You are probably familiar with several of the great pre-Columbian cities in the Americas. Places like Tikal in Guatemala, Copan in Honduras, and Tenochtitlan in Mexico are some of the great legacies of the civilizations that came before. However, all of these population centers were located in Mesoamerican. Most of the people who lived in what is today the United States and Canada were nomadic and never built any large cities. However, there was one major exception. Learn more about Cahokia, the...
Jan 18, 2024•14 min•Ep 1291•Transcript available on Metacast In 1845, farmers around Europe suffered from a blight that devastated the potato crop. This lasted for several years, but nowhere was it more pronounced than it was on the island of Ireland, where it resulted in death and mass migration. The effects of this potato blight can still be witnessed in the world today. Learn more about the Great Irish Famine, also known as the Irish Potato Famine, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/everywhere today...
Jan 17, 2024•12 min•Ep 1290•Transcript available on Metacast The 19th century saw an explosion in population in London. The city grew severalfold and became the largest city in the world. With so many people and the city growing so rapidly, transportation became a huge problem. One solution was to provide the new technology known as locomotives in the city. However, building train tracks would require a great deal of land which simply didn’t exist. The solution to their problem lay under their feet. Learn more about the London Underground, its origin, and...
Jan 16, 2024•14 min•Ep 1289•Transcript available on Metacast There is a very good chance that many of you listening have had pasta, maybe within the last week. Pasta is a simple, affordable food that comes in a wide variety of forms. It can be served with almost anything and in a wide variety of styles. Despite its current global nature, pasta is a food that originated in Italy……or did it? Learn more about pasta, how it originated, and how it spread around the world on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/e...
Jan 15, 2024•13 min•Ep 1288•Transcript available on Metacast When most people think of Switzerland, they think of a small country embedded in the Alps that makes fine chocolates and is the home of the cuckoo clock. They have been neutral in European conflicts for almost 500 years, and they serve as the headquarters for several international organizations. Yet, it was the Swiss who, during the Renaissance, were some of the most feared and in-demand mercenary fighters in Europe. Learn more about Swiss mercenaries and how they instilled fear into Europeans o...
Jan 14, 2024•12 min•Ep 1287•Transcript available on Metacast Every single rocket that has ever been launched into space has been a rocket that burned some sort of fuel. These chemical fuel rockets have worked well for making the short trip to orbit. Beyond that point, however, they are not necessarily the best option for space travel. There are a host of proposed methods for space travel that don’t involve rockets, some of which have already been tested. Learn more about alternative forms of space flight and the possible future of space exploration on thi...
Jan 13, 2024•13 min•Ep 1286•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that you and everyone else listening to me right now are mortal. As of the recording of this episode, time is undefeated. The good news is that there has never been a better time to be alive and that, historically speaking, life expectancies are at an all-time high. Learn more about life expectancies throughout human history and the things that improved them on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visi...
Jan 12, 2024•14 min•Ep 1285•Transcript available on Metacast For over 300 years, the Romanov family ruled over the Russian Empire. After the Communist Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne, and he and his family were placed under house arrest, where they ultimately met a grizzly fate. For decades after their deaths, the world wondered what happened to them until their bodies were discovered and identified 80 years later. Learn more about the fate of the last Russian Tsar and his family on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors B...
Jan 11, 2024•15 min•Ep 1284•Transcript available on Metacast One of the most important inventions in human history was artificial lighting. With the electric lightbulb, the night could be illuminated, allowing people to extend their productive hours in the day and to work in places that were otherwise difficult or impossible. While the incandescent bulb was a breakthrough, it wasn’t actually very efficient. It wouldn’t be until decades later that a radically more efficient way of producing artificial light would be developed. Learn more about LEDs or ligh...
Jan 10, 2024•15 min•Ep 1283•Transcript available on Metacast After the First World War in France, many generals thought that the end of the war was really just a pause before another war began. They wanted to make sure that the next time war broke out with Germany, they were ready and could never be invaded again. To that end, they created a series of defensive fortifications they believed to be impregnable. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. Learn more about the Maginot Line, why it was built, and why it failed on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily....
