The race for pure speed has pushed human engineering to its absolute limits, transforming a basic industrial invention into a line of ground-breaking super-trains. Long before the modern commute, early pioneers risked everything to shave mere minutes off a journey, igniting a fierce global rivalry where national pride was always on the line. This history is packed with high-stakes engineering gambles, from post-war aviation experts fixing lethal train defects with fighter jet technology, to daredevil speed runs that nearly ended in catastrophic derailments.

While some inventors built eccentric jet-powered monsters and floating hover-trains that were ultimately blocked by political roadblocks, others successfully laid down the tracks for the fast-paced society we live in today. From the iconic Shinkansen streaking past Mount Fuji to the ultra-expensive maglev lines reshaping modern China, this is the story of how a relentless obsession with velocity permanently shrunk our world.

💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!
👉 https://bit.ly/3qTE0NR

📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/4pyExyn

This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

#AbsoluteHistory

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Akhenaten is ancient Egypt's most mysterious and puzzling pharaoh - for no apparent reason he destroyed the established religion of Egypt and moved 50,000 people to a lonely bay on the edge of the Nile, where he built a magnificent city from scratch. Why Akhenaten unleashed this astounding revolution has never been fully explained. Now the Egypt Detectives set about uncovering the real portrait of the rebel pharaoh.

It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit to start watching now https://bit.ly/45CPh5u

This channel is part of the Little Dot Studios Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the grizzly true crime story of James Olcott. After being pardoned for a murder in Germany, Olcott found work on the railways. He returned to his old ways, casing a busy ticket officer before carrying out a brutal, planned attack on fellow railwayman Jeffrey 'Dixie' Dean to rob the day's takings.

💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!
👉 https://bit.ly/3qTE0NR

📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/4pyExyn

This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

#AbsoluteHistory

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Step back into August 1892 and unearth the chilling history behind one of America's most infamous true crime mysteries. Lizbeth: A Victorian Nightmare delves deep into the lingering legend, myth, and dark lore surrounding Lizzie Borden—the Fall River woman accused, tried, and ultimately acquitted in the gruesome hatchet murders of her father, Andrew, and stepmother, Abby.

Was she a cold-blooded killer who got away with the ultimate crime, or a victim of sensationalized Victorian gossip trapped in a horrific nightmare?

What You'll Discover in This Feature:

The Scene at Second Street: A breakdown of the fateful morning of August 4, 1892, and the gruesome discovery that shocked the nation.

The Trial of the Century: How 19th-century gender norms, media frenzy, and circumstantial evidence shaped the courtroom spectacle.

Myth vs. Fact: Unpacking the famous nursery rhymes, popular misconceptions, and the actual forensic evidence presented by prosecutors.

The Haunting Aftermath: Life after acquittal, the rift in Fall River high society, and why the mystery continues to fascinate true crime scholars today.

Whether you are a seasoned true crime enthusiast or discovering the Borden case for the first time, this documentary separates Victorian hysteria from cold, hard historical fact.

🔔 Subscribe for more deep dives into history's most mysterious true crime cases, dark legends, and cold files. Hit the notification bell so you never miss an upload!

💬 Join the Discussion: Do you believe Lizzie Borden was truly innocent, or did the Victorian jury get it wrong? Share your theories in the comments below!

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction: The Legend of Lizzie Borden
02:15 - The Murders at Second Street
06:40 - Suspicion Falls on Lizbeth
12:10 - The Trial: Victorian Morality in the Courtroom
18:30 - Acquittal, Isolation, and the Aftermath
24:00 - Fact vs. Fiction: Why the Lore Endures

#TrueCrime #LizzieBorden #Documentary #History #VictorianEra #TrueCrimeCommunity #ColdCase

💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!
👉 https://bit.ly/3qTE0NR

📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/4pyExyn

This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

#AbsoluteHistory

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once the biggest and most influential city on the planet, founded by Alexander the Great and home to Cleopatra, Archimedes and the largest library in the world. How did this shining beacon for civilisation and knowledge meet its classical demise? Featuring stunning visualisations from the major movie Agora, acclaimed historian Bettany Hughes looks at Alexandria past and present, unearthing archaeological gems and following in the footsteps of Hypatia, the city's last great female philosopher and guardian of great Library of Alexandria - whose murder would bring down the curtain not just on an era but on the ancient world as a whole.

It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit to start watching now https://bit.ly/45CPh5u

This channel is part of the Little Dot Studios Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With continuing releases of major films and TV series on Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character has never been more popular. But what about his creator, the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose own life was at times as dark and as mysterious as the man he created?

How was this extraordinary character formed and did he, as so many believe, really exist? The story behind the creation of this Victorian phenomenon is both disturbing and mystifying. It takes the viewer on a journey through the Edinburgh of the young Conan Doyle and the darker influences in his life, and onto the streets of London. What was it about Sherlock Holmes that captured the imagination of society as it entered the exciting, yet frightening world of the 20th century?

With dramatic visualisations, contributions from leading Holmesian experts, figures from the world of literature and research, and evidence from the medical community, the Sherlock Holmes enigma is dissected and the truth begins to emerge. This brand new documentary explores the intriguing world of Conan Doyle and discovers the truth behind his decision to to kill off the man who had dominated his life for so long in one dramatic episode.

It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit to start watching now https://bit.ly/45CPh5u

This channel is part of the Little Dot Studios Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He is the most infamous pirate to ever sail the seven seas, yet almost everything we think we know about him is a lie. Was Edward Teach a high-born intellectual, a disgruntled war veteran, or a calculated madman who used theater to terrify his enemies?

💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!
👉 https://bit.ly/3qTE0NR

📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/4pyExyn

This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

#AbsoluteHistory

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Robinson continues his look at The Worst Jobs in History with a rundown on the worst royal jobs. As Tony takes on the work traditionally done at court we learn of the miserable lot of food tasters, whipping boys, falconers, and laundry women who beat Elizabethan laundry with paddles similar to cricket bats.

Tony has a go at knitting chain mail; marvelling at the intricacies and tedium of fashioning one link, let alone a suit which used 200,000. Then there was the lance-makers' task of carving hundreds of lances for jousting tournaments or the shining of shoes for Edwardian hunting parties. Armourers, fire-workers, grooms of the chamber, hall boys and royal messengers all had their moments of misery.

But the most unpleasant job of all fell to the unfortunate lackeys who were responsible for the rich purple dye for the monarch's coronation robes. The purple maker created the royal colour by stomping up and down on rotting shellfish which had been soaking in human urine.

It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit to start watching now https://bit.ly/45CPh5u

This channel is part of the Little Dot Studios Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biographer A.N. Wilson uncovers the intriguing personal life of Queen Victoria through her journals and letters in this psychological portrait of Britain's longest reigning monarch. With Queen Victoria's writings read by Anna Chancellor.

It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit to start watching now https://bit.ly/45CPh5u

This channel is part of the Little Dot Studios Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the surprise assault on Pearl Harbor to the catastrophic nuclear climax at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this comprehensive documentary reveals the brutal reality of World War II in the Pacific. Featuring enhanced color footage and rare footage shot by troops on the front lines, explore how American industrial power and tactical ingenuity overcame Imperial Japan's fierce resistance across Guadalcanal, Midway, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!
👉 https://bit.ly/3qTE0NR

📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/4pyExyn

This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: [email protected]

#AbsoluteHistory

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices