The Story Behind

The Story Behind

By Emily ProkopEducationHistory
Download on the App Store

The Story Behind episodes

  • The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door | Forrest Gump February (TSB032)

    In 1994, a movie came along about a man of low intelligence who happens to hit a few lucky breaks, weaving himself in and out of the timeline of American history, and into the hearts of millions of movie-goers. That man is Forrest. Forrest Gump.

    For the month of February, I'll be focusing episode topics on historical and pop culture references in the movie. Ones you may have missed when watching the film because of the overwhelming emotion attached to every scene, or ones you may only be familiar with on the surface.

    In this episode, we'll talk about the history behind desegregation of schools, Alabama Governor Wallace and the reasons for his stance, and how this led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This episode may not be suitable for all listeners.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eluXKOqxM28

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1rd6xfGg5s

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLLDn7MjbF0

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/press-past/2013/06/11/george-wallace-stood-in-a-doorway-at-the-university-of-alabama-50-years-ago-today

    http://www.archives.alabama.gov/govs_list/schooldoor.html

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/jfk-desegregation/

    http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson

    https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brown-v-board/timeline.html

    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html

    https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/in-southern-towns-segregation-academies-are-still-going-strong/266207/

    http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3421

    http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act

    http://www.npr.org/2003/06/11/1294680/wallace-in-the-schoolhouse-door

    10 min
  • Nathan Bedford Forrest | Forrest Gump February (TSB031)

    In 1994, a story came along about a man of low intelligence who happens to hit a few lucky breaks, weaving himself in and out of the timeline of American history, and into the hearts of millions of movie-goers. That man is Forrest. Forrest Gump.

    For the month of February, I'll be focusing episode topics on historical and pop culture references in the movie. Ones you may have missed when watching the film because of the overwhelming emotion attached to every scene, or ones you may only be familiar with on the surface.

    In this episode, we're starting at the beginning of the movie, with the man Forrest Gump was named after. Some of the content may not be suitable for all listeners.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Nathan Bedford Forrest.

    The role of General Sherman was played by Mark from the Unskippable podcast and the band And Robots. And Mat from The One Word, Go! Show played the role of Nathan Bedford Forrest.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raVFzZZLp3A

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/nathan-bedford-forrest

    http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/nathan-bedford-forrest.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#

    http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0713.html

    http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045160/1875-07-06/ed-1/seq-1/

    https://books.google.com/books?id=0MvlfHVwVNwC&pg=PA474&lpg=PA474&dq=nathan+bedford+forrest+offers+services+to+sherman&source=bl&ots=bCih0lmWwh&sig=OSMtiIFWsrpFQlrT1EVieUXyRvQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_AXDU7-0DZSlyASm-IDwBQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=nathan%20bedford%20forrest%20klan&f=false

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-a-tures/general-nathan-bedford-fo_b_7734444.html

    11 min
  • The Story Behind 30 Random Things | Trivia and History Galore! (TSB030)

    This episode was decided by listeners who responded to a poll I put up last week on Twitter asking if I should do a regular show for Episode 30 or if I should do a special episode with 30 random facts. If you're not already, follow @storybehindpod on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so you can contribute to the show.

    What you decided was episode 30 should be 30 random facts, so without further ado, here we go!

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind 30 Random Things.

    • Many things we eat and drink contain grass. Not the kinds that necessarily grow in our yards, but varieties like wheat grass and barley grass are found in beer, whiskey and bread.
    • A way to distinguish a monkey from an ape is their tails. Apes don't have tails, but monkeys do.
    • Yams commonly found in your grocery store are probably sweet potatoes. True yams grow in Africa and Asia and are relatively tough to find. They are related to the lily family, while sweet potatoes are related to the morning glory family. But grocery stores distinguish sweet potatoes as being a firm sweet potato with a light flesh and a yam as being a soft sweet potato with a more orange or copper color.
    • The moons and natural satellites of Uranis were named for characters in works by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, like Ophelia, Juliet, Belinda and Umbriel. The tradition was started by astronomer William Lassell, who discovered the first two in 1851.
      • Cordelia from King Lear
      • Ophelia from Hamlet
      • Bianca from Taming of the Shrew
      • Cressida from Troilus and Cressida
      • Desdemona from Othello
      • Juliet from Romeo and Juliet
      • Portia from Merchant of Venice
      • Rosalind from As You Like It
      • Belinda, Umbriel from Rape of Lock
      • Puck, Titania and Oberon from A Midsummer Night's Dream
      • Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos, Stephano and Trinculo from The Tempest
    • Hades, from Greek mythology, is not the basis for Satan in Christianity. Hades isn't necessarily a bad guy -- his job is simply to guard the Underworld, which is where all souls were believed to have gone when they died. There are parts of the Underworld where evil souls are tortured, much like Christianity's description of Hell, but souls considered good are rewarded in the Underworld.
    • Erasers work by attracting the graphite from pencils off the paper and onto the rubber. Before our modern-day erasers, people would often use balled up bread to fix their mistakes on paper.
    • Raisins were discovered accidentally when a San Fransisco grocer began selling grapes that had been dried out due to the heat wave 1873. He called them a "Peruvian Delicacy."
    • Eclair is the French word for Lightning. It's unclear why the cream-filled pastry is named that. One theory is that the name refers to the flaky outside and creamy inside being "light," and a second theory is that it's eaten in a flash.
    • Shirley Temple has fought soda companies twice for trying to market the ginger ale and grenadine drink named in her honor. Both times, she won. In 1988 when a California company tried to market Shirley T. Sparkling Soda, she was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "I will fight it like a tigress. All a celebrity has is their name."
    • If you've ever wondered where the phrase "Steal one's thunder" comes from, it's from John Dennis, an English dramatist from the 1700s, who invented a device for one of his plays that made a thunder sound. When his play flopped, the theater used the device for another play, causing Dennis to say, "That is my thunder, by God; the villains will play my thunder, but not my play."
    • "Steal my Sunshine," the poppy '90s favorite by the brother-sister band Len isn't actually as positive as the title implies. It's been said the lyrics either refer to drugs or depression and how someone can make you feel worse by stealing your sunshine.
    • The word "sychophant," which basically means a self-serving suck up, has two possible origins. Both are pretty great.
      • The first is that it comes from the Greek words "suko," which means Fig, and "phantes," which means people who reveal something. Back then, those who exported figs were doing so illegally, and anyone who told on them to authorities was called a Fig Revealer, or Suko-Phant. But the Oxford English Dictionary acknowledges this origin story to be unsubstantiated.
      • The second origin comes from the Greek "sykophantes", the Latin "sycophanta" and the Middle French version, "sycophante" in the 1530s, which also has to do with figs. In ancient Greece, it was a vulgar gesture to stick ones thumb between two fingers, which was thought to resemble a fig. It doesn't sound too bad until you find out that a fig was symbolic of a certain lady part. This gesture was commonly used as a taunt in Greek sporting events.
    • Antarctica is the world's largest desert. Hard to believe, right? But a desert is actually defined not by sand or heat, but by the amount of precipitation it receives, and Antarctica only gets an average of 2 inches of snow per year.
    • New words are added to English language at a rate of one new word every two hours.
    • Coca-Cola bottles were designed when the company sponsored a competition to design distinctive bottles. At the time, all beverages were put in similar bottles, making it difficult to making it difficult to distinguish one drink from the other when kept cool in a bucket of ice water. The designer of the bottles originally wanted to draw inspiration from the coca leaf or kola nut, but the local library didn't have pictures of either. But he came up with the now iconic design of the Coca-Cola bottle after finding a picture of a cacao pod.
    • "Enormity" is often thought to mean enormous, but it actually means extreme evil. It can be used, however, to mean a gigantic amount of evil.
    • Remember the movie in which Sinbad played a genie called "Shazam?" Or reading the childhood books, "The Berenstein Bears" or even Curious George's tail? Yeah … those actually never happened. At least, according to what people are calling The Mandela Effect, a phenomenon where many swear they remember something one way, but it's actually different. By the way, there's no record of the movie Shazam, the books we read as kids were actually the BerenstAin Bears, and Curious George does not have a tail, which suggests he's an ape rather than a "little monkey," as he's called in books.
    • Eyes that are two different colors on a person is called Heterochromia. Some people mistakenly think David Bowie had this, but one of his pupils was permanently dilated his friend's fingernail sliced his eye when they got into a fight as teenagers.
    • Mozart was so good at playing music at a young age, when he performed in London, people suspected him of being a drawf posing as a 9-year-old child.
    • Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr wanted to help the war effort during World War II and, with the help of composer George Antheil, developed wireless communications technology we still use today in everyday objects such as cell phones.
    • In "The Big Lebowski," the word Dude is used 161 times and "man" is used 147.
    • No one really knows why sometimes we get the sensation of falling when we're about to fall asleep. It's called a hypnic jerk and one theory is it's a leftover response from when humans used to sleep on branches in trees.
    • V for Victory was popularized by Winston Churchill during World War II. But it was first proposed as a symbol for resistance to tyranny by Victor de Laveleye who was exiled to England after the Nazi invasion of Belgium in 1940.
    • In case you ever wanted to kiss a baby iguana on the mouth, you might want to be aware that they often eat the poop of adult iguanas to get bacteria necessary for digesting their food.
    • George Orwell's "1984," written in 1949, shot to the top of Amazon Best-Sellers last week, which for those of you listening in the future was the second to last week of January 2017 following a number of references to the book on Twitter after Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway's statement that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer used "alternative facts" when describing Inauguration Day.
    • If you see a representation of a pirate wearing an eye patch, it's most likely not because he lost his eye -- a theory, which was deemed Plausible by "Mythbusters," is that wearing an eye patch kept that eye's pupil dilated so seeing in the dark was easier when the patch was removed. Having this skill was handy when pirates had to go below deck quickly.
    • Lincoln's famous beard was grown because 11-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, wrote him a letter suggesting growing a beard to hide his gaunt face before the upcoming presidential election. On the way to his inauguration, he made a special stop in Westfield to meet Bedell and, shaking her hand, said,"You see? I let these whiskers grow for you."
    • As much as fans love him, Darth Vader only appears on screen for a total of 12 minutes in the original Star Wars.
    • Not that I recommend you try it, but Romans used to effectively whiten their teeth with urine.
    • There are two theories most probable about the origin of pink lemonade. Neither of them involve adding strawberry or raspberry to the mixture, as is common today and both involve the circus. One is that red cinnamon candies were accidentally dropped in a vat of lemonade in 1912 and, because there wasn't enough time to make a new batch, the lemonade was sold and became a hit. The second is that a lemonade salesman at the circus in 1857 ran out of water to make lemonade and grabbed a tub of water that was previously used to wash a performer's pink tights.

    The role of Shirley Temple was played by Laura McClellan from The Productive Woman podcast, John Dennis was played by Danny Savage from the podcast Idiom Savant, and Stargate Pioneer from Better Podcasting played Abraham Lincoln.

    Starting Thursday, The Story Behind will be doing more consecutive theme episodes starting with Forrest Gump February. Each episode will be the story behind a different pop culture or historical reference from the Tom Hanks movie. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    https://www.taskeasy.com/blog/2015/08/10/10-interesting-facts-about-grass/

    http://facts.randomhistory.com/2008/12/15_monkeys.html

    http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-yams-and-sweet-potatoes-word-of-mouth-211176

    http://www.livescience.com/38592-biggest-deserts.html

    http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/userstory20411-hades-vs-satan.html

    http://mobile-cuisine.com/did-you-know/raisin-fun-facts/

    http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?eclair

    http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-an-eraser-work

    http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp

    http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sycophant

    http://www.rd.com/funny-stuff/funny-origins-behind-idioms-you-use-all-the-time/

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/truly-surprising-word-origins?utm_term=.tu12gj6Me#.cjLVG2ax1

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/01/25/orwells-1984-leaps-top-amazon-bestseller-list/97031344/

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/24479/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-shirley-temple

    http://mashable.com/2014/01/25/dark-90s-songs/#1dNPs1ejkPqH

    http://ohfact.com/interesting-facts-about-iguana/

    https://www.bloomsbury-international.com/blog/2014/07/11/15-interesting-facts-about-the-english-language/

    http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_519_30-mind-blowing-true-facts-about-famous-movie-scenes/

    http://listverse.com/2014/06/30/10-easy-questions-we-still-dont-know-the-answer-to/

    http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/bottle.asp

    http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-58-most-commonly-misused-words-and-phrases-a6754551.html

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/crazy-examples-of-the-mandela-effect-that-will-make-you-ques?utm_term=.uqV0816Lg#.lln3R9qYK

    http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/05/19/is-curious-george-an-ape-or-a-monkey/

    http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/heterochromia.htm

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/27273/nine-people-heterochromia-and-one-without

    http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/638180/Top-10-facts-Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart

    http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2011/01/origin-of-v-for-victory.html

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/52493/why-did-pirates-wear-eye-patches http://time.com/3462545/abraham-lincoln-beard/

    http://io9.gizmodo.com/some-people-use-urine-and-chemistry-to-whiten-their-t-1662270403

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unusual-origins-pink-lemonade-180960145/

    12 min
  • Mad Hatters | From Mercury Poisoning to Johnny Depp (TSB029)

    This week's theme was inspired by the title of my favorite song from Elton John, which is Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. You don't have to be familiar with the song to listen to the episodes, but if you haven't, it's one of the more underrated of his songs. On Monday, we talked about how the da Vinci painting wasn't as famous until it was stolen in 1911 and how our mind tricks us into seeing Mona Lisa's smile sometimes and other times, not as much.

    In this episode, I'm getting into the second part of the Elton John song title. From unknown mercury poisoning in hat factories to the man known for inspiring the character in Lewis Carroll's book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and through today, even though the actual occupational disease doesn't occur anymore.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Mad Hatters.

    The role of Johnny Depp was played by Nick from The Epic Film Guys podcast.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://www.cas.org/news/insights/science-connections/mad-hatter

    http://www.medicinenet.com/mercury_poisoning/article.htm

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1550196/?page=1

    http://www.naturalnews.com/016544.html

    http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/where-did-the-phrase-mad-as-a-hatter-come-from

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/weekinreview/07ryan.html

    http://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/the-real-mad-hatter/

    http://herocomplex.latimes.com/uncategorized/johnny-depp-explains-how-he-picked-his-poison-with-the-mad-hatter/

    9 min
  • The Mona Lisa | Stolen Art and a Mysterious Smile (TSB028)

    This week's theme was inspired by the title of my favorite song from Elton John, which is Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. You don't have to be familiar with the song to listen to the episodes, but if you haven't, it's one of the more underrated of his songs. Naturally, we're starting the week talking about the famous painting and the even more famous smile painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

    In this episode, we'll be talking about the real-life woman in the painting, how the painting may have achieved its fame because of being stolen and why the smile on the painting's subject is so mysterious.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind The Mona Lisa

    The role of Luc Maspero was played by Fee from The Ultra Podcast.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/62280/14-things-you-didnt-know-about-mona-lisa

    http://www.ibtimes.com/why-mona-lisa-so-famous-310480

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/stolen-how-the-mona-lisa-became-the-worlds-most-famous-painting-16406234/

    http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mona-lisa-portrait-lisa-gherardini-wife-francesco-del-giocondo

    http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-posed-for-leonardo-da-vincis-mona-lisa

    https://news.artnet.com/art-world/secret-behind-mona-lisa-smile-discovered-326770

    http://www.ibtimes.com/why-mona-lisa-so-famous-310480

    http://www.livescience.com/4648-25-secrets-mona-lisa-revealed.html

    http://www.livescience.com/32483-why-does-mona-lisas-smile-change.html

    10 min
  • Betty White | The Later Years (TSB027)

    Today's episode is the second in a two-part series of The Story Behind. The subject of these two episodes couldn't be contained into just one show. We'll be celebrating her 95th birthday, which was on Tuesday, January 17th, by dedicating this week to her contribution to television, Hollywood and her various charity works.

    In the previous episode, we talked about about her early days in radio and television; her awards and critics; and her title as the First Lady of Game Shows.

    In this episode, we'll be talking about the roles she's probably best known for, her incredible love of animals and her charity work, and her recent return to the spotlight because of a simple Snickers commercial.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Betty White | Part 2: The Later Years.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXL8QPWLbBo

    Sources:

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/61054/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-betty-white

    http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614#early-life-and-career

    http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614/videos/betty-white-mini-biography-42155247

    http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614/videos/betty-white-hollywoods-golden-girl-3945539701

    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/betty-white-charlie-sheen-lindsay-lohan-ungrateful-actors-abuse-fame-article-1.111942

    http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/05/betty-white-facts/

    https://www.metv.com/lists/9-things-we-bet-you-never-knew-about-betty-white

    http://www.avclub.com/article/how-ithe-mary-tyler-moore-showi-reinvented-the-sit-99172

    http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/golden-girls-turns-30-facts-series/story?id=33545250

    https://metv.com/lists/11-things-you-might-not-know-about-mamas-family

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXL8QPWLbBo

    https://medium.com/@traceylross/30-years-later-the-golden-girls-is-still-the-most-progressive-show-on-television-b63aadd2edec#.8klg5jbd6

    http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/hulu-golden-girls-streaming-blackish-1201954868/

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/betty-white-on-her-love-for-animals-92610121/

    http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Saints/Actors/BettyWhite.htm

    http://www.snopes.com/2016/12/28/gofundme-protecting-betty-white-from-2016/

    11 min
  • Betty White | The Early Years (TSB026)

    This week's episodes will be a two-part series of The Story Behind. The subject of these two episodes just couldn't be contained into just one show. So we'll be celebrating her 95th birthday on Tuesday, January 17th, by dedicating this week to her contribution to television, Hollywood and her various charity works.

    In this episode, we'll be talking about her early days in radio and television; her awards and, surprisingly, her critics; and her title as the First Lady of Game Shows.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Betty White | Part 1: The Early Years.

    The role of John Crosby was played by Daniel Repholz from The Toe on the Trigger podcast.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/61054/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-betty-white

    http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614#early-life-and-career

    http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614/videos/betty-white-mini-biography-42155247

    http://www.biography.com/people/betty-white-9542614/videos/betty-white-hollywoods-golden-girl-3945539701

    http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/04/the-early-betty-white.html

    http://gameshows.about.com/od/hostprofiles/tp/Betty-White-The-First-Lady-Of-Game-Shows.htm

    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/betty-white-charlie-sheen-lindsay-lohan-ungrateful-actors-abuse-fame-article-1.111942

    http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/05/betty-white-facts/

    https://www.nwhm.org/blog/throwbackthursday-the-first-ladies-of-game-shows/

    https://www.metv.com/lists/9-things-we-bet-you-never-knew-about-betty-white

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__4jVZQ6PIg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k23zM-eLoI

    10 min
  • Pretzels | Knot Your Average Snack (TSB025)

    Whether you like them sweet or salty, dipped in frosting or mustard, or even if you prefer hard over soft, the snack food we talk about in this episode continues to be a favorite around the world. And, I don't know about you, but I know it's tough to pass the kiosk at the mall for these delicious treats without the scent of them tempting me to break every diet I'm ever on.

    In this episode, we'll talk about the religious meaning and origins of these snacks; the different incarnations of them spawned by accidents; and how they've become associated with luck, marriage and even helped thwart the attempts of invasion.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Pretzels.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khTS0cU2IgQ

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMe7mlRv8UE

    Sources:

    http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/06/the-history-of-pretzels/

    http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/the-pretzel-a-twisted-history

    http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-did-the-pretzel-get-its-shape

    http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Pretzel.htm

    http://www.germanfoodguide.com/pretzel.cfm

    http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/pretzel-facts.htm

    http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jan/14/news/mn-22490

    9 min
  • Potato Chips | Crunch Time (TSB024)

    When this episode comes out, it'll be the second week of the new year. So … how's everyone's diets going? If you're looking for some motivation, you might want to go back to last week's episode on The Story Behind the Treadmill because in this episode, we'll be talking about a certain crunchy, salty, fatty food that's hard to resist.

    Find out the popular origin story of this food, and how it's actually just a legend; how it became a favorite snack food and went from banned during World War 2 to becoming labeled "essential; and why you can't just eat one.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Potato Chips.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/09/real-story-potato-chip/

    http://www.snopes.com/business/origins/chips.asp

    http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2016/03/14/surprising-history-potato-chips.html

    http://invention.si.edu/potato-chip-inventions

    https://www.tastemade.com/articles/8-potato-chip-facts-you-cant-stop-popping

    http://www.eatthis.com/this-why-its-so-hard-stop-eating-chips

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/philosophy-stirred-not-shaken/201404/can-you-really-become-addicted-potato-chips

    http://list25.com/25-unique-potato-chip-flavors-from-around-the-world-you-probably-never-heard-of/

    https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq3tvL_uIHcC&pg=PA637&lpg=PA637&dq=potato+chips+world+war+2&source=bl&ots=M-osSWeaM-&sig=XYGclCKkgQSCqEPY0Jz6dNq_Nq8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibvc7fzZXRAhVDw4MKHbVfASEQ6AEIbTAU#v=onepage&q=potato%20chips%20world%20war%202&f=false

    9 min
  • Soap Operas | A Daily Dose of Drama (TSB023)

    Emily's evil twin, Erica, crashes the podcast for this episode! Luckily, Dr. Drake Ramoray, her long-lost brother, who came out of his coma AND recovered from amnesia, was there to save the day and the show!

    Only a show on the topic of soap operas could handle such a dramatic introduction. Find out how soap operas came to exist, their rise and fall in popularity, and why they look different from other television shows.

    I'm your host, Emily Prokop (or is it Erica???), and this is The Story Behind Soap Operas.

    Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website

    Thanks again to Craig from The Ultra Podcast for coming in an saving the day as Dr. Drake Ramoray, our not-so-subtle nod to our love of "Friends."

    Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one.

    If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one.

    Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

    Media:

    Music for Makers

    Sources:

    http://www.museum.tv/eotv/soapopera.htm

    http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/11-longest-running-daytime-soap-operas.htm

    https://www.otrcat.com/soap-operas-during-the-golden-age-of-radio

    http://mentalfloss.com/article/25169/why-did-soap-operas-look-different-other-tv-shows

    https://books.google.com/books?id=YPlPfU9KSGMC&pg=PA264&lpg=PA264&dq=soap+opera+history&source=bl&ots=b4ZMbc0J1-&sig=rLlRhJob1ySuulq43tQjZZ1Gkg8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPheq09YzRAhXEWSYKHf-gD044ChDoAQhEMAc#v=onepage&q=soap%20opera%20history&f=false

    http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-soap-opera-cliches.php

    10 min

About The Story Behind

From the publisher's feed

The Story Behind tells the extraordinary history of the ordinary. Everyday objects are more closely examined, from their ancient beginnings through the present—all within 5-10 minutes.

More shows like The Story Behind

Stuff You Should Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff You Should Know

78,338 Listeners

Stuff You Missed in History Class by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff You Missed in History Class

23,754 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,178 Listeners

Strictly Anonymous Confessions by Kathy Kay

Strictly Anonymous Confessions

1,602 Listeners

Useless Information Podcast by Airwave Media Podcast Network

Useless Information Podcast

1,785 Listeners

TechStuff by iHeartPodcasts

TechStuff

1,754 Listeners

Soul Music by BBC Radio 4

Soul Music

298 Listeners

History Unplugged Podcast by History Unplugged

History Unplugged Podcast

3,989 Listeners

Ridiculous History by iHeartPodcasts

Ridiculous History

4,517 Listeners

Boring Books for Bedtime Readings to Help You Sleep by Sharon Handy

Boring Books for Bedtime Readings to Help You Sleep

1,261 Listeners

Girls on Porn by Headgum

Girls on Porn

1,099 Listeners

The Dose by CBC

The Dose

85 Listeners

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More by Gary Arndt

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

2,211 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,734 Listeners

History Daily by History Daily

History Daily

2,153 Listeners