Transcript Every year of May 1st, people all around the northern hemisphere celebrate the arrival of spring. A day we call May Day. But it is also the day that communist countries held military parades, and the Soviets would show off all of their military strength in public. Mayday is also the international distress signal …
Transcript She was never intended to be a queen. She wasn’t the firstborn and the rules of the time didn’t support her as a woman. Yet through cunning and guile, she managed to take power. As a queen, she was at the center of many of the most significant and notorious events in European history, …
Transcript In 1173, the Italian city of Pisa was on top of the world. They were a significant commercial power in Italy, commanded a sizable Mediterranean fleet, and wanted to demonstrate their power to the world. It had built a marvelous cathedral, and comparable baptistry and they decided to complete the complex by building a …
Transcript When I was growing up I was taught like so many people that Ferdinand Magellan was the first person to circumnavigate the Earth. The problem with this, is that is it isn’t true. In fact, Magellan never circumnavigated the Earth at all. Who should get credit then? Learn more about Juan Sebastián Elcano, and …
Transcript Located in the Tower of London are a collection of objects, some of which date back 800 years, which are the physical symbols of the British Monarchy. These objects have a value that would almost be impossible to measure given both their intrinsic and historical worth. Learn more about the British Crown Jewels and …
Transcript In the process of doing research, I often come across various stories which are interesting but might not be worthy of a full episode. They are more like snippets than stories. Every so often I save these things up for a special episode because I really hate to let things go to waste. So …
Transcript For a professional musician, their instrument is their livelihood. If making music is your career, it isn’t surprising that many top musicians will pay the equivalent of a new car on their instrument. However, there is a class of musician which have instruments which are far more valuable than a car. They are the …
Transcript One of the simplest mathematical statements possible is 2+2=4. While the concept is very easy to understand, when you write it down you have to use mathematical symbols which are, historically speaking, a relatively recent invention. At one point, mathematicians were doing reasonably complicated work without the benefit of symbols at all. Something which …
Transcript Who do you think what the wealthiest athlete in history? Maybe Michael Jordan. Perhaps Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. Or maybe Lionel Messi or LeBron James? Well, historically speaking, if you added up the fortunes of all of those people, they probably couldn’t compare to one man who competed in ancient Rome. A man …