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Today In History with The RetrospectorsRetrospectors Quiz of the Year 2024How many nickels did the first Automat take in 1902? What does ‘Opus Dei’ mean in Latin?And what WAS the title of the novelty song released by the Jamaican bobsled team in 1988? It’s Arion vs. Rebecca in our fourth annual Retrospectors Quiz of the Year! Over festive drinks and listener feedback, Olly puts them to the test in this fiendishly difficult quiz - fiendishly difficult, that is, unless you’ve been listening to our show this year… in which case you will obviously know ALL the answers.That’s it...
2024-12-2028 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsLet's Build A LanguageRerun: Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, there are still around 2 million esperantists today.It was once even proposed as the official language of the incipient League of Nations - but shortly afterwards, many esperantists, including Zemenhoff’s own children, were murdered in the Holocaust. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about Amikejo, the 3.5 sq km territory between the Netherlands, Germany and France where Esperanto nearly became the official langua...
2024-07-2610 minToday In History with The RetrospectorsThe Birth Of The Parking MeterThe world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16th, 1935.Park-O-Meter No. 1 was the brainchild Carl C. Magee, who’d moved to Oklahoma after being acquitted of manslaughter in New Mexico. Indignant opponents of his system considered paying for parking to be un-American, as it forced drivers to pay what amounted to a tax on their cars without due process of law.In this episode, The Retrospectors uncover the colourful past of another parking meter pioneer, Roger Babson; unpick the financial model still used by POM...
2024-07-1612 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMozart's Grand TourMozart’s grand tour of Western Europe, began on 9th July 1763, when the boy wonder was just 7 years old.Taking in Germany, France, and England, Wolfgang and his sister Maria Anna played for Royal families, leading musicians, and even wowed the crowd in a pub, the Swan and Hoop in Moorgate. In this episode, The Retrospectors speculate as to how much cash Mozart’s father Leopold may have pocketed for himself; reveal how, at the age of eight-and-a-half, Mozart had a younger ‘showbiz age’; and explain why the illness that plagued the family was actu...
2024-07-0912 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsDeath of HypercolorGenerra Sportswear, the Seattle-based company that distributed Hypercolor - the T-shirts that changed colour with heat - and declared bankruptcy on 2nd July, 1992. In a brief three-month span, between February and May 1991, the company sold a whopping $50 million worth of heat-sensitive T-shirts, shorts, pants, sweatshirts and tights, using the ‘Global Hypercolor’ brand in the UK. However, they struggled to meet the overwhelming demand for their products and as a result of mismanagement and overproduction, couldn’t handle their overnight success.In this episode, The Retrospectors explain how sex was used t...
2024-07-0212 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsA Flag For Gay PrideThe ‘rainbow flag’ first flew in San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza for Gay Pride Day, on June 25th, 1978.Created by Gilbert Baker, a friend of Harvey Milk, the original flag featured eight colours – but hot pink and turquoise were dropped from future iterations thanks to a lack of cloth. It was 30ft tall and 60ft wide.In this episode, The Retrospectors discuss how Baker’s flag usurped a previous gay symbol, subverted from Nazi iconography; reveal the ‘meaning’ of each of the original stripes; and discuss how th...
2024-06-2510 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsRoquefort: Cheese of KingsOn June 4, 1411, Charles VI of France granted the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon a monopoly to ripen his favourite cheese.Noted for its sharp, tangy, salty flavor and its rich, creamy texture, Roquefort is still under designation protected by French law, and sometimes called ‘le fromage des rois et des papes’ (“the cheese of kings and popes”).In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal Casanova’s weird kink for this blue-veined cheese in the bedroom; discover the folksy origin story that has perpetuated for centuries; and consider whether the death of the cheese plate is killing off this K...
2024-06-0412 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsWelcome To Quintland‘Miracle babies’ the Dionne Quintuplets - Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie, and Marie, the first known quintuplets to survive infancy - born on 28th May, 1934 in rural Canada.Fearing private exploitation, the Ontario government removed them from their parents and placed them in a specially built hospital under the care of Dr Allan Roy Dafoe, who had delivered them. Oliva Dionne fought a nine-year battle to regain them. In the interval, they became the country’s biggest tourist attraction, as three million visitors flocked to “Quintland” to watch the babies at play behind a one-way screen.In...
2024-05-2813 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsCaptain Blood and the Crown JewelsRerun: Fugitive Thomas Blood sneaked his way into the Tower of London’s jewel room on 9th May, 1671 - bludgeoning the 77 year-old Keeper of the Jewels, Talbot Edwards, in the process. Disguised as a parson, the Irish adventurer had cat-fished Edwards in an audacious and complex heist that involved multiple pairs of white gloves, a fake nephew and stuffing an orb down his trousers.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Blood failed to steal the jewels, but got away with a Royal pardon from Charles II; recall his earlier escapades as a fak...
2024-05-0912 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Earliest AmbulanceRerun: During the Siege of Malaga, on 7th May 1487, Queen Isabella of Spain commissioned bespoke bed-wagons to transport injured soldiers from the battlefield to specially-erected tent hospitals, the world's earliest ambulance.Despite this innovation, it was hundreds of years before the concept - and the word ‘ambulance’ - gained common currency worldwide, notably thanks to the American Civil War.In this episode, The Retrospectors consider the propagandic purpose of transporting the wounded; evaluate the hearse-like designs of the first motorised ambulances; and reveal why ambulances were feared and ridiculed by those who had to u...
2024-05-0711 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMeet Mr Potato HeadThe advertising industry underwent a minor revolution on 30th April 1952 when Mr Potato Head starred in the first ever nationally televised ad campaign for a toy, unleashing the demon force of kiddie pester power on an unsuspecting world.Unlike regular toy dolls, a Mr Potato Head wasn’t self-explanatory, so toy company Hasbro decided it was worth investing in TV ads for the product. The marketing decision is credited with helping sell more than a million Mr Potato Heads in the toy’s debut year. In this week’s Sunday episode, exclusively for members...
2024-04-3011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Band of Gold MysteryRerun: Freda Payne’s banger ‘Band Of Gold’ sounds like a Motown record, but actually isn’t. Although written by Berry Gordy’s hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was released on their breakaway label, Invictus, on 25th April, 1970.Ever since, fans have speculated as to the meaning of its lyrics and the nature of the crumbled relationship within. “That night on our honeymoon / We stayed in separate rooms,” Payne sings. Was her betrothed a closeted homosexual? Impotent? Frigid?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how this ‘proto-disco’ classic has been embraced as a gay anthem; explain wh...
2024-04-2511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsLet's Go To Butlin'sRerun: The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin’s Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend. South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusement arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.”In this episode...
2024-04-1111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsChinese Restaurant SyndromeRerun: MSG, the umami seasoning frequently added to Chinese cuisine, came under fire on 4th April, 1968 - when Dr Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine musing about the possible causes of a ‘syndrome’ he experienced whenever he ate at Chinese restaurants in the US. “The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms in the back, general weakness and palpitation”, he wrote, in a letter that soon attracted multiple responses from other clinicians - and spawned an unscientific panic about monosodium glutamate...
2024-04-0411 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsLast Days of AlcatrazRerun: The world’s most famous high-security jail, Alcatraz, evicted its last prisoner on 21st March, 1963. Met by a huge crowd of reporters who asked him what he thought of ‘the rock’, armed robber Frank Weatherman responded, “Alcatraz was never no good for nobody.”For nearly thirty years the island prison had built a reputation as ‘inescapable’, but in 1962 three men did indeed manage to escape, and were never found, dead or alive. The costs of running the facility sealed its fate: at a cost of $10 per day per prisoner, it cost three times more to run than a typical...
2024-03-2111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsFinger Lickin' LawsuitRerun. Colonel Harland Sanders’ image continues to grace the logo of KFC, who continue to sell the chicken inspired by his ‘11 secret herbs and spices’. But on 14th March, 1978 the Colonel and the chain’s owners were at legal loggerheads over his constant criticism of their food.As KFC franchises were rolled out worldwide, Sanders was highly critical of the innovations made to his recipe - describing the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken" - and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop".In this episode, Arion, Rebecca...
2024-03-1411 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsConstantine's Sunday SabbathRerun: Why is Sunday the Christian day of rest? Because Jesus said so? No! It was Roman emperor Constantine The Great who decreed on 7th March, 320 that “on the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrate and the people residing in cities rest and let all workshops be closed”.It was a departure from the tradition of commemorating Sabbath on a Saturday, which had been in line with Jewish teachings - and the word of God as depicted in the Bible itself.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Sumerians and Baby...
2024-03-0710 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsUnmasking Mardi GrasNew Orleans witnessed its first modern Mardi Gras procession - kick-started by a group of students eager to revive the traditional masquerade, banned for six decades - on 27th February, 1827. The city’s parades and revelry can trace their origins back to ancient pagan festivals and European traditions, cemented by the arrival of French-Canadian explorer (and MASSIVE ‘Fat Tuesday’ fan) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville into Louisiana in 1699. In this episode, The Retrospectors Krewe dig into the celebration’s impact on revenue and refuse; consider the discriminatory practices that accompanied the festivities until the late 2...
2024-02-2712 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Most Famous Sheep in the WorldRERUN: Dolly The Sheep, the first ever successfully cloned mammal, was introduced to the world’s press at the Roslin Institute in Scotland on 22nd February, 1997.Born seven months earlier, with the comparatively unremarkable name ‘Lamb Number 6LL3’, news of her birth had been leaked by The Observer before the scientific paper about her genesis could be published, sparking an international frenzy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the international media (and Bill Clinton) took the opportunity to drum up panic about human cloning, rather than engage with the remarkable breakthrough she actuall...
2024-02-2211 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Delia BacklashRERUN: TV chef Delia Smith built a stellar career on the success spawned from her first book, ‘How To Cheat At Cooking’ in 1971. So, when she published a reboot on 15th February, 2008, it seemed a shoo-in to sell bucketloads (which it did) - but not, perhaps, attract controversy (which it REALLY did).By seemingly encouraging the chattering classes to buy ready-mixed and frozen food, she was accused of having betrayed her audience of foodies. And that was BEFORE she turned up on telly pouring tinned mince into a Shepherd’s Pie…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca...
2024-02-1511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsInventing The Credit CardRerun: Diners Club, the world’s first credit card, was used for the first time at Major’s Cabin Grill in New York City on February 8th, 1950. Perhaps at odds with the debonair image the company went on to cultivate, the first iteration was made of cardboard, and required three signatories. Frank X McNamara claimed to have invented the product after previously dining at Major’s and realizing to his horror that he’d left his wallet at home. By the end of their first year in business, Diners Club signed up 42,000 card holders.In this epis...
2024-02-0811 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Hashish ClubRerun: Theophile Gautier’s account of ‘green jam’ cannabis consumption at the drug-addled dinner parties of the ‘Club des Hachichins’ - alongside literary figures Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac - was first published in Revue des Deux Mondes on 1st February, 1846.The Club, founded by psychiatrist Dr Jacques Joseph Moreau to establish the psychedelic effects of eating copious amounts of marijuana, met in Arab fancy dress; its members mashing their drugs up with with cinnamon cloves, nutmeg, pistachio, sugar, orange juice - and an aphrodisiac derived from Spanish Fly.In this episode, Arion, Rebe...
2024-02-0111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsSoundtracking the Royal WeddingWalking down the aisle to Wagner’s ‘Here Comes The Bride’ and departing to Mendelssohn’s ‘The Wedding March’ remains a popular choice at wedding ceremonies - a precedent established by the Princess Royal Victoria and Prince Frederick of Prussia, who married at St James’s Palace on 25th January, 1858.Unfortunately for Mendelssohn, he’d been dead eleven years by the time his tune became a viral hit - but he treasured his patronage by Victoria and Albert, once describing Buckingham Palace as “the only really nice, comfortable house in England.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and O...
2024-01-2511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsArriving At Botany BayRerun: ‘The First Fleet’ - the eleven ships carrying around 1400 people from Britain, most of whom were convicted criminals - landed in New South Wales on 18th January, 1788.Australia had been home to indigenous people for at least 50,000 years - but was a barren and shocking destination for 'the poms', who’d endured an epic 252-day voyage to get there; a journey about which Robert Hughes wrote: “before them stretched the awesome lonely void of the Indian and Southern oceans, and beyond that lay nothing they could imagine.”In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore ho...
2024-01-1811 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsShooting 'Dr. No'It had a budget of just $1 million, a lead actor wearing a toupee, and the baddie in the first draft of the script was a monkey. But the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, which began shooting in Jamaica on 16th January, 1962, kicked off a phenomenally successful franchise that’s still a staple of cinema today.Its star, Sean Connery, had been picked out by producers after his appearance in a Disney production, but was marketed as a former lorry driver with little acting experience. Concerned that Connery lacked the sophistication of Bond’s backgrou...
2024-01-1611 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsEngland's First LotteryRerun: With a top prize of £5,000 and a celebrity backer in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, England embarked on its first ever national lottery draw at St Paul’s Cathedral on 11th January, 1569.The results continued to be announced, day and night, for four months; a particularly prolonged process due to the fact that the prizes had to be divided into twelve, as the organisers had only sold a twelfth as many tickets as had been predicted. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cost of entry had been set so high...
2024-01-1111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsBest of 2023: The Counterfeit Queen of SoulThis week we’re revisiting our favourite episodes of 2023, and Rebecca has chosen to replay our episode from 15th February, the day in 1969 when Mary Jane Jones - known professionally as Vickie Jones - was arrested on fraud charges after successfully impersonating soul legend Aretha Franklin during multiple sold-out shows across Florida.When her case ended up before a judge, Jones maintained her innocence, insisting that she had been press-ganged into the deception by conman, kidnapper and semi-professional James Brown impersonator, Lavelle Hardy. In this episode, The Retrospectors look at the surprising similarities between the...
2023-12-2714 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsRetrospectors Quiz Of The Year 2023It’s been a hell of a year at Retrospectors HQ - from Clyde Barrow's first scrape with the law to the installation of Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America. BUT when it comes to retaining trivia, who is the brainiest Retrospector of all? There’s only one way to find out, as Olly challenges Arion and Rebecca to go head-to-head in our legendary annual fact battle…Thanks so much for listening - we’ll be back with all-new episodes from January 1st, 2024.Happy Christmas!Watc...
2023-12-2224 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMariah's Christmas HitRerun: All I Want For Christmas Is You has made Mariah Carey a fortune - but it took an astonishing 25 years for the song to finally reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100; a feat it achieved on 21st December, 2019, becoming America’s first festive-themed chart-topper since The Chipmunk Song in 1958. When originally released in 1994, neither Carey nor her co-songwriter Walter Afanasieff expected great things. Afanasieff voiced concerns that it sounded ‘like someone singing vocal scales’, and Carey concluded that, at Christmas time, the public would always prefer to hear the standards. In this episode, Arion, O...
2023-12-2112 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsDubya Dodges A ShoeingRerun: When George W Bush flew to Baghdad for a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14th December, 2008, he had hoped the headlines would reflect his triumphant appraisal of his deployment of American troops. Instead, it became known as the day he got some shoes thrown at him.The man throwing the shoes was Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, dog!”. The president ducked, and Zaidi let his other shoe fly. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Ira...
2023-12-1412 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMorcambe, Wise and Mr PreviewRerun: Oscar-winning conductor André Previn was an unlikely choice of celebrity guest for the Christmas special of ‘The Morcambe and Wise Show’ recorded on 7th December, 1971 - but the 13-minute sketch they taped together remains one of Britain’s all-time favourites.The music hall-style caper - which revolves around a comically catastrophic interpretation of Grieg’s Piano Concerto - was actually a reversion of a sketch Eric and Ernie had performed at least twice before, but never with a guest performer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Mia Farrow helped Previn nail his role...
2023-12-0711 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsFootball's First InternationalRerun. England played Scotland in a publicly-advertised game for the first time on 30th November, 1872 - kickstarting international football as we know it today. The English team included players drafted in from Oxford University. The Scottish team was entirely made up of teammates from Queen’s Park. The score was 0-0.Much of the game was yet to be codified - for example, that you couldn’t catch a ball with your hands. Readers of the match-report in The Guardian had to have it explained to them that half-time was 45 minutes. But the game was an indisputable hit...
2023-11-3010 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Tamagotchi EffectWith cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget's massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality - shifting 40 million units globally in just three years.Users had to check in regularly with their virtual pets, which buzzed when they were hungry or needed attention. Otherwise, neglectful owners would witness their Tamagotchi transition into virtual TOMBSTONES.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how a stay-at-home tortoise inspired the concept; explain how the U.S. rele...
2023-11-2311 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsWhen Space Mountain Saved EuroDisneyRerun. Disneyland Paris, now Europe’s most popular theme park, initially haemorrhaged money - at a rate of around $1 million per day. But, after three hard years, it returned its first annual profit on 16th November, 1995. This change in the park’s fortunes can be attributed to the popularity of two trains: the opening of the Eurostar direct line from London, and the building of the world’s most expensive roller coaster, Space Mountain, which first launched from Discoveryland on 1st June.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick how the Disney Corpora...
2023-11-1611 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsRoosevelt's Panamanian PhotoshootPresidential diplomacy now routinely involves hundreds of trips on Air Force One - but, until Theodore Roosevelt travelled to inspect the Panama Canal on 9th November, 1906, no serving US President had ever ventured abroad.It was the biggest infrastructure project a President had ever undertaken, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives. To reassure Americans he was at the helm, Roosevelt was photographed sitting atop a steam shovel, wearing a pristine white suit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the most recent President to remain ‘at ho...
2023-11-0910 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe First CheerleaderJohnny Campbell, a medical student from the University Of Minnesota, spurred on his alma mater’s struggling football team by leading spectators in a rousing cheer on 2nd November, 1898 - and, in so doing, became the world’s first recognised cheerleader. Even though the sport now features predominantly female participants these days, the first women cheerleaders weren't recorded until 1923. Indeed, four men who would later become U.S. President cheered on their teams at College: Dwight D Eisenhower, Franklin D Roosevelt, George W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the ‘...
2023-11-0211 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMaking 'Under Pressure'When Queen and David Bowie met in Switzerland to record their iconic collaboration ‘Under Pressure’ on 26th October, 1981, *quite a lot* of drugs and wine were taken - to the extent that nobody can recall exactly how the iconic pop song came to be formed.What we do know is that Freddie Mercury never performed the monster hit live with Bowie, nor turned up to appear in the video, and that the precise authorship of the instantly recognisable bassline remains hard to establish.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into Bowie’s tax affair...
