Episodes

  • Captain Morgan was a real person

    Captain Morgan was a real person
    Jan 3 2025
    The Captain Morgan rum brand is named after a real person: the legendary Welsh privateer and buccaneer Captain Henry Morgan, who terrorized Spanish ships in the 17th century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 mins
  • The Voynich manuscript and Frankenstein

    The Voynich manuscript and Frankenstein
    Dec 27 2024
    The Voynich manuscript is a 15th-century codex that has never been deciphered, and "Frankenstein" was originally published anonymously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 mins
  • George Washington didn’t know that dinosaurs existed

    George Washington didn’t know that dinosaurs existed
    Dec 2 2024
    Did George Washington know about dinosaurs? Most likely, no. Today, the existence of dinosaurs may seem like an immutable fact, but our knowledge of these ancient creatures is a relatively modern development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 mins
  • What Did People Eat for Dinner in the 1920s?

    What Did People Eat for Dinner in the 1920s?
    Nov 27 2024
    Family dinner has been a mainstay of U.S. households since the mid-19th century, when men increasingly began to work and eat lunch — once considered the main meal of the day — outside the home. By the 1920s, the food rationing of World War I was a thing of the past, and the “Roaring ’20s” brought economic prosperity for many Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    8 mins
  • When Did We Start Giving Each Other Wedding Rings?

    When Did We Start Giving Each Other Wedding Rings?
    Sep 10 2024
    In weddings around the world, exchanging rings is a crucial part of the ceremony, a moment in which a couple’s promises are sealed with a tangible token. This simple piece of jewelry does a lot of heavy lifting: It acts as a symbol of love, unity, and eternity, while also making our relationship status clear to the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    7 mins
  • Michelangelo’s David was censored by Queen Victoria

    Michelangelo’s David was censored by Queen Victoria
    Aug 12 2024
    The statue of David is among Michelangelo’s greatest masterpieces, but the sculpture isn’t without detractors. One such critic was none other than Queen Victoria, who reigned over England from 1837 until 1901, centuries after the original David was sculpted in 1504. In 1857, a plaster replica of the David was shipped to Great Britain as a gift to Victoria from Leopold II, the grand duke of Tuscany. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • The U.S. Government Poisoned Alcohol During Prohibition

    The U.S. Government Poisoned Alcohol During Prohibition
    Jul 23 2024
    It’s been dubbed the “noble experiment,” a name that came from then-President Herbert Hoover calling Prohibition “a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose.” In January 1920, the United States banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of “intoxicating liquors,” a move made in the wake of temperance movements that sought moral and social reform throughout the 1800s — in spite of some failed attempts at similar regional programs around the country. Despite the ban, the de Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • 5 Strange Traditions of the British Monarchy

    5 Strange Traditions of the British Monarchy
    Jul 9 2024
    Britain is a nation of many strange old traditions, from cheese rolling and wife carrying to mayor weighing and possibly the world’s most brutal ball game. Then there’s the British royal family, an almost endless source of quirky behavior and bizarre rituals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    8 mins