The Nutcracker

Charles Goodyear's work is important to so many things we have in the 21st century. But his life and his work to create a stable rubber was full of problems -- many of them caused by Goodyear himself. Research: Britannica Editors. "Charles Goodyear". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 D ...  Show more

This 2022 episode covers the development of penicillin, which started – but definitely did not end – with the chance discovery of some mold in a petri dish. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

The decorative holiday nutcracker has become a staple of holiday decor and it also constitutes a specialized tool, so in this Christmas themed invention episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the gadget’s European history, its analogs in other cultures and the ...  Show more

The decorative holiday nutcracker has become a staple of holiday decor and it also constitutes a specialized tool, so in this Christmas themed invention episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the gadget’s European history, its analogs in other cultures and the ...  Show more

The premiere of Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet ‘The Nutcracker’, on 18th December, 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. It was NOT a hit. The composer, who thought the Alexander Dumas source material was slight and childish, only agreed to write the piece if i ...  Show more

A look at the origins of some of the most popular songs of Christmastime.