Episodes

Dr Benjamin Spock’s ‘Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care’ was first published on 14th July, 1946. It was then translated into 40 languages, selling over 50 million copies – second only to the Bible in the USA. Spock’s thesis is perhaps best summarised in its seminal opening sentence: ‘Trust yourself, you know more […]

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,

‘Disco Demolition Night’, the brainchild of 24 year-old shock jock Steve Dahl, caused mass hysteria at Comiskey Park, Chicago on 12th July, 1979 – causing a pitch invasion that lead to 39 arrests. Intended as a promotional event for a Tigers vs White Sox doubleheader, attendees were lured with discounted admission if they turned up

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

‘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

‘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

Sliced bread had never been automated before Otto Rohwedder unveiled his “power-driven, multi-bladed bread slicer” at Chillicothe Baking Company on July 6, 1928 – after an astonishing SIXTEEN years of self-funded development. The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune ran a front-page story in response – warning that consumers might find sliced bread “startling,” but that “the typical housewife

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

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

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.