Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety
In 1980, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) emerged as a public health crisis among women who used tampons. There were hundreds of cases, and The Centers for Disease Control linked deaths from TSS to super-ab...
17 Feb 10min
World War Two’s Shetland Bus
During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding their country’s resistance. Named “The Shetland B...
16 Feb 10min
The flooding of Florence
In November, 1966, Florence suffered one of the worst floods in its history after heavy rainfall caused the River Arno to burst.The Italian city was submerged under tons of mud, rubble and sewage, lea...
13 Feb 10min
The Mont Blanc Tunnel
In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic, making it the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Linking France and Italy, the Mont Blanc Tunnel was a remarkable feat ...
12 Feb 9min
Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro
Gina Lollobrigida was one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Often described as "the most beautiful woman in the world", her films included Beat the Devil, the Hunchback o...
11 Feb 10min
When Pink Floyd played in Venice
In July 1989, Pink Floyd played a free concert to 200,000 people in Venice, Italy. The British rock band took to a stage made of floating barges as crowds of fans watched from boats, gondolas and roof...
10 Feb 10min
The discovery of nerve growth factor
During World War Two, Italian scientist Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini was forced to do experiments in her bedroom after being banned from universities because she was Jewish. Her experiments in that bedro...
9 Feb 10min
My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss
In 1971, advertising writer Roger Hargreaves's eight-year-old son Adam asked him an unusual question: 'What does a tickle look like?'Inspired, Roger got out his marker pens and created an orange chara...
6 Feb 10min
