Today In History with The Retrospectors

Latest Episodes:

Bienvenue au Moulin Rouge Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

The world’s most famous cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, opened its doors in Paris on 6th October, 1889. Founded by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler, the club was originally called the Jardin de Paris and featured everything from art galleries to operettas, live tableau and an opium den.

In the era of the Belle Epoque, however, the venue became most associated with the scandalous can-can dance, which actually originated in London but found its home in Montmartre.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a giant stucco elephant became part of the opening attractions; recall what happened when the Prince of Wales, future Edward VII, went to check out the entertainment on offer; and unpick the notorious novelty act ‘Le Pétomane’ (Joseph Pujol), and his, um, unique control over airflow…

Further Reading:

• ’The original Moulin Rouge the year before it burned down and other historical images, 1890-1930’ (Rare Historical Photos): https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/original-moulin-rouge-1914/

• ‘Fart history? Joseph Pujol trumps them all’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/aug/20/fart-history-joseph-pujol-trumps-them-all

• ‘Moulin Rouge Paris’ (Explore France, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK7qVv-tNos

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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 2023.

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To Versailles! To Versailles! Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

The ‘Women’s March’ of 1789 began spontaneously, when a market trader banged a drum in a Parisian square on 5th October - launching a chain of events which would eventually end a century of Versailles rule and lead to the execution of Louis XVI.

Initially a reaction to the grain shortage that had left Parisians hungry as the aristocracy indulged in luxuries, the protest soon morphed into an angry mob demanding everything from the relocation of the monarchy to the murder of Marie Antoinette.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the protestors reportedly fainted at the King’s feet once granted an audience with him; review some of the bizarre weaponry mobilised by the mob; and learn that the French Revolution happened a lot more slowly than you probably think it did…

Further Reading:

• ‘A History of the Women’s March on Versailles’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/womens-march-on-versailles-3529107

• ‘How Bread Shortages Helped Ignite The French Revolution’ (HISTORY): https://www.history.com/news/bread-french-revolution-marie-antoinette#:~:text=The%20Bread%20Famine%20in%2018th%2Dcentury%20France.&text=It%20didn't%20work.,a%20little%20over%20three%20weeks

• ‘What It Was Like To Live At Versailles’ (Weird History, 2019):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKysG9aiic

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

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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.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.

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Carving Mount Rushmore Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began chiseling the rockface of Mount Rushmore on 4th October, 1927 - the start of a 14 year project to carve Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt into the South Dakotan summit.

A team of up to 400 workers used dynamite, jackhammers, and chisels to shape the mountain into the iconic presidential faces, and to access the summit, built a staircase and ropes for support, working at dizzying heights of 500 feet above the ground. Remarkably, despite the dangers, not a single fatality occurred during the construction.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Borglum hotfooted it to the project from a even more controversial one in Georgia; unpick the Lakota Sioux people’s legal disputes with the U.S. government over the land rights; and reveal why George Washington's nose was even larger-than-life than the rest of him…

Further Reading:

• ‘Sculptor Gutzon Borglum - Mount Rushmore National Memorial’ (U.S. National Park Service, 2023): https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/gutzon-borglum.htm

• ‘The Making of Mount Rushmore’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-making-of-mount-rushmore-121886182/

• ‘The dark history of Mount Rushmore - Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means’ (Ted-Ed, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX4IvoP1HTk

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.

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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 2023.

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When Sinéad Shocked America Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Irish popstar Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during her performance of Bob Marley’s ‘War’ on NBC’s TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ on 3rd October, 1992. The unexpected act was meticulously planned by O'Connor; a protest against child abuse within the Catholic Church.

The performance left the audience almost silent, and, although she faced significant backlash, O'Connor remained unapologetic, writing in her memoirs that it was one of her proudest achievements.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Top of the Pops performance by Bob Geldof first inspired the stunt; reveal where precisely O’Connor got the photo of the Pope from; and ask if, when it comes to this divisive moment, SNL have fallen on the right side of history…

Further Reading:

• ‘The day Sinead O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live’ (The Independent, 2022): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sinead-oconnor-snl-pope-photo-b2191296.html

• ‘Sinead O’Connor’s Legacy With Sex Abuse Survivors in Catholic Church’ (Rolling Stone, 2023): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/sinead-oconnor-catholic-church-abuse-legacy-1234797102/

• ‘Sinéad O'Connor rips up picture of Pope John Paul II’ (NBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGFj1WClin4

#90s #Religion #Protest #TV #Irish #Catholic

CONTENT WARNING: child abuse

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.

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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 2023.

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

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Meet Peter Rabbit Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published on October 2nd, 1902. The book was an instant sensation, needing reprints almost immediately, and ultimately went on to sell an extraordinary 40 million copies worldwide.

Potter had initially written it in 1893 as a letter to cheer up Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her former governess. Noel was ill, and Potter wrote the story simply to help him pass the time. Seeing Peter Rabbit’s potential, however, her friends encouraged her to publish.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why The Tale of Peter Rabbit was rejected by six publishers; look into how Potter first met the “real” Peter Rabbit; and discuss how the gentle book was given a high-octane update when it transferred to TV…

Further Reading:

• ‘Peter Rabbit: the tale of “The Tale”’ (V&A Museum, 2021): https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/peter-rabbit-the-tale-of-the-tale

• ‘Peter Rabbit and Other Stories’ (Lit2Go, 1902): https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/148/peter-rabbit-and-other-stories/4923/the-tale-of-peter-rabbit/

• ‘Peter Rabbit - Official Trailer’ (Sony Pictures, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pa_Weidt08

This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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 2023.

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

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The Inquiry Office Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

Henry Robinson opened the Office of Addresses and Encounters on Threadneedle Street, London on 29th September, 1650. The centre provided a forward-looking, unusual mix of services ranging from job placements, money lending, and property dealings… to (shhh) match-making.

Robinson's inspiration came from a broader philosophical concept of creating a place where people of all classes could access information, regardless of their status in society. He accordingly charged a minimal fee for answers to queries, and offered an array of services, from buying and selling land to language tuition and finding ‘travel companions’.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why euphemistic wording was so often used in these very first ‘classifieds’; reveal the first documented example of a ‘Lonely Hearts’ advertisement; and consider what Robinson’s upselling model had in common with Costco…

Further Reading:

• ‘Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout: They Found Answers at the Office of Addresses and Encounters’ (Patrick Murfin, 2016): https://patrickmurfin.blogspot.com/2016/09/they-found-answers-at-office-of.html

• ‘The Secret History of Domesticity - Public, Private, and the Division of Knowledge -

By Michael McKeon’ (John Hopkins University Press, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Secret_History_of_Domesticity/8VrwIKiAefkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=henry+robinson+office+of+encounters&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover

• ‘HISTORY OF IDEAS - Dating’ (The School of Life, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob14PcHtazQ

#1600s #UK #Romantic #Business

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.

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podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.

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

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Let's Get Metric Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

Rerun. Feet, inches, palms, cubits, rods… all were SWEPT ASIDE on 28th September, 1889, when the first General Conference of the Weights and Measures Commission met in Sèvres, France to refine a definition for the NEW universal measurement of distance: the metre.

The calculation was painstakingly made by measuring a quarter of the meridian of the Earth - running from the North Pole to the Equator - and then dividing it into 10 million parts. Metal bars measuring exactly one metre were then distributed to attendees of the Conference.

In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this scientific method of calculating distance was *really* any better than barleycorns and man-size hugs; ask why the USA still hasn’t got on-board with the metric system; and explain why Napoleon might not have been as short as we think he was…

Further Reading:

• ‘Galileo, Krypton, and How the Metric Standard Came to Be’ (WIRED, 2018): https://www.wired.com/story/book-excerpt-the-perfectionists-history-meter/

• ‘How France created the metric system’ (BBC Travel, 2018): https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180923-how-france-created-the-metric-system

• ‘Who Invented the Meter?’ (It’s Okay To Be Smart, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3eHHwcMVcA

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.

Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.

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Let's Catch A Steam Train Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

George Stephenson drove Britain’s first-ever steam-powered passenger train, the Locomotion Number One, on 27th September, 1825, from Darlington to Stockton on Tees.

The Cambridge Chronicle and Journal reported, with breathless excitement: “in the presence of great crowds of spectators, including many scientific gentlemen… 60 waggons were attached, containing one thousand persons, who werevisibly delighted,as were thethousands of spectators. The cavalcade moved by signals, and the whole of this immense mass could be stopped at any prescribed place and moment. On one part of the line, the speed was 12 miles an hour.”

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this pivotal event lead to the development of the commuter class, larger-scale corporations, and trades unions with newfound power; explain how amenities including corridors, toilets, and proper ticketing systems were still decades away; and reveal how Wordsworth campaigned against the steam railway - in verse, of course…

Further Reading:

• ‘George Stephenson and the Invention of the Steam Locomotive Engine’ (ThoughtCo, 2017): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-railroad-1992457

• ‘George Stephenson - The Father of Railways’ (Stockton Heritage): https://heritage.stockton.gov.uk/articles/people/george-stephenson-the-father-of-railways/

• ‘The Stockton and Darlington Railway’ (BBC Teach, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6a4zDjLAlY

#1800s #Science #UK #Technology

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.

Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

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Yves Rossy: Rocketman Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

Pushing the boundaries of human flight to hitherto unknown extremes, Swiss aviator Yves Rossy entered the record books on 26th September, 2008, becoming the first person ever to cross the English channel using a jet-propelled wing strapped to his back, equipped with four kerosene-fueled turbine engines.

To embark on his flight, Rossy first ascended to 2,500 feet over Calais in a support plane. From there, he tumbled out, and, after free-falling and stabilizing, jetpacked over the White Cliffs of Dover in under ten minutes: the result of years of work and multiple prior attempts.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why, despite being a popular movie trope, jet-packs have yet to catch on; consider whether Rossy’s crash-landing ruined the aesthetics of his bird-like descent; and reminisce about Michael Jackson’s rocket-powered exit from the Dangerous world tour…

Further Reading:

• ’Jet Man flies across Channel on a wing’ (The Guardian, 2008): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/26/aeronautics

• ‘The Great American Jet Pack - The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device, By Steve Lehto’ (Chicago Review Press, 2013): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Great_American_Jet_Pack/ycr1HSRzRuIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=yves+rossy&pg=PA169&printsec=frontcover

‘Fly with the Jetman’ (TED, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2sT9KoII_M

#00s #Switzerland #Inventions #Strange

Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!

Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.

Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

We'll be back tomorrow!: podfollow.com/Retrospectors

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King. Mix & Scheduling: Steve Stonhold

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

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Thank You For Not Smoking Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

The world did NOT wake up to the dangers of smoking on September 25th, 1878, despite the efforts of Dr. Charles R. Drysdale, who had a letter published in The Times warning that smoking is a practice “deleterious to health and vitality,” noting that a contemporaneous experiment on dogs had led to “palsy of the hind leg, blindness, deafness, and death.”

But early anti-smoking campaigners like Drysdale were fighting a losing battle anyway because they were up against a formidable enemy: technology itself, which every day was making cigarettes cheaper and cheaper to mass produce.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why Nazi Germany was at the forefront of anti-smoking efforts; explain how Hollywood helped make smoking sexy; and reveal why if any of us did smoke, we would definitely choose Marlboro Lights…

Further Reading:

• ‘Tobacco and the diseases it produces by Charles R. Drysdale’ (Today in Science History, 2001): https://todayinsci.com/D/Drysdale_Charles/DrysdaleCharles-TobaccoLetter%281878%29.htm

• ‘Sept. 25, 1878: Yes, Smoking Is a Health Hazard’ (Wired, 2008): https://www.wired.com/2008/09/sept-25-1878-yes-smoking-is-a-health-hazard/

• ‘The UK's first anti-smoking films’ (BFI, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSNq3Kf074

This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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.

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

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