Historian and veteran Middle East journalist Michael Rank looks into the most exciting events and personalities of history in this podcast and explains them in five-minute episodes so that you can absorb the facts in the fastest way possible. Learn about the lives of Genghis Khan, Vlad Dracul, and Richard the Lionheart, and such events as the Crusades and the Black Death in these highly entertaining and informative episodes. Michael has sold thousands of books with his unique take on the past with such best-selling titles as "History's Most Insane Rulers: Lunatics, Eccentrics, and Megalomaniacs From Emperor Caligula to Kim Jon Il," and he brings the same energy to this podcast. He focuses on world history, Roman history, military history, the history of the United States, the most famous rulers in history, biographies, biography of famous people, the most famous people in history, the most powerful rulers, medieval history, violent history, world history, United States history, and how to put all these pieces together. This is a great podcast if you know nothing about a topic and need a good launching point into a deeper study.
http://www.michaelrank.net
HFM 155 | Why Did British Men Wear Powdered Wigs in the 1700s?
You’ve seen the look in historical dramas. You laughed at the foppish dandies that appear on Masterpiece Theater. In grade school you sneered at pictures of King George with his powdered wig, adjusting it ever so slightly while drinking a cup of tea with his pinky finger extended, wondering how he further extort colonists with new taxes.
You didn’t know that we call important people “bigwig” due to the aristocracy tradition of fancy wigs.
But where does the powdered wig come from? Why was such a peculiar look the sign of nobility in England during the 1500s-1700s?
It all has to do with syphilis, head lice, the shame of male-pattern baldness, and the fashion tastes of Louis XIV.
WANT FREE ACCESS TO AN ONLINE COURSE ABOUT WINSTON CHURCHILL? READ BELOW
This episode is brought to you by Hillsdale College. They would like to invite you to learn more about the incredible life of this fascinating man — one of the greatest leaders and statesmen of our time: Winston Churchill.
You can get exclusive access to this new free online course studying the life of Churchill by going to Hillsdale.edu/h5m and signing up today.
Almost a million people have taken Hillsdale’s renowned courses like Constitution 101, American Heritage. As a history fan, you won’t want to miss this one.
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