Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2021 episode covers a period of time when the milk supply in New York was anything but appetizing and wholesome – it was often deadly. But efforts to address the problem were blocked by corrupt officials.

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Tracy shares a story of looking for an article in the wrong historical journal. Holly reads a section of the U.S. flag code, and waxes rhapsodic about toys.

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Beulah was such a prolific inventor in the early 20th century that the press nicknamed her Lady Edison. She was an outlier as an unmarried woman who got her foot in the door as an inventor by pounding the pavement in 1920s New York. 

Research:

• Bengtson, Harlan H. “Beulah Louise Henry.” EBSCO. 2021. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/beulah-louise-henry
• “Beulah Louise Henry.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/beulah-louise-henry
• Dick, Gerry. “Beulah henry Sits in Chiffon Laboratory Inventing Almost Everything But Excuses.” The Rockford Argus. April 8. 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/image/531344097/?match=1&terms=%22Beulah%20Henry%22&search-id=22e1b59c-1edb-4d9c-895d-9454b6343852&search-rank=7
• Hart, Alicia. “Meet Beulah henry, the Inventor.” The Salisbury Post. Sept. 1, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1026874682/?match=1&terms=%22Beulah%20Henry%22&search-id=be53d62d-90f0-4084-8868-9b0e0a4dbb37&search-rank=3
• Henry, B.L. “DOUBLE CHAIN STITCH SEWING MACHINE.” April 21, 1936. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-2037901-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiI4NTA2NjMxNi1kZTRmLTRlNzQtOGJhYS1kYTRjMzhhMGZkNmYiLCJ2ZXIiOiJjY2M5MGE0NS02ZGRhLTQ5YTAtOTQzZS1lOTIyMzBhMjI0MjEiLCJleHAiOjB9
• Henry, B.L. “DUPLICATING ATTACHMENT FOR TYPEWRITERS.” Aug. 30, 1932. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/e7/a5/7d/a7e3bbcd163f09/US1874749.pdf
• Henry, B.L. “Hand Bag.” U.S. Patent Office. May 27, 1913. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/0a/6d/16/4d8139d4025580/US1063031.pdf
• Henry, B.L. “Ice Cream Freezer.” U.S. Patent Office. Sept. 3, 1912. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dc/d8/5c/1c61ca65b0339b/US1037762.pdf
• Henry, B.L. “Indicator Top.” U.S. Patent Office. March 2, 1926. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1575264-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiIxMzU2NTdlNi03OWNkLTQyZGUtYTgwNi0yYzRhYmM3OGU5OGIiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MzIxNTg0Yy1iOTZjLTRhYmItOTZhNC04OGUxNTI3ODY3NjUiLCJleHAiOjB9
• Henry, B.L. “Parasol.” U.S. Patent Office. Nov. 18, 1913. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6e/fe/25/726c19533c2b0f/US1079240.pdf
• Henry, B.L. “Parasol.” U.S. Patent Office. May 6, 1924. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5c/ad/88/868b750b1d9c44/US1492725.pdf
• Henry, B.L. “Radio Doll.” U.S. Patent Office. Dec. 8, 1925. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1565145-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiJhMTUwM2E5YS04MzYzLTRmYTgtYjRmOS1lZDU5OGIyMDllNGEiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MjZkN2M5OS05OGVkLTQzY2EtOGE2YS02NTU2ZWIzYzY0MzgiLCJleHAiOjB9
• Henry, B.L. “SEAM AND METHOD OF FORMING SEAMS.” U.S. Patent Office. Feb 4. 1941. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-2230896-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiI4NTA2NjMxNi1kZTRmLTRlNzQtOGJhYS1kYTRjMzhhMGZkNmYiLCJ2ZXIiOiJjY2M5MGE0NS02ZGRhLTQ5YTAtOTQzZS1lOTIyMzBhMjI0MjEiLCJleHAiOjB9
• Henry, B.L. “Simulated Dispensing Device.” U.S. Patent Office. Dec. 11, 1951. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6d/80/75/d6a9df36c75df0/US2577849.pdf
• Henry, B.L. “Water Sport Apparatus.” U.S. Patent Office. August 16, 1927. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1639607-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiIxMzU2NTdlNi03OWNkLTQyZGUtYTgwNi0yYzRhYmM3OGU5OGIiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MzIxNTg0Yy1iOTZjLTRhYmItOTZhNC04OGUxNTI3ODY3NjUiLCJleHAiOjB9
• Jones, Stacy. “A Single Unit Serves for Mailing and Also Returning.” New York Times. Jan. 27, 1962. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/01/27/90129637.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• LaRiccia, Dante. “Electricity Consumption: Culture, Gender and Power.” Energy History Online. Yale University. https://energyhistory.yale.edu/electricity-consumption-culture-gender-and-power/
• Mydans, Seth. “Overlooked No More: Beulah Henry, Inventor With an Endless Imagination.” New York Times. March 14, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/obituaries/beulah-henry-overlooked.html
• “Synesthesia.” Cleveland Clinic. May 3, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24995-synesthesia
• “"There's a better way of doing that." USPTO. https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/journeys-innovation/historical-stories/theres-better-way-doing

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Mary Mallon became known as Typhoid Mary in the early 20th century. She has often been vilified in in modern references, though her story is actually quite complex. 

