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Nov 2024
11m 57s

The Elephant and The Donkey

The Retrospectors
About this episode
Rerun: Why are the Republican Party represented by an elephant, and the Democrats (unofficially) by a donkey? The answer lies in the work of revered political cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose picture ‘Third Term Panic’ was published in Harper's Weekly on 7th November, 1874 - the day before the mid-terms. His Aesop-style symbolism is rather tricky for modern rea ... Show More
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Today
Meet Me At The Automat
Before McDonalds, there was the Horn & Hardart Automat - a chain restaurant featuring coin-operated glass windows, which opened its first branch in Philadelphia on 12th June, 1902. The business would grow to serve 800,000 people per day. Customers exchanged nickels for dishes inc ... Show More
12m 41s
Yesterday
Chuck Berry v the IRS
It was the THIRD time behind bars for legendary rock n’ roller Chuck Berry when he was found to have dodged $110,000 in income tax on 11th June, 1979. He insisted on being paid cash-in-hand for his sometimes shambolic personal appearances, and his propensity for stashing it was s ... Show More
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Jun 10
Benjamin Franklin's Kite 🪁⚡
Benjamin Franklin’s legendary ‘kite experiment’ supposedly took place on 10th June, 1752, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the traditional account, the future Founding Father flew a kite fitted with a metal key into a storm cloud to prove that it contained electricity, ... Show More
13m 12s
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