Hypnotic History

Take a load off and cool your heels while listening to this episode about the ways people tried to beat the heat in the 20th century. Instagram and More:  https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Ackermann, Marsha E. Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-Conditioning. Smithsonian, 2002. ASHRAE. The First Century of Air Conditioning. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-condi...

People in the early 1900s hated interacting with other people as much as we do! Enter: The Automat! Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: “Automats | Restaurant-ing through history.” Restauranting Through History, 8 September 2019, https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/tag/automats/ .  DeMain, Bill. “Automatic for the People: Remembering the Automat Restaurants.” Mental...

“The Material of a Thousand Uses!” What is Bakelite, and where did it go? Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: “13 Things You Won't Believe Were Once Made From Bakelite.” Dusty Old Thing, https://dustyoldthing.com/13-things-bakelite/ . “Bakelite First Synthetic Plastic - National Historic Chemical Landmark.” American Chemical Society, https://www.acs.org/education/wha...

Today we are digging deep into the mid-century architectural phenomenon known as a conversation pit. Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: “A History Of The Conversation Pit.” Something Curated, 17 April 2020, https://somethingcurated.com/2020/04/17/a-history-of-the-conversation-pit/ .  Anna, Gragert. “The History of Conversation Pits.” Hunker, 15 February 2023, https://ww...

You are, like, totally going to love this episode about valley girls, for sure.  Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Black, Sue, et al. The totally awesome VAL guide. Price/Stern/Sloan, 1982. Internet Archive. Coolidge, Martha, director. Valley Girl. Performances by Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman, Atlantic Entertainment Group, 1983. Paramount+. “Frank Zappa - Valley Gi...

What’s in a catalog called “Whole Earth?” Who’s the hippie who started it, and why? Listen to find out! Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Brand, Stewart, editor. Whole Earth Catalog, Fall 1968. Internet Archive. Cadwalladr, Carole, and Walter Isaacson. “Stewart Brand and the Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world.” The Guardian, 4 May 2013, http://theguar...

Come explore the history of this strange, beautiful, and sometimes disgusting gelatinous dessert! Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Amazing Magical Jell-O Brand Desserts. General Foods Corporation, 1977. Internet Archive. Jell-O: The Dainty Dessert. Genesee Pure Food Company, 1905. Internet Archive. Wyman, Carolyn. JELL-O: A Biography. Harcourt, 2001. Internet Archive.

E08: Polaroid Listen in to meet The Swinger and find out if you should be shaking your Polaroids. Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Bonanos, Christopher. Instant: The Story of Polaroid. Princeton Architectural Press, 2012. Internet Archive. “Edwin Land and Polaroid Photography.” American Chemistry Society, https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/land-in...

Don’t know what est is? Listen to this episode to “get clear” and “get IT.” Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Baer, Donald M., and Stephanie B. Stolz. “A Description of the Erhard Seminars Training (Est) in the Terms of Behavior Analysis.” Behaviorism, vol. 6, no. 1, 1978, pp. 45–70. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27758905 . Bry, Adelaide. est (Erhard seminars trai...

This week we’re talking about the role cats played in 20th century homes and how their humans cared for them. Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: “A Brief History of Flea Products - Clayton Park.” Petfocus Veterinary Group, 31 May 2017, https://petfocus.ca/clayton-park/brief-history-flea-products/ . Beadle, Muriel. The Cat: History, Biology, and Behavior. Simon and Schus...

In this episode, we’re talking about the history of Jazzercise, which–it turns out–is more than just colorful leotards and gyrating hips! Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Erickson, Agnes. “What You Never Knew About The History Of Jazzercise.” The List, 15 November 2021, https://www.thelist.com/662100/what-you-never-knew-about-the-history-of-jazzercise/ . Friedman, Dan...

Genius inventor meets genius salesperson. In this episode we’re talking about how two brilliant individuals catapulted Tupperware into lasting consumer culture. Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: “7 wacky Tupperware items you probably had around the house.” MeTV, 27 January 2016, https://www.metv.com/lists/7-wacky-tupperware-items-you-probably-had-around-the-house .  Co...

Pixels hitting pixels. Pixels chasing pixels. And, somewhere in there, rockets? In this episode we’re talking about the early video games that laid the foundation for the ones we cherish today. Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Donovan, Tristan. Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant Media Limited, 2010. Kentucky Libraries Unbound.  World Video Game Hall of Fam...

Health scares, specialty shops, and … THE YOUTH. Join us as we dive into coffee’s mark on the second half of 20th century American.  Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: Axelrod, Alexandra. “Friday Fix: Are Coffee and Tea Good for Pancreatic Cancer Patients?” Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 9 March 2018, https://pancan.org/news/friday-fix-coffee-tea-good-pancreatic-canc...

In this episode we talk coffee: coffee makers, coffee brands, and … coffins? Learn how coffee supported people from literal cradle to grave, how Mae West gave saucy appeal to the drink, and more! Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory Sources: “A Brief History of Coffee - Everything Caffeine.” Food Insight , 22 November 2019, https://foodinsight.org/caffeine/a-brief-history-of-coffe...