The Story Behind

Happy New Year! Are you ready to make this year the best year of your life? Are you going to get off the couch, throw out those Christmas cookies, join the gym, and get that heart beating?! Well, what are you waiting for!?

I bet you're at the gym right now, about to step on the machine we'll be talking about in this episode! Get ready to learn about how you're about to use a machine that went from its beginnings as a human-powered heavy-lifter to a form of prison punishment to becoming the most popular piece of cardiovascular exercise machinery.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind The Treadmill!

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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.

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Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

https://www.lifefitness.com/blog/posts/the-history-of-the-treadmill.html

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12275/treadmill-originated-prisons

https://physicalculturestudy.com/2015/04/01/a-brief-history-of-the-treadmill/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/secretlife/blogposts/retroscience-original-treadmill/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/324355-the-history-of-aerobics/

http://www.cooperaerobics.com/Health-Tips/Prevention-Plus/Trusting-the-Treadmill-Stress-Test.aspx

http://www.topconsumerreviews.com/treadmills/article-popular.php

You may be seeing a lot of social media posts from people reflecting on 2016 or even saying "good riddance" to the year, looking forward to a new year. And you may already have heard people discussing their new year's resolutions or plans for 2017. One of the biggest celebrations happens annually in New York City, as many gather to watch a giant lit up ball descend as they countdown to midnight.

In this episode, we'll talk about why we celebrate the new year when we do, how it's celebrated around the world, and the famed ball drop in Times Square.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind New Year's Eve.

Have a safe and happy new year!

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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.timeout.com/newyork/blog/10-insider-tips-for-doing-times-square-on-new-years-eve-123015

http://www.timessquarenyc.org/events/new-years-eve/about-the-new-years-eve-ball/history-of-the-new-years-eve-ball/index.aspx#.WE7ruvn491k

http://mentalfloss.com/article/60828/story-behind-times-squares-new-years-eve-celebration

http://www.today.com/money/new-year-s-eve-ball-5-little-known-facts-about-t64546

http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/20011226guy1226p6.asp

http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/new-years

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_ball

http://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-gregorian-calendar

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/history-of-august.html

http://thepossumdrop.com/Information.html

When Australian comedic Band Axis of Awesome created a YouTube hit in 2011 with their song, "Four Chords," many were amazed to realize just how many songs used the same chord progression. If you haven't heard the song in it's entirety, I encourage you to take a listen.

LINK TO Axis of Awesome's "4 Chords": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ

In this episode, we'll talk about why it's possible to sing a number of different songs using the same four chords, why these four chords sound so good to our ears, and hopefully when this episode is over, you will continue to listen to podcasts instead of the radio, since you already know what most of the songs sound like.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind the Four Chords.

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Media:

Music for Makers

Pachelbel's Canon

Axis of Awesome - 4 Chords

Four Chord Progression and Sensitive Female Chord Progression

Sources:

http://www.easyeartraining.com/learn/four-chords-and-the-truth/#

http://wmbriggs.com/post/2641/

http://web.archive.org/web/20100113080032/http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/12/31/striking_a_chord/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/01/14/country-music-mash-up-luke-bryan-blake-shelton-florida-georgia-line/21751561/

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreeChordsAndTheTruth

http://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/why-do-songs-get-stuck-in-our-heads/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/9950143/Get-that-tune-out-of-your-head-scientists-find-how-to-get-rid-of-earworms.html

http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/12/31/striking_a_chord/

http://www.tdpri.com/threads/thought-of-the-day-on-chord-progressions.487939/

This episode is a bit different from regular episodes of The Story Behind. Instead of one topic, I explore the story behind five different Christmas traditions, some from history and some more modern. This was originally recorded for a guest segment I did on the Triple X-Mas Special episode of Everyone Has a Podcast, a comedy show hosted by my friends Adam and Bryon.

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

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Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

FreeXmasMP3.com

Sources:

Snopes.com

Alltogetherchristmas.com

Gizmodo.com

Achristmasstoryhouse.com

We've seen them on TV, most notably on daytime shows like Maury, catching cheaters and making for over-dramatic television. But if lie detectors are so good? Why aren't they used in actual criminal cases?

In this episode, we'll talk about the invention of the lie detector test, how it works and even how to pass a lie detector test.

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

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

Special thanks to Jim Collison from Home Gadget Geeks at TheAverageGuy.TV, who played my polygraph tester in this episode.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.kidzone.ws/science/polygraph/historyofthepolygraphmachine.htm

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22467640

http://americacomesalive.com/2014/11/08/invention-polygraph/

http://www.engineersgarage.com/invention-stories/lie-detector-history

http://www.apa.org/research/action/polygraph.aspx

https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=31737

http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/defendants-rights/lie-detector-test.htm#

http://www.livescience.com/33512-pass-lie-detector-polygraph.html

http://www.npr.org/2014/10/27/359078315/the-man-behind-wonder-woman-was-inspired-by-both-suffragists-and-centerfolds

http://home.total.net/~galcar/html/brief_history_of_the_polygraph.html

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

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/04/the-polygraph-has-been-lying-for-90-years.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-02/will-lie-detectors-ever-get-their-day-in-court-again-

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LieDetector

https://books.google.com/books?id=QI0S4XhXJ9wC&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=Tony+Grignano+and+Cecil+Loniello&source=bl&ots=6LQ7Kd1bLN&sig=744rNkcgzT-VU1V4udK5qMO5D38&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQoeGuoODQAhUB1mMKHXF7CrAQ6AEIVjAM#v=onepage&q=Tony%20Grignano%20and%20Cecil%20Loniello&f=false

For anyone who has been pregnant or has been around someone who is pregnant, you may be familiar with the amazing phenomenon of the swelling of appendages you never knew could swell so much. Being pregnant myself, there are days when someone will ask me how I'm feeling and all I do is show them a comparison of my swollen feet and ankles to those of a certain popular '80s doll, whose toes are only distinguishable by the thin thread separating them.

In this episode, we'll be talking about the disputed creator of that doll, how the craze for this doll took off, and how Black Fridays of today can't hold a candle to the violence and mania that ensued in the early-to-mid 1980s.

I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Cabbage Patch Kids.

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Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Music for Makers

PIX News 11: https://youtu.be/VaQuxCWWTaI

http://www.vice.com/video/the-secret-history-of-cabbage-patch-kids-011

http://www.glamour.com/story/cabbage-patch-kids-facts

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921419,00.html

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19831127&id=LzMcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3VgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5445,7789961

http://archives.timesleader.com/1998/1998_21/1998_11_27_THE_MEMORIES_OF_A_DOLL_RIOT_VETERAN_SCARS_LINGER_FROM__83_CABBAG.html

http://www.babylandgeneral.com/about/our-history/

https://books.google.com/books?id=mbTUorcuXkoC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=atlanta+weekly+xavier+roberts&source=bl&ots=uu2r8Ut1oV&sig=rC7_iRO9D5iijajKaHo5aTTqbHg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm1Kj7kdPQAhUi64MKHWCaC60Q6AEIQjAH#v=onepage&q=atlanta%20weekly%20xavier%20roberts&f=false

With the birth of our second child coming in April, we've been going through a lot of my daughter's toys to see what we can pass on, and there's one bin of toys we know will be always be shared by her, our future son, as well as my husband and me.

In fact, we're not quite sure which of these toys belonged to my husband when he was growing up and which ones are brand new, since they transcend generations and are robust enough to survive multiple children.

In this episode, we'll talk about the man behind this toy, how his family has been behind production up through this day, and how this toy has impacted generations of children, past and present. And as awesome as they are for children's development and creativity, there's nothing worse than stepping on one with barefeet.

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

The role of Ole Kirk Christainsen was played by Kevin from Who Are These Podcasts?

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

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-lego-legacy/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/19400/early-history-lego

http://www.famousinventors.org/ole-kirk-christiansen

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2016/april/smooth-handover-to-the-next-generation

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the_lego_history

http://www.dailycelebrations.com/120401.htm

http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/lego

http://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/lego-healing-creative-power.html

http://outsidethebrick.com/blog/2013/07/10benefitspart1/

Have you ever seen a human-like robot, doll or animatronic that was so lifelike it gave you the creeps? Maybe you feel uncomfortable seeing a clown or zombie but don't know why. The uneasiness you may feel is known as the Uncanny Valley Phenomenon, which is noticeable when something is so close to being human, but lacks a certain something that's hard to describe. If you saw the robot from the 1986 movie, "Short Circuit," your brain would process it as just a regular robot and it wouldn't set off any warning bells in your mind. But the more scientists try to add human features to a robot, the more negatively we respond to it.

This uncanny valley is why some people say they feel uncomfortable in wax museums. The characters are so incredibly lifelike, yet there's something just off enough about them, our brains process them as being something to fear. Yet, wax museums have been popular tourist attractions for years. And it was one woman who became so skilled at her wax sculptures, her museums have attracted guests for more than 250 years.

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

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

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/11/health/uncanny-valley-robots/

http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/european-art-1600-present-biographies/marie-tussaud

http://mentalfloss.com/article/25496/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-madame-tussauds-wax-museum

https://www.madametussauds.com/hollywood/en/about/about-us/

http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/death-madame-tussaud

https://ridiculouslyinteresting.com/2012/11/27/burnt-and-melted-wax-figures-after-the-1925-fire-at-madame-tussauds-in-london/

There are lots of experiments that have come and gone. And not just experiments you'll find in science laboratories or chemistry classes.

For example, if you were around for the early days of Facebook, back when it was known as "THE Facebook," you might remember the slogan "a social experiment." But it wasn't the first social experiment, and it certain won't be the last. Prohibition, otherwise known as a constitutional ban on the making and selling of alcoholic beverages, was known as the Noble Experiment from 1920-1933.

It's safe to say the experiment failed, considering many lost their jobs, restaurants and clubs were put out of business, and prohibition gave way to corruption and an increase in underground crime, not to mention an exorbitant amount of power wielded to mobsters and bootleggers like Al Capone.

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys once said, "For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground."

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

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

The role of Jello Biafra was played by Mark from the Unskippable podcast, and Eleanor Roosevelt was played by Tammy Terwelp, General Manager of 91.5 KRCC, Southern Colorado's NPR Station.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jello_biafra.html

http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/prohibition-speakeasies-and-finger-foods

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-prohibitionspeakeasy.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268971/Inside-speakeasies-1920s-The-hidden-drinking-spots-transformed-New-York-Citys-night-life-prohibition-era-beyond.html

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/cotton-club-harlem-1923

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/secret-bars-hard-to-find-speakeasies

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/20th-gangsters.html

https://parachute.mapquest.com/2016/03/16/five-hardest-speakeasies-to-get-into/

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1085.html

Many around my age remember talking to our friends on AOL Instant Messenger after school and using netspeak for things like LOL or JK or BRB for Laughing Out Loud, Just Kidding or Be Right Back, which no one really does anymore with the internet.

But every generation has a way of shortening their writing, it seems. Decades ago, high-schoolers took classes on a way of writing called shorthand, which was used in offices for dictation, for reporters taking notes at a quick pace and court reporters transcribing the proceedings. But, sometimes even court reporters couldn't write shorthand quickly enough to keep up with fast-talkers, and, as seen in all great infomercials, someone said, "There's Got To Be A Better Way!"

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

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The role of Pappy Ward was played by Adam from Everyone has a Podcast.

Click here to support this podcast on Patreon.

Media:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxVQ9rhjyTY

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34603886

https://talktech.com/history/

http://www.phillycourtreporters.com/the-stenomask-your-court-reporting-nighmares-realized/

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n23/leah-price/diary

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/a-brief-history-of-shorthand/

http://pitmania.com/shorthand-deathmatch-pitman-v-gregg-2/

http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speaking-rate/