Stuff You Missed in History Class

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Episodes

February 7, 2024 41 mins

Harrison G. Dyar, Jr. is known today largely as a hobby tunneler. But he was also an influential entomologist, and his personal life was much more convoluted than any tunnel he ever dug. 

Research:

  • “Allen v. Allen.” The Pacific Reporter, Volume 193. https://books.google.com/books?id=cbyZAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA540&lpg=PA540&dq=wellesca+pollock&source=bl&ots=PvDosq-Q0D&sig=QTmSy0vOgN9DzncgGGpPagodRHE&hl=en&...
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Anne-Marie-Louise d’Orleans has been described by historians as having been one of the richest heiresses in history, as an insurgent, as unaccomplished, as an Amazon, as a writer, and as a fool. And she was sort of all of those things. 

Research: 

  • Barine, Arvede, and Helen Meyer. “La Grande Mademoiselle 1627-1652.” Putnam. 1902. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50717/50717-h/50717-h.htm
  • Britannica, The Edit...
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February 3, 2024 25 mins

This 2015 episode examines how Dr. Peters helped revolutionize the treatment of both breast cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma. But, at the time, her work was largely dismissed.

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Holly and Tracy discuss van Dyck's personal life and historical photography. They also discuss mammogram science and try to reassure listeners about the experience.

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January 31, 2024 42 mins

The history of mammography begins with the discovery of X-rays in 1895. But it took a very long time for breast imaging to advance, in part because it wasn't prioritized. 

Research:

  • “The St George’s Four: Meet the women that shaped St George’s.” St. George’s University of London. 3/8/2019. https://www.sgul.ac.uk/news/the-st-george-s-four-meet-the-women-that-shaped-st-george-s
  • American Physical Society. “This Month in Physi...
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January 29, 2024 38 mins

Anthony van Dyck was a commercially successful painter in Antwerp and Italy, but he may have had the most influence in England when he served as court painter to King Charles I.

Research:

  • Blake, Robin. “Anthony Van Dyck.”  Ivan R. Dee. 2009.
  • “Anthony Van Dyck.” The Art Story. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/van-dyck-anthony/
  • Maddicott, Hilary. “‘Qualis vita, finis ita’: The life and death of Margaret Lemon, mistress of...
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January 27, 2024 23 mins

This 2013 episode covers a tsunami that struck the coast of Japan in January 1700, . It took a while -- a long while -- to figure out where the catalyzing earthquake had been.

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Holly talks about her infatuation with the show "Succession," and why Tracy might not like it. Tracy talks about a unique bridge designed by John Roebling. 

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Emily Warren Roebling played a crucial role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband became disabled. It’s a story of an engineering marvel and what mainstream U.S. society expected of women and disabled people in the 19th century. 

Research:

  • American Monthly Magazine. “Mrs. Washington A. Roebling.” Daughters of the American Revolution. 1892. https://archive.org/details/americanmonthlymv17daug/
  • Ashworth...
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January 22, 2024 34 mins

In 1935, miner Alexei Stakhanov became a hero of labor in the Soviet Union, and the Stakhanovite movement began. But what was touted as an organic step forward to greater productivity by Stalin was truly a carefully planned PR effort.

Research:

  • Applebaum, Anne. "Holodomor". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Holodomor
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "kulak". Encyclopedia Britan...
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January 20, 2024 23 mins

This 2013 episode covers Hypatia, one of the earliest female mathematicians and astronomers. Though she wasn't the very first, she was among the greatest. At the time of her murder, she was the foremost mathematician and astronomer in the West, and possibly in the world.

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Tracy explains why there aren't any repatriations or exhumations in this week's edition of Unearthed! There's also discussion of all the ways a sandal might end up in a well. 

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January 17, 2024 40 mins

 

Finishing out discussion of things literally and figuratively dug up in the last months of 2023, we're covering shipwrecks, art, animals, and the miscellaneous category we call potpourri.

Research:

  • Alberge, Dalya. “That’s not a potato: mystery of Egyptian treasures found buried in grounds of Scottish school.” The Guardian. 11/19/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/19/thats-not-a-potato-mystery-of-egyptian-...
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January 15, 2024 45 mins

We're closing out the last three months of 2023 by talking about things literally and figuratively dug up during that time, kicking it off with lots of updates of prior episodes, things dug up from the garden, edibles and potables, and books and letters.

Research:

  • Alberge, Dalya. “That’s not a potato: mystery of Egyptian treasures found buried in grounds of Scottish school.” The Guardian. 11/19/2023. https://www.theguardian...
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January 13, 2024 21 mins

This 2013 episode covers Benjamin Banneker, a man of color in Colonial America who became an accomplished scholar despite having almost no formal schooling.

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January 12, 2024 15 mins

Holly and Tracy talk about how actuarial science informs other fields, the book "The Player," and insurance mentions in Terry Pratchett's writing. 

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As life insurance and assurance became more common, companies that offered coverage ran into in problems in the 18th and 19th century. Part 2 also covers how Insurance has been used by gamblers as a grisly amusement.

Research:

  • Bell, John. “London’s Remembrancer … “ E. Cotes. London. 1665. Accessed online: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A27350.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext
  • Bellhouse, David R. “A New Look at Halley’s L...
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Actuarial science is all about calculating risk – risk of injury, illness, death, risk of market shifts and financial outcomes. Part one covers the earliest population tables and early examples of life insurance and assurance. 

Research:

  • Bell, John. “London’s Remembrancer … “ E. Cotes. London. 1665. Accessed online: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A27350.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext
  • Bellhouse, David R. “A New Look at...
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January 6, 2024 32 mins

This 2019 episode covers the career Alfred Wegener had outside of his ideas around what we now understand as plate tectonics, which had both detractors and supporters. 

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Holly and Tracy talk about the new year and the ways they use calendars. Tracy mentions the birds that often receive ire from humans.

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Holly Frey

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