2023-10-2611 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsDavid Blaine, Trickless MagicianTen thousand spectators gathered by the side of the Thames on 19th October, 2003 to watch street magician/illusionist David Blaine come back down to Earth, having spent 44 days suspended in a perspex box in a stunt called ‘Above The Below’.It was an accomplishment almost sabotaged by the British tabloid media and general public, who had heckled him, tried to dismantle his crane, and even flown up a hamburger on a drone to taunt him.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why Londoners were so hostile to this performance art unfolding in their mids...
2023-10-1910 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsPlayboy's Identity CrisisThe world’s most famous adult magazine went ‘SFW’ on 12th October, 2015 - when Scott Flanders, then Playboy’s chief executive, announced that future editions would no longer contain full nudity.The change lasted for only one year.‘Reading it for the articles’ had, at one time, been a plausible option - the magazine had published stories by Margaret Atwood and interviews with Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jimmy Carter. But, in the internet era, Playboy had become more lucrative as a clothing brand than as a credible print title, finally ceasing publ...
2023-10-1211 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsTo Versailles! To Versailles!The ‘Women’s March’ of 1789 began spontaneously, when a market trader banged a drum in a Parisian square on 5th October - launching a chain of events which would eventually end a century of Versailles rule and lead to the execution of Louis XVI.Initially a reaction to the grain shortage that had left Parisians hungry as the aristocracy indulged in luxuries, the protest soon morphed into an angry mob demanding everything from the relocation of the monarchy to the murder of Marie Antoinette.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the protestors report...
2023-10-0511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsLet's Get MetricRerun. Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre.The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth - running from the North Pole to the Equator - and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference.In this episode Arion, Rebecca and...
2023-09-2811 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsOh Say, Can You See?Rerun. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is now well-known as the USA’s national anthem - but when Francis Scott Key wrote the words on 14th September, 1814, it was merely the latest in a series of patriotic poems he’d penned; this one concerning the British assault on the coastal fortification of Fort McHenry.It was only when - bizarrely - it was set to the tune of an old English drinking song, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, that it began to gain traction - and another 119 years before it became the nation’s official ‘choon.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca a...
2023-09-1411 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Umbrella AssassinRerun. Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov was shot by a poisoned pellet whilst walking on Waterloo Bridge on 7th September, 1978. Four days later, he was dead.He thought the bullet – believed to be filled with ricin – had emanated from the umbrella of a Soviet secret agent, and the British press labelled his assassination the ‘Poison Brolly Riddle’.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Markov was initially disbelieved by doctors; reveal the mysterious involvement of a pig in the Porton Down investigation; and ask whether poisoning is really as efficient a method of murde...
2023-09-0710 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsI Say, Boy, It's Foghorn LeghornRerun. A giant chicken with the mannerisms of a wise-crackin’ Southern gentleman, Foghorn Leghorn first appeared in the Looney Tunes short ‘Walky Talky Hawky’ on 31st August, 1946.Directed by Robert McKimson and voiced by Mel Blanc, the character – who was inspired in part by popular radio character ‘Senator Claghorn’ from The Fred Allen Show – proved an instant audience favourite.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Foghorn’s Antebellum expressions put him on the soon-to-be-’cancelled’ list; explain the origin of Warner’s other animated franchise, ‘Merrie Melodies’; and marvel at Blanc’s bed-bound professi...
2023-08-3111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe End of the Pirate MonkRerun. Bandit, Admiral, wizard, pirate... ‘Eustace The Monk’ did it all - and was decapitated for his troubles, at the Battle of Sandwich on 24th August, 1217.Previously a licensed criminal for the court of King John, he became an enemy of England by switching sides and battling on behalf of the French - an extraordinary end to a remarkable career which took in black magic, robbery, and farting in a Benedictine monastery.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Eustace’s story has yet to receive the Hollywood treatment; explain how to dep...
2023-08-2411 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Slap Heard Around The WorldRerun. Whilst visiting traumatised U.S. soldiers in an evacuation hospital on 10th August, 1943, General George S. Patton encountered a man he believed to be a coward. So he slapped him in the face with his gloves, and waved a pistol in his face.On Eisenhower’s insistence, Patton apologised to the soldier, but never exhibited genuine remorse for his actions. He wrote in his diary, ‘It is rather a commentary on justice when an Army commander has to soft-soap a skulker to placate the timidity of those above’.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly a...
2023-08-1011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsRaleigh's Tobacco AdventuresRerun. Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco back to Britain from Virginia on 27th July 1586 - and, in so doing, triggered a craze for smoking, which at the time was considered a tonic for halitosis, and even a cure for cancer.Despite Queen Elizabeth I being an advocate for the new drug, it didn’t take long for the anti-tobacco movement to kick into gear - with King James I writing a treatise against smoking by 1604.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit the phenomenon of ‘Dry Drunkenness’; explain why Eton’s schoolboys were pre...
2023-07-2711 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsNapoleon's Surname DecreeRerun. France’s Jewish population mostly had no family surnames – until 20th July, 1808, when Napoleon issued a decree insisting they adopted one. They were not permitted to choose place names, and allusions to the Old Testament were forbidden.Rumours persist that some families were charged higher fees to adopt prettier names, but in a Europe rife with antisemitism, Napoleon’s creations of Jewish consistoires (regulatory bodies) is still seen by some as a relatively tolerant policy.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the genesis of their names, explain how compound names like R...
2023-07-2011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsEminem vs His MomRerun. Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem, was sued for defamation by his own mother, Debbie, on 29th June, 2000. The suit was primarily in response to a lyric, “My Mom does more dope than I do”, from his hit song ‘My Name Is’.However, the case never made it to court. Eminem settled for $25,000 - almost of all of which went to Debbie’s lawyer, who then commented that the cash was not enough to compensate for having to deal with his client...In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider Eminem’s use of the Slim...
2023-06-2911 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMcEnroe’s Wimbledon MeltdownJohn McEnroe was once the world’s No.1 tennis player, winning seven major Grand Slams. But he’ll always be remembered for his extraordinary rant against umpire Edward James at Wimbledon on 22nd June, 1981.During his match with Tom Gullikson, James ruled that the New Yorker’s serve went out. McEnroe’s reaction – “You can’t be serious man, you cannot be serious!… You guys are the absolute pits of the world!” – staggered the genteel world of tennis.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca discover that McEnroe had already established a bad-boy reputation with the...