Research:

• "Mary Mallon." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 21, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007781/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=23f34010. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.
• Brooks, J. “The sad and tragic life of Typhoid Mary.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne vol. 154,6 (1996): 915-6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1487781/
• Brooks, Janet. “The Sad and Tragic Life of Typhoid Mary.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. Vol. 154, No. 6. 3/15/1996.
• Cutter, Laura. “Typhoid Mary/Mary Mallon: An Asymptomatic Carrier of Salmonella typhi.” National Museum of Health and Medicine. 6/18/2020. https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/micrograph/index.cfm/posts/2020/typhoid_mary_mary_mallon_salmonella
• “Research Starter: Typhoid Mary.” https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/life-sciences/typhoid-mary
• Faherty, Anna. “The cook who became a pariah.” Wellcome Collection. 6/29/2017. https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/WsT4Ex8AAHruGfW_
• Leavitt, Judith Walzer. “‘Typhoid Mary’ Strikes Back: Bacteriological Theory and Practice in Early Twentieth-Century Public Health.” Isis , Dec., 1992, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Dec., 1992). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/234261
• Leavitt, Judith Walzer. "Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public Health." Beacon Press. 1997. 
• Mallon, Mary. Letter to Dr. William H. Park. June 1909. Via PBS NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/typhoid/letter.html
• Marineli, Filio et al. “Mary Mallon (1869-1938) and the history of typhoid fever.” Annals of gastroenterology vol. 26,2 (2013): 132-134. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3959940/
• Mason, W.P. “Typhoid Mary.” Science. Vol. 30, No. 760. 7/23/1909. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1635174
• Murtagh, Joseh. “David DeKok presents gripping, heartbreaking view into Ithaca’s 1903 typhoid outbreak.” Ithica.com. 4/11/2012. https://www.ithaca.com/visit_ithaca/david-dekok-presents-gripping-heartbreaking-view-into-ithaca-s-1903-typhoid-outbreak/article_943a556c-6b6d-11e0-92b9-001cc4c002e0.html
• New York Times. “Hospital Epidemic from Typhoid Mary.” 3/28/1915.
• New York Times. “HOSPITAL EPIDEMIC FROM TYPHOID MARY; Germ Carrier, Cooking Under False Name, Spread Disease in Sloane Institution. CAUGHT HIDING IN QUEENS Blamed for Twenty-five Cases of Fever Among Doctors and Nurses -- Now In Quarantine.” 2/28/1915. https://www.nytimes.com/1915/03/28/archives/hospital-epidemic-from-typhoid-mary-germ-carrier-cooking-under.html?eafs_enabled=false
• Ogan, ML. “Immunization in a Typhoid Outbreak in the Sloane Hospital for Women.” New York Medical Journal. 3/27/1915. 609-610.
• Othman, Amani and William W. Darrow. “The Wall, the Ban, and the Objectification of Women.” The International Journal of Social Quality, Winter 2019, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Winter 2019). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26948452
• Poczai P and Karvalics LZ (2022) The little-known history of cleanliness and the forgotten pioneers of handwashing. Front. Public Health 10:979464. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.979464
• Prabhu, Maya. “The tragedy of Typhoid Mary.” Gavi. 6/18/2021. https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/tragedy-typhoid-mary
• Pusey, Allen. “Precedents.” ABA Journal. Vol. 104, No. 3. March 2018. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26516280
• Sawyer, Wilbur. “The Efficiency of Various Anti-Typhoid Vaccines.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. LXV, No. 17. 10/13/2015.
• Soper, G A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine vol. 15,10 (1939): 698-712. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1911442/
• Soper, George A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Read May 10, 1939 before the Section of Historical and Cultural Medicine. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. Vol. 15, No. 10. October 1939. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1911442/
• Soper, George A. “Typhoid Mary.” The Military Surgeon. Vol. XLV. No. 1. July 1919.
• Soper, George. A. “The Work of a Chronic Typhoid Germ Distributor.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. XLVIII. No. 24. 6/15/1907.
• Teicher, Amir. “Typhoid Mary Was Not a Super-Spreader (and Super-Spreaders Are Not "Typhoid Marys").” American journal of public health vol. 113,12 (2023): 1249-1253. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307434

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This 2022 episode examines the development of a systematic approach to food safety, which didn’t happen until the 20th century. And it's tied directly to NASA trying to make sure astronauts didn’t get food poisoning in space.

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Tracy and Holly talk about their time visiting Chefchaouen during their Morocco trip. Holly shares her belief that secret societies don't work very well. 

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The reality of the Bavarian Illuminati is much less dramatic than conspiracy theories would indicate. It wasn’t a mystical organization, but a protest organization formed by a rather conceited man who was frustrated with the Catholic church.

Research:

• Britannica Editors. "illuminati". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/illuminati-group-designation
• Carlson, Michael. “Robert Anton Wilson [Obituary].” The Guardian. Jan. 17, 2007. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/18/guardianobituaries.usa
• “Two Letters from Adam Weishaupt, Founder of the Order of the Illuminati (1776).” German History Intersections. https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/knowledge-and-education/ghis:document-190
• “1776.” Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. https://www.lmu.de/en/about-lmu/lmu-at-a-glance/history/1776/
• Goldenbaum, Annika. “250 Years of the Order of the Illuminati: New Research Puts Gotha in the Spotlight.” Centre for Transcultural Studies. Universitat Erfurt. https://www.uni-erfurt.de/en/forschungskolleg-transkulturelle-studien/ueber-uns/aktuelles/news/news-detail/250-years-of-the-order-of-the-illuminati-new-research-puts-gotha-in-the-spotlight
• Greene, Jim, MFA. Discordianism. EBSCO. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/discordianism
• Hernandez, Isabel. “Meet the Man Who Started the Illuminati.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/profile-adam-weishaupt-illuminati-secret-society
• “To the Fathers Departing for Germany.” Georgetown University Library. https://library.georgetown.edu/woodstock/ignatius-letters/letter12
• Galer, Sophia Smith. “The accidental invention of the Illuminati conspiracy.” BBC. July 11, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170809-the-accidental-invention-of-the-illuminati-conspiracy
• Stauffer, Vernon. “New England and the Bavarian Illuminati.” Columbia University. New York, 1918. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/newenglandbavari00stauuoft
• Taylor, Michael. “British Conservatism, the Illuminati, and the Conspiracy Theory of the French Revolution, 1797–1802.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 47, no. 3, 2014, pp. 293–312. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24690289
• Miller, Shari Parsons. “Illuminati.” EBSCO. 2022. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/illuminati#bibliography
• Robison, John. “Proofs of a conspiracy against all the religions and governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Free masons, Illuminati, and reading societies.” Philadelphia : T. Dobson. 1798. https://archive.org/details/proofsofconspira00r/page/n9/mode/2up
• Vickery, Matthew. “The Birthplace of the Illuminati.” BBC. Nov. 28, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20171127-the-birthplace-of-the-illuminati

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A lot of European accounts of Sayyida al-Hurra’s life characterize her as a pirate, but that really isn't accurate. She was a a leader of a city-state and a queen of a sultanate.

Research:

• Ali, Adam. “The Pirate Queen of the Mediterranean: The Story of Al-Sayyida al-Hurra.” Medievalists.net. https://www.medievalists.net/2022/08/pirate-queen-mediterranean-al-sayyida-al-hurra/
• Britannica Editors. "Barbarossa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbarossa. Accessed 29 July 2026.
• El Haimeur, A. (2024). Sayyida Alhurra: A forgotten North African queen and war leader: A forgotten North African queen and war leader. Africana Annual, 1(1), 44-60. https://doi.org/10.17161/africana.v1i1.19207
• Hellman, Rick. “Researcher reclaims 16th century Moroccan woman leader from obscurity.” University of Kansas. 4/17/2024. https://news.ku.edu/news/article/researcher-reclaims-16th-century-moroccan-woman-leader-from-obscurity
• Lebbady, “Women in Northern Morocco: Between the Documentary and the Imaginary.” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, No. 32. 2012. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41850741
• Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada and Adrian Gully. “'I Am, by God, Fit for High Positions': On the Political Role of Women in al-Andalus.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies , Nov., 2003, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Nov., 2003). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3593222
• Rafferty, John P.. "From Pirate to Admiral: The Tale of Barbarossa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jun. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/story/from-pirate-to-admiral-the-tale-of-barbarossa. Accessed 29 July 2026.
• Sparkes, Jason Idriss. “Sayyida al‑Hurra: An Early Modern Decolonial Muslim Exemplar.” Religions 16: 1362. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16111362
• Verde, Tom. “Malika VI: Sayyida Al-Hurra.” AramcoWorld. 1/4/2017. https://www.aramcoworld.com/articles/2017/malika-vi-sayyida-al-hurra
• Williams, Terry. “Pirate Profile: Sayyida al-Hurra.” Queen Anne’s Revenge Project. 5/25/2020. https://www.qaronline.org/blog/2020-05-25/pirate-profile-sayyida-al-hurra

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This 2021 episode covers Jethro Tull. Today, most people only know that as the name of a band, but Tull was an 18th-century gentleman farmer often credited with inventing the seed drill.

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Tracy talks about papers about history written by economists. Holy talks about linoleum having a bad reputation because of the designs of the 1970s and '80s.

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