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Ballsy History

Ballsy History

Written by: Amy Barnet
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About this listen

 Ballsy History is a weekly-ish podcast about big personalities and little-known stories. Join us for a tour of the outrageous acts, incredible stories, and outsized characters that shape history. Your hosts are a four female family with a penchant for uncovering the quirky side of the past (and, sometimes, not so distant past). Ballsy History was born during stay-at-home orders during the COVID pandemic.© 2022 Ballsy History Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Episode 25: "The Childrens' Blizzard"

    Episode 25: "The Childrens' Blizzard"
    Jun 3 2021
    The Northwest plains have weather that is not for the faint of heart. Even this past year a prolonged arctic outbreak struck the area and the Farmer’s Almanac predicted a snow train coming down from Canada. The Children’s Blizzard is also known as the Schoolhouse Blizzard or the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard. In the 1940s, a group of seniors organized the Greater Nebraska Blizzard Club to collect and organize survivors’ stories to try and record the sense of sheer terror of that day.
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    15 mins
  • Episode 24: "The Tooth Mouse"

    Episode 24: "The Tooth Mouse"
    May 18 2021
    Learn about what different cultures do when their children’s teeth fall out; and the origins of the tooth fairy, a fairly modern character—certainly younger than Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. After our episode on Vikings, we were intrigued by the fact that they made necklaces out of their childrens’ lost teeth and wore them for protection when they traveled—and pillaged. And we wondered, what was going on in other parts of the world? Did other people do anything to commemorate this notable part of growing up?
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    14 mins
  • Episode 23: "Which Witch Is Making Beer?"

    Episode 23: "Which Witch Is Making Beer?"
    May 3 2021
    By the middle ages, brewing and selling ale provided women a way to work and achieve "good profits, social power, and some measure of independence from men"—especially compared to other trades, which did not. Yet after the Black Plague, societal changes led to men dominating in the field of brewing—which still continues today. But some think women were forced out of brewing because men began to accuse female brewers of being witches and using their cauldrons to brew up magic potions instead of ale.
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    13 mins
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