Stuff You Missed in History Class

Copyright: 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

Latest Episodes:

James Braid, Surgeon and Father of Hypnotism Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

Braid is known for his work in hypnotism. But he was also a surgeon with a reputation for pioneering new treatments before he became fascinated with the scientific underpinnings of mesmerism.

Research:

Braid, James, and Arthur Edward Waite, ed. “Braid on hypnotism. Neurypnology; or, The rationale of nervous sleep considered in relation to animal magnetism or mesmerism and illustrated by numerous cases of its successful application in the relief and cure of disease.” London. George Redway. 1899. https://archive.org/details/braidonhypnotism00brai/page/n7/mode/2up
“Clubfoot.” Cleveland Clinic. July 6, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16889-clubfoot
Crabtree A. “1784: The Marquis de Puységur and the psychological turn in the west.” J Hist Behav Sci.2019;55:199–215. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.21974
Fletcher, George. “James Braid Of Manchester.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 2, no. 3590, 1929, pp. 776–77. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25334090
Hull, Clark L. “Hypnotism in Scientific Perspective.” The Scientific Monthly, vol. 29, no. 2, 1929, pp. 154–62. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/14677
“Hypnotism.” Yorkville Enquirer. Feb. 23, 1860. https://www.newspapers.com/image/339341468/?match=1&terms=James%20Braid
Lafontaine’s Third Conversazione on Mesmerism.” The Manchester Times and Manchester and Salford Advertiser and Chronicle. Nov. 20, 1841. https://www.newspapers.com/image/406088965/?match=1&terms=lafontaine
Loudon, I. “Why are (male) surgeons still addressed as Mr?.” BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 321,7276 (2000): 1589-91. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1589
Macklis, R M. “Magnetic healing, quackery, and the debate about the health effects of electromagnetic fields.” Annals of internal medicine 118,5 (1993): 376-83. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-118-5-199303010-00009
Martin, Christy. “Mesmerized.” Science History Institute. Dec. 6, 2011. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/mesmerized/
Bramwell, J. Milne. “Hypnotism and treatment by suggestion.” New York. Da Capo Press. 1982. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/hypnotismandtre00bramgoog/page/n6/mode/1up
Rouse, Tyler. “The brief and strange history of mesmerism and surgery.” Hektoen International. Winter 2019. https://hekint.org/2018/12/24/the-brief-and-strange-history-of-mesmerism-and-surgery/
Sandby, George. “Mesmerism and its opponents.” London. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. 1848. https://archive.org/details/mesmerismandits01sandgoog
“Sudden Death of Mr. James Braid, Surgeon.” The Guardian. March 26, 1860. https://www.newspapers.com/image/257847287/?match=1&terms=James%20Braid
Weidow, Brandy, M.S. “James Braid.” Ebsco. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/james-braid
Yeates, Lindsay Bertram. “James Braid: Surgeon, Gentleman Scientist, and Hypnotist.” University of New South Wales, Sydney. 2013. https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/entities/publication/7573cb34-ceb9-41bb-a8b1-0951e93fdd10

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gladys Bentley Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

Gladys Bentley was a part of the Harlem Renaissance as a performer – she played piano and sang in ways that drew huge crowds starting in the 1920s, and she was completely out as a lesbian. But her story takes some surprising turns.

Research:

Adkins, Judith. “These People Are Frightened to Death.” Prologue Magazine. National Archives. Summer 2016. Vol. 48, No. 2. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/summer/lavender.html
Britannica Editors. "rent party". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Nov. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/topic/rent-party
Chase, Bill. “House Rent Parties Were an Institution.” New York Age. Oct. 29, 1949. https://www.newspapers.com/image/40993834/?match=1&terms=Gladys%20Bentley
Church, Moira Mahoney. “If This Be Sin: Gladys Bentley And The Performance Of Identity.” University of South Carolia. (Theses and Dissertations.) 2018. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5705&context=etd
“Colored Detective Lieutenant Acquitted of Murder Charge.” Philadelphia Tribune. Aug. 4, 1927. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1135383911/?match=1&terms=Maceo%20Sheffield
The Doll House advertisement. Dec. 12, 1947. https://www.newspapers.com/image/580248504/?match=1&terms=Gladys%20Bentley
“Gladys Bentley, Entertainer, Dies.” Alabama Tribune. Montgomery, Alabama. February 12, 1960. https://www.newspapers.com/image/554602763/?clipping_id=66402293
“Harlem’s Gladys Alberta Bentley, Friend Of Cary Grant, Stanwyck, And Others, Way ‘Out’ Ahead Of Her Time.” Harlem World. June 24, 2023 https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/harlems-gladys-alberta-bentley-friend-of-cary-grant-stanwyck-and-others-way-out-ahead-of-her-time/
“J.T. Gipson Dead.” California Eagle. July 17, 1952. https://www.newspapers.com/image/693556889/?clipping_id=172230200
Levette, Harry. “Movie Lots Gossip.” The Call. Aug, 22, 1952. https://www.newspapers.com/image/957555211/?match=1&terms=%22Never%20Married%20to%20Gladys%20Bentley%22
Moses, Alvin. “Alvin Moses Says.” Chicago Defender. Dec. 30, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1135809373/?match=1&terms=Gladys%20Bentley
“New York Police Launch Drive on Harlem Cafes.” The Chicago Defender. March 17, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1136311398/?match=1&terms=Gladys%20bentley
Onion, Rebecca. “An Affectionate 1932 Illustrated Map of Harlem Nightlife.” Slate. April 15, 2016. https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/04/e-simms-campbell-s-1932-illustrated-map-of-harlem-nightlife.html
Roy, Rob. “’8 to the Bar,’ Style Gladys Bentley Made Famous, a World Favorite Today.” The Chicago Defender. May 14, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1135895140/?match=1&terms=Gladys%20Bentley
Russonello, Giovanni. “Gladys Bentley.” New York Times. Overlooked. 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/obituaries/gladys-bentley-overlooked.html
Shah, Haleema. “The Great Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke All the Rules.” Smithsonian. March 14, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/great-blues-singer-gladys-bentley-broke-rules-180971708/
“Wales Padlock Law Censors Risque Theater.” EBSCO. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/wales-padlock-law-censors-risque-theater
Wilson, James F. “Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies PERFORMANCE, RACE, AND SEXUALITY IN THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE.” University of Michigan Press. 2010.
Winchell, Walter. “On Broadway.” Evening Courier. Feb. 6, 1933. https://www.newspapers.com/image/480106281/?match=1&terms=%22Gladys%20Bentley%22
Yaeger, Patricia. “Editor’s Note: Bulldagger Sings the Blues.” PMLA, vol. 124, no. 3, 2009, pp. 721–26. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25614318

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SYMHC Classics: Moms Mabley Apr 04, 2026

Show notes

This 2022 episode covers Moms Mabley, whose career lasted more than six decades. She was hugely influential, and inspired so many comedians and other performers who came after her.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Self-talk Hoax Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

Holly and Tracy discuss the idea of autosuggestion and positive self-talk. Tracy shares her thoughts on writings about the Pompey stone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pompey Stone Hoax Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

The Pompey Stone was discovered in the early 1820s, and was believed to be hundreds of years old. It turned out to be a hoax, but a fairly benign one.

Research:

