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
These diseases - West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - are named for the places where outbreaks happened. But they're also all things you get from being bitten by mosquitoes or ticks.
Research:
- Balasubramanian, Chandana. “Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF): The Deadly Tick-borne Disease That Inspired a Hit Movie.” Gideon. 9/1/2022. https://www.gideononline.com/blogs/rocky-mountain-spott...
This 2014 episode covers the collision of the S.S. Arctic with another ship in a fog in 1854. The resulting panic led to the deaths of most of the passengers.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Holly talks about the many survivor accounts of the Medusa shipwreck, which were questioned regarding bias and intent. There's also a follow-up on what happened to Géricault's son.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the aftermath of the shipwreck, France was scandalized by what had happened as the details emerged. And artist Théodore Géricault became obsessed with it.
Research:
- Amigo, Ignacio. “How a biologist turned amateur sleuth to solve a century-old art riddle.” The Guardian. Oct. 23, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/27/how-a-biologist-turned-amateur-sleuth-to-solve-a-century-old-ar...
The first episode of this two-parter covers the French mission to Senegal that the frigate Medusa led in 1816. Soon, the mission fell disastrously apart.
Research:
- Amigo, Ignacio. “How a biologist turned amateur sleuth to solve a century-old art riddle.” The Guardian. Oct. 23, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/27/how-a-biologist-turned-amateur-sleuth-to-solve-a-century-old-art-riddle
- Bar...
This 2013 episode covers the years after the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War when the oyster supply became so scarce that people turned to oyster piracy.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Holly shares a story about Augustin Fresnel's early career. Tracy discusses an article criticizing the Smithsonian and points out its incorrect contents.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton is known as one of the earliest Mexican-American authors published in English, and her life story is tied closely to the Mexican-American war and the establishment of California as a state.
Research:
- Amero, Richard W. “The Mexican-American War in Baja California.” The Journal of San Diego History. Winter 1984, Volume 30, Number 1. https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1984/january/war/
- Ann...
Augustin Fresnel didn’t live a long life, but he contributed significantly to the understanding of light and to the safety of coastlines. Neither of those had anything to do with his career.
Research:
- Anderson, F.L. “Huygens' Principle geometric derivation and elimination of the wake and backward wave.” Sci Rep11, 20257 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99049-7
- Aglialoro, Todd. “Jansenism....
This 2020 episode talks about how Pettenkofer's ideas about cholera's spread weren’t exactly right, but they still had really beneficial impacts on the way we live.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tracy talks about her background writing copy for sanitation and cleaning products. She and Holly also discuss how the implementation of the Wells' recommendations could have prevented a lot of illness.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Husband-and-wife team William Firth Wells and Mildred Weeks Wells conducted research that had the potential to make a big difference in the safety of indoor air. But it didn’t really have a significant impact on public health.
Research:
- Associated Press. “Super-Oyster Is On its Way to Dinner Table Bigger and Better Bivalve Sports Pedigree.” 3/13/1927. https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84020064/1927-03-13/ed-1/?s...
All over the world, for all of human history – and probably going back to our earliest hominid ancestors – people have found ways to try to keep themselves clean. But how did soap come about?
Research:
- “Soap, N. (1), Etymology.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1115187665.
- American Cleaning Institute. “Soaps & Detergents History.” https:/...
This 2021 episode covers John Dalton, famous for his work in atomic theory. But he wrote one of the first thorough descriptions of what he called “anomalous vision” – he realized he wasn’t perceiving color the same way as other people.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Holly talks about nebulous passages in the writing of Jane Croly and her brother. Tracy and Holly talk about watching TV as children.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The initial time period where a TV remote control was developed was pretty short. And it shows how two different people perceive their work, and how that work is perceived differently over time by their employer.
Research:
- Adler, R. “Control System.” Dec. 17, 1957. U.S. Patent Office. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/9a/fb/1a/619d2580b08526/US2817025.pdf
- AFX News. “COMPANY NEWS; MOTOROLA TO BUY ZEN...
Jane Cunningham Croly, who wrote under the pen name Jennie June, was a journalist who advocated for equality for women. She is most well known for founding one of the earliest clubs for women in the U.S.
Research:
- Croly, Jennie June. “Jennie June's American Cookery Book, Containing Upwards of Twelve Hundred Choice and Carefully Tested Receipts.” Excelsior. 1878. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jennie_June_s_Am...
This 2022 episode discusses how modern rabies prophylaxis is almost 100% effective at preventing human death from the bite of a rabid animal. How did people come to understand rabies, and then develop a vaccination for it?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Holly talks about the arguments she found online about whether graffiti is art. Tracy talks about how the Dickin Medal impacted veterinary medicine.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Maria Dickin wanted to raise the status of animals in society and bring more awareness to the work they were doing during World War II. The Dickin Medal was created to honor military working animals. This episode covers six of those recipients.
Research:
- “Cats and Dogs.” Sabretache: The Official Journal of the Calgary Military Historical Society. August Extra #1. 2022. http://cmhs.ca/sabretache/Sabretache_2022_08_1...
The Latest News
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.