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
A lot of European accounts of Sayyida al-Hurra’s life characterize her as a pirate, but that really isn't accurate. She was a a leader of a city-state and a queen of a sultanate.
Research:
- Ali, Adam. “The Pirate Queen of the Mediterranean: The Story of Al-Sayyida al-Hurra.” Medievalists.net. https://www.medievalists.net/2022/08/pirate-queen-mediterranean-al-sayyida-al-hurra/
- Britannica Editors. "Barbarossa". ...
This 2021 episode covers Jethro Tull. Today, most people only know that as the name of a band, but Tull was an 18th-century gentleman farmer often credited with inventing the seed drill.
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Tracy talks about papers about history written by economists. Holy talks about linoleum having a bad reputation because of the designs of the 1970s and '80s.
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Frederick Walton caused a lot of financial family friction on the way to developing linoleum. And even though he believed he had revolutionized home dec, he didn't expect to be remembered.
Research:
- “4,000 for His ‘Devoted Attendant.’” Western Daily Press. August 3, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/image/813758815/?match=1&terms=%22Frederick%20Walton%22
- Baker, Anne Pimlott. "Walton, Frederick Edward...
The Swing Riots took place in eastern and southern England in the years between the Luddite uprising and the Rebecca Riots. One of the hallmarks of the riots was the destruction of threshing machines – but that’s just part of the story.
Research:
- Caprettini, Bruno and Hans-Joachim Voth. “Rage Against the Machines: Labor-saving Technology and Unrest in England, 1830-32.” American Economic Review: Insight...
This 2018 episode covers the Battle of Amiens, near the end of World War I. It was the start of what came to be known as the 100 Days Offensive, which was the Allies’ final push to win the war.
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Tracy and Holly talk about experiences in intensely hot weather. Holly shares how moved she was by Samuel Plimsoll’s obituaries.
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Samuel Plimsoll was an advocate for better working conditions for sailors, and for a lot of other things. A lot of contemporary accounts refer to him as an agitator.
Research:
- Bibby, Miriam. “Samuel Plimsoll and the Plimsoll Line.” Historic UK. June 14, 2024. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Samuel-Plimsoll-Line/
- Britannica Editors. "Samuel Plimsoll". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 May. 2026...
Heat waves don’t get as much attention as blizzards, floods, and hurricanes, but extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather events on average.
Research:
- National Weather Service. “Weather Related Fatality and Injury Statistics.” https://www.weather.gov/hazstat
- Last, John. “This Summer’s Drought Is Europe’s Worst in 500 Years. What Happened Last Time?” Smithsonian Magazine. 9/8/2022. ...
This 2018 episode covers Libertalia, which, in truth, may be completely fictional. It's called a pirate settlement, though the man who spearheaded it claimed he wasn't actually a pirate.
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Tracy shares the topics she considered for the recording in the Bahamas but decided against. Holly talks about her admiration for Thomas Huxley.
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Huxley is an example of having a good attitude about publicly acknowledging errors and learning from them. He earned the nickname “Darwin’s bulldog” for his very vocal support of Darwin’s work, and he wanted to promote science and education, particularly to people that didn’t normally have access to those things.
Research:
- Bernoulli, D., Jenkyns, H.C. “Thomas Henry Huxley, a stone tabl...
For part of its history, Nassau was a notorious hotbed of pirate activity. And it was home to a maritime criminal network known as the Flying Gang.
Research:
- "Bahamas, the." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™, The Columbia UP, 2025. Gale OneFile: High School Edition, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A69385873/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=7f7affa4. Accessed 8 July 2026.
- Ahrens, Wolfgang P. “Naming the Bahamas...
This 2023 episode covers scarlet fever, which is treatable with antibiotics. But in the middle of the 19th century, it was the leading cause of death in children in parts of the world, and today, there are several ongoing mysteries about the disease.
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Tracy shares her irritation with word use in a recent government report. There is also discussion of strangers visiting manor houses.
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The wrap up of things unearthed in the second quarter of 2026 includes the potpourri category, lots of books and letters, shipwrecks, and neanderthals.
Research:
- Addley, Esther. “Solstice-aligned 5,000-year-old monument ‘once in a lifetime find’, say archaeologists.” The Guardian. 6/17/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/18/solstice-aligned-monument-archaeology-wiltshire-stonehenge-...
Part one of the mid-year coverage of things literally and figuratively unearthed in the last quarter includes updates, more updates, animals, edibles and potables, and accidental finds.
Research:
- Addley, Esther. “Solstice-aligned 5,000-year-old monument ‘once in a lifetime find’, say archaeologists.” The Guardian. 6/17/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/18/solstice-aligned-monument-archa...
This 2023 episode covers how humans have worked on ways to make garments water resistant almost since they started to wear them. But figuring out how to manufacture a raincoat using rubber was a big breakthrough that took centuries.
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Holly and Tracy discuss how frustrating Charles Goodyear could be. Then Holly talks a lot about shoes and how much she loves them.
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The evolution from leather-soled shoes of the 19th century to the sneakers people wear today started slowly, then built momentum. Many of the big names in sneakers today got their start surprisingly early in the process.
Research:
- “A Column for the Girls.” Brooklyn Eagle. July 28, 1895. https://www.newspapers.com/image/50411759/?match=1&terms=%22sand%20shoes%22
- Barrett, Jennifer. “The History of Adidas a...
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