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12m 41s

Meet Me At The Automat

The Retrospectors
About this episode
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 including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cherry pie. Beautifully designed with ma ... Show More
Up next
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
11m 46s
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
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Jun 9
The Day Nero Died
Nero, the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, killed himself on 9th June AD 68. Having fled Rome to a suburban villa after being declared a ‘public enemy’ by the Senate, he stabbed himself through the throat. Probably. Within months of his death, rumours began that Nero ... Show More
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