Stuff You Missed in History Class

Nutritional rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, and people figured out two ways to treat it before we even knew what vitamin D was.
Research:
“Oldest UK case of rickets in Neolithic Tiree skeleton.” 9/10/2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34208976
Carpenter, Kenneth J. “Harriette Chick and the Problem of Rickets.” The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 138, Issue 5, 827 – 832
Chesney, Russell W. “New thoughts concerning the epidemic of rickets: was the role of alum overlooked?.” Pediatric Nephrology. (2012) 27:3–6. DOI 10.1007/s00467-011-2004-9.
Craig, Wallace and Morris Belkin. “The Prevention and Cure of Rickets.” The Scientific Monthly , May, 1925, Vol. 20, No. 5 (May, 1925). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/7260
Davidson, Tish. "Rickets." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 6th ed., vol. 7, Gale, 2020, pp. 4485-4487. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7986601644/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=811f7e02. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
Friedman, Aaron. “A brief history of rickets.” Pediatric Nephrology (2020) 35:1835–1841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-019-04366-9
Hawkes, Colin P, and Michael A Levine. “A painting of the Christ Child with bowed legs: Rickets in the Renaissance.” American journal of medical genetics. Part C, Seminars in medical genetics vol. 187,2 (2021): 216-218. doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.31894
Ihde, Aaron J. “Studies on the History of Rickets. I: Recognition of Rickets as a Deficiency Disease.” Pharmacy in History, 1974, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1974). https://www.jstor.org/stable/41108858
Ihde, Aaron J. “Studies on the History of Rickets. II : The Roles of Cod Liver Oil and Light.” Pharmacy in History, 1975, Vol. 17, No. 1 (1975). https://www.jstor.org/stable/41108885
Newton, Gil. “Diagnosing Rickets in Early Modern England: Statistical Evidence and Social Response.” Social History of Medicine Vol. 35, No. 2 pp. 566–588. https://academic.oup.com/shm/article/35/2/566/6381535
O'Riordan, Jeffrey L H, and Olav L M Bijvoet. “Rickets before the discovery of vitamin D.” BoneKEy reports vol. 3 478. 8 Jan. 2014, doi:10.1038/bonekey.2013.212.
Palm, T. “Etiology of Rickets.” Br Med J 1888; 2 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.1457.1247 (Published 01 December 1888)
Rajakumar, Kumaravel and Stephen B. Thomas. “Reemerging Nutritional Rickets: A Historical Perspective.” Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Published Online: April 2005 2005;159;(4):335-341. doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.4.335
Swinburne, Layinka M. “Rickets and the Fairfax family receipt books.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Vol. 99. August 2006.
Tait, H. P.. “Daniel Whistler and His Contribution to Pædiatrics.” Edinburgh Medical Journal vol. 53,6 (1946): 325–330.
Warren, Christian. “No Magic Bolus: What the History of Rickets and Vitamin D Can Teach Us About Setting Standards.” Journal of Adolescent Health. 66 (2020) 379e380. https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(20)30038-0/pdf
Wheeler, Benjamin J et al. “A Brief History of Nutritional Rickets.” Frontiers in endocrinology vol. 10 795. 14 Nov. 2019, doi:10.3389/fendo.2019.00795
World Health Organization. “The Magnitude and Distribution of Nutritoinal Rickets: Disease Burden in Infants, Children, and Adolescents.” 2019. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep27899.7
Zhang, M., Shen, F., Petryk, A., Tang, J., Chen, X., & Sergi, C. (2016). “English Disease”: Historical Notes on Rickets, the Bone–Lung Link and Child Neglect Issues. Nutrients, 8(11), 722. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8110722
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This 2021 episode covers three prank stories, including a joke that became a living legend, a large-scale prank that created havoc, and a televised hoax that reminds us all of the importance of critical thinking.
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Holly talks about the various inspirations for her love of embroidery. Tracy shares her experiences with movies and her cat while embroidering.
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The second part of the discussion of embroidery history covers blackwork and Opus Anglicanum, then embroidery samplers and beetle-wing embroidery.
Research:
Абильда, Айжан. “Scythians are creators of embroidery art.” Qazaqstan Tarihy. May 24, 2019. https://e-history.kz/en/news/show/7178#:~:text=Embroidery%20is%20a%20traditional%20East,a%20wedding%20or%20a%20party.
Angus, Jennifer. “Nature’s Sequins.” Cooper Hewitt. Sept. 14, 2018. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/09/14/natures-sequins/
“The art of printing textile.” Musee de L’Impression sur Etoffes. https://www.musee-impression.com/en/the-collection/
Badshah, Nadeem. “Bayeux tapestry to be insured for £800m for British Museum exhibition.” The Guardian. Dec. 27. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/bayeux-tapestry-to-be-insured-for-800m-for-british-museum-exhibition
“Bayeux Tapestry.” UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/bayeux-tapestry
“The Bayeux Tapestry.” La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Bayeux Museum. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/
Binswanger, Julia. “These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing.” Smithsonian. Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-delicate-needles-made-from-animal-bones-may-have-helped-prehistoric-humans-sew-warm-winter-clothing-180985601/
Britannica Editors. "Scythian art". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/Scythian-art
“Chasuble (Opus Anglicanum).” The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466660
Chung, Young Yang. “Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.” Abrams. 2005.
Daniels, Margaret Harrington. “Early Pattern Books for Lace and Embroidery.” Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb33_lac.pdf
“DMC.” Textile Research Center Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/organisations-and-movements/companies/dmc
“Dragon Robe Decoded.” Sotheby’s. May 23, 2019. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/dragon-robe-decoded
Embroiderers’ Guild. https://embroiderersguild.com/
Embroiderers’ Guild of America. https://egausa.org/
“Embroidery Techniques from Around the World: Crewel.” Embroiderer’ Guild of America. Oct. 28, 2024. https://egausa.org/embroidery-techniques-from-around-the-world-crewel/
Francfort, H.-P., 2020, “Scythians, Persians, Greeks and Horses: Reflections on Art, Culture Power and Empires in the Light of Frozen Burials and other Excavations”, in: , Londres, British Museum, p. 134-155. https://www.academia.edu/44417916/Francfort_H_P_2020_Scythians_Persians_Greeks_and_Horses_Reflections_on_Art_Culture_Power_and_Empires_in_the_Light_of_Frozen_Burials_and_other_Excavations_in_Londres_British_Museum_p_134_155
“Girlhood Embroidery.” Pilgrim Hall Museum. https://www.pilgrimhall.org/girlhood_embroidery.htm
Gower, John G., and G.C. Macaulay, ed. “The Complete Works of John Gower.” Clarendon Press. 1901. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71162/71162-h/71162-h.htm#Page_1
“Introducing Opus Anglicanum.” Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum?srsltid=AfmBOor2pOTddjxaPC9AXHvvQuGXD4Tyx9N3zBeISzMSDHX1KnaUnfnL
“Introducing the Scythians.” British Museum. May 30, 2017. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians
Nazarova, Yevhenia. “Ukraine's Ancient 'River Guardians.'” Radio Free Europe. Oct. 17, 2021. https://www.rferl.org/a/scythian-dig-ukraine-river-guardians-discovery/31507187.html
"Ancient Peruvian Textiles." The Museum Journal XI, no. 3 (September, 1920): 140-147. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/843/
“Embroidery – a history of needlework samplers.” Victoria & Albery Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers
“History of The Broderers.” The Worshipful Company of Broderers. https://broderers.co.uk/history-broderers
“The History of Britain's Bayeux Tapestry.” Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/britains-bayeux-tapestry/history-britains-bayeux-tapestry
Kennedy, Maev. “British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition.” The Guardian. May 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/30/british-museum-skin-scythian-exhibition-tattoo-empire
Lattanzio, Giaga. “Byzantine.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/byzantine/
Leslie, Catherine Amoroso. “Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia.” Greenwood Press. 2007.
