989 episodes
Today In History with The Retrospectors The Retrospectors
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- History
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4.6 • 79 Ratings
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Ten minute daily episodes bringing you curious moments from this day in history, with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll: The Retrospectors. It's history, but not as you know it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Cocaine + Caffeine = Coca-Cola
John Pemberton launched Coca-Cola from a pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on 8th May, 1886. Legend has it that a serendipitous mishap had led to the addition of carbonated water, transforming the medicinal tonic into a fizzy beverage that would capture the public's imagination.
But in fact, Pemberton's original formula - Pemberton's French Wine Coca - had already been attracting a following; but it had to be relaunched to the market in a non-alcoholic formula, because it boasted wine among its ingredients, at the onset of temperance legislation in Atlanta. Nobody seemed bothered that it contained cocaine, however...
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Coke’s origins lay in curing morphine addiction; consider how strategic marketing, aggressive advertising, and a stroke of luck in a bottling deal pushed Coca-Cola’s proliferation across the globe; and reveal why their iconic logo is written in handwritten script…
Further Reading:
• ‘Vin Mariani: The Cocaine Wine Beloved by Popes and Presidents’ (Mental Floss, 2021): https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/644226/vin-mariani-cocaine-wine-history
• ’John Pemberton And The Quiet Tragedy Behind Coca-Cola's Invention’ (All That’s Interesting, 2017): https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-pemberton
• ‘John Pemberton and the invention of Coca-Cola (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxrIgUGfJ8c
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.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
EXTRA:How Coke Won The Cola Wars
How did Coke become the world’s favourite fizzy drink? By creating a distinctive bottle, embracing technological innovations, and keeping their recipe a closely-guarded secret - as The Retrospectors reveal is this bonus three minutes of content, exclusively for 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members on Apple Podcasts and Patreon. Thanks for supporting the show!
Further Reading:
‘LETTING THE SECRETS OUT OF BOTTLE’ (The Washington Post, 1993):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1993/05/16/letting-the-secrets-out-of-bottle/6867907a-98a0-492a-bbbf-6a76da261242/ -
The Earliest Ambulance
Rerun: During the Siege of Malaga, on 7th May 1487, Queen Isabella of Spain commissioned bespoke bed-wagons to transport injured soldiers from the battlefield to specially-erected tent hospitals, the world's earliest ambulance.
Despite this innovation, it was hundreds of years before the concept - and the word ‘ambulance’ - gained common currency worldwide, notably thanks to the American Civil War.
In this episode, The Retrospectors consider the propagandic purpose of transporting the wounded; evaluate the hearse-like designs of the first motorised ambulances; and reveal why ambulances were feared and ridiculed by those who had to use them…
Further Reading:
History of the Ambulance (Liverpool Medical Institution): https://www.lmi.org.uk/history-of-the-ambulance
‘The Ambulance: A History - By Ryan Corbett Bell’ (McFarlane and Company, 2009): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Ambulance/-YtlthqHmHsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ambulance+malaga+1487&printsec=frontcover
‘Earliest Life Saving Ambulances in History’ (Faramel, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSafOiyWvu8
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 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: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
World War Two's Weirdest Battle
Americans and Nazis fought side-by-side in the ‘Battle For Castle Itter’ on 5th May, 1945 - an attempt to free high-profile French prisoners from a 13th century Austrian castle at the very end of the War.
The prison - a sub-unit of Dachau concentration camp - housed former prime ministers and military figures, treated as "honour prisoners" by the Nazis. But the looming chaos of the war's end brought the risk of execution as Allied and Soviet forces closed in.
Sensing the shifting tides, prisoners took matters into their own hands, dispatching emissaries to seek aid from advancing American troops. What followed was a daring rescue mission that brought together an unlikely coalition of American, German, and French forces - led by an American tank commander and aided by a defected Wehrmacht officer
In this week’s Sunday’s episode, exclusively for 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how this fringe event may have altered the course of French politics; explain how a tennis champion played a crucial role in the mission’s success; and probe into another unlikely rescue of the era, ‘Operation Cowboy’...
Further Reading:
• ‘‘The Last Battle’: The Time US and German Soldiers Joined Forces in World War II’ (Coffee Or Die, 2021): https://coffeeordie.com/the-last-battle
• ‘Battle For Castle Itter: When Americans And Nazis Fought Side-By-Side’ (All Thats Interesting): https://allthatsinteresting.com/battle-for-castle-itter
• ‘The US Army & German Wehrmacht VS Waffen SS - Battle for Castle Itter 1945’ (Simple History, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0UwLhziocc
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. -
Sending Out Spam
The first ‘spam’ email, sent to ARPANET users on behalf of the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), landed in Inboxes on 3rd May, 1978.
Marketer Gary Thuerk was responsible for the idea - but his execution was flawed, as he inadvertently filled the body of his message with email addresses, overflowing from the To and CC fields. Recipients weren't amused. Some grumbled, others chuckled, but all felt the intrusion...
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether this e-marketing stumble truly qualifies as ‘spam’ in the modern sense; trace the origins of the Monty Python-derived term for unsolicited email; and marvel at the available storage space in the early days of the internet…
Further Reading:
• ‘Happy spamiversary! Spam reaches 30’ (New Scientist, 2008): https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13777-happy-spamiversary-spam-reaches-30/
• ‘America is Uncle Spam’ (Financial Times, 2018): https://www.ft.com/content/59014392-4947-11e8-8c77-ff51caedcde6
• ‘Database: How to send an 'E mail'’ (Thames TV, 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szdbKz5CyhA
We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!
Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, 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.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Creating The King James Bible
Accessible and rigorous, the King James Bible was published on 2nd May, 1611, at the behest of the Monarch after which it was named - and perhaps even he would be surprised at the book’s extraordinary success.
Advancements in printing technology made copies affordable, the expansion of English colonialism propagated it across the word, and its poetic imagery captured the imagination of churchgoers, who felt as though they were listening to God. But, there was an embarrassing typo!
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the book’s authors were wise to a) name it after the King, and b) keep their footnotes to a minimum; elucidate the difference between ‘interpretation’ and ‘translation’; and reveal the common phrases still in use today which most people don’t even realise originate in this book…
Further Reading:
• ‘Who Wrote The Bible, And When? The History Of The Book’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/history-bible-origins-who-wrote-when-how-reliable-historical-record/
• ‘King James Bible: How and Why the Translation Came to Be’ (TIME, 2017): https://time.com/4821911/king-james-bible-history/
• ‘Adam Nicolson: The King James Bible’ (National Geographic, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5A9d52v94
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.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Customer Reviews
Such a great show
The show is fun and informative. One of my favorite podcasts. Rebecca and Arion do a great job of researching every day’s topics. Olly also usually has a fact or two as well, but he clearly is there for his entertainment skills, not his research or analytic skills. A helpful hint for listeners is if Olly starts a statement with, “Obviously…” or, “Of course…” the rest of what comes next is likely going to be based on a misunderstanding of the topic, a misunderstanding of the context surrounding the topic, or a failure to listen to what his cohosts have already said.
false information
What bothers me most is when someone comes to talk about history without full knowledge and distorts it with his wrong words. Christians have designated Sunday as a holy day since the first century because it is the day on which Christ rose from the dead, not the Emperor Constantine, who designated it for Christians.
Great Today in History Podcast
if you like History you will love this podcast. I find the content interesting even though it it produced in the U.K. and I am not produced in the U.K. ;-)