Stuff You Missed in History Class

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Hedda Hopper Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

Though she started out acting, what really made Hedda Hopper famous was her work in newspapers. For several decades, she could make or break a movie career with her gossip column, sending statements to print regardless of whether there was any actual proof of what she claimed.

Research:

Collins, Amy Fine. “The Powerful Rivalry of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons.” Vanity Fair. April 1997. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/rivalry-hedda-hopper-louella-parsons-gossip-columnists
Eells, George. “Hedda and Louella.” W.H. Allen. Virgin Books. 1972.
Ephron, Nora. “Hedda and Louella.” New York Times. April 23, 1972. https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/23/archives/hedda-and-louella-by-george-eells-illustrated-360-pp-new-york-g-p-p.html
FROST, JENNIFER. “‘GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD COMPANY’: HEDDA HOPPER, HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP, AND THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHARLIE CHAPLIN, 1940-1952.” Australasian Journal of American Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, 2007, pp. 74–88. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41054077
“Hedda Hopper, Columnist, Dies; Chronicled Gossip of Hollywood.” New York Times. Feb. 2, 1966. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/02/02/79310265.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
“Hollywood’s Godmother to Give Views on Past, Present, Future.” The Tampa Tribune. Jan. 10, 1960. https://www.newspapers.com/image/329731973/?terms=hedda%20hopper&match=1
Hopper, Hedda. “Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood.” The Shreveport Journal. October 4, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/image/600365053/?terms=hedda%20hopper&match=1
Peak, Mamie Ober. “Social Butterfly of Screen a Different Person at Home.” Hartford Courant. Jan 10, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/369469825/?terms=hedda%20hopper&match=1
Sbardellati, John and Tony Shaw. “Booting a Tramp: Charlie Chaplin, the FBI, and the Construction of the Subversive Image in Red Scare America.” The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 72, No. 4 (Nov., 2003), pp. 495-530. University of California Press. https://web.viu.ca/davies/H323Vietnam/CharlieChaplin.McCarthyism.pdf
“William Randolph Hearst’s Campaign to Suppress Citizen Kane.” American Experience. PBS. April 30, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/kane-william-randolph-hearst-campaign-suppress-citizen-kane/

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River Thames Frost Fairs Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

The London Frost Fairs, were festivals held out on the ice when the River Thames froze over. Most of these fairs were in January or February, and the last of them took place in 1814.

Research:

Andrews, William. “Famous Frosts and Frost Fairs in Great Britain: Chronicled from the Earliest to the Present Time.” G. Redway. 1887. https://archive.org/details/famousfrostsand00andrgoog
Davis, George. “Frostiana: Or a History of the River Thames in a Frozen State.” London, 1814.
Evelyn, John. “The Diary of John Evelyn (Volume 2 of 2).” Edited by William Bray. 1901.
Holman, Martin. “Frost fairs and the frozen Thames.” Art UK. 1/11/2017. https://artuk.org/discover/stories/frost-fairs-and-the-frozen-thames
Johnson, Ben. “The Thames Frost Fairs.” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Thames-Frost-Fairs/
Magdalen College. “An Historical Account of the Late Great Frost.” https://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/blog/an-historical-account-of-the-late-great-frost/
Marchant, Katrina. “Frost Fairs: Fun on the Frozen Thames.” Reading the Past. 11/25/2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq-ZZ9CdsDk
Melhuish, Fiona. “’Carnival on the Water’: The Thames Frost Fairs.” 1/16/2017. https://collections.reading.ac.uk/special-collections/2017/01/16/carnivals-on-the-water-the-thames-frost-fairs/
Nelson, Jessica. “Frost Fairs on the Thames.” 1/31/2018. https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/frost-fairs-thames/
Selli, Fabrizio. “All the fun of the Frost Fair: why, when and how did Londoners party on the ice?” Museum of London. 11/27/2018. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/frost-fairs
Shaull-Thompson, Remi. “’Frost Fairs,’ the Little Ice Age and Climate Change.” 5/7/2019. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/frost-fairs-the-little-ice-age-and-climate-change/
Srigley, Michael. “The Great Frost Fair of 1683-4.” History Today. 12/12/1960. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/great-frost-fair-1683-4
Staveley-Wadham, Rose. “‘The Thames is Now Both a Fair and Market Too’ – Discovering the Frost Fair of 1814.” British Newspaper Archive. 1/21/2019. https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2019/01/21/discovering-the-frost-fair-of-1814/
“The great frost. cold doings in London, except it be at the lotterie. With newes out of the country. A familiar talke betwene a country-man and a citizen touching this terrible frost and the great lotterie, and the effects of them. the description of the Thames frozen over.” https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/B07684.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext
The History Press. “The last Thames frost fair.” https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-last-thames-frost-fair/
Ward, Jospeh P. “The Taming of the Thames: Reading the River in the Seventeenth Century.” Huntington Library Quarterly , Vol. 71, No. 1 (March 2008). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/hlq.2008.71.1.55
“Broadside ballad, 1684, describing a Frost Fair on the frozen Thames at Temple.” https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/broadside-ballad-1684-describing-a-frost-fair-on-the-frozen-thames-at-temple

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SYMHC Classics: Belinda Sutton Dec 16, 2023

Show notes

This 2016 episode was inspired by our trip to the Royall House & Slave Quarters. It's about Belinda Sutton and her petitions to be compensated for her enslavement to the Royall family.

Here is the link to the video we recorded for HowStuffWorks at Royall House & Slave Quarters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdE7ravZvas&list=PLNrBwGzpymDJwMDZeUI939TpVViLOKHpy

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Metric Spinning Bee Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

Holly and Tracy share formative experiences with math classes. Then Tracy discusses a spinning bee, Lafayette in Medford, and her historical fanfiction.

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Sarah Bradlee Fulton and the Daughters of Liberty Dec 13, 2023

Show notes

Sarah Bradlee Fulton is sometimes called the Mother of the Boston Tea Party. But available information about her is basically a series of anecdotes, and can’t really be corroborated.

Research:

"The Boston Tea Party, 1773," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2002).
“Boston Gazette Account.” http://www.boston-tea-party.org/account-boston-gazette.html
Albus, Brenda Ely. “’A Woman Fearing Nothing’: The Story of Sarah Bradlee Fulton: A Revolutionary War Heroine.” Lulu.com. 2014.
American Battlefield Trust. “Sarah Bradlee Fulton.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/sarah-bradlee-fulton
Bell, J.L. “Inspecting the Tea Party House.”11/21/2019. https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2019/11/inspecting-tea-party-house.html
Bell, J.L. “The Legends of Sarah Bradlee Fulton.” Boston 1775. 11/20/2019. https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-legends-of-sarah-bradlee-fulton.html
Boston Globe. “Helen T. Wild.” Obituary. 7/27/1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/433376820/?terms=%22Helen%20T.%20Wild%22&match=1
Boston Globe. “Painted Him For the Tea Party.” 12/17/1896. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430805744/
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. “Sarah Bradlee Fulton.” https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/sarah-bradlee-fulton
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “The Daughters of Liberty: Who Were They and What Did They Do?” History of Massachusetts Blog. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/who-were-the-daughters-of-liberty/
Dorchester Athenaeum. “Sarah Bradlee Fulton.” https://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/project/sarah-bradlee-fulton/
Grinde, Donald A. “Exemplar of liberty : native America and the evolution of democracy.” American Indian Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles. 1991.
Gruber, Kate Egner. “The Daughters of Liberty.” American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/daughters-liberty
Hewes, George R. T. “A Retrospect of the Boston Tea-party, with a Memoir of George R.T. Hewes” (New York: 1834), 37-41. https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/the-american-revolution/george-r-t-hewes-a-retrospect-of-the-boston-tea-party-1834/
New England Historical Society. “How the Daughters of Liberty Fought for Independence.” 2022. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/daughters-liberty-fought-independence/
Norton, Mary Beth. “Liberty's daughters : the Revolutionary experience of American women, 1750-1800.” Harper Collins. 1990.
Reed, Esther. “Sentiments of An American Woman, 1780.” https://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~ppennock/doc-Sentiments%20of%20An%20American%20Woman.htm
The Freedom Trail. “Old South meeting House.” https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/old-south-meeting-house
Tryon, Rolla Milton. “Household Manufactures in the United States, 1640-1860.” University of Chicago. January 1917. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=xwNOAAAAMAAJ&rdid=book-xwNOAAAAMAAJ&rdot=1
Wild, Helen T. “Sarah Bradlee Fulton. Dorchester, 1740. Medford, 1835.” American Monthly, Washington, D. C. Via Medford Historical Society: Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 1. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2005.05.0001%3Achapter%3D18%3Asection%3Dc.18.19%3Apage%3D53#note1

