Today In History with The Retrospectors

The lifts weren’t operational, so there weren’t any visitors, but the commemorative coins had already been minted - so it was 6th May, 1889 that went down in history as the official opening of the Eiffel Tower, at that time the world’s tallest man-made structure. Erected for the World’s Fair to commemorate 100 years since the French Revolution, it was designed to be dismantled after a few years - not least because there was significant opposition to it from some of Paris’s best known artists - yet it remains an iconic part of the Paris skyline to this day. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the committee came to choose this unusual structure for their centennial celebrations; compare Gustav Eiffel’s elevated office space to Donald Trump’s; and explain how radio transmissions saved the Tower from its intended fate… Further Reading: • ‘The artists who protested the Eiffel Tower’ (Tour Eiffel Official Website): https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/news/130-years/artists-who-protested-eiffel-tower • ‘Gustave Eiffel's Secret Apartment – Paris, France’ (Atlas Obscura, 2006): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gustave-eiffels-secret-apartment • ‘Deconstructing History: Eiffel Tower’ (History, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqHa1XJWODI 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

Chanel No 5, the legendary perfume still said to shift one bottle every thirty seconds, was first released in Paris on 5th May, 1921. Created by Ernest Beaux, its innovative mixture of jasmine, sandalwood, orange blossom and aldehydes gave it a freshness and fizz that turned heads - and its simple, masculine bottle bucked the trend for ornate designs crafted by renowned glass-houses. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Coco Chanel savvily put herself at the centre of the brand’s marketing; reveal how she collaborated with the Nazis to attempt to regain control of the company; and consider what she had in common with Colonel Sanders… Further Reading: • ‘How Its Made: The Iconic Chanel No. 5’ (Fashion.Luxury): https://fashion.luxury/beauty/how-its-made-the-iconic-chanel-no-5/ • ‘Coco Chanel's Secret Life as a Nazi Agent’ (Biography, 2019): https://www.biography.com/news/coco-chanel-nazi-agent • ‘CHANEL N°5 - For the first time’ (Inside CHANEL, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRQa33dqyxI 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

As British literacy rates surged to a new high of 97%, the time was right to launch a simpler, shorter, more readable newspaper - and Alfred Harmsworth’s Daily Mail caught the zeitgeist when it hit the news-stands (at the eye-catching price of just half a penny) on 4th May, 1896. The new paper attracted half a million daily readers by the end of the century, drawn in by its American-inspired mix of provocative political commentary, human interest and sentiment. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Mail innovated faster national and international distribution; chart Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe)’s progress to becoming the Rupert Murdoch of his day; and explain how, by the 1930s, this very British institution was championing Hitler… Further Reading: • The Daily Mail - First Edition (Associated Newspapers, 1896): https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYc4qln-cac/Tz_TRp8hfFI/AAAAAAAAAhM/iM-U3hiquB4/s1600/P1000838.JPG • ‘Lord Northcliffe – The Press baron at the heart of World War One’ (Cardiff University, 2016): https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/musicresearch/lord-northcliffe-the-press-baron-at-the-heart-of-world-war-one/ • ‘Prime Ministers and Press Barons: Lord Northcliffe’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmImZhYK4w 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

Martin Shkreli, ‘the most hated man in America’, purchased the one extant copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s concept album ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ for $2 million on 3rd May, 2015. In seeking to sell their record in an auction, the hip-hop collective had been inspired by the concept of wealthy patrons funding Renaissance artists - but hadn’t counted on the winning bidder being the ‘pharma bro’ notorious for raising the price of toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim by a factor of 56. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Shkreli’s ‘price gouging’ antics made him an (in)appropriate buyer; ask whether it can really be true that the multimillionaire didn’t even bother listening to his purchase; and explain what happened to the CD after Shkreli was imprisoned for fraud… Further Reading: • Everything I Know About the Wu-Tang Album from Hanging Out with Martin Shkreli (VICE, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/3bjmq9/everything-i-know-about-the-wu-tang-clan-album-from-hanging-out-with-martin-shkreli • ‘Wu-Tang clap back, dissing Martin Shkreli on new track’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/wu-tang-clan-martin-shkreli-track • ‘Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hikes and Playing the World’s Villain’ (VICE, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCb9mnrU1g 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

Where are meatballs from, and why does it matter? Social media users frenziedly grappled with these very questions on 29th April, 2018, when Sweden’s official Twitter account proclaimed: “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. Let's stick to the facts!” Does this tale about the Royal family bringing meatballs back from the Ottoman Empire check out? And doesn’t every culture in the world have some form of meatballs? You’d think these would be innocent questions - but they ended up overhauling Sweden’s social media strategy for good… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of IKEA’s best-selling product; reveal the world-record for meatball consumption; and investigate a Finnish hack for soupy balls… Further Reading: • ‘Swedish Meatballs Are Actually Turkish, According to Sweden’ (TIME, 2018): https://time.com/5263690/swedish-meatballs-actually-turkish/ • ‘Sweden’s official Twitter account will no longer be run by random Swedes’ (The Verge, 2018): https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/5/17824338/sweden-twitter-account-citizens-takeover-swedish • ‘Sweden admits Swedish meatballs are actually from Turkey’ (CBS Evening News, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ShdZADmhg #food #culture #sweden #2010s #tech #funny 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

Dennis Tito, a 60 year-old investment manager from California, blasted into orbit onboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on 28th April, 2001 - becoming the first ever private citizen to visit the International Space Station. He had self-funded the trip, to the tune of $20 million - much to the displeasure of his former employers, NASA, who initially refused to provide him with any training. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the social dynamics of the ISS; explain why NASA has flip-flopped about space tourism over the decades; and explore whether Tito’s trip was, in fact, money well spent… Further Reading: • ‘World's first space tourist 10 years on: Dennis Tito’ (BBC News, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13208329 • ‘First space tourist Dennis Tito: 'It was the greatest moment of my life' (CNN Travel, 2021): https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/space-tourism-20-year-anniversary-scn/index.html • ‘Dennis Tito on the Late Show’ (CBS, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZtv6xl0NLc #2000s #Explorer #Space #Russia 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

King Henri III of France had a favourite group of young courtiers - his ‘mignons’ (or ‘cuties’, ‘sweeties’, or ‘‘darlings’) - known for dressing in an effeminate and eye-catching style. On 27th April, 1578, they engaged in a bloody duel with a rival gang in a battle that came to be known as ‘The Duel of the Mignons’. Was it a ‘beautiful’ battle, a classical allusion to Roman combat, as some scribes argued? Or, as the King himself concluded, a pointless - and rather farcical - loss of life? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore Henri’s ‘mummy’s boy’ reputation; reveal how many Frenchmen slaughtered each other in this fashion during the five bloody decades from 1575; and explain why, when turning up at a sunrise duel, it’s always best to remember your dagger… Further Reading: • ‘King Henri III and His Mignons’ (The Gay & Lesbian Review, 2020): https://glreview.org/article/king-henri-iii-and-his-mignons/ • ‘On this day in history: Duel of the Mignons, 1578’ (The Modern Historian, 2012): http://modernhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-this-day-in-history-duel-of-mignons.html • ‘The King's darlings - The Mignons’ (Whitehall Moll History Clips): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBfrDLUkmEY #France #1500s #Royals #Strange #LGB 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. 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

John Wilkes Booth was on the run for twelve days before being tracked down to a tobacco barn at Garrett’s Farm in Port Royal, Virginia, and shot in the neck. He died of his injuries on 26th April, 1865 - after several agonising hours bleeding out. Despite numerous witnesses to his death, it continued to be disputed by conspiracists for decades afterwards - one of whom took a mummified corpse he believed was the ‘real’ Booth on a tour of sideshows and carnivals. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Booth’s fame preceded him long before he fired a shot at President Lincoln; consider why the site where Booth breathed his last is still relatively obscured by the authorities; and explore how Boston Corbett, the man who killed Booth, was a rather curious chap himself… Further Reading: • ‘John Wilkes Booth's Death And The Manhunt That Preceded It’ (All Thats Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-wilkes-booth-death • ‘John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln… but who killed John Wilkes Booth?’ (The Verge, 2013): https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/31/4395960/john-wilkes-booth-killed-lincoln-but-who-killed-john-wilkes-booth • ‘John Wilkes Booth's Final Days’ (HISTORY, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC0vHZeBIHI #US #1800s #Crime #Politics #Theatre 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

