The Story Behind
The Extraordinary History Behind Ordinary Objects
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Narrated by:
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Emily Prokop
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By:
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Emily Prokop
About this listen
Learn the fascinating history and trivia behind the everyday items we take for granted — from the host of the popular podcast The Story Behind, Emily Prokop!
Many of us learn about the major inventions that shape our world. But we too often overlook the objects we use every day. In The Story Behind, Emily Prokop, creator of the Webby Award nominated podcast, explores the who, how, and huh? of everything from Band-Aids to bubble gum; hypnosis to Hula Hoops; and lullabies to lead pipes. Along the way, she demonstrates how the major events of history - from wars, plagues and revolutions to historic achievements and discoveries - have influenced some of the world’s most pervasive inventions. From food, fashion and games to transit and modern technology, The Story Behind offers a closer look at the things closest to us.
©2018 Emily Prokop (P)2020 W F HowesListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"There's something so fascinating about looking into the history and stories behind the everyday, mundane, and ordinary. Emily's book will perfectly scratch the itch of curiosity you have for thing you see everyday!" (Patrick Foote)
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Here is the astonishing, never-before-told story of the greatest rescue mission of World War II: when the OSS set out to recover more than 500 airmen trapped behind enemy lines. During a bombing campaign, hundreds of American airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian villagers risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers, and for months the airmen lived in hiding, waiting for rescue.
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an amazing tale
- By Ron on 10-28-07
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True Facts That Sound Like Bulls#*t: 500 Insane-but-True Facts That Will Shock and Impress Your Friends
- By: Shane Carley
- Narrated by: Chris Barton
- Length: 1 hr and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Prove your awesomeness - or bolster your stockpile of conversation starters! Either way, prove you’re the smartest schmuck in the room with over 500 absurdly real facts! With over 500 outrageous and real facts on everything from hippo sweat to stars in the galaxy, you're sure to impress your friends, stump your colleagues, and crush the trivia night competition! Discover insane-but-true factoids and prove you really do know it all! Test out the true or false questions covering the gamut of science, sports, history, pop culture, and a potpourri of others.
By: Shane Carley
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F*cking History
- 111 Lessons You Should Have Learned in School
- By: The Captain
- Narrated by: The Captain
- Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The entries in this compulsively listenable book bridge past and present with topics like getting ghosted, handling haters, and why dog owners rule (sorry, cat people). Along the way you'll get a glimpse of Edith Wharton's sex life, dating rituals in Ancient Greece, catfishing in 500 BC, medieval flirting techniques, and squad goals from Catherine the Great.
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Not what I expected
- By J Lewis on 03-28-21
By: The Captain
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The Flip Side of History
- Strange News, Hard-to-Believe Headlines, and Other Curious Stories from History
- By: Steve Silverman
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In this collection of true, quirky history, Steve Silverman provides fascinating tales to astonish and entertain. Covering a wide variety of topics, these stories that have been lost to history highlight the quirks, complexities, and curious nature of our species.
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Good stories
- By Tyler on 10-21-24
By: Steve Silverman
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A Million Years in a Day
- A Curious History of Everyday Life from the Stone Age to the Phone Age
- By: Greg Jenner
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted.
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Super interesting!
- By Brandon on 07-07-16
By: Greg Jenner
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Factastic
- 2500 Intriguing and Bizarre Facts for All Ages
- By: Roman Ferreira
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Immerse yourself in Factastic: 2500 Intriguing and Bizarre Facts for All Ages, a captivating journey through the unknown, the peculiar, and the downright astounding. This collection of 100 chapters, each featuring 25 mind-blowing factoids, will ignite your curiosity and leave you in awe of the world's countless mysteries and marvels. Whether you're a trivia enthusiast or a knowledge seeker, "Factastic" offers something for everyone, making it the perfect addition to your bookshelf or a great gift for a loved one. Embark on a voyage through the surprising world of superstitions, the engaging...
By: Roman Ferreira
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The Book of General Ignorance
- By: John Mitchinson, John Lloyd
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
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Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British best seller. Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more, The Book of General Ignorance is a witty “gotcha” compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It’ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school.
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Interesting.
- By A. Hawkbird on 12-07-08
By: John Mitchinson, and others
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A Grain of Salt
- The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat
- By: Dr. Joe Schwarcz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Of all the dietary and nutritional claims pitched to us, what can we believe? How does cinnamon affect your health? How splendid is Splenda? Should you buy farmed, wild, or canned food? What's fishy about fish-oil supplements? Will a diet of Twinkies and M&M's lead to weight loss? Water from a tap or from a plastic bottle - which should you choose, and which is better for the environment? Should you carry your groceries home in plastic or brown paper? We all have questions, and Dr. Joe Schwarcz has the answers, some of which will astonish you.
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Excellent! Science-baced nutritional information.
- By Amazon Customer on 02-05-20
By: Dr. Joe Schwarcz
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You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News
- Shocking but Utterly True Facts
- By: Cracked.com
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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You're going to wish you never got this audiobook. Some facts are too terrifying to teach in school. Unfortunately, Cracked.com is more than happy to fill you in. Think you're going to choose whether or not to buy this book? Scientists say your brain secretly makes all your decisions 10 seconds before you even know what they are.
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Buenas fabulas de humor
- By Cynthia on 10-27-14
By: Cracked.com
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The Mental Floss History of the World
- An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits
- By: Steve Wiegand, Erik Sass
- Narrated by: Johny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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About 60,000 years ago, the first Homo sapiens were just beginning their move across the grasslands and up the ladder of civilization. Everything since then, as they say, is history. Just in case you were sleeping in class that day, the geniuses at mental_floss magazine have put together a hilarious (and historically accurate) primer on everything you need to know---and that means the good stuff.
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Brilliant and Funny. What more could you want?
- By Septimus MacGhilleglas on 01-22-09
By: Steve Wiegand, and others
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Brain Boosting Facts for Curious Minds, A Trivia Book for Adults & Teens
- 1,522 Intriguing, Hilarious, and Amazing Facts About Science, History, Pop Culture & More!
- By: Daniel Kane
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Unleash your inner Einstein with the most exhiliarating, laugh-out-loud trivia book ever written! Be catapulted on a whirlwind adventure through the zany, weird, and utterly fascinating realms of knowledge, as we take trivia to a whole new level of fun! Packed with 1,522 mind-blowing facts spanning science, history, pop culture, and more, this rip-roaring, side-splitting tome is perfect for trivia buffs and inquisitive minds of all stripes, comprising everything from the astonishing to the absurd, the hilarious to the hair-raising, and everything in between. "Brain-Boosting Facts for ...
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Redundancy
- By Kat on 11-07-24
By: Daniel Kane
What listeners say about The Story Behind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- celeste rickers
- 02-14-23
So fun!
I enjoyed the book very much! I only wish it was longer :-) thanks for the facts and trivia!
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- Zach Brunson
- 07-12-21
Fun, Short, and Quirky Factoids
This is a collection of fun, short, and often quirky stories about the background and history of random aspects of everyday life: factoids for the inquisitive mind.
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- John Cashman
- 11-07-20
Very good book
if you are interested in the origins and evolution of everyday things, you will love thisbook.
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- Dogs Land
- 03-25-24
One third of the book is repeated after initial description of subject under “TLDR” ..?
I had to look that up, so I must not be the target audience.
In first part of book she states that all she knew about inventions was that “white men invented them”. Perhaps a little history lesson about the massive contributions Asian, Arabic and African cultures made in the early history when white people were scratching out a life in Europe…
Glad it was free
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