Episodes
The Beatles’ Giggling Guru
RETRO
John, Paul, George and Ringo travelled to a transcendental meditation workshop in Bangor, Wales on 25th August, 1967 – at the invitation of ‘giggling guru’, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The event changed everything for The Fab Four – influencing their music, their philosophy, and ultimately contributing to the end of the band. In this episode, Arion, …
The End of The Pirate Monk
RETRO
Bandit, Admiral, wizard, pirate… ‘Eustace The Monk’ did it all – and was decapitated for his troubles, at the Battle of Sandwich on 24th August, 1217. Previously a licensed criminal for the court of King John, he became an enemy of England by switching sides and battling on behalf of the French – an extraordinary …
Bogie and Bacall Burn Up The Screen
RETRO
Howard Hawks’ film noir ‘The Big Sleep’ finally hit cinemas on 23rd August, 1946, after extra crowd-pleasing repartee had been inserted, featuring real life couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. But more flirtation meant less exposition – making the plot of the detective story notoriously difficult to follow, even to the extent that the filmmakers …
One Direction – The Movie
RETRO
‘This Is Us’ premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 20th August, 2013. 10,000 ‘Directioners’, some of whom had slept rough for three nights, were there to catch a glimpse of their favourite boyband. The documentary, directed by ‘Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock, went on to take $18m in its Labor Day opening weekend in the …
The Surprising Start of Vietnamese Nail Bars
RETRO
Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ and ‘Marnie’, was already known for her activism – primarily rescuing big cats – when, on 19th August, 1975 she visited a Vietnamese refugee camp in Sacramento, California Her nail art dazzled many of the women she met – so she set about helping them retrain as Hollywood …
The First TV Weather Report
RETRO
A weather map was first broadcast on TV on 18th August, 1926 – but there were no fancy graphics, no on-screen forecaster, and only one intended recipient: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, DC. In the UK, the Met Office had been producing weather forecasts since 1861, but the BBC didn’t bring a …
The Dingo Baby-Snatcher
RETRO
When two month-old Azaria Chamberlain was taken from her tent by a dingo on the night of August 17th, 1980, the majority of the Australian public believed that her mother, Lindy Chamerlain, had done the deed herself. Prosecuting authorities charged her with murder. She was imprisoned, but in 2012, a coroner found Azaria’s death was …
On Tour with the Siamese Twins
RETRO
Conjoined teenagers Chang and Eng Bunker began their world tour in Boston, Massachusetts on 16th August, 1829. ‘Discovered’ by Scotsman Robert Hunter in Siam (now Thailand), the boys inspired the term ‘Siamese Twins’, despite being ethnically Chinese. Chang was a heavy drinker, and Eng was a teetotaller – yet they shared a liver. They had …
The Fake King of Albania
RETRO
German circus performer Otto Witte went to his death-bed claiming he had been crowned King of Albania on 13th August, 1913 for a five-day reign which culminated with him being chased out of the country as an imposter. Generally believed to have been a fantasist who invented the story, Witte was humoured by the German …
Ponzi Gets Busted
RETRO
The ‘Get Rich Quick’ scheme pioneered by scamster Charles Ponzi came to an end with his arrest on 12th August, 1920 – but ‘Ponzi schemes’ remain a popular form of swindling to this day. After promising his victims he could double their money in 90 days, Ponzi was charged with 86 counts of mail-fraud – …