Jan 09, 2024•13 min•Ep 1282•Transcript available on Metacast Thousands of years ago, humans discovered a black-yellowish liquid that come out from the ground and could burn when it was set on fire. Today, the fluid that seeped from the rocks is responsible for much of our modern world. But how does that fluid become usable fuel, and how exactly do you get it out of the rocks? Learn more about petroleum, aka crude oil, and how it gets from the ground to your vehicle, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/e...
Jan 08, 2024•13 min•Ep 1281•Transcript available on Metacast In the TV series Game of Thrones, there were four different seasons where disputes were determined with trial by combat. As fictional as the Game of Thrones universe is, the idea of resolving legal disputes by fighting, sometimes to the death, was historically accurate. For centuries, trial by combat was a legitimate option for conflict resolution, and according to some theories, it might still technically exist. Learn more about trial by combat and how it was actually conducted on this episode ...
Jan 07, 2024•14 min•Ep 1280•Transcript available on Metacast The month of January was named after the Roman god Janus who had two faces, one on each side of his head. Janus was the god of waging war and making peace. Of beginnings and endings, and of change and passages. …and while there is no evidence to prove it, I’m pretty sure that Janus would have been the god of questions and answers. Stay tuned while I answer listener questions on the 14 questions and answers installment of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/every...
Jan 06, 2024•14 min•Ep 1279•Transcript available on Metacast Located off the coast of Southeast Asia lies an archipelago of 7,641 islands that constitute the nation of the Philippines. The Philippines is one of the largest countries in the world by population and has a history and a culture, unlike any other country in Asia. The process through which the modern nation of the modern nation of the Philippines came to be is a result of its unique history. Learn more about the Philippines, its geography, and history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Da...
Jan 05, 2024•14 min•Ep 1278•Transcript available on Metacast In 1914, a minor league baseball team in Baltimore, Maryland, signed a young player from the St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys—a school for delinquent boys and orphans. Unbeknownst to them, the wayward boy would go on to completely transform the game of baseball and become one of the most famous people in American history. The changes in the sport that he ushered in can still be seen today, and even 100 years later, he is still considered to be the greatest baseball player of all time. Learn...
Jan 04, 2024•14 min•Ep 1277•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1920s and 1930s, one of the most cutting-edge and exciting forms of transportation was the zeppelin. Germany’s Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Company created lighter-than-air airships that transported passengers millions of miles worldwide. This new form of transportation which seemed to be the future, came to a sudden and dramatic end on one horrific day in 1937 in New Jersey. Learn more about the Hindenburg Disaster, its cause, and its aftermath on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. S...
Jan 03, 2024•15 min•Ep 1276•Transcript available on Metacast There are an infinite number of numbers, but some numbers are more important than others. One number, which might just be the most important number, lies hidden in a wide variety of things in the natural world. It can be found in everything from the mathematics of radioactive decay to population growth and even compound interest. The number even turns out to have a central role in calculus and mathematics's most elegant equation. Learn more about e, also known as Euler’s Number, on this episode ...
Jan 02, 2024•13 min•Ep 1275•Transcript available on Metacast Thousands of years ago, the first humans accidentally created the first beer and wine. This occurred naturally when yeast in the air converted sugars into alcohol. However, it wasn’t until thousands of years later that new techniques were developed to process those beverages, but even then, the products they created weren’t designed for consumption. Eventually, these techniques were perfected to a point where they could be consumed, and they resulted in entirely new categories of beverages. Lear...
Jan 01, 2024•15 min•Ep 1274•Transcript available on Metacast One of the most important substances throughout world history has been salt. Salt might seem mundane, but it is actually necessary for the functioning of life. Salt has been used as a preservative for millennia, a seasoning, and even a medium on exchange. Salt is one of the universal things that have remained the same throughout history and everywhere on Earth. Learn more about salt and its importance in human history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit Bett...
Dec 31, 2023•15 min•Ep 1273•Transcript available on Metacast During the 14th century, the world saw one of its most traumatic episodes. A plague spread through Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa that was unlike anything the world had ever seen. In some locations, over half of the population died. Those who survived found themselves in a whole new world where the social and economic rules had been totally changed. Learn more about the Black Death, how it happened, and how it changed the world on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Spo...
Dec 30, 2023•15 min•Ep 1272•Transcript available on Metacast From the years 59 to 53 BC, three high-ranking Romans conspired to control the Roman political system for their own benefit. They called this system a triumvirate. A decade later, Rome found itself under the control of three more men and yet another triumvirate. This one was very different than than the first. It was given actual legal authority, and it was far more deadly. Learn more about the Second Triumvirate, how it started, and how it ended on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. S...
Dec 29, 2023•13 min•Ep 1271•Transcript available on Metacast In 1957, two chemists at the Clinton Corn Processing Company of Clinton, Iowa, developed a system for converting the glucose found in corn starch into fructose. Over 60 years later, the product they created can be found in a dizzying array of food products worldwide. Learn more about High Fructose Corn Syrup, how it is made, how it is used, and the controversy surrounding it on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/everywhere today to get 10% off y...
Dec 28, 2023•12 min•Ep 1270•Transcript available on Metacast By the age of 32, Alexander the Great had conquered most of the world, which was known to him. This episode is not about any of that. This is about what happened after his death. After he died, his corpse became a political football, and his tomb became the centerpiece of the city in Egypt that bared his name. Within a century, it became the largest city on Earth. …and then at some point, his body and his tomb just disappeared from history. Learn more about the corpse and the tomb of Alexander t...
Dec 27, 2023•12 min•Ep 1269•Transcript available on Metacast On Christmas Eve, 1914, something remarkable happened on the western front during the First World War. Soldiers in the trenches on both sides of no man’s land ceased fighting. Not only did they stop fighting, but they came out of their trenches to meet each other to celebrate Christmas. It has become one of the most mythologized events of the war and one of the oddest events in military history. Learn more about the Christmas Truce of 1914 and what really happened on this episode of Everything E...
Dec 26, 2023•11 min•Ep 1268•Transcript available on Metacast Every year, people around the world celebrate Christmas on December 25. In many countries, it is the biggest single holiday of the year. Why is it celebrated on December 25? Is there any historical basis for this date and if not, then why do we celebrate it on this date? Learn more about why we celebrate Christmas when we do on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors BetterHelp Visit BetterHelp.com/everywhere today to get 10% off your first month ButcherBox Sign up today at butcher...
Dec 25, 2023•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast On December 21, 1968, a Saturn V rocket was launched from Florida that did something that had never been done before. It took three men outside of the orbit of the Earth. They didn’t just leave the Earth's orbit; they orbited the moon, and while they were in the orbit of the moon, they sent a message to Earth, which was the most widely listened to broadcast in human history up to that point. Learn more about the Apollo 8 mission and how it changed history on this episode of Everything Everywhere...
Dec 24, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1920s, Christmas was becoming a big deal. Christmas was becoming highly commercialized, and the Santa Claus that we know today was being established. It was during this time one man saw an opportunity. He was able to fill a gap in the market and in answering the letters that children sent to Santa. It was an incredible success, it was incredibly popular, and it was ultimately a giant scam. Learn more about John Duval Gluk and the Santa Claus Association on this episode of Everything Every...
Dec 23, 2023•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you live anywhere away from tropical latitudes, you might have experienced snow. In fact, depending on where you live, you might have experienced a whole lot of snow at various points in your life. As a substance, snow has some very unique properties. On the one hand, it is very simple; it is just ice, but on the other hand, it is also extremely complex. Snow can be very beautiful, but if you have to deal with it often enough, it can be very annoying and even dangerous. Learn more about snow,...
Dec 22, 2023•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast If anyone has taken some basic mathematics, you are probably familiar with Euclidian Geometry. Euclidean geometry is what most people just call geometry. It is the study of shapes like triangles and circles in a simple plane. This type of geometry was developed over 2000 years ago, and it is based on certain set axioms. However, later mathematicians challenged one of those axioms, and it completely changed how we thought of geometry. Learn more about non-Euclidian geometry and what it means in t...
Dec 21, 2023•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every major city in the world has its own unique story. Some cities have an ancient history, and others have a more recent founding. Madrid, the capital city of Spain, has a history that is unlike any other. It went from nothing to being the capital of the world’s largest empire and today is one of the largest cities in Europe. Learn more about the history of Madrid, Spain’s capital and largest city, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors The Tourist Office of Spain To plan you...
Dec 20, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
