“It’s fun to do the unexpected”      (Walt Disney)

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

For this episode let us join the butcher of time, Professor James Daybell, and the pharaoh of former times, Dr Sam Willis, as they take an ‘Unexpected’ look at the history of Histories of the Unexpected.

From the events that sowed the seeds of its conception to the hows and whys behind the topics chosen, our two astonishing, marvellous and altogether extraordinary historical adventurers take you on a trip through the thinking behind Histories of the Unexpected. Whether it’s the inspirations (or even rhyming couplets) which influence themes or the development of certain ideas, James and Sam discuss how they work, their favourite topics to date and ideas for upcoming shows.

Who knew that the signature was actually all about Henry VIII and toilets, or that the box was actually all about paranoia, or that clouds could actually be about navigation, nuclear war and the Great Depression? As for the spleen, well how about survival, aggression and rudeness!

Listen out as James shouts out random kitchen utensils to Sam and Sam discusses phallic shaped door knockers – it really is unexpected here!

“Something quite unexpected has happened”    (C. S. Lewis)