Levi Strauss left his native Germany to escape discrimination, and then left New York for the opportunities of the American West. He lost some gold, but changed the world with his pants partnership. 

Ferminia Sarras was a miner from Nicaragua who didn't wear jeans, but rather a black taffeta dress (in the desert sun). Her successes were many, and they even named a town after her.

Episode 54: Gold!

Edwin Hubble changed our view of the Solar System, but he was also a collegiate National Champion basketball player and high school coach. He also dealt with the struggles of freezing his face to a telescope. Anything for Science!

George Ellery Hale had the idea for the largest telescope in history, and the American Public made it a reality during the Great Depression. It was actually made from something you might use in the kitchen.

Episode 55 Telescopes And Stars

Henry Knox is a name not many people know, but he was a pretty amazing bookseller turned soldier during the Revolutionary War. Released in honor of July 4th - but you can listen anywhere and anytime - still a good story about in interesting moment!

Bonus Episode! Knox Says Yes

Origin stories, comic mis-starts, and medal-winning moments are highlighted in this episode featuring two unlikely international star athletes. 

Canada's Bobbie Rosenfeld overcame, among other things, small pox and very large pants to run her way into history - not just as an athlete, but a wonderful teammate. 

Muhammad Ali drank garlic water and chased the bus in his own pursuit of greatness. Spoiler alert: it worked.

Episode 58 Origin Stories And Gold Medals

Marina Raskova set world flying records, survived an epic plane crash, and was a trailblazer for generations of female pilots in Russia. With her help, The Night Witches became the most feared fliers of World War 2. 

Adelaide Herrmann was The Queen of Magic. Both with her husband Alexander and on her own, she amazed audiences with a special kind of magic. Featuring the voices of Greg and Abigail Maupin. 

All music, writing, production by Mick Sullivan,

Episode 61: A Queen and Some Witches

The famed Queen of France had several run-ins with underwear. She also had run-ins with smallpox, ladies-in-waiting, an awkward young prince, catty couriers, and ultimately, the guillotine. If nothing else, this episode will help you appreciate your privacy.

Underwear Chronicles Two: Marie Antoinette

Chance has given us some great toys. Explore the accident that led to Silly Putty, the chance repurposing that led to Silly Putty, a few men who stumbled upon them, and two women who figured out what the substances should really be used for. 

This episode sponsored by RUBBER!

Episode 63: More Accidents, More Toys

Satchel Paige went from burlap hand-me-downs to silk patterned boxers. Along the way we came one of the most dynamic baseball players in history.

Underwear Chronicles Four: Satchel Paige

The year 1913 saw the births of two incredible Black Americans. One was Samuel Wilbert Tucker, a Civil Rights pioneer and all-around incredible person. The other was James Cleveland Owens, who came to be known as Jesse. A few years before Samuel arranged for one of the first Civil Rights sit-ins in history, Jesse broke five atheletic World Records, just days after badly injuring his back in a fall down the stairs.

Episode 65: Samuel And J.C.

Abraham Lincoln wore some pretty plain underwear. We know because they made a few "surprise appearances."

NEWSFLASH: The Underwear Chronicles are gonna be a book nd our Kickstarter is open through March of 2022. Jump on it, if you like the Underwear Chronicles!

Underwear Chronicles Five: Abraham Lincoln

Despite being the namesake of an article of clothing that we commonly think of as underwear, Amelia Bloomer did not invent bloomers. To further the cause of Women’s Rights and to fight for the right to vote (in addition to prohibition), Amelia Bloomer ran a newspaper called The Lily.  
 
When one of her friends showed up for a visit in a new outfit one day, history was made. Tired of the restrictive and oppressive clothing women were expected to wear in the 1800s, Amelia fell head over heels for the “tunic and pantalette combo,” as it was known. When she published the instructions to make them in The Lily, her subscriptions went through the roof.   
 
Soon, the knee-length skirt and leg coverings underneath allowed for a new range of motion and freedom for women all over. One of the most remarkable things this allowed women to do was ride bicycles, which Susan B Anthony herself said, did “more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world.” Bloomers didn’t lead directly to the 19th Amendment, but the underwear played a strong supporting role.

Underwear Chronicles Eight: Amelia Bloomer

Who knew an ancient man frozen in his underwear could trigger international conflict?

Otzi's accidental discovery was quite a find for science, and many are grateful that a glacier gobbled him up thousands of years ago!

Underwear Chronicles Nine: Otzi the Iceman

A special mashup with our friends from Cool Facts About Animals. Mick tells the tale of the Great Serum Run of 1925 in two parts. When a Diphtheria epidemic threatens the small and far-off town of Nome Alaska, the only hope to get medicine to the sick is dogs. Many help, but two Siberian Huskies named Togo and Balto are most remembered by history. 
In between part one and part two of the story, the crew from Cool Facts About Animals shares ten interesting facts about sled dogs.

Episode 69 Sled Dogs (A Mashup Special)

Edgar Allan Poe is about as famous as an author can be, but that might be owed largely to Rufus Wilmot Griswold. Rufus didn't really like Poe and wrote a scathing obituary and biography on the man, creating the dark figure many of us think Poe to be. 
In addition the story of Poe and Rufus, Mick does a dramatic reading of "The Raven" a poem which made Edgar Allan Poe a literary superstar.

Episode 72: Rufus vs. Poe

The penultimate episode of The Underwear Chronicles (soon to be the book I See Lincoln's Underpants) revisits inventor and leader Garrett Morgan. We've covered Garrett Before, but not like this! 

The Paris, Kentucky-born man would change the world in profound ways! He was absolutely amazing. 

Be sure to check thepastandthecurious.com for details about the I See Lincoln's Underwear book.

Underwear Chronicles Thirteen Garrett Morgan

Ralph Baer fled Nazi Germany and settled in America where he eventually created the first home video game console, known as the Magnavox Odyssey.
Not long after Ralph's creation, Jerry Lawson, a Black computer engineer, built on that idea and lead the team that created the first video game cartridge. Both men have very interesting lives, and are a huge part of gaming history. Things they did changed your life!

Episode 73: Video Games!

In the 2000s an anonymous American man found an egg worth millions. It was a Faberge Imperial Egg and it's story is fascinating. This episode traces the origin of the Faberge Eggs, and also the story of how it wound up in a kitchen in America’s Midwest.

Also, as the Gold Rush boomed in the 1800s there were not enough actually, edible eggs to feed all the new faces in California. As a result, an Egg War developed over unusual eggs laid by murres on an island chain off the the coast of San Francisco

Episode 74: Eggs!

The last installment of The Underwear Chronicles - to celebrate the release of I See Lincoln's Underpants now available from booksellers!

Al Capone grew up somewhere in the middle of a big family. Hand me downs were a way of life, so it makes sense that as an adult he was eager to have not just his own underpants, but his own fancy underpants. After arriving in Chicago from his native Brooklyn, he worked his way up to being the most powerful mob boss in town. He was famous all over the country, but he never really worried about going to jail.  
 
In the end he brought down by some salesmen, including the man who sold him underwear.

Underwear Chronicles Fourteen: Al Capone

Here's two more underwear stories that aren't in the the book I See Lincoln's Underpants (which is now available!)

First Benedict Arnold betrays the American Army but gets caught thanks to something hiding in someone's underwear. 

Also When NASA planned to get someone to the moon, they needed a special Space Suit, and the only designers and makers up to the challenge had only made underwear for Playtex before the marvelous work of technology.

Episode 75 Underwear Roundup with Benedict Arnold, Abram Spanel and the Playtex Space Suit

The Wright Brothers became the first to fly a controlled powered aircraft with a pilot onboard, but just a few days before, Smithsonian Secretary James Langley almost beat them. His failure didn't stop the Smithsonian from claiming the first flight.

But Orville and Wilber weren't the only two who fought for their place in history. Their sister Katharine did too.

Episode 76: Wright Brothers and Sister and a Smithsonian Spat

The Virginia became a major attraction when it got stuck in a cornfield, which is a place a boat does not belong.

Also, The Meachums escaped slavery, and educated hundreds of children in a school known as the Floating Freedom School. Their school in a steamboat was untouched by an unjust Missouri law while in the middle of the river.

Episode 77 Strange Place for a Steamboat

Melly Victor of Stoopkid Stories joins us for the story of Ella Fitzgerald's first performance at the famous Apollo Theatre. 

Also, we talk about the history of tuning, how the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I also tried to standardize musical tuning, and how singers hurt their voices to keep up with instrumentalists raising the relative pitch.

Episode 78: Imperfect Pitch

Maria Mitchell was the first American to discover a new comet, which brought her great fame, but her career in the 1800s as a professor at Vassar College left her greatest legacy. 

In the next century, Ann Hodges was not looking to get involved in objects from space, but one of them crashed into her house anyway. 

The Past and The Curious is an Airwave Media Podcast

Episode 79 Stars Fell

Teachers, parents, adults who love good stories: check us out. 
This is just so you know what we're about, who we are and what we're planning to bring you.  The real good stuff will follow, but you might appreciate knowing what we do and why we do it.  
We'll make it brief - we promise.

Ep. 1 The Past and The Curious: An Introduction

Victoria Reibel tells the story of P.T. Barnum and an Egress.
Also featured is the tale of John Banvard and his Mississippi Panorama, which was the longest painting in the world.
The Tamerlane Trio performs their version of "It's Only a Paper Moon" (song recorded by Rob Collier)
Quiztime and more!
Written by Mick Sullivan - 2016

Ep. 2: Barnum, Banvard, Paper Moon and more

The origin of Port and Starboard
Victoria Reibel reads stories about Anne Bonny, and Stephen Long's unusual dragon-like steamboat, the Western Engineer.
Tamerlane Trio performs original song "Big Ol' Boat" (song recorded by Rob Collier)
Quiz time and more!
**Correction: in Anne Bonny, in regards to her death, we say 1881, but we mean 1781, as you'd probably guess from our framing it around the American Revolution - sorry!**

Ep. 3  Anne Bonny, The Western Engineer, "Big Ol' Boat" and more

Kate Warne saved Abraham Lincoln's life on the way to his inauguration. John Honeyman may (or may not)have been a double agent who helped George Washington's famous Crossing of the Delaware.  We'll hear these stories and much more!
You'll hear hear Amber Estes-Theineman sing the classic "I'm Confessin'" while you're here, too!

Ep. 17 Spies!

The Statue of Liberty could have wound up in Egypt, Philadelphia, or the bottom of the ocean.  Once she wound up in New York she had to wait for America to raise a lot of money - which they did in many different ways.  
Four quick, funny, and poignant stories will fill you on on the history of the most American of Symbols. 
Featuring Melinda Beck and Mr. Eric (What If World - Podcast)

"New Colossus" poem read by the Kids Listen Players:
Andrew and Polly (Ear Snacks)
Joey Mascio (ImagiNate)
Rebecca Weaver (Cozy Corner)
Chaska, Mirabel, Leilani and Brennan (Book Power for Kids)

Also includes "Lady Be Good" performed by Mick Sullivan.
Episode written by Mick Sullivan

Ep.19 The Statue Of Liberty!

Some people just can't be honest, and some try to pass off something phony as something real. This episode is about a would-be Shakespeare named William Henry Ireland, and a gang of body snatchers who try to pilfer a president's dead body - gross!
Featuring Rhea Pechter, Jonathan Messinger, and more. Written and produced by Mick Sullivan.

Ep. 25: Fakes And Frauds!

It's Kids Listen Sweeps Month and we're joining the April Fool's fun (though pretty late).

This episode features Heather Gotlib's original story of the real-life, classic prank called the Berner's Street Hoax, in which an unsuspecting family's home becomes the most popular destination in London.  Also featured is Mick Sullivan's telling of Count Fortsas Book Hoax, which began with rare book collectors receiving notice of an incredible auction. Spoiler Alert: not what they think.
Also "Deed I Do," Quiztime, and "You Have 30 Seconds!"

Want more April Fool's fun? Check out our Kids Listen pals Composer Dad and What If World!

Ep. 31 April Fooling!

A polymath is a person of wide ranging knowledge or ability, and in this episode we're telling the stories of two unsung polymaths.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de St. Georges, was a world class fencer, composer, conductor and musician who spent time in the royal courts of France and tutored Marie Antoinette. He was also the son of an enslaved woman. 

Ziryab is a mysterious man from medieval Spain, when Muslim culture dominated the area. He was a musician, scholar, and pioneer of food and fashion. Pretty much a rock star before rock stars were a thing.

You'll hear Ms. Lynn from The Good Words Podcast and music from Mick Sullivan and Todd Armstrong. 
Episode written and produced by Mick Sullivan. 
Somebody give us a book deal already.

Episode 35: Polymaths!

Mary Shelley didn't just create one of the most memorable characters and important books in history, she also pretty-much invented science fiction. Heather Gotlib tells her original story on the author of Frankenstein.

Have you ever heard about the chess playing robot that beat Napoleon in chess? The automaton shocked the world in many ways! written and told by Mick Sullivan

All this and more!

Episode 36 Mechanical Monsters!

John Wesley Powell is the first American of European descent to conquer the Grand Canyon, and he did it with one arm!

Also, Paris was a pretty stinky place until they upgraded the sewers. Learn about poop, nightmen, and a couple of clever civil engineers who eventually got people to dress their best as they toured the stinky sewers in boats. 
All this and more!

Episode 37 Sewer Water and Water Water

Leonardo da Vinci had some wins and some losses, but his impact was enormous. He kinda sorta finished a painting of a lady named Lisa that wound up in the King of France's bathroom. 
Centuries later a man named Vincenzo Peruggia stole it and hid it next to his underwear. 
This episode also features the triumphant return of Dr. Awkward

Episode 47 Leonardo!

A History Podcast for Kids! Parents love us, Teachers love us, and most importantly, kids do too!
History can be amazing, inspiring and relevant to anyone.  We love to share the stories of Spies, funny foods, George Washington's foibles, early advancements in cartooning and ballooning and much more! A professional music score and important songs accompany nearly every themed episode.  Proud Kids Listen Member @pastandcurious

The Past and The Curious History Podcast for Kids

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