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The 17th-century Roots of the Metric System Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

Two men, working separately but simultaneously, are each cited as the originator of the idea of the metric system depending on what source you read. But it took more than 100 years to implement the ideas they suggested.

Research:

Alder, Ken. “The Measure of All Things.” Simon & Schuster. 2003.
Benham, Elizabeth. “Busting Myths About the Metric System.” National Institute of Standards and Technology. Oct. 6, 2020. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/busting-myths-about-metric-system
“Brief History and Use of the English and Metric Systems of Measurement.” The Science Teacher, vol. 36, no. 5, 1969, pp. 39–40. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24151702
Evelyn, John. “The Diary of John Evelyn, Vol. 1.” M. Walter Dunne. 1901. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41218/41218-h/41218-h.htm#Footnote_49_49
Gilbert, Burnet. “Lives, Characters, and An Address to Posterity.” London. J. Duncan. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/livescharactersa00burnrich/page/n5/mode/2up
JOHNSON, ART, et al. “MATH ROOTS: The Beginnings of the Metric System.” Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, vol. 12, no. 5, 2006, pp. 228–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41182394
“Biographie Universelle Classique. Biographie Universelle, Ou Dictionnaire Historique, Etc.” Volume 4. 1833. Accessed online: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biographie_Universelle_Classique_Biograp/lqqTLwFIyCsC?hl=en&gbpv=0
Maestro, Marcello. “Going Metric: How It All Started.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 41, no. 3, 1980, pp. 479–86. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2709407
“Origin of the Metric System.” U.S. Metric Association. https://usma.org/origin-of-the-metric-system
Pepys, Samuel “Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete.” George Bell and Sons. London. 1893. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4200/4200-h/4200-h.htm
Riebeek, Holli. “Planetary Motion: The History of an Idea That Launched the Scientific Revolution.” Earth Observatory NASA. July 7, 2009. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsHistory
Russell, Cristine. “Congress Inches Away from Metric Conversion.” BioScience, vol. 24, no. 8, 1974, pp. 441–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1296850
Speziali, Pierre. “Mouton, Gabriel.” Dictionary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston Gillespie. Vol. 9, pp. 554–555. New York. 1974.
Stephen, Leslie. “Dictionary of National ” MacMillan. New York. 1885-1900. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati61stepuoft/page/n11/mode/2up
Wallis, John, Dr. “The Origin of the Royal Society, 1645-1662.” Fordham University Modern History Sourcebook. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1662royalsociety.asp
“Latitude Dependent Changes in Gravitational Acceleration.” UNLV Department of Geosicence. https://pburnley.faculty.unlv.edu/GEOL452_652/gravity/notes/GravityNotes18LatitudeVariations.htm
Wetfall, Richard S. “Mouton, Gabriel.” The Galileo Project. Rice University. http://galileo.rice.edu/Catalog/NewFiles/mouton.html
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "pendulum". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/technology/pendulum
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Imperial units". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Imperial-unit
Britannica, The Editors of E "metric system". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/metric-system-measurement
“Metrication in other countries.” U.S. Metric Associatio https://usma.org/metrication-in-other-countries#chart
Ramani, Madhvi. “How France created the metric system.” BBC. Feb. 24, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system
Zupko, Ronald and Chisholm, Lawrence James. "measurement system."Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/measurement-system

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SYMHC Classics: Traffic Lights Dec 09, 2023

Show notes

This 2019 episode looks at a few of the moments in traffic light history that got us to where we are today, as well as what made them a necessity in the first place

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Advent Gazpacho Dec 08, 2023

Show notes

Holly and Tracy discuss Advent calendars in their own lives. They also discuss some of their experiences in Barcelona.

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Montjuïc Castle and the Bombardments of Barcelona Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

Montjuïc Castle is a fortress in Barcelona that dates back to the 17th century. And it has been involved in both the defense of Barcelona and its repression – repeatedly, over the course of centuries.

Research:

"Catalonia." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 Jun. 2023. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FCatalonia%2F20756&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 20 Nov. 2023.
"Miguel Primo de Rivera." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 20 Jul. 1998. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2FMiguel-Primo-de-Rivera%2F61388&ebboatid=9265928. Accessed 20 Nov. 2023.
“The regencies of María Cristina and Espartero (1833-1840).” https://www.edu.xunta.gal/centros/espazoAbalar/aulavirtual/pluginfile.php/711/mod_imscp/content/3/the_regencies_of_mara_cristina_and_espartero_18331840.html
Albareda, Joaquim. “The reasons for the resistance of 1714.” Barcelona Metropolis. https://www.barcelona.cat/bcnmetropolis/2007-2017/en/dossier/les-raons-de-la-resistencia-de-1714/
Barcelona Cultura. “Castel de Montjuïc.” https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/castelldemontjuic/en/castle/history
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Baldomero Espartero, prince de Vergara". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Baldomero-Espartero-principe-de-Vergara. Accessed 17 November 2023.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Isabella II". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isabella-II-queen-of-Spain. Accessed 17 November 2023.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Leopoldo O’Donnell, duke de Tetuán". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leopoldo-ODonnell-duque-de-Tetuan. Accessed 17 November 2023.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Pragmatic Sanction of King Ferdinand VII". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Jul. 1998, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pragmatic-Sanction-of-King-Ferdinand-VII. Accessed 20 November 2023.
Casanovas, Jordi. “The scattered patrimony of the Jewish cemetery of Montjuïc.” Museu Nacional D’Art de Catalunya Blog. 5/25/2017. https://blog.museunacional.cat/en/the-scattered-patrimony-of-the-jewish-cemetery-of-montjuic/
Center of Studies ZAKHOR. “The Jewish Cemetery of Montjuïc in Barcelona: opportunity and challenge to dignify a common past.” For Raíces Magazine No. 76 - Fall 2008. Translated from Spanish by M. Blier. https://urbancultours.com/Imagenes/experience/Cemetery%20of%20Montjuic%20Raices%2008.pdf
Corbella, Manel Risques. “Montjuïc Castle Visitor’s Guide.” Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Geli, Carles. “Why do Catalans celebrate on September 11?” El Pais. 9/11/2013. https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/11/inenglish/1378927670_783521.html
Kahn, Sonia. “Indeterminately Independent: The Volatile Autonomy of the Spanish Region of Catalonia.” Library of Congress Blogs. https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2022/09/indeterminately-independent-the-volatile-autonomy-of-the-spanish-region-of-catalonia/
Pons, Marc. “’For the good of Spain, Barcelona must be bombarded once every 50 years.’” El Nacional. 12/3/2019. https://www.elnacional.cat/en/culture/marc-pons-history-barcelona-bombard-50-years_412060_102.html
Sanz Loroño, Miguel Ángel. “1842: bombardeen Barcelona.” El Salto. 7/10/2023. https://www.elsaltodiario.com/anales-espana/1842-bombardeen-barcelona
Shubert, Adrian. “The Sword of Luchana: Baldomero Espartero and the Making of Modern Spain, 1793–1879.” University of Toronto Press. 2021.
Sparks, Tori. “Barcelona's Montjuïc Castle, Past & Present.” Metropolitan Barcelona. https://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/features/history/barcelona-montjuic-castle-past-present/
Sparks, Tori. “The Reaper’s War: A Peasant Uprising in Catalunya.” Metropolitan Barcelona. https://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/features/history/the-reapers-war-a-peasant-uprising-in-catalunya/

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Advent Calendars Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

The religious observation of Advent has shifted and changed through the years. But how did we get to a point where an Advent calendar is also a non-religious Christmas countdown with chocolates or other treats?

Research:

Allen, Scott. “A Brief History of Advent Calendars.” Mental Floss. Dec. 1, 2010. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/26522/brief-history-advent-calendars
“A Look Back at the Advent of the Advent Calendar.” The Journal Times. (Racine, Wisconsin.) November 25, 2006. https://www.newspapers.com/image/342040471/?terms=advent%20history
Beck, Katherine. “The Sweet History of Chocolate in Advent Calendars.” Tasting Table. Nov. 3, 2022. https://www.tastingtable.com/1084507/the-sweet-history-of-chocolate-in-advent-calendars/
Bostrom, Kathleen Long. “Waiting for Christmas: A Story about the Advent Calendar.” Zonderkidz. 2006.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Advent". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Advent
Butler, Alban. “The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church.” John Morris. 1775. Accessed online: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Moveable_Feasts_Fasts_and_Other_Annu/xL94Kwv5JkYC?hl=en&gbpv=0
“Advent Calendars.” German Christmas Museum. https://www.weihnachtsmuseum.de/en/adventskalender
Johnson, Maxwell E. “Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Lirturgical Year.” Liturgical Press. 2022.
“Largest Advent Calendar.” Guiness Book of World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-advent-calendar
“President Eisenhower’s Grandchildren.” Getty Images/ Bettmann Archive. 1954. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-eisenhowers-three-grandchildren-join-in-an-appeal-news-photo/1177519748
Tanner, Jeremy and NEXSTAR MEDIA WIRE. “How did Advent calendars become a beloved holiday tradition?” The Hill. Dec. 11, 2022. https://thehill.com/homenews/3763921-how-did-advent-calendars-become-a-beloved-holiday-tradition/
Treisman, Rachel. “Advent calendars, explained: Where they came from and why they're everywhere now.” NPR. Updated Nov. 6, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1141855237/advent-calendar-history-evolution#:~:text=German%20publisher%20Gerhard%20Lang%20is,one%20each%20day%20of%20Advent.
“The story of the Advent calendar.” SELLMER ADVENTSKALENDER. https://sellmer-adventskalender.com/en-us/pages/history-of-the-advent-calendar
Holcomb, Justin. “What is Advent? The History, Meaning, and Traditions.” Christianity.com. Nov. 13, 2023. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-advent.html
Blakemore, Erin. “What is Advent – and why do we mark it with treat-filled calendars?” National Geographic. Nov. 29, 2021. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/advent-is-a-season-of-candlelight-reflection-and-expectation
“Porsche advent calendar on sale for $1million includes yacht and watch.” Metro UK. Sept. 26, 2010. https://metro.co.uk/2010/09/26/porsche-advent-calendar-on-sale-for-1million-includes-yacht-and-watch-532456/
Shain, Susan. “Day 1: The Joy of Counting Down.” New York Times. Nov. 30, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/style/day-1-the-joy-of-counting-down.html
“What is Advent?” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/advent

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