Stuff You Missed in History Class

The cranberries we typically eat are native to North America, though they are also grown in other places. How did they become a standard part of the holiday table? Research: Albanese, Ellen. “A brief history of the cranberry—Cape Cod’s most important fruit.” Cape Cod Life. 2016 Annual. https://capecodlife.com/a-brief-history-of-the-cranberry-cape-cods-most-important-fruit/...

No dogs or cats here! A number of unorthodox pets have arrived at the White House and become part of the first family in very unusual ways throughout history. Research: “All Creatures Great and Small: Ground Floor Pet Sculptures.” The White House. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/holiday/2002/groundfloor/05.html “An Animal Often Misjudged.” Evening Star. Nov. 28,...

This 2021 episode covers how The Nutcracker is a Russian adaptation of a German story that wasn’t really a Christmas staple in its home country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy shares how her Charles Sumner research yielded a three-part episode. Holly mentions that while there's not a lot of scholarly work about Cassius Coolidge's life, he is featured in a lot of newspaper mentions from his time.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s most well-known art is the Dogs Playing Poker series. He was a true Renaissance man, and even patented a style of kitsch art.  Research: Arn, Jackson. “Why This Painting of Dogs Playing Poker Has Endured for over 100 Years.” Artsy. June 6, 2018. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-painting-dogs-playing-poker-endured-100-years Barry, Dan...

The third installment of our Charles Sumner episode covers how, two days after Charles Sumner delivered an incendiary speech before the senate, Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina came into the Senate chamber and attacked Sumner at his desk.   Research: "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425...

This 2020 episode covers the Public Universal Friend, who described themself as a genderless spirit sent by God to inhabit the resurrected body of a woman named Jemima Wilkinson.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about their recent podcast trip to Morocco with listeners, arranged by Defined Destinations.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second installment of our episode on Charles Sumner picks up in the wake of his controversial antiwar speech. He next argued a school integration case before the Massachusetts supreme judicial court. Research: "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=9548...

The first installment of the deeper examination of Charles Sumner's life begins with his early years, including his close relationships with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Gridley Howe. Research: "Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A148425674/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=95485851. Acces...

This 2019 episode covers Thomas Cook, a pioneer of the idea of a travel agency to manage tourist holidays. But Cook was initially motivated by his support of the temperance movement and his deeply held religious beliefs.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy and Holly talk about the proclivity for destruction that was part of the balloon craze. They also discuss cat trees and how hard it is to find one that's cute.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cat litter, it could be argued, kicked off the pet products industry. After its invention in the 1940s, other inventors started to come up with products that today are standard in the homes of people with pets. Research: Caminiti, Kasey. “Inside the Secret Lives of Pets With Allen Simon.” DuJour. https://dujour.com/life/allen-simon-founder-wee-wee-pad-pet-products/ “Clays.”...

Ballooning became a huge fad starting in the late 18th century, and there was a surprising amount of rioting associated with it. Fervor, excitement, and intoxication in some instances, meant that balloon events were prone to get out of control. Research: Bond, Elizabeth Andrews. “Popular Science and Public Participation.” From The Writing Public: Participatory Knowledge Production in E...

This 2018 episode covers the period in the late 1820s when north Georgia became the site of a gold rush that predated the California gold rush by two decades. It's also tied to some of the darkest parts of U.S. history regarding the treatment of Native Americans.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy shares the surprising benefit of not having access to a lot of specifics regarding the work of Mary Golda Ross. Holly talks about Marjorie Merriwether Post being a serial monogamist. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marjorie Merriweather Post is most often mentioned today as the person who built Mar-a-Lago. But she was a unique figure as a woman who helmed a huge corporation when she was still in her 20s in the early 20th century. Research: Britannica Editors. "C.W. Post".  Encyclopedia Britannica , 22 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/C-W-Post “C.W. Post a Suicide in California Home....

Mary Golda Ross was the first Indigenous woman in the U.S. known to have become an engineer. Her impact on the field of aerospace engineering is hard to quantify, because much of her work is still classified. Research: Agnew, Brad. “Cherokee engineer a space exploration pioneer.” Tahlequah Daily Press. 3/27/2016. https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/golda-ross-left-teaching-to-supp...

This 2019 episode covers Alexandre Dumas, who wrote hundreds and hundreds of works, including “The Three Musketeers,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,”  and even a dictionary of cuisine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy discusses the challenge of parsing all the nuance of the French Revolution. Holly talks about how little Clarence Birdseye shared of his interior thoughts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Clarence Birdseye, frozen food was perceived as being low-quality and kind of gross. But after spending time in extremely cold climates, Birdseye figured out that speed freezing was the key to retaining freshness. Research: “$1,900,000 Fraud Attempt Alleged in Insurance Deal.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 2, 1917. https://www.newspapers.com/image/138253870/?match=1&terms=%22...

The Great Fear was a panic during the French Revolution that spread through rural areas. It all started with a conspiracy theory. Research: Davies, Alun. “The Origins of the French Peasant Revolution of 1789.” History, 1964, Vol. 49, No. 165 (1964). https://www.jstor.org/stable/24404527 Elster, Jon. “The Two Great Fears of 1789.” Prepared for the Conference on “Emotio...

This 2019 episode is about general Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, who sounds like a character out of one of his son’s books. His life was a series of dramatic and daring adventures, including his rise up through the ranks of the French military. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about the unsubstantiated stories associated with the Villa de Vecchi in northern Italy. Tracy talks about getting angry about a passage she read in Wednesday's show.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late 1803, accounts of ghost sightings began to circulate in Hammersmith, England. This led to a tragic event, and a legal case that revealed some limitations in existing English law.  Research: “The case of the murdered ghost.” BBC News. January 3, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3364467.stm “Fears of a Ghost and the Fatal Catastrophe.” The...