Episodes
When Gnomes Took Over The World
RETRO
Lampy, Britain’s oldest surviving garden gnome, was insured for £1 million on 28th November, 1997. Imported from Germany, his human dad was Sir Charles Isham, an eccentric aristocrat who adorned his rockery in Northampton with a selection of gnomes, the rest of whom were later destroyed by his daughters. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and …
Football’s First International
RETRO
England played Scotland in a publicly-advertised game for the first time on 30th November, 1872 – kickstarting international football as we know it today. The English team included players drafted in from Oxford University. The Scottish team was entirely made up of teammates from Queen’s Park. The score was 0-0. Much of the game was …
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Marriage of the Moonies
RETRO
The first American mass marriage ceremony of the Unification Church – for 28,000 couples in matching garb, led by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon – took place at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. on 29th November, 1997.Newleyweds had to confirm their virginity and abstain from sexual relations for 40 days afterwards, but …
The Sound of Luxury
RETRO
In the annals of automotive innovation, November 28th, 2018 marked a peculiar milestone: the birth of the Lincoln Chimes. The brainchild of Jennifer Prescott, overseer of “Vehicle Harmony” at the motor company, this warning system replaced the synthetic sound of in-car emergency alerts with a blend of violin, viola, and marimba played by The Detroit …
The Berners St Hoax
RETRO
We reveal how, on 27th November, 1809, a respectable house on the well-to-do Berners Street in London became ground zero for one of the most disruptive practical jokes in history: the Berners Street Hoax. First a chimney sweep turned up at the address, then another and another, then cake makers, surgeons, lawyers, physicians, obstetricians, butchers, …
QVC’s First Day
RETRO
The ‘Windsor Shower Companion’ ($11.49) was the first product sold on home shopping network QVC, which made its debut on 24th November, 1986, quickly becoming a cable TV phenomenon. Joe Segel, the channel’s founder, focussed on a ‘soft sell’ approach that emphasised authenticity and a friendly, neighbourly connection. The channel’s anonymity factor allowed customers to indulge …
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The Tamagotchi Effect
RETRO
With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget’s massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality – shifting 40 million units globally in just three years. Users had to check in regularly with their …
Fall of the Knights Templar
RETRO
Pope Clement V ordered the arrest of all Knights Templar and seizure of their properties on 22nd November, 1307: a day that sealed the fate of the once-celebrated Christian military order. They had attracted the ire of Philip IV of France, who began an international conspiracy to smear their name. Founded in 1118, the Knights …
The First Hanukkah
RETRO
When the Maccabees celebrated the recapture of Jerusalem from the Macedonian emperor Antiochus IV, they lit a menorah in the city’s holy temple. The date, in the ancient Hebrew calendar, was the twenty-fifth day of the third month of Kislev 3597… the first Hanukkah. Hanukkah’s significance waned in some early Jewish texts due to the …
The Real Moby Dick
RETRO
In this episode we tell the tale of ill-fated whale-ship The Essex, which was rammed by an 85-foot sperm whale on 20th November, 1820. The incident inspired Herman Melville’s sea-faring novel, Moby Dick. Left to fend for themselves in tiny whaling boats, the young crew had to make terrible choices in order to preserve their …