Episodes

Westminer’s most famous landmark, Big Ben, bongggged for the first time on 13th November, 1856, outside the not-yet-finished House of Commons. Londoners gathered to hear what would become Britain’s most iconic sound; a spectacle so loud and unsettling that some spectators literally ran away.  But the first bell didn’t last long: after just eleven months […]

Jules Leotard first somersaulted off a trapeze at Cirque Napoléon in Paris on 12th November, 1859. His act inspired gymnasts and circus performers the world over – although Leotard is now best remembered as the inventor of the skin-tight outfits he wore on stage. Leotard had abandoned his studies as a lawyer to perfect his

Geoffrey Chaucer’s granddaughter Alice was first married at the age of 11. She was granted a license to marry her third husband on 11th November, 1430; and became defined by her three powerful unions with men she outlived. Having lost her first two husbands in the Hundred Years War, she then settled down with William

Big Bird, Oscar and Bert & Ernie were first introduced to America’s children on 10th November, 1969, when Sesame Street made its small-screen debut. Designed to resemble a real inner-city street, its set and multicultural cast including African Americans was a groundbreaking concept. Aiming to address educational inequality, its creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd

Real-time thriller ‘24’, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, debuted on Fox on 6th November, 2001. The show’s use of split screens, constant tension, and ticking clocks became its signature style, and the nerve-shredding pilot went on to win an Emmy for series creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran. But, in a post-9/11 climate, its

The Mongols attempted to invade Japan on 5th November, 1274. Despite having a fleet of 900 ships, they failed – in part due to a ‘kamikaze’ typhoon that whooshed their boats back to Korea. Then they tried again – and failed again. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how a gunpowder-armed Army was

Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered by a water boy who serendipitously stumbled on a buried staircase in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on 4th November, 1922. It marked the greatest triumph in archaeologist Howard Carter’s career, and unearthed dozens of priceless treasures. The loot included the famous golden death-mask – but also the Pharaoh’s walking sticks, linen

The Crystals hit number one with their version of Gene Pitney’s ‘He’s a Rebel’ on 3rd November, 1962, but it was actually another of Phil Spector’s girl-groups, The Blossoms, who had recorded the song. The two groups never even met, until awkwardly posing together for Spector’s iconic Christmas album cover. Lead singer Darlene Love, realising

Nat Turner, leader of the deadliest slave rebellion in U.S. history, was captured on 30th October, 1831. For over two months, he’d hidden out in the woods of Virginia, having led a violent uprising that terrified white Southerners and electrified the enslaved population. When finally caught, by farmer Benjamin Phipps, Turner was armed only with

Margaret Thatcher finally opened London’s first ring road – construction on which had begun in the 1970s – on 29th October, 1986, declaring: “I can’t stand those who carp and criticise when they ought to be congratulating Britain on a magnificent achievement and beating the drum for Britain all over the world”. A 58-page commemorative