Milton Bradley shaped not only the way people in the U.S. and around the globe play, but also how many kids in the U.S. were educated in their youngest years. Research: Adams, David Wallace, and Victor Edmonds. “Making Your Move: The Educational Significance of the American Board Game, 1832 to 1904.” History of Education Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, 1977, pp. 359–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/367865 Bradley, M. “Game Board. U.S. Patent Office. April 3, 1866. https://patentimages.storage.googl...
Apr 10, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast On May 28, in the year 585 BCE, there was a total solar eclipse during a battle between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia. This eclipse had been predicted by Thales of Miletus, and it led to the ends of both the battle and the war. Maybe. Research: "Thales of Miletus." Math & Mathematicians: The History of Math Discoveries Around the World, edited by Leonard C. Bruno, UXL, 2008. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1669000047/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=941ff1...
Apr 08, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2019 episode covers Sylvia of Hollywood, famous in the 1920s and 1930s for shaping up starlets, cementing the idea that Hollywood's beauties were aspirational figures for the average woman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 06, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly reads Vinnie Ream's account of when she met Franz Liszt. Then discussion turns to Ream's friendships, her shopping habits, and why she lived in Rome instead of closer to Carrara. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 05, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part two of our episode on Vinnie Ream covers the completion of her first major work, and the rest of her life, which was just as controversial as her early adulthood. Research: “Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/anjo/andrew-johnson-and-reconstruction.htm Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vinnie Ream". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vinnie-Ream “The Case of Miss Vinnie Ream, The Latest National Di...
Apr 03, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vinnie Ream became the first woman to be given an art commission by the U.S. Government when she was still a teenager. Part one covers the controversy that arose as she lobbied for that job. Research: “Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/anjo/andrew-johnson-and-reconstruction.htm Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vinnie Ream". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vinnie-Ream “The Case of Miss Vinnie Ream,...
Apr 01, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2014 episode covers the story of how in 1859, the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over an American settler shooting a Canadian pig that was rooting around his garden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 30, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly and Tracy ponder why the wrong photo has become used so frequently in mentions of Margaret E. Knight. Tracy shares the reasons she almost didn't cover Henry Martyn Robert on the show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 29, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Henry Martyn Robert was connected to multiple historical events, but his most lasting legacy is the set of guidelines he created that offered a standardized way to run meetings. Research: "Henry Martyn Robert." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 21, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007677/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=a6a24976. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024. Doyle, Don H. “Rules of Order: Henry Martyn Robert and the Popularization of Ame...
Mar 27, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Margaret E. Knight was an ingenious woman. She started tinkering with things when she was still just a tiny child, and the first invention that really improved the lives of those around her came about at the age of 12. Research: “A Lady in a Machine Shop.” Woman’s Journal, December 21, 1872. Accessed online: https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:48852547$409i Bedi, Joyce. “Margaret Knight.” Lemelson Center, Smithsonian. March 22, 2021. https://invention.si.edu/node/28532/p/609-margaret...
Mar 25, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2019 episode covers James G. Fair, known as the Silver King. But though Fair often appears on lists of the richest men in U.S. history, his image was also tainted by scandal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 23, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly and Tracy talk about there not being a national divorce law in the U.S. and how to pronounce Nevada. Tracy talks about the ways social rules are necessary but can be used in ways that are exclusionary. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 22, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Books on etiquette don’t necessarily reflect rules everyone is actually following – they’re more like what the author thinks the ideal standard of behavior should be. This episode looks at six such books from history. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Giovanni Della Casa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Della-Casa. Accessed 29 February 2024. Dukes, Hunter. “The Age of Impoliteness: Galateo: or, A Treatise on Politeness and ...
Mar 20, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Divorce ranches sprung up in the 1930s when Nevada relaxed its divorce laws. This unique and controversial style of resort was incredibly popular for several decades before becoming obsolete. Research: Brean, Henry. “The rise and fall of Reno's quickie divorce industry.” Reno Gazette Journal. Sept. 18, 2017. https://www.rgj.com/story/life/2017/09/18/rise-and-fall-renos-quickie-divorce-industry/677065001/ Bromley, John. “Two ‘Divorce Ranches’ Still Thriving.” Nevada State Journal. April 27, 1969....
