Like carving a pumpkin at Halloween, sprouts at Christmas, and burning policemen in giant wicker cages, this week it's all about traditions!

Sam kicks us off this week with a look at the not-as-nice-as-it-sounds Aztec tradition of the Flower War - a sporting contest with very real and deadly consequences, and an even worse runner-up prize.

Nest, Tom's been looking at 'Line Crossing' ceremonies: The filthy, raucous, and often unwilling initiation ceremonies for sailors on their first crossing of the equator.

Next week's episode is a patron exclusive all about Honours and Awards! Find it at patreon.com/thatwasgenius

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Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.

Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history and used to live in New Zealand but is now in the UK as well), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.

From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.

We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).

Check us out on Facebook (and our Facebook group for memes and fun), Instagram, Twitter and via our website, and please do subscribe to us and leave us a review if you like what you hear!