The Curiosity of a Child

Since the last episode Anton has turned 10 so as a little treat and a sign of his new levels of responsibility he selected the topic for this show. We’ll not reveal it here but it’s fun and maybe a tiny bit rude but still full of science, facts and history! Anton also has a lovely birthday message from the Flatpack History of Sweden podcast and we even had some fan art! Don’t forget we now have a website thecuriosityofachild.com and are on Twitter @curichildpod

Show notes: https://thecuriosityofachild.com/episodes/something-smelly-history-science-farts

After its independence in 1821 Costa Rica was a poor nation with very little outside trade but one man, from a small island halfway around the world, would change that. William Le Lacheur, born 1802, was a merchant and sea captain who is widely credited with transforming Costa Rica’s economy through the coffee trade. Commanding a fine fleet of ships he would not only bring trade to a nation but also help educate it’s citizens, help pull them from poverty and help fight off American filibusters. This episode we tell the story of this remarkable man.

Show notes: https://thecuriosityofachild.com/episodes/william-le-lacheur-and-the-transformation-of-costa-rica

Ahoy me hearties, weight anchor and lets be off!

We look at the life of one of the most amazing but forgotten men of the 1600s, William Dampier. Ever curious he was an explorer, navigator, naturalist, writer and so much more. The author of A New Voyage Around the World, his accounts opened the world to the public. Never before had people experienced such exotic locations from their own homes or had such detailed descriptions of the world beyond their shores. From stories of raids on Spanish settlements in the Pacific to first setting step on the shores of Australia his vivid accounts were a world first. He inspired Charles Darwin, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Alexander von Humboldt and many more. Sadly his more lawless acts would lead him, in the eyes of some, to be little more than a common pirate but we hope to show you just how wrong this is.

This feature was researched and written by Anton!

Have you heard of the 1903 Potato boom? No? Neither had we until recently. Join Anton as he tells you all about Archibald Findlay and his amazing potatoes that were reaching prices of £5000 a ton - that’s half a million in today’s money. But are they all they’re cracked up to be?

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This episode Anton takes the lead as he explores the development of Norman castles in the British Isles. Whilst fortifications dotted the English landscape long before the 1066 Norman invasion nothing quite like their castles existed before. Anton and I talk about early motte and bailey fortifications that offered only rudimentary protection to vast concentric circle castles like Beaumaris in Wales that dominated the surrounding landscape. What did they symbolise? How did they change? And are they the origin of IKEA?!

Full show notes.