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Scanning The First Barcode
Episode 1178
At a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, a packet of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum became the first ever product to have its barcode scanned - at 8:01 a.m. …
1 year, 1 month ago
The Playboy, the Architect and the Showgirl
Episode 1177
Architect Stanford White was shot three times at close range by millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw during a performance of Broadway comedy ‘Mamzelle Cham…
1 year, 1 month ago
The Town That Danced To Death
‘Dancing Mania’ - in which people spontaneously danced to exhaustion, some until they broke their ribs and subsequently died, took hold of Aachen, Ge…
1 year, 1 month ago
Busting 'The Teflon Don'
Episode 1175
John Gotti, the infamous ‘Teflon Don’ boss of New York’s Gambino crime family, smiled as he received a life sentence in a Brooklyn courthouse on 23rd…
1 year, 1 month ago
Inside The Black Hole of Calcutta
When the East India Company surrendered Fort William (in modern-day Kolkata) to the Nawab of Bengal on 20th June, 1756, dozens of British captives we…
1 year, 1 month ago
It's A Royal Cock-up
Episode 1172
The Grand Knockout Tournament (also known as It’s a Royal Knockout) was a one-off charity event first shown on BBC1 on 19th June 1987, to an audience…
1 year, 1 month ago
Amelia Earhart Flies To Fame
Episode 1171
Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air on June 18th, 1928… but on this occasion didn’t actually fly the …
1 year, 1 month ago
The Arrival Of Lady Liberty
Episode 1170
Still the tallest statue in the USA, the Statue of Liberty arrived from France - in no less than 214 crates - in New York City on 17th June, 1885.
Co…
1 year, 1 month ago
'Nureyev's 'Leap To Freedom'
Episode 1169
Russia’s brightest ballet star, Rudolf Nureyev, evaded his KGB minders and defected from the USSR on 16th June, 1961.
According to feverish newspap…
1 year, 1 month ago
Marion Donovan: Housewife Inventor
Until the mid-20th century, putting nappies on babies involved folding and pinning cloth towelling, then pulling a pair of rubber pants over the top.…
1 year, 1 month ago