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Food history collection

War & survival

15stories

In wartime, food becomes strategy, morale and survival. This collection explores the rations, shortages, improvised weapons and unlikely meals that shaped conflicts and kept people alive.

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War & survival

When A Navy Destroyer Fought A Submarine Using Potatoes

War often calls for quick thinking and unconventional tactics, but few battles have ever been won with… potatoes. But, during World War II, the USS O’Bannon, a U.S. Navy destroyer, found itself in a tense standoff with a Japanese submarine. With the enemy dangerously close, too near in fact for their deck guns to be effective, the crew resorted to a rather unexpected weapon.  This is the incredible tale of how the USS O’Bannon used quick thinking, and a well-stocked pantry, to help sink a Japanese submarine.

17:08
War & survival

Defending A Town With Just Two Loaves Of Bread

At it’s very core, war is essentially throwing everything you have at your enemy hoping that they break first, and at times that breaking point can be as much a psychological one as a physical one.  Wars of attrition, as in the case of prolonged siege warfare, is all about seeing who can last the longest.  And today's story is all about one of those siege warfare breaking points, and how an army was defeated by a woman who had nothing but her cunning, boldness and two loaves of bread.

22:37
War & survival

55 - How Sausages Helped Win A Battle

It’s well into the northern european winter season at the end of 1939. Five hundred thousand Russian Soviet Soldiers are making a collective push northwards, swarming the countryside as they go. They are armed to the hilt with tanks, explosives, machine guns, grenades and a staggeringly overwhelming number of troops. But there is one thing that they didn’t count on, one thing that threatened to derail their entire military offensive altogether. And that one thing, was the humble sausage.

15:46
War & survival

49 - Charles Domery Ate Cats, Grass & A Fellow Soldier's Leg

There are many stories throughout history of individuals with freakish appetites, who seem to be able to consume quantities of food well past what a human stomach should be capable of handling. Today, we’ll be diving into the story of Charles Domery, a Polish-born soldier who tried to eat the whole world.

12:34
War & survival

48 - The Dutch Once Ate Their Prime Minister

For most of history, the Dutch have been an almost all-powerful force to be reckoned with. They were the forerunners for a lot of the world's exploration, and for a long time dominated the seas and trade routes through the stranglehold of the Dutch East India Company. In the preceding century, they were still under Spanish rule, with 2 of their kings, Charles the Fifth and his Son Phillip II, simultaneously ruling as the kings of Spain and the so-called Low Countries of The Netherlands. But the Dutch weren’t having any of this for long and at the first sign of mismanagement, made their feelings known.

15:19
War & survival

45 - A Spice Worth Killing For

There is a spice we use so commonly today that it's hard to believe that at one time, wars were fought, people were killed and entire civilizations almost wiped out, simply so that the strongest force could get their hands on this prized spice.

17:47
War & survival

39 - Julia Child: WW2 Spy Who Created Shark Repellent Cakes

Even the most famous and lauded among us still have a few tasty secrets up their sleeves, and today we’re going to dive into this fascinating side of one of modern cookings most famous gourmands: Julia Child.

15:40
War & survival

33 - The Candy Bomber Of Berlin

This is the story of Gail Halvorsen, who was known to the children of Berlin as Der Schokoladen Flieger or The Chocolate Flier, Uncle Wiggly Wings or the most widely known of all, The Candy Bomber of Berlin.

18:06
War & survival

26 - The Giant Frog Farming Swindle

Albert Broel was a man of mystery. Claiming to be the son of Polish nobility, he arrived in America during World War 1 and set out to make his fortune. After a few failed ventures in alternative medicine and matchmaking, he turned to raising and canning giant frogs. Not content to stop there, he made up ingenious ways to get other people to pay him to start their own farms too.

23:12
War & survival

18 - The Worlds Most Dangerous (And Illegal) Cheese

For this episode we're travelling to the small Italian island of Sardinia where we explore the a generations long delicacy known as Casu Marzu. While the Sardinian people love it, it's been named as the worlds most dangerous cheese by the Guinness Book Of Records and has been made illegal to buy or sell all throughout Europe!

18:22
War & survival

13 - Charles Darwin & The Glutton Club

Charles Darwin is one of the most famous men in history. Not as many people know about his penchant for eating almost every animal he studied, from puma to armadillo, tortoise to brown owl. Discover a whole new meaning of the phrase "survival of the fittest". Please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypod Find transcripts and references on the website: www.foodhistorypodcast.com Huge thanks to Podcorn for sponsoring this episode. Explore sponsorship opportunities and start monetizing your podcast by signing up here: https://podcorn.com/podcasters/

15:03
War & survival

7 - The Deadly Tidal Wave Of Molasses

Just 2 months after WW1 one of the most bizarre tragedies in history would strike a crowded neighbourhood in Boston. Thanks to some unseasonably warm weather, some poor construction and the greed of some factory owners,  the saying "sugar is bad for your health" has never been more true.

14:12
War & survival

6 - The California Egg War of 1863

The California gold rush in the mid-1800's brought hundreds of thousands of people through San Francisco in a very short amount of time. The sudden demand for food sparked an entirely different type of rush, and fortune hunters turned their attentions to a distant set of islands, that would make many of them wealthy beyond imagination, and a spark a decades long war!

16:20
War & survival

5 - Ancient Warrior Diet: Ninjas From Medieval Japan

Ninjas are everyones favourite ancient warrior class. We take a look behind the scenes at what fueled these simple guerrilla warriors and kept them in such lithe and agile shape. For show notes and references please visit https://www.foodhistorypodcast.com/ Please support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypod Connect with us on Social Media: Twitter: @foodhistorypod Instagram: @foodhistorypod Facebook: facebook.com/foodhistorypod

12:46
War & survival

1 - The Day Paris Ate Its Zoo Animals

It's 1870 and Paris is under siege. It's the middle of the Franco-Prussian war, and the German army has the city surrounded. Their food and supply lines are cut off and the Parisians find that they have to start getting creative with the produce they have at hand. For show notes and references please visit https://www.foodhistorypodcast.com/ Please support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypod Connect with us on Social Media: Twitter: @foodhistorypod Instagram: @foodhistorypod Facebook: facebook.com/foodhistorypod

14:48