Today In History with The Retrospectors

Why do we say ‘God Bless You’ when we sneeze? Some historians trace it back to 16th February, 600 - and a decree supposedly issued by the pun-loving, God-fearing Pope Gregory to ward off the effects of the plague that had killed his predecessor.(Sadly, Gregory’s other idea to fight off the disease wasn’t quite so successful - he organized a parade through Rome, and 80 people in the crowd spread the symptoms to each other, subsequently dying.)In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how locals respond to sneezes in Serbia, China, Russia and Tanzania; consider whether commenting on someone else’s bodily functions is unwelcome, or a ‘micro-affection’; and imagine a world with a more upbeat style of Gregorian chanting…Further Reading:• ‘This is the REAL reason we say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes… and it’s not because of the Plague’ – (The Sun, 2016): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1158748/this-is-the-real-reason-we-say-bless-you-when-someone-sneezes-and-its-not-because-of-the-plague-2/• ‘Why do we say 'bless you' or 'gesundheit' when people sneeze?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2021): https://people.howstuffworks.com/sneezing.htm• ‘Should People Say 'Bless You'?’ (The Real Daytime, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6BzhCDccUFor 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.#600s #Religion #Person #Strange #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TV chef Delia Smith built a stellar career on the success spawned from her first book, ‘How To Cheat At Cooking’ in 1971. So, when she published a reboot on 15th February, 2008, it seemed a shoo-in to sell bucketloads (which it did) - but not, perhaps, attract controversy (which it REALLY did).By seemingly encouraging the chattering classes to buy ready-mixed and frozen food, she was accused of having betrayed her audience of foodies. And that was BEFORE she turned up on telly pouring tinned mince into a Shepherd’s Pie…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly test out Delia’s ‘cheat’ Moroccan chicken; unpick whether the backlash was classist in nature; and reveal just how much culinary ‘cheating’ has changed since the first book in the ‘70s… Further Reading:• ‘The demonising of St Delia: How her cheat recipes provoked an extraordinary backlash’ (Mail Online, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-533565/The-demonising-St-Delia-How-cheat-recipes-provoked-extraordinary-backlash.html• ‘Happy 80th birthday, Delia Smith! 10 lessons she has taught us – from eggs to lemon zesters’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jun/18/happy-80th-birthday-delia-smith-10-lessons-she-has-taught-us-from-eggs-to-lemon-zesters• ‘Delia’s How To Cheat: Shepherd’s Pie’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIoeEJTPpQAFor 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#2000s #Food #Person TV #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rockettes kicked off a celebrity line-up including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli, Jimmy Stewart, Al Pacino and Miss Piggy at ‘The Night of 100 Stars’, a benefit for the Actors Fund of America recorded on 14th February, 1982 at Radio City Music Hall, New York. A night of sheer glitz and excess, the true tally of stars on-stage totalled 206 - but perhaps that’s what you’d expect for $1000 per ticket and a bum-numbing running time of five-and-a-half hours.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question the star-counting mechanic for the New York Yankees; explain how the assasination of Abraham Lincoln inspired the foundation of the Actor’s Fund in 1882; and marvel at the long-windedness of this televised tribute to the charity’s centenary…Further Reading:• ‘Bask in the Bewildering '80s Glamour of 'Night of 100 Stars'’ (Jezebel, 2016): https://jezebel.com/bask-in-the-bewildering-80s-glamour-of-night-of-100-sta-1759236215/amp• ‘Glamor Glut’ (The Washington Post, 1982): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/02/16/glamor-glut/7ff21880-5540-4c20-acb4-fa5832781184/• ‘VIDEO: The Night of 100 Stars’ (ABC, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkgaJobbIPgThere’s more! If you enjoyed this chat, support the show now on Apple Podcasts or Patreon* to access SEVEN MINUTES more of bonus content all about The Night of 100 Stars - including the medley of forgotten musicals, Liza Minelli’s show-starting show-stopper, and the audience reaction to Robin Williams.*top two tiers onlyThe 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 2021.#80s #Theatre #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first women’s public toilets in London opened on Bedford St on 11th February, 1852 - attempting to capitalize on the success of George Jennings’ ‘monkey closets’, used by over 800,000 visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition.Unfortunately, even though the facility had been fought for by campaigning women’s sanitary organizations, middle and upper class Victorian ladies were not yet prepared to pee in public - and the toilets closed a year later.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain where the phrase ‘spending a penny’ (probably) comes from; reveal why ‘the urinary leash’ came to describe the predicament of women’s lives; and investigate why the number of 21st century public toilets continues to fall… Further Reading:• ‘Pamphlets of the Ladies Sanitary Association’ (Wellcome Collection): https://wellcomecollection.org/works?query=%22Ladies+Sanitary+Association.%22• ‘London's long-term lav affair: A history of public toilets in the capital’ (BBC News, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-59785477• ‘Victorian realities - how did they use the toilet??!’ (Prior Attire, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHeSTDv_24Enjoy this episode? There is SIX MINUTES MORE available to our subscribers on Apple Podcasts and our top two tiers of supporters via Patreon. Sign up now to support the show and receive bonus content every single week!#1800s #Victorian #Sexism #Inventions #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Violent ‘town versus gown’ confrontations have been part of Oxford life ever since the University was founded - but reached an ignominious peak on 10th February, 1355, when almost 100 people were massacred in what became known as the ‘St Scholastica’s Day Riot’.The killing spree began as a brawl in a bar. When a pair of students at the Swindlestock Tavern complained about the quality of the wine, the Landlord responded with “saucie language” - and the students by bottling him. Then, it escalated. A lot.