Today In History with The Retrospectors

Becoming Pharaoh at the age of 24, Ramesses ‘The Great’ II had his coronation on 31st May, 1279 BC - a fact we know because he had it chiselled into stone. Repeatedly.He lived until the age of 90 and reigned for 66 years - which gave him plenty of time to commission statues of himself, name towns after himself, and generally make sure that even in 2022 we have a reasonable idea of what he actually looked like. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why he was so keen on commemorating his achievements; consider what he had in common with Donald Trump; and ask just how young is too young to inherit an Empire…But the story of Ramesses doesn't end with today's episode... ... there's also the mysterious tale of what happened when he was DUG UP over 3,000 years later - as Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal in today's bonus bit, cut-for-time from the main show and exclusively available to supporters of the show. To hear it - and a bonus bit like it each and every week - subscribe to ‘The Bonus Pack’ on Apple Podcasts, or at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. Thanks!Further Reading:• ‘Was Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II Really That Great?’ (History Extra, 2019):https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/was-ramesses-ii-pharaoh-great-brilliant-why/• ‘Museum of the World: Statue of Ramesses II, The ‘Younger Memnon’’ (British Museum With Google): https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/object/statue-of-ramesses-ii-the-younger-memnon• ‘Ramses, Master of Diplomacy: Lost Treasures of Egypt ‘ (National Geographic, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDi51dEloLMWe'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

Hersheypark was created as a recreation ground for the workers and families who staffed the Hershey chocolate factory in Pennsylvania when it opened on 30th May, 1906. But visitors from across the State soon came to marvel at its playgrounds, boating lake and band-stand… and, before long, the environs began to morph into the chocolate-themed amusement park it remains to this day.Its success exemplifies the ‘Company Town’ phenomenon: at one point, 3% of the USA’s entire population lived in a town that was owned and run by the company that they worked for.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how caramel, not chocolate, first paved the way to Hershey’s success; debate whether Hersheypark was a philanthropic gift to his employees, or a cynical bid to keep them from leaving; and explain to Americans why Brits would prefer an attraction with less butyric acid… Further Reading:• ‘More Than 110 Years of Hersheypark Happy’ (Hershey, 2022): https://www.hersheypa.com/about-hershey/history/hersheypark-history.php• Milton Hershey, The Man Who Built A Chocolate Empire (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/milton-hershey• ‘From Sweet To Sweeter: The Legacy of Hersheypark’ (Hersheypark Enthusiast, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJlIYlPo38For 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 Sex Pistols’ anti-establishment single ‘God Save The Queen’ was banned by the BBC when it was re-released on 27th May, 1977 by Virgin Records - mischievously, to tie-in with the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.To rub salt in the wound, the band’s ‘art-school punk’ manager, Malcolm McLaren, arranged a boat procession outside the Houses of Parliament so the group could perform the song outside the heart of British government itself. They were then arrested.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Johnny Rotten and co were just as commercially savvy as they were sincerely punk activists; consider whether there are parts of the controversial lyrics which which conservative royalists might actually agree; and investigate whether the single (and not Rod Stewart’s ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’) *actually* got to Number 1 in the charts…Further Reading:• ‘The Story Behind The Song: 'God Save The Queen'’ (Far Out Magazine, 2020): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen-story-behind-the-song/• ‘Still a fascist regime? Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen reissued to mark platinum jubilee’ (The Guardian, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/03/still-a-fascist-regime-sex-pistols-god-save-the-queen-reissued-to-mark-platinum-jubilee• ‘The Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen - on the river Thames’ (Virgin Records, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHrUleT8HTsEnjoy this episode? There’s FOUR MINUTES MORE of Sex Pistols chat over on our supporters’ ad-free podcast feed. To get it - and a bonus bit like it every single week, just sign up to support the show via Apple Subscriptions or our top two tiers at https://patreon.com/Retrospectors.We'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: Alexa WeissmanCopyright: 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 a ragged, peculiar-looking teenage boy was found wandering the streets of Nuremberg on 26th May, 1828, it triggered a centuries-long quest to discover who he was, why he had (apparently) been raised in captivity, and (if so) whom had done such a thing to him. His name was Kasper Hauser.The newspapers went into overdrive, reporting every salacious detail: the boy refused to eat or drink anything apart from bread and water; he seemed astonished by mirrors and candles; he was overwhelmed by loud noises; he couldn’t hold metal; the odour of the graveyard sent him into fits… soon enough, he became one of the most famous people in all of Germany.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt, in our usual ten minutes, to unpick whether this is a story of child abuse, a fantastical imagination, a deceptive manipulator, or all of the above; explain why some of Hauser’s astonishing achievements are arguably *too* astonishing to be entirely genuine; and recall how his death was just as mysterious as his life… Further Reading:• ‘The Enduring 200-Year-Old Mystery Of Kaspar Hauser’ (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/kaspar-hauser• ‘The enigma of Kaspar Hauser: Secret prince, hoaxer, or victim?’ (Sky HISTORY): https://www.history.co.uk/articles/he-s-a-real-wild-child-the-enigma-of-kaspar-hauser-secret-prince-hoaxer-or-victim• ‘The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser - trailer’ (1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzxreLUzuUI&t=18sFor 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 first group of Australian sportspeople to ever represent the country overseas were an Aboriginal team of cricketers, who began an acclaimed tour of England on 25th May, 1868.The team had to face racism, illness and ignorance - but won the hearts of thousands of spectators, and the British establishment. They also did some awesome spear-throwing.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace back the story to Tom Wills, one of the inventors of Aussie-rules football; reveal why Charles Darwin played a role in inspiring the crowds of spectators; and explain how this pioneering team created the first indigenous cricketing stars in Australia...Further Reading:• ‘Aboriginal cricket: The first Australian tour of England, 1868’ (BBC, 2013):https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23225434• ‘Batting for the British Empire: The Role Cricket Played In Colonialism’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/cricket-colonialism-role-british-empire/• ‘Tom Wills, founder of Australian Football’ (Hallow Edition, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv6dAoUcSrMCONTENT WARNING: ​​Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that this podcast contains names of deceased people.For 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

California had virtually no reputation as an international wine-growing region until 24th May, 1976 - when 11 wine experts gathered at a Parisian hotel and decided, in a blind taste-test, that wines from Napa Valley were indeed more quaffable than France’s most famous varieties: a decision that shook up the world of wine, and became known as ‘The Judgement of Paris’.Upon realising how controversial her scoring would become, Odette Kahn, France’s most famous wine critic, even asked for her notes back.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why nobody predicted the rumpus that this event would cause; uncover how it paved the way for ‘new world’ wines to take centre stage; and reveal how it toppled careers in the French wine establishment… Further Reading• ‘Best French and California Wine—A Test That Changed a World’ (TIME, 2016): https://time.com/4342433/judgment-of-paris-time-magazine-anniversary/• Modern Living: Judgment of Paris’ (TIME, 1976): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,947719,00.html• ‘Judgement of Paris with Sir Peter Michael, Steven Spurrier and Gary Myatt’ (The Vineyard Hotel):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlCRWqNF4xEFor 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

Throwing people out of windows might seem a peculiar way to protest, but it’s happened so often in history, it’s got a special name: defenestration. And perhaps the most significant of all - because it brought about the Thirty Years War - was the assault on three Habsburg officials by Bohemian malcontents in Prague on 23rd May, 1618.The dispute had kicked off when Ferdinand II refused permission for some Protestants to build a new place of worship on a piece of land - and then granted it to Catholics instead. Dick move.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether ‘a bloodthirsty mob of Christians’ is a contradiction in terms; explain why 1618 was a bad year to take a secretarial job; and how, despite triggering the bloodiest war yet seen in Europe, Ferdinand II still managed to insert humour into proceedings… Further Reading:• ‘Defenestration: The Bloody History Of Throwing People Out Of A Window’ (All That’s Interesting, 2022): https://allthatsinteresting.com/defenestration• ‘What Happened At The 1618 Defenestration of Prague?’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/1618-defenestration-prague-facts-history-explained-what-happened-why-castle-protestant-catholic/• ‘The 30 Years' War (1618-48) and the Second Defenestration of Prague - Professor Peter Wilson’ (Gresham College, 2018):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7vxXfy09EA&t=134sFor 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

