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
Fort Mose was the first officially sanctioned settlement for free Black people in what’s now the United States. It was established as a place where people who escaped enslavement in the U.S. could live in the Spanish territory of Florida.
Research:
- Blumetti, Jordan. “The First Floridians.” The Bitter Southerner. https://bittersoutherner.com/the-first-floridians-fort-mose-st-augustine
- Cancio-Donlebún Ba...
Melitta Bentz invented the coffee filter in 1908 and changed coffee culture forever. Through the decades and after reckoning with its relationship with the Third Reich, the company she founded in her Dresden apartment endures today.
Research:
- “The Weimar Republic 1918-1929 - EdexcelChanges in society, 1924–29.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z9y64j6/revision/8#:~:text=Hourly%20wages%20rose%20in%20real,...
Part two of this 2020 episode looks at some of the specifics of the COINTELPROs that targeted black liberation organizations and the New Left, as well as how these programs were finally exposed to the public.
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Holly shares a story of accidentally taking ephedrine. Tracy shares her delight at a pronunciation of the word catastrophe.
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On November 1, 1755, a massive earthquake took place on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Lisbon, Portugal. The destruction in Portugal led to one of the first coordinated government responses to a natural disaster.
Research:
- Algarve History Association. “The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake and the Algarve.” https://www.algarvehistoryassociation.com/en/portuguese-history/algarve-history/194-the-1755-lisbon-earthq...
The use of stimulants during WWII is no secret, but in the last decade, there has been a lot of discussion and analysis of it. Just how significant was drug use in Nazi Germany, and how did the Allies compare?
Research:
- Ackermann, Paul. “Les soldats nazis dopés à la méthamphétamine pour rester concentrés.” HuffPost France. June 4, 2013. https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/actualites/art...
Part 1 of this 2020 two-parter covers background on the FBI and on the origins of its counterintelligence programs, as well as one specific operation, called COINTELPRO-White Hate.
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Tracy shares her desire to see the rest of the letter that was quoted in this week's episodes on Anthony Burns. Talk also turns to the fact that many of the things that are surprising people today are, in fact, precedented.
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Our second episode on the life of Anthony Burns begins with his detention in Boston, which outraged Massachusetts abolitionists. Even after Burns was returned to Virginia to be enslaved once again, his supporters in Boston continued to work for his freedom.
Research:
- Buehrens, John A. “Spiritual friendship and social justice.” UU World. Fall 2019. https://www.uuworld.org/articles/spiritual-friendship
- Sutton, Robert...
The story of Anthony Burns is one that resonates in our current times. Part one covers his early enslaved life, his escape from enslavement, and his arrest under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
Research:
- Buehrens, John A. “Spiritual friendship and social justice.” UU World. Fall 2019. https://www.uuworld.org/articles/spiritual-friendship
- Sutton, Robert K. “’We waked up stark mad Abolitionists.’&rd...
This 2019 episode takes a closer look the famous diary of Samuel Pepys, and also at who Pepys was beyond his famous chronicle of life in 17th-century London.
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Tracy talks about her selection of "Fumifugium" as a show topic. Holly shares a mischievous story about Helen Preece.
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Despite Pierre de Coubertin's vision of the Olympics being for male athletes only, women did participate in the games starting in 1900. But the road to equal participation was long and filled with disappointments.
Research:
- Barker, Philip. “Women’s Sporting Pioneer Milliat Remembered At Paris 2024.” International Society of Olympic Historians. https://isoh.org/womens-sporting-pioneer-milliat-remembered-at-par...
"Fumifugium" was a treatise on air pollution written in 1661. In addition to warning about the dangers of coal smoke, John Evelyn wrote this work to improve the reputation of King Charles II.
Research:
- Chambers, Douglas D. C. "Evelyn, John (1620–1706), diarist and writer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 13 Jan. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.109...
Tracy talks about amusing old illustrations of babies in utero. Holly shares anecdotes about George Stephenson's life that rarely make it into discussions of his life.
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This 2019 episode shares how Hennig Brand discovered phosphorous by boiling pee. But he was really thought the secret to the philosopher’s stone might be found in urine.
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George Stephenson started life in extremely humble circumstances, but his ingenuity and pursuit of education led him to an impressive legacy. He invented a miner’s lamp, but is most well known for his work on locomotives and railways.
Research:
- “George Stephenson (1781-1848).” https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/stephenson_george.shtml#:~:text=In%201814%2C%20Stephenson%20constructed%20his%20first%2...
Nutritional rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, and people figured out two ways to treat it before we even knew what vitamin D was.
Research:
- “Oldest UK case of rickets in Neolithic Tiree skeleton.” 9/10/2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34208976
- Carpenter, Kenneth J. “Harriette Chick and the Problem of Rickets.” The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 138, Issue 5, 827 – 8...
This 2021 episode covers three prank stories, including a joke that became a living legend, a large-scale prank that created havoc, and a televised hoax that reminds us all of the importance of critical thinking.
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Holly talks about the various inspirations for her love of embroidery. Tracy shares her experiences with movies and her cat while embroidering.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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