Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography, & More

Sixty years ago at the Green Bank observatory in West Virginia, a small conference was held for astrophysicists. The meeting was organized by Cornell University professor and astronomer Frank Drake. The subject of the conference was the search for extraterrestrial life. In preparation for the conference, he jotted down his thoughts in the form of an equation. Learn more about the Drake Equation on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 15, 1920, two men who were delivering the payroll to the Slater-Morrill Shoe Company in Braintree, Massachusetts were killed in broad daylight. The payroll was taken by the killers, and they jumped into a getaway car. A few weeks later, two Italian immigrants with known ties to radical anarchist groups were arrested for the murder. It became one of the most controversial criminal cases in US history. Learn more about Sacco and Vanzetti, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American history isn’t a single linear story. There are periodic changes to the political order where political parties and affiliations are reordered. According to political scientists, there have been six different political eras in American history. Each era was a reflection of issues that confronted the country at the time. Learn more about America’s six political eras and what caused them on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The space race officially began on October 4, 1957, at 7:28 PM Moscow Time. That was when Sputnik was launched into orbit as the first artificial satellite, and from that moment, it was on. But when did the space race end? That is a much trickier question and there is no formal answer. However, I think an excellent case can be made for July 17, 1975. Learn more about the Apollo/Soyuz Test Program and the handshake that ended the space race on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For thousands of years, food storage was one of humanity’s biggest problems. Even if you could grow or hunt sufficient calories when food was abundant, it was very difficult to store those calories for when food was scarce. One man made a huge advancement in our ability to store foods, which now allows us to enjoy fresh produce all year round. Learn more about Clarence Birdseye, and the invention of frozen foods, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Standards make everything easier. When everyone can agree on a standard way to do things, regardless of how it is done, it can reduce confusion and facilitate progress. You’d think if there was one thing that would be standardized everywhere, it would be the side of the road everyone drives on. I mean, there are only two options. Yet, there is no global standard for what side to drive on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2002 the BBC did a poll where they named the top 100 Britons in history. It had many people you have probably heard of, including Isaac Newton, Princess Diana, John Lenon, and Queen Victoria. The person who was ranked #2, however, is someone that many people outside of the UK might not have heard of. Yet, he really is one of the most important people when it came to the development of the modern world. Learn more about Isambard Kingdom Brunel on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

László Polgár was born just after World War II in Hungary. His field of study was the nature of human intelligence. After studying the lives of over 400 great intellectuals from throughout human history, he came to a startling conclusion: geniuses weren’t born, they were made. So he set about conducting an experiment on his own children. The results were astonishing. Learn more about Judit, Susan, and Sophia, the incredible Polgar sisters, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 7th, 1824, in Vienna, Austria, the musical world changed forever. The assembled crowd in the Theater am Kärntnertor heard one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary musical performances in history. However, there was one person in attendance who didn’t hear the performance. The composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. Learn more about Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and how it changed the musical landscape forever, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British House of Commons has been called the Best Club in Town due to the fact that there is a 1,000-gallon vat of Scotch whiskey located in the cellar. However, I prefer to think of it as a roach motel. Because technically, once you are elected to Parliament, you can’t leave. It is actually illegal to resign from the House of Commons. Yet, people seemingly do all the time. Learn more about the convoluted way you can quit the House of Commons on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year around June, millions of people will wear robes and put on funny flat hats to receive their university degrees. But why do they all wear robes, and what’s the deal with that flat hat, and why does the hat have a frilly thing hanging off of it? And why do we give out degrees named after unmarried men? And why are some people called a doctor if they don’t have any patients? Learn more about the history of academic degrees on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1942, two and a half years into the Second World War, the British were facing a problem. While the British Navy mostly commanded the Atlantic, the Germans had one significant advantage: The battleship Tirpitz. Rather than attack the Tirpitz head-on, they came up with an alternate plan which would effectively limit the effectiveness of the battleship. Learn more about The St. Nazaire Raid on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who do you think what the wealthiest athlete in history? Maybe Michael Jordan. Perhaps Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. Or maybe Lionel Messi or LeBron James? Well, historically speaking, if you added up the fortunes of all of those people, they probably couldn’t compare to one man who competed in ancient Rome. A man who put his life at risk far more than any golfer or tennis player. Learn more about Gaius Appuleius Diocles on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year, on the last Monday in May, the United States honors its war dead. It is often celebrated with parades, cookouts, and ceremonies at military cemeteries. While many people just think of it as a three-day weekend and the beginning of summer, it is a tradition that extends back over 160 years. Learn more about Memorial Day, how it got started, and how it is celebrated, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If I was to ask you what the wealthiest royal family in Europe was, your first guess would probably be the British Royal Family. But it isn’t. It also isn’t the royal families in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, or even the wealthy enclave of Monaco. The richest royal family is also the unlikeliest. Learn more about Liechtenstein, how their family got so wealthy, and why the country even exists, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the simplest mathematical statements possible is 2+2=4. While the concept is very easy to understand, when you write it down you have to use mathematical symbols which are, historically speaking, a relatively recent invention. At one point, mathematicians were doing reasonably complicated work without the benefit of symbols at all. Something which is unthinkable today. Learn more about mathematical symbols on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the year 52 BC, the Roman General Julius Caesar fought the last major battle in the conquest of Gaul. The implications of the battle have reverberated throughout history and can still be felt in the world today. But the real story isn’t the implications of the battle, but how it was won. It was one of the most audacious gambles in military history, and it worked. Learn more about the Battle of Alesia on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1787, Russian Empress Catherine the Great took a six-month trip to visit her newly acquired territories in the Crimean. Along the way, she sailed down the Dnieper River and saw many of the shiny villages in the new Russian Crimean. However, there was a problem. The villages were all fake. Learn more about Potemkin Villages, and how they still exist in the modern world, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do lasers, photovoltaic cells, the transistor, digital cameras, cell phone technology, the communication satellite, computer networking, radio astronomy, and the UNIX operating system have in common? They were all invented or developed at the same place by the greatest collection of scientists and engineers ever assembled. Learn more about Bell Labs, the greatest research laboratory in history, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every 17 years one of the grandest spectacles in nature takes place. Billions of insects in a seemingly coordinated fashion will emerge from the ground and cover the skies and the trees. This is all part of their extremely unusual life cycle which consists of an extremely long juvenile period and very short adulthood. Learn more about periodic cicadas and their unusual behavior and life cycle on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever been really full after a meal? Like really really full? Could you imagine eating and never feeling full? Like going to an all you can eat fish restaurant and then getting kicked out for eating too much and going fishing so you can eat more fish? Well, there was one Frenchman who could never be satiated and the results of this condition were….astonishing. Learn more about Tarrare and his medical condition on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever looked at a map and said to yourself “Wow, Greenland is really big!”, only to then look at a globe and realize, that Greeland wasn’t actually that big? If so, then you have discovered the Mercator Projection. A map that was originally created in 1569 and is still with us today. Learn more about the Mercator Projection, its problems, and its benefits, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a professional musician, their instrument is their livelihood. If making music is your career, it isn’t surprising that many top musicians will pay the equivalent of a new car on their instrument. However, there is a class of musician which have instruments which are far more valuable than a car. They are the price of a mansion. Learn more about the world of extremely expensive musical instruments, and why musicians play them, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Europeans began sailing the high seas on extended voyages, the most deadly thing they encountered wasn’t enemy navies, starvation, or even shipwrecks. It was a painful disease where your body would literally start falling apart and it killed more than 2,000,000 sailors between the voyage of Columbus to the middle of the 19th century. Learn more about scurvy and how it was eventually conquered on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comeback stories are some of the best stories in sports. Whether it is coming back from a huge deficit, or being on the brink of elimination in a series, these are often some of the most dramatic moments in sports history. They don’t happen that often because once you are down by a large amount, the odds of a comeback become minuscule. There was one comeback, however, which stands out above all others. Learn more about the 2013 America’s Cup on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1941, a young artistic prodigy released his first motion picture. It had enormous anticipation, received incredible reviews, and earned nine Academy Award nominations. However, the film was a financial failure because the vast majority of theaters refused to show it. In the 80 years since its release, it has been named the greatest film of all time on multiple lists by critics and directors. Learn more about Citizen Kane. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve done your share of flying, you are probably familiar with the three-letter airport codes which identify every commercial airport in the world. Airports like DFW, LGA, and HOU are easy to figure out. However, why is there an X in LAX? How did Washington Dulles wind up with IAD? And what is the deal with almost every airport code in Canada? Learn more about airport codes and the weird logic behind them on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the process of doing research, I often come across various stories which are interesting but might not be worthy of a full episode. They often are more like facts than stories. Every so often I save up those stories for a special episode because I really hate to let things go to waste. So without further ado, here is the Spanish potpourri episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Located in the Tower of London are a collection of objects, some of which date back 800 years, which are the physical symbols of the British Monarchy. These objects have a value that would almost be impossible to measure given both their intrinsic and historical worth. They are the physical embodiment of the British Monarchy. Learn more about the British Crown Jewels and their role in the British monarchy on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five who died of cervical cancer in 1951 at the age of 31. Before she passed, a tissue sample of her cancer cells was taken. Those cells have been the basis for decades of cancer and biological research, and have also been at the center of one of the greatest medical ethics controversies in modern times. Learn more about the immortal Henrietta Lacks on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m guessing that almost everyone listening to this podcast has, within the last day, used a zipper. They are ubiquitous at this point and most people have never given them much thought. Yet, its invention was a rather inspired leap of creativity and required the development of several other technologies before it could even become a thing. Learn more about the zipper, how it was invented and how it is used today, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randomness is all around us. Many of you probably think that this podcast is pretty random given that you have no clue what each day’s episode is going to be about. However, true randomness is a very different thing than something being seemingly random. While randomness is actually all around us, harnessing it for our purposes, especially in computing, can be rather difficult. Learn more about randomness and why some things that seem random are not, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rise of civilization is sometimes defined as the urbanization of humanity. The transition from hunter-gatherers to living in settlements was a fundamental transformation of human society and allowed for advanced social institutions such as kings, priesthoods, and standing armies. Since then, our settlements have gotten larger and larger, resulting in the megalopolises we have today. Learn more about the cities which held the distinction of being the largest in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years people believed that there was a part of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and planes would disappear called the Bermuda Triangle. It turned out that ships and planes didn’t disappear there at any higher rate than they did elsewhere, and it just wasn’t a thing. However, researchers did find a place where the vessels which traveled into it had a far higher rate of catastrophe. This area was in outer space. Learn more about the South Atlantic Anomaly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was growing up I was taught like so many people that Ferdinand Magellan was the first person to circumnavigate the Earth. The problem with this is that is it isn’t true. In fact, Magellan never circumnavigated the Earth at all. Who should get credit then? Learn more about Juan Sebastián Elcano, and how he is still remembered today, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year, on the second Sunday in May, 96 countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day. Dozens of other countries celebrate the same thing on different days throughout the year. Mother’s Day wasn’t always a thing, however. Its creation was due to a small number of very determined people...and of course greeting card companies. Learn more about Mother’s Day and how it became a holiday on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During World War II, the United States had a fleet of over 1,200 combat ships. Each of them had a unique story and service record. With so many ships, there would be many stories of heroism, stories of tragedy, and some stories of total incompetence. One ship, in particular, was so bad, it became the but of jokes throughout the Navy, because they almost killed the President of the United States. Learn more about the USS William D. Porter, The Unluckiest Ship in WWII. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historically, in the aftermath of a battle, there was nothing formal in place to take care of injured or captured combatants. There was nothing formally or informally that dictated how such people should be treated. One man in the 19th century, having seen the horror of war, decided to do something about it. It led to the creation of a movement that would go on to save millions of lives. Learn more about the International Red Cross and Red Crescent on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the United States, there are awards given in many fields of entertainment. For Broadway productions, they have the Tony Awards. Television has the Emmy Awards. Music has the Grammy Awards, and Movies have the Oscars. To win one award is a lifetime accomplishment for most. However, a rare few have won one of each. Learn more about EGOT on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1173, the Italian city of Pisa was on top of the world. They were a significant commercial power in Italy, commanded a sizable Mediterranean fleet, and wanted to demonstrate their power to the world. It had built a marvelous cathedral, and comparable baptistry and they decided to complete the complex by building a bell tower. However, that didn’t quite go as planned. Learn more about the Leaning Tower of Pisa on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October 1970, a blind woman accidentally walked into a Los Angeles County welfare office with a child in tow. The staff in the office immediately noticed the odd girl with the woman. She walked funny, was emaciated, drooling, didn’t make a sound, and when asked, the woman mentioned that the girl was 13. The staff thought she looked like she was seven. This began one of the saddest cases of child welfare in history, and one which fascinated researchers for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She was never intended to be a queen. She wasn’t the firstborn and the rules of the time didn’t support her as a woman. Yet through cunning and guile, she managed to take power. As a queen, she was at the center of many of the most significant and notorious events in European history, and she was largely responsible for the creation of the country which became Spain. Learn more about Isabella I of Castille and how she influenced the history of Europe on this episode of Everything Everywhere Dail Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the year 480 BC, one of the most famous battles in history took place on the shore of the Malian Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Several thousand Greeks held back several hundred thousand Persians, in a battle which is still remembered 2,500 years later. While the Greeks lost the battle, they did ultimately win the war. Learn more about the Battle of Thermopylae and the 300 hundred Spartans, on the 300th episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year of May 1st, people all around the northern hemisphere celebrate the arrival of spring. A day we call May Day. But it is also the day that communist countries held military parades, and the Soviets would show off all of their military strength in public. Mayday is also the international distress signal for radio. How are these very different things all related? Learn more about May Day on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1815, one of the most catastrophic and deadly events in recorded human history occurred in Indonesia. A volcanic explosion took place which was larger than anything, any human had ever witnessed in over 10,000 years. The total death toll from the event might have been as high as a quarter-million people. Learn more about the Mount Tambora explosion on this Episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many people have an idealized view of how science works. They think that someone makes a discovery or publishes a paper, then everyone acknowledges their discovery, and everyone moves on to the next thing. Science! However, that isn’t quite how things work in reality. The real advancement of science can be quite messy. One man learned this the hard way. Learn more about J Harlen Bretz and how he changed a scientific discipline through determination and longevity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think of battles involving broadswords and longbows you probably thinking back to the time of Braveheart. But what if I told you that those weapons were being used much more recently in a modern mechanized war? ...well, at least one guy was using them in World War II. Learn more about ‘Mad’ Jack Churchill, the man who brought ancient weapons to a modern war, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. https://rerouted.co/ -------------------------------- Associate Producer Thor Thomsen Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/EEDailyPodcast/ Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Apollo 11 mission to land humans on the moon was one of the most complex things ever undertaken by humanity. They had to prepare for any and every eventuality, including the failure of the mission. To cover that eventually, President Nixon’s speechwriter wrote a speech to cover that eventuality. Learn more about the speech which Richard Nixon never had to give, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He was a painter, a writer, sculptor, photographer, and one of the most significant avant-garde artists of the 20th century. He was also a showman, celebrity, and one of the well-known personalities in the world. ...and he had one of the most famous mustaches in history. Learn more about Salvador Dali on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historically, an army would have days, weeks, or even months to prepare for war. However, with the development of intercontinental missiles and nuclear weapons, the time for preparation was reduced to hours or even minutes. In light of these changes, it was necessary to develop a system that allowed for rapid mobilization and readiness. Learn more about the DEFCON system, and the history of its level changes, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices