We have seen the team from Ghosts Adventures investigate some of the most notorious haunted places in America. However, on their new show Ghost Adventures: House Calls, which is streaming on Discovery+ now, they are going to ordinary people’s homes.
How will investigating residential homes change how Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley do what they do? I think they got more intimate with the situation because the location is so much smaller. Plus, they are helping families feel safe in their homes again or for the first time.
“A home is a very personal and sacred space,” said Bagans. “When unexplained spirit activity causes a family to feel threatened and uncomfortable in their own house, that’s cause for immediate action. ‘House Calls’ is about helping people who are living in fear from something unknown. Our goal is to figure out what’s going on and provide answers, advice and many times, validation. These are the most personal and emotional investigations we’ve ever done.”
Each episode starts off with Zak sharing a video of the family telling the team what has been happening in their homes. Then, the team meets the family and gets a tour of the house. Once that is done, it is time for the lights to go off and their equipment to go on.
Maybe because they are in people’s homes, but the spirits seem more combative. In the first two episodes, the spirits mean business, and it scares the team.
When the sun comes up, it is time for the team to tell the family what they discovered and how they can get the homes back. If they can get their homes back. Not every case is the same.
To see what the paranormal investigators will be investigating this season, then click here!
There are a lot of inventions that changed history, but how many are as fun as the ones featured on Discovery+’s Inventions That Changed History.
The next two episodes of the series are out now. They delve into the history of The Clapper,
George Foreman Grill, The Snuggie, Pet Rock, Roomba, Fanny Pack, Garbage Pail Kids, Fidget Spinners, Hula Hoop, Shake Weight, The Wave, Stripper Pole, Beach Ball, Pogo Stick, and Thighmaster.
Some of these inventions have celebrities attached to them. However, they were not the first choice. For example, the company behind the indoor grill wanted a different person for their brand, but he missed their call. So instead, George Foreman got it and the money. However, he didn’t get as much as Suzanne Somers, who got the last laugh on her Three’s Company co-star Joyce DeWitt. The latter said no to the Thightmaster. What a schmuck. And there is one famous person who should be asking for a cut because they inspired one of the inventions above.
Some of these inventions go back thousands of years and were just improved upon in the 1900s. Can you guess which one? And do you want to see the man who started The Wave?
Some inventors made millions, and then others got screwed because they didn’t get a patent. See which items didn’t make their creators rich because of that. And see how one company was able to get a patent on something that was easily cloned.
One of the inventors went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. Obviously, it is not because of what we see in the episode.
And finally, we find out how the Pet Rock was born. Even though that is my favorite invention of the last century, I never knew how it came about until now. Its origin story is even better than I dreamed.
That is why I love this series so much. You never know what you are going to learn. Granted, I am still pissed that I had to throw out my Sea Monkeys because of what they shared about their creator’s past. Although, I was able to overlook the past of the man behind the mood ring. Like I said, you never know what they are going to reveal, and that makes this series even more interesting.
There have been a lot of inventions that changed history, but a little toy from the late ’70s called Merlin was the inspiration for the iPhone. That is one of the many Inventions That Changed History that are featured in the series’ third and fourth episodes on Discovery+.
In these two episodes, they look at Silly String, Disco Ball, Teddy Ruxpin, Squatty Potty, Twister, Pinball, Bubble Blower and Lava Lamps, Mood Ring, Ouija Board, Slinky, Silly Putty, Merlin, and the Pez Dispenser.
Almost all of those items have a special place in our childhoods, but some of them were created in our great-great-grandparents’ childhoods, like the Pinball machine.
Each invention has an interesting history. Can you guess which history belongs to what invention? Did you know that Teddy Ruxpin is not a teddy bear? Which invention made $1 million overnight after appearing on Shark Tank? The inventors of one product tested it out on the owners of a company. Needless to say, the owners did not like it.
One game was considered too risque to sell in stores, so it wasn’t. In fact, it looked like a total failure until Johnny Carson played it on The Tonight Show. Then the next day, everyone wanted to own one. While that game was censored, another one was banned in several cities. So much so, NYC would send forces in to destroy them.
Did you know a tobacco heir created the first mood ring? You are never going to believe how the Ouija board got its name. There is an even crazier story about how it got its patent so quickly. Can you guess which inventor quit the business to translate Bibles in Bolivia? Which toy was a failed experiment?
And my favorite, which invention was inspired during a night of drinking?
As much as I am loving this series, I hate how much it is costing me. I run to Amazon after like every segment to buy something. The only item I returned was the Sea Monkeys. To find out why you have to watch the first two episodes. And then when you are done, you can watch these two.
There have been many monumental inventions throughout time, and Discovery+ is looking at some of my favorite ones. The first two episodes of Inventions That Changed History feature items we have all had or wanted.
In the first episode, they look at Waterbeds, Barf Bags, Big Mouth Billy Bass, Flushing Toilet, Super Soaker, Sea-Monkeys, Pool Noodle, and Slip’ N Slide. Then in the second one, we learn about Mr. Potato Head, Pop Rocks, Corn Cob Holders, Easy Bake Oven, Box Wine, Rubber Chicken, Listerine, and Vending Machines.
We learn things like what the water bed was originally filled with inside, which Game of Thrones actor is related to the man who invented the toilet, which inventions were pulled from the market for safety issues, and the holy reason how vending machines came into existence.
Several celebrities like Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Lance Reddick (“The Wire”), Nicole Sullivan (MADtv), Haskiri Velazquez (“Saved By The Bell”), Amanda Seales (“Insecure”), Flula Borg (Suicide Squad), Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons”), Jeff Ross (Comedian), Erik Griffin (Actor/Comedian), Harvey Guillen (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and Rachael Harris (The Hangover) share their memories of the inventions. And the younger ones get to test them out.
So if you ever wanted to know the origin of Pop Rocks and Sea Monkeys, here is your chance. It is much more interesting than you ever thought it could be. I just wish I didn’t have to send back one of my most cherished belongings because the inventor was a neo-Nazi.
I know that most people will say the most innovative inventions are medical or tech related. Not me. I like Inventions That Changed History like Pop Rocks, waterbeds, lava lamps, Sea Monkeys, and the rubber chicken. If you are like me, then Discovery+ has a show for us debuting, the day before my birthday, on March 31st.
Inventions That Changed History will tell the fascinating stories of some of time’s wildest inventions. Their backstory is almost as intriguing as the creations themselves.
The items’ groovy tales will be told by Historians, Scientists, Pop Culture Experts, and Hollywood Celebrities like Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Lance Reddick (“The Wire”), Nicole Sullivan (MADtv), Haskiri Velazquez (“Saved By The Bell”), Amanda Seales (“Insecure”), Flula Borg (Suicide Squad), Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons”), Jeff Ross (Comedian), Erik Griffin (Actor/Comedian), Harvey Guillen (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and Rachael Harris (The Hangover).
So what are some of the featured game-changing inventions? The first episode will focus on Waterbeds, Barf Bags, Big Mouth Billy Bass, Flushing Toilet, Super Soaker, Sea-Monkeys, Pool Noodle, and Slip’ N Slide. Then the second will feature Mr. Potato Head, Pop Rocks, Corn Cob Holders, Easy Bake Oven, Box Wine, Rubber Chicken, Listerine, and Vending Machines.
I didn’t know that I cared about their evolutions. But now that I do, I cannot wait to watch this series.
What is your all-time favorite invention? Mine will always be the Pet Rock!
