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- [00:01]
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Narrator
It'S the year 1450, and we're on the rural plains of Arizona. Up ahead, the blue waters of the mighty Gilla and Salt rivers flow past, the steady gush of water providing a tranquil soundtrack to our scene. We're a few hundred meters away from the junction of two rivers in a modest settlement belonging to the Pima people, a Native American tribe who have lived on this land for centuries. Dusk is starting to fall and the setting sun casts shadows through the leafy trees and against the grass covered houses. A few fires are still smoking and the air is filled with sleepy whispers. Soon the fires will burn out, the people will be fast asleep and wild animals will prowl the settlement, scavenging for scraps of food. But not yet, because there's one ritual that must be completed before they settle down for the night. A door to a small, one roomed house flies open and three children hurry out. They call to their friends in the next house and the ones after that. Soon doors are opening all over the settlement and hordes of children are rushing about. Let's see where they're going. Exchanging excited whispers, the children settle down in front of a dying fire. As they wriggle to get comfortable, an older tribesman approaches them, dressed in traditional Pima robes that sweep across his body from his long black hair down to his bare feet. When the elder reaches the fire, he puts his hands together and everyone falls silent. You don't know whether to be afraid or impressed by this imposing figure, but before you can make up your mind, the elder clears his throat and dives headlong into a wonderful tale. It's the story of Cherwit Make, a Pima creation myth about how humans came to exist on earth. Using the shadows of his hands, the elder mimes the journey taken by the butterfly cerwit Maki from heaven to earth. He guides the shadow butterfly down from the sky, where he uses sticks and stuff stones to represent the rivers Gila and Salt. As he describes how Cjeret make created humans from his own sweat. The elder adopts dozens of different voices, bringing each character to life. He introduces the story's hero, the prophet Suha, by wrapping his cloak around himself and puffing out his chest. He's transformed into an impressive young man. You can barely take your eyes off the chameleon like Elder as he switches between the brave prophet Suha, troublesome villagers, and the mysterious north wind who whispers warnings about the evil on earth. When Suha finally marches into the dank, dark caves to free his abducted daughter and challenge the devil, you feel the hairs tingle on your arms. The tale comes to an end when Suha tricks the devil by feeding him a drugged drink before vanquishing him once and for all. But here, the Elder drops his voice to a whisper and explains that evil will always exist in the world. We must forever guard against it. His words are met with stunned silence. The Pima children stare, a mixture of amazement and fear in their eyes. Then someone breaks the silence with a slow clap, and one by one, the others join in. The Pima Elder bows his head, a broad smile on his face. With that, it's time for bed. The children will sleep soundly tonight, dreaming about Cherwit Mackay's creations and the sanctity of the ancient land around them. And it's all thanks to the story told by the elder, one of the earliest forms of entertainment in the home. Storytelling was paramount to Native American peoples. Typically, stories were told by tribal elders and passed down to younger generations. On the surface, the tales could be light hearted and whimsical, but they often contained deeper moral meanings as well as lessons about the tribe's rich histories. Telling stories across generations was a way to preserve cultures. And it wasn't only Native Americans who did this. In fact, long before the days of gadgets and games, Internet and television, storytelling was a natural form of entertainment. So let's take a look at the myriad ways different cultures and societies have entertained themselves in the home. I'm Ruth Goodman. I've spent my life exploring the extraordinary history of everyday items, the little things we often take for granted. You see, every object in your home has a fascinating hidden history, a story that's just waiting to be told. This week, we're settling down for a quiet night in and discovering the history of home entertainment. So come with me and together we'll explore the curious history of your home. As we saw with the Pima people, one of the oldest forms of home entertainment was storytelling, which took place all over the ancient world. Literacy rates were exceptionally low, so stories had to be shared. Orally for some tales, especially those with spiritual significance, it was important to learn and remember them precisely. Others would have changed as different people narrated them. A bit like a game of Chinese whispers. Talking of which. Storytelling was an important part of ancient Chinese home life. Families commonly ate together in the dining room or kitchen, then moved into a separate room to share stories. Popular topics were history, adventure, comedy and tales about the Three Kingdoms or Five Dynasties. In wealthy houses or on festive occasions, professional storytellers were invited to perform in the home. These