Stuff You Missed In History Class

This 2020 episode looks at croquet's murky origins. Because of its relative ease of play and low barrier of entry, it went through a surge in popularity almost as soon as it was documented.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about how much Tracy loves eclipses. They also discuss their favorite TV jingles for the game of Life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Milton Bradley shaped not only the way people in the U.S. and around the globe play, but also how many kids in the U.S. were educated in their youngest years. Research: Adams, David Wallace, and Victor Edmonds. “Making Your Move: The Educational Significance of the American Board Game, 1832 to 1904.” History of Education Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, 1977, pp. 359–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/367865 Bradley, M. “Game Board. U.S. Patent Office. April 3, 1866. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/21/56/40/6993536471b841/US53561.pdf “Bradley’s Mechanical and Mathematical Institute … “ The Berkshire County Eagle. July 23, 1858. https://www.newspapers.com/image/532891626/?terms=%22milton%20bradley%22%20&match=1 “The Cars for Egypt.” Vermont Press. March 13, 1858. https://www.newspapers.com/image/547100306/?terms=%22milton%20bradley%22%20&match=1 “The Checkered Game of Life.” Hasbro. https://www.hasbro.com/common/documents/5b96f7161d3711ddbd0b0800200c9a66/858C69C319B9F3691003C63AB0E8078A.pdf “The

On May 28, in the year 585 BCE, there was a total solar eclipse during a battle between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia. This eclipse had been predicted by Thales of Miletus, and it led to the ends of both the battle and the war. Maybe.  Research: "Thales of Miletus." Math & Mathematicians: The History of Math Discoveries Around the World, edited by Leonard C. Bruno, UXL, 2008. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1669000047/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=941ff118. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024. "Thales." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 13, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008, pp. 295-298. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2830904273/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=78008eeb. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024. Airy, G. B. “On the Eclipses of Agathocles, Thales, and Xerxes.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 143, 1853, pp. 179–200. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/108561. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024. Batten, A. H. “The

This 2019 episode covers Sylvia of Hollywood, famous in the 1920s and 1930s for shaping up starlets, cementing the idea that Hollywood's beauties were aspirational figures for the average woman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly reads Vinnie Ream's account of when she met Franz Liszt. Then discussion turns to Ream's friendships, her shopping habits, and why she lived in Rome instead of closer to Carrara. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part two of our episode on Vinnie Ream covers the completion of her first major work, and the rest of her life, which was just as controversial as her early adulthood.  Research: “Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/anjo/andrew-johnson-and-reconstruction.htm Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vinnie Ream". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vinnie-Ream “The Case of Miss Vinnie Ream, The Latest National Disgrace.” The Daily Phoenix. June 12, 1868. https://www.newspapers.com/image/72225424/?terms=%22vinnie%20ream%22%20&match=1 “Clark Mills and the Jackson Equestrian Statue (1853–1856).” The Historic New Orleans Collection. https://www.hnoc.org/virtual/andrew-jackson/clark-mills-and-jackson-equestrian-statue-1853%E2%80%931856 Cooper, Edward S. “Vinnie Ream, a American Sculptor.” Academy Chicago Publishers. 2004. “Curious Developments in the House.” The Abingdon Virginian. June 5, 1868. https://www.newspapers.com/ima

Vinnie Ream managed became the first woman to be given an art commission by the U.S. Government when she was still a teenager. Part one covers the controversy that arose as she lobbied for that job. Research: “Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/anjo/andrew-johnson-and-reconstruction.htm Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vinnie Ream". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vinnie-Ream “The Case of Miss Vinnie Ream, The Latest National Disgrace.” The Daily Phoenix. June 12, 1868. https://www.newspapers.com/image/72225424/?terms=%22vinnie%20ream%22%20&match=1 “Clark Mills and the Jackson Equestrian Statue (1853–1856).” The Historic New Orleans Collection. https://www.hnoc.org/virtual/andrew-jackson/clark-mills-and-jackson-equestrian-statue-1853%E2%80%931856 Cooper, Edward S. “Vinnie Ream, a American Sculptor.” Academy Chicago Publishers. 2004. “Curious Developments in the House.” The Abingdon Virginian. June 5, 1868.

This 2014 episode covers the story of how in 1859, the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over an American settler shooting a Canadian pig that was rooting around his garden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy ponder why the wrong photo has become used so frequently in mentions of Margaret E. Knight. Tracy shares the reasons she almost didn't cover Henry Martyn Robert on the show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Henry Martyn Robert was connected to multiple historical events, but his most lasting legacy is the set of guidelines he created that offered a standardized way to run meetings. Research:  "Henry Martyn Robert." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 21, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007677/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=a6a24976. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024. Doyle, Don H. “Rules of Order: Henry Martyn Robert and the Popularization of American Parliamentary Law.” American Quarterly , Spring, 1980, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring, 1980). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2712493 Fishman, Donald. “The Elusive Henry Martyn Robert: A Historical Problem.” National Parliamentarian. Second Quarter 2012. Hansen, Brett. “Weathering the Storm: the Galveston Seawall and Grade Raising.” Civil Engineering. April 2007. Hendricks, George Brian, "Rules of Order: A Biography of Henry Martyn Robert, Soldier, Engineer, Churchman, Parliamentarian" (1998). Legacy ETDs. 755. https://di

