The Curious History of Your Home

Forks

In medieval Italy, a woman’s death is blamed on the two-pronged utensils she uses at her wedding banquet. In 17th century France, a fed-up cardinal issues a decree to tackle bad table manners. British colonial taxes lead Americans to invent a unique way of using cutlery. And a spy sneaks into a workshop in Sheffield to uncover the secrets of steel…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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Join domestic historian Ruth Goodman as she guides you through the surprising, often epic, stories behind everyday objects in your home. Double-glazed windows? We owe those to a French king’s odd fascination with oranges. The minty fresh toothpaste by your sink? Well, if you lived in Ancient Greece, you’d be washing your teeth with ground-up bones and oyster shells. And wallpaper? It seems innocent enough, but in the Victorian era it was downright deadly.

Discover the extraordinary history of the ordinary items all around you, every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Hosted by Ruth Goodman. Production: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Tom Pink, Addison Nugent, Nicole Edmunds, Lloyd Starr, George Colwey, Miriam Baines, Katrina Hughes. Compositions by Tom Pink, Dorry Macaulay, Oliver Baines.