private audiences enjoyed sipping tea and snacking on sweets and meats as they listened to the yarns. The Chinese were also entertained by music, current affairs and a range of games, although we've recently done an episode on board games, so we won't be talking about those today. This love for home entertainment stretched throughout ancient Asia. A number of dice have been found at Harappa and Mohenjo Daru, settlements of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization. Clearly, dicing was a common pastime. In 1926, archaeologists also discovered a 10 centimeter tall bronze sculpture of a dancing girl in Mohenjo Daro. She stands with her right hand on her hip, seemingly in a dancing pose. Bangles line both her arms, suggesting she's some sort of performer. It's not clear who the sculpture was modelled on normal who it belonged to, but it seems that dancing was a popular form of entertainment among the people who lived in the Indus Valley. It's a few hundred miles to the west where we have the best evidence for ancient home entertainment. In ancient Greece, the Greeks believed that the centre of the universe was located inside the temple of Apollo, who, among other things, was the God of poetry and music. These gifts were paramount in Greek culture. Following in Apollo's musical footsteps, elite boys were taught to play a range of musical instruments, as well as how to write and recite literature. According to the philosopher Plato, studying lyric poets and single singing while playing the lyre would make young boys more cultured and even better behaved. Greek homes would have resounded with the sound of music and poetry. And Greek history is filled with the names of writers including Homer, Aesop, Sappho and Euripides. But it wasn't just these big names who were important to ancient Greek storytelling. Many historians believe that Homer, writing about the 8th century BC, was a traveling poet who journeyed between Greece's city states, reciting verses to captivated crowds. Once the people heard his stories, they'd retell them at home, perhaps adding new characters or exciting twists for their families and friends. It's similarly believed that legendary storyteller Aesop, who if he existed, would have lived in the 6th century BC was a former slave who earned his freedom by travelling around and telling stories. Many of his fables were retold in homes all over Greece and still feature in children's books today. So a public form of entertainment became a domestic one too, and this continued for centuries. And sometimes the homes that poetry was recited in could be very grand indeed.
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- [12:32]
Narrator
New podcast from the award winning Noiser Network join me Paul McGann as we explore life and death on Titanic. I'll delve into my own family story following my great uncle Jimmy as he tries to escape the engine room. We'll hear the harrowing tales of the victims and the testimonies of the lucky survivors. I saw that ship sink and I saw that ship break in half. Titanic Ship of Dreams Listen wherever you get your podcasts. The year is 1185 and we're in the French town of Troyes at the court of Marie, Countess of Champagne. The court is bustling with anyone who's anyone and as you cross the enormous room, walls hung with tapestries of incredible workmanship, you brush shoulders with lords and ladies, counts and princesses. A cacophony of languages meets your ears. French, Latin, even some English. Marie is the daughter of the old King of France and the current Queen of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her court is the place to see and be seen. Moving through the crowd, you catch a glimpse of the front of the room where Marie sits with her ladies in waiting. You briefly wonder what they might be discussing. But it's not these blue blooded beauties, or even the Countess herself who captures your intention. Instead, your gaze falls on a man in the middle of the room. Dressed in white hose and a loose fitting green tunic, the man is contorting his body into all sorts of shapes. His head lulls back as his arms stretch behind and touch the ground and he lifts one leg straight up in the air. It's as though there are strings attached to his body. Like his limbs don't have a single bone in them. You watch wide eyed as the acrobat bends and turns in fluid movements. With a flourish, he springs onto his hands before jumping back to his feet and taking a deep bow. As the acrobat skips off, an elderly man parts the growing crowd. A long silky robe flowing around his body. With white curly hair that falls to his shoulders and hands wrinkled with age, he looks like some sort of wizard. Your guess isn't far wrong. He's a magician. The man bows to Countess Marie, then spins round to face the crowd. From behind his back he produces an egg and appears to make it move through the air without touching it. There is some polite applause. He'll have to do better than that to win over this distinguished gathering. Next, he holds up a cup of water. Turning his back to the crowd, he mutters some words in a language you can't quite hear. When he turns back, the water has turned into wine. The magician carries on like this for a while, but the Countess soon grows bored and claps her hands together, signalling the next round of entertainment. A man carrying a lute walks into the centre of the room. You recognize this singer as one of the regular troubadours who hangs around Marie's court. He can always be relied upon to bring a sense of fun to any occasion. Striking up a tune on his instrument, the man breaks into song. People clap in time and sway from left to right. But you make sure to pay attention to the words he sings of a knight and his lady. A forbidden yet chaste romance taking place at a court not dissimilar to the one you're standing in right now. You can't help but glance around wondering whether anyone in the crowd might have inspired it. Thanks to a treatise called De amore, written by 12th century Frenchman Andreas Capelanus, we know that Marie's court at Trois was a hub of aristocratic domestic entertainment. Historians believe Capelanus wrote the book for Marie and it lays out the ideals of medieval courtly love. The same ideas expressed in the songs of the troubadours. Marie wasn't the only aristocrat who enjoyed being entertained. King Henry VII of England named his first son Arthur after the legendary King. Arthurian tales were frequently told by storytellers, minstrels and troubadours in the medieval period. We can see how important home entertainment was among more ordinary medieval families through literature from the time. Geoffrey Chaucer's famous masterpiece, the Canterbury Tales, written towards the end of the 14th century shows 30 pilgrims who tell stories to pass the long journey. Filled with humour, morality, music, dancing, feasting, games and more, they give us a fleeting insight into the world of medieval entertainment. While there may be a fair amount of guesswork as to how different families entertain themselves in the Middle Ages, as we move into the Georgian period, our knowledge gets more certain. Thanks to a book published in 1721 by author Richard Neave, we know exactly how families and friends entertain themselves at home. As it turns out, the Georgians had a lot of fun. Neaves book the Merry Companion, or Delights for the Ingenious, contained 170 different games that families could play together. In particular, the book was aimed at children, providing them with innocent diversion at home. Games included how to cut a hole in a playing card big enough for a man to creep through, how to make a pea dance upon the end piece of a tobacco pipe, and how to fill a glass brimful of liquor, and afterwards to put many pieces of money into it without spilling any of the liquor. I could just picture a Georgian family poring over this rather hilarious book in the evenings, trying their hands at their different games. For the less adventurous, there was always the option of board games such as backgammon and chess. Meanwhile, the brave sought out blind man's buff or played bullet pudding. The latter was detailed in Francis Willoughby's unpublished book of games from the late seventies seventeenth century. One filled a large pewter dish with flour which was piled up into a sort of hill. A bullet was laid on the peak and everyone took it in turns to cut a slice. The unlucky person who was cutting when the bullet fell had to poke around in the flower with their nose and chin and retrieve the bullet with their mouth. Thanks to Jane Austen's niece Fanny, we know this bizarre game was a particular hit with her family, although I'm not sure I'd recommend it for young children today. But games weren't only enjoyed for their silliness, they also provided light relief from the strict rules that governed Georgian and later Victorian society. That's because a lot of games encouraged intimacy between men and women. For example, a favourite forfeit in 19th century Parlour games was to kiss the lady. You laugh. Without anyone knowing it, a sensible gentleman would kiss all of the ladies in the room to keep his secret safe. Of course, not everyone agreed with such public displays of affection. When the book Round Games For All Parties was published in 1854, the writers objected to kissing games and suggested that they were to be played exclusively in family parties consisting of brothers, sisters, maiden aunts, grandmothers and uncles. Something to think about the next time you plan a family game night. Families like the Austens also entertain themselves with riddles and word games. One of my favourite anecdotes on this theme comes from Francis Willoughby's book. He and a friend were inventing rhymes to pass the time when he challenged his opponent to rhyme the word porringer, a kind of small bowl. After a moment, his friend responded, um, the king had a daughter and he gave the Prince of Orange her a reference to James II's daughter Mary, who married William of Orange.
- [22:31]
Ann
I was never really a runner. The way I see running is a gift, especially when you have stage four cancer. I'm Ann. I'm running the Boston Marathon presented by bank of America. I run for Dana Farber Cancer Institute to give people like me a chance to thrive in life, even with cancer. Join bank of America in helping Anne's cause.
- [22:53]
Narrator
Give if you can at B of.
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Ann
A dot com supportann what would you like the power to do? References to charitable organizations is not endorsement by bank of America Corporation Copyright 2025 McDonald's meets the Minecraft universe with one of six collectibles and your choice of a Big Mac or 10 piece McNuggets with spicy nuts. Nether Flame Sauce now available with a Minecraft movie meal.
- [23:13]
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- [23:18]
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- [23:46]
Ann
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- [24:04]
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- [24:39]
Ann
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Narrator
It's May 13, 1897. We're on a windswept beach on Flat Home, a Welsh island in the Bristol channel. An enormous 100 foot mast sways in the wind, its aerial creaking back and forth as a long black wire trails down its side. Fierce waves crash against the shore. But the creaking of the aerial and roar of the sea are not the sounds we're listening out for. Crouched over an assortment of wires, coils and metal instruments is a man called George Kemp. His concentration is glued to a cylindrical object in front of him. Known as a coherer, Kempe is holding his breath, waiting for it to move. You see, Kempe is involved in a groundbreaking experiment. His friend and partner, Guglielmo Marconi, is currently stationed three miles away on Lavenock Point on the Welsh mainland. Marconi is hoping to be the first person ever to send a radio signal over the sea from Lavernock to Flatholme. If the signal is transmitted, it will send energy to Kempskohira, which in turn will spell out a message. But Kemp's been waiting on this remote island for three days. So far he hasn't heard a thing. Staring out at the rough sea beyond, he thinks of his friend, hard at work trying to generate a signal that's not coming. Perhaps the challenge is impossible. One thing gives him hope. Today they've moved the apparatus from the cliff top to the beach and lengthened the aerial. Maybe this time it will work. Just then, Kemp's instruments emit the tiniest crackle. Presuming it's the rustling of the wind, Kemp ignores it. But then the crackle grows louder. Kemp turns to see the coherer spinning around, the needle scratching a thin piece of paper with an assortment of dots and dashes. It's Morse code. Barely able to contain his excitement, Kemp counts the beats as they're recorded, matching them up to the letters scribbled in his code book. He smiles as the words come together. Can you hear me? Careful not to adjust his instruments from their delicate position, Kemp sends a reply. Yes. Loud and clear. They've done it. The first radio signal over open sea has been transmitted. Following Marconi and Kemp's groundbreaking experiment, radio blossomed into one of the most popular forms of entertainment. On Christmas Eve 1906, Canadian scientist Reginald Fessenden treated listeners to the first ever radio broadcast. It was appropriately festive, with Fessenden playing Christmas songs on his violin and reading out passages from the Bible. But it was during the 1920s that radio really grew into the mass entertainment we know today. In America, President Roosevelt used it for his famous Fireside Chats broadcasts which sought to offer comfort and clarity. Amidst the Great depression in Britain, 1922 saw the creation of of BBC radio. Daily broadcasting began with newsreels, musical interludes and short audio dramas. Though they only filled the airwaves for a few hours each day, they were staggeringly popular. By 1939, 73% of households in Britain owned a radio license. Radio was truly in its golden age, leading the way in home entertainment. But it wouldn't retain the top spot forever. While radio had been slowly settling into homes, scientists were experimenting with another form of entertainment television. Scottish inventor John Logie Baird first demonstrated a working television in 1925. Eleven years later, one of the first BBC television broadcasts was a performance of magic rays of light by the newly created BBC Television Orchestra. Like radio, it took a while to become anything more than a novelty. But Following World War II, the price of television started to fall and their popularity spike skyrocketed. The 1940s saw the birth of TV networks in America, such as NBC, ABC, CBS and Dumont Networks adapted their most popular radio serials for the screen. Meanwhile, In Britain, the BBC broadcast a whole host of events, including the 1948 Summer Olympics, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and the marriage of Princess Margaret. As the decades passed, TV became the primary form of home entertainment. It was simultaneously a place to escape reality by tuning into your favorite TV drama and to keep up with current affairs. When Apollo 11's mission to the moon was broadcast in 1969, an estimated 650 million people were watching. By the mid 20th century, color TV had been established and televisions could be found in homes across the globe. Interior designers even changed the layout of rooms to maximize the view of the tv, introducing low coffee tables and angling furniture towards the screen. Long gone were the days of flicking through Richard Neave's merry companion to find games to play with the family. Entertainment was now available at the press of a button. Today, the term home entertainment probably conjures up images of Netflix binges, new movie releases and various video games consoles. Turns out, humans love to watch television. One study estimated that the average person will spend more than 78,000 hours in front of a television, watching an average of 3,639 movies and 31,507 TV episodes. That's not to say traditional forms of entertainment have completely disappeared. If you think of some of your favourite TV shows, they're just parlour games. Reimagined University Challenge is a glorified pub quiz. Taskmaster is an amalgamation of the types of bizarre games mentioned in Richard Neave's book. And the contestants on Britain's Got Talent wouldn't be out of place next to the troubadours and acrobats of a medieval court. And of course, celebrations such as Christmas and New Year's are still reserved for more traditional types of entertainment. Too many families play charades after Christmas dinner. It seems to me that home entertainment today is a rich mixture of everything that's come before, from storytelling and ridiculous games to radio shows and gogglebox. Humans love to be entertained in the home. In the next episode, we learn all about the history of heating. Underfloor heating is invented in ancient Korea. A king in dire financial straits institutes attacks on fireplaces, and the move to burning coal proves deadly for young boys in Victorian England. That's next time on the Curious History of your Home. Listen to the next episode today without waiting a week by subscribing to Noizr plus, head to www.noiza.comscriptions for more information.