Benedictine monk Dom Perignon is said to have discovered champagne on 4th August, 1693. 200 million bottles are now produced and sold every year. The sparkliness was originally considered a defect - because carbonated wine caused the fragile bottles of the era to burst. Until stronger glass was developed in the mid-19th century, mass-produced champagne was impossible to manufacture, so it gained a reputation as a high society tipple. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the boredom of wine-tastings; explain how to make fake champagne; and reveal how the bombing of French vineyards, ironically, helped to save the industry... Further Reading: • ‘How Dom Perignon Became The King Of Champagne’ (Alux, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUB8bFV0lM • ‘Dom Pérignon 'Drinks the Stars' (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/08/dayintech-0804/ • ‘6 things you can carbonate with your SodaStream’ (CNet, 2016): https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/things-you-can-carbonate-with-your-sodastream/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1600s #Inventions #Food #Funny #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Cool Britannia’ party - held at 10 Downing Street on 30th July, 1997 - quickly became one of the most iconic events of the New Labour era. Celebrities including Helen Mirren, Eddie Izzard and Lenny Henry were invited to Britain’s seat of power to sup champagne with Tony Blair, the youngest Prime Minister since 1812. The defining image of the night was a photo of Blair chuckling away with rockstar Noel Gallagher. The Oasis singer defended his attendance (“because I’m from Burnage, and me mam would kill me if I turned down the chance to go to Downing Street. Wouldn’t yours?”), but later claimed to have snorted coke off the Queen’s lavatory whilst there. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the surprising origins of the phrase ‘Cool Britannia’ (spoiler: the Tories did it first); ask whether popstar-politician collabs are ALWAYS ultimately disastrous; and consider whether the lukewarm reaction to David Cameron’s subsequent showbiz party might yet be considered a success for the Conservatives... Further Reading: • Footage from the party (Associated Press, 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDa__W1_gcg • ‘Cool Britannia: where did it all go wrong?’ (New Statesman, 2017): https://www.newstatesman.com/1997/2017/05/cool-britannia-where-did-it-all-go-wrong • ‘David Cameron revisits Cool Britannia (with Michael McIntyre and Cilla Black)’, (The Guardian, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/30/david-cameron-a-listers-cool-britannia-party For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.  #90s #Music #Politics #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robert Paden-Powell took twenty boys to Brownsea Island, Poole on 29th July, 1907, to embark on a ten-day camp. The trip was, essentially, a laboratory for his subsequent books - and, therefore, the global Boy Scout movement.  Each day started with cocoa and exercises, and ended with campfire yarns. In between, there was a lot of knot-tying, parading and praying. By the time of the Second World War, 3.3 million British children were enrolled as Boy Scouts. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explore the link between the Boer war and B-P’s ‘Scouting Book for Boys’; unearth the racist and homophobic elements of the global Scout movement; and explain why Indonesia has more Scouts than anywhere else... Further Reading: • ‘Brownsea Island: The First Camp’, from The Scouting Pages: https://thescoutingpages.org.uk/the-first-camp/ • ‘Boy Scouts of America reaches $850BILLION settlement with 60,000 child sex abuse victims’ (Mail Online, 2021): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9748029/Boy-Scouts-America-reaches-pivotal-agreement-victims.html • ‘Who Was Baden-Powell? & How B-P Changed the World!’ (Scouter Stan, YouTube 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY9pv8iF4wg For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1900s #Sport #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco back to Britain from Virginia on 27th July 1586 - and, in so doing, triggered a craze for smoking, which at the time was considered a tonic for halitosis, and even a cure for cancer. Despite Queen Elizabeth I being an advocate for the new drug, it didn’t take long for the anti-tobacco movement to kick into gear - with King James I writing a treatise against smoking by 1604. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit the phenomenon of ‘Dry Drunkenness’; explain why Eton’s schoolboys were prescribed tobacco with their breakfast; and reveal what happened to Raleigh’s head after he was executed… Further Reading: • Bob Newhart’s Walter Raleigh sketch (1962):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XDxAzVEbN4 • ‘“This vile custome”: a history of tobacco's medical interpretations’ (Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh): https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/vile-custome-history-tobaccos-medical-interpretations • ‘Discovery of velvet bag may solve gory mystery of Walter Raleigh’s missing head’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/28/walter-raleigh-bag-severed-head-gory-mystery We had EVEN MORE to say about Sir Walter Raleigh and his tobacco fixation. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only) We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1500s #Royals #Politics #Health #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, there are still around 2 million esperantists today. It was once even proposed as the official language of the incipient League of Nations - but shortly afterwards, many esperantists, including Zemenhoff’s own children, were murdered in the Holocaust.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about Amikejo, the 3.5 sq km territory between the Netherlands, Germany and France where Esperanto nearly became the official language; revisit the 1966 horror film ‘Incubus’, starring William Shatner; and consider whether Duolingo has killed off the language conference hook-up scene... Further Reading: • ‘L.L. Zamenhof and the Shadow People’(The New Republic, 2009): https://newrepublic.com/article/72110/ll-zamenhof-and-the-shadow-people • Tim Morley’s Ted X talk on why primary school children should learn Esperanto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gSAkUOElsg • ‘The bizarre story of a long-lost horror film made entirely in Esperanto, starring William Shatner’ (Quartz, 2017): https://qz.com/1035897/the-bizarre-story-of-a-long-lost-horror-film-made-entirely-in-esperanto-starring-william-shatner/ Por bonifiko materialo kaj subteni la montr, vizito Patreon.com/Retrospectors Ni ..os est malantaŭo morgaŭ!  Sekvi nin kie ajn vi trovas, ke viaj podkastoj: podfollow.com/Retrospectors La Retrospectors estas Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, kun Matt Monteto. Temo Muziko: Pasi La Pizojn. Parolisto: Bob Ravelli. Grafika desegnado: Terry Saunders. Redakti Produktiston: Emma Corsham. Kopirajto: Rekonsider Aŭdio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Inventions #Arts #Jewish #Poland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Concerned that it was too London-centric, the BBC commissioned a series of pop-up outside broadcasts for its youth music station Radio 1, kicking off modestly in Newquay on 23rd July, 1973. The events exploded in popularity, and spawned an annual tour of bucket-and-spade Britain, becoming the iconic ‘Radio 1 Roadshow’. Despite the concerts pulling in massive crowds - and radio audiences of around 15 million - the events struggled to attract credible music artists, who didn’t want to be seen rubbing shoulders with popsters like the Wombles and the Bay City Rollers. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how Steve Wright came to ‘give away’ his son in a late-night escapade, reveal ‘the shorts rule’ imposed on the network’s presenters, and applaud the entrepreneurship of ‘Smiley Miley’, the roadie who wangled the rights to sell the merch…  Further Reading: • Peter Powell hosts the Radio 1 Roadshow, 1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El-fuGW9DfQ • A compilation of archive Radio 1 footage from the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06w9txp • ‘The Happy Sound’ - a history of the Roadshow at Radio Rewind: https://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/roadshow.htm For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.  #70s #Inventions #Arts #Music #Technology #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Billed as a concours for ‘horseless carriages’, the Paris–Rouen competition which took place on 22nd July, 1894, is now widely considered the world’s first motor race.  Only 21 vehicles qualified. Some of them had solid iron tyres. One was an eight passenger wagonette that weighed four tonnes. The car that came in first - a 20 horsepower steam tractor - was ruled ineligible. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the wisdom of interrupting proceedings for a 90 minute luncheon, ask whether horsepower has become an unhelpful measurement of speed in the 21st century, and explain how the UK’s Locomotive Act of 1865 killed England’s chances of competing... Further Reading: • Vintage cars repeat the Paris-Rouen route in 1966 (Associated Press): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q94gZfHQ9JQ • An account of the race from Goodwood’s historic motorsport pages (2019): https://www.goodwood.com/grr/race/historic/2019/6/the-1894-paris-rouen-trial-the-race-that-wasnt-a-race/ • Race-winner Albert Lemaître and his ‘crime of passion’: https://peoplepill.com/people/albert-lemaitre-2 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Technology #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

France's Jewish population mostly had no family surnames - until 20th July, 1808, when Napoleon issued a decree insisting they adopted one. They were not permitted to choose place names, and allusions to the Old Testament were forbidden. Rumours persist that some families were charged higher fees to adopt prettier names, but in a Europe rife with antisemitism, Napoleon’s creations of Jewish consistoires (regulatory bodies) is still seen by some as a relatively tolerant policy. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion reveal the genesis of their names, explain how compound names like Rosenberg and Goldberg came about, and reveal the world’s names most in danger of extinction. Further Reading: • The Imperial Decree, at Napoloeon.org:  https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/imperial-decree-of-20-july-1808-concerning-jews-with-no-fixed-first-or-family-names/ • ‘What's in a Surname: The History of Surnames and How They Help in Family History Research’, (MyHeritage, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxmdkud0P8 • Alec Berg’s surname inspires this episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm: https://www.hbo.com/curb-your-enthusiasm/season-08/1-the-divorce/synopsis For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Politics #Jewish #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kissing was a big deal in the Middle Ages: for signing contracts, for greeting colleagues, and for showing deference to the King - a tradition that ended on 16th July, 1439, when Henry VI issued a decree imploring his citizens to stop kissing his ring. Some 400 years before the modern concepts of hygiene and germs had been scientifically established, the 18 year-old monarch clearly had an instinct that clamping down on kissing might stop the spread of the bubonic plague - a deadly disease that had been rampant for 100 years. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca explain why one village soaked their supplies in vinegar; reveal how to write a letter to the King (with appropriate levels of flattery); and consider the merits of banning bearded men from handling milk…  Further Reading: • BBC profile of Henry VI: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/henry_vi_king.shtml • ‘Here ye, here ye: No more smoochies!’ (History Daily, 2020): https://historydaily.org/kissing-ban-england-response-black-plague-1439 • ‘What Made The Black Death So Deadly?’ (The Infographics Show, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5q-PIN3KSE For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1400s #Royals #Discoveries #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first images of Mars found their way back to Earth from NASA’s Mariner 4 mission on 15th July, 1965 - and were simultaneously revelatory and disappointing. Delivered as binary code, rendered in black and white, and revealing only 1% of the planet, the photos were coloured in by hand and showed no evidence of life. But they played a significant part in the scientific understanding of the Red Planet for years to come. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca compare the computing power of the 1960s with ‘lame’ Victorian telescopes; reveal the surprisingly recent date that the first ever colour image of Mars was committed to camera; and explain how a mis-translation from Italian lead H.G. Wells to think there may be Martian waterways... Further Reading: • Mariner 4 at NASA.gov: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-4 • ‘Men Encounter Mars’ (NASA documentary, 1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKVzepl-2zY • ‘First Mission To Mars: Mariner 4’s Special Place in History’ (Cosmos, 2017): https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/first-mission-to-mars-mariner-4-s-special-place-in-history/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Discoveries #Science #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Queen Victoria moved from her birthplace, Kensington Palace, and decreed Buckingham Palace her official residence on 13th July, 1837. She was 18, newly-crowned - and until then had shared a bedroom with her mother. Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, the Palace had never previously permanently housed anyone, and was reportedly drafty, dirty, and staffed by ‘slovenly’ servants. But, you know, she made do. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine the escapades of ‘the boy Jones’ - a teenage stalker of the young Victoria; pore through the pages of the young monarch’s diaries; and reveal which celebrities claim to have got down and dirty in the Queen's official residence… Further Reading: • Profile of Queen Victoria from Historic Royal Palaces: https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/history-and-stories/queen-victoria/#gs.59mhsd • Buckingham Palace page at the Royal Collection Trust:  https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace/who-built-buckingham-palace#/ • ‘Victoria’s Palace’ documentary (ITV, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUn63ZIELxU For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #Victorian #1800s #Royals #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million. Focussing on the glamorous lives of British expats - fusing the elements of ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Neighbours’ - it had seemed destined to be a sure-fire hit. So, a large permanent set for the fictional town of Los Barcos was built from scratch in the Costa Del Sol. These days it is used for paint-balling. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unearth Rupert Murdoch’s alleged attempts to sabotage the soap; consider whether it was actually rather more successful an enterprise than it was given credit for at the time; and reveal which cancelled TV shows they’d resurrect, if only they could... Further Reading: • The final scene and closing credits of ‘Eldorado’ (BBC, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfR15KgC6w • ‘Sun, sea and subtitles - how Eldorado became TV's biggest flop’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/09/eldorado-bbc-one-soap-opera • Los Barcos - the Unofficial Eldorado Website: http://www.losbarcos.org.uk/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #90s #TV #Person #UK  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Our Lady of Kazan’, a painting of the Virgin and Child, was discovered in the ashes of a fire in the Russian town of Kazan on 8th July, 1579. The icon quickly became associated with miracles after two blind men were said to have their sight restored by standing in front of it. The original was stolen in 1904, but the copies still represent one of Russia’s most important pieces of religious art - credited by some with thwarting Napoleon’s invasion of 1812. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly interrogate the reportage that continues to promote the ‘miracles’ performed by the painting; reveal Hermann Goering’s role in the fascinating 20th century history of the work; and recall a religious image of squirting milk that, once seen, cannot be unseen... Further Reading: • ‘Roman Catholic Saints’ profiles Our Lady of Kazan (2011): https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-kazan.html • ‘The Miracle Behind One of St Petersburg’s Most Famous Landmarks’ (Russian National Tourist Office): https://www.visitrussia.org.uk/blog/the-miracle-behind-one-of-st-petersburgs-most-famous-landmarks/ • The Associated Press records the day the icon was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church by the Pope (2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVLYmmHrOE For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1500s #Art #Religion #Politics #Strange #Russia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘The Seven Wonders of the World’ *sounds* impressive, but could they do with an update? That was the mission of the mysterious Swiss-based ‘New 7 Wonders Foundation’ when they announced the NEW seven wonders of the world in a ceremony in Lisbon on 7th July, 2007. The finalists - including Petra, the Colosseum, and Chichen Itza - were decided by a public vote, but caused controversy nonetheless, as Australia claimed to be snubbed, and Brazil mounted a lavish campaign to get its people to participate.  In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask how ‘wonder’ should be quantified in the 21st century; compare notes on trips to ancient monuments; and pitch the Burj Khalifa against the Taj Mahal… Further Reading: ‘Official Declaration of the New7Wonders of the World’ (2007), from the New7Wonders YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_n1JLu2Okc Photos of the New 7 Wonders, from DW: https://www.dw.com/en/the-new-7-wonders-of-the-world/g-57906930 ‘Seven wonders stir up controversy’ (The Observer, 2007): https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/jun/03/escape.channeltunnel For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #2000s #Discoveries #Switzerland #Portugal Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swimwear never made more of a splash than when designer Louis Réard unveiled his daring new two-piece at the Piscine Molitor in Paris on July 5th, 1946. Showgirl Micheline Bernardini modelled the new attire, named after US nuclear testing site Bikini Atoll. Really. Eleven years later, Modern Girl magazine still considered it ‘inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency’ would ever be seen wearing a bikini. Yet, by the sixties, it had become commonplace on beaches around the world. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider the role rival designer Jacques Heim played in inspiring the garment; reveal the countries where it remains illegal to wear a bikini (sometimes); and unearth Sarah Brightman’s surprising role in Bombalurina’s 1990 cover version of ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’... Further Reading: • 15 Hilarious First Reactions to the Invention of the Bikini (BestLife, 2019): https://bestlifeonline.com/bikini-invention-reactions/ • Fred Cole’s scorn for bikinis (‘Fashion: In The Swim’, TIME, 1950): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,813465,00.html • That Bombalurina video, featuring the future Mrs Barlow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LagoycfdCA For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #40s #Inventions #Art #Fashion #White #France Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airships had flown since the 1850s, but the first rigid airship to comfortably carry passengers - the Zeppelin - had its maiden voyage at Lake Constance on 2nd July, 1900. The passion project of German aristocrat Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the ‘golden age’ craft were freezing cold on-board, and precarious: the majority of them eventually crashed. Nonetheless, his pluckiness captured the German imagination, raising millions of Reichsmarks, and inspiring Hitler to co-opt the machines for political and military means. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider how Zeppelin’s connections to Daimler saved his start-up; explain why the Hindenburg (fatefully) ended up being filled with hydrogen, rather than helium; and reveal the plans of a Bedfordshire-based business to bring blimps back to Britain’s skies... Further Reading • ‘A History of German Airship Aviation’ at Google Arts & Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-dream-of-flight-a-history-of-german-airship-aviation-zeppelin-museum-friedrichshafen/cQJywRaJSvazIw?hl=en • ‘The Hindenburg Disaster in 1937’ from PennLive (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b94SPaP7mU • The Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 - from their official website:  https://www.hybridairvehicles.com/our-aircraft/airlander-10/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1900s #Inventions #Technology #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sony’s revolutionary cassette player, the Walkman, debuted in the USA on 1st July, 1979, costing $150. It went on to shift a staggering 450m units. Boasting a classy aluminium chassis, audio splitter, and novelty ‘Hotline’ button for dance parties, the device took off after an advertising campaign featuring sexy models and an elderly Japanese monk. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the genesis of the Walkman’s brand name; consider whether it deserved an even HIGHER place in TIME’s list of the Top 50 Most Influential Gadgets, and ask if, in 2021, we are living in the shadow of ‘The Walkman Effect’... Further Reading: ‘The History of the Walkman: 35 Years of Iconic Music Players’ (The Verge, 2014): https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35 The original TV spots for the Walkman in Japan (1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrrTv_BzAAQ TIME’s list of the 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time (2016): https://time.com/4309573/most-influential-gadgets/ To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #Music #Inventions #Technology #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When marine amphibians fall from the sky, people tend to notice. So it was on 30th June, 1892 - when it reportedly rained FROGS in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley. Multiple accounts of animal rain - now thought to be caused by tornadoes sweeping up creatures as they traverse local water sources - can be found as far back as ancient Roman literature, and throughout the medieval era. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the Biblical resonance of froggy-drops, discover the “Miss ‘Rain of Fish’” competition in Latin America, and work out why it’s said to be ‘raining cats and dogs’, when it literally never is... Further Reading: ‘Nine Times Animals Rained Down From The Sky’, from World List’s YouTube channel (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWNSc49jDf8 ‘It's raining birds and frogs: Animal phenomena are surprisingly common but why do they happen?’ (Independent, 2011): https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/it-s-raining-birds-and-frogs-animal-phenomena-are-surprisingly-common-but-why-do-they-happen-2177017.html More on ‘Miss Lluvia De Peces’ (All That’s Interesting, 2019): https://allthatsinteresting.com/fish-rain-lluvia-de-peces For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Strange #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first modern dog show took place in Newcastle on 28th June, 1859. Essentially a sideshow to the annual exhibition of cattle, it featured just 23 pointers and 27 setters. The owners of the champion breeds won a gun. Allegations of inbreeding and nepotism plagued the contest from the very beginning; controversies which eventually sparked the invention of The Kennel Club in 1873. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the competition’s historical connections to pigeon-fancying and eugenics; unearth Charles Dickens’ sceptical opinion of the 1862 ‘Monster Dog Show’ in Islington; and explain how Charles Cruft maneuvered himself up from dog-food salesman to create the premier event in canine display… Further Reading: Early 20th century dog shows at Vintage News Daily: https://vintagenewsdaily.com/22-lovely-photos-that-capture-vintage-dog-shows-in-the-early-20th-century/ ‘The Surprising History of Victorian Dog Shows’, (History Extra, 2009): https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/the-surprising-history-of-victorian-dog-shows/ British Pathé visits Monkstown Championship Dog Show (1950):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSbO7vWuDpc For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Inventions #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fork had only recently received Royal approval in Britain when it was gifted to the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, on 25th June, 1633. It took centuries for Americans to feel comfortable with this new way of eating, but in Italy it was already gaining ground, as Englishman Thomas Coryat observed in 1611, noting: "the Italian cannot by any means endure to have his dish touched with the fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Herupon I myselft thought good to imitate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate." In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider how the Victorians conspired to make cutlery culturally exclusionary; review the American method of ‘cut and switch’; and wonder whether the early Fork Sceptics were right to question the wisdom of putting metal in their mouths...  Further Reading: • ‘Nearly 400 years later, the fork remains at the center of American dining controversy’, Quartz (2018):  https://qz.com/1313214/nearly-400-years-later-the-fork-remains-at-the-center-of-american-dining-controversy/ •‘The Rise of the Fork’, Slate (2012): http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/design/2012/06/the_history_of_the_fork_when_we_started_using_forks_and_how_their_design_changed_over_time_.html?via=gdpr-consent •‘The History of the Fork’ by History of the Plate on YouTube (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HCnFChptvI We had EVEN MORE to say about forks and cutlery in general. No really. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only) We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1600s #Inventions #Food #Royals #US #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Dancing Mania’ - in which people spontaneously danced to exhaustion, some until they broke their ribs and subsequently died, took hold of Aachen, Germany on 24th June, 1374. We still don’t really know why. Had the victims ingested ergot, a mould from rye bread that can inspire hallucinations? Was it a hysterical mass response to a stressful and traumatic environment? Or a kind of pre-smartphone flashmob?  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the likely causes and cures for this curious episode, learn about the equally extraordinary phenomenon of Tarantism, and play ‘guess the Saintly disease’...  Further Reading: • ‘A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago’, Smithsonian Magazine (2016) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/ • ‘A forgotten plague: making sense of dancing mania’, The Lancet (2009): https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(09)60386-X/fulltext • ‘Tarantism: A Rhythm For Your Soul’  (Giuliano Capani, 2008) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6fB4oInT7A To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors! (*top two tiers only) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1300s #Strange #Macabre #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over $750m of merchandise had already been sold on the basis of the trailer alone, when Tim Burton’s Batman was released in the USA on 23rd June, 1989. Ten days later, it became the fastest-film ever to earn $100m. The first ‘adult’ Batman movie had been pitched as early as 1979, but, after various possible permutations - one of which would have cast Bill Murray as Batman and Eddie Murphy as Robin - it came to the big screen with Michael Keaton in the titular role ten years later. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion marvel at a world in which comic book nerds were an untapped resource; visit the British stately homes that stood in for Wayne Manor; and ask why no-one ever just shoots Batman in the face… Further Reading: • The original 1989 trailer for Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F07Mf1kxUKY • ‘The Battle To Make Tim Burton’s Batman’, The Hollywood Reporter (2019):https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/batman-michael-keaton-vetoed-michelle-pfeiffer-role-1989-film-1220139/ • ‘Nike designed a pretty terrible pair of boots for Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' movie’, Business Insider (2016):  https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-batman-boots-2016-3?r=US&IR=T For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Film #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ordnance Survey - a government-funded agency created to aid the military in the event of invasion from France - took receipt of a theodolite on 21st June 1791, and so began the epic task of accurately mapping Britain.  It took them twenty years to do the county of Kent. And another twenty years to do the South Coast. If you wanted a fragment of one of their hand-drawn maps on your wall, it would set you back two weeks’ wages. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca pore through their OS Map collection to discover which county has the most commercial greenhouses, the exact location of ‘Britain’s highest pub’, and reveal the OFFICIAL answer to the much-pondered question, ‘Where is the centre of Britain?’...  Further Reading: • ‘The Quirky History of Ordnance Survey And The UK’S Maps’, from Much Better Adventures magazine (2020):  https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/magazine/ordnance-survey/ • ‘A Short History of the Ordnance Survey’ from The Charles Close Society: https://www.charlesclosesociety.org/files/HistoryOSGB.pdf • ‘Attacking Scotland: Five centuries of maps by our enemies’ A lecture by Chris Fleet, Maps Curator of the the National Library of Scotland (2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGLxGLaJG_s&t=5s For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1700s #Inventions #Politics #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Designed by Imagineers, and located on the outskirts of Walt Disney World, the town of Celebration, Florida welcomed its first residents on 18th June, 1996. Over 5,000 families had applied to be amongst the first ever homeowners to reside, full-time, in the grounds of a theme park. Conceptually, the town was a mash-up of the wistful nostalgia that inspired the designs of Disneyland’s original Main St, USA and Disney’s ‘utopian city of tomorrow’ vision (which, eventually, manifested as EPCOT). In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the restrictions of living in a New Urbanist community; ask why the town remains over 90% white; and wonder whether anyone really needs singing bins… Further Reading: • Disney fan-site ‘Inside The Magic’ on Walt’s ‘Florida Project’: https://insidethemagic.net/2021/01/walts-disney-florida-project-lp1/ • Insider takes a tour of modern-day Celebration (2020): https://www.insider.com/what-it-is-like-to-live-in-celebration-florida-2020-1 • ‘Celebration: the creepy real life town Disney built in Florida’ (news.com.au, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCko6cVniEw For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021 #90s #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Still the tallest statue in the USA, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France - in no less than 214 crates - in New York City on 17th June, 1885. Costing just $10m in today’s money, the Lady went on to symbolise the immigrant journey - even though the designers and engineers behind it had no such intention. And it wasn’t supposed to be green, either - that’s because it’s oxidized. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider whether NYC bagged themselves a bargain, reveal the origins of the ‘ticker tape parade’, and wonder if they could ever do something so epic for their Mums... Further Reading: • The Statue of Liberty: Building an Icon (The B1M, 2017):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QM0tipFQ9c • History on ‘How The Statue of Liberty Became An Icon’: https://www.history.com/news/statue-of-liberty-icon-building • Reuters fact-check: why Lady Liberty is NOT an enslaved black woman (2020):  https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-statue-liberty-design-idUSKBN24B2L1 We had EVEN MORE to say about Lady Liberty's arrival in the USA. To hear bonus material this and every week*, support the show NOW at Patreon.com/Retrospectors!(*top two tiers only) The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Arts #Inventions #France #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over beers at The Golden Lion in Ashburton, Devon, ‘Screaming’ Lord Sutch founded his anti-establishment political party The Monster Raving Loony Party on 16th June, 1982. It wasn’t the first time the former rock n’roller had stood on a political platform - he had previously contested Harold Wilson's seat in 1966, achieving 585 votes. But his eccentric new party - with their satirical policies, velvet hats and oversized badges - soon became a fixture of British general elections. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether the MRLP’s biggest weapon was visual or lyrical; consider the realities of trudging around the country canvassing for a political party that will inevitably never win; and reveal just how many of the party's former ‘joke’ policies subsequently entered mainstream political thinking... Content warning: suicide, brief description of dead body. Further Reading: • The Official Page of the Monster Raving Loony Party: https://www.loonyparty.com/ • Screaming Lord Sutch: An Obituary (The Guardian, 1999):  https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jun/19/guardianobituaries.nigelfountain • Screaming Lord Sutch sings ‘Jack The Ripper’ (1964): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ZsWENob1s For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Politics #Music #Person #Macabre #UK In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Circulated in some form since the 16th century, the ‘Index of Forbidden Books’ was quietly discontinued by Pope Paul VI on 14th June, 1966. In its 400-year+ history, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum had censored hundreds of authors including the German astrologer Keppler, the philosopher Kant, and Protestant theologians Martin Luther and John Calvin. But Darwin wasn’t included - because all books about atheism were automatically considered heretical. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly explain the processes behind the scenes; revisit some choice exchanges between Catholic scholars; and reveal the books they’d ban forever - if only they could... Further Reading: • ‘Roman Catholics: The Issue of Imprimatur’ (TIME, 1966): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,836269,00.html • Wikipedia’s list of Authors and Works in the Index: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authors_and_works_on_the_Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum • ‘Vatican: Forbidden Works’ from Journeyman Pictures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_S81oSR2AA For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Arts #Religion #Politics #White #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was the THIRD time behind bars for legendary rock n’ roller Chuck Berry when he was found to have dodged $110,000 in income tax on 11th June, 1979. He insisted on being paid cash-in-hand for his sometimes shambolic personal appearances, and his propensity for stashing it was so well-known that in Australia the authorities introduced limits on the amount of cash that could be transited across their border, specifically in response to him once stuffing $50,000 in his guitar case. In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly dig deeper into some of Chuck Berry’s former convictions; take a disturbing peek into his home video library; and reveal the true origins of the ‘duck walk’... Content Warning: detail of underage, exploitative and non-consensual sexual acts Further Reading: • The New York Post on Berry’s scandalous sex life (2017): https://nypost.com/2017/03/21/the-dark-past-of-chuck-berrys-scandal-filled-sex-life/ • Inc. on why Berry’s ‘musical genius was also his financial undoing’ (2017): https://www.inc.com/jay-jay-french/how-chuck-berrys-musical-genius-was-also-his-financial-undoing.html • Chuck Berry’s duck walk - a compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZcLpYPKoI For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.   #70s #Music #Crime #Person #Black #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Oxford v Cambridge Men’s Boat Race has been an annual tradition since 1856 - but the first one was the result of a light-hearted bet between two friends called Charles on 10th June, 1829. When Wordsworth (Christ Church College, Oxford) and Merivale (St. John’s, Cambridge) challenged each other to race up the Thames in Henley, they never could have known their schoolboy jape would attract 20,000 spectators, nor that it would go on to become one of the major sporting events in the British calendar.  In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider if rowing is still an elitist sport; whether Oxbridge colleges should now ditch the pretence that they never admit postgraduate students specifically to participate in the race; and reveal Hugh Laurie’s consolation prize for losing for Cambridge in 1980… Further Reading:  • ‘Origins of the Boat Race’ at the Boat Race’s official website: https://theboatrace.org/origins • 111 years after the original race, Oxford and Cambridge compete in Henley again (British Pathé, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSsei8KxCw • ‘Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Boat Race’ from Sky History: https://www.history.co.uk/article/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-boat-race If you enjoy this episode, there's more of Olly, Arion and Rebecca chatting about the boat race over on our Patreon page, patreon.com/Retrospectors. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Sport #Rowing #White #UK   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orgies, drinking songs, and - perhaps most damagingly of all - Paganism were rumoured tools of the colonist Thomas Morton when he established Merrymount, New England. It wasn't long before he was deported back to Britain by the Puritans on 9th June, 1628. It was his sympathy for the locals which had really done for him. But the headline-grabbing moment was his erection of a Westcountry-stye maypole, around which locals and settlers had danced and drank, and generally cavorted in ways that colonists aren’t usually disposed to do. In this episode Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider why Morton’s story is so rarely taught in schools; interrogate Encyclopedia Britannica’s description of him as ‘picturesque’; and ask just how different Massachusetts really was from 17th century Devon... Further Reading: • Bob Neufeld reads Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The May-Pole of Merry Mount’ (1836): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzS5xIZ4rI • ‘The Maypole That Infuriated the Puritans’, from The New England Historical Society: https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/maypole-infuriated-puritans/ • ‘The two men who almost derailed New England’s first colonies’ at The Conversation (2016): https://theconversation.com/the-two-men-who-almost-derailed-new-englands-first-colonies-68213 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1600s #Person #Religion #White #US #UK   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘The Annoying Thing’ is how the begenitaled amphibian animated by Erik Wernquist was first described; but by the time he released his first single ‘Axel F’ he was universally known as The Crazy Frog, and beat Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound’ to UK #1 on 4th June, 2005. The tale of how this possibly could have happened is unique to the early days of the internet - a teenager messing about imitating motorbike noises emailed the sound to some friends, Wernquist stumbled across it and put it in his portfolio, and then it was adopted for sale by mobile ringtone company Jamster. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca consider the value of Crazy Frog’s musical legacy, reveal that he’s not even a frog, and applaud the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority for standing up to protest, and permitting us to witness his visible scrotum…  Further Reading: • Crazy Frog - Axel F (2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k85mRPqvMbE • ‘Find out how the world’s most annoying noise came about’ - The Sun commemorates Crazy Frog’s 20th birthday (2017): https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2974489/crazy-frog-just-turned-20-relive-his-hellish-magic-here/ • Not So Crazy Frog (Documentary, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8vVz1KoU2s There is SEVEN MINUTES of bonus material from our discussion about Crazy Frog. We had a lot to discuss. To hear it, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors and support the show. We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #2000s #Music #Funny #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radical playwright Valerie Solanas, author of the SCUM Manifesto (for the ‘Society of Cutting Up Men’) attempted to assassinate pop artist Andy Warhol at The Factory on 3rd June, 1968. As a result, Warhol wore a corset for the rest of his life; security had to be introduced at the previously open-door environment of The Factory; and Solanas’ name went down in infamy. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca ask whether her feminist writing would carry more weight if she’d never committed this violent act; consider the ethics of wannabe-assassins becoming celebrities, and wonder whether her SCUM Manifesto reads more like Jane Austen or Germaine Greer… Content Warning: mental health, paranoid schizophrenia, injury detail Further Reading: • ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’ trailer (1996):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQRCcQlXXE • ‘The SCUM Manifesto’ on Northeastern University’s website:  https://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/shivers/rants/scum.html • ‘This Is Why a Radical Playwright Shot Andy Warhol’ (Time, 2015):  https://time.com/3901488/andy-warhol-valerie-solanas/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Person #Arts #Crime #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Battle of Santiago’ was the name given to the shambolic and brutal World Cup Final between Chile and Italy on 2nd June, 1962. Featuring drop-kicks, punching and nose-breaking, the incendiary footage of the match was introduced by the BBC’s David Coleman as “the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how referee Ken Aston took inspiration from the event to invent red and yellow cards; explain why Chile, still recovering from the Valdivia earthquake, had taken Italy’s criticism of their country so seriously; and question whether the BBC’s apparent indignation was entirely genuine... Further Reading: • ‘Disgusting and Disgraceful: The Battle of Santiago At World Cup 1962’, The Sportsman (2018): https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/disgusting-and-disgraceful-the-battle-of-santiago-at-world-cup-1962 • FIFA revisits the match in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5t_RoUrvgg • The Guardian looks back at this day in history (2014): https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/04/stunning-moments-no4-battle-of-santiago For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Sports #Football #Chile #Italy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Cafe coronaries’ were a fact of life until The Journal of Emergency Medicine published details of The Heimlich Manoeuvre on June 1, 1974. In so doing, they made a household name of thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, and saved countless diners from choking in restaurants.  In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca examine whether Heimlich’s notoriety was truly deserved; explain how his Hollywood connections helped him spread the word of his achievements; and revisit his misguided pursuit of malariotherapy as a treatment for HIV... Further Reading: • Henry Heimlich administers his manoeuvre on Johnny Carson and Angie Dickinson - ‘The Tonight Show’ (1979): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1850117411675283 • Peter Heimlich’s critical blog about his father’s legacy: https://www.medfraud.info/ • Dr Henry’s Emergency Lessons For People (1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHm8OOz8P8 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #Science #Inventions #Food #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before ‘Tomb Raider’, before ‘Mortal Kombat’, before ‘Street Fighter’, there was something even WORSE. ‘Super Mario Bros’ - which opened in the United States on 28th May, 1993 - was such a critical and commercial failure that for years afterwards Nintendo kept their franchises out of Hollywood hands. Relocating the action to ‘Dinohattan’, the film inexplicably disregarded most of what had made the videogame such a smash-hit and replaced these elements with allusions to Blade Runner and Tim Burton’s Batman. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal Bob Hoskins’ drinking and accident-prone habits on-set, consider the relative strength of today’s spinoffs such as The Lego Movie, and analyse the secret sauce that keeps the Mario brand strong in the face of such adversity…  Further Reading: • CinemaSins presents: ‘Everything Wrong with Super Mario Bros in 21 Minutes or Less’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYQHnPOYc5Q • ‘The Stench of it Stays With Everybody’, The Guardian (2018):  https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/mar/22/super-mario-bros-movie-killing-fields-chariots-fire-video-game • ‘Plumbing a Videogame To Its Depths’ - the New York Times reviews the film in 1993:  https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/29/movies/review-film-plumbing-a-video-game-to-its-depths.html For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #90s #Film #Games #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microwave cookery was first demonstrated by Ross Kilgore of Westinghouse at the Chicago World’s Fair, which opened on 27th May, 1933. But the event was deemed to be a side-show of little scientific significance, and was forgotten until microwaves were ‘discovered’ two decades later. Incredibly also on display at the Chicago World’s Fair were incubated premature babies; people with dwarfism paraded in ‘midget’s village’; and, most attention-grabbingly of all, a provocative fan dancer called Sally Rand. Different times. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca compare the Fair’s SkyRide to its ‘coal mine’; question the purpose of a cigar-smoking robot; and explain why amoebic dysentery made an unwelcome souvenir for many...  Further Reading: • America’s Best History looks back at the ‘Century of Progress’ exhibition:  https://americasbesthistory.com/wfchicago1933.html • Wilding Pictures captures Technicolor footage of the Fair in 1934: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTqNPjQvOC0 • The ‘Coal Mine’ exhibit, preserved at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry: https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/coal-mine/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #30s #Discoveries #Strange #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The most iconic image of the 80s? Arguably. One of the biggest-selling posters of all time? Unquestionably. Yet ‘L’Enfant’ - captured on 26th May 1986 by photographer Spencer Rowell - was just a workaday, rapid-turnaround project for high street store Athena. The photo, which went on to adorn over five million walls, is often credited with inventing the ‘New Man’ - but the people in the photograph were hardly financially rewarded for their subsequent stardom. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal what ‘the baby’ is up to these days; consider the extent to which the image’s cheesy reputation is tied up with British awkwardness around male sexuality; and examine just how many women model Adam Perry claims to have bedded since… Further Reading: • The original poster, uploaded by Eighties Kids: https://www.eightieskids.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1-1.jpg • The Independent reports on the ‘excess, addiction and tragedy’ of ‘L’Enfant’: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/curse-man-and-baby-athena-and-birth-legend-432331.html • Spencer Rowell talks to Uncertain States in 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mUbTajhOc For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Arts #White #Person #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Carl Wickman started America’s first bus company on 21st May, 1914, they weren’t a bus company, and they weren’t called Greyhound - they were a commuter service for miners in Hibbing, Minnesota. But, despite their ‘dirty dog’ reputation (and the fact they’re now owned by a British conglomerate), the company is still seen as a cornerstone of American culture, and undoubtedly the most famous bus company in the world. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca consider the role of Hollywood in enshrining Greyhound’s exalted status in the popular imagination, speculate as to whether the development of highways killed the romance of inter-city travel, and reveal why, after the longest coach journey in the world, Father Christmas made Rebecca cry... Further Reading: • The ‘bus scene’ from It Happened One Night (1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvzgCo-As6A • Mental Floss celebrate 100 years of Greyhound:  https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54273/100-years-dirty-dog-history-greyhound • ‘Facts and Figures’ from Greyhound’s official website: https://news.greyhound.com/facts-figures For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1910s #Inventions #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Hitachi launched their ‘personal massager’ on 20th May, 1968, they had no idea (or so they claim) that they were about to, um, go down in sex toy history. The Magic Wand was initially developed to relieve tension and relaxing sore muscles - but soon became celebrated as the most powerful vibrator the world had ever seen. In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion discover how its innocent packaging helped boost sales when female masturbation was taboo, reveal the role sex educator Betty Dodson had in introducing it to the chattering classes, and consider how Apple would react today, if it was revealed that ‘rubbing an iPad on your bits felt good’... Content Warning: Explicit content, references to genitalia. Further Reading: • ‘A Brief History of The Magic Wand’, Cosmopolitan (2017): https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a14105499/hitachi-magic-wand-history/ • Sam returns her ‘neck massager’ to The Sharper Image in Sex and the City (2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T4QIO4XVPc • Magic Wand’s official website: https://magicwandoriginal.com/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Inventions #Discoveries #Funny #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Marilyn Monroe delivered her breathy, flirtatious rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ to JFK on 19th May 1962, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen remarked, 'it seemed like Marilyn was making love to the President in front of 40 million Americans.'  In fact the two are said to have never seen each other again, and just three months later Monroe was dead from a drug overdose. In this episode, Olly, Arion and Rebecca reveal the forgotten, steel-based second verse of the song Monroe also sang that night, consider the role The Simpsons has played in ruining this moment forever, and explain why ‘Sing A Song of Sixpence’ has a lot to answer for… Further Reading: • Marilyn’s iconic performance - and the giant cake presented shortly afterwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvoqK6aLE2E • Biography on the story behind the song: https://www.biography.com/news/marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday-mr-president-jfk • Reader’s Digest investigate what happened to Marilyn’s dress: https://www.rd.com/article/marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday-dress/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #Person #Politics #Arts #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can ‘mesmeric’ mental powers harm you from afar? Well, no. But that didn’t stop Lucretia L. S. Brown accusing fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ in court; a case that concluded on 14th May, 1878.   No doubt bolstered by the fact it took place in Salem, Massachusetts - home of the historic American witchcraft trials, in the 1690s - the case aroused public interest with its judgements on mind control and spiritualism.     In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the gender politics of witchcraft trials, examine the enduring popularity of folk magic in rural communities, and uncover the surprising rise of witchcraft in the 21st century...   Further reading: • ‘The Other Salem Witchtrials’ - a blog-post from the Oxford University Press: https://blog.oup.com/2013/04/the-other-salem-witch-trials/ • Brian A. Pavlac investigates the ‘original’ Salem witch trials for TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM • ‘The Long Lost Friend’ by John George Hohman (1820):  https://archive.org/details/0223252.nlm.nih.gov/page/n5/mode/2up For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.   #1800s #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘WannaCry’, the biggest cyberattack the world has seen, was stopped in its tracks on 13th May, 2017. British blogger Marcus Hutchins found the 'kill switch'. He was 22.   The ransomware had attacked the NHS, Renault, Telefónica, FedEx, and Boeing - causing damage estimated at up to $8 billion.    In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit Hutchins’ incredible story, from childhood computer programmer to criminal hacker and, eventually, British hero; consider when exactly their own children will eclipse their technical proficiency; and discover what ‘sinkholing’ is...   Further reading: • ‘The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet’ - a long read interview in ‘Wired’: https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-marcus-hutchins-hacker-who-saved-the-internet/ • “I’m no hero”, Marcus Hutchins tells the Telegraph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5dNdnG_t1U • Follow Marcus Hutchins on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalwareTechBlog   For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #2010s #Person #Crime #Technology #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Bill Wilson met Dr Robert Smith on 12th May, 1935, they could not have known that the 12-step plan they’d devised for treating addiction would spawn the world’s largest support group.    Despite their initially low success rate, they persisted to aid recovering alcoholics and their names went down in history - to the extent that A.A. members still sometimes identify each other by asking, ‘...are you a friend of Bob?’.   In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion review the current trajectory of ‘mindful drinking’ amongst millennials, consider why the number ‘12’ still features prominently in listicles, and reveal the ingredients of the cocktail that got Wilson hooked on booze in the first place...   Further reading: • Bill Wilson tells his story in 1965: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9oNOrTcOzM • Take a virtual tour of Wilson’s home, ‘Stepping Stones’, in Katonah, New York:  https://www.steppingstones.org/tours.html • What is AA? Alcoholics Anonymous (USA)’s current website: https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/what-is-aa   For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #30s #Person #Invention #White #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At a cost of £2m, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘Cats’ premiered at the New London Theatre on 11th May, 1981 - and the world had never seen anything like it.    With a cast including Brian Blessed and Elaine Paige, the original production was innovative, sexy, creepy, bizarre - and an enormous gamble for the impresarios who backed it.   In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion look back at the original reviews for the show, consider whether John Napier’s award-winning costume design was actually incredibly lazy, and reveal how the show’s signature song, ‘Memory’, nearly didn’t happen at all...   Further reading: • Elaine Paige performs ‘Memory’ in the original production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm5w7gHEtJI • Sue MacGregor interviews the cast and crew for Radio 4’s ‘The Reunion’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008jyn • ‘Cats’ - a timeline from London’s Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/cats-musical-history-a4439316.html For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #80s #Arts #Theatre #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The theft of Edvard Munch’s iconic painting ‘The Scream’ sullied the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer - but, on 7th May, 1994, the iconic work was recovered.   The painting, which has been stolen multiple times, was returned on this occasion thanks to the involvement of Britain’s Metropolitan Police - and the comic ineptitude of the thieves. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explore the bizarre career of professional footballer turned art thief Pal Enger; consider what Munch had in common with modern-day artists like Damien Hirst; and reveal whether Macaulay Culkin’s ‘scream’ on the poster for Home Alone was a deliberate tribute...   Further reading: • When ‘The Scream’ was stolen AGAIN - in 2005 - https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/jun/13/art.arttheft • Conservator Gry Landro talks about what happened to the painting after the robbery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm45OPVxoCc • The Athletic profiles Pal Enger - https://theathletic.co.uk/2445693/2021/03/16/the-footballer-turned-art-thief-who-stole-the-scream/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #90s #Arts #Crime #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Queen Victoria thrilled the locals with a personal appearance on May 6th 1882, to dedicate Epping Forest, near London, as ‘the people’s forest’.    It was a pivotal moment in the preservation of green space for public recreation - as industrialisation around the capital lead to increasing swathes of land being developed for profit. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain how, at one time, as much as one-third of the landmass of Southern England was considered a ‘Royal Forest’, why breaking the rules could land you in ‘forest court’ - and reveal the modern-day criminals chasing after the park’s mushrooms...   Further reading: • British Pathé commemorates the glories of Epping Forest (1943) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Z8KB9Y5RI  • ‘The Day Queen Victoria Gave Epping Forest To The People’ - https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/1452517.day-queen-victoria-gave-epping-forest-people/ • The arch that was built to commemorate the visit - https://www.eppingforestguardian.co.uk/news/18753957.queen-victoria-visited-chingford-epping-forest-dedication/ For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #1800s #Victorian #Royals #Person #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was standing room only at Birmingham Town Hall on May 5, 1964 - the day legendary anti-smut campaigner Mary Whitehouse launched her ‘Clean Up TV’ campaign.   Claiming the BBC’s Director-General was “responsible for the moral collapse in this country”, she went on to attract 366,355 signatures to her petition opposing the “disbelief, doubt and dirt that the BBC projects into millions of homes through the television screen”. In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit her objections to ‘filth’ as diverse as Chuck Berry’s ‘My Ding-A-Ling’ and concentration camp footage; consider whether her M.O. influenced modern-day ‘cancel culture’; and ask if, in a world of 24-hour news, her feelings about war reporting have achieved some merit...   Further reading: • Letters from Mary Whitehouse in the National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/sixties-britain/letters-mary-whitehouse/ • Mary Whitehouse’s obituary in The Guardian (2001): https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/nov/24/guardianobituaries.obituaries • From the Huntley Film Archives, the night Clean Up TV launched their petition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO_DqJ85jvk For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors   The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #60s #TV #Person #White #UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thirteen years before ever being broadcast, the Grammys took their first steps into rock n’ roll history on May 4, 1959 - when, curiously, they were held in two separate cities on the same night.   If you were a fan of rock n’roll, however, you’d have been sorely disappointed by the winners - ‘Tequila’ by The Champs, Perry Como’s ‘Catch A Falling Star’, and, bizarrely, David Seville & The Chipmunks’ ‘The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)’.   In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explain why The Chipmunks were so acclaimed, consider whether the Grammys have a problem with race, and reveal which noughties novelty pop song was inspired by The Sugarhill Gang...   Further reading: • The 1958 Grammys - the winners in full: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/1st-annual-grammy-awards-1958 • The Dark, Angry Father of ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’: https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/the-dark-angry-father-of-alvin-and-the-chipmunks.html • The Beverly Hilton, one of the locations for the first ever Grammys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRYVAodIvw4 For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #50s #Music #Arts #US Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices