. But it's about Apparently, according to 152 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 2: Business Insider, the average span of an NBA basketball player 153 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 2: is about four point eight years. 154 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: Right, right, It's true. It's now, this can be longer 155 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 1: for some individuals, and of course it can be longer 156 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: in some sports, right, some Olympic sports, you may have 157 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: a longer lifespan, But professionally speaking again, we are at 158 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: our best only humans. So this guy is doing a 159 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: tremendous job. Back in his time as a charioteer. Will 160 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: what exactly would his would his sport have been comprised? 161 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 2: Well, like I said, he would have been piloting a 162 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 2: I guess a two wheeled chariot, right, How many wheels 163 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 2: around a chariot? Is it four? I think I pictured 164 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 2: it as being reared back on two wheels, two wheels 165 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 2: with a team of horses. I said, up to ten 166 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 2: reins used to kind of encourage them to go faster 167 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 2: or slow up, And like I said, he actually had 168 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 2: them tied around his body so he could use his 169 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 2: whole body to kind of control the horses. 170 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: And he was racing racing ye specifically, and dirty tricks 171 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: in chariot racing, I guess I think of maybe cartoon 172 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: examples of chariot racing where all of a sudden, like 173 00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: one of the wheels would have like a blade on 174 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: it or something like that, and they'd kind of go 175 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 1: up close to the other participant and use that blade 176 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: to kind of grind up at their wheel. 177 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 2: And I think people would stop at nothing to defeat 178 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 2: the competition, no matter what it took, right. 179 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, And chariot racing was a huge, huge deal. It 180 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: was bigger than NASCAR is now. The classes would be 181 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: divided primarily by how many horses were pulling the chariot. 182 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: A two horse team, a four horse team, a six 183 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: horse team. The earliest account of a chariot race occurs 184 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: in Homer's description of the funeral of Patrick Less. These 185 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: races were one of the big ticket items of the 186 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: ancient Olympic Games. They would happen during religious festivals. Essentially, 187 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: civilizations at the time viewed chariot races as a really 188 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: cool thing to add to almost any public events. You 189 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: know what I mean. It's like a city wide festival 190 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: or contest. Normally, these chariot races would proceed thusly. There 191 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,679 Speaker 1: would be four to six different chariots they would compete 192 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: in a single race, and the race would usually be 193 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,320 Speaker 1: around seven laps around what was called the circus, the 194 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: circus maximus. These chariots, we should emphasize, were very light affairs, 195 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: because you know, you wanted to get the maximum power 196 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: and the minimum amount of weight. This also means that 197 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: they were super fragile, so were a collision to occur 198 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: you were up the wrong creek without a paddle. 199 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. And to that end, most of the folks that 200 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 2: piloted these chariots only lived till about twenty four years old, 201 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 2: whereas Diocles retired which is very unusual at the ripe 202 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:46,080 Speaker 2: old age of forty two, at which point he was 203 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 2: worth a whole lot of money. 204 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: Doctor Struck found that Diocles's total earnings would have equated 205 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: to roughly fifteen billion dollars in modern terms, fifteen billion 206 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: with a bee. You can also see another great write 207 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: up of this in History Collection. There's an article by 208 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: Alexander Mettings that we would recommend this. This is strange 209 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: because these were all net earnings too. The charioteer didn't 210 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: have to pay promoters, didn't have to pay you know, 211 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: a marketing team or support as I don't know, entourage 212 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,319 Speaker 1: or shell out cash for sponsorship. He probably had it 213 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,960 Speaker 1: pretty good. You know, what would what would he have 214 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: done personally with that? And how did Professor Struck figure 215 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: out this number? 216 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,439 Speaker 2: On that inscription Ben that you mentioned, it has his 217 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 2: earnings in the currency of the time, which is cestersche 218 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 2: and that would have been thirty five million, eight hundred 219 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 2: and sixty three thousand, one hundred and twenty and struck 220 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 2: figured out that for the time that would have been 221 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 2: enough to buy grain to feed the entirety of Rome 222 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 2: for one year, and also was about five times higher 223 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 2: a salary than any of the highest paid officials in 224 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 2: the land, and also could have paid for every single 225 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 2: Roman soldier for a fifth of a year. And that 226 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,079 Speaker 2: was when Rome was at its peak in terms of 227 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 2: its military might. 228 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, running from Scotland all the way in the far north, 229 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: Egypt in the south, Spain in the west, and the 230 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: Euphrates in the east. He clearly busted his hump for 231 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,839 Speaker 1: this money. And to compare him to let's say the 232 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 1: highest paid governmental authorities, in two months, he would earn 233 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 1: what Rome's highest paid provincial governor could expect to earn 234 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: in one year. And there was a great amount of 235 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: risk with this. We mentioned the horse's reins being tied 236 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: physically to the athlete. When those fragile vehicles collided with something, 237 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: it often resulted in the death or serious injury of 238 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: a charioteer because the horses kept going. 239 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,719 Speaker 2: That's right, there's a lot of trampling and ben we 240 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 2: were trying to get to the conversion method. We always 241 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 2: plug numbers into our handy dandy inflation calculator. Here on 242 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 2: ridiculous history. But those figures that I mentioned earlier were 243 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 2: on are on the Stone inscription the idea of being 244 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 2: able to bankroll the Roman army for a fifth of 245 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 2: a year. So Struck was able to extrapol a a 246 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 2: modern estimate based on what it would cost to pay 247 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 2: for our military. So it's obviously not a perfect one 248 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 2: to one, but it would have been a pretty good 249 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 2: educated guess absolutely. And oh you know what we should do. 250 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 2: We should read the actual inscription. So here it goes. 251 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:58,479 Speaker 1: In the English translation, it begins with Gaius Appolius Diocles, 252 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: charioteer of the Red statele Elusitanian Spaniard by birth age 253 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: forty two years, seven months, twenty three days, and the 254 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: monument says he raced four horse chariots for twenty four years, 255 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: so we get some valuable numbers there. We also know 256 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: that given his fame, there was a snowball effect. He 257 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: started turning down races, you know what I mean. It 258 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 1: had to be worth his time, so he would race 259 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: in the most high end, high profile races that had 260 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: the most potential to win a large amount of money. 261 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: He started in this, according to the inscription, in four 262 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty seven races. He won one four 263 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty three times, and the inscription says that 264 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: translates to him winning ninety two major prizes. Of these, 265 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: thirty two were of thirty thousand cisterci, three of them 266 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: with six horse teams, two in races with six horse chariots, 267 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: one with a seven horse chariot he tied with because 268 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: they had these different factions. Right, he was a red stable, right, 269 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: and he tied a blue stable ten times, a green 270 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: stable ninety one. And this inscription. The thing that's invaluable 271 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: about it is that it maps out his stats the 272 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: same way that a baseball card, back when those were 273 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: a big deal. A baseball card would map out the 274 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: stats of your favorite your favorite baseball player. 275 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 2: And would these have been like alongside gladiator events or 276 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 2: would those have been like two different things, because I 277 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 2: feel like this would have almost been like a like 278 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 2: the gladiator thing might have been the main event. This 279 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 2: might have been like a side event, or were they 280 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 2: completely separate. I'm just wondering, you know, that's a good question. 281 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: No, there's probably a situation again where in there were 282 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: large public events that involved this stuff, and there were 283 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 1: definitely chariots in gladiatorial combat. 284 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 2: It as right, right, Sometimes there could have been probably 285 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 2: gladiator matches on chariot where they're like coming at each 286 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 2: other in weapons as they pass. Right. 287 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: So let's go back for a second to the earlier 288 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: comparison in the world of animation and cartoons, right, how 289 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,719 Speaker 1: exaggerated or how accurate was this depiction of chariot racing. 290 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: It turns out that it's not completely off base. It's 291 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: not completely cartoonish or made up, because these knives on 292 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: the wheels were a real thing, and the charioteers would 293 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: attempt to ram their rivals into the median at the 294 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: center of the track called the spinnet, and then they 295 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:45,639 Speaker 1: would come crashing into these hairpin turns they also, I 296 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: thought you would find just the pure spectacle of this fascinating. 297 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: During races, it was very common for the three chariots 298 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 1: representing each faction to team up with one another to 299 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: bring down a very unpopular rival or a very strong 300 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: one like Diocles, and bring down in this sense means 301 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: literally grind them into the dust. This violence is part 302 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,640 Speaker 1: of why chariot races were so incredibly popular. Like, think 303 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: about how many people love the Super Bowl. I'm sure 304 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: there's an income bracket to get a ticket because those 305 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:24,840 Speaker 1: things are thousands of dollars, But millions and millions of 306 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: people in this country watch the Super Bowl and pull 307 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,880 Speaker 1: for a team they love, regardless of, you know, their 308 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: individual demographic. Chariot races were the same way, but before television. 309 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 2: That's true, and you can also probably expect to see 310 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 2: someone get really horribly injured, you know, And ideally that's 311 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,919 Speaker 2: less the case with modern American football, or they're trying 312 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 2: to plase that out and make it less of an attraction. 313 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 2: But I still think that's largely what people not to 314 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 2: like taste blood. But it's all about the stakes, right, 315 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 2: what's the point of like being all in with this 316 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,359 Speaker 2: if there aren't like real stakes, you don't feel like 317 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 2: these people have something to lose beyond just like glory 318 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 2: or being shamed or whatever. 319 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,240 Speaker 1: That's a that's a great question. I wrote a thing 320 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:13,360 Speaker 1: a long time ago that wasn't wasn't part of how 321 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,479 Speaker 1: stuff works, about the social role of sports as a 322 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: substitute for actual warfare. It hits all the same notes 323 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: of tribalism, you know what I mean, and identifying with 324 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: something larger than one's self. This is making me miss 325 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: car stuff, nol because we have to mention these chariot 326 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: races were also dangerous for the audience because the rivalry 327 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: went beyond lighthearted competition. It became as high risk as 328 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,879 Speaker 1: the races themselves. Think of soccer hooligans. Okay, there were 329 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: chariot hooligans, charioteer hooligans. One guy learned about the death 330 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: of one of the best charioteers in the Red Faction, 331 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 1: and he threw himself on the funeral pyre to be 332 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 1: burned alongside his sports idol. 333 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,439 Speaker 2: Dude' that's like sports as a stand in for not 334 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 2: only warfare, but like religion. 335 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, good call. In sixty nine AD or CE, 336 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: the Emperor Vitelius had some commoners executed because they talked 337 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 1: trash about the Blue Faction and the emperor loved them. 338 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,159 Speaker 1: He was personally offended, so he had them put to death. 339 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:25,200 Speaker 2: And it also reminds me of sort of the early 340 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,439 Speaker 2: days of auto racing, like the Lamon. Remember we did 341 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 2: an episode on that where it was absolutely very dangerous 342 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 2: just physically to be a spectator, because if there was 343 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 2: a fiery crash, bits of flaming debris could go shooting 344 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 2: out into the crowd, potentially injuring or even killing people. 345 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,880 Speaker 2: There were several accounts of folks being killed at those races, 346 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 2: and such is the case for these chariot races. You know, 347 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 2: you'd have the potential for people in the stands getting 348 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 2: hit by, you know, pieces of flying off of the chariots. 349 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: The twenty four hour la Mon. Yeah, we have a 350 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,119 Speaker 1: ridiculous history on that. We have something about the history 351 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: of the race, and he's on car stuff too. If 352 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 1: you'd like to learn more about the oh my gosh, 353 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:15,159 Speaker 1: the utterly horrific accidents that happened in those races. We 354 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,679 Speaker 1: have to say, you know, we have to speculate a 355 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: bit on the psychology of the audience, because maybe that 356 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: was part of the appeal to be right down there 357 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 1: in the thick of it, as close to the chariots 358 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: as possible, despite the risk, or to have this social 359 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: identification that was so strong that you would want to 360 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,159 Speaker 1: physically harm someone because they were a green and you 361 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: were a blue. It's strange too, because Diocles was chasing 362 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: glory along with money, but he was definitely chasing the glory, 363 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: chasing the fame because he switched his factions. He began 364 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: his career as a White and then he moved over 365 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,719 Speaker 1: to the Greens. Because of all the teams, the Greens 366 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: and the Blues were the most successful and the most popular, 367 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: right and think of them like the New England Patriots 368 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 1: if you're a football fan. But then he made a switch. 369 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: He made a switch through a plot twist. You see, 370 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: he transferred to the less popular Red faction. And this 371 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 1: would have made pretty good financial sense to him, maybe 372 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: have given him some more time to shine. You would 373 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: have been a bigger fish and a smaller pond. Because 374 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: you see Diocles, when he was on the Green team, 375 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: he was just one of many very popular charioteers. You know, 376 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,400 Speaker 1: he was possibly a footnote in history, but he could 377 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,679 Speaker 1: become a main character in history if he went with 378 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,360 Speaker 1: the Reds. And that's what he did. And despite what 379 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 1: you might assume, he was not the He was not 380 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,400 Speaker 1: the charioteer who won the most races. He just got 381 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: the most money. As Professor Robert B. Keybreak points out 382 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: in the of Diocles Roman charioteer. His victories paled in 383 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: comparison to those of other charioteers, such as Scorpus, who 384 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: had two thousand and forty eight victories, or Pompeius most closest, 385 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,080 Speaker 1: who had three thousand, five hundred and fifty nine victories. 386 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,159 Speaker 1: But he made it. He won the game, right, he retired, 387 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:24,400 Speaker 1: As we said, he lived a pretty sedate, fun life 388 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,440 Speaker 1: after that, you know, from he was born in approximately 389 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 1: one oh four CE, and he passed away sometime after 390 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: one forty six CE. But I believe his death was 391 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: relatively peaceful or unremarked upon. 392 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, especially given the profession. Right, so by that point 393 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 2: he I think it was just kind of unusual for 394 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,440 Speaker 2: anyone in such a violent, inherently violent line of work 395 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 2: to be able to retire. And even though he didn't 396 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 2: win the most, maybe that's because he he was looking 397 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:58,719 Speaker 2: he was playing the long game, right, ben. I mean, 398 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 2: he was like protecting himself and maybe not being quite 399 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,440 Speaker 2: as reckless, but he certainly knew how to show off 400 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 2: and have some flourishes. He had his own signature style, 401 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 2: almost like you know, tiger style or like something out 402 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 2: of like a street fighter game. And it was called 403 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,439 Speaker 2: the strong final dash. Oh nice, because he could just 404 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 2: pull out all the stops and the end. That maybe 405 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:21,679 Speaker 2: means he would bide his time a little bit and 406 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 2: stay out of harm's way and like protect himself. But 407 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 2: then at the end he would like come up ahead 408 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 2: of the pack. But yeah, it's crazy, man, that he 409 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:32,120 Speaker 2: was able to just relaxingly drift away as an old 410 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 2: man of what was he like fifty years old? 411 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,640 Speaker 1: He passed away on his estate in the Italian countryside 412 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: near modern day Palestrina, and he lived out the remainder 413 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: of his days in a quiet life. Live in the 414 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: quiet life. You know. He had a son and a 415 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: daughter who later erected a memorial to him at the site, 416 00:24:55,440 --> 00:25:00,399 Speaker 1: and there he remains in history as the high highest 417 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,199 Speaker 1: paid athlete of all time. But you know what, my 418 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: spidey sense is telling me that several of our fellow 419 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: ridiculous historians are having a come on you guys moment 420 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 1: when you say, okay, so Diocles was really balling back 421 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,959 Speaker 1: in the days of ancient Rome, but who is the 422 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,400 Speaker 1: world's highest paid athlete? Now? It turns out we do 423 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: have the answer or an answer because some of this 424 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: depends on how you calculate it. Casey, help us out 425 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: with a drum roll here, if you would be so kind. 426 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,719 Speaker 1: The highest paid athlete in the modern world is. 427 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 2: It's Floyd Mayweather, who's an American boxer, problematic figure. He's 428 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 2: gotten in some trouble with the law, but he's managed 429 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 2: to exceed the total of the other of himself and 430 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 2: the other two top earning athletes in the world, who 431 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 2: are Lebron James, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. And that 432 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 2: those three had a combined earning total of two hundred 433 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:11,680 Speaker 2: and fifty nine million dollars for a season's worth of work. 434 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:12,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. 435 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, and that also includes like endorsements and partnerships and 436 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,560 Speaker 2: things like that. And this is reported by Forbes magazine. 437 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 2: But Mayweather knocked all of that out of the water 438 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 2: with something that happened very recently. 439 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 1: Right, that's correct, that's correct. He earned the top spot. 440 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: You said, a little north of two hundred and fifty 441 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: mili total for those other three. Between June first, twenty 442 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: seventeen and June first, twenty eighteen, Floyd Mayweather earned two 443 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five million dollars. This comes to us 444 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: from a Great Money dot Com article by Mike Ayers. 445 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: Here's the kicker. He earned that not across the year, 446 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,480 Speaker 1: hearing that for one night of work when he fought 447 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: Connor McGregor on August twenty seventh, twenty eighteen. Add in 448 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: his total ten million dollars worth of additional endorsements and 449 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: we get up to two hundred and eighty five million. 450 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,679 Speaker 1: This is not his first time topping the list. He 451 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: has topped at four times in the last seven years. 452 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:19,199 Speaker 1: Of course, that's quite a princely sum. But all the 453 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: money in the world, still with our current level of 454 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: medical technology, will not help you fully recover from decades 455 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: of brutal concussions. 456 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 2: It's true. 457 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: So you win some, you lose some, and at this 458 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:41,760 Speaker 1: point still, according to doctors Struck, no one has beaten 459 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: the record that dioclets. The charioteer established way back in 460 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: ancient Rome. Makes you think, would you do a chariot race? 461 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 2: No, man, the two wheel thing freaks me out. 462 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:54,479 Speaker 1: I would totally do it. 463 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 2: You just it seems like it'd be so easy to 464 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 2: flip over. Those horses have to counterbalance that you and 465 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 2: the whole time, and if you lose the slack on 466 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 2: the reins. It seems like your whole front end would 467 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 2: go into the dirt, or if they reared up a 468 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,320 Speaker 2: little too much, you'd flip over backwards. It just seems 469 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 2: like a fool's errand to me, sir. 470 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: I you know, I see where you're coming from. To 471 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 1: each their own, I think it would be a lot 472 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: of fun. So if you know where I could I 473 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: could just ride some chariots around. Please please let me 474 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: know you can. You can hit us on our Facebook 475 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: group Ridiculous Historians. You can hit me up on Instagram 476 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: directly at Ben Bowlin. 477 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,600 Speaker 2: Surely there's some kind of chariot simulator you could try 478 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 2: before jumping full bore into the circus Maximus. 479 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: I want to go for the gusto man. 480 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 2: All right, man, I respect that, I really do. You 481 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 2: can check me out on Instagram at Embryonic Insider and 482 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 2: Ben I think you had a comic recommendation today. 483 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: I do have a comic recommendation today. I am a 484 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: fan of a comic series called Britannia, which studies the 485 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: story of someone named Antonius Axia, the the Empire's Finest. 486 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 1: You'll love this word, folks detectioner. He is applying scientific 487 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: scrutiny and rational thought to various mysteries, usually mysteries that 488 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:18,479 Speaker 1: he is tasked with solving by the mad Emperor Nero. 489 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: It's a great read. It's highly recommended. Let us know 490 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: if you've read it and what you think about it. 491 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 1: In the meantime, of course, thank you for checking out 492 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: today's show, and thank you to Casey Pegram. 493 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 2: As always, thanks to Alex Williams who composed our theme. 494 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 2: Thanks to our amazing research associate Gabe, and thanks to 495 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 2: you Ben Bolin, my friend. 496 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,240 Speaker 1: Hey, thanks to you, old Brown. 497 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,200 Speaker 2: I got a question for you. Is this this comic 498 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 2: recommendation that's sort of an alternate historical account, kind of 499 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,480 Speaker 2: like manifest destiny or one of those kind of. 500 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: Deals without all of the tinges of supernatural stuff. Yeah, 501 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: it's it's a mystery comic and it's well done. 502 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,920 Speaker 2: Let us know what you and please be sure and 503 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 2: join us for the next episode of Ridiculous History. See 504 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 2: you next time. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 505 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 506 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 2: favorite shows.