2023-06-2212 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsBlackadder BeginsRerun. Rowan Atkinson headed up the cast and writing team, yet the first series of ‘The Black Adder’ drew a decidedly mixed reaction from audiences and critics when it debuted on BBC TV on 15th June, 1983.Set in 1484, and filmed in castles across England, the series led some wags to quip that it ‘looks a million dollars, but cost a million quid’. It was only later, when Ben Elton joined Richard Curtis to write subsequent series, that its iconic comedy characters truly took shape.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider the role of...
2023-06-1511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsHeimlich’s Big Maneuver‘Cafe coronaries’ were a fact of life until The Journal of Emergency Medicine published details of The Heimlich Manoeuvre on June 1, 1974.In so doing, they made a household name of thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, and saved countless diners from choking in restaurants.In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca examine whether Heimlich’s notoriety was truly deserved; explain how his Hollywood connections helped him spread the word of his achievements; and revisit his misguided pursuit of malariotherapy as a treatment for HIV...Further Reading:• Henry Heimlich administers his mano...
2023-06-0111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsShakespeare UnbannedRerun. Chinese citizens were once again able to read and perform the works of William Shakespeare on 25th May, 1977.Chiang Ching, Chairman Mao’s wife, had instituted the ban eleven years earlier - amidst concerns that the Bard’s works could be reinterpreted to undermine the Party’s rule and ideology.In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion ask why British Literature has enjoyed a reversal of fortune under President Xi; reveal how Shakespeare’s childhood home is connected to The Venetian, Las Vegas; and recall a surprising fact about One True Voice’s forgotte...
2023-05-2511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsDracula! Live on Stage!Bram Stoker’s Dracula was first introduced to the world NOT via his canonical novel, but rather in the pages of a seldom-performed - and by all accounts appalling - play-reading at London's Lyceum Theatre on 18th May, 1897.The stage version was not intended to reach a mass audience; but was rather a clever wheeze of Stoker’s to ensure he was recognised as the creator of his iconic characters - as the script needed to be rubber-stamped by the Lord Chamberlain's office prior to performance.In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reve...
2023-05-1811 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Opening Night of 'Cats'Rerun.At a cost of £2m, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘Cats’ premiered at the New London Theatre on 11th May, 1981 – and the world had never seen anything like it. With a cast including Brian Blessed and Elaine Paige, the original production was innovative, sexy, creepy, bizarre – and an enormous gamble for the impresarios who backed it.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion look back at the original reviews for the show, consider whether John Napier’s award-winning costume design was actually incredibly lazy, and reveal how the show’s signature son...
2023-05-1112 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsDebut of the Daily MailRerun.As British literacy rates surged to a new high of 97%, the time was right to launch a simpler, shorter, more readable newspaper - and Alfred Harmsworth’s Daily Mail caught the zeitgeist when it hit the news-stands (at the eye-catching price of just half a penny) on 4th May, 1896.The new paper attracted half a million daily readers by the end of the century, drawn in by its American-inspired mix of provocative political commentary, human interest and sentiment.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Mail in...
2023-05-0411 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Duel That Shocked FranceRerun.King Henri III of France had a favourite group of young courtiers – his ‘mignons’ (or ‘cuties’, ‘sweeties’, or ‘‘darlings’) – known for dressing in an effeminate and eye-catching style. On 27th April, 1578, they engaged in a bloody duel with a rival gang in a battle that came to be known as ‘The Duel of the Mignons’.Was it a ‘beautiful’ battle, a classical allusion to Roman combat, as some scribes argued? Or, as the King himself concluded, a pointless – and rather farcical – loss of life?In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Henri’s ‘mummy’s b...
2023-04-2712 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Truth About TimbuktuNo European had returned alive from Timbuktu until French adventurer René Caillie, who arrived in the ‘City of Gold’ on 20th April, 1828 after an arduous year-long journey. He was fêted by the Société de Géographie in Paris, who awarded him 10,000 francs in recognition of his daring voyage - and his place in the history books was assured.But Caillie was disappointed by what he had found. “The city presented, at first view, nothing but a mass of ill-looking houses, built of earth,” he wrote. “Nothing was to be seen in all directions but immense plains of quick...
2023-04-2011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Crazy Queen of SpainJoanna of Castile, was, as a young lady, remarked upon for her intellect and good companionship, and married off to prize catch Philip the Handsome - but by the time she died on 13th April, 1555 she was known colloquially by the name that’s stuck ever since: ‘Joanna The Mad’.She had, by then, spent 45 years in prison at the hands of her own family, who had a political advantage in exaggerating her moments of instability to keep control of her territories.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Joanna’s problems can be trace...
2023-04-1312 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Kodak MomentGeorge Eastman filed a patent for the first ever celluloid roll film on 6th April, 1889 – an incremental development following the release of the first Kodak handheld camera, released in 1888, but a truly significant one.Eastman’s original products came preloaded with film, and were marketed as “convenient as a field-glass”. For $10, customers could take 100 shots which were then developed by Kodak at their factory in Rochester, New York.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover why Eastman’s advertising nous was years ahead of its time; explain how Kodak soon becam...
2023-04-0612 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsDr Long's Ethereal AdventuresPain-free surgery eluded physicians for centuries, but 26-year-old Crawford Williamson Long successfully removed a tumour from the neck of patient James Venable on 30th March, 1842 - whilst Venable was anaesthetised with ether.Dr Long had come to appreciate the ‘exhilarating effects’ of ether as a result of attending drug-fuelled parties at medical school - known in his coterie as ‘ether frolics’ - and identifying that, whilst high on ether, he had bruised his body, yet not felt the impact.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dr Long experimented on his friends...
2023-03-3011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsHandel's Biggest HitHallelujah! Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is one of the cornerstones of Western classical music. But when it had its London premiere at Covent Garden on 23rd March 1743, it was billed as “a new sacred oratorio”, lest the real title of the show seem blasphemous.To further mitigate the problem of performing religious work in a secular playhouse, librettist Charles Jennens ensured that no one singer could be said to be ‘playing’ the role of Christ, and profits from the show were donated to charity.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how fashionable Italian singer...
2023-03-2311 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsWrite E For EunuchIndia’s Hijra community – who for centuries held a significant cultural, political and spiritual role in Indian society – were officially recognised on 9th March, 2005, when a new option appeared on passport forms, allowing applicants to select M for Male, F for Female, or ‘write E for Eunuch’.Although being labelled as a ‘third sex’ was considered by some to be stigmatising, it also reflected an understanding of the Hijra (a group including trans women, intersex people and castrates) as ‘eunuchs’, a depiction with its roots in both Hindu mythology and British colonialism.In this episode, Ario...
