Stuff You Missed in History Class

We often get requests for topics that are so similar to existing episodes that they would sound like repeats. Here are six that will probably sound very familiar to regular listeners.

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In the summer of 1791, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Maria Reynolds began an affair that would lead to blackmail, political rumors, a 98-page confessional document ... and eventually a song in a hit Broadway musical.

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In 1943, a skeleton was found in a tree near Birmingham, England. More than 70 years later, it's still unknown who the deceased was and how the body ended up in an elm tree.

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There have been numerous instances of ships found adrift with no one on board. Four of those nautical mysteries are featured here, with some truly chilling details.

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If you only know of Vincent Price from his films, you may be surprised by his rich life story. Victoria Price joins the show to talk about her famous father and his life beyond the silver screen.

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Baking expert Anne Byrn joins Holly to talk about the place of cake in U.S. history, from the early colonies right up to the modern era. The relationship between kitchen and culture is evidenced in Anne's research about sweet treats in America.

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From 1897 to 1962, a small theater in Paris gave became famous for its grisly, terrifying plays. The Theatre du Grand Gignol became a cultural fixture in Europe, and ultimately gave rise to horror as an entertainment genre.

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In January of 1700, a tsunami struck the coast of Japan. While the connection between earthquakes and tsunamis was known, it actually took a very long time to figure out where the catalyzing earthquake had taken place.

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At the height of Europe's witch trials, the northern coast of Norway had a disproportionate number of executions for sorcery. The small fishing community in the Arctic circle staged 140 trials, and sentenced 91 of the accused witches to death.

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In the early 1800s, a family in Tennessee allegedly experienced what seemed to be a haunting on their family farm. Many narratives have blossomed from the Bell Witch story, but when you really try to look at the facts, they're few and far between.

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