High Tales of History

Welcome into the Smoke Circle for the start of season 8!
The sisters have cooked up another episode of food history with part two of The Munchies That Made Us! In part one, we discussed four food staples that grew civilizations and created the classic munchies we know and love.
Part two traces the origins of "The Holy Trinity" of savory stoner foods: pizza, tacos, and instant ramen. This episode shows how global trade, migration, war, and convenience shaped what we eat when the munchies hit. Along the way, we debate who has the best pizza, get delightfully sidetracked by tomato lore (did you know the tomato isn't native to Italy?!), the mystery of the taco, and what a hostage crisis did for instant ramen sales.
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Timestamps
01:05 - Part two preview: pizza, tacos, and instant ramen
06:31 - Recap of part one and the role of staple crops
07:30 - Why pizza belongs on every munchies list
09:58 - Focaccia, flatbreads, and the missing tomato
12:39 - Tomatoes begin in Mesoamerica, not Italy
15:03 - Columbus, Cortés, and the Columbian Exchange
19:26 - Europe mistrusts tomatoes as “wolf peaches”
27:28 - Naples, volcanic soil, and the first tomato sauce pizza
30:07 - The Margherita pizza legend and royal branding
32:24 - Pizza spreads through Italy and into the United States
38:35 - What counts as a taco and why chalupas are real
40:05 - Corn tortillas in Mesoamerica and the roots of taco culture
42:40 - One theory for the word taco from silver mines
46:37 - The “chili queens” and tacos entering American food culture
49:52 - Glenn Bell, Taco Bell, and the commercialization of tacos
54:10 - Instant ramen as one of the world’s most consumed foods
56:10 - Japan closes its doors, then reopens under the Meiji Restoration
58:00 - Chinese noodle soup becomes ramen in Yokohama
59:48 - World War II destruction and the food crisis in Japan
64:28 - Momofuku Ando spots the long ramen line that sparks an idea
66:26 - The invention of shelf-stable instant noodles and the launch of Chicken Ramen
70:31 - Cup noodles and the push into the American market
73:52 - The hostage crisis accidentally becomes a massive ramen commercial
78:40 - The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum and ramen culture today
81:12 - Why convenience foods matter and what they trade off
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Mentioned in the Episode:
Episode 90: The Werewolf Trials of Europe
Half Baked (1998) Munchies List
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Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
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Source Material and References:
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN00PtRWjlU
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pizza
https://www.history.com/articles/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages
https://www.twistedtaco.com/the-history-of-the-taco
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/where-did-the-taco-come-from-81228162/
https://www.google.com/search?q=firebombing+of+japan+vs+atomic+bombs
https://ramenmuseum.nyc/history-of-ramen/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nov7lFsvBIo
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Intro/outro and Transition Music created all from: "Hit the Streets" Music licensed through Soundstripe on Riverside.fm
Code: 5SFLA6TCMVWJERUU, EMPRILZIRAMJL8ZR

It's the season finale! Your favorite Midwestern history sisters get baked and tuck into the deliciously weird history of the foods that shaped human civilization. From the birth of bread in the Fertile Crescent to the global spread of rice. From the mythology and tooth-breaking beginnings of corn to the weird history of their personal favorite--potatoes--this episode serves up the surprising story of how everyday staples changed peopledom...and Stonerdom.

Along the way, they trade laughs and their personal favorite munchies while unpacking the history and global impact behind each food. It’s part history lesson, part comedy smoke sesh, and all about the munchies that made us!

The next season starts August 28th, 2026! Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the first episode back and we'll see you in the Smoke Circle then!
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Mentioned In the Stories:
Our History of Cheese Episode
Episode 48: How Indigenous Women Inspired the Women's Rights Movement⁠
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The Socials and Patreon!
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Facebook⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠High Tales of History or ⁠⁠@HighTalesofHistory ⁠
Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
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Source Material and References:
Sources:
https://foodmuseum.org.uk/the-history-of-bread-making-a-universal-lens/
OTR History of Bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=892yaBEwtbM
OTR History of Rice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ivJsV1A5oU
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/amazing-journey-maize
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-dna-continues-rewrite-corns-9000-year-society-shaping-history
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2282/sioux-story-of-the-gift-of-corn/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/
OTR History of the Potato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjVJqw1AUag
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Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What if the original Jaws story was real? In 1916, shark attacks along the New Jersey coast turned a summer beach season into a nationwide panic.
In our penultimate episode for the season, Laurel and KT *dive* (ha!) into the terrifying true story of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks — a twelve day reign of terror that shocked the public, inspired Jaws, and forever changed the way people think about sharks. From beach panic to scientific debate, this episode explores the real history behind one of America’s most infamous summer horror stories.
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Mentioned In the Stories:
Map of the Jersey Shore Attacks
Ocean Ramsey Redirecting a Great White Shark
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The Socials and Patreon!
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Facebook⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠High Tales of History or ⁠⁠@HighTalesofHistory ⁠
Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
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Source Material and References:
Sources:
Capuzzo, Michael, and Taylor Mali. Close to shore: the terrifying shark attacks of 1916. Ashland: AudioBookShelf, 2011.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/150702-shark-attack-jersey-shore-1916-great-white⁠
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Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

It's 1937 in China. Japan has invaded China some years prior and the Chinese people are under a ruthless Japaneses occupation. This story is about when people get fed the fuck up and rise against their oppressors.
While most historians agree that WWII started with the invasion of Poland, some historians will say this is an even earlier catalyst for the war--and it all took place at the Lugou Bridge, most commonly known as the Marco Polo Bridge (although that guy had nothing to do with the bridge besides being awestruck and writing about it in his journal...) This must be some bridge and some "incident," right?!
For episode 120, KT is taking us to China in 1937 with the event that started the Second Sino-Japanese War.
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Episode 4: Hatori Honzo
Episode 93: Yi Sun-Sin, the Korean admiral
GEICO Marco Polo ad
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The Socials and Patreon!
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Facebook⁠ -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠High Tales of History or ⁠⁠@HighTalesofHistory ⁠
Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
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Source Material and References:
Sources:
https://www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/the-marco-polo-bridge-incident-a-catalyst-for-the-second-sino-japanese-war 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_Bridge_incident 

https://www.britannica.com/event/Marco-Polo-Bridge-Incident 

https://origins.osu.edu/read/marco-polo-bridge-incident-1937 
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Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Come, dear Listener! The game is afoot!
The sisters are relocating the Smoke Circle to the cozy sitting room of 221B Baker Street! In this episode, Laurel takes you through the history of Sherlock Holmes' from literary creation to global phenomenon, exploring the life of Sherlock's creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the birth of his great detective Sherlock Holmes, and his influence on modern media and forensic science.
Find out who Sherlock Holmes is REALLY based on, how Sherlock's fandom is the first "modern" one (complete with fanfic!), and how badly the creator wanted to kill off his creation.
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Mentioned In the Stories:
⁠Episode 98: The Queen's Seer: A History of Divination, from the Elizabethan Period and Beyond⁠
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The Socials and Patreon!
Patreon-- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Best Buds Club!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com⁠ 
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Source Material and References:
Sources:
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The complete Sherlock Holmes. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books, 2015.

https://www.history.com/articles/was-sherlock-holmes-based-on-a-real-person

https://historynet.com/sherlock-holmes-history/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41398643?seq=1

https://www.pbs.org/articles/sir-arthur-conan-doyle-reluctant-creator-of-sherlock-holmes
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Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (⁠incompetech.com⁠) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/