2023-03-0911 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsHow Not To Invade EthiopiaThe Victory of Adwa on 2nd March, 1896 marked a milestone in the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa’ - because, whilst so much of the continent had been colonised by European nations, Abysinnia successfully defended their country from the invading Italians.Rome had underestimated the Ethiopians’ weaponry, motivation and strategy, and turned up with bad maps, demoralized troops - and orders to march on.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a tricksy treaty was used to justify the incursion; consider the fates of the Eritreans who fought alongside the Europeans; and question the wi...
2023-03-0212 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Dress That Launched Google ImagesWhen Jennifer Lopez turned up on the Grammys’ red carpet wearing a green Versace dress on February 23rd, 2000, there was such a rush from the public to see the image that it became the most searched-for term in Google’s history. As a result - Eric Schmidt later confessed - Google Images was developed and launched, and a whole new way of searching the web was created.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover where the iconic dress is now; explain how Geri Halliwell missed out on the chance of (increased) internet infam...
2023-02-2312 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsPope Gregory's SneezeWhy do we say ‘God Bless You’ when we sneeze? Some historians trace it back to 16th February, 600 - and a decree supposedly issued by the pun-loving, God-fearing Pope Gregory to ward off the effects of the plague that had killed his predecessor.(Sadly, Gregory’s other idea to fight off the disease wasn’t quite so successful - he organized a parade through Rome, and 80 people in the crowd spread the symptoms to each other, subsequently dying.)In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how locals respond to sneezes in Serbia, China, R...
2023-02-1611 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsHorseracing Hits BritainRerun. Chester Racecourse hosted Britain’s first ever recorded horse-racing meet on 9th February, 1539. The winner received a set of silver bells to hang from their bridal.Mayor Henry Gee had come up with the idea as a replacement for the traditional Shrove Tuesday football match - which he’d banned for being too riotous and violent.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate the folk etymology of ‘Gee Gees’; explain why the Royals were responsible for robbing the North of its equestrian edge; and reveal why Oliver Cromwell took objection to a day at...
2023-02-0912 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsChristian Bale's Terminator FreakoutRerun. TMZ posted leaked footage of Christian Bale’s infamous meltdown on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation’ on 2nd February, 2009.Triggered by the film's Director Of Photography, Shane Hurlbut, repeatedly walking past his eyeline, Bale launched into an expletive-laden tirade that lasted more than three minutes, during which he threatened to smash up the lights, and have Hurlbut fired from the set.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dissect how Bale’s star power immunized him against reasonable pushback; compare his defense with Prince Andrew’s declarations of honour; and rank the rant again...
2023-02-0212 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsBrides on the MoveRerun. Sometimes termed ‘The Diaper Run’ due to the large number of babies on-board, the S.S. Argentina set sail from Southampton to New York City on 26th January, 1946 – transporting 456 ‘War Brides’ and their 170 children from Britain to the USA.Each was permitted to bring 200lb of luggage, and faced an uncertain future on arrival in the States – some reuniting with their one true love; others finding themselves shacked up with in-laws who resented their existence.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this historic crossing triggered a change in U.S. immigrati...
2023-01-2612 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsIntroducing the BlackBerryRerun. Research In Motion were once the world’s most popular maker of smartphones, but when they launched the BlackBerry 850 on 19th January, 1999, the device had no phone functionality: it was marketed as a two-way pager.However, the gadget’s ability to bounce emails from a desktop server to its users on the move, and its bespoke instant messaging service, BBM, ensured it soon became an essential tool in the executive businessperson’s arsenal. Until the iPhone came along, anyway…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the ‘CrackBerry’ phenomenon; unpick the role of Al G...
2023-01-1911 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Cryogenic Rush JobRerun. Dr James Bedford became the first dead body to be cryogenically frozen on 12th January, 1967 – a day still commemorated in the ‘suspended animation’ community as Bedford Day.But in this burgeoning (pseudo)science, there were plenty of preparations yet to be made. Which meant that the freezing team – lead not by scientists but enthusiasts – ran out of ice, and forgot to drain his blood. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dive into the legal cases that sprang from this early period of cryogenic freezing; consider the psychological implications of being awoken from death, g...
2023-01-1212 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsCaptain Blood, Colonel Sanders and the Cyclonic ComedienneCompilation. Happy New Year, Retrospectors! Before the show returns on January 3rd, Arion, Rebecca and Olly are taking one last look back at their favourite episodes from 2022.In ‘Eva Tanguay, Cyclonic Comedienne’, the team recall the events of 1st March, 1910, when the vaudeville megastar was arrested in Kentucky after stabbing a stagehand three times with a hat pin. Her edgy charisma, style and sexuality gave her a stellar career, coupled with suggestive lyrics and wild gossip calculated to keep her in the public eye.In ‘Captain Blood and the Crown Jewels’...
2023-01-0134 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors Quiz Of The Year 2022Happy Holidays! Arion, Rebecca and Olly will be back with more cracking ‘Today in History’ content from January 3rd 2023… but in the meantime, it’s time to wrap the year with the Pub Quiz that ONLY makes sense if you’ve doggedly revised everything we’ve discussed for the past 51 weeks.It’s Arion vs Rebecca as Olly tests their knowledge on subjects as diverse as Ozzy Osbourne, blade-stropping and Milton Hershey’s middle name. Can Rebecca keep her crown from 2021? Does Arion’s attempt to get his rivals drunk pay dividends? And for which iconic TV show was the pi...
2022-12-2318 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsEdison’s Christmas LightsRerun. The first string of lights festooned upon a tree dazzled visitors to the New York home of Edward Johnson, Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, on 22nd December, 1882.Lit patriotic red, white and blue, the tree also revolved; wowing a reporter from The Detroit Post and Tribune. “At the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect,” he wrote. “It was brilliantly lighted with… eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs… One can hardly imagine anything prettier.”In this episode...
2022-12-2211 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsNapoleon’s Second FuneralRerun. Napoleon was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Helena. But, 19 years later, on 15th December, 1840, he got buried again: this time at Les Invalides, Paris. It was an ornate state occasion, involving multiple caskets, 500 sailors, 14 semi-naked female statues... and a lot of lardy cakes. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what Napoleon’s cadaver looked like; explain why a previous petition to relocate his remains had failed; and discover an unexpectedly culinary description of the day from The Sunday Times… Further Reading:• ‘Brin...
2022-12-1511 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThere’s Poison In My PintRerun. Thousands of beer barrels were emptied into the streets across Lancashire on 1st December, 1900 - when it finally dawned on people that the cheap stout they’d been drinking with years was in fact contaminated with arsenic. Over 6,000 victims were poisoned, mostly across Manchester and Salford, thanks to the practice of padding out the barley used in the brew with inexpensive glucose syrup. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role that the class system played in the initial diagnoses of mass ‘alcoholic multiple neuritis’; reveal the one company in the supply c...
2022-12-0110 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Lucy FossilRerun. It took over three million years to find her. But palaeontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray uncovered the remains of ‘the Lucy Fossil’ - a previously undiscovered species of pre-human - in Hadar, Ethiopia on 24th November, 1974.Despite the find’s massive significance, the event was not greeted with untrammelled joy by all their rival fossil hunters. Some - who had wanted to claim such a discovery for themselves - began publicly disputing that Lucy was indeed a missing link in the evolution of humankind.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal...
2022-11-2412 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsLet's Revolve A RestaurantLa Ronde, the USA’s first revolving restaurant, opened on 21st November, 1961, at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. On the menu in the 298ft-tall tower was shrimp cocktail, mahi-mahi, and ‘the Queen of beefdom’.It had a predecessor, though, in perhaps an unlikely city: post-war Dortmund, Germany. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of rotating restaurants back to Ancient Rome (of course); recall Elvis Presley’s role in furthering the popularity of high-rise revolving dining at the Space Needle; and consider the particular appeal of ‘high attractions in low rise ci...
2022-11-2111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Last SultanRerun. Mehmet VI stepped on to a British warship to seek refuge in Malta on 17th November, 1922 - thereby becoming the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a dynasty stretching back to the 14th Century. He was accompanied by his first Chamberlain, his doctor, two secretaries, a velt, a barber, two eunuchs, and a bandmaster. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the archives to see how the event was portrayed in the triumphant West; consider the fate of the Royals left behind in modern-day Turkey; and ponder what ‘cautiously optimistic exil...
2022-11-1712 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Best A Man Can Get?King C. Gillette was granted a US patent for a “safety razor” on November 15th, 1904 - kickstarting both the disposable grooming industry, and the notorious ‘razor and blades’ business model.Prior to his invention, men who shaved at home would have to strop their blades on a big leather strap, and occasionally take their razors to a cutler to have them returned to their original sharpness.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gillette savvily used Army contracts to establish his brand across America; reveal how scientists at MIT told him his prod...
2022-11-1512 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsBirth of the Big ThingsRerun. In the early days of advertising, tyre company Goodyear sent a giant tyre on a coast-to-coast publicity trip. It was photographed on 42nd Street, New York on 10th November, 1930.Was this the birth of the ‘big things’ phenomenon that has lead us to roadside giant prawns, record-breaking sausages, and Instagrammable statues of Jeff Goldblum? Perhaps. We’ll go with it, anyway.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Goodyear’s publicity nous went beyond photo opportunities and into their very origin story; explain why press agent Harry Reichenbach once brought a lion i...
2022-11-1011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Day The (Rave) Music DiedRerun. Attending or producing raves was made illegal in Britain with the passing of the Criminal Justice Act on 3rd November, 1994. The government even legislated against electronic dance music, “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”These unprecedented restrictions were partly in reaction to the moral panic caused after a 'free party' at Castlemorton Common attracted 30,000-40,000 attendees, and the ire of the tabloid press.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the provenance of ‘revellers’ in the raver’s lexicon; explain why the creation of the M25 le...
2022-11-0312 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Man Who Saved The WorldRerun. Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov may not have the name recognition of Castro, Kruschev and Kennedy - but his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis on 27th October, 1962 almost certainly prevented World War Three from erupting. On-board a sweltering Russian submarine, he talked Captain valentyn Savitsky down from firing a nuclear torpedo at the United States Navy, whom, Savitsky falsely believed, were attacking his boat. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly speculate about what Arkhipov said to Savitsky to stop him from firing his ‘special weapon’; explain why his heroic story stayed...
2022-10-2711 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Boy Who Poisoned His GranddadRerun. William Alnutt tipped arsenic into the family sugar bowl on 20th October, 1847 - and five days later, the 12 year-old’s sweet-toothed grandfather, Samuel Nelme, was dead. It was the second time the deeply troubled Alnutt had attempt to murder to his grandfather, after a failed plot to shoot him with a pistol in their garden. His trial caused a media sensation.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Alnutt’s arrest coincided with the burgeoning concept of juvenile delinquency; study Alnutt’s letters from prison, begging forgiveness from God; and uncover...
2022-10-2011 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMartin Monti - American TraitorRerun. The first ever U.S. officer to be convicted of treason, Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr., defected from the Air Service to the Nazis on 13th October, 1944.After a stint in radio propaganda, he joined the Waffen-SS, was recaptured by the Americans, and then claimed to be a prisoner of War. His family petitioned his Senator to go lightly on his crimes, the full extent of which only became clear when he sensationally confessed to treason in court.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to understand Monti’s repeated fl...
2022-10-1311 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Play That Never EndsRerun. Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’, the world’s longest-running play, opened at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham on 6th October, 1952, with a cast including Richard Attenborough. The producer, Peter Saunders, predicted the production would run for 14 months. More than 28,000 performances later, the show has become an iconic attraction in London’s West End, with a set that still includes the original mantelpiece clock present on stage on opening night nearly 70 years ago. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the unconventional choices Christie made with the copyright of the play; recount Noel...
2022-10-0610 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe 33-day PopeRerun. The corpse of John Paul I was discovered by a nun in the early hours of 29th September, 1978. His body was embalmed within 24 hours, heightening suspicions that the cause of death may have been unnatural. He had been Pope for just 33 days.An unconventional Pope – who had refused to wear the papal tiara, use the Royal ‘we’, or sit on a ceremonial throne – he seemed to have had a weird premonition that he wouldn’t be in office for long, famously responding to his elevation to Popehood by telling the Cardinals, ‘May God forgive you for what you...
2022-09-2912 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsIntroducing 'Club Retrospectors'Fancy a brand new, full-length SUNDAY EPISODE of this show, each and every week?Of course you do! Become a member of Club Retrospectors and unlock an additional, ad-free episode each weekend. Join now, for less than £1 per week, via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Here’s what our members can enjoy:
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2022-09-2410 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe All-Female JuryRerun. Witchcraft and infanticide were the charges levelled against young maidservant Judith Catchpole at the General Provincial Court in Patuxent County, Maryland on September 22nd, 1656. Since the case hinged on whether she had been pregnant, an all-female jury was assembled - the first in colonial America.Seven married women and four single women physically examined her - and found her not guilty of the crimes. Which were pretty obviously B.S.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the first and only instance of men being excluded from a jury in England; co...
2022-09-2211 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsGorilla MarketingCadbury’s Dairy Milk re-energised its flagging brand in the UK on 31st August, 2007, when its iconic ‘Gorilla’ ad premiered in the Big Brother final on Channel 4.The 90-second commercial, which featured a gorilla drumming along to Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’, was an instant hit on YouTube (a novelty back in 2007), and turned around sales for the chocolate company after a series of PR misfires and a salmonella scare.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the ad’s concept was reverse-engineered into a Cadbury’s marketing brief; reveal how the gorilla...
2022-08-3112 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Whole TruthCourt witnesses have promised to tell ‘the whole truth’ since the 13th century; but, on 19th August, 1992, the U.S. Appeals Court permitted Wallace Ward to stand trial under his own oath - pledging not ‘truth’, but ‘fully integrated honesty’.Ward, the president of a Nevada-based mail order company, had coined the phrase himself when he devised Neothink, a cultish belief system structured around charging hundreds of dollars for self-help advice.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up whether Ward’s bizarre convictions really were equivalent to religious faith; trace back the origins of...
2022-08-1912 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMeet The VikingsNorthumbria’s ‘holy island’, Lindisfarne, was invaded by Vikings on 8th June, 793 in a smash-and-grab, ‘shock and awe’ attack that left locals reeling for decades. The completely unexpected incursion was not, in fact, the first time Viking forces invaded the English coastline, but was, undoubtedly, the moment their reputation as merciless warriors and pirates was sealed.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Vikings targeted so many of their raids on monasteries; consider why Lindisfarne was, in the first place, regarded as such a spiritual site; and explain why many Englis...
2022-06-0811 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsChinese Restaurant SyndromeMSG, the umami seasoning frequently added to Chinese cuisine, came under fire on 4th April, 1968 - when Dr Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine musing about the possible causes of a ‘syndrome’ he experienced whenever he ate at Chinese restaurants in the US. “The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms in the back, general weakness and palpitation”, he wrote, in a letter that soon attracted multiple responses from other clinicians - and spawned an unscientific panic about monosodium glutamate...
2022-04-0411 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsMeet The TeletubbiesTinky Winky, Dipsy, La La and Po were introduced to British viewers on 31st March, 1997 - launching an international phenomenon and changing kid’s television forever.‘Teletubbies’ was an enormous hit for the BBC, but not without controversy: from viewers concerned that the characters’ toddlerish language might impede the linguistic development of the nation’s children, to angry Radio Times readers who claimed the BBC were committing ‘cultural vandalism’ by axing the long-running series Playdays.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly get lost in the weeds of Teletubbies Wiki fandom; revisit the ‘toy rage’ that t...
2022-03-3111 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsFinger Lickin' LawsuitColonel Harland Sanders’ image continues to grace the logo of KFC, who continue to sell the chicken inspired by his ‘11 secret herbs and spices’. But on 14th March, 1978 the Colonel and the chain’s owners were at legal loggerheads over his constant criticism of their food.As KFC franchises were rolled out worldwide, Sanders was highly critical of the innovations made to his recipe - describing the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken" - and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop".In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly...
2022-03-1410 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Most Famous Sheep in the WorldDolly The Sheep, the first ever successfully cloned mammal, was introduced to the world’s press at the Roslin Institute in Scotland on 22nd February, 1997.Born seven months earlier, with the comparatively unremarkable name ‘Lamb Number 6LL3’, news of her birth had been leaked by The Observer before the scientific paper about her genesis could be published, sparking an international frenzy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the international media (and Bill Clinton) took the opportunity to drum up panic about human cloning, rather than engage with the remarkable breakthrough she act...
2022-02-2211 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsChristian Bale's Terminator FreakoutTMZ posted leaked footage of Christian Bale’s infamous meltdown on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation’ on 2nd February, 2009.Triggered by the film's Director Of Photography, Shane Hurlbut, repeatedly walking past his eyeline, Bale launched into an expletive-laden tirade that lasted more than three minutes, during which he threatened to smash up the lights, and have Hurlbut fired from the set.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dissect how Bale’s star power immunized him against reasonable pushback; compare his defense with Prince Andrew’s declarations of honour; and rank the rant against ot...
2022-02-0212 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors Quiz of the YearIt’s our last episode of 2021, and Olly is putting Arion and Rebecca to the test to see what they’ve learned from our first 168 episodes...How many copies of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ were in the original print run in 1811? What (horrifying) ingredients were in Jane Asher’s 1990 ‘Mary, Mary’ cake for children’s parties? Which four U.S. Presidents had been cheerleaders at College? It’s a fight to the death to establish our Retrospectors champion of the year!If you’ve enjoyed the show this year, please…
2021-12-2420 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsWe ❤️EmojiThe first ever emoji set, including the earliest incarnations of 🍷, ❤️, and 💩, was released in Japan on 1st November, 1997. But the only users could send and receive them were owners of a now-forgotten ‘SkyWalker’ handset made by J-Phone. ☹️Emoji didn’t truly transform written communication in the West until some fourteen years later, when emoji keyboards came by default on iPhone (Android users, incredibly, had to wait until 2013 🤯).In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how unloved 1990s font Wingdings paved the way for graphical communication; ponder whether emojis can be used in legal contracts; and reveal how...
2021-11-0110 min
Today In History with The RetrospectorsThe M25 - Britain’s Biggest CarparkMargaret Thatcher finally opened London’s first ring road - construction on which had begun in the 1970s - on 29th October, 1986, declaring: "I can't stand those who carp and criticise when they ought to be congratulating Britain on a magnificent achievement and beating the drum for Britain all over the world".A 58-page commemorative booklet was issued for enthusiasts, and coach trips were organised so that car-less punters could complete a circuit of the new motorway. But public enthusiasm for the project was short-lived when it lead to increased congestion and seemingly endless proposals for ex...
2021-10-2911 min