Today In History with The Retrospectors

#throwbackthursday Dr Benjamin Spock’s ‘Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care’ was first published on 14th July, 1946. It was then translated into 40 languages, selling over 50 million copies - second only to the Bible in the USA.Spock’s thesis is perhaps best summarised in its seminal opening sentence: ‘Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do’. This intuitive approach was a shock to the world of parental guidance: just 18 years prior, psychologist John B Watson had recommended that children should be treated as adults. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly revisit the radically different 1916 tome ‘The Mother and Her Baby’; explain how Spock’s trusting instincts were a mainstay of his  career; and consider whether Gene Rodenberry’s preference for strong-sounding names REALLY explains how ‘Spock’ became a character on Star Trek...Further Reading:• ‘The Pied Piper Of Permissivism’ (The Guardian, 1962): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/23/dr-benjamin-spock-baby-and-child-care-1962• ‘Dr Spock’s Timeless Lessons in Parenting’ (The Conversation, 2019):https://theconversation.com/dr-spocks-timeless-lessons-in-parenting-122377• TV interview with Dr Spock (1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9fSG01h_0w‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! 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 massive blackout across New York City that began at 9:30pm on 13th July, 1977 lasted for a little over a day. Yet, during that time, arsonists set over 1,000 fires and looters ransacked 1,600 stores.It was the climax of a dark chapter for NYC, which at this time had an enormous financial deficit, was regarded as sleazy and dangerous, and had laid off hundreds of public service workers. But it also led to the spread of hip-hop. Perhaps.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the baseball game that was postponed for four months when the lights went out; investigate the murder that happened during the blackout; and reveal Doris Day’s role in the perception of the crimewave…Further Reading:• ‘THE BLACKOUT: NIGHT OF TERROR’ (TIME, 1977): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,919089,00.html• ‘The 1977 Blackout in New York City Happened Exactly 42 Years Ago’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/nyregion/1977-blackout-photos.html?searchResultPosition=3• ‘NYC Blackout: What It Was Like When the City Lost Power in 1977’ (NBC New York, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyPjGwGg4-sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'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

Mormons were told to embrace polygamy on 12th July, 1843 - when the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, said a revelation had told him he must marry multiple women to continue serving God.It was a controversial change to the faith, meeting resistance not only from Smith’s first wife, but from other patriarchs in the Church. Nevertheless, Smith went on to have at least 40 wives, at least 7 of whom were under the age of 18.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether the ‘sealing’ marriages advocated by Smith were sexual in nature; review the various euphemisms for polygamy in circulation at the time, including ‘spiritual wifery’; and explain why, even though the Church officially ended the policy in 1890, it continues to haunt them to this day… Further Reading:• ‘The Mormon church finally acknowledges founder Joseph Smith’s polygamy’ (The Washington Post, 2014): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/11/the-mormon-church-finally-acknowledges-founder-joseph-smiths-polygamy/• ‘Timeline: The Early History of the Mormons’ (PBS American Experience): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-timeline/• ‘Mormon Church Acknowledges Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Practices’ (MSNBC, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zciavoZACXYAs every good polygamist knows, you can never have too much of a good thing - so there’s an bonus bit of the team talking about this day in history exclusively available to our supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon today. Support the show now, and get an extra snipped like this every single week!https://patreon.com/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

China’s greatest naval explorer, Zheng He, set sail on the first of seven epic voyages on 11th July, 1405. He led a fleet of 255 ships, with an estimated 28,000 people on board.A eunuch, and a Muslim, he had risen through the ranks to become a right-hand man of the Emperor, and his prowess at sea vastly bettered the likes of his European contemporaries Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether reports of his size and stature were nonetheless exaggerated; consider why, for many years prior to this, China had limited exploration by sea; and explain why, despite his incredible success, bureaucrats then tried to purge He’s name from the records…Further Reading:• ‘Biography of Zheng He, Chinese Admiral’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/zheng-he-ming-chinas-great-admiral-195236• ‘China’s greatest naval explorer sailed his treasure fleets as far as East Africa’ (National Geographic): https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/05/chinas-greatest-naval-explorer-sailed-his-treasure-fleets-as-far-as-east-africa• ‘Zheng He: World Explorers’ (PBS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGcbIoTyY6sFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'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

Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned off the coast of Tuscany on 8th July, 1822. His wife, Mary Shelley, waited an agonizing ten days to discover news of the dramatic shipwreck.Announcing the news of the atheist’s death, conservative London newspaper The Courier reported, “Shelley, the writer of some infidel poetry, has been drowned. Now he knows whether or not there is a God.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the ‘Shelleybaits’ his contemporaries at Eton would bully him with; reveal the complex love triangle between Shelley, Mary’s sister Claire, and their infamous friend Lord Byron; and explain how, for two centuries now, Shelley’s death has been exaggerated and sentimentalized…Further Reading:• ‘Mysterious Drownings’ (History Today, 2012): https://www.historytoday.com/mysterious-drownings• ‘Death and destiny’ (The Guardian, 2004): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/24/featuresreviews.guardianreview1• ‘Talk: Peter Halstead on the Death of Shelley’ (Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuTHYzfrY04For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! 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

When Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti teamed up for their first joint performance on 7th July, 1990 in Rome, it was intended as a one-off collaboration to celebrate the FIFA World Cup. But the concert triggered instant worldwide fame for the trio, who became known as The Three Tenors, and their live recording became the biggest-selling classical album of all time.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how, by mixing showtunes with opera, the Tenors created the ‘classical crossover’ genre that spawned Russell Watson, Il Divo and Katherine Jenkins; explain how Carreras’ recovery from leukemia was the reason for the concert coming together; and reveal how their iconic Nessun Dorma encore was nearly not included at all…Further Reading:• ‘TENORS, ANYONE? THE BIG THREE ARE MAKING A MINT, BUT THAT DOESN'T NECCESSARILY CORRUPT THEIR ART’ (The Washington Post, 1995): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1995/10/29/tenors-anyone-the-big-three-are-making-a-mint-but-that-doesnt-neccessarily-corrupt-their-art/a0ab8ac1-5ea8-4487-85f7-f554681c0d70/• ‘Profile: The Three Tenors’ (The National, 2015): https://www.thenational.scot/news/14852450.profile-the-three-tenors/• ‘The Three Tenors sing "O Sole Mio" at Terme di Caracalla’ (1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvLZSgP0QMYFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'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

Rerun. Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development. The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response - warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife could expect a thrill of pleasure when she first sees a loaf of this bread with each slice the exact counterpart of its fellows.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this seismic event to the creation of the pop-up toaster in 1921; consider what it means to be ‘an itinerant jeweller’; and reveal the results of a survey of 30,000 housewives on optimum slice-width… Further Reading:• ‘The best thing since sliced bread’ (Jim Glynne, The Madera Tribune, 2018):http://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2018/07/07/the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread• Chillicothe, Missouri - ‘The Home of Sliced Bread’:http://www.homeofslicedbread.com/• ‘Sliced Bread: Where did it come from?’ on HowStuffWorks’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7oMc-L57cFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! 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

Amazon, created in the Seattle garage of Jeff Bezos, was incorporated on 5th July, 1994. Before Bezos had settled on the site’s name as a way of conveying the size and scope of the e-commerce platform he intended to build, his working titles had included Cadabra, Relentless, Awake, Browse and Bookmall.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Washington was chosen as the launch location for the company; reveal how Bezos was able to resell individual books from wholesalers without breaching any Ts & Cs; and compare notes on their first-ever Amazon purchases… Further Reading:• ‘Amazon Was Founded 25 Years Ago This Friday. Here's What the World Was Like When Jeff Bezos Incorporated the Company in 1994’ (Inc, 2019): https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/amazon-cadabra-jeff-bezos-25-year-anniversary-1994.html• ‘Olly Mann on “My Mate Bought a Toaster”’ (Tom Price, 2020): https://podfollow.com/1462168683/episode/50c5e6d3a7471bb569f375a2d8d65d0bdd39e6e4/view• ‘60 Minutes: Amazon’ (CBS, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv8MrBBuRqI… and look, there’s FIVE MINUTES+ MORE of us talking about the origins of Amazon, Bezos’s pitch to investors, and the time they turned down an offer from Howard Schulz at Starbuck’s, available exclusively to our supporters. Sign up now via Apple Subscriptions or Patreon* to hear it - and a bonus bit like it, every single week. Thanks!* https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Top two tiers only.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

Who invented the hamburger? It’s almost impossible to know, given that mincemeat has been consumed all around the world, and for centuries - but Oscar Bilby, of Tulsa, Oklahoma is a strong contender. On 4th July, 1891, he grilled a beef patty, and - for the first time in documented history -  PUT IT IN A BUN. And a Fourth of July tradition was born.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of the American burger back to 19th century sailors in New York; consider the claim to fame of rival ‘Hamburger Charlie’ (Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin); and recall the short-lived attempt by the American War effort to rid the hamburger of its German heritage…Further Reading:• ‘Where Hamburgers Began—and How They Became an Iconic American Food’ (HISTORY, 2014): https://www.history.com/news/hamburger-helpers-the-history-of-americas-favorite-sandwich• ‘History of Hamburgers’ (What’s Cooking America): https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/hamburgerhistory.htm• ‘An Animated History of the Hamburger’ (New York Magazine, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIjX8OPuf-wFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'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 British Empire gained a new colony on 1st July, 1946 - the kingdom of Sarawak. For over 100 years, it had been ruled as the personal fiefdom of a Devonshire family: the ‘White Rajahs’.‘Adventurer’ James Brooke had taken the territory in 1838, and then established a male, hierarchical, absolute monarchy in the country. His (increasingly eccentric) descendants enlarged the size of the country, but often spent more time in the UK than in their own nation.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the investigation of whether Brooke was excessively brutal towards the native people; consider whether he really was shot in his nethers, as has often been reported; and reveal the curious reason why his son refused to allow his children to eat jam… Further Reading:• ‘The last of the White Rajahs: The extraordinary story of the Victorian adventurer who subjugated a vast swathe of Borneo’ (Mail Online, 2011): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367066/The-White-Rajahs-The-extraordinary-story-Victorian-adventurer-subjugated-vast-swathe-Borneo.html• ‘The Sultan who owes his throne to a gay Englishman - by erinambersmith’ (Medium, ): https://medium.com/@erinambersmith/the-sultan-who-owes-his-throne-to-a-gay-englishman-171c85cad059• ‘Rajah Muda Anthony Brooke of Sarawak’ (interview, circa 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u0Fd0ofr4AFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back on Monday! 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