Freda Payne’s banger ‘Band Of Gold’ sounds like a Motown record, but actually isn’t. Although written by Berry Gordy’s hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was released on their breakaway label, Invictus, on 25th April, 1970. Ever since, fans have speculated as to the meaning of its lyrics and the nature of the crumbled relationship within. “That night on our honeymoon / We stayed in separate rooms,” Payne sings. Was her betrothed a closeted homosexual? Impotent? Frigid? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how this ‘proto-disco’ classic has been embraced as a gay anthem; explain why Payne originally felt ill-equipped to sing the song that made her name; and credit the extraordinary track record of Detroit’s Hutchins Middle School… Further Reading: • ‘Band of Gold by Freda Payne’ (Songfacts): https://www.songfacts.com/facts/freda-payne/band-of-gold • ‘Holland-Dozier-Holland (1962-1970)’ (Black Past, 2021): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/groups-organizations-african-american-history/holland-dozier-holland-1962-1970/ • ‘Freda Payne - Band Of Gold’ (Soul Train, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF9Q3hnAr88 #US #Black #70s #Music 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

Riding a Penny Farthing bicycle from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Yokohama, Japan, Thomas Stevens began his epic two-and-a-half year journey around the world on 22nd April, 1884. Along the way, he encountered mountain lions, Persian aristocracy, and thousands of supporters from bicycle clubs, who turned up to hear him speak. His journey was endlessly delayed by having to demonstrate the virtues of his bike to anyone who asked. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the ‘wheel-men’ of 1884 desperately needed a role-model like Stevens; reveal how he was able to monetize his adventurism in a very modern way; and unearth the surprising second career he embarked upon back in his native England… Further Reading: • ‘The Fearless Traveller: Around the World with Thomas Stevens’ (Adventure Cycling, 2010): https://www.adventurecycling.org/sites/default/assets/resources/201005_TheFearlessTraveler_Koss.pdf • ‘Thomas Stevens, a Berkhamsted pioneer, crosses America by bicycle’ (Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society): https://berkhamsted-history.org.uk/thomas-stevens-a-berkhamsted-pioneer-crosses-america-by-bicycle/ • ‘Epic Explorers: Thomas Stevens’ (The EPIC Channel, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHY1-TL12o #Explorer #Sport #UK #USA #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: Alexa Weissman. 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 ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’, as it came to be known - a supposed glimpse of Nessie papped from the lochside - was debated by Loch Ness Monster aficionados for decades after being published in a sensational front-page splash by the Daily Mail on 21st April, 1934. Taken by London gynaecologist Dr Robert Kenneth Wilson, the photo was given particular credence because it had been submitted by a member of the medical establishment - but, many decades later, it was revealed as a revenge hoax, which actually portrayed a toy submarine purchased from Woolworth’s. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Billy Wilder prop similarly got monster-hunters’ hearts all a-flutter; investigate why the Loch Ness Monster was front-page news even in the year Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany; and reveal what Nessie had in common with Shirley Temple… Further Reading: • ‘The Loch Ness monster, 1934 - a picture from the past’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/picture/2013/oct/23/photography • ‘The Surgeon’s Photo: A Thread’ (Darren Naish, 2020): https://twitter.com/tetzoo/status/1280597569131995139?s=12 • ‘Loch Ness Monster - The Surgeon's Photo’ (Naked Science): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGzHkFvDGFA #30s #UK #Scotland #Science #Mystery MORE? Can Arion, Rebecca and Olly finally disprove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster in just three-and-a-half minutes? They’re going to give it their very best shot in today's bonus podcast - sign up at Patreon.com/Retrospectors (top two tiers) or on Apple Podcasts. 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. 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

