Episodes

A naval juggernaut of 137 ships, 10,000 sailors, 2,500 guns, and 20,000 soldiers was launched at England by Philip II of Spain on May 28th, 1588: the Spanish Armada. Their goal? A full-scale invasion to dethrone Queen Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism, no less.  Unfortunately, their commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, had no naval […]

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

The major political upheaval that befell Italy happened on 26th May, 1981, when Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his entire cabinet resigned. This followed the exposure of a secretive Masonic lodge, known as P2 or Propaganda Due, intent on creating a shadowy state-within-a-state. Its 962 elite members included high-ranking military officers, civil servants, bankers, and

Labour leader Ed Miliband awkwardly ate a bacon sandwich at New Covent Garden Market on 21st May, 2014. Mid-bite, eyes squinting, lips oddly parted, and fingers clumsily gripping the sandwich – it was an instantly meme-able moment. The British press pounced. The photo became a viral sensation, with endless edits, spoofs, and headlines suggesting Miliband

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

Nobel Prize-winning dramatist Harold Pinter’s London premiere of his debut, ‘The Birthday Play’ was detested by most critics – on 19th May, 1958. Set in a mundane seaside boarding house, the play initially lures audiences in with a naturalistic facade, before plunging them into a perplexing, uncomfortable narrative. Critics lambasted the production for its nonsensical

The Adultery Act, passed into British law on 14th May, 1650, made having sex with a married woman a crime so severe it was punishable by death – but only for her.  Radical groups like the Ranters mocked Puritan prudishness, Royalists called the law joyless and tyrannical, and Presbyterians argued the law would be impossible

‘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

Winnie – the real-life bear who inspired A.A. Milne to create Winnie-the-Pooh – died at London Zoo on 12th May, 1934. Brought to the UK by Canadian soldier Harry Colbourn, who’d named her after Winnipeg, the approachable bear took up residence at the Zoo during the First World War, where she became a favourite with

Today is the 80th anniversary of ‘Victory in Europe Day’, but despite the popular impression of the joyous street parties and jubilant crowds that took over London on 8th May, 1945, the reality was rather more complex.  For starters, the terms of Germany’s surrender itself had displeased the Soviet Union, and Stalin insisted on a