Today In History with The Retrospectors

Henri Littière and his adulterous wife Suzanne thought they’d come up with a novel way to combat her philandering - by commissioning a custom-made chastity belt. But on 21st January, 1934, Littière was sentenced to three months in prison for cruelty to his spouse.

It’s a strange story, but not half as weird as how the myth of chastity belts gained traction in the first place - not from medieval days, but in fact thanks to Victorian prudishness.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pick holes in 1934 Parisian court reporting; discover the trend for 21st century chastity belts; and explain how widespread belief in the belts can be traced back to a wacky German author’s offbeat sense of humour… 

Further Reading:

• ‘FRANCE: Infibulation’ (TIME, 1934): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,787768,00.html

• ‘Are They Real? The Dubious History Of Chastity Belts’ (Ripleys, 2019): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/dubious-history-chastity-belts/

• ‘10 Myths You Still Believe About Medieval Life’ (Alltime 10s, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoRqiTlGfGs

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

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According to Finnish legend, a peasant farmer named Lalli murdered the Christian missionary Bishop Henry on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi on January 20, 1156, dispatching him with an axe blow to the head.

It is fair to say things didn’t go terribly well for Lalli after that. He met a gruesome fate that takes various forms depending on the tale you read, but in general Lalli takes the bishop's mitre to wear and when he tries to remove it, it tears his scalp off. The bishop, meanwhile, fared rather better posthumously, going on to become Saint Henry.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss which bits of the tale are true; explain why the real villain of the story is Lalli’s wife; and discover that the 11th greatest Finn was a four-time Olympic gold medalist, who is also known for his later ill-advised careers as a singer and stripper.  

Further Reading:

• ‘The axe of Lalli and the cap of St. Henry – a view from Finland’ (Routledge, 2020): https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429053726-3_26/axe-lalli-cap-st-henry-view-finland-miikka-tamminen

• ‘The Murder of Saint Henry, Crusader Bishop of Finland’ (Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2016): https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/33154?lang=en#:~:text=The%20so%2Dcalled%20'First%20Finnish,and%20its%20motive%20was%20revenge

• ‘Murdering Bishop Henry – Finland's First Martyr’ (Finnish Mythology with Antti Palosaari, 2022): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDJrsEvwmHI

#Medieval #Strange #Finland  
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Celebrated medium Helen Duncan was arrested on 19th January, 1944, when, midway through one of her séances, an undercover policeman dramatically revealed her "spirit" to be nothing more than… herself draped in white fabric. 

Initially charged with minor fraud, her case took a wild turn when she became the last woman imprisoned under the 1735 Witchcraft Act.

Duncan’s trial, steeped in wartime paranoia and media frenzy, spotlighted her peculiar career, from her regurgitated "ectoplasm" performances to an unfortunate séance where she revealed the sinking of a British warship, inadvertently ruffling governmental feathers.

Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Duncan’s "physical manifestations" worked (it’s not for the faint-hearted); consider why public sentiment was on her side, even from Winston Churchill himself; and explain what happened to a controversial bronze bust of Duncan, initially donated to her hometown of Callander…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Strange, Freakish Story of Britain's 'Last Convicted Witch'’ (Vice, 2017): https://www.vice.com/en/article/helen-duncan-the-strange-freakish-story-of-britains-last-convicted-witch/

• ’The truth about the UK's last witch Helen Duncan’ (The National, 2018): https://www.thenational.scot/news/16209915.truth-uks-last-witch-helen-duncan/

• ‘Alan Crossley talks about his experiences of materialisation seances with Helen Duncan and Alec Harris’ (The Psychic Times, 2007): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuEBASIrDGk

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026

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It had a budget of just $1 million, a lead actor wearing a toupee, and the baddie in the first draft of the script was a monkey. But the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, which began shooting in Jamaica on 16th January, 1962, kicked off a phenomenally successful franchise that’s still a staple of cinema today.

Its star, Sean Connery, had been picked out by producers after his appearance in a Disney production, but was marketed as a former lorry driver with little acting experience.

Concerned that Connery lacked the sophistication of Bond’s background, director Terence Young took him on a tour of swish casinos, posh members clubs and his Savile Row tailors.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Connery came to improvise one of the movie’s most iconic moments; explain why Ian Fleming was first dismissive, then delighted by his casting; and trace the origins of the 007 formula that endures through all of Cubby Broccoli’s subsequent productions…

Further Reading:

• The Bond bunch: the failed contenders for coveted role (The Independent, 2006): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-bond-bunch-the-failed-contenders-for-coveted-role-423454.html

• ‘The Making of DR. NO: A 60th Anniversary Retrospective’ (Cinema Scholars, 2022): https://cinemascholars.com/the-making-of-dr-no-a-james-bond-60th-anniversary-retrospective/

• ‘Bond, James Bond’ (Eon Productions, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b15-P12gIf0

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026

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A roaring wave of syrup swept through the North End of Boston on 15th January, 1919, in an event that claimed 21 lives, including 2 children, and came to be known as the “Great Molasses Flood”. 

At the heart of the disaster was a rushed, badly built industrial tank: the steel was too thin, the materials were faulty, leaks were ignored (and literally painted over), and warning signs were dismissed. The explosion hurled molasses at around 35 miles an hour, piling up in waves as high as eight meters. People were knocked off their feet, buildings were crushed, and one man famously woke up on the top floor of his house submerged in syrup.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the tragedy led to a raft of health and safety laws, and America’s first class action lawsuit; reveal how emergency workers finally found a way to clean up after the destruction; and consider how Bostonians felt the aftermath of the explosion for decades to come… 

Further Reading:

• ‘What Was the Great Molasses Flood?’ (Food and Wine, 2025): https://www.foodandwine.com/great-molasses-flood-boston-8773840

• ‘Boston's Great Molasses Flood Resurfaces’ (Italian Sons and Daughters of America, 2024): https://orderisda.org/culture/stories/a-most-unusual-disaster-bostons-great-molasses-flood-resurfaces/

• ‘Great Molasses Flood: animated retelling of Boston’s molasses tank catastrophe of 1919’ (TomoNews, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLXPD6OlwzI

#Macabre #1910s #US #Mistakes #Business

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026

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