Today In History with The Retrospectors

Latest Episodes:

Nokia’s Beloved Brick Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

Rerun. The Nokia 3310 - featuring Snake II, pop-on/off covers, and a discreetly concealed antenna - was launched on 1st September, 2000 at a boardsports event in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Nicknamed ‘the brick’, the handset went on to shift 126 million units— more than 20 times as many as the first-generation iPhone.

In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion marvel at a time when only 50% of people in the US had a phone in their pockets; rack their brains to recall the OTHER games that were bundled on the handset alongside Snake II; and wonder if the nostalgia for this phone says more about the gadget itself, or the era it represents…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Indestructible Phone’ (LGR, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNVmmJ0nZY

• Nokia’s press release for the launch (2000). Which doesn’t mention the phone at all: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2000/08/16/1845367/0/en/Don-t-be-bored-Be-totally-board.html

• ‘The Nokia 3310 just turned 20 years old – here's what made it special’ (TechRadar, 2020): https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/the-nokia-3310-just-turned-20-years-old-heres-what-made-it-special

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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.

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Gorilla Marketing Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk re-energised its flagging brand in the UK on 31st August, 2007, when its iconic ‘Gorilla’ ad premiered in the Big Brother final on Channel 4.

The 90-second commercial, which featured a gorilla drumming along to Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’, was an instant hit on YouTube (a novelty back in 2007), and turned around sales for the chocolate company after a series of PR misfires and a salmonella scare.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the ad’s concept was reverse-engineered into a Cadbury’s marketing brief; reveal how the gorilla suit was recycled from the costume cupboard of a famous Hollywood thriller; and unpick how the spot’s phenomenal success became something of an albatross for the team behind it…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Cadbury's advertising stepped out of the shadow of Gorilla’ (Contagious, 2020):

https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/how-cadbury-brand-advertising-went-from-gorilla-to-generosity

• ‘Why Cadbury’s ‘Gorilla’ ad nearly didn’t get made’ (Marketing Week, 2018): https://www.marketingweek.com/cadbury-gorilla/

• ‘Gorilla’ (Fallon campaign for Cadbury’s, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIo

But wait, there’s more! We are the glass-and-a-half podcast of joy and we have an additional SIX MINUTES of chat about Cadbury’s iconic ad available to hear now, exclusively to our supporters. To unlock it - and other bonus bits, every single week - visit https://patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts and support the show. Thanks!

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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.

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The Moscow-Washington Hotline Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviets and Americans agreed to install a ‘hot line’ between their Presidents. On 30th August, 1963, a 10,000 mile transatlantic Washington-Moscow cable went live from the Pentagon to Red Square.

In the public imagination (in part thanks to Kubrik’s ‘Dr Strangelove’), it remains a red telephone - but it is, in fact, a pair of beige teletype machines that each required ten staff to operate.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, prior to this, diplomacy was often being skipped altogether in favour of inflammatory radio broadcasts; consider what the messages the two nations send each other can tell us about their cultural differences; and marvel at just how much geopolitics hinges on whether two particular world leaders like each other…

Further Reading:

• 'Hot line' between Washington and Moscow to be opened’ (The Guardian, 1963): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/hot-line-between-washington-and-moscow-1963-archive

• ‘There Never Was Such a Thing as a Red Phone in the White House’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013):

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-never-was-such-a-thing-as-a-red-phone-in-the-white-house-1129598/?no-ist

• ‘History Of The Moscow-Washington ‘Red Phone’’ (NBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR5Z8jYRyFo

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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.

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When Caesar Invaded Britain Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

When Julius Caesar showed up in the Channel with thousands of men on 26th August 55 BC, he doubtless intended to get a bit further than the coast of Kent. Unfortunately for him, he had moored his ships where they could be pelted from the cliffs, and the Gaulish chief he sent in advance had been imprisoned.

Nonetheless, he reported back to Rome that his British adventure had been enormously worthwhile - as he had traveled to the very edges of the known world - and had another, marginally more successful, pop at it just one year later.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into Caesar's own confessions of ignorance about the British people and lands; consider how we Brits were already more familiar with Roman culture than vice-versa; and explain how Caesar’s adventures, though ultimately unsuccessful, may well have inspired the later Roman takeovers…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Roman Invasions of Britain’ (University of Warwick): https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/warwickclassicsnetwork/romancoventry/resources/interactions/invasion/

• ‘Julius Caesar's Invasions Of Britain’ (HistoryExtra, 2018):

https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/caesars-british-gamble/

• ‘Caesar on Britain // Roman Primary Source (58-49 BC)’ (Voices of the Past, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYnLzXK4o7c

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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.

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The Beatles’ Giggling Guru Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Rerun. John, Paul, George and Ringo travelled to a transcendental meditation workshop in Bangor, Wales on 25th August, 1967 - at the invitation of ‘giggling guru’, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

The event changed everything for The Fab Four - influencing their music, their philosophy, and ultimately contributing to the end of the band.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly question whether the retreat lead them to give up LSD; reveal how Ringo, frankly, never really seemed to be in to it; and uncover the Maharishi’s later plans for a Yogic amusement park...

Further Reading:

• ‘Lennon was right. The Giggling Guru was a shameless old fraud’ (Daily Mail, 2008): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-512747/Lennon-right-The-Giggling-Guru-shameless-old-fraud.html#:~:text=The%20Giggling%20Guru%20was%20a%20shameless%20old%20fraud,teach%20them%20to%20defy%20gravity%20by%20%22yogic%20flying%22.

