Stuff You Missed In History Class

In the 19th century, a heated dispute arose over the house sparrow and its introduction into North America. Elliot Coues and Thomas Mayo Brewer held opposing opinions on the matter which they defended their entire lives.  Research: Mosco, Rosemary. “Meet the Little Brown Bird That Holds a Mirror Up to Humanity.” Audubon. 4/5/2023. https://www.audubon.org/news/meet-little-brown-bird-holds-mirror-humanity Wills, Matthew. “The Great Sparrow War of the 1870s.” JSTOR Daily. 6/23/2016. https://daily.jstor.org/the-great-sparrow-war-of-the-1870s/ Sterling, Keir B. et al, editors. “Thomas Mayo Brewer.” From Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists.” Greenwood Press. 1997. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/yc_pubs/9/ Glass, Chris. “The House Sparrow in Boston, Part I.” Boston Public Library Blog. 7/28/2022. https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-house-sparrow-in-boston-part-i/ Glass, Chris. “The House Sparrow in Boston, Part II.” Boston Public Library Blog. 7/28/2022. https://www.bpl

People have kept diaries and recorded notes since writing was invented. But planners as we think of them today have their roots in almanacs.  Research: Atkins, Samuel. “Kalendarium Pennsilvaniense.” W. Bradford. 1685. https://books.google.com/books/about/Kalendarium_Pennsilvaniense_Or_America_s.html?id=wT0wAAAAYAAJ Nichols, Charles L. “Notes on the Almanacs of Massachusetts.” American Antiquarian Society. 1912. https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/45647891.pdf Railton, Stephen. “Anti-Slavery Almanacs.” University of Virginia. https://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/gallaaaf.html Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "almanac". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/almanac Badian, E.. "fasti". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Dec. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/topic/fasti-Roman-calendar Winlock, H. E. “The Origin of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 83, no. 3, 1940, pp. 447–64. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/

For New Year's Eve, we're resharing our Sept 2021 episode on the history of gin. Happy New Year to all our listeners, and cheers to you no matter your drink of choice!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2014, the show covered the 1903 fire at the new Iroquois Theater. The horrible, incredibly tragic incident was the result of multiple code violations and wrongdoings.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Differing points of view regarding the Stone of Scone are discussed. Tracy also shares thoughts on "Assassins' Creed," its mixed reviews, and the most interesting historical elements in it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Banū Mūsā were three brothers who lived in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age. Among their many achievements, they wrote books on math and science, and created a number of automata.  Research: 1001 Inventions. “Fountains.” https://www.1001inventions.com/fountains/ Abboud, Tony. “Al-Kindi : the father of Arab philosophy.” New York, NY : Rosen Pub. Group. 2006. Ali, Adam. “The Abbasid Civil War: The War of the Brothers.” Medievalists.net. 9/2022. https://www.medievalists.net/2022/09/abbasid-civil-war-brothers/ Al-Jazeera English. “Pioneers of Engineering Al Jazari and the Banu Musa.” 10/27/2015. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/science-in-a-golden-age/2015/10/27/pioneers-of-engineering-al-jazari-and-the-banu-musa/ "Banū Mūsā." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008, pp. 443-446. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2830900258/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=143ea436. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023. “Banu Musa.” Encyclopedia Iranica.

On Christmas day in 1950, the Stone of Scone was removed, heist-style, from Westminster Abbey. Some believed it to be an act of theft, and others, liberation.  Research: Aitchison, Nick. “Scotland's Stone of Destiny : myth, history and nationhood.” Stroud : Tempus. 2000. BBC World Service. “The removal of Scotland's Stone of Destiny - BBC World Service.” Via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd_FC2zWlOQ Brocklehurst, Steven. “The students who stole the Stone of Destiny.” BBC. 3/24/2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-63130942 George, Stephen C. “What Is the Stone of Destiny?” Discover. 6/5/2023. https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/what-is-the-stone-of-destiny Glasgow Police Museum. “THE STONE OF DESTINY – 1950.” https://www.policemuseum.org.uk/crime-casebook/interesting-cases/the-stone-of-destiny-1950/ Historic Environment Scotland. “Research shines new light on the Stone of Destiny.” 4/5/2023. https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/research-shines-new-light

For Christmas Eve, we’re sharing our 2016 episode about holiday figures from around the world. This one features the Mari Lwyd, which came up on a recent episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This 2019 episode covers John Wilkins who planned out what he thought it would take for humans to travel to the moon In the 1600s. Wilkins managed to ride out a rocky time in England's history comfortably.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Tracy talks about not seeing a frozen body of water that could support a person as a kid. Holly discusses how difficult it is to pare down Hedda Hopper's life into an episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, Columnis

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 t

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=PLNrBwGzpymDJwMDZeUI939TpVViLOKHpySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy share formative experiences with math classes. Then Tracy discusses a spinning bee, Lafayette in Medford, and her historical fanfiction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 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

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

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 placeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss Advent calendars in their own lives. They also discuss some of their experiences in Barcelona. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.” Barce

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