The Marco Polo Pasta Myth

In the 1950s, two men tried to corner the market on onions on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and manipulate futures contracts. Then Congress took up legislation to expressly forbid contracts for the sale of onion futures. Research: Butz, Earl L. “VINCENT W KOSUGA, SAM S. SIEGEL, ...  Show more

This 2022 episode covers Helen Duncan, sometimes described inaccurately as Scotland’s last witch, or the last person imprisoned for witchcraft in Britain, or the last person to be tried under the UK’s 1735 Witchcraft Act.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

You may have heard the many myths about the life and exploits of Marco Polo- was he really the one who brought ice cream and spaghetti from his travels on the Silk Road from the court of Kublai Khan, where he served as a diplomat? Almost as soon as he wrote his memoir, people ...

One of history’s great adventurers, Marco Polo’s accounts of his travels - dictated while in prison - were exceptionally widely read, introducing Europeans to the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the M ...

Much more than just a pool game, this Venetian merchant traveler adventured through China and the Mongolian Empire. Though his memoirs may have been heavily embellished, the book gave those who came after Marco Polo a broad picture of 13th century culture, led to advances in cart ...  Show more