Episodes

Long before Bill Murray turned up, Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney hosted its first ever Groundhog Day on 2nd February, 1887 – as a day for huntsmen to eat the local rodent. Over time, the delightful, yet absurd, theory emerged that a groundhog sighting its shadow could predict six more weeks of winter, or herald an early […]

Rerun: Theophile Gautier’s account of ‘green jam’ cannabis consumption at the drug-addled dinner parties of the ‘Club des Hachichins’ – alongside literary figures Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac – was first published in Revue des Deux Mondes on 1st February, 1846. The Club, founded by psychiatrist Dr Jacques Joseph Moreau to establish

These Are My Children premiered on NBC on 31st January, 1949; the world’s first televised soap opera. It lasted only four weeks on air, was broadcast live, and had a tiny budget, but influenced the production of the genre for decades.  As dramas primarily created by and for women, soap operas typically attracted sniffy reviews

Revolutionary leader Oliver Cromwell was executed on 30th January, 1661 – despite having been dead for more than two years. His body was exhumed from its tomb in Westminster Abbey on the instruction of King Charles II, who sought retribution for those involved in the trial and execution of his father, Charles I. Along with

George W. Bush’s controversial State of the Union address from 29th January, 2002 – saw the introduction of the phrase ‘the Axis of Evil’.  Speechwriter David Frum had initially grouped Iraq, Iran and North Korea together as an ‘Axis of Hatred’ – but Bush himself chose to replace the word ‘hatred’ with ‘evil’, a choice

French artist Yves Klein concluded his artwork “Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle” on 26th January 1962 – by throwing half the gold he received for the artwork into the Seine, and burning the ownership receipt. This conceptual performance, forgotten for decades, is now often credited by art critics for presaging the world of NFTs and

Rerun: The California Gold Rush was ignited by James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on January 24th, 1848. The news led to a lawless and chaotic surge of wannabe prospectors heading to the State, enduring perilous journeys to do so. Over 300,000 people arrived in just seven years, transforming a region previously inhabited

Elephants have played a surprisingly important role on the battlefield, even before the birth of Christ; notably in 5th Century BCE India, and during the Punic Wars in Africa.  But on 23rd January, 971, the Southern Han division of the Chinese military retired their famous elephant corps forever – after facing a massive aerial assault

When tennis fans learned that their idol, multiple Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg, might be about to retire from the professional game, at the age of only 26.  Why did the Swedish star, whose young female fanbase were sometimes called the ‘Borgasm’ by the tabloids, rest his racket at the height of his powers? It

When Lucille Ball’s character gave birth on “I Love Lucy” on 19th January 1953, 44 million people tuned in: an astonishing 72% of TV-owning Americans, surpassing the number who watched President Eisenhower’s inauguration the following day. The episode, ‘Lucy Goes To The Hospital’, almost didn’t make it to TV due to the strict morality codes