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
- 1103
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Raleigh’s Tobacco Adventures
Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco back to Britain from Virginia on 27th July 1586 - and, in so doing, triggered a craze for smoking, which at the time was considered a tonic for halitosis, and even …
00:10:59 |
Tue 27 Jul 2021
Let’s Build A Language
Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps li…
00:10:59 |
Mon 26 Jul 2021
Radio 1 hits the road
Concerned that it was too London-centric, the BBC commissioned a series of pop-up outside broadcasts for its youth music station Radio 1, kicking off modestly in Newquay on 23rd July, 1973. The event…
00:11:13 |
Fri 23 Jul 2021
The World’s First Motor Race
Billed as a concours for ‘horseless carriages’, the Paris–Rouen competition which took place on 22nd July, 1894, is now widely considered the world’s first motor race.
Only 21 vehicles qualified. So…
00:11:34 |
Thu 22 Jul 2021
The Outing of Milli Vanilli
German pop duo Milli Vanilli sold 33 million singles, including three US number ones, but harboured a shameful secret: their vocals were sung by someone else. At a promotional gig in Connecticut on 2…
00:11:53 |
Wed 21 Jul 2021
Napoleon’s Surname Decree
France's Jewish population mostly had no family surnames - until 20th July, 1808, when Napoleon issued a decree insisting they adopted one. They were not permitted to choose place names, and allusion…
00:11:11 |
Tue 20 Jul 2021
Marathon Begat Snickers
The world’s biggest-selling chocolate bar underwent a name-change in Britain on 19th July, 1990. Until then - concerned that Brits might refer to their candy as ‘knickers’ - Snickers had been known a…
00:11:08 |
Mon 19 Jul 2021
The Death Of Kissing
Kissing was a big deal in the Middle Ages: for signing contracts, for greeting colleagues, and for showing deference to the King - a tradition that ended on 16th July, 1439, when Henry VI issued a de…
00:11:30 |
Fri 16 Jul 2021
The Red Planet Gets Closer
The first images of Mars found their way back to Earth from NASA’s Mariner 4 mission on 15th July, 1965 - and were simultaneously revelatory and disappointing.
Delivered as binary code, rendered in b…
00:11:33 |
Thu 15 Jul 2021
The Spock Generation
Dr Benjamin Spock’s ‘Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care’ was first published on 14th July, 1946. It was then translated into 40 languages, selling over 50 million copies - second only to the Bi…
00:11:14 |
Wed 14 Jul 2021
Queen Vic’s New Gaff
Queen Victoria moved from her birthplace, Kensington Palace, and decreed Buckingham Palace her official residence on 13th July, 1837. She was 18, newly-crowned - and until then had shared a bedroom w…
00:11:17 |
Tue 13 Jul 2021
The Anti-Disco Army
‘Disco Demolition Night’, the brainchild of 24 year-old shock jock Steve Dahl, caused mass hysteria at Comiskey Park, Chicago on 12th July, 1979 - causing a pitch invasion that lead to 39 arrests.
In…
00:11:13 |
Mon 12 Jul 2021
The Sun Sets on 'Eldorado'
One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million.
Focussing on the glamo…
00:11:20 |
Fri 09 Jul 2021
The Miracle in the Ashes
‘Our Lady of Kazan’, a painting of the Virgin and Child, was discovered in the ashes of a fire in the Russian town of Kazan on 8th July, 1579. The icon quickly became associated with miracles after t…
00:11:33 |
Thu 08 Jul 2021
Seven Wonders - Rebooted
‘The Seven Wonders of the World’ *sounds* impressive, but could they do with an update? That was the mission of the mysterious Swiss-based ‘New 7 Wonders Foundation’ when they announced the NEW seven…
00:10:45 |
Wed 07 Jul 2021
The Best Thing Since Wrapped Bread
Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 - after an astonishing SIXTEEN years o…
00:11:04 |
Mon 05 Jul 2021
Birth Of The Bikini
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 the new…
00:11:17 |
Sun 04 Jul 2021
Zeppelin Takes Flight
Airships had flown since the 1850s, but the first rigid airship to comfortably carry passengers - the Zeppelin - had its maiden voyage at Lake Constance on 2nd July, 1900.
The passion project of Germ…
00:11:16 |
Fri 02 Jul 2021
The Walkman Effect
Sony’s revolutionary cassette player, the Walkman, debuted in the USA on 1st July, 1979, costing $150. It went on to shift a staggering 450m units.
Boasting a classy aluminium chassis, audio splitter…
00:11:40 |
Thu 01 Jul 2021
It’s Raining Frogs!
When marine amphibians fall from the sky, people tend to notice. So it was on 30th June, 1892 - when it reportedly rained FROGS in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley.
Multiple accounts of animal rain -…
00:10:56 |
Wed 30 Jun 2021
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