Today In History with The Retrospectors The Retrospectors

When Lord Byron’s 17 year-old daughter, Ada Lovelace, attended a soirée at the home of academic Charles Babbage on 5th June, 1833, the pair hit it off immediately. He invited her to see his ‘Difference Engine’ - an early mechanical calculator - kicking off a correspondence that lasted throughout her life.
Their lively, intellectual correspondence, and Ada's deep understanding of mathematics and science, lead to her championing of Babbage’s ‘Analytical Engine’, a groundbreaking proto personal computer for which Ada even wrote an algorithm.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate whether Ada deserves her 21st century acclaim as the godmother of computer programming; expose her extramarital affairs and gambling habit; and consider whether Babbage himself even fully understood the applications for what he had invented…
Further Reading:
• ‘Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines and the Science Museum’ (Science Museum, 2023): https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum
• ‘How Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage Invented the World’s First Computer: An Illustrated Adventure in Footnotes and Friendship’ (The Marginalian, 2015): https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/06/15/the-thrilling-adventures-of-lovelace-and-babbage-sydney-padua/
• ‘Ada Lovelace in “Victoria” (ITV, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOoCOUDdoeA
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: 
Ollie Peart
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.




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On June 4, 1411, Charles VI of France granted the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon a monopoly to ripen his favourite cheese.
Noted for its sharp, tangy, salty flavor and its rich, creamy texture, Roquefort is still under designation protected by French law, and sometimes called ‘le fromage des rois et des papes’ (“the cheese of kings and popes”).
In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal Casanova’s weird kink for this blue-veined cheese in the bedroom; discover the folksy origin story that has perpetuated for centuries; and consider whether the death of the cheese plate is killing off this King of Cheeses…
Further Reading:
• ‘The Oxford Companion to Cheese’ (OUP, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Companion_to_Cheese/qRg1DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=roquefort+1411&pg=PA130&printsec=frontcover
• ‘How Much Longer Will Roquefort Reign as the King of Cheese?’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2021): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-much-longer-roquefort-reign-king-cheese-180978999/
• ‘Roquefort French Cheese’ (Phil Vickery, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKKahpKQCSQ
This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 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: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.


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Just 224 words long, Eric Carle’s classic children’s book, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, was first published on 3rd June, 1969. Initially conceived as a "bookworm" eating through the pages, Carle's editor suggested a caterpillar for the central character, leading to a timeless tome that has sold over 55 million copies in 70 languages. 
Carle's journey to becoming a renowned children's author began in his late 30s after a career in advertising. Despite a tumultuous early life, including being conscripted by the Nazis and later the US Army, Carle found solace in his unique artistic style, layering paint and tissue paper to create colourful, textured illustrations.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ponder why Carle’s military history has not caused him reputational damage in the USA; trace his childhood memories and his father's love for nature in his writing; and reveal why George W. Bush misunderestimated our ability to decipher chronology …
Further Reading:
• ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar: 50 years of magical reading for children’ (The Independent, 2019): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-author-eric-carle-anniversary-50-a8937571.html
• ’The Enduring Whimsy and Wonderment of Eric Carle’ (The New York Times, 2021): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/25/books/review/eric-carle-tiny-seeds-very-hungry-caterpillar.html?searchResultPosition=1
• ‘Eric Carle Discusses 50 Years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ (Penguin Kids, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYwE8qALm9M
#Books #60s #Inventions #US
Love the show? Support us! 
Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 
… Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. 
Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️
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: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Eric Carle’s classic has inspired intriguing interpretations, from anti-liberalist to Christian allegories, as The Retrospectors reveal in this bonus FIVE MINUTES of ‘Caterpillar’ content, cut-for-time from today’s episode, and exclusively available to our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon. Chomp chomp!

In this week’s Sunday’s episode, exclusively for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall the shocking events of the Heysel Stadium disaster, which lead to all English football clubs being banned from European competitions for five years from 2nd June, 1985.

The tragedy occurred during the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, when hooligans from both clubs had infiltrated the neutral sections. The policing was inadequate, with officers diverted by minor thefts, and the stadium's security measures woefully insufficient.

39 fans died, and 600 were injured, but, astonishingly, the match continued - with Juventus winning 1-0.

In this episode, The Retrospectors discover how the ban led to the creation of the ill-fated ‘Screensport Super Cup’; consider how Rupert Murdoch's investment in rights transformed the sport; and reveal how the ban affected English clubs’ ability to attract international talent…

Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Rerun. John Harvey Kellogg believed his corn flakes had a future as a sexual suppressant when he filed a patent for "Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same" on 31st May, 1895.
What the Seventh Day Adventist and eugenicist hadn’t counted on was his brother Will - who combined his discovery with sugar; effectively creating the Kellogg company that still exists to this day. 
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion reveal the origins of the word ‘Sanitarium’, explain what Dr. Kellogg got up to on honeymoon; and revisit his alarming prescription for yoghurt...
Content Warning: references to eugenics, masturbation, sexual content
Further Reading:
• ‘John Harvey Kellogg, MD: Health Reformer and Antismoking Crusader’ at the U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447485/
• NPR’s Fresh Air on ‘How The 'Battling' Kellogg Brothers Revolutionized American Breakfast’ (2017): https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/08/542145177/how-the-battling-kellogg-brothers-revolutionized-american-breakfast?t=1621942499296
• Discovery’s ‘How It’s Made’ visits a cereal factory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPpMV_vcVEg
‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’
Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday… 
… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️
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 2024.

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