CLASSIC: The Great London Beer Flood of 1814

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 September 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1814, a poor neighborhood in London fell victim to a strange, tragic and boozy disaster -- this calamity would eventually leave eight people dead. So what exactly happened? How could an entire neighborhood flood with a deadly deluge of beer? Join Ben, Noel and Max for a bizarre bit of boozy history in this week's Classic episode.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Fellow ridiculous historians, we return to you with this week's classic episode.
0:04.5	This is a parable, cautionary tale for all our fellow ridiculous historians who like to tipple a beer every now and then there is such thing as too much.
0:17.2	There is indeed on a personal level and at scale, which we really start to see in 1814 when a poor
0:23.8	neighborhood in London fell victim to a bizarre and boozy disaster. Dare we say a calamity that
0:31.7	actually resulted in some fatalities? What the heck was this thing that happened and how did it involve
0:36.8	way too much beer?
0:38.1	Right. Let's roll it.
0:40.9	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:45.4	I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different.
0:49.2	What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?
0:53.3	Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack,
0:56.1	where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story.
1:00.4	Does anyone know what show they've come to see?
1:03.3	It's a story.
1:04.4	It's about the scariest night of my life.
1:06.5	This is Wisecrack, available now.
1:10.0	Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:18.3	The murder of an 18-year-old girl in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved for years, until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward
1:30.7	with a story.
1:32.2	America, y'all better work the hell up.
1:34.3	Bad things happens to good people in small towns.
1:43.7	Listen to Graves County on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
	...

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