Episodes

In the annals of automotive innovation, November 28th, 2018 marked a peculiar milestone: the birth of the Lincoln Chimes. The brainchild of Jennifer Prescott, overseer of “Vehicle Harmony” at the motor company, this warning system replaced the synthetic sound of in-car emergency alerts with a blend of violin, viola, and marimba played by The Detroit […]

We reveal how, on 27th November, 1809, a respectable house on the well-to-do Berners Street in London became ground zero for one of the most disruptive practical jokes in history: the Berners Street Hoax. First a chimney sweep turned up at the address, then another and another, then cake makers, surgeons, lawyers, physicians, obstetricians, butchers,

The ‘Windsor Shower Companion’ ($11.49) was the first product sold on home shopping network QVC, which made its debut on 24th November, 1986, quickly becoming a cable TV phenomenon. Joe Segel, the channel’s founder, focussed on a ‘soft sell’ approach that emphasised authenticity and a friendly, neighbourly connection. The channel’s anonymity factor allowed customers to indulge

With cutesy graphics and a female-focussed origin story, Tamagotchi was positioned as a ‘nurturing toy’ for Japanese girls when Bandai launched the brand on 23rd November, 1996. But the gadget’s massive popularity soon transcended gender and nationality – shifting 40 million units globally in just three years. Users had to check in regularly with their

Pope Clement V ordered the arrest of all Knights Templar and seizure of their properties on 22nd November, 1307: a day that sealed the fate of the once-celebrated Christian military order. They had attracted the ire of Philip IV of France, who began an international conspiracy to smear their name. Founded in 1118, the Knights

When the Maccabees celebrated the recapture of Jerusalem from the Macedonian emperor Antiochus IV, they lit a menorah in the city’s holy temple. The date, in the ancient Hebrew calendar, was the twenty-fifth day of the third month of Kislev 3597… the first Hanukkah.  Hanukkah’s significance waned in some early Jewish texts due to the

In this episode we tell the tale of ill-fated whale-ship The Essex, which was rammed by an 85-foot sperm whale on 20th November, 1820. The incident inspired Herman Melville’s sea-faring novel, Moby Dick. Left to fend for themselves in tiny whaling boats, the young crew had to make terrible choices in order to preserve their

Rupert Murdoch, controversial owner of The Sun, launched “The Birthday Suit Girl”, a topless photo feature, on 17th November, 1970. Within a year, the paper’s circulation had nearly doubled to 2.5 million. Editor Larry Lamb intended his ‘Page 3 girls’ to be wholesome and clean, skating on the edge of what was acceptable in a

Rerun. Disneyland Paris, now Europe’s most popular theme park, initially haemorrhaged money – at a rate of around $1 million per day. But, after three hard years, it returned its first annual profit on 16th November, 1995.  This change in the park’s fortunes can be attributed to the popularity of two trains: the opening of

Sir Anthony Blunt, esteemed art historian and a favourite of the Royal family, was publicly revealed as a Soviet spy on 15th November, 1979, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher confirmed he had been part of the “Cambridge Five”, a group of double agents who secretly passed sensitive information to the Soviet Union. Despite his confession