Today In History with The Retrospectors
Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1104
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Birth of the Bikini
Rerun: Swimwear never made more of a splash than when designer Louis Réard unveiled his daring new two-piece at the Piscine Molitor in Paris on July 5th, 1946. Showgirl Micheline Bernardini modelled …
00:11:17 |
Fri 05 Jul 2024
Here Comes The Hamburger
Rerun: Who invented the hamburger? It’s almost impossible to know, given that mincemeat has been consumed all around the world, and for centuries - but Oscar Bilby, of Tulsa, Oklahoma is a strong con…
00:11:57 |
Wed 03 Jul 2024
Sailing Alone Around The World
Captain Joshua Slocum set sail from Nova Scotia in The Spray, his revamped oyster sloop, on 3rd July, 1898: the first solo circumnavigation of the world.
Sailing alone for no reason other than plea…
00:12:25 |
Wed 03 Jul 2024
Death of Hypercolor
Generra Sportswear, the Seattle-based company that distributed Hypercolor - the T-shirts that changed colour with heat - and declared bankruptcy on 2nd July, 1992.
In a brief three-month span, betw…
00:12:04 |
Tue 02 Jul 2024
When Sharks ATTACK!
The real-life ‘Shark Week’ that inspired Peter Benchley's novel Jaws kicked off with the shocking mauling of 23 year-old Charles Vansant off the coast of Beach Haven on 1st July, 1916.
At first, the…
00:10:50 |
Mon 01 Jul 2024
Before There Was 'Crufts'
Rerun: The first modern dog show took place in Newcastle on 28th June, 1859. Essentially a sideshow to the annual exhibition of cattle, it featured just 23 pointers and 27 setters. The owners of the …
00:11:20 |
Fri 28 Jun 2024
When Hugh Met Divine
Rerun: It was the sex scandal of the year: British rom-com star Hugh Grant procuring the services of hitherto unknown L.A. streetwalker Divine Brown on Sunset Boulevard on 27th June, 1995.
When thei…
00:12:05 |
Thu 27 Jun 2024
The Real Pied Piper
What happened to the 130 children that went missing from the town of Hamlein, Lower Saxony on 26th June, 1284? According to legend, a vindictive ‘Pied Piper’ took revenge after the town had failed to…
00:11:57 |
Wed 26 Jun 2024
A Flag For Gay Pride
The ‘rainbow flag’ first flew in San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza for Gay Pride Day, on June 25th, 1978.
Created by Gilbert Baker, a friend of Harvey Milk, the original flag featured eight colo…
00:10:52 |
Tue 25 Jun 2024
Edward III's Garter Club
The Order of the Garter, Britain’s highest chivalric order, was established by King Edward III on 24th June, 1348.
Influenced by Arthurian legend and the popularity of the Crusades, monarchs all ove…
00:11:04 |
Mon 24 Jun 2024
Let's Triangulate Britain
Rerun: The Ordnance Survey - a government-funded agency created to aid the military in the event of invasion from France - took receipt of a theodolite on 21st June 1791, and so began the epic task o…
00:10:49 |
Fri 21 Jun 2024
The Famous Painting Ape
Rerun: Congo, pet chimp of science writer and TV personality Desmond Morris, was considered a novelty in the art world when his paintings were displayed in the 1950’s. But, on 20th June, 2005, three …
00:11:48 |
Thu 20 Jun 2024
Making The Metropolitan Police
Sir Robert Peel received royal assent for the Metropolis Police Improvement Bill on 19th June, 1829 - leading to the creation of London's first professional police force, who were soon nicknamed ‘Bob…
00:11:02 |
Wed 19 Jun 2024
Insuring Your Life
The world’s first life insurance policy was signed on June 18th, 1583.
The person insured was one William Gybbons, who worked as a meat and fish salter, and the beneficiary of the policy was a man n…
00:13:08 |
Tue 18 Jun 2024
Build Me The Taj Mahal
India’s most famous building, Agra’s Taj Mahal, was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan - following the death in childbirth of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, on 17th June, 1631.
Renowned …
00:12:53 |
Mon 17 Jun 2024
The Vatican's Naughty Library
Rerun: Circulated in some form since the 16th century, the ‘Index of Forbidden Books’ was quietly discontinued by Pope Paul VI on 14th June, 1966.
In its 400-year+ history, the Index Librorum Prohibi…
00:11:42 |
Fri 14 Jun 2024
Let's Censor Hollywood
Rerun: he Production Code Administration - which policed standards of decency on all US cinema releases for twenty years - was established on 13th June, 1934, following a patch of unconvincing Hollyw…
00:11:59 |
Thu 13 Jun 2024
Meet Me At The Automat
Before McDonalds, there was the Horn & Hardart Automat - a chain restaurant featuring coin-operated glass windows, which opened its first branch in Philadelphia on 12th June, 1902. The business woul…
00:12:43 |
Wed 12 Jun 2024
King Tries Hotdog!
King George VI first tasted a hot dog on June 11th, 1939.
The moment occurred during a picnic at the Hyde Park residence of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But behind the culinary first for …
00:11:59 |
Tue 11 Jun 2024
Tolstoy's Monastic Adventures
The renowned author of "War and Peace," Count Leo Tolstoy, set off on a pilgrimage to Optina Monastery on 10th June, 1881, disguised as a peasant.
Accompanied by his valet, Sergei Arbuzov, Tolstoy t…
00:12:07 |
Mon 10 Jun 2024
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