For 1,000 years the Judean Date Palm has been extinct, likely wiped out due to human warfare which took a toll on the palm plantations that required copious amount of water and care in the harsh desert environment. The fruit from this particular species was said to be unusually sweet and was valued for its medicinal properties. Appearing on ancient coins and in ancient texts and given as gifts to Roman emperors, these dates were a symbol of property, beauty, and abundance. This treasured...

It was believed the Coelacanth went extinct along with the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago when the Chicxulub impactor smashed into planet Earth…that was until Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum, found one in a pile of fish on a dock in South Africa in 1938. This primordial fish shocked the scientific world when the first-ever living specimen was pulled up by Captain Hendrik Goosen while he was trawling for fish near the mouth of the Chalumna River. The...

From the cache! Until an all-new episode premiers this October, please enjoy this recast. Bob Ross, American painter and iconic TV host of the 80s and 90s, famously told us that there are no mistakes, only “happy little accidents.” There are numerous examples of history happening by accident--archaeologists accidentally stumbling upon a find, scientists accidentally discovering a breakthrough--and today we explore four such stories. First, we travel to 1856 when a teenager accidentally...

During the chaos of World War 2, soldiers on both land and sea found companionship and comfort in the animals they had with them. From horses to goats, the animals serving alongside the soldiers of WW2 saw action on battlefields the world over. Today we’re exploring the life of one particular animal who survived the sinking of three different battleships, including the infamous Bismarck. His name was Oscar, then Sam, then quite appropriately, Unsinkable Sam. Unsinkable Sam was a black and...

During the summer of 1858, a drought coupled with a heatwave, the lack of a proper sewer system, industrial waste, a booming population, and an increase in the usage of new flush toilets all came together to form a perfect storm of putrid petulance in London that was so bad historians gave it its own name: The Great Stink.  The Great Stink was so foul it would send Londoners into fits of vomiting if they went anywhere near the Thames. The river’s unsanitary conditions made for a city ripe...

In 1928 Betty Robinson astounded the sports world by winning the first Olympic gold medal in history awarded to a woman for the 100-meter race after only running competitively for five months.While training for the 1932 Olympics set to take place in her home county, Betty was involved in a tragic accident and her diagnosis was heartbreaking. Doctors told her she would never run again.Betty disagreed.After years of rehabilitation and training Betty arrived at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as part...

We continue the story of the tragic Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, also known as the Greely Expedition, in the Canadian Arctic. We pick back up and Camp Clay on Cape Sabine after the crew had fled their previous station when their relief ship had failed to arrive a second year in a row. At their new outpost, the crew finally realized they were on their own for another Arctic winter, one they were not prepared for. Their rations were dwindling and death from starvation came quickly. Most of the...

In 1881 an expedition to the Arctic led by Lieutenant Adolphus Greely and organized by the US Army set off for Lady Franklin Bay, Canada, well above the Arctic circle. The plan was to establish a temporary meteorological-observation station as part of the First International Polar Year, a worldwide effort to better understand Earth’s climate by collecting astronomical and magnetic data.Most of the data was collected by astronomer Edward Israel, a young University of Michigan graduate from...

In the 1980s a series of high profile escapes brought attention to an unlikely culprit. His name was Ken Allen and he just may be the greatest escape artist the animal kingdom has ever seen. Ken was a 250 pound Bornean orangutan born and raised at the San Diego Zoo.Ken escaped his enclosure several times despite the zoo’s constant and expensive security upgrades. Although Ken continued to outsmart his keepers, when he did escape, he chose not to go anywhere. Instead, he simply sauntered...

Few artists ever rise to the level of talent, fame, and legendary status attained by the remarkable Édith Piaf. Though her life seemed a whirlwind of celebrity and success, in reality La Môme Piaf, or the Little Sparrow, was struggling with a troubled past, depression, and a myriad of health issues all intensified by her addictions. Despite all her trials and tribulations, she conquered the music world, and remains one of the most celebrated musicians of all time. Her life is just as...

If heroes get remembered and legends never die, then Édith Piaf will live forever. Édith Piaf was a chanteuse unlike any other of her time. She rose to fame in the 1930s and led a life just as incredible as her music. From a street performer to an icon, Édith overcame incredible obstacles to reach the top. Her songs like “La Vien En Rose” and “Je Ne Regrette Rien” are still some of the most popular ballads played today.Born into poverty to a street singer and an acrobat, Édith had an...

The finale is here! After nearly 22,000 miles, or over 35,000 kilometers, we finish the Great 1908 New York to Paris Auto Race. This episode covers the entire trek through Siberia and Europe. After nearly six months of a grueling auto race before gas stations, highways, asphalt, road maps, or power steering, our remaining competitors in the American Thomas Flyer, the Italian Zust, and the German Protos brave the huge expanse of Russia, something no one else had ever done in an automobile....

The four remaining cars vying for victory in the 1908 New York to Paris auto race had covered one continent, now there were two to go. In an era before highways and gas stations, nothing about this race had gone as planned. Now, the German Protos was headed for Russia, the Italian Zust, American Thomas Flyer, and French De Dion were crossing the Pacific for Japan. Behind them were 11,000 miles of countless unpredicted disasters and a pathway carved through grit and perseverance. Before them...

Eleven days into the legendary 1908 New York to Paris auto race, the fastest of the five remaining cars had covered less than 1,000 miles. In this episode our drivers finish shoveling their way across the eastern US, meet the mud of Iowa, the mountain passes of the American Rockies, and the hottest place in the US--Death Valley--where death claims its first victim in the race. After the frontier of Alaska proves too much for the seemingly uncatchable Thomas Flyer, the race route changes. Now,...

In 1908 six cars lined up for the longest, most demanding race the world had ever seen. Their goal was to race, by automobile, from New York City to Paris, France. The route crossed three continents, was just under 22,000 miles (over 35,000 kilometers) long and, of course, nothing went as panned. Was this ridiculous attempt at a half-thought through idea an impossible task at a time when horses were more reliable than cars? Yes. Did they do it anyway? Kind of.  Join me as we travel back to...

In 1914 Harry Colebourn, a Canadian soldier and veterinarian from Winnipeg, was on his way to fight in WW1 when he purchased a bear cub at a train station. That bear would go on to help inspire one of the world's most beloved characters. Her name: Winnie. For nearly a century the stories of Winnie the Pooh have delighted children around the world. When A.A. Milne first published “Winnie the Pooh” in 1926 neither he, nor his son Christopher Robin Milne, could have ever guessed at how massively...

It’s officially Halloween season and chances are you’ve already seen a considerable amount of Jack-o’-Lanterns. Perhaps you’ve even carved one yourself, taking part in a centuries old tradition. But where does this old Celtic custom come from? Today we explore the origins of Jack-o-Lanterns, discuss the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, and meet Stingy Jack, the cheeky character who just may be behind the origin of the term ‘Jack-o-Lantern’ itself. Wrap up and grab some cider, today’s...

From the cache! Until an all-new episode this October, please enjoy this recast on Dr. Beaumont's strange experiment on Mackinac Island. In 1822 French Canadian Fur Trader Alexis St Martin was shot in the side at a distance of less than one meter. The experiments following his miraculous survival just may be the weirdest piece of history ever seen in the Straits of Mackinac. The bullet wound left a hole in St Martin’s side giving Dr. William Beaumont the first ever access to a living human...

From the cache! Until an all-new episode premiers this October, please enjoy this recast on the legendary Edmund Fitzgerald that originally aired in 2020. In 1975 the gales of November billowed out a monster storm over the waters of Lake Superior, and the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald met it head on. By the time the sky cleared, the crew and their ship had become an inseparable part of the history and lore of the Great Lakes. In this very special episode of the History Cache, we uncover the...

If you strolled through an English garden in the 1700s, you might have stumbled across someone employed in what just may be history’s weirdest job. Because, in Georgian Britain, it was all the rage to hire your very own ornamental garden hermit. These hired hermits would live in solitude for years, never speaking, never washing, never leaving the grounds. They never cut their hair, their fingernails, or toenails, and would be clad in the outfit of an ancient Druid (or what everyone thought...

In this finale episode on the incredible life of Joe Carstairs we examine Joe’s life after she earned her place in history as the fastest woman on water. In 1934 Joe purchased Whale Cay, an island in the Bahamas, then known as the British West Indies. Here she built a life in exile, and integrated herself into the economic and social history of the Bahamas. We cover her experiences on the island, her attempts to aid both British and American forces during WW2, her meeting with the Duke of...

In Part 2 we continue to explore the relentlessly interesting life of Joe Carstairs, known as the fastest woman on water. We cover her impressive series of wins, the records she broke, and her years long pursuit of the famed Harmsworth Trophy against Gar Wood, the cup’s all time most successful competitor. In this episode we meet both Ruth Baldwin, the love of Joe’s life, and Lord Tod Wadley, a doll that would become increasingly important to Joe, adding another layer to her reputation as an...

Joe Carstairs is remembered for being the fastest woman on water in the 1920s. She raced power boats, won trophies, and loved adventure and speed. But her life was so much more than races and fast machines. Born in 1900, Joe was a British eccentric, an heiress, openly a lesbian, and shed many gender conformities of her day. She served with the American Red Cross in France during WW1, established the X Garage, a chauffeuring business employing a staff of all female drivers and mechanics who...

On September 30th, 1955 the life of film icon James Dean was tragically cut short while he was driving his brand new Porsche 550 Spyder, which he named “Little Bastard,” to its first race in Salinas when he was involved in a near head on collision.  After the wreck, Little Bastard was declared a total loss and sent to a salvage yard. Some of its parts were used in other race cars and the body was toured around the US until 1960 when it disappeared. Over the years rumors of a “curse” began...