Stuff You Missed in History Class

After Duquesne made it to the U.S., he started a whole new life for himself, and worked for the rest of his life as a journalist, saboteur and spy. But eventually, all those lies caught up to him. 

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Duquesne changed his life story to suit his needs, worked under an estimated 40 aliases, and lived a life that directly involves a LOT of significant historical events. One of the things Duquesne excelled at was escaping custody. 

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Dipping back to a 2015 episode. Despite all the fun cartoons on the packaging featuring tiny humanoid sea creatures having wacky fun and wearing clothes, Sea Monkeys are just brine shrimp. But the story of Sea Monkeys and their inventor is actually pretty surprising -- and quite dark.

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Tracy and Holly talk about the charm of bees, and the strangely intriguing nature of Grover Cleveland's tumor surgery.

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In 1893, President Grover Cleveland noticed a rough spot on the roof of his mouth. This turned into a medical situation and led to a daring surgery that was kept secret from the public for decades. 

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Beekeeping as you might think of it today, with square hives and and a beekeeper in a white suit with a big veiled hat, is a relatively recent invention. But beekeeping has existed for thousands of years, basically all over the world.

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This 2016 episode covers John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, which set out to create an armed revolution of emancipated slaves. Instead, it became a tipping point leading to the U.S. Civil War.

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Tracy and Holly talk about Asoka and connections to pop culture, and the revelations of Catherine the Great's devotion to the arts.

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Catherine the Great is famous for many things. But one of her lesser-known areas of interest was opera. And she loved it as both audience and creator. She wrote a number of operas during her reign, many of which were comedic.

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Aśoka ruled the Mauryan Empire on the Indian subcontinent in the third century BCE. He was a real person – and is also a legendary figure within Buddhism. 

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