Barber, John Warner and Henry Howe. “Historical collections of the state of New York : containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state ; illustrated by 230 engravings.” New York : S. Tuttle. 1841. https://archive.org/details/historicalcollec01barbg/
Beauchamp, W.M. “The Pompey Stone.” The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal April-June 1911: Vol 33 Iss 2. https://archive.org/details/sim_american-antiquarian-and-oriental-journal_april-june-1911_33_2/page/7/
Clark, Joshua Victor Hopkins. “Onondaga, or, Reminiscences of earlier and later times : being a series of historical sketches relative to Onondaga, with notes on the several towns in the county, and Oswego.” Syracuse, N.Y. : Stoddard and Babcock. 1849. https://archive.org/details/onondagaorremini00clar/
Conlon, John Thomas. “The Beginnings of Catholicism in New Netherland.” United States Catholic Historical Society 1933: Vol 23. https://archive.org/details/sim_united-states-catholic-historical-society-records_1933_23/page/171
Crowell, Kathy. “Early Development of the Town of Pompey.” Dwight H. Bruce (ed.), Onondaga's Centennial. Boston History Co., 1896, Vol. I, pp. 595-608; 627-631.. https://onondaga.nygenweb.net/POMPEY/EARLYDEV.HTM
Homes, Henry A. “The Pompey (N.Y.) Stone with an Inscription and Date of A.D. ” Transactions of the Oneida Historical Society at Utica. 1881. https://archive.org/details/transactionsofon00onei/page/83/mode/1up
Huguenin, Charles A. “The Pompey Stone.” New York Folklore Quarterly. Spring 1958: Vol 14 Iss 1. https://archive.org/details/sim_new-york-folklore-quarterly_spring-1958_14_1/
O’Connor, Thomas F. “An Alleged Spanish Entrada into New York.” Mid-America : an historical review. Chicago, Ill. : Loyola University. 1943. https://archive.org/details/midamericahistor25unse/
“Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society at the Semi-annual Meeting in Boston, April 29, 1863.” Boston. John Wilson and Son. 1863.
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. “Notes on the Iroquois, or, Contributions to American history, antiquities, and general ethnology.” Albany : E.H. Pease. 1847. https://archive.org/details/bp_1739112/
Squier, E. G. “Antiquities of the state of New York; being the results of extensive original surveys and explorations, with a supplement on the antiquities of the west.” Buffalo, G. H. Derby. 1851. https://archive.org/details/antiquitiesofsta00squi/
“The Pompey Stone.” Harper's Weekly 1879-12-20: Vol 23 Iss 1199. https://archive.org/details/sim_harpers-weekly_harpers-weekly_1879-12-20_23_1199/page/983/mode/1up

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Émile Coué and Autosuggestion Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

Émile Coué genuinely seems to have wanted to help people by teaching them how to plant helpful directives in their subconscious minds. Whether he was effective is something that's still debated.

Research:

Baldwin, J. Mark, et al. “A Disclaimer.” Science, vol. 12, no. 309, 1900, pp. 850–850. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1629542
Baudouin, Charles. “Émile Coué and His Life’s Work.” American Library Service. New York. 1923. https://digirepo.nlm.nih.gov/ext/dw/55330740R/PDF/55330740R.pdf
Baudouin, Charles. “Suggestion and Autosuggestion.” New York. Dodd, Mead and Company, 1921. https://dn720207.ca.archive.org/0/items/suggestionauto00bauduoft/suggestionauto00bauduoft.pdf
Britannica Editors. "Émile Coué". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emile-Coué
“Coue, After Goodby Lecture, Flees City.” Boston Globe. January 31, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430295545/
“Coue Explains How to Use Auto-Suggestion.” Boston Globe. January 7, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430953338/?match=1&terms=Coue
COUÉ, EMILE. “SELF MASTERY THROUGH CONSCIOUS AUTOSUGGESTION.” AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK. 1922. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27203/27203-h/27203-h.htm
“Delirium Tremens.” Cleveland Clinic. June 5, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25052-delirium-tremens
“EMILE COUÉ DEAD; A MENTAL HEALER; Many Made Well by Saying ‘Every Day, in Every Way, I'm Growing Better and Better.’” New York Times. July 3, 1926. https://www.nytimes.com/1926/07/03/archives/emile-Coué-dead-a-mental-healer-many-made-well-by-saying-every-day.html
Heid, Markham. “Is Hypnosis Real? Here’s What Science Says.” Time. March 2, 2023. https://time.com/5380312/is-hypnosis-real-science/
Myga, Kasia A et al. “Autosuggestion: a cognitive process that empowers your brain?.” Experimental brain research 240,2 (2022): 381-394. doi:10.1007/s00221-021-06265-8
Neal, E. Virgil, ed. “Hypnotism and hypnotic suggestion. A scientific treatise on the uses and possibilities of hypnotism, suggestion and allied phenomena.” New York State Publishing Company. Rochester, NY. 1906. https://archive.org/details/hypnotismhypnoti00roch/page/n9/mode/1up
“Pliny 1813 Years Ahead of Coue … “ Boston Globe. January 30, 1923. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430295455/?match=1&terms=Coue
Rapp, Dean R. “‘Better and Better—’ Couéism as a Psychological Craze of the Twenties in England.” Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 10, no. 2, 1987, pp. 17–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23413989
Sage, X. Lamotte. “Hypnotism As It Is: A Book for Everybody.” New York State Publishing Company. Rochester, NY. 1900. Accessed online: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Hypnotism_as_it_is%3B_a_book_for_everybody_%28IA_hypnotismasitisb00sage%29.pdf
Sari, N. K. et al.“The role of autosuggestion in geriatric patients’ quality of life: a study on psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology pathway.” Social Neuroscience, 12(5), pp. 551–559. 2017. doi: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1196243
Schlamann, Marc et al. “Autogenic training alters cerebral activation patterns in fMRI.” The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis 58,4 (2010): 444-56. doi:10.1080/00207144.2010.499347
Whiteside, Thomas. “Better and Better.” The New Yorker. May 9, 1953. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1953/05/16/better-and-better
Yeates, Lindsay B. “Émile Coué and his Method (I): The Chemist of Thought and Human Action.” Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy & Hypnosis, Volume 38, No.1, (Autumn 2016), pp.3-27. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374753633_Emile_Coue_and_his_Method_I_The_Chemist_of_Thought_and_Human_Action

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SYMHC Classics: Louis Daguerre Mar 28, 2026

Show notes

This 2021 episode covers Louis Daguerre, who comes up almost any time we mention photography. Well before he figured out how to capture images through a camera obscura, he was an artist and innovator in entertainment.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Atlanta and Textiles Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

Holly talks about the frustration of not finding any solid evidence of where Richard Peters stood on the issue of slavery. Tracy wonders what Elizabeth Fulhame's relationship with her husband was like.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elizabeth Fulhame’s Colorful Chemistry Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

Elizabeth Fulhame’s biography is largely a mystery, but in 1794 she wrote a book on chemistry that was way ahead of its time.

Research:

Steinmark, Ida Emilie. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Scientist the World Forgot.” Royal Society of Chemistry. 10/10/2017. https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-scientist-the-world-forgot/3008111.article
Shah, Irfan. “Rivers of Silver, Cities of Gold.” History Today. Volume 69 Issue 11 November 2019. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/rivers-silver-cities-gold
Lewes, Darby. “Fulhame, Elizabeth.” The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. Wiley Online Library. 4/12/2012. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118300916.wberlf007
Booth, Catherine. “Elizabeth Fulhame: Chemist.” Minerva Scientifica. https://minervascientifica.co.uk/elizabeth-fulhame/
Mills, Virginia. “Worthy of Public Attention.” Royal Society. 7/4/2025. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/07/worthy-of-public-attention/
Jarvis, Claire. “Elizabeth Fulhame, a forgotten chemistry pioneer.” Physics Today. 6/17/2020. https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/elizabeth-fulhame-a-forgotten-chemistry-pioneer
Brazil, Rachel. “Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history.” Chemistry World. 6/6/2022. https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-18th-century-chemistry-pioneer-who-faded-from-history/4015638.article
Smith, Thomas P. “A Sketch of the Revolutions in Chemistry.” Philadelphia : Printed by Samuel H. Smith. 1798. https://archive.org/details/b32885726/
Linker, Jessica C. “The Pride of Science: Women and the Politics of Inclusion in 19th-Century Pennsylvania.” Pennsylvania Legacies , Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5215/pennlega.15.1.0006
Pancaldi, Giuliano. “On Hybrid Objects and their Trajectories: Beddoes, Davy and the Battery.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 20 September 2009, Vol. 63, No.3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647277
Davenport, Derek A. "Fulhame, Elizabeth [known as Mrs Fulhame] (fl. 1780–1794), chemist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39778
Palmer, Bill. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Invisible Chemist.” Teaching Science. Volume 54, Number 4. December 2008.
Laidler, Keith J. “The Development of Theories of Catalysis.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1986, Vol. 35, No. 4 (1986). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41133790
Davenport, Derek A. and Kathleen M. Ireland. “The Ingenious, Lively and Celebrated Mrs. Fulhame and the Dyer’s Hand.” Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 1989.
The Gentleman's Magazine. Review of New Publications. “An Essay on Combustion …”. Vol. 65, Issue 6. June 1795.
Beddoes, Thomas. “Mrs. Fulhame’s Essay on Combustion, &c.” The Monthly Review. Vol. 20. July 1796. https://archive.org/details/sim_the-monthly-review_1796-07_20/page/303/
Anderson, R. G. W. "Black, Joseph (1728–1799), chemist and physician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2495
Cameron, Anne. “THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION IN SCOTLAND.” Historical journal (Cambridge, England) vol. 50,2 (2007): 377-395. doi:10.1017/S0018246X07006115
McCloughlin, Thomas J.J. “Lost and found: The Nooth apparatus.” Endeavour. Volume 45, Issues 1–2. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2021.100763.
Lim, XiaoZhi. "The new breed of cutting-edge catalysts." Nature, vol. 537, no. 7619, 8 Sept. 2016. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.1038/537156a. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026. Gale Document Number: GALE|A462784622
MacPherson, Hamish. "The mysterious case of Elizabeth Fulhame, a chemist and true pioneer of science." National [Glasgow, Scotland], 31 Jan. 2023. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735208005/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=896de822. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
Benjamin Count of Rumford. “An Inquiry concerning the Chemical Properties That Have Been Attributed to Light.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 1798.
Wheeler, T.S. “The life and work of William Higgins, chemist, 1763-1825, including reprints of ‘A comparative view of the phlogistic and antiphlogistic theories’ and ‘Observations on the atomic theory and electrical phenomena’.” New York, Pergamon Press. 1960.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Peters and Early Atlanta History Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Peters is responsible for many of the institutions that make up the identity of the city of Atlanta. And as a man from Pennsylvania, he had unique position regarding the U.S. Civil War.

Research:

“Atlanta’s Suburb.” The Atlanta Journal. April 1, 1884. https://www.newspapers.com/image/968900463/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters
Black, Nellie Peters. “Richard Peters, his ancestors and descendants. 1810-1889.” Atlanta. Foote & Davies. https://archive.org/details/richardpetershis00blac/page/n21/mode/2up
Carlson, Leonard R. “Richard Peters: Champion of the New South.” (Book Review.) The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 46, No. 2, The Tasks of Economic History (Jun., 1986), pp. 564-565. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2122214.pdf
“EDWARD C. PETERS HOUSE.” City of Atlanta Online. https://web.archive.org/web/20080820103941/http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/urbandesign_petershouse.aspx
“Edward C. Peters House.” National Register of Historic Places. Jan. 20, 1972. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1f64f313-3aa7-445c-ba1b-2cb6d3a1735f
“Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography.” Volume 13. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1921-. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=xAI9AAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Falkenberg-Hull, Eileen. “Georgia's State Capitals (1868- present).” Explore Georgia. https://exploregeorgia.org/blog/georgias-state-capitals-1868-present
“Hessians Auxiliaries,” American Battlefield Trust. July 29, 2021. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/hessians-auxiliaries
“Rare Reminiscences.” Atlanta Journal. August 24, 1885. https://www.newspapers.com/image/968897469/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters
“Richard Peters Founder of Atlanta and Midtown.” Midtown Neighbors Association. Feb. 9, 2012. https://midtownatlanta.org/richard-peters-founder-of-atlanta-and-midtown/
“Richard Peters Will.” Atlanta Constitution. Feb. 14, 1889. https://www.newspapers.com/image/26867020/?match=1&terms=Richard%20Peters
Shingleton, Royce. “Richard Peters: Champion of the New South.” Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press. 1985.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected