This podcast investigates the curious history of invention and innovation. Did Thomas Edison take credit for things he didn’t actually invent? What... more
Vulture. Snake. Baboon in a Basket. Get ready for hieroglyphs, history, and hilarity as Dallas talks to Egyptologist Chris Naunton.We... more
Stone Tools are technology 1.0. They’re where it all begins. For millions of years, Stone Tools were our primary piece... more
There's a theory that the invention of paint had something to do with the dawn of humanity. We are on... more
Giant mouse ears at the ready, we're off to Disneyland! Hop on board and travel with us inside Walt Disney's... more
The 15th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1974, cost $32 million to create. The largest investment in publishing... more
We live in a world where everything is bugged. We all know we are being monitored. The surprising thing is... more
The most famous chicken nugget of them all, the McDonald’s McNugget, turns 40 this year. So we’re asking, who invented... more
It's Cocktail Hour! In honour of James Bond we ask who invented cocktails? Have they always been a cool thing... more
In this story, the cart really does come before the horse. Horse transport doesn't begin with people riding around on... more
Who was the first King of England? Who invented a place called 'England' anyway? And what on earth are the... more
How’s this for a CV? 1821 - invented the Electric Motor. 1831 - invented the Electric Generator. Oh, and I... more
Fast and sleek with a satisfying rumble in the engine. What else could you want from a car?Well, for James... more
The Book. It’s the most powerful object in history (sorry Sword fans). But how did it come to be? And... more
Dagger shoes, Lipstick gas grenade, Razor rimmed hat, Milk bottle Grenade…Prosthetic Nipple.We’re continuing our exploration of the inventions that have... more
Get ready for the story of how the telegraph went from a long line of monks holding hands to a... more
Well before Bond was lasering and limboing himself out of fictional situations, these were the questions faced by the British... more
Why did Sigmund Freud want a vasectomy at 67 years old? Why were goat gonads all the rage in the... more
Get ready for the coming of our robot overlords by listening to this episode all about the history of AI.... more
When does spaghetti grow on trees? When can you milk a duck? When does Google read your brainwaves? On April... more
Early aquariums didn't have much more in them than some sorry looking trout. Yet such was the excitement at being... more
The Ouija Board was patented in 1890. But in did not appear out of thin air. It was only one... more
In 1890, the Governor of New York called for a new method of capital punishment. A more modern, efficient, scientific... more
Every bottle of Tabasco sauce on earth comes from one place - Avery Island, deep down in Louisiana. The same... more
Concrete is the second most used material on earth after only water. There are more than half a trillion tons... more
The war in Ukraine is being fought with tanks designed in the Cold War. The US Abrams. The German Leopard.... more
This is the story of the first modern computer program and the extraordinary woman who wrote it, Klara von Neumann.The... more
The keyboard on the first ever commercially successful typewriter and the keyboard on your smartphone are separated by a gulf... more
It’s perhaps the most overlooked invention of all time. Consigned to a forgotten corner in the basement of history. The... more
In the year 2000 Japan was asked what its greatest invention of the twentieth century was. They had a LOT... more
At its peak, the BlackBerry was the world’s most popular smartphone with almost 50% of the US market. They were... more
If God invented Heaven and Earth, then who invented God? To explain how gods ‘are invented’, how they evolve and... more
It’s the most famous bath of all time. But what exactly was Archimedes so excited about?We discover the truth behind... more
It turns out that all those times you played Snakes and Ladders (Chutes and Ladders) as a child you were... more
Exactly when, where, how, why our ancient ancestors ‘invented’ farming is one of the great questions of archaeology.Surely if we... more
Spam Spam Spam, glorious Spam! Who invented Spam Emails? Just how much Spam activity is there online? And how will... more
Fonts are usually invisible to us; we absorb the written word without noticing the medium (unless someone sends you an... more
How would you feel if you found out you had a very high or a very low IQ? Would it... more
It’s time to talk about the toilet, or crapper, or bog, or the john, head, the comfort station, khazi, dunny,... more
A hundred years ago next to no one was born via Caesarean Section. Today, one in five new arrivals on... more
When this trick was first performed, ushers poured buckets of blood down the gutter outside the theatre to entice people... more
150 years ago a patent was lodged for the first ever pair of jeans (what we’d think of as jeans... more
250 million years ago the armour-plated Placoderm fish invented the act of sex as we know it. Hubba Hubba. Dive... more
You can argue that plastics were invented to save nature from human depredation…that plan backfired a bit!Early plastics were designed... more
The Open Plan Office. A little bit of you might die inside every time you hear those words. But we... more
Today we’re bringing you an episode from Dan Snow’s History Hit. Normal Patented service will resume in the New Year.Accurate... more
Ho ho ho! Come with us on a Christmas tale of invention as we talk to the world’s only Christmas... more
There’s so many versions of Monopoly these days. Which one is the original? London? No. Atlantic City? Uh uh. The... more
Today it’s a Tupperware party and you’re all invited! Tupperware epitomises the post-war suburban dream. But pop open the lid... more
The hieroglyphs seem to hold a lot of secrets about Ancient Egyptians. What do emojis say about us? What on... more
Why did the chicken cross the road? What came first, the chicken or the egg? Who invented the chicken anyway?We... more
Who invented LEGO, the world's favourite toy? To find out we have to head to a Danish fishing village where... more
CROISSANTS WEREN’T INVENTED IN FRANCE. Mon dieu! C’est pas vrai!Today Dallas finds out about the person responsible for bringing the... more
Who invented aliens? We did. Each age invents its own. When we invented robots, aliens became robotic beings. In the... more
The world’s first Loop-the-Loop roller coaster gave so many people whiplash that they kept a medical team on the payroll.Find... more
The Frozen Food industry was invented by the Birdseye company. And that company was started by a living breathing Birdseye;... more
***Real life inventor alert*** We speak to Rick Priestley the co-creator of the weird world of Warhammer where valiant humans,... more
Hold onto your fishing rods guys. We’re tracking down the origins of batteries and it turns out it has a... more
Hope you’re hungry because today we’re opening a can of historical worms as we discover the origins of canned food. How... more
They were cigars the size of ocean liners that floated through the clouds. Cow intestines filled with hydrogen held them... more
What was the first ever internet ad? When was the last time someone actually clicked on one? What happened to... more
CROISSANTS WEREN’T INVENTED IN FRANCE. Mon dieu! C’est pas vrai!Today Dallas finds out about the person responsible for bringing the croissant to... more