_CW: This episode is a bit saucier than normal with explicit sexual references and some swearing. If that isn’t your cup of tea or are listening with kids, please check out one of our past episodes instead_. It is fair to say, Sex Toys aren’t the taboo they once were. The stats show they are incredibly popular — over 52% of women in the US have used vibrator, and many men - 1 in 3 - use them too. And we are more comfortable than ever talking about them. But where did it all start and how long have they been around? So today on the show, sex historian Kate Lister joins us to chart their — from ancient myths, to victorian quackery through to the decline of euphemistic marketing and societies embrace of the sex toy. Listen to more from Kate on the History Hit podcast _Betwixt The Sheets_.  This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Stuart BeckwithFor more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters[ here.](https://www.historyhit.com/sign-up-to-history-hit/?utm_source=timelinenewsletter&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Timeline+Podcast+Campaign)If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - [subscribe today](https://access.historyhit.com/?utm_source=audio&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast+Campaign&utm_id=Podcast)!

The success of the Apollo Missions relied on hugely imaginative engineering. There is perhaps no better example of this than the first off-planet electric car, The Lunar Rover.Today on the show we ask: Why did we send a car to the moon? How did we design something for an environment we knew nothing about? How did we get it up there?Dallas is joined by by Eddie Alterman, the longtime editor at Car and Driver and host of new Puskin's new podcast, Car Show!.You can listen to Car Show! with Eddie Alterman, from our friends at Pushkin Industries, here.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!This episode was produced by Emily Whalley.The senior producer is Charlotte Long.Edited and mixed by Stuart Beckwith.

As a result of all the military and medical advancements of World War One there were more seriously injured and disfigured soldiers surviving the battlefield than ever before. And so World War One also lead to a huge leap forward in plastic and cosmetic surgery.In this episode Dallas is joined by award winning historian and author Lindsey Fitzharris to talk about the birth of reconstructive surgery, and the Grandfather behind it - Harold Gillies. Repairing missing jaw bones, gunshot wounds to the face, and leading the way on the first phalloplasty in 1949 - who is Harold Gillies, and why is he so important to the modern medical community?Warning this episode contains graphic discussion of war injuries and surgery.

Introduced just over 100 years ago, Daylight Savings have always been divisive.So, why are people for and why are people against — and how have those arguments changed over time?We find out with today's guest, Dr Kristin Hussey - a science historian currently based in Denmark who is working on a book about the history of circadian rhythms.This episode was produced by Emily Whalley.Edited and mixed by Aidan Lonergan.The senior producer is Charlotte Long.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

Chicken, mayonnaise, curry powder - and wait, sultanas? What exactly is Coronation Chicken and what does it have to do with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II? Created by students, beloved by many, how does this iconic sandwich filler fit into British culinary history? In this Jubilee Special, Dallas is joined by food historian Annie Gray to talk all things TV chefs, supermarket sandwiches, and whether this creamy delight was ever really served to the Queen.This episode was produced by Emily Whalley.Edited and mixed by Seyi Adaobi.The senior producer is Charlotte LongFor more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

A cup of coffee was once a luxury. Now it is quick, cheap and widely available — a daily essential for many. How did this happen?Today on Patented, Jonathan Morris walks us through the evolution of coffee: from how people first figured out its psychoactive properties, to the transformations in roasting, processing and preparation that resulted in a coffee shop on every high street.Listen to the History of Coffee podcast here: A History of CoffeeFind Jonathans book, Coffee: A Global History here.This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Seyi Adaobi.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

“As ancient as time, as modern as tomorrow.’Why have tattoos been reinvented in so many cultures - and with so many different meanings - throughout history?And yet, tattooing is constantly portrayed as a new ‘thing’, when tattoos were just for criminals or sailors.Far from truth, tattoos and the art of painting ones skin is as old and as fascinating as humankind itself.On this episode we focus on the evolution of tattooing with Dr Matt Lodder. A Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory, and Director of American Studies at the University of Essex.Dallas and Matt explore the inventions that led the way to modern tattooing from 17th century pilgrims in Jerusalem getting religious iconography inked on their skins, through to the first tattoo parlour in the late 1880s, and to King George V.This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Thomas Ntinas.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

The telescope marked, arguably, the first invention to truly transform a human sense. For the first time it allowed our eyes to observe the universe beyond the bounds of our Earthly home.But how did this groundbreaking instrument first come about? Today on the show we find out who really invented the telescope (it wasn't Galileo, actually), why it was embraced by some and shunned by others, and explore its lasting impact on how we see our own world.Our guest is Susan Denham Wade, author of A History of Seeing in 11 Inventions. You can find out more about Susans book here: https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/a-history-of-seeing-in-eleven-inventions/9780750997164/

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? A UFO maybe? Or is it some reflective Lichen? Where does the idea of an Unidentified Flying Object come from and are they real? Spoiler alert - probably not. In this episode Dallas is joined by journalist and author David Clarke to discuss all things unidentified. From the exact moment the term flying saucer was coined, to two befuddled policeman's interaction with some shiny rocks - where exactly did UFOs come from, and how have they become intertwined with modern day science?

On 17 December 1903 the Wright Brothers successful completed the first manned, controlled and sustained flight in human history.They made it 'just' 120 ft in that first attempt. From there, aeroplane technology took off at a pace. Only 16 years later came the first non-stop transatlantic flight, and just six years after that the first round-the-world flight touched down without stopping.Today we revisit one of the most iconic and impactful invention stories with the help of Peter Jakub, Senior Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!