Podcast Transcript In 1946, a former Soviet tank mechanic who had no formal training in engineering or manufacturing submitted a design for a new gun in a competition. His design was selected, and it became the new rifle for the Soviet military. However, it didn’t just become a weapon for the Soviet Union; the design …
Podcast Transcript On February 1, 1908, the political fortunes of Portugal changed forever. The royal family was returning to Lisbon, traveling in an open horse-drawn carriage. While they were traveling, in broad daylight, and in front of dozens of witnesses, two radicals gunned down both the king and the heir apparent, throwing the Portuguese monarchy …
Podcast Transcript Some of the most venerated objects in many different religions are holy relics. Relics offer a tangible connection to significant figures in various religious traditions, and they are often highly prized and sought after. In the Middle Ages, relics became a significant business, and possessing the right relics could substantially boost a local …
Podcast Transcript On May 19, 1884, a small yacht containing four men set sail from England to Australia. On July 5th, the ship was hit by a massive wave and capsized. The crew escaped the shipwreck on a lifeboat, but was left in a horrible situation. They were hundreds of miles from land, with no …
Podcast Transcript During and before the Second World War, Nazi Germany had a string of successes both militarily and diplomatically. A large reason for this success was its intelligence network. What most people don’t know is that the Nazi head of military intelligence was actively working against Adolf Hitler. Through a series of active and …
Podcast Transcript Everything in the universe, from galaxies to the atoms in your body, is driven by just a few fundamental forces. It took centuries for physicists to identify these forces, but once identified, they believed that some of these forces were merely different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon. Once they realized this, some …
Podcast Transcript One of the most important inventions of the 20th century was the transistor. Prior to the transistor, electronic devices were bulky and dependent on vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes were large, fragile, power-hungry, and prone to failure. The transistor not only replaced the vacuum tube in many applications but also enabled the miniaturization and …
Podcat Transcript The Guillotine has become infamous for being a symbol of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. It has been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people since it was first used in 1792. But, of all the ways to execute people, why did they create an elaborate contraption …
Podcast Transcript The months of the year are named after Roman gods, and some are named after their placement in the calendar. However, the first month to be named after an actual person was the month of July, which was named after Julius Caesar. What is surprising isn’t that the name of the month has …