No European had returned alive from Timbuktu until French adventurer René Caillie, who arrived in the ‘City of Gold’ on 20th April, 1828 after an arduous year-long journey. He was fêted by the Société de Géographie in Paris, who awarded him 10,000 francs in recognition of his daring voyage - and his place in the history books was assured. But Caillie was disappointed by what he had found. “The city presented, at first view, nothing but a mass of ill-looking houses, built of earth,” he wrote. “Nothing was to be seen in all directions but immense plains of quicksand of a yellowish white colour ... all nature wore a dreary aspect." In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why a myth had grown up around the Malian city; reveal how Caillie got away with pretending to be Muslim; and dig up the Société’s impressively exhaustive list of evidence required to prove he had been there… Further Reading: • Who, What, Why: Why do we know Timbuktu?’ (BBC News, 2012): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17583772 • ‘Foreign Policy: Timbuktu, Lost City’ (NPR, 2012): https://www.npr.org/2012/07/11/156602241/foreign-policy-timbuktu-lost-city • ‘Timbuktu’ (UNESCO, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4V-QAzKQ3A 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

Child star Shirley Temple made her feature film debut aged six in ‘Stand Up And Cheer’, released at the height of the Depression, on 19th April, 1934 - and never looked back. In one year alone she would star in a further six films, and become a firm favourite of President Roosevelt. Fox Studios were soon employing a 19-strong team of writers just to crank out projects for the pint-sized star, and pretty soon Temple was responsible for her entire family’s income. But as she got older, it became increasingly apparent she wasn’t as good an actress as her peers… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Temple’s incredible second career as a groundbreaking American diplomat; come to wish they’d never committed ‘Baby Burlesks’ to their browsing history; and reveal the secret addiction Temple took to her grave… Further Reading: • ‘On The Set Of Shirley Temple's Creepy First Film, The 'Baby Burlesks'’ (All Thats Interesting, 2019): https://allthatsinteresting.com/shirley-temple-baby-burlesks • ‘Shirley Temple: 10 political facts’ (POLITICO, 2014): https://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/shirley-temple-politics-103371 • ‘Shirley Temple in “Stand Up and Cheer” (Fox, 1934):: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJv4K-niTo&t=57s 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

Britain had no driving test, no enforced rules on drink-driving, and a network of roads reliant on hand signals on 14th April, 1931 - the publication day of surprise national bestseller The Highway Code. Codifying driving etiquette - rather than reducing fatalities - was as much a preoccupation of the book as safe driving per se. “Good manners, and consideration for others, are as desirable and are as much appreciated on the road as elsewhere”, the Introduction said. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the work of Leslie Hore-Belisha and his ‘Belisha Beacons’; ask whether a little more consideration for cyclists could have avoided decades of irate cabbies calling phone-in radio; and test their own knowledge of the current Highway Code (clue: Rebecca still hasn’t passed her driving test…) Further Reading: • ‘The Untold Story of the Highway Code’ (The Historic England Blog, 2021): https://heritagecalling.com/2021/02/12/the-untold-story-of-the-highway-code/ • ‘14 April 1931: the first edition of the Highway Code is published’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/387612/14-april-1931-the-first-edition-of-the-highway-code-is-published • ‘Read And Act On The Highway Code’ (British Pathé, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkBOIToUBrY For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Tuesday! 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

Joanna of Castile, was, as a young lady, remarked upon for her intellect and good companionship, and married off to prize catch Philip the Handsome - but by the time she died on 13th April, 1555 she was known colloquially by the name that’s stuck ever since: ‘Joanna The Mad’. She had, by then, spent 45 years in prison at the hands of her own family, who had a political advantage in exaggerating her moments of instability to keep control of her territories. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Joanna’s problems can be traced back to her troubling childhood; reveal her disturbing behaviour whilst she grieved for her philandering husband; and consider her legacy as a prototype for the ‘mad woman in the attic’ seen in so much Western literature… Further Reading: ‘The Intriguing Life of Joana of Castile, Who Slept With Her Husband's Corpse’ (Esquire, 2018): https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/joanna-of-castile-history-a00208-20180428-lfrm ‘Who Was Catherine of Aragon's Sister Juana la Loca in The Spanish Princess?’ (Town and Country, 2019): https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a27786471/catherine-of-aragon-sister-juana-la-loca-spanish-princess/ ‘Juana la Loca, Rap Histórico’ (Academia Play, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddlYsTO8bcM 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

A chaotic, shambolic and critically panned parody, the first on-screen incarnation of Ian Fleming’s novel ‘Casino Royale’ received its London premiere on 12th April, 1967 - with final edits still being made in the projection room. Nonetheless, it went on to take an extraordinary $40 million at the box office. Hardnut hero James Bond’s adventures had become a swinging Sixties sex comedy starring Peter Sellers, thanks to Fleming’s disasterous decision to sell the movie rights to actor Gregory Ratoff for a song long before Bond was known all around the world thanks to the highly succesful film versions of his later books ‘Dr No’ and ‘From Russia With Love’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how producer Charles K Feldman assembled such an impressive cast list for his 007 ensemble, including Orson Welles, Ronnie Corbett and Ursula Andress; explain how an on-set visit by Princess Margaret prompted an enormous clash of egos; and ponder why ‘the Spice World of the Sixties’ became such a box office hit… Further Reading: • ‘Casino Royale movie review & film summary’ (Roger Ebert, 1967): https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/casino-royale-1967 • ‘The Casino Royale calamity: how Peter Sellers turned Bond into a laughing stock’ (Daily Telegraph, 2021): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/casino-royale-calamity-peter-sellers-turned-bond-laughing-stock/ • ‘Casino Royale: Official Trailer’ (MGM, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onhWav2DejM Enjoy this episode? There’s five minutes MORE to explore in our weekly bonus episode, available now exclusively to our supporters on Patreon* and subscribers on Apple Podcasts. Get it now and support the show! *top two tiers only: https://patreon.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 first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin’s Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 - although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend. South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the camp after holidaying in Barry Island and feeling “sorry for the families with young children as they trudged along wet and bedgraggled, and forlornly filled time in amusement arcades until they could return back to the boarding houses.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the entertainments on offer, from rambunctious Redcoats to boxing kangaroos; explain how The Beatles owe a debt to Butlin’s Skegness; and reveal the sad fate of the park’s famous monorail… Further Reading: • ‘'Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight' - Glorious Pictures of the Skegness Butlin's’ (Flashbak, 2019): https://flashbak.com/our-true-intent-is-all-for-your-delight-butlins-at-skegness-17646 • ‘The mystery of how an old Butlin's monorail train ended up in this Lincolnshire field’ (Lincolnshire Live, 2021): https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/mystery-how-old-butlins-monorail-5059270 • ‘Best of Butlin's’ (British Pathé): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZoqkZUFtA 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 most famous armless statue of all time, ‘Venus de Milo’ was discovered by a farmer on the Aegean island of Milos on 8th April, 1829, sparking an international bidding war that saw her eventually donated to the Louvre by Louis XVIII. The French had a particular interest in snapping up a new ancient treasure, having been forced to return many priceless artefacts to their original nations following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the statue’s original blingtastic paintwork; explain why Louis XVIII’s obesity delayed its arrival in Paris; and ask what actually happened to Venus’s arms… Image: https://flickr.com/photos/sey_alg9/ Further Reading: • ‘Venus de Milo: The Most Famous Armless Statue in the World’ (HowStuffWorks, 2020): https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/venus-de-milo.htm • ‘How a peasant farmer found the Venus de Milo’ (The National, 2020): https://www.thenational.scot/news/18365077.peasant-farmer-found-venus-de-milo/ • ‘The conspiracy behind this famous statue’ (VOX, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs1VWuQEd7Y 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

Highwayman Dick Turpin was executed at York on 7th April, 1739, for stealing horses. He was 34. But, whilst the date and manner of his death are accurately recalled, almost everything else about Turpin has been distorted in the public imagination. Far from being a dashing character who outwitted corrupt authorities and robbed only the outlandishly wealthy with a gentlemanly flourish, he was a brutal murderer and rapist who took pleasure in his victims’ pain. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Turpin progressed from dodgy under-counter fraudster to dangerous public enemy; reveal the extraordinary chain of events that lead to his arrest and identification; and discover how, when Turpin actually did get round doing some ‘proper’ highwayman-ing, he ballsed it up, disastrously… Further Reading: • ‘The myth of highwayman Dick Turpin outlives the facts’ (The History Press): https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-myth-of-highwayman-dick-turpin-outlives-the-facts/ • ‘Dick Turpin: Notorious Local Highwaymen’ (Blackheath And Greenwich History Blog, 2021): https://www.blackheathandgreenwich.com/post/blackheath-dick-turpin#viewer-31cd9 • ‘Horrible Histories Songs - Dick Turpin’ (CBBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYU-vSh7ORA 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

