Hypatia, one of the earliest female mathematicians and astronomers, was among the greatest. This episode explores her life and achievements, debunking misconceptions and exploring inaccuracies in historical records. It delves into the hostile treatment faced by heretics, the tragic events leading to her murder, and the decline of Alexandria's intellectual tradition after her death. Despite her untimely end, Hypatia's legacy as a female scholar and her impact on science and philosophy are recognized.

The hosts discuss repatriations and seized items, the mystery of Shakespeare's varnisher, Pro Bowl games and Egyptian artifacts, creating a drink and painting fiends, co-authorship and cultural significance, and hand axes in this entertaining podcast.

  Finishing out discussion of things literally and figuratively dug up in the last months of 2023, we're covering shipwrecks, art, animals, and the miscellaneous category we call potpourri. Research: Alberge, Dalya. “That’s not a potato: mystery of Egyptian treasures found buried in grounds of Scottish school.” The Guardian. 11/19/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/19/thats-not-a-potato-mystery-of-egyptian-treasures-found-buried-in-grounds-of-scottish-school Anderson, Sonja. “This Mysterious Hillside Carving Is Actually Hercules, Researchers Say.” Smithsonian. 1/2/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/england-cerne-abbas-giant-is-really-hercules-once-used-to-rally-troops-180983522/ “Runestones reveal the power of a Viking queen.” Phys.org. 10/13/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-runestones-reveal-power-viking-queen.html Babbs, Verity. “Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Baths Beneath a Museum in Croatia.” Artnet. 12/12/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/roman-baths-split-croatia-2406697 Babbs, Verity. “The $4 N.C. Wyeth Painting Finally Sold—for Real This Time.” ArtNet. 12/19/2023. https://news.artnet.com/market/wyeth-thrift-store-painting-finally-sold-2411412 Fordham, Alice. “Fossil footprints in New Mexico suggest humans have been here longer than we thought.” NPR. 10/7/2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/10/07/1204031535/fossil-footprints-in-new-mexico-suggest-humans-have-been-here-longer-than-we-tho Innes-Leroux, Matthew. “Evidence from the remains of 1918 flu pandemic victims contradicts long-held belief that healthy young adults were particularly vulnerable.” EurekAlert. 10/9/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1003882 Jeffrey S. Pigati et al. ,Independent age estimates resolve the controversy of ancient human footprints at White Sands.Science382,73-75(2023).DOI:10.1126/science.adh5007 Kuta, Sarah. “Metal Detectorist Unearths Bronze Age Jewelry in Swiss Carrot Field.” Smithsonian. 10/20/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bronze-age-jewelry-uncovered-in-carrot-field-in-switzerland-180983109/ Kuta, Sarah. “New U.S. Quarter Honors Maria Tallchief, America’s First Prima Ballerina.” Smithsonian. 11/3/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/osage-ballerina-maria-tallchief-featured-on-the-us-quarter-180983186/ Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “How a Scottish Schoolboy Digging for Potatoes Uncovered a Trove of Egyptian Antiquities.” Artnet News. 11/20/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/school-boy-digging-for-potatoes-finds-egyptian-antiquities-2396736 Lawson-Tancred, Jo. “How Do You Make $191,000 From a $4 Painting? You Don’t.” ArtNet. 11/29/2023. https://news.artnet.com/market/nc-wyeth-thrift-store-painting-didnt-sell-2400888 Lisbeth M. Imer et al, A lady of leadership: 3D-scanning of runestones in search of Queen Thyra and the Jelling Dynasty, Antiquity (2023). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2023.108 Martin, Nick. “The White Sands discovery only confirms what Indigenous people have said all along.” High Country News. 9/24/2021. https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.11/indigenous-affairs-archaeology-the-white-sands-discovery-only-confirms-what-indigenous-people-have-said-all-along Matthew R. Bennett et al. ,Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum.Science373,1528-1531(2021).DOI:10.1126/science.abg7586 Morcom Thomas and Helen Gittos. “The Cerne Giant in Its Early Medieval Context.” Speculum. Vol. 99, No. 1. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/727992#_i9 Nowakowski, Teresa. “New Memorial Honors Victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.” Smithsonian. 10/25/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-memorial-honors-the-victims-of-the-triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-180983081/ Olaya, Vicente. “The Roman well-cleaner who lost a sandal 2,000 years ago in Spain.” El Pais. 10/17/2023. https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-10-17/the-roman-well-cleaner-who-lost-a-sandal-2000-years-ago-in-spain.html Paterson, Colin. “Shakespeare found, claims Norfolk theatre.” BBC. 10/4/2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67007980 Reed, Betsy. “New Mexico footprints are oldest sign of humans in Americas, research shows.” The Guardian. 10/6/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/06/footprints-humans-americas-oldest-sign-new-mexico Richard E. Bevins et al, The Stonehenge Altar Stone was probably not sourced from the Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh Basin: Time to broaden our geographic and stratigraphic horizons?, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104215 Schrader, Adam. “Hundreds of Artifacts Stolen From the British Museum May Have Been Sold for Scrap.” ArtNet. 12/12/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/british-museum-independent-review-complete-after-massive-theft-2407800 Sherwood, Harriet. “Archaeologists uncover rare 18th-century cold bath under Bath Assembly Rooms.” The Guardian. 10/8/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/08/archaeologists-uncover-rare-18th-century-cold-bath-under-bath-assembly-rooms Smail, Gretchen. “Did Shakespeare Perform on These Newly Discovered Floorboards?” Smithsonian. 10/10/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-shakespeare-perform-on-these-floorboards-180983033/ The History Blog. “Excavation of 6th c. folding chair complete.” 10/18/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68535 The History Blog. “Medieval skeleton with prosthetic hand found in Bavaria.” 8/28/2023. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68609 University of Oxford. “New research shows the Cerne Abbas Giant was a muster station for King Alfred's armies.” Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-cerne-abbas-giant-muster-station.html Wade, Lizzie. “Human footprints near ice age lake suggest surprisingly early arrival in the Americas.” Science. 9/23/2021. https://www.science.org/content/article/human-footprints-near-ice-age-lake-suggest-surprisingly-early-arrival-americas Wei-Haas, Maya. “New Evidence That Ancient Footprints Push Back Human Arrival in North America.” New York Times. 10/5/2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/science/footprints-tracks-new-mexico-age.html Whiddington, Richard. “A Norwegian Family Went Searching for a Lost Earring in Their Backyard. They Found Viking Artifacts Instead.” Artnet News. 10/20/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/norway-viking-brooches-2374065 Davis, Nicola. “Seaweed was common food in Europe for thousands of years, researchers find.” The Guardian. 10/17/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/17/seaweed-was-common-food-in-europe-for-thousands-of-years-researchers-find University of York. “Study reveals our European ancestors ate seaweed and freshwater plants.” Phys.org. 10/17/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-reveals-european-ancestors-ate-seaweed.html University of Vienna. “Archaeologists discover 5,000-year-old wine at the tomb of Meret-Neith in Abydos.” Phys.org. 10/9/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-archaeologists-year-old-wine-tomb-meret-neith.html Schrader, Adam. “Archaeologists Excavating the Tomb of Egypt’s First Female Pharaoh Found Hundreds of Jars Still Holding Remnants of Wine.” ArtNet. 10/18/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/egypt-pharaoh-merneiths-2373062 Pflughoeft, Aspen. “1,900-year-old winery — that made drinks for ancient Romans — found in France. See it.” Miami Herald via Yahoo News. 11/30/2023. https://news.yahoo.com/1-900-old-winery-made-203204865.html University of York. “Early Neolithic farmers arriving on the Baltic coast bucked trends and incorporated fish into their diets.” Phys.org. 10/17/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-early-neolithic-farmers-baltic-coast.html Public Library of Science. “Mummified poop reveals pre-Columbian cultures of the Caribbean consumed a diversity of plants.” Phys.org. 11/11/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-mummified-poop-reveals-pre-columbian-cultures.html Jelissa Reynoso-García, Jelissa, et al. “Edible flora in pre-Columbian Caribbean coprolites: Expected and unexpected data.” PLoS One. 10/11/2023. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292077 Elysha McBride et al, What Bit the Ancient Egyptians? Niche Modelling to Identify the Snakes Described in the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus, Environmental Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1080/14614103.2023.2266631 Winder, Isabelle Catherine and Wolfgang Wüster. “Ancient Egypt had far more venomous snakes than the country today, according to new study of a scroll.” Phys.org. 10/17/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-ancient-egypt-venomous-snakes-country.html Binswanger, Julia. “This Ancient Egyptian Burial Chamber Was Filled With Spells to Ward Off Snake Bites.” Smithsonian. 11/14/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-egyptian-burial-chamber-was-filled-with-spells-to-ward-off-snake-bites-180983247/ Janssen, Tom. “Study shows beavers had a big influence on how people in the Stone Age lived.” Phys.org. 10/17/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-beavers-big-people-stone-age.html Siehoff, Jonas. “Early humans hunted beavers, 400,000 years ago.” EurekAlert. 11/29/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1009496 Langley, Michelle et al. “Bringing a shark to a knife fight: 7,000-year-old shark-tooth knives discovered in Indonesia.” Phys.org. 10/27/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-shark-knife-year-old-shark-tooth-knives.html Dietz, Helena. “On the trail of a great mystery.” EurekAlert. 10/24/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1005687 University of Konstanz. “Origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt” ScienceDaily. 10/24/2023. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231024110554.htm Binswanger, Julia. “Ancient Egyptians Kept Baboons in Captivity and Mummified Their Remains.” Smithsonian. 12/11/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/study-shows-ancient-egyptians-worshiped-baboons-but-gave-them-poor-living-conditions-180983391/ Meiling, Chen. “Archaeologists uncover rare sheep-drawn carriage in Xi'an.” China Daily. 10/26/2023. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202310/26/WS653a3b80a31090682a5eaf07.html Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav et al. “The Origins of Saddles and Riding Technology in East Asia: Discoveries from the Mongolian Altai.” Antiquity (2023): 1–17. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/origins-of-saddles-and-riding-technology-in-east-asia-discoveries-from-the-mongolian-altai/95BA971FD64B2A7544D4BEF6694A8E14 “Earliest 'true' saddle in east Asia discovered.” Phys.org. 11/11/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-earliest-true-saddle-east-asia.html Lavery, Ryan. “Researchers, Coast Salish people analyze 160-year-old indigenous dog pelt in the Smithsonian’s collection.” EurekAlert. 12/14/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1010435 Strickland, Ashley. “Rare ‘treasure box’ of French letters opened and read after 265 years.” CNN. 11/6/2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/06/world/french-letters-national-archives-scn/index.html Chien, Min. “French Love Letters, Sealed for 265 Years, Are Opened—and Read—for the First Time.” ArtNet. 11/14/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/french-love-letters-written-during-seven-years-war-read-for-the-first-time-2392940 Fee, Jenny. “UPDATED: Owner of Pageturners sells mysterious 318-year-old Bible to local collector.” Independent Advocate. 11/12/2023. https://www.indianola-ia.com/news/updated-owner-of-pageturners-sells-mysterious-318-year-old-bible-to-local-collector/article_3cec849e-7698-11ee-8fee-538f106de6d6.html D'Angelo, Bob. “Bible printed in 1705 discovered in Iowa retirement home.” Boston 25. 11/15/2023. https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/bible-printed-1705-discovered-iowa-retirement-home/3TCHA336WVHFTEZKF7XSP5SWZ4/ KCRG Staff. “Bible older than the US found in Indianola retirement home.” https://www.kcrg.com/2023/11/15/bible-older-than-us-found-indianola-retirement-home/ Rivers Cofield, Sara. “Bennett's Bronze Bustle.” Commitment to Costumes blog. 2/17/2014. https://commitmentocostumes.blogspot.com/2014/02/bennetts-bronze-bustle.html “'Cryptogram' in a silk dress tells a weather story.” 12/14/2023. https://www.noaa.gov/heritage/stories/cryptogram-in-silk-dress-tells-weather-story The History Blog. “3rd c. Roman shipwreck recovered whole from seabed.” 10/9/2023. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68464 Kuta, Sarah. “100-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered 800 Feet Below Lake Superior.” Smithsonian. 10/17/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/100-year-old-shipwreck-discovered-in-lake-superior-180983083/ Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. “Shipwreck Society Discovers a World War One Era Steel Bulk Freighter 100 Years after it sinks.” https://shipwreckmuseum.com/shipwreck-society-discovers-a-world-war-one-era-steel-bulk-freighter-100-years-after-it-sinks/ Williams, Ashley R. “‘An incredible find’: Florida road crews discover 19th-century boat buried in St. Augustine.” CNN. 10/14/2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/14/us/florida-19th-century-boat-st-augustine-trnd/index.html Kuta, Sarah. “Father and Daughter Discover 152-Year-Old Shipwreck While Fishing in Green Bay.” Smithsonian. 12/18/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/father-and-daughter-discover-152-year-old-shipwreck-while-fishing-in-green-bay-180983468/ “San Jose galleon: Shipwreck to be recovered with billions in treasure.” 11/12/2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/67342273 Shuttleworth, Peter. “Newport medieval ship's timber dated to within months.” BBC. 11/3/2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67302907 Bryant, Miranda. “‘We have a lot of cracks’: Swedes seek to save Vasa warship – again.” The Guardian. 12/26/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/27/we-have-a-lot-of-cracks-swedes-seek-to-save-vasa-warship-again Kuta, Sarah. “117-Year-Old Shipwreck Found in Puget Sound.” Smithsonian. 11/27/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-in-puget-sound-180983317/ Kuta, Sarah. “Anchor From 1906 Shipwreck Found in Florida.” Smithsonian. 12/8/2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/anchor-from-1906-shipwreck-found-in-florida-180983394/ The History Blog. “Obsidian from Neolithic shipwreck recovered off Capri.” 11/23/2023. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68849 The History Blog. “Europe’s oldest functioning compass found in Estonia wreck.” 11/25/2023. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/68863 Cascone, Sarah. “A Secret Room in a 16th-Century Italian Chapel, Where Michelangelo Hid—and Drew—for Months, Opens to the Public.” Artnet. 10/31/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/michelangelo-secret-room-museum-of-medici-chapels-2387647 Olson, Amy. “A 15th century French painting depicts an ancient stone tool.” EurekAlert. 10/17/2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1005048 Key, Alastair et al. “Acheulean Handaxes in Medieval France: An Earlier ‘Modern’ Social History for Palaeolithic Bifaces.” Cambridge Archaeological Journal (2023): 1–17. Web. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-archaeological-journal/article/acheulean-handaxes-in-medieval-france-an-earlier-modern-social-history-for-palaeolithic-bifaces/14EF16E3BBAAE1A14CEA98BB3997C6C3 Whiddington, Richard. “This 15th-Century Painting Might Actually Depict a Prehistoric Tool, New Research Suggests.” Artnet. 10/29/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/prehistoric-hand-axe-fouquet-painting-2383607 National Trust. “The devil in the detail: A fiend re-emerges from the canvas of a painting by Joshua Reynolds.” 10/30/2023. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/services/media/fiend-re-emerges-from-the-canvas-of-joshua-reynolds-painting See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Updates on previous episodes, ongoing research on Stonehenge and fossilized footprints, work of W. Montague Cobb, historical findings and discoveries, mysterious Egyptian artifacts at Melville House, ancient diets and culinary practices, renaming of species and listener emails.

Benjamin Banneker, a man of color in Colonial America, overcame limited formal education. He became an accomplished scholar, publishing respected almanacs, surveying Washington DC, and excelling in math, mechanics, astronomy, and music. Banneker's clockmaking, friendship with the Ellicott family, activism against slavery, and correspondence with Thomas Jefferson are also discussed. His challenges to the founding fathers' talk on equality and his legacy as an early abolitionist are explored.

Holly and Tracy discuss actuarial science's influence on other fields, the book 'The Player,' and insurance mentions in Terry Pratchett's writing. They also reflect on challenges in paying insurance premiums, saving money, and the concept of non-profit driven essential services. The speaker shares regrets of a trip to London and appreciation for everyday necessities. Additionally, they talk about winter sports, diabetes management, unsolved murders, and sibling connections.

This podcast explores the challenges faced by early insurance companies in the 18th and 19th centuries. It also discusses the origin of actuarial science, the duties of early actuaries, and the contributions of William Morgan. Additionally, it addresses the publication of a more accurate mortality table and the challenges faced by the actuarial sciences and insurance industry in the 20th century.

Learn about the birth of actuarial science and life insurance, including the development of population tables, the origins of one-year term life insurance, and the advancements in the insurance field. Discover the role of data analysis in studying population trends, explore the laws of probability in insurance, and uncover interesting tidbits like recipes for frozen Roo and gazpacho.

Renowned scientist Alfred Wegener discusses the controversy surrounding his theory of continental drift. Topics include historical dispute, Wegener's background, observation of continental drift, theories of continental movement, continued work and treacherous expedition, and personal life and career.

Tracy and Holly discuss their use of calendars and their dislike of certain birds. They explore the history of day planners, the controversy surrounding introduced birds, and the effectiveness of animal eradication projects.