Stuff You Missed in History Class
Episodes
Maria Y. Orosa & the Food of the Philippines
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maria Ylagan Orosa was born in the Philippines, and she spent her life working to eliminate food insecurity there. She revived the use of locally avai...
George Gustav Heye
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
George Gustav Heye’s work in curating a collection of Native American artifacts has enabled many people to learn about indigenous cultures. But his ...
SYMHC Classics: Horace Wells and the Gas War
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2012 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covers dentist Horace Wells. At an exhibition in 1844 he became certain that nitrous oxide could ...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Bad Poetry
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy and Holly discuss Sir Humphry Davy's less than spectacular poems, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," and the end of Davy's career and life. See omn...
Sir Humphry Davy and the Miner’s Lamp (Part 2)
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Davy's career after his work in nitrous oxide included the invention of a miner's lamp designed to make mining safer. This invention came with a bit o...
Sir Humphry Davy and Nitrous Oxide (Part 1)
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chemist Sir Humphry Davy is known for his work with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. That early part of his career is the focus of part one of this two...
SYMHC Classics: S.S. Sultana
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2014 episode covers the Sultana, which sank the day after John Wilkes Booth was captured and killed for the murder of Abraham Lincoln So the mari...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Extreme Wealth and Wild Research
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy discuss Ward McAllister as the ultimate historical mean girl. They also talk about how people were reacting to the Blitz when it was h...
Dr. Rachel Lance and 'Chamber Divers'
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly talks with previous podcast guest Dr. Rachel Lance about her new book "Chamber Divers," which details the WWII research that advanced underwater...
Bradley Martin Ball
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Bradley Martin Ball is sometimes referred to as the last big moment of the Gilded Age. It was a very ostentatious event that sparked a lot of deba...
SYMHC Classics: Croesus
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2020 episode shares the story of the ridiculously wealthy Croesus, which was likely fictionalized in a number of ways. It has become sort of a ca...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Piggy Banks and Ruby Slippers
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy shares frustration over a historical find being described as a piggy bank. She and Holly then discuss the Van Gogh Pokémon and whether they wou...
Unearthed! in Spring 2024, Part 2
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The spring 2024 edition of Unearthed! concludes with books and letters, fashion and cosmetics, medicine, shipwrecks, and the assorted finds that are c...
Unearthed! in Spring 2024, Part 1
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Time for all the things literally or figuratively unearthed in the first quarter of 2024. Part one includes updates, burial sites, walls, edibles and ...
SYMHC Classics: Croquet History
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2020 episode looks at croquet's murky origins. Because of its relative ease of play and low barrier of entry, it went through a surge in populari...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Eclipse Games
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy and Holly talk about how much Tracy loves eclipses. They also discuss their favorite TV jingles for the game of Life. See omnystudio.com/liste...
Milton Bradley and the Game That Started It All
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Milton Bradley shaped not only the way people in the U.S. and around the globe play, but also how many kids in the U.S. were educated in their younges...
Thales and the Battle of the Eclipse
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On May 28, in the year 585 BCE, there was a total solar eclipse during a battle between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia. This eclipse had been predict...
SYMHC Classics: Sylvia of Hollywood
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2019 episode covers Sylvia of Hollywood, famous in the 1920s and 1930s for shaping up starlets, cementing the idea that Hollywood's beauties were...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Vinnie's Wild Life
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly reads Vinnie Ream's account of when she met Franz Liszt. Then discussion turns to Ream's friendships, her shopping habits, and why she lived in ...
Vinnie Ream, Part 2
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part two of our episode on Vinnie Ream covers the completion of her first major work, and the rest of her life, which was just as controversial as her...
Vinnie Ream, Part 1
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vinnie Ream became the first woman to be given an art commission by the U.S. Government when she was still a teenager. Part one covers the controversy...
SYMHC Classics: Pig War
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2014 episode covers the story of how in 1859, the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over an American settler shooting a Canadian...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Wrong Photo and the Rules
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy ponder why the wrong photo has become used so frequently in mentions of Margaret E. Knight. Tracy shares the reasons she almost didn't...
Henry Martyn Robert’s Rules of Order
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Henry Martyn Robert was connected to multiple historical events, but his most lasting legacy is the set of guidelines he created that offered a standa...
The Inventive Mind of Margaret E. Knight
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret E. Knight was an ingenious woman. She started tinkering with things when she was still just a tiny child, and the first invention that really...
SYMHC Classics: James G. Fair
23 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2019 episode covers James G. Fair, known as the Silver King. But though Fair often appears on lists of the richest men in U.S. history, his image...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Divorce, Marriage, and Manners
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy talk about there not being a national divorce law in the U.S. and how to pronounce Nevada. Tracy talks about the ways social rules are...
Six Impossible Episodes: Etiquette Manuals
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Books on etiquette don’t necessarily reflect rules everyone is actually following – they’re more like what the author thinks the ideal standard ...
Divorce Ranches
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Divorce ranches sprung up in the 1930s when Nevada relaxed its divorce laws. This unique and controversial style of resort was incredibly popular for ...
SYMHC Classics: Ambroise Paré
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2021 episode covers sixteenth-century barber surgeon Ambroise Paré, who has been called everything from “the gentle surgeon” to “the fathe...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Arsenic and Arm Prosthetics
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly talks about the various theories about events in Charles Francis Hall's life. Tracy discusses some of the troubling sources she came across whil...
Götz of the Iron Hand
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 16th century Gottfried von Berlichingen was known as Götz of the Iron Hand because after an injury and amputation, he wore a prosthesis ...
Charles Francis Hall and His Mysterious Arctic Death
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom wh...
SYMHC Classics: Stephens Island Wren
09 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2017 episode covers the extinction of one New Zealand bird species that's often attributed to a single cat. While feline predation played a signi...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Fish Sandwich
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy discuss how neither of them like Sloppy Joes, and a cocktail recipe Holly found during research. Tracy shares how very much she adores...
Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer and the Coelacanth
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The coelacanth was believed to have gone extinct about 66 million years ago, until one was spotted in South Africa in 1938. Naturalist and museum cura...
Eponymous Foods – Sandwiches Edition
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sloppy Joe, Hot Brown, and the Reuben are all well-known sandwiches, and they are all named after people. Though the specific person is argued in two ...
SYMHC Classics: The End of Rinderpest
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2020 episode examines how, though rinderpest was declared eradicated fairly recently, rinderpest's history goes way back. Eradicating the disease...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Source Chasing and Measles Shots
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy mentions tracking down sources for quotes about Rebecca Crumpler during research. She and Holly also discuss measles vaccine protocols. See omn...
Measles: Historical Highlights
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Though measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. decades ago, outbreaks do still happen here, and in other places it’s much more common. Before va...
'Doctress' Rebecca Crumpler
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca Crumpler was the first Black woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She also wrote one of the first, if not the first, medical t...
SYMHC Classics: Three Astonishing Belles
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2017 episode features three unique women, all of whom are notable. They each have a surprising aspect to their stories, and they each have the na...
Behind the Scenes Minis: George and Mad Jack
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy shares why the story of George Washington Williams makes her so sad. Holly then offers some additional information about John Mytton that wasn't...
John ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Mytton is often called an eccentric, but that doesn’t really capture his whole story. Despite his wild behavior, he's something of a local hero...
George Washington Williams
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
George Washington Williams was one of the first people to publicly describe the atrocities being carried out in the Congo Free State under King Leopol...
SYMHC Classics: Mary Breckinridge
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2018 episode covers Mary Breckinridge, who advanced the medical field and found new ways to treat underserved communities. But there are problema...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Natalie Can't Be Contained
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy explains why Natalie Clifford Barney needed two episodes. She also shares some of the stories from Barney's stories that didn't make it into eit...
Natalie Clifford Barney, Part 2
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part two of Natalie Clifford Barney week covers her life as a wealthy adult. She moved to France permanently, and established the salon which ran for ...
Natalie Clifford Barney, Part 1
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Natalie Clifford Barney was an incredibly privileged woman who hobnobbed with many notable intellectual and artistic figures in history. Part one cove...
SYMHC Classics: Lola Montez
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2021 episode covers Lola Montez, a figure whose life is hard to pin down. That's not because of a lack of documentation, but because that documen...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Mademoiselle and the Tunneler
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy discuss the unfortunate and gruesome event that allegedly happened at Anne-Marie-Louse's funeral. Harrison Dyar's compulsion and cruel...
Harrison G. Dyar, Jr., Entomologist and Tunneler
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Harrison G. Dyar, Jr. is known today largely as a hobby tunneler. But he was also an influential entomologist, and his personal life was much more con...
Anne-Marie-Louise d’Orléans
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anne-Marie-Louise d’Orleans has been described by historians as having been one of the richest heiresses in history, as an insurgent, as unaccomplis...
SYMHC Classics: Dr. Vera Peters
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2015 episode examines how Dr. Peters helped revolutionize the treatment of both breast cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma. But, at the time, her work ...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Anthony's Secrets and Mammograms
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy discuss van Dyck's personal life and historical photography. They also discuss mammogram science and try to reassure listeners about t...
A History of Mammography
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The history of mammography begins with the discovery of X-rays in 1895. But it took a very long time for breast imaging to advance, in part because it...
Anthony van Dyck
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony van Dyck was a commercially successful painter in Antwerp and Italy, but he may have had the most influence in England when he served as court...
SYMHC Classics: Orphan Tsunami
27 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2013 episode covers a tsunami that struck the coast of Japan in January 1700, . It took a while -- a long while -- to figure out where the cataly...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Succession and the Roeblings
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly talks about her infatuation with the show "Succession," and why Tracy might not like it. Tracy talks about a unique bridge designed by John Roeb...
Emily Warren Roebling and the Brooklyn Bridge
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Emily Warren Roebling played a crucial role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband became disabled. It’s a story of an enginee...
Stakhanovite Movement
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1935, miner Alexei Stakhanov became a hero of labor in the Soviet Union, and the Stakhanovite movement began. But what was touted as an organic st...
SYMHC Classics: Hypatia
20 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2013 episode covers Hypatia, one of the earliest female mathematicians and astronomers. Though she wasn't the very first, she was among the great...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Shakespearean Floorboards
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy explains why there aren't any repatriations or exhumations in this week's edition of Unearthed! There's also discussion of all the ways a sandal...
Unearthed! in Fall/Winter 2023, Part 2
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Finishing out discussion of things literally and figuratively dug up in the last months of 2023, we're covering shipwrecks, art, animals, and the m...
Unearthed! in Fall/Winter 2023, Part 1
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're closing out the last three months of 2023 by talking about things literally and figuratively dug up during that time, kicking it off with lots o...
SYMHC Classics: Benjamin Banneker
13 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2013 episode covers Benjamin Banneker, a man of color in Colonial America who became an accomplished scholar despite having almost no formal scho...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Wow, Phones
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy talk about how actuarial science informs other fields, the book "The Player," and insurance mentions in Terry Pratchett's writing. Se...
The Birth of Actuarial Science and Life Insurance, Pt. 2
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As life insurance and assurance became more common, companies that offered coverage ran into in problems in the 18th and 19th century. Part 2 also cov...
The Birth of Actuarial Science and Life Insurance, Pt. 1
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Actuarial science is all about calculating risk – risk of injury, illness, death, risk of market shifts and financial outcomes. Part one covers the ...
SYMHC Classics: Alfred Wegener
06 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This 2019 episode covers the career Alfred Wegener had outside of his ideas around what we now understand as plate tectonics, which had both detractor...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Planning for Pigeons
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy talk about the new year and the ways they use calendars. Tracy mentions the birds that often receive ire from humans.See omnystudio.co...
The Great English Sparrow War
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the 19th century, a heated dispute arose over the house sparrow and its introduction into North America. Elliot Coues and Thomas Mayo Brewer held o...
Almanacs and Day Planners
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
People have kept diaries and recorded notes since writing was invented. But planners as we think of them today have their roots in almanacs. Researc...
Holiday Bonus: Brief History of Gin
31 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For New Year's Eve, we're resharing our Sept 2021 episode on the history of gin. Happy New Year to all our listeners, and cheers to you no matter your...
SYMHC Classics: Iroquois Theater Fire
30 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014, the show covered the 1903 fire at the new Iroquois Theater. The horrible, incredibly tragic incident was the result of multiple code violatio...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Mixed Opinions
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Differing points of view regarding the Stone of Scone are discussed. Tracy also shares thoughts on "Assassins' Creed," its mixed reviews, and the most...
The Banu Musa
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Banū Mūsā were three brothers who lived in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age. Among their many achievements, they wrote books on math and s...
The Stone of Scone Heist
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On Christmas day in 1950, the Stone of Scone was removed, heist-style, from Westminster Abbey. Some believed it to be an act of theft, and others, lib...
Holiday Bonus: Krampus & Friends
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For Christmas Eve, we’re sharing our 2016 episode about holiday figures from around the world. This one features the Mari Lwyd, which came up on a r...
SYMHC Classics: John Wilkins and His Moon Plans
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This 2019 episode covers John Wilkins who planned out what he thought it would take for humans to travel to the moon In the 1600s. Wilkins managed to ...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Frozen Ice Hedda
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tracy talks about not seeing a frozen body of water that could support a person as a kid. Holly discusses how difficult it is to pare down Hedda Hop...
Hedda Hopper
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Though she started out acting, what really made Hedda Hopper famous was her work in newspapers. For several decades, she could make or break a movie c...
River Thames Frost Fairs
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The London Frost Fairs, were festivals held out on the ice when the River Thames froze over. Most of these fairs were in January or February, and the ...
SYMHC Classics: Belinda Sutton
16 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This 2016 episode was inspired by our trip to the Royall House & Slave Quarters. It's about Belinda Sutton and her petitions to be compensated for...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Metric Spinning Bee
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy share formative experiences with math classes. Then Tracy discusses a spinning bee, Lafayette in Medford, and her historical fanfictio...
Sarah Bradlee Fulton and the Daughters of Liberty
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Bradlee Fulton is sometimes called the Mother of the Boston Tea Party. But available information about her is basically a series of anecdotes, a...
The 17th-century Roots of the Metric System
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two men, working separately but simultaneously, are each cited as the originator of the idea of the metric system depending on what source you read. B...
SYMHC Classics: Traffic Lights
09 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This 2019 episode looks at a few of the moments in traffic light history that got us to where we are today, as well as what made them a necessity in t...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Advent Gazpacho
08 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy discuss Advent calendars in their own lives. They also discuss some of their experiences in Barcelona. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...
Montjuïc Castle and the Bombardments of Barcelona
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Montjuïc Castle is a fortress in Barcelona that dates back to the 17th century. And it has been involved in both the defense of Barcelona and its rep...
Advent Calendars
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The religious observation of Advent has shifted and changed through the years. But how did we get to a point where an Advent calendar is also a non-re...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Blackouts and Funiculars
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy talk about the blackout that happened during the recording of their live show in Los Angeles. They then discuss their different activi...
Significant Moments in the History of Montserrat
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Montserrat is a culturally important place with a lot of stories. This episode focuses on three to show its importance as a religious center, as a str...
SYMHC Live: Gin Cocktails and Jerry Thomas
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded (mostly) live at the AC Hotel Los Angeles South Bay, where we talked about Collinses, the Bees Knees, and a man who is iconi...
SYMHC Classics: Mirabal Sisters
25 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This 2018 episode covers the four Mirabal sisters, who are national heroes in the Dominican Republic. But they weren't very well-known elsewhere until...
Behind the Scenes Minis: Bertillon and Rebecca
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Holly and Tracy discuss Bertillon's influence in the practice of people carrying ID cards. Tracy talks about how much she loves historical uprisings t...
The Rebecca Riots
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Rebecca Riots took place in Wales in the 1830s and 1840s. While these events are often described as a protest against heavy road tolls, that was o...
Alphonse Bertillon
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bertillon developed a system of identification via body measurements that was designed to identify whether crime suspects had an existing criminal his...
SYMHC Classics: Sarah Josepha Hale
18 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This 2019 episode covers Sarah Josepha Hale's well-known poetry, and her publication Godey's Lady's Book, the most popular magazine in the U.S. in the...