Today In History with The Retrospectors

• Discovering The Iceman

  When German hikers Erika and Helmut Simon stumbled upon a dead body in the Oertzel Alps on 19th September, 1991, they believed it to be a recently fallen mountaineer, whose cadaver had been preserved in the ice. In fact, the specimen turned out to be 5,300 years old - older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. The man, nicknamed ‘Ötzi’ by the press, had been struck down in mid-stride, and was discovered surrounded by his possessions, which included a copper axe. His remains are now on permanent display in Italy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly probe into the various theories about how ‘the Iceman’ died; reveal what the post-mortem told us were the contents of his last meal; and consider the ‘Curse of the Frozen Mummy’... Further Reading: • ’The Discovery of Otzi the Iceman and Its Significance’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/otzi-the-iceman-1779439 • ‘Who killed Oetzi the Iceman? Italy reopens coldest of cases’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40104139 • ‘Was Otzi the Iceman a Victim of Human Sacrifice?’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUVtJ8oqRWA #Discoveries #Italy #Switzerland #BC This episode first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Welcome To Tiffany's

  Tiffany, now a $16 billion jewelry empire, opened their first store at 259 Broadway, New York, on 18th September, 1837. Their first day’s sales total was $4.98. Co-founded by 25 year-old Charles Lewis Tiffany (thanks to a $1,000 loan from his father), the ‘fancy goods emporium’ initially sold disparate luxury items including perfumes, dinner sets, and, er, dog whips - but eventually settled upon gems as their core offering, expanding the brand through collaborations with P. T. Barnum and ‘The Blue Book’, America’s first mail-order catalogue.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how, despite his business nous, Tiffany fell victim to the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872; explore how his design influence extends to the $1 bill and the New York Yankees' logo; and reveal how ‘robin egg’ blue became so synonymous with the company.... Further Reading: • ‘Jewelry House Histories: Tiffany’ (Invaluable, 2022): https://www.invaluable.com/blog/jewelry-house-histories-tiffany/ • ‘Tiffany Is More Than a Store’ (The New York Times, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/28/business/tiffany-history.html?searchResultPosition=4 • ‘Deconstructing The Tiffany Setting’ (Forbes, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RVMgMAaPw #1800s #NewYork #Fashion #Business  This episode first aired in 2023. Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Vanessa Williams vs. Miss America

  The first Black Miss America, Vanessa Williams, was crowned in Atlantic City on 17th September, 1983, with the usual fanfare. But within ten months, she had returned her crown, following a nude photo scandal. She had already received hate mail and even death threats - some from racist whites who hated seeing a Black Miss America, others from Black critics who felt her light skin and blue eyes played into white beauty standards. But then, without her consent, Penthouse announced it would publish explicit photos of Vanessa taken years earlier when she was an aspiring teenage model.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Williams rebuilt her career from scratch, via Disney, Broadway, hit songs, and movies; discover the moment the pageant formally apologised to her, after 32 years; and trace the overt and covert racism in Miss America’s long history… BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE: because today members of Club Retrospectors have an extra bonus bit where we peruse the infamous 15th anniversary edition of Penthouse, and recall earlier attempts to install a Black Miss America… Further Reading: • ‘On Saturday night Vanessa Williams became the first black woman crowned Miss America’ (UPI, 1983): https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/09/18/On-Saturday-night-Vanessa-Williams-became-the-first-black-woman-crowned-Miss-America/9839432705600/ • ‘Why Vanessa Williams Gave Up Her Miss America Crown’ (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3961120/miss-america-scandal-vanessa-williams/ • ‘Miss America 1984: Crowning Moment’ (NBC, 1983): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwBmoNXrr0w Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The First Student Newspaper

  The Cornell Daily Sun - the oldest continuously independent college daily newspaper in the United States - published its first issue on 16th September, 1880. It featured some campus sports reports, some horrible amateur poetry, and even some jokes. It wasn’t until seven years later that a British University caught up with its own equivalent: The Student, at Edinburgh University; although it did have celebrity founder Robert Louis Stevenson up its sleeve. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the difference between UK and US student journalism; speak to the Sun’s current Editor about how she can possibly do her degree at the same time as running a daily paper; and discover what an Autophone was... Further Reading: • ‘About The Sun’ (The Cornell Daily Sun): https://cornellsun.com/about/ • ‘About The Student’ (Edinburgh Student Newspaper): https://studentnewspaper.org/about • ‘The Cornell Daily Sun: A Documentary: Part 4 (Oliver Bundy, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIucgSBrWKk For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Digging the Trenches

  The start of World War I featured officers in white gloves, leading troops in neat lines, and cavalry charges complete with sabres and lances. But this changed on 15th September, 1914 - when soldiers began digging into the earth, laying the groundwork for the trench warfare that would come to define the conflict. By that November, trenches covered 400 miles along the Western Front, in two opposing lines that were often as close as 50 metres, with "No Man’s Land" in between—a deadly strip of land covered in barbed wire. Soldiers lived in constant fear of artillery, sniper fire, and brutal night raids. The trenches were muddy, disease-ridden, and teeming with rats and lice. Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the physical and psychological toll of trench life; explain how flamethrowers, ‘trench clubs’ and even helmets all became more popular over the course of the conflict; and discover that the process of rotation meant soldiers were in the trenches only for short bursts, yet long enough to leave lasting trauma… Further Reading: • ‘First trenches are dug on the Western Front | September 15, 1914’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-trenches-are-dug-on-the-western-front • ’Trench tactics: how was war fought in the WW1 trenches?’ (History Extra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/trench-warfare-ww1-tactics-what/ • ‘Conditions in Trenches - Dan Snow's Battle of the Somme’ (Discovery UK, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvYIIuxh2kY This episode was first published in 2024 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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