In this podcast from the Kansas Museum of History, the curators examine a classic folly in the world of exercise equipment: the belt vibrator. The podcast also includes an overview of the history of the creation of the machine and a brief discussion of its usefulness as a weight-loss device.
In this podcast by the Kansas Museum of History, the curators examine a satchel that once belonged to Census Taker John Bissell. The podcast also discusses the procedure for census recording in the early 20th century and how it has evolved into our modern mail-in census form.
From the Kansas State Historical Society website:
"Baseball has long been known as America's pastime, but like many of our country's institutions, it has a history of racial segregation. Today we consider a program from a 1950s game between two Negro Leagues teams."
From the Kansas Museum of History website:
"Lots of museums have dolls in their collections, but how many have a peasant doll holding a hoe and smoking a cigar? Get the scoop on this unusual figure, clad in a dress made from a sugar sack."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"During the construction of a downtown federal administration building, an extraordinary find was discovered—the remnants of a burial ground used by African slaves during the 18th Century.
In the earliest days of New Amsterdam, the first Africans were brought against their will to help build the new Dutch port, slaves for a city that would be built upon their backs. Later, forced to repress the cultural expressions of their forefathers, the early black population of British New York did preserve their heritage in the form of burial rites, in a small 'Negro Burial Ground' to the south of Collect Pond (and just a couple short blocks to today's City Hall).
How did this small plot of land—:and its astounding contents—become preserved in the middle of the most bustling area of the most bustling city in the world? And why is it considered one of the most spectacular archaelogical finds in New York City history?"
From the Bowery Boys website:
"It's our fourth annual 'haunted' podcast, and we've got four bloodcurdling stories for the season. The first three are spooky ghost tales -- a haunted boardinghouse on 14th street with violent, vain spirits; a short history of New York's seance craze and a man tormented with the spirit of a dead painter; and a glamorous pair of lovers whose angry spats in their midtown Manhattan penthouse during the Jazz Age kepts up the neighbors, even beyond the grave.
And finally, a tale with no ghosts at all, but a story with truly spine-tingling facts, featuring the eeriest island in New York, the final resting place for over 850,000 souls. Welcome to Hart Island."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"Before there were subways, New York City transported travelers up and down the length of Manhattan by elevated railroad, an almost unreal spectacle to consider today. Steam engines sat high above several avenues in the city, offering passengers not just a faster trek to the northern reaches of Manhattan, but a totally new way to see the city in the 19th century.
Welcome to our second podcast in our series Bowery Boys On The Go, a look at the history of New York City transportation. Before we get to those famous 'El' trains, we explore the earliest travel options in the city—the omnibuses and horse-drawn railcars, the early steam successes of the New York and Harlem Railroad and Hudson River Railroads, and something affectionately nicknamed the one-legged railroad.
What were some of the more peculiar ideas for improving travel? And why was the idea of a subway immediately shot down by the city? Let's just say Boss Tweed and Jay Gould are involved.
ALSO: What were the different motivations driving transportation progress in the city of Brooklyn? Well, it has something to do with the beach."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"Extra! Extra! Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst vs. the newsboys! Pandemonium in the streets! One hot summer in July 1899, thousands of corner newsboys went on strike against the New York Journal and the New York World. Throngs filled the streets of downtown Manhattan for two weeks and prevented the two largest papers in the country from getting distributed.
In this episode, we look at the development of the sensationalist New York press -- the birth of yellow journalism -- from its very earliest days, and how sensationalism's two famous purveyors were held at ransom by the poorest, scrappiest residents of the city. The conflict put a light to the child labor crisis and became a dramatic example of the need for reform.
Crazy Arborn, Kid Blink, Racetrack Higgins and Barney Peanuts invite you to the listen in to this tale of their finest moment, straight from the street corners of Gilded Age New York."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"New York City's most exotic residents inhabit hundreds of leafy acres in the Bronx at the once-named New York Zoological Park. Sculpted out of the former DeLancey family estate and tucked next to the Bronx River, the Bronx Zoo houses hundreds of different species from across the globe, many endangered and quite foreign to most American zoos. The well meaning attempts of its founders, however, have sometimes been mired in controversy. The highlight of the show—and the institution's lowest moment—is the sad tale of Ota Benga, the pygmy once put on display at the zoo in 1906!
ALSO: We take you on a tour of the zoo grounds, unfurling over 110 years of historical trivia, from the ancient Rocking Stone to the tale of Gunda, the Indian elephant who may also have been a poet."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"Madison Square Garden is certainly the recognizable name in arena entertaining, hosting sports, concerts, even political conventions. But it adopted that reputation from three other buildings which also called themselves 'Madison Square Garden'.
The first, inspired by P.T Barnum and a popular bandleader, staked its claim in the hottest area of New York in the 1870s. The second, a classic designed by the city's most famous architect, featured both trendy new sports and high society events. The third Garden, moving up town, stripped off the glamour and helped make the Garden's sporting reputation.
We'll also tell you about the most famous event to ever happen in any Madison Square Garden -- a shocking and brutal murder which led to the 'trial of the century'."