Margaret E. Knight was an ingenious woman. She started tinkering with things when she was still just a tiny child, and the first invention that really improved the lives of those around her came about at the age of 12.  Research: “A Lady in a Machine Shop.” Woman’s Journal, December 21, 1872. Accessed online: https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:48852547$409i Bedi, Joyce. “Margaret Knight.” Lemelson Center, Smithsonian. March 22, 2021. https://invention.si.edu/node/28532/p/609-margaret-knight Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Margaret E. Knight". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-E-Knight “Gained Fame as Inventor.” The Boston Globe. Oct. 13, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430883835/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1 “The Inspiring Story of Margaret E. Knight.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/blog/inventors/margaret-e-knight-paper-pag Knight, M.E. “Clasp.” U.S. Patent Office. Oct. 14, 1884. h

This 2019 episode covers James G. Fair, known as the Silver King. But though Fair often appears on lists of the richest men in U.S. history, his image was also tainted by scandal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about there not being a national divorce law in the U.S. and how to pronounce Nevada. Tracy talks about the ways social rules are necessary but can be used in ways that are exclusionary. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Books on etiquette don’t necessarily reflect rules everyone is actually following – they’re more like what the author thinks the ideal standard of behavior should be. This episode looks at six such books from history.  Research: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Giovanni Della Casa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Della-Casa. Accessed 29 February 2024. Dukes, Hunter. “The Age of Impoliteness: Galateo: or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners (1774 edition).” The Public Domain Review. 2/27/2024. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/galateo/ Della Casa, Giovanni. “Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners.” Printed for J. Dodsley. 1774. Stanhope, Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield. “Letters to His Son, 1746-47.” Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3351/pg3351-images.html Eyebright, Daisy. “A Manual of Etiquette with Hints of Politeness and Good Breeding.” https://digital.library.upenn.edu/wo

Divorce ranches sprung up in the 1930s when Nevada relaxed its divorce laws. This unique and controversial style of resort was incredibly popular for several decades before becoming obsolete. Research: Brean, Henry. “The rise and fall of Reno's quickie divorce industry.” Reno Gazette Journal. Sept. 18, 2017. https://www.rgj.com/story/life/2017/09/18/rise-and-fall-renos-quickie-divorce-industry/677065001/ Bromley, John. “Two ‘Divorce Ranches’ Still Thriving.” Nevada State Journal. April 27, 1969. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010901428/?terms=divorce%20ranch&match=1 Miller, Wendy. “Divorce Ranch Owners Take Issue With Magazine Story.” Nevada State Journal. July 8, 1965. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010619253/?terms=divorce%20ranch&match=1 “Editor’s Comment – Not New.” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. June 5, 1931. https://www.newspapers.com/image/683040112/?terms=nevada%20divorce&match=1 Flat Rate Divorce Ranch Neely’s Latest Venture.” Shamokin News-Dispatch. January 7, 1932. https://www

This 2021 episode covers sixteenth-century barber surgeon Ambroise Paré, who has been called everything from “the gentle surgeon” to “the father of modern surgery.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about the various theories about events in Charles Francis Hall's life. Tracy discusses some of the troubling sources she came across while researching Götz von Berlichingen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 16th century Gottfried von Berlichingen was known as Götz of the Iron Hand because after an injury and amputation, he wore a prosthesis made of sheet iron that was painted to match his skin. Research: Ashmore, Kevin et al. “ArtiFacts: Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen-The "Iron Hand" of the Renaissance.” Clinical orthopaedics and related research vol. 477,9 (2019): 2002-2004. doi:10.1097/CORR.0000000000000917 Beare, Mary. “Reviewed Work: The Autobiography of Götz von Berlichingen by H. S. M. Stuart and Götz von Berlichingen.” The Modern Language Review, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Apr., 1957). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3718111 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Götz von Berlichingen". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gotz-von-Berlichingen-German-knight. Accessed 26 February 2024. Cohn, H.J. (1989). Götz von Berlichingen and the Art of Military Autobiography. In: Mulryne, J.R., Shewring, M. (eds) War, Literature and the Arts in Sixteenth-Century

Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom when he made a try for the North Pole – though he was the only one from his expedition to die.  Research: Besselss, Emil, and William Barr. “Polaris: The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73.” University of Calgary Press. 2016. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles Francis Hall". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Francis-Hall Dodge, Ernest S. and C.C. Loomis. “HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hall_charles_francis_10E.html Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 1.” Nunatsiaq News. Sept. 7, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_1/ Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 2.” Nunatsiaq News. September 14, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_2