Stuff You Missed In History Class

A lot of the stories that are told about popcorn in history – particularly in North America – are incorrect. Popcorn has been around for a very long time, though its rise to popularity as a snack has accelerated in recent years. Research: “Ancient Popcorn Discovered in Peru.” Smithsonian. Jan, 20, 2012. https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-popcorn-discovered-peru com Editors “Orville Redenbacher.” Biography.com. April 2, 2014. https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/orville-redenbacher Butler, Stephanie. “ A History of Popcorn.” History.com. Dec. 6, 2013. https://www.history.com/news/a-history-of-popcorn Delgado, Michelle. “The History of Popcorn: How One Grain Became a Staple Snack.” Serious Eats. May 7, 2023. https://www.seriouseats.com/popcorn-history-movie-theaters Dell’Amore, Christine. “Ancient Popcorn Found—Made 2,000 Years Earlier Than Thought in Peru.” National Geographic. Jan. 21, 2012. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/120119-national-popcorn-day-corn-peru-archaeology

This 2017 episode covers the work of Jules Cotard, the first psychiatrist to write about the cluster of symptoms that would come to be called Walking Corpse Syndrome. But his unfinished work was hotly debated among his colleagues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the Disney animators' strike of 1941, Angel Island, and Tyrus Wong's Christmas cards. They also discuss the merits of dandelions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gertrude Jekyll was born into a 19th-century English family of means, but her life took an unconventional path for a woman in her circumstances, and she became an iconic and legendary horticulturist. Research: Tooley, Michael. "Jekyll, Gertrude (1843–1932), artist and garden designer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. June 08, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 13 May. 2024, https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2261/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-37597 "Gertrude Jekyll." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 38, Gale, 2018. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010801/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=56c7d137. Accessed 13 May 2024. Gertrude Jekyll: The Official Website of the Jekyll Estate https://gertrudejekyll.co.uk/ Edwards, Ambra. “Gertrude Jekyll: discover the life of the remarkable garden designer and writer.” Gardens Illustrated. 5/31/2023. https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/gardeners/gertrude-jekyll

Over the course of an extraordinarily long career, Tyrus Wong worked across a range of media in a whole collection of industries – animation, live-action film, commercial art, public art, greeting cards, and in his last years, kitemaking in his personal workshop. Research: Tom, Pamela, writer and director. “Tyrus.” PBS American Masters. 9/8/2017. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/tyrus-about-the-film/8917/ "Tyrus Wong." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010885/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=943f33c3. Accessed 1 May 2024. PBS American Masters. “Biography.” https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/tyrus-wong-biography/9197/ Fang, Karen. “Commercial Design and Midcentury Asian American Art: The Greeting Cards of Tyrus Wong,” Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art 7, no. 1 (Spring 2021), https://doi.org/10.24926/24716839.11548. Friedl, Erik. “Flights of Fancy.” 1987. Via YouTube. http

This 2019 episode covers the earthquake of April 18, 1906 that changed San Francisco forever. The earthquake and a series of fires devastated much of the city and had long-term ramifications.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the eerie similarities of the stories of the Andrea Doria and the Empress of Ireland. They also talk about Jacob Haish's poetry about barbed wire.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joseph Glidden is known as the father of barbed wire, but who actually invented it was a matter of disagreement. As a consequence, Glidden's invention was embroiled in legal battles for years.  Research: “Barb Fence: Its Utility, Efficiency and Economy : a Book for the Farmer, the Gardener and the Country Gentleman.” Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Company. Lucius P. Goddard. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=v_EoAAAAYAAJ&rdid=book-v_EoAAAAYAAJ&rdot=1 “Barbed Wire.” The Burlington Hawk-Eye. May 3, 1879. https://www.newspapers.com/image/31320626/?match=1&terms=%22joseph%20f.%20glidden%22 “Barbed Wire.” Chicago Tribune. Dec. 22, 1880. https://www.newspapers.com/image/349503001/?match=1&terms=%22joseph%20f.%20glidden%22 “Barbed Wire: The Saga.” Joseph H. Glidden Homestead. https://www.gliddenhomestead.org/barbedwire.html Boardman, Mark. “The Winner.” True West. Sept. 22, 2022. https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-winner/ Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaed

The SS Andrea Doria was a luxury cruise liner that sank after colliding with another ship in 1956. Most of the people who were on the Andrea Doria lived thanks to one of the biggest civilian maritime rescues in history.  Research: Cooke, Anthony, editor. “Andrea Doria.” Italian Liners. https://www.italianliners.com/andrea-doria-en Carrothers, John Carroll. “There Must Have Been a Third Ship! (An Analysis of the Andrea Doria-Stockholm Disaster).” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. 7/1958. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1958/july/there-must-have-been-third-ship ‘ “Stefano Carletti: The Man Who Immortalized The Wreck of the Andrea Doria.” 4/1/2021. https://indepthmag.com/stefano-carletti-the-man-who-made-the-wreck-of-the-andrea-doria-immortal/ Moyer, John. “A Conservator’s Reflections on the Andrea Doria.” InDepth. 6/26/2021. https://indepthmag.com/reflections-on-the-andrea-doria/ Simpson, Pierette Domenica. “The Night I Survived the Andrea Doria Shipwreck.” Italian Sons and Daughters of America. 8/9