Libes, Kenna. “Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beetle-wing-19thcentury/
Liu Y, Li Y, Li X, Qin L. The origin and dispersal of the domesticated Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, in China: a reconstruction based on ancient texts. J Insect Sci. 2010;10:180. doi: 10.1673/031.010.14140
“Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832–1912).” The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/68658/mrs-jacob-wendell-mary-barrett-18321912
Muntz, Eugene and Louisa J. Davis. “A short history of tapestry. From the earliest times to the end of the 18th century.” London. Cassel & Co. 1885. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofta00mntz/page/n3/mode/2up
Pohl, Benjamin. “Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestryas monastic mealtime reading.” Historical Research. 2025. https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922
Puiu, Tibi. “Pristine 2,300-year-old Scythian woman’s boot found in frozen Altai mountains.” ZME Science. Dec. 29, 2021. https://www.zmescience.com/science/scythian-boots-0532/
Razzall, Katie. “Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years.” BBC. July 8, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ev1z6d5go
Royal School of Needlework. https://royal-needlework.org.uk/
Salmony, Alfred. “The Archaeological Background of textile Production in Soviet Russia Territory.” The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Volume 26. No. 2. 1942. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/nb_42_2.pdf
“Sampler.” Victoria & Albert Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/sampler-jane-bostocke/
Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein ney Furmbüchlein. 1525-1528. Met Museum Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354716
Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein new Modelbuch … “ 1524. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354660
Shrader, Dustin. “Embroidery Through the Ages.” Impressions. July 28, 2023. https://impressionsmagazine.com/process-technique/embroidery-through-the-ages/39234/#:~:text=The%20Age%2DOld%20Beginning&text=We%20tend%20to%20typically%20think,to%20generation%20across%20the%20millennia.
“Silk Roads Programme.” UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silkroad-interactive-map
Sons of Norway's Cultural Skills Program. “Unit 8: Hardanger Embroidery.” 2018. https://www.sofn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/unit8hardanger_rev8.11.pdf
“Suzhou Embroidery.” Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.” https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/videos/suzhou-embroidery/
Teall, John L., Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire
Warner, Pamela. “Embroidery: A History.” B.T. Bedford, Ltd. 1991.
Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell. “When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1997. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d781d44d3048d49257072d610034400182246d3e.pdf
Watt, Melinda. “Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600–1800.” The Met. Oct. 1, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/textile-production-in-europe-embroidery-1600-1800
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The first installment of this two-parter covers ancient embroidery around the world, and then focuses on European embroidery, Chinese dragon robes, and the Bayeux Tapestry.
Research:
Абильда, Айжан. “Scythians are creators of embroidery art.” Qazaqstan Tarihy. May 24, 2019. https://e-history.kz/en/news/show/7178#:~:text=Embroidery%20is%20a%20traditional%20East,a%20wedding%20or%20a%20party.
Angus, Jennifer. “Nature’s Sequins.” Cooper Hewitt. Sept. 14, 2018. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/09/14/natures-sequins/
“The art of printing textile.” Musee de L’Impression sur Etoffes. https://www.musee-impression.com/en/the-collection/
Badshah, Nadeem. “Bayeux tapestry to be insured for £800m for British Museum exhibition.” The Guardian. Dec. 27. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/bayeux-tapestry-to-be-insured-for-800m-for-british-museum-exhibition
“Bayeux Tapestry.” UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/bayeux-tapestry
“The Bayeux Tapestry.” La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Bayeux Museum. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/
Binswanger, Julia. “These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing.” Smithsonian. Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-delicate-needles-made-from-animal-bones-may-have-helped-prehistoric-humans-sew-warm-winter-clothing-180985601/
Britannica Editors. "Scythian art". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/Scythian-art
“Chasuble (Opus Anglicanum).” The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466660
Chung, Young Yang. “Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.” Abrams. 2005.
Daniels, Margaret Harrington. “Early Pattern Books for Lace and Embroidery.” Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb33_lac.pdf
“DMC.” Textile Research Center Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/organisations-and-movements/companies/dmc
“Dragon Robe Decoded.” Sotheby’s. May 23, 2019. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/dragon-robe-decoded
Embroiderers’ Guild. https://embroiderersguild.com/
Embroiderers’ Guild of America. https://egausa.org/
“Embroidery Techniques from Around the World: Crewel.” Embroiderer’ Guild of America. Oct. 28, 2024. https://egausa.org/embroidery-techniques-from-around-the-world-crewel/
Francfort, H.-P., 2020, “Scythians, Persians, Greeks and Horses: Reflections on Art, Culture Power and Empires in the Light of Frozen Burials and other Excavations”, in: , Londres, British Museum, p. 134-155. https://www.academia.edu/44417916/Francfort_H_P_2020_Scythians_Persians_Greeks_and_Horses_Reflections_on_Art_Culture_Power_and_Empires_in_the_Light_of_Frozen_Burials_and_other_Excavations_in_Londres_British_Museum_p_134_155
“Girlhood Embroidery.” Pilgrim Hall Museum. https://www.pilgrimhall.org/girlhood_embroidery.htm
Gower, John G., and G.C. Macaulay, ed. “The Complete Works of John Gower.” Clarendon Press. 1901. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71162/71162-h/71162-h.htm#Page_1
“Introducing Opus Anglicanum.” Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum?srsltid=AfmBOor2pOTddjxaPC9AXHvvQuGXD4Tyx9N3zBeISzMSDHX1KnaUnfnL
“Introducing the Scythians.” British Museum. May 30, 2017. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians
Nazarova, Yevhenia. “Ukraine's Ancient 'River Guardians.'” Radio Free Europe. Oct. 17, 2021. https://www.rferl.org/a/scythian-dig-ukraine-river-guardians-discovery/31507187.html
"Ancient Peruvian Textiles." The Museum Journal XI, no. 3 (September, 1920): 140-147. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/843/
“Embroidery – a history of needlework samplers.” Victoria & Albery Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers
“History of The Broderers.” The Worshipful Company of Broderers. https://broderers.co.uk/history-broderers
“The History of Britain's Bayeux Tapestry.” Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/britains-bayeux-tapestry/history-britains-bayeux-tapestry
Kennedy, Maev. “British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition.” The Guardian. May 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/30/british-museum-skin-scythian-exhibition-tattoo-empire
Lattanzio, Giaga. “Byzantine.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/byzantine/
Leslie, Catherine Amoroso. “Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia.” Greenwood Press. 2007.
Libes, Kenna. “Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beetle-wing-19thcentury/
Liu Y, Li Y, Li X, Qin L. The origin and dispersal of the domesticated Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, in China: a reconstruction based on ancient texts. J Insect Sci. 2010;10:180. doi: 10.1673/031.010.14140
“Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832–1912).” The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/68658/mrs-jacob-wendell-mary-barrett-18321912
Muntz, Eugene and Louisa J. Davis. “A short history of tapestry. From the earliest times to the end of the 18th century.” London. Cassel & Co. 1885. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofta00mntz/page/n3/mode/2up
Pohl, Benjamin. “Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestryas monastic mealtime reading.” Historical Research. 2025. https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922
Puiu, Tibi. “Pristine 2,300-year-old Scythian woman’s boot found in frozen Altai mountains.” ZME Science. Dec. 29, 2021. https://www.zmescience.com/science/scythian-boots-0532/
Razzall, Katie. “Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years.” BBC. July 8, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ev1z6d5go
Royal School of Needlework. https://royal-needlework.org.uk/
Salmony, Alfred. “The Archaeological Background of textile Production in Soviet Russia Territory.” The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Volume 26. No. 2. 1942. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/nb_42_2.pdf
“Sampler.” Victoria & Albert Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/sampler-jane-bostocke/
Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein ney Furmbüchlein. 1525-1528. Met Museum Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354716
Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein new Modelbuch … “ 1524. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354660
Shrader, Dustin. “Embroidery Through the Ages.” Impressions. July 28, 2023. https://impressionsmagazine.com/process-technique/embroidery-through-the-ages/39234/#:~:text=The%20Age%2DOld%20Beginning&text=We%20tend%20to%20typically%20think,to%20generation%20across%20the%20millennia.
“Silk Roads Programme.” UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silkroad-interactive-map
Sons of Norway's Cultural Skills Program. “Unit 8: Hardanger Embroidery.” 2018. https://www.sofn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/unit8hardanger_rev8.11.pdf
“Suzhou Embroidery.” Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.” https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/videos/suzhou-embroidery/
Teall, John L., Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire
Warner, Pamela. “Embroidery: A History.” B.T. Bedford, Ltd. 1991.
Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell. “When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1997. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d781d44d3048d49257072d610034400182246d3e.pdf
Watt, Melinda. “Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600–1800.” The Met. Oct. 1, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/textile-production-in-europe-embroidery-1600-1800
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.