George Eastman filed a patent for the first ever celluloid roll film on 6th April, 1889 - an incremental development following the release of the first Kodak handheld camera, released in 1888, but a truly significant one. Eastman’s original products came preloaded with film, and were marketed as “convenient as a field-glass”. For $10, customers could take 100 shots which were then developed by Kodak at their factory in Rochester, New York. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover why Eastman’s advertising nous was years ahead of its time; explain how Kodak soon became the world’s leading supplier of film stock; and reveal that his company wasn’t as tardy about the coming digital photographic revolution as you might imagine… Content Warning: Suicide Further Reading: • ‘George Eastman and the Kodak Camera’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/george-eastman-history-of-kodak-1991619 • ‘Kodak inventor George Eastman’s perfectly planned death’ (news.com.au, 2019): https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-perfectly-planned-death-of-kodak-inventor-george-eastman/news-story/8af9b9f21050cc95d4a306b21d198c08 • ‘American Experience: The Wizard of Photography’ (PBS, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0cUEBZSC4 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

Deaf and blind since toddlerhood, Helen Keller was seven years old when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, took her to a water-pump on 5th April, 1887 - and she learned the word ‘water’. It was a eureka moment for Keller, who went on to read braille; write in pencil; learn French, German, Greek, and Latin; study at Harvard University; and speak using her own voice. She became one of the most famous disabled people of the twentieth century. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider a wordless definition of ‘love’; explain how Keller was able to follow her University lectures; and ask whether her autobiography’s narrative of overcoming immense adversity has become an unwitting example of ‘inspiration porn’... Further Reading: • ‘Deaf, Blind and Determined: How Helen Keller Learned to Communicate’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://people.howstuffworks.com/helen-keller.htm • ‘Is a Helen Keller Obsession Holding Disabled People Back?’ (New York Times, 2021): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/opinion/helen-keller.html • ‘Helen Keller Speaks Out’ (1954): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ch_H8pt9M8 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

MSG, the umami seasoning frequently added to Chinese cuisine, came under fire on 4th April, 1968 - when Dr Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine musing about the possible causes of a ‘syndrome’ he experienced whenever he ate at Chinese restaurants in the US. “The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms in the back, general weakness and palpitation”, he wrote, in a letter that soon attracted multiple responses from other clinicians - and spawned an unscientific panic about monosodium glutamate which still persists to this day. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate which foods contain naturally-occurring MSG; ask why 1960s America was especially susceptible to scepticism about chemical additives; and consider the racist undertones to the definitions of the ‘syndrome’ in the modern-day dictionary… Further Reading: • Is MSG as bad as it’s made out to be? (BBC Future, 2015): https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151106-is-msg-as-bad-as-its-made-out-to-be • The Campaign to Redefine ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’ (The New York Times, 2020): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/dining/msg-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-merriam-webster-dictionary.html • ‘Korean chef talk about MSG myth - Uncle Roger is RIGHT? WRONG?’ (Goodchoi's Kitchen, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et_ja0X9C4I Enjoyed this episode? There’s over FIVE MINUTES more material, cut-for-time from today’s show and exclusively available to our podcast’s supporters, available right now - in which The Retrospectors investigate Ken Hom’s MSG-criticism; Tesco’s international websites; and whether pizza causes ‘sexual incontinence’... Discover this bonus bit - and similar extra content every single week - by supporting the show via Patreon* or clicking ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts. * top two tiers only - https://patreon.com/retrospectors 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

Under the orders of King Charles III - who wanted marble and classical art for his palace at Portici - Spanish military engineer Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre excavated some Campanian ruins on 1st April, 1748 - and discovered the long-lost city of Pompeii. Buried beneath volcanic ash and debris since Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, much of the city was remarkably preserved; including breathtaking buildings that portrayed the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by the city's wealthy elite. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the site has since inspired all archaeological digs; ask why Pompeii in particular has generated such huge human interest; and reveal the truth about ‘Wanking Man’... Further Reading: • ‘Excavations of Pompeii in the 18th Century · The Discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum’ (from ‘Piranesi in Rome’, Wellesley College): http://omeka.wellesley.edu/piranesi-rome/exhibits/show/discovery-of-pompeii-and-hercu/pompeii-excavations • ‘The two embracing 'maidens' of Pompeii are both MEN’ (MailOnline, 2017): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4391498/The-two-embracing-maidens-Pompeii-MEN.html • ‘Pompeii: New Studies Reveal Secrets From a Dead City’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSg_Sd94Y8k 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: Alexa Weissman. 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

Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La and Po were introduced to British viewers on 31st March, 1997 - launching an international phenomenon and changing kid’s television forever. ‘Teletubbies’ was an enormous hit for the BBC, but not without controversy: from viewers concerned that the characters’ toddlerish language might impede the linguistic development of the nation’s children, to angry Radio Times readers who claimed the BBC were committing ‘cultural vandalism’ by axing the long-running series Playdays. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly get lost in the weeds of Teletubbies Wiki fandom; revisit the ‘toy rage’ that the show had inspired by Christmas 1997; and reveal why the first generation ‘tubbies never did live appearances… Further Reading: • ‘Teletubbies turn 20: how four blinking toddlers became a true TV phenomenon’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/31/teletubbies-turn-20-how-four-blinking-toddlers-became-a-true-tv-phenomenon • ‘The Great Distractor’ (Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, 2021): https://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/work/the-great-distractor • ‘Teletubbies: Ned’s Bicycle’ (BBC, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9woh2gKx1rM&list=PL8Zq4IrtuktnIh_XkWqMRfNkebVPgUIwy If you enjoyed this episode, there’s three-and-a-half minutes MORE material about the Teletubbies exclusively available to our supporters today! Just sign up at Patreon* or click Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to receive your bonus bit, this and every week... * https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pain-free surgery eluded physicians for centuries, but 26-year-old Crawford Williamson Long successfully removed a tumour from the neck of patient James Venable on 30th March, 1842 - whilst Venable was anaesthetised with ether. Dr Long had come to appreciate the ‘exhilarating effects’ of ether as a result of attending drug-fuelled parties at medical school - known in his coterie as ‘ether frolics’ - and identifying that, whilst high on ether, he had bruised his body, yet not felt the impact. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dr Long experimented on his friends, families and unwitting local youths before applying ether surgically; reveal how Queen Victoria caused chloroform to eclipse ether as the anaesthetic of choice for childbirth; and revisit the religious controversies that arose when doctors started ‘playing God’... Further Reading: • ‘The surprising (and Long) story of the first use of ether in surgery’ (The Conversation, 2019): https://theconversation.com/the-surprising-and-long-story-of-the-first-use-of-ether-in-surgery-113340 • ‘March 30, 1842: It's Lights Out, Thanks to Ether’ (WIRED, 2007): https://www.wired.com/2007/03/march-30-1842-its-lights-out-thanks-to-ether/ • ‘Georgia Stories: What Would Surgery Be Like Without Anaesthesia?’ (GPB, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG29p8iiZiE 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

Edward Lawrence Levy, a bald and bespectacled 40 year old choir-master from Birmingham, became the first ever winner of an international weightlifting contest at Cafe Monaco in London on 28th March, 1891. The event was an attempt to separate the serious sport of dumbbell lifting from the popular performing ‘strongmen’ at sideshows and variety halls, but it did not immediately take hold: the competition was described by the newspaper Sporting Life as “very slow”. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the career of ‘perfect human specimen’ Eugen Sandow; dig into the movement for muscular Judaism; and work out exactly how Levy would fare in a modern Olympic competition… Further Reading: • ‘The Untold History of the First Weightlifting Competition’ (BarBend, 2019): https://barbend.com/history-first-weightlifting-competition/ • ‘This Hebrew School Teacher Was the First World Weightlifting Champ’ (National Library of Israel, 2021): https://blog.nli.org.il/en/lbh-el-levy/ • ‘The History of Weightlifting’ (Bodytribe, 2013):: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9moGJHmJyg Image: Levy with his 1891 British Amateur Championship trophy. From E. Lawrence Levy and Muscular Judaism, 1851-1932, part of the National Library of Israel collection 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: Sophie King 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

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