This 2014 episode covers Aimee Semple McPherson, an extraordinary figure in the early 20th-century religious landscape. As an evangelist, she rose to incredible popularity in the 1920s, and then vanished.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about how to pronounce Sophia, and speculate about why Jex-Blake didn't pursue an education at New England Female Medical College.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After studying with Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell in New York, Sophia Jex-Blake moved back to England when her father died. But her determination to get a medical education in the U.K. turned her into an education activist. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake". Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sophia-Louisa-Jex-Blake Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Garrett-Anderson Drysdale, Neil. “UK’s first female students posthumously awarded their medical degrees in Edinburgh.” The Press and Journal. July 6, 2019. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/1790307/uks-first-female-students-posthumously-awarded-their-medical-degrees-in-edinburgh/ Edmunds, Percy James. “The Origin Of The London School Of Medicine For Women.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 1, no. 2620, 1911, pp. 659–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/

Sophia Jex-Blake was a young English woman who initially pursued a career in teaching before she fell in love with medicine while visiting the U.S. Part one covers the early part of her life and education. Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake." Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sophia-Louisa-Jex-Blake Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson." Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Garrett-Anderson Drysdale, Neil. “UK’s first female students posthumously awarded their medical degrees in Edinburgh.” The Press and Journal. July 6, 2019. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/1790307/uks-first-female-students-posthumously-awarded-their-medical-degrees-in-edinburgh/ Edmunds, Percy James. “The Origin Of The London School Of Medicine For Women.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 1, no. 2620, 1911, pp. 659–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25285883. Ac

This 2014 episode covers the invention of the canned meat known as Spam. The Hormel Foods product was invented in the 1930s to make use of a surplus of shoulder meat from pigs, and was an instant hit in the U.S. and abroad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy discuss George Heye using his senior thesis to drink beer and how his collection was almost purchased by Ross Perot. They also discuss Maria Orosa and the types of bananas used to make banana ketchup. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria Ylagan Orosa was born in the Philippines, and she spent her life working to eliminate food insecurity there. She revived the use of locally available ingredients, and wrote recipes that are found in Filipino cuisine today.  Research: "Maria Orosa." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EQFOIO615521998/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8d615f86. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024. Bentley, Amy. “How Ketchup Revolutionized How Food Is Grown, Processed and Regulated.” Smithsonian. 6/4/2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-ketchup-revolutionized-how-food-is-grown-processed-regulated-180969230/ Butler, Stephanie. “The Surprisingly Ancient History of Ketchup.” History. 8/15/2023. https://www.history.com/news/ketchup-surprising-ancient-history Campbell, Olivia. “Fighting Colonialism with Food.” Beyond Curie. 3/20/2022. https://oliviacampbell.substack.com/p/fighting-colonialism-with-food Elias, Megan. “The Palate of Power: Amer

George Gustav Heye’s work in curating a collection of Native American artifacts has enabled many people to learn about indigenous cultures. But his colleting practices and relationship to those cultures are complicated. Research: “Blaming It on the Women.” The Cincinnati Post. June 7, 1913. https://www.newspapers.com/image/761237680/?match=1&terms=%22George%20Heye%22%20 “Clinging to the Skeletons.” Hudson Observer. July 22, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010104927/?match=1&terms=%22George%20Heye%22%20minisink Dunn, Ashley. “A Heritage Reclaimed.” New York Times. Oct. 9, 1994. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/nyregion/a-heritage-reclaimed-from-old-artifacts-american-indians-shape-a-new-museum.html “G.G. Heye Weds Again.” The Sun. July 12, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/466303140/?match=1&terms=%22George%20Gustav%20Heye%22%20 Haworth, John. “!00 Years and Counting: Reflections About A Collection, A Collector And The Museum Of The American Indian (Before There Was An NMAI).” Ameri

This 2012 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covers dentist Horace Wells. At an exhibition in 1844 he became certain that nitrous oxide could revolutionize medicine. He tried to demonstrate his findings, but things didn't go as planned.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly discuss Sir Humphry Davy's less than spectacular poems, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," and the end of Davy's career and life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Davy's career after his work in nitrous oxide included the invention of a miner's lamp designed to make mining safer. This invention came with a bit of controversy.  Research: "Britons take laughing gas merrily. Tories take it more seriously." The Economist, 27 Sept. 2023, p. NA. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766770794/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c0888abb. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. "Erroneous element." Muse, vol. 20, no. 7, Sept. 2016, p. 7. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A466296806/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=795a6d0c. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. “Sir Humphrey Davy’s Harmful Emissions – November 2015.” Newcastle University Special Collections. 11/30/2015. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2015/11/30/sir-humphrey-davys-harmful-emissions/ Adams, Max. "Humphry Davy and the murder lamp: Max Adams investigates the truth behind the introduction of a key invention of the early Industrial Revolution." History Today, vol. 55, no. 8, Aug. 2005, pp. 4+. Ga