The Backstory with Patty Steele
The Backstory with Patty Steele
Love a good, juicy story that goes beyond what we already know? We're talking scandalous presidential family members, a mass murder at a world-famous architect's home, stolen inventions, nude athletes at the first Olympics, compulsive liars, the arrival of the bikini, and so much more. History fanatic Patty Steele tells you the inside backstories you didn’t know you needed to know.Social links:
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The Backstory: Nude Olympics
The Winter Olympics are just weeks away. The athletes are celebrities! Now, imagine living 2 or 3,000 years ago and being an ancient Olympian. How did these guys compete, why did they compete, and how did they monetize their skill set? It was equal parts religion, eroticism, and highly valued body …
08:13
The Backstory: Doctor’s Orders: Booze During Prohibition
Forget Dry January. Can you imagine being dry for 13 years? That was Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. But some folks, including one wildly famous international visitor, found some sneaky ways around the ban, claiming doctor’s orders. And most others drank really sketchy liquor. Feel free to DM me if…
07:54
The Backstory: Jurassic Park: Revisionism or Just a Great Story?
What Did Steven Spielberg Get Right and What Did He Get Wrong About Real Life Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park? An Eminent Paleontologist Breaks It Down. We Also See How and Why the Movie Was Made the Way It Was. Also, Feel Free to DM Me If You Have a Story You’d Like Me to Cover . . On Facebook It’s Pa…
07:00
The Backstory: Home Alone: The Classic That Almost Didn’t Get Made
Home Alone, on a budget of just $18 million dollars, was the highest grossing film of 1990 in the U.S. It has become a holiday classic. But it almost didn’t get made. This is all about the skill and luck of bringing Home Alone to life and the amazing contributions of its 10 year old star. Feel fre…
09:31
The Backstory: Making a Statement With “A Christmas Carol”
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol . . inspired by political outrage? That’s the story and it makes sense when you hear what he went through and what he was seeing in London back in 1843.
06:56
The Backstory: When Christmas Was About Drinking, Dancing, and Sex
We know all about the Christmas traditions we’ve grown up with, but where did they originate? We celebrate with Christmas trees, cards, lights, visits from Santa Claus, and lots of great food. But our ancestors were more likely to celebrate with drunken dancing, weird games, and street fights. How …
10:51
The Backstory: The Worst Winters on Record
It’s the winter solstice this weekend. We have a few months of frosty weather to deal with. But it’s amazing to consider how folks dealt with mountains of snow when there were no plows, nobody whose job it was to clear the streets and sidewalks . . and no central heat. Imagine giant cylinders being…
07:11
The Backstory: The Great Beanie Baby Bubble Bust
It’s the holiday season, a time that brings out our desire to please those we love, particularly the kids in our lives. There’s a red hot toy every year, but what happens when that toy puts dollar signs in the eyes of grownups? This is about one toy that caused a lot of folks financial ruin and div…
09:08
The Backstory: Inventions That Killed Their Inventors
Every invention begins with a spark—a moment when imagination lights up with the thought of . . possibility. Problem is . . the line between that spark . . and an explosive outcome can be thinner than you think. This is about when death comes at the hands of your own invention. And remember, you ca…
08:27
The Backstory: Gothic Horror: Giving Birth to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A combination of fever dreams and cocaine led to one of the greatest horror stories of all time. Robert Louis Stevenson was dying of tuberculosis when he wrote “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” He almost trashed it, but after nine days of frantic writing he had defined the gothic novel…
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