The History Cache Podcast

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...