Today, if you or someone you know experiences a medical emergency, you dial 9-1-1 and a squad of trained medical professionals arrives at your door. But just 55 years ago, that was not the case.
Emergency calls were generally dispatched to funeral homes simply because their vehicles were suited to transporting bodies. You’d be lucky if the person transporti ... Show More
Nov 2019
Kodak Roll Film: As Convenient as a Pencil | S23-E1
<p>Today, if we want to take a photo, we unlock our phone, aim, and click. It can be done on a whim, without a second thought. We document everything from new haircuts to latte art, cute cats to baby’s first smile. But prior to the 1900s, photography was the exclusive d ... Show More
35m 48s
Jan 2020
Electronic Television: The Picture Radio | S24-E1
<p>The invention of the electronic television was uniquely complicated for its time. So complicated, in fact, that the prevailing narrative is that it couldn’t have been invented by a single person -- let alone Philo Farnsworth. </p><p><br></p><p>After all, some of the most ... Show More
38m 57s
Feb 2020
Valium: Miltown Magic | S25-E1
<p>Anxiety. It’s something everyone experiences at some point in their lives, but for centuries doctors had no effective way to treat it. They could send patients on rest cures, order them to do nothing at all, or prescribe barbiturates that depressed the central nervous system, ... Show More
39m 31s