Today In History with The Retrospectors

The London Beer Flood, which created a 15ft-high wave of booze, and claimed the lives of eight people, began on 17th October, 1814 - when an iron hoop came loose on a giant barrel at Meux’s famous Horse Shoe Brewery.The barrel, in which over a million pints of fermenting porter were brewing, exploded - triggering a chain reaction that effectively blew up the factory and caused bricks to rain down over a nearby slum area.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the only surviving eyewitness account of the tragedy; explain how Daddy issues might have caused Meux to construct such giant barrels of beer in the first place; and weigh up whether anyone made merry with the opportunities offered by a cascading river of ale…  Further Reading:• ‘This 1814 Beer Flood Killed Eight People’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1814-beer-flood-killed-eight-people-180964256/• ‘The Lost Beers & Breweries of Britain by Brian Glover’ (Amberley Publishing, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Lost_Beers_Breweries_of_Britain/R1GoAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=horseshoe+brewery&pg=PA49-IA44&printsec=frontcover• ‘Strange Stories: The London Beer Flood of 1814’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96OMuA65gooWant more? Discover FOUR MINUTES EXTRA CONTENT about the London Beer Flood when you sign up to 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴.We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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

Henry Blair, the only inventor ever denoted as a ‘colored man’ in the records of US Patent Office, received a patent for his invention of a mechanical corn planter on 14th October, 1834. For decades, it was believed this was the first example of an African-American inventor receiving a US patent.The truth turns out to be more complex, and is touched by the legacy of slavery, legal reform, and black activism… but Thomas Jennings, the inventor of ‘dry scouring’ (an early instance of dry cleaning) registered his patent thirteen years earlier and is, probably, the true holder of the title.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look back over some of the most useful inventions contributed by American people of colour; explain why the rules over enslaved people’s intellectual property were so vague and unreliable; and reveal what it looked like when Thomas Jefferson fobs you off…Content Warning: racism, negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or culturesFurther Reading:• ‘Inventor Henry Blair and His Patents’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/inventor-henry-blair-1991284• ‘Whose Patent is It?: American Patent Law Denies Slave Creativity’ (HistoryNet, 2017): https://www.historynet.com/whose-patent-is-it-american-patent-law-denies-slave-creativity/• ‘Awesome Inventions by African Americans’ (SciShow, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56AwEjXzh-UWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!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

Rerun. The first ever U.S. officer to be convicted of treason, Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr., defected from the Air Service to the Nazis on 13th October, 1944.After a stint in radio propaganda, he joined the Waffen-SS, was recaptured by the Americans, and then claimed to be a prisoner of War. His family petitioned his Senator to go lightly on his crimes, the full extent of which only became clear when he sensationally confessed to treason in court.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to understand Monti’s repeated flip-flopping; uncover the hidden community of German-born Americans who returned to the Motherland to support Hitler; and explain why even Roosevelt was predisposed to believe Monti was just an ‘eager beaver’…  Further Reading:• ‘How a North County boy became the first U.S. military officer ever to be convicted of treason’ (St Louis Magazine, 2020):https://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/• ‘A Deserter and Confessed Traitor: The Amazing but True Story of Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr.’ (American Bar Association, 2017): https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/publications/litigation_journal/2017-18/fall/a-deserter-and-confessed-traitor-amazing-true-story-army-lieutenant-martin-j-monti-jr/• ‘The Only U.S. Pilot to Defect to the Waffen-SS during WW2… in October 1944’ (House of History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQk‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!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

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ opened at New York’s Mark Hellinger Theater on 12th October, 1971. The Guardian summarized the show as “the work of two young Englishmen, from an original story by God.”The production was the first to be mounted in a traditional venue - but was far from being the first live performance of the rock opera, which had been staged in a series of illegal and unathorised concerts across America, following the incredible popularity of the original concept album there.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a failed bid to write a Eurovision entry led to the genesis of this iconic musical; consider why the album performed underwhelmingly in Britain before storming the States; and reveal why Lloyd Webber believed his Broadway debut was ‘one of the worst nights’ of his life…Further Reading:• ‘Look Back at the Original Broadway Production of Jesus Christ Superstar’ (Playbill, 2019): https://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-the-original-broadway-production-of-jesus-christ-superstar• ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar: Jews, Christians and Andrew Lloyd Webber hated the show at first’ (Stuff, 2018): https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stage-and-theatre/102773312/jesus-christ-superstar-jews-christians-and-andrew-lloyd-webber-hated-the-show-at-first• ‘Jesus Christ Superstar: 1971 Broadway Production (Rehearsals, Opening Night)’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg08h-s14yA&t=4sLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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

The Second Vatican Council - a conference of senior Catholics that transformed the way Mass is given in Churches around the world - began on 11th October, 1962. The incentive of Pope John XXIII, who had been elected in his late seventies partly under the presumption that he would not do anything particularly radical, the Council split opinion between the Church’s traditionalists and modernists, spawning rancorous division which still echoes today.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit John’s impromptu ‘moonlight speech’ in St Peter’s Square; consider how the Vatican needed to make reparations to Jews after the horrors of the Holocaust; and explain why some British literary figures, including Agatha Christie and Iris Murdoch, signed an open letter asking the new Pope to reverse the Council… Further Reading:• ‘Pope John XXIII opens Vatican II’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pope-opens-vatican-ii• ‘Statement by Scholars, Intellectuals, and Artists Living in England’ (1971): https://web.archive.org/web/20161020002716/http:/www.institute-christ-king.org/uploads/main/pdf/england-statement.pdf• ‘Pope John XXIII’ (British Pathé, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB3U3sFG61QLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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

Scent-o-Vision, an in-cinema olfactory experience, was unveiled at the New York World’s Fair on 10th October, 1940.Accompanying a short film ‘My Dream’, its Swiss inventor, Hans Laube, pumped in aromas of rose water, peaches and burning incense for his wowed attendees to sniff. But it would be two decades before the technology was finally put into a feature film - Mike Todd, Jr’s ‘Scent of Mystery’, in 1960 - and never used again.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the 50’s battle of the ‘smellaroo pix’, as Todd’s re-named ‘Smell-o-Vision’ took on the rival ‘Smell-O-Rama’; explore why theme parks ultimately provided the best platform for the theory in practice; and consider what happens when an audience experiences ‘olfactory fatigue’... Image source Carmen LaubeFurther Reading:• ‘Smell-O-Vision: That Movie Really Did Stink!’ (Neatorama, 2015): https://www.neatorama.com/2015/04/27/Smell-O-Vision-That-Movie-Really-Did-Stink/• ‘Rare pictures from the 1939 New York World's Fair’ (Rare Historical Photos, 2021): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/1939-new-york-world-fair/• ‘Trailer: Scent of Mystery’ (1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7jNGsLEn2ULove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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

Léon Gambetta took to the skies above Paris in a hot air balloon on October 7th, 1870, soaring over the enemy German soldiers that surrounded the city on his way to raise new armies to swing the Franco-Prussian war back in France’s favour.Perhaps ill-advisedly, the charismatic statesman shouted “Vive la République!” as he went, thus attracting enemy fire which punctured his balloon, but the escape was successful, ultimately landing in an oak tree in Tours.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how 150 years ago hot air balloons came to be thought of as a convenient emergency evacuation technology; mull why Paris at night is so very beautiful, even during a siege; and explain why in a crisis it is always good to have plenty of seamstresses around…Further Reading:• ‘Franco-Prussian War: the conflict that plunged Europe into a nightmare’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/franco-prussian-war-europe-nightmare-consequences/ • ‘A Balloon Voyage with Gambetta’ (Appletons’ Journal of Literature, Science and Art, 1871): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Appletons_Journal_of_Literature_Science/_BwZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 • ‘Gambetta’s balloon escape’ (wunderkammerchannel, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eBNlTvpsq0 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!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

Rerun. Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’, the world’s longest-running play, opened at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham on 6th October, 1952, with a cast including Richard Attenborough. The producer, Peter Saunders, predicted the production would run for 14 months. More than 28,000 performances later, the show has become an iconic attraction in London’s West End, with a set that still includes the original mantelpiece clock present on stage on opening night nearly 70 years ago. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the unconventional choices Christie made with the copyright of the play; recount Noel Coward’s begrudging correspondence with her when it overtook Blithe Spirit as the West End’s longest-running play; and uncover the tragic backstory that inspired its plot… WITHOUT REVEALING THE TWIST! Further Reading:• History timeline from ‘The Mousetrap’s official website (2021): https://uk.the-mousetrap.co.uk/the-history/• “Less in it than meets the eye” - The Guardian’s original review of the production (1952): https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/nov/27/the-mousetrap-agatha-christie-opens-london-1952• ‘Meet The Cast of The Mousetrap’ (Theatre Cafe, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jKdE_gmen0 ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!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

American Apparel, the company founded by charismatic weirdo Dov Charney, first filed for bankruptcy protection on October 5th, 2015.It amounted to a fall from grace from just three years earlier when Charney had told ABC news that American apparel would live beyond his own lifetime. What he neglected to mention was that its ongoing life would be as an online only store, no longer making clothes in the USA.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how Charney’s high-minded idea of making clothes ethically went so dramatically wrong; discuss how the brand got rich by using gritty lo-fi sexuality to sell everyday basics; and look into how Charney’s cult of personality eventually proved his undoing…Content warning: reference to sex, abuse, pornographyFurther Reading:• ‘10 Most Controversial American Apparel Ads’ (Time Magazine, 2014): https://time.com/2901435/charney-american-apparel-ads/ • ‘American Apparel files for bankruptcy’ (The Guardian, 2015): https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/05/american-apparel-files-for-bankruptcy • ‘American Apparel CEO talks about the allegations against him’ (ABC, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iShrIY3GN6s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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

The first ever Orient Express set off from Paris on October 4th, 1883, immediately becoming a byword for extreme luxury.With its wood panelling, silk sheets and gourmet menus, the train quickly became a favourite of kings, aristocrats, artists and even spies.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why the train neither went to the “Orient” nor was it particular “express”; discuss why a very particular type of heartbreak led Belgian businessman Georges Nagelmackers to come up with the sleeper train; and look into why the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rode the Orient Express…Further Reading:• ‘The True History of the Orient Express’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2014): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-history-of-the-orient-express-149702768/ • ‘The 50 Greatest Train Journeys of the World’ (Anthony Lambert, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_Greatest_Train_Journeys_of_the_Wo/j7YLDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 • ‘The truth behind the legend: The Orient Express’ (The Man in Seat 61, 2009): https://www.seat61.com/history-of-the-orient-express.htm • ‘28hrs on World’s Most Luxurious Train: The Venice Simplon Orient Express’ (Trek Trendy, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh56ESOVYdQ Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe 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