Episodes
Let’s Do The Twist
Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”, the most popular single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, was released on 1st August, 1960. It was just a cover version of a B-side which had already been released by its writer, Hank Ballard – but after it appeared on The Dick Clark Show, the world slowly became […]
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RETRO
Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”, the most popular single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, was released on 1st August, 1960. It was just a cover version of a B-side which had already been released by its writer, Hank Ballard – but after it appeared on The Dick Clark Show, the world slowly became
The Cult of Olaf
Viking King Olaf II Haraldsson was killed on 29th July, 1030, kicking off a campaign, led by an English clergyman, to declare him a Saint. The cult of Olaf continues in Norway still, with festivals, pilgrimages and prayers given in his honour – even though Olaf used extreme violence and suppression to force parts of
RETRO
Viking King Olaf II Haraldsson was killed on 29th July, 1030, kicking off a campaign, led by an English clergyman, to declare him a Saint. The cult of Olaf continues in Norway still, with festivals, pilgrimages and prayers given in his honour – even though Olaf used extreme violence and suppression to force parts of
Fingerprints Go Legit
#throwbackthursday William James Herschel, a British colonial magistrate in India, first used fingerprints as a means of identification on 28th July, 1858 – not to catch a criminal, but to implement two-step verification on a contract. In Britain, the technology was first used to solve the theft of some billiard balls in 1902. These days,
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RETRO
#throwbackthursday William James Herschel, a British colonial magistrate in India, first used fingerprints as a means of identification on 28th July, 1858 – not to catch a criminal, but to implement two-step verification on a contract. In Britain, the technology was first used to solve the theft of some billiard balls in 1902. These days,
Let’s Go To Berni Inn
Famous for steaks, maroon banquettes, schooners of sherry and sexist advertising, family restaurant chain and ‘70s date night favourite Berni Inn first opened its doors at the historic Bristol pub The Rummer on 27th July, 1956. Founded by Frank and Aldo Berni, the American-inspired concept had a staggeringly simple menu, so that customers wouldn’t be
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RETRO
Famous for steaks, maroon banquettes, schooners of sherry and sexist advertising, family restaurant chain and ‘70s date night favourite Berni Inn first opened its doors at the historic Bristol pub The Rummer on 27th July, 1956. Founded by Frank and Aldo Berni, the American-inspired concept had a staggeringly simple menu, so that customers wouldn’t be
The Eccentric Outlaw
Charles E. Boles, otherwise known as ‘Black Bart’, was one of the Wild West’s most unlikely stagecoach robbers; being as he was a spiffy and quietly-spoken former teacher from Norfolk. But on 26th July, 1875 he made his name by robbing his first coach – without a gun. He targeted only Wells Fargo coaches, and
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RETRO
Charles E. Boles, otherwise known as ‘Black Bart’, was one of the Wild West’s most unlikely stagecoach robbers; being as he was a spiffy and quietly-spoken former teacher from Norfolk. But on 26th July, 1875 he made his name by robbing his first coach – without a gun. He targeted only Wells Fargo coaches, and
When Mao Went Swimming
Chairman Mao Zedong swam in the Yangtze River on 25th July, 1966. Despite being in his Seventies, the leader was said by party propagandists (and hence every newspaper in China) to have set a world-record pace of nearly 15 km in 65 min. This piece of political theatre showed the world that the public face
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RETRO
Chairman Mao Zedong swam in the Yangtze River on 25th July, 1966. Despite being in his Seventies, the leader was said by party propagandists (and hence every newspaper in China) to have set a world-record pace of nearly 15 km in 65 min. This piece of political theatre showed the world that the public face
When Longbows Defeated Scotland
William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace was defeated by fearsome English archers at the Battle of Falkirk on 22nd July, 1298; when Edward I’s army first used longbows against their Scottish adversaries, with devastating effect. Despite Wallace’s men deploying their famous ‘schiltron’ formation – whereby foot soldiers packed together to form a bristly spear-wall – the arrows the
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RETRO
William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace was defeated by fearsome English archers at the Battle of Falkirk on 22nd July, 1298; when Edward I’s army first used longbows against their Scottish adversaries, with devastating effect. Despite Wallace’s men deploying their famous ‘schiltron’ formation – whereby foot soldiers packed together to form a bristly spear-wall – the arrows the
The Outing of Milli Vanilli
German pop duo Milli Vanilli sold 33 million singles, including three US number ones, but harboured a shameful secret: their vocals were sung by someone else. At a promotional gig in Connecticut on 21st July, 1989, their backing track crashed – and speculation began to mount. “I knew right then and there, it was the
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RETRO
German pop duo Milli Vanilli sold 33 million singles, including three US number ones, but harboured a shameful secret: their vocals were sung by someone else. At a promotional gig in Connecticut on 21st July, 1989, their backing track crashed – and speculation began to mount. “I knew right then and there, it was the
The Gymnast with the Shattered Kneecap
Shun Fujimoto scored 9.5 on the pommel horse and 9.7 on the rings at the Montreal Olympics on 20th August, 1976 – despite having a badly damaged kneecap, having landed catastrophically during a tumbling run. That should, by rights, have ended his and his team’s medal hopes – but he decided not to tell his
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RETRO
Shun Fujimoto scored 9.5 on the pommel horse and 9.7 on the rings at the Montreal Olympics on 20th August, 1976 – despite having a badly damaged kneecap, having landed catastrophically during a tumbling run. That should, by rights, have ended his and his team’s medal hopes – but he decided not to tell his
When Paris Went Underground
The Paris Metro, engineered by Fulgence Bienvenüe and inaugurated on 19th July, 1900, was far from a world first: London, Budapest and Vienna had all beaten France in the race to create the next generation of subterranean trains. However, this didn’t stop Parisian anxiety about their new subway. Would the electric lines kill innocent travellers?
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RETRO
The Paris Metro, engineered by Fulgence Bienvenüe and inaugurated on 19th July, 1900, was far from a world first: London, Budapest and Vienna had all beaten France in the race to create the next generation of subterranean trains. However, this didn’t stop Parisian anxiety about their new subway. Would the electric lines kill innocent travellers?