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate how the blood-letting was preceded by decades of tension in the city; explain why such events explain the foundation of Cambridge University; and reveal why the fight was still being discussed in Parliament, some six hundred years later…Further Reading:• ‘Rioting over wine led to 90 deaths’ (Oxford Mail, 2011): https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9200746.rioting-wine-led-90-deaths/• ‘St. Scholastica Day Riot: When English People Killed Dozens Over The Taste Of Wine’ (History Daily): https://historydaily.org/st-scholastica-day-riot-facts-stories-trivia• ‘The St. Scholastica's Day Riot’ (The History Guy, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3qPzNcJKQMFor 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1300s #Strange #Macabre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chester Racecourse hosted Britain’s first ever recorded horse-racing meet on 9th February, 1539. The winner received a set of silver bells to hang from their bridal.Mayor Henry Gee had come up with the idea as a replacement for the traditional Shrove Tuesday football match - which he’d banned for being too riotous and violent.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate the folk etymology of ‘Gee Gees’; explain why the Royals were responsible for robbing the North of its equestrian edge; and reveal why Oliver Cromwell took objection to a day at the races… Further Reading:• ‘History - Chester Racecourse’ (chester-races.com): https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/• ‘Shrove Tuesday football: “No quarter asked nor given”' (BBC News, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310• ‘Horrible Histories, HHTV Tudor Horse Racing’ (CBBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XYImage: John S Turner and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#Sport #1500s #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Diners Club, the world’s first credit card, was used for the first time at Major’s Cabin Grill in New York City on February 8th, 1950. Perhaps at odds with the debonair image the company went on to cultivate, the first iteration was made of cardboard, and required three signatories. Frank X McNamara claimed to have invented the product after previously dining at Major’s and realizing to his horror that he’d left his wallet at home. By the end of their first year in business, Diners Club signed up 42,000 card holders.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick the role of Diners Club’s PR man Matty Simmonds in the company’s compelling origin story; commend the savviness of the start-up for targeting wealthy diners at elite restaurants; and explain why, in 1950s America, credit was a man’s game… Photo: The National Museum of American History / Flickr CCFurther Reading: ‘When Were Credit Cards Invented: The History of Credit Cards’ (Forbes Advisor, 2021): https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/ ‘The surprising history of credit cards: How this tech has evolved and where it's headed’ (CNET, 2022): https://www.cnet.com/features/the-history-of-credit-cards/ ‘How Credit Cards Were Invented’ (NPR Planet Money, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IksSNiEo2gFor 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Science #Inventions #Food #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inventing the internet and pioneering satellite navigation, U.S. government agency DARPA has had an illustrious history since being founded by President Eisenhower (as the Advanced Research Projects Agency) on February 7th, 1958. Created in response to the Soviets launching Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, its mission, which continues to this day, is ‘to prevent technological surprise.’In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how DARPA helped create the humble computer mouse; explain how former Nazi Wernher von Braun found his way to the head of this supposedly All-American organisation; and look forward to a world of self-sustaining surveillance robots eating us out of house and home…Further Reading: ‘Fifty years of DARPA: A surprising history’ (New Scientist, 2008): https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13908-fifty-years-of-darpa-a-surprising-history/ ‘The Nazi Science That Fed the Apollo 11 Moon Landing’ (Time, 2019): https://time.com/5627637/nasa-nazi-von-braun/ ‘3 of the strangest projects DARPA has worked on’ (Tech Insider, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hSs0S5FVx8 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#50s #Inventions #Technology #Russia #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America’s greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979.Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies!In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff…Further Reading: ‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history ’When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag’ (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/ ‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen’ (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#70s #Sport #Person #Funny #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The women of the Wild West mostly spent their lives laundering men’s clothes, bringing up children, and avoiding getting caught in the crossfire - but that didn’t stop a legend forming around them; not least dime novel heroine and ‘Bandit Queen’ Belle Starr, who was murdered on 3rd February, 1889.The ‘outlaw’ was riding home, two days before her 41st birthday, eating a piece of cornbread, when she was blasted off her horse. And then shot again, in the face. But mystery still surrounds the identity of her killer.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fallout from the civil war shaped Starr’s life; ask whether ostrich plumes, rattlesnake rattles and dried earlobes could come back into fashion; and explain what Tom Starr’s gang had in common with Elton John… Further Reading: ‘Belle Starr the Bandit Queen: How a Southern Girl Became a Legendary Western Outlaw’ (Atlas Obscura, 2013): https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/belle-starr-the-bandit-queen ‘Belle Starr The Badass "Bandit Queen" Of The Wild West’ (allthatsinteresting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/belle-starr ‘Belle Starr's Crazy Life Story & Grave!’ (Rhetty for History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2XLrY0cuJ8For 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.#1800s #Person #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices