Episodes
Before There Was ‘Crufts’
RETRO
The first modern dog show took place in Newcastle on 28th June, 1859. Essentially a sideshow to the annual exhibition of cattle, it featured just 23 pointers and 27 setters. The owners of the champion breeds won a gun. Allegations of inbreeding and nepotism plagued the contest from the very beginning; controversies which eventually sparked …
Introducing… The Fork
RETRO
The fork had only recently received Royal approval in Britain when it was gifted to the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, on 25th June, 1633. It took centuries for Americans to feel comfortable with this new way of eating, but in Italy it was already gaining ground, as Englishman Thomas Coryat observed in 1611, noting: …
The Town That Danced To Death
RETRO
‘Dancing Mania’ – in which people spontaneously danced to exhaustion, some until they broke their ribs and subsequently died, took hold of Aachen, Germany on 24th June, 1374. We still don’t really know why. Had the victims ingested ergot, a mould from rye bread that can inspire hallucinations? Was it a hysterical mass response to …
Batman Begins
RETRO
Over $750m of merchandise had already been sold on the basis of the trailer alone, when Tim Burton’s Batman was released in the USA on 23rd June, 1989. Ten days later, it became the fastest-film ever to earn $100m. The first ‘adult’ Batman movie had been pitched as early as 1979, but, after various possible …
McEnroe’s Wimbledon Meltdown
RETRO
John McEnroe was once the world’s No.1 tennis player, winning seven major Grand Slams. But he’ll always be remembered for his extraordinary rant against umpire Edward James at Wimbledon on 22nd June, 1981. During his match with Tom Gullikson, James ruled that the New Yorker’s serve went out. McEnroe’s reaction – “You can’t be serious …
Let’s Triangulate Britain
RETRO
The Ordnance Survey – a government-funded agency created to aid the military in the event of invasion from France – took receipt of a theodolite on 21st June 1791, and so began the epic task of accurately mapping Britain. It took them twenty years to do the county of Kent. And another twenty years to …
The Town Disney Built
RETRO
Designed by Imagineers, and located on the outskirts of Walt Disney World, the town of Celebration, Florida welcomed its first residents on 18th June, 1996. Over 5,000 families had applied to be amongst the first ever homeowners to reside, full-time, in the grounds of a theme park. Conceptually, the town was a mash-up of the …
The Arrival of Lady Liberty
RETRO
Still the tallest statue in the USA, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France – in no less than 214 crates – in New York City on 17th June, 1885. Costing just $10m in today’s money, the Lady went on to symbolise the immigrant journey – even though the designers and engineers behind it had …
Welcome To The Monster Raving Loony Party
RETRO
Over beers at The Golden Lion in Ashburton, Devon, ‘Screaming’ Lord Sutch founded his anti-establishment political party The Monster Raving Loony Party on 16th June, 1982. It wasn’t the first time the former rock n’roller had stood on a political platform – he had previously contested Harold Wilson’s seat in 1966, achieving 585 votes. But …
Blackadder Begins
RETRO
Rowan Atkinson headed up the cast and writing team, yet the first series of ‘The Black Adder’ drew a decidedly mixed reaction from audiences and critics when it debuted on BBC TV on 15th June, 1983. Set in 1484, and filmed in castles across England, the series led some wags to quip that it ‘looks …