Today In History with The Retrospectors

Marc Brunel’s visionary under-water tunnel from Rotherhithe to Wapping finally opened to the public on 25th March, 1843. It had taken 18 years to build, and was massively over-budget, but was the first tunnel successfully created under a navigable river anywhere in the world. Its construction had cost lives, caused controversy and changed the way tunnels would be built forever. But it soon became notorious as a gangway frequented by pickpockets and prostitutes. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brunel had to build a vertical tunnel before embarking upon his horizontal one; tot up its takings as an enormously popular tourist attraction; and explain how the injuries sustained by Isambard Kingdom Brunel during its construction lead directly to his even more famous architectural masterpieces… Further Reading: • ‘The Opening Of The Thames Tunnel’ (SS Great Britain Blog Brunel, 2021): https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/the-opening-of-the-thames-tunnel/ • ‘Open again after 145 years, the eighth wonder of the world’ (The Independent, 2010): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/open-again-after-145-years-the-eighth-wonder-of-the-world-1920723.html • ‘The Thames Tunnel Archive - Part 5/5’ (Brunel Museum London, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HADkw-laAM For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When ultra-nationalist Yoshio Kodama was attacked by disaffected erotic actor Mitsuyasu Maeno in a kamikaze-style plane crash on his home in Tokyo on 24th March, 1976, it came as a surprise even to Maeno’s friends, who had photographed him, dressed as a World War Two pilot, taking to the skies. The bizarre event, in which Maeno died but Kodama survived, took place whilst Japan was reeling from ‘The Lockheed Scandal’, whereby it emerged that, for 18 years, the American company Lockheed had been bribing Japanese officials to buy their products - with Kodama, a convicted war criminal, as their insider. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why even some of Kodama’s supporters would have sympathised with Maeno’s extreme actions; ask whether his appearance in ‘Tokyo Emmanuelle’ truly means Maeno should be described as a ‘porn star’; and reveal how Maeno blagged his way behind the wheel of a rented aircraft to commit his attack… Further Reading: • ‘When a Porn Star Crashed His Plane into a Crime Boss’s Home in Japan’ (Medium, 2021): https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-a-porn-star-crashed-his-plane-into-a-crime-bosss-home-in-japan-54de7ce3f7c0 • ‘Japan Seeks Motive in Crash Into Lockheed Agent's Dome’ (The New York Times, 1976): https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/24/archives/japan-seeks-motive-in-crash-into-lockheed-agents-home.html • ‘The Man Who Kamikazed a Yakuza Don's Mansion’ (Oki’s Weird Stories, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ecWb2cCDc For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hallelujah! 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 singers were liable to attract as much laughter as praise; reveal what Mozart and Beethoven made of Handel’s masterpiece; and explain how the production at Crystal Palace in 1850 blew the original out of the water… Further Reading: • ‘The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2009): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/ • ‘Charles Jennens: The unsung hero of Handel’s Messiah’ (The Globe and Mail, 2016): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/charles-jennens-the-unsung-hero-of-handels-messiah/article33389290/ • ‘'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah’ (Royal Choral Society, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5c For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For most of America's history, gambling has either been outright banned or incredibly tightly controlled - a tradition that began on 22nd March, 1630 when the Puritan colonists in Boston issued a decree that “all persons whatsoever that have cards, dice, or tables in their homes make away with them, under pain of punishment”. It was one of many habits banned during this time, including smoking, celebrating Christmas, and wearing clothes with more than two slashes in the sleeves. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why moral crusades to control the ‘vice’ of gambling have always ultimately failed across the centuries; reveal why King James himself had spoken up in favour of skittles; and consider the merits of whist, cribbage, and dog fighting… Further Reading: • ‘The Puritans Ban Gambling and a Whole Lot of Other Things’ (New England Historical Society, 2021): https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/puritans-ban-gambling-and-whole-lot-things/ • ‘How protectionism and puritanism put paid to online gaming industry’ (The Independent, 2006): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/how-protectionism-and-puritanism-put-paid-to-online-gaming-industry-5330775.html • ‘Why was Christmas banned?’ (The Guardian, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsFYm796dig We had EVEN MORE to say about gambling in olden times. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 American prison. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the state-of-the-art security features the prison had when it opened; revisit the 1935 Christmas menu dished up in the mess hall; and review some bad-taste souvenirs offered up in the modern-day gift shop… Further Reading: • ‘Alcatraz closes its doors’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/alcatraz-closes-its-doors • ‘Alcatraz Prison Was Apparently an Excellent Place to Eat’ (Bon Appetit): https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/article/alcatraz-prison-food • ‘Last prisoners leaving Alcatraz Island’ (Universal International News, 1963): ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpP5IJeBshE For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The craze for paper dresses was the huge and unexpected impact of a viral marketing campaign for the Scott Paper Company that debuted in TIME magazine on 18th March, 1966. For $1.25, readers could send off for a red bandana print or a black and white pop art dress made of cellulose. It was intended as a press stunt to promote durable napkins, but, to everybody’s surprise, half a million units were sold in just eight months. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether these teenage kicks of the ‘60s presaged the 21st century trend for ‘fast fashion’; reveal how Richard Nixon got in on the act; and explain how, even if you think it sounds ridiculous, you’ve probably worn an outfit inspired by paper dresses at some point in your life, without even realising it… Further Reading: • ‘Fashion: Real Live Paper Dolls’ (TIME, 1967): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836820,00.html • ‘Paper Fashion in the 1960s: The Genesis of Fast Fashion’ (Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection, 2018): https://blogs.cornell.edu/cornellcostume/2018/03/17/paper-fashion-in-the-1960s-the-genesis-of-fast-fashion/ • ‘Paper Clothing of the 1960s and the Rise of Fast Fashion’ (ElleYeah, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zZBjNuenMc For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joseph Grimaldi, the most famous clown in Britain, made his final appearance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 17th March, 1829 - the very venue where he’d made his stage debut as a toddler in his father’s variety act. He was 48. Crippled with rheumatism, he told his adoring audience: “It is four years since I jumped my last jump, filched my last oyster, boiled my last sausage and set in for retirement.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly perform a thigh-slapping round of his hit drinking song ‘Hot Codlins’; explore why Grimaldi’s innovations were so influential for all ‘clownkind’; and recall how tragedy was a constant companion for this theatrical legend… Further Reading: • ‘Books: The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian by Andrew McConnell Stott (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/dec/19/simon-callow-biography-grimaldi-review • ‘Joseph Grimaldi Factsheet’ (It’s Behind You!, The Magic of Pantomime): http://www.its-behind-you.com/Factsheets/Joseph%20Grimaldi%20Factsheet.pdf • ‘Grimaldi: 150 Years On’ (Thames News, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqlG-_RRSE Content warning: child abuse, staged suicide. #Victorian #Theatre #Sad #UK #London For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gustav III was shot, in the back and at close range, at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House on 16th March, 1792. But he didn’t die for another two weeks. Which made things rather difficult for the conspirators who had assassinated him. During his two decades on the throne, Sweden’s ‘Culture King’ had increased religious freedom, widened opportunities for ordinary citizens and built the very opera house in which he was attacked. But his popularity with the people did not spare him the wrath of the nobility - quite the reverse. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, at a masked ball, the King was still so readily identifiable; ask whether his war with Russia was a clever or foolish piece of military strategy; and reveal the ugly fate that befell his assailant… Further Reading: • ‘That Fatal Shot — by the Royal Armoury, Sweden’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/that-fatal-shot-the-royal-armoury-sweden/MQURevye_fzGJQ?hl=en • ‘Gustav III of Sweden: The Forgotten Despot of the Age of Enlightenment’ (History Today, 2003): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/gustav-iii-sweden-forgotten-despot-age-enlightenment • ‘The Ambitious Building Projects of Gustav III’ (Kings And Things, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5MbLbv2gSU #1800s #Sweden #Crime #Royals For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Beckham met Victoria Adams in the Manchester United Players Lounge on 15th March, 1997. The Spice Girl wrote her parents' phone number onto a boarding pass, passed it to the midfielder, and reportedly told him, “Mr. Beckham, if you don't ring me, I'm going to kick you in the bollocks.” David had apparently admired ‘Posh’ in the Say You’ll Be There video, while Victoria had perused David’s photo in a Panini sticker album. From these humble beginnings they established themselves as football’s first ‘power couple’, as relevant to readers of the front pages as they were to the sports pages at the back. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, in the initial days of their relationship, ‘Posh and Becks’ returned regularly to a branch of Harvester; consider how their joint star power eclipsed their fame as individuals; and how the couple effectively created the PR template for exploiting a ‘personal brand’... Further Reading: • ‘David and Victoria Beckham’s Relationship Timeline’ (US Magazine, 2022): https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/david-and-victoria-beckhams-relationship-timeline/ • ‘Twenty years of the Beckhams: how they ushered in our era of personal branding’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/apr/18/20-years-david-victoria-beckham-personal-branding • ‘Victoria & David Beckham Announce Engagement (Press Conference)’ (Associated Press, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKAFi7TP8vc For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 and Olly reveal the Colonel’s surprising devotion to swearing; explain how his devotion to quality made him the ‘Heston Blumenthal of fried chicken’; and revisit the debacle of ‘Kentucky Roast Beef’… Further Reading: • ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken of Bowling Green, Inc. v. Sanders’ (Supreme Court of Kentucky, 1978): https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/563-s-w-2d-8-1.html • ‘8 Things You May Not Know About the Real Colonel Sanders’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.history.com/news/8-facts-real-colonel-sanders-kfc • ‘Colonel Sanders: Integrity in What You Do’ (KFC promotional video, 1970s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPwWu4PKjU Enjoy this episode? There’s even more finger-lickin’ content in the boneless bucket that is our weekly bonus episode, available exclusively to our supporters on Patreon and subscribers on Apple Podcasts. In this week’s installment, we explain what happened when KFC tried to sue Colonel Sanders a second time - when he established ‘The Colonel's Ladies Dinner House Restaurant’ (still open to this day as Claudia Sanders’ Dinner House’) in Shelbyville, Kentucky…. Go get it now at patreon.com/Retrospectors (top two tiers only), and support the show. Thanks! For more bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Producer John Langley had been pitching a no-frills, fly-on-the-wall documentary series following US Police Officers for six years when, in the midst of a writer’s strike, Fox finally bit. COPS made its debut on 11th March, 1989, becoming one of the longest-running shows in TV history. Langley called it ‘video vérité’; the New York Times called it ‘tabloid TV’. From the beginning, concerns about its depiction of race relations in America led to criticism that eventually brought about its cancellation - before it was reinstated on a different TV network. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how various Police departments across the States went from being resistant to being featured in COPS to actually nominating themselves for filming; consider why participants were so keen to sign release forms when they were being depicted in such a vulnerable position; and ask if the first series still seems as ‘tabloid’ as it was considered at the time… Further Reading: • ‘Episode One: Broward County Florida - Part 2’ (Fox, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5k36VTrZcY • ‘Review/Television; 'Cops' Camera Shows the Real Thing’ (The New York Times, 1989): https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/07/arts/review-television-cops-camera-shows-the-real-thing.html • ‘John Langley: Producer who turned police work into prime reality TV’ (The Independent, 2021): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-langley-cops-reality-tv-obituary-b1875648.html For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How many eligible men can we send to fight France? Are there enough food supplies to feed the population for the next century? Until 10th March 1801, the British Parliament weren’t sure - which is why they commissioned the first national headcount since the Doomsday Book. Unlike a modern-day census - which harvests data on religion, education and even sexuality - their first efforts only totted up the numbers of men and women, and their engagement in certain employment, such as agricultural work. Despite this, they still managed to balls it up - with some parishes never bothering to return the paperwork properly. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why birthplace and employment came to be introduced in later surveys; consider the problem of dishonesty in self-declaration; and reveal how suffragettes used the census as a clever tactic for protest… Further Reading: • ‘10 March 1801: Britain conducts its first census’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/383334/10-march-1801-britain-conducts-its-first-census • ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it Affects the Future Improvement of Society with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers’ (Thomas Malthus, 1798): http://www.esp.org/books/malthus/population/malthus.pdf • ‘Who Had To Return To Their Birthplace For The Census?’ (QI, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWa7LEl36UY Photo courtesy of Essex University. For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’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, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Hijra are believed to bring blessings to ceremonial occasions; dig into the polarised attitude that defines how Indians still see this marginalised community; and explain how a combination of transphobia, desperation and entrepreneurship has lead to many of them finding employment as ‘human Howlers’... Further Reading: • ‘Third sex in passports’ (Telegraph India, 2005): https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/third-sex-in-passports/cid/670187 • ‘India's third gender - in pictures’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/society/gallery/2014/apr/16/india-third-gender-in-pictures • ‘India's Transgender Community: The Hijra’ (Refinery29, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgw7M-JABMg For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s ‘Fight of the Century’ at Madison Square Garden on 8th March, 1971 had the attention of the world - including multiple celebrities. But the photographer LIFE magazine had hired for the event was, nevertheless, a coup: Frank Sinatra. “I'm so mad I could chew nails and spit tax”, wrote former LIFE staff photographer Robert W. Kelley. “I've been a professional news photographer 34 years… and what irks me is your cover. It was obviously selected because Frank Sinatra took it, rather for any photographic excellence. In fact, it was a bad picture. What millions of LIFE readers wanted to see was Frazier's fist firmly implanted against Muhammad Ali's mouth." In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether LIFE’s Managing Editor Ralph Graves was right to commission Sinatra to contribute the cover photo for such an iconic event; reveal what happened when Bing Crosby tried to blag his way into the fight; and look back on how Ali’s trash-talking of Frazier spurred him on for the fight of his life… Further Reading: • ‘Frank Sinatra Once Photographed Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’ (Vice, 2015): https://www.vice.com/en/article/ezedg7/frank-sinatra-once-photographed-muhammad-ali-and-joe-frazier • ‘Brutal first meeting of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier stopped the world 50 years ago’ (Mail Online, 2021): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-9335207/Brutal-meeting-Muhammad-Ali-Joe-Frazier-stopped-world-50-years-ago.html • ‘Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier’ (ABC, 1971): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQhFhdmW6Vs #1960s #Sport #Black #Arts #US #Music We had EVEN MORE to say about ol' Blue Eyes and his boxing pics. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Babylonians also played their part in the seemingly arbitrary division of the week into seven days; ask if Constantine was hedging his bets by merging the Christian calendar with the Roman sun-God’s special day; and reveal how the Emperor tried to cheat his way into Heaven at the very last minute… Further Reading: • ‘Constantine Orders That Sunday Becomes A Day of Rest’ (BBC History Magazine, 2016): https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20160225/281698319039318 • ‘Sol Invictus - Roman Sun God’ (Mythology.net, 2016): https://mythology.net/roman/roman-gods/sol-invictus/ • ‘Why Christianity Owes a Lot to the Roman Emperor Constantine’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7c9vweo8k #Roman #Religion #Christian For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Andrew Jackson was inaugurated on 4th March, 1829, large crowds of recently emancipated, enthusiastic voters turned up to the Capitol to watch the former Army commander become President. But the event soon spiraled out of control, descending into, at best, chaos; and, at worst, a brawl. Eyewitness Margaret Bayard Smith wrote: “No arrangements had been made no police officers placed on duty and the whole house had been inundated by the rabble mob… At one time, the President who had retreated and retreated until he was pressed against the wall, could only be secured by a number of gentleman forming around him and making a kind of barrier of their own bodies.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Jackson’s legacy, and the routine comparisons with President Trump; ask how reliable the eyewitnesses are, given that many were part of the political elite that Jackson despised; and reveal the novel technique deployed by White House staffers to disperse the crowds… Further Reading: • ‘Andrew Jackson, The 7th President of the United States’’ (White House Historical Association, 2006): https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/andrew-jackson/ • ‘Was the White House Really Trashed at Andrew Jackson's First Inauguration?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/andrew-jacksons-inauguration.htm • ‘Donald Trump's Hero is Andrew Jackson’ (Brut America, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD3-uFReZ3s #Politics #US #1800s For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell Athletic, the company that created the sweatshirt, began life as The Russell Manufacturing Company on 3rd March, 1902 in Alexander City, Alabama. Its founder was entrepreneurial polymath Benjamin Russell, and they specialized in women’s undershirts. It wasn’t until decades later - when Russell’s son returned from college with a concept for college-based sportswear - that the brand embarked upon designing their iconic garment that still sells by the bucketload today. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly compare Russell to various characters in ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’; outline rival Champion’s claim to having invented the hoodie; and explain how ‘athleisure wear’ has its roots in apparel designed for spectators, not participants… Further Reading: • ‘Our Heritage: A Rich History’ (Russell Athletic official website): https://www.russellathletic.com/history • Benjamin Russell - The Alabama Business Hall of Fame (ua.edu): https://abhof.culverhouse.ua.edu/member/benjamin-russell/ • ‘Harold Lloyd in THE FRESHMAN (1925)’ (Janus Films, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ntrhlDr8MU #Sport #Fashion #1900s #Inventions #Business #US For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 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 wisdom of getting your troops to march for nine hours straight before engaging in combat… Further Reading: ‘First Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Adwa’ (ThoughtCo, 2018): https://www.thoughtco.com/italo-ethiopian-war-battle-of-adwa-2360814 ‘The History of The Battle and Victory of Adwa (African History month): https://ahm.africa/the-history-of-the-battle-and-victory-of-adwa-125th/ ‘How did Italy Lose to Ethiopia?’ (Animated History, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hln0GjuUQk&t=4s For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eva Tanguay, vaudeville megastar, was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on 1st March, 1910 after stabbing a stagehand three times with a hat pin. At the police station, she reportedly produced a roll of bills and cried, “take it all. And let me go, for it's now my dinner time.” It was neither the first violent incident of her career, nor the first time she had piqued the curiosity of the press - indeed, Tanguay had made a career of combining her edgy charisma, style and sexuality with suggestive lyrics and wild gossip guaranteed to keep her in the public eye. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how she co-opted ‘I Don’t Care’, a song not even written for her, into her personal anthem; reveal what ‘hotdogging’ is; and revisit her tragic letter to Henry Ford… Further Reading: ‘In search of Eva Tanguay, the first rock star’ (Slate, 2009): http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2009/12/vanishing_act.html?via=gdpr-consent&via=gdpr-consent ‘Eva Tanguay (1896—1982)’ (Lawrence History Center): https://www.lawrencehistory.org/lhcexhibits/lewishine/tanguay ‘Eva Tanguay sings ‘I Don't Care’’ (Nordskog, 1922): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zte2sDJ0rys For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #1910s #Crime #Theatre #Arts #Music #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Edition) was the largest book to be mass produced, but - as was revealed on 28th February, 1939 - it contained an embarrassing error: on page 771, between the entries for Dorcopsis (a type of small kangaroo) and doré (golden in colour), was the word ‘dord’. Which doesn’t exist. The mistake had arisen from a note submitted by the dictionary’s Chemistry Editor, Austin M. Patterson, who had intended to include ‘D or d’ as an abbreviation for ‘density’. It became the most celebrated example of a ‘ghost word’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the time is right to re-introduce ‘dord’ to the dictionary; reveal how the word ‘ghost’ itself contains a ‘ghost letter’; and explain why the the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Dictionary deliberately included an entry on fictitious photographer Lillian Virginia Mountweazel… Further Reading: ‘The Curious Case of “Dord,” the Dictionary-Defined Word That Doesn’t Exist’ (MindBounce, 2020): https://www.mindbounce.com/446502/the-curious-case-of-dord-the-dictionary-defined-word-that-doesnt-exist/ ‘What Are Ghost Words?’ (Grammarly): https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ghost-words/ ‘Ask The Editor: Ghost Word’ (Merriam-Webster, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnY Enjoy this episode? The team have uncovered even MORE about trap streets and unrecognisable words, which you can hear exclusively if you’re our supporter on Patreon* or subscriber on Apple Podcasts. Support the show, skip the ads** and get bonus material every week! *top two tiers only. Patreon.com/Retrospectors **Patreon only. We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #30s #Mistakes #Discoveries #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henri Landru, known as ‘Bluebeard’ to the French public, was executed by guillotine on 25th February, 1922, having murdered at least ten women he dated during the First World War. He continued to protest his innocence throughout his sensational trial - despite having drawn a detailed doodle of the oven he had used to burn his victims’ bodies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Landru’s disturbing methodology; uncover why France’s top defense attorney was attracted to the case; and explain what it all had to do with Rudyard Kipling… Further Reading: ‘The Story Of Henri Landru, France's Charming Bluebeard Serial Killer’ (All That’s Interesting, 2017): https://allthatsinteresting.com/henri-landru ‘Hidden for 100 years, the untold story of serial killer who preyed on lonely war widows’ (Mail Online, 2019): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6511793/Hidden-100-years-untold-story-serial-killer-preyed-lonely-war-widows.html ‘Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons’ (Anglo Allied Pictures, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrfmrucyKGo For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #20s #Person #Crime #War #Macabre #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Last Invasion’ of Britain was not, as most people assume, The Battle of Hastings - but actually a farcical French attempt to conquer the Pembrokeshire town of Fishguard on 24th February, 1797. Windy weather had already scuppered the first two prongs of this failed three-pronged attack, which was ultimately overthrown by a rag-bag militia of volunteers, a shipload of discarded booze, and a Welshwoman with a pitchfork. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask if the French had any realistic chance of success; explain why their soldiers seemed quite so unmotivated by the task at hand; and pay tribute to the pub at the heart of the surrender… Further Reading: • ‘Battle of Fishguard: The Last Invasion Of Mainland Britain’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/last-invasion-britain-french-battle-fishguard-what-happened-jemima-nicholas/ • ‘Jemima Nicholas, a Fishguard Heroine - People of Pembrokeshire’ (coastalcottages.co.uk): https://www.coastalcottages.co.uk/inspiration/heritage/jemima-nicholas-a-fishguard-heroine/ • ‘The One Show: The French Invasion of Fishguard’ (BBC Wales, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QGBV-rizTw For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #1700s #War #UK #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When 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 infamy; and reveal just how many dresses J-Lo tried on before settling on ‘the one’... Further Reading: ‘How Jennifer Lopez’s Versace Dress Created Google Images’ (GQ, 2019): https://www.gq.com/story/jennifer-lopez-versace-google-images Geri Halliwell actually wore Jennifer Lopez's iconic Grammy dress first (yahoo.com): https://uk.style.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/geri-halliwell-actually-wore-jennifer-lopezs-175622959.html ‘Jennifer Lopez Tells the Story of the Green Versace Dress’ (Vogue, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTyBFcEgc-A For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #2000s #Person #Music #Fashion #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 actually represented; reveal why Dolly developed a snack habit; and identify a missed opportunity for Dolly’s Tea Rooms in Roslin… Further Reading: • ‘Dolly the sheep’ (National Museum of Scotland): https://www.nms.ac.uk/dolly • ‘Dolly the Sheep and the human cloning debate - twenty years later’ (The Conversation, 2016): https://theconversation.com/dolly-the-sheep-and-the-human-cloning-debate-twenty-years-later-63712 • ‘Retro Report: The Story of Dolly the Cloned Sheep’ (The New York Times, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELZEPcgKkE Enjoyed this episode? There’s FIVE MINUTES of bonus content about Dolly The Sheep for you to download, exclusively available to our Subscribers on Apple Podcasts and our supporters* on Patreon (patreon.com/Retrospectors). Sign up now, support our show and get bonus content each and every week! * top two tiers only For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #90s #Science #Invention #Discoveries #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pan-Am pilot Byron Rickards was surrounded by soldiers and told he had become the prisoner of a revolutionary organisation shortly after landing in Arequipa, Peru on 21 February 1931 - the first recorded aircraft hijack in history. Rickards refused to drop pro-rebel propaganda, leading to a stand-off - although, astonishingly, it wasn’t the only time in his career that his plane would be hijacked… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the 1960s created the perfect circumstances for a hijacking boom; reveal the most hijacked pilot of all time; and attempt to investigate the origins of the word ‘hijack’ - with mixed results… Further Reading: • ‘From the Bizarre to the Deadly: History’s Most Notorious Hijackings’ (History Hit): https://www.historyhit.com/from-the-bizarre-to-the-deadly-historys-most-notorious-hijackings/ • What is the origin of the word 'hijack'? (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1420,00.html • ‘The First Ever Flight Hijacking in History’ (Histographics, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psoHDSMjGvU For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #30s #Crime #Peru Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sentenced to death for treason against his brother King Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence was executed on 18th February, 1478 - and, according to legend, chose to be drowned in a butt of his favorite tipple: malmsey wine. It was apt punishment for years of plotting against his brother alongside his father-in-law, the Earl of Warwick - most notably by claiming that the King’s two children were illegitimate. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how close George came to actually seizing the throne; consider how Shakespeare sexed things up for ‘Richard III’; and investigate the financial outlay required if you wanted to drown yourself in a butt of malmsey wine in 2022… Further Reading: • ‘Duke of Clarence: A title through time’ (The History Press): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/duke-of-clarence-a-title-through-time/ • ‘Malmsey - Madeira Wine and Dine’: https://www.madeirawineanddine.com/malmsey/ • ‘On This Day: the execution of George, Duke of Clarence’ (Matt Lewis, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3teyJXLduCM For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #1400s #Royals #Food #Crime #Macabre #Strange #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 1870 Education Act was the first to deal specifically with the provision of British schools. Speaking in the House of Commons, William Edward Forster MP proposed: "I believe that the country demands from us that we should… cover the country with good schools, and get parents to send their children to those schools.” But there was opposition: from Christians concerned about the religious nonconformity of these new institutions; ideologues who thought the state simply couldn’t afford to fund them; and families who relied on their children bringing home a wage from work. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Prime Minister William Gladstone was disappointed by the reforms; examine whether the intention was really as philanthropic as it seemed; and reveal why it was only in living memory that Britain’s education policy truly provided the nation’s kids with full-time schooling… Thanks to James Plunkett’s book, End State (2021) for inspiring this topic. Check out the audiobook (read by Olly!) here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/End-State-Audiobook/1398702218 Further Reading: • ‘LEAVE. FIRST READING: Elementary Education Bill’ (Hansard, 1870): http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1870/feb/17/leave-first-reading • ‘The 1870 Education Act’ (UK Parliament): https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/ • ‘What was life like at a Victorian Reformatory School?’ (BBC Teach): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erYwMz5rdW0 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #1800s #Victorian #Inventions #Religion #Politics #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why 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, Russia and Tanzania; consider whether commenting on someone else’s bodily functions is unwelcome, or a ‘micro-affection’; and imagine a world with a more upbeat style of Gregorian chanting… Further Reading: • ‘This is the REAL reason we say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes… and it’s not because of the Plague’ – (The Sun, 2016): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1158748/this-is-the-real-reason-we-say-bless-you-when-someone-sneezes-and-its-not-because-of-the-plague-2/ • ‘Why do we say 'bless you' or 'gesundheit' when people sneeze?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://people.howstuffworks.com/sneezing.htm • ‘Should People Say 'Bless You'?’ (The Real Daytime, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6BzhCDccU For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. #600s #Religion #Person #Strange #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 and Olly test out Delia’s ‘cheat’ Moroccan chicken; unpick whether the backlash was classist in nature; and reveal just how much culinary ‘cheating’ has changed since the first book in the ‘70s… Further Reading: • ‘The demonising of St Delia: How her cheat recipes provoked an extraordinary backlash’ (Mail Online, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-533565/The-demonising-St-Delia-How-cheat-recipes-provoked-extraordinary-backlash.html • ‘Happy 80th birthday, Delia Smith! 10 lessons she has taught us – from eggs to lemon zesters’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jun/18/happy-80th-birthday-delia-smith-10-lessons-she-has-taught-us-from-eggs-to-lemon-zesters • ‘Delia’s How To Cheat: Shepherd’s Pie’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIoeEJTPpQA For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #2000s #Food #Person TV #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rockettes kicked off a celebrity line-up including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli, Jimmy Stewart, Al Pacino and Miss Piggy at ‘The Night of 100 Stars’, a benefit for the Actors Fund of America recorded on 14th February, 1982 at Radio City Music Hall, New York. A night of sheer glitz and excess, the true tally of stars on-stage totalled 206 - but perhaps that’s what you’d expect for $1000 per ticket and a bum-numbing running time of five-and-a-half hours. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question the star-counting mechanic for the New York Yankees; explain how the assasination of Abraham Lincoln inspired the foundation of the Actor’s Fund in 1882; and marvel at the long-windedness of this televised tribute to the charity’s centenary… Further Reading: • ‘Bask in the Bewildering '80s Glamour of 'Night of 100 Stars'’ (Jezebel, 2016): https://jezebel.com/bask-in-the-bewildering-80s-glamour-of-night-of-100-sta-1759236215/amp • ‘Glamor Glut’ (The Washington Post, 1982): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/02/16/glamor-glut/7ff21880-5540-4c20-acb4-fa5832781184/ • ‘VIDEO: The Night of 100 Stars’ (ABC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkgaJobbIPg There’s more! If you enjoyed this chat, support the show now on Apple Podcasts or Patreon* to access SEVEN MINUTES more of bonus content all about The Night of 100 Stars - including the medley of forgotten musicals, Liza Minelli’s show-starting show-stopper, and the audience reaction to Robin Williams. *top two tiers only The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Theatre #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first women’s public toilets in London opened on Bedford St on 11th February, 1852 - attempting to capitalize on the success of George Jennings’ ‘monkey closets’, used by over 800,000 visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition. Unfortunately, even though the facility had been fought for by campaigning women’s sanitary organizations, middle and upper class Victorian ladies were not yet prepared to pee in public - and the toilets closed a year later. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain where the phrase ‘spending a penny’ (probably) comes from; reveal why ‘the urinary leash’ came to describe the predicament of women’s lives; and investigate why the number of 21st century public toilets continues to fall… Further Reading: • ‘Pamphlets of the Ladies Sanitary Association’ (Wellcome Collection): https://wellcomecollection.org/works?query=%22Ladies+Sanitary+Association.%22 • ‘London's long-term lav affair: A history of public toilets in the capital’ (BBC News, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59785477 • ‘Victorian realities - how did they use the toilet??!’ (Prior Attire, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHeSTDv_24 Enjoy this episode? There is SIX MINUTES MORE available to our subscribers on Apple Podcasts and our top two tiers of supporters via Patreon. Sign up now to support the show and receive bonus content every single week! #1800s #Victorian #Sexism #Inventions #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Violent ‘town versus gown’ confrontations have been part of Oxford life ever since the University was founded - but reached an ignominious peak on 10th February, 1355, when almost 100 people were massacred in what became known as the ‘St Scholastica’s Day Riot’. The killing spree began as a brawl in a bar. When a pair of students at the Swindlestock Tavern complained about the quality of the wine, the Landlord responded with “saucie language” - and the students by bottling him. Then, it escalated. A lot. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how the blood-letting was preceded by decades of tension in the city; explain why such events explain the foundation of Cambridge University; and reveal why the fight was still being discussed in Parliament, some six hundred years later… Further Reading: • ‘Rioting over wine led to 90 deaths’ (Oxford Mail, 2011): https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9200746.rioting-wine-led-90-deaths/ • ‘St. Scholastica Day Riot: When English People Killed Dozens Over The Taste Of Wine’ (History Daily): https://historydaily.org/st-scholastica-day-riot-facts-stories-trivia • ‘The St. Scholastica's Day Riot’ (The History Guy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3qPzNcJKQM For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1300s #Strange #Macabre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 the races… Further Reading: • ‘History - Chester Racecourse’ (chester-races.com): https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/ • ‘Shrove Tuesday football: “No quarter asked nor given”' (BBC News, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310 • ‘Horrible Histories, HHTV Tudor Horse Racing’ (CBBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XY Image: John S Turner and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #Sport #1500s #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the role of Diners Club’s PR man Matty Simmonds in the company’s compelling origin story; commend the savviness of the start-up for targeting wealthy diners at elite restaurants; and explain why, in 1950s America, credit was a man’s game… Photo: The National Museum of American History / Flickr CC Further Reading: ‘When Were Credit Cards Invented: The History of Credit Cards’ (Forbes Advisor, 2021): https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/ ‘The surprising history of credit cards: How this tech has evolved and where it's headed’ (CNET, 2022): https://www.cnet.com/features/the-history-of-credit-cards/ ‘How Credit Cards Were Invented’ (NPR Planet Money, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IksSNiEo2g For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #50s #Science #Inventions #Food #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inventing the internet and pioneering satellite navigation, U.S. government agency DARPA has had an illustrious history since being founded by President Eisenhower (as the Advanced Research Projects Agency) on February 7th, 1958. Created in response to the Soviets launching Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, its mission, which continues to this day, is ‘to prevent technological surprise.’ In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how DARPA helped create the humble computer mouse; explain how former Nazi Wernher von Braun found his way to the head of this supposedly All-American organisation; and look forward to a world of self-sustaining surveillance robots eating us out of house and home… Further Reading: ‘Fifty years of DARPA: A surprising history’ (New Scientist, 2008): https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13908-fifty-years-of-darpa-a-surprising-history/ ‘The Nazi Science That Fed the Apollo 11 Moon Landing’ (Time, 2019): https://time.com/5627637/nasa-nazi-von-braun/ ‘3 of the strangest projects DARPA has worked on’ (Tech Insider, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hSs0S5FVx8 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #50s #Inventions #Technology #Russia #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America’s greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979. Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff… Further Reading: ‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history ’When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag’ (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/ ‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen’ (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #Sport #Person #Funny #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The women of the Wild West mostly spent their lives laundering men’s clothes, bringing up children, and avoiding getting caught in the crossfire - but that didn’t stop a legend forming around them; not least dime novel heroine and ‘Bandit Queen’ Belle Starr, who was murdered on 3rd February, 1889. The ‘outlaw’ was riding home, two days before her 41st birthday, eating a piece of cornbread, when she was blasted off her horse. And then shot again, in the face. But mystery still surrounds the identity of her killer. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fallout from the civil war shaped Starr’s life; ask whether ostrich plumes, rattlesnake rattles and dried earlobes could come back into fashion; and explain what Tom Starr’s gang had in common with Elton John… Further Reading: ‘Belle Starr the Bandit Queen: How a Southern Girl Became a Legendary Western Outlaw’ (Atlas Obscura, 2013): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/belle-starr-the-bandit-queen ‘Belle Starr The Badass "Bandit Queen" Of The Wild West’ (allthatsinteresting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/belle-starr ‘Belle Starr's Crazy Life Story & Grave!’ (Rhetty for History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2XLrY0cuJ8 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Person #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 against other notorious on-set ‘freakouts’ from the likes of Tom Cruise and David O. Russell… Further Reading: ‘Christian Bale apologises 'unreservedly' for Terminator set rant’ (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/09/christian-bale-apologises-for-onset-rant ‘Film stars' most shocking on-set meltdowns - from Tom Cruise's Covid rant to Christian Bale’s foul-mouthed outburst’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13492481/film-star-meltdown-tom-cruise-christian-bale/ ‘Christian Bale Freaks Out on Set w/ SUBTITLES OF CREW in background’ (jenndouglas1, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auwpvAU2YA … AND there is over seven minutes of extra content from Arion, Rebecca and Olly on this subject available to our show supporters today! In our bonus episode, ‘Loose Lips Sink Starships’ our trio investigate how Hollywood reacted to the leaking of the tape, and inspired smartphone restrictions on the 'Star Wars' set, embarrassing moments on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', and even the #MeToo movement that killed so many careers. To hear it - and a bonus bit of content every single week - support our show on Patreon (patreon.com/Retrospectors) or click ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts. For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #2010s #Person #Film #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, Rebecca and Olly explain how Napoleon inadvertently triggered the French trend for weed that endures to this day; consider the influence of Thomas de Quincey’s ‘Confessions of an English Opium Eater’ on this select group of Romantic literati; and review Charles Baudelaire’s claim that he was merely a spectator and DID NOT INHALE… Further Reading: • ‘Spoonfuls of paradise’ (extract from ‘Cannabis’ by Jonathon Green, 2002): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/oct/12/featuresreviews.guardianreview34 • ‘The Hashish Club: How the Poets of Paris Turned on Europe’ (High Times, 1979): https://hightimes.com/culture/the-hashish-club/ • ‘Jon Snow takes cannabis’ (Channel 4, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyn0fDFqG3I For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Food #Strange #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

McDonald’s invested $50million to establish an outpost in the Soviet Union, and after 14 years of preparation, their first Russian restaurant opened in Moscow’s Pushkinskaya Square on 31st January, 1990. 30,000 residents lined up in the freezing cold to be amongst the first customers to get a taste of America - although the restaurant, at the time the world’s largest, was technically an offshoot of McDonald’s of Canada. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the Soviet authorities clamped down on ‘burger scalping’; compare and contrast the golden arches with Communist iconography; and explain how it wasn’t just the Big Macs, but the customer service, that felt entirely foreign to the Muscovites… Photo credit: Alexander Steshanov/МАММ/MDF/russiainphoto.ru Further Reading: ‘The first McDonald’s in Moscow that drove the city mad, 1990’ (Rare Historical Photos, 2021): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/first-mcdonalds-moscow-soviet-union-1990/ ‘The Evolution of Russia, as Seen From McDonald’s’ (The New York Times, 2010): https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/business/global/02mcdonalds.html ‘McDonald's opens in hungry Moscow, but costs half-a-day's wages for lunch’ (CBC, 1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckbfS99N6jY For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #90s #Food #Russia #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stud-and-tube bricks, which paved the way for Lego to become one of the most successful companies in Denmark, were patented on 28th January, 1958. But this family business had already been in existence for 26 years, mostly making wooden toys. It later emerged, however, that the plastic self-locking bricks that brought them so much success had in fact already been invented - and patented - by British toymaker Hillary Page in 1940. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Lego’s lawyers stay one step ahead of their imitators; unconvincingly demonstrate how to pronounce ‘Skoda’; and reveal how branded toys - a controversial pivot for the company in the ‘90s - helped save the business… UNLOCK BONUS CONTENT: including this week's Great Lego Fact-Off, as Arion, Rebecca and Olly compete to out-do each other with astonishing facts about the Danish brand... only when you join Patreon (top two tiers only) or take out an Apple Podcasts subscription. Patreon.com/Retrospectors Further Reading: • ‘LEGO Brick Timeline: 50 Years of Building Frenzy and Curiosities’ (Gizmodo, 2008): https://gizmodo.com/lego-brick-timeline-50-years-of-building-frenzy-and-cu-349509 • ‘Self-Locking Building Bricks, Lego precursor, Kiddicraft (1944-)’: https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Self-Locking_Building_Bricks_(Kiddicraft) • ‘60 years of LEGO: capturing the world's imagination’ (5 News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZTiAarAOqw We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #50s #Games #Inventions #UK #Denmark Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modern art was controversially celebrated on 27th January, 1687, when Charles Perrault read his poem ‘The Century of Louis The Great’ at the Académie Française - railing against the prevailing wisdom that believed literature should follow the strict classical templates laid down by the likes of Homer and Aristotle. The subsequent debate between rival factions of ‘ancient’ and ‘modern’ intellectuals raged for more than five years, and became known as ‘the quarrel’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask how much of Perrault’s argument was actually to do with kissing Louis XIV’s arse; explain what Aesop had to do with the gardens at the Palace of Versailles; and wonder if the Ancients would have approved of Agatha Christie… Further Reading: • ‘The Battle of the Books: History and Literature in the Augustan Age’ by Joseph M. Levine (Cornell University Press, 1991): https://bit.ly/32GeA9V • ‘Charles Perrault, a multifaceted man’ (breteuil.fr): https://www.breteuil.fr/en/charles-perrault-a-multifaceted-man/ • ‘Charles Perrault INVENTED fairy tales Cinderella Mother Goose Little Red Riding Hood Sleeping Beauty’ (Timeline, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLGOJHaE6oU For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1600s #Arts #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. immigration policy; examine the appeal of clean-cut American servicemen to working-class British women; and recall the much-forgotten additional passenger - ‘the War Groom’... Further Reading: ‘Coming To America: The War Brides Act of 1945’ (The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, 2020): https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/war-brides-act-1945 ‘War Brides - America’ (WWII magazine): http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/war-brides/ ‘G.I. Brides Sail’ (Pathé News, 1946) - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiUotiD9HI For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #40s #War #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walking 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 Olly explain how ‘The Wedding March’ had its origins not in Church, but Paganism; reveal how Frederick and Victoria’s union influenced American troops in the Second World War; and, with grim inevitability, give yet another airing to Arion’s execrable Queen Victoria impression. Brace yourself… Further Reading: • ‘What Is the Story Behind Mendelssohn’s Wedding March?’ (History Hit, 2017): https://www.historyhit.com/1842-mendelssohns-wedding-march-written/ • ‘How 'Here Comes the Bride' Became a Wedding Music Tradition’ (Time, 2018): https://time.com/5115834/wedding-march-here-comes-the-bride/ • Felix Mendelssohn - Wedding March: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7_m1om82o4 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Victorian #Music #Royals #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henry VIII is typically remembered as he was at the end of his life - weighing in at a colossal 28 stone, with ulcerated legs, failing eyesight and an explosive temper. But, prior to the jousting accident he suffered 24th January, 1536, history had recorded him as merry, affable and physically attractive. Jousting was his favourite sport, but after being knocked off his horse and falling unconscious for two hours, he appears to have become increasingly erratic, irritable and cruel - not least to his wife Anne Boleyn and her four famous successors. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly suggest why the identity of Henry’s jousting opponent was not recorded; explain why the Vatican were really quite excited by Henry’s head injury; and ask whether the King’s demeanour really did change significantly, or whether he was ALWAYS a bit of a jerk… Further Reading: • ‘The jousting accident that turned Henry VIII into a tyrant’ (The Independent, 2009): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-jousting-accident-that-turned-henry-viii-into-a-tyrant-1670421.html • ‘Henry VIII: ‘brain injury caused by jousting to blame for erratic behaviour and possible impotence'’ (HistoryExtra, 2016): https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/henry-viii-brain-injury-caused-by-jousting-to-blame-for-erratic-behaviour-and-possible-impotence/ • ‘Full Metal Jousting - The Biggest Hits’ (The History Channel, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWVZgp-eQG8 #1500s #Royals #Person #Health #Sport #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Henri Littière and his adulterous wife Suzanne thought they’d come up with a novel way to combat her philandering - by commissioning a custom-made chastity belt. But on 21st January, 1934, Littière was sentenced to three months in prison for cruelty to his spouse. It’s a strange story, but not half as weird as how the myth of chastity belts gained traction in the first place - not from medieval days, but in fact thanks to Victorian prudishness. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick holes in 1934 Parisian court reporting; discover the trend for 21st century chastity belts; and explain how widespread belief in the belts can be traced back to a wacky German author’s offbeat sense of humour… Further Reading: • ‘FRANCE: Infibulation’ (TIME, 1934): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,787768,00.html • ‘Are They Real? The Dubious History Of Chastity Belts’ (Ripleys, 2019): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/dubious-history-chastity-belts/ • ‘10 Myths You Still Believe About Medieval Life’ (Alltime 10s, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRqiTlGfGs For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #30s #Person #Crime #Strange #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ozzy Osbourne orally decapitated a bat live on stage in Des Moines, Iowa on 20th January, 1982; an act that quickly went down as one of the most outrageous moments in rock n roll history. Concertgoer Mark Neal, 17, said the bat was dead long before he threw it on stage. But this was not Osbourne’s first offence: he had previously shocked attendees at a CBS press launch by biting the head away from a live dove. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of Osbourne’s bizarre bird-and-bat-beheading behaviour; applaud the ingenuity of his long-suffering wife Sharon; and debate whether Alice Cooper intentionally threw a chicken to a braying mob to be mutilated… CONTENT WARNING: animal cruelty, offensive language beeped. Further Reading: • ‘Everything you need to know about Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a bat in Des Moines’ (desmoinesregister.com): https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/kyle-munson/2016/01/20/everything-you-need-know-ozzy-osbourne-biting-head-off-bat-des-moines/79055858/ • ‘When Ozzy Osbourne Bit Off the Heads of Two Doves (ultimateclassicrock.com)’: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-dove-bite-head/ • ‘Ozzy Osbourne talking to David Letterman about the bat incident’ (NBC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxn2_sO5los For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Music #Person #Strange #Macabre #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Gore and Barack Obama as ultimate celebrity influencers for the brand; and wonder whether anyone will still be using one, after the company’s recent announcement that their handsets will no longer be supported… Further Reading: • ‘The one reason why I’ll always miss the BlackBerry’ (Slate, 2013): https://slate.com/technology/2013/10/the-one-reason-why-ill-always-miss-the-blackberry.html • ‘The rise and fall of the BlackBerry in popular culture’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2016): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-37500230 • ‘Classic BlackBerry Devices To Officially Stop Working After Decades Of Popularity’ (NBC Today, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhuVEfDPv8 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #90s #Technology #Inventions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘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 how Captain Arthur Phillip motivated his prisoners to build a new settlement; unpick what Captain Cook got wrong about Botany Bay; and explain why the descendants of convicts in modern-day Oz maintain a certain swagger… Further Reading: • ‘From Captain Cook to the First Fleet: how Botany Bay was chosen over Africa as a new British penal colony’ (The Conversation, 2020): https://theconversation.com/from-captain-cook-to-the-first-fleet-how-botany-bay-was-chosen-over-africa-as-a-new-british-penal-colony-128002 • ‘Australian Penal Colonies’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS1072MshS0 • ‘Australian Genocide: How It Happened And How It Haunts Us To This Day’ (All That’s Interesting, 2016): https://allthatsinteresting.com/australia-genocide For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1700s #Crime #UK #Australia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first night of Richard Sheridan’s classic comedy ‘The Rivals’ did not go according to plan. Critics thought it was too long, the Irish gentry in the audience were insulted, and an actor was pelted with rotten fruit. It closed after one performance on 17th January, 1775. But then… after eleven days of rewrites, recasting and edits (a process Sheridan called “prunings, trimmings and patchings”), the show re-opened - and became the much-loved hit it remains to this day. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly expose how Sheridan exploited his notoriety in Bath to put bums on seats; unpick how the play’s famous ‘Malapropisms’ achieved seminal status; and revisit the best of Sheridan’s real-life one-liners… Further Reading: • ‘The scourge of Bath’ (The Guardian, 2004): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2004/may/15/theatre • The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Cavan Library): http://www.cavanlibrary.ie/file/Local-Studies/Library-Scanned-Docs/The_dramatic_works_of_Richard_Brinsley_Sheridan.pdf • ‘What Are Malapropisms?’ (Bright Idea, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMdgr-qSAfM We had EVEN MORE to say about Sheridan's second draft. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or on Apple Podcasts. (*top two tiers only) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1700s #Theatre #Arts #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices