The Great Train Robbery
On 8 August 1963, a gang of thieves held up a British Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London. They stole more than £2 million. It was the biggest ever raid on a British train.Most of the robbers ended up behind bars, but most of the money has never been recovered.The robbery still occupies a unique place in the history of British crime. In 2012 Chloe Hadjimatheou spoke to Reginald Abbiss who was a young BBC journalist who covered the story.(Photo: The train involved in the robbery. Credit: Getty Images)
8 Aug 202310min
Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties
In the 1950s, self-made businesswoman Brownie Wise transformed the fortunes of Tupperware by inspiring thousands of housewives to sell it at parties.Her methods for motivating staff included selling the dress off her back and holding annual parties at the company's headquarters.But as she became a star - appearing on magazine covers and chat shows - Brownie's relationship with her boss, Earl Tupper, soured.Author Bob Kealing speaks to Vicky Farncombe about Brownie's rise and fall from grace.(Photo: Brownie Wise tosses a bowl filled with water at a Tupperware party. Credit: Getty Images)
7 Aug 20239min
Dinosaur in court
In 2012 a dinosaur skeleton became the subject of both a restraining order and a court case.Mongolian palaeontologist, Dr Bolortsetseg Minjin helped stop the dinosaur falling into the hands of a private buyer after spotting a photo of the skeleton on TV in the United States.The case became known as United States v One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton.She told Gill Kearsley her extraordinary story.(Photo: The 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar on display in Ulan Bator. Credit: Byambasuren Byamba-Ochir/AFP via Getty Images)
4 Aug 202310min
Treehouse on the Berlin Wall
In the 1980s, a Turkish worker in Germany, Osman Kahlin, provoked controversy when he turned a patch of disputed land against the Berlin Wall into a makeshift farm. The land was owned by East Germany, but lay on the Western side of the wall due to a quirk in the wall's hurried construction. Kahlin fought a running battle with both East and West German police to keep hold of the land, and kitted it out with a fully functioning treehouse that became a local symbol of resistance to authority. Alex Eccleston speaks to Osman's son, Mehmet. A Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Photo: Osman's treehouse. Credit: Schlemmer/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
3 Aug 20239min
Birth of a new language
In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a completely new sign language of their own.It was a remarkable achievement, which allowed experts a unique insight into how human communication develops.In 2020, Mike Lanchin spoke to an American linguist Judy Shepard-Kegl, who documented this process.(Photo: Sign language class in Nicaragua. Credit: INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images)
2 Aug 202310min
First dinosaur eggs identified in India
In 1982, nests of dinosaur eggs were identified for the first time in India. They were found in Jabalpur, on a historic fossil site and former British military cantonment. The eggs were from Titanosaurs, living at the end of the Cretaceous Period.Palaeontologist Professor Ashok Sahni made the discovery, he’s been speaking to Laura Jones.(Photo: Ashok Sahni at home with fossilised dinosaur eggs. Credit: BBC)
1 Aug 202310min
José Mujica: Prison break to president
In the 1960s and '70s, José Mujica was a leading member of a notorious left-wing militant group in Uruguay called the Tupamaros. He survived multiple bullet wounds, torture, and executed a daring prison escape. After years held in solitary confinement, Mujica was released from prison in 1985 and entered politics. He became Uruguay’s president in 2009. He speaks to Ben Henderson.(Photo: José Mujica at home in Montevideo. Credit: Ricardo Ceppi/Getty Images)
31 Jul 20238min
Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway
It’s been 50 years since a popular Nigerian fast food chain which later became known as Mr Bigg's was first launched. The restaurants began as coffee shops in department stores in the 1960s and were later rebranded in 1986. Mr Bigg's currently has more than 170 locations in 40 cities around Nigeria, and there were also restaurants in other African nations at one time. Justice Baidoo spoke to Emmanuel Osugo, one of the pioneers of the chain. A Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service. (Photo: A Mr Bigg's restaurant. Credit: Adebola Familusi)
28 Jul 20239min
