“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”  Carl Reiner

Welcome to Histories of the Unexpected where you will discover the history of things you didn’t know even had a history, like the history of dust, or the history of mothers.

For this episode let us join the Abominable Snowman of history, Professor James Daybell, and the Iceman of all things historical, Dr Sam Willis, as they lead you on a chilly adventure through the unexpected history snow.

So dig out those woolly hats and gloves, as our frozen duo (let it go!) enlighten you with stories of snowball fights in the American Civil War, Dylan Thomas’s poetry on the cruel mistreatment of cats in the snow by children, and the bodies of Scythians preserved for centuries in the snow and what can be learned from studying them and their well-preserved tattoos.

Listen out as James and Sam reminisce on times spent in the snow as a child, and debate what type of cracker they would use to accompany a piece of centuries old cheese.

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow” (Dean Martin, 1966)