On August 30, 1591, the British fleet was surprised off the Azores by a superior Spanish force. The English quickly fled - except for one ship - the Revenge. The captain, Richard Grenville, refused to abandon the British sailors who were on shore at the time the Spanish arrived on the scene. Grenville would thus stand and fight - alone - against the entire 55-ship Spanish fleet. This is the story of the Battle of Flores - or the Glorious Defeat of the Revenge.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flores_(1591)

“The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet” by Lord Alfred Tennyson - https://www.online-literature.com/tennyson/726/

“Last Fight of the Revenge” by Sir Walter Raleigh

https://webhispania.info/this-is-how-spain-crushed-the-royal-navy-in-1591-the-feat-england-wants-us-to-forget/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Edward_Dixon_The_Revenge_1591_Battle_of_Flores_Azores_(cropped).jpg

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On a lonely island off the coast of Scotland, in December of 1900, the crew of a the lighthouse disappeared without a trace. And despite extensive investigation, the true cause has never been determined. This is the story of the Flannan Isles lighthouse mystery.

Sources

https://www.nlb.org.uk/history/flannan-isles/

https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2023/12/12/flannan-isles-lighthouse-keepers-the-disappearance/

Image: By JMM - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Flannan%27s_Cell_and_Flannan_Isles_Lighthouse_-_geograph.org.uk_-_623920.jpg

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It prowls the waters of a deep lake in Montana - long, serpentine and huge. Even the local native people - the Kutenai - tell stories of a great creature that lives in the depths of the lake. For more than a century, people have tried to catch this local legend - but so far - nothing. This is the story of the Flathead Lake Monster.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flathead_Lake_Monster

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Flathead_Lake_Monster

https://gosailmontana.com/post/flathead-lake-monster-history/

https://www.flatheadlakers.org/flathead-lake-monster

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/29/in-search-of-the-flathead-lake-monster/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po3ManFRivc

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This week, we're bringing you a special teaser of You're Dead To Me, the BBC's hit comedy podcast that takes history seriously.

In this episode, host Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr Serena Dyer and comedian Vic Michaelis to explore the surprisingly fascinating history of underwear. From Roman underpants and medieval linen shifts to corsets, stockings and modern bras, they uncover how changing fashions, beauty standards and social norms shaped what people wore beneath their clothes.

Expect hidden history, myth-busting and a lot of laughs. If you enjoy what you hear, find You're Dead To Me wherever you get your podcasts.

Website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07mdbhg

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There are many ways that we deliver mail today: car, truck, ship, plane, on foot. But one thing mail doesn't do is travel via rocket. Except for when the US Post Office tried to do so in 1959 by loading 3,000 letters onto a cruise missile. This is the story of Rocket Mail.

Sources

https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/experimenting-with-rockets/

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/collections/object-spotlight/regulus-missile-mail-letter

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/fad-to-fundamental-airmail-in-america-historic-airplanes-unusual-and-experimental/missile

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mail-delivery-rocket-never-took-180963557/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Missilemail.jpg

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In France in August of 1572, the marriage of the King’s sister - a Catholic - to a prominent Protestant prince was supposed to unite the nation’s warring factions. However, militant Catholics in Paris would instead launch a shocking attack on their rivals. When the killing ended, tens of thousands of Protestants would be slaughtered - and the Wars of Religion were reignited. This is the story of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/event/Massacre-of-Saint-Bartholomews-Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bartholomew%27s_Day_massacre

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_masacre_de_San_Bartolom%C3%A9,_por_Fran%C3%A7ois_Dubois.jpg

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In the city of Halicarnassus, the king Mausolus died around 350 BC. His wife then embarked on construction of a tomb so grand that it would rival the pyramids. Fourteen stories tall, three layers, immaculate sculptures, and enough grandeur to humble the grumpiest Roman, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus has gone down as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Sources

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Turkey/_Periods/Greek/_Texts/LETGKB/Mausoleum*.html#note:short_description_by_Pliny

https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/mausoleum-halicarnassus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philips_Galle,_Mausol%C3%A6et_i_Halikarnassos,_1572,_KKSgb10002-5,_Statens_Museum_for_Kunst.jpg

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Public art is a common site in many cities. But not many pieces of public art are in such a prominent place, nor are they so weird as Blucifer - a 32-foot tall statue of a blue mustang with fiery red eyes right outside Denver International Airport. A statue that not only looks like a demon, but is rumored to be inhabited by one - and killed its creator. This is the story of Blucifer.

Sources

https://www.cpr.org/2019/11/04/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-blucifer-the-demon-horse-of-dia/

https://www.uncovercolorado.com/blucifer-blue-mustang-statue-denver-airport/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mustang

Image: Courtesy of Nick North

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In Part 2 of our look at the creation of Star Wars - we talk about the challenges involving the casting, design, production and marketing of the film.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film)

https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-star-wars-facts

https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-star-wars/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Star_wars2.svg

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In the summer of 1977 the film Star Wars was released - igniting a global phenomenon that continues to this day. But the Star Wars that we know and love almost never happened. It was rejected by almost every major studio. In Part 1 of our story about the creation of Star Wars - we talk about the roots of the film, its creator - George Lucas - and the struggles with the script and financing.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film)

https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-star-wars-facts

https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-star-wars/

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Star_wars2.svg

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