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
While working as a guide in his youth, Walter Harper met and worked for a man named Hudson Stuck. Their friendship would lead to Walter becoming the first person to reach the summit of Denali.
Research:
- Bishop, Click. “Sponsor Statement SB-144 – Walter Harper Day.” Alaska State Legislature. https://www.akleg.gov/basis/get_documents.asp?session=31&docid=58198
- Dean, Patrick. “How Hudson Stuck's Ascent...
This 2021 episode covers Washington Irving, who is often associated with Halloween. But his writing had a significant influence on the way Christmas is celebrated in the U.S.
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Tracy wonders whether Jack the turkey went to the bathroom in the White House. Holly talks about how much she dislikes people arguing over food preferences.
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The cranberries we typically eat are native to North America, though they are also grown in other places. How did they become a standard part of the holiday table?
Research:
- Albanese, Ellen. “A brief history of the cranberry—Cape Cod’s most important fruit.” Cape Cod Life. 2016 Annual. https://capecodlife.com/a-brief-history-of-the-cranberry-cape-cods-most-important-fruit/
- Banks, Sir Joseph, and Sir Jos...
No dogs or cats here! A number of unorthodox pets have arrived at the White House and become part of the first family in very unusual ways throughout history.
Research:
- “All Creatures Great and Small: Ground Floor Pet Sculptures.” The White House. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/holiday/2002/groundfloor/05.html
- “An Animal Often Misjudged.” Evening Star. Nov. 28, 1926. https://www.newspapers....
This 2021 episode covers how The Nutcracker is a Russian adaptation of a German story that wasn’t really a Christmas staple in its home country.
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Tracy shares how her Charles Sumner research yielded a three-part episode. Holly mentions that while there's not a lot of scholarly work about Cassius Coolidge's life, he is featured in a lot of newspaper mentions from his time.
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Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s most well-known art is the Dogs Playing Poker series. He was a true Renaissance man, and even patented a style of kitsch art.
Research:
- Arn, Jackson. “Why This Painting of Dogs Playing Poker Has Endured for over 100 Years.” Artsy. June 6, 2018. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-painting-dogs-playing-poker-endured-100-years
- Barry, Dan. “Artist’s Fame I...
The third installment of our Charles Sumner episode covers how, two days after Charles Sumner delivered an incendiary speech before the senate, Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina came into the Senate chamber and attacked Sumner at his desk.
Research:
- "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&si...
This 2020 episode covers the Public Universal Friend, who described themself as a genderless spirit sent by God to inhabit the resurrected body of a woman named Jemima Wilkinson.
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Tracy and Holly talk about their recent podcast trip to Morocco with listeners, arranged by Defined Destinations.
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The second installment of our episode on Charles Sumner picks up in the wake of his controversial antiwar speech. He next argued a school integration case before the Massachusetts supreme judicial court.
Research:
- "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=95485851. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
- &...
The first installment of the deeper examination of Charles Sumner's life begins with his early years, including his close relationships with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Gridley Howe.
Research:
- "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=95485851. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
- “Rober...
This 2019 episode covers Thomas Cook, a pioneer of the idea of a travel agency to manage tourist holidays. But Cook was initially motivated by his support of the temperance movement and his deeply held religious beliefs.
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Tracy and Holly talk about the proclivity for destruction that was part of the balloon craze. They also discuss cat trees and how hard it is to find one that's cute.
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Cat litter, it could be argued, kicked off the pet products industry. After its invention in the 1940s, other inventors started to come up with products that today are standard in the homes of people with pets.
Research:
- Caminiti, Kasey. “Inside the Secret Lives of Pets With Allen Simon.” DuJour. https://dujour.com/life/allen-simon-founder-wee-wee-pad-pet-products/
- “Clays.” U.S. Geological Survey. https...
Ballooning became a huge fad starting in the late 18th century, and there was a surprising amount of rioting associated with it. Fervor, excitement, and intoxication in some instances, meant that balloon events were prone to get out of control.
Research:
- Bond, Elizabeth Andrews. “Popular Science and Public Participation.” From The Writing Public: Participatory Knowledge Production in Enlightenment and Revolutionary...
This 2018 episode covers the period in the late 1820s when north Georgia became the site of a gold rush that predated the California gold rush by two decades. It's also tied to some of the darkest parts of U.S. history regarding the treatment of Native Americans.
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Tracy shares the surprising benefit of not having access to a lot of specifics regarding the work of Mary Golda Ross. Holly talks about Marjorie Merriwether Post being a serial monogamist.
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Marjorie Merriweather Post is most often mentioned today as the person who built Mar-a-Lago. But she was a unique figure as a woman who helmed a huge corporation when she was still in her 20s in the early 20th century.
Research:
- Britannica Editors. "C.W. Post". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/C-W-Post
- “C.W. Post a Suicide in California Home.” New York Times. May 10, ...
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