Motorcycling daredevil Evel Knievel had been keen on jumping the Grand Canyon since 1968, but never staged an actual attempt. On May 20th, 1999, however, his son Robbie performed the feat on live television - and lived to tell the tale.“I’m wiped out in the head a little”, he said, before being examined by paramedics, who applied a neck brace and flew him to the nearest hospital. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the extent to which Knievel, Jr had been motivated by his father’s ‘death-defying’ 1970s career; explain how Knievel, Sr became named ‘Evel’; and reveal how the Hualapai Indian Tribe became a footnote in this piece of sporting history…Further Reading:• ‘Daredevil Knievel clears Grand Canyon on motorcycle’ (The Guardian, 1999):https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/may/21/2• ‘Grand Canyon Stunts Over the Years’ (National Geographic, 2013): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/130622-grand-canyon-stunts-wallenda• ‘Robbie Knievel Jumps The Grand Canyon’ (Fox Sports, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_cqmCtZmpI&t=2160sFor 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: Emma Corsham.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

Over 100 million Rubik’s Cubes were sold in just a few short years at the onset of the 1980s - a phenomenon kickstarted on 19th May, 1974, when Hungarian Professor of Architecture Ernő Rubik supposedly created the prototype for his ‘Magic Cube’.It took him a month to solve himself - a feat which seems unimpressive in a world where the current record stands at under six seconds.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Ideal Toys saw the unlikely potential in the unprecedented ‘spacial logic toy’ Rubik had created; reveal just how many knockoffs and spinoffs were generated by its incredible success; and explain why there are 519 quintillion reasons to be sceptical about this being a truly significant date in Rubik’s history… Further Reading:• ‘Rubik's Cube - A History of the 1980s Puzzle’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-rubiks-cube-1779400• ‘On this Day, in 1974: the “Magic Cube” was invented by Ernő Rubik’ (Kafkadesk, 2021): https://kafkadesk.org/2021/05/19/on-this-day-in-1974-the-magic-cube-was-invented-by-erno-rubik/• ‘Rubik's Cube Commercials through the years!’ (Rubik’s, 2021):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNGg8FdLxsAWant more? There’s OVER FIVE MINUTES of Rubik’s fun, cut for time from today’s episode, exclusively available to our podcast’s supporters. For this, and bonus content each and every week, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or sign up to our top two tiers on Patreon:https://patreon.com/Retrospectors. 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

Atheist, homosexual, heretic… the slurs levelled at popular playwright Christopher Marlowe came thick and fast after he was arrested on 18th May, 1593. Just twelve days later, he was murdered in a London tavern.His former roomate, Thomas Kyd, pointed the finger at Marlowe after being tortured following the discovery of a ‘treasonous’ pamphlet in his home. Perhaps for the first time in Marlowe’s career, the privy council (who had, probably, been employing him as a spy) did not come to his rescue and drop the charges.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what (supposedly) caused the row in the tavern that escalated to homicide; consider Marlowe’s giddy rise from shoemaker’s son to Cambridge graduate; and revisit some of the fruitier heresies in which he was alleged to engage… Further Reading:• ‘Christopher Marlowe’ (Poetry Foundation): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/christopher-marlowe• ‘New twist to Marlowe's murder riddle’ (The Guardian, 2001): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/01/books.humanities• ‘MINI BIO: Christopher Marlowe - Elizabethean Dramatist’ (Biography, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbWeIkgF-gFor 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: Alexa Weissman.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