• Doug Henning’s theme park plans: https://doughenningproject.com/tag/theme-park/

• The Beatles in Bangor – silent news footage (1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuyE3bSnfVo&t=6s

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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 Last Hieroglyph Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

In the temple at Philae, an Egyptian Priest called Nesmeterakhem created the last ever known hieroglyphic inscription on 24th August, 394. Although ostensibly praising the God Mandulis, the scribe spent just as long commemorating his own presence - and the names of his Mum and Dad.

For centuries, Western academics assumed his words might be more mysterious and spiritual than the somewhat prosaic reality - because, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799, there was no accurate way to read them.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why hieroglyphs were written for centuries, even as ever-diminishing numbers of people could understand them; reveal ‘how to entertain a bored Pharoah’; and track down the earliest known example of dick graffiti…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Great Pyramid Was Not Built by Slave (+ 9 Other Surprising Facts About Ancient Egypt)’ (HistoryExtra, 2016): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/facts-ancient-egypt-mummification-cleopatra-pharaohs-tutankhamun-life-death/

• ‘2,500-year-old erotic graffiti found in unlikely setting on Aegean island’ (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/06/worlds-earliest-erotic-graffiti-astypalaia-classical-greece#start-of-comments

• ‘Decoding the Secrets of Egyptian Hieroglyphs’ (Wondrium, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIjREbbFjNE

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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 ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ Robbery Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Stockholm Syndrome - the condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors during captivity - was named after a bank robbery that began on 23rd August, 1973. It lasted for five days, with 73% of the Swedish public tuning in to watch it.

The robber was Jan-Erik Olsson, who pulled a loaded submachine gun, fired at the ceiling and, disguising his voice to sound like an American, cried out in English, “The party has just begun!”.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick how Olsson endeared himself to his hostages; consider what criminologists detected that inspired them to create a new ‘syndrome’; and explain how the story ended in a Thai supermarket…

Further Reading:

‘The Real Bank Robbery That Gave the World Stockholm Syndrome’ (Time, 2020): https://time.com/5874808/stockholm-syndrome-history/
‘The Strange Origin Of Stockholm Syndrome’ (Grunge, 2020): https://www.grunge.com/243202/the-strange-origin-of-stockholm-syndrome/
‘SWEDISH BANK GUNMAN HOLDING HOSTAGES IN STOCKHOLM’ (Associated Press, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9kueGkjva4

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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

Balloons With Bombs On Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

The world’s first notable air raid occurred on 22nd August, 1849, when the Austrian Army attacked Venice using a fleet of 200 miniature hot air balloons, each delivering a 33lb pound bomb.

Following a disastrous first attempt - when the balloons blew back on to their own men - this time the Austrians equipped each balloon with a long copper wire to trigger the detonation.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up if the event had a decisive effect on their recapture of the Italian city; consider the psychological impact of attacking from the skies; and reveal why a ‘drone’ is called a drone…

Further Reading:

• ‘Bombs over Venice’ (History Today, 1958): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/bombs-over-venice

• ‘Drones in Society’ by Ron Bartsch, James Coyne and Katherine Gray (Taylor & Francis, 2016) : https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Drones_in_Society/7CglDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1849+austrian+venice+balloon&pg=PA20&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Planehook Stories: The Siege of Venice’ (Droneport Texas): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQhrd7_32w

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Whole Truth Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

Court witnesses have promised to tell ‘the whole truth’ since the 13th century; but, on 19th August, 1992, the U.S. Appeals Court permitted Wallace Ward to stand trial under his own oath - pledging not ‘truth’, but ‘fully integrated honesty’.

Ward, the president of a Nevada-based mail order company, had coined the phrase himself when he devised Neothink, a cultish belief system structured around charging hundreds of dollars for self-help advice.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up whether Ward’s bizarre convictions really were equivalent to religious faith; trace back the origins of oath-taking in English-speaking courtrooms; and uncover the surprising history of raising your hand when swearing to tell the truth…

Further Reading:

• ‘United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Wallace Ward, Defendant-appellant, 973 F.2d 730 (9th Cir. 1992)’ (Justia): https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/973/730/386559/

• ‘How the courtroom got its oath’ (Slate, 2004): https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/how-the-courtroom-got-its-oath.html

• ‘Secret society mailing mysterious invitations’ (Good Morning Maryland, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvdfabaIOo

… And, if you enjoyed this episode, there’s an additional three-and-a-half minutes of material about oath-taking available to our supporters, in which the Retrospectors discuss the strangest books that have been used as a prop, and reveal the times when it wasn't a book at all, but a saucer, a candle, a dog, or a chicken! To unlock this content - and a bonus bit like it each week - subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts, or support our Patreon: https://patreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The First TV Weather Report Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

Rerun. A weather map was first broadcast on TV on 18th August, 1926 - but there were no fancy graphics, no on-screen forecaster, and only one intended recipient: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, DC.

In the UK, the Met Office had been producing weather forecasts since 1861, but the BBC didn’t bring a ‘weatherman’ to British screens until 1954.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Charles Darwin’s connection to weather-forecasting; review the first weather forecast on NBC’s Today programme, and reveal exactly how much time the Brits spend discussing the weather…

Further Reading:

• ‘Weather forecast facts: the first forecast in Britain, the birth of the Met Office and the first TV weatherman’ (HistoryExtra, 2018): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/facts-history-weather-forecast-weatherman-tv/

• ‘BBC Television Weather at 60 - A Celebration’ (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/television-weather

• ‘TODAY's First Weather Forecast: Jan. 14, 1952’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiAyWYCcAI0

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ We’re planning exciting new things for the autumn, and we’re banking that most of you haven’t heard it yet. So stick with us.

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices