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Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

This 2021 episode covers Olympe de Gouges, known primarily for her 1791 pamphlet “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen.” But her writing and political activity went far beyond that one pamphlet.

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SYMHC Classics: Olympe de Gouges

Holly shares additional details of Percy Fawcett's life, including theories about his interest in spiritualism leading him to some odd conclusions.

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Percy Theories

The second part of Percy Fawcett's story delves into his fascination with a document known as Manuscript 512 and how it impacted his life. His obsession led to his disappearance; there has been endless speculation about what exactly happened.
 
Research:
 
 • Biello, David. “Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized.” Scientific American. August 28, 2008.
 • “The Brazilian Indigenous People.” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/peoples/brazilian
 • Britannica Editors. "Mato Grosso". 
Encyclopedia Britannica • , 10 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mato-Grosso
 • Canal-Soler, Jordi. “The man who died searching for the Lost City of Z.” National geographic. June 13, 2024. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/percy-fawcett-search-lost-city-of-z
 • Fawcett, Lt-Col P.H. “Exploration Fawcett.” Hutchinson & Co. London. 1953.
 • “Fawcett’s Bones Believed Found; Explorer Lost in Brazil Jungle in ’25.” New York Times. April 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/04/82103136.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • “Fawcett Mystery Unsolved.” New York Times. Nov. 5, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/05/81775504.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • Grann, David. “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.” Doubleday. 2009.
 • “Hidden City Is the Goal.” Los Angeles Times. Jan 12, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380427463/
 • Hutchison, Percy. “Hunting for Lost Explorers in the Jungles of Brazil.” New York Times. Jan. 26, 1930. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/26/96041140.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • Moutinho, Sofia. “A Foundation of Trust.” Science. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.science.org/content/article/unearth-their-past-amazonian-people-turn-language-white-men-understand
 • “'Lost' report exposes Brazilian Indian genocide.” Survival International. April 25, 2013. https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9191
 • “On Colonel Fawcett’s Train in Unknown Brazil by Air and River.” Illustrated London News. Sep 10, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1143308620/?match=2&terms=%22Vincenzo%20Petrullo%22&search-id=72603589-1171-4291-b93b-9c5eeffb7d90&search-rank=1
 • “Percy Fawcett.” Spike Island. https://www.spikeislandcork.ie/percy-fawcett/
 • “Lieutenant Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett DSO, (MiD).” Tiegnmouth & Shaldon Remembers WW1. Teign Heritage. https://www.teignheritageworldwar.org.uk/index.php/lieutenant-colonel-percy-harrison-fawcett
 • Pezzati, Alessandro. "The Lost Explorer." 
Expedition Magazine • 59, no. 2. September, 2017. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-lost-explorer/
 • Potts, Mary Anne. “Finding Machu Picchu: A Look at Explorer Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones.” National Geographic. May 26, 2010. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/machu-picchu-hiram-bingham
 • “Remembering Col. Fawcett in WWI.” Torquay Museum. Nov. 4, 2021. https://torquaymuseum.org/news/view/remembering-col-fawcett-in-wwi
 • Ribeiro, Taisa Alves and André Luiz Alves Moreno. “Towards an Archaeology of the Written Culture of Chapada Diamantina-BA: The Case of Manuscript 512.” Garimpus: Journal of Languages, Education and Culture in Chapada Diamantina. Vol. 2, no. 1. 2021. https://www.revistas.uneb.br/garimpus/article/view/8740
 • “Son of Lost Explorer Says Bones Are Not Fawcett's.” New York Times. Nov. 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/04/96221387.html?pageNumber=66
 • Squires, Cole. “TRANSCRIPTION/TRANSLATION NOTES (Manuscript 512).” Harvard. https://people.math.harvard.edu/~knill/teaching/mathe320_2021/exhibits/manuscript512/translation.pdf
 • “Sustainable Mato Grosso.” Amazon Fund. https://www.amazonfund.gov.br/en/projeto/Sustainable-Mato-Grosso/
 • “Swindon Woman Awaits News of Colonel Fawcett.” Swindon Advertiser. April 13, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209686028/?match=2&terms=%22percy%20fawcett%22&search-id=667a33c0-fac9-457e-bcf9-349a1d9b7e9f&search-rank=2
 • “Why do they hide?” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3104-why-do-they-hide
 
 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Percy Fawcett, Manuscript 512, and a Lost City in the Amazon, Pt. 2

Fawcett’s life has invited controversy and speculation, because he was a man who did a mix of great and shady things. Part one covers his early life, marriage, military service, and early visits to South America.
 
Research:
 
 • Biello, David. “Ancient Amazon Actually Highly Urbanized.” Scientific American. August 28, 2008.
 • “The Brazilian Indigenous People.” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/peoples/brazilian
 • Britannica Editors. "Mato Grosso". 
Encyclopedia Britannica • , 10 Jan. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mato-Grosso
 • Canal-Soler, Jordi. “The man who died searching for the Lost City of Z.” National geographic. June 13, 2024. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/percy-fawcett-search-lost-city-of-z
 • Fawcett, Lt-Col P.H. “Exploration Fawcett.” Hutchinson & Co. London. 1953.
 • “Fawcett’s Bones Believed Found; Explorer Lost in Brazil Jungle in ’25.” New York Times. April 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/04/82103136.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • “Fawcett Mystery Unsolved.” New York Times. Nov. 5, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/05/81775504.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • Grann, David. “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.” Doubleday. 2009.
 • “Hidden City Is the Goal.” Los Angeles Times. Jan 12, 1925. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380427463/
 • Hutchison, Percy. “Hunting for Lost Explorers in the Jungles of Brazil.” New York Times. Jan. 26, 1930. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/26/96041140.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • Moutinho, Sofia. “A Foundation of Trust.” Science. Nov. 6, 2025. https://www.science.org/content/article/unearth-their-past-amazonian-people-turn-language-white-men-understand
 • “'Lost' report exposes Brazilian Indian genocide.” Survival International. April 25, 2013. https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9191
 • “On Colonel Fawcett’s Train in Unknown Brazil by Air and River.” Illustrated London News. Sep 10, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1143308620/?match=2&terms=%22Vincenzo%20Petrullo%22&search-id=72603589-1171-4291-b93b-9c5eeffb7d90&search-rank=1
 • “Percy Fawcett.” Spike Island. https://www.spikeislandcork.ie/percy-fawcett/
 • “Lieutenant Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett DSO, (MiD).” Tiegnmouth & Shaldon Remembers WW1. Teign Heritage. https://www.teignheritageworldwar.org.uk/index.php/lieutenant-colonel-percy-harrison-fawcett
 • Pezzati, Alessandro. "The Lost Explorer." 
Expedition Magazine • 59, no. 2. September, 2017. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-lost-explorer/
 • Potts, Mary Anne. “Finding Machu Picchu: A Look at Explorer Hiram Bingham, A Real-Life Indiana Jones.” National Geographic. May 26, 2010. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/machu-picchu-hiram-bingham
 • “Remembering Col. Fawcett in WWI.” Torquay Museum. Nov. 4, 2021. https://torquaymuseum.org/news/view/remembering-col-fawcett-in-wwi
 • Ribeiro, Taisa Alves and André Luiz Alves Moreno. “Towards an Archaeology of the Written Culture of Chapada Diamantina-BA: The Case of Manuscript 512.” Garimpus: Journal of Languages, Education and Culture in Chapada Diamantina. Vol. 2, no. 1. 2021. https://www.revistas.uneb.br/garimpus/article/view/8740
 • “Son of Lost Explorer Says Bones Are Not Fawcett's.” New York Times. Nov. 4, 1951. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/04/96221387.html?pageNumber=66
 • Squires, Cole. “TRANSCRIPTION/TRANSLATION NOTES (Manuscript 512).” Harvard. https://people.math.harvard.edu/~knill/teaching/mathe320_2021/exhibits/manuscript512/translation.pdf
 • “Sustainable Mato Grosso.” Amazon Fund. https://www.amazonfund.gov.br/en/projeto/Sustainable-Mato-Grosso/
 • “Swindon Woman Awaits News of Colonel Fawcett.” Swindon Advertiser. April 13, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1209686028/?match=2&terms=%22percy%20fawcett%22&search-id=667a33c0-fac9-457e-bcf9-349a1d9b7e9f&search-rank=2
 • “Why do they hide?” Survival International. https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/3104-why-do-they-hide
 
 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Percy Fawcett, Manuscript 512, and a Lost City in the Amazon, Pt. 1

This 2021 episode covers a period of time when the milk supply in New York was anything but appetizing and wholesome – it was often deadly. But efforts to address the problem were blocked by corrupt officials.

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SYMHC Classics: Swill Milk

Tracy shares a story of looking for an article in the wrong historical journal. Holly reads a section of the U.S. flag code, and waxes rhapsodic about toys.

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Mary, Beulah, Baby Alive

Beulah was such a prolific inventor in the early 20th century that the press nicknamed her Lady Edison. She was an outlier as an unmarried woman who got her foot in the door as an inventor by pounding the pavement in 1920s New York. 
 
Research:
 
 • Bengtson, Harlan H. “Beulah Louise Henry.” EBSCO. 2021. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/beulah-louise-henry
 • “Beulah Louise Henry.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/beulah-louise-henry
 • Dick, Gerry. “Beulah henry Sits in Chiffon Laboratory Inventing Almost Everything But Excuses.” The Rockford Argus. April 8. 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/image/531344097/?match=1&terms=%22Beulah%20Henry%22&search-id=22e1b59c-1edb-4d9c-895d-9454b6343852&search-rank=7
 • Hart, Alicia. “Meet Beulah henry, the Inventor.” The Salisbury Post. Sept. 1, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1026874682/?match=1&terms=%22Beulah%20Henry%22&search-id=be53d62d-90f0-4084-8868-9b0e0a4dbb37&search-rank=3
 • Henry, B.L. “DOUBLE CHAIN STITCH SEWING MACHINE.” April 21, 1936. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-2037901-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiI4NTA2NjMxNi1kZTRmLTRlNzQtOGJhYS1kYTRjMzhhMGZkNmYiLCJ2ZXIiOiJjY2M5MGE0NS02ZGRhLTQ5YTAtOTQzZS1lOTIyMzBhMjI0MjEiLCJleHAiOjB9
 • Henry, B.L. “DUPLICATING ATTACHMENT FOR TYPEWRITERS.” Aug. 30, 1932. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/e7/a5/7d/a7e3bbcd163f09/US1874749.pdf
 • Henry, B.L. “Hand Bag.” U.S. Patent Office. May 27, 1913. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/0a/6d/16/4d8139d4025580/US1063031.pdf
 • Henry, B.L. “Ice Cream Freezer.” U.S. Patent Office. Sept. 3, 1912. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dc/d8/5c/1c61ca65b0339b/US1037762.pdf
 • Henry, B.L. “Indicator Top.” U.S. Patent Office. March 2, 1926. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1575264-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiIxMzU2NTdlNi03OWNkLTQyZGUtYTgwNi0yYzRhYmM3OGU5OGIiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MzIxNTg0Yy1iOTZjLTRhYmItOTZhNC04OGUxNTI3ODY3NjUiLCJleHAiOjB9
 • Henry, B.L. “Parasol.” U.S. Patent Office. Nov. 18, 1913. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6e/fe/25/726c19533c2b0f/US1079240.pdf
 • Henry, B.L. “Parasol.” U.S. Patent Office. May 6, 1924. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5c/ad/88/868b750b1d9c44/US1492725.pdf
 • Henry, B.L. “Radio Doll.” U.S. Patent Office. Dec. 8, 1925. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1565145-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiJhMTUwM2E5YS04MzYzLTRmYTgtYjRmOS1lZDU5OGIyMDllNGEiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MjZkN2M5OS05OGVkLTQzY2EtOGE2YS02NTU2ZWIzYzY0MzgiLCJleHAiOjB9
 • Henry, B.L. “SEAM AND METHOD OF FORMING SEAMS.” U.S. Patent Office. Feb 4. 1941. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-2230896-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiI4NTA2NjMxNi1kZTRmLTRlNzQtOGJhYS1kYTRjMzhhMGZkNmYiLCJ2ZXIiOiJjY2M5MGE0NS02ZGRhLTQ5YTAtOTQzZS1lOTIyMzBhMjI0MjEiLCJleHAiOjB9
 • Henry, B.L. “Simulated Dispensing Device.” U.S. Patent Office. Dec. 11, 1951. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6d/80/75/d6a9df36c75df0/US2577849.pdf
 • Henry, B.L. “Water Sport Apparatus.” U.S. Patent Office. August 16, 1927. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/api/pdf/downloadPdf/US-1639607-A?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiIxMzU2NTdlNi03OWNkLTQyZGUtYTgwNi0yYzRhYmM3OGU5OGIiLCJ2ZXIiOiI2MzIxNTg0Yy1iOTZjLTRhYmItOTZhNC04OGUxNTI3ODY3NjUiLCJleHAiOjB9
 • Jones, Stacy. “A Single Unit Serves for Mailing and Also Returning.” New York Times. Jan. 27, 1962. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/01/27/90129637.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
 • LaRiccia, Dante. “Electricity Consumption: Culture, Gender and Power.” Energy History Online. Yale University. https://energyhistory.yale.edu/electricity-consumption-culture-gender-and-power/
 • Mydans, Seth. “Overlooked No More: Beulah Henry, Inventor With an Endless Imagination.” New York Times. March 14, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/obituaries/beulah-henry-overlooked.html
 • “Synesthesia.” Cleveland Clinic. May 3, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24995-synesthesia
 • “"There's a better way of doing that." USPTO. https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/journeys-innovation/historical-stories/theres-better-way-doing
 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beulah Louise Henry

Mary Mallon became known as Typhoid Mary in the early 20th century. She has often been vilified in in modern references, though her story is actually quite complex. 
 
Research:
 
 • "Mary Mallon." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 21, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007781/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=23f34010. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.
 • Brooks, J. “The sad and tragic life of Typhoid Mary.” CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne vol. 154,6 (1996): 915-6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1487781/
 • Brooks, Janet. “The Sad and Tragic Life of Typhoid Mary.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. Vol. 154, No. 6. 3/15/1996.
 • Cutter, Laura. “Typhoid Mary/Mary Mallon: An Asymptomatic Carrier of Salmonella typhi.” National Museum of Health and Medicine. 6/18/2020. https://medicalmuseum.health.mil/micrograph/index.cfm/posts/2020/typhoid_mary_mary_mallon_salmonella
 • “Research Starter: Typhoid Mary.” https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/life-sciences/typhoid-mary
 • Faherty, Anna. “The cook who became a pariah.” Wellcome Collection. 6/29/2017. https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/WsT4Ex8AAHruGfW_
 • Leavitt, Judith Walzer. “‘Typhoid Mary’ Strikes Back: Bacteriological Theory and Practice in Early Twentieth-Century Public Health.” Isis , Dec., 1992, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Dec., 1992). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/234261
 • Leavitt, Judith Walzer. "Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public Health." Beacon Press. 1997. 
 • Mallon, Mary. Letter to Dr. William H. Park. June 1909. Via PBS NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/typhoid/letter.html
 • Marineli, Filio et al. “Mary Mallon (1869-1938) and the history of typhoid fever.” Annals of gastroenterology vol. 26,2 (2013): 132-134. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3959940/
 • Mason, W.P. “Typhoid Mary.” Science. Vol. 30, No. 760. 7/23/1909. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1635174
 • Murtagh, Joseh. “David DeKok presents gripping, heartbreaking view into Ithaca’s 1903 typhoid outbreak.” Ithica.com. 4/11/2012. https://www.ithaca.com/visit_ithaca/david-dekok-presents-gripping-heartbreaking-view-into-ithaca-s-1903-typhoid-outbreak/article_943a556c-6b6d-11e0-92b9-001cc4c002e0.html
 • New York Times. “Hospital Epidemic from Typhoid Mary.” 3/28/1915.
 • New York Times. “HOSPITAL EPIDEMIC FROM TYPHOID MARY; Germ Carrier, Cooking Under False Name, Spread Disease in Sloane Institution. CAUGHT HIDING IN QUEENS Blamed for Twenty-five Cases of Fever Among Doctors and Nurses -- Now In Quarantine.” 2/28/1915. https://www.nytimes.com/1915/03/28/archives/hospital-epidemic-from-typhoid-mary-germ-carrier-cooking-under.html?eafs_enabled=false
 • Ogan, ML. “Immunization in a Typhoid Outbreak in the Sloane Hospital for Women.” New York Medical Journal. 3/27/1915. 609-610.
 • Othman, Amani and William W. Darrow. “The Wall, the Ban, and the Objectification of Women.” The International Journal of Social Quality, Winter 2019, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Winter 2019). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26948452
 • Poczai P and Karvalics LZ (2022) The little-known history of cleanliness and the forgotten pioneers of handwashing. Front. Public Health 10:979464. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.979464
 • Prabhu, Maya. “The tragedy of Typhoid Mary.” Gavi. 6/18/2021. https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/tragedy-typhoid-mary
 • Pusey, Allen. “Precedents.” ABA Journal. Vol. 104, No. 3. March 2018. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26516280
 • Sawyer, Wilbur. “The Efficiency of Various Anti-Typhoid Vaccines.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. LXV, No. 17. 10/13/2015.
 • Soper, G A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine vol. 15,10 (1939): 698-712. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1911442/
 • Soper, George A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Read May 10, 1939 before the Section of Historical and Cultural Medicine. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. Vol. 15, No. 10. October 1939. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1911442/
 • Soper, George A. “Typhoid Mary.” The Military Surgeon. Vol. XLV. No. 1. July 1919.
 • Soper, George. A. “The Work of a Chronic Typhoid Germ Distributor.” Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. XLVIII. No. 24. 6/15/1907.
 • Teicher, Amir. “Typhoid Mary Was Not a Super-Spreader (and Super-Spreaders Are Not "Typhoid Marys").” American journal of public health vol. 113,12 (2023): 1249-1253. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307434
 
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Mary Mallon & Typhoid Revisited

This 2022 episode examines the development of a systematic approach to food safety, which didn’t happen until the 20th century. And it's tied directly to NASA trying to make sure astronauts didn’t get food poisoning in space.

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SYMHC Classics: Astronaut Origins of Food Safety

Tracy and Holly talk about their time visiting Chefchaouen during their Morocco trip. Holly shares her belief that secret societies don't work very well. 

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SYMHC Classics: Olympe de Gouges

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