Stuff You Missed in History Class

A lot of the stories that are told about popcorn in history – particularly in North America – are incorrect. Popcorn has been around for a very long time, though its rise to popularity as a snack has accelerated in recent years.

Research:

• “Ancient Popcorn Discovered in Peru.” Smithsonian. Jan, 20, 2012. https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-popcorn-discovered-peru
• com Editors “Orville Redenbacher.” Biography.com. April 2, 2014. https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/orville-redenbacher
• Butler, Stephanie. “ A History of Popcorn.” History.com. Dec. 6, 2013. https://www.history.com/news/a-history-of-popcorn
• Delgado, Michelle. “The History of Popcorn: How One Grain Became a Staple Snack.” Serious Eats. May 7, 2023. https://www.seriouseats.com/popcorn-history-movie-theaters
• Dell’Amore, Christine. “Ancient Popcorn Found—Made 2,000 Years Earlier Than Thought in Peru.” National Geographic. Jan. 21, 2012. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/120119-national-popcorn-day-corn-peru-archaeology-food-science
• Geiling, Natasha. “Why do we eat popcorn at the movies?” Smithsonian. October 3, 2013. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-do-we-eat-popcorn-at-the-movies-475063/
• Goodspeed, T. H. “Plant Hunters in the Andes.” University of California Press. 1961. https://archive.org/details/planthuntersinan0000good
• Grobman, Alexander, et al. “Preceramic maize from Paredones and Huaca Prieta, Peru.” January 17, 2011. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1120270109
• Meyers, F.J. “IMPROVEMENT IN CORN-POPPERS.” Patent No. 171,032. Dec. 14, 1875. https://patents.google.com/patent/US171032A/en?q=(pop-corn)&q=(corn-popping)&sort=old
• “MICROWAVE KEY TO POPCORN WAR.” New York Times. June 22, 1987. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/22/business/microwave-key-to-popcorn-war.html
• Mola, Roger A. “Then and Now: Pass the Popcorn.” Smithsonian. March 2008. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/then-amp-now-pass-the-popcorn-13027292/
• “PopCorn: Ingrained in American’s Cultural History.” USDA National Agricultural Library. https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/popcorn/early-history
• The Popcorn Board. “All About Popcorn.” https://www.popcorn.org/All-About-Popcorn/History-of-Popcorn
• “Popcorn Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (RTE, Microwave), By Distribution Channel (B2B, B2C), By Region (Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, MEA), And Segment Forecasts, 2022 – 2030.” Grandview Research. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/popcorn-market-report
• Smith, Andrew F. “Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America.” University of South Carolina Press. 1999.
• “Sugar: The First and Last Food Rationed on the World War II Home Front.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/sugar-the-first-and-last-food-rationed-on-the-world-war-ii-home-front.htm

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This 2017 episode covers the work of Jules Cotard, the first psychiatrist to write about the cluster of symptoms that would come to be called Walking Corpse Syndrome. But his unfinished work was hotly debated among his colleagues.

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Tracy and Holly talk about the Disney animators' strike of 1941, Angel Island, and Tyrus Wong's Christmas cards. They also discuss the merits of dandelions. 

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Gertrude Jekyll was born into a 19th-century English family of means, but her life took an unconventional path for a woman in her circumstances, and she became an iconic and legendary horticulturist.

Research:

• Tooley, Michael. "Jekyll, Gertrude (1843–1932), artist and garden designer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. June 08, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 13 May. 2024, https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2261/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-37597
• "Gertrude Jekyll." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 38, Gale, 2018. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010801/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=56c7d137. Accessed 13 May 2024.
• Gertrude Jekyll: The Official Website of the Jekyll Estate https://gertrudejekyll.co.uk/
• Edwards, Ambra. “Gertrude Jekyll: discover the life of the remarkable garden designer and writer.” Gardens Illustrated. 5/31/2023. https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/gardeners/gertrude-jekyll-life
• Historic England. “A Brief Introduction to the Remarkable Garden Designer, Gertrude Jekyll.” 11/29/2018. https://heritagecalling.com/2018/11/29/a-brief-introduction-to-the-remarkable-gertrude-jekyll/
• Van Valkenburgh, Michael R. “The Flower Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll and Their Twentieth-Century Transformations.” Design Quarterly , 1987, No. 137, The Flower Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll and Their Twentieth-Century Transformations. Via JSTOR. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4091178
• Kehler, Grace. “Gertrude Jekyll and the Late-Victorian Garden Book: Representing Nature-Culture Relations.” Victorian Literature and Culture , 2007, Vol. 35, No. 2 (2007). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40347178
• Arnander, Primrose. “Gertrude Jekyll.” Historic Gardens Review , Autumn 1999, No. 4 (Autumn 1999). https://www.jstor.org/stable/44791169
• Festing, Sally. “Gertrude Jekyll.” London : Penguin. 1993.
• Jekyll, Francis. “Getrude Jekyll: A Memoir.” Bishop Round Table. Northampton, MA. 1934.

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Over the course of an extraordinarily long career, Tyrus Wong worked across a range of media in a whole collection of industries – animation, live-action film, commercial art, public art, greeting cards, and in his last years, kitemaking in his personal workshop.

Research:

• Tom, Pamela, writer and director. “Tyrus.” PBS American Masters. 9/8/2017. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/tyrus-about-the-film/8917/
• "Tyrus Wong." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631010885/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=943f33c3. Accessed 1 May 2024.
• PBS American Masters. “Biography.” https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/tyrus-wong-biography/9197/
• Fang, Karen. “Commercial Design and Midcentury Asian American Art: The Greeting Cards of Tyrus Wong,” Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art 7, no. 1 (Spring 2021), https://doi.org/10.24926/24716839.11548.
• Friedl, Erik. “Flights of Fancy.” 1987. Via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Ta8BCrbLw
• Wu, Tara. “How Tyrus Wong’s Christmas Cards Captivated the American Public.” Smithsonian. December 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/tyrus-wong-christmas-card-captivated-american-public-180976239/
• Chang, Rosalind. “A Profile of Tyrus Wong.” Angel Island Immigrant Station Foundation. https://www.immigrant-voices.aiisf.org/
• Fox, Margalit. “Tyrus Wong, ‘Bambi’ Artist Thwarted by Racial Bias, Dies at 106.” New York Times. 12/30/2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/movies/tyrus-wong-dies-bambi-disney.html
• Wong, Eddie. “Angel Island Profile: Tyrus Wong.” Angel Island Immigration Statoin Foundation. Via YouTube. 8/8/2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUTsngXHbH8
• Fang, Karen. “’Chinese Jesus’ in a Broom Closet: The Many Archives of Tyrus Wong.” Opening the Vault: Media Industry Studies and its Archives Peter Labuza, editor, Spectator 41:2 (Fall 2021): 20-30.
• See, Lisa. “On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family.” Vintage Books. 1995.

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This 2019 episode covers the earthquake of April 18, 1906 that changed San Francisco forever. The earthquake and a series of fires devastated much of the city and had long-term ramifications.

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Tracy and Holly talk about the eerie similarities of the stories of the Andrea Doria and the Empress of Ireland. They also talk about Jacob Haish's poetry about barbed wire.

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Joseph Glidden is known as the father of barbed wire, but who actually invented it was a matter of disagreement. As a consequence, Glidden's invention was embroiled in legal battles for years. 

Research:

• “Barb Fence: Its Utility, Efficiency and Economy : a Book for the Farmer, the Gardener and the Country Gentleman.” Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Company. Lucius P. Goddard. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=v_EoAAAAYAAJ&rdid=book-v_EoAAAAYAAJ&rdot=1
• “Barbed Wire.” The Burlington Hawk-Eye. May 3, 1879. https://www.newspapers.com/image/31320626/?match=1&terms=%22joseph%20f.%20glidden%22
• “Barbed Wire.” Chicago Tribune. Dec. 22, 1880. https://www.newspapers.com/image/349503001/?match=1&terms=%22joseph%20f.%20glidden%22
• “Barbed Wire: The Saga.” Joseph H. Glidden Homestead. https://www.gliddenhomestead.org/barbedwire.html
• Boardman, Mark. “The Winner.” True West. Sept. 22, 2022. https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-winner/
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Joseph Farwell Glidden". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Farwell-Glidden
• “Dekalb Gets New Hospital.” Republican-Northwestern. Oct. 30, 1906. https://www.newspapers.com/image/69739499/?match=1&terms=%22Joseph%20F.%20Glidden%22
• Glover, Robert. “The Haish-Glidden relationship.” Jacob Haish Story. April 22, 2018. http://www.jacobhaishstory.com/2018/04/glover-haish-glidden-relationship.html
• Haish, Jacob. “"A Reminiscent Chapter from the Unwritten History of Barb Wire Prior to and Immediately Following the Celebrated Decision of Judge Blodgette, December 15, 1880.” Accessed via Jacob Haish Story: http://www.jacobhaishstory.com/2016/10/a-reminiscent-chapter-from-unwritten.html
• Harford, Tim. “'The devil's rope': How barbed wire changed America.” BBC. Aug. 6, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40448594
• “HISTORY OF DEKALB.” City of Dekalb. https://www.cityofdekalb.com/854/History-of-DeKalb
• Joseph F. Glidden Homestead and Historical Center. https://www.gliddenhomestead.org/index.html
• McCallum, Henry D. “Barbed Wire in Texas.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 2, 1957, pp. 207–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30241926
• Rumrill, Alan. F. “A Moment in Local History: Joseph Glidden’s Invention.” The Keene Sentinel. Aug. 19, 2023. https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/a-moment-in-local-history-joseph-gliddens-invention-by-alan-f-rumrill/article_fd52ab67-53cf-5ac3-a780-f2ab94411f16.html
• “Story of Barb Wire.” Belvedere Daily Republican. Jan. 11, 1906. https://www.newspapers.com/image/69693931/?match=1&terms=%22Joseph%20F.%20Glidden%22
• “The Washburn & Moen Maufacturing Company … “ Chicago Tribune. Nov. 13,1876. https://www.newspapers.com/image/349595774/?match=1&terms=%22jacob%20haish%22
• “WASHBURN & MOEN MANUF'G CO. et al. v. BEAT 'EM ALL BARBED-WIRE CO. et al.” U.S. Supreme Court. Accessed via Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/143/275

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The SS Andrea Doria was a luxury cruise liner that sank after colliding with another ship in 1956. Most of the people who were on the Andrea Doria lived thanks to one of the biggest civilian maritime rescues in history. 

Research:

• Cooke, Anthony, editor. “Andrea Doria.” Italian Liners. https://www.italianliners.com/andrea-doria-en
• Carrothers, John Carroll. “There Must Have Been a Third Ship! (An Analysis of the Andrea Doria-Stockholm Disaster).” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. 7/1958. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1958/july/there-must-have-been-third-ship ‘
• “Stefano Carletti: The Man Who Immortalized The Wreck of the Andrea Doria.” 4/1/2021. https://indepthmag.com/stefano-carletti-the-man-who-made-the-wreck-of-the-andrea-doria-immortal/
• Moyer, John. “A Conservator’s Reflections on the Andrea Doria.” InDepth. 6/26/2021. https://indepthmag.com/reflections-on-the-andrea-doria/
• Simpson, Pierette Domenica. “The Night I Survived the Andrea Doria Shipwreck.” Italian Sons and Daughters of America. 8/9/2022. https://orderisda.org/culture/la-nostra-voce/the-night-i-survived-the-andrea-doria-shipwreck/
• Carrothers, John C. “The Andrea Doria-Stockholm Disaster: Accidents Don’t Happen.” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. August 1971. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1971/august/andrea-doria-stockholm-disaster-accidents-dont-happen
• Ballard, Robert D. and Rich Archbold. “Lost Liners.” Via PBS. https://www.pbs.org/lostliners/andrea.html
• King, Greg and Penny Wilson. “The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria.” St. Martin’s Press. 2020.
• Andrews, Evan. “The Sinking of Andrea Doria.” 9/21/2023. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/the-sinking-of-andrea-doria
• Tikkanen, Amy. “Andrea Doria.” Britannica. 4/12/2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Andrea-Doria-Italian-ship
• NBC News. “50 years later, sunken ship still claiming lives.” 7/24/2006. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14007111
• “The Andrea Doria Settlement.” TIME Magazine. 2/4/1957, Vol. 69 Issue 5, p86-86. 1/3p.
• Garzke, William H. and Pierette Domenica Simpson. “The Loss of Andrea Doria: A Marine Forensic Analysis.” Marine Technology Society Journal. November/December 2012 Volume 46 Number 6.

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This 2014 episode covers Aimee Semple McPherson, an extraordinary figure in the early 20th-century religious landscape. As an evangelist, she rose to incredible popularity in the 1920s, and then vanished.

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