Mar 18, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2021 episode covers sixteenth-century barber surgeon Ambroise Paré, who has been called everything from “the gentle surgeon” to “the father of modern surgery.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 16, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly talks about the various theories about events in Charles Francis Hall's life. Tracy discusses some of the troubling sources she came across while researching Götz von Berlichingen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 15, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the early 16th century Gottfried von Berlichingen was known as Götz of the Iron Hand because after an injury and amputation, he wore a prosthesis made of sheet iron that was painted to match his skin. Research: Ashmore, Kevin et al. “ArtiFacts: Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen-The "Iron Hand" of the Renaissance.” Clinical orthopaedics and related research vol. 477,9 (2019): 2002-2004. doi:10.1097/CORR.0000000000000917 Beare, Mary. “Reviewed Work: The Autobiography of Götz von Berlichingen by...
Mar 13, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom when he made a try for the North Pole – though he was the only one from his expedition to die. Research: Besselss, Emil, and William Barr. “Polaris: The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73.” University of Calgary Press. 2016. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles Francis Hall". Encyclopedia Britan...
Mar 11, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2017 episode covers the extinction of one New Zealand bird species that's often attributed to a single cat. While feline predation played a significant role in the end of the Stephens Island wren, the story is more complex. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 09, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Holly and Tracy discuss how neither of them like Sloppy Joes, and a cocktail recipe Holly found during research. Tracy shares how very much she adores Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 08, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The coelacanth was believed to have gone extinct about 66 million years ago, until one was spotted in South Africa in 1938. Naturalist and museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer played a key part in that event. Research: Ashworth, Willam B. Jr. “Scientist of the Day – Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer.” Linda Hall Library. 2/24/2020. https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/marjorie-courtenay-latimer/ Bruton, Mike. “Curator and Crusader: The Life and Work of Marjorie Courtenay-Latim...
Mar 06, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sloppy Joe, Hot Brown, and the Reuben are all well-known sandwiches, and they are all named after people. Though the specific person is argued in two of these cases. Research: “Bechamel.” Oxford Reference. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095454669 “Bechamel Sauce.” ChefIn. https://chefin.com.au/dictionary/bechamel-sauce/#:~:text=History%20of%20b%C3%A9chamel%20sauce,(wife%20of%20Henry%20II). Beck, Katherine. “The Controversial Origins Of The Sloppy Joe.” Tasti...
Mar 04, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2020 episode examines how, though rinderpest was declared eradicated fairly recently, rinderpest's history goes way back. Eradicating the disease took a coordinated, international effort. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 02, 2024•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tracy mentions tracking down sources for quotes about Rebecca Crumpler during research. She and Holly also discuss measles vaccine protocols. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 01, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Though measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. decades ago, outbreaks do still happen here, and in other places it’s much more common. Before vaccines were widely available, it killed an estimated 2.6 million people worldwide each year. Research: "Measles cases rising alarmingly across Europe: WHO." IANS, 24 Jan. 2024, p. NA. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A780229341/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=624cac48. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024. "The Medical Infl...
Feb 28, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rebecca Crumpler was the first Black woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She also wrote one of the first, if not the first, medical texts by a Black person in the United States. Research: Allen, Patrick S. “‘We must attack the system’: The Print Practice of Black ‘Doctresses’.” Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory, Volume 74, Number 4, Winter 2018. https://doi.org/10.1353/arq.2018.0023 Boston African American National Historic Site. “Dr. Rebec...
Feb 26, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast This 2017 episode features three unique women, all of whom are notable. They each have a surprising aspect to their stories, and they each have the name Belle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 24, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tracy shares why the story of George Washington Williams makes her so sad. Holly then offers some additional information about John Mytton that wasn't in the Wednesday episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 23, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast John Mytton is often called an eccentric, but that doesn’t really capture his whole story. Despite his wild behavior, he's something of a local hero, and sometimes a joke, but his life is sort of sad in many ways. Research: Bibby, Miriam. “Mad Jack Mytton.” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Mad-Jack-Mytton/ Haskin, Frederic J. “John Mytton – Madcap.” Quad-City Times. June 8, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/image/301169605/?terms=john%20mytton&match=1 “Joh Mytton’s Follies.”...
Feb 21, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast George Washington Williams was one of the first people to publicly describe the atrocities being carried out in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium. But so much happened in his life before that. Research: Berry, Dorothy. “George Washington Williams’ History of the Negro Race in America (1882–83).” The Public Domain Review. 9/12/2023. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/history-of-the-negro-race-in-america/ BlackPast, B. (2009, August 20). (1890) George